http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/violence/ 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 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +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/the-humourless-hysteria-of-the-holier-than-thou/ In I Spit On Your Grave, a young woman is gang raped in a remote woodland. She is beaten and tortured in a series of deeply disturbing scenes, before she hurls herself into a river. She survives, comes back, and inflicts a graphic and brutal revenge on the men who so viciously attacked her. I can’t remember why I picked up the DVD - although I love horror and was possibly overcome with swaggering bravado after seeing the ‘watch it if you dare’ sticker. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-humourless-hysteria-of-the-holier-than-thou/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-humourless-hysteria-of-the-holier-than-thou/#item7711 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-no-evidence-sex-for-cab-fares-is-a-trend/ Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-no-evidence-sex-for-cab-fares-is-a-trend/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/theres-no-evidence-sex-for-cab-fares-is-a-trend/#item7708 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-blame-the-beautiful-game-for-riot-shame/ If badminton was the World Game there would probably be just as many riots as there are now with soccer. The graceful swoop of the goose-feathered shuttlecock would not calm the madding crowds. If only badminton had the power to invoke the passion, it could rival the semi-religious fervour that soccer induces. If only. Then we could blame badminton for all violence in sport and stop making soccer out to be evil. Soccer is, globally, inextricably linked to violence in people’s minds. But it’s not soccer’s fault. Soccer just happens to be the medium for the message. It is the excuse, the scapegoat. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-blame-the-beautiful-game-for-riot-shame/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-blame-the-beautiful-game-for-riot-shame/#item7690 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/We-need-smarter-security-not-beefed-up-security/ Let’s not make any excuses for the morons associated with the Aboriginal tent embassy who sparked Thursday’s ugly events in the national capital. When they interrupted a medal ceremony for courageous emergency services personnel involved in the Queensland floods and Victorian bushfires, their behaviour was vile. “Who f***ing cares? They’re not our heroes,” yelled one of the first protesters to arrive. Then, spotting the opposition leader, she screamed: “Tony Abbott, you f***ing big-eared Dumbo c***.” This was followed by more obscenities directed at Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Things went downhill from there. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/We-need-smarter-security-not-beefed-up-security/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/We-need-smarter-security-not-beefed-up-security/#item7627 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-great-wall-of-cabramatta/ On Tuesday night, four shots were fired into the front of a Wetherill Park home. Inside a woman and her two children were sleeping. This incident was the ninth shooting to take place in Sydney in eight days. NSW Police have not laid any charges and have voiced their frustration, blaming the “wall of silence” in the community. On Saturday, 25 May 2002, a man shot and wounded seven people including a child attending a wedding at a restaurant in Cabramatta. There were 140 witnesses in the New World Restaurant but no one was able, or willing, to give a clear description of the gun man. It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-great-wall-of-cabramatta/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/The-great-wall-of-cabramatta/#item7570 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-violence-is-the-answer-to-all-the-worlds-problems/ THE other day a stranger came up to me in the street and spat in my face. While this still put it in the top 20 days of my life so far, it was nonetheless an unpleasant experience overall. As I pushed the strange man away from me and called him various names, it occurred to me that this is something they never taught me how to deal with in journalism school. Possibly because I never went to journalism school but I still blame the system. The man’s grievance with me was unclear, as despite my best efforts I could not understand what he was talking about. The only intelligible sentence I could make out was: ``You made it sound like I made a sex video.’’ feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-violence-is-the-answer-to-all-the-worlds-problems/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Why-violence-is-the-answer-to-all-the-worlds-problems/#item7527 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/an-archaic-defence-that-belongs-in-the-dark-ages/ In July 2008 I was shocked when I received a call from the police telling me that my parish church of Saint Mary’s, in Maryborough, Queensland, was a crime scene. A man was found dead by parishioners as they arrived for a morning communion liturgy. It was devastating and shocking. I and my parishioners followed the case closely. Very soon, two suspects were caught. Our church security cameras caught the events of the terrible bashing. I was appalled when it was claimed that an alleged homosexual advance was a reason given for the man being bashed and left lying overnight in the church grounds. I was likewise appalled when I found that an alleged or perceived homosexual advance (of even the most minor gesture or touch) can be used as a partial defence in a murder case in Queensland (and also to an extent in NSW). What reason could justify a bashing that leads to someone’s death? feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/an-archaic-defence-that-belongs-in-the-dark-ages/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/an-archaic-defence-that-belongs-in-the-dark-ages/#item7504 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-22-a-massacre-in-norway/ This is the second instalment in our 23-item countdown of the Biggest Moments of the Year. Each day until the Friday before Christmas, we’ll be counting down the events that marked 2011. Our list contains moments from politics, pop culture, tragedy, sport and more. This is one of the moments that had all of us talking this year. What happened On July 22, Andres Behring Breivik, 32, massacred 77 people and injured 151 in a pair of terrorist attacks on Norwegian officials and civilians. First, Breivik planted a car bomb in Oslo’s executive government district near the Prime Minister’s office. The bomb killed 8 and the PM escaped unharmed. Less than two hours later, Breivik arrived at the island of Utøya where a camp for Labour Party youth was being held. Posing as a police officer, he gunned down scores of people. There was no light in the darkness of this story. The New York Times reported: “As soon as the shooting started… people panicked, running in all directions, tumbling down the island’s rocky hill in an attempt to reach the sea. Even after many made it into the water, the gunman calmly and methodically shot at those who were swimming.” feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-22-a-massacre-in-norway/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/biggest-moments-of-2011-22-a-massacre-in-norway/#item7283 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Violence-against-women-is-endemic-to-our-sick-culture/ As White Ribbon Day comes around again on November 25, I’m wondering what it actually does to address a culture that celebrates – indeed eroticises – violence against women. Sure, men buy white ribbons. They attend events where they eat sausages and swear not to hurt women. They raise money (none of which goes into services supporting survivors of violence). Of course it’s good that men stand up and pledge not to be violent and put white ribbons on their shirt collars. We need men to be engaged in the issue. But since the inception of White Ribbon Day, violence against women and children has continued unabated. And the culture that helps to makes violence against women permissible, even something to be celebrated, remains unaddressed. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Violence-against-women-is-endemic-to-our-sick-culture/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Violence-against-women-is-endemic-to-our-sick-culture/#item7215 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/no-one-lifted-a-finger-as-dad-raised-his-hand-at-mum/ Growing up in the 1950s and the 1960s I witnessed my mother being brutally beaten and verbally abused and belittled regularly by my father. For over 30 years Mum put up with this abuse and her health deteriorated over that time, so much so that she died in 1983 at the very young age of 49. My father was responsible for her death, I don’t doubt it. I will never get over the fact that during the many occasions Mum was being attacked by my father no one stepped in to help her. Neighbours saw and heard what was happening and did nothing to help her. I remember my brother, my sister or I running next door or across the road for help but there was none. People in the street would not stop and help when she was being abused or hit in public. Family friends would do nothing when they were around and saw the violence. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/no-one-lifted-a-finger-as-dad-raised-his-hand-at-mum/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/no-one-lifted-a-finger-as-dad-raised-his-hand-at-mum/#item7194 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Fifteen years ago when one of your girlfriends had a few too many Illusion shots standard practice was to put her in a cab, give the driver her address and $20 and pat yourself on the back for being a responsible friend. You wouldn’t do that now. Not if you cared about her well being at all. Trust between taxi drivers and passengers has been worn down to a new low, typified by comments yesterday from a Perth cabbie, who after being acquitted of involvement in a sexual assault said it was becoming more and more common for taxi drivers to be offered sexual favours in exchange for fares. It’s one of those “trends” that’s impossible to quantify. No woman is ever going to admit to anyone that when she found herself $10 short of a cab fare after the work Christmas party she settled the debt with a quick sexual act. It is a highly unlikely response to a situation.