Women of Note
Legislative Update: Bills, Resolutions, Introduced: March 18-22, 2024; Hirono, Gillibrand, Tillis, Graham, Duckworth, Murkowski, Granger, Ernst and More
"Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) –– A bill to authorize a grant program to increase capacity for providing abortion services and other sexual and reproductive health care. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) –– A bill to direct the Attorney General to study issues relating to human trafficking. Sen. Thomas Tillis -- A resolution to protect the Iranian political refugees, including female foreign political prisoners, in Ashraf-3 in Albania. Sen. Lindsey Graham –– A resolution to demand that the international community hold accountable those who perpetrated acts of sexual violence and sexual torture during and after the attack on the state of Israel on October 7, 2023. S. 3983––Sen. Mazie Hirono –– A bill to authorize a grant program to increase capacity for providing abortion services and other sexual and reproductive health care."
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Stanford News Service: A New, Portable Antenna Could Help Restore Communication After Disasters
Researchers at Stanford University and the American University of Beirut (AUB) have developed a portable antenna that could be quickly deployed in disaster-prone areas or used to set up communications in underdeveloped regions. The antenna packs down to a small size and can easily shift between two configurations to communicate either with satellites or devices on the ground without using additional power. At its most compact, the antenna is a hollow ring that stands just over 1 inch tall and about 5 inches across – not much larger than a bracelet – and weighs 1.4 ounces. In this shape, it’s able to reach satellites with a high-power signal sent in a particular direction. When stretched out to about a foot tall, the antenna sends a lower power signal in all directions, more like a Wi-Fi router. more »
New York City's Cooper Hewitt's Retrospective of British Artist's Es Devlin
"An Atlas of Es Devlin is the first monographic museum exhibition dedicated to British artist and stage designer Es Devlin (born 1971), who is renowned for work that transforms audiences. Since beginning in small theaters in 1995, she has charted a course from kinetic stage designs at the National Theatre and the Metropolitan Opera to installations at major institutions, including the World Expo, Lincoln Center, and the United Nations headquarters. Her sculptures for Olympic Ceremonies, NFL Super Bowl halftime shows, and stadium tours for Beyoncé, The Weeknd, and U2 frame narratives that feel personal at a monumental scale." more »
Jo Freeman Reviews The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy
Jo Freeman Reviews: "As history, the book documents the CIA’s shift from pursuing Communists during the Cold War, who sold secrets to the Russians, to jihadists who wanted to destroy America. It wasn’t a quick shift, which is one reason CIA leaders didn’t see 9/11 coming. As early as 1993, signs said al-Qaeda was planning to fly planes into strategic buildings in the US – even the CIA itself. The men didn’t take seriously a prediction proposed by women. Over time, that changed. Indeed it was women who confirmed that Osama bin Ladin was holed up in a compound in Pakistan – by reading the laundry hanging outside to dry... The Sisterhood is a fascinating book, especially to those of us who started it knowing little about the CIA." more »