Friday, November 15, 2013

Russia introduces an anti-gay law, while Britain makes marriage legal. So what's... by The Guardian Friday November 15th, 2013 at 6:17 PM

Russia introduces an anti-gay law, while Britain makes marriage legal. So what's... 

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Russia introduces an anti-gay law, while Britain makes marriage legal. So what's it like to be gay around the world?


Over the rainbow: what is it like to be gay in 2013
gu.com
Russia introduces an anti-gay law, while Britain makes marriage legal. So what's it like to be gay around the world in 2013? Men and women from...

Venezuela let a pageant 'king' set beauty standards. The results aren't pretty | Dariana Arias 

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Young women in my home country think their primordial empowerment tool is their breasts. It really is that bad
Ugly women need to stop promoting the ludicrous theory of "inner beauty", since that is just a poor excuse to justify their hideous looks. If you have ever been told that you are "beautiful on the inside", then I hate to tell you this, but somebody lied to you sister. I will not be apologetic about bringing you the bad news because it was not I who made the discovery, but Osmel Sousa, the "king of beauty" and the man behind making all the Venezuelans beauty pageants perfectly beautiful at all costs. All costs!
Sousa is a beauty pageant veteran and president of the Miss Venezuela Organization that is responsible for seven Miss Universe crowns, six Miss Worlds, six Miss International titles and one Miss Earth. That's a total of 20 beauty crowns, out of which only the three of the Miss Universe winners are said to be "completely organic", that is, surgery free.
The standards of beauty in Venezuela are established by Sousa and so young women and school-aged girls grow up honestly believing that they must look like something that came out of a fashion magazine – small nose, ideal weight, angular jaw line, extremely high cheekbones and flawless skin (yes, that includes no stretch marks) and last, but not least, light eyes, hair and skin.
I was raised by my grandmother in a tiny town within the northern Venezuelan coast, where all you can do is enjoy the Caribbean Sea or watch the telenovelas, where the brown girls are always the maids and the blond Venezuelan girls with big bosoms always have the main roles. Out of my siblings, I'm the darkest one, with a prominent nose and thick brows. I certainly didn't fit Sousa's standards of beauty. I was too dark, so I was called the ugly-duckling, and people on the street would sometimes asked me if I was a boy. The deconstruction of women in society starts at an early age, and we wonder why many women are insecure.
Fortunately, I got over it instead of resorting to cosmetic surgery. But plenty of young women don't. Being Barbie-like isn't enough anymore in Venezuela. Women in my home country think their primordial empowerment tool is their breasts. It's gotten so bad that even our female mannequins in Venezuela have had boob jobs.
"The boost" is all the rage. Forget laptops and cell phones, Venezuelan girls are asking for breast implants for their special quinceañera gift. In the US, apparently girls wait a few more years and ask for it as a high school graduation gift because after all, they too have a right to happiness (pdf).
What society clearly needs most is that which incites the senses (especially of men) to the zenith of aesthetic admiration: a surgically enhanced, oversized breasted woman. In Venezuelan society, we know this, which is why a lot of women look as if they hold silicone reserves in their chests, surpassing that of our nation's famed oil reserves. Any ladies who are physically underprivileged, fear not, silicone bags are here. Get on with the program and follow our Venezuelan footsteps, because after all, we (almost) always win Miss Universe, thanks to the beauty standards established by our beloved Mr Sousa.
This is not only about men's visual gratification though, it is also about your right as a woman to choose what to do with yours and your daughter's body. After all, breast augmentation is about defying this patriarchic system, that's why, since the very beginning, in the 1940's prostitutes in Japan were injecting themselves with industrial silicon, "Eager to do better trade with the occupying US forces".
Women have a right to look in the mirror and feel happy and satisfied; how does society expect you to be happy when you have low self-esteem due to your chest size? It is an unfortunate situation, and you know it; you are unhappy with your body, and the only way to lift your self-esteem up is to get breast implants; but don't take my word for it, doyour own research. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you or your daughter getting humongous breast implants, after all, there are not serious risks. And if you are a Venezuelan woman walking around looking like an underdeveloped 10-year-old, then shame on you, don't tell me that you heard Ex-President Hugo Chavezwarning on breast implants, because he was crazy anyways.

This is about our South American empowerment, so pay no mind to women like Sandra Lee Bartky at the University of Illinois who talk about the psychological oppression of women:
Systematically deceived as we are about the nature and origin of our unhappiness, our struggles are directed inward toward the self, or toward other similar selves in whom we may see our deficiencies mirrored, not outward upon those social forces responsible for our predicament.
Are you still there? Have you clicked on some of the above hyperlinks? Don't get confused, this is not about reconstructive surgery, this is about plastic surgery. There is a difference. Having said that, I find it necessary to seriously address all of you sisters, not in judgment but in solid womanhood, love and solidarity. Recently, a woman told me that she was happier with herself after she got breast implants for aesthetic purposes, my reply was, "You should have been happy anyways."
I challenge you to question the current societal standards of beauty, but most importantly, to ask yourself the following question, what standard of beauty are we establishing for our future generations? And to my Venezuelan sisters, stop listening to Osmel Sousa.

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It's #schizophrenia awareness week. Here's how you can make life easier for peop... 

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It's #schizophrenia awareness week. Here's how you can make life easier for people with the illness | @Glosswitch http://gu.com/p/3kdj7/fb

Assad's forces advance in northern Syria towards Aleppo - Reuters

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Assad's forces advance in northern Syria towards Aleppo
Reuters
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad captured on Friday the last of three towns on the south-eastern approaches of Aleppo, state television said, advancing on the city after similar gains around the capital Damascus this week. Aleppo...
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New York Daily News

Racist serial killer facing execution in Missouri - San Francisco Chronicle

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San Francisco Chronicle

Racist serial killer facing execution in Missouri
San Francisco Chronicle
ST. LOUIS (AP) — No one knows how many atrocities Joseph Paul Franklin committed as he crossed the country more than three decades ago, fueled by hatred of blacks and Jews. Along the way he bombed a synagogue, robbed banks, shot and wounded a ...

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Venez pres: No need for currency devaluation - WZTV

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The Guardian

Venez pres: No need for currency devaluation
WZTV
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says there's no need to devalue the bolivar even as the country's currency plunges in illegal black market trading. Maduro said in a news conference Friday that South America's biggest oil...

Turmoil Hits Venezuela Bond PricesWall Street Journal
Venezuela's Congress Votes In Favor Of Granting Maduro Decree PowersFox News Latino 

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Venezuelan army occupies white goods shops as punishment for 'profiteering'The Guardian

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NASA Probe May Help Solve Riddle of Mars's Missing Air - New York Times

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NASA Probe May Help Solve Riddle of Mars's Missing Air
New York Times
Published: November 15, 2013.
NASA's next mission to Mars aims to answer one question: What happened to the air that once made the surface habitable? Related. Interactive Feature · Mars Curiosity Rover Tracker · Science Twitter Logo. Connect With Us...
NASA's MAVEN Spacecraft 'GO' For Monday LaunchBrevard Times
Curiosity Out of Safe ModeHispanicBusiness.com
Nasa mission envisions Mars as beautiful ocean worldTimes of India

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New York Times

Class barriers block path to professions

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Most deprived children significantly behind more privileged peers on day they start school. Clegg says still ‘long way to go’ to boost life chances

Caroline Kennedy starts job as US ambassador to Japan

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Caroline Kennedy takes up new role as US ambassador to Japan days before 50th anniversary of her father John F Kennedy's death
    








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Prince Charles calls for help from 10 Years Younger stylist

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The Prince of Wales surprises Andrew Barton, the stylist from the Channel 4 show '10 Years Younger'
    


Pussy Riot's Nadezhda Tolokonnikova 'may serve rest of jail term in hospital' 

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Husband says activist is being treated for medical complications arising from her hunger strike to protest appalling conditions in Russia's prisons
    








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2 shot at Nat'l Guard armory; gunman in custody

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MILLINGTON, Tenn. (AP) -- A member of the National Guard opened fire at an armory outside a U.S. Navy base in Tennessee, wounding two soldiers before being subdued and disarmed by others soldiers, officials said Thursday....