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for those of you that want to explore my website, here it is! http://supportcongo.weebly.com/

Is it wrong that I post so much up here?

Just one more thing that I discovered recently that I think pertains to most discussions we have in class, which are the following two terms that I read in an article recently (actually, the last article I posted):

Cultural Relativism: the principle that an individual human's beliefs and activities make sense in terms of his or her own culture, in many ethical contexts this is said to mean those who assert primacy of cultural values over human rights. Also sometimes used interchangeably with moral relativism, especially in the context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Cultural relativists are generally found saying, "but how can we criticize that if it's their culture?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_relativism


Universality:  a doctrine or school claiming universal facts can be discovered and is therefore understood as being in opposition to relativism.  When used in the context of ethics, the meaning of universal refers to that which is true for "all similarly situated individuals."  Universalists are generally found saying, "but still, you just can't DO that to people!"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universality_(philosophy)

I've seen these two schools of though butt heads pretty often in our class, but also mix a lot as well.  Just thought it was some interesting information for everyone to ponder!  Both relativism and universality have their good points and their bad points.  Pure relativists and pure universalists tend to come into conflict a lot on the same fundamental issues; it seems like a happy medium between the two, in which one looks at certain issues with a context of culture but also tries to follow some basic human rights guidelines when thinking about how to go about making sense of those issues, works best.  It's hard though, it seems to me that most people lean at least slightly one way or another.  What do you all think????

UN General Assembly Votes To Allow Gays To Be Executed Without Cause

"Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people were once again subject to the whims of homophobia and religious and cultural extremism this week, thanks to a United Nations vote that removed “sexual orientation” from a resolution that protects people from arbitrary executions." Click for more:

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/un-general-assembly-votes-to-allow-gays-to-be-executed-without-cause/politics/2010/11/20/15449

Family waits to see if mother, accused of blasphemy, will be hanged

Asia Bibi, a 45 year-old woman in Pakistan's pubjab province, was sentenced to death by the Pakistani government. Bibi, a Christian, was accused of insulting the Muslim religion. Apparently, Bibi dipped her cup into a bucket of drinking water during a lunch break at her job working as a field worker. Now, prosecuters claim that she has contaminated the drinking water because she is not Muslim. While victims claim to have heard Bibi's slurs against the prophet Muhammad, there is no direct evidence. The teachings of Muhammad do not say anything about prosecution for blasphemy. However, Islamic scholars have created their own laws against blasphemy that call for the death penalty. Bibi is the first case of for blasphemy in Pakistan.

I wonder what would happen if the victim were male.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/18/pakistan.blasphemy/index.html?iref=allsearch

Controversy over Boys Competing in Pageants! And Pageant Dads

Transgender Man Is on Women’s Team

Kye Allums, a typical busy junior who plays Division I basketball at George Washington University. One day he decided to come out as a transgender man playing on a women’s basketball team. Many people believe that he is the first Division I college basketball player to compete publicly as a transgender person, but definitely not the first one to play. The George Washington University officials said that he would remain on the basketball team. Earlier this year he had changed his name on the basketball roster from Kay-Kay to Kye which reflected the preferred gender. He was biologically a female but decided to let people know the truth because he was tired of people referring to him as her and she. She stated in the article that, “I decided to do it because I was uncomfortable not being able to be myself ”. Her being able to let the people know her real gender was refreshing for her because she didn't deserve to feel uncomfortable. When he told his teammates they were in disbelief at first but then offered their support and comfort. His coach even supported his decision to let people know the truth. Now that he has let everyone know about his personal life he is able to continue with his life and be focused on basketball. The feeling of being able to be yourself is always good. :)

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/sports/ncaabasketball/02gender.html?scp=2&sq=transgender&st=cse

Guess who's working with Oprah?

Lynn Nottage is working on a Ruined screenplay for Oprah & HBO. Awesome, yes?

Photo: Lynn Nottage. Credit: Robert Caplin / For The Times

Afghan Women and Self-Immolation



Image courtesy of New York Times, Inc.



Last week the New York Times published a pretty horrifying story about Afghan wives who attempt to commit suicide by immolating themselves. I wonder what you think about the ethics of publishing this photo on the front page of the paper, and also what you think about the piece.   

Article at NYT.

Having read Ruined, this article on Women’s E News caught my eye. In August, Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton visited the Democratic Republic of Congo. Clinton’s visit was a result of a fresh outbreak of fighting, over natural resources in the DRC, which lead to an even higher number of rape victims. While in the Congo, Mrs. Clinton announced that the United States would be giving 17 million dollars in funding for rape victims. The money would go “to train doctors; supply rape survivors with mobile phones and cameras to document violence, and train a special female police force to protect women in the eastern Congo.” Money, however, was not the most important aspect to Clintons visit to the Congo. To the Congolese Women, Clintons position in high power means hope for the rest of them. On the other side, Clinton outright referenced rape as a war tactic, the women who have been severely affected by the sexual violence in the Congo are being recognized. Will Hillary Clintons visit to the DRC affect other countries? Will the US feel more obligated to help other places, such as Darfur?

Waging War and Peace with Women

So. Finally our opinions matter. I’m not saying that there have been no women through out the course of history that have made some good suggestions. After all, Martha Washington was at the Battle of Valley Forge. However, it seems after all this time, experts on war have decided that one gender’s opinion can be of great help when discussing war and peace. That gender, my friends, is female. In this article in the New York Times former secretary of state Madeline Albright said “Because women are often a principal victim of conflict, the women’s perspective can be vital in seeking to prevent or to mitigate the damaged cause by conflict. That assertion should not be controversial: it is simply common sense.”

This semester, we’ve been talking a lot about what the best plan of attack is, when dealing with other countries and their policies on women. The general consensus is that the United States has been too harsh in dealing with the middle east on subjects regarding women. The New York Times claims that because women treat these conflicts in a much more gentle way, more progress is being made. Another quote from the article says “Female soldiers can respectfully search Muslim women at checkpoints. They are more likely to win the trust of local abused- often sexually- by men with guns.” Female soldiers over seas are especially important, because they are given the same respect as the male soldiers, but are given “reserved access” because they’re women.

The question is, other then the reasons stated by the new york times, why do you think women are having more success reaching out to other cultures, and getting positive results? Other countries are starting to fill government positions with female candidates, do you think that even more countries will follow this example?

Teenage Girls: Uninterested in Politics?

After the 2008 elections, America seemed reinvigorated by politics again. “Yes We Can!” we cheered; heck, even those who didn’t vote for Obama felt pretty proud of the political vigor and achievements our country displayed for most of 2008. And this was reflected in the 2008 enrollment numbers of Running Start an organization that runs five programs each year to get teen girls involved in politics. In 2008, Running Start received 30,000 applications for 50 spaces in its 2009 program; Running Start’s 2010 program, on the other hand, received a paltry 1,000 applications. What’s more, a recent Harvard Survey (October 2010) revealed that only 27% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said they’d definitely vote in midterm elections (with even less young women saying they would when the numbers were broken down by gender).

These findings are disturbing for many reasons, but the one that strikes me the most is such disinterest amongst teen girls despite the prevalence of women in the 2010 Midterm Elections. In this past election cycle, 298 women filed to run for Congress, more than half won their primaries, and yesterday 153 women appeared on ballots nationwide in general election for US congressional races. How can teenage girls face what at first seems like a political triumph for American women, and feel ambivalence or even disinterest? Meagan Carberry of Rock The Vote thinks that, “The partisan bickering has definitely gotten to young voters.” Plus, she said, younger voters just aren’t targeted enough in political campaigns.

But what’s the solution to this troubling new trend? Some say that we need to actively try to involve girls in politics much earlier, considering that of the last 19 presidents, 12 began their political career before they were 35. And the facts remain that currently women compose only 17% of Congress and 23% of State Legislatures – clearly, no where near equality.

So my question to you is this: why are you – or let’s be honest – why aren’t you as a teenage girl (or boy) interested in politics? Do you see this as problematic? What do you think should be done to involve more girls in politics (or should we bother at all)?

More current events about women in politics:
List of women running in 2010 elections - Rutgers

Five Myths About Female Candidates – Feministing

Brazil President and Gender Equality - BBC

Today's Guest

Steven Dettelbach '84 was the subject of Sunday's "My Cleveland" profile in the Plain Dealer.

One recent trafficking case he prosecuted involved a Toledo man - details at the Cleveland FBI website.

Remember to write questions for his visit!