What I loved most about Errol Morris’ Standard Operating Procedure was that it was in many ways a “woman’s picture.” That is, the women, and their experience in the military, albeit in some very specific circumstances, was at the heart of the film. Their villianization, from Janis Karpinski to Lynndie England, from high rank to low, was one of the major crimes of Abu Ghraib and of course almost no one reported on it.

It was with little surprise then that I sat down to read Paul Rieckhoff’s piece in the Huffington Post entitled Sexual Assault and the Military: When Will the Pentagon Take Action?.

Rieckhoff, founder of IAVA (Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America), writes:

Almost one-third of women veterans say they were sexually assaulted while in the military. (In the general population, one out of every six American women has been a victim of a sexual assault.) Already, 15 percent of female Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who have gone to the VA for care have screened positive for Military Sexual Trauma. But even these troubling figures may not be telling the whole story; experts estimate that half of all sexual assaults go unreported. [HuffingtonPost]

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Arianna’s post this weekend is all about online giving: how it’s becoming more popular, young people are spearheading a lot of online efforts and essentially, the internet is changing the face of charity.

Donations overall increased in 2007 and it was the first time in U.S. history that charitable giving surpassed $300 billion. (online donations accounted for close to $7 billion in 2006.)

Arianna suggests that “A key element of many of these new nonprofits is that they allow donors to connect directly to those they are helping” like Kiva.org and DonorsChoose.org.

For me, donating online is about expediency and discovery.

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As Wendy mentioned, last weekend was Netroots Nation, where lots of awesome bloggers and folks got together to talk about exciting things in the realm of making the world better. Not only was Al Gore there, but my fellow TakePart blogger Katie Halper (she’s on a break this summer) was there too!

And in case you miss your daily TakePart dose of Katie, check out the video below, it’s sure to make you smile!

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Nicole Hughes:

U.S. Media Ignores Link Between Midwest Floods and Global Warming

Top 10 Houseplants for Removing Indoor Air Pollution

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Andy Kondrat:

Dubai to Build Rotating Positive Energy Tower

Bioethicist Peter Singer Tackles World Food Shortage

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Jon Popham:

Americacorps Workers Assist Flood Ravaged Town

Australians “Out-Fat” Americans

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Giulia Rozzi:

Progressive Book Club

Oprah Recommends “A New Earth”

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Gina Telaroli:

Human Rights Watch 2008 Film Festival Update

SilverDocs 2008 Update

Are you a progressive person looking for progressive reading material? Then look no further, the Progressive Book Club is here! 

The progressive movement has prided itself on its ability to get its messages out by harnessing the Internet, through organizations like MoveOn.org and blogs like Daily Kos or The Huffington Post. But now a liberal-minded group is returning to an old-fashioned model: a book club. Starting on Monday, the new Progressive Book Club is inviting readers to join and buy three books at $1 apiece in exchange for the obligation to buy four books over the next two years.

The brainchild of Elizabeth Wagley, a former fund-raiser and communications adviser for nonprofit

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Social Action + Cinema Videos of the Day:

1) Arianna Huffington breaks down the media

For the Cinema YouTube Video of the Day, Click here >>>

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Here is some good news from capitol hill! After last week’s remarkable victory in the House of Representatives, today the bill passed the Senate by an overwhelming vote of 75-22. (You can see who voted for it and who didn’t here)

This bipartisan legislation, originally introduced by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA), Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), and John Warner (R-VA), is whole-heartedly endorsed by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation’s first and largest nonpartisan Iraq veterans organization, and all the leading Veterans Service Organizations.

As Craig Newmark points out on Huffington Post today, Bush and McCain claim that the Bill would hurt enlistment, but this has been exposed as a scam by the (non partisan) Congressional Budget Office here.

with the IAVA and urge the President Bush to sign the bill.

Related:

• Huffington Post: Gi Bill Passes in Senate!
  
• Overwhelming GI Bill Victory in the Senate

In Houston, Texas a Madison High student named Marche Taylor was not let into her prom because her revealing, skimpy dress violated a school dress code. When she asked for her ticket money back, school officials called the cops who then placed her in handcuffs and escorted out of the prom venue! (Check out the news video footage at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/)

“She shook her head, she was like you are not getting into this prom,” said Taylor. “We were arguing back and forth because I wanted to know why I can’t get into my prom.”

Even after offering to provide more cover, Taylor was still denied access to the final soiree of the school year.At that point, Taylor said she was furious. After all this was her senior prom. She argued if she couldn’t get in, she wanted her money back.Things got so bad, the next thing she knew, someone had called the police. Officers showed up, handcuffed her and escorted her out. [Dallas Morning News]

Okay fine, the school has dress codes. However arresting a girl at her prom? That’s way tackier than this showgirl style frock (yeah, I’m not so into the dress). Is a bare belly really so offensive to a bunch of high schoolers who probably see much more skin on TRL? What do you think?

Wish you could ask Laurie David, producer of Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” your questions about the environment? How about chatting with Newt Gingrich about bipartisan environmentalism? For those unacquainted with Slate.com’s Earth Chats, it’s a great online discussion series featuring leading environmental thinkers, leaders and advocates who answer readers’ questions about environmental issues, and what we can do to improve our earthly habitat. This week being Earth Week, Slate chatted with a slew of heavy-hitting advocates. We’ve provided this week’s schedule below, with accompanying links to chat transcripts:

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Idol Gives Back is on tomorrow night and celebs coming our more than ever. this annual event is causing an online stir, here are just some of the many mentions of Idols efforts:

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