Tuesday, December 26, 2006

 

Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/26/2006 | Loving the underdogs - up to a point

Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/26/2006 | Loving the underdogs - up to a point: "Yo, Rock.

We ate up the story of a nobody from Philly, pounding sides of beef in a meat locker. And now we're paying to see the retired champ pull himself together for one more fight.

So, yeah, we love the whole underdog thing.

But not as much as you might think.

New psychology research suggests that while people like to root for the little guy, they'll drop him like a two-day-old soft pretzel if they have a stake in the outcome. And if the guy is perceived as not giving 100 percent, or if, God forbid, he should start to lose, then we'll turn against him in a hurry.

Sound like sports fans in a certain East Coast city you know?"

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Afghan women suffer daily violence

From BBC News (UK): Five years ago, after the fall of the Taleban (Taliban), Afghanistan's new government pledged swift action to improve the lives of women.

But a recent report* by the international women's organisation Womankind Worldwide** said millions of Afghan women and girls continue to face discrimination and violence in their day-to-day lives.

The BBC's Afghan service has been talking to Afghan women about their lives:

Afghan women's rights groups acknowledge that women now have a variety of rights which they didn't have under Taleban rule.

But in practice, they say, many of those rights are ignored.

And activists face intimidation, or worse.

In September, the head of the Women's Affairs Ministry in the southern city of Kandahar, Safia Amajan, who'd criticised the Taleban's treatment of women, was shot dead.

One of her former colleagues, who was too afraid to give her name, says since then activists have been staying home.

There are many opportunities to work here, she says.

There's a lot to do, but there's no security so women don't want to leave their homes.

They think about what happened to Safia Amajan and they're afraid the same thing will happen to them.

Continued at "Afghan women suffer daily violence"

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*The report ("Taking Stock: Afghan women and girls five years on") is available in English, Pashtu, and Dari via this page

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**About Womankind Worldwide

"WOMANKIND Worldwide believes women in developing countries are a powerful force for change.

Women have an abundance of practical ideas for improving their own lives and lifting their families and communities out of poverty. But this can only happen if they have the confidence and opportunities to articulate their needs and ideas - and be listened to.

WOMANKIND Worldwide is the only UK charity devoted to enabling women to achieve this.

We work closely with 55 partner community groups in 15 developing countries. This means that the projects we fund and support tackle the specific issues in a particular area, rather than trying to import a 'one size fits all' solution from the UK.

All our projects are connected to enabling women to understand their legal rights. And to use these rights to benefit their daily lives. Where new legislation is needed to protect women or improve their status, we help our partners secure this too.

WOMANKIND also runs a programme of work in the UK"

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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

 

African children 'at risk of ritual abuse'

From BBC News UK: A cursory glance at the classified section of the ethnic press reveals a myriad of spiritual healers making some remarkable claims.

Considered 'conduits of God' by some, they claim to be able help return a loved one, cure impotency and infertility, help advance your career and even make you wealthy.

One such spiritualist says he can cast away 'evil influences and bad luck', another will break voodoo and black magic curses and several others offer exorcisms.

Concern has been growing about the impact on children of such ritual practices.

The issue hit the headlines with the grim discovery of a torso of a young boy in the Thames in September 2001.

Police believe the child, later named Adam, had been the victim of a west African-style ritual sacrifice.

How widespread is the problem? Academics estimate only 5% of crimes involving possession or witchcraft are actually reported.

Africans Unite Against Child Abuse (Afruca), a UK charity, is calling for tighter regulation of minority churches and faith organisations.

Continued at "African children 'at risk of ritual abuse'"

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

 

Many still don't see women as sex predators

From the Houston Chronicle: Diana's grandson came to her with his secret on a Thursday evening. School had just started after another humid summer, and she and the 14-year-old, whose parents had their bowling league that night, finished cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. She took a glass of iced tea and her cigarette pack outside for a smoke.

Minutes later, he followed. The boy said he had something to tell her, something that had been bothering him for many months. And that's when things changed.

'He had broke down,' recalled Diana, who asked that her last name be withheld to protect her family's identity. 'And he told me about it.'

Diana won't say exactly what 'it' was. But the Harris County Sheriff's Office detailed the teenager's disclosure in criminal reports this fall. Her grandson, a football player who speaks in ma'ams and sirs, said he had been sexually abused the year before, when he was 13, by a woman nearly 20 years his senior. She was a former neighbor and his mother's close friend in Highlands, the small town just east of Pasadena where his family once lived. The pair had sex at least twice and sexual contact another time, according to the reports.

The teenager had been saving himself for marriage, he later told his grandmother. He worried that God might not forgive what he did.

Police arrested Deborah Joyce Lux, 33, in September and charged her with two felony sexual assaults of children: one in connection with Diana's grandson and a second in connection with another teenager, a then-15-year-old boy from Highlands who also said he had sex with her.

Continued at "Many still don't see women as sex predators"

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Sunday, December 10, 2006

 

Women demand end to Darfur rapes

International stateswomen have made a joint call for an end to rape and sexual violence in Sudan's conflict-torn region of Darfur.

Peacekeepers must be sent to protect women there, the group said in a letter published by newspapers worldwide.

Signatories include former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the Irish former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

The call comes as protests on the issue are planned in 40 countries.

The letter says rape is being used 'on a daily basis' as a weapon of war in Darfur.

The main signatories were joined by other prominent women including:

* Veteran Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi [1]
* Graca Machel, wife of Nelson Mandela [2]
* Edith Cresson, former French prime minister [3]
* Glenys Kinnock, a UK member of the European [4] Parliament
* Carol Bellamy, former head of the UN children's fund. [5]

Continued at "Women demand end to Darfur rapes"
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[1] Hanan Ashwari

In 1988, ABC's "Nightline" aired a three-hour discussion between four Palestinians and four Israelis. A member of the Palestinian team, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, was then a relatively unknown figure -- a Dean at a Palestinian Anglican University and a political activist. Appearing on live American television for the first time, Hanan Ashrawi was about to blast onto the political arena.

As a woman, a Christian and an articulate and eloquent speaker -- Dr. Ashrawi's appearance shattered a number of Western stereotypes about Palestinians. Educated in the West, with a doctorate in medieval literature from the University of Virginia, Dr. Ashrawi understood how to cross cultural boundaries and make Palestinian issues clear and identifiable to people outside the Middle East. ABC News describes her as a person who "masterfully conducts press conferences and interviews, controlling the topics of discussion, dodging uncomfortable issues and cutting off what she considers irrelevant questions". Back in 1988, she was one of the first Palestinian figures to transcend the media's popular "terrorist" stereotype and present the more realistic image of Palestinians as victims of oppression.
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[2] Graca Machel

BBC News Online's Josephine Hazeley profiles Graca Machel, whom she met four years ago:

The name Graca Machel of Mozambique was well known around Africa well before she married Nelson Mandela, one of the world's best known statesmen.

At ease on the international stage, she has a reputation for speaking out passionately about the causes close to her heart - the plight of women and children.

Those who have seen her in action say she does not flinch from challenging diplomats for sitting back in the comfort of their embassies while children in conflict are exploited and killed.

[3] Edith Cresson

Edith Cresson (born on 27 January 1934 as Edith Campion in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris) is a French politician. She was the first, and so far, only, woman to become French Prime Minister.

Cresson was well known for making outspoken and often controversial comments. She was very critical of "Anglo-Saxon" nations and often condemned the culture and people of the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. She often described homosexuality as being a largely Anglo-Saxon "problem" that had little relevance in France. Her strong criticism of Japanese trade practices likewise prompted her to use harsh rhetoric that some considered borderline racist (going as far as to compare the Japanese to "ants trying to take over the world").

Cresson was appointed to the prime ministerial post by President François Mitterrand on May 15, 1991.
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[4] Glenys Kinnock

Born in 1944, Glenys Kinnock was educated at Holyhead Comprehensive School and graduated from the University of Wales College Cardiff in education and history. She has been a teacher in secondary, primary, infant and nursery schools.

Glenys was elected to the European Parliament in 1994 and re-elected in 1999 and 2004. She now represents Wales and is a Member of the European Parliament's Development and Co-operation Committee.

She is Co-President of the African, Caribbean and Pacific / EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and Labour Party Spokesperson on International Development in the European Parliament.

Glenys is President of One World Action, the Development NGO. She is also Patron of the Drop the Debt Campaign, Vice President of Parliamentarians for Global Action, Board Member International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, Board Member World Parliamentarian Magazine and a Council Member of Voluntary Service Overseas.
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[5] Carol Bellamy

Carol Bellamy was appointed Executive Director of the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) in 1995, following consultations with the UNICEF Executive Board, and reappointed to a second five-year term in 1999.

Prior to her UNICEF appointment, Ms. Bellamy had been serving as Director of the Peace Corps since 1993. She was the first volunteer to have returned to direct the agency, which has some 6,500 volunteers in more than 90 countries. During her service as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala from 1963 to 1965, Ms. Bellamy ran a school lunch programme and produced a radio show on health and nutrition in Spanish, which was broadcast in rural areas.

Prior to being named Peace Corps Director, Ms. Bellamy spent 11 years on Wall Street as a lawyer and banker.

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Friday, December 08, 2006

 

Today's Racism News Reports (8th December 2006)

Today's racism news reports from around the world include:

EU and Israel experts meet on racism and anti-Semitism
(European Jewish Press)

Brussels (EJP)- Experts from the European Union and Israel met Thursday in Brussels to exchange experiences on combating racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

The one-day seminar, which took place at the European Commission headquarters, was organized in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

Under the ENP EU-Israel Action Plan endorsed in 2005, the European Union and Israel agreed to work together to combat anti-Semitism as well as racism and xenophobia.

The seminar examined policies and best practice on combating racism in the European Union and in Israel.

It looked at how statistics are collected, how anti-discrimination policies are put in place and how mutual understanding can be fostered.

Sessions were also devoted to fighting racism through education, how penal legislation can be used to treat racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism as a crime and how to combat hate speech in the media.

The European experts came both from the European Commission and from the Member States of the European Union. (Continued)
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Racism lurks in all of us - let's face it
(Palm Beach Post, Florida, US)

Few people have the courage to admit they are racist or anti-Semitic. That understandable failure blocks healing for one of the most fundamental and universal human characteristics.

Is Michael Richards, aka Seinfeld's Kramer, a racist? Of course he is. Everyone is. We don't choose to be. We are.

There can be little doubt that Mel Gibson is anti-Semitic as well. Richards and Gibson suffer, as we all do, from the human condition, what the Catholic Church calls original sin — the fundamental human predisposition to be self-serving that Scripture suggests everyone inherits from Adam. Teachers in seventh grade confirmation class describe it as the "I" in the middle of the word "sin."

Original sin is not an excuse for racism or anti-Semitism but an attempt to find its roots. We are, all of us, afraid, needy and defensive. When threatened, we circle the wagons and trigger the tendency to set others apart.

Sadly, we do not see "our own" as the entire human community but as black or white, Hispanic or Asian, Protestant, Catholic, Muslim or any of a legion of sub-categories we use to define ourselves. Then, when threatened, we reject those who are unlike us. (Continued)
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Hamburg Looking Into Racism Allegations Over Atouba Incident
(From Playfuls.com, Romania)

SV Hamburg are looking into whether their player Tomothee Atouba was the target of racist insults from the club's fans before disgracing himself with an obscene gesture at the fans at a European Champions League match.

Citing spectators who attended Wednesday's match with CSKA Moscow, several Hamburg dailies reported on Friday that the Cameroon defender was heavily insulted, allegedly mainly from the VIP section.

Atouba reportedly confirmed that he was insulted, but said it wasn't the reason why he offended the fans by sticking out his middle finger several times when he was substituted.

Atouba was red-carded for the offence, suspended for the final two Bundesliga matches of the year by Hamburg and fined 50,000 euros by the club as well.

"Atouba told us that the racist slurs were not the reason for his misbehaviour," club president Bernd Hoffmann told the Bild daily. (Continued)
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Info on Racism:

Racism is commonly defined as a belief or doctrine where inherent biological differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, with a corollary that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.[1]

The term racism is sometimes used to refer to preference for one's own ethnic group (ethnocentrism),[2] fear of foreigners (xenophobia), views or preferences against interbreeding of the races (miscegenation),[3] and nationalism,[4], and/or a generalization of a specific group of people (stereotype); regardless of any explicit belief in superiority or inferiority embedded within such views or preferences. Racism has been used in attempts to justify social discrimination, racial segregation and violence, including genocide. Politicians are known to practice race-baiting in an effort to win constituents.

The term racist, when used to describe someone who supports racism, has been a pejorative term since at least the 1940s, and the identification of a group or person as racist is nearly always controversial. (Continued)

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Bullying Christians Demand the Right to Mistreat Others On Campus (UK)

From the National Secular Society*: Senior Bishops of the Church of England, and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, have defended the right of several university Christian Unions to practise discrimination against non-Christians and gay people. Unions in Exeter, Birmingham and Edinburgh have been prohibited from using university faculties and in some cases from being recognised as a club because of allegations that they are discriminating.

In a letter to The Times, the clerics used the usual tactic of presenting themselves as the victims when they have been caught out discriminating against others. "[Christian students] are facing considerable opposition and discrimination in violation of their rights of freedom of expression, freedom of belief and freedom of association," wrote the Anglican bishops of Winchester, Rochester, Chester, Southwell and Nottingham, Lichfield, Dover and Willesden, along with the Roman Catholic church's lead Bishop on Higher Education, and with signatories from academics and representatives from national Christian organisations.

They claim that the Student Guilds/Associations, in Exeter, Birmingham and Edinburgh in particular, have changed their anti-discrimination provisions to discriminate against Christian students. In a complete reversal of the true situation, the bishops say the action by the Guilds is "intolerant and unlawful, and that the Christian Unions currently suspended should be re-instated with full student union society rights."

Continued at "Bullying Christians Demand the Right to Mistreat Others On Campus (UK)"
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The Times letter ("Student union tactics are intolerant and unlawful")is available via the above link (at the bottom of the page) and begins:

"Sir, Christian students at many of our universities are facing considerable opposition and discrimination in violation of their rights of freedom of expression, freedom of belief and freedom of association.

In recent times, some student guilds, in Exeter, Birmingham and Edinburgh in particular, have changed their anti-discrimination provisions to discriminate against Christian students. We believe this to be intolerant and unlawful, and that the Christian unions currently suspended by the student guilds or associations should be reinstated with full rights as a student society forthwith.

Of course university student guilds and associations have a responsibility to ensure that official societies are run in a proper and lawful manner. However, this does not give them, or anyone else, the right to restrict or change the essential beliefs of those societies, or impose as leaders people who do not share those core beliefs."
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* About the National Secular Society:

We want a society in which all are free to practise their faith, change it or not have one, according to their conscience. Our belief or lack of it should neither advantage nor disadvantage. Religion should be a matter of private conscience, for the home and place of worship; it must not have privileged input into the political arena where history shows it to bring conflict and injustice.

The National Secular Society is the leading pressure group defending the rights of non-believers from the demands of religious power-seekers. We campaign on a wide range of issues, including religious influence in the government, the disestablishment of the Church of England, the removal of the Bench of Bishops from the House of Lords and for conversion of religious schools (paid for by the taxpayer) to community schools, open to all. (Continued at the above link)
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Thursday, December 07, 2006

 

Catholic Church Sex Abuse Documents Ordered Unsealed (US)

From The Boston Globe, December 7, 2006:

Bridgeport, Connecticut - A Superior Court judge has ruled that sealed documents from priest sex abuse cases in the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocese should be open to the public.

Judge Jon Alander's ruling Wednesday is the latest in a long running legal battle pitting the diocese against several newspapers.

Alander ruled that the public has the right to view sealed court documents from nearly two dozen sex abuse lawsuits against the Bridgeport diocese that were settled in 2001, saying that keeping the documents secret to ensure a fair trial is no longer relevant.

The Hartford Courant, The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post, sought to have the documents unsealed in 2002.

"The public's right of access to those documents is particularly strong in these cases due to the extraordinary public interest in knowing whether minors in Connecticut were sexually abused by priests employed by the Diocese and whether the Diocese was responsible for perpetuating that abuse," Alander wrote.

However, Alander's ruling does not mean the newspapers will get to review the documents anytime soon. Alander placed a 20-day stay on release of the documents.

Continued at "Catholic Church Sex Abuse Documents Ordered Unsealed (US)" (May require free registration)
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The full text of the ruling is available from The Hartford Courant and begins:

This case is back before this court upon remand from our Supreme Court. See Rosado v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., 276 Conn. 168 (2005). The New York Times Company, The Hartford Courant, Globe Newspaper Company and The Washington Post Company (hereinafter, the newspapers) which have intervened in the above captioned action and twenty-two related cases have filed motions to vacate the protective orders entered by the court in those actions. Each of the twenty-three cases involves lawsuits filed in the mid-1990's alleging sexual abuse of minors by clergymen employed by the Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation. The lawsuits were withdrawn on March 12, 2001. Prior to the withdrawal of the actions, protective orders were issued by the court which, inter alia, authorized the filing of certain documents with the court under seal. The newspapers seek an order vacating that portion of the protective orders which sealed documents filed with the court. The defendant Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corporation and its former officials (collectively, the Diocese) oppose the vacating of the protective orders and the unsealing of the documents. In addition, the Diocese has requested that, to the extent the court concludes that the prior protective orders have expired or should be vacated, the court enter a new protective order sealing the documents in the court file."

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Polish deputy Prime Minister faces sex claims

From BBC News (UK): Polish prosecutors are investigating claims that Deputy Prime Minister Andrzej Lepper* employed a woman on condition that she had sex with him.

A former local councillor for Mr Lepper's Self Defence party made the claim in the Gazeta Wyborcza paper.

Mr Lepper denies he had sex with the woman and says her claim is "insane".

The BBC's Adam Easton says the scandal will embarrass Polish PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski, elected last year promising a "moral revolution".

Mr Lepper is Poland's agriculture minister as well as one of four deputy prime ministers.

Continued at "Polish deputy Prime Minister faces sex claims"
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Background info on Andrzej Lepper:

"Andrzej Zbigniew Lepper (born June 13, 1954 in Stowiecino, Poland) is a Polish politician, the leader of Samoobrona RP (Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland) political party, and between May 5 and September 22 and once again from October 16, 2006 Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Agriculture in Jarosław Kaczyński's cabinet.

His civil profession prior to entering politics was farming in the village of Zielnowo, Pomerania." (Continued at the above link)
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Lepper was profiled by the BBC in January, 2002:

"Andrzej Lepper went through the last Polish election sporting an Elvis-style quiff and a sunbed tan - but don't be deceived, he used to be a boxer.

He doesn't hesitate to throw hecklers onto piles of manure and he blocks roads with imported grain.

He once led peasants in a raid on a big poultry producer, distributing the sausages he found in the refrigerators to the local poor.

The chorus of his party song is: This land is your land, this land is my land, we won't let anyone punch us in the face.

Poland, says Lepper - leader of the Self Defence party - has already been walloped too often. Walloped by a fist marked Brussels.

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