What Do Women Want? What I Learned At Blogher
7/26/09
Huffington Post: The two-day conference included seminars and breakout sessions on topics such as speed dating, Mommy blogging, Geek Labs to learn more techno-skills, microblogging, queer blogging and more…

Clinton Hopes For Female President In Her Lifetime
7/26/09
Reuters: Failed presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said on Sunday she hoped there would a female U.S. president in her lifetime but ruled out the chance she would run again.

The Women Who Clear Sudan’s Minefields
7/26/09
BBC: Jamba Besta had planned to be a secretary, hoping to find work in an office as her homeland of South Sudan emerged out of a 22-year long civil war. Instead, the pregnant mother heads an all-female team of de-miners, removing dangerous explosives from former battlefields. “I never thought I would be doing this,” says Ms Besta, welcoming her six-woman team back from the danger zone they are clearing.

Up-And-Comers Who Are Breaking Down A Digital Divide
7/27/09
Washington Post: In Washington, a number of women are leaving their mark as entrepreneurs, social media enthusiasts and policy experts. And they’re trying to make room for more girl geeks. Here are five women who have established themselves as influential figures in the region’s tech circles and are worth keeping an eye on.

Gov. Sarah Palin Is Now Ex-Gov. Sarah Palin At A Swell Alaska Picnic
7/26/09
LA Times: Thousands are gathered at a park in central Fairbanks — the third in an annual Alaskan summertime tradition of governor’s picnics — to help usher the Barracuda into her next incarnation, whatever that is.

The Ultimate Obama Insider
7/26/09
NY Times: Valerie Jarrett is a Washington outsider with a Washingtonian’s mind-deadening job title: senior adviser and assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement. Roughly translated, she is Obama’s intermediary to the outside world. But Jarrett is also the president’s closest friend in the White House…

Backers of Gay Marriage Rethink California Push
7/26/09
NY Times: Discouraged by stubborn poll numbers and pessimistic political consultants, major financial backers of same-sex marriage are cautioning gay rights groups to delay a campaign to overturn California’s ban on such unions until at least 2012.

Parental Involvement Laws: Why We Should Still Care That They Don’t Work
7/27/09
RH Reality Check: Public discourse about parental involvement laws for minors seeking abortions has been quiet in recent years. Many believe that such statutes are common place and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that set out the requirements for such laws to be constitutional, Bellotti v. Baird, is settled law, just like Roe v. Wade.

An Abortion Battle, Fought To The Death
7/26/09
NY Times: It did not take long for anti-abortion leaders to realize that George R. Tiller was more formidable than other doctors they had tried to shut down.

Family Shuns Girl, 8, After Rape Sparks Outcry
7/24/09
AP via MSNBC: Lured by promises of chewing gum then allegedly raped in a shed by four boys barely older than her, an 8-year-old Liberian girl is now in foster care and living with strangers after being shunned by her family.

The Battle Over A Baby
7/26/09
NY Times: On Christmas Eve in 2007, the State of West Virginia bestowed upon Kathryn Kutil and Cheryl Hess of Oak Hill a relative rarity in the foster-care system: a newborn. [The child's] court-appointed attorney, Thomas K. Fast…filed a motion with the circuit court in Fayetteville to order the Department of Health and Human Resources (the D.H.H.R.) to “remove child from physical placement in homosexual home.”

How Easy It Isn’t
7/24/09
RH Reality Check: Young women today have it so much better when it comes to sex than we did… right?

No Doubts: Women Are Better Managers
7/26/09
NY Times: Carol Smith, senior vice president and chief brand officer for the Elle Group: “In my experience, female bosses tend to be better managers, better advisers, mentors, rational thinkers.”

Not A Victim, But A Hero
7/26/09
NY Times: Assiya Rafiq summoned the unimaginable courage to go public [about being raped by kidnappers and police] and fight back. She is seeking to prosecute both her kidnappers and the police, despite threats against her and her younger sisters. This is a kid who left me awed and biting my lip; this isn’t a tale of victimization but of valor, empowerment and uncommon heroism.

Afghan Rights Workers Call For Aid, Not War
7/27/09
Women’s eNews: As the war in Afghanistan suffers one of its deadliest months since 2001, rights workers lay out what women in the region need most: stability, security and local aid. The second of two stories on the Afghanistan war and women.

Racial Disparity Of Breast Cancer Deaths Baffles Researchers
7/27/09
Baltimore Sun: A new study that suggests that racial differences in biology could be a key reason black women are more likely to die of breast cancer than white women has reignited an intense debate among medical experts about the role of genetics versus factors such as poverty, diet and unequal access to quality health care.

The Proposal And Antichrist Peddle Outdated Ideas Of Women
7/27/09
Guardian, UK: Once more, a misogynist shocker gratuitously exploits the plight of womankind for the titillation of cinemagoers. Female emotional derangement is contrasted with masculine rationality. A woman is permitted short-lived sway over male oppression, only to be punished by having her naked body subjected to unspeakable indignity.

SDCC 09: Marvelous Women Of Marvel Comics
7/27/09
Newsarama: After a jam-packed week of programming, Marvel’s final panel at Comic-Con International: San Diego was a spotlight on the Women of Marvel. This wasn’t a feature on Marvel’s many super-heroines, though; it was instead a celebration of the many brilliant female creators who make their employ in the House of Ideas.

Sports Misogyny And The Court Of Public Opinon
7/27/09
American Prospect: Last week, a lawsuit was filed accusing football player Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault. In the blink of an eye, sports apologists turned the focus on the case from the athlete to the alleged victim.

At All-Star Game, A Huskies Family Reunion
7/25/09
NY Times: A short walk down the hall from the hypnotic soundtrack of the slot machines and about an hour’s drive from the echoes of their college glory days, five former University of Connecticut women’s basketball players convened for a reunion game of sorts on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Courtney Conlogue Upsets Malia Manuel In Women’s Final
7/26/09
LA Times: The 16-year-old from Santa Ana defeats the defending surfing champion with a combined score of 17.17 in two waves.

Busting Out Of Her Shell
7/25/09
NY Times: Gina Carano said she had always been shy. That is not something you would expect to hear from a woman who makes her living in mixed martial arts. But Carano, a 27-year-old former American Gladiator, said she was at her most confident when training in muay Thai, her chosen fighting style, and learning to indulge her more feminine, less aggressive interests like manicures and pedicures.