Inspiring Students - My Harvard Commencement Speech

Ultrasounds, abortion and ‘personhood’ in Virginia

By Katie Rogers

http://www.washingtonpost.com

Facing an issue that could redefine his political legacy, Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) retreated from a measure that would require women to have invasive ultrasounds, performed by inserting a probe into the vagina, before receiving abortions.

“No person should be directed to undergo an invasive procedure by the state, without their consent, as a precondition,” McDonnell said Wednesday.

In the hours since McDonnell’s statement, a Senate committee has moved to require external ultrasounds that require a woman to undress so that an imaging device can be used on her abdomen.

But the committee also has approved a "personhood" bill requiring that unborn children receive the same rights as all other citizens. (Update: Action on the bill will be delayed until 2013, according to the Associated Press.)

Contraception -- It's 2012 and Men Still Decide?

By

Cynthia Kounaris

Executive Director, Women Ecommerce Execs

The House panel on women's health issues that had not one woman on it got a lot of well-deserved attention in conversations and in media the past few days. The main reason why this so universally resonated was because it defied logic. Even if, for some reason, it seems okay to you that only men should discuss women's health and reproductive issues, did no one have enough sense to say "Well, personally, I think this is perfectly logical, but maybe it won't look so great." Obviously not.

But this whole topic and the ensuing conversations sparked a lot of "where's the logic?" questions for me.

In this day and age, why would it be okay to have ANY panel on ANY topic that included only men? Note that I am not saying that a panel on women's issues should have only women on it. There are probably men who could provide knowledge and insight on that topic, as on any topic. But why would there be a panel of only men -- on women's issues or religious issues or any issue? Where is the logic in that?

Women outnumber men in the U.S. Women college graduates outnumber male college graduates. More women than men voted in 2008. Where we don't outnumber men is in the Congress, in C-level jobs and on Fortune 500 boards.

And as for contraception, while I support a woman's right to choose, I don't view (nor should we view) contraception as JUST a woman's issue. Yes, women are the ones who have to bear the physical burden of pregnancy -- and, all too often, the financial and emotional burden of pregnancy and raising the child, if the father does not step up and share those responsibilities. But wouldn't fathers want their teenage sons to use contraception? Wouldn't fathers want their daughters to use contraception?

And contraception is a family issue. Don't husbands support the use of contraceptives to plan their families? Do men want every sexual encounter to end in a pregnancy -- their own or those of their daughters, their sons, their wives... or their mistresses? That seems very illogical to me. So, I have to draw the conclusion that there are many, many men who are for contraception. It is not just women who need to take care to avoid unwanted pregnancies.

It's fascinating to me how contraception or abstinence still seems to be seen as a female responsibility. Apparently, we have to "hold an aspirin between our knees" (don't get me started on that!) to avoid all the penises that are wildly flying around in our direction, looking for entry. Men have no responsibility to practice safe sex? To abstain? They are incapable of controlling themselves? That seems like antiquated and false logic.

So is the opposing argument that the only way to avoid unwanted pregnancies is abstinence? Does that mean that men would be happy to not have sex with their wives in order to not have more children than they want, can handle or can afford? That seems unlikely. And not to bring up the mistresses again, but given politicians' sex lives, are we saying they would be happy to have their mistresses get pregnant? THAT defies logic.

A Congresswoman whose name I didn't catch mentioned vasectomies. Excellent point! Are not vasectomies a form of contraception? And don't insurance companies cover that? Where is all the uproar from churches on that topic? So male contraception procedures are good and can be paid for but female contraceptive methods are bad and cannot be paid for? That's okay? Fair? Where's the logic??

Another logic problem. If they want to legislate against contraception and against a woman's right to choose and they don't want government dollars allocated to help support unwanted children or to help single mothers, what is happening to those children who are the result of unwanted pregnancies?

Or is it that they unrealistically expect everyone to practice abstinence? To underscore how unrealistic that is, we only have to look at the philanderers in Congress or, on the other end of the spectrum, Bristol Palin. I have nothing against Bristol Palin. She seems like a nice young woman and a good mother. But if Bristol, an educated girl living in a loving and religious two-parent home and in a family that is in the public eye -- if she cannot be abstinent, how would the far right expect more from any other girl (or guy!)?

Where's the logic?

The Sky Is The Limit with Guest Kayoko Mitsumatsu

 
“Full Effort is Full Success.” This Gandhi’s wisdom gives Kayoko Mitsumatsu a lot of positive energy especially when facing obstacles. This mantra is foundation for what she does daily. For 25 years, Kayoko has worked as a documentary film maker for NHK, Japan’s National Public Broadcaster. Kayoko also co-founded a Non Profit organization, Yoga Gives Back, to help the imphttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifoverished women of India. Life is an opportunity to fully express herself and contributes to make this world a better place in her own way.




http://www.yogagivesback.org/

Listen to my Speech at Cambridge College

What Readers Are Saying About Major Dream: From Immigrant Housemaid to Harvard Ph.D.

…..Jin’s story will inspire and motivate millions of people in the world regardless of their personal background, including race, gender, age, profession, education, and economic status. I strongly encourage you to discover why Jin Robertson's book will have you turning pages until the very end and will leave you determined to appreciate all that is right with your life.

[Jack Canfield, Co-creator of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul book series]

What a moving and inspiring story that is! It’s not that you need Oprah; it is Oprah that needs you!

[Jacki Rose, Author and Speaker, Massachusetts]

Anyone who has had the pleasure and privilege of being around Jin is impressed by her warmth, strength, graciousness, determination, and ability to inspire others through her example of leadership…..she is that rare individual who makes everyone around her want to be a better person.

[Sam Horn, author of POP! and Tongue Fu!]

I just finished reading your memoir….. Your life is a story of true triumph….. If I had come across a story like yours, it would've given me hope in times when I needed it most….. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story with the world.

[Jean Kim a woman in early thirties]

I am a seventy-year-old man. Your inspirational story changed my outlook about life. I am trying to live in the best way every day, so that I can say at my deathbed, “I indeed lived a wonderful life, at least from seventy!”

[A seventy-year-old man, Incheon, Korea]

I used to be a plain housewife. But your story changed me completely. Now, I am a freelance TV producer, who reports about people in the world, including Afghanistan and Iraq, and about Korean fishermen abducted by pirates.

[A famous freelance TV producer, Seoul Korea]

I never thought about studying abroad. With the amazing encouragement from your life story, I ended up graduating from Harvard Business School. Now, I work for the Boston Consulting Group Seoul

[A Korean woman at her mid-thirties]

Jin is my spiritual hero! She is the reason why I joined the U.S. Army. I read all of her books, and I even copied a DVD of her speech. Every time when I have a hard time, I watch it!

[A Korean-American female officer in the U.S. Army]

Our bureau booked every past president of the U.S. since President Ronald Reagan, famous sports stars, entertainers, and newsmakers in history. Jin is without question the BEST SPEAKER I HAVE EVER WITNESSED. Her original songs are simply enchanting and magical.

[Bruce Merrin, President, www.celebrityspeakersentertainment.com]

South Korea security law is used to silence dissent, critics say

 

Amnesty International branded as 'ludicrous' South Korea's indicting of blogger Park Jung-geun for tweets satirizing the North Korean government.

Kim Myung-soo, a scholar and online bookseller in the South Korean city of Suwon, has battled charges that he “aided the enemy” by selling works from North Korea. (Matt Douma, For The Times / January 6, 2012)

By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times


By his own admission, Park Jung-geun has long been an Internet wiseguy, a young photographer and blogger with a cyber chip on his shoulder whose favorite target for satire is the North Korean government.

For months, his Twitter profile picture showed him with a near-empty bottle of whiskey in his hand, standing in front of a red-starred North Korean flag. Using the handle @seouldecadence, the 23-year-old re-tweeted posts fromPyongyang's Twitter account he deemed particularly ridiculous.

But the South Korean government wasn't laughing. Investigators recently searched Park's photo studio, copying computer hard disks and confiscating books and photographs. After five interrogation sessions, Park, a member of the local Socialist Party branch, was arrested last month on suspicion of "praising and supporting an enemy of the state" in violation of South Korea's strict National Security Law.

He was indicted last week, an action that Amnesty International branded "ludicrous."


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