Tag Archives: New York Times

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Dozens of Women and Children Perish in Ethnic Clash in Kenya – In Memory


 

At least 52 people have died in a serious ethnic attack in Kenya on Tuesday. AFP notes that most of the victims were women and children. The original toll of 48 casualties reported on Tuesday was raised to 52 after four more people perished from sustained injuries on Wednesday.

The tragedy was sparked by the long rivalry between Pokomo and Ormo people in a remote corner of Kenya near the Tana River district. Police chief Joseph Kitur said that 31 women perished, along with 11 children and six adult men. Kitur also told reporters that 34 of the victims were hacked to death and 14 were burnt.

The attack occurred in a rural corner of southeast Kenya, about 185 miles away from the capital of Nairobi. The New York Times notes that the gruesome incident was staged by numerous members of an armed militia from the Pokomo group who entered the Ormo village and began to slash residents before setting many of the homes on fire.

One member of Parliament, Danson Mungatana, thought the attacks were probably a backlash after an Ormo cattle raid that occurred last week. Battles for water and land resources between the two groups in this part of Kenya are reportedly very common. Another clash between the two groups back in 2001 caused around 130 deaths. The Pokomo reportedly practice subsistence farming, while the Ormo tend towards a pastoral livelihood. The Kenya Red Cross was at the scene and reported that they sent seven people to the hospital with severe injuries.

The most tragic aspect of the current episode is the high number of children lost in the conflict, along with women and unsuspecting male village members. Both the AFP and the New York Times note that this most recent attack is a reminder of the post-election ethnic violence of 2007, when there were contested election results between two candidates from different ethnic backgrounds, which pitted populations against each other, resulting in more than 1,000 deaths.

In January, the International Criminal Court charged four Kenyan officials with crimes related to the post-election deaths. The next set of elections are planned for next year, according to UPI. The most recent violence has sparked discomfort and is an unsettling reminder that elections could also pose more danger for Kenyans next year.

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Redefining rape? a repost and reminder


when you vote! #VoteBlueToSaveYourRights

Dear MoveOn member,

Think “no” means “no”?

Well, 173 members of Congress don’t.

A far-reaching anti-choice bill, introduced by Republican Chris Smith and supported by 173 members of the House, includes a provision that could redefine rape and set women’s rights back by decades.1

Right now, federal dollars can’t be used for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, or when the woman’s life is in danger.

But according to the New York Times, the Smith bill would narrow that use to “cases of ‘forcible’ rape but not statutory or coerced rape.”2 This could mean cases where women are “drugged or given excessive amounts of alcohol, rapes of women with limited mental capacity, and many date rapes” would no longer count as rape.3

As far too many women know, bruises and broken bones do not define rape—a lack of consent does. The Smith bill is scary. And with 173 supporters it already has a frightening chance of passage—unless the public speaks up right away with an outcry that can’t be ignored.

Can you sign the petition to Congress today, demanding they oppose the sexist, anti-choice Smith bill? >> http://pol.moveon.org

Federal funds are already severely restricted when it comes to reproductive rights and women’s health care, a situation that ends up hurting lower-income women in particular, who tend to use federally-funded services more often than wealthy women. The last thing we ought to be doing is legislating to make these laws more stringent.

In addition, the Smith bill is full of dangerous anti-choice provisions as well as the rape redefinition. Called “Stupak on Steroids” by NARAL Pro-Choice America in reference to Rep. Bart Stupak‘s failed attempt to push stringent restrictions on insurance coverage for abortion during the health care debate, it would “force millions of American families to pay more taxes if their health plan covers abortion care, jeopardizing abortion coverage in the private market.”4

The Smith bill is just the first of many attacks on women’s rights to come in the new GOP-controlled House.5 If it moves forward, it would set an incredibly dangerous precedent for GOP action in the House for the next two years.

Can you sign the petition asking Congress to denounce the Smith bill to redefine rape?

http://pol.moveon.org

Thanks for all you do.

–Kat, Eli, Milan, Carrie, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. “The House GOP’s Plan to Redefine Rape,” Mother Jones, January 28, 2011

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205936&id=25965-9640874-dbC4j7x&t=5

“Stupak on Steroids,” The Hill, January 25, 2011

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205938&id=25965-9640874-dbC4j7x&t=6

2. “The Two Abortion Wars: A Highly Intrusive Federal Bill,” New York Times, January 29, 2011

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/opinion/30sun1.html

3. “The House GOP’s Plan to Redefine Rape,” Mother Jones, January 28, 2011

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205936&id=25965-9640874-dbC4j7x&t=7

“Stupak on Steroids,” The Hill, January 25, 2011

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=205938&id=25965-9640874-dbC4j7x&t=8

5. Ibid.

~ In the Library

In the Library ~~ Before Roe V Wade , by Linda Greenhouse&Reva Siegel

1 Comment

lindagreenhouse&revasiegel

Before Roe v. Wade: Voices that Shaped the Abortion Debate Before the Supreme Court’s Ruling (2d edition, 2012)

The Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade legalized abortion–but the debate was far from over, continuing to be a political battleground to this day. Bringing to light key voices that illuminate the case and its historical context, Before Roe v. Wade looks back and recaptures how the arguments for and against abortion took shape as claims about the meaning of the Constitution—and about how the nation could best honor its commitment to dignity, liberty, equality, and life.

In this ground-breaking book, Linda Greenhouse, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who covered the Supreme Court for 30 years for The New York Times, and Reva Siegel, a renowned professor at Yale Law School, collect documents illustrating cultural, political, and legal forces that helped shape the Supreme Court’s decision and the meanings it would come to have over time. A new afterword to the book explores what the history of conflict over abortion in the decade before Roe might reveal about the logic of conflict in the ensuing decades. The entanglement of the political parties in the abortion debate in the period before the Court ruled raises the possibility that Roe itself may not have engendered political polarization around abortion as is commonly supposed, but instead may have been engulfed by it.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

11 yr old to police: rape is a crime


Kaia* was eleven years old when she was assaulted and raped on the way to school. A teacher took her to the hospital, but the police demanded bribes for even taking down a statement.
So Kaia did something incredibly brave. She sued the police for failing to protect her. What’s even more incredible is what happened next.
In Kenya where Kaia lives, a woman or girl is raped every 30 minutes. Police there routinely turn a blind eye, further isolating terrified young survivors and reinforcing the notion that rape is ok.
Kaia and ten other young survivors challenged that. On the day of the case, ignoring threats to their safety and a blockade from court security, they marched from their shelter to the courthouse, chanting “Haki yangu” — Kiswahili for “I demand my rights.” And then the judge issued his ruling: The girls had won!
The amazing advocates and human rights lawyers that worked with Kaia are ready to bring similar lawsuits against police forces across Africa and beyond, but they need funding to do it. We won’t process pledges  until we reach our goal, but if just 30,000 of us pledge a small amount now, we can repeat this game-changing victory in other countries, remind police that rape is a crime, and take a powerful step forward against the global war on wom

When Kaia’s story began, she looked set to become just another of the countless victims of child rape ignored by the police. But Kenyan child rights advocate Mercy Chidi and Canadian human rights lawyer Fiona Sampson joined forces to challenge this injustice in the courts.
The plan was hatched in Kenya by a group of colleagues from Canada,  Kenya, Malawi and Ghana — it seemed like a long shot to sue the police  force for failing to act, but they stuck with it and took risks… and  made legal history. The work has just begun: like any win, it takes  time, effort and money to make sure the ruling sticks, and to use it as a springboard to wipe out violence against women.
If we raise enough, here’s how we could turn a huge victory for Kenya into a win for countries across Africa and even the rest of  the world:

  • help fund more cases like this, across Africa and around the world
  • use hard-hitting campaign strategies to make sure these groundbreaking judgments are enforced
  • push for massive, effective public education campaigns that strike at the root of sexual violence and help erase it for good
  • respond to more campaign opportunities like this case — with super smart strategies that turn the tide in the war on women.

As citizens, we often appeal to political leaders and other officials to get serious about protecting women’s rights. It’s important to keep doing that, but when they fail to hear their consciences, we need to appeal to their interests, and take them to court. That sends a powerful message: not only that there are new consequences for their crimes, but that the era of unchallenged misogyny in the culture of our societies is coming to end.
With hope,
Ricken, Maria Paz, Emma, Oli, Nick, Allison, Luca and the rest of the Avaaz team
* Kaia is a pseudonym, but her story is real. She is not pictured here.

PS – To pledge an amount other than the ones listed above, click here.
MORE INFORMATION:
In Kenya, a Victory for girls and rights (The New York Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/05/opinion/global/in-kenya-a-victory-for-girls-and-rights.html Canadians force Kenyan police to answer for ‘inexcusably’ neglecting reports of sexual abuse against girls (National Post) http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/31/kenyan-police-forced-to-answer-for-neglecting-reports-of-sexual-abuse/ Chance meeting led to justice for rape victims (Toronto Star) http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/06/13/chance_meeting_led_to_justice_for_rape_victims_porter.html African women the worst off – report (iOl News) http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/african-women-the-worst-off-report-1.1537277#.UcqVaOthpFR Africa: Violence Against Women Is Epidemic (AllAfrica) http://allafrica.com/stories/201307160410.html India’s Rape Crisis Undermines the Country (The Daily Beast) http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/07/india-s-rape-crisis-undermines-the-country.html Malawi country report (UNICEF) http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/malawi.html

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Chase: Don’t foreclose on Helen Bailey – In Memory – Black History


                                                              JPMorgan Chase launched a new website associating the company with Martin Luther King. But it’s planning to foreclose on Helen Bailey, a civil rights hero, in just weeks. Tell Chase to stop the foreclosure immediately.

A new Chase website honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and declares: “the values he espoused are the values that JPMorgan Chase also tries to stand for around the world.”

But as the bank wraps itself in the King brand, Chase planned to kick Helen Bailey (a 78-year-old grandmother who marched for civil rights and spent her life working with disabled children) out of her house on February 15th — right in the middle of Black History Month.

Occupy Nashville is fighting back. And they know that enough publicity on Chase’s hypocrisy will embarrass the bank into letting Ms. Bailey keep her home. Nearly 50,000 Change.org members have already spoken out, and Chase moved back Ms. Bailey’s foreclosure back one month in response — more people can speak out now and stop it completely.

Click here to sign the petition demanding that Chase stop foreclosing on civil rights activist Helen Bailey.

Helen and her attorney have struggled to find any solution that would stop Chase’s drive to foreclose. When Helen asked to modify her high-interest loan, Chase refused. When Helen found another lender who’d buy the home for just $9,000 less than what Chase said the home was worth, letting her live there for free, Chase refused. When Helen found someone else who’d buy her home and let Helen rent it, Chase refused again.

This isn’t an isolated incident. A former Chase banker — James Theckston — told Nick Kristof of the New York Times that his bank repeatedly pushed dangerous subprime mortgage loans on minority borrowers, then tried to cover up the racial disparity. Now, 25% of all minority borrowers are in foreclosure or deeply behind on payments. It’s a crisis.

But it’s one of our best opportunities to fight back. You can help Occupy Nashville keep Ms. Bailey in her home, and highlight the growing movement of communities standing up to foreclosures.

Click here to sign the petition.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

Jess and the Change.org team

P.S. Ms. Bailey isn’t alone in fighting for justice in a tough economy. Can you sign these other urgent petitions from Change.org members?