Japan’s decision to hang three prisoners after nearly two years without executions has been severely criticized by Amnesty International, which calls it a “retrograde step.” Justice Minister Toshio Ogawa authorized the executions of three men, stating that this was his “duty” as Minister. “Justifying acts which violate human rights as a ‘Minister’s duty’ is unacceptable. Rather, it is the responsibility of leaders to address crime without resorting to the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,” said Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Deputy Director.

In the Group of Eight leading economies only Japan and the U.S. carry out the death penalty. Capital punishment has a long history in Japan. In the fourth century, under the influence of the Chinese judicial system, Japan adopted a system of different punishments for different crimes, including the death penalty. During the Muromachi period which run from 1337 to 1573 extremely cruel methods of execution were used. Among those were methods were upside down crucifixion, impalement by spear, sawing, and dismemberment with oxen or carts.

In 1871, following a major reform of the penal code, the list of the kind of crimes that were punishable by death was reduced and cruel torture and flogging were abolished. In 1873, the list of crimes punished by execution was further reduced and methods of execution were limited to beheading or hanging.

Presently, the typical stay of prisoners on death row is between five and seven years. For some, however, this period is much longer. A prisoner, Sadamichi Hirasawa, died of natural causes at the age of 95, after being in death row for 32 years. According to Kyodo, a Japanese news agency, there are 132 death row inmates in Japan.

There has been considerable debate in Japan about the death penalty, and the public has overwhelmingly supported it. In the late 1980s, four high-profile acquittals of death-row inmates after retrial shook public confidence on this measure. This case “shook public confidence in the system and profoundly embarrassed the Ministry of Justice, which until then had believed that the execution of an innocent person was all but impossible,” stated Charles Lane, a reporter for The Washington Post who studied the Japanese criminal justice system.

However, a government survey in 1999 showed that 79.3 percent of the public supported this measure. At a 2003 trial in Tokyo, a prosecutor presented the court a petition with 76,000 signatures requesting the death sentence on his case. A 2009 government survey showed that 86 percent of the public in Japan supported the death penalty.

In the United States, there have been 1289 execution since 1976, most of them by lethal injection. In 34 states, the death penalty is legal, and in 16 states it has been abolished. In the U.S., over 130 people have been released from death row after their innocence was proved.

Both in the case of Japan and the U.S., there is the widespread perception that the death penalty can be a deterrent to further crimes. However, according to a 2009 study conducted by Professor Michael Radelet and Tracy Lacock, both at the University of Colorado-Boulder, 88% of the country’s top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicides.

In addition, 87% of leading criminologists think that abolition of the death penalty would not have any significant effect on murder rates. More pointedly, 75% of the respondents believe that “debates about the death penalty distract Congress and state legislatures from focusing on real solutions to crime problems.”

All European countries except Russia, Belarus, Serbia and Latvia have abolished capital punishment. According to Amnesty International, 95 countries, including Canada and Australia, have abolished the death penalty, while nine other countries have it reserved only for extraordinary cases of espionage or treason. It is now time for Japan and the US to heed Amnesty International’s suggestion and join the more than two-thirds of countries worldwide who have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, and declare a moratorium on executions as a first step toward abolition.

Dr. Cesar Chelala, a winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award, writes extensively on human rights issues.

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Animal welfare is usually regarded as a noble concept and a milestone of human civilization. Those living in the insulated reality of the Western world may sincerely believe this. However, my experience as a Bulgarian, i.e. resident of one of the poorest countries in Europe, points otherwise. Animal welfare is a bizarre idea with disastrous consequences, especially for poor people. It is destroying decades of progress concerning human rights and well-being.

Now, as Europeans are preparing for Easter, some are angry at the scarcity and high prices of eggs as a result of the European Union's Welfare of Laying Hens Directive. In Bulgaria, the directive banning sale of eggs that have been laid by "unhappy hens" means more than interference with a beloved traditional spring festival. It means that many thousands of Bulgarians will be forced to restrict their egg consumption, which has so far been their main source of animal protein. Possibly the champions of animal happiness in the rich countries of "Old Europe" are blissfully unaware that tens of thousands of EU citizens still suffer from protein malnutrition. Someone must inform them of that fact. And if they know it and still think that the welfare of laying hens is more important than welfare (and health) of human beings, let them please explain this to us, because we fail to understand it.

Another, much more sinister result of animal welfare legislation is the problem with stray dogs. According to current Bulgarian laws, stray dogs must be castrated by a municipality agency and returned to the place they were taken from. Only sick and aggressive animals are to be euthanased. And because nobody can know whether an animal is aggressive or not before it has actually attacked a human, Bulgarian taxpayers and their children find themselves in the position of bio-indicators of dog aggressiveness.

This outrage is excused by EU animal welfare directives allegedly banning large-scale euthanasia and also by some World Health Organization documents recommending "neuter and release" policy towards stray dogs in poor countries.
The result of this humaneness to stray dogs is predictably disastrous. Bulgarian cities and villages are plagued by ever-growing population of stray dogs. Humans have to tip-toe around packs and still suffer regular attacks. The latest victim is Botyo Tachkov, an octogenarian professor who after decades of successful career in the USA returned to spend his last years in his homeland. Two days ago, he was severely attacked by a pack of 30 stray dogs. He is now in hospital in critical condition. His left foot was eaten away, together with 60% of the muscles of his legs and arms. His ears were bitten off and his eyes hemorhaged so badly that he is unlikely to retain any vision.

Both EU and WHO are governed by rich, privileged, spoiled people enjoying smooth lives from cradle to grave. The EU animal welfare directives and the WHO "neuter and release" policy have been invented by people who have never been forced to navigate between packs of stray dogs while going to work, returning home or picking their children from kindergarten. Someone must explain to these policymakers that it is unacceptable to let dogs eat humans alive. The people must drag this arrogant European elite out of its ivory tower. This is a major change and we, the poorest Europeans, need the support of more prominant European nations. Please help us!

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By Alexis Erkert
March 28, 2012

When police and the landowner commanded Michelène Pierre to vacate her tent on a Sunday afternoon so that they could light it on fire, she responded: “If you want to light me on fire along with this entire camp, go ahead. I’m not leaving.” The police bypassed her tent, but continued to threaten other residents of Camp Kozbami, setting flame to six tents.

Camp Kozbami is the fifth camp to be arsoned in two months. As landowners and the government push to close camps inhabited by those displaced by the earthquake that rocked Haiti 26 months ago, a reported 94,632 individuals are facing forced eviction.

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In Afghanistan, there were expectations that ten years after the fall of the Taliban women’s rights –which had been systematically abused during the Taliban’s rule- would be respected. A recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), “I Had to Run Away” The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes” in Afghanistan, shows that this is not the case.

The HRW report is based on 58 interviews with women and girls accused of “moral crimes,” and were conducted in three prisons and three juvenile detention facilities. These crimes often involved flight from a forced marriage or different degrees and kinds of domestic violence. In addition, some of the women and girls were convicted of zina, as sex out of marriage is called, after being raped or forced into prostitution.

There have been several initiatives aimed at improving the human rights situation in Afghanistan .In 2001, the Bonn Agreement established the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) as a national human rights institution in charge of protecting human rights and investigating human rights abuses and war crimes. Its existence was solidified by the Afghanistan Constitution of 2004.

This current Afghan constitution, approved by consensus in 2004 after the 2003 loya jirga, promised equal rights for women and men, allowing women to work outside the home and engage in political activity.

Despite some advances, however, in late March 2009, Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed into law an internationally repudiated “Shia Family Law.” This law apparently condones spousal rape, child marriage, and imposes purdah on married Afghan women. Purdah is the social system that determines sexual propriety and manages inter-gender interaction and relationships.

That same year, the Law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women banned and set serious penalties for underage and forced marriage, domestic violence, rape, forced prostitution and other abuses against women. However, discrimination and violence against women continues, and those that try to flee abusive situations face apathy and criminal sanctions for what are vaguely defined as “moral crimes.” Although reliable statistics are not readily available, HRW estimates that in January 2012, there were approximately 400 women and girls imprisoned in Afghanistan for “moral crimes.”

Thus, although there has been an increased participation of women in Afghanistan’s social, educational and political life, prejudices and ineffectual application of laws continue to exact a heavy toll on women, as the HRW report shows. While women who flee abuse often end up incarcerated, the men responsible for those abuses frequently enjoy impunity from prosecution.

Many women and girls are still forced into marriage, often at a very young age and to a much older man. As a result, it is estimated that every two hours an Afghan woman or girl dies of pregnancy-related causes, in part because they are forced to marry immediately after puberty and they give birth when their bodies are not fully developed.

When facing such difficult circumstances, many women leave those unhappy relationships. Their enraged relatives then track them down and accuse them of running away from their marriage or of zina, which is defined by Islamic Law as unlawful sexual intercourse between a man and a woman not married to each other.

Even if charges are not proven, women suffer from invasive medical examinations and severe damages to their credibility and reputation. Only rarely do the police and the justice system investigate claims of abuse cited by women as their reason for fleeing home, and even more rarely are men prosecuted for those crimes.

The Supreme Court of Afghanistan has instructed the country’s judges to treat the “running away” as a crime, despite the absence of this offense in Afghan law which only exacerbates the discrimination against women. Prosecutors often argue that women and girls detained for “moral crimes” are of bad moral character and probably “fabricate” their stories of abuse.

Afghanistan’s justice system should investigate all crimes against women, determine if women’s actions were in response to abuse and prosecute those presumed guilty. Until Afghanistan’s justice system treats all its citizens equally, the country will continue to be a pariah among those that respect justice and women’s rights.

Cesar Chelala, a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award, is an international public health consultant who has written extensively on women’s health and human rights.

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In recent decades, the islands, water and resources of the South China Sea have been increasingly contested, particularly after some recent finding of important energy sources.

Several countries stake their claims to part of the sea, China being the most relevant. Interested countries confront two options, increase their belligerent claims or try to develop policies for the joint exploration of resources according to international norms. The choice is clear if we want to maintain peace in that contentious region of the world.

The South China Sea, which has an area estimated in 3,500,000 square kilometers (1,200,000 sq mi) is one of the world’s most important shipping transit areas, and it is believed to have huge oil and gas reserves beneath its seabed. It is estimated that the South China Sea has 7 billion barrels in oil reserves and 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Presently, Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam claim maritime rights over this area.

Since China is the stronger country, it is inevitable that conflicts exist with the other countries involved. These conflicts will only tend to increase, as energy demands will augment substantially, with energy consumption expected to double by 2030. In addition, China considers the Sea of China as an obvious extension of her regional power.

Among all the countries involved it is perhaps China with the Philippines and Vietnam where the possibilities for conflict are stronger. The conflict of China with the Philippines arises over whose country has the authority to allow local and foreign companies to exploit valuable oil and gas reserves in a disputed zone of the South China Sea.

The dispute was recently triggered when Manila stated that it was preparing to issue exploration licenses for 15 petroleum blocks. Three of those blocks are in the South China Sea. Beijing protested, claiming that two of the auctioned blocks were under its jurisdiction, and are part of the disputed Spratly Islands. Philippine officials insist that the two blocks do not belong to the Spratlys.

The Spratly Islands are important for several reasons: they have important reserves of oil and natural gas, it is a productive area for world fishing and commercial shipping, and coastal countries could benefit for an extended continental shelf. China (PRC), Taiwan (ROC) and Vietnam have made claims to the islands based on historical sovereignty over them.

At the core of the problem between China and Vietnam is the dispute over the Paracel Islands, also called Xisha Islands now under the administration of Hainan Province, in The People’s Republic of China. Both China and South Vietnam controlled part of the Paracel Islands before 1974. However, following a brief confrontation where 71 soldiers were killed China controls the whole of Paracel, and now considers it an issue that is closed. Vietnam, however, still questions China’s control over the islands.

The archipelago is roughly equidistant from the coastlines of China and Vietnam. Although the islands have limited military value, geological surveys indicate the presence of significant gas and oil reserves in the surrounding waters. In addition, the archipelago is surrounded by rich fishing grounds.

To stimulate progress on the issues related to rights over the South China Sea islands a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea was signed in November of 2002. Although the declaration contributed to ease tensions on this issue, it fell short of establishing a binding code of conduct.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) effective since November 16, 1994, established procedures for countries with coastlines to submit claims for their continental shelf to be extended 200 nautical miles of their shores. In May 2009, both Vietnam and Malaysia submitted claims which were immediately contested by China, which called on the United Nations not to consider them.
Given the multiplicity of parties and the intricacy of the issues involved, it seems that only multilateral agreements for development will end the present status quo on issues of sovereignty and control of resources. The choice is between confrontation or development for all countries involved in such a critical area of the world.

Cesar Chelala, a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award, writes extensively on human rights and foreign policy issues.

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Parallel to its economic development, China is facing the challenge of a rapidly aging population. This is happening at a time when urbanization and industrialization is quickly increasing in the country. It is a trend which has weakened traditional family support networks, particularly for the elderly. New policies are necessary to face this situation.

In 1979, China adopted a one-child policy to limit population growth and ensure economic stability. As a result, with fewer children and better living standards, the proportion of the elderly in the population has grown substantially and will continue to do so in the coming years. According to one study, within 20 years China will have 350 million citizens over the age of 60, more than the current U.S. population.

This situation will present special problems but also unique opportunities. This century’s leading countries will be those that consider their aging population not as dependent and disabled, but that will empower them to still be active participants in the country’s economic growth. This is what some people now call “active aging.”

In this regard, the IMF reported last year that China’s economy should surpass the U.S. economy in real terms in 2016. In spite of this, one of China’s greatest fears is that the country will grow old before it grows rich. As stated in UNFPA’s The State of World Population 2011, Professor Jiang Xiangqun, a gerontologist at Renmin University in Beijing has argued that when developed countries initially entered a period of significant population aging they had a much higher level of per capita income.

The situation of older people was also affected when state-owned enterprises trimmed their ranks of tens of millions of old workers who were let go with small pensions and were replaced by younger ones. The vast majority of retired older workers now have extremely low pensions which are almost irrelevant and, in many cases, make them unable to meet some basic needs. As a result, the vast majority of older Chinese live with their families, a situation that responds not only to the Confucian tradition of respect for age and experience but also to a law that was passed in 1996 making it a legal obligation to take care of the elders in the family.

According to some estimates, 98 percent of old people in China remain in their homes, or try to do so. Many remain mostly by themselves in “empty nests,” as their children migrate to cities for work or to start their own families in single-generation homes. Some researchers have called this phenomenon the 1-2-4 problem: one child taking care of two parents and four grandparents.

However, as China’s population ages rapidly, the young workforce available for economic growth diminishes. This may hinder not only the development of the country but also the quality of life for its senior citizens, since the young will be less able to support their elders. This is happening while the ratio of elderly dependants to people of working age will rise sharply. It is estimated that over the next few decades this ratio will rise from 10% in 2012 to 40% by 2050.

As the numbers of caregivers fail to keep pace with the growing elderly population more of them, particularly those with poor health, will seek care in specialized institutions. The proportion of elderly who develop diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and different kinds of dementia will increase. It has been estimated that the total medical cost for treating these diseases could reach almost nine percent of China’s domestic product by 2025.

The government has responded to the challenge of elders’ care by constructing more nursing homes. However, most of these homes are located mainly in big cities, and their quality varies widely. Also, they only provide basic health care and services, and mostly lack trained social workers.

As things stand now, the Chinese government has to devise new strategies to deal with the demographic challenge of a rapidly aging population. It is necessary to improve a social security system to cover both rural and urban areas, improve the overseeing of welfare institutions and address old people’s special needs, not only physical but also provide them with mental health support. China’s health care system will have to address the shifting disease burden of an older population, such as the rising tide of non-communicable diseases.

At the same time, it is critical to increase the training of social workers through special courses that teach them to understand and deal with the needs of older people. It is also important to increase the retirement age, which is now 60 for men and 50 for women, taking into account that today’s life expectancy is now 73. With medical advances, people now can still be productive at later ages. How the government meets this challenge will be a measure of the kind of society China intends to build in the future.

Cesar Chelala, MD, PhD, is an international public health consultant.

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To celebrate Women’s History Month, The Pride Center in Fort Lauderdale is featuring an art exhibit—Women in History: Past & Present.

Although the exhibit may not be overtly political, it does present an empowering collection of photographs, paintings and mixed media.

Of course, some of the work is clearly centered on politics. Angie Sower’s digital photographs, Be Heard and Feminist Action Burn Bra, recall the Second Wave of feminism in the 1960s.

Set against a purple backdrop, surrounded by a chaotic cascade of blues, reds and yellows, the thick black circle of the eye in Vallejo’s work is relentless and unwavering—a constant witness.

Shot Down Expose takes on even more significance when considering not only Marie Colvin’s life, but the lives of Syrian men, women and children who are currently suffering and being killed under Syria’s regime. Whether or not this was the intention of Vallejo’s work, art can often bring political awareness.

There are also notable tributes to the women who surround us in our everyday lives such as Us Women by Virginia “Marvel” Cuellar. The painting is set on two separate canvases, saturated in purple with a poem written out in white graffiti-style lettering: Us Women/ Are Strong/ Love/ We Survive/ We Thrive/ Mothers/ Sisters/ Intelligent/ Beautiful/ Daughters/ Lovers/ Us Women/ Powerful/ Are Confident.

Most of the artwork from Women in History is up for sale, and any inquiries should be directed to The Pride Center.

These are difficult days for women’s rights and feminism. The Women in History exhibit shows us that we can take on these days. We have done it before. We can do it again.

Women in History: Past and Present
Open Gallery until March 31st
The Pride Center
2020 North Dixie Highway
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
Pridecenterflorida.org
954-463-9005

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Originally published at IPPF/WHR

“This book is about the intellectual traditions of Mesoamerican women,” explains Paloma Martinez-Cruz in the opening lines of Women and Knowledge in Mesoamerica: From East L.A. To Anahuac. A young Chicana college professor, Martinez-Cruz has written a captivating personal narrative that intertwines with the historical account of the ways Mesoamerican women healers played a role during childbirth and helped cure the sick. The resulting story is an engaging read for those intrigued by indigenous healing practices, medicine, and spirituality.

Inspiring examples of courageous women were abundant. Determined to become educated and not be governed by a husband, the famous nun, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz—who is often referred to as Mexico’s first feminist—made the choice to enter a convent rather than live in “a prison of marriage.” Two hundred years after Sor Juana’s death, her determination to heal the sick was carried forward by Matilde Montoya, Mexico’s first female physician.

By Montoya time, women had access to formal education and convent life had lost its lustre. In spite of the professionalization of medicine, indigenous healing practices survive today and are widely used in Mesoamerican communities to repair those who are unwell.

Women and Knowledge in Mesoamerica enriches our understanding of the alternative healing practices that Mesoamerican women have been performing for centuries. The book serves as a reminder that holistic approaches to treating patients have a history in both women’s role in nurturing communities and their empowerment.

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Originally published at IPPF/WHR

Legendary birth-control pioneer Margaret Sanger would likely have loved Jean H. Baker’s description of her in Margaret Sanger: A Life of Passion as “an activist, propagandist, organizer, educator, advocate, and occasional martyr.” An often imperious, singleminded crusader, Sanger spent more than six decades championing family planning as an essential element of societal betterment—donning numerous hats as she fought to achieve her dream of a woman-controlled contraceptive.

Still, it wasn’t until the first decade of the 20th century that Sanger—by now married to artist Bill Sanger and a mother of three—saw the human toll of unlimited reproduction more broadly. As a visiting nurse on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, she went from tenement to tenement and noted palpable despair among the residents of this largely immigrant community. Despite this, it wasn’t until she encountered a 28-year-old mother of three named Sadie Sachs that Sanger had an epiphany. Sachs had tried to self-abort and become gravely ill; when she recovered her question was simple: What could she do to keep from becoming pregnant again?

“Another baby will finish me,” Sachs reportedly told her physician. “Tell Jack to sleep on the roof,” the doctor callously replied.

Months later, Baker writes, “Margaret was called back to the Sachs apartment. Again Sadie had become pregnant and again she has resorted to a dangerous self-abortion.” This time she died.

“I was now finished with superficial cures, with doctors and nurses and social workers who were brought face-to-face with this overwhelming truth of women’s needs and yet turned to pass on the other side. I resolved that women should have the knowledge of contraception,” Sanger wrote to her sister.

This wasn’t in-the-moment bluster. After her interaction with Sachs, Sanger decided it was high time to take on Anthony Comstock, the man responsible for pushing Congress to make it a criminal offense to send information on contraception, abortion, or “sexual implements” through the mail. Thumbing her nose at the law, Sanger wrote a series of articles for the progressive New York Call entitled "What Every Girl Should Know." Among the topics covered were venereal disease and pregnancy. Predictably, the Post Office suppressed the newspaper “on the grounds that Sanger’s extended discussion of syphilis and gonorrhea violated the law.”

Thrilled by the notoriety, Sanger continued her defiance, writing numerous articles and pamphlets on “family limitation.” By 1914, however, she wanted to do more than write: She set out to open a center where women could get solid information about pregnancy prevention. Two years later, in 1916, the nation’s first birth control clinic opened in Brooklyn’s Brownsville. A voluntary ten-cent registration fee made the storefront clinic affordable, and Baker writes that multitudes flocked to see the knowledgeable staff. Then, 10 days after opening, a plainclothes policewoman entered the facility and arrested Sanger and other employees for operating an illegal business and violating state obscenity laws. Sanger was sentenced to 30 days in prison; her sister, nurse Ethel Byrne, was also incarcerated.

The ensuing years did not lessen Sanger’s fire, but they did alter her tactics. She wrote endlessly and lectured all over the US—at civic clubs, women’s organizations, union halls, and universities—and later spoke at conferences and before professional societies throughout the world. Seeking financial support, she courted wealthy investors and worked tirelessly, despite frequent ill health, to bring the medical community to her cause. Sanger also founded a host of organizations, one of which eventually became the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Baker's biography portrays Sanger as a difficult, rigid personality. Nonetheless, her unwavering commitment to family planning as a force for liberation continues to make her an inspiration. Brash, bold, and savvy, 46 years after Sanger's death her message of accessible health care remains relevant. Indeed, men like Ray Blunt, Rush Limbaugh, and Rick Santorum would surely benefit from reading her story.

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China’s advances in public health have resulted in a significant increase in life expectancy, which has gone from under 60 years in the 1950s to 74 today. However, this improvement has also resulted in increasing number of people older than 60 years-old and some of the diseases prevalent at that age such as different kinds of dementias, notably Alzheimer.

Although Alzheimer’s is the most common type, there are also other types of dementia such as vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and fronto-temporal dementia. They are all progressive disorders characterized by altered memory, thinking, behavior and the ability to carry out everyday activities. Although they can start before the age of 65, after that age the likelihood of developing one of them roughly doubles every five years, exacting considerable personal, financial and social costs.

In the World Alzheimer’s Report 2009, Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) estimated that there were 35.6 million people worldwide living with dementia, with numbers doubling every 20 years to 66 million by 2030 and 115 million by 2050. According to that report, China now has 5.3 million people living with Alzheimer’s. Those numbers make Alzheimer’s and other kinds of dementia one of the most significant health and economic crises of the 21st century.

The economic impact of the dementias on the countries is not sufficiently appreciated. According to statistics from Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the estimated worldwide total costs of dementias were US $604 billion in 2010. It also estimates that if dementia were a country, it would be the world’s 18th largest economy, ranking between Turkey and Indonesia. Those costs will soar in the next few decades. ADI estimates that by 2030 there will be an estimated 85% increase in costs, based in the predicted number people with dementia at that time.

The China’s Alzheimer’s Project (CAP) estimates that 75% of urban patients have not been diagnosed in a timely way. The proportion of those not diagnosed in rural areas is probably higher. This is happening despite the fact that there is increasing awareness about these diseases.

Presently, only the top-quality hospitals (of which there are approximately 700 in the country) can provide comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
The CAP reports that there are only approximately 1,000 physicians experienced to deal with this kind of diseases. The CAP also estimates that China is short of 10 million senior caregivers.

Several situations hinder more rapid progress to deal with this disease. Among those, are the low level of public health education and the lack of state-public health research projects for the prevention of Alzheimer’s. The CAP, however, also notes that some local governments are encouraging the creation of Alzheimer’s Care institutions.

Access to and affordability of health care is a serious problem, particularly in rural China. In addition, sick people have the added problem of diminishing care by relatives, many of whom have to migrate to urban areas in search of better economic conditions. Although those living in urban areas have better access, the sick and disabled are also the poorest groups in urban societies.

The Chinese government is now educating the public about dementia and big cities like Shanghai have developed plans to build new facilities to take care of the sick there. However, there are still serious problems related to the care of the sick and the still inadequate social support system in the country.

Among the main challenges is who will pay for professional care, particularly since in the 1990s China has dismantled the system of financial support by the state. The nation’s social safety net is weak, and commercial insurance does not cover the disease nor non-hospital nursing care. In addition, community health service centers do not have the possibility of providing screening and special nursing care for patients with dementia.

Alzheimer’s Disease International recommends that every country should have a national dementia strategy, promoting early diagnosis and intervention, while at the same time developing the capacity of primary care services to have the basic competency for making a provisional diagnosis of dementia and take initial management measures.

Because of its impact, Alzheimer’s, and dementias in general are personal, family and social diseases the demand urgent, new and innovative ways of addressing them. In China, which has one of the fastest aging populations, the number of people with different kind of dementias will only increase. The sooner the challenge is faced, the better and more caring the Chinese society will become.

Dr. Cesar Chelala is an international public health consultant.

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I am back from SXSW and already hitting another film festival! This weekend is the closing weekend for the 30th annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

There are so many great films playing this weekend. Tonight, I will be at Surrogate Valentine 2: Daylight Savings at 5 p.m. at Camera 3 Cinemas. This film also played at SXSW, so I’m very excited to be able to see it at home!

Here are my other picks for this weekend:

- In the Family: Tonight at 8 p.m. at the Pacific Film Archive Theater
- Love Crime in Kabul: Tonight at 10 p.m. at Camera 3 Cinemas
- Mr. Cao Goes to Washington: Tomorrow at 7:10 p.m. at Camera 3 Cinemas

by Alexis Erkert, photos by Ben Depp

“As activists, we commemorate this as a day of struggle, a day to make our voices heard until someone pays attention and helps provide solutions to our problems." Facing the Haitian parliament with a throng of banner-waving and singing women at her back, Rachele Fontaine of Women Fighting for the Development of Haiti continued, "Today is March 8th! It's a day when women workers in New York first took to the streets in to demand their rights in 1857. This day is marked in our memories, and as women in Haiti, we have no support, we are left in the street, our children don't have access to school...”

Hours earlier, hundreds of women converged in front of the Ministry for the Status and Condition of Women and, dancing to the rhythm of an all-women street band, wove their way through the streets of downtown Port-au-Prince to the Haitian parliament. Supported by more than a dozen local human rights organizations and activist groups, protesters' demands ranged widely from prosecution of former dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, to better conditions in factories, to UN accountability for cholera and sexual violence.

Women head nearly half of Haitian households and account for most of the country’s subsistence farmers. As traditional caretakers of children, the elderly and the sick, the burden on women has increased since the January 2010 earthquake. In displacement camps, where nearly 500,000 still live, women continue to face alarming rates of rape and gender-based violence. A recent report from Gender Action reveals that post-earthquake investments in Haiti have largely neglected issues of gender equality.

But over the years, Haitian women's groups have made important gains including legal equality for women within marriage and the criminalization of rape. Significant legislation is currently being drafted to provide increased protection from gender-based violence. And this year, on Women's Day, protesters reminded onlookers of their power, singing, "Women, we are reeds. You can cut off our heads, you can burn our roots, but when it rains, we will grow again."

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Copyleft Other Worlds. You may reprint this article in whole or in part. Please credit any text you use to Alexis Erkert, Other Worlds and the slideshow to Ben Depp.

In “Calling for a Media Revolution,” I used strips of newspaper to capture a fluid stream of media traveling through one woman’s ear and out through her mouth, into another woman’s ear and out through her mouth. This mixed media painting is a call for awareness regarding the under-representation of women in leadership positions and the misrepresentation of women in all facets of mainstream news media and the entertainment industry.

Acrylic, Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution by Tsukineko, Newspaper, Jen Wilson's 29th Street Market Paper (#291175) and Unryu Paper on Canvas.

In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in
mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have
disordered eating behaviors. (http://www.missrepresentation.org/the-film/)

Also, my intern experience with The Women’s International Perspective (The WIP) provided inspiration for this painting. The WIP is an online news media organization that serves as a global source of women’s perspectives. This year, The WIP’s annual International Women’s Day Celebration focused on how media can be used as an instrument of change. With Keynote Speaker Maria Hinojosa and guest panelists Caroline Heldman, Ph.D., Elisa Munoz and Dina Eastwood, the event reminded me of the importance of awareness. People need to actively recognize and reject the misrepresentative characterizations (caricatures) of women and girls projected daily onto TV, film, advertisements, magazines and the Internet. We are constantly inundated with information regarding female “worth” and “happiness” as a way to sell products. With media’s increasing objectification of women and girls, comes women and girls passive consent of these objectified roles. As Caroline Heldman most poignantly pointed out, women and girls need to see themselves as “Sex Subjects,” not “Sex Objects” that need continuous maintenance and improvement in order to be perfected and accepted.

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Sabrina Brett's blog Manifesting Reveries: Artistic Living can be found at sabrinabrett.blogspot.com.

Greetings from Austin, TX! I have returned to the capital of the Lone Star state for this year's South by Southwest film and interactive festivals.

You can follow-up my updates throughout the day on Twitter (@jessiemosby). Once I'm home later this week, I will post some reviews and more updates.

But right now I am too busy with festival activities! So far I've seen six films - and enjoyed all of them! There are the documentaries (Dreams of a Life, Wonder Women, and Eating Alabama), the LGBT romantic comedy (Gayby), and the just for fun (21 Jump Street). And then there is my favorite: The premiere of filmmaker Lena Dunham's new HBO show Girls. Over a year ago I interviewed Lena when her fantastic film Tiny Furniture screened at the Mill Valley Film Festival. I've been a fan ever since! Seeing the first three episodes of Girls today was so much fun! I love the tone of the series, and really appreciate how Lena sheds every bit of self-consciousness when she's on camera. I cannot wait to watch the rest of the season! Girls premieres on HBO in April.

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MONFEMNET was established in 2000 as a network of women’s NGOs and civil society organizations dedicated to human development and women’s rights within Mongolia. The group expanded their reach in 2007 by including any Mongolian civil society organization or informal group committed to promoting gender justice, human rights, social justice and substantive democracy.

Every March since 2006 in honor of International Women’s Day MONFEMNET, hosts a forum—“Through Women’s Eyes”--to analyze and increase the knowledge of a specific policy issue from the perspective of human rights and gender equality. Previous topics include: Governance, Economic Development, Human Rights and Civil Society (2006), Ethics in Politics and Media and Movement Building (2007), Civil Society Women’s Policy Objectives (2008), National Security (2009), Protection of Fundamental Human Rights (2010), and Open Governance (2011). For example, in 2009 MONFEMNET sought to reframe “National Security” from a traditional state-centered perspective and increasingly popular ethno-nationalist framework centered on the purity of the Mongolian gene pool towards a concept of human security squarely framed based on human rights and gender equality. MONFEMNET proposed to view human/national security taking into account gender-specific vulnerabilities, viewing violence against women and children, sexual exploitation and prostitution, labor exports and migration as human/national security issues. Furthermore, MONFEMNET advocated viewing the development of a strong civil society as a guarantee of Mongolia’s national/human security and foundation of Mongolia’s democratic development.

This event draws about 300 people from a variety of areas such as media, arts, international organizations, the government sector, communities and civil society. The forum has developed into a strategic platform for building national consensus on key policy/strategic issues and building capacity not only for analysis but also for collective action to promote progressive social change in Mongolia.

Undarya Tumursukh, National Coordinator for MONFEMNET, has agreed to discuss the organization’s current activities.

UB Post: The 7th Annual “Through Women’s Eyes” Forum is scheduled for Wednesday the 7thof March at Chinghis Khaan Hotel Conference Hall in honor of International Women’s Day. What theme is MONFEMNET focusing on this year and what do you hope to accomplish with this year’s event?

Tumursukh: This year, our theme is “Human Rights Based Development Policy.” This forum and the theme is particularly important given 2012 is the parliamentary and local election year. We want to use this opportunity to promote human rights/gender-equality based development policies to political parties and candidates so as to ultimately influence the Government Plan of Action for 2012-2016.

We are strongly concerned that the political parties, particularly the two main parties, lack strong understanding of the human rights based approach to development and propose policies that are elitist, populist as well as paternalistic. We are also strongly concerned that the processes whereby the predominantly male political institutions develop policy propositions seriously lack meaningful and equal participation of various social groups, including women, rural population, low-income people, youth, ethnic and sexual minorities, people with disabilities, etc.

Thirdly, we want to promote policies that are balanced, not so centered on mere economic growth fueled primarily by the mining sector, policies that support human development in all its aspects (not just material wellbeing), that empower women, youth, children and communities, that promote social equity and social justice instead of broadening the gap between the haves and have-nots, maintain ecological balance and promote democratic consolidation.

To achieve the development that is beneficial to all members of the society, we are convinced, we must implement the human rights based approach at all levels and in all areas. And just to be clear, gender equality, i.e. equal participation of men and women, full protection of women’s human rights and fundamental freedoms, and progressive achievement of gender equality are integral to the human rights based approach, sustainable development and substantive/participatory democracy.

Hence, in the first part of the forum, we will expressly address the increasing trend of discrimination against women in both private and public spheres, the rise of traditionalism and cultural fundamentalism, and revival of socialist party-state’s pro-natalist policies that view women primarily as reproductive machines, i.e. as instruments to be used for the promotion of the national (and nationalist) goal of increasing the population size – a goal defined by male-dominated institutions (political parties, government and parliament) without women’s own participation.

UB Post: I noticed that the previous theme in 2011 addressed “Open Governance.” Do you feel that the passage of the Law on Preventing Conflict of Interest in Public Service is a positive step in addressing the concerns of last year’s forum?

Tumursukh: Yes, absolutely. The law is very important. However, what is even more important is IMPLEMENTING this law as well as other important laws and regulations such as the Law on Freedom of Information, Budget Law (which includes new sections on ensuring transparency and citizen participation), and Income Statements of Public Officials (currently, while these are filed with the Anti-Corruption Agency, there is no system of verifying their validity and ensuring those who filed untruthful statements are held accountable). As a civil society organization committed first and foremost to citizen empowerment, however, MONFEMNET believes that the key is to raise critical consciousness of the people, awaken their self-confidence and sense of people power, build their capacity to take collective or individual action to hold the state bodies/public servants accountable and responsive to their needs and inspire them to action. Unless this work is done, no amount of good laws will bring the changes we wish.

UB Post: The last time I interviewed you was at the beginning of November, 2011 for the story about women’s organizing: http://ubpost.mongolnews.mn/index.php/community/29-community/6658-the-collective-action-of-mongolias-women. The article described MONFEMNET’s 2008 research paper, which you co-wrote, about the strong history of women’s representation in civil society in Mongolia, while discussing the problem of political representation, especially the 2008 revocation of the 30% quota system of women in Parliament. In light of that unfortunate loss for Mongolian women while considering their organizational strengths, in what ways is women’s representation in civil society crossing over to politics? What does MONFEMNET hope for in the next year in regards to increasing women’s political involvement?

Tumursukh: The new election law does include a women’s quota. However, it is too low – 20% and there are no guarantees that women candidates will have the same chance to be elected as male candidates. The field is far from being level for women as well as many other social groups who lack money power or culturally legitimate status (ethnic minorities, low-income people, rural population, etc.). This is a serious drawback of the Mongolian political system in general and the party system in particular – lack of representativeness.

However, activists are engaged in activism precisely because the reality we have is not the reality we want to have and we have faith in our collective ability to bring about positive changes. Therefore, our strategy has been to develop effective capacity-building strategies to raise political/critical consciousness of women, build their solidarity and equip them with transformative knowledge and skills to conduct gender-sensitive democracy education. With the support of the US Women’s Issues Fund, we developed an innovative and participatory training package on “Building women’s political leadership and advocacy” capacity, involving both older and younger women activists, developed a pool of skillful trainers, and conducted TOT workshops in half of the aimags. We received extremely positive feedback from both trainers and workshop participants and we believe we are on the right track with this approach of empowering women from the grassroots, from the local levels.

At the same time, at national level, we hope to promote solidarity, networking and consultation mechanisms with partisan women’s NGOs, women politicians, and women in public service as well as women in media and other sectors of society. Solidarity building is not going to be an automatic process as women, just as men, are a diverse group. Women come from different backgrounds and have diverse, sometimes conflicting views. Hence, solidarity-building is not going to be an automatic process and not everyone is going to join us as allies. Rather, we are looking to build a critical mass. I should also say we don’t only work women and we don’t see women’s issues as only women’s issues. We continuously build partnerships with men who share our values and beliefs and our commitment to justice, human rights and democracy, as well as with other civil society sectors. We also intensively work with youth. Needless to say, this work goes beyond 2012 – we see our work is a long-term process.

UB Post: I really enjoyed watching one of your translated workshops on gender equality last November and seeing the positive response from both men and women. In a country that embraces masculinity as much as Mongolia, it was interesting to see how you discussed gender power imbalances without criticizing men. What do you think is a common misconception men in Mongolia have toward feminism?

Tumursukh: Well, to start with not many Mongolians are even familiar with the word ‘feminism’ – men or women. Then those are, again both men and women, seem to have a generally negative relationship to this word. It is hard to say definitively what the general public thinks when they hear this word since there has not been a single study on this. Hence, I can only convey my impressions, which are that people generally hold that feminism is against men, against culture and tradition, that it is about establishing a matriarchy in lieu of a patriarchy, i.e. gaining higher privileges for women, and that it is very militant and aggressive and strips women of their ‘natural’ softness and, in general, a dangerous and foreign ideology that threatens the ‘natural’ order of things.

I can speak with more confidence about what women active in the various NGOs think about feminism as we included this question in our survey while conducting the study you mentioned on the fields of women’s organizing in Mongolia. I should first clarify that when I say that while there are perhaps over a 100 women’s NGOs in Mongolia, only a minority of them are actually women’s rights NGOs, the rest tend to be conservative groups, which function within the patriarchal framework. Majority of the women who participated in the survey stated they were not feminists and gave various reasons. Some were overtly opposed to feminism and supported patriarchal power system and ‘natural’ roles of men and women. Some saw feminism as too radical and therefore unnecessary or even counter-productive to the goal of achieving gender equality in Mongolia. Interestingly, several women maintained that patriarchy is a thing of the past in Mongolia – that we got rid of it during socialism, hence feminism was not so necessary in Mongolia.

MONFEMNET, of course, is a feminist organization. We have and continue to make an effort to help people understand feminism as a framework of analysis and action that is fundamentally based on universal principles and values of human rights, fundamental freedoms, non-discrimination, humane and compassionate society, social justice and substantive democracy. MONFEMNET adheres to what we have come to call holistic feminism, which is committed to resisting and seeking to fundamentally transform all the interlocking systems of power hierarchy, based on gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, age, etc.

In the Mongolian context, given the most consistent (and human rights based!) advocacy for humane, democratic and just society in fact only comes from women-led civil society, it is necessary and inevitable that we, as feminists, promote human rights, social justice, democracy, sustainable development and environmental protection as well as gender equality as these concepts and phenomena are fundamentally interlinked.

And vice versa, we also seek to enlighten those who are engaged in promoting justice and democracy that gender equality is a part and parcel of what they hope to achieve and that, therefore, they (meaning primarily other civil society sectors such as environmental groups, anti-corruption groups, etc) must adhere to the principles of gender equality both in terms of the process and in defining their conceptual frameworks and goals.

This article originally appeared in the UB Post in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

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For the past few years, there has been an explosion of ways in which countries can engage in destructive behavior. The use of cyberspace as a tool of war has changed the nature of conventional warfare. This not only poses problems in terms of how to respond to those threats but also how to develop agreements among countries to curtail its use.

Richard A. Clarke, former counterterrorism adviser on the National Security Council defined “cyberwarfare” in his book Cyber War as “actions by a nation state to penetrate another nation’s computers or networks for the purpose of causing damage or disruption.”

The Lipman Report, which offers insights from private sources on national security risks, warns that several sectors of the U.S. economy are seriously endangered, including cyber threats to public and private facilities, banking and finance, education and government, and other operations which depend on computers for daily operations.

In February 2010, several U.S. lawmakers stated that “the threat of a crippling attack on telecommunications and computer networks was sharply on the rise.” To underscore those dangers even more, the former Director of National Intelligence, Vice Admiral Michael McConnell (Ret.) stated bluntly before the U.S. Senate in 2010, “If we were in a cyberwar today, the United States would lose.” His testimony, however, may represent a conflict of interest considering his participation as director of defense programs in Booz Allen Hamilton, a firm which provides technology services to the U.S. government.

It is evident, nonetheless, that cyber attacks can wreck havoc in a country’s defense system and on its economy. For example, in July 2011, the South Korean company SK Communications was hacked. As a result, important personal details of up to 35 million people were stolen, a part of what seems to have been a broader, concerted hacking effort.

The best well known -the mother of all attacks- was perhaps the one caused on Iran’s centrifuges by the Stuxnet worm in its Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, which probably delayed its nuclear development activities by several months. Many consider this worm the most advanced piece of its kind, one that significantly increases the profile of cyberwarfare.

“We have entered into a new face of conflict in which we use a cyberweapon to create physical destruction, and in this case, physical destruction in someone else’s critical infrastructure,” declared Ret. Gen. Michael Hayden to the CBS news magazine “60 minutes.” Hayden, who served as CIA director under President George W. Bush, acknowledges that he knows more about the attack on Iran that he is willing to discuss publicly.

There are also potential problems with this kind of warfare, however. Malware modeled after Stuxnet could also be used to target critical infrastructure in the U.S. such as electrical power grids and water-treatment plants, in addition to Department of Defense facilities and banks. All these actions could adversely affect security installations and cause enormous economic damages.

According to Defense officials, Pentagon computers are targeted about 5,000 times per day. Although so far the extent of the damage has been controlled, there are no assurances that in the future this kind of activities may not cause devastating effects. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has alerted in a public notice that the U.S. electrical grid is exposed to cyberattacks, which could cause enormous damage.

In this regard, Richard A. Clarke stated to National Public Radio (NPR) in 2010, “We’re probably doing things on lot of networks around the world to get ready for cyberwar, and yet we don’t have a military strategy that has been shared with the Congress or the public. And I suspect we don’t really have a military strategy at all.” And he added, “We have extremely good cyber-offensive capabilities – and almost nothing in the way of cyberdefense.”

The real dilemma is how to reach international agreements to limit military attacks in cyberspace. A Ukrainian professor of International Law, Alexander Merezhko, has developed a project, the International Convention on Prohibition of Cyberwar in Internet, and an American General, Keith B. Alexander believes that talks should be carried out between the U.S. and Russia on ways to avoid military attacks in cyberspace.

Together with unparalleled technological advances, human beings are constantly developing new and original ways to destroy each other. If only that energy and creativity were used for more constructive purposes.

Dr. Cesar Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award.

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Danish director Lise Birk Pedersen’s "Putin’s Kiss" was a hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, nominated for a Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema. The film is a tale of shifting loyalties and political manipulation, especially poignant as Vladimir Putin eyes his third presidential term. It tells the story of young Masha Drokova, a teenage spokesperson of the stridently nationalistic Russian organization Nashi Movement, who soon learns of their dangerous methods employed against its political opponents, cynically deemed as “enemies.” Young Masha is first seduced by the movement’s perks, offered in return for her loyalty. Her friendship with a liberal journalist Oleg Kashin, who compares Nashi with ‘Hitler Youth’ forces Masha to choose whether it is worth staying within the movement, as she uncovers sinister methods, particularly toward Kashin. These dangers are a part of the political milieu in modern Russia during the Putin era.

Many outsiders see Putin as a modern-day dictator, but Russian politics requires greater historical context since the Soviet era. “When Putin came to power, he was seen as normal and seemed young and strong enough to manage the country,” says Olga Khvostunova, a Visiting Scholar at the Harriman Institute at Columbia University. Khvostunova also used to work as an editor at the influential Russian newspaper Kommersant, as a colleague of Oleg Kashin.

The film’s portrayal of the political milieu within Russia “was really accurate, actually in depicting the political situation of the youth policy. It was captured precisely - the idea that the young should be educated, based on Soviet methods, in a summer camp. This used to be very popular in Soviet times.” This Nashi Movement was created in 2005 by Putin’s Youth Affairs department as a means to drum-up nationalism and loyalty to the state among young people. But, as the film demonstrates, Nashi seeks to eradicate its political “enemies,” like Oleg Kashin who gets savagely beaten by unknown assailants as captured by surveillance video. “He broke his jaw in two places, and he does not walk well and is [still] missing lots of teeth,” Pedersen said at the New York screening. The director illustrates the dangers of contemporary Russia, where journalists are treated as political foes, rather than as government watchdogs.

The film fails to address complexities of Russian politics and the dialogue among its protagonists often seems perhaps played up for the camera. “The audience does not really see her doubts. [Director Pedersen] should have asked more questions,” says Khvostunova. Pedersen admits she never knew whether Masha would change after Kashin, her friend, is beaten up. “Before she spoke to Masha, she conversed with others, and found Masha’s story to be the most interesting,” Khvostunova says. The audience never learns whether Masha is completely disenchanted with the movement or if she retains dual loyalties. “After all, she may have just changed her mind,“ says Khvostunova. “Masha is not a celebrity.” While the film may have given “an expose of youth manipulation, ‘politics’ in Russia is not seen as a subject in the political agenda. Politics, is essentially, what Putin says.”

Pedersen admitted her lack of knowledge of Russian culture in an Indie-Wire interview: “I don’t speak Russian and secondly making any film in Russia, speaking the language or not, is not a walk in the park. But I think the biggest challenge was how to balance the many levels in my story. I had the ambition to tell the big story about modern Russia through the eyes of my young protagonist with a classic coming of age style. But as the film progressed, I realized how the film also became this very symptomatic story of the bad political climate we find in Russia these days…” The film seeks to explore relevant and timely observations about contemporary Russia and its politics, however fails to deeply delve into the complex relationships among politicians, journalists, protest movements and citizens. However the film succeeds in hinting at the shifting loyalties and political manipulation rampant in today’s Russia.

As for the current anti-government sentiment within the country: “I hope the protests are the beginning of something bigger. And yet as a journalist, it is unfulfilling,” Khvostunova sighs, describing the deep psychological and philosophical strain on those in this profession.

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To understand Greece’s recent travails and how the country got there it is useful to quote what Mikis Theodorakis, the famous Greek songwriter and composer wrote about it. Recently, in his home page, Theodorakis said:

“Until 2009, there was no serious economic problem. The major wounds of our economy were the enormous expenses related to the purchase of war material and the corruption of a part of the political and economic-journalistic sector. For both of these wounds, foreigners are jointly responsible. Germans, for instance, as well as French, English and Americans, earned billions of Euros from annual sales of war material, to the detriment of our national wealth. That continuous hemorrhage brought us to our knees and did not permit us to move forward, while at the same time it made foreign nations prosperous. The same was true of the problem of corruption. The German company Siemens, for instance, maintained a special department for buying off Greek stakeholders in order to place its products in the Greek market. Hence, the Greek people have been victims of that predatory duo of Greeks and Germans, growing richer at their expense.”

In 2001-2002, Argentina went through a similar economic crisis affecting Greece today. But after a few difficult years Argentina resumed growth, prompting many to wonder whether Greece should follow Argentina’s path in order to restore its economic health. What did Argentina do and can it be applicable to Greece?

Argentina’s most serious economic woes began in the mid-1990s, reaching full recession in 1999-2002. In December 2001, too avoid wider and more punishing social unrest, the Argentine government declared that it could no longer honor its debts and the country went into default. At US$ 93 billion, Argentina’s bankruptcy amounted to the largest default in history turning the country into a pariah in international markets.

Although its creditors placed all blame on Argentina’s government, Argentina’s decision was praised by several economists. Christine Rifflart, an economist expert on Latin American economics at the Observatoire Français des Conjonctures Économiques (OFCE) stated that Argentina’s decision “was probably the best thing the country could have done at the time.”

The Argentine economic crisis unleashed, as is now happening in Greece, widespread social protests and unseated five presidents within a year, taking the country several years to recover. One of the main causes of the crisis, however, remains largely ignored. Argentina accumulated an unpayable debt because loans were unwisely taken and even more unwisely offered, a situation which is pathetically similar to what is happening now in Greece.

Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) in Washington, DC, stated last October, “Argentina recovered quickly because it freed itself not only from an unsustainable debt burden, but also from the destructive policies imposed by creditors and their allies.” It is now time for the Greeks to think along the same lines, demanding a drastic restructuring of its debt. Any other measure would only relieve some of the symptoms without curing the underlying disease.

It may be more difficult for the Greeks than it was for the Argentines to overcome this difficult situation. Argentina’s recovery benefitted to a large extent by the dramatic increase in international prices of some key agricultural products such as wheat and soybeans, as the demand for these products continued to increase from countries such as China and India. This is not the case of Greece, still heavily dependent on tourism. But there is a limit to Greece capacity to pay back its debts without provoking unrelenting chaos in the country.

In 2005, when Argentina’s Finance Minister Roberto Lavagna announced the government’s decision to restructure $88 billion in defaulted debt with a 75% “haircut”, he was accused of “not playing by the rules.” Lavagna’s response, which could be Greece’s today, was that the country wouldn’t repeat past mistakes, “…when the government ignored its own limited ability to pay in order to secure rapid bondholder acceptance.”

As events in Greece continue to unfold rapidly, Mariano Rajoy, Spain’s new prime minister, has told his counterparts that his budget deficit this year would be 5.8% rather than the 4.4% he is pledged to deliver. Also, the International Monetary Fund has cast doubt on whether Ireland, which has received an EU and IMF bailout in 2010, will be able to return to the international credit markets by 2013.

Greece is at a most critical time as an independent nation. The problem is not how banks will minimize their losses but how Greece will survive as a modern democracy. Greece’s response to this crisis will determine its future as a country and its citizens’ ability to maintain a decent quality of life.

Dr. Cesar Chelala is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award.

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We at Sughar Women Program work in tribal and rural areas of Pakistan where amazing and inspiring stories from women each day become the reason for our continuous struggle and enthusiasm. We bring you another yet story from a small village and invite you to taste the happiness and pride that comes along with it!

The road that leads to this village seems to have no end until the dirt road starts, and then there would come the traces of life far ahead in the midst of bushes and trees. You will see trees kneeling towards the tiny path which is perhaps the only way to get there as on the right there is a beautiful river passing and on the left fields and farms run up till your sights distance.

This is the Village Baboo Khan Lashari, at about 8 km from the town of Sakro in Tehsil Mirpur Sakro of District Thatta. It is a small village where Sughar Women Program of Participatory Development Initiatives PDI operates, although surrounded by trees and the bushes this village looks as if there is miles and miles of population spread across its land, but once you get inside, a beautiful image of about 197 small hut-like houses all made of wood would come to your sight.

In these peaceful surroundings of utter silence and village life, there are many stories that surround us for their inspiration, success as well as uniqueness that we have come across while becoming a part of their lives. One of the story is of Salma.

Salma comes in the inspiration part, at her young age of 19 and her sheer brilliance even belonging to a village where education wasn’t that much of a priority to anyone and where traditions both positive and negative strongly exist as the core values of these people. Salma was one of those fortunate girls who had had gone to receive her primary education from a nearby school with much hardships, later wishing to take her education further she requested her family and community to see for her a way to go to the town of Sakro for her middle grades but that not having been a possibility for any other girl in her village went the same for her and Salma stayed home.

Idleness was the last thing Salma enjoyed the most, running to the fields with her mother at the time of harvest in the piercing heat of summer or sweeping the house for a dozen times in a day, she still thought there was more to what she could do.

Those were the times when Sughar Women Program of Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) supported by International Labour Organization (ILO) approached Salma and her village residents bringing for them an idea they hadn’t heard before!

Sughar mobilizers told the community men and women about their ending traditions and about their values that were being lost every day in the globalized world and so they said we want to work together with you to promote those beautiful traditions but then, in return struggle to end negative traditions like exchange marriages, child marriages, honor killings and others where women at majority become victims.

Sughar [English translation: skilled and confident woman] is a program aimed at ending the negative customs of exchange marriages, child marriages, honour killings by promoting the beautiful traditions and providing socio-economic empowerment to women in tribal communities of Pakistan. Sughar establishes Women Centers in villages offering a 6 month course to tribal women. The course involves value-adding the traditional embroidery and provides basic education and literacy skills. It raises awareness of rural women on their equal status and rights. Each course offers a minimum loan to each woman after graduating to initiate Primary Production Units at their homes thus promoting women entrepreneurship which greatly influences their power to ownership and decision making.

The whole idea of promoting traditions made the men in the community agree at the first note! Salma was awestruck; she wouldn’t believe that an organization intending to benefit women and to work with women is so welcomed in her community by men!

“It was so new for me” she says enthusiastically, “it still is! even though I have now become a part of it myself, because before this we only knew that income could only be brought home by men and earning wasn’t something we said women did”.

The best part yet came when asking where to have their Sughar Center inside the village; the tribal leader offered one of the rooms from his house!

Salma was chosen as one of the Local Facilitators among the three who would be trained in an intensive 10 days Training of Trainers (TOT) to come back and train the 30 selected women for the Sughar Center for 6 months through a module in local language.

Those days came when Salma was seen beaming to herself, her dying feelings and her dreams came back with more energy and life and she was now a girl destined to change her life as well as the lives of other women in her village!

“When some of the women didn’t want to come initially to the Sughar Center for the daily 2 to 4 class, I went to their homes and told them the inspiring stories of girls that I have heard from Sughar team”, Salma explains, those girls who starting from scratch became the owners of businesses right from their homes! And the next day I see these women coming to the Sughar Center laughing and talking!"

Just recently when Sughar Women Program launched Pakistan’s first ever Rural Women Brand called Sughar via a Fashion Show in Karachi, Salma was one of the designers for the dress of a top model! Her beautiful embroidery when modeled with much grace and sophistication adding to the love she had put in every stitch while preparing it!

Although with a bright smiling face, tears are like best friends to Salma, always shinning in her eyes when she talks about progress, change and women status. When asked about how it felt to earn income, learn about rights and to teach other women the best things for their lives, she didn’t say anything…. She just cried and smiled.

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"What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke [sic] who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex -- what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute." -- Rush Limbaugh

First, House Republicans refused to let Sandra testify. Now, they think they can shame us into silence. Standing up for women's health care does not make you a "slut" or a "prostitute."

Please sign our petition right now calling on Republican leaders to publicly denounce Rush Limbaugh's cruel tirade against women.

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Every year, blood transfusions save millions of lives, but still millions of patients needing transfusion do not have access to safe blood because of insufficient donations. Among the countries suffering this problem is China, where insufficient amounts of donated blood continue being a problem despite efforts to raise people’s awareness about this need. The problem in China will be solved not only when technical issues are addressed, but when people’s cultural beliefs are also taken into consideration.

In spite of the fact that China’s Blood Donation Law was enacted in 1998, encouraging all citizens between the age of 18 and 55 to donate blood, only 84 out of 10,000 people donate blood in China. This is far below the 454 people out of every 10,000 people who donate blood in high-income countries. Hospitals in Beijing, and in the provinces of Shandong, Shanxi, Yunnan and Jiangxi suffer from acute blood shortages which provokes delays in surgical procedures.

The concept of blood (xue) as it is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is different than the way the term is commonly used in western medicine. According to Chinese medicine, blood is a dense form of body fluids that has been energized by Qi, and has a synergistic relationship with it. That is why the Suwen, also known as Basic Questions, a text that covers the theoretical foundation of Chinese medicine and its diagnostic method, states, “Blood and Qi are the spirits of man.” This is one of the reasons that explain why many people in China are reluctant to donate blood.

According to TCM, one can donate blood once every two years without adverse effects, and this may even enhance the body’s ability to produce more blood. According to Western medicine theory, however, a person can donate blood every 56 days without fear of adverse reactions. The blood lost can be completely recovered 10 days after transfusion took place.

In addition to the belief that donating blood may drain a person’s energy, other misunderstandings related to blood donation are that it can undermine men’s fertility, it may lead to gaining weight or it can lead to dangerous changes in blood pressure. None of these beliefs has been proved to be true. The only drawback of blood donation, however, is that if proper precautions are not taken it may lead to the recipient acquiring infections from the donor.

Fear of transfusion transmissible infection, notably HIV, is one of the most important factors discouraging people from donating blood. Many people remember the spreading of HIV by contaminated blood in Henan province. It is estimated that, in central Henan Province alone, more than one million people contracted HIV from selling their blood in unsanitary collection stations. To overcome the problem of contaminated blood transfusion, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that, at a minimum, blood should be screened for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis.

Because of public concern of risk of infection from donation, it is still necessary to overcome popular fear that donating blood is deleterious to a person’s health. According to some researchers, in one region in Western China, almost 70% of the people who were interviewed, said that fear of becoming infected with transfusion transmitted infections (TTIs) prevented them from donating blood.

A complicating factor in the need for donated blood is that several studies have shown that blood transfusions are often given when there is no urgent need, when simpler, less expensive treatments can provide equal or greater benefit. The need for more blood donations, however, is still critical in China, which has made considerable progress in convincing many Chinese to eliminate blood selling and increase voluntary blood donation as a way of stemming transmission of TTIs.

During a couple of visits I made to China’s rural areas in the 1990s, I was able to assess their greater needs when compared to the population in the urban areas. More information and resources should be brought to those and to marginal areas in the big cities.

The World Health Organization has stated some basic conditions to increase access to blood transfusions and to promote blood safety. It has four main elements: establishment of a nationally coordinated blood transfusion service, collection of blood from exclusively voluntary donors from low-risk populations, testing of all blood for compatibility and transfusion-transmissible infections, and reducing all unnecessary transfusions.

In addition, it is important to secure the government’s commitment and support for the national blood program and continue public health campaigns aimed at educating the population, particularly in poor, marginal and rural areas. Blood is a gift of life, and should be treated as such.

Dr. Cesar Chelala is an international public health consultant.

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by Deepa Panchang and Beverly Bell

“I am optimistic that in 18 months, yes, we will be autonomous in our decisions. But right now I have to assume... that we are not.”[i] With these words, Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive watched a swath of his government’s decision-making power shift into foreign hands in early 2010.

• Sign from a Port-au-Prince protest in October 2011, declaring “IHRC = Occupation. Long live a sovereign Haiti.” Photo: Ansel Herz. •

The IHRC was created by the Haitian parliament in April 2010 to direct post-earthquake reconstruction. Its mandate was to oversee rebuilding efforts through the $11 billion in pledges of international aid, including approving policies, projects, and budgeting. The World Bank was to manage the money. In creating and investing this body with its broad power, Parliament conducted a constitutional coup on April 15. Whereas the constitution mandates shared governance by an executive, a parliament, and a judiciary, the IHRC shifted it to the executive and the international community. The Parliament voted to give the IHRC the power to do, effectively, whatever it wanted. The only oversight measure left the Haitian government was veto power by the president.[ii]

Given the corporate philosophies of the firms that designed it, the resultant features of the IHRC were hardly surprising. The IHRC’s 26 board members were elected by no one and were accountable to no one. Half were foreign, including representatives of other governments, multilateral financial institutions, and non-governmental organizations. An international development consultant contracted by the IHRC, speaking with the Haiti Support Group, said, “Look, you have to realize the IHRC was not intended to work as a structure or entity for Haiti or Haitians. It was simply designed as a vehicle for donors to funnel multinationals’ and NGOs’ project contracts.”[iii]

McKinsey and Company, a US management consulting firm, was one of the firms that came in to help "design" and "launch" the IHRC.[iv] A background interview with an official very close to the process showed the Haitian government at the beck and call of McKinsey as it structured the commission and determined membership and decision-making processes. (All these aspects later received vehement criticism from Haitian civil society.) At the very first meeting, according to official minutes, it was McKinsey’s lead consultants who “made a presentation to the Board regarding the mission, mandate, structure, and operations of the IHRC.”[v] The consultants sat in on subsequent meetings as well.[vi]

McKinsey & Co. performed its services pro bono. Whether paid or not, the post was a lucrative one; it well-positioned the firm both to influence future contracts and to shape a climate favorable to business. A 2010 World Economic Forum document explicitly stated that “McKinsey helps coordinate with partners to channel interest from the private sector and connect would-be donors and investors to opportunities in Haiti.”[vii]

McKinsey was a natural choice for the job because of its former managing director’s long-time personal and political ties to Bill Clinton, who serves as UN Special Envoy to Haiti and was co-chair of the IHRC board. The firm was also a prime candidate because it advances the paradigm of ‘government as business,’ serving many governments around the world.[viii] As one example, McKinsey played a key role in developing the framework for the reconstruction commissions in Indonesia and Sri Lanka after the Indian Ocean tsunami which, as with the IHRC, involved infusing foreign private sector individuals into policy-making. This was another case in which the local population was excluded from having a say in its own future following another disaster; civil society groups denounced the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency (BRR in Bahasa) for being extremely centralized and discounting civil society voices.[ix]

McKinsey came under fire again after Hurricane Katrina and the flood of New Orleans for work it had done prior to the storm. McKinsey helped major insurance companies develop tactics that stalled court proceedings and delayed payments that, in practice, allowed them to avoid paying out claims to their clients who suffered in natural disasters or accidents. Lawsuits against insurance companies asserted that McKinsey’s pre-Katrina advice, particularly to Allstate, effectively helped insurers cheat their customers.[x]

Another US firm, Korn/Ferry International, came on board to head-hunt the executive director of the IHRC. This was to replace the initial staffing that had been provided by the Clinton Foundation, International Development Bank, and the governments of the US and Canada.[xi] Korn/Ferry circulated a job announcement, in English, through politically connected circles in the US and Haiti, as though it were hiring for any profit-oriented business instead of for a team that was making major decisions in the name of a nation and its well-being. The announcement noted that, “Leadership experience in highly efficient and structured organizations, such as the military, is an advantage.”

Korn/Ferry provides recruitment services for both corporate and government positions, and keeps its finger on the pulse of the increasing overlap of the two. It even published a report encouraging companies to hire leadership with government and policy backgrounds and vice versa, in what it called a "new marriage between business and government.”[xii]

Vesting foreign enterprises with political power is fundamentally anti-democratic. If US firms’ performance in post-earthquake governance is any example, it is a frightening indicator of what might emerge with even greater participation in decision-making, as mandated by the redevelopment blueprint published in March 2010 by the Haitian government and international community.

As ineffectual as the Haitian government may be, its functions can’t be outsourced. Haiti needs a government with responsibility to the citizenry who elected it and the ability to protect their rights. The pursuits of foreign firms – making governance decisions about rebuilding, paving the way for other firms’ Haitian debuts, racking up humanitarian clout – have been at the expense of Haitians still struggling for basic needs and democratic power.
The public good requires a public sector which can guarantee health, education, adequate food, water, housing, employment, agriculture, and civil liberties. It requires more than unaccountable foreign agencies and private business that can and do pull out when they like.

Deepa Panchang is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Other Worlds. She has worked in advocacy for human rights in Haiti since the 2010 earthquake.

Copyleft Other Worlds. You may reprint this article in whole or in part. Please credit any text or original research you use to Deepa Panchang and Beverly Bell, Other Worlds.

[i] Martin Kaste, “After Quake In Haiti, Who’s The Boss?” NPR, March 31, 2010, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125328026

[ii] Order by Réné Préval, President (Republic of Haiti, 2010), en.cirh.ht/files/pdf/ihrc_decree_20100421.pdf.

[iii] Haiti Support Group, "Deconstructing the IHRC's Reconstruction: Beyond Relief, Beyond Belief," The Haiti Support Group Briefing, no. 69, January 2012, 1.

[iv] Mary Bridges, et al., Innovations in Corporate Global Citizenship: Responding to the Haiti Earthquake, (World Economic Forum, July 2010), 16-17, www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_HaitiResponse_Report_2010.pdf.

[v] “Minutes of the Board Meeting of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC),” Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, Hotel Karibe, Pétionville, Haiti, June 17, 2010, en.cirh.ht/files/pdf/ihrc_board_minutes_june_17_2010.pdf.

[vi] Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, “IHRC Board Meeting Minutes,” accessed October 31, 2011, http://en.cirh.ht/board-meeting-minutes.html.

[vii] “Innovations in Corporate Global Citizenship: Responding to the Haiti Earthquake,” World Economic Forum, July 2010, www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_HaitiResponse_Report_2010.pdf.

[viii] Ian Davis, Government as Business (The McKinsey Quarterly, October 2007), http://www.mckinsey.com/locations/UK_Ireland/~/media/Reports/UKI/Ian_Davis_government_as_a_business_the_times.ashx.

[ix] Risma Umar et al., Tsunami Aftermath: Violations of Women’s Human Rights in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, Indonesia (Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development, 2006), www.apwld.org/pdf/tsumai_vwhr.pdf.

[x] David Dietz and Darrell Preston, “The Insurance Hoax,” Bloomberg, September 2007, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=nw&pname=mm_0907_story1.html.

[xi] “Interim Haiti Recovery Commission Announces Over $1. 6 Billion in New Project Proposals, Outlines Priorities,” PR Newswire online, August 17, 2010, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/interim-haiti-recovery-commission-announces-over-1-6-billion-in-new-project-proposals-outlines-priorities-100918189.html.

[xii] Nels Olsen, A New Breed of Director Emerges as Public Policy Enters the Boardroom (Korn/Ferry Institute 2009), 7, http://www.kornferryinstitute.com/files/pdf1/ANewBreedofDirector_whtppr_FINAL_0309.pdf.

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