Tystnaden

BLOGGTEXT | Publicerad 2011-11-30 17:32   1 kommentar

Har fått en del frågor om varför det aldrig händer nåt på denna blogg o jag borde förstås ha meddelat mig bättre. Sorry. Skälet är att jag sitter o skriver klart en bok om europeisk radikalhöger som kommer på Atlas i januari. Lägger snart ut mer info här.

Gender Justice Uncovered Awards

BLOGGTEXT | Publicerad 2011-11-15 11:20

Har skäl att tro att en del läsare av denna blogg skulle kunna bidra till nedanstående:

We are on the hunt for the worst and best judicial statements on gender rights.

Women's Link Worldwide's nomination period is now open for the Gender Justice Uncovered Awards, which highlight court decisions that positively or negatively affect gender equity. Anyone, from anywhere in the world, may nominate their cases online via www.womenslinkworldwide.org.

November 15, 2011 - In Nicaragua, the Supreme Court reduced a sentence for rape because the perpetrator was in a "state of rapture."

Statements like this deserve the "bludgeon" award in the fourth edition of the Gender Justice Uncovered Awards, which officially opens its nomination period today for anyone to propose statements or decisionsmade by judges, prosecutors, public defenders, public representatives, members of United Nations committees, or magistrates, who have had a positive or negative effect on gender equity.

On the other hand, the United States' Immigration Court's decision to not deport a woman and her daughters to their country of origin due to the fear of persecution in the form of forced marriage, marital rape and female genital mutilation, deserves praise.

In all countries, regardless of their political, national or religious culture, the comments of judges, courts and tribunals have an enormous influence on the sense of justice and the daily lives of all people. For this reason, Women's Link created these annual awards, which reward gold, silver and bronze "gavels" to judicial pronouncements or decisions which promote gender equity, and gold, silver and bronze "bludgeons" to the most sexist and regressive decisions.

Nominations will be open from November 15th, 2011 to April 30th, 2012 and can be made through our website at www.womenslinkworldwide.org. All nominations will be evaluated by a panel of three international personalities, who will announce the winners in June 2012.

Albie Sachs: South African lawyer and human rights activist who confronted apartheid, both in the country and from exile. He actively participated in the negotiations leading his country to constitutional democracy and was later appointed by President Mandela as a member of the new South African Constitutional Court.

Angela Patricia Janiot: Colombian journalist and CNN's main anchor in Spanish. Recently she was awarded the INTE (Television Industry in Spanish) for "Best Female News Personality." Janiot is the president of the foundation "Colombianitos", dedicated to help children affected by violence in Colombia.

Virada Somswasdi: Thai lawyer and academic, who founded the first Center for Women's Studies in Thailand and is an expert on issues such as trafficking, sexual exploitation of women, pornography, sex and AIDS, family law, domestic violence, feminist jurisprudence and women's rights, among other issues.

"The People's Choice Award"
Not only the jury can choose the winning decision. Women's Link has created the category "People's Choice Award" for those decisions that obtain the most votes via the website, including a bludgeon and gavel award.

The polls will be open to the public from November 15th, 2011 until May 31st, 2012 to determine the winners. You can follow the Awards through our web page, Facebook and Twitter.

For more information:

Cristina Sánchez Velázquez
Women's Link Worldwide
Mobile: +34 669 464 490
Office: +34 91 185 19 04
prensa@womenslinkworldwide.org
Madrid (Spain)

Nytt nederlag för Farc

BLOGGTEXT | Publicerad 2011-11-05 13:29   2 kommentarer

Colombiansk militär lyckades igår döda Farcs ledare Alfonso Cano. Här ett par analyser:

The Guardian
El Espectador (EFE)
La Jornada (Reuters)
La Silla Vacía
Colombia Journal (bakgrund skriven före attacken)

Gräs, stat, pengar

BLOGGTEXT | Publicerad 2011-11-02 09:39

Under seminariet om Johan Anderbergs bok i måndags kom på nytt frågan om legalisering/avkriminalisering av olika typer av droger upp o det finns tusen relevanta frågor att ställa kring detta, inte minst ekonomiska. Hur skulle saker o ting regleras? Skatt, "systembolag", coffeshops? Handlar det om att tillåta stora industriella komplex o aggressiva företag som med reklam o hela offensiven fritt slår sig in på den nya lagliga marknaden eller är ett slags småskaligt dubbelspel som i Holland att föredra? Och vad skulle en beskattning egentligen inbringa till statskassan? Hinner inte ägna frågan nån tid just nu men här en pro-legaliseringstext på OpenDemocracy, en lysande plats för diverse vänstertext, som laborerar med temat med Storbritannien som utgångspunkt. Föga förvånande drar Stuart Rodger, liksom Anderberg, paralleller till 30-talskrisen och bakgrunden till varför det sattes punkt för de maffiagenererande alkoholförbuden i USA. En kontext som var mycket mer ekonomisk än socialpolitisk. Eller med  Rodgers ord:

So, while the potential savings incurred may not be a magic formula for cutting the deficit, together, they take us a significant way towards the 81 billion that David Cameron is hacking off the public sector. There would be a historical precedent for this. It is no coincidence that Alcohol Prohibition was ended in America in 1933, just four years after the Great Crash of 1929. US tax revenues collapsed by 60% over three years, and they desperately needed revenues to fund a Keynesian stimulus.