Necla Kelek – Turkey and Germany

Linked with Sie haben das Leid anderer zugelassen! Added on April 20, 2008: linked also with Seyran Ates – Turkey.

Necla Kelek … (born December 31, 1957 in Istanbul), is a German feminist and social scientist, holding a doctorate in this field, originally from Turkey. She gave lectures on migration sociology at the Evangelische Fachhochschule für Sozialpädagogik /Protestant Institute for Social Education in Hamburg from 1999 until 2004 … (full long text).

Necla Kelek … moved to Germany at the age of 10. She studied economics and sociology in Hamburg and and conferred a doctorate on the subject “Islam in Every Day Life”. Her books include Die fremde Braut (The Foreign Bride) about arranged and forced marriages of Turkish migrants, which won the Geschwister-Scholl-Preis in 2005, and Die verlorenen Söhne (Lost Sons) about the sozialization, violence, and the faith of Turkish-Muslim men. (PEN).

She says: « Es gibt einen Ring des Schweigens, der zum Machterhalt der Väter gehört / there is a cercle of silence to maintain the fathers’ domination ».

Her book in german/ ihr Buch: Necla Kelek, die verlorenen Söhne /the lost sons (über die Gewalt der Väter / about the power of fathers … Die „verlorenen Söhne“ werden gehätschelt und geschlagen, Nährboden für den Extremismus? / the lost sons are pampered and beaten / a fertilizer for extremism?), May 7, 2006.

.necla-kelek-turkey-and-germany-rog.jpg.

Necla Kelek – Turkey and Germany

Two articles: Imported Muslim brides isolated in Germany, May 15, 2007. / and: Zwangsehe & Ehrenmord in Deutschland – Muslimische Frauen fordern: Schluss mit Multikulti-Toleranz, Juni 2005.

French philosopher Pascal Bruckner accused Ian Buruma and Timothy Garton Ash of propagating a form of multiculturalism that amounts to legal apartheid. His fiery polemic unleashed an international debate (here). Below Necla Kelek stakes out her position … (full long text).

She found solace in school, but her life was bound by prohibitions: no swimming, no sports, no playing outdoors and no German friends because they were infidels. At age 17, Kelek could no longer bear it. She ran away the day her father threatened her with an ax. Years later, she investigated the forced marriages of thousands of Muslim girls in Germany, many of them « imported » for that purpose. Her book « The Foreign Bride » became an instant best seller this year and focused attention on a widely ignored issue. Up to 15,000 girls, many of them between 14 and 18 years old, are forced into marriage every year to Turkish boys living in Germany, Kelek said. The imported brides become the transmission belt for other relatives who join them in the name of « family reunion » … (full text).

Necla Kelek im deutschen Wikipedia.

Controversy: Kelek Against « 60 Migration Researchers » … Kelek’s Answer: Kelek was given the opportunity to reply in the same edition of the newspaper,[6: Sie haben das Leid anderer zugelassen! / You have allowed the misfortune of others!] (which was also reprinted by the daily paper taz on February 3). She refrained from going further into the accusations directed against her and on her part, accused those who signed the petition of arguing unscientifically. Despite the actual state of affairs, they represent the illusion of the successful integration of Moslem migrants. Despite daily events which contradict this view, the representatives of the academic majority opinion would rather criticize the bearer of bad news than their own views or their « ideological concept of multiculturalism » She intensified her reply, by accusing the « critics from the well-equipped world of the publicly financed migration research » of being « responsible for the failure of the integration policy for 30 years. » The true purpose of their objection is « anxiety about their research funds »… (full text).

Continuer la lecture de « Necla Kelek – Turkey and Germany »

Richard C. Cook – USA

Linked with Is an International Financial Conspiracy Driving World Events.

Richard Cook is a former federal government analyst who was one of the key figures in the investigation of the space shuttle Challenger disaster … One of his areas of interest has been the monetary system and he has written a series of articles about the current financial crisis including Financial Meltdown: U.S. Treasury Regulatory Reform Proposals: Hapless, Helpless, Hopeless, and: Is an International Financial Conspiracy Driving World Events? and An Emergency Program of Monetary Reform for the United States … (full text on indybay).

He says: « Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are, or should be, the fruits of democracy. But the political democracy defined by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution has not been achieved because economic democracy has not been achieved. The attainment of real economic democracy is the next task for the American people » … (full text, Nov. 25, 2007).

The Fed’s Bailout: Whose Money Is It? March 23, 2008.

The Basic Income Guarantee and Monetary Reform: A Tale of Two Ideas, April 2007.

.author_richard_cook.jpg.

Richard C. Cook – USA

His Book: Challenger revealed, 2007.

He says also:  » … I was the NASA analyst who testified before the Presidential Commission on the dangers of the solid rocket booster O-ring seals after the Challenger disaster of January 28, 1986. My new book, Challenger Revealed: An Insider’s Account of How the Reagan Administration Caused the Greatest Tragedy of the Space Age, was published in January 2007 by Thunder’s Mouth Press. I wrote the book as a first-person narrative based on my experiences at NASA. I retired recently from the federal government and am now a writer, speaker, and consultant on public policy issues, organizational change, and conflict resolution … « , (on his homepage).

Perilous Times, by Richard C. Cook, October 8, 2007.

He writes: … In my book « Challenger Revealed » I point out that an underlying cause of the 1986 disaster was the takeover of the Shuttle program by the leadership of Star Wars in order to use the shuttle as a testing platform for space weapons. My book also makes it clear that Star Wars was always intended to facilitate offensive warfare. The only « good » thing about the Challenger disaster was that it brought space weapons testing to a halt, since the Air Force had no alternative testing system. Today they have corrected that flaw by shifting back to unmanned launchers for testing and deployment … (full text).

Economic Crisis: The U.S. Political Leadership Has Failed, September 12, 2007.

Continuer la lecture de « Richard C. Cook – USA »

Irma Leticia Silva Rodríguez de Oyuela – Honduras

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

Honduras, Tegucigalpa, 1935. A middle-class girl is born. Both her parents are schoolteachers, as were her grandmother and her great-grandmother. As time goes by, she will become a lawyer. But time turns things around and Leticia de Oyuela becomes a historian, which means that, in her own way, she also becomes a teacher. “The greatest richness I have enjoyed has been my childhood”, she says with a smile, sitting in her wheelchair. However, reading her biography, you will think that the greatest richness has been her own life. Because Leticia Silva Rodríguez de Oyuela has arrived at her achievements, honors and titles, through her suffering.

She says: « Nietzsche was right when he said that history is life. History is a civilizing influence » … and: « I was born into a small, bourgeois family. All the women in my family were teachers. I learned to read when I was 4 years old. At 9 I knew almost all the classics. All the reading I did gave me a background that made me feel a little different. The study of Literature is unquestionably a way of seeing history”.

Her book: El NAIF EN HONDURAS, [Novedad Librería Guaymuras] Agosto 2007, Leticia de Oyuela, 2007, ISBN 978-99926-618-5-7, 118 p.: Coedición de la Secretaría de Cultura Artes y Deportes, la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia,y la Cultura (UNESCO),y la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional … (full text).

.leticia-de-oyuela-honduras.jpg.

Irma Leticia Silva Rodríguez de Oyuela – Honduras

She works for the National Autonomous University of Honduras, for the Center-American Chamber of the Book, and for the International Institute for the Conservation of Monuments.

But we must recognize that the seed of all her aspirations was there when she was a child ». The habit of reading has become her true passion. They lived in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. The house was enormous and they had many relatives who often visited. There were also visits from imaginary friends. Through their books they received visits from Malaysian pirates, and even from captain Nemo who was submerged in the deep seas. The adobe walls of the house with its tiles on the roof, were « wonderful watchtowers ». « How many times we climbed on to the roofs and, evading the vigilance of our parents, we travelled through our neigbourhood looking at the houses and their inhabitants ». The inhabitants, who were in the main hard working women, were remembered by Leticia in her book « Las sin Remedio ».

Continuer la lecture de « Irma Leticia Silva Rodríguez de Oyuela – Honduras »

Isabel Crook, Jinming Zhang, Fengxiang Xu, Jiyue Li and Shuqin Zhang – China

All these five chinese women are a part of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005. Unfortuntely there were provided only some few lines about their work and biography. Regardless, here the few we may know:

———–

1) Rurui Shi – China

She says: « The cloud moves along and leaves the sky behind. What a blue blue sky! Water flows in and out. Take life as it comes and goes!”.

.rurui-shi-china-redim.jpg.

Click on pic for greater size

She works for the China Buddhist Association (named on wikipedia, on People Daily/en), and for the Qintai Home for the Aged.

Born in 1967, Shi Rurui is founder of the Buddhist School for Nuns at Pushou Temple, Mount Wutai. She has a strong interest in Buddhist education and the Buddhist religion and has helped repair the Jixiang Primary School so that poor children have a decent environment to study in. Her other projects include improvement of infrastructure in mountainous areas, and providing financial support to people with different abilities. She has helped with the construction of the Qintai Home for the Aged. (1000PeaceWomen).

any links: no

———–

2) Jinming Zhang – China

She says: « This is the first step of reform. We shall learn democracy by practicing democracy. Only when there is democracy in the Chinese Communist Party can China have democracy in the country as a whole ».

.jinming-zhang-china-redim.jpg.

Click on pic for greater size

Zhang Jinming, now Director of the Chinese Communist Party’s Organization Department of Ya’an City, Sichuan Province, implemented direct elections at local government level in 1998. It was the first year that this was piloted at a grassroots level. In August 2002 she piloted direct elections for the Party Congress representatives at a city and county level. She has been relentlessly promoting the democratization process in China. (1000PeaceWomen).

any links: There are links for different persons with this name, but no one seems to fit with our peacewomen.

———–

3) Fengxiang Xu – China

She says: « Even if I have only one breath left, I will not fall behind ».

.fengxiang-xu-china-r70p.jpg.

Click on pic for greater size

She works for the Beijing Ling Mountain Ecology Research Institute, and for the Beijing Ling Mountain Tibet Museum.

Xu Fengxiang is a scholar in forest and highland ecology. For the past half century, she has been teaching, researching and taking on conservation work on forests, ecology and environmental protection. She has opened up the research realm in highland ecology and set up the Tibetan and Beijing ecology research institutes. She is now 74 years old, but continues to do field investigation and exploration in highland conservation. (1000PeaceWomen).

Her book: the wild flowers of Tibet.

Her book: Tibetan Vegetation of China.

links:

China Statistical Yearbook 2005, EDITORIAL BOARD AND STAFF;

China Foundation for Desertification Control CFDC;

ISEIS 2006 Beijing Specialty Conference Sciences and Technologies.

———–

4) Jiyue Li – China

She says: « It is the simple gratitude of the people that encourages me to persist in making efforts and progress. It is their affirmation that gives me strength in my work ».

.jiyue-li-china-redim.jpg.

Click on pic for greater size

She works for the Maternity and Child Care Center, Yongning County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Li Jiyue has worked in maternity and childcare for 22 years, traveling to the homes of poor peasants in the mountainous area of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. By popularizing maternity and childcare knowledge, training health personnel, and performing health checks, she has contributed to the improvement of the quality of life and health levels of women and children in the countryside and they have become her friends. She is loved and respected by the locals. (1000PeaceWomen).

any links: There are links for different persons with this name, but no one seems to fit with our peacewomen.

———–

5) Shuqin Zhang – China

She says: « Our generation feels we have the social responsibility and the willingness to endure hardships and take care of others. I am a mother, and I know what a mother means for the life of a child ».

.shuqin-zhang-china-redim.jpg.

Click on pic for greater size

She works for the Beijing Sun Village Special Children Aid Center.

Zhang Shuqin is director of the Beijing Sun Village Special Children Aid Center. Since 1994 she has set up five villages for unattended minors whose parents are serving prison sentences. She has also helped many people that have been released from prison, despite money constraints and a lack of enabling government policies. (1000PeaceWomen).

any links: There are links for different persons with this name, but no one seems to fit with our peacewomen.

Robert Louis Heilbroner – USA (1919 – 2005)

Linked with The Book of Doctorow.

Robert Heilbroner (March 24, 1919 – January 4, 2005) was an American economist and historian of economic thought. The author of some twenty books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers (1953), a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists, notably Adam Smith, and Karl Marx, and and John Maynard Keynes … (full long text).

His homepage at the New School for Social Research.

listen the video: Robert Heilbroner 1999, (he) dicusses Economics and his major book « The Worldly Philosophers », 59 min, added on the web on 29 Jan 2007.

.robert-heilbroner-usa-r30p.jpg.

Robert Louis Heilbroner – USA

Robert Heilbroner, Writer and Economist, Dies at 85, January 21, 2005.

Robert Heilbroner, the bestselling writer of economics, died early this month at the age of 85. He and John Kenneth Galbraith may well have sold more economics books than all other economists combined. Alas, their talents lay more in the writing than the economics. Heilbroner was an outspoken socialist; if only a libertarian could write an introductory book on economics that could – like Heilbroner’s The Worldly Philosophers – sell 4 million copies … (full text, January 21, 2005).

He writes: Socialism—defined as a centrally planned economy in which the government controls all means of production—was the tragic failure of the twentieth century. Born of a commitment to remedy the economic and moral defects of capitalism, it has far surpassed capitalism in both economic malfunction and moral cruelty. Yet the idea and the ideal of socialism linger on. Whether socialism in some form will eventually return as a major organizing force in human affairs is unknown, but no one can accurately appraise its prospects who has not taken into account the dramatic story of its rise and fall … (full text in The Concise Encyclopedia of Ecnomics).

his biography: on wikipedia; on his homepage (scroll down); on The School of Cooperative Individualism.

Continuer la lecture de « Robert Louis Heilbroner – USA (1919 – 2005) »

Ishbel Maria Aberdeen – England

Ishbel Maria Aberdeen – England (1857 – 1939), from the Marjoribanks of Inverness-shire, Scotland.

Linked with ENCOURAGEMENT OF HOME INDUSTRIES … on 1893.

Ishbel Maria Hamilton-Gordon, Marchioness of Aberdeen and Temair, GBE (15 March 1857 –18 April 1939), was a Scottish author, philanthropist and an advocate of woman’s interests … (full text).

life and work.

She was the daughter of Dudley Coutts Majoribanks, son of Edward Majoribanks of Greenland, son of John Marjoribanks (1763-1833) who was the eldest son of Edward Marjoribanks (from Bordeaux, Edinburgh and Lees in the Borders) and Grizel Stewart. Dudley later on became Lord Tweedmouth and married Isabel Hogg whose Father, James Weir Hogg, was a Speaker of the House of Commons. Ishbel spent a happy childhood alternating between Brook House in the fashionable West End of London and at the highland deer forest of Guisachan (« Place of the Firs ») in Inverness-shire, with it’s wild birds, dogs, ponies. She had first met her future husband, John, while out riding in a London Park when she was fourteen; at eighteen, after her « coming out » at a ball presided by Queen Victoria, he became a favourite escort. She married John Campbell Gordon, seventh Earl of Aberdeen, in St. George’s, Hanover Square, on November 7,1877 in a service conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. During her years in Canada, Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor General, founded:

  • the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC) in 1893,
  • the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) for Canada in 1897,
  • the May Courts of Canada, 1898.

… (full long text).

.isobel3.jpg.

Ishbel Marjoribanks, Marchioness of Aberdeen, First President NCWC, 1893-1899, a common aim and a common work, ALTIOR (« Ever Higher ») – Above one of the original Commemorative medaillons issued by Lady Aberdeen in Montreal in 1898 … (Danielle Duval LeMyre, published on geocities).

She worked for women’s rights and social reforms in Britain.

Find about her on Google Book-search, on National Portrait Gallery, on wikipedia, and Google scholar-search.

Recognition: In 1894 she received the Freedom of Limerick; she received the Freedom of Edinburgh in 1928 and was invested as a GBE in 1931. The Lady Aberdeen Bridge’, which is the first bridge upstream to cross the Gatineau river, in Gatineau, was named in her honour. After falling through the ice at the confluence of the Gatineau and Ottawa Rivers, Lady Aberdeen was rescued by Gatineau locals. Out of gratitude she funded the construction of a church near the site of the accident and the Lady Aberdeen Bridge. Aberdeen Avenue in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was named after Lord and Lady Aberdeen who lived on Bay Street South between 1890-1898. They also presided over the opening of the Hamilton Public Library on September 16, 1890. (full text).

She is named (some exemples): in the Canadian Encyclopedia; in the McCord Museum; on pikle.demon; on civilization.ca; on the National Register of Archives … (etc.).

Continuer la lecture de « Ishbel Maria Aberdeen – England »

Brian Moore – USA

Linked with The Peace and Freedom Party PFP.
Brian Moore – disambiguation on wikipedia.

Brian Patrick Moore (born June 8, 1943) is a democratic socialist politician and the Socialist Party USA and Liberty Union Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election. Formerly a member of the Democratic Party and later an independent, he is now a member of the Socialist Party. Moore, of Florida, and vice-presidential nominee Stewart Alexander of California, were nominated on 20 October 2007 at the party’s National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. Brian Moore, was the only candidate to collect the 1,000 signatures required to participate in the Liberty Union Party’s presidential primary. The primary election is binding, so Moore will be the Liberty Union nominees in the November general election … (full text).

His website as Citizen Activist and Presidential Candidate. You have possibility for a contact through this website, (its homepage) – the same homepage in espanol/spanish.

See also STEWART A. ALEXANDER’s VIEWS AND NEWS: PROTECT THE WORKING CLASS.
He says: (why President?): Because the two party political system, and our capitalistic economic system, are not addressing nor are they resolving the problems domestically nor internationally. I believe we need candidates of courage and vision to address issues in a forthright and alternative way, and no one so far, does that through the systems and solutions that they offer. I also want to represent the working man and woman, the common man, and the poor, and bring equality and fairness and respect to them, which does not exist now under our systems and society … (full interview).

Video: debate on waterboarding, min, March 4, 2008, in Tampa, Florida, and audio: Peace and Freedom Party Debate, Jan. 18, 2008.

.brian-moore-usa-two.jpg.

Brian Moore – USA

He says also: « Now my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself but because I am not satisfied to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who suffer for the barest necessities of life » … (full text inteview).

Brian’s official campaign website.

BRIAN’S POSITIONS ON CRITICAL ISSUES:

… (full text).

Brian’s Professional, Political and Personal Background.

Previous Civic Involvement:

Continuer la lecture de « Brian Moore – USA »

Index March 2008

Bertha Oliva Guiffarro de Nativí – Honduras

She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.

When Bertha was about 20 years old, she fell in love with “the tenderest man in the world.” Both were in love with a world they wanted to change. They fought for bread and smiles. One night in 1981, he was kidnapped. He is one of the 184 missing people in the country. Bertha Oliva de Nativí is today the General Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras COFADEH.

She is also named as Political Heroe.

She says: « We have learned to live together, to work, to give, to embrace our pain. I maintain categorically that there is no resentment, but pain and hope, always hope ».

She says also: “Since then, we have ‘planted’ ourselves in La Merced Park, on the first Friday, of every month. They look at us with contempt and call us ‘the lepers’. Slowly, we have demonstrated that those with leprosy in their souls are the ones capable of causing so much hurt”.

.bertha-oliva-guiffarro-de-nativi-zwei.jpg.

Bertha Oliva Guiffarro de Nativí – Honduras

She works for the Comité de Familiares de Detenidos-Desaparecidos en Honduras COFADEH.

This organization was founded by Bertha, along with other women like her, who are searching for their loved ones.When Bertha was about 20 years old, she fell in love with “the tenderest man in the world”, and this man, Tomás, fell in love with her. Both were in love with a world they wanted to change. They fought for bread and smiles. One night in 1981, he was kidnapped. He is one of the 184 ‘missing’ people in the country.

Bertha de Nativí, is today the General Coordinator of the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras. This organization was founded by Bertha, along with other women like her, who are searching for their loved ones. “They entered my home, killed our friend, and beat my husband until he was unconscious. Just before he became unconscious, Tomás said to me: ‘They may leave you alive to ..’ give birth to our son.” On that day, June 11th, 1981, Bertha Oliva Guifarro de Nativí was 25 years old.

She continued to fight for justice.

Without a father and with a mother obliged to hide her real name, the boy was born secretly. He was named after his ‘missing’ father, Tomás.

Professor Tomás Nativí is one of the 184 ‘missing people’ in Honduras. That was the information given, some years ago, by the National Committee for Human Rights. Bertha was the driving force behind the creation of this committee, along with her companions in the COFADEH, the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras (created by them, in 1982).

Among other of their achievements, in 1987, Honduras became the first State to be condemned by the Inter-American Court for Human Rights, because of its violation of guarantees to citizens. One year later, a new case, this time concerning disappearances, was presented to the Court by their organization, the COFADEH, achieving a similar sentence. They have managed to cause the dissolution of the Department of National Investigations “the most criminal body in the country”, the repeal of Compulsory Military Service and, in 1992, the liberation of the last political prisoners.

Continuer la lecture de « Bertha Oliva Guiffarro de Nativí – Honduras »

Anthony Ravlich – New Zealand

Linked with International NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the ICESCR, with Human Rights Network AOTEAROA New Zealand; with Complaints Procedure At The UN, with Liberal Dream Turning Sour, with Social Justice is Gaining Momentum, and with Western Double Standards and the new United Nations.

Also linked with our many older posts about op-icescr on our NGO-Blog: during February 2005, and during March 2005, then with op-icescr: the Optional Protocol of the International Convent of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, op-icescr on August 31, 2005, op-icescr and Intellectual Property, with Again: op-icescr & NGOs … and on the Humanitarian blog: what’s about the endless op-icescr, and with Background Doc on op-icescr.

Anthony Ravlich, chairman of the Human Rights Foundation has some concerns about privacy and misuse. While the system is voluntary now, he sees no reason why that couldn’t change in the future:

  • « There seems to be little to stop a government from making such a scheme compulsory at some future date despite it involving people being forced to give information » Ravlich says …
  • « Privacy is only protected by ordinary law, the Privacy Act 1993, which government can change » …
  • « However if the right to privacy were included in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 which was then made supreme law this would provide some protection. However it is very unlikely for this Act to be made supreme law at a time when civil liberties are being curbed globally to address the problem of terrorists and other undesirables » …
  • « However the Department of internal Affairs is at pains to stress the voluntary nature of the IVS saying people ‘will always have an option to use or not use the IVS and GLS (Government Log-on Service) service » … .

Tony is Chairperson of the Human Rights Council who have been involved in the community educating people in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a covenant that is less well understood and perhaps less applied in New Zealand, than its sister covenant on civil and political rights. He is interested in eradicating poverty and feels that it often leads to conflict in UN forums and also weaken countries internal instability (human rights filmfest.net).

.tony.jpg.

Anthony Ravlich – New Zealand

His book: Freedom from Our Social Prisons, The Rise of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, to be published on May 2008, allBookstores.

He writes: … But putting this into perspective during the recent Open-Ended Working Groups discussions on whether to draft an Optional Protocol for the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (a complaints procedure for those suffering social injustice) which could be of assistance the bulk of humanity who live in poverty countries such as the US, Australia, the UK, Canada and India have opposed the drafting of the Optional Protocol. These countries prioritize civil and political rights thereby marginalizing economic, social and cultural rights, and in the case of the US this is to the point of exclusion. The US is the only industrialized country not to have ratified the covenant on economic, social and cultural rights under international law.

Continuer la lecture de « Anthony Ravlich – New Zealand »