A(wo)men!

Check out this clip of Rachel Maddow from The Rachel Maddow Show.  I wish we had more mainstream television programming that featured fearless, intelligent and authentic women who are not afraid to speak their minds and make their (and advocate for other people's) voices heard! Thank you, Rachel!



From rachelmaddow.com - Rachel Maddow is the host of “The Rachel Maddow Show,” which airs Monday-Friday at 9 p.m. Eastern on MSNBC-TV, and is re-broadcast on MSNBC at 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.
TRMS is a funny, fast-paced, news-based show. Often described as “the headlines, and the politics behind the headlines,” Maddow and guests take a smart look at politics, pop culture and the top stories of the day.

TRMS features top headlines from the worlds of politics, current events, sports, science, health, crime, and the absurd - and interviews with newsmakers like Al Gore, Robert Redford, Edie Falco, John Kerry, Pat Buchanan, Jane Fonda, Seymour Hersh, Tucker Carlson, Roseanne Cash, Lili Taylor, Ben Harper, and Michael Isikoff.

Tune in every evening for interviews with journalists, analysts, politicians and newsmakers, with regular segments such as “The Interview” on the day’s hottest topics, “Ms. Information” with intriguing stories that don't make the front page, and “Just Enough” with the ever popular pop-culturist Kent Jones. And of course you just never know when Rachel will mix in a Cocktail Moment (ping!) or a Moment of Geek (ahhhh…).

Rachel has a doctorate in political science (she was a Rhodes Scholar) and a background in HIV/AIDS activism and prison reform. She shakes a mean cocktail, drives a bright red pickup, hates Coldplay, loves arguing with conservatives, spends a lot of money on AMTRAK tickets, and dresses like a first-grader.

Rachel’s work with MSNBC began in 2005 when she was a regular contributor to “The Situation with Tucker Carlson.” She was also a regular commentator and occasional guest host on “Race for the White House with David Gregory,” and a frequent guest and sometime guest host on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” before taking the helm of her own MSNBC TV show in September of 2008. She was on the air with Air America Radio since its inception in Spring 2004 through 2010, first on “Unfiltered” with Lizz Winstead and Chuck D, and then with her own eponymous show. Before AAR she worked for WRNX in Holyoke, Massachusetts, and WRSI in Northampton, Massachusetts. There was also an early stint with a jungle-themed company called Expresso Bongo, but she doesn't want to talk about it.

Rachel is 36 years old and lives in New York City and rural Western Massachusetts with her partner, artist Susan Mikula.

Exciting News - The WCC Is Growing!

I am very excited to share with all of you that the Women's Collaborative Circle is growing.  We are in the process of developing a new website and blog that will allow for further growth of the organization and ourselves.  

The new website will feature more reasources, information about services, opportunities for community organizing, volunteering, a new and improved blog, and much more!

Stay tuned for updates and more information! If there is something you would like to see on our new site, let us know.  Email us at info@womenscollaborativecircle.org. 

Don't forget to wear your support of the WCC. Order your WCC bracelets today! You contribution helps the WCC to grow!  Thank you!

The WCC Wristbands Are Here!

Support the WCC with your purchase of our new WCC wristbands!  The WCC wristbands remind you and those around you to "speak your mind and make your voice heard." 

Each wristband is $3.00 (or feel free to make a contribution of another amount).  Your contribution helps fund initial start-up costs that will enable the organization to grow.

To Purchase a Wristband:
Email us with the number of bracelets that you would like to purchase and your mailing address.  To make a donation you can either mail a check or pay via pay pal (the donation button) directly on our site.

We look forward to your continued involvement and participation with the WCC and thank you for your support. For more information or questions about placing an order please contact us at info@womenscollaborativecircle.org.

Making Their Voices Heard - Femicide in Juarez

National Organization for Women defines Femicide as the mass murder of women simply because they are women. It is the term that has been coined in response to the murders of nearly 400 young women on the U.S.-Mexico border in the city of Juarez, just across the border from El Paso, Texas.

For more than a decade, the city of Juarez, near the US-Mexico border, has been a killing field for young women, the site of nearly 400 unsolved murders and many more abductions. Despite the horrific nature of these crimes, authorities at all levels exhibit indifference, and there is strong evidence that some officials may be involved in the crimes. Impunity and corruption has permitted the criminals, whoever they are, to continue committing these acts, knowing there will be no consequences.

A significant number of victims work in maquiladoras — sweatshops that produce items for export, with 90 percent of the products destined for the United States. The maquiladoras employ mainly young women at poverty-level wages. In combination with lax environmental regulations and low tariffs under the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the maquiladoras are amassing tremendous wealth. Yet despite the crime wave, they offer almost no protection for their workers. High profile government campaigns such as Ponte Vista (Be Aware), a self defense program, and supplying women with whistles have proven to be ineffective and are carried out mainly for public relations purposes.

Small advances in the struggle for justice are due to the perseverance of victims' families who cannot be silenced despite the efforts of state and federal authorities to keep them quiet. Campaigns by local, national and international non-governmental organizations have been very important in the efforts for justice. Often grassroots groups in Juarez work in a climate of threats and defamation by government officials for making one simple demand — STOP THE FEMICIDE!

Currently in Philadelphia there is an art exhibit Ni Una Mas - Not One More: The Juarez Murders at Drexel University's Leonard Pearlstein Gallery now through July 16th.  For more information check out this May 27, 2010 Philadelphia Inquierer article, "The Border's Other Murders" by Eric Zilmer. 

Got AIDS?

How do you know? 

The only way to know if you are HIV positive is to get tested! Today, June 27th is national HIV testing day. 

Think you are immune, you are not.  Anyone and everyone is susceptible to contracting HIV. 

For more information on where to get tested check out hivtest.org.