The Decemberists: Heroes of recent wars

It's good that - in the face of the sort of bad publicity even Mel Gibson couldn't generate - the Susan G Komen Foundation have reversed their original decision to punish Planned Parenthood for helping people in difficult situations.

Amongst those who sounded their outrage at a cancer charity behaving like right-wing politicians were The Decemberists:

The Decemberists are deeply troubled by Komen for the Cure's recent decision to cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, a vital resource in the battle against breast cancer. Providing cancer screenings to low income women is integral to the prevention and defeat of breast cancer and it is unconscionable that Komen should politicize this very important issue by bowing to the fear campaign being waged against PP by the right. We've decided to redirect the proceeds of the Team Jenny t-shirts and buttons away from Komen for the Cure. 100% of the net profits of these items will be instead donated to Planned Parenthood's Breast Health Emergency Fund.

Please help to support this essential institution. And, if you've supported the Team Jenny effort in the past, please write to Komen for the Cure via their site or via twitter (@komenforthecure) and let them know that undermining women's health for political reasons is unacceptable.

Update: The Decemberists are pleased that Komen For The Cure reversed their decision.

Reversed for now. The Komen Foundation should be watched, closely.

MTV gets cold feet over womb police adverts

MTV has been quick to quick to rubbish claims from Heroic Media that they were going to have ads running on the network.

Heroic Media are the group who ran the billboard claiming that the "most dangerous place for an African-American", trying to turn the already tinder-dry abortion debate in the US into a race issue as well.

It's good to see MTV taking a stand against the assault on women's health - "Heroic" are mainly dedicated to destroying Planned Parenthood, a group whose main work is around providing health care for uninsured American women.

The only trouble is that they're only dropping the ads now. MTV were happily running spots for Heroic throughout much of last year, and only the stink about the race billboards have caused them to change their mind.

The network doesn't seem to have a problem with what Heroic are trying to do, it just doesn't want them to create a fuss while they do it.

The MTV message? If you're going to try and prevent poor women having access to ob-gyn services, please do it stealthily.

Gordon in the morning: Allen and West

Kanye West really is an asshat, isn't he? He tweeted this bollocks:

"An abortion can cost a ballin' nigga up to 50gs maybe a 100.

"Gold diggin' bitches be getting pregnant on purpose. #STRAPUP my niggas!"

Gordon Smart describes this as "an unsavoury tweet about abortion", which seems to be a surprisingly mild response to a man not only claiming that somehow women are getting "pregnant on purpose" to secure some sort of lucrative abortion, but that the solution is to make sure you wear a condom while you treat a woman like a fuck-toy.

Who would point out to Kanye his ass-hatted-ness? Step forward Lily Allen:

"Never has a tweet put me in such a bad mood.

"This is wrong on so many levels."

Smart somehow tries to suggest there's a link between Allen being right about abortion and her recent grim experiences, which feels a bit... well, unsavoury, to be honest.

Rolling Stone tries to clarify Bieber's abortion positon

Anti-choice munchkin Justin Bieber drifted into talking about abortion in his Rolling Stone interview, coming down so far to the right on the debate he might have made Sarah Palin feel a bit queasy:

When asked where he stands on abortion he told Vanessa Grigoriadis, "It's like killing a baby." He was then asked if he believed in abortion for rape victims, and replied, "I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."

Is anyone else having a queasy moment imagining - sometime in 2040 - Canadian Premier Bieber laughing at his days as a pop star?

The idea that rape happens for a reason and that, you know, if you haven't been raped there's no way you can actually feel disgusted at the idea that some people would force a woman to carry a baby conceived during an assault hasn't been going down too well.

Happily, Rolling Stone have rushed forward to clarify that Bieber had been slightly misquoted:

A rep for the publication says, "Due to an editing error, this story originally included an incomplete quote from Justin Bieber.

"The full quote, his response to whether abortions should be allowed in cases of rape, reads, 'Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that.'"

Is it just me, or does the full quote still show him suggesting that being raped is all part of some grand plan, and unable to even allow the possibility that a woman might want access to abortion under those circumstances. Unless Rolling Stone also edited out the words "and would make me think again. Moving to a completely different subject, I was hearing that some spiders eat their partners. That sounds kind of gross" between "sad" and "but", I don't think it changes the tone or sense of what he said at all.

Right-wing politician announces tour dates

We'd much rather Dana busied herself with playing gigs than being active politically. After all, her views on reproductive rights reform in the Republic of Ireland was considered too extreme by the Catholic Church. But is it really possible to watch her trilling jolly little tunes without being a little queasy knowing that this is a woman who finds all kinds of everything reminds her that IUDs are the work of the devil? Can you really return to light entertainment after a period as an extremist politician?

Ooh! John Lydon likes to swear!

Buttocks! Haircrack! Enormous, um, breasts or something!

Hello, we're swearing.

Tiggywinkles! Wee wee!

We've been inspired by John Lydon, who thinks that saying 'fuck' on stage is so shocking, it's worth warning newspapers well in advance when you're going to do it.

Pants! TenaLady! Alisha's Attic!

Glen Matlock - allegedly - asked him to tone it down a bit, but Lydon stamped his pretty little foot, said "snot" and refused:

"He's been saying that all this swearing should stop. I understand he's a father and doesn't want his son to have to hear foul language.

"I wrote in 'Bodies', ' Fuck this and fuck that / Fuck it all, and fuck the fuckin brat', and I don't think there's a clearer song about the pain of abortion.

"The juxtaposition of all those different psychic things in your head and all the confusion, the anger, the frustration, you have to capture in those words."

Bodies might be a strong song, although its adoption by both pro- and anti-choice campaigners suggests it's a little unclear in its message, and, yes, the language is justified by the context - but does Lydon really believe that there is no "clearer song about the pain of abortion"? What about, for example, Ani DiFranco's Lost Woman Song or Michelle Shocked's Prodigal Daughter?

Still, never mind about that: let's just focus on the swearing instead:

cooties! bulb-sachets! green-tabs!

Lavigne & Christina "duped" by Amnesty, says group

One of the many US anti-abortion outfits, the slightly shady Rock For Life, is seeking to draw attention to itself by noisily condemning Amnesty International for including Avril Lavigne and Christina Aguilera on a fund-raising album for survivors in Darfur.

Why, you might wonder, would even a slightly barking group object to raising funds to help people who've survived terrible events? Well, in RFL's blinkered worldview, Amnesty International aren't a human rights organisation, they're a "pro-abortion organisation":

Erik Whittington, director of Rock for Life, said: “The human suffering going on right now in Darfur is horrific. To add insult to injury, however, using this tragic abuse of human rights to raise money for a pro-abortion organisation is hypocritical and beyond belief.

“The manipulation of musicians to fund this hypocrisy is maddening.” He added: “We are writing to all the artists to ask for their views.”

What's that? Oh, yes. Rock For Life haven't actually been asked by Aguilera or Lavigne to intervene on their behalf; and haven't, in fact, even bothered to ask them yet before issuing this press release.

Indeed, despite having a very long list of bands who they name as supporters (none of whom, except perhaps POD and Bryan 'the mass parades and the flags' Ferry, you're likely to have heard of), neither Lavigne nor Aguilera are listed.

Now, even if your views on abortion aren't liberal, you might spot there's a slight tang of hypocrisy here: A group condemning an organsiation for "duping" artists into supporting a cause that those singers have happily signed on for, using those same names for their campaign without seeking their permission.

Neither Aguilera nor Lavigne have said anything, but Lavigne's management has managed to make a statement which demonstrates the sort of half-synapse powered thinking that Lavigne specialises in:

An aide to Lavigne said: “I don’t think she would want to comment on this. But what has abortion to do with Amnesty? It’s for a lot of different things such as prisoners of conscience and human rights.”

Yes, why would there be any link between human rights and the right to make your own reproductive choices?

We also love this entry from RFL's "pro-abortion" (they mean pro-choice) bands:

Le Tigre: often seen giving Gloria Steinem the mic