Chavez takes moral high ground, closes “Bodies Revealed”

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

March 9th, 2009
Chavez takes moral high ground, closes “Bodies Revealed”
Posted by: frank daniel


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s closure of the “Bodies Revealed” exhibition of dissected human cadavers and subsequent confiscation of the bodies is perhaps the strongest government reaction yet to the worldwide trend for the traveling art and science shows that have been seen by millions.

Chavez called the exhibition a sign of worldwide “moral decomposition,” adding to criticism of similar shows by the Roman Catholic church in Canada and controversy over the origin of the bodies when an exhibit arrived in New York. One academic cited Dante’s Inferno to describe the “Body World” exhibit as “Dead Body Porn.”

Chavez is a fervent Christian and frequently makes reference to Jesus Christ, who he says was the “first socialist.”

At times he shows a morally conservative side declaring himself a feminist but speaking out against abortion, which is illegal in Venezuela except in cases of a threat to the life of a pregnant woman.


Read more: http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2009/03/09/chavez-takes-moral-high-ground-closes-bodies-revealed/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Chavez hits out at macabre display

Chavez hits out at macabre display

Reuters/Caracas

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez slammed on Sunday a travelling exhibit of dissected cadavers, “Bodies Revealed,” which has sparked controversy elsewhere, as evidence of the world’s moral decomposition.

Chavez said the closure of the exhibition in Venezuela a few days ago was on his orders and that authorities had confiscated the bodies from a show that has been seen around the world by millions of people.

Shows such as “Bodies Revealed,” which display cadavers using special techniques that dry out and then preserve them, have set off debate about the scientific or artistic value of the exhibits.

They have also occasionally - such as when an exhibit reached New York - become embroiled in controversies over the origin of the bodies and whether people gave permission that their cadavers could be used in such a way.

“We are in the midst of something macabre,” Chavez said on his weekly TV show. “They are human bodies. Human bodies! ... This is a really clear sign of the huge moral decomposition that is hitting our planet.”

More:
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=277716&version=1&template_id=43&parent_id=19

[Ex Lurker]

2. it's their country, they can do what they want. n/t

[moundsview]

4. Actually, it's his country and he can do what he wants.

n/t

[EFerrari]

5. Right. And all those millions of Venezuelans are just covering for him.

lol

[camera obscura]

3. That's too bad. Those exhibits can be a great way for kids to really see science with their own eyes

[ohio2007]

15. dissected human cadavers "riding" a skateboard is ghoulish art

Bodies: The Exhibition ABC's 20/20 (Part 1)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQLjOWp34O8
ghoulish

If that is the same type of "art exhibit" that toured the US a few years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kJmypE1DGQ


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdA4wyi6XWI&feature=related


fucking ghoulish



jmo

[AtheistCrusader]

61. It's not ghoulish

It's to give you an idea how everything fits together and works as a system, under the hood where the human eye can not normally see. Showing the bodies posed for certain activities gives the forms an interesting, flexed appearance. It helps you 'see' them in motion. How the muscles stretch.

Also a good reminder that these are, indeed, human remains, not some artistic facimile.

I would be perfectly happy to have my remains used this way.

[EFerrari]

68. And that would set you apart from these bodies

in that your permission would be on the record.

[Ohio Joe]

65. Not one bit ghoulish

I saw it here in Columbus and it was really good.

[Mojorabbit]

79. it is not ghoulish

As a retired nurse I was very impressed with the exhibit. It was as good an anatomy lesson as I have ever seen.

[struggle4progress]

72. Origins of Exhibited Cadavers Questioned (NPR | 2006)

by Neda Ulaby
All Things Considered, August 11, 2006 · For two years now, exhibitions of human cadavers have been traveling the country, shown in science museums and other spaces ... One delicate ethical concern stands out above all the others: whether the bodies were legitimately obtained. Dr. Gunther von Hagens, .. the impresario behind the Body Worlds exhibitions, says that every whole body exhibited in North America comes from fully informed European and American donors, who gave permission, in writing, for their bodies to be displayed. ... Chinese medical schools supply von Hagens with unclaimed bodies, which he plastinates and sells to universities ... Roy Glover, spokesman for BODIES... The Exhibition, says its cadavers -- all from China -- did not come from willing donors ...

Plumbing the Murky (and Crowded) World of Cadaver Displays

... Dr. von Hagens was basically tasked with ensuring that Dr. von Hagens' exhibition was ethical and legitimate ... I found that no independent observer has matched those documents to the bodies on display. That means there is no clear paper trail from a deceased donor to a finished plastinate ...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5637687

[Judi Lynn]

78. Thanks for this illuminating information. n/t

[Seldona]

6. Moral highground?

What is immoral about this exhibit? I took my children to see it when in St Paul, and they loved it. Of course my oldest is fascinated by medicine and wants to become an MD.

If this whack job keeps the art, I will donate my body for plasticization.

[EFerrari]

10. The provenance of the bodies on display is disputed

There was a big flap in New York, as well.

That's what I find on the net. Do you know if the dispute has been settled?

[tavalon]

17. I didn't know about the controversy when I went to see it

It was educational and informative, not just exploitative. There was one area devoted to what happens to the body of a smoker and they had a big container for people to throw their cigarette packs in.

Honestly, had I known these weren't volunteer cadavers, I probably wouldn't have gone but it was a really well done display, ghoulish or not. I'm a nurse, so nothing there squicked me.

[EFerrari]

20. There will be Chavez bashing articles for the next two weeks

because Lula from Brazil is going to be the go between Obama and Chavez on the 14th. This is just one of the latest.

[tavalon]

25. Remind me again why we hate him?

His people don't seem to hate him.

[EFerrari]

26. He has a big mouth and kicks multinational butt?

lol

:)

[tavalon]

33. He had fun mocking Dubya, but I always thought that was going after low hanging fruit,

if you know what I mean. And he saber rattled as much as * did at times but then he's doing a lot of the things I'd like to see happen here. As well, we're both socialists, me newly minted, him probably not so much. Except for his publicity seeking, I'm inclined to like him.

[EFerrari]

36. When I drill down, although he does have a big mouth

most of the "publicity seeking" is him being dragged into headlines because some monied interest wants to smear him ahead of a vote or a conference. The BFEE HATES him. I'm surprised he's still alive, in all honesty. :shrug:

[tavalon]

39. That the BFEE hates him I knew and yeah, I'm also surprised he's still alive,

but I rarely engage in the "since A doesn't like him, he must be good" stuff. I would like to find a relatively unbiased descriptive reading of what he's done since becoming their leader.

[EFerrari]

42. See my post down thread.

And, I agree. A lot of people are hated by the BFEE who are just their competition and not any better than they are.

[The abyss]

34. OK – Now I get it!

EFerrari, thank you for the reminder!

[EFerrari]

37. You're welcome. Just today we've had a right wing actress denounce him

while stamping her expensive little foot and now, he censors an art exhibit -- made up of smuggled bodies from China without any permission that can be determined. :crazy:

[The abyss]

43. Well spotted well stated!

You nailed this one “social engineering 101”

I saw this thing break and couldn’t figure out – why this??

[jkappy]

7. Worse than the lowest of horror movies. Hurrah for Chavez on

behalf of all the silenced critics and Human Rights activists who have attempted to speak out on this pornographic monstrosity.

[EFerrari]

12. I don't know very much about this. Do you have any links for us? n/t

[Judi Lynn]

13. I found something in a quick google grab:

Science Blogs - Blog Catalog Blog Directory
Bodies Revealed Controversy

Category: Bioethics • Science in the Media • Social Issues
Posted on: February 25, 2008 8:27 AM, by Joseph j7uy5

A fellow blogger, Logtar, tipped me off to a controversy, and asked if I had anything to say about it. The controversy has come about over an exhibit: Bodies Revealed. It's a traveling exhibit that displays plastinated human cadavers. The exhibit was organized by Premier Exhibitions, Inc.

~snip~
Looking around the Internet, I saw quite a few blog posts that mostly seemed critical of the exhibit. There were also several letters to the editors of various papers, things like that. Logtar put it like this:

...When I started hearing that the exhibit was coming to Kansas City, I was not very happy. I do not believe that science needs to be displayed in a freak show manner, specially since now our technology permits the creation of life like materials that are being used every single day to train doctors. Gone could be the days of gross anatomy where you could only learn by dissecting cadavers...

I however cannot condone the display of human bodies as a spectacle. I do not see any scientific or artistic merit on this morbid display. I am not as satisfied as Union Station CEO Andi Udris with the company that potentially used unwilling condemned prisoners for some other exhibits. Even thought the company produced documentation, it is not enough for me...

So I call on everyone that reads this blog to just skip this exhibit all together...

There are two arguments here. One is that it is disrespectful to display bodies in such a manner. A corollary of that is that it is crass to make money from such a display. The second argument is less obvious, because it depends on the details of how the bodies were obtained. This, in my opinion, is the more serious matter.

It has been alleged that (at least some) bodies were obtained illicitly. As reported by ABC News:

N.Y., China Investigating Black Market in Bodies
Self-Admitted Participant of Bodies Black Market Described 'Body Runs,' Where Bodies Went for $200 to $300
By BRIAN ROSS, RHONDA SCHWARTZ and ANNA SCHECTER
Feb. 15, 2008

Authorities in China and New York have opened investigations into allegations that a black market in Chinese bodies, which may include executed prisoners, is sending corpses to the United States for public display.

The investigations come in the wake of an ABC News report, that aired this Friday on "20/20", that features a self-admitted participant of a bodies black market who described "body runs" to locations where bodies, including those of executed prisoners, were sold for $200 to $300...

More:
http://scienceblogs.com/corpuscallosum/2008/02/bodies_revealed_controversy.php

[ohio2007]

16. see post #15 ( warning; graphic art video )

[EFerrari]

21. Thank you. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

18. I found more, written during the dust-up in Kansas City regarding the exhibit:

States, Congress to investigate 'Bodies Revealed' promoter By Jack Smith
Catholic Key Editor

~snip~
About 60 offenses can get one executed in China, including murder and rape, but also tax fraud, official corruption and dissident religious and political activities. Execution is by rifle shot to the head or lethal injection. This year, China has begun to move to exclusive use of lethal injection which yields no trauma wounds to its victims. British-based Sky News, Chinese human rights campaigner and 19-year political prisoner Harry Wu, and other China watchers have begun to gather evidence that Chinese traveling execution vans dispatch their victims in a fashion to facilitate organ transplantation. Prisoners to be executed often sign consent forms donating their bodies for medical and educational purposes.

Such consent by condemned prisoners or their families is likely dubious according to former Assistant Secretary of State Michael E. Parmly. In 2001 testimony to the U.S. Congress he said:

"The lack of meaningful consent further compounds our concerns about this practice. According to Article 3 of China's Provisional Regulations on the Use of Executed Prisoners' Corpses or Organs (1984), a corpse may be used for medical purposes if nobody claims the body or the family refuses to bury it; the prisoner voluntarily donates the body for use by medical facilities; or the inmate's family consents to its use after death. The first category opens the door to abuse because families are often not notified of impending executions or are too far away or unable financially to make the trip to claim a relative's body.

"Also, bodies are routinely cremated immediately after a sentence is carried out, making it impossible even for those families who are able to claim a family member's remains to determine whether or not the body has been used for medical purposes."

Until months ago, more than 400 jurisdictions in China could hand out the death penalty with only ineffective regional appeal available. Executions are carried out almost immediately by police bureaus. Relatives of the deceased are often only notified, if at all, after an execution takes place and the bodies of the executed are often not returned to relatives according to Amnesty International reports.

"All of the specimens are unclaimed bodies initially received by the Bureau of Police and then donated to the University and other universities in China for education and research," is the sworn affidavit of Dr. Hong Jin Sui on how he acquires the bodies that eventually end up as playfully-posed, plastinated, sliced and flayed Chinese corpses displayed by for-profit Premier Exhibitions to paying American consumers.

One such exhibit opens Friday in Kansas City - "Bodies Revealed." Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City-St. Joseph and Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas have criticized the show on the basis of upholding the dignity of the human body and called the exhibit inappropriate for school trips (see statement). But Atlanta-based Premier Exhibitions is also facing investigative and legislative attention from several states and Congress over human rights concerns.

On Feb. 15, following a three-month investigation, ABC's 20/20 aired a show investigating the Chinese sources of specimens used in "Bodies" shows. Reporter Brian Ross found that contrary to Premier's earlier assertions that specimens for its "Bodies: The Exhibition" show were procured from Dalian Medical University, they had in fact come from Dr. Hong Jin Sui's Dalian Medical University Plastination Co., LTD, a for-profit, private company 30 miles from Dalian Medical University.

20/20 visited the facility and found technicians working on the bodies of both animals and humans. When reporter Ross asked the company manager where the bodies come from and whether they were executed, the manager said he didn't know.

The show also found that Premier Exhibitions avoids laws pertaining to human remains by labeling them "plastic models" on shipping documents.

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), an expert on China's human rights abuses, told ABC the collection of "unclaimed" bodies in China for plastination shows "has every mark of executions and abuse. . There is a due diligence that has to be done, particularly coming from a totalitarian dictatorship where execution of prisoners and a general lack of value for human life are paramount."

More:
&mode=view&issue=20080229&article_id=4945

[EFerrari]

23. Oh, geeze. Thanks, Judi Lynn. This is really ugly.

:(

[tavalon]

28. As I said, had I known all this, I wouldn't have gone to the exhibit

As a nurse, though, I had never gotten the chance to be in a human anatomy lab so this was really helpful to me to see all the parts I visualized actually together. I won't say I learned something new, but it was a fresh perspective on things.

[EFerrari]

32. I hear you. I worked with cadavers a bit as an Anthro student

and why would any exhibit spectator wonder if it was legit? We're supposed to have laws and stuff.

[jberryhill]

60. Yes, the president of a country should have sole power over what is in museums /nt

[EFerrari]

67. That's a gross misrepresentation.

[jberryhill]

73. Of what?

In what democratic country does the president have the power to do that sort of thing?

The Bodies thing is macabre, and yes there are substantial issues about where they are getting the bodies, etc.

But I don't expect to see "Obama shutters Creationism Museum" either.

[EFerrari]

74. What sort of thing? The display was lied through customs

and there is a problem with the ownership of the bodies. CHAVEZ didn't shut anything down. Venezuela LAW did and CHAVEZ announced it. Geezus.

ETA: Seriously, Americans think there is only the Great Beyond over their borders. They have no idea that there is a whole world with other nations and bodies of law and everything.

[dbackjon]

8. Chavez - just another idiot that thinks he knows what morality is

When he doesn't have a clue.

[EFerrari]

11. Do you have any idea what the issues are here?

It looks like the producers lied their way through customs and no one can determine if they have permission to use those bodies. But, insulting Chavez works just as well as knowing what you're talking about, I guess.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=277716&version=1&template_id=43&parent_id=19

[dbackjon]

50. Yes, I have a clue

Which is more than you.

The customs deal has nothing to do with with why Chavez called it "moral decay".

But defending Chavez blindly is probably a full-time job for you, huh?


So maybe you should learn what the issues are.

[EFerrari]

51. Right. The spin is much more important than the issues.

I cede to your greater comprehension.

[canoeist52]

9. When my family saw this show in Boston,

We overheard many teacher's, Doctor's and med-student's conversations lauding the show.

At the back of the exhibit was a book you could sign on to receive information about donating your body to this science. I heard no negative comments. Most were in awe.

[tavalon]

19. Yeah, the books at the end were one of the more fascinating parts

People and kids in particular were raving about the show.

[bananas]

14. It has "a little of the Buchenwald touch", as they used to say.

[Dorian Gray]

22. I purposely

never went to the Bodies exhibit here in NYC because I, too, find it macabre. But, I would hate it to be outlawed here.

He's also anti abortion? How is that relevant to the story?

[EFerrari]

24. It's not. There's going to be hit piece after hit piece for the next two weeks

ahead of a meeting between Obama and Lula re Venezuela. Buckle up.

[Dorian Gray]

27. I find it fascinating

how many news stories have misleading headlines and/or contain information not pertinent to the story.

[EFerrari]

29. I do, too. The dissonance is why I read up on Chavez in the first place.

The better headline here would be: "Venezuela Closes Display of Bodies Sharked by Chinese Government" but that would be too straight forward. :crazy:

[tavalon]

35. I trust your opinion highly on most things

I was wondering if you could recommend where I should do my research on Chavez? I'm positive the American press is doing a smear campaign on him, but I don't buy that he's the next coming of JC either. I'd like a less impeachable resource or two.

[EFerrari]

38. I'm an atheist, myself.

:)

Have you seen the documentary "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"? That's a good place to start because it documents how the extreme right wing own the media in his country and how they collude with right wing interests here. It was shot by an Irish film crew during the 2002 -- they were there to do something else and got caught up in the action.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolution_Will_Not_Be_Televised_(documentary)

This is just how it's always been in Latin America. Our right wing monied guys always try to tank democracy there. John Pilger made a film called "The War on Democracy" on this topic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_on_Democracy

That's the best way I know of describing the situation.

Chavez may go really wrong. But he has been so distorted in our media and for a purpose, the American public may never really know who he is or what he's about.

[tavalon]

41. Yeah, the Chicago boys love playing the shock doctrine down there

Is it possible that Chavez stood up to them?

[EFerrari]

44. What seems to be happening is that Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador

especially (but also others, like Nicaragua, Paraguay and to an extent, Bolivia) have taken advantage of the Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Middle East madness and have gotten to work on their democracies. Latin America is in much better shape since we decided to shoot up the Middle East.

[tavalon]

46. I'm glad, because they were our whipping boys for so long

and so much they were accused of was actually done under the auspices of our own CIA. I always get amused when people aren't able to wrap their mind simultaneously around the outing of Plame and the awful things the CIA has done through the years. There is a lot of black and white thinking here - all discussion groups have their contingent, but I guess because we have so many voices here, it seems more prevalent.

[ohio2007]

30. people do have the right to see art but I agree. It was macabre.

Makes me wonder if they were Chinese coal minors in a previous life. Or maybe tennants of a Chinese gulag.

dunno

As for the tour of the exhibit ;
It came, it sat, it left.

[LeftyMom]

31. A lot of places have raised ethical questions about where the bodies are sourced

and whether proper consent was given for plastination and display.

Iirc, a few years back San Francisco closed a similar display because the local Chinese community suspected many of the bodies were sourced from prisoners in China.

[960]

40. Ah yes, that "moral decomposition" that is knowledge.

He's just as nutty as any other dictator or religious fanatic. Hell he's a two-fer.

[EFerrari]

45. Yes. Let's support the Chinese government selling unknown bodies

without permission. USA! USA!

[960]

47. How long will you support Chavez?

Things are about to get real ugly real fast in Venezuela.... will you still approve his every action as his motives and methods become more clear?

[EFerrari]

48. How long will you cart those straw men around? Don't your arms get tired?

[tavalon]

49. Well, he may have done this because of his religious beliefs - I don't know

But, the controversy that was sparked here in the US (I didn't hear about it until I got back from the exhibit) was that the bodies may have been acquired from the Chinese and that they were executed prisoners who may have given permission but it was likely coerced. I'm surprised the US didn't confiscate the bodies.

[EFerrari]

52. The thing is, he can't do this for religious reasons. Venezuela is a secular democracy. n/t

[tavalon]

53. We are too, but that didn't stop Dumbya from bringing it right into the oval office

There's a reason we are so far behind on stem cell research.

[EFerrari]

54. Sure. But Venezuela isn't the Bush US.

What I found reading the article Judi Lynn posted is that the bodies were sent through customs under false descriptions and that the ownership of the bodies is disputed. It had nothing to do with Chavez's personal opinions, whatever they are.

[tavalon]

55. Yeah, I suspect you're right

I'm kind of surprised that the US didn't do a similar thing at customs here.

[EFerrari]

57. I don't believe Venezuela is some kind of socialist paradise.

There's a huge problem with violent crime there. There's a problem with corruption in government, too. Those problems are very real and they need to be attended to, yesterday. The government has a lot on its plate what with fending off US incursions but, they need to get to it, regardless.

They also need to do a better job promoting their up and coming new statesmen. They are out there but they get no press because the corporate media doesn't care about them.

Chavez may have a big mouth but I've yet to find an instance of Chavez doing something like censoring an art show because of some personal belief of his. But, the claim may play well in the media if you want to smear him. The real story -- where did these bodies come from -- is buried and that's too bad.

[readmoreoften]

70. You mean when you vote for a socialist candidate you don't get ponies and unicorns?

We get ponies and unicorns here. Our free-market is full of them.

[tanngrisnir3]

56. The S.S Who Gives a Fuck is Docking at Pier Relevance.

[readmoreoften]

58. Consider that these shows are generally displays of executed Chinese prisoners. I agree.

One of the Body Worlds exhibits admits it, but Von Hagen still denies it, even though the director of the exhibit that admits it is the former director of Von Hagen's show. Not to mention that Von Hagen's plastination factory is in a small Chinese town by a prison.

When I went to see the show I was horrified at the LACK of curiosity of the viewers in terms of where the bodies came from.

[IrishBuckeye]

62. I didn't know about this. Bump this post.

NYT article with more...

ttp://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/18/nyregion/18bodies.html?pagewanted=print

California is looking at passing a bill making it law that doners must consent if their bodies are to be used is such type of displays.

[readmoreoften]

64. Imagine being there and noticing that all the bodies are similar and have similar bone structure.

By the end, I figured out what was going on. Or at least I was suspicious. I'm pissed off that I paid money at a US taxpayer funded science museum to fund the execution of Chinese political prisoners.

[EFerrari]

66. Thanks so much for being our Fair Witness. n/t

[EFerrari]

63. As usual, in trying to smear Chavez, more attention is drawn

to the real unconscionable behavior. So it goes.

[readmoreoften]

69. Imagine! A leader with socialist leanings caring about executed Chinese political prisoners!

The monster! I'm sure glad our wise capitalist leaders of the Glorious American Revolution aren't wasting their time with putting an end to the gulag execution-entertainment complex.

[EFerrari]

75. And when confronted with this horrible abuse, some people decide to blame

HUGO CHAVEZ for shutting it down. Holy cr@p.

:crazy:

[The abyss]

59. Recommend for history and commentary!

Good stuff here.

Many readers would do well to google this stuff on their own.

[devilgrrl]

71. Hugo Chavez wants the exhibit closed because he killed all the bodies in the show.

How do you think they got dead?

:popcorn:

[flyingobject]

76. Consider: China's "mobile execution vans"

Considering China's human "rights" reputation, is it any surprise that there is
no way to know if these "cadavers" volunteered to have their skin peeled off and replaced with plastic and then posed?

Killing Vans Make Process Easier For China's Authorities

A mobile execution van which carries out the death penalty is seeing a slow but steady business, writes CLIFFORD COONAN , in Beijing


THE MAKERS of China’s first mobile execution van, a travelling caravan of death in which convicts are dispatched efficiently and cleanly by lethal injection, say sales are not huge but steady, and urge any foreign governments wishing to buy one to get in touch.

“The number of sales of the execution cars is kind of small. We began to sell execution vans five or six years ago, and since then Chengdu, Kunming, Guiyang, Hangzhou, Xi’an and Chongqing local courts have all used our execution cars to carry out the death penalty,” said Zhang, who did not wish to give his first name, and who works in the marketing department of Jinguan Auto, a Chongqing-based maker of ambulances, police trucks and armour-plated limos.

China executes more prisoners than any other country in the world. Non-violent crimes such as corruption and tax fraud as well as traditional capital offences such as murder are among 68 crimes that can earn the death penalty in China.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0219/1224241417927.html?via=mr

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

77. And once again, the US auto industry is behind the times. n/t

[smitty]

80. It's amusing to see so many posters go through all sorts of

intellectual contortions to justify Chavez's censorship. Just imagine what they'd say if a U.S. governor or mayor tookk the moral high ground and tried to close down an art exhibit.

[Judi Lynn]

81. Amuse yourself even more by acqainting yourself with the facts. n/t