Obama Names Sotomayor to Supreme Court; Justice for Abeer; Apply Now for PWV, Join us at WMC Media A

May 26, 2009

Welcome back from the celebrations of Memorial Day -- the day we recognize the outstanding sacrifices of American women and men made in defending our country. WMC Campaign: Justice for Abeer My thoughts, sadly, were absorbed by the unfortunate timing of the sentencing on Friday of former US soldier Steven Green: life without the possibility of parole for killing and raping a 14 year old Iraqi girl named Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi in March of 2006. Green and his fellow soldiers murdered her sister and parents as well, to cover up the original crime. Those three other soldiers were sentenced to 90-100 years -- but with the possibility of parole in 10 years. Green, the alleged ringleader, and already out of service when tried, will not get a chance at reprieve in 10 years. Since 2006 the WMC has waged a campaign to not let this story vanish. In our series of reports, Justice for Abeer, we have addressed the issues of moral waivers (Green had one) and whether or not these crimes fit under the Geneva Conventions for dealing with war crimes. One of the reasons the WMC was created was to make sure the stories of women and girls are reported: we found great resistance in mainstream media to getting to the bottom of Abeer's story. We're making sure they still pay attention. In two compelling pieces written for the WMC by Pulitzer nominated reporter Gail McGowan Mellor, on the scene for us in Paducah, Kentucky for Green's trial, we explore how far up responsibility for the crimes should go. At the base of our campaign is, of course, the questioning of war itself. At the WMC we certainly do not consider this an instance of "case closed" but rather a dialogue opened.. As Mellor concludes:

"At the pinnacle of democracy's chain of command, however, are citizens largely unaware of their own clout. Power is only lent to presidents and the Congress, which in turn create, head, monitor and can restructure the military. If activated, the real power in the United States might have saved Steven Green from himself; could have saved Qassim, Fakhrira, Abeer and Hadeel from Steven Green; and may still save countless others."

Help us continue to tell the untold story! By sharing this story with the world, we harnessed media as our megaphone to enact justice with gender equality. With your contribution to The Women's Media Center, we can continue to tell the untold stories, through our commentaries and media advocacy. Please donate now:

Please note: The picture above right, the only known picture of Abeer, is her Iraqi ID card, which was taken when she was two years old. The card shows her date of birth as August 19, 1991. Progressive Women's Voices The deadline to apply for the last Progressive Women's Voices class of 2009 is fast approaching -- June 1 -- so apply now! Or, if you have recommendations for potential candidates, please either send a note to Media Manager Rebekah Spicuglia, or forward this email to your candidate and encourage her to apply in the next few days. Our Progressive Women's Voices participants are a truly stellar group, with experts in economics, foreign policy, reproductive rights, environmental issues, racial justice, immigrant communities, and many more areas of expertise. With our training and help, our PWV women have written op eds, features, been quoted, profiled, booked on local and national radio, TV and more. Full info is available on our program page. This is the last PWV opportunity for 2009 -- click here for more information. The WMC Media Awards We hope you're planning to attend our first annual WMC Media Awards! On June 17, WMC co-founder Gloria Steinem (far left) and I will host an evening to remember! The media world has been buzzing with coverage of the awards on CNN, Mediabistro, Broadcasting & Cable and elsewhere. The WMC will honor trailblazing women like Candy Crowley (immediate left), Abigail Disney, Bonnie Erbe, Helene Cooper, Lynn Nottage, Gini Reticker, Pam Spaulding, Rebecca Traister and many more. We will also point out some of this year's most sexist media moments, including the Presidential debate commission's decision not to have women as moderators of the recent Presidential debates; media executives' failure to create a diverse White House press corps, and the networks for the lack of diversity among the hosts of the Sunday morning pundit shows. For more information on the WMC Media Awards, click here. To buy tickets, click here. We hope to see you there! For the Supreme Court: A Latina, a Woman, a Brilliant Justice President Barack Obama this morning announced his selection of Sonia Sotomayor, the first woman of color nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It was historic-- an emotional gathering with both the President and Sotomayor paying tribute to her mother, a nurse who raised her and her brother (a doctor) after their father died when she was 9 years old. If confirmed, she will be the first Hispanic on the court and the third woman (107 of the country's 111 Justices have been white men). Since 1998 she has been on the US Court of Appeals in the Southern District of New York. Nominated to the bench by both President George H.W. Bush (1991) and Bill Clinton (1998), she graduated from Cardinal Spellman High School; Princeton University, summa cum laude and winner of the highest undergraduate prize, (1976) and then Yale Law School where she was editor of the Law Journal (1979). According to the President, Sonia Sotomayor has more trial experience that any other justice nominated in the last 70 years. In addition to her time on the bench, she served as an assistant DA in New York City under Robert Morgenthau, and in private practice working with international companies doing business in the United States. Named to replace retiring Justice David Souter, Judge Sotomayor, Puerto Rican, is 54 years old -- she grew up in public housing in the South Bronx near Yankee Stadium (and is a Yankee fan). She was diagnosed with diabetes as a child -- and knew from the age of ten that she wanted to be a judge. Confirmed twice by the Senate, she is expected to win confirmation. President Obama is said to want the new Justice in place by August, to assume her seat in the fall. To see the White House press briefing click here and for a more comprehensive bio see The Associated Press. Be sure to check in with us at www.womensmediacenter.com for the latest -- and help us make women visible and powerful by supporting our programs!

With Warm Wishes,