http://www.voicesdivine.com Bahai audio books & podcast recordings of writings, prayers, news, & community messages for lovers of Bahaullah Fri, 13 Jan 2012 00:38:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Bahai audio books & podcast recordings of writings, prayers, news, & community messages for lovers of Bahaullah VoicesDivine no © 2008-2010 VoicesDivine.com and others VoicesDivine.com Baha'i Podcasts https://www.voicesdivine.com/main/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpg http://www.voicesdivine.com http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/media-portrayal-women-focus-panel/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/media-portrayal-women-focus-panel/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:45:26 +0000 Leanne Eleff http://www.voicesdivine.com/?p=1067 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/media-portrayal-women-focus-panel/feed/ 0 advertising,baha'i faith,Baha'i World News Service,Baroness Gould of Potternewton,business,cars,communication,girls,Jan Floyd-Douglass,Joyce Gould,marketing,sarah kasule When Jan Floyd-Douglass decided to buy a new car, she bypassed suitable models from eight different manufacturers – and then wrote to tell them why. "I love your car but I didn't buy it because I don't like your advertisements because they demean women, This is a recording from VoicesDivine.com.  To see our other podcasts and our terms of use, go to www.voicesdivine.com.  The following is Leanne Eleff reading from the Baha'i World News Service. NEW YORK — When Jan Floyd-Douglass decided to buy a new car, she bypassed suitable models from eight different manufacturers – and then wrote to tell them why. "I love your car but I didn't buy it because I don't like your advertisements because they demean women," wrote Ms. Floyd-Douglass, who is on the board of the Women's National Commission in the United Kingdom. She told the story during a panel discussion titled "Portrayal or Betrayal: How the Media Depicts Women and Girls" held at the UN offices of the Baha'i International Community. The event was planned in conjunction with the annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which began on 1 March. Along with the other panelists, she noted that sexualized images of women in advertising are so commonplace as to seem innocuous. "My message is, if we don't actually do anything about this, we are complicit in it," said Ms. Floyd-Douglass. Also on the panel was Sarah Kasule, director of the Mother's Union for Uganda, who said that the way women are portrayed in the African media can be equally negative. "They are depicted as symbols of sex. Or as something to do with making men comfortable, or giving care," she said. This trend in the media is a result of both individual choices and institutional forces, added Dr. Michael Karlberg, who is an associate professor in the department of communications at Western Washington University. "On one hand," he said, "people everywhere are choosing to consume media that feeds base appetites that we have inherited from our animal nature. On the other hand, media institutions have been constructed in ways that purposefully stimulate, reinforce, and exploit these base appetites." The result is a "feedback cycle" that has created a media environment that is "unjust, unhealthy, and unsustainable," observed Dr. Karlberg. He said any effort to address the problem must consider the structure of media institutions. "The assumption is that the media is just another commodity. But the media is not just another commodity. It is a process that facilitates democratic deliberations. It is a process that creates culture." Part of the problem, he said, is that the media's real product is not content but the delivery of an audience to advertisers. The result is that the media strives to manufacture audiences in the cheapest way possible, through a "high-sex, high-violence, high-conflict content. It doesn't take talent or research or investigative journalism. Yet it stimulates the appetites, much the same way that a high-salt, high-sugar, and high-fat junk food diet does." The discussion, held on 3 March, was moderated by Baroness Joyce Gould, chair of the UK Women's National Commission. She said recent studies show that images demeaning to women are increasingly used in the mass media and have an unhealthy impact on the psychological development of both girls and boys. "For girls, it is about being told they need to be more attractive to men. And for boys, it is about looking upon girls as sexual objects," said Baroness Gould. Dr. Karlberg spoke of efforts the Baha'i community is making to try to counter the ill effects of exposure to such images in the media by offering moral education for children and young people. "Baha'is, like people everywhere, are struggling to raise and educate children," he said. "They are trying to do this in a way that cultivates their inherent nobility, that releases their spiritual potential, and that helps them recognize the deep sources of purpose, meaning, and happiness in life. "It is clear that such spiritual education can be a very important factor in making children less susceptible to messages in their media environment. VoicesDivine no 5:08 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/world-reacts-trial-seven-bahai-leaders/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/world-reacts-trial-seven-bahai-leaders/#comments Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:00:08 +0000 Hans http://www.voicesdivine.com/?p=923 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/world-reacts-trial-seven-bahai-leaders/feed/ 1 Bahai, Baha'i, trial, Iran, Yaran, Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm Iran's decision to begin the trial yesterday of seven Baha'i leaders has triggered a strong international reaction, including a call by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi for their immediate release and ultimate acquittal. This is a recording from VoicesDivine.com. To see our other podcasts and our terms of use, go to www.voicesdivine.com (http://www.voicesdivine.com). This is John Iron (http://johniron.com) reading from the Baha'i World News Service (http://news.bahai.org). 13 January 2010,  GENEVA, Switzerland – Iran's decision to begin the trial yesterday of seven Baha'i leaders has triggered a strong international reaction, including a call by Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi for their immediate release and ultimate acquittal. "If justice is to be carried out and an impartial judge should investigate the charges leveled against my clients, no other verdict can be reached save that of acquittal," said Mrs. Ebadi, in comments posted on WashingtonTV, a Web-based news service in the United States. Mrs. Ebadi, who is one of the lawyers for the seven, said she had carefully read the dossier of charges against them and "found in it no cause or evidence to sustain the criminal charges upheld by the prosecutor." Others also expressed concerns about the fairness of the trial, calling for it to be open and held in accordance with international legal standards. Governments and prominent individuals in the European Union, the United States, Brazil, India, and Canada issued strong statements of concern. The European Union statement came yesterday, echoing an earlier call for international observers to be allowed in the trial of the seven Baha'is. "The EU recalls that freedom of thought, conscience and religion is a fundamental and undeniable right which shall be guaranteed in every circumstance," the statement said. "The EU calls for a just, fair and open trial respecting all international standards and obligations. ..." In Brazil yesterday, Luiz Couto, the president of the Human Rights Commission of the Federal Chamber of Deputies, said in a letter to the Iranian ambassador to Brazil that it appears the "trial is not transparent and public," and that any closed trial would violate the right to a full and fair defense. "We consider the freedom of religion and belief – that of Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Baha'is, and all other religious expressions – a fundamental human right for democracy, both in the east and west," said Congressman Couto. On Monday, the United States Department of State condemned Iran's decision to move ahead with the trial. "Authorities have detained these persons for more than 20 months, without making public any evidence against them and giving them little access to legal counsel," said Philip J. Crowley, assistant secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State. "These persons are entitled to due process." In India, prominent Indians called upon the government to take up the issue of the Baha'i persecution with Tehran. "Our country has a long record of pluralism and tolerance and must speak out," said Maja Daruwala, director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, according to The Hindu newspaper on Saturday. In Canada, Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon issued a statement on Friday expressing deep concern about the ongoing detention of the seven Baha'i leaders. "It is deplorable that these individuals were detained on the sole basis of their faith and have been denied a fair trial," said Mr. Cannon. Leading human rights barrister Cherie Blair in an interview today with the BBC World Service called for the release of "this group of people who live a religion which preaches peace and did nothing whatsoever to deserve this trial." In the WashingtonTV interview, Mrs. Ebadi, who is currently outside Iran, also offered a glimpse of what happened yesterday inside Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, where the "first session" of the trial was held. She said only two lawyers of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which she established, were able to be present in the court. And that in spite of a request for an open hearing, the court was closed. VoicesDivine no 6:42 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/745-trial-looms/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/745-trial-looms/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:19:34 +0000 John Iron http://www.voicesdivine.com/?p=838 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/745-trial-looms/feed/ 0 arrest,arrested,Baha'i,Baha'i World News Service,Baha’i International Community,BWNS,Evin Prison,human rights,Iran,leaders,Leva Khanjani,Mr. Afif Naeimi Recent developments in Iran have raised grave concern about the ultimate fate of the seven Baha'i leaders who are scheduled to go on trial next Tuesday. This is a recording from VoicesDivine.com (http://www.voicesdivine.com).  To see our other podcasts and our terms of use, go to www.voicesdivine.com (http://www.voicesdivine.com).  This is John Iron (http://johniron.com) reading from the Baha'i World N... VoicesDivine no 6:01 http://www.voicesdivine.com/blog/what-you-can-expect-from-voicesdivine-com/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/blog/what-you-can-expect-from-voicesdivine-com/#comments Mon, 04 Jan 2010 01:54:21 +0000 Hans http://www.voicesdivine.com/?p=698 http://www.voicesdivine.com/blog/what-you-can-expect-from-voicesdivine-com/feed/ 1 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/713_one_year_new_accusation/ http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/713_one_year_new_accusation/#comments Tue, 12 May 2009 18:19:35 +0000 Leanne Eleff http://news.voicesdivine.com/?p=358 http://www.voicesdivine.com/news/713_one_year_new_accusation/feed/ 0 arrested,Baha'i,Baha'i World News Service,Durban,human rights,Iran,Mr. Afif Naeimi,Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli,Mr. Hassan Haddad,Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani,Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,Mr. Saeid Rezaie The seven Baha'i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran are facing the anniversary of their arrest this Thursday, along with new and extremely grave accusations, after spending a year in jail without formal charges or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi. 12 May 2009, NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.A. (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107001268033865952759.000467d7fa436430d35d6&ll=40.759741,-73.972321&spn=0.453007,0.601501&t=k&z=11) - The seven Baha'i leaders currently imprisoned in Iran are facing the anniversary of their arrest this Thursday, along with new and extremely grave accusations, after spending a year in jail without formal charges or access to their lawyer, Shirin Ebadi. "Despite their obvious innocence and the call by many for their immediate release, these seven men and women have been in legal limbo for a year now, against all international human rights standards," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations. "Moreover, their families have recently been told of a possible new charge - 'the spreading of corruption on earth,' which goes by the term 'Mofsede fel-Arz' in Persian and carries the threat of death under the penal code of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said Ms. Dugal. "The sequence of events surrounding their detention exposes a shameless travesty of justice. Notwithstanding their having been subjected to intensive interrogations, it took a full seven months before they were given even a single pretext for their detention. On February 10, 2009, the Iranian Student News Agency quoted Tehran deputy prosecutor Hassan Haddad as having said that the investigation of these individuals was complete and that 'the case will be sent to the revolutionary court next week' and that these Baha'is are accused of 'espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.' The international protest expressed by governments and civil society was immediate and widespread, causing the Iranian authorities to review their approach. "Now a new wrongful accusation reportedly has been added some three months after the investigation was supposed to have concluded. The charge of being spreaders of corruption was used against the Baha'is who were executed in the years immediately following the Islamic revolution. That it may now be resorted to in this case is a further demonstration that the authorities have no basis for any allegation against these seven individuals, other than blatant religious persecution. This action against the Baha'i leadership reflects the government's sharply increased persecution of the entire Iranian Baha'i community of more than 300,000 members. "The upcoming anniversary of their arrest offers an important milestone and we ask that the international community re-state once again in the strongest terms its demand for their immediate release, or, at least, for a fair and open trial that meets international standards of justice," said Ms. Dugal. Ms. Dugal also noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has frequently emphasized the importance of "justice and human dignity" and "the establishment of a just world system," such as when he addressed the UN Durban Review Conference in Geneva (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=107001268033865952759.000467d7fa436430d35d6&ll=46.212031,6.139126&spn=0.103464,0.150375&t=k&z=13)last month. "How can the calls of the Iranian leadership for justice in the international sphere be taken seriously if they do not grant justice to their own citizens? In Iran, by all accounts universally agreed upon human rights are routinely ignored, not only for Baha'is but also for women, journalists, and others who only seek dignity and justice," she said. The seven are Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mrs. Mahvash Sabet, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. All but one of the group were arrested on 14 May 2008 at their homes in Tehran VoicesDivine no 4:34