The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan

During WWII, more than 200,000 women and girls from Korea, China and other countries were forced to serve as so-called "comfort women" to Japanese soldiers. The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan has supported these victims since its founding in 1990. Through its research and lobbying, the Korean Council seeks to get the Japanese government to recognize the wrong and compensate the survivors. The group has also been providing counseling and housing for elderly victims in need, still struggling physical and emotional abuses of their ordeal. The Korean Council won an important victory last year when, after a decade-long campaign by a coalition of international organizations, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the resolution calling for full responsibility and apology from Japan.

Dear allies, please don't border Russia

(Courtesy of Patrick Q. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.)

The Onion reports on what must be the best foreign policy advice ever given to former Soviet republics and satellites:

Following Russia's controversial military excursions into neighboring Georgia, the Bush administration made its most direct commitment to the U.S.'s Eastern European allies to date by "strongly advising" those countries not to border Russia under any circumstance. "The United States stands by its allies, but will not be able to defend our friends in the region if they continue to share geographical lines with Russia," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said at a Monday press conference.

Beauty and the vote

Sarah Palin's nomination to be the Vice President of the United States as part of the Republican ticket has encountered severe criticism from both the mainstream media and the liberal blogosphere.

The Governor of Alaska's alleged lack of qualifications and experience has been cited by pro-Obama commentators as reason enough to condemn John McCain's pick. However, many of the attacks against Palin have not been solely directed at her conservative stands or her policy choices.

"Caribou barbie," "beauty queen" and "trophy Vice" have been regularly used as supporting elements to discredit Palin as a viable candidate. The fact that she competed in the Miss Alaska 1984 beauty pageant where she won second place and a college scholarship is given as sufficient evidence that she cannot be taken seriously as a politician the underlying argument being that an attractive woman must be a bimbo, and a bimbo must not be in a position of power.

Most disturbingly, many of those willing to fire the thinly veiled misogynistic bullets are self proclaimed liberal women. New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd writes:

The guilty pleasure I miss most when I’m out slogging on the campaign trail is the chance to sprawl on the chaise and watch a vacuously spunky and generically sassy chick flick. So imagine my delight, my absolute astonishment, when the hockey chick flick came out on the trail, a Cinderella story so preposterous it’s hard to believe it’s not premiering on Lifetime. Instead of going home and watching “Miss Congeniality” with Sandra Bullock, I get to stay here and watch “Miss Congeniality” with Sarah Palin.

The reality is that the world of politics is still dominated by men and this has not changed with the current surge of Dowd-approved, non-sassy, serious, intense and highly educated women involved in politics around the world.

Many women who have advanced in politics until now have done so aided by a family name made trustworthy by the actions of a male. Without questioning their remarkable careers and credentials, Michele Bachelet, Cristina Kirchner, Benazir Bhutto, Indira Gandhi and Hillary Clinton may fall into this category.

Other female leaders have succeeded by projecting a character that is not by-and-large associated with what are generally acknowledged as feminine traits. Examples of these so-called iron ladies are Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel.

Although Palin does not fall into any of the described categories her story is hardly unique. Her political career is reminiscent to that of Venezuelan Irene Saez. Saez competed and won in the 1981 Miss Universe pageant. Like Palin, she subsequently earned a B.A. and later on decided to run for office in a small municipality. As Mayor of Chacao, Saez enjoyed high approval ratings. She was re-elected and then decided to run for president on an anti-corruption platform that echoed Venezuelans rejection of the traditional political parties. After losing to Hugo Chavez in the 1998 elections, Saez decided to run for the governorship of Nueva Esparta. She won handily with 70% of the vote.

A woman politician who fulfills all of Maureen Dowd's feminist requirements might take a while to come by. That is remembering that Ms. Dowd was also hostile towards Hillary Clinton, a non-Sarah Palin like female politician if there ever was one.

Women still have a hard enough time to reach the upper levels of decision making positions for Palin's physique to be enlisted as one of her disqualifications to run for office. In an equal opportunity world a woman should at least have the right to be attractive and succeed in politics without having to apologise for it to the self appointed defenders of feminism, regardless of her platform and views.

Right women rule, left women drool?

(Photo courtesy of Roger H. Goun. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.)


The Guardian’s Anne Perkins asks the question that is on the minds of Hillary Clinton supporters these days:

So why is it that women get more chances on the political right than it seems they do on the left? Is there something not very progressive about progressives, is the right really gender-blind, or is there something else going on here.

One explanation, she argues, is that:

The women on the right (who make it) share a common disregard for gender politics. The women on the left (who by and large haven't, or at least not yet) have made feminism an integral part of their public personality.

OK, enough feminist talk. I am too distracted by the number of times the term "hockey mom" has been uttered at the RNC. Can I get a count on "moose" as well? Everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten about George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and pretty much anyone else actually responsible for foreign policy.

Mexican president endorses McCain

Does it even matter? Hispanic network Univision announces Mexican president Felipe Calderon has endorsed Republican candidate John McCain. This should not come as any surprise. Calderon's party, the PAN (National Action Party- conservative) has for long held close relations with the Republican party.

According to the AP article, Calderon believes that McCain "knows the Mexican reality better" even though he acknowledges that Obama is being supported by many Mexican-Americans. Calderon said Obama's plans regarding NAFTA could entail a "return to protectionism" which would be damaging to the bilateral relationship. He added that McCain has supported "the most advanced immigration proposal."

Calderon's public endorsement is logical. He does not want NAFTA to be unilateraly renegotiated and demanding a humane and fair treatment of Mexican immigrants abroad is part of the mandate of any Mexican president. But does it matter whom he endorses? Will his declarations have any impact on the electoral preferences of Mexican-Americans?

The answer is... hardly. Most immigrants crossed the border to escape from a vicious circle of poverty and exclusion. Some risked their lives in the process. Many have encountered racism and denigrating treatment in their search for better opportunities. Not one of them is under any obligation to heed Calderon's opinion on how to cast their vote.

Calderon might have some influence if his own record as Mexican president was different. A reform minded Mexican Executive, willing and able to address effectively Mexico's problems of inequality, corruption and violence could expect the sympathies of those who were forced to flee from the status-quo. Such a president Calderon is not and his opinions regarding the candidates are not only uncalled for but also irrelevant.

Putin and Palin

If the Republican ticket wins, the caribou-hunting Sarah Palin and tiger-taming Vladimir Putin can swap shooting techniques as they attempt to put some love into the Alaska-warm U.S.-Russian relations.

P.S. Some editor at Der Spiegel loves Putin showing a bit of skin so much that she (or he?) created a "Putin Just Can't Keep His Shirt On" photo gallery. One more sign of a "resurgent Russia"?

"Women don't vote with the big head!"

The Daily Show's "senior female & women's issues correspondent" Samantha Bee gives her analysis of why die-hard Clinton followers are now sold on McCain.