Mumbai and 9/11 November 30, 2008

It must be too early yet to begin to understand India’s terrible tragedy, but themes are being articulated.  A correspondent for the NY Times from Mumbai tells us that some Indians think that it is India’s 9/11, a view with which he disagrees.  (I think he disagrees because he does not think that events can change India very easily.)

Even in these very early days, I am struck particularly by one difference between the two events’ aftermaths. That is that India’s highest ranking security officer has resigned.    Apparently, we do not do that in the United States.  If the Abu Ghraib prison case is anything to judge by, we much prefer to see the lowest in rank sent to trial.  

It seems to me very easy to stand in judgment on the officials  who let their subordinates carry the blame.  Isn’t it cowardice of the worse sort to use power to absolve and protect yourself at the expense of those over whom you have authority? 

But is there a better, more nuanced reaction?  And what would US citizens have to change in their culture to change the idea that those at the top can save themselves without public dishonor?  It is clear that the idea of protecting those in control is not peculiar to one country; witness the  priests who were protected despite sexual abuse.  (From this perspective, the fact that many cultures protect abusers of women suggests that somehow we fall outside the ranks of those who truly matter.  Where there is honor, not shame, attached to killing your daughter, the the phenomenon of an ‘honor culture’ seems ironically named.)

In those countries where public resignation from high officials is more common,  is there a difference that does permeate the culture?  England has been one such place, but there have been recent calls for resignation is the terrible Baby P case, and I am not sure it has happened.  Is it mostly members of Parliament that resign?   :)

Anyway, as usual, WHAT DO YOU THINK?  I’m trying to raise questions here, not answer them!

Finally, it is hard to find words adequate to the horror in Mumbai;  I hope that taking the time to reflect on issues of honor is appropriate.

Sunday Roomba Cat November 30, 2008

Captiver, the Jender parents and Mr Jender have all sent me videos of one of the world’s great new cat toys, the Roomba.

People like me, how have apparently been living in a low-tech bubble, might like to know that the Roomba is a room-vacuuming robot. Which sounds pretty fab, but is still not as good as this invention:

 

It’s actually a bit of Chindogu, a wonderful concept.

Yes, but… November 29, 2008

The Buddhist view that strong attachments contribute to misery can seem to lead to a life in some ways higher in its purposes.  The amount of angst that can accompany a scratch on a new car or a bad referee’s report hardly seems to improve one’s life, right?  And perhaps for many people, it is easy to feel that having children is just too hard.  So I am far from wanting to laugh at the following quotes attributed to the Dalai Lama.

Still, it is stunning to find a list of reasons with which one agrees and a conclusion one’s whole life has  rejected.

The titile:  Sexual intercourse spells trouble, says Dalai Lama

Conjugal life causes too many “ups and downs”, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told reporters in a Lagos hotel.

“Sexual pressure, sexual desire, actually, I think is short-period satisfaction and, often, that leads to more complication,” he said.

“Naturally as a human being…some kind of desire for sex comes, but then you use human intelligence to make comprehension that those relationships are always full of trouble.”

Problems arising from conjugal life could even lead to suicide or murder, the Dalai Lama warned. …

“Too much attachment towards your children, towards your partner,” was “one of the obstacles or hindrances of peace of mind,” he said.

I guess the thing that is causing my sense of amazement is that though people seem frequently to say – or to agree to – the claim that close sexual relaitonships have a lot of ups and downs, that isn’t usually considered a reason for not getting into any at all. 

And that makes me think that the  perspective from which it is a good reason contains alternatives not easily available to many of  us.  It is a life, the Dalai Lama says, with more independence and freedom, but those may also require a context before they are the full basis for a life. 

What do you think?

Doing some holiday shopping for a girl? November 29, 2008

I’ll bet she could use a piggy-bank. And I’ll bet you want to make sure that she saves up for something that will give her happiness and a feeling of self-worth.

From Sociological Images. (Thanks, Mr Jender!)

End Bush’s Global Gag Rule November 28, 2008

From the National Partnership for Women and Families:

The Bush Administration’s global gag rule denies U.S. family planning funds to foreign NGOs (non-governmental organizations) that use their own private, non-U.S. dollars to counsel women, make referrals for abortion, or perform abortions. The gag policy even denies U.S. funds to NGOs that express support for laws to make abortion safe and legal.

As a result, medical professionals in some of the world’s poorest nations risk losing their ability to provide life-saving, legal, and medically acceptable services — or even basic health information.

Here’s the petition’s site.

“Girly Dogs”!?! November 28, 2008

Thanks to The Huffington Post for this excerpt from the Barbara Walters interview with the Obama’s.   Baraba has said she has a Havanese named ‘Cha Cha’.

Obama: “Cha Cha?”

Barbara: “It’s short for Cha Cha Cha.”

O: “What is a Havanese?”

B: “It’s like a little terrier and they’re non-allergenic and they’re the sweetest dogs..”

O: [Face suddenly changes.] “It’s like a little yappy dog?”

Michelle: “Don’t criticize.”

O: “It, like, sits in your lap and things?”

M: “It’s a cute dog.”

O: “It sounds kinda like a girly dog.”

M: “We’re girls. We have a houseful of girls.”

O [with hand gestures]: “We’re going to have a big rambunctious dog, of some sort.”

Here’s the ‘girly’ Havanese:

And my best favorite macho dog, Barney, satiated after his destruction of prized, antique teddy bears, as described here:

 

Perhaps Obama’s really concerned to avoid this image:

Maybe it’s a bit late now… November 27, 2008

…but NEXT year, you can make a peanut butter fudge turkey for Thanksgiving. (Or a sesame noodle turkey. Or a matzoh ball turkey.) Go on. You know you want to.

When “disabled” seems paradoxical November 27, 2008

With thanks to What Sorts of People, something beautiful on Thanksgiving Day.

Wild Turkey Waltz November 27, 2008

Turkey courtship, which apparently can go on for days, is quite spectacular.  The best video I could find can’t be embedded, but you can see it here.  It is so Henry VIII

 

In case you are interested, you can see turkey courting brought to consummation here.  One remarkable feature is the way the hen signals acceptance.  But be warned:  these birds are  not in a hurry.

Be Thankful November 27, 2008

Be thankful for movement this year in the US away from 1963:

Lyrics here.

UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women & 16 Days of Activism November 26, 2008

Yesterday was the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women! I’m a bit behind with this, but not too late in fact:

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence (25 November – 10 December) is an annual campaign that is symbolic of the global women’s movement and end-violence networks. Its starting day, 25 November, is observed each year to honour the Mirabal sisters, three political activists from the Dominican Republic who were assassinated on the same date in 1961. The end of the 16 Days is marked by 10 December, International Human Rights Day.

This site want’s to know about the events and activities you might be organising!
More info here.

Florida Court Rules Against Gay Adoption Ban November 26, 2008

Some good news out of Florida:

MIAMI (AP) — A judge on Tuesday ruled that a strict Florida law that blocks gay people from adopting children is unconstitutional, declaring there was no legal or scientific reason for sexual orientation alone to prohibit anyone from adopting.
Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman said the 31-year-old law violates equal protection rights for the children and their prospective gay parents, rejecting the state’s arguments that there is “a supposed dark cloud hovering over homes of homosexuals and their children.”
She noted that gay people are allowed to be foster parents in Florida. “There is no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting,” she wrote in a 53-page ruling.
Florida is the only state with an outright ban on gay adoption. Arkansas voters last month approved a measure similar to a law in Utah that bans any unmarried straight or gay couples from adopting or fostering children. Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting.

For more, see here. Thanks Rebecca!

The uniformity of sexism? November 25, 2008

Of course, the sexism experienced by a  US Ambassador to the UN will be very different from that experienced by factory workers in China or artisans in Mexico.  And there is plenty of treatment too awful to be labeled simply sexism.  Still, it is interesting to ask whether a philosophy professor and the US Ambassador to the UN could have very similar experiences.  Do her descriptions of how she was treated at the UN sound familiar to you? 

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT on women in politics.

(I should add that I got to the “explained patiently” part and thought, “I’ve got to hear what others think about this,” so I haven’t listened all the way through yet.)

Nepal Supreme Court approves same sex marriage November 25, 2008

From the Hindustan Times:

“The court has instructed the government against making any discrimination on the basis of sex. This is a landmark decision for the sexual minorities and we welcome it,” Sunil Babu Panta, a leading gay activist in South Asia and Nepal’s only lawmaker in the Constituent Assembly representing the community, said.

Great news! And thanks to Vishal for passing it on.

On Friendship and “Relationships” November 24, 2008

This article in the Guardian really got me thinking about the rather strange and stipulative ways that we categorise relationships and privilege some of them over others– even those of us who e.g. think gay relationships are on a par with straight ones. In particular, we don’t give much thought to the ways that family relationships (defined in terms of biology or adoption) and sexual relationships are privileged above others. The article is about two women who are non-sexual, non-romantic life partners, who define themselves as friends. And people have a very difficult time understanding this sort of relationship. (Just a few questions this raised for me: Why is ‘family’ defined in such a way as to not include a relationship like this? Why is this relationship any different from that between people who once had sex but haven’t done so for 30 years? Why care about whether there’s any sex going on, or ever has been? How should we define ‘romantic’ anyway?)

Cat-Friendly Houses November 23, 2008

Stoat has written on the importance of women-friendly town planning. But let’s not forget the importance of cat-friendly house planning.

For more, go here. (Thanks Kitchen-Chick!)

“eHarmony goes gay!” November 22, 2008

 You know this sweet-looking Santa Claus-type guy was just waiting for a good excuse to open his popular dating site to people looking for same-sex partners, despite his being a trained Christian minister.  So he probably welcomed getting sued for discrimination because his business refused to accept membership from  gays and lesbians.   And besides, he is clear, his affiliation with Focus on the Family was costing him revenue!

Neil Clark Warren

 

Thanks to Eric McKinley, a New Jersey man who was shocked at the exclusionary practices of eHarmony and brought a suit in 2005.

Of course, the same-sex services will be on a separate website.  But equal!

So it is Hillary Clinton for Secretary of State. But… November 22, 2008

The Guardian seemed to have had it first, though it was a bit hard to tell what they really knew.  Now the NY Times says Hillary Clinton will be the official Secretary of State appointee, and so it must be true.  (Joke!)

But there is a problem.  What if she disagrees with Obama on something?  Wouldn’t that be just awful? In an article in Slate entitled “The Underminer?”  John Dickerson worries:

What Obama wants from Clinton is the candor that can only be delivered by someone of her stature. It’s what he said he wanted from Joe Biden, too. The problem for Clinton is that when the time comes for her to deliver her opinions to Obama directly and candidly and to fight for those opinions, it’s going to look to those on the outside as if she’s undermining her boss. The heated conversations might stay in the Oval Office, but it’s hard to keep secrets in Washington, …. When a Cabinet secretary really believes in something, she tends to translate that passion to her staffers, who often talk to the press.

Let me see:  It’s a given that any Secretary who defends opposing views will be known to do so.  So why would it be undermining particularly if Hillary does it? 

In the meantime, what about Biden and undermining?  Biden has already treated Obama to a number of less than fortunately remarks in public (see here and here), but somehow Clinton is particularly a problem.  Maybe its being imagined that she’ll go to the UN and say  something like this:

Mark my words.  Some of you are planning to inflict a wound on US interests in order to challenge President Obama.  And when you do, the American people are not going to like his response.  But you need to know that Obama is bright and clean.

Or maybe Obama’s idea of having people around him who might disagree is his plan that he will actually try to entertain different views before he takes action.  That’s going to have us all freaked out! 

And can you imagine pointing out to students in critical reasoning classes that we can now see that it’s a good idea to think through things when the fate of the world is in your hands?

Obama’s verbal tic November 21, 2008

From Andy Borowitz at the HuffPo.

In the first two weeks since the election, President-elect Barack Obama has broken with a tradition established over the past eight years through his controversial use of complete sentences, political observers say.

Millions of Americans who watched Mr. Obama’s appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday witnessed the president-elect’s unorthodox verbal tick…

According to presidential historian Davis Logsdon of the University of Minnesota, some Americans might find it “alienating” to have a president who speaks English as if it were his first language.

“Every time Obama opens his mouth, his subjects and verbs are in agreement,” says Mr. Logsdon. “If he keeps it up, he is running the risk of sounding like an elitist.”…

The president-elect’s stubborn insistence on using complete sentences has already attracted a rebuke from one of his harshest critics, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska.

“Talking with complete sentences there and also too talking in a way that ordinary Americans like Joe the Plumber and Tito the Builder can’t really do there, I think needing to do that isn’t tapping into what Americans are needing also,” she said.

Thanks to WN

Transgender Day of Remembrance November 20, 2008

Today is the 10th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. As we think about how to teach about racial prejudice, gay marriage rights, women excluding men from conferences, and other excellent and worthwhile topics recently broached on this blog, let’s not forget that there are people who have lost their lives over the way they present their gender. Let’s not forget that fear of violence, not only exclusion, threatens transgendered persons as well as those who, regardless of how they identify, do not fit into neat social norms.

This is not a thing of the past, it happens regularly.

There are events all across the United States today–see if you can find one to attend.