Fifteen rape victims have formed martial arts movement and are prepared to confront abusers if no one listens to their complaints…
A GROUP of women are fighting back against the sickening culture of rape which they say infects India. Fifteen determined females – all victims themselves – have trained in martial arts and are prepared to hand out rough justice if no one listens to their complaints. And the movement, called the Red Brigade, is growing rapidly following the gang rape and murder of medical student Jyoti Singh Pandey that horrified the world.
In a nation where a woman is reportedly raped every 20 minutes, the group’s leader Usha Vishwakarma said: “We are fighting back – and the boot is now on the other foot.” Member Sufia Hashmi, 17, said: “We’ve caught a lot of men recently. I joined because men always used to pass comments on me and touch my body but now we beat them and they run.”
Like the other members in the northern city of Lucknow, 25-year-old Usha has first-hand experience of the daily dangers women face in the huge nation – a teacher tried to rape her when she was 18. She said: “He grabbed me and tried to open my trousers. I kicked him in the crotch and ran.” Usha complained to staff but they told her to forget it and allowed her attacker to carry on teaching. She said: “Many parents tell girls to quit school so there will be no sexual violence. But we said no – this has to stop. We decided to form a group to fight for ourselves, not just complain.” MORE
Everyone, I’m elated to tell you that Tumblr will be joining Yahoo.
Before touching on how awesome this is, let me try to allay any concerns: We’re not turning purple. Our headquarters isn’t moving. Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower…
Erik Johansen’s pictures are worth more than a thousand words. The German born, Swedish based photographer enjoys nothing more than manipulating the mind with his tantalizing visual imagery. His vivid imagination and surreal forms create brilliant pictures of surreal moments, all with a hint of the believable. Originally a computer engineering student, Johansson currently works on personal projects as well as commissioned ones.
For those of you who don’t know Eurovision - or Sweden - very well This song is hilariously accurate (trust me, I’m a swede) Here, have the lyrics:
I come from a country that’s hard to find / Somewhere near the icy pole / But though we are freezing please bear in mind / Sweden’s going to warm your soul.
Our people are cold but our elks are hot / A horny horde in every fjord. / Our moose may be loose but they hit the spot / On our Swedish smorgasbord. A tour of our nation is certain to impress / With quite a few surprises for you / A Swedish chef and Death playing chess / And a Girl With A Dragon Tattoo. By winning this contest you get the chance / To host a show you can’t afford / But then sell your country through song and dance / Here’s our Swedish smorgasbord. We’re green to our planet with eco-crime / Recycling is in our hearts. / Mamma Mia! Ikea has gone worldwide / Good luck assembling all of the parts. We’re strict and we’re structured and seldom vent / Don’t show emotion and never whine / Not easy to please but we’re quite content / When we get to stand in line. Does anybody know what this line is for? Then I’d better stay and find out… Proper and polite and private is our style / Never, ever talk on a train / And if we see a stranger throw us a smile / He’s either a drunk or insane. Every day we face it, try it out and taste it, try our Swedish smorgasbord. Beneath the midnight sun / The blondes have all the fun / And if you long for stockings say ‘Amen’. From Vikings we descended / It’s frightening what those men did / But see how we’ve evolved since then. Our roles are reversing / See how daddies are nursing / In all of our cities / Though men don’t have titties / They can still stay at home to raise the kids / And our girls can handle their balls / With the best kick line of them all. You may now kiss the groom… Follow our example / Come and try a sample / Of our Swedish smorgasbord. It’s time for some dinner / We pray you’ll stay / Come and try our favourite course / We eat all our meat / The Nordic way / Seasoned with a hint of horse. For Strindberg and Bergman and Celsius all rise / For Thor and Bjorn Borg and the great Nobel prize / There’s Volvo and Garbo, the best ligonberry / And all of our problems digesting our dairy… We gave you Carola and Waterloo / And Digaloo you all adore / W e’ll take you to heaven, Euphoria too. Come and join our party / Come and have a trip / There’s room for everybody / Grab a lachsen dip / On our aquavit, crayfish, yankee-salted liquorice, randy Scandi naked race with H&M and Ace of Base / Our hurly burly super duper if that was Abba Super Trouper / Swedish smorgasbord!
Tippi Benjamine Okanti Degré, daughter of French wildlife photographers Alain Degré and Sylvie Robert, was born in Namibia. During her childhood she befriended many wild animals, including a 28-year old elephant called Abu and a leopard nicknamed J&B. She was embraced by the Bushmen and the Himba tribespeople of the Kalahari, who taught her how to survive on roots and berries, as well as how to speak their language.
Charlie Noonan was an amateur folklorist who travelled throughout the South and Southwestern United States during the early years of the 20th century, collecting tall tales and stories of the supernatural. According to his wife, Ellie, Charlie was told a story one day by an Oklahoma farmer about a strange woman who lived alone on an isolated property in the panhandle. The farmer claimed the woman was not a woman at all, but something else, something that hid its true nature beneath a headscarf and was never seen without a large dog by its side. Noonan was apparently intrigued enough to try searching for the woman during one of his research road trips. He was never seen again.
Ellie Noonan was later contacted by a Tulsa pawnbroker who remembered reading about her husband’s disappearance in the papers, after finding his name engraved on a camera sold to him by an itinerant. The pawnbroker returned the camera, and Mrs. Noonan had the film inside developed in the hopes of finding a clue as to his whereabouts. This was the only photo on the roll. Unfortunately, neither the location of the property, nor the name of the farmer who told him the story was recorded in Noonan’s notes.
