BIG NEWS for the Saint Cloud Regional Human Rights Commission

If you would like to serve on the Saint Cloud Regional Human Rights Commission, neither gender nor residence will prevent you from serving. 

The Saint Cloud Regional Human Rights Commission desperately needs members.  The original guidelines restricted the number of people who could serve, as well as who could serve according to protected class status.  While some people may not agree with the changes, the Commission cannot function without human beings of any race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic class, ability or disability, etc.. 

People in many regions of Central Minnesota experience human rights abuses, every day, and no one is speaking out for them.  Gay boys are getting beat up in Milaca, immigrants are getting harassed in a church in Cold Spring, and the list goes on.  The Human Rights Commission needs to hear your voice.

If Corporations Can Be Tried in Court as Individuals...

Then they can also be tried for human rights abuses and genocide.  On February 28, the US Supreme Court will determine whether or not US and global corporations can be held liable for genocide and other violations of international law.

The court case--Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (aka "Shell")--involves a class action lawsuit filed by the Ogoni people of southern Nigeria, who claim that Shell committed human rights abuses in cooperation with the Nigerian government to terrorize the Ogoni off of their land in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

Kudos to The Guardian for covering this story.

The State of Bullying in Minnesota

Students have the right to receive an education in a safe environment.  This is a human right.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, Minnesota receives the lowest marks for the lack of scope and definition in its state anti-bullying legislation.

Minnesota sets the record for the SHORTEST anti-bullying law in the nation--at 37 words.  Here is the text:

121A.0695 SCHOOL BOARD POLICY; PROHIBITING INTIMIDATION AND BULLYING.

Each school board shall adopt a written policy prohibiting intimidation and bullying of any student. The policy shall address intimidation and bullying in all forms, including, but not limited to, electronic forms and forms involving Internet use.

History: 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 28; 2007 c 53 s 1

This policy does not define bullying, nor does it state that the bullying policy must address protected classes defined by the Minnesota Human Rights Act.  

To help address the issue, Governor Dayton has created the Task Force on the Prevention of School Bullying. Members of the task force and their affiliations include:

• Brenda Cassellius, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Education
  
• Kevin Lindsey, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Human Rights
  
• Willie Bridges, Senior Planning Manager, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office
  
• Vangie Castro, Youth Education Program Manager, Rochester Public Schools
  
• Phil Duran, Legal Director, OutFront Minnesota
  
• Alana Friedman, Teacher
  
• Julie Hertzog, Director, PACER National Bullying Prevention Center
  
• Lyn Mitchell, Co-Founder, AMAZE
  
• Jacob Reitan, Founder, Equality Ride
  
• Walter Roberts, Councilor, Minnesota State University, Mankato
  
• Dr. Thomas Scott, Pediatrician
  
• Senator Scott Dibble
  
• Representative Jim Davnie
  
• Two Republican legislators have been invited and are yet to be announced by leadership
  

The White House Consumer Data Privacy Act

The Obama Administration has unveiled the first draft of the White House Consumer Data Privacy Act, which will give consumers more control over how their personal information is displayed and used online.  This is the first draft of the online rights of consumers that companies must recognize:

-- Individual Control:  Consumers have a right to exercise control over what personal data organizations collect from them and how they use it.

• Transparency:  Consumers have a right to easily understandable information about privacy and security practices.
• Respect for Context:  Consumers have a right to expect that organizations will collect, use, and disclose personal data in ways that are consistent with the context in which consumers provide the data.
• Security:  Consumers have a right to secure and responsible handling of personal data.
• Access and Accuracy:  Consumers have a right to access and correct personal data in usable formats, in a manner that is appropriate to the sensitivity of the data and the risk of adverse consequences to consumers if the data are inaccurate.
• Focused Collection:  Consumers have a right to reasonable limits on the personal data that companies collect and retain.
• Accountability:  Consumers have a right to have personal data handled by companies with appropriate measures in place to assure they adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

Is Castration a Human Rights Violation?

Doctors in Germany still practice surgical castration of sex offenders, a practice which a human rights report identifies as "degrading". The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) acknowledges that it is rarely used but questions its effectiveness and whether each patient's consent is freely obtained. The Czech Republic, where the operation is used slightly more frequently, is the only other EU state to continue with the procedure.

The German doctors claim that surgical castration prevents chronic sex offenders from committing sex offenses; 46% of those who do not have the surgery continue the inappropriate behavior.

What this article does not do is provide a German definition of "sex offender".  In the United States, the "sex offender" usually corresponds with "child molester", and so an American reading this report might agree wholeheartedly with the German decision to castrate.   

No More Affirmative Action at Public Colleges and Universities?

The Supreme Court is going to deliberate over whether or not "race-conscious" admissions will remain legal at public colleges and universities.

Will this cause a reduction in the admission of African-American and Latino students?  Will it drive school districts to have higher academic expectations of all students?  Or will it cause some school districts with large African-American and Latino student populations to give up and steer even fewer of their students to college preparatory courses and college admissions, as Jonathan Kozol already notes ala Shame of the Nation?

Is Down Syndrome on the Decline Due to Prenatal Testing?

A new prenatal blood test can tell pregnant women as early as ten weeks into pregnancy if their fetus may have Down Syndrome. 

The number of Down Syndrome babies has been shrinking over the past two decades, for various reasons.  At the same time, more services exist for children with Down Syndrome to grow up and lead relatively independent lives. 

What percentage of parents decide to abort their fetus if they learn that it has certain disorders through prenatal testing?  If abortion is not the reason for the decline in Down Syndrome babies, is it possible that those who have someone with Down Syndrome in their family decide not to have children?  The odds of having a baby with Down Syndrome increases as a woman gets older.  Pregnant women 35 years old and up are given prenatal exams not only to determine whether or not the fetus has Down Syndrome, but also to see whether or not the fetus is alive, as older women are more likely to have miscarriages. 

In some countries, pregnant women who go for prenatal exams are not told the sex of the fetus, for fear that they will abort one that is female.  It would be irresponsible for doctors not to tell potential mothers that their baby-to-be has a disorder that will require special care, as arrangements for services take time.  If a pregnant woman has no support network to help look after an infant with special needs, will she be more likely to abort the fetus?  As the number of single mothers increases, this may be something to investigate.