ASUNCION, May 19 (IPS) - Counting cases of machista or sexist violence separately shows that "what is happening is practically a genocide, and a hidden one at that," says Susana Chiarotti, coordinator of the Committee of Experts on Violence (CEVI) which is following up on implementation of the Convention of Belém do Pará.The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, adopted in the Brazilian city of Belém do Pará in 1994 by the 34 members of the Organisation of American States (OAS), defines all forms of gender-based violence as human rights abuses, and stipulates binding measures to eradicate it. Chiarotti, an Argentine lawyer and long-time activist in the regional women's rights movement, is also the coordinator of the non-governmental Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defence of Women's Rights (CLADEM), which is active in 17 countries.
MADRID, May 16 (IPS) - While domestic violence in Spain is becoming more and more visible, the country's laws and justice system are proving weak instruments to fight the phenomenon, according to experts from different fields who are demanding further legal reforms to address the issue.The government of socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who took office in 2004, passed a Law on Gender Equality, appointed women to key positions in the administration, created special courts and issued drastic instructions to crack down on domestic violence. But the violence continues: between 2001 and 2007, 425 women were killed in domestic violence cases in Spain, with 71 of the murders occurring in 2007 alone. And this year, 32 women were murdered by May 12. Feb. 27 was a particularly black day, with four women killed. Between the creation of the special courts for violence against women in 2005 and the end of last year, 69,400 men were prosecuted and 48,971 convicted. In 2007 alone, 126,293 complaints were filed. But the courts are snowed under with cases and are short-staffed, so prosecutions drag on for years.
New York -- Women's rights activists, senior military figures and top United Nations officials met in New York this week to discuss what the world body's former humanitarian chief Jan Egeland described as "one of the biggest conspiracies of silence in history" - the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. The talks focused particularly on the lack of female involvement in peace negotiations, and on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1820, passed last year, which for the first time acknowledged the use of sexual violence in conflict as a deliberate tactic of war.
The talks focused particularly on the lack of female involvement in peace negotiations, and on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1820, passed last year, which for the first time acknowledged the use of sexual violence in conflict as a deliberate tactic of war.
La Belle France: charming bistros, glorious wines and cheeses, bountiful markets, streets filled with the smell of freshly baked bread - all emblems of the greatest food culture that the world has known. Sadly, though, that culture is now in eclipse. Twenty-five years ago, it took some effort to dine poorly in France; these days bad meals are depressingly common, and it can be tough to find even a decent baguette in some villages and towns.
And there is an even more shocking statistic: France is now the second most profitable market in the world for McDonald's. La Belle France has been conquered by Le Big Mac.
[Torygraph Alert]
I suspect you're all aware that McDonald's is only the tip of the iceberg in this sort of thing; in addition to a range of competing hamburger joints ranging from Burger King to Carl's Jr to Sonic to Red Robin, we also have standardized restaurants that sell Mexican food (poor imitation thereof) (Taco Bell, Taco Star), Chinese food (Panda Express), Australian food, pizza, fish, etc. But I'm not aware of a chain that sells French food.
Perhaps part of the whole French food thing that each restaurant must have its own character and unpredictable menu???
There are also mid-level and upper-level chains. But it's true part of the French food thing is each restaurant has to have some individual and regional character... Un roi sans divertissement est un homme plein de misères
Wow, I wish they had that franchise here in the US. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
The authorities in Sri Lanka have arrested a popular astrologer who predicted that the president will be ejected from office, police say. Chandrasiri Bandara announced last week that the government would flounder in September and October because of political and economic problems. The opposition have condemned the arrest and warned that the country is heading towards a dictatorship.
Chandrasiri Bandara announced last week that the government would flounder in September and October because of political and economic problems.
The opposition have condemned the arrest and warned that the country is heading towards a dictatorship.
(Saturn will fix you).
A group of locals and housing activists have seized the constituency home of the MP couple who had the highest expense claim of all! Both Labour MPs they were known as "Mr and Mrs Expenses" two years before the MP spending scandal broke; Mrs Keen, a health minister recently admitted making an expense claim for private hospital treatment for a member of her staff. At the centre of their scandal was their double mortgage claim, where they illegally used Parliamentary expenses to pay interest on the mortgages of both their homes - one of which has now been occupied by outraged locals along with activists from all backgrounds and nationalities.
