"Physically and mentally, women have the right stuff for lengthy missions in space. So why send men when you can send just their contributions to the next generation, collected and cryopreserved in tiny vials? Sending an all-female crew and a sperm bank lets a space program economize while also increasing the genetic diversity of the parental pool."
"Around the world, women rarely get the top job. The World Economic Forum, a think-tank, has tallied data on women in power in 144 countries for the past 50 years. During that time period, just under two-fifths of the countries surveyed had a female head of state or government at some point for at least a year (excluding monarchs). In half of those countries, the total time served by female leaders falls short of five years, a common length of a single full term in office."
"A new documentary resurrecting the buried history of the outrageous, often brilliant women who founded the modern women's movement from 1966 to 1971."Audience reactions... Interviews with inspiring filmaker Mary Dore...
"A 24-year-old journalist based in Kansas City, Missouri sent an image of herself to 40 people in 25 countries with the request 'Make me look beautiful. The resulting images were altered by professional photo re-touchers in Sri Lanka, Morocco, the Philippines and elsewhere, illustrating the drastically different aesthetic preferences of various cultures."
"One girl with courage is a revolution. CNN Films' "Girl Rising," directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins, tells the stories of girls across the globe and the power of education to change the world."
The BBC's African Dream series spotlights A Kenyan eye clinic with a long vision about Hurlingham Eye Care Services founded in 2007 by three female doctors... "In the last six years the firm, which opened with just a few patients, has become East Africa's leading eye clinic and offers a wide range of services, from eye tests to laser surgery. "Right from the onset our dream was to work in a centre that can be able to provide all types of eye care as a one-stop shop," one of the founders, Dr Kahaki Kimani, told the BBC's series African Dream. "We also wanted to be a centre of excellence and so, when we saw a lot of our people travelling [for treatment] long distances outside the country -- to Europe, to South Africa, to India -- we felt that probably it was the right time to bring some of these services closer home."
"Afghan opium farmers have long borrowed money from drug gangs to subsidize their crops. Now, as the Afghan government destroys their livelihood in an eradication program, the farmers find themselves in a horrifying situation: repay their debts or give their daughters to drug-traffickers. Najibullah Quraishi reports on the harrowing story of the collateral damage of the counter-narcotics effort."
"There he is!” someone yelled. “Le docteur!” In the back of a white truck -- zooming past so fast it spewed clouds of dust -- sat a kind-faced man staring out at the crowds: Denis Mukwege, a gynecological surgeon renowned for repairing the insides of thousands of brutally raped women. He returned home triumphantly on Monday after more than two months in exile after nearly being assassinated, possibly for speaking out on behalf of the countless women who have been gang-raped by armed groups that stalk the hills of eastern Congo. [...] perhaps it is no surprise that Dr. Mukwege carries such an enormous amount of pride -- and hope -- on his rounded shoulders, which are most often covered by a white lab coat. For around 15 years now, he has kept a major hospital running in one of the most turbulent parts of the country, sometimes performing as many as 10 operations a day, on women who have been raped so viciously that they stumble in with death trudging just a few steps behind."
"Kirsten Amann, herself a cocktail nerd, hasn’t lost track of the fun. Her new book, “The Screaming Orgasm, 69 X-Rated Cocktails” (Running Press), is a trip through an array of sexy tipples. You may not see them ordered regularly in Boston’s craft cocktail bars, but their names, and easily-drinkable recipes, make them well-suited to romance. [...] Amann’s selections range from old classics like the Hanky Panky to “less respectable” cocktails like Sex on the Beach. The recipes are divvied up into five stages of the courting process, from Flirting, to Hooking Up, Hot and Heavy, All the Way, One-Night Stand, and the inevitable follow-up, The Walk of Shame."
"Doused in a searing chemical; disabled and scarred for life; struck by a depression which can make it hard to go on -- the plight of Colombia's acid attack victims is truly heartbreaking. And the number of these horrific assaults is on the rise. At least 250 Colombian women have been disfigured in the last three years, with this year’s victim reports already outpacing 2011’s. [...] many are believed victimized by former lovers or some [...] for their looks. [...] 51-year-old Consuelo Cordoba was attacked by her boyfriend 11 years ago -- requiring her to wear a mask to prevent infection and a tube to breathe out of her nose [...] Today she walks a market in Bogota begging for change after, like many acid victims, being unable to find work for herself due to her appearance. 'I've thought about committing suicide, yes sir, I've thought about taking my life three times. I say to myself, why live? With a life like the one I have, what for?'"Wow. I'm beside myself with both disgust at the subhumans who do this and wanting to embrace these women and convey strength and salute their resilience. Employers, please hire them. Doctors, treat. Everyday citizens, acknowledge their humanity. And politicians -- get your shit together and really criminalize these despicable acts.
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