A Day To Honor: A New Beginning for Saudi Women, A Life Ending For Kenyan Woman
Posted by Michelle Moquin on September 27th, 2011
Good morning!
Shir Khan: I had heard the news over the weekend about the Saudi women and as much as I was disappointed that the women can not vote in this coming election, I am delighted that the women now have the right to vote. Whatever I have done, it is nothing compared to what you and the other women have endured and accomplished. I HOPE that all of the women will stop, take a moment, and feel the accomplishment deeply, as you have. It is a time for celebration of a new beginning. All I can say is how proud I am of all of you who have risked your life for your rights. You are an inspiration. I support you now and always to getting what you rightfully deserve.
Saudi Arabia: Women Can Vote, Starting in 2015
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah has granted women the right to vote and run in 2015 local elections and to be appointed to his advisory Shura Council, but some women’s rights advocates are not satisfied.
The decree, announced Sunday, is part of King Abdullah’s gradual opening of Saudi Arabia to various rights for women, said Qamar-ul Huda, a specialist on Saudi Arabia at the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Huda noted that two years ago, the king opened a fully integrated co-ed King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, or KAUST, in the town of Thuwal. The king also appointed the first female deputy minister – of women’s education.
And “in the backdrop of the past seven months of the Arab Spring, I think they may have felt that it’s important to make some gradual steps for women’s rights inside Saudi Arabia,” Huda added.
But some advocacy groups, including Amnesty International, contend that the king shouldn’t stop there and should grant women other rights, such as the ability to drive. No law in Saudi Arabia says women can’t drive, but people must obtain local driver’s licenses and they are never issued to women. In June, several dozen women risked arrest by driving in cities around Saudi Arabia in protest.
Some critics also said women should be allowed to vote right away, starting with the next local elections on Thursday.
“Why not tomorrow?” asked Saudi feminist Wajeha al-Hawaidar,quoted the Associated Press. “I think the king doesn’t want to shake the country, but we look around us and we think it is a shame … when we are still pondering how to meet simple women’s rights.”
Huda said the waiting period might be not only logistical — to give time for women to register and mount campaigns — but also to test the waters of the religious establishment and work through anyone contesting the move before 2015.
Manal Omar, a regional specialist also at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said there are a lot of demands for change in the region, and the decree was a way of saying “although you’re not seeing it now, there are plans for these changes to take place.”
The announcement is crucial, but the big question is how it will be implemented and whether it gets delayed as 2015 approaches, she cautioned. “This is a great move, it’s very much welcomed, but we’ve seen where rhetoric hasn’t translated into reality very often throughout the region.”
As for the right to drive, Omar said it has a vocal opposition that is much less so for voting rights. “There are very few people who would deny or use a religious argument against the right for a woman to vote. It’s clearly within the Islamic jurisprudence — almost all Islamic countries with the exception of Saudi Arabia exercise the right to vote for women.”
In addition, Omar said women activists have told her their main concerns are for voting representation and economic rights, and they rank driving rights as less of a priority.
Huda said Sunday’s announcement breaks new ground in a country where women have had major roles in fields such as medicine, education and certain businesses — but not politics. “The Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Saudi Arabia is one of the most active in that region, but when it comes to politics and the public sphere and political participation, they’re invisible,” he said.
Anonymous: Thank you for posting about the death of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai. My heart too goes out to her family.
For those of you who want to learn a little bit more about Maathai:
Kenyan Nobel Prize Winner Maathai Dies at 71
Environmentalist and Nobel Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai died in Kenya’s capital late Sunday after a long battle with cancer.
Even in the midst of jubilation over winning the Nobel Peace Prize, environmentalist Wangari Maathai put her beloved Kenya first.
Shortly after receiving the honor in 2004, Maathai described to VOA what the victory meant for efforts to halt the massive deforestation in her country.
“This recognition in many way[s] endorses the campaign and brings it to the forefront so that leaders in this country can really realize that protecting the forest in this country is a matter of life and death,”said Maathai.
Her life’s work has been to protect Kenya’s forests from politically-elite land grabbers. Maathai also spoke out for the rights of women at a time when most Kenyan women had little public presence beyond the homestead.
Maathai was a major figure in the pro-democracy struggles of the 1980s and 1990s. During her work, she was routinely harassed, beaten, tear-gassed and jailed.
But she also achieved a litany of firsts: the first woman in east and central Africa to earn a Ph.D; the first woman to chair a department at the University of Nairobi; the first woman in east and central Africa to be appointed as a professor; the first African woman and environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
It is this spirit of perseverance that her colleague Edward Wageni most remembers. Wageni is deputy executive director of the Green Belt Movement, an environmental, civic, and women’s rights advocacy group Maathai founded in 1977.
“What we have lost is somebody who has the courage of conviction, a person who focuses on an issue, who doesn’t really look at the people who are going to be applauding her,” said Wageni.
Wangari Muta Maathai was born in central Kenya in 1940. At a time when it was rare for Kenyan girls to go to school, she graduated from Loreto Girls’ High School in 1959 and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Mount St. Scholastica (now Benedictine College) in Atchison, Kansas. She then earned a master’s degree at the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D at the University of Nairobi.
In the 1970s, Maathai became active in several environmental and humanitarian groups in Nairobi, consulting widely with women in rural areas. It was then that her passion for tree-planting took root. Ever since the creation of the Green Belt Movement, more than 47 million trees have been planted in Kenya.
Her work also involved education campaigns and linking environmental degradation with bad governance.
Following the pro-democracy struggles, Maathai was elected a member of parliament for Tetu in the 2002 elections and was appointed deputy minister for the environment. Two years later came the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then, Maathai has headed up several international efforts, including a United Nations’ campaign to plant one billion trees as part of a global effort to fight climate change.
But for all the accolades, awards, and honorary degrees she has received, colleagues and friends say Wangari Maathai had her two feet firmly planted in the ground.
“She was very, very much connected to the grassroots – a person who would be able to interact with the lowest person at the grassroots, but at the same time be able to speak at the highest levels,” said Green Belt Movement colleague Edward Wageni. “So she was able to link the two – the international stage, and sitting down under a tree with women discussing issues at that level.”
Dr. Catherine Lore is a Ugandan doctor whose office is near the Green Belt Movement office in Nairobi. She says her neighbor was forthright, down-to-earth, and inspiring.
“I reflected back [on] the day that she received the Nobel Prize,” she said. “I came running here with palm leaves in a long, tall pot, which I put in front of the door there. So today, I’m shedding tears of joy, because today we are celebrating the life of a truly actualized African woman.”
Wangari Maathai died in Nairobi September 25 while undergoing treatment for cancer. She was 71 years old. Maathai leaves behind three children and a grandchild.
**********
Lance: There is no end to what the ruthless republicans will do to get there way. Calling to tax the rich “Class Warfare” is something they have been doing all along when the middle class paid more taxes and the rich got all the loopholes. But then again, you can thank the wannabee rich for that because they keep the republicans in office, and support their agenda, all the while they continue to HOPE that their day will come. Meanwhile they suffer too on the road to getting to a place they will never be.
James: I know this is the place to vent and I am all about venting. But…there is a time to do something too. I HOPE that you take your anger and resentment and call your representatives and tell them how you feel…vent to them. Obama needs our constant support.
Robert: That Human Events you posted is unbelievable. I can’t believe that they take the time to write such cruel commentary. But what is even more stunning is that a significant sector of these women do nothing to state that this is so wrong. I am so disappointed in the lack of support women give each other…no really, it’s worse than just lack of support. When women “woman-up” that is when the world will change because we certainly can not expect the men to.
And with respect to Cain, I knew I could count on you to break it all down.
Brenda: Thanks for your confidence in my blog’s reach and influence. All I can say is, I HOPE it is.
Norma: I dont censor my blog. And my opinion is that I want to know what I am up against. Knowledge is power. The more we know…the more it is in our face what racists are doing to get rid of the black guy, the more ammunition we have to fight back. The info is there. By not posting it, doesn’t dissolve it. If it did I would delete it immediately. Let’s use this as fuel to fight our fight for what is right.
Ellen: This one was my fave so far.
Prism Princess and Trish: I feel a coupling coming on. :)
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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September 27th, 2011 at 8:41 am
CAN RESVERATROL REPLACE EXERCISE?
It is beginning to seem as if some people believe that resveratrol, a plant polyphenol found in red wine (among other places), might be a real-life magic potion — given that research has shown it can slow tumor growth, improve heart health, heal inflammation-related damage and slow the ravages of aging.
And now here comes another study suggesting that it may be able to hold back the damage that is done when people don’t exercise!
You know me well enough to know that I won’t be singing the praises of any pill that justifies sitting on the couch watching TV instead of living a healthy, active lifestyle — but there are times (such as when we are ill or injured or have overloaded schedules) when we just can’t exercise. In that light, I think this new research is quite important.
SPACE-AGE FINDINGS
Let me start by saying this is sort of an “out there” study that was inspired by space travel and involved rats — weightless ones, yet. Even so, it’s intriguing.
The study: In an effort to examine the damage that weightlessness causes for astronauts spending long periods in space, which includes loss of muscle and bone, researchers at the University of Strasbourg, France, suspended rats to approximate weightlessness.
The rats were unable to move about as they usually do (though they were able to eat and drink normally). Half of these rats were dosed daily with resveratrol.
After 15 days, the rats that had not received resveratrol were experiencing all the predictable problems, including loss of strength, muscle mass and bone density.
They also developed insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes. The resveratrol-taking rats, however, did not show any of these effects.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
So resveratrol is obviously tremendously good for rodents that don’t exercise… but is it reasonable to believe this is relevant to human beings when we don’t exercise?
To get information on this, I called Heather Hausenblas, PhD, an exercise psychologist and resveratrol researcher at the University of Florida and scientific adviser for ResVitále, a company that makes resveratrol products.
Dr. Hausenblas and her colleagues recently completed a review of the human clinical studies already done on resveratrol.
She told me that findings from the weightless-rats study are in line with earlier studies that show resveratrol is a powerful antioxidant that has antiaging, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties with few, if any, negative side effects.
But no one is sure how or why resveratrol is so powerful, so more research needs to be done.
In the meantime, though, it’s not surprising that resveratrol is becoming such a popular supplement.
It is not easy to get from food sources — though red wine, grape juice, grapes and berries and, surprisingly, peanuts contain resveratrol, the amounts are not even close to the quantity that studies indicate would have helpful properties.
TAKE THIS LIST AND SHOP WITH IT
There now are dozens of resveratrol supplement brands on the market, but Dr. Hausenblas cautions that consumers should beware.
You need to check the label carefully to be sure that the brand you choose is a high-quality product. The label should show the following…
The product doesn’t contain fillers or additives, such as sugar, starch, gluten or artificial colors or flavors. These other ingredients make it easier and cheaper for the manufacturer to produce resveratrol supplements but do not add any health value.
Look for products that contain “trans” not “cis” resveratrol — trans resveratrol is the bioactive form of the resveratrol polyphenol that has been scientifically proven to enhance cellular productivity, Dr. Hausenblas told me.
She added that it has also been shown to increase the number of mitochondria in cells, thus boosting energy capacity.
The product was produced under “good manufacturing practices” (or GMP), which are standards established by the US Food and Drug Administration to which manufacturers adhere on a voluntary basis.
These standards are intended to ensure that products are consistently produced with high-quality ingredients.
Also, resveratrol is light-sensitive, so it should be protected in opaque capsules and in a bottle that shields the capsules from light.
THE DAILY DOSE
Dr. Hausenblas said that research hasn’t yet pinned down what an optimal dose of resveratrol is nor who would benefit most from taking it, but she said there is enough research to indicate that a dosage of up to 500 mg a day is helpful for most people.
Since the body absorbs resveratrol rapidly and its activity is fairly short-lived, she suggests splitting the daily dosage into two smaller ones that will keep some in the body most of the time.
Resveratrol is safe, Dr. Hausenblas said, but she suggests starting with a low dosage so your body can adjust to it gradually — some people experience digestive upset at first.
Also, pregnant women, nursing mothers and people with a medical condition should check with the doctor before taking resveratrol to be sure it is appropriate for them.
Source(s):
Heather Hausenblas, PhD, an exercise psychologist and resveratrol researcher at University of Florida, Gainesville.
September 27th, 2011 at 8:47 am
270
No. 270 of 365
Ask how come, if liberals are so keen on equality and fairness, they’re so much more money-grubbing than conservatives.
According to both the World Values Survey and the General Social Survey, left wingers are more likely to rate “high income” as an important factor in choosing a job, more likely to say “after good health, money is the most important thing,” and agree with the statement “there are no right or wrong ways to make money.”
This was confirmed by Doug Urbanski, former business manager of libtard documentary-maker Michael Moore, who said: “He is more money obsessed than anyone I have known—and that’s saying a lot.”
September 27th, 2011 at 8:57 am
This is worth the read.
===========================
Have you seen the movie The Help? Did you love it? Did you walk out of the theater with a warm and fuzzy feeling, thinking, “Thank goodness that terrible wrong was righted by one good white woman willing to stand up and be counted?”
I can’t tell you how many times white women have told me they saw The Help and just loved it. In some ways, I think they’re trying to tell me that thanks to the film, they now get it. You know, that whole civil rights thing.
I read a review of the book that lauded it as evidence that people from troubled times came together despite their differences and that ordinary women can be heroic.
In a nutshell, that is my problem with The Help. People are acting as if the events in the movie really happened.
Kathryn Stockton is a novelist. She writes fiction. There was no defiant Skeeter. There were no courageous maids and no bad white women got their comeuppance.
The movie offers only broad stereotypes. We know just who to root for and who to hate. We all get to identify with the heroines and everything works out in the end when everyone realizes that Jim Crow segregation is wrong.
If everyone watching the film identifies with Skeeter, where did all the bad people come from? The truth is, most of the people watching the movie or reading the book would be in the majority.
They would have been clawing their way into society, enjoying their special privileges and mistreating the help.
Try reading about the real people who risked everything to make a change, were denied opportunity and lost loved ones because of segregation. How about actually distinguishing black historical fiction from fact.
September 27th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Post 2 by the Human Events is an example of why the republicans seem to be a conservative party. They lie and no one calls them on it.
They are the biggest money grubbing bunch you will ever meet. But they lie and claim god is more important. Then they throw back into your face your honesty.
HYPOCRITES is the least they can be called. They are outright deliberate manipulating liars.
Tom
September 27th, 2011 at 12:27 pm
Rick (16) and Zen Lill (17) Yesterday:
I appreciate your concern. I am fine.
Happy New Year 5772 (L’Shanna Tova) to all Jewish readers of Michelle’s Blog.
I have several things to comment on concerning the visiting Aliens but I cannot let “the cat out of the bag.” I must wait for the proper time or I would be influencing the outcome.
I have not commented about certain matters out of respect for Azza.
I do know there was a meeting between malcontent aliens and the Tao. The main complaint of theirs is what they interpret as fairness. They want to be able to come and go as they please without the coordination of Tyna. There have been a number of screw-ups because some visiting aliens refuse to use Tyna’s services. The results are spacecraft uncloaking, ships and alien technology falling out of the sky and one technology cancelling out another causing equipment failures to certain visitors.
Not everyone is behaving. There is too much mistrust among aliens who do not believe they have to follow the rules of the Tao.
There are many things going on but I must be cautious about what I tell and what I must keep secret for the time being.
… So I choose silence for now.
HOWIE
September 27th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Glad you’re OK, Howie…and i appreciate your sense of discretion. – ZL
September 27th, 2011 at 5:28 pm
Ruth, the help situation is still on in Asia with Western i/e/ white women having filipino/Indo maids, might as well be the 50′s – ZL
September 27th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Shutdown update: Last night, Senate Democrats cleaned up the House Republicans’ mess again, narrowly averting a government shutdown.
After the House GOP passed a measure to hold disaster funding hostage, demanding job-creation programs as a ransom, they promptly went home. They have no regard for who lies in their path of destruction, as long as they can blame a dismal economy they created on President Obama and the Democrats.
Good thing there are some adults in the room. Last night, the Senate averted a shutdown while standing against Republican efforts to dismantle job-creation programs. And they’ll keep on defending Medicare, Social Security and Pell grants, too.
That’s why we need to protect the Democratic majority. This slim, four-seat margin is the only thing stopping the radical GOP House. There are just 72 hours until Friday’s deadline. Can you stand against this Tea Party takeover?
We need to raise $210,000 in the next 72 hours to keep the Boehner-Cantor crew from taking over the Senate. Can you kick in $50 to get us there?
If we don’t meet this goal in the next 72 hours, the Tea Party will be one step closer to taking over all of Congress. We’re almost there, but we’re running out of time. Help stop the Tea Party now.
Thanks,
Jason
September 27th, 2011 at 6:08 pm
WoW! I can’t wait, Howie. That’s the only reason I read this blog.
September 27th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
L’Shanna Tova to you to Howie.
Love your writes.
Sharon
September 28th, 2011 at 12:42 am
Howie we wish you the best!
September 28th, 2011 at 12:51 am
BRING THE DOCTORS BACK TO THE HOSPITALS!
Once upon a time, hospitals were run primarily by physicians, but there’s been a real turnaround, and today MDs head just 235 of the nation’s nearly 6,500 hospitals.
The rest of the institutions are led by business-trained administrators — even though physician-led hospitals outscore all others by 25% in standard quality measures, according to a study in the June 25, 2011 issue of Social Science & Medicine.
What the results tell me: It may be time to turn back the clock, given the improved outcomes of doctor-run hospitals.
IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?
The background: At the Institute for the Study of Labor in Bonn, Germany, investigators constructed a database of the top 100 US medical centers for cancer care, digestive disorders and heart surgery based on 2009 US News and World Report hospital rankings.
These rankings, designed to help consumers determine where to seek the best care, focused on:
Structure: How many nurses a hospital has, availability of key technologies, presence of a trauma center, etc.
Process: The delivery of care, which encompasses diagnosis, treatment, prevention, patient education and length of stay.
Outcomes: How many people die within 30 days of discharge.
Patient safety: How many accidental adverse events occur and how up-to-date medical procedures are.
Next, the researchers collected data on each hospital chief executive officer (CEO). They placed CEOs in one of two categories –
physician or nonphysician. Analyzing the association between doctor-run and administrator-run hospitals, the team found that:
Overall, hospital quality scores were 25% to more than 30% higher when a doctor was at the helm. For instance, when it came to cancer care, physician-led hospitals outperformed others by 33%.
In the US News “honor roll” of highest ranking hospitals, 16 out of 21 CEOs were MDs.
Of course, it should not be such a surprise that doctors are more effective at leading medical institutions.
Physicians who have spent time at the bedsides of critically ill patients have a better understanding of what works in the hospital and what doesn’t, notes Barry Silbaugh, MD, CEO of the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), the nation’s largest medical management educational association for physicians.
When MDs bring that experience to the executive suite, it makes a difference. Of course, not all doctors — even good ones — are cut out to be CEOs.
But Dr Silbaugh notes that about half of all medical schools now make leadership training and management part of their curricula.
The ACPE also offers advanced leadership courses for doctors. With the proper management and business training, doctors can balance financial concerns with patient care in a way that many nonphysician CEOs simply would not be able to.
While some fine medical centers are run by business school grads with MBAs, this study suggests that your odds of getting the best possible treatment are greater at doctor-run institutions — one more factor to take into account before checking yourself into a hospital.
Source(s):
Barry Silbaugh, MD, FACPE, CEO, American College of Physician Executives (ACPE), Tampa, Florida. The ACPE is the nation’s largest medical management educational association for physicians.
Dr. Silbaugh is on the Board of Governors of the National Patient Safety Foundation and was named to Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare list for 2009.
He is coauthor of “Landing on the Hudson River: Lessons for Health Care” (an article that appeared in Physician Executive, May 2010) with Jeff Skiles, the copilot of Flight 1549, which outlines key principles of safety and teamwork important to health care.
September 28th, 2011 at 1:01 am
268
No. 268 of 365
Ask:
“If God really cares about cruelty to animals, how come he made foie gras taste so delicious?”