Action is needed immediately to halt a proposal by FCC Chair Tom Wheeler that would allow cable and phone companies to discriminate among websites, charging the current giants for “fast lanes” while all of us are in a “slow lane.” Exclusive deals with companies that can afford better service works against smaller companies. And it allows those large companies to charge customers more to use their sites.

Giving telecommunications companies control of the internet is not surprising from a former cable and wireless industry lobbyist but we can stand up to this proposal by the FCC Chair. Already the U.S. media is in the hands of six huge conglomerates that make billions in revenues and have powerful influence on the political, economic and social direction of the country. We cannot stand to lose the democratic communication that the Internet provides us.

Wednesday, May 15, the FCC will vote. Write and act today. Join actions in DC and in your city. Spread this critical information. Our media democracy depends on an open and free internet.

If you are in the Washington, DC area, email WIFP at ourmediademocracy@gmail.com and we’ll connect you with planned actions. Or connect up with other organizations that are mobilizing to stop corporate control of  our Internet.

A few excellent articles, videos and websites for action and information:

* If We Act Now, We Can Stop The FCC’s Horrific Proposal to End Net Neutrality http://www.alternet.org/activism/if-we-act-now-we-can-stop-fccs-horrific-proposal-end-net-neutrality

* Hank vs. Hank: The Net Neutrality Debate in 3 Minutes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc2aso6W7jQ

* http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-is-net-neutrality-dead/

* http://centerformediajustice.org

* http://www.huffingtonpost.com/malkia-a-cyril/fake-net-neutrality-the-f_b_5206464.html

* http://www.fightforthefuture.org

* http://www.freepress.net

* Rep. Alan Grayson: losing Net Neutrality “would be tragic, it represents the end of free speech”
http://act.tv/internet-freedom/#9730

* http://www.vice.com/read/former-comcast-and-verizon-attorneys-now-manage-the-fcc-and-are-about-to-kill-the-internet

On April 6, the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) hosted an event to raise awareness and encourage activism surrounding the issue of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Dr. Tobe Levin’s fascinating presentation covered historical efforts in diverse areas of the world to control women’s bodies, putting FGM in a global context.  Her forty-minute lecture, accompanied by her PowerPoint slides, kept her packed audience engaged. The issue of FGM is more known in other countries than in the U.S. and awareness has led to increased efforts to eradicate the harm inflicted on girls.

Levin discussed the forms of FGM, areas of the world where it is practiced and activists who are speaking out for its worldwide abolition. She highlighted the work of Khady, a Senegalese woman who was responsible for the passage of the UN Resolution against FGM. Levin translated Khady’s book into English and published her fascinating life story. (http://uncutvoices.com/blood-stains-a-child-of-africa-reclaims-her-human-rights.html)

Founder/CEO of UnCUT/VOICES Press, a press devoted to the publication of works on FGM, Levin is also an Associate at the W. E. B. DuBois Institute of the Hutchins Center at Harvard University, as well as a lecturer at the University of Frankfurt. She will soon be visiting professor at Oxford University.

Nora Bertognotti, visual artist, journalist and Workshop Art Educator, presented Tobe Levin with one hundred beautifully designed note cards (and matching envelopes). The cards feature a watercolor piece with a slogan on the front that reads, “125 million girls and women mutilated, 125 million spirits annihilated” and a poem on the back ~ designed and written specifically for the cause of FGM. We share the poem “Yet She is Still Wounded…”

She moves her lips
and only a painful
silence emanates.
Her young girl eyes weep.

She takes a glance
at her scars…
her heart hurts, her soul has gone.
Her silence is now a mournful sound.

She tries to soothe the wound
She strives to reclaim herself
She attempts to hold the power to heal.
Yet she is still wounded…

The artist, Bertognotti, who makes generous artistic donations to causes, was honored by CURE Magazine in 2008 as the recipient of the Extraordinary Healer Award. She is the originator of Soul and Heart Cards (soulandheartcards.com). Those of us gathered found the talent, generosity, and humility of Nora Bertognotti most inspiring. The cards were donated to raise awareness and generate funding for advocacy.

The event culminated in the presentation to her of the WIFP “Women and Media Award” in recognition her outstanding work in media. Levin has been working for decades on getting information out about FGM and encouraging activism.

Dr. Elana Anderson, WIFP Associate Director, presented Dr. Tobe Levin WIFP’s Award

We are proud that Tobe Levin is an Associate of WIFP and has provided us a way to take more steps toward the eradication of FGM.  The future possibilities of work on this topic, generated at the event, include performance, poetry and increased dialogue.

WIFP Directors Elana Anderson and Martha Allen

Photos by Alethea Russell and Delma Webb