CUADERNOS FEMINISTAS: En la Red - In the Net ..1a Semana de junio

ESPAÑOL
Tortura y amnesia histórica - (II y última ) por Noam Chomsky , La Jornada, mayo 31, 2009 - Se puede argumentar que la aplicación del paradigma de tortura de la CIA nunca violó la Convención sobre Tortura de 1984, al menos en la forma en que fue interpretada por Washington. McCoy señala que el muy sofisticado paradigma de la CIA se desarrolló a enorme costo en las décadas de 1950 y 1960, con base en la técnica de tortura más devastadora de la KGB, que se reservaba para el tormento mental, no físico, el cual se consideraba menos efectivo para convertir a las personas en vegetales manejables. McCoy escribe que el gobierno de Reagan revisó en forma minuciosa la Convención Internacional sobre Tortura “con cuatro detalladas ‘reservas’ diplomáticas enfocadas en una sola palabra de las 26 páginas impresas de la convención: la palabra ‘mental’”.

DESDE SEMLAC:

Colombia -El agua, ¿un derecho o una mercancía? - Por Ángela Castellanos Aranguren - La posibilidad de que los colombianos vayan a las urnas a pedir que la Constitución Nacional consagre el acceso al agua potable como derecho humano fundamental y que, por tanto, el Estado lo garantice, todavía es posible.
El pasado 28 de mayo, la Cámara de Representantes (o Cámara baja) aceptó la apelación al texto del referendo aprobado por el legislativo, dado que la letra se apartaba de manera fundamental del originalmente presentado al Congreso y que fuera respaldado por más de dos millones de firmas. El texto original, avalado por unas 1.200 organizaciones sociales lideradas por el no gubernamental fondo ambiental Ecofondo, propone que el Congreso someta a referendo un proyecto que consagre el acceso al agua como un derecho humano fundamental; la declare bien común, así como los ecosistemas que lo generan; ponga fin a la privatización del servicio de acueducto y garantice el suministro gratuito de un mínimo vital del líquido a toda la población, sin discriminación y con equidad de género.
Paraguay - Las sintechos, con la injusticia clavada en las manos - Por Marta Escurra - Sonia Raquel Rodríguez tiene 33 años, nueve hijos y dos clavos incrustados en cada una de sus manos. Como ella, otras tres mujeres se han infligido este castigo en protesta contra el gobierno paraguayo. El objetivo es reclamar la construcción de viviendas populares en asentamientos ubicados, en promedio, a 15 kilómetros de la capital del país. "¿Que si me duele? Claro que me duele, pero más me duele que el gobierno aún no haya cumplido su promesa de levantarnos nuestras casas", dice a SEMlac, mientras es asistida por paramédicos en la Plaza de Armas, frente al Congreso Nacional, en el microcentro de la ciudad de Asunción. En noviembre del año pasado, el propio presidente Fernando Lugo había mediado en un conflicto entre organizaciones de Sintechos y la Secretaría de Acción Social, prometiendo la construcción de viviendas populares a los asentamientos "24 de Octubre" ubicado en Luque (a 15 kilómetros de la capital), "Nueva Esperanza" de Capiatá ( 20 kilómetros) y "Mangal" de San Lorenzo (15 kilómetros).
República Dominicana - Maternidad en el epicentro del debate social - Por Mirta Rodríguez Calderón - La maternidad ha estado en el epicentro de controversias y debates en este país, durante las últimas semanas, según discusiones que han versado sobre el aborto, el derecho a la nacionalidad de las personas nacidas aquí, de madres y padres de ascendencia foránea, principalmente haitiana; y también por algo a todas luces positivo: el facilitar el acta de nacimiento en los hospitales antes de que la madre y su prole dejen el centro. La aprobación, en primera lectura, por la Asamblea Revisora de la Constitución, de un artículo (el 30) que protege la vida del cigoto desde la concepción, mantiene al rojo vivo las discusiones y presiones sobre integrantes del Congreso que debaten la Reforma Constitucional y, desde el movimiento de mujeres y las fuerzas sociales más beligerantes, sobre toda la sociedad. En el último mes, el Foro de Mujeres por la Reforma Constitucional y la Coordinadora de Resistencia al Retroceso Constitucional -integrada por más de una treintena de grupos e instituciones- han desarrollado numerosas acciones de presión sobre el Congreso: plantones frente a las sedes de los dos partidos mayoritarios, que monopolizan el voto de los legisladores; pactos entre sí y con el clero católico, actividades culturales, manifestaciones callejeras, marchas y otras formas de lucha.
Bolivia- Tres mujeres ayunan por los desaparecidos - Por Helen Álvarez Virreira - Marta Montiel y Hortensia Gutiérrez de Flores no se resignan a no tener una tumba donde recordar a sus seres queridos, desaparecidos durante las dictaduras militares. El 5 de mayo iniciaron una huelga de hambre exigiéndole al presidente Evo Morales que ordene a las Fuerzas Armadas la devolución de los restos de sus familiares y todavía siguen en su lucha. Ellas prefieren "morir para acabar con un doble discurso". En una carta pública, las tres mujeres le dicen a Morales que cuando "juró como presidente de lo/as boliviano/as lo hizo recordando, con un minuto de silencio, la memoria y la gesta de algunos de nuestros familiares desaparecidos y asesinados por las dictaduras militares que inspiraron su propia lucha política". "Ellos, ellas, tenían los más grandes ideales sociales, como son una sociedad con justicia social, sin la 'explotación del hombre por el hombre', sin clases, donde nadie pase hambre y no tenga educación, una sociedad igualitaria y democrática".
Argentina - Una ordenanza prohíbe el funcionamiento de "whiskerías - Por Norma Loto (- El Concejo Deliberante de la ciudad de Santa Rosa, capital de la provincia de La Pampa, ubicada a 700 kilómetros de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, aprobó por unanimidad la semana pasada una ordenanza que prohíbe el funcionamiento de prostíbulos. El proyecto -impulsado por el Poder Ejecutivo de esa ciudad- se fundamenta en la Ley 26.364, sobre Prevención y Sanción de la Trata de Personas y Asistencia a sus víctimas, y manifiesta que "los pueblos y ciudades de La Pampa, entre estas últimas la capital Santa Rosa, también ocultan escenarios propicios en los que operan redes de trata de personas para explotación sexual". Precisa además que los lugares donde se desarrolla este delito son los locales de diversión nocturna tipificados como "whisquería", "cabaret", "nigth club" y "club nocturno".
Perú - Demandan protocolo de atención para aborto terapéutico - Por Julia Vicuña Yacarine - En el Día Internacional de Acción por la salud sexual y reproductiva de las mujeres, que se conmemoró cada 28 de mayo, integrantes de diversas instituciones y colectivos ciudadanos del país, con el lema "Aborto legal para no morir" realizaron desde las 7 de la mañana un plantón frente al Ministerio de Salud, y demandaron al ministro tomar las medidas necesarias para garantizar el aborto terapéutico. Cada año 7 mil peruanas exponen sus vidas al recurrir a abortos clandestinos por razones de salud, pese a que desde el año 1924 el Código Penal peruano considera no punible la interrupción del embarazo que se realice para salvar la vida de las mujeres, evitar daños graves o permanentes en su salud. Jeannette Llaja, abogada del Estudio para la Defensa de los derechos de la Mujer (DEMUS), denunció que de acuerdo a estudios realizados por esa entidad, un promedio de cien mujeres mueren al año por causas que podrían ser resueltas con un aborto terapéutico.
Perú - Maestros violadores en la web - Por Zoraida Portillo - La página web del Ministerio de Educación del Perú trae, desde hace pocos días, una novedad: los rostros de los 29 profesores y trabajadores administrativos de colegios peruanos a quienes el Poder Judicial ha condenado por violación. "Lo hacemos con el fin de que toda la ciudadanía esté informada y los colegios de los lugares más alejados no se dejen sorprender por estos sujetos, aun cuando algunos ya hayan cumplido sentencia por su delito", dijo a la prensa el vice ministro de educación, Víctor Raúl Díaz. No obstante, tuvo que reconocer que la relación publicada no equivale ni a 10 por ciento de los profesores acusados por violación por el alumnado o padres de familia, y separados de sus cargos. Según el propio Ministerio, la lista asciende a 379 personas hasta fines del año pasado. La mayor parte de los acusados trabajaban en colegios estatales. "No podemos publicar sus fotos, puesto que aún no tienen sentencia condenatoria", arguyó el ministro. El problema es que, a juzgar por investigaciones periodísticas, muchos de esos profesores y trabajadores sobre los que pende un juicio por violación, se van a trabajar a comunidades rurales, pues no hay un registro de estos casos.
Cuba - Hombres entre normas y estereotipos - Por Sara Más - Transmitidos por la cultura, sentenciados por la tradición, reforzados por los medios de comunicación y evidentes en la vida cotidiana, los estereotipos que vinculan a los hombres con la masculinidad hegemónica siguen gozando de buena salud en esta isla del Caribe. "Si lo encuentran a uno limpiando en la casa, te miran raro; si opinas sobre las cosas de la casa, te dicen 'cazuelero'; si tienes algún problema y 'no funcionas bien en la cama', te ganas entonces el cartel de sospechoso", comenta a SEMlac Eduardo Moreno, universitario residente en La Habana. "Nunca se queda bien", asegura el joven. Ser heterosexual, fuerte, proveedor, valiente, osado, competente, sexualmente eficiente y, sobre todo, muy respetado, son algunos de los atributos de una larga lista con la cual se suele construir un hombre imposible. También ser heterosexual, tierna, amantísima, cuidadora por excelencia, madre ejemplar, fiel esposa y buena ama de casa, siempre disponible para el sexo y las demandas familiares, son varias de las cualidades que se le exigen a una mujer perfecta.

Derechos humanos de las mujeres - por Margo Glantz para La Jornada, junio 4 2009 - En distintas entidades de la República Mexicana –Jalisco, Nayarit, Colima, Guanajuato, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Campeche– se promulgaron leyes contra los derechos humanos de la mujer: garantías reconocidas en los países civilizados. Inscribo algunas de las fórmulas usadas, de corte medieval.
1. “Durango reconoce, protege y garantiza el derecho a la vida de todo ser humano, al sustentar expresamente que desde el momento de la concepción entra bajo la protección de la ley y se le reputa como sujeto de derechos para todos los efectos legales correspondientes…”

Reciben con recelo a comisión contra violencia hacia mujeres - Al estar ligada a la Segob, tendrá voz y acción endebles y burocratizará las alertas de violencia de género: ONG - Natalia Gómez Quintero para El Universal , 02 de junio de 2009 , - A partir de hoy inicia sus funciones la Comisión Nacional para Prevenir y Erradicar la Violencia contra las Mujeres, luego de que ayer la Secretaría de Gobernación (Segob) publicara el decreto en el Diario Oficial de la Federación.
Este nuevo órgano desconcentrado de la Secretaría de Gobernación atrajo también las funciones de la Comisión para Prevenir y Erradicar la Violencia Contra las Mujeres en Ciudad Juárez, creada el 18 de febrero de 2004.
El Observatorio Ciudadano Nacional del Feminicidio, que reúne a 43 organizaciones en 17 estados, expresó su preocupación por el surgimiento de este nuevo órgano, pues consideró que sólo se trata de una ventanilla más, que en vez de agilizar los procesos como las alertas de violencia de género en determinado estado, los burocratizará más.
“Por ser desconcentrada de la Secretaría de Gobernación, esta comisión tendrá una voz y una acción endeble, no podrá ejercer una mayor presión. Las alertas de violencia de género o llamados que haga serán como una recomendación más, emitida por las comisiones de derechos humanos, las que nos son vinculantes y que al no cumplirse, no pasa nada. Mientras tanto las mujeres seguirán sufriendo de manera sistemática la violencia”, señala Yuriria Rodríguez, asesora jurídica del Observatorio.
La Segob señaló que ese organismo prevé dar cumplimiento a la Política Nacional de Igualdad entre Mujeres y Hombres, previsto en el Programa Nacional para la Igualdad entre Mujeres y Hombres (Pro igualdad).
Indica que el objetivo de la comisión es ejercer las atribuciones previstas en el decreto, y dar seguimiento, evaluar acciones, políticas y el programa en la materia.
Para Yuriria Rodríguez no era prioritaria la creación de este organismo porque justo entorpecerá las acciones de creación de políticas públicas contra la violencia hacia las mujeres. Así, recomienda que los gobiernos se enfoquen también a la conformación de protocolos en materia de prevención, investigación y sanción de este tipo de violencia.
Los asuntos que se tramitan en la Comisión para Prevenir y Erradicar la Violencia contra las Mujeres en Ciudad Juárez, así como los archivos bajo su resguardo, serán transferidos a este órgano o a las autoridades competentes.
Este hecho, según el Observatorio, también burocratiza los trámites y no da una respuesta fehaciente y efectiva a la violencia en este caso específico.
Como antecedentes de estos trabajos están la Ley General de Acceso a la Mujeres a una Vida Libre de Violencia, que entró en vigor el 2 de febrero de 2007, así como el Reglamento de dicha legislación, publicado un año después.
Dentro de la comisión, la Segob deberá coordinar acciones para promover la igualdad de género, mediante mecanismos que garanticen el respeto a los derechos humanos y la procuración y fomento en todo momento de una participación activa de las instituciones públicas y de la sociedad civil organizada.
El documento apunta como actividades prioritarias de la comisión, el formular bases para la coordinación entre las autoridades federales, locales y municipales para combatir y dar seguimiento a los casos de violencia contra mujeres.

El mito de la elección difícil – por Mette Løkeland-Stai ."Traducido al español por Blanca Chávez para Conciencia Feminista y Alternativas. ... es importante no dejar a los opositores del aborto dominar el debate. No hay que darles la oportunidad de afirmar que el aborto es un problema. El aborto está ligado a la liberación femenina y a la igualdad de los sexos, y es, además, un derecho humano." - En Noruega el aborto es un derecho legal y tanto el alcance como el conocimiento de los diferentes tipos de medios de prevención, son altos. Estamos adelantadas

MIGRACION
Desde Otras Ciudades : Asedio contra extranjeros – Por Armando G. Tejeda, corresponsal para La Jornada, mayo 31, 2009. Madrid.- La crisis, ya se sabe, siempre se ceba con los más débiles, con los que no pueden o no tienen los recursos para defenderse de atropellos y vejaciones. En Madrid –que aspira a organizar los Juegos Olímpicos de 2016– sucede desde hace unos meses una situación grave: las fuerzas policiales, siempre en cumplimiento de las órdenes que se emiten desde los despachos, se colocan en sitios estratégicos de la ciudad –donde se concentra la población extranjera– para llevar a cabo controles policiales masivos. El objetivo: detectar a todos los irregulares para girar de inmediato la orden de expulsión.
Desde que las cifras del desempleo aumentan con desmesura en España –ya superan los cuatro millones, la cantidad más alta en su historia–, el gobierno de Madrid –del derechista Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón– mantiene un cerco policial contra los extranjeros. Se han llegado a dar casos de que la policía se posiciona en las inmediaciones de un bar, controla el acceso y la salida, y ya una vez dentro se dedica a pedir los papeles a todos las personas negras para verificar su situación legal.
La Asociación de Sin Papeles de Madrid denunció, además, los continuos y constantes abusos policiales y malos tratos, además de recriminar a las altas esferas públicas de exigir a sus fuerzas policiales un cupo de migrantes expulsados. Hay testimonios que no dejan lugar a dudas de la situación que se vive en las calles de Madrid: Me llamo María Luisa, soy de Ecuador. Era verano, iba por la calle y al llegar a la estación de Méndez Álvaro me encuentro con un control policial. Me detienen y me llevan a la comisaría por no tener papeles. El trato fue vejatorio, me hicieron quitar la ropa y así, desnuda, me insultaron. Después de 24 horas detenida, salí en libertad con una orden de expulsión.

Provoca nueva legislación de EU retención prolongada de menores migrantes: cónsul - El cónsul de México en Yuma detalló que la legislación sancionará con más severidad el tráfico de personas destinadas a explotación sexual y laboral, en especial niños. -Notimex , 01/06/2009 - San Luis Río Colorado, Son. El Consulado de México en Yuma, Arizona, advirtió sobre la reciente aprobación en Estados Unidos de la Ley William Wilberforce, que puede originar la retención prolongada de menores indocumentados.
El cónsul de México en Yuma, Miguel Escobar Valdez, manifestó que la legislación sancionará con más severidad el tráfico de personas destinadas a explotación sexual y laboral, en especial menores de edad.
Durante una visita a esta frontera, dijo que hace algunas semanas en Estados Unidos entró en vigor la nueva Ley William Wilberforce (HR7311), que hace complejo recuperar a un menor detenido.

ENGLISH

"If we kill schoolgirls, you shouldn't be surprised" -Responding to threats from the Taliban, at least 10 girls' schools have shut down in northern Afghanistan. - By Matthias Gebauer and Shoib Najafizada for Salon.com, May. 29, 2009 | When the deputy director of Aqtash High School talks of the government, he isn't referring to Hamid Karzai's central government in Kabul. Nor does he refer to the provincial administration in Kunduz. "The Taliban are our government," Bashir says. "They have taken over our region, their commanders give the orders here."
Bashir is standing in a dusty classroom on the ground floor of his modern school, roughly half an hour from Kunduz by car. As recently as just one month ago, he says, some 400 girls were still coming to the school in three daily shifts to learn reading, writing and arithmetic. Figures and formula are still scrawled across the blackboard.
But now, the girls' classrooms have been left to deteriorate. The desks and chairs are still laid out in neat rows, but a film of dust has collected, and Bashir stands helplessly in the middle of the room. "Parents in Aqtash are afraid to send their girls to school anymore, after the death threats," he explains. The school director speaks quietly and carefully. He too is afraid, and several of his teachers double as informants for the Taliban. The bearded fighters, he says, would certainly not like it if they knew a reporter was at the school in Aqtash. "You should leave quickly if you want to get out of Aqtash alive," he whispers.

China's kidnapped baby brides - by Tracy Clark-Flory for Salon.com, June 2, 2009 - In the bad news category, this story trounces all past reports about the growing gender imbalance spawned by China's one-child policy and a cultural preference for boys. On the bleakness scale, it even surpasses the repeated warnings about a future generation of millions of lonely and sexually frustrated young men who could resort to causing chaos, maybe even waging war. The same goes for reports about how the girl shortage has spurred a thriving bride trade in which in-demand bachelorettes are kidnapped, sold and, in the case of at least one "ghost bride," even murdered.
I have three sickening words for you: Baby bride trafficking.

Abortion Doctor Is Shot to Death in Kansas Church - By Joe Stumpe and Monica Davey for The New York Times, June 1, 2009. Wichita, Kan. — George Tiller, one of only a few doctors in the nation who performed abortions late in pregnancy, was shot to death here Sunday in the foyer of his longtime church as he handed out the church bulletin.
The authorities said they took a man into custody later in the day after pulling him over about 170 miles away on Interstate 35 near Kansas City. They said they expected to charge him with murder on Monday.
The Wichita police said there were several witnesses to the killing, but law enforcement officials would not say what had been said, if anything, inside the foyer. Officials offered little insight into the motive, saying that they believed it was “the act of an isolated individual” but that they were also looking into “his history, his family, his associates.”

Dr. George Tiller (1941-2009): Murdered Abortion Provider Remembered for Lifelong Dedication to Women's Reproductive Health * - Supporters of reproductive rights are mourning the killing of the abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. The sixty-seven-year-old Tiller was shot Sunday as he attended services at his Wichita, Kansas church. The gunman fled the scene, but a suspect was later caught in a Kansas City suburb. The suspect, fifty-one-year-old Scott Roeder, has a history of involvement in anti-abortion activism and was once arrested and jailed on explosives charges. He has ties to the right-wing separatist group known as the Freemen. We look at the life of Dr. Tiller with five women who worked alongside him to uphold reproductive rights: two women doctors who fly into Wichita every month to work alongside him performing abortions; two of the attorneys who defended him through years of legal harassment, one in Wichita and one in New York; and Ellie Smeal of the Feminist Majority Foundation, who knew him for twenty years.
Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/1/dr_george_tiller_1941_2009_murdered

Statement from Sharon Camp, Guttmacher Institute president and CEO, on the murder of Dr. George Tiller - The Guttmacher Institute joins the reproductive health community in expressing our shock and sadness at the murder of Dr. George Tiller, a Kansas physician who dedicated his life to providing abortion care to women in need—including later-term abortions to women in the most difficult of circumstances. Dr. Tiller did so despite decades of harassment, vandalism, threats and violent attacks by antiabortion activists.
The number of U.S. abortion providers has been declining for many years; as a result, a growing number of women have difficulty obtaining abortion services in a timely manner. The overwhelming majority of abortion providers offer services in the first trimester, when nearly 90% of abortions occur. But at later gestations—when abortions due to fetal anomalies and threats to a woman’s health or life are more common—only 2% of all abortion providers offer the procedure, leaving women in need of later term abortions with very few safe, legal options.
The death of Dr. Tiller is a senseless tragedy. Dr. Tiller risked his life on a daily basis to ensure that women had access to safe, legal reproductive health services. For the women he helped over the years, as well as those who will now have nowhere else to turn, this is an incalculable loss.
Dr. Sharon Camp, President and CEO , Guttmacher Institute

FROM THE PROGRESS REPORT: Yesterday's "slaying of Dr. George Tiller in his Kansas church" was "part of a decades-long history of domestic terrorism aimed at abortion providers," which has included bombings, butyric acid attacks, sniper shootings and letters filled with fake anthrax. The National Abortion Federation "has documented more than 6,100 acts of violence against abortion providers in the United States and Canada since 1977."

Right-wing radicals celebrate killing of abortion doctor: Yesterday, Dr. George Tiller, one of the last doctors who performed mid- to late-term abortions, was shot and killed "as he stood in the foyer of his church." The 51-year-old suspect, Scott Roeder, who is likely to be charged with murder and aggravated assault today, was reportedly a member of the anti-government "Freemen" group. In 2007, "someone posting to the website of the antiabortion group Operation Rescue used the name 'Scott Roeder'" and suggested organizing "as many people as possible to attend Tillers [sic] church (inside, not just outside)" and question his practices. While many pro-life groups were quick to denounce Tiller's murder, other right wingers were less concerned. "George Tiller was a mass-murderer. We grieve for him that he did not have time to properly prepare his soul to face God," wrote Operation Rescue founder Randall Terry. Operation Save America's Rev. Rusty Thomas wrote, "He died the way he lived." Tiller has long been demonized by the mainstream conservative movement. "But there's no other person who bears as much responsibility for the characterization of Tiller as a savage on the loose, killing babies willy-nilly" as Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, writes Salon's Gabriel Winant. Since O'Reilly first denounced Tiller on air in 2005, O'Reilly and his guests have discussed the doctor on more than 28 episodes. "Almost invariably," Winant notes, "Tiller is described as 'Tiller the Baby Killer.'" (Watch a compilation of O'Reilly's attacks here.) Laura Ingraham compared Tiller to Hitler. RH Reality Check reminds readers that six abortion providers and clinic staff were murdered during President Clinton's two terms and links the killings to the dangerous, escalating rhetoric of the far right.

On Hanging Out With Anti-Abortion Extremists in Wichita — By Josh Harkinson | for Mother Jones, June 1, 2009 - In January, 2007, I visited the Wichita, Kansas, abortion clinic operated by Dr. George Tiller, who was shot to death in church yesterday by an anti-abortion crusader. Tiller's clinic had just become the last one in town. A shuttered clinic nearby had been purchased by an anti-abortion group, Operation Rescue, which was in the process of converting it into its headquarters, complete with a prayer garden and a memorial to the 50,000 unborn children that the group claims were murdered there. Over the next two days, I learned a lot about Wichita's radical hothouse of abortion foes.
Troy Newman, Operation Rescue's charismatic leader, who some have suspected is partly to blame for Tiller's murder, drove around town with me and vented his rage that nobody had yet shut down Tiller, who he called "the abortionist to abortionists."

Anti-Abortion Activist Arrested in Killing of Kansas Doctor In Kansas, police have arrested a fifty-one-year-old anti-abortion activist in connection to the murder of Dr. George Tiller. Tiller was shot dead Sunday as he attended services at his church in Wichita. The National Abortion Federation says Dr. Tiller is the eighth abortion provider to be assassinated in the United States since 1977. President Obama said he is “shocked and outraged” by Tiller’s killing. US Marshals are now being deployed to protect women’s health clinics and doctors across the nation.

Slaying Raises Fears on Both Sides of Abortion Debate - By Peter Slevin for Washington Post, June 2, 2009 . Wichita, June 1 -- As the U.S. Marshals Service moved to protect abortion clinics and doctors nationwide, the fatal shooting of the country's most prominent provider of late-term abortions reignited a national debate about reproductive rights.

Supporters of the right to legal abortion worried Monday that the killing of George Tiller in his Wichita church could foretell fresh protests and violence even as many abortion opponents fretted that his death could hurt their image and cause.
Although mainstream antiabortion groups largely condemned Sunday's shooting, Operation Rescue founder Randall A. Terry called Tiller a mass murderer who "reaped what he sowed." Terry said the antiabortion movement is facing irrelevance and must use "confrontational" tactics and "highly charged rhetoric."
Sure, killing a doctor's wrong -- but don't overreact! - Randall Terry says abortion provider George Tiller "reaped what he sowed," then invites reporters out for chicken - By Mike Madden for Salon.com, Jun. 02, 2009 | A day after Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his Kansas church, antiabortion groups had an urgent message for policymakers Monday morning: Sure, killing is wrong, but let's not overreact here.
"We call upon President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid, pro-choice leaders in the House and the Senate not to repeat the mistakes of the Clinton administration in the mid-'90s and use this tragedy for political gain," said the Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, head of the Christian Defense Coalition. Mahoney called a press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court to condemn Tiller's murder -- and also to hype last month's Gallup poll that found a narrow majority of Americans described themselves as "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice." (Never mind that a clear majority in the same poll also said abortion should be legal at least under certain circumstances.) "We have the loss of a life here. It would be a double tragedy for those who oppose the pro-life movement to take this episode and use it to paint the pro-life movement with a broad brush of extremism and violence." Mahoney couldn't manage to make Tiller's death sound very tragic, however. He got more worked up talking about President Obama's pro-choice policies. He read aloud a statement by the head of an allied organization, Operation Save America, that began, "Someone chose to end George Tiller's life," before moving on to pro forma condolences.

New Attention on Late-Term Abortions - Doctors Who Perform Procedures Provide Little Data but Underscore Reasoning - By Rob Stein for Washington Post, June 5, 2009 - When Susan Fitzgerald went in for a routine ultrasound near the end of her pregnancy, she was expecting good news. Instead, she was stunned to learn that the fetus had a rare condition that left his bones so brittle he would live less than a day.
"It was unbelievable," Fitzgerald said. "You think by the third trimester you're home free. It was devastating."
Desperate to end the pregnancy, she flew from her home in New England to Wichita, where George Tiller was one of the few doctors in the country willing to perform an abortion so late in a pregnancy.

"It was very difficult, but I knew it was the most humane thing I could do for my baby," Fitzgerald said. "It was absolutely the right thing to do. I'm just so grateful that Dr. Tiller was there for me."

Sotomayor and Stereotypes 101 - The New York Times demonstrates how to report on observable evidence while giving credence to sexist, racist memes by Kate Harding for Salon.com, May. 29, 2009 | This week, the New York Times has provided a treasure trove of educational texts for budding journalists who can't afford some fancy J-school, and we here at Broadsheet are delighted to bring our vast journamalistic experience to bear on those texts for the benefit of eager young wannabe reporters. Yesterday, professor Amy Benfer demonstrated how to write a shocking trend piece in the complete absence of a shocking trend, and today, I'll be using this article about Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor to explain how you can further sexist and racist memes while maintaining the appearance of objectivity that's so important to a serious journalist.

Identify the sexist and/or racist stereotypes most applicable to your subject. In the case of Sotomayor, you'll want to focus on those attributed to any powerful woman (ball-busting, strident, domineering) or Latina (fiery like chili pepper!). Listen to people smearing your subject with criticism along those lines, and somehow convince yourself they should be taken seriously. Voilà! You've got the premise for an article! To wit, an article that the headline writer will call "Sotomayor's Sharp Tongue Raises Issues of Temperament," based on your excellent work.

The fundamental social division is class, not race or gender - by Patrick Martin for World Socialist Web Site, 28 May 2009 - The introduction of Sonia Sotomayor as President Obama’s first selection for the US Supreme Court took place at a White House media event of a completely choreographed and stereotyped character. Such ceremonies have become an essential part of how America is governed. The less the political system is capable of actually responding to the needs and aspirations of working people, the more it must put on the pretense of concern, using biography as a substitute for policy.

Debate on Whether Female Judges Decide Differently Arises Anew - By Neil A. Lewis for The New York Times, June 4, 2009 - Washington — Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, is often quoted as saying that a wise female judge will come to the same conclusion as a wise male judge.
But the opposing argument was bolstered forcefully in April by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, currently the court’s only woman, in a case involving Savana Redding, a 13-year-old girl who had been strip-searched at school by the authorities on suspicion of hiding some ibuprofen pills that may be bought over-the-counter.
“They have never been a 13-year-old girl,” Justice Ginsburg said of her eight male colleagues, several of whom had suggested during oral argument that they were not troubled by the search.

Give Women Guns - By Randy Cohen for The New York Times, June 2, 2009. The Issue : Congress overwhelmingly passed, and on May 22 President Obama signed, a credit card reform bill that includes a provision allowing visitors to national parks to carry concealed guns. (The guns need not be purchased with credit cards.) Can ethics supply a response to gun violence while sidestepping the usual — and unproductive — head-butting between those for and against gun-control laws?
The Argument : Ethics has two broad concerns — determining what’s right, and getting people to do what’s right. When it comes to the former, there is clearly an ethical issue: guns are a significant social problem, the second leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S. behind car accidents. In 1997, for example, guns caused 64,207 injuries and 32,436 deaths. There were 544,880 crimes using guns reported to the police in 1994. Expanding the real estate where guns can be carried is unlikely to improve these grim statistics. (Perhaps that’s why visitors may not tote guns to the White House or the Capitol Building, despite the enthusiasm of Congress and the president for the new bill.)

GAY AND LESBIAN RIGHTS
This Prom Queen Is a Man, Baby! - Posted on May 28, 2009 at Tuthdig.org - In the same month that the California Supreme Court voted to uphold a ban on gay marriage, seniors at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles voted Sergio Garcia as their prom queen, proving once again that if you wish to find more open-minded folk, you can always turn to the youth.

The Los Angeles Times:Sergio Garcia stood in the gymnasium and told the senior class at Fairfax High School not to worry: If he was elected, he wouldn’t wear a dress.
“I will be wearing a suit,” Garcia said, “but don’t be fooled, deep down inside, I am a queen!”

Prop. 8 and the Misery of the Law - By Scott Tucker for Truthdig.com . Posted on Jun 4, 2009 - The right to rebel is my real subject here, but the misery of the law is not incidental. No good case can be made for rebellion as an unqualified good in itself. But the right to rebel also cannot be limited to the rebel causes that were won long ago and have passed over into our national mythology.
There is a historical irony in the events of Nov. 4, 2008: Barack Obama became the first black president of the United States, and a majority of American voters broke down one more racial barrier to high public office. On the same day, Proposition 8 was passed by a small majority of California voters and added this sentence to the state constitution: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”

HUMAN RIGHTS

Taguba denies he's seen abuse photos suppressed by Obama - The general told a U.K. paper about images he saw investigating Abu Ghraib -- not photos Obama wants kept secret.- By Mark Benjamin for Salon.com, May. 30, 2009 | Retired Army Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba denied reports that he has seen the prisoner-abuse photos that President Obama is fighting to keep secret, in an exclusive interview with Salon Friday night.
On Thursday an article in the Daily Telegraph reported that Taguba, the lead investigator into Abu Ghraib abuse, had seen images Obama wanted suppressed, and supported the president's decision to fight their release. The paper quoted Taguba as saying, "These pictures show torture, abuse, rape and every indecency."
But Taguba says he wasn't talking about the 44 photographs that are the subject of an ongoing ACLU lawsuit that Obama is fighting.

The Bogus Torture - Cover up by Scott Horton , for The Daily Beast, 29 May, 2009 - The Pentagon is denying the facts: Photographs of Abu Ghraib torture are even more sexually explicit than first reported, including rape and sodomy, writes The Daily Beast's Scott Horton, who has obtained specific and detailed corroboration of the photos. - The Daily Beast has confirmed that the photographs of abuses at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, which President Obama, in a reversal, decided not to release, depict sexually explicit acts, including a uniformed soldier receiving oral sex from a female prisoner, a government contractor engaged in an act of sodomy with a male prisoner and scenes of forced masturbation, forced exhibition, and penetration involving phosphorous sticks and brooms.
These descriptions come on the heels of a British report yesterday about the photographs that contained some of these revelations—and whose credibility was questioned by the Pentagon as well as the British newspaper's source, who claims he was misunderstood.
"New" Abu Ghraib photos aren't new

Salon published many of the shocking images now being discussed in news reports three years ago.- Alex Koppelman, for Salon.com, May. 30, 2009 | 5:17 p.m., Nov. 14, 2003. CPL GRANER applies sutures to the chin of a detainee. This detainee is suspected to be the General that SPC HARMAN stated in her statement, that CPL GRANER pushed into wall. SOLDIER(S): CPL GRANER; SGT WALLIN
A report that the photos President Obama recently decided to withhold from the public depict the rape and sexual abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib and other prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan was in error, Salon has learned from the man named as the source for the story. Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba, who was cited by the United Kingdom's Daily Telegraph in its initial article, told Salon's Mark Benjamin that he has in fact not seen the pictures in question. (You can read Benjamin's report on his conversation with Taguba here.)

Suppressed images don't show rape, official says - The Pentagon says no sexual abuse, no Abu Ghraib photos among those held back in ACLU suit. - By Mark Benjamin for Salon.com, Jun. 02, 2009 | Last Thursday, the Obama administration asked a federal court to block the release of images that depict detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The court had sided with the American Civil Liberties Union in its request that the administration release the photos. The administration's move seemed to lend credence to swirling rumors on the Internet that the administration was suppressing a cache of images showing sexual abuse of detainees. The day of the administration's request to the court, Britain's Daily Telegraph published a story claiming that the images included rape and sexual abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison and elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan. On Friday, the Daily Beast reported that many of the photographs were "sexually explicit" and included images of "a uniformed soldier receiving oral sex from a female prisoner, a government contractor engaged in an act of sodomy with a male prisoner" and "penetration involving phosphorous sticks and brooms."
What do these unreleased images actually depict? A Defense Department official who has seen the unreleased images consented to give Salon some details. Salon agreed to keep the identity of the defense official private in exchange for the opportunity to interview a person with firsthand knowledge of the images.

Washington Didn't Want You to See this Guantanamo Photo - Star journalist captures landmark protest hours before a suicide puts heat on Obama - by Michelle Shephard, Published on June 3, 2009 by the Toronto Star/Canada - Washington - A Guantanamo Bay detainee committed suicide late Monday just hours after two Chinese Muslim captives staged the detention centre's first public protest, increasing the pressure on U.S. President Barack Obama to outline his plan of how he will close the offshore prison.
Yemeni Muhammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih, 31, is the first prisoner to die since the White House changed hands four months ago. His suicide follows weeks of criticism from both ends of the political spectrum over the fate of the remaining 240 Guantanamo detainees.
News of the suicide was emailed to the media just as a flight bringing journalists from Guantanamo landed in Maryland. The press had been at the U.S. naval detention centre for the war crimes court hearing of Canadian Omar Khadr.

U.N. calls U.S. human rights record "deplorable" - A new report suggests the U.S. may have committed war crimes -- and endorses the formation of a truth commission. By Mark Benjamin for Salon.com, May. 29, 2009 | The United Nations has released a new report on accountability for human rights abuses by the United States, focusing mostly on transgressions during the Bush administration's so-called war on terror. In a word, accountability in the U.S. has been "deplorable."
The May 26, 2009, report by Australian law professor Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, does praise the United States for establishing compensation payments for civilians accidentally killed by U.S. forces in the heat of battle. But Alston quickly adds the following: "However, there have been chronic and deplorable accountability failures with respect to policies, practice and conduct that resulted in alleged unlawful killings -- including possible war crimes -- in the United States' international operations."

Israeli Journalist Amira Hass on the Start of the UN's Probe into Possible Israeli War Crimes during Gaza War - The actions of the Israeli army during its twenty-two-day assault on the Gaza Strip earlier this year are back in the spotlight with the arrival of a United Nations delegation in Gaza this Monday. The fifteen-member team will be investigating possible war crimes and other violations of international law during Israel's military assault. It's headed by South African judge Richard Goldstone, who was the former chief prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Israel opposes the investigation and denied the delegation visas, forcing them to enter Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing.
Listen/Watch/Read: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/2/israeli_journalist_amira_hass

CIVIL RIGHTS AND IMMIGRATION

FROM THE PROGRESS REPORT: Activists and labor organizations launch national immigration reform campaign: The Reform Immigration For America campaign today will launch a nationwide effort to bring "together individuals and grassroots organizations with the mission to build support for workable comprehensive immigration reform." The campaign is being led by various labor, policy, and activist groups such as the AFL-CIO, the Services Employees International Union, the NAACP, the Center for American Progress, the National Immigration Forum, and the National Council of La Raza. Leaders from these groups will announce the campaign today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Indeed, momentum is growing for the government to address this issue. A new poll has found that nearly two-thirds (64 percent) support comprehensive reform. But when given specific details of what that reform entails -- including securing the border, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented immigrants, requiring immigrants to register for status, pay back taxes, and learn English -- 86 percent offered their support. Moreover, the poll respondents perceived "an economic and fiscal benefit to immigration reform and want Congress to address the economy and immigration reform simultaneously." At the same time, Politico reported last month that President Obama will be inviting members of Congress to the White House in the coming weeks to "highlight immigration reform." "The meeting will be an opportunity to launch a policy conversation that we hope will be able to start a debate that will take place in Congress later in the year," an administration official said.
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Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has "offered a bill that would allow American citizens and legal immigrants to seek residency in the United States for their same-sex partners, just as spouses now petition for foreign-born husbands and wives." Leahy said the bill -- the Uniting American Families Act -- "should be part of any broad immigration legislation that Congress considers."

Bush Rule Bolstering Deportations Is Withdrawn - By John Schwartz for The New York Times, June 4, 2009 - Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday reversed a Bush administration ruling that had weakened the ability of immigrants facing deportation to argue that their lawyers did a bad job.
The original order, issued just days before the inauguration of President Obama, held that immigrants did not have a constitutional right to effective lawyers in their deportation hearings. That 11th-hour decision abruptly closed off one of the most common avenues for appealing deportation decisions. Because immigration cases are classified as civil litigation, people facing deportation do not have the same right to be represented by a lawyer that criminal defendants have. But before the Bush administration, a long line of legal opinions allowed immigrants whose lawyers had performed poorly to ask that their cases be opened on constitutional grounds. In 2003, the Board of Immigration Appeals, a part of the executive branch that reviews the rulings of immigration courts, reaffirmed that right.

viernes, 5 de junio de 2009

En la Red - In the Net ..1a Semana de junio

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