1. TAKE SPECIAL PRIDE IN YOUR/YOUR NEIGHBOR'S Peugot, Volvo and VW:
USE CAR BRAND CHOICE, CARPOOLING AND PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION MORE TO PROTECT AND EMPOWER WOMEN THROUGHOUT MIDDLE EAST AND WORLD

Put national gender-fairness considerations in your car purchases. Defer buying a new car until your nation has achieved gender fairness in government, or buy (also usually energy efficient) cars like Peugot, Saab, Volvo, Volkswagen made in Scandinavia (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden. all 36-50% women in government), France (new 50-50 gender parity law), Germany (above 30%) and Spain (nearly 30%) instead of cars like GM, Ford, and Toyota, made in countries with low presence of women in government such as US (13%), United Kingdom (17%), Japan (7%), etc. (See links below for rankings). Do so until these brands unbalanced nations' catch up to the aforementioned nations in the levels of BOTH genders, in more gender-representative governments (also usually more equitable to racial and ethnic minorities as well).

Help women and non-sexist men employed in the US, Japanese, Korean etc. car and gas industries to work on this together if they want to keep your business, and remind US car and gas industries (GM, Ford, Chrysler, Exxon, Texaco, etc.) that they have made gargantuan campaign contributions to political parties that have for too long not met the gender equity standards of most European and many other nations in elections. Buy neither Daimler (Mercedes) nor Chrysler until both sides of their merger produces cars and parts in nations where women are at least 30-40% of the legislature, cabinet members, and judges. Let Peugot, Volvo, Saab, Audi and Volkswagen know of your actions, and enlist them to specifically advertise to women and non-sexist men by including their nation's leadership and progress in their ads, with taglines that say "Made in a country where both men and women have a good government ride (or road) together". All these companies have web pages with email for consumer input and usually have 1-800 numbers you can call.

Wherever possible, decrease and defer your oil and gasoline purchases, and any Middle East foodstuff purchases, until YOUR NATION'S state department, including all UN ambassadors, instructed all nations, including oil-producing African, Middle Eastern nations, all Arab and Islamic, as well Israel, to join YOUR NATION in signing CEDAW (the UN Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against Women). Most European nations and many other nations have already signed CEDAW; the US has not. CEDAW officially prohibits legalized prejudice and violence against women such as honor killings, stoning for praying in holy places in public and other religious and educational prohibitions exerted by law or force on females (and the decent men who support females in these activities), domestic violence, harems in which women are hidden by force, genital mutilations, as well as political party discriminations against women. Regressed nations like the US' failure to sign CEDAW are the enablers and breeding ground for the terrorist and hatred mindsets that daily endanger the whole world by threat of war and terror. These practices against mothers create the sons of violence. You could say the misogynist boy is father to the terrorist man. Misogynist "law", threat and violence against women have been tolerated, perhaps thus even inadvertently or covertly enabled by sexist, male-dominated governments in oil-dependent/inve$ted Western, Asian, African and other nations for too long. Remember, most European nations and many other nations have already signed CEDAW; the US has not, despite a physical protest of women from its House of Representatives where the women were ejected under threat of force.

Decrease your gas consumption by car-pooling while raising consciousness, and use and support public transportation as a feminist and pro-feminist activity as well as help to the environment. Demand that YOUR NATION's business and industry dependent on oil - (auto, tire, etc), post a sign in all stores and on websites, that indicates they urge the signing of CEDAW and have officially protested the discriminations against women in their own government and throughout the Middle East, frequent businesses that display such signs over those that do not, and encourage them to advertise their actions publically. Insist that your local Chamber of Commerce also display SIGN CEDAW signs and websigns, reminding them that the US has been ignoring its own US women on speaking out on these issues for decades, and American flags must include women and CEDAW or it desecrates the meaning of the flag. Tell major supermarkets (see section below on food) of your decisions not to buy foods from nations that discriminate against women by law, force or in government, and that you will increase your business if the supermarket has posted a sign it has informed national and international suppliers of your decision and the reason for them. Tell them you will markedly increase purchases of imports from countries where women have high percentages in government, and US and other corporations where women and men share management equally (see below on many products).

****It is NOT SUFFICIENT to focus on the Taliban alone.****
And it is not sufficient to focus on the Middle East alone. Male-dominated Western (especially US and English) and world-wide Governments and corporations have tolerated the forceful and domestic-violent oppression of women in Saudi Arabia and other oil nations far too long: (the Taliban and other terrorists are most often led by sons of SAUDI and OTHER OIL nations.) And indeed, the number of US women's (and men's) votes disqualified by male-dominated bodies (Supreme Court Injustices and Regress, whoops, we mean Congress) in the US in the last so-called election was larger than the entire population of Afghanistan; and the US government was installed by outmoded Electoral College "votes" that most of the world, and indeed, most of America, considered invalid and undemocratic. Just because women and non-sexist men are not protesting in the streets of the US or worldwide right now does NOT mean that the majority of Americans feel that the US government, installed and self-perpetuated by gender and racial domination, actually represents them, or deserves unconditional foreign recognition from the world community, especially women and men who care about women, worldwide, if it makes no rapid progress on fairness. Many Americans were surprised other governments recognized the results of such a controversial and clearly undemocratic election in the first place.

2. INVEST SELECTIVELY, WITH GENDER FACTORS IN MIND.

Choose corporations that do not discriminate against women and turn a deaf ear to the oppression of women and mother nature worldwide. For example, invest more in Hewlett Packard (CEO - Carly Fiorina) and decrease investment in Microsoft (CEO Bill Gates followed by Steve B(ig Brother instead of a deserving woman) until it has achieved a female CEO and at least 30% female Vice-Presidents and Board Members. Buy computers and Internet services only from companies where women are not tokens, but instead are fairly equal in management and ethical oversight and that actively promote gender balance in government from their websites: Many small and local US, as well as many Scandinavian and some Canadian providers are run by a better balance of male and female than are large US companies like America Online, for example. Tell large companies like Amazon.com that you will not use the Internet for commerce unless computer corporations actively support and lobby for gender equity in government. Invest in the more solar and alternative energy-invested energy corporations, and avoid oil and nuclear, which tokenize a few isolated and coopted women as spokespersons but privately degrade them and minorities. Invest more in corporations of European nations where women have achieved parity and near parity in government, and reduce investment in American corporations until they have caught up with European nations and achieved 1/3 women and a commitment to family leave and flextime for all their employees - male and female alike. (most Western European nations have achieved 30% female in government; compared to a stagnant and regressed 13-14% in the US; and their employees enjoy far better family leave laws and practices). Inform pension funds, mutual funds and socially responsible funds you EXPECT them to look at gender and affirmative practice data of US corporations as a criteria of investment, and will choose to invest more selectively and individually instead if they do not. Ask stock brokers to get the facts on these issues and remind them in a world become too dangerous, the life and freedoms they save by informing themselves and investors about these issues may likely be their own.

3. TURN OFF THE TV COMPLETELY OR MORE OFTEN, until media corporations and advertisers have achieved real news about women and gender-balance in their organizations. Put radio announcers on warning and call talk shows to tell them what you are NOT watching.

Were you informed that the women and decent men of France achieved a sweeping gender parity law in 1999 that is taking effect now and was in the works since 1996? Probably not, because the men running American media simply and willfully did not carry this huge and truly epochal news story!! For some information about it, visit http://www.br ok.edu/fp/cusf/analysis/women.htm, and ask for an update from French sources on the Internet - the law affects upcoming elections.

Were you informed that the women and decent men of India shut down the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) for a full week in 1998 to bring about a gender representational standard law, and the law is still awaiting passage and could be passed at any time as they activists are regrouping to try again? Probably not, because the men running American media simply and willfully did not carry this huge and truly epochal news story about the world's second largest nation!! For information about it visit wysiwyg://20/http //www.indiabroaddaily.com search through the archives for many articles on the Woman's ro Women's Bill or Reservation Act, from 1998 thru the present.

American women and decent men are daily uninformed by their so- called news organizations, now owned by a few megamergercorporations extremely dominated by one gender. Why bother to watch much? But it is important to let these badnewsmakers and their advertisers know you will not watch much again until all cable and TV networks have about 50-50 gender balance in management, editorial staffing and reporting (not just the pretty teleprompter readers that are used as tokens to fool women and men into thinking these corporations have been promoting women. The truth is that journalism has been bought and is being used as a quasi-Big-Brother screen by sexist men; literally "Big Brothers with Little Character". Women journalists - this means you Judy Woodruff, Jane Pauley, Connie Chung and others - who do not want to be seen as trapped tokens and enablers, and the decent men journalists who do not want to be seen as oppressors, need to whistleblow in alternative press and online. Find out if your women's organizations websites and publications covered the French and India stories adequately and the daily work of Scandinavian and European women in government; if not; have them offer women and pro-woman journalists a special platform to highlight them, detailing examples of anti-female bias of current male-dominated corporate "journalism" which presents women, if it presents them at all, as victims and window dressing instead of leaders and world changers, with plenty of website links like those below and Lysistrata for action and information. Women and self-respecting men journalists need to dare to free-lance and moonlight, rather than work for these censoring corruptors of news, even as announcers, until they promote more women for true balance at top and all levels.

Call or email the following major networks and advertisers and let them know you have turned their sexist badnews off until they have achieved gender balance in all decision-making and news operations. All have websites on the Internet, and 1-800-numbers you can find by calling 1-800 information at 1-800-555-1212.

GENDER UNFAIR NETWORKS
ABC/Disney (owner of Lifetime, a corporatized-cartoon-reality set of movies and biographies about women's lives that does suggest some aspects of women's domestic victimization but provides no news of any kind, especially about gender representation in government, national and international women in politics or their corporate presence, if any, in its numerous pandering corporate sponsors. Despite its misinforming logo "Lifetime - Television for Women", at present it would be more accurately called "Losttime - More Television that Victimizes Women". In it's numerous biographies, it has gone to some lenth to avoid women in political leadership, and has plans to gouge women again and make them pay extra on an offshoot channel, Lifetime Real Women, to get such basics. And yet, it is marginally better than the following women-oblivious and even more exploitive networks:
NBS/General Electric
CBS/Viacom
CNN/Times Warner
FOX/Rupert Murdoch News Corp.
MSN/Microsoft
BBC
(The above, along with AT&T and Universal, also own or have controlling interests in almost everything else on your dial, For more information visit www.bettertv.org) Remember to not invest in these companies, and curtail purchases of products you see advertised on them when you do watch, until they achieve balance in their own management and actively lobby for gender balance in the US and English governments)

MAJOR SEXIST ADVERTISERS Pandering To Women While Maintaining Sexist Management, Policies and Advertisements on Sexist Television
General Motors
Ford
General Electric
Microsoft
Pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, that promise the benefits of sleeping pills and anti-depressants while ignoring women's like of representation in Congress and health managed care CEOs
Most insurance companies;
i.e. New York Life (their chic little girl wearing a beret is an insult to thinking women aware of the realities of media, advertising and US business who were never informed by the US media once of the French gender parity law!)
Most banks, credit card and lending companies -
watch long enough until you get a company you'd like to call and tell them you won't buy their products if they advertise in media which isn't gender balanced
Philip Morris - Kraft Foods, Miller Beer
Selling cigarettes to children overseas, major corrupter of elections, and supporting gender-imbalanced politics media
Many others! Have fun calling every 1-800 number you see, and look up others on the Internet or 1-800-directory assistance. Tell them you will buy none or far less of their products if they advertise in media that is not balanced at the top level with male and female; and the same if their own corporate leadership is and has been without balance among CEOs since the 1970s.

4. Happier Holiday Shopping for Every Girl and Boy

The Holidays are the very best time for good mothers and fathers to make it clear that Light, Love, Hope and Good Will must be toward all men and women, all girls and boys, or it means little. In addition to the other food and purchases decisions of Lysistrata mentioned on this website, when you call up your catalog sales vendors, tell them you are buying the Scandinavian sweater, the French wine and perfume, the German fruitcake, the Dutch cocoa, the Danish cookies, the European-made sleds and toys, ornaments and nativity scenes, because these nations, with their 30-50% women in government, understand that good spirit in action means remembering the holiness and wisdom of all mothers and sons who really care about humanity and are guiding their nations toward the good. Give them a copy of this Lysistrata website, or refer them to it, and encourage American toymakers to be among the first industry to lobby the US government to overcome its stagnant 13% with gender fairness legislation of the kind that exists in the homelands of reindeer, Father Christmas and Santa: Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, and now France, the Netherlands, South Africa, in committee in India, and many others.

If you buy gifts from the HolyLand (Jordan, Palestinian areas or Israel) or Africa, inquire whether their governments this year educated little girls and adult mothers, and included these mothers at a level of full representation, in peacetalks, as they deserve. If you know they have not yet, (check the informative websites for country ranking on gender fairness below)make your own figurines, candles, etc., this time, and tell the vendors why. But, if you act quickly with Lysistrata in mind, you will bring the tense Holy Land and war torn Africa closer to lasting peace for all nations and religions. Do the same for gifts and holiday foods and figurines from Mexico and South America; point out the high percentage of women, about 30%, in the government of Spain, seek out Spanish Christmas imports, and let their producers know. What could be a more important gift for Channukah, Christmas, Kwaanzaa and Ramadan, and upcoming new years that all should begin with real peace, democracy and education - the good will of all people, female and male? That's real PEACE ON EARTH; it's truly the only way to achieve it.

At food specialty stores and gourmet centers, tell the managers, when you order your local small vineyard or French instead of major- brand California wine (fruit and jelly, too) this Thanksgiving and all the Seasons gatherings, that you will be very pleased to buy major brand American-made the very instant California insists that the US government moves to pass a gender balance law and oversight mechanisms, as these nations have. Tell the produce manager that would make a very nice gift for all those women who basted turkeys on a day to remember Pochahontas, other women natives and Pilgrim wives whose descendants are almost as missing from the present US Congress as they were when women were barred from voting in 1789. At your Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's tables, make a special toast of your local label or French wine (instead of California wine, just this time/until the US achieves gender balance in government) to Jamila and her sisters, other brave women of Afghanistan who have stood up to tell the UN they must be fully represented at peace talks and the end to terror. It is the UN councils, not these women, who must prove their worth, now, to the women of the world watching... So, write the two women Senators from California of your preferences, and remind them that they need to be braver too, and deliver representation to US women equivalent to that of many other nations immediately. Within their own state, Californians lead the nation in the balance of women and men in governmental office - but despite its huge economy, and the ability of Hollywood to communicate to the world on important issues that concern women's (and caring men's) real lives instead of superficial glamor, California has not pressured the US as a nation to follow suit - YET! The California women Senator's overcautious approach (they were not even present when women of the House protested the US' failure to sign the UN CEDAW Treaty to protect women) to their national government, compared to the manifestos, sit-ins and marches of women heroines from so many other nations such as those in France and Scandinavia which bore gender balance fruit, has truly failed and is endangering the America and the world - it has left US women at a dismal and paltry 13% while women of other nations were willing to cross political party lines (bringing Greens, Conservatives and Democrats together) and march and protest on the issue and have succeeded with 30-50% in France, Scandinavia, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and most of Europe, South Africa, and many other nations already. Californians can lead the nation, instead of sybaritically resting on their own glamorous, comfortable laurels. Let's toast them with cases of California champagne, as soon as California puts its full weight in the US Congress behind gender balance legislation, and actually achieves at least the 1/3 goal for the United States, as so many other nations already have.

If you are of Asian heritage, tell Asian food and gift vendors that you will double your purchases in the Chinese, Japanese and Korean New Year if these great nations announce gender equality in government legislation. What could bring better good fortune? Many restauranteurs are wives and women, with many loyal and very loving husbands who believe firsthand in freedom and equality. They will rejoice in your message, the fulfillment of the UN Beijing Conference of a few years back but NOT forgotten. Give them a copy of websites on Beijing and this website, as well. Before you go to the dollar store to buy ribbons, bows, decorations and candies, and so many other items made in China, check the gender balance in vast and important China - when it has reached 1/3, buy three times as much more; but until then, while it is less, buy a dollar less until the 1/3 level is achieved. China is a very important trading nation - and you, the female (and caring male) shopper can make the world a far better place for all men and women by knowing she has remembered her sisters' representation in China. The Happiest Chinese New Year will be the one that has achieved gender balance in government. Right now, the level is about 22-25%; considerably above that of the US (13-14%), not but quite enough to protect this vast nation from the abuses and errors of overly-male dominated government. If this great nation passed a law like France's or many other European nation's parity laws, gender balance in China will bring yin and yang in happiness together, to the TAO, and the DOW!

5. HAVE A SARDINE! FISH FOR FAIRNESS

Except for small and local fish products, defer buying fish products made in countries where the government has not achieved above or nearly 30% women in the legislature(s). (see Women in National Parliaments at http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm Instead, buy sardines, salmon and other fish from the nations of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Spain etc. Especially defer buying fish packaged by large corporations in the US but call these companies and tell them that if they will lobby for the gender balance laws of Scandinavia, France, South Africa and many other nations, you will be happy to buy their products again. Women: Encourage your husband to go fishing every weekend (he'll love it!), or learn to fish yourself locally rather than use products from nations that have few women (less than 30%) in government. Let your fish intake be healthy for body and body politic; for both body and soul! Ask Oprah Winfrey to help: she was already the target of cattlemen who wanted to silence men and women on heart health issues; she might enjoy savoring Scandinavian salmon and a glass of Perrier (see below) during a broadcast; what could be healthier for a body-soul snack that works for the women and decent men of the world?

6. Have A Little MORE PERRIER AND A Lot Less COKE or PEPSI... and enjoy BREAD and WINE, COOKIES AND CHOCOLATES that taste of and toast to LOVE AND FAIRNESS

Defer buying bottled water and beverages from nations that have not achieved or legislated at least 1/3 women in some of their legislatures. Therefore buy Perrier, Scandinavian and Canadian origin beverages over other brands, since the French have passed a law guaranteeing 50-50 for the genders in politics, the Canadians have achieved 30% women in their Senate (compared to 13% in the US), and the Scandinvians countries have 36-50%. If the Italian and Indian governments will officially adopt the 33% women in legislatures law sought by Italian-born Indian leader Sonia Gandhi, then buy Pellegrino bottled water and Italians Chiantis as well, tell them to market their beverages with pride in Indian and Italian food markets and encourage gender balanced global cooperation between these two nations on the world market. Russian and Indian nations have many people struggling economically and need a positive, carrot approach. Tell Russian vodka makers and Indian fabric/fashion makers that you know that most doctors in Russia are women and yet the nation has never had a woman President, that women in India are world-wise authoresses and leaders, and yet both India and Russia have a dismal 7-8% women in their legislatures; tell them you will increase your vodka and fashion purchases by 33%, and toast them wearing a new sari or scarf, if they will achieve that level of women in their legislatures by passing the laws like that introduced in India to do so. Finally, let your proud pro-women's nations corporations - Canadian, Scandinavian and of course French water bottlers and wine makers know of your actions and consumer preferences. Tell American brands like Frutopia that there can be no utopia without enough women in government to make it happen, and you expect them to say so on their bottle tops and labelling or you will squeeze your own fresh juices and smoothies instead until they do.

Pepsi recently used ad slogans, posted on many display cases, that insult women "Never shop with your mother again". Now, Pepsi must be told by YOU that if mothers, families, are to buy their products again, they must apologize for the insult and demonstrate at least 30% women as Executives and Board Members and initiate a new slogan that says "Raise a glass of Pepsi to toast women in the houses of real government", include a link on their website to an official tally of women in worldwide government, and make an official company statement, posted on their website, urging the US to adopt gender parity laws. Ask Coke to do the same -- or you will permanently switch to another beverage (water IS a lot less fattening and more healthful in quantity, too.) PEPSI's 1-800 number and Coke's are availabe at their websites, and both ask for consumer input. Let's give that to them!

Accompany your beverage with a wholesome bread, cracker or bowl of food (wheat, rice, corn, potato, etc) made in nations that do not accept genetically-engineered grains and have increasingly gender-balanced legislatures of public mothers and fathers who are really protecting and comforting the world with a wholesome environment and future. Tell American farmers and supermarket/grocery managers you will pay a few cents more for natural bread, corn, rice and a planet that respects mother nature and father time in methods of plant species breeding. Tell supermarkets you are also prepared to enlarge/start your own garden for red, (and fried green!) tomatoes and other vegetables, decided upon by the legislature that meets in your kitchen instead of still far too male-dominated boardrooms and national legislatures.Almost all European do not want or buy genetically-engineered foods, and their governments and officials have moved or are moving to prohibit them, another thing the US media does not want you to know! (see Section 3 above).