Archive for August 14th, 2008
Olympic Updates
5:43 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Beijing Summer Olympics · No Comments
14 Aug 2008In case you haven’t heard, Michael Phelps is apparently some sort of God, and the U.S. media is going to urinate on themselves if they don’t get to touch him some time soon.
In other news, resident Latina BadAss, Brenda Villa is kicking some water polo butt and Mexican synchronized divers, Paola Espinosa and Tatiana Ortiz, managed to face down a competitive field to pull in a lovely bronze medal.
Fidel Castro made it to another birthday, on the same day that his baseball team and volleyball team won some great games (the volleyball team subsequently lost to the U.S.). On a more important note, volleyball women are amongst the hottest women at the Olympics. But even as I say that, I must admit to such a strong sense of feminist outrage when watching beach volleyball, I can’t even make it through a match. Please, compare the women’s uniforms (and subsequent media pictures) to the men’s. Can we all do a collective feminist vomit?
And finally, in a move to show it’s continuing brilliance, the U.S. Congress has decided to try to strip the Russian Olympians of their medals as a way to protest the Russian government’s invasion of Georgia. I tend to think that oh, I don’t know, diplomacy with an actual government works better than punishing a few citizens of said government, but what the hell, we have to pay taxes for some reason, I guess.
Until the next update,
La Macha
Is Mickey Mouse a Bad Boss?
2:00 pm By Maegan La Mala · Activism| California| Labor · No Comments
14 Aug 2008
Some workers in the happiest place on earth sure think so. Despite the fact that the Micky Mouse franchise is making billions of dollars, they want to cut the benefits of workers clocking less than 30 hours a week.
Disney figures the can cut cost by denying health benefits to employees who work fewer than 30 hours or 5 days per week. Disney also proposes to force new hires into the more expensive Disney Signature Plan instead of the more affordable Union Health Plan, which now will force 2,300 hotel employees to pay between $1102 to $2641 per year to keep union health benefits.So who exactly will be affected, the housekeepers, bellmen, bartenders, dishwashers, and cooks who overwhelming are Latina/o and are employed at the Disneyland, Grand Californian, and Paradise Pier hotels.
Gloria Pena, who has been a housekeeper with Disneyland Hotel for 26 Years:
“Después de trabajar como Recamarera toda mi vida, he sido diagnosticada con artritis y osteoporosis. Si yo continuo trabajando en Disney es por mis beneficios médicos de la unión. Sin embargo, con las propuesta de Disney ya no podre pagar por el seguro de salud ¿Por que nos esta haciendo Disney esto? ¡No podemos permitir que esto nos suceda!
“After working as a Housekeeper all my life, I have been diagnosed with Arthritis and Osteoporosis. I continue to work at Disney because of my Union health insurance benefits. With Disney’s proposal, I won’t be able to afford health insurance. Why is Disney doing this to us? We can’t let this happen!
Or Jean Bustamante who has been a server for Yamabuki Restaurant at Paradise Pier Hotel for 15 years.
“Soy madre soltera de dos niños. Mi hijo de 7 añitos tiene parálisis cerebral así como otros problemas de salud. Con la propuesta de la Compañía de Casual Regular perdería el seguro medico que tanto necesita mi hijo. Después de trabajar aquí por 15 años, aun cuando trabajo 6 días a la semana ni siquiera promedio las 30 horas. “Como puede Disney proponer algo así que lastimaría tanto a mi familia”.
“I am a single mother of two children. My 7 year old son has Cerebral Palsy as well as many other disabilities. With the company’s proposal of Casual Regular he would surely lose his much needed health insurance. As a 15 year employee, even when I work 6 days a week, I still don’t average 30 hours. How can Disney deny how much this proposal will hurt my family?”
Mexican Church: Dress Right If You Don’t Want to be Raped
1:37 pm By Maegan La Mala · Controversia| Religion| Women| mexico| society · No Comments
14 Aug 2008
Just when you think you’ve heard it all comes a quote that proves you wrong. The Archdiocese of Mexico is providing some “helpful hints” for women looking to not be sexually violated:
“If you want to avoid an act of sexual aggression…don’t wear provocative clothes…be careful with your glances and your gestures…Don’t find yourself alone with a man, even if you know him…Don’t get too familiar with your friends or relatives…Don’t allow risqué conversations or jokes…Look for help when you suspect someone has bad intentions…”
It seems that if this list of tips is to be trusted, all women should be afraid of something terrible happening to them. But let’s face it: this isn’t the first indication of the church’s belief that victims are somehow “asking for it”. Just last year a Spanish priest shocked the world with his claims that children who are molested are also “asking for it”. His quote, which rivals the one I’m telling you about today was:
“There are 13 year old adolescents, minors, who are totally in agreement with doing it, and wanting it, if you aren’t careful they provoke you.”
Wow.
That first gem can be found on the Archdiocese’s website, along with a host of other statements against the use of miniskirts, halter tops and bikinis, which, according to priest Sergio Román del Real, are “pornography and mental prostitution” because “we cause in others feelings they don’t have a right to have for us.”
Via / 20 Minutos
Image via Dazzee Designz
Another Hard Working Immigrant Detained, Tortured, Killed
12:00 pm By Maegan La Mala · Health| Immigration| New York City · No Comments
14 Aug 2008As more and more ICE raids occur across the country, their is a growing concern with what is happening with people after they are detained and locked up especially with more and more prisoners of ICE ending up dead.
The latest case to come to light is that of Hui Liu Ng. By all accounts was trying fulfill the “American dream”. He had a job in the Empire State Building, had a home in Queens, had a wife who was a U.S. citizen and two children born and raised here. Why was he detained? He had a work permit and a pending asylum application that was denied. He also had a separate green card application. A 2001 appointment to appear in Immigration court was sent to a non-existent address and that led to an arrest at a green card interview appointment in 2007. The second phase of a nightmare was about to begin.
Countdown to the DNC : Cages and Stun Guns Ready
10:01 am By Maegan La Mala · DNC| denver · No Comments
14 Aug 2008
With only 11 days to go before the Democratic National Convention jumps off in Denver, Colorado, the city is preparing space for protesters, in the form of cages topped by barbed wire.
Inside are dozens are metal cages. They are made out of chain link fence material and topped by rolls of barbed wire.
“This is a secured environment,” Capt. Frank Gale of the Denver Sheriff’s Department told CBS4. “We’re concerned about how that’s going to be utilized by people who will be potentially disruptive.”
Chupcabra Chilling in Cuero , Texas
8:01 am By Maegan La Mala · Bizarro| Texas · No Comments
14 Aug 2008Where’s my chupacabra tee shirt when I need it? The town of Cuero, Texas says they are the current home of the legendary goat sucker. No se. I think it looks like a dog. A friend of mine says it looks like a guy she once kissed. What does it look like to you?
Hola!
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