On the day before Mother’s Day, 40 New York human rights advocates gathered at the Leviev jewelry store on Madison Avenue and called on throngs of weekend Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev over his companies’ construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in West Bank villages including Bil’in and Jayyous. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest jewelry shopping periods in the US annually. The New York protest came as controversy is growing in Norway over Norwegian government investments in Leviev’s company Africa-Israel. The New York protesters also commemorated Bassem Abu Rahma from Bil’in who was shot to death by Israeli soldiers last month during a peaceful protest against the construction on Bil’in’s land of Israel’s wall and of the Mattityahu East settlement by a Leviev company.

On Wednesday, May 6, several Women in Black members were holding signs of peace in the breeze way of the Fresno County Courthouse when they were confronted by armed Sheriff Deputies and threatened with arrest. One of the shotgun toting guards was quoted as saying "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."

#media_16782;left# Mother’s Day is a time for celebration for mother’s everywhere. Yet, for women in prison and immigration detention this is not the case. This is why we are taking a stance on Mother’s Day for all the women who are imprisoned and detained across the USA. Large scale women’s imprisonment has resulted in an increasing number of children who suffer from their mother’s incarceration and detention and the loss of family ties. Families should Know No Borders. WHEN: Sunday, May 10, 2009 1:30pm - Marchers gather in front of South Bay Corrections and Detention Center 2:00pm - Procession proceeds from South Bay entrance to 93 on-ramp. WHERE: Journey: Meeting at South Bay Corrections and Detention entrance 20 Bradston St, Boston 02118

On Saturday the 25, hundreds marched through the streets of San Francisco to raise awareness to rape and sexual assault. The march, called "Walk Against Rape", started at Embarcadero and ended at Dolores Park. Organized by San Francisco Women Against Rape, the marchers chanted "Stop date rape" and "Who's body? My body!" The March concluded Sexual Assault Awareness Month where events were held throughout the country to call for an end to sexual assault.

Susan Galleymore, the mother of a U.S. soldier, made international headlines by taking the extraordinary and dangerous step of traveling to Iraq to visit her son stationed on a military base in the so-called Sunni Triangle, north of Baghdad.

Now she is coming to the Seattle-Tacoma area for three events.

The Women's Choice Clinic of Oakland, the venerated feminist health clinic that has provided non-judgmental, culturally sensitive abortion and reproductive health care services to Bay Area women for 36 years, is closing its doors. The clinic is the oldest feminist health center providing abortions in the nation. However, it is not anti-abortion protests that are forcing the clinic to close, nor is it a decline in demand for services. It is California's chronic low and slow reimbursements for MediCal services, and budget cuts. On Wed. April 8, a press conference will be held at the Oakland City Hall, at 1pm.

Feminist Leaders Call for following Obama, more troops in Afghanistan.

At the University of the District of Columbia on March 21 & 22, about 500 college-age feminists from around the country clapped and cheered through lecture after lecture-- until Sunday afternoon. Then, when comments and questions were finally taken by the young women who organized the conference within the Feminist Majority Foundation, delegates voiced their concerns at a mic. in the dim auditorium.

Four students from Augsburg College, in the only delegation from Minnesota, commented that the conference's political focus was unbalanced. (I was the fifth person in the delegation.)

Last week, National Public Radio featured a discussion on First Lady Michelle Obama. The First Lady received her degree from Princeton and her law degree from Harvard. The host made sure to mention this. But the tease was Michelle Obama’s shoulders. She exposed her shoulders at her husband’s first State of the Union address! The First Lady has been out and about to schools in Washington D.C. reading to children - said in the parentheses, again. But those shoulders!

One of the most divisive issues in the US is reproductive rights—specifically abortion. Have you ever wondered about the history of abortion in the US? Was it illegal from the time this country was formed until 1973? Why were laws changed? What about religion and abortion?

These and other questions will be discussed in this week's edition of IndyTV. We're highlighting a film called Motherhood By Choice, Not Chance which can be found at The Power of Choice Project website.

Video: English | Spanish

Event also marks the 10th anniversary of the Global Women's Strike
On Friday March 6, several dozen mothers, grandmothers, children, and their supporters gathered in front of the Department of Human Services (DHS) office in downtown Philadelphia to challenge the agency's priorities and practices. The women say the DHS has a pattern of mistaking poverty for neglect, and trauma caused by domestic violence as evidence of poor mothering. Several spoke at length about their experience trying to get their children back from the state foster care system, or encountering abuse, neglect and racism within what are supposed to be solutions. The group then marched down the street to the Arch Street United Methodist Church, where a teach-in was held. Read More & Pics | globalwomenstrike.net | Related: Philadelphia Activists Attend International Gathering

After seven years of occupation, women in Iraq still suffer from insecurity and outrageous misogynist practices of the Islamist and nationalist ruling militias. The multiplying anti-women media of the ruling militias attempt to abort all our modern achievements for women's rights. Their media shows women who veil their presence from the society with ragged historic wear, thus announcing their total submission to the newly created male-chauvinist culture in Iraq.

On Saturday, February 28, Students for a Democratic Society - Rochester organized a demonstration to counter an anti-choice march organized by Silent No More. Bearing the bitter cold and making a lot noise were approximately 35-40 pro-choicers standing across from 60-70 praying anti-choicers. A police car was between them. After approximately an hour and a half, the anti-choicers went home, unable to get to Planned Parenthood.

video: Interviews and Observation | | photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Students for a Democratic Society of the University of Houston is calling for a protest at the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Center in Taylor Texas on Saturday March 7th starting at 11am. The T. Don Hutto Facility is a retrofitted medium security prison run by the Tennessee based Corrections Corporation of America, that detains pregnant women and women with children awaiting immigration court hearings.

This is a violation of the rights of children, a draconian false solution to the issues raised by human migration, a huge waste of taxpayer dollars going into the pockets of CCA shareholders, and a bad public policy, period. The intersection of xenophobia and anti-immigrant hysteria and the continual growth of prisons for profit is a threat to human rights. We can not sit by and allow private companies to profit of off the incarceration of children.

As part of the 100 actions in 100 days to end family detention we are calling on people and organization from throughout Texas to join us on March 7th in Taylor Texas at 11am at the T. Don Hutto Residential Facility 1001 Welch St, Taylor, TX‎ 76574 [map]. We will be caravaning from UH to Taylor starting at 7:30am [Full article with details]

Audio: Nicole Porter of Grassroots Leadership on struggles against private prisons in Texas

The Mission of the Everett Women's Film Festival is to provide a venue for the presentation of Women's work in cinema.

Conservative Portland Catholic Archbishop John Vlazny recently attended the right-to-life protest at Pionner Square against women's rights with 7,000 other conservatives. Since then, he gave a series of talks at Beaverton's Lady of Peace retreat center on job openings in the Catholic Church and conservative Catholic values.

Hundreds of marchers took back the night in Uptown on Thursday January 29th, braving zero-degree temperatures to take a stand against homophobia and hate. Marchers packed the parking lot next to the Dunn Bros. in Uptown, listening to speakers condemn violence against queer women. The march looped around Uptown, dispersing around 10pm without interference from the police. read more

Bill Baird came and spoke at an event on the January 22, 2009 celebrating the anniversary of Roe v Wade. Roe v Wade was the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the first trimester of a pregnancy. Although I am a long time pro-choice activist, I am embarrassed to say I did not know much about Bill Baird. I would like to share with you what I learned.

On Jan 22, supporters or a woman's right to choose (abortion or otherwise) gathered at the Supreme Court to celebrate victory over those who wanted to pack the Supreme Court and threaten Roe vs Wade. With Barrack Obama's inauguration, right wing dreams of overturning Roe are now in ashes! Read More & Pics | WSQT Broadcast Audio

Ashland's Standing Stone Brewery was the place to be Sunday, January 18th when folks gathered to celebrate 36 years of reproductive freedom.

A good size crowd gathered for the occasion which was organized by Planned Parenthood of Southern Oregon. You can view some event photos below.

The featured keynote speaker was Oregon State Representative Peter Buckley who delivered a fiery speech telling the gathering to not stop pushing ahead. He quoted the late Senator Wellstone saying, "Organize, organize, organize." Leaders from Planned Parenthood also spoke and there was a musical performance by The No Where Men. Also heard was poet Liz Robinson. Artist Betty LaDuke honored "Women in Art" and had on display two of her wonderful paintings.

Rally at Olympia Capital Steps to celebrate the defense of abortion rights: Jan 22, 2009 at noon!