GUN SHOWS IN AMERICA

you could buy a gun from private sellers without a background check....now there's a big loophole!!!
http://www.upworthy.com/a-guy-walked-into-a-convention-with-a-hidden-camera-what-he-captured-was-beyond-absurd?c=ufb2

child brides - monstrous practices

An eight-year-old child bride has died in Yemen of internal bleeding sustained during her wedding night after being forced to marry a man five times her age, activists have claimed. 

The girl, identified only as Rawan, died in the tribal area of Hardh in northwestern Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia. 

Activists are now calling for the groom, who is believed to be around 40 years old, and her family to be arrested so they can face justice in the courts.

The practice of marrying young girls is widespread in Yemen and has attracted the attention of international rights groups seeking to pressure the government to outlaw child marriages.

Yemen's gripping poverty plays a role in hindering efforts to stamp out the practice, as poor families find themselves unable to say no to 'bride-prices' that can be hundreds of dollars for their daughters.

More than a quarter of Yemen's females marry before age 15, according to a report in 2010 by the Social Affairs Ministry.

Tribal custom also plays a role, including the belief that a young bride can be shaped into an obedient wife, bear more children and be kept away from temptation.

In September 2010, a 12-year-old Yemeni child-bride died after struggling for three days in labour to give birth, a local human rights organisation said.

Yemen once set 15 as the minimum age for marriage, but parliament annulled that law in the 1990s, saying parents should decide when a daughter marries.

Despite numerous  campaigns from many of the world's largest charities and NGOs, the issue of child brides remains a global concern.

There are currently some 57.5 million child brides across the world, 40 per cent of which married in India.

Forty-six per cent of women in India were married before the age of 18, according to the National Family Health Survey-3. 

Meanwhile, in Africa, 42 per cent of girls were married before turning 18 compared to 29 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

But the number of child brides is estimated to rise to 140 million by 2020 if current trends continue, 18.5 million of which will be under 15 years old, analysts warn.

Statistics show that girls living in poor households are almost twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls in higher income households.

And girls younger than 15 are also five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s.

obstacle course for homosexuals

In Singapore, there are two obstacles that gays must overcome, says the latter group.

First, there is Section 377A of the Penal Code which criminalises sex between men. This regulates morality through criminal law - something a secular state should avoid, they say.

MP Charles Chong spoke out in support of repealing 377A during the 2007 parliamentary debate on it, arguing that if experts were correct that some people are born with a different sexual orientation, then "it would be quite wrong of us to criminalise and to persecute those that are born different from us regardless of how conservative a society we claim to be".

Second, gays cannot have their partnerships recognised under the law, nor are they allowed to adopt children. As those who are in long-term relationships are not recognised as a legitimately married couple, they are not entitled to subsidised public housing.

you must know this....

france

Mothers can take up to 16 weeks of paid maternity leave for the first two children and 26 weeks for the third child. At the end of the maternity leave, the mother or father can take parental leave, or opt to work part-time till the child reaches the age of three. Women are guaranteed full-time jobs when they choose to return. Maternity leave, both prenatally and postnatally, is mandatory

Weeks after giving birth, French women are offered a state-paid course to help them start having sex again as soon as possible. Other freebies include a personal trainer and computer games that help them exercise.This is in addition to other perks such as free nursery schools, tax deductions for each child and generous family allowances

sweden

In 1974, Sweden became the first country to replace maternity leave with parental leave, which covers maternity, paternity and adoption leave. Parents are entitled to 480 days of parent leave for each child. Parents who have twins are entitled to an additional 180 days and are encouraged to split these days equally between them. If this is done, they will be entitled to an additional equality bonus. At least 60 days of the parental leave must be claimed by fathers.

All legal Swedish residents are entitled to the basic parental leave payment of 180 Swedish kroner (S$33) a day. Working parents can continue to receive 80 per cent of their salary while on leave. In the Scandinavian countries, it is written into law that women have the right to return to their jobs on a part-time or full-time basis after maternity leave.

switzerland

All women workers in Switzerland qualify for a minimum of 14 weeks of maternity leave. Both full-time and part-time workers are paid 80 per cent of their normal salary, or up to 196 Swiss francs (S$274) a day. The individual cantons may provide additional benefits. For instance, in the Canton of Geneva, maternity leave lasts for up to 16 weeks. 

Paternity leave is not governed by the legislation and is left to the discretion of the father's employer. Swiss companies grant new fathers on average between two and five days of paid leave.

japan

Paid maternity leave in Japan covers a total period of 14 weeks at two thirds of the monthly salary. Mothers are not allowed to return to the workplace within the first eight weeks following childbirth, although under a doctor's approval, she may return after six weeks.

Low-income families earning less than 7.8 million yen (S$120,900) a year receive 5,000 yen (S$77.50) each for the first and second child and 10,000 yen (S$155) for the third child until their children complete the third year of primary school. Local authorities offer additional incentives.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants men to take time off after their children are born, under a campaign dubbed the Ikumen Project, which translates as men raising children. The goals is to raise the percentage of men taking paternity leave from 1.9 per cent in 2012 to 13 per cent by 2020.

south korea

n South Korea, working mothers are entitled to three months of maternity leave - the first two with full pay and the third month capped at 1.35 million won (S$1654). Following childbirth, mothers can opt for unpaid leave of up to a year.

In 2009, flexi-work arrangements were introduced for women. Bosses must give paternity leave of three days, in what is seen as a big move in a country where cultural attitudes dictate that children are a mother’s concern.

laws are changing - not quickly enough for some

Germany on Friday became the first European country to allow babies born with characteristics of both sexes to be registered as neither male nor female, but advocates urged further reforms.

Under the new legislation, the field for gender can be left blank on birth certificates, effectively creating a category for indeterminate sex in the public register.
Activists promoting the rights of so-called intersex people said they hoped the creation of a third gender option would open the door to broader changes that would limit genital surgery on newborns with both male and female characteristics.

But Veith said leaving the gender undefined on birth certificates was never the main lobbying point for the Association of Intersexed People in Germany, or others in the intersex community.
"That we forbid cosmetic genital surgeries for newborns, that is our first demand," said Veith, who leads the organisation.
The organisation calls for a ban on medically unnecessary surgeries until the child turns 16, so the intersex individual can decide for themselves whether to live as a man, woman, or neither.

technology and crime

singapore - THE roll-out of surveillance cameras in local neighbourhoods
is expected to be completed in 2016

to detect crime? prevent crime? 

laws revised

THE law on voluntary sterilisation has been updated to better protect the mentally disabled.
The change means that persons with mental or hereditary illnesses, who still have the mental capacity to consent to sterilisation, now have the power to do so. Previously, the Voluntary Sterilisation Act stated that for such individuals, the power of consent lay with their spouse, parent or guardian.

death penalty revised

The death penalty will be changed, allowing judges discretion to impose life imprisonment in certain specific instances of drug trafficking and murder
.
For drug trafficking, two 'specific, tightly-defined' conditions must both be met, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean said in Parliament on Monday.

First, the person must have only played the role of a courier, and not have been involved in any other activity related to drug supply or distribution. Second, the trafficker must also have co-operated with anti-narcotics authorities in a 'substantive' way, or has a mental disability that 'substantially impairs' his appreciation of the gravity of the act.

The death penalty will remain in most circumstances, such as for drug kingpins and distributors, said DPM Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister.

marijuana for health!

The New Jersey Legislature approved a measure that
would make the state the first in the region and the 14th in
the nation to legalize the use of marijuana for medical
reasons.

Law that 'legalises rape'

THANK U ADELINE FOR THE ARTICLE


KABUL - A NEW Afghan law makes it legal for men to rape their wives, human rights groups and some Afghan lawmakers said on Thursday, accusing President Hamid Karzai of signing the legislation to bolster his re-election prospects.
Critics worry the legislation undermines hard-won rights for women enacted after the fall of the Taleban's strict Islamist regime.
The law - which some lawmakers say was never debated in parliament - is intended to regulate family life inside Afghanistan's Shiite community, which makes up about 20 per cent of this country of 30 million people. The law does not affect Afghan Sunnis.



READ ARTICLE 8 FROM THE IVLE

some information about organ donation in singapore

THE controversial legislation which allows reimbursement of living kidney donors was passed in Parliament yesterday after a heated debate.

most agreed with
the age limit on cadaveric(dead) donors
allowing recipients to swop donors for a better match,
increasing penalties for organ trading

But most were uncomfortable about allowing reimbursement of living kidney donors. Their main fear was that people would exploit it to induce donors to sell their kidneys, opening the back door to organ trading.

They were also worried about an uneven playing field, with the rich finding it easier than the poor to obtain kidneys.

Questions they posed: Should there be caps on payments? Should foreign donors be excluded from receiving reimbursements? What role does the Government play to safeguard against abuses?

should we legalise euthanasia?

IN SINGAPORE, euthanasia was hotly debated last year after Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan flagged the need for individuals and families to start thinking about an 'end-of-life care plan'. He wanted people to be prepared for death by, for example, signing living wills so that their families would not be put in the difficult position of having to decide for them.
Some religious groups came out to say they opposed euthanasia but others welcomed the debate, saying it needed to be discussed in a rapidly ageing society.

A growing number of people worldwide are lobbying their governments to allow euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide.

In physician-assisted suicide, a doctor supplies a death-causing means, such as barbiturates, but the patient performs the final act that brings about death, such as taking the drug. In voluntary euthanasia, the physician performs the death-causing act, usually a lethal injection, after determining that the patient indeed wishes to end his life.

Neither term applies to a patient's refusal of life-support technology, such as a respirator or artificial nutrition. This is allowed in many countries, including Singapore, which passed the Advance Medical Directive Act in 1996.
In Singapore, a person caught for attempted suicide can be jailed for up to a year. Assisting a suicide is a serious crime and carries severe penalties, including a mandatory jail term.

COUNSELLING HELPLINES IN SINGAPORE

so do you think capital punishment should be abolished in singapore?

New Mexico governor abolishes capital punishment

Gov. Bill Richardson, who has supported capital punishment, signed legislation to repeal New Mexico's death penalty, calling it the "most difficult decision in my political life."
The new law replaces lethal injection with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The repeal takes effect on July 1, and applies only to crimes committed after that date.
"Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime," Richardson said.
The American Civil Liberties Union called it "a historic step and a clear sign that the United States continues to make significant progress toward eradicating capital punishment once and for all."
But the New Mexico Sheriffs' and Police Association opposed repeal, saying capital punishment deters violence against police officers, jailers and prison guards. District attorneys also opposed the legislation, arguing that the death penalty was a useful prosecutorial tool.
"I'm worried for our law enforcement officers who are out there courageously doing their job every night. We've lost a layer of protection and it's a sad day in New Mexico," Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said.

READ ARTICLE 4 ON IVLE

is banning aboirtion a solution to baby shortage?

ANTI-ABORTIONISTS will have us believe that by embracing their cause, we can ensure the stork will come.
Want to boost baby numbers? Limit access to abortion, ban it even, and Singapore's depressing birth rates would be history.
Assistant Professor Tan Seow Hon is among proponents of this view.
In these pages last week, the law professor suggested that since Singapore wants more babies, it would be timely for Parliament to review the law on abortion, with a view to banning it.
Abortion has been legal here since 1970. The law was further liberalised four years later and has stayed roughly the same since. A woman has the right to terminate her pregnancy of up to 24 weeks without restriction.
It is simplistic to believe that removing this right will have a positive and lasting effect on Singapore's baby numbers.
Firstly, abortion is a tool to terminate pregnancies; it does not cause people not to have children. Prof Tan confuses an effect of abortion (fewer babies) with the cause of falling birth rates (couples not wanting babies). Banning abortion will not lead couples to want more children.
The reasons couples give for rejecting reproduction or opting for minimal baby-making have been repeated ad nauseum. They range from not wanting to raise children in an overly-competitive society to a lack of financial resources to bring up more than one or two children.
The Government is correctly trying to address these concerns through a slew of schemes. How successful they will be remains to be seen.
Secondly, banning abortion may cause a temporary spike in births, but at a terrible cost.
If abortions were banned, with women having no other choice but to deliver children they don't want, Singapore would boast an average of 12,000 more infants each year, according to abortion statistics from the last five years.
This is not a small number, certainly. It would mean over 50,000 babies born here each year, bumping up the total fertility rate (TFR) from the current abysmal 1.29 to roughly 1.7, a somewhat less abysmal figure. For a population to reproduce itself, the TFR needs to be at least 2.1
But what price are we prepared to pay to temporarily increase the TFR?
How many teen parents would we be prepared to accommodate - for an average of 1,300 abortions were performed on women below the age of 20 in 2005 and 2006?
How many babies suffering from birth defects should society be prepared to look after?