Social Cause 01 (Jul 08 - Jul 15)

[iam802]

This lady, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, is famous now...

The keywords I noted are :
- excessive force, peaceful protest, students, pepper spray

===
1. Read more here..
http://bicyclebarricade.wordpress.com/2 ... -b-katehi/

2. and here...
http://www.kcra.com/news/29813746/detai ... z1eC7KsKZf

[iam802]

This lady, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, is famous now...

The keywords I noted are :
- excessive force, peaceful protest, students, pepper spray

===
1. Read more here..
http://bicyclebarricade.wordpress.com/2 ... -b-katehi/

2. and here...
http://www.kcra.com/news/29813746/detai ... z1eC7KsKZf

Just to add on, the students were protesting against the proposed 81% increased in fees (that's what I gathered).


Edited:
Add student's account of incident

http://boingboing.net/2011/11/20/ucdeyetwitness.html

[iam802]

Saw on Facebook:

If only they enforced bank regulations like they do [Zuccotti] park rules, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

[iam802]

This lady, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi, is famous now...

The keywords I noted are :
- excessive force, peaceful protest, students, pepper spray

===
1. Read more here..
http://bicyclebarricade.wordpress.com/2 ... -b-katehi/

2. and here...
http://www.kcra.com/news/29813746/detai ... z1eC7KsKZf

Just to add on, the students were protesting against the proposed 81% increased in fees (that's what I gathered).


Edited:
Add student's account of incident

http://boingboing.net/2011/11/20/ucdeyetwitness.html

An exclusive interview with the Chancellor to provide a balanced view of the event

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... sIj4LFfa4#!

[winston]

Malaysian Tribunal Finds Bush, Blair Guilty of War Crimes

Bush reportedly "super pissed" that he won't get to see "those towers from that one Angelina Jolie movie."

Well, it looks like George W. Bush and Tony Blair won't be getting to enjoy cosmopolitan Kuala Lampur or the sandy beaches of Redang any time soon, as a tribunal in Malaysia has found both former heads of state to be guilty of committing war crimes.

The panel of seven judges spent four days reviewing charges that Bush and Blair invaded Iraq with no legal right to do so.

The trial was the brainchild of former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has long been one of the Iraq war's fiercest critics.

The panel, however, doesn't have any power to imprison Bush and Blair should they ever decide to drop by Malaysia.

Regardless, the tribunal intends to prosecute another seven figures – including d**k Cheney and Donald "Rummy" Rumsfeld – who played a role in hatching the war.

http://www.themarknews.com/news/?open=7545

[winston]

Why do they choose this name, "SlutWalk" ?

Protest-averse Singapore allows 'SlutWalk'

Singapore: Protest-averse Singapore will allow a "SlutWalk" rally against sexual violence to be held this weekend, police said Wednesday after a public squabble between the authorities and organisers.

http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.asp ... 2480&rand=

[winston]

Hundreds gather for Singapore 'SlutWalk' protest By ALEX KENNEDY

SINGAPORE (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered at a park in Singapore on Sunday to protest sexual violence against women as part of the global "SlutWalk" movement, in a rare public demonstration in the tightly controlled city state.

The event featured live music, speeches and a women's Muay Thai martial arts exhibition at downtown Singapore's Speakers' Corner, the only public outdoor space where demonstrations are allowed in the Southeast Asian country.

Participants at the rally did not dress provocatively as some activists have in SlutWalks in U.S. and Canadian cities.

"The idea was not to vamp it up, because women can get raped regardless of what they're wearing," said Vanessa Ho, who organized the event with six friends. "We're trying to raise awareness against victim-blaming and slut-shaming."

SlutWalk marches have been held in cities around the world, including earlier this year in New Delhi and Sydney. The protests originated in Toronto, where they were sparked by a police officer's remark that women could avoid being raped by not dressing like "sluts."

In Toronto and later Boston, several women marched in lingerie with the word "slut" painted on their bodies.

Singapore has strict controls on public speech, and outdoor demonstrations are rare. The wealthy island state of 5.1 million people also has one of the world's lowest violent crime rates.

Corinna Lim, executive director of the Singapore women's rights group Aware, said many sexual assault cases go unreported, especially date rape. Aware recently started a hotline for sexual abuse victims and offers to accompany women to the police and the hospital after an assault.

"The family of the victim will sometimes say, 'What were you wearing?'" Lim said. "Singapore women have modernized quite quickly in a short time, but Singapore is still a very conservative society."

Lim praised last month's decision by authorities in Singapore to abolish a law that allowed a woman's sexual history to be examined during a rape trial.

Women account for about half of the country's university graduates and hold a few high-profile positions in the business community, including Chua Sock Koong, chief executive of Southeast Asia's largest phone company, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. However, men dominate the leadership of the People's Action Party, which has ruled Singapore since 1959.

"The world is dominated by males, so there's a male mentality," said Esaint Chiang, a 21-year-old student who attended Sunday's protest. "I think it's a good idea to bring awareness to these issues, but I like that they're not being so provocative, playing by the rules and not pissing off the authorities too much."

Ho, 24, said she lives with her parents but did not tell them she was organizing SlutWalk because of their conservative values.

"My parents are averse to anything that tries to poke at the system or shake the status quo," said Ho, who has a master's degree in gender studies from University College London. "But this cause is worth it to me."

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

It is only through sacrifice that you can create something or change the world.

~ Dr. Pillai

[winston]

Korean former 'comfort women' hold 1,000th protest
by Nam You-Sun

South Korean women forced into wartime sexual slavery held their 1,000th weekly protest outside Japan's embassy Wednesday, demanding compensation and an apology from Tokyo as they have since 1992.

"Apologise!" shouted five women in their 80s or 90s and an estimated 500 supporters, waving banners reading "Compensate" and "Admit the war crime".

Demonstrators campaigning to publicise World War II crimes braved near-freezing temperatures to unveil a "peace monument" across the street from the mission, despite protests from the Japanese government over the statue.

The five former sex slaves known euphemistically as "comfort women" hugged the replica of a teenage Korean girl in traditional costume.

"Young girls were dragged to other countries as slaves of the Japanese military," said a frail Kim Bok-Dong, 85.

"I demand that the ambassador of Japan tell the Japanese government to apologise before we all die."

The oldest of the Korean former "comfort women" died aged 94 earlier this month and another aged 87 died Tuesday, leaving just 63 survivors out of 234 who had registered with the Seoul government.

In a rare move, a North Korean association for former comfort women sent a letter of support.

"The Wednesday demonstration that has lasted for 20 years is an unbearable blaze of anger against sexual slavery crimes committed by Japan that have trampled on national pride," the group said in a faxed message.

Historians say that during World War II, about 200,000 women from Korea, China, the Philippines and other countries were drafted to work in Japanese military brothels.

The issue came to widespread notice in the early 1990s after some victims found the courage to go public.

Japan has apologised for the military's crimes against the women but denies official responsibility for running the brothels.

It has rejected South Korea's proposal of bilateral talks about the women's demands.

South Korea's foreign ministry said Tuesday it was inexcusable that the issue was still not settled.

"It will be the 1,000th protest tomorrow but we find it very disappointing that the Japanese government has not reacted to this issue," said spokesman Cho Byung-Jae.

Tokyo, which colonised Korea from 1910-45, says all potential individual claims for wartime suffering were dealt with through treaties normalising ties with other Asian countries.

On Wednesday it called for the statue to be removed.

"It is very regrettable that they went ahead with constructing the comfort woman statue," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura in Tokyo.

"We repeatedly called on the South Korean government to stop the construction until today. We will make a request (for removal) to the South Korean government through diplomatic channels."

In the southern South Korean coastal city of Tongyeong, where comfort women were shipped to Japan in 1930, hundreds of activists formed a human chain with placards and candles.

Events marking the 1,000th weekly protest were also staged in five other cities, Yonhap news agency reported.

Source: AFP Asian Edition

http://www.newsmeat.com/news/meat.php?a ... &buid=3281

[winston]

S.Korea Urges 'Courage' From Japan on Sex Slaves
by Yoshikazu Tsuno

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak urged Japan to have the "courage" to compensate ageing wartime sex slaves before it is too late to let the two nations move forward.

Lee on Sunday told Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto that the issue had prevented their countries from becoming "true partners" in the years since World War II.

Japan, which insists the issue was legally settled four decades ago, promised only that it would "think carefully" from a humanitarian standpoint, but stopped well short of offering a fresh apology, officials said.

Comfort women, a euphemism used to describe women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops before and during World War II, came to widespread notice in the early 1990s when ageing victims went public.

A dwindling band of women have since vociferously demanded compensation and an apology from Japan, which mounted a brutal occupation of the Korean peninsula between 1910 and 1945.

Last week supporters held their 1,000th weekly protest at Tokyo's embassy in Seoul, unveiling a statue of a young woman in traditional Korean dress who they said represented the thousands of women forced to work in Japan's military brothels.

Tokyo has repeatedly apologised for occupation-era crimes but has consistently rejected South Korea's proposal for specific talks on the comfort women, insisting all issues were settled in a 1965 accord normalising relations between the two countries, which also included a financial settlement.

Source: AFP Global Edition