…and then they came for the transpeople… June 13, 2013

As readers will know, Greece is suffering as a result of the global recession. History has shown us time and again that with recession comes social unrest, and repression. Well, things are currently looking pretty ugly in Greece right now.

Operation Zeus in August last year marked the start of an ugly reminder of a European past that we thought we had long buried. Nearly 60 years after the end of the Second European War, migrants were round up from the streets of Greece and shoved unceremoniously into internment camps. In May, women working in the sex industry were pulled from the streets, forcibly tested for HIV, publically humilitated and imprisoned. In March, they rounded up drug users from the streets of Athens and put them too into camps. Last month in Thessaloniki they came for transgendered people.

You can read more from Second Council House of Virgo.

Violent land evictions in Brazil May 31, 2013

Survival for Tribal Peoples reports that in one incident, Terena Indians had returned to live on their ancestral land, which now belongs to a rancher who is also a politician. The police turned up and carried out a violent eviction, killing one and wounding others. There are fears that there will be similar violence at the site of the Belo Monte Dam project, where Kayapo, Arara, Munduruku, and Xipaia Indians are currently protesting. Tribal peoples are supposed to be consulted about the use of their land before any decisions are made, but the government appears to have been pandering to powerful agricultural and mining lobbies who seek to undermine these rights.

Calling out sexual assault for those entering military leadership May 26, 2013

Not the usual graduation speech. We can hope those committing or covering up sexual criminal behavior will feel less safe. Do you think the effects will go beyond that?

Obama at Annapolis:

Hagel at West Point

“a wonderful woman” April 11, 2013

About a year ago some people I know were talking about Margaret Thatcher. One was maintaining that the group should find a way to honor her. The first scientist to be PM and the first woman to be PM. Others were silent and stared at the ceiling or found the cutlery suddenly extremely interesting. One finally spoke, “The problem is really doing that without having everyone else furious about it.”

I’ve been hearing about how wonderful she is from people who are not aware that many people think otherwise. Brian Leiter has a link to Glenda Jackson’s assessment of Thatcher, and it might be worth looking at that:

Baby denied NHS operation due to parents’ immigration status March 25, 2013

A baby in Portsmouth has been denied operation on the NHS due to her parents’ immigration status. Sanika Ahmed suffered nerve damage in her arm during birth, and if the operation is not carried out within the next four weeks, her arm will be left paralysed. Her father was working in the UK legally until his work permit expired in 2009. Both parents are currently in the process of applying for leave to remain. The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Middlesex say that the parents must pay for Sanika’s treatment, or wait until they have been granted leave to remain in the UK. If are not allowed to stay, the future for a girl with a paralysed arm in Bangladesh is not particularly bright. You can read more here.

Kakenya Ntaiya and the Kakenya Center for Excellence March 19, 2013

Kenya ranks #130 in the 2012 Gender Inequality Index and ranks #145 in the Human Development Index. (Also, click here for a PDF of Kenya’s composite indices for the 2011 Human Development Report.)

Despite serious problems represented by these figures/values, Kakenya Ntaiya and the Kakenya Center for Excellence arguably provide many of the kinds of action, growth, hope, and promise that we need most in this world.

Woman challenges tradition, brings change to her Kenyan village (CNN Heroes story from March 14, 2013)

(Please check this out. Well worth our time. Every single minute – only 15 minutes, 42 seconds. Really gets going, truly inspiring, in the second half.)

2012 Gender Inequality Index March 17, 2013

The U.N. (Development Program) released the 2013 Human Development Report (and the 2012 Human Development Index within it) a few days ago. It incorporates data from 2012 for the latest Gender Inequality Index (on pages 156-159). This index reflects gender inequality along three dimensions – reproductive health, empowerment, and the labor market – as rated by five indicators: maternal mortality and adolescent fertility for reproductive health, parliamentary representation and educational attainment for empowerment, and labor force participation for the labor market.

Of the 186 countries ranked in the 2012 Human Development Index, 148 of those countries are ranked in the 2012 Gender Inequality Index. The U.S. ranks #42, the U.K. ranks #34, Canada ranks #18, Australia ranks #17, New Zealand ranks #31, and South Africa ranks #90.

Also out of those 186 countries (for the 2012 Gender Inequality Index…), Netherlands ranks #1, Sweden ranks #2, Denmark and Switzerland rank #3, Norway ranks #5 (though as you might expect, Norway ranks #1 overall in Human Development), Finland and Germany rank #6, Slovenia ranks #8, France ranks #9, Iceland ranks #10, Italy ranks #11 and Belgium ranks #12.

In addition, out of those 186 countries (for the 2012 Gender Inequality Index…), India ranks #132, Saudi Arabia ranks #145, Afghanistan ranks #147, and Yemen ranks #148.

Click here for a PDF of the full 2013 Human Development Report.

Click here for a webpage with frequently asked questions (and answers) about the Gender Inequality Index.

Click here (and scroll down to “technical note 3”) for a PDF file that provides details on how the 2011 Gender Inequality Index was calculated.

Unfortunately, the link (to a PDF file) for details on how the latest Gender Inequality Index is calculated does not currently work. Click here in case it starts working.

Click here (and then click on “2012” toward the right side of the page) for a webpage that provides a possibly more straightforwardly ordered listing of countries in the 2012 Gender Inequality Index (though some parts of the ordering seem different from the ordering indicated in the 2013 Human Development Report).

What do readers think? All sorts of data here for all sorts of comments…

Also, in case anyone is interested: “The Google Public Data Explorer makes large, public-interest datasets easy to explore, visualize and communicate. As the charts and maps animate over time, the changes in the world become easier to understand.”

Here is a webpage for this tool.

Readers can find some basic Google Public Data Help for using the tool here.

Right to freedom of assembly and association in the UK March 13, 2013

The UN Special Rapporteur on rights to freedom of assembly and association, Mr. Maina Kiai, has criticised the UK authorities use of spy cops, such as Mark Kennedy; the practice of ‘kettling’ peaceful protesters – where they are trapped (sometimes along with members of the public who had nothing to do with the protest) within a circle of police officers, often for hours at a time with no access to water or sanitary facilities; the categorisation of protest as ‘domestic extremism’; and the gathering of intelligence about peaceful protesters. His preliminary findings can be found here. The full report is to follow.

But, of course, no need to worry about these pesky human rights types. Theresa May has promised to scrap the Human Rights Act, and perhaps pull the UK out of its European obligations on human rights altogether if the Tories win the next election. So that’s alright then.

Guess who

opposes
gay marriage
gay adoption
abortion
contraception
Women priests (no doubt)

Sometimes people become radicalized when they enter the upper positions in an extremely conservative institution. The US Supreme Court demonstrates some instances of this transition. So let’s hope that Pope Francis can do the same.

A new pope is thought to choose his name to signal the tradition he will align himself with. Francis I is not situating himself in such a line. So let us hope.

P.a.p.-Blog about Human Rights March 8, 2013

Anyone interested in Human Rights will find lots of disturbing documentation over at the excellent P.a.p.-Blog run by Filip Spagnoli. Be warned, it’s not a pleasant read.