daily feminist news 05.10.13

In case you missed it: Sinead O’Connor pens open letter to Miley Cyrus, feud begins.

I bet Miley thought she was paying Sinead O’Connor a compliment when she stated in her recent Rolling Stone interview that Sinead’s iconic Nothing Compares 2 U video provided the inspiration for her Wrecking Ball clip. Well, Sinead is not impressed, offering this wise feminist advice in her open letter: ‘Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.’ Ever the bratty teen, whoops I mean, 20-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, Cyrus hit back mocking O’Connor for her breakdown some time ago. To cut a long story short, Sinead was all like ‘you better call Saul!’ cause shit’s about to get real, Miley. Pfft kids these days.

Best: Feminist Superheroine Wendy Davis to run for Texas governor!

After her bad arse 11-hour abortion filibuster earlier this year, Texas Democratic senator and feminist hero in pink runners, Wendy Davis has announced that she will be running for governor. If elected, Davis would be the first Democrat in two decades to lead the state. Davis is currently trailing behind her Republican opponent, Texas attorney general, Greg Abbott, by a mere eight points. I don’t know about you, but I’m totes #TeamWendy

Worst: Vladimir Putin nominated for… Nobel Peace Prize. Um. What?

Today in Do Not Want, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize because he apparently ‘actively promotes settlement of all conflicts arising on the planet.’ Uh, don’t we all? Despite, oh I don’t know, the whole major homophobia in Russian legislation, his role in the KGB, the campaign against separatists in Chechnya and the war on Georgia, Putin is apparently an all round peace loving hero. Perhaps it’s a fair point that Barak Obama was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 regardless of the United States’ presence in Iraq, Afghanistan and potentially Syria… But Putin? Really?

Gillard to advocate for the education of girls in developing countries.

What’s Julia up to this week? I hear you ask. Well, Gillard will soon be advocating for the education of girls in developing countries in her new role as a non-resident senior fellow with the Washington DC based Brookings Institution. Gillard was chosen for the role because of her experience as a political leader and her focus on education reform during her time as Prime Minister.

This social experiment will make you epic-feminist-sad-face.

*Trigger Warning: intimate partner violence against women.
I don’t want to give anything away as it will ruin the impact of the clip, but the difference in reactions among members of the public is horrible.

Cervical cancer vaccine to save lives in South East Asia.

The Australian vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), a cause of cervical cancer, is being used for the first time in South-East Asia, with 13 thousand 10-year-old girls in Laos to be immunised over the next year. The vaccine will potentially save the lives of countless young girls in Laos where cancer is practically a death sentence due to unaffordability of treatment.

QLD Serial sex offender released, but rearrested.

In a complex story that involves laws and stuff, serial sex offender and diagnosed psychopath, Robert Fardon, was released from prison in Brisbane due to a court ruling that for some reason allowed him to walk free from the indefinite sentence he was given in 2003 for crimes against women and children. However, after attorney general, Jarrod Bleijie, contested the ruling, Fardon was taken back into custody and reimprisoned.

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