http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/human-rights/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/eurovision-cant-drown-out-the-human-rights-abuses/ Last year, thousands of Azerbaijanis spontaneously took to the streets of Baku shouting and chanting. None of the demonstrators were arrested. They were celebrating Azerbaijan’s triumph in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest. Only a few weeks earlier, you would have witnessed an entirely different spectacle – partly fascinating, mostly disturbing, entirely incomprehensible. The Azerbaijani government’s response to demonstrations they don’t agree with. Teenage girls shouting “freedom!” chased and knocked to the ground by police, manhandled onto buses and driven to the outskirts of town. Elderly men shouting “resign” muffled and gagged. Younger ones punched, kicked and dragged into the back of police vans; facing the prospect of days, months or even years in an Azerbaijani prison cell. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/eurovision-cant-drown-out-the-human-rights-abuses/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/eurovision-cant-drown-out-the-human-rights-abuses/#item8594 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-new-zealand-supports-gay-marriage/ Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-new-zealand-supports-gay-marriage/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/even-new-zealand-supports-gay-marriage/#item8483 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Those-blasted-jeans-makers-make-a-killing-out-of-denim/ To hundreds of thousands of workers manufacturing denim, the term “killer jeans” has quite a different meaning than a great-fitting pair of pants. Sandblasting is a denim production technique commonly used to give the “worn-out-look” to jeans. It is deadly. Sandblasting is known to cause serious lung diseases such as silicosis, a potentially fatal pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of silica dust. Sandblasting-induced silicosis has now resulted in more than 100 documented fatalities amongst denim workers. Yet there is no reason for the production of denim fashion to come at the cost of human lives. This week, Deadly Denim, a new report by the Clean Clothes Campaign investigating seven factories in Bangladesh, revealed that jeans brands including Levi’s, Lee, Diesel, Esprit and Zara, all of whom claim to have banned sandblasting, are still using factories which employ this deadly technique. The investigation finds that manual sandblasting still takes place - often at night, allegedly to avoid detection. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Those-blasted-jeans-makers-make-a-killing-out-of-denim/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Those-blasted-jeans-makers-make-a-killing-out-of-denim/#item8130 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-kids-have-two-mums-and-theyre-just-fine-thank-you/ I sit watching the kids at dinner. Corin is eating his spaghetti with mind-numbing slowness. He has his book secreted on his lap and we are both pretending it isn’t there. The girls are talking non-stop - our youngest has just started Prep and she’s full of it. There’s a red dot on the page, she explains, and you start at the top and follow the lines and today we did “S”, which is very tricky, Mama! Then Scout, her older sister, takes up the story: Maddy was mean to Jenny, and Mia told Maddy she should say sorry, but Jenny had already gone off with Sophie. An ordinary family meal played out with some variation in millions of homes every night – except for one difference: sitting opposite me at the other end of the table is not my husband, but my female partner, Sarah. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-kids-have-two-mums-and-theyre-just-fine-thank-you/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/my-kids-have-two-mums-and-theyre-just-fine-thank-you/#item7874 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/homophobia-is-the-hate-that-dares-speak-its-name/ The recent resurfacing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda, or the “Kill the Gays” Bill as it is notoriously referred to, has been a timely reminder of how homophobia remains a threat to human dignity. So how do sexuality, national politics and human rights align? In numerous places around the world, homosexuality remains a site of intense political and social anxiety. Despite sexual orientation becoming a valid focus of international human rights law, over 80 countries around the world continue to criminalise homosexuality. Uganda is now reconsidering legislation that would enhance the criminal penalties that already exist for people who engage consensual same-sex relationships. This may also include the death penalty for offences that are deemed to be of an “aggravated” nature. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/homophobia-is-the-hate-that-dares-speak-its-name/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/homophobia-is-the-hate-that-dares-speak-its-name/#item7735 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/it-wouldnt-kill-us-to-save-more-lives/ At a recent protest outside the electoral office of Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said Australia was mishandling the refugee issue, and it was the “lack of a humanitarian approach and failure to abide by international obligations” that was causing problems. Another refugee advocate at the protest said, “You don’t have to be an Australian to have human rights.” Human rights should be the lens through which we consider the economic, cultural and geographic implications of increasing our intake of refugees and asylum seekers. It is about enacting people’s basic rights to freedom, choice and safety. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/it-wouldnt-kill-us-to-save-more-lives/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/it-wouldnt-kill-us-to-save-more-lives/#item7535 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-be-careful-so-all-are-equal-under-law/ The Queensland Government absolutely abhors any attack on a person based on their sexual preference and, to be absolutely clear, does not believe that anyone should be able to plead a non-violent homosexual advance as a partial defence for murder. On this, we agree with Father Paul Kelly, who wrote the piece on The Punch on Wednesday, “An archaic defence that belongs in the dark ages”. However, it is important that we take expert advice. The legal reality is that the Criminal Code has to be drafted carefully. It must be drafted on what will work to the letter of the law or else other people will seek to exploit it in unforseen circumstances where society would not support it. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-be-careful-so-all-are-equal-under-law/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-be-careful-so-all-are-equal-under-law/#item7516 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-are-there-600-million-virtual-war-criminals/ Welcome to this week’s I Call Bullshit, a column that looks at all kinds of myths and mistruths, at falsehoods, fiction and fabrications. This week we look at whether gamers are breaching international conventions when they loot, pillage, or kill. I’m no war criminal. Not even a virtual one. That’s because I’ve never played a violent video game – or indeed any video game since Donkey Kong. The original version. But if the Red Cross has their way, it raises the question of whether I could be up on some kind of charge for (ahem) enjoying The Human Centipede. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-are-there-600-million-virtual-war-criminals/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-are-there-600-million-virtual-war-criminals/#item7331 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-our-own-backyard/ On the northern tip of Queensland, a young woman from the Philippines worked up to 18 hours a day for a married couple. She looked after their three small children, cleaned their house at night, and worked in their store in the day. The woman, known in court as Ms G, was repeatedly raped by the husband, threatened, abused and exploited. After numerous appeals, in February 2010 the husband was jailed for slavery offences. The wife was also convicted, although she has since lodged another appeal. These workers are Jills of all trades: cooking, cleaning, caring for kids, the elderly and the sick. Domestic workers – nannies, maids, au pairs, “the help” - make the lives of Australian families easier. But sometimes the lives of these workers are unbearably hard. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-our-own-backyard/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Slavery-is-alive-and-well-in-our-own-backyard/#item7064 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-kind-of-person-ignores-a-dying-two-year-old-girl/ It’s hard to pick the most disturbing moment. Is it when the van hits two-year-old Yueyue, pauses, then drives off? Is it the mother and small child who detour around her prone body? Or is it the sheer number of people who clearly see her and do nothing? Warning: Disturbing footage The video of the Chinese toddler, who wandered away from her mother and into trouble, makes you heartsick. It makes you question humanity. It makes you want to shake those people - shake them until their teeth rattle. And of course, even as Yueyue lies in hospital with critical head injuries, it makes you wonder whether a similar evil negligence could happen here, or whether life is cheaper in places where it’s so much more abundant. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-kind-of-person-ignores-a-dying-two-year-old-girl/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-kind-of-person-ignores-a-dying-two-year-old-girl/#item6957 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Barack Obama’s support for marriage equality highlights the fact that Australia is now the only developed, English-speaking democracy where the leaders of both major parties oppose the issue. Same-sex marriage has the support of David Cameron and Ed Miliband in the UK, John Keys and David Shearer in New Zealand, the leaders of both opposition parties in Ireland, and just about everyone in Canada where it has been legal for almost a decade. Australia’s backwardness on the issue is not a reflection on its people, with polls showing there is the same or higher support here than in the countries I’ve mentioned.