[Trigger warning.]
Sunitha Krishnan is the co-founder of Prajwala, or "eternal flame," an organization in Hyderabad, India dedicated to rescuing women and children from sex slavery. She has personally liberated 1,500 women and children from brothels.
Krishnan has worked tirelessly to create and define "India's anti-trafficking movement by coordinating government, corporations and NGOs," facilitating partnerships between them to find jobs for rescued women so they can live independent lives. She "works closely with the government to define anti-trafficking policy, and her recommendations for rehabilitating sex victims have been passed into state legislation."
She is, basically, awe-inspiring.
She recently gave a talk at TEDIndia in which she told "three powerful stories, as well as her own, and call[ed] for a more humane approach to helping these young victims rebuild their lives." She then sat down with TEDBlog for a Q&A about her work. The whole thing is a must-read, but I will provide one excerpt:
I think the kind of isolation I felt is something very global. I don't think it's very cultural. Of course the cultural context has different manifestations, but the isolation a victim of sexual violence goes through I think is a global phenomenon. ... I've met people who've been sexually abused in the United States, I've met people in Europe. They all have a similar kind of isolation from within -- the pain, the trauma, the guilt. It’s all the sameSunitha Krishnan has personally liberated 1,500 women and children from brothels. And still she feels like a failure because she cannot break through that seemingly impenetrable wall of resistance to empathy for survivors of sexual violence, a barrier so vast it stretches around the globe.
...No matter how many stories I tell, the larger feeling in the world does not change in this respect. I've had situations where people have had lengthy discussions with me, and I've spent upwards of two and three hours talking to them about this issue, and often when they seem to understand they don't, really. I won't mention the name of the place, but there was one particular place that the girls went to [for work, after being rescued], where it took a lot of effort to work with the employer. I spent a couple of hours of talking to this person and I thought the situation could work, but every time my girl who was working there talked to a male colleague, immediately I would get a call -- "Oh Sunitha, you know this girl is getting very friendly with the men here." So you see, her every move is watched. She can't be friendly to a man, she can't fall in love with anybody. I remember this particular girl falling in love with a co-worker there, and the employer actually called the co-worker and told him what her background was, saying, "How dare you fall in love with this girl? You have no idea what her background is." He also called the girl and said, "How dare you fall in love with this chap? Don't you know where you've come from?"
This is a kind of isolation I am not able to digest. This is a kind of isolation I don't know how to come to terms with, and this is where I feel like a failure. How much more can you explain to these people? I think I've told them enough. I've taken hours to tell them this story.
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, exclusive distributors of the Kenny Blogginz Brand Bloggin' Cape, now with 25% more rhinestones!
Recommended Reading:
Latoya: Why is it so important to have productive conversations on race?
C.L. Minou: Did I just read that at a queer site? Seriously? (Related open thread at the Trans Group Blog.)
Cara: New Report About Sexual Violence on College Campuses
Andy: Bill O'Reilly Angry Barbara Walters Found 'That Gay Guy' Fascinating
Resistance: I am Korean American
Jess: Hymen Renamed
Leave your links in comments...
As mudkicker put it in yesterday's thread (about the brave trio of women in the Irish Republic who are bringing a lawsuit to try and force change on the abortion front there), despite being a part of the UK (which has decent access to abortion, if not ideal), women in Northern Ireland don't have access to abortion the way their English and Scots and Welsh compatriots do.
Quoting mudkicker:
For anyone interested in a take on the NI situation (not *at all* meant to detract from the similiar situation in the Republic; just that I live in NI so that's where I've been doing my campaigning), I wrote a piece for the Guardian's CiF on it last year, after all four of the main parties here agreed on something for the first time ever - continuing to limit a woman's right to choose.It's not a new piece, but I think it's good for we in North America, with our sadly insular MSM, to hear about how the struggle is going for some of our sisters abroad. I'm not sure how bad the MSM are in the various other places that Shakers seem to be, as far as insularity goes, but I'd bet it's not a bundle of global village joy either.
Almost, MTA, almost:
Sexual Harassment is a crime in the subway, too--a crowded train is no excuse for in improper touch. Don't stand for it or be ashamed, or be afraid to speak up. Report it to an MTA employee or police officer.H/T to commenter A little night musing at Reclusive Leftist, who adds, "A crowded train is no excuse for an improper touch. So [...]" I always want to see it finish with “DON’T DO IT!”
Kodak!
by Shaker BrianWS, who, in addition to Kodak, loves fantasy football and horseracing.
So, to put it mildly, I'm no fan of Michelle Malkin, but she's in my RSS feed, because I figure it's helpful for queers and our allies to know the current disingenuous argument du jour. Lately, she's been repeatedly attacking Kevin Jennings, the Assistant Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education for the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, and GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, of which Jennings is the founder and former executive director.
Today, I get to reading a post (to which I'm not going to provide a direct link, but you can find it easily if you're so inclined), which is a follow-up to the one in which she posts the companies that donate hefty sums to GLSEN, and please just take two seconds and look at Kodak's response.Eastman Kodak Company is proud of its sponsorship of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). Our support of this educational not-for-profit organization clearly reflects the five Kodak Values:
Wait. On the off chance you missed it, I'll repeat: "We demonstrate our commitment to honoring diversity, fostering community, and valuing each and every individual. I am very proud to work for a company that embraces diversity and respect for individuals. We truly regret that these values offend you."
* Respect for the Dignity of the Individual
* Uncompromising Integrity
* Trust
* Credibility
* Continuous Improvement and Personal Renewal
When Kodak supports entities such as GLSEN, we demonstrate our commitment to honoring diversity, fostering community, and valuing each and every individual.
I am very proud to work for a company that embraces diversity and respect for individuals. We truly regret that these values offend you.
Sincerely,
Deborah A. Shuryn
Senior Customer Relations Specialist
Worldwide Customer Care
Eastman Kodak Company
343 State St
Rochester, NY 14650-0944
CustomerRelations@kodak.com
www.kodak.com
Total blub for Kodak. Valuing each and every individual. Diversity. Respect. "We truly regret that these values offend you."
It's about time for a good LOLSOB for me; that sentence alone is enough ass-kicking to make the entire week okay.
I don't even own a real camera and I feel like going out and buying film tomorrow.
Shakers, I encourage you to send an email to CustomerRelations@kodak.com and let them know that we appreciate the boldness of that response, as I'm sure Malkin's original post drove tons of nastygrams their way. I wrote them an email this morning thanking them for avoiding the typical wishy-washy corporate response, and having no qualms about laying out their dedication to respecting the dignity of every individual with the conviction that they did. I thought it was important for me to drop them a note and remind them that just because the Right is louder when they talk, it doesn't mean they're right.
[Trigger Warning for domestic violence]
From Amnesty International UK's HumanTV YouTube Channel:
[...]because here in the UK, almost 50 percent of all adult women claim that they have been the victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, or stalking. So I would like to see these issues taken as seriously by the government as quite properly they take issues of drunk driving, violence against minors, and their smoking campaigns.
I was a child during a time when domestic violence against women was a shameful secret. Everybody knew about it, everyone knew where it was happening, but nobody was doing anything about it. And within the immediate family circle, it was so shameful and embarrassing an aspect of your home life that no one wanted it exposed or discussed. The end result was that it continued, and there was no attempt, either from the authorities, or within the community itself, to diminish it.
I experienced first-hand violence against my mother, from an angry and unhappy man, who was not able to control his emotions, or his hands. And the harm done by those events, of course the physical harm, the physical scars that were left, the blood that was shed, the wounds that were exposed, were a shocking pain. But, there are other aspects of violence, which have more lasting impacts; psychologically on family members it is destructive—destructful and tainting.
As a child witnessing these events, one cannot help somehow feeling responsible for them. For the pain, and the screaming, and the misery. And it is deeply confusing and those confusions are not things which are easily disposed of in adult life—they stay with you, and you are given—the child is given—a very bad lesson in male responsibility and self-control. And I know that in my own life, in the past, I have had issues in relationships with women in my life, which have a history in the experiences I had as a child, in my own home.
It is a worldwide phenomena, and in places, in countries, of a much more severe and destructive form than anything I experienced, and that’s one of the reasons why the campaign, which Amnesty International is spearheading, to bring people’s attention to domestic violence is so important, because it is here among us, and it is certainly in the world at large. So far as the authorities are concerned, there have been great advances, and there needed to be. Because as a child, I heard police officers in my home say, “Well, she must have provoked him.” And I heard doctors who came to treat my mother say, “Well, Mrs. Stewart, it takes two to make a fight.” They had no idea.
Today we are much more sensitive to these issues, but not sensitive enough. Still these things are hushed up. Still people don’t talk about them. Still the violence is allowed to continue. And one way in which this deeply troubling element in modern life can be opposed is through government intervention. I would like to see our government taking as seriously issues of violence against women—and these issues are huge, because here in the UK, almost 50 percent of all adult women claim that they have been the victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, or stalking. So I would like to see these issues taken as seriously by the government as quite properly they take issues of drunk driving, violence against minors, and their smoking campaigns.
Anyone who's been reading this site for more than about five seconds knows two things about me for sure: 1. I hate Jay Leno with the fiery passion of ten thousand suns. 2. I love Matt Damon.
What that means in practical terms is that one of the very few people who could get me to suppress my gag reflex and tune into Leno's gawd-awful show is Matt Damon. Who was on last night.
One of the things you need to know before viewing this clip is that Leno, because he is a bully and an inveterate asshole, makes stars "earn their plug" on his show. (Because, you see, he's so goddamn special that people tune in to see him, and megastars like Damon should just be grateful he allows them into his kingdom.) So this segment is about Damon earning his plug, and I implore you to try to just ignore Leno altogether and focus on the awesomeness that is Matt Damon: History Nerd.
[Matt Damon and Jay Leno sit in two big blue easy chairs, which is the standard staging on Leno's show.]
Leno: Before we get to that, I wanna ask you about this thing you're doing for the History Channel, which—getting kids into history. Tell me about that.
Damon: Yeah, "The People Speak"—it's on on, uh, Sunday night—
Leno: Okay.
Damon: —and it's, uh, it's, it's terrific. We, we, um, it's based on, on—a historian named Howard Zinn, who, uh, I lived next door to as a young boy, wrote a book called "The People's History of the United States," and, eventually, uh, he put out another book, which was just historical documents and, you know, letters and speeches of Americans throughout the course of history, and what we did was, we got a bunch of actors together to read these speeches, everything from Frederick Douglass—Morgan Freeman reads Frederick Douglass—
Leno: Right.
Damon: —and we've got, you know, Josh Brolin and Sean Penn and a bunch of, a bunch of actors, um, reading these things. And the hope is that eventually we'll get them into classrooms, 'cause it's actually really exciting when you hear the words of Americans from kind of across time—David Strathairn reading John Brown, the last thing he said on the record before he was put to death—and it, it's just a really kind of powerful, powerful thing, uh—
Leno: Yeah.
Damon: I, I read the Declaration of Independence on it, which is, which I would say to any—every American should read it at least once a year. [crosstalk] 'Cause we read it as a kid and you don't— [crosstalk]
Leno: It's like squiggly [mimes writing longhand], and you can't follow it.
Damon: [laughs] Right. But it's, it's pretty—it's really moving as an adult to read it.
Leno: Cool. Cool.
[edit]
Leno: All right [points at camera], he's gonna earn! his! clip!
[Wacky theme music for segment plays over video clips of stars performing tricks, singing, wev to "earn" their plugs. Text: EARN YOUR PLUG. When the show cuts back to Damon and Leno, they are standing on another part of the stage. There is a stand with a bowl of tennis balls between them.]
Damon [holding tennis balls, pointing at still-full bowl]: You gonna do it, too?
Leno: Well, no, no, no—I, you know, I knew that you knew how to juggle, and I think it needs a new element, and I think an element that will help educate young people. So, since you just talked about this moments ago—and I don't mean to spring this on you, 'cause I knew you can juggle, but you didn't know about this part [Damon laughs]—I want you to read the Declaration of Independence as passionately as you can [Damon chuckles] while you juggle, all right?
[Damon grins, shakes his head, and walks to his mark, bouncing one of the three tennis balls he holds.]
Damon: I haven't juggled since I was 10, so this is— [audience laughs] Uh, okay. Ready. [He poises to start, then pauses, and clears his throat. The audience laughs. He points to the bowl of tennis balls behind him.] And I have some extra balls in case I mess up. All right.
Leno: I'll hold them for you.
[He grabs balls out of the bowl. If you, like I did, are thinking: "Ah, Leno's just seen an opportunity to throw balls at Damon the moment he screws up, because Leno is a bully and an inveterate asshole," you'd be right.]
Damon: All right. [He begins juggling three balls.] All right, we gotta get it going. Okay. [The audience cheers.]
Leno: [holding up hands for audience to be quiet] Go ahead.
Damon: All right, now we gotta listen to the words, 'cause the words are good! Let's see, let's just see if I can pull this off. All right. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men—"
[A ball starts to fly out of orbit; Damon catches it and keeps juggling; the audience cheers; he gets back on track and then bobbles another; the balls spill.]
Damon: Ahh!
[He turns to Leno to get new balls; Leno throws balls at him, into his face, in a totally unsupportive way. Damon ignores Leno's assholery, and reaches down for the balls, scooping them up and starting to juggle again.]
Damon: Wait, okay okay! [He gets the balls going again.]
Leno: Close enough!
[Leno is trying to get Damon to stop, but he plows on determinedly. As he begins to recite again, Leno starts collecting more balls from the bowl.]
Damon: Okay okay okay! Wait! "—deriving their just powers from consent of the governed; that when any form of government becomes destructive of these ends—" [Damon drops the balls and reaches down for them; the audience gasps and shouts; Leno says, smugly, "Aww." But Damon pops back up with the balls and starts juggling again.] This is the good part! Hold on! [He drops a ball; grabs it; drops it again; grabs it. Aww, man! [The audience laughs; he starts juggling again.] Squirrely little fu—things here. All right. All right. "—it is the right of the People to alter or to abolish it and to institute new government laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form [he's really going now, shouts of encouragement come from the audience] as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety. And. Happiness."
[He tosses the balls in the air; the crowd cheers.]
Leno: Yes! There you go! You have earned your clip, young man.
[Cut to a clip from Damon's new movie Invictus.]
"How is the Obama administration's approach to Sudan an evolution of justice? When the administration says it intends to work to 'improve the lives of the people of Darfur,' I would like to know what that means, besides the obvious point that their lives could hardly get worse."—Actress and activist Angelina Jolie, in an op-ed for Newsweek marking Human Rights Day.
New York Times—High Premiums in Senate Democrats' Health Plan:
Senate Democrats have provided few details about their latest health care proposal, but this much seems clear: Anyone who wants to buy the same health benefits as members of Congress, or to buy coverage through Medicare, should be prepared to fork over a large chunk of cash.WaPo—Pelosi backs Medicare buy-in plan in Senate health-care deal: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed a proposal Thursday that would allow people in late middle age to buy insurance through Medicare, helping to sustain an idea that sprang unexpectedly from the Senate this week. But the California Democrat reiterated that she would prefer to create government-sponsored coverage for Americans of all ages."
According to the Congressional Budget Office, a family of four earning $54,000 in 2016, when the health legislation is fully in effect, would be eligible for a subsidy of $10,100 to help defray the cost of insurance under the health legislation being debated by the Senate. By then, one of the most popular federal plans, a nationwide Blue Cross and Blue Shield policy, is projected to cost more than $20,000.
That could leave the family earning $54,000, slightly more than the current median household income, with monthly premium costs of more than $825.
The Democrats' proposal would also allow some people ages 55 to 64 to "buy in" to Medicare, starting in 2011. That could cost about $7,600 a year per person or $15,200 for a couple, according to a budget office analysis of an earlier version of the concept. No subsidies would be available until 2014.
Senate Democrats have been careful to say that their proposal is not intended to offer exactly the same benefits that members of Congress have. In many cases, federal subsidies would cover a smaller share of the premium than what the government contributes to the cost of health insurance for federal employees.
Actual Headline: Surprise! Palin likes Obama's Nobel speech.
Surprise! Palin opponents don't give a fuck because they have no reason to care about her opinion of a president she openly despises.
Surprise! Palin supporters are sticking their fingers in their ears pretending they never heard such outrageous balderdash as their fearless leader intimating even the most fleeting agreement with the half-breed muslin.
Surprise! No one cares.
My family has recently adopted the tradition of giving to a charity in lieu of shopping and shipping presents around the country. In the first place, it's a lot easier to click on a website's donation button than it is to slog through the traffic and the hurly-burly of the mall. This year my parents are giving to food banks and shelters in the places where their kids live -- Camillus House here in Miami, for example -- and to their own local groups as well. To my way of thinking, that's one good way to spread the spirit of giving, and a gentle reminder that it is something that should be more than just a seasonal thing.
There are, however, some charities that you might want to avoid. Yes, Virginia, there are scams out there who have all the ethics of a Nigerian e-mailer. And there are also groups who have a reputation for putting on a face of charity and giving yet have no problem with discrimination against people they don't like. Case in point: the Salvation Army.
Scripture opposes homosexual practices by direct comment and also by clearly implied disapproval. The Bible treats such practices as self-evidently abnormal. ...Well, if being gay -- "genitally expressed" or not -- makes me ineligible to ring the bell over the little red kettle, than I am sure they don't want my money, either, so I won't give them the moral dilemma of taking it from someone who is "self-evidently abnormal." As a Quaker, it would be very un-Friendly of me to force them to accept it, so I won't put them through the struggle. That's my little gift to them.
[S]ame-sex relationships which are genitally expressed are unacceptable according to the teaching of Scripture. Attempts to establish or promote such relationships as viable alternatives to heterosexually-based family life do not conform to God's will for society. ...
[S]uch practices, if unrenounced, render a person ineligible for Salvation Army soldiership, in the same way that unrenounced heterosexual misconduct is a bar to soldiership.
Suggested by Deeky, who's too damn lazy to post it himself: Have you ever seen a UFO, bigfoot, or other unexplained phenomenon?
"You'd think that somebody with a direct line to the Almighty, and tapped by Jesus to save [human]kind on Earth, would be able to come up with a better business plan for running a daily newspaper. But, alas, after nearly three decades of unrelenting financial losses, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, a federal tax cheat, accused cult leader, and founder of the Unification Church, has decided to pull out."—Eric Boehlert, on the folding of conservative shitrag The Washington Times, which, unlike the lamentable folding of Editor & Publisher, I will not mourn at all.
