LongReads Round-Up Volume Nine

#Environment

Calling President Obama to end the magical denial of climate change on Capitol Hill http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2012/11/19/121119taco_talk_remnick

#Essay

This article ended a year-long column chronicling life after the author’s young son died of cancer. http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/epilogue-deadkidistan

#Fashion

Zara and fast fashion, the ultimate unsustainable economic model http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/magazine/how-zara-grew-into-the-worlds-largest-fashion-retailer.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Ex-Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka are now employed in the garment factory industry http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/3173c7e8-21be-11e2-b5d2-00144feabdc0.html

#Female Genital Mutilation

A recent article in The Guardian discussed the oft-secret practices of FGM in Indonesia. As a Peace Corps volunteer in the country, I've been shocked at the revelation. Female circumcision has never been mentioned to me, and was not mentioned in our volunteer training. These are a few articles and studies on FGM in Indonesia:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/nov/18/female-genital-mutilation-circumcision-indonesia

2011 article by activist Julia Lalla-Marharajh in HuffPo http://www.huffingtonpost.com/julia-lallamaharajh/indonesias-new-guidelines_b_1030330.html 

Historical survey and modern study of FGM, connecting it to practicioners of Islam (instead of cultural practice pre-conversion) http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/arch_0044-8613_1998_num_56_1_3495 

2003 study completed by Population Council Jakarta in partnership with USAID: http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACU138.pdf 

#Feminism

The push and pull of women’s economic progress: improvement does not mean the battle is finished http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/why-do-some-feminists-get-uneasy-when-women-make-progress/265171/ #feminismaintdeadyet

How “girl” centric TV is giving more complex representations of women http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/the-upside-to-girly-tv-shows-they-understand-that-women-struggle/265151/

#Film

“Pulp Fiction” seems to mark a change in film culture… for an older generation, the end of great film and for the younger, just the beginning http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/10/film-culture-isnt-dead-its-just-more-fun/263264/

Comparison of the original “Prometheus” script and the final product, a few plot holes tied up http://io9.com/5960275/what-did-damon-lindelof-add-to-prometheus-the-biggest-differences-with-the-original-draft

#Food

Essay on food as the gateway to acculturating in the American South http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2012/11/08/smoke-lingers/

#Health

Children who feel no pain. Waiting for this to be adapted into a gritty graphic novel and then subsequently a slightly less gritty film http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/magazine/ashlyn-blocker-feels-no-pain.html?pagewanted=all

Sexual health practices in the porn industry, and the law that wants to make all actos wear condoms: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/health/unlikely-model-for-hiv-prevention-porn-industry.html?pagewanted=all

Adult actress Stoya makes the case for refuting the condom law:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/16/stoya-measureb-porn-condoms-la

#International

On the new presidency in China: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/11/07/xi_jinpings_challenge?page=full

#Literature

A few articles on experimental literature:

http://htmlgiant.com/random/what-is-experimental-literature-five-questions-bhanu-kapil/

 http://htmlgiant.com/author-spotlight/unfold-is-the-wrong-word-an-interview-with-bhanu-kapil/

http://www.bostonreview.net/BR31.4/welish.php

A prose poem by experimental writer Bhanu Kapil http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/239154

His Dark Materials author Phillip Pullman has a new retelling of the Grimm Fairytales http://www.npr.org/2012/11/11/164432853/philip-pullman-rewriting-the-brothers-grimm

Mapping European crime novels across the continent: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/oct/26/crimes-grand-tour-european-detective-fiction

#Political

Appreciating this flowchart of the David Petraeus scandal by Gawker http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/18571gytxfkj7jpg/original.jpg

What the generation that is coming of age in America will expect from their government: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/11/the-malia-generation.html

Election season can tear apart friendships over party loyalties: http://www.salon.com/2012/11/17/game_over_conservative_friend/ #essay

#Photography

Beautiful collection of celebrations and preparations for Diwali http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2012/11/diwali-the-festival-of-lights/100404/

#Poverty

Using direct deposits for poverty level families, India sees a marked upswing in improved nutrition and quality of living, and a downturn in corruption http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21565966-debate-growing-about-how-get-welfare-needy-money-where-your-mouth

Fifteen percent of Americans live below the poverty line, and even more live in a daily struggle to meet monthly needs. http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21565956-americas-poor-were-little-mentioned-barack-obamas-re-election-campaign-they-deserve

#Workforce

Walmart workers are gearing up for Black Friday strikes http://www.thenation.com/blog/171299/walmart-strike-spreads-texas-organizers-promise-massive-black-friday-protest