Category Archives: human rights

Why Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand Deserve to Compete (and Win) at Rio 2016 – The Ladies Finger

But even if testosterone did confer an athletic advantage, this advantage would not be unfair. This is because setting a limit on hyperandrogenism and singling it out from other biological variations that may confer an advantage is – at best – an inconsistent policy. There are plenty of other variations – biological and genetic alike – that are not regulated by the IAAF and, even though advantageous for athletic performance, are not considered unfair for competition.More than 200 genetic variations have been identified that provide an advantage in elite sport. They affect a variety of functions including blood flow to muscles, muscle structure, oxygen transport, lactate turnover, and energy production. Endurance athletes in particular have been shown to have mitochondrial variations that increase aerobic capacity and endurance. An increasing number of performance-enhancing polymorphisms (genetic variations found at an increased frequency only in elite athletes and that make them who they are) are identified by sports geneticists.

Source: Why Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand Deserve to Compete (and Win) at Rio 2016 – The Ladies FingerThe Ladies Finger

In the Shadows of Men | nadiaharhash

No matter how the man’s role changes, he is totally convinced he is the only one, that he was born to be unique and special. He is the copy that will never be pasted. And what unites all men despite their differences is their absolute belief that they know you better than you know yourself. They are convinced that they possess the solution and the equation, and through them secrets are revealed and masks fall.I don’t blame men for this. And I cannot understand why women submit to this as well. Did the men give themselves this level of authority or did the women assign them this role? Even with the most specific details of their lives and emotions. You see the sheikh’s of men ruling in women issues. Books of law-shari’a are filled with rules that govern the inner lives of women, which, they claim, only men can specialize in.

Source: In the Shadows of Men | nadiaharhash

Wolf Blitzer just nailed Trump to the wall!

Unfortunately, Blitzer wasn’t buying it, and set out to demolish Hunter. And he did it beautifully. He started out by reading the statement intact; “If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the second amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know. Then m’man Wolf went for the jugular, using simple common sense. He told Hunter that when Trump spoke of Clinton appointing judges, that was an obvious admission that she had already won the freakin’ election! If she was selecting judges, she was the President, mobilizing 2nd amendment right voters to the polls would be useless, the election was over. What else could he possibly be talking about but assassinating either Clinton or Federal Justices? Hunter had no out. He retreated to the mantra that Trump was not a natural politician, his semantics were not always going to be well polished and perfected, especially when speaking off of the cuff, but all of the air had been sucked out of him Well done Wolf! See what you can do every once in a while if you use your brain for something more than just reading the words off of the teleprompter or script?

Source: Wolf Blitzer just nailed Trump to the wall!

Carlotta Ferlito sparks fury with racist jibe at new world champion Simone Biles | Daily Mail Online – Ingrained classic racism x 2

He apparently added: ‘Why are there no black swimmers? Because their physical features don’t suit the sport.’ Ciaralli also said that black people ‘may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager or a general manager’ and that they aren’t good swimmers because they ‘don’t have the buoyancy’. Mr Ciaralli has also apologised for his remarks, adding that they were not intended to reflect the official view of the Italian Gymnastics Federation.

Source: Carlotta Ferlito sparks fury with racist jibe at new world champion Simone Biles | Daily Mail Online

The accumulative effects of racism: it eats away at the essence of your being | Culture | The Guardian

“For every one of me there’s probably a thousand other kids who have anxiety issues or whose experiences have snowballed into a negative adulthood or depression,” she says. Bullying by no means “makes kids tougher and more wanting to succeed. I think often it just crushes people.”The resurgence of xenophobia in Australia troubles Clarke. She sees an “awful synchronicity” between past and present. Her parents left England in the 70s, soon after Enoch Powell’s infamous “Rivers of Blood” speech, which decried black immigrants and predicted that foreign children would overcrowd hospitals and schools. Two decades later, Clarke watched Pauline Hanson’s entrée into politics with a shockingly similar maiden speech, accompanied by a shift in public sentiment around race and immigration. Unsurprisingly, she is not optimistic about Hanson’s return, the rise of One Nation and Islamophobic rhetoric.“I feel as if there is really a global post-colonial situation at the moment,” which especially victimises children, Clarke says. “There are children’s bodies being brutalised or being washed up on beaches. We see brown children being locked up on Nauru and in Villawood Detention Centre. We see things like Don Dale and Indigenous communities having their funding cut.” But Clarke does see hope in Australia’s young people. “I look at my kids’ generation, and their outlook and the way they behave towards each other is different from anything I’ve seen in my lifetime,” she says. The cultural makeup of Australia has changed since Clarke’s childhood, and diversity in books, television, and online media have played a major role. Sharing stories breeds tolerance through understanding, Clarke believes. “It’s a wide big world and that there are lots of different kinds of people in it,” she says. “The best thing [a child] could possibly do is to learn to get along with everybody, because that’s just part of life.”The Hate Race is published by Hachette. Maxine Beneba Clarke will give the opening keynote address at the Melbourne Writers Festival on August 26.

Source: The accumulative effects of racism: it eats away at the essence of your being | Culture | The Guardian

India’s Cow Vigilantes by Shashi Tharoor – Project Syndicate – “fundamentalism kills, and kills, and kills in the name not of God but in the name of people who put themselves above God in their search for power and meaning.”

In the past, cow-protection laws have been weakly enforced, if at all; the police have better things to do than to check people’s kitchens, after all. But since the victory of the Hindu-chauvinist BJP in the 2014 general election, a wave of religious triumphalism has swept India, bringing with it not just new cow-protection laws, but also vociferous demands for their strict enforcement. Gau Rakshak Samitis, or “cow protection societies,” have been revived, and their members sometimes take it upon themselves to ensure that cows are not slaughtered or eaten.Making matters worse, the cause of cow protection has now been linked to another persistent and destructive custom in Indian society: violence against Muslims and Dalits (formerly called “untouchables”). Indeed, the Cow Belt, where cow vigilantism is most rampant, is also a hub of atrocities against Dalits, 63% of which occur in just four states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. It is no coincidence that these are also the states where the BJP fared best in 2014.The link between cows and Dalits is well known. Cows may be considered holy, but they are not immortal, and when they die (ideally of natural causes), someone must dispose of their carcasses. For centuries, that job has fallen to Dalits, who collect the carcasses, skin them and sell their hides to tanners and leather-makers, deliver the meat to Muslim butchers (where it is legal), and bury or cremate what remains. It is a livelihood for a group with few economic opportunities – one that benefits the many Hindus who would not want to perform such an unpleasant task.But several recent incidents have shaken the foundations of this arrangement. In the state of Gujarat, four Dalit youths caught skinning a cow were stripped, tied, and beaten with iron rods by cow vigilantes who accused them of killing the animal (they had not). In BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, two Dalit women were assaulted for supposedly carrying illegal cow meat (it was legal buffalo meat). In Punjab, two young Dalits were beaten and urinated upon for the same “crime.” A 16-year-old Kashmiri Muslim boy was murdered for having hitched a ride on a truck that was transporting cattle.

Source: India’s Cow Vigilantes by Shashi Tharoor – Project Syndicate

Flatmates of gay Syrian refugee beheaded in Turkey fear they will be next | World news | The Guardian

Three flatmates of a gay Syrian refugee beheaded in a homophobic attack in Turkey last week fear they face a similar fate, after receiving death threats in the days since his murder.Wisam Sankari, a hospital cleaner, went missing on 25 July after going to meet another gay man in Istanbul. His body was found two days later in a nearby area of Istanbul, his head severed and his battered body only identifiable to his friends by his clothing.A week on, three of his flatmates say they fear being murdered in the same fashion after receiving warnings that the man Sankari met on 25 July wants to kill them too.“There have been people in the street and people on the phone, who said: ‘He will get you next,’” said one of Sankari’s friends, a chef who, like his flatmates, asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons. “There was also a voice message on Facebook.”In an interview with the Guardian in Sankari’s former room, a cramped lodging he shared with five other people, his friends said he had been in fear during the last months of his life after Turkish officials, UN diplomats and charity workers had proved unable to protect him following a series of homophobic attacks.A Greek appeals board said in June that it considers Turkey safe enough for gay Syrians to be deported to as part of the controversial EU-Turkey migration deal. But Sankari’s friends say his experiences show how dangerous the country is for gay refugees, and unstable for refugees in general.They alleged that in the months before his death, Sankari had:Been kidnapped and raped in two separate homophobic attacks.Been mocked and ignored by police officers after he reported one of the incidents.Eventually initiated legal proceedings against his unknown kidnappers after a local NGO helped him find a lawyer.Recorded a video in which he expressed fears that he might soon be killed in a homophobic attack.Briefly moved to another Turkish city in an unsuccessful attempt to find a safer place to live.Been fired from a factory job because of his sexuality.“Do you call this safe?” summarised a second of Sankari’s flatmates, as they listened to their friend’s favourite song and watched a video made in his honour. “We don’t have an organisation to protect us. We want everyone in Europe to understand our situation here for Syrians, especially gays. We’re suffering.”

Source: Flatmates of gay Syrian refugee beheaded in Turkey fear they will be next | World news | The Guardian

Egyptian Aak 2016- Week 31 (Aug 1-7) — Nervana

Top Headlines Egypt kills head of Islamic State’s Sinai branch Former grand mufti Ali Gomaa survives assassination attempt Largest Egyptian delegation to date in Rio Olympics Egyptian Nobel Laureate Ahmed Zewail dies at 70 Main Headlines Monday Sisi: Egyptians need to accept harsh economic measures Fitch: IMF deal credit positive for Egypt, implementation risks remain […]

via Egyptian Aak 2016- Week 31 (Aug 1-7) — Nervana

David Leyonhjelm, Malcolm Roberts push for Section 18C of Racial Discrimination Act to be removed – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – “Racists just wanna be racist and never have to change, even if they are less humane than those they wish to insult and hold down!”

New One Nation senator-elect Malcolm Roberts also reiterated his similar stance on the race discrimination laws.”It is very important to the country because at the moment a lot of people are afraid to speak up,” he told Insiders. Mr Roberts had told reporters on Friday that Section 18C “needs to be addressed because [it is] curbing free speech”.Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act makes it illegal to carry out an act if: “(a) the act is reasonably likely, in all the circumstances, to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or a group of people; and (b) the act is done because of the race, colour or national or ethnic origin of the other person or of some or all of the people in the group”.Section 18D of the Act outlines some exceptions — for example, an offence isn’t illegal if it is a fair and accurate report or comment.

Source: David Leyonhjelm, Malcolm Roberts push for Section 18C of Racial Discrimination Act to be removed – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

ISIS Affiliate in Egypt Warns of Attack Against Israel in Rare Direct Threat — Egyptian Streets

In a rare direct threat, the Egyptian affiliate of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a video warning Israel that it will soon “pay a high price.” “Oh Jews, wait for us. The punishment [we’ve prepared for you] is severe,” the narrator of the video reportedly says, adding that “this is only the beginning.” The video,…

via ISIS Affiliate in Egypt Warns of Attack Against Israel in Rare Direct Threat — Egyptian Streets