Saturday, November 24, 2007
INJUSTICE TO WOMEN
Saturday, November 24, 2007
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RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — A teenage girl was locked up on theft charges in an Amazon jail for weeks with 21 men who she said would only let her eat in return for sex, according to authorities, setting off a national scandal over the treatment of women by Brazil's justice system.
The 15-year-old said she was required to have sex with at least two inmates, police spokesman Walrimar Santos said by telephone Thursday from Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon River, where the victim was transferred after nearly a month living with male inmates.
By her account, officials did nothing — until the story erupted in the national media and outraged Brazilians demanded her transfer.
"Throwing a 15-year-old girl into a cell with 20 men was a heinous and intolerable act," Brazilian Bar Association president Cezar Britto said in an interview. "It is a serious case of criminal negligence against women, who in Brazil continue to be victims of prejudice."
Santos said the girl was not beaten or injured. But the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo, which said it had access to private testimony after her transfer from the jail, reported she was tortured with lit cigarettes on her fingers and bare feet to force her to have sex. Her cellmates cut her hair to make her look more like a boy and difficult to recognize, Estado said.
She said her only reprieve from obligatory sex was on Thursdays — when intimate visits were allowed — and things "calmed down," Estado reported.
Police and human rights officials said the girl was out of touch in Belem and would not speak to reporters. The Associated Press generally does not identify people who may have been victims of sexual assault.
The girl was arrested Oct. 21 on accusations of breaking and entering a house and jailed with male inmates in Abaetetuba, a city of 78,000 outside the Para state capital of Belem.
She was transferred to a jail for women in Belem on Nov. 17, although police claim they requested her transfer earlier but were ignored.
Santos said separate jails for men and women do not exist in most towns in Para — a sprawling, largely lawless state twice the size of France.
Days after the case was divulged, the Brazilian Bar Association announced that a 23-year-old woman had been obliged to share a cell with 70 men in a police detention center in Parauapebas, in southern Para. It was not clear if she was forced to have sex.
Para Gov. Ana Julia Carepa said she was outraged by the alleged abuse at Abaetetuba. She suspended three top police officials pending an investigation and promised that the guilty parties would be "punished in exemplary fashion."
"There's no excuse for what happened," she said in a statement. "I'm also shocked and indignant, as a woman and as governor. ... A woman can never be jailed in the same cell as men."
The federal government on Friday sent a task force of human rights officials to Belem to accompany the investigation after the girl and her family reported receiving death threats.
"First we will guarantee the safety of the minor, who will be included in the program for the Protection of Children and Adolescents threatened with death," Marcia Ustra Soares, a director of the program, told reporters.
The victim's father insisted in a televised interview that she was 15, and that police threatened to arrest him unless he produced a certificate showing she was 20.
"I want justice. The situation can't stay like this," he said.
Amnesty International said Brazilian women "are the hidden victims of a crumbling detention system," and many cases of women abused under government custody go unreported or uninvestigated.
"We receive extensive reports of women in detention who suffer sexual abuse, torture, substandard health care and inhuman conditions," said Tim Cahill, Amnesty's researcher on Brazil.
Carepa said the government also was investigating reports that the girl was arrested purposely for the sexual gratification of the prisoners.
"This is an unfortunate practice that regrettably has been occurring for some time," she said. "But it would be good to make this public, so that all society will be mobilized and we can end these practices. ... We won't allow this to happen again."
The Brazilian Bar Association voiced skepticism that officials would take effective action.
"What has happened in the state of Para's prison system shows that for authorities the concept of human dignity is only useful as a rhetorical instrument, not something to be taken seriously," Britto said.
If police did not have the required separate cells, the government "must recognize its inefficiency and ... release those citizens it cannot hold," he said.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
WHY PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN
It's frustrating when your co-workers, audience members, teenager or even your dog (!) won't listen. While you can't control how they receive what you say, you can control how you send it. Here are a few tips on why people don't listen and what you can do to change it.
Finally, the main reason people don't listen is because you haven't answered their favorite question: “What's in it for me?” Before you start a long-winded monologue, tell your listener why you need their attention and make sure they understand how it will be benefit them. For example, “I'd like to tell you about this free software that will block all the spam before it gets to your Inbox …interested?” That will give you much better results than “When I was a youngster and I sat down in front of my first computer, I asked myself how can I make this machine work for me…” In general, put yourself in your listener's shoes before you talk and their ears tend to perk up.And just remember the greatest of all wisdom--no one ever listened himself out of a new friendship.
VOLUNTEERISM
Volunteerism is the willingness of people to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or other tangible gain. Volunteers may have special training as rescuers, guides, assistants, teachers, missionaries, amiture radio operators, writers, and in other positions. But the majority work on an impromptu basis, recognizing a need and filling it, whether it be the dramatic search for a lost child or the mundane giving of directions to a lost visitor.
In economics voluntary employment is unpaid employment. It may be done for altruistic reasons, for example charity, as a hobby, community service or vocation, or for the purpose of gaining experience. Some go so far as to dedicate much of their lives to voluntary service. One way in which this is done is through the creation of a Non-Profit Franchise.
Contact a non profit organization to see what you could do to help them... or volunteer yourself to help your neighbor or a friend in need.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
hOW MUCH DO WE CARE ABOUT PLANET EARTH?
Welcome to Planet Earth Credit: Apollo 17 Crew, NASA
Explanation: Welcome to Planet Earth, the third planet from a star named the Sun. The Earth is shaped like a sphere and composed mostly of rock. Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is water. The planet has a relatively thin atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Earth has a single large Moon that is about 1/4 of its diameter and, from the planet's surface, is seen to have almost exactly the same angular size as the Sun. With its abundance of liquid water, Earth supports a large variety of life forms, including potentially intelligent species such as dolphins and humans. Please enjoy your stay on Planet Earth.
HAVE WE BECOME PEOPLE OF INDIFFERENCE?
The Perils of Indifference CLICK HERE
Edmund Burke:
All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing.
Elie Wiesel:
For one who is indifferent, life itself is a prison. Any sense of community is external or, even worse, nonexistent. Thus, indifference means solitude. Those who are indifferent do not see others. They feel nothing for others and are unconcerned with what might happen to them. They are surrounded by a great emptiness. Filled by it, in fact. They are devoid of all hope as well as imagination. In other words, devoid of any future.
Elie Wiesel:
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
Helen Keller:
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings
Joan Vinge:
Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it.
Indifference to Suffering ~
Failure to report suffering ~ Silence in response to suffering ~ Avoidance of reference to suffering ~ Indifference in response to injustice ~ Moral indifference
PLEASE DONATE AIR MILES TO PATHWAYS TO HOPE.ORG
Do you have a travel voucher you could donate?
It must be transferrable.
Do you have frequent flier miles you could donate?
American Airlines
Call: (800) 421-0600
Online: www.aa.com
Guidelines: 250-mile increment
British Airways – Executive Club USA
Call: (800) 955-2748 :
Follow instructions on automated system.
Frequent Flier Donation Form PDF file
Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum
Continental Airlines – OnePass
Call: (713) 952-1630
Online: www.continental.com
Guidelines: No minimum donation. Donors must include account number and PIN number to make a donation.
Delta Air Lines –
Please have your SkyMiles account number
Call: (800) 323-2323 or (800) 325-3999
www.delta.com/skymiles
Fax: (404) 773-1945 :
Frequent Flier Donation Form PDF file 1.39 MB
Guidelines: 5,000-mile minimum
Northwest Airlines –
Call: (800) 327-2881
Online: www.nwa.com
Guidelines: 5,000-mile minimum in 1,000-mile increments.
United Airlines –
Call: (800) 421-4655 : Specify the Make-A-Wish Foundation®.
Frequent Flier Donation Form PDF file 1.39 MB
Mail to: Mileage Plus, Inc. Charity MilesPO Box 40Rapid City, SD 57709-0040
Guidelines: 1,000-mile minimum
US Airways –
Call: (800) 428-4322 : Select Prompt 3 and say “Representative” to be connected to a live agent at the Dividend Miles program desk.
Online: www.usairways.com
Guidelines: 5,000-mile minimum in 1,000-mile increments
.
Tax Deductibility
The IRS recognizes award points and miles as a gift or an award from the corporation to the individual. Therefore, points and miles donated to charity are not considered tax deductible.
WINTER BLUES ~ FINDING SUNSHIE WHEN THERE ISN'T ANY SUN.
Many people hate when winter comes. They move south for the winter just to enjoy the warm weather. Many people can't afford to travel south and have to endure the cold winter months, especially in the northern states and in Canada. For some, living in the dark cold months of the year set off depression. Finding ways to avoid the on slot of depression before it happens.
Here are a few ways..
by Margareth Montenegro