1) The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed . They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.
2) The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women who’s clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing.
3) They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their purse or doing other activities while walking because they are off guard and can be easily overpowered.
4) Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning, between 5:00a.m. and 8:30a.m.
5) The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots . Number two is office parking lots/garages. Number three is public restrooms.
6) The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don’t have to worry about getting caught.
7) Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years
8.) If you put up any kind of a fight at all, they get discouraged because it only takes a minute or two for them to realize that going after you isn’t worth it because it will be time-consuming .
9) These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas , or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.
Keys are not a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you’re not worth it.
10) Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it, or make general small talk: “I can’t believe it is so cold out here”, “we’re in for a bad winter.” Now you’ve seen their face and could identify them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target.
11) If someone is coming toward you , hold out your hands in front of you and yell STOP or STAY BACK ! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they’d leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back . Again, they are looking for an EASY target.
12) If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes,) yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.
13) If someone grabs you, you can’t beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands – the guy needed stitches.
Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it; it hurts.
14) After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy’s parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you’ll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble, and he’s out of there.
15) When the guy puts his hands up to you , grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.
16) Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don’t dismiss it, go with your instincts!!!
You may feel a little silly at the time, but you’d feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.

Second, so much for not talking to strangers…10 says to make small talk with your potential attacker. This sounds like a good idea but I find it hard to execute. What if your fear comes through the small talk? Won’t that just give you away and  make you an easy target?

What do you guys think…good rules?

We had to pick a “beat” and of course I picked women’s issues. So stay tuned for some new posts now that my skills are being improved :]]

The newscast was about Las Damas de Blanco (The Ladies In White). For those of you who do not know who these women are, they are a group of Cuban women who take part in non-violent protests against the Cuban government by attending mass each Sunday wearing white and walking silently through the streets.

A couple of days ago, around the time of my last post, the women were participating in a march against the imprisonment of dissidents(some who are there husbands and sons).

The images on the screen are horrifying and awful: women are being pulled and dragged into busses, people are  yelling insults at them…

But these women are strong.

Their resistance and how they continue to push through really makes me want to be a better woman.

Truly Inspiring!

What do you think?

Merrie Harris, global business director at JWT, said that after being informed that it could not use the word vagina in advertising by three broadcast networks, it shot the ad cited above with the actress instead saying “down there,” which was rejected by two of the three networks.

Really? VAGINA.VAGINA.VAGINA.VAGINA.VAGINA.

So apparently when you advertise tampons/pads television viewers cannot handle the word VAGINA or even the phrase “down there” because menstruation is such an anomaly in a women’s body.

I think the real problem here is men(not to sound like I hate men–because I don’t) but these big networks like other big corporations are 90% run by men.

How can they choose what words are going to make the public uncomfortable when this ad targets half the population (WOMEN)?

It is talking about something that we’ve all heard before, Islāmic radicals who are trying to keep their strict moral beliefs intact through violence.

Women like always are the first target.

Majabeen Subhanzada, a middle-aged woman, who runs her own construction company and charity to help women become economically sufficient speaks about her experiences being threatened by Taliban and the death threats she’s received.

The article makes a stark comparison between the young and old.

Sunila Arzu, 16 , working in a radio station says,

I have never come across it myself and find it hard to believe it is anything more than media reports

This attitude is something other teens her age share. These young women are already starting to take for granted the freedoms that the older generation has fought for.

Her friend Lina Raheemi, 17, was quoted as saying,

The biggest difference between my mother and me is that right now, she is at home doing nothing and I am here working as a journalist

I really had a problem when I read this quote. Her mother may look like she’s doing nothing but she is doing  everything. The simple act of letting Lina go to the radio station everyday and not forcing her to stay home says something.

What I believe is scary in this situation is the fact that if these girls start taking for granted the freedoms that they are now receiving, who will continue the fight for justice and equality if they are blinded by their own selfishness?

From the DailyShite.com

C

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that it is a matter of safety especially when it is someone who comes from outside. But what if it’s a student taking another student of the same-sex?

Well according to a Mississippi district

due to the distractions to the educational process caused by recent events.

they feel that

… it is in the best interest of the Itawamba County School District,[and] after taking into consideration the education, safety and well-being of our students.

they decided to cancel the dance.

Do you think this was a big enough reason for the district to cancel the dance. Were her rights violated?

So there is a rumor going around twitterland  and the rest of the interwebs that

French First Lady Reportedly Seeing Singer; President Taking Comfort With Minister

My response is: So What?!

If both the President and the First Lady are each having an affair, and  are OK with that than why should we care? It is their life and no one else business. And from what I read it the French agree with me

a long-standing journalistic consensus that what goes on in the private lives of public figures remains private.

but I guess it’s no surprise that I read this on ABC news an American publication where if you’re a public figure we feel entitled to know every single detail about your life.

What do you think? Does it really matter if either one of them is having an affair? or do you think the French are being to lax about this?

I think he’s being a complete douche. Who is he to say that she won’t get another job. Queen Latifah, Monique, Kirstie Alley are all big women. Maybe it’s time to suggest we change the entertainment industry instead of making these mean comments.

Wow!! Do you think he’s just saying what everyone else is thinking? Or is he being just a complete asshole?!