From spector@calumet.purdue.edu Mon Sep 14 13:36:39 1998 Received: from nwi.calumet.purdue.edu (nwi.calumet.purdue.edu [205.215.64.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.8.5/8.8.4/CNS-4.1p-nh) with SMTP id NAA04700; Mon, 14 Sep 1998 13:36:35 -0600 (MDT) Received: from calumet.purdue.edu (e01-07b-175.calumet.purdue.edu [205.215.78.175]) by nwi.calumet.purdue.edu (8.6.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id OAA17179; Mon, 14 Sep 1998 14:38:37 -0500 Message-ID: <35FD7083.25B8A5D1@calumet.purdue.edu> Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 14:37:42 -0500 From: Alan Spector Reply-To: spector@calumet.purdue.edu X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: PROGRESSIVE SOCIOLOGISTS NETWORK , revs@csf.colorado.edu Subject: Labor Rights in the New World Order ? Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit The following information is being circulated through the Society for the Study of Social Problems and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. (Dr. Taye has been an invited speaker to SSSP for the past three years. He has been unable to attend because of his imprisonment.) Human rights groups and teachers' organizations throughout Europe have passed resolutions calling for humane treatment of Dr. Taye and even the European Parliament has expressed concern. And the AAAS is a highly prestigious mainstream organization that is taking the case of Dr. Taye very seriously. This seems relevant to the concerns of PSN and REVS as we consider the issues of workers' rights in many different countries in the New World Order. Following is a section of that discussion. Any way that you can bring this up in labor organizations, educational associations, teachers' unions, or with government officials might help save his life. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >> >>AAAS issued the attached alert on Thursday, September 3. I am currently >>trying to arrange a meeting with me and the Chair of our Committee on >>Scientific Freedom and Responsibility with Embassy representatives to hand >>deliver a letter from AAAS on Dr. Taye's behalf. I am trying to arrange >>schedule the meeting as early as possible so as to have a chance to have >>some impact on the trial. >> >>If I am successful, I will let you know. >> >>Elisa >> >>3 September 1998 >> >>AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTION >>NETWORK (AAASHRAN) >> >>ETHIOPIA--IMPRISONED SCIENTIST IN DANGER >> >>CASE NUMBERS: ET9613.Wol >> >>ISSUES: the right to life, liberty, and security of person; freedom >>from >>arbitrary arrest and detention; freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman or >>degrading treatment or punishment; the right to a fair and public hearing >>by an independent and impartial tribunal; freedom of opinion and >>expression; freedom of peaceful assembly and association. >> >> >>FACTS OF THE CASE: There are new fears for the life of Dr. Taye Wolde >>Semayat, a political scientist and Chair of the Ethiopian Teachers' >>Association. Dr. Taye has been imprisoned since 30 May 1996. Recent >>reports indicate that the conditions of his imprisoned have significantly >>deteriorated, amounting to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and that >>death threats have been made against him by prison guards. >> >>Dr. Taye appeared in court on 28 July 1998, at which time he reported that >>prison guards had threatened to shoot him. When the court informed him >>that it was not in a position to intercede on his behalf, Dr. Taye demanded >>to know to whom he should appeal. The judge responded by ordering that Dr. >>Taye be held in shackles 24 hours a day until his next court appearance on >>15 September 1998. He has also been placed in a "darkness" cell, which >>does not have any natural light, but has constant electrical lighting. >>This is reportedly a severe form of punishment. There are serious concerns >>that harm could come to Dr. Taye prior to his next hearing. >> >>Dr. Taye was arrested on fabricated charges of terrorism and conspiracy to >>assassinate government officials. However, the two main witnesses in the >>case have retracted their testimony, alleging that it was obtained by means >>of torture. As a result, the government was obliged to dismiss the most >>serious charges against Dr. Taye. >> >>Dr. Taye is the elected head of the Ethiopian Teachers' Association, an >>independent union with 120,000 members, which has been disbanded. He also >>was among 42 professors fired from Addis Ababa University in January 1992 >>for writing a letter of protest against the government's violent reaction >>to a student demonstration. >> >>Current actions against Dr. Taye are likely linked to a hearing held on 20 >>July against the Ethiopian Teachers' Association (ETA). An apparent >>dispute between the ETA and its rival, government-supported organization >>has resulted in raids against ETA offices, the arrest of its executive >>members, and the transfer of assets from previously frozen ETA accounts to >>the rival organization. >>In 1997, the AAAS passed a resolution calling for the immediate and >>unconditional release of scientists who are prisoners of conscience in >>Ethiopia, including Dr. Taye. >> >>The imprisonment of Dr. Taye and the conditions under which he is currently >>held constitute serious violations of Ethiopia's international obligations >>under the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the >>African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, and the Constitution of the >>Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. >> >>Under the United Nations Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified >>by Ethiopia on 11 June 1993): >> >>· Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person, and to freely >>take part in public affairs and political life (Articles 9 and 25); and >>· everyone has the right to freedom of expression (Article 19.2); >>· everyone has the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly >>(Articles 21 and 22); >>· all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and >>with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person (Article 10); >>· everyone has the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and >>impartial tribunal (Article 9); and >>· no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading >>treatment or punishment (Article 7). >> >>Under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted by the >>Organization of African Unity on 17 June 1981: >> >>· Freedom from all forms of exploitation, including torture, cruel, inhuman >>or degrading punishment and treatment (Article 5); >>· the right to liberty and security of person, and freedom from arbitrary >>arrest or detention (Article 6); >>· the right to express and disseminate opinions (Article 9); and >>· the right to free association. >> >>Relevant provision of the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic >>of Ethiopia (FDRE): >> >>· All persons in custody, including sentenced prisoners, have the right to >>conditions which respect human dignity (Article 21). >> >>(Sources of information for this case include Amnesty International and >>Education International.) >> >>RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send telexes, telegrams, faxes, or airmail letters: >> >>· Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Taye on the >>grounds that he was imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of his >>opinion; >>· deploring the cruel and inhuman conditions under which Dr. Taye is held; >>and >>· urging the Ethiopian government to uphold its international treaty >>obligations and to abide by its own constitution and criminal code. >> >>APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO: >> >>Dr. Negaso Gidada >>President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia >>Office of the President >>P.O. Box 1031 >>Addis Ababa, Ethiopia >>Fax: 011-2511-55-07-22 >>(Salutation: Your Excellency) >> >>Meles Zenawi >>Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia >>Prime Minister's Office >>P.O. Box 1031 >>Addis Ababa, Ethiopia >> >>COPIES TO: >> >>Ambassador David H. Shinn >>Embassy of the United States of America >>P.O. Box 1014 >>Entoto Street >>Addis Ababa, Ethiopia >>Fax: (251 1 552 191) >> >>Ambassador Berhane Gebre-Christos >>Embassy of Ethiopia >>2134 Kalorama Road, NW >>Washington, DC 20008 >> >>Please send copies of your appeals, and any responses you may receive, or >>direct any questions you may have to Elisa Munoz, AAAS Science and Human >>Rights Program, 1200 New York Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20005; tel. >>202-326-6797; email EMUNOZ@AAAS.ORG; or fax 202-289-4950. >> >>The keys to effective appeals are to be courteous and respectful, accurate >>and precise, impartial in approach, and as specific as possible regarding >>the alleged violation and the international human rights standards and >>instruments that apply to the situation. Reference to your scientific >>organization and professional affiliation is always helpful. >> >>To ensure that appeals are current and credible, please do not continue to >>write appeals on this case after 90 days from the date of the posting >>unless an update has been issued. >> >>************************************************************************ >>This message is electronically signed by the PGP Public Key of the AAAS >>Science and Human Rights Program. For a copy of this public key, link to >>the Program's World Wide Web homepage at: >> >>www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/shr/shr.htm >> >>If this signature proves not to be valid, the Program will not accept >>responsibility for this message or its contents. >> >>Key fingerprint=6B D1 99 D6 F1 E5 AF 66 F0 67 2C 34 69 D1 2D >> >>The following are sites that you may visit for additional information on >>how to verify this electronic signature: >> >>www.cnet.com/Content/Features/Howto/Privacy >>web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html >>ftp.datahopper.dk/pub/users/pethern/pgp/ > -- From spector@calumet.purdue.edu Thu Sep 24 16:36:05 1998 Received: from nwi.calumet.purdue.edu (nwi.calumet.purdue.edu [205.215.64.9]) by csf.Colorado.EDU (8.8.5/8.8.4/CNS-4.1p-nh) with ESMTP id QAA04546; Thu, 24 Sep 1998 16:36:01 -0600 (MDT) Received: from calumet.purdue.edu (e01-07b-175.calumet.purdue.edu [205.215.78.175]) by nwi.calumet.purdue.edu (8.8.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id RAA02260; Thu, 24 Sep 1998 17:36:30 -0500 (CDT) Message-ID: <360AC94D.4A73B3F8@calumet.purdue.edu> Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 17:35:58 -0500 From: Alan Spector Reply-To: spector@calumet.purdue.edu X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: PROGRESSIVE SOCIOLOGISTS NETWORK , "ahs-talk@listserv.ncsu.edu" , WORLD SYSTEMS NETWORK , revs@csf.colorado.edu Subject: More biological determinism nonsense Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Note from Alan Spector: To PSN, WSN, REVS and AHS, with apologies to those who are on more than one of these list and will receive duplicates---I found the following posting on another e-mail network (yes, I do have a life away from the computer screen...) and I thought it was relevant to interests expressed on all three lists. If the tone of the posting seems a bit "negative" and/or sarcastic, keep in mind the genocidal, "negative" impact on Jews and others, the last time biological determinism became a dominant ideological force in a country torn by alienation, with its population split between nihilistically denying all and embracing live-for-the moment decadence and ultra-relativist theory in the face of massive social crisis and those who dogmatically reached for dangerous forms of mystical spiritualism along with its pseudo-opposite, pseudo-science, both of which provide "easy" answers to relieve the pain of confronting massive social crisis. I'm referring, of course, to Nazi culture and philosophy, with some unsettling parallels to intellectual currents today (post-modernism, political fundamentalist religion & biological determinism). Here comes the repost-(feel free to repost elsewhere): ---------------------------------------------------- The Sept. 18 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education has an article "Are Human Behavior and Culture Products of Our Biology?" Featuring a photo of E.O. Wilson, the article reports on the Association for Politics and the Life Sciences, an offshoot of the American Political Science Association that recently met in Boston. Wilson gave the keynote address, calling for the biologization of the social sciences that this conference represented. James Q. Wilson, co-author with Richard Herrnstein of "Crime and Human Nature" back in the mid-1980s, told the conference that biologically evolved behavior has three characteristics: "It should be found in all human cultures, it should serve a useful purpose, and it should be inherited." The article went on to describe several examples of the application of work inspired by E.O. Wilson's call for "Consilience." The first example was research by U. of Georgia ecology professor Patricia Adair Gowaty. Based on study of animal sexual behavior, she asserted that women who are dependent on men would have extramarital affairs with men who could provide better resources. Women with more resources, that is, "competent or lucky women," are more likely to have affairs with men who "turn them on." Men married to such women are more likely to have affairs themselves, because their wives are self-reliant. What brilliant research! But you ain't heard nothin' yet! Two researchers, Neil I. Wiener and Christian G. Mesquida, at York University in Toronto, studied 153 countries and concluded that those with large proportions of young males aged 15 to 29 have suffered more deaths in wars. More youthful males means more collective aggression, which at its biological core comes from competition for women to mate with. So that is what Rwanda and Yugoslavia are all about! EO Wilson is such a great inspiration! Finally, it turns out that these scientific geniuses have discovered that democracy is impossible. Humans generally cannot make conscious rational decisions, because unconscious parts of the brain rrespond more quickly. And they have discovered members of the House of Representatives who wear beards are more liberal than those who are clean shaven. That is because liberals are more maternal, while conservatives are more paternal, and liberals grow beards to remind voters that they really are males. But the same pattern doesn't hold for the Senate, where no one, liberal or conservative, wears a beard. It is hard to find words to describe this pathetic pseudo-science. The only thing I can think of to say is we should respect our fascist academic enemies strategically, but despise them tactically. Their rump gathering of sociobiological wannabes certainly belong together with Bill and Monica, fashioning stupid explanations for why degenerate presidents have tawdry affairs and why capitalism produces genocidal wars. In the same issue of The Chronicle, by the way, there is a back page article by Bruce Robbins, editor of Social Text, discussing the disciplinary imperialism of the consilient sociobiologists and the relativist postmodernists. It is mainly a liberal call for live and let live. We must step up our organizing against these fascists. Even the stupidist biological determinists and postmodernists can flourish if we do not organize against them. -------------------- end of repost --------------------