3 Women rescued after having been held as slaves for 30 years

In London, three women were recently rescued from a house in which they had been held against their will as slaves for thirty years. One of the women, who is thirty years old, had been living there her entire life. They were described as being "highly traumatized" and were taken to "a safe place." Officials reported  that they had "never seen anything of this magnitude before." This video and article describe the situation, which is being updated frequently as new information surfaces.

Do you think that human trafficking and other forms of slavery that exist today are the result of a flawed justice system or of the culture of the societies in which they are present? Or both? Or neither?

International Federation for Human Rights

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) was founded in 1922 and is the oldest international human rights organization, bringing together 178 member organizations in over 100 countries. The main priority of FIDH is to promote the respect of all human rights, found in documents like the Declaration of Human Rights. The FIDH supports the activity of each of its members at the local, regional and international level. The FIDH is an independent party and not linked to any religion or government. 

American Civil Liberties Union

The ACLU was founded in the 1920’s when anti-Communist sentiment was very common in America. It was created to help protect people who were being deported and persecuted due to their perceived political views. Now the ACLU has expanded to protecting a wider range of human rights including the rights of people of color, women, lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people, prisoners, and people with disabilities. They attempt to protect these people’s rights by “working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.” This is their website, which is where I got my information and it seems to be a very professional and informative.

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

The Mothers of Plaza de Mayo was a group of mothers whose children “disappeared” during the Argentine military dictatorship from 1976-1983.  They demonstrated weekly in from of the Plaza de Mayo, as well as frequent protests at the Presidential palace, against the abduction of their children with intention of finding them.  Using the images of their children, the group created a publicized movement with the intention of gaining international attention to pressure the Argentine dictatorship. The initial report, estimated by the government after the military regime, reported that a total of 11,000 children were abducted. However, due to loss of records, the mothers believed this number was closer to 30,000.

During the mid-late 1980s, court cases were held against perpetrators and over custody of the children born in concentration camps who were put for legal adoption.

Over time the association shifted towards more radical views. After the 9/11 attacks, the head of their faction praised and defended the attackers. In January 2006 they held their final march, stating that the “enemy isn’t in the government house anymore,” acknowledging the credibility of the current government. They did, however, state that they would keep holding their weekly marches in support of other social causes.

Written by Molly Weilbacher and Nathan Watson 

Scholars at Risk

Scholars at Risk is an organization that works to protect teachers and intellectuals whose lives are threatened on account of their jobs. Many scholars are interrogated, imprisoned, or given little choice but to leave their home countries. Scholars at Risk advocates for academic freedom by protecting these scholars and temporarily placing them in various higher education institutions worldwide so they can continue their academic careers in safe environments. Here is a video that provides a powerful explanation through description and personal anecdotes of how this organization operates and what kinds of things it has achieved so far.

China and Human Rights

China is known for lacking in the human rights department and as of November 15th it has been granted a seat on the UN's Human Rights Council. This decision has been highly speculated considering China's history and its strict policies, such as censorship of the internet, lack of religious freedom, lack of freedom of speech, poor legal system, and the infamous one-child policy. China has also refused to let human rights inspectors into the country. Other nations with known human rights violations, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba, have been accepted as well. In order to be elected the UN takes into account the promotion of human rights and commitment to preserving these rights by the nation, which China has not exhibited. The reasoning behind this action is not justified. The UN claims that is must represent different regions and governments around the world, but it does not make sense to accept a nation that goes against the ideals of the organization. This article goes into greater detail about the issue. 

Below is a political cartoon opposing the admission of China as well as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Cuba into the United Nation's Human Rights Council. 

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

"The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is a leading international organization dedicated to human rights advocacy on behalf of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression." This organization works for the rights of Gays and Lesbians worldwide. It began in 1990 by an Activist from the United States named Julie Dorf and was accepted as a non-profit in 1991. Since its beginning it has been working with countries and groups worldwide to protect the rights of all people. Their website is easy to navigate and while their blog appears to be updated regularly the actual website does not have any recent news letters or information on their history page from recent years. To learn more about this group follow this link.

"Fifty Shades of Gay"

I found this TED Talk while I was searching for something to post and I think it encompasses what we've talked about in our discussions of Kiss of the Spider Woman. iO Tillett Wright is a photographer who set out to photograph as many LGBTQ identifiers as she could with the help of the HCR. The video is a little less than 20 minutes, but if you watch just a few minutes you can understand what she's presenting. I feel like this goes along with the previous post about putting people into boxes and how sexuality is much more complicated than people may think. The talk also presents ideas about sexual fluidity, which I think helps with understanding Valentine's sexual identity. 

Hawaii Legalizes Gay Marriage!

The Hawaii senate just passed a bill to legalize gay marriage today! Here is the link to the full story. I just thought that this was worth posting simply because it fits into our ongoing discussion of human rights. When I first saw this I didn't believe it because of how soon it was passed after Illinois. However, I'm very excited to know that gay rights are being recognized more and more each day!

Something to Think About

The following is a poem written by Bo Burnham, from his new poetry book "Egghead".
I find it to be really thought provoking and raise a lot of questions. Let me know if you agree!

I feel that the idea of someone falling in love with their clone is wrong. I wonder if I think this just because I, much like many homophobic people today, have simply been taught that this is such. I don't think that homosexuality is wrong (obviously), but I don't agree with the idea of clones being together. Is this because they share the same genes, or because I am just not open-minded enough? Will this actually have to be something we deal with in the future? Is Bo praising the notion that things eventually become accepted (homosexuality in this case) or is he making a claim that perhaps our world's open-mindedness needs to draw the line at some point? Let me know what you think.

P.S. One of my favorite things about this poem is the picture that goes along with it... I could not find it on the internet so instead here is a poorly taken photo of my copy of the book:

The Paris Underground

As we have learned, most of the films that the characters reference and connect with in the novel are based on actual films. When Molina tells of the second film that is clearly a piece of Nazi propaganda, it is unclear whether or not it is based off of an actual movie, as it wasnwith the first film. I recently found a short post stating that the story is believed to be based off of a composite of multiple Nazi films strung together with an American film from 1945 by director Gregory Ratoff called The Paris Underground, also sometimes known as Madame Pimpernel. In this link I have included the internet movie database of the film that gives a summary of the plot. While the plot of Molina's film is clearly not directly taken from The Paris Underground, the summary of the film shows some similarities between the actual film and the film from the novel that would suggest why some believe it is partially derived from it.

Sexual Citizenship and Human Rights

An interesting conference in Texas, November 22-24:

Sexual Citizenship and Human Rights: What Can the US Learn from the EU and European Law?

Topics include:

• Same-sex marriage and the family
• Transgender rights
• Anti-discrimination
• Youth sexual rights
• Pornography and children
• Sex work, migration and trafficking
• Do sex offenders have human rights?
• Therapeutic approaches to sex offending

Sexuality Explained

This video by Hank Green is the best fairly simple explanation of human sexuality that I've ever found. It explains some of the concepts we were talking about in class the other day about gendered pronouns and I think it's a good review of sexuality for everyone to watch before our final discussion of Kiss of the Spiderwoman.

Gay Marriage in Illinios

I don't know if all of you have heard the news yet, but Illinois will be the 15th state to legalize gay marriage! The bill passed yesterday (Tuesday) and the governor is going to sign it. This article has lots more information if you're interested in learning more about the politics behind it.

I Walked with a Zombie

This 1943 film, directed by Jacques Tourneur, is the basis for the film that Molina starts to relate on page 158.

Mario Clavell's bolero: My Letter

Even if you don't know Spanish, you'll probably be able to put the words together with the translation from chapter 7 of  Kiss of the Spider Woman:

"Dearest .... I am writing you once more now, night .... brings a silence that helps me talk to you, and I wonder .... could you be remembering too, sad dreams ... of this strange love affair. My dear ... although life may never let us meet again, and we--because of fate--must always live apart .... I swear, this heart  of mine will always be yours ... my thoughts, my whole life, forever yours .... just as this pain ... belongs .... to you ...."

Enchanted Cottage

The trailer:

Action for Women's Rights

Hillary Clinton, a well known supporter of gender equality, has yet again called the nation to action in support of women's rights. This article tells about her speech on gender inequality. She says that gender inequality is the "great unfinished business of the 21st century" and discusses how no country can grow to the best extent possible when it is denying contributions of women, making up half of the population. Hillary Clinton is a perfect role model for young women today and is a prime example of a woman who has broken through the glass ceiling. I encourage anyone who is interested in gender equality and women's rights to listen to some of her speeches on the subject. She is a very empowering speaker and clearly has a lot to say on the subject.

More Support for Gay Rights

Since Kiss of the Spider Woman has to do with homosexuality and gender identity, I found this article that has to do with the growing support of gay rights. There is more hope for the passing of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which would prohibit employers from discriminating against employees due to sexual orientation of gender identity. There is more bipartisan support of gay rights legislation than ever before which shows how our nation is starting to shift their views towards a more liberal and accepting side. According to a recent survey, there is a much larger support for acceptance of homosexuality in a ratio of 2-to-1. Compared to ten years ago, this is a great change. Before it was more evenly divided, but now citizens are becoming more open and accepting, which is great news for all people who are of a sexual orientation or gender identity out of the norm.

Frankenstein Notebooks Now On-Line

A flashback to the beginning of the semester: the Shelley Godwin Archive has gone online. It plans to host a large number of important documents from British Romanticism. They've started with Mary Shelley's notebooks on Frankenstein. Take a look, they're very cool!