CNN has posted an important article about a family in Afghanistan who has bravely come forward to talk about the rape of their 12 year old daughter and the lack of justice in their community. Rape and sexual assault are, unfortunately, fairly common experiences for young girls and boys in Afghanistan and given issues related to Islamic law that require there to be 4 adult male witnesses to rape (!), very few are actually prosecuted. I strongly encourage you to take a few minutes out of your day in order to become aware of the situation faced by these Afghani families by reading the CNN article - and how, in spite of the absence of news about Afghanistan, this is a situation where no news most certainly does not mean good news. (Case in point: one of the recent rape victims was a 3 year old child).

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) is an activist and advocacy group based in Afghanistan that aims to educate women, advocate for the rights of women and children (both girls and boys) and that demands humane treatment and an expansion of justice. They feature heavily in the CNN article; you can learn more about their work and how to help them on their web site, such as through donations of money, books, cameras to document certain issues, or ways to raise awareness. 

I know that we all have busy days and lives, and families and friends of your own. Given the general neglect of Afghanis (in spite of our country’s presence there), I’d like to encourage you to consider ways to embrace these individuals who are part of our human family, by learning about and becoming aware of some of these issues, even if there is little else that you feel you can do at this time.

Thanks for your time.

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In response to a letter from the Family Equality Council, Barack Obama has described plans to support GLBT-related issues, including rights related to families. John McCain reportedly did not respond to the letter but recently told the New York Times that he did not believe that same-sex couples should adopt children. 

As someone who once worked in connection with the foster care system, and had a chance to see how desperately many children need to be fostered and, in some cases, adopted by loving individuals or couples, it always upsets me when people who have the power to help - sometimes literally - to save or protect a child’s life, fail to do so.

Read the full article here.

[Above image from this site; p.s. don’t they look so in love with, and comforted by, one another?]

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Oh no. As you remember, I’ve posted previously about my experiences working in Kenya this summer, and how the political-related violence over the past few years also has caused issues with patients getting their medications for HIV, and with the general displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as much violence and killing. It seems that unrest is cropping up again - check out this NY Times article that was just recently posted.

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Do they really look any different from $200/hour escorts or $1000/hour escorts? In my opinion, not so much - what one is often paying for is the overall service of the business operation - meaning, one in which your privacy feels guaranteed. Not that that always works! But certainly you can get a full range of services from highly attractive women and men for less - but you may not feel as "secure" with your identity. I guess the Spitzer (and Heidi Fleiss) cases are among the many that suggest that even high rates do not necessarily protect one’s privacy.

But if you want to see what a $5500 escort looks like, this is what came to me via email today… see photo after the  jump.

(more…)

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That’s what CNN (in this article) and the New York Times (in another article) are reporting. An announcement is expected shortly.

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