Daily Archives: July 23, 2017

Myanmar still using ‘same tactics’ of oppression as junta: Yanghee Lee – Frontier Myanmar

Posted: July 23, 2017 at 1:40 am


Frontier Myanmar
Myanmar still using 'same tactics' of oppression as junta: Yanghee Lee
Frontier Myanmar
YANGON Myanmar is still using the same "tactics" to silence its people as the former junta, the UN's rights envoy said Friday, urging the government to allow the UN to probe allegations of ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims. More than 70,000 ...

and more »

See more here:

Myanmar still using 'same tactics' of oppression as junta: Yanghee Lee - Frontier Myanmar

Posted in Government Oppression | Comments Off on Myanmar still using ‘same tactics’ of oppression as junta: Yanghee Lee – Frontier Myanmar

Robert Azzi: Congress assails First Amendment, BDS, Palestinians, justice – Concord Monitor

Posted: at 1:40 am

An advocate must be free to stimulate his audience with spontaneous and emotional appeals for unity and action in a common cause. When such appeals do not incite lawless action, they must be regarded as protected speech. (NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., 1982)

In contradiction to such sentiments, Sen. Maggie Hassan is co-sponsoring a Senate bill Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S.720/H.R.1697) that would make it a felony for Americans to support an international boycott against Israel.

Its a bill designed to strip Americans of constitutionally protected rights, a bill that targets supporters of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement that works to end international support for Israels oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.

Boycotts to achieve political goals, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has written, are a form of expression that the Supreme Court has ruled are protected by the First Amendments protections of freedom of speech, assembly and petition.

BDS is designed to give Palestinians and their supporters a nonviolent platform from which to resist occupation and illegal settlement activity, activity which the international community believes is a flagrant violation of international law without legal validity, activities condemned by innumerable U.N. resolutions from No. 242 to No. 2334 and the Fourth Geneva Convention.

In 2014, Nobel Peace laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu said: I have witnessed the systemic humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces. Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government.

BDS is designed to empower Palestinians to resist that humiliation.

In response to (S.720/H.R.1697) the ACLU has written: The bill would amend those laws to bar U.S. persons from supporting boycotts against Israel, including its settlements in the Palestinian Occupied Territories, conducted by international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations and the European Union. It would also broaden the law to include penalties for simply requesting information about such boycotts. Violations would be subject to a maximum civil penalty of $250,000 and a maximum criminal penalty of $1 million and 20 years in prison. We take no position for or against the effort to boycott Israel or any foreign country, for that matter. However, we do assert that the government cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, punish U.S. persons based solely on their expressed political beliefs.

This bill would impose civil and criminal punishment on individuals solely because of their political beliefs about Israel and its policies.

I support BDS because its a nonviolent response that I recognize initiated by Palestinian civil society to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory, to the oppression of Palestinians, to the continued incarceration of hundreds of Palestinians held under administrative detention without either indictment or trial.

BDS does not delegitimize Israel; it delegitimizes illegal occupation and oppression.

In April, BDS co-founder Omar Barghouti said, Twelve years ago, we were called romantic dreamers or worse. Today, our fast-growing movement is recognized as being so strong as to be fought by the full force of Israels regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid, and by its partners in crime.

Partners like members of the United State Congress whove aligned themselves with oligarchs and power brokers, partners who not only oppose BDS but who oppose making political and economic distinctions between Israel and occupied Palestinian territory.

I support BDS because I recognized, and supported, the boycott in South Africa that helped to strike down apartheid. I supported the Montgomery bus boycott and the Delano grape strike because I believe in justice.

Because I recognize that were called upon to resist oppression and occupation.

I recognize, too, that even when boycotts dont change anything, as in the anti-Nazi boycott of 1933 that did nothing to stop the harassment of German Jews, that its morally necessary to act.

As Rabbi Stephen S. Wise of the American Jewish Congress said at the time, We must speak out, and If that is unavailing, at least we shall have spoken.

BDS is working.

In 2016, the EU, along with Sweden, Ireland and the Netherlands, affirmed the right to support BDS as protected by freedom of speech and freedom of association.

Last month the Spanish parliament unanimously passed a motion affirming the right to advocate for BDS as protected by freedom of speech and freedom of association.

BDS is working.

BDS supporters know its working because of the scale of resources its opponents are devoting to delegitimize and criminalize the nonviolent movement including getting members of Congress to emasculate the First Amendment.

I know BDS is controversial. Some of my dearest friends dont support it at all; others want BDS to apply only to the occupied territories.

I get that, and support their choice.

However, those friends and I do agree that the Israel Anti-Boycott Act is unjust and is a blatant attempt to dissuade American supporters of Palestinian freedom and justice from engaging in protected political speech and action.

Resisting violence is easy. Use greater violence and destroy, imprison and emasculate the enemy. If they resist, hit them harder.

Resisting nonviolence is harder you cant bomb non-violent resisters into submission.

So, to counter BDSs nonviolent philosophy, Israels calling upon America to violently defile existential imperatives and collude in squelching First Amendment rights.

Pay attention: (S.720/H.R.1697) aligns America with governments that choose to deal with dissent and protest by limiting freedoms and speech governments like Poland, Russia, Turkey, Israel and Egypt.

Were not like them. Were better than that.

Pay attention: If speech can be criminalized in order to oppress Palestinians then it could as easily be used against any other group that displease the government or oligarchs in the future.

Pay attention: Last week Vice President Mike Pence said, America stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel, as together we confront those enemies who threaten our people, our freedom and our very way of life.

What he, and Hassan, fail to recognize is that those who threaten our people, our freedom, and our very way of life is us that were in danger of becoming our enemy.

Let us speak out: If that is unavailing, at least we shall have spoken.

(Robert Azzi is a photographer and writer who lives in Exeter. He can be reached at theother.azzi@gmail.com and his columns are archived at theotherazzi.wordpress.com.)

Continued here:

Robert Azzi: Congress assails First Amendment, BDS, Palestinians, justice - Concord Monitor

Posted in Government Oppression | Comments Off on Robert Azzi: Congress assails First Amendment, BDS, Palestinians, justice – Concord Monitor

Martial law extension in Mindanao draws mixed reactions | SunStar – Sun.Star

Posted: at 1:40 am

THE approval of the Congress on Saturday, July 22, to extend martial law in Mindanao until December this year has drawn mixed reactions from different sectors.

Labor leader Wildon Barros said the decision of Congress to extend the military rule is an anticipated move as he believes that the more it is extended, the more human rights violation is committed by the government.

Barros added this will only alienate the Moro people, particularly the Maranaos who have fled their homes in Marawi City, if the destruction of their homes and properties continue.

The martial law extension, he said, will not dismantle the Maute Group but it will create more armed factions who will take up arms against the government.

It was rigged from the start, said Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of the human rights group Karapatan, referring to the approval of the extended martial rule, and had only one intended outcome to rubberstamp the Congresss imprimatur on the legality of the declarations extension.

Palabay said Dutertes martial law can never be different from the version of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The factual bases of both declarations (Dutertes and Marcoss) have been proven as outright lies, if not products of the militarys creative imagination, she said.

A government that uses military hubris to allegedly quell terrorism or armed revolutionary rebellion is one that is most afraid of the people, driven to terrorism or rebellion by years of oppression, exploitation, poverty, and mendicancy to foreign interests. Securing the public is the least of their interest, Palabay said.

Vic Escober, 53, a fisherman, said: Lets give Duterte the chance to end the Marawi crisis and neutralize the Maute group and restore peace and order there once and for all. The extension of martial law is the only way to do that.

Belinda Yucatan, 48, farmer said its better to leave it to the government to deal with the Marawi crisis.

My only hope is that human rights will be upheld and violence will not spill over to other parts in Mindanao due to martial law extension, Yucatan said.

Read more from the original source:

Martial law extension in Mindanao draws mixed reactions | SunStar - Sun.Star

Posted in Government Oppression | Comments Off on Martial law extension in Mindanao draws mixed reactions | SunStar – Sun.Star

Fears of overseas gambling crackdown after Slovakia issues blacklist – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted: at 1:39 am

The move by Slovakia, which now wants operators to have local licences and pay a 27pc tax, comes as both Holland and Poland this year have moved to alter regulations.

In Turkey, where there are no formal regulations and which is a major market for companies including GVC, rhetoric by its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ramped up against gambling. Sandford Louden, a partner at Oakvale Capital, which advises on acquisitions and sales in the gambling industry, said the fear that other countries could crack down was definitely a concern and a perennial issue.

Most major operators have started to loosen their definition of what a black market is because they are running out of road in regulated markets like the UK where double digit growth is a thing of the past, he said.

Many of the companies operating sites in Slovakia from outside the country will argue their European gambling licence, often based somewhere like Gibralta or Malta, allows them the right under EU law to operate websites which are available across the bloc.

GVC said it welcomes sensible regulation that complies with the ethos of the EU in terms of open and fair competition, while 888 said it was focused on growing in places with a sustainable regulatory framework.

William Hill said it boasted one of the largest percentages of regulated revenue out of its UK peers and would comply with all necessary legislation.

Continue reading here:

Fears of overseas gambling crackdown after Slovakia issues blacklist - Telegraph.co.uk

Posted in Gambling | Comments Off on Fears of overseas gambling crackdown after Slovakia issues blacklist – Telegraph.co.uk

NBA Commish: Legalized Sports Gambling Is a Safe Bet | Media … – AdAge.com

Posted: at 1:39 am

Adam Silver, NBA commissioner Credit: The Paley Center for Media via YouTube

In an unprecedented public gathering of the heads of the nation's top sports leagues, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday made a bold prediction about a topic his colleagues would just as soon sweep under the nearest rug: He believes sports gambling will be legalized in the United States.

Speaking at the Paley Center for Media's "GameChangers" panel, Silver said he thinks the laws that keep sports books quarantined in Nevada and three other states eventually will fall by the wayside.

"My sense is that the law will change in the next few years in the United States, and I think it's not as much a matter of our leagues being for or against sports betting, it's more a function of being realists," Silver said. "It's a multi-hundred-billion-dollar illegal industry and I think ultimately, as the owners of our intellectual property, we're going to embrace it and also make sure that our integrity is protected at the same time."

Silver, who in 1988 earned a degree from the University of Chicago Law School, said that recent events would seem to suggest that the legalization of sports betting may be in the offing. He specifically noted that the U.S. Supreme Court last month agreed to hear New Jersey's appeal in its long-running quest to offer legal sports wagering throughout the Garden State. (Other states that are now setting up their own provisional legislation in the hopes New Jersey gets the five votes it needs to proceed with its gambling vision include New York, Connecticut, Michigan and Maryland.)

While the prospect of the NBA wetting its beak in what is now a wildly lucrative, wholly unregulated economy is likely a contributing factor in Silver's advocacy for legalizing sports gambling, the commish said the practice also does wonders for fan engagement. Citing data the NBA receives from bookmakers that take action on its games in Europe, Silver revealed that 85% of pro hoops bets are "in-play." In other words, rather than simply betting the point spread and then sitting back and watching the game unfold, European bettors are wagering on a constant stream of variables: free throws, quarter scores, three-point shots and every other data point you can think of.

"Independent of whatever revenue stream that may result from licensing our intellectual property to those gaming companies, [gambling] results in enormous additional engagement in fans," Silver said. And say what you will about the moral pitfalls of gambling, but it sure can make what might otherwise be an uninspiring game into a real nail-biter. "You might have a sports fan who's turning off a contest because the game is out of reach for their team or it's a blowout, but here there's a completely independent reason to continue watching," Silver said.

Silver first began vocalizing his support of legalized sports betting in a 2014 editorial that was published in The New York Times. In that piece, Silver encouraged the federal government to allow states to offer a highly regulated form of legitimate wagering, one that would include minimum-age verification and the monitoring of any unusual activity in the betting lines that might indicate the outcome of a game was being manipulated by outside interests.

Silver's colleagues on the dais offered more ambivalent responses to the idea of legalized sports gambling. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that because most people don't bet on hockey, the propsect of legalized gambling isn't exactly a pressing issue for his league.

"We're a small part of the betting that goes on. Football, basketball, both at the pro and college levels, is where, I don't know, 98% of the betting goes on," Bettman said, before adding that he had some reservations about how legalization could impact the culture of the sport.

"I don't worry about fixing games, I don't worry about anything other than what does [gambling] do to the way young people consume sports," Bettman said. "Do they look at it as a vehicle for healthy competition with role models or do they look at it as a device to make or lose money on a bet? And secondly, what will it do to the environment, in a stadium or in an arena, if everybody is sitting there just worried about their bets? Does it turn us into something other than what we've been, more like either a racetrack or a jai alai fronton?"

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred suggested that legalized gambling would likely serve to intensify the fan experience in the same way DraftKings and FanDuel have demonstrated in recent years. "We were pretty comfortable with the idea that [daily fantasy] was a game of skill and therefore legal, and that's why we became involved in it, and obviously it's a source of fan engagement," Manfred said. "And then you get into actual sports betting, and it seems to me that there's a difference between somebody betting on whether the next pitch is going to be a ball or a strike, which is very hard for anybody to affect or control, as opposed to the outcome of a game, which is a little different."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was conspicuously silent on the subject, speaking up only once during the gambling portion of the conversation to say he agreed with Manfred's assessment that wagering on point-spreads is obviously a knottier issue than placing micro-bets on pitching counts and other in-game ephemera.

Of course, Goodell and the 32 NFL owners will have plenty of time to mull over the implications of legalized gambling as the Oakland Raiders begin making preliminary plans to shift their base of operations to Las Vegas. The Raiders are expected to move into temporary desert digs in 2019, or just two years after the NHL's expansion team, the Las Vegas Golden Knights, begins repping Sin City this fall. Top-tier sports leagues have had a long-standing aversion to setting up a franchise in Vegas, given the relative ease in which players and officials might be compromised by rubbing elbows with shadowy figures from the underworld. While perhaps not an entirely unwarranted assumption, the anti-Vegas bias never quite managed to explain away why so many pro teams are based in similarly, well, active metropolitan centers such as New York, Northern New Jersey, Boston, Chicago, etc.

The four league bosses addressed a number of other issues during the course of the hour, including the rise of eSports, the rapidly evolving media landscape and how culture is changing the nature of fandom. Each commish was enthusiastic about the emerging eSports marketplace. Silver said the upcoming rollout of the NBA 2K eSports league would serve as a means to promote the game while "developing new content and appearing to a new audience," while Manfred said the MLB "can learn a lot from the demographics of the people who are engaging in this activity."

Bettman joked, however, that the outsized popularity of the pro-videogame hustle was a bit bewildering. "Maybe it's a generational thing, but I don't get tens of thousands of people going to an arena to watch eSports," Bettman said. "But they do it, and we have to make sure we are relevant in all ways possible to young people who are having to choose how they spend their leisure time."

Goodell went on to say that the impact of fantasy sports, if not traditional gambling, continues to make itself manifest in the NFL's Nielsen ratings. "We see it with our television partners; even if your team is out of it, you're going to watch," Goodell said. "It does potentially have a little bit of a negative viewdo they still have the same loyalty to a team they once had? But they used to turn the television set off. Now they're not."

Speaking of ratings, the NFL boss said that the commercial-free RedZone channel "is thankfully not having any effect on our broadcast audience," which is likely a function of its relatively small footprint. It goes without saying that a fully distributed RedZone channel would be a nightmare for advertisers; as Ad Age demonstrated two years ago, a fan who watches all the Sunday NFL games via the ad-free service will have avoided 38 hours and 45 seconds in commercials over the course of the regular season.

If fantasy and gambling go a long way toward reinforcing fan engagement with live sports, lightening the commercial load may also help keep viewers from bowing out during the breaks. As Goodell positioned it, the NFL's decision to trim a few pods from its 2017 broadcasts is part of an ongoing effort to stop giving fans "a reason to turn the channel, or to locate another device." Goodell added that the league would continue to weed out the sort of "dead time" that can make an NFL broadcast stretch well past the three-hour mark.

"Nobody really wants to watch officials running around, figuring out what's going onthey want to watch action," Goodell said. "That's the critical component. How do we make [the games] better and don't give the fan the opportunity to turn the channel?"

If there was a moment when the commissioners acknowledged that the future of sports may be a lot more uncertain than anyone might care to admit, it arrived when the conversation turned to the youngest enthusiasts.

"For all of us, the next generation is different in terms of the way they think about sports," Manfred said. "They don't play sports as much as we did, and you know, the best way to get a fan is to get a kid to play, and so that's a challenge."

The meteoric rise of gaming, social-media and streaming video has played a rather unambiguous role in the development of this less-than-sporty generation, but it's not as if anyone's ever getting that ribbon of toothpaste back in the tube. As much as Goodell was emphatic in asserting that the leagues have to be willing to risk a little self-cannibalization in the service of the fan, the irony of the NFL and the other sports orgs putting so much stock into an emerging market that's leading kids away from the more static pleasures of live sports viewing is hard to overlook.

"One of the problems we all face as an industry is that kids are playing less sports and are, in fact, playing one sport and specializing in that on a year-round basis," Goodell said. "I don't think there's anything worse than that."

The rest is here:

NBA Commish: Legalized Sports Gambling Is a Safe Bet | Media ... - AdAge.com

Posted in Gambling | Comments Off on NBA Commish: Legalized Sports Gambling Is a Safe Bet | Media … – AdAge.com

Dutch Euthanasia is Killing – National Review

Posted: at 1:39 am

Apologists for euthanasia in the Netherlands often lie by omission. Rarely, for example, do they fully admit that the mentally ill are being killed. Nor do they discuss the conjoining of euthanasia with organ harvesting. Perhaps it a case of not seeing what they dont want to see.

A piece by Dutch journalist Hasna El Maroudi, reacting against a Wall Street Journal op/ed by a Dutch parliamentarianwarning that activists want to now extend authority for euthanasia to thehealthy elderly who believe they havea completed lifeis a classic case in point.

El Maroudi decries the use of killing to describe euthanasia. From, In the Netherlands, Doctors Care How You Live and Die, published in the Huffington Post.

Doctors dont kill their patients, they assist them with ending their lives. The difference between the two might not be clear to the dense, but is of great importance. If doctors would kill their patients, they would be punishable by law.

By framing euthanasia as killing, conservatives have long tried to block legislation, unsuccessfully. They fought the battle and lost. Now that the kill-frame has proven a failure, theyre going with something new, trying to turn back the hands of time by using fake news. Or as I like to say: constructed lies.

Well, no. The definition of killing is to cause death or to end lifewhich is accurate and descriptive of what happens when a doctor injects poison into a patients bloodstream. Indeed, it is homicideno different in outcomee.g. killingthanif the doctor shot the patient in the head.

Euthanasia apologists try to convince people that because most of those are killed in euthanasia have proffered at least some level of consent, it isnt really killing. Again false.

In the Netherlands, doctors put more than 400people to death each yearperhaps El Maroudi will accept that descriptive?who have not asked to die. It is called termination without request or consent in the Dutch euthanasia lexicon.

Would El Maroudi agree those homicidesmurder under Dutch law that are never prosecuted meaningfullyare killing? Orwould she prefer to call it something elsesomething more soothing and deflectingbecause doctors do the lethal deed to end a life they consider not worth the living?

Euthanasia is homicide, e.g., the killing of a human being. Legalized murder one might say, and when without consent, it is murder that goes unpunished.

If El Maroudiwould like to see an example of constructed lies, she should read her own piece.

See more here:

Dutch Euthanasia is Killing - National Review

Posted in Euthanasia | Comments Off on Dutch Euthanasia is Killing – National Review

Euthanasia: New laws could see Victorians get lethal medicine within 10 days – Illawarra Mercury

Posted: at 1:39 am

23 Jul 2017, 9:49 a.m.

Anyone who asks to die must go through a three-step request, the advisory panel recommended.

Victoria's proposed euthanasia laws have been described as the most conservative in the world

People with terminal illnesses could access lethal medication within 10 days of asking, under proposed euthanasia laws for Victoria, made public for the first time on Friday, that have been described as the most conservative in the world.

Serious disability or dementia would not be grounds for eligibility under the proposed laws.

New criminal offences could also be introduced to prosecute those who "induce" a person to request to die.

Details about Victoria's proposed euthanasia laws are contained in 66 recommendations outlined in the Andrews government's Ministerial Advisory Panel report on voluntary assisted dying.

Anyone who asks to die must go through a three-step request, the advisory panel recommended.

The patient must begin with a verbal request, followed by a formal written request, then a final verbal request.

A minimum of 10 days must pass between the first and final request, unless the person is assessed as likely to die within 10 days.

Read more: Couple enter the big sleep together

It is expected that, at first, about 150 people a year will access assisted dying legislation in Victoria and that this would likely increase.

The proposal document will shape the laws set to come before both houses of Victoria's parliament next month and contains the most detailed information yet on what who will be eligible and the safeguards to be introduced.

Politicians will have a conscience vote and are not expected to vote along party lines, with the exception of the Greens who support voluntary euthanasia.

Read more: Poll shows most doctors support euthanasia

Professor Brian Owler, chair of the advisory panel and former president of the Australian Medical Association, has described the proposed laws as conservative and "distinctly Victorian".

"If anything we can be criticised for the burden it may place on someone that is dying," Professor Owler said.

Professor Owler said it was conceivable that a person "could obtain a prescription, visit a chemist to get a dose of medication and self-administer on that day".

But he said this was not the usual experience overseas.

Professor Brian Owler, chairman of the panel, described the proposed laws as conservative and "distinctly Victorian" Photo: Andrew Meares

People must be able to fulfil seven key eligibility criteria including that they are expected to die within a year, are aged over 18, have an incurable disease that will cause death and have a medical condition that is causing suffering that "cannot be relieved in a manner that is deemed tolerable".

People with dementia will not have access to euthanasia.

Patients with motor neurone disease would have access to physician-assisted euthanasia, and help to physically administer a lethal dose if physically unable to do so.

The panel said while it accepted the loss of cognitive capacity may cause distress to some people "voluntary assisted dying must be 'voluntary' that is, a person must have the decision-making capacity to make an autonomous choice at all stages of the process".

People with a mental illness or a disability would only be able to access euthanasia if they had a terminal illness and fulfil the other criteria.

The panel recommended that only the person who is terminally ill and wants to die can make a request to access lethal medication.

Neither a doctor, nor a carer, can request access and neither can a doctor initiate a discussion about ending one's life.

A person may withdraw their request at any time, and once having done so, must begin the process anew if she or he decides to seek access to lethal medication again.

The panel also addressed the potential for "elder abuse" by a relative or carer, for example, who could conceivably benefit financially from the person's death.

To guard against elder abuse, two independent assessments will be done to ensure a person's request to die is voluntary and properly informed.

Anyone who requests to die will be required to create a written declaration of his or her enduring request, which will also be witnessed by two independent witnesses.

Neither witness can be in a position where they can financially benefit from the person's death.

"It is important that elder abuse is addressed, and the panel is of the view that its recommended framework will identify and manage instances of elder abuse," the ministerial advisory panel's report said.

The panel recommended that all requests to die be independently assessed by two medical practitioners, neither of whom is in a position to benefit from the person's death.

One must be a medical practitioner, such as a GP for example, who has been qualified for at least five years.

The other must be a specialist in the terminal illness or condition the person suffers.

Both assessors must have completed specified training beforehand.

Much unites those on either side of the euthanasia debate. Many agree that palliative care needs to be better funded and available to more Victorians sooner.

But they remain fundamentally divided on what rights should be given to a small number of people for whom even the best medical treatment is not enough to relieve their suffering.

Retired nurse Jane Morris says her mother Elizabeth was one of the minority of people who suffereda "horrific" and "torturous"death.

The 77-year-old, who had motor neurone disease, died in August 2014.

Ms Morris said her family remains traumatised by the last day of her mother's life, as an attempt to terminally sedate Elizabeth was unsuccessful, despite"exemplary" palliative care.

"She had pain, breakthrough pain, because her prescribed dose was unable to adequately palliate her pain at all times," Ms Morris said.

"She managed to express to us her fear and in one of her conscious moments was able to convey to us that she wanted to be fed through her PEG tube. This was so very traumatic for all of us, many staff included.

"However, orders were relayed to us by equally distressed staff that we should inform Mum that she was not to be fed.

"Why should we have been expected to inform our dying mother that we could not fulfil a dying wish?"

Ms Morris said every individual should be given a choice about whether they want to access assisted-dying laws.

"I don't care what way people decide. I have respect for everyone's choice. But I don't think one ideology should trump another," she said.

"The memories of mum's horrific death have been seared into our memories."

Palliative Care Victoria is one of the organisations which have declared it will oppose euthanasia laws, saying it "will lead to a growing sense of a duty to die".

They say those who work daily with the dying, Victoria's palliative care staff, are more likely than the general population to oppose assisted-dying laws (popular support stands at more than 75 per cent).

Palliative Care Victoria chief executive Odette Waanders said some still misunderstood palliative care, which meant some were going without help.

"There is a perception that palliative care means that you're giving up, and you're reaching the end of life and that nothing more can be done.

"But it can be done in tandem with treatment."

The organisation is calling for an extra $65 million to be pumped into the sector by the Victorian government to improve access.

If you are troubled by this report, experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide, you can call Lifeline 131 114 or beyondblue 1300 224 636 or visitlifeline.org.auorbeyondblue.org.au

See original here:

Euthanasia: New laws could see Victorians get lethal medicine within 10 days - Illawarra Mercury

Posted in Euthanasia | Comments Off on Euthanasia: New laws could see Victorians get lethal medicine within 10 days – Illawarra Mercury

Bangladesh man whose father sought euthanasia dies – Bangladesh News 24 hours

Posted: at 1:39 am


Bangladesh News 24 hours
Bangladesh man whose father sought euthanasia dies
Bangladesh News 24 hours
bdnews24.com first reported how Tofazzel, being unable to bear the cost of continued treatment in Bangladesh and India, appealed for euthanasia for his two sons and a grandson. As doctors said the drugs for the treatment are still under research in the ...

More:

Bangladesh man whose father sought euthanasia dies - Bangladesh News 24 hours

Posted in Euthanasia | Comments Off on Bangladesh man whose father sought euthanasia dies – Bangladesh News 24 hours

SGP leader ‘sounds the alarm’ about Dutch euthanasia in US newspaper – DutchNews.nl

Posted: at 1:39 am

The Wall Street Journal has published an article by Kees van der Staaij, leader of the fundamentalist Dutch Protestant party SGP, headlined In the Netherlands, the Doctor Will Kill You Now.

In the article, which is behind a paywall, Van der Staaij makes a plea for people in other countries to speak out against euthanasia and the way the boundaries of the law are being stretched in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands legalised euthanasia in 2002 for those suffering deadly diseases or in the last stages of life, Van der Staaij writes.

Not long after the legislation was enacted, eligibility was expanded to include those experiencing psychological suffering or dementia. Today pressure is mounting on the Dutch government to legalise a euthanasia pill for those who are not ill, but simply consider their lives to be full.

Van der Staaij is referring to draft legislation proposed by potential coalition partner D66, which wants to introduce assisted suicide for people who consider their lives to be complete. The measure, which is opposed by many doctors, is likely to be central in the ongoing coalition formation talks.

In the article, Van der Staaij goes on to refer to several controversial euthanasia cases in the Netherlands.

The article ends with a call to action. The Dutch government often speaks out when human rights are under pressure in other countries, writes Van der Staaij. Now the fundamental right to life is under pressure in the Netherlands, it is time for others to speak out against Dutch euthanasia practices.

Fundamentalist

According to the Volkskrant, the Wall Street Journal describes Van der Staaij as an MP but does not mention that he is a member of the SGP.

Van der Staaij says on the party website that he is thankful for being given such a platform in the US. We want to show that the so-called strong boundaries [around euthanasia] do not exist, he said. The Netherlands is evidence of this. What was considered unthinkable by pro and anti campaigners 10 to 15 years ago has now become a reality this is an alarm.

Other languages

More articles in other papers are planned and the party has appealed on its website for translators into German, Spanish and French.

The Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij is the most orthodox of Hollands fringe Christian parties and has three seats in the 150-member parliament.

The party believes that the country should be governed entirely on the basis of the ordinances of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures. The SGP does not believe women should play an active role in politics and is also against homosexual rights, abortion and euthanasia.

See more here:

SGP leader 'sounds the alarm' about Dutch euthanasia in US newspaper - DutchNews.nl

Posted in Euthanasia | Comments Off on SGP leader ‘sounds the alarm’ about Dutch euthanasia in US newspaper – DutchNews.nl

The moped menace: how the scooter became muggers’ vehicle of choice – The Guardian

Posted: at 1:38 am

A scooter gang armed with hammers spotted near BBC studios in London in May. Photograph: MEGA

From her office window, Elizabeth ONeill could see young men on scooters prowling for victims almost every day. Youd see people waiting at bus stops staring at their phones as these lads were about to snatch them, she said. Youd think dont do it, put your phone away. And then it happened to me.

ONeill, a charity worker, was waiting for a bus looking at my phone, figuring out where I was going. It was all over very quickly. Two lads on a moped snatched it out of my hand and rode off. I felt really stupid.

There was just the realisation Oh my God, how do I get home my card is in my phone? And how could I contact anyone to tell them whats happened?

Over the past two years, scooters and mopeds have become the vehicles of choice for mobile phone robberies, bag snatches and even acid attacks.

The increase has been dramatic. In the 12 months to June 2017, the Metropolitan police recorded 16,158 thefts by people using mopeds more than three times as many as the 5,145 reported between July 2015 and June 2016. Violent crime rose sharply last year: the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show an 18% increase in offences against the person.

The thousands of victims include Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, while Daniel Radcliffe, the Harry Potter actor, helped a tourist whose face was slashed by muggers stealing his bag. Five people were sprayed with acid by two people on mopeds earlier this month, including a food delivery rider, Jabed Hussain, whose scooter was stolen. On Thursday, Hussain led a protest alongside drivers for Deliveroo and UberEats outside parliament demanding action. They held up a banner saying Stop acid attacks, bike theft, motorcycle crime.

So how did the moped become a menace? Supt Mark Payne runs Operation Venice, the Mets response to moped, scooter and motorcycle crime. He says there are two reasons for the explosion in scooter robberies: the motive created by a growing secondhand market in mobile phones, and the opportunity to steal scooters.

The method used by the moped muggers is simple. First they steal a scooter. They put on balaclavas and helmets. Then two people, one riding pillion, cruise around high streets, looking for people at bus stops, coming out of railway stations, or walking down the road looking at their phone. After spotting a victim, they mount the pavement. The passenger swipes a phone or bag and they speed away. Whats really changed is the method, Payne said. In the past it was done on foot or with bicycles. What theyve caught on to is that mopeds and scooters are just really easy to steal.

Most scooters are stolen simply by grabbing the handle bars and twisting them to break the steering lock, Payne said. They just wheel it away. Maybe theyll leave it for a few hours to see if there is a tracker, and someone comes to find it. Otherwise theyll open it up, take out the ignition barrel, cross the wires and theyre away.

In the past 12 months, 14,943 scooters and motorcycles were stolen, up from 11,511. Payne compares scooters to Ford Cortinas in the 1990s, which were notoriously easy to take. The car industry responded, under consumer pressure, by fitting immobilisers as standard. Cheap mopeds have little protection other than the steering lock. Like bicycles, they need to be chained to steel posts something the Met has been emphasising in its Be Safe campaign focusing on thefts of scooters and mobile phones.

Yet according to the Motorcycle Crime Reduction Group, a cross-industry body which advises the Home Office, few riders bother. The MCRG conducted a survey of the security of 193 two-wheelers parked in London earlier this year. Just over half 50.4% of scooters were parked without any locks at all. Of those with a chain or lock, only 15% were attached to a metal ground anchor point.

Kevin Howells, the chairman of the MCRG, said they were shocked by the results. In some parking bays youve got 30 bikes taking up those spaces and no ones locked their bike to the street furniture, he said. Its easy pickings. Maybe there should be some legislation so that people are penalised. If youre not going to lock your bike up, that one crime could result in 10 more crimes up the road.

Making scooters harder to steal might reduce opportunity, but the lure of valuable secondhand phones remains strong. Five or six years ago, the police did a lot of work with the mobile phone companies, in particular with Apple, and got security put on the phones, Payne said. The security measures, including the ability to lock a phone remotely, saw the value of stolen phones plunge. The market has since revived, Payne said, because of demand for secondhand parts such as screens, cases and batteries.

Research by Catch 22, a charity which works with former gang members, indicates that the moped muggers can make 300 in a few minutes.

People weve spoken to see this as almost as a victimless crime and they dont believe the police care about it, Catch 22 director Beth Murray said. Its done by 14 or 15-year-olds who are proving themselves. They stick to their own patch because they know the streets, or theyll go to the West End because there will be more tourists and richer people with better phones.

The robbers either give the phones to their friends or sell them at corner shops. If they steal five or six phones and get 50 for each one its a really easy way to make money.

Although they hope to intimidate people into giving up their phones without a fight, by wearing scary-looking helmets and dressing in black, they dont seem to understand the harm they cause to their victims.

They have some strange ideas, Murray said. They think people can just get a better phone the next day on their insurance. They see it as an alternative to burglary. If they get caught they only get charged with one offence rather than two, for breaking and entering, and theft. The punishment is lower it seems like a risk-free way of making money to them.

Police efforts to catch the criminals focus on CCTV and DNA evidence, according to Payne. Fingerprints and DNA are often left on internal parts of scooters which are not usually touched, while partial CCTV images can be pieced together.

Pursuit of suspects is a more difficult topic. Payne simply says that the Met follows national police guidelines on pursuits, which involves making a dynamic risk assessment of whether the suspect or the public might be injured during a chase.

In December 2014, an 18-year-old carpenter from Islington, Henry Hicks, died when his moped crashed while being pursued by police, and the Independent Police Complaints Commission decided that four officers should face gross misconduct charges.

Ken Marsh, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said: My colleagues are sick to the back teeth of this. We want to catch criminals, but when you have two young males on a moped, one of them taking their crash helmet off, thats the end of the chase.

When youre out there in the field and that happens, and said chummy falls off said moped, we are hauled through the coals. Youre suspended, your life is just put on hold.

We need a change in the governments view on it and we need protection. Were not asking for carte blanche to run people over. We want an increase in the penalty five years if youre caught on a stolen moped. These crimes are horrific but we feel as though theyve got immunity. We want to see clear guidelines saying that no action will be taken against an officer who pursues someone who is not wearing a crash helmet.

In the meantime, the moped muggers wont be going away while the sun shines. The snatches usually happen between mid-afternoon and dusk, Payne said. More people use mopeds to commute in summer, and criminals wont do it so much in winter. Its a summertime crime.

Moped-enabled thefts reported to the Metropolitan police

1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016: 5,145

1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017: 16,158

Thefts of two-wheeled vehicles reported to Metropolitan police

1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016: 11,511

1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017: 14,943

Attempted snatch thefts in England andWales

April 2015 to March 2016: 123,000

April 2016 to March 2017: 135,000

ONS Crime Survey of England and Wales; Metropolitan police

Read the original:

The moped menace: how the scooter became muggers' vehicle of choice - The Guardian

Posted in Victimless Crimes | Comments Off on The moped menace: how the scooter became muggers’ vehicle of choice – The Guardian