Archive for rape
an upside down year [cover]
Posted in Books with tags 2024, cover, Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron, French politics, Léon Marchand, Libé, Middle East, Monique Pélicot, New Year's Eve, Paris 2024 Olympics, political crisis, rape, sexual violence, Solidarity with Ukraine, Syrian civil war, UNiTE to End Violence against Women on December 30, 2024 by xi'an
a journal of the chaos, conquest, war, famine, and death [by drowning & ordeal] year
Posted in Books, Kids, Mountains, pictures, Running, Travel with tags Akira Kurosawa, Alþing, Argentan, Arnaldur Indriðason, Þingvellir, Bellême, book review, Brazil, capital punishment, Carrouges, Charles VI, Christian VII, COVID-19, Daniel Defoe, death penalty, Denmark, film review, ginger, ginger jam, humus, Iceland, incest, Journal of the Plague Year, judicial duel, Netflix, Notre-Dame-de-Paris, ordeal, Paris, rape, Rashomon, Ridley Scott, Russian invasion, sexual violence, The Last Duel, Ukraine on June 1, 2024 by xi'an
Read Indriðason’s Sigurverkið (The king and the clockmaker) while spending the
day in Charles de Gaulle airport waiting for my flight to Birmingham. This is an historical if romanced novel taking place around 1800 in both Iceland and Denmark. It is somewhat connected to Hannah Kent’s Burial Rites, —which impressed me so much that it became a customary book gift—in that this 2021 book by Indriðason is also about a judicial execution of a woman (and her lover) in Iceland, if a few decades earlier and by drowning in a bag at Thingvellir—which we visited during AISTATS in 2014—. The story is however told in a plainer style, the son of this woman being both the narrator, and the clockmaker repairing the historical clock of Habrecht—which was indeed in the Danish Royal Collection at the time and about to be repaired— , while the audience is the mentally unstable and in-name-only King of Denmark, Christian VII, whose father, Frederik V, had (twice) condemned the victims to death. Since the main story is known from the start there is no suspense and little sense of urgency, which makes the book slow-paced and not very engaging, even though the depiction of 18th Century Iceland and its dominion by the Danish crown remains interesting, as well as the historical basis for the executions, the Stóradomi [Great Edict] of 1564 that prescribed beheading for men and drowning for women in case of incest (which actually did not take place for the unjustly executed couple).
Made half a dozen ginger jam jars, as it is currently plentiful and very cheap at the local market (although shipped from Brazil!). But mostly because it is my wife’s favourite jam. Resulting in a definitely tangy jam, despite adding rhubarb, (entire) lemons and pears. Also took advantage of a sea brass BBQ to cook on the side sweet potatoes towards an unusual humus.
Watched (at last!) Scott’s The Last Duel, which foundations appealed to me for being a medieval remake of [my favourite movie] Rashōmon and for supposedly taking place in the vicinity of my home county (supposedly so because no scene was shot in or nearby Normandy!). The outcome is mixed for me, as the setting remains Disney-esque despite the use of medieval castles with tidy landscapes and interiors—the Castle of Carrouge being too “modern” for that purpose—, extensive battle scenes—why would hidden archers resort to fiery arrows?!—, a knighthood quite late in the coming, out-of-tune medieval music, an absurd medieval transplant of the modern constant need to hold a drink, a cartoonesque Paris (where Notre Dame had already been completed and where watermills fed by rainwater would not have lasted very long), but also Damon’s credible play-acting as a medieval lout, strong hints at the [Fol] King Charles VI’s unstable mind, impressive acting of Jodie Comer against her judges, along a ghastly reminder that in medieval times rape was not believed to induce pregnancy. Background conversations are in French, but clash with the main actors’ English (maiming all French names!). So it could have been worse, witness Scott’s Napoleon!
The New Yorker [Dec. 12, 2022]
Posted in Books, Kids, pictures with tags anti-abortion organisations, Christmas tree, cover, Matthieu Forichon, Milano, New York, non-viable pregnancy, Protect Abortion, Qatar, rape, Rockefeller Center, Salman Rushd, short story, The New Yorker, TikTok, Università Bocconi on February 9, 2023 by xi'an
and it only gets worse…
Posted in Kids, Travel with tags abortion, Donald Trump, Mike Pence, my body my choice, NRA, rape, repeal the second amendment, reproductive rights, Roe v. Wade, Security Council, shutdown, Supreme Court, The Guardian, The New York Times, trumpism, UN, United Nations, US politics on May 8, 2019 by xi'an.
” The Texas state legislature is debating a provision that wouldn’t just outlaw abortion, but legally qualify it as homicide(…) This, incidentally, is exactly what pro-choice advocates warned about when they said that a law passed in the George W Bush era, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, as well as the related state laws, could eventually be used to criminalize abortion(…) All of these laws are in violation of Roe v Wade, but it seems one goal is to take advantage of an increasingly conservative US supreme court and see if Roe could be overturned, or at least rendered meaningless.” The Guardian, 11 April, 2019
““At a rally in Ohio last month, Mr. Trump suggested that wind power was too unreliable to be useful. “Let’s put up some windmills,” he said. “When the wind doesn’t blow, just turn off the television darling, please. There’s no wind. Please turn off the television quickly!” The New York Times, April 3, 2019
“The US is threatening to veto a United Nations resolution on combatting the use of rape as a weapon of war, the Guardian’s Julian Borger reports. The US is objecting to language that says survivors of sexual violence should have access to comprehensive health services, including sexual and reproductive health. It’s part of a hard line taken by the Trump administration in recent months, refusing to agree to any UN documents that refer to sexual or reproductive health, on grounds that such language implies support for abortions (…) In recent months, the Trump administration has taken a hard line, refusing to agree to any UN documents that refer to sexual or reproductive health, on grounds that such language implies support for abortions. It has also opposed the use of the word “gender”, seeking it as a cover for liberal promotion of transgender rights.” The Guardian, 22 April, 2019
“A U.S. threat to veto U.N. Security Council action on sexual violence in conflict was averted on Tuesday after a long-agreed phrase was removed because President Donald Trump’s administration sees it as code for abortion, diplomats said. The U.S. veto threat was the latest in a string of policy reversals that some U.N. diplomats say has been driven by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, a conservative Christian who staunchly opposes abortion rights. The language promoting sexual and reproductive health is long-agreed internationally, including in resolutions adopted by the Security Council in 2009 and 2013 and several resolutions adopted annually by the 193-member General Assembly.” The New York Time, April 24, 2019
“We believe in freedom and liberty and the right to keep and bear arms. We know that faith and family, not government and bureaucracy are the centre of American life… In America we don’t worship government; we worship God.” The Guardian, April 26, 2019
