The XX Factor

-Looks like Algeria saved the offense until after the game: Soccer player Rafik Saifi slapped a female reporter across the face after losing to the United States in yesterday’s match. [ BBC Sport ]

-An Oregon masseuse has publicly accused Al Gore of making repeated, unwanted sexual advances, but her claim seems pretty baseless thus far. [ Salon ]

-From village governments to the National People’s Congress, Chinese women struggle to secure political representation . [ New York Times ]

-Once you put the " whore stigma " aside, could sex workers’ rights serve as a model for all women’s rights ? [ Guardian via Jezebel ]

Photograph of Rafik Saifi by Clive Mason/Getty Images Sport.