This is a weblog by and for women and our allies from a feminist perspective: we are folks working to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression. I don’t expect participants to be a scholar in feminism, but I do expect a familiarity with what feminisms are and can be. This post is a fine starting point–feminists defining feminism–or you can read the Wikipedia article. You don’t have to be a feminist to participate in discussions, but this is a safe space for women and other marginalized folks, and we will be respected.

If you comment here, DO:

• Read the post and discussion before commenting. If another blog or website is referenced, read the relevant material as well.
• Be respectful. Be polite.
• Come with the intention of learning, sharing, growth, and building solidarity.

  If you comment here:

• Do not flame or troll.
• Do not invalidate others or attempt to silence others. This includes telling others that their interests aren’t worthwhile, telling others what they were “really” trying to say, or suggesting that they should be focusing on issue x instead of y, and dictating what is worthy of discussion. I’ll delete your post if you call something “retarded” or say someone is “bitching.”
• Do not bring in unrelated issues that are off topic.
• If you’re part of the majority, do not hijack the discussion discussion to turn it around to be about you. This is a specialty site for a specific group of people who don’t feel represented by mainstream. Discussing the portrayal of masculinities in video games is a very valid point of discussion, but it will not be used as a tool to negate the concerns of me or my readers.

  This is my blog and I ultimately will decide what I will allow in this safe space. If you’re unwilling to abide by these guidelines, I suggest you start your own blog.

• Further reading at 12 Helpful Suggestions for Men Regarding Conduct in Feminist Spaces.

Click here for an updated AP story on Tim’s reinstatement on msnbc.com.

Also, two athletes spoke out about the allegations before Tim was reinstated in the Times-Herald Record, which serves New York’s Hudson Valley and Catskill region:

Accusing coach seen as ‘vindictive’

By Kevin Gleason
Times Herald-Record
kgleason@th-record.com

Vindictive and bitter. Those are the words Washingtonville native Jody Barton uses to describe fellow female skeleton athletes accusing U.S. coach Tim Nardiello of sexual harassment.

“All they did was succeed in destroying the dreams and hopes of the four athletes going to the (Olympic) Games,’’ Barton said. “I think they were vindictive and bitter because they were not going to the Games.’’

The U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation suspended Nardiello on Dec. 31 after complaints from Felicia Canfield and Tristan Gale. Then an unidentified female slider reportedly filed a complaint against Nardiello as well.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence on the timing,’’ Barton said. “These aren’t girls - they are women. They are in their 30s and 40s. They know what they are doing. Those three women who brought this situation on, if they had issues with him, they should have said something to him. I don’t really think he did anything wrong to them.’’

Both Barton and slider Marci Short, who grew up in Highland Mills, say they were shocked by the news. Barton met Nardiello in summer 2002 after he started working for the skeleton Federation. “He spent a lot of time helping me,’’ she said. “He welded a lot of parts on my sled this (past) summer.’’

Nardiello was Short’s luge coach in the early 1990s. He would drive her to practice and she considered him a “father figure’’ back then. They have known each other for 17 years. She calls him a good friend.

“It came out of nowhere,’’ Short said. “He was not always a perfect gentleman, but me personally, I never felt harassed or threatened by him.”

Asked if she ever felt uncomfortable around Nardiello, Short said, “No. I never felt threatened. He was like any other friend. Probably both of us said things to each other that were inappropriate.’’

Short was among 12 female sliders interviewed by a U.S. Olympic Committee attorney investigating the case. The lawyer asked if Short had been the victim of sexually inappropriate comments, or witnessed or heard about such comments. She told the attorney she hadn’t received, seen or heard of any such comments.

Short and Nardiello keep in contact through e-mails.

“He’s hanging in there,’’ Short said. “He says he can’t even leave his house because the media’s camped out.’’

According to VisorDown, a biker in England is now obsessed with video games and sex after being in an accident.

I am one of the biggest proponents of victims rights when it comes to people who take their driving privileges for granted and put their convenience before the safety of others on the road. But I have a hard time believing the severity of this man’s claim.

A BIKER who was involved in a motorcycle crash that left him with side effects causing him to be obsessed with mobile phone games and daily sex has been awarded £1.2 million damages.

Along with motorcycles, sex and video games are my three favorite things. I can be quite obsessive about all three and at one point in my life, done each of them from dusk till dawn. I prefer to do all three over work anyday, but I still go. I understand that if I don’t go to work, I will not get any more sex, I will not be able to ride, and video games require that you pay the electricity bill. I say make this guy “right”. Pay for his bike, gear, and medical bills, and put the automobile driver away, but this man has to battle his own demons. There are support groups for compulsion and I suggest this man make use of them. But lets not get ridiculous over impulses we all have learned to control.

Permalink

Studio in the bedroom to the TOP of I Tunes
Acoustic guitarist Kate Walsh has knocked Take That off the top of the iTunes download album chart - but does not even own an iPod. The 23-year-old guitarist recorded her album in a friend’s bedroom . The homemade album is an unexpected hit with iPod fans who had downloaded it from iTunes in the thousands - knocking Take That and Kaiser Chiefs from the top spots.
Kate Walsh said: “You end up looking at it every day to see if you’re still number one. I think I’m ahead of Elton.

Regardless, these tracks are really tame. Makes KOAR wonder……

Warner and EMI in the news again…
Warner Music is considering pursuing a merger with EMI by making a direct appeal to its rival’s shareholders in an attempt to undermine the opposition of EMI’s management, The Sunday Times reported

The Foo Fighters have resigned with RCA Records.

KOAR predicts Daughtry could do Nickelback numbers (3 to 5 million range)

NE-YO branded Whitney Houston’s new album boring when he was was invited by pop guru Clive Davis to give his verdict on eight new Whitney tracks. NE-YO has now been called in to relaunch Whitney’s career.

MTV’s Vice President, Jeff Yapp, explains why the television network believes games are the next step in music entertainment.

Music business grads far outnumber Music Row jobs….
Approx. 500 music business grads from Belmont and Middle Tennessee State University soon will be competing for jobs and internships, but the entry-level music industry jobs are few each year.
Universal Music Group Nashville, which takes on about 12 interns each semester, has only two or three entry-level positions open each year — usually for jobs as receptionists or in the mailroom.

Check out a new track They Tried to Kill Chivalry… from My Favorite Highway. For more information contact Dan Friedman. MFH are scheduled to perform a private showcase for Virgin tomorrow.