Running for Congo Women

I just committed myself to run the Paris Half-Marathon on March 8th, and I am doing it for this cause.

If you have the money (I certainly don't, which is why I'm putting my knees through hell instead), sponsor a woman!

If you go to the website, they have a nice video about the program. I'm a sucker for a video.

But for a more "speaking" video, this is from a 60-minutes story called "War Against Women" in which they visited the Women for Women center:

Accompanying article here.

There is also a blog here from International Rescue Committee describing the situation:

"In the Democratic Republic of Congo there is a war raging against women. Here, women and girls are victims of rape on a scale never seen before. Whenever violent conflict escalates in Congo, so do incidents of rape. It’s happening right now in the volatile province of North Kivu. Gunmen are entering homes and raping and torturing women in front of their families. Others are being snatched from their villages or farms during raids or attacked while collecting water or firewood. They are sometimes kept for days, weeks or even months at a time and subjected to repeated gang rapes, beatings, and mutilation.

“Rape is used as a tactic by all the armed groups in Congo to terrorize communities and to control and humiliate families,” says Sarah Mosely, who oversees International Rescue Committee programs to aid rape survivors in Congo.

“It’s sometimes hard to describe just how horrific these assaults are, but I can tell you that it’s not uncommon for women to be raped with sticks and bayonets that rip them apart or for men and boys to be forced at gunpoint to rape, stab and shoot their mothers, sisters and daughters.

Before I came to Congo, I worked in Darfur aiding rape survivors. The situation is horrible there, but in terms of the frequency and the brutality of attacks, nothing compares to what’s happening to women and girls in Congo....

Tens of thousands of women and girls have suffered such attacks, leaving women and girls physically damaged and emotionally terrorized. Many victims are no longer able to bear children. Others end up suffering from fistula, a condition in which internal organs are so destroyed that the victims lose bowel and bladder control. Unfortunately, Congo’s war and ongoing conflict destroyed the health system in eastern regions, so there is a shortage of hospitals and clinics capable of treating rape survivors. And few can afford the medical help anyway.

A number of aid groups, including the International Rescue Committee, are working to change that and ensure that women and girls have access to critical medical and other needed support services."

A scattering of UN News Service headlines

Ban hails Sudan’s election body as major progress in north-south peace accord

Zimbabwe’s humanitarian crisis likely to worsen, warns senior UN relief official

UN experts call for strong government response to anti-Roma violence in Europe

UN human rights office regrets Israeli pull-out from upcoming racism conference

UNICEF sounds alarm after brutal murder of albino girl in Burundi

Egypt: Uproar as Lawyer Suggests Raping Israeli Women

Lovely.

Cleanliness is next to godlessness

Nov 20th 2008
From The Economist print edition

Soaping away your outer dirt may lead to inner evil

PUBLIC displays of untidiness, such as graffiti, may promote bad behaviour (see article), but when it comes to personal cleanliness the opposite appears to be true. A study just published in Psychological Science by Simone Schnall of the University of Plymouth and her colleagues shows that washing with soap and water makes people view unethical activities as more acceptable and reasonable than they would if they had not washed themselves.

Read more about how me not washing my hair today makes me an awesome person here.

Carter, Annan unable to visit to Zimbabwe

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (CNN) -- A group including former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and former U.S. President Carter postponed a visit to Zimbabwe meant to highlight the country's humanitarian crisis after the government refused to cooperate, Annan said. ...

The government denied that it barred the officials from entering, however, saying it instead asked them to postpone their visit....

Machel said she was "extremely disappointed."

"We want to talk to the people and hear their stories directly. We want people to know that we care and that we will do all we can to help them. People are dying from hunger every day in Zimbabwe, and hospitals are unable to treat the sick. With schools struggling to stay open, children are missing out on an education. One in four children has lost one or both parents. The government's attitude to our visit is deeply regrettable."

Carter noted that he supported Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, led by Mugabe, while he was the U.S. president.

"I am partisan. I make no apology for that. I supported Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, and I oppose suffering and misery. But I am very sorry that we are unable to visit Zimbabwe. We will continue with our plans to learn as much as we can while we are here in the region, where millions of Zimbabweans inside and outside the country face a daily struggle for survival."

Annan and Carter said they would remain in South Africa to monitor the situation in Zimbabwe.

Article here.

Iran Executes Man in Spy Case, and Blogger’s Arrest Is Reported

By NAZILA FATHI
Published: November 22, 2008
TEHRAN — Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israel, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Saturday.

Iranian news media reported in June that Mr. Ashtari, 45, had received a death sentence for spying. At the time, newspapers said he had been the manager of a company selling communication and security equipment to the Iranian government.

An Israeli official said in June that Israel had no knowledge of his case.

Tension between Iran and Israel has escalated in recent months over Iran’s nuclear program. Israel has not ruled out launching a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Iran does not recognize Israel as a state and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spoken of Israel with hostility since his election in 2005.

A Web site affiliated with the Iranian Intelligence Ministry has reported that a high-profile blogger, Hossein Derakhshan, was also arrested this month and accused of spying for Israel. Judiciary officials have not confirmed his arrest but the Web site, Jahan News, reported that he had confessed to spying for Israel.

Mr. Derakhshan, an Iranian-Canadian, had lived in Canada since 2000 but moved back to Tehran a few weeks ago. He traveled to Israel in 2007 and wrote about it on his blog.

Abraham Rabinovich, an Israeli journalist who interviewed Mr. Derakhshan in Jerusalem two years ago, described him in an op-ed article for The International Herald Tribune on Friday as an “Iranian patriot” who through his blog “offered the first views of ordinary life in Israel that Iranians had been able to see.”

Mr. Rabinovich quoted Mr. Derakhshan as saying: “I want to humanize Israel for Iranians and tell them it’s not what the Islamic propaganda machine is saying, that Israelis are thirsty for Muslim blood. And I want to show Israel that the average Iranian isn’t even thinking about doing harm to Israel.”

Article..

Religious unity: The Charter for Compassion

Friday, November 21st, 2008 @ 16:39 UTC
by Juliana Rincón Parra

As children we may all have heard the Golden Rule expressed in many different ways, but the basic idea is: Treat others as you would like to be treated. This is Karen Armstrong's TED wish, to create a platform in which the different Abrahamic faiths could focus on what was common to all, the moral backbone of all their faiths towards a greater unity and better communication among people of different faiths. The Charter of Compassion is requesting stories of unity and compassion to be uploaded on their site, written or in video form, and that together, people may write this Charter of Compassion a document where this new image will be established, signed by sages and religious leaders. Different sections of the charter are opened on different dates, so feel free to stop by the site and write your perspective on the issue.


Karen Armstrong is a British born former Catholic nun who has written many books on Muslim faith and has taught in the Leo Baeck rabbinic college: this inter-faith knowledge led her on the path towards bringing this project into fruition. Her acceptance speech video is on YouTube, and in it she speaks about this desire of hers to work for the unity of the different faiths, to make religion work towards universal harmony:



The Charter for Compassion's YouTube channel already has some inspirational videos by people in Pakistan. Samia Shoaib shares her own personal compassion story of how we are all interconnected and what happens to our neighbor or someone down the street does concern us:



Arshad Mahmood also speaks from his Muslim faith, in how people should concern themselves about the fate of others, and how discrimination against those of a different faith should not take place:



The Charter for Compassion has opened the call for submissions where people can also tell their stories of compassion and change the image of religion as a harborer of intolerance, showing the world that compassion is and will be the cornerstone of religion, and the way towards change. You can participate by offering information in different languages so the message can get to more people, and by making a video with a story where compassion is featured, or writing your opinion or perspective on the Charter itself.

Article from Global Voices.

Artist's London giveaway begins

Adam Neate is an urban artist who is leaving his artwork around London for people to find.







Article.

The Archipelago of Fear: Are fortification and foreign aid making Kabul more dangerous?

Here is a long but fantastic article exploring the often complicated relationship between foreign aid and its recipients.

I'm really intrigued by this article's message, but I know that eight pages can uh, be a deterrent to some, so let me super-simplify and condense here: The way that foreign aid is being done in Kabul is basically 1) alienating the people and 2) possibly increasing the security risks for foreigners. The fortification and foreign aid referenced in the title are showing up via luxurious compounds for foreigners and corrupted officials, which stand in stark contrast to the 45% unemployment rate and s#!tholes-without-electricity-or-running-water that the people themselves enjoy. The people are distressed, and bombers go after the hotels, which make for obvious and symbolic targets. In the other hand, maybe if the aid was distributed in a way that seemed more...well, distributed, then the people would feel better off and the desperation that makes Taliban recruitment easier would dissipate.

I'm also really interested in the article's exploration of the relationship between the (very understandable) desire of aid workers and other foreigners to have increasing security measures put into place and the way this might actually court an increasing need for those very measures.

Mentioned in the article was the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, which I thought sounded really awesome. Basically they are committed to helping rebuilding in Afghanistan with a focus on reclaiming its history and culture.

Check out this photography exhibition called Return, Afghanistan. (Description: For over a quarter of a century, Afghanistan has been devastated by war, drought and famine. Her people have been displaced, and her culture eviscerated. The world renowned photographer Zalmaï, a former refugee from Afghanistan, now Swiss citizen returns after twenty-three years in exile, to re-discover his homeland at a crucial moment of transition.)

Also UNHCR is running a five-part series this month on "Afghanistan at the crossroads." Here are the first, second, and third reports.

Refugees in Gaza

This is a five-minute clip from a documentary called Occupation 101 that I recently watched. Regardless of whether or not this documentary comports with your beliefs on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I urge everyone to watch this short video highlighting the refugee crisis. Very sad.

Gaza's Reality

Top UN officials tell world leaders it is time for action in fight against global woes

12 November 2008 – The General Assembly President today told global leaders the world is facing its most difficult period since the founding of the United Nations and urged them to use their “moral strength” in finding solutions to the problems plaguing the Earth, such as global hunger, poverty and climate change.Speaking to over 70 heads of State and high-level officials at the “Culture of Peace” gathering, Miguel D’Escoto said that the world must choose between the values of consumerism and greed, or social responsibility and ethical behaviour, including the economic and political spheres.
“The United Nations has very appropriately elaborated a complex agenda for making the world a better place,” Mr. D’Escoto said in his opening remarks to the two-day meeting in New York.

“But progress is too slow. We are running out of time, and do not seem to have the energy and conviction required to move any faster,” he added.

Read the article. Please.

We have to remember

In the midst of all the killing, raping, and looting in the Congo, the stalled power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe, pirating and other general lawlessness in Somalia...

let's hope the world doesn't forget about the tragedies still taking place in Sudan.

This is especially important given the Congolese refugees going into Sudan, stressing an already horrible refugee sitution.

It's not like reading the news makes me smile every morning, but today for some reason I am even more saddened than usual. Every day it feels like the news gets worse and worse, tragedy upon tragedy. And sometimes it feels like we don't even give two shits. Maybe it sounds like a broken record, but maybe that's because we aren't listening. People around the world are living in conditions that are unimagineable to most of us. And to them, it's not just a news story they read with their coffee. It's their LIVES. This is what they LIVE. These people could be you or me, had we only been born in a different place. These are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, and they deserve better than this. WE HAVE TO CARE.

As global talks on the economic crisis continue...

Things still look bad and the world is still trying to figure it out.

With that said, I want to revisit what Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said a few weeks ago at a talk in the States:

“While recently we have heard much in this country about how problems on Wall Street are affecting innocent people on Main Street, we need to think more about those people around the world with no streets. Wall Street, Main Street, no street – the solutions devised must be for all,” he stressed.

I guess I say this because also in the news is:

People are still starving

People are still without basic amenities

People are still caught up in horrific conflicts

I really, really hope that as we go forward in this economic mess, we remember how big the world is.

Myanmar blogger jailed for 20 years

Oh, nice.

In the second case, poet Saw Wai received a two-year jail sentence for a poem he wrote for Valentine's Day that contained a veiled jab at the junta's leading figure, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

The first words of each line in the eight-line poem, "February the Fourteenth" spelled out the message: "Senior General Than Shwe is crazy with power."

...

How about a poem that spells out no s#!t.

Deprogramming Jihadists

By KATHERINE ZOEPF
The Saudi government is trying to rehabilitate violent Islamists by addressing their psychological needs. Could therapy be the best sort of counterterrorism?

Interesting article

Getting Tough - Deported in Coma, Saved Back in U.S.

GILA BEND, Ariz. — Soon after Antonio Torres, a husky 19-year-old farmworker, suffered catastrophic injuries in a car accident last June, a Phoenix hospital began making plans for his repatriation to Mexico.

Mr. Torres was comatose and connected to a ventilator. He was also a legal immigrant whose family lives and works in the purple alfalfa fields of this southwestern town. But he was uninsured. So the hospital disregarded the strenuous objections of his grief-stricken parents and sent Mr. Torres on a four-hour journey over the California border into Mexicali.

Article here. Wow.

John Baldessari

Absurd, awesome, absurdly awesome, awesomely absurd:









Excerpt from this interview with the artist-

Nicole Davis: What led you to become an artist?

JB: I always had this idea that doing art was just a masturbatory activity, and didn't really help anybody. I was teaching kids in the California Youth Authority, an honor camp where they send kids instead of sending them to prison. One kid came to me one day and asked if I would open up the arts and crafts building at night so they could work. I said, "If all of you guys will cool it in the classes, then I'll baby-sit you." Worked like a charm. Here were these kids that had no values I could embrace, that cared about art more than I. So, I said, "Well, I guess art has some function in society," and I haven't gotten beyond that yet, but it was enough to convince me that art did some good somehow. I just needed a reason that wasn't all about myself.

The Take Away Shows

My brother introduced me to this amazing concept they have going on at La Blogotheque.

Basically they invite musicians (typically indie bands and ...Jason Mraz?) to play their music whilst roaming the streets (typically Paris).

Check it out, it's awesome.

Human smuggling across Gulf of Aden and Mediterranean Sea keeps rising – UN

4 November 2008 – The number of people illegally crossing the Gulf of Aden and the Mediterranean Sea is on the rise, the United Nations refugee agency reported today, as it confirmed that 12 people fleeing Somalia in the past week have been found dead on a beach in Yemen and 28 others remain missing.Smugglers forced up to 40 people overboard into the deep waters of the Gulf of Aden as they were on the last leg of the 36-hour journey from strife-torn Somalia to Yemen on Sunday, the 75 survivors told the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at its Ahwar reception centre.

Article here.