Monday Briefing | October 10
Polish women protest in Warsaw against government plans for a complete ban of abortion. (Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images)
Stories to Follow:
Humanitarian crisis in Yemen: The civil war in Yemen, sometimes called the forgotten war, has left 80 percent of the population in need of humanitarian assistance since Saudi Arabia intervened in March 2015. Airstrikes conducted by Saudi Arabia against the Houthi militias have led to more than 6,000 deaths. The international community has questioned the legality of its areal strikes, which have disproportionately affected civilians. On October 8, a Saudi airstrike killed more than 140 people and wounded about 525 at a funeral gathering in Sana’a, Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the United States reported that the case would be investigated immediately. In the meantime, Yemenis are protesting the air strike outside the UN building.
Polish women go on strike for abortion rights: On Monday, October 3, women in Poland took to the streets in Warsaw and Gdansk to protest the looming abortion ban. The Washington Post reports that Poland’s laws against abortion are already some of the strictest in Europe. The new law would make all terminations illegal and punish women for up to five years in prison. The protestors wore black clothes, waved black flags and boycotted jobs to show their disapproval of the proposed law. One protestor, Elzbieta Turczynska, said, “I am very happy. This is the beginning of something.”
In case you missed it, Mr. Trump is still a misogynist and the GOP is imploding: After tapes surfaced Friday night between Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush and Mr. Trump, wherein Mr. Trump brags about sexual assault, the Republican nominee probably thought it couldn’t get much worse.
But one day later, lewd conversations between Howard Stern and Donald Trump surfaced, where again Mr. Trump demeans women, including his own daughter. Prominent Republicans are now withdrawing support, including Senator John McCain, Carly Fiorina, Condoleezza Rice and John Kasich. On Sunday morning, Mr. Trump took to Twitter to call his new dissenters “self-righteous hypocrites.”
This Week in JPI:
After a week polishing off our editing skills at JPI’s workshops, we are pleased to welcome our new editorial board. We have several new staff members joining the team, along with our more seasoned JPI members. This is the first time in JPI history that we have had such a large editorial board, so this means we can deliver even more articles on a more diverse range of issues. Stay tuned!
Happening this week:
Columbus Day Parade
From 11:30AM | Fifth Avenue from 44th to 72nd Street in Manhattan
Starting at 11:30 AM today, check out the Columbus Day Parade on Fifth Avenue from 44th to 72nd Street in Manhattan. Special performances are set to take place between 67th and 69th Streets. Check out more here.
Agnes Martin Exhibit at the Guggenheim Museum
October 7 – January 11 | Guggenheim Museum, 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128
If you like Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork, Time Out New York suggests a visit to the Agnes Martin exhibit at the Guggenheim, which opened on October 7. It’s located at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side, and is open everyday except Thursday starting at 10:00 AM until January 11, 2017. Learn more about Martin’s intriguing style and what she called “abstract emotions” here.
Women Leaders in Cybersecurity: Closing the Gender Gap
Friday, October 14, 9:00AM to 4:00PM | Greenberg Lounge, 40 Washington Square South
NYU’s Center for Cybersecurity presents a panel on career opportunities in the cybersecurity field. One of the goals is to aspire women and discuss ways to close the gender gap in an emerging and critical field. Panelists include Brigadier General Jen Buckner of the US Army, Merritt Baer of the US Department of Homeland Security and Melody Hildebrandt of Palantir Technologies. RSVP here.
In your free time:
Saturday Night Live took on Donald Trump (and his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway) in a big way this week. Check out the best clips from Saturday’s show, hosted by Lin-Manuel Miranda, here.
If you haven’t yet, check out “A Seat at the Table,” a new album released last week by Solange Knowles (yes, that Knowles). It’s free on Spotify.
This Monday Briefing is brought to you by Danielle Warren.
