'Sex strike' call over Georgia abortion law fuels Hollywood boycott debate

Yahoo – AFP, Javier TOVAR, with Brian Knowlton in Washington, May 12, 2019

Actress Alyssa Milano is leading a campaign for film production companies to boycott
Georgia over the state's new abortion law -- and has called for a sex strike as well
(AFP Photo/Rich Fury)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The recent love affair between Hollywood producers and the US state of Georgia, with its low taxes and affordable lifestyle, is suddenly in jeopardy.

Strict new abortion laws passed in the southern state have prompted calls not only for a boycott of filming there -- but for a sex strike.

A coterie of film stars led by actress-activist Alyssa Milano, including Alec Baldwin, Don Cheadle, Ben Stiller, Mia Farrow and Amy Schumer, had threatened in March to refuse to work in Georgia if it adopted the new abortion restrictions.

But the state's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, signed the bill into law last week.

Several independent film and television production companies have since pledged to boycott the state unless the legislation -- which bans abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally in the sixth week of pregnancy -- is rescinded.

"Killer Films will no longer consider Georgia as a viable shooting location until this ridiculous law is overturned," the company's CEO Christine Vachon wrote on Twitter.

Milano -- the onetime star of "Charmed" and "Who's the Boss?" -- had said she would fight "tooth and nail" for her Netflix series "Insatiable" to stop filming in Georgia.

Singer and actress Bette Midler has voiced support for Alyssa Milano's call for a 

sex strike over the Georgia abortion law (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

But then she took it one step farther, urging women to join her in a sex boycott until the law was repealed.

"JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back," she wrote on Twitter.

"Protect your vaginas, ladies. Men in positions of power are trying to legislate them. #SexStrike"

Somewhat inevitably, the call by Milano -- whose profile has risen as the #MeToo movement has taken hold -- has sparked controversy.

'Surprisingly effective'

Though her idea earned praise on social media, including from actress Bette Midler, and #Sexstrike trended on Twitter for a while, the idea also earned scorn -- from both sides of the political spectrum.

Liberals accused the actress of pushing the idea that women have sex to make men happy, which she denied, while conservatives mercilessly trolled her.

Milano did not waver, even noting: "History shows that a #sexstrike is surprisingly effective."

Georgia's Republican governor Brian Kemp defiantly signed a new abortion law 

that has angered some film companies and actors (AFP Photo/Kevin C. Cox)

Sex strikes -- usually in the cause of peace or an end to sexual mistreatment -- have been carried out in countries from Colombia to Kenya to the Philippines, with varying success.

Perhaps the earliest reference came from "Lysistrata," Aristophanes' comedy about women in ancient Greece withholding sex to pressure their men to end the Peloponnesian War.

The women prevailed.

What's at stake

Georgia offers filmmakers a number of enticements: a far lower cost of living than in Los Angeles, a variety of landscapes and tax credits of up to 30 percent.

Blockbuster movies like Marvel's "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War" were filmed in the state; television series including "Stranger Things" and "The Walking Dead" have been shot there.

Last year, more than 450 productions were set in Georgia, where they spent the non-negligible sum of $2.7 billion.

Kemp has stood firm, saying before he signed the legislation into law: "We protect the innocent, we champion the vulnerable, we stand up and speak for those unable to speak for themselves."

The new restrictions could mark a tipping point.

Several independent film and television production companies have pledged to
boycott Georgia state unless the legislation is rescinded (AFP Photo/ALEX WONG)

The Writers Guild of America, representing screenwriters, said the law would make Georgia "an inhospitable place" for industry people to work.

But the major studios -- with huge financial stakes at issue -- have remained largely quiet.

Chris Ortman, a spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America -- which represents Hollywood heavyweights including Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, Warner Bros. and Netflix -- said the group would "monitor developments" and wait for the courts to decide.

The film industry, he added, supports 92,000 jobs in Georgia -- a fact that did not go unnoticed by some lawmakers who are worried about employment.

"I appreciate the calls to action... but please do not #boycottgeorgia," tweeted Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who nearly defeated Kemp in November's election.

"The hard-working Georgians who serve on crews & make a living here are not to blame. I promise: We will fight - and we will win."

With a nod to Abrams' plea, directors Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter that they will proceed with filming their new show "Lovecraft Country" in the state -- but they will donate their "episodic fees" to groups fighting the abortion law.

Related Article:

Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion law

Mass infant grave at Irish Catholic home to be excavated

Yahoo – AFP, October 23, 2018

During Pope Francis's August visit to Ireland the so-called "Tuam babies" became
an emblematic issue among protestors (AFP Photo/Paul FAITH)

Dublin (AFP) - Ireland's government on Tuesday approved the full excavation of a mass grave of infant and children's remains on the site of a former Catholic home for unmarried mothers.

Significant quantities of baby remains were discovered in an apparent makeshift crypt in the town of Tuam in western Ireland during test excavations between 2016 and 2017.

"I am committed to ensuring that all the children interred at this site can have a dignified and respectful burial," children's minister Katherine Zappone said in a statement.

"It is only by taking the right actions now can we truly demonstrate our compassion and commitment to work towards justice, truth and healing for what happened in our past and, most especially, for those who were previously abandoned."

During Pope Francis's August visit to Ireland the so-called "Tuam babies" became an emblematic issue among protestors, representing historic abuses by the church in Ireland.

Many demonstrators carried infant shoes at events during the Pope's weekend-long visit in a bid to evoke the grave and a silent vigil was held in the town.

In addition to uncovering and re-interring child remains, the investigation will attempt to identify those buried at the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home and make provisions for their memorialisation and conservation of the site.

Initial investigations will focus on remains found in at least 17 of the 20 chambers examined so far.

Eight separate areas warranting further investigation have also been identified, the government said in a statement.

"It has taken us more time than first anticipated to examine the unprecedented technical and legal issues which arise in seeking to appropriately respond to the tragic discovery," Zappone added in her statement.

The government-sanctioned commission was set up following research by a local historian, Catherine Corless, who found that 796 babies and children died at the home between 1925 and 1961 but there were no burial records for them.

She has always maintained they had been buried at the site.

Contested reports that infant remains were discovered in sewage chambers have also heightened outrage around the discovery.

Abused children carry the trauma in their cells: study

Yahoo – AFP, Patrick GALEY, October 2, 2018

Researchers found the trauma of child abuse was indelibly printed in the DNA
of victims (AFP Photo/HECTOR RETAMAL)

Paris (AFP) - Children subjected to abuse may carry the physical hallmark of that trauma in their cells, scientists said Tuesday, in research that could help criminal investigations probing historic mistreatment.

The imprints may also shed light on whether or not trauma can be passed on between generations as has long been hypothesised.

A team of researchers at the University of British Columbia examined the sperm cells of 34 adult men, some of whom had been victims of child abuse years earlier.

They found that the effects of the trauma were indelibly printed in 12 regions of the DNA of those men who had experienced varying levels of emotional, physical or sexual abuse.

Scientists believe these alterations, known as methylation, could one day be used by investigators or courts to weigh allegations of child abuse.

"If you think of genes as being like lightbulbs, DNA methylation is like a dimmer switch that controls how strong each light is -- which in turn can influence how cells function," Nicole Gladish, a PhD candidate in the university's Department of Medical Genetics, told AFP.

"This information can potentially provide additional information about how childhood abuse affects long-term physical and mental health."

The experiment is one of a growing number of trials looking into what turns genes "on and off" at different periods of human development, a field of study known as epigenetics.

Once thought as entirely pre-programmed from conception, some genes are now known to be activated or deactivated by environmental factors or an individual's life experience.

'Small piece of the puzzle'

Scientists involved in the study, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, said they still did not know how methylation affects a person's long-term health.

In addition, due to the difficulty in extracting egg cells, the team don't plan to replicate the experiment on women -- statistically far likelier to have been victims of child abuse than men.

Scientists said the degree of "dimming" in the DNA regions were surprising -- one part of the genome of the men who were abused as children was 29 percent different to those who were not.

And, because the degree of methylation changes over time, they were able to tell by looking at the men's cells roughly when the abuse occurred.

"This might help the development of tests that could be used by healthcare workers or potentially even as forensic evidence," Gladish said.

Although researchers still have little idea whether or not the imprints of abuse contained within sperm cells would survive fertilisation intact, lead author Andrea Roberts said the study "brings us at least one step closer" towards working out if trauma can be transmitted across generations.

"We can look at our study as one small piece in the huge overall puzzle of how intergenerational trauma works," said Gladish.

She pointed out there are several other teams working on the conundrum, including experiments on mice and other animals.

"It is certainly possible that epigenetic changes in sperm cells play a role in the physical and mental health of the next generation, but we don't know for sure."

Vatican rolls back on pope's remarks on psychiatric help for gay children

Yahoo – AFP, August 27, 2018

Pope Francis said parents should not ignore signs of homosexuality in their
children (AFP Photo/Gregorio BORGIA)

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican on Monday rolled back on Pope Francis' recommendation that parents seek psychiatric help for children who show homosexual tendencies.

The pope made the comments to journalists as he was flying back to Rome from Ireland, but the Vatican later removed his phrase from its official account, saying he had not meant to suggest that homosexuality was a mental illness.

Francis was asked by a journalist what he would say to parents who observe homosexual traits in their children.

"When it shows itself from childhood, there is a lot that can be done through psychiatry, to see how things are. It is something else if it shows itself after 20 years," he said.

The pope added that ignoring a child who showed homosexual tendencies was an "error of fatherhood or motherhood".

However when the Vatican later published the pope's answer, the reference to psychiatry had been removed.

When asked why, a Vatican spokeswoman told AFP it had been done in order to not "change the thoughts of the Holy Father".

"When the pope referred to 'psychiatry', it is clear that he was doing it to highlight an example of 'things that can be done'. But with that word he didn't mean to say that it (homosexuality) was a 'mental illness'," she said.

Francis' trip to Ireland was fraught with controversy amid accusations that he ignored sexual abuse allegations against prominent US cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

A new weapon against sexual assault: Dutch police dogs trained to sniff out sperm

DutchNews, May 15, 2018

Police dogs have many roles. Photo: Graham Dockery

Dutch police have a new weapon at their disposal in the hunt for rapists – a dog which has been trained to sniff out sperm outdoors, RTL Nieuws said on Tuesday afternoon. 

The two dogs have been involved in 80 cases and the trial was so successful that four more dogs will be trained to work in places where sexual assaults have taken place, RTL said. 

In two cases, the dog’s evidence was instrumental in solving two sex crimes – one of which involved a young girl who was knocked off her bike and raped. 

The dogs are able to identify specific sperm up to a week after the incident. This, says RTL, saves on laboratory time because technicians can identify the sperm sample’s dna straight away, rather than test all sorts of different items for potential evidence. 

The sperm dogs are part of a team of 120 sniffer dogs, all trained to focus on specific smells, such as drugs or money. 

Last year, the police abandoned plans to train up sniffer rats. They were going to be used to detect illegal fireworks, fake cigarettes and human bones but the plan was dropped because they could not be made ‘operational’.

Stem cell therapy helps some men with erectile dysfunction

Yahoo – AFP, Marlowe HOOD, March 25, 2017

New studies offer hope that stem cell therapy could help men unable to have
an erection after prostate surgery to enjoy a normal sex life (AFP Photo/
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT)

Paris (AFP) - Men unable to have an erection after prostate surgery enjoyed normal intercourse thanks to stem cell therapy, scientists are to report Saturday at a medical conference in London.

In first-phase clinical trials, eight out of 15 continent men suffering from erectile dysfunction had sex six months after the one-time treatment, without recourse to drugs or penile implants.

The positive result showed no signs of flagging during a subsequent year-long monitoring period.

"As far as we know, this is the first time that a human study with a 12-month follow up shows that the treatment is lasting and safe," said Lars Lund, a professor at Odense University Hospital in Denmark who took part in the trials.

"That is much better than taking a pill every time you want to have intercourse," he told AFP.

The results were promising enough to convince Danish health authorities to authorise so-called phase III "double-blind" randomised trials in which one group of men is given stem cell therapy and another placebos.

Only men recovering from prostate cancer and able to control their bladders will be enrolled in the new experiments, Lund explained by phone.

All-purpose stem cells

To perform the procedure, doctors remove fat cells from a patient's abdomen via liposuction.

The cells undergo a brief treatment and emerge as all-purpose stem cells, meaning they can mutate into almost any specialised cell in the body.

"We do not cultivate the cells or change them in any way," said Lund's colleague Martha Haahr, head researcher and lead author of a study detailing preliminary results, published last year in EBioMedicine.

The stem cells are then injected with a syringe into the penis, where they spontaneously begin to change in to nerve and muscle cells, as well as the endothelial cells that line blood vessels.

Men are under general anaesthesia while all of this happens, and are discharged from hospital the same day.

Prostate surgery is responsible for about 13 percent of erectile dysfunction cases. Up to 80 percent of men experience difficulty having sex immediately after an operation, previous research has shown.

Diabetes accounts for 40 percent of erectile dysfunction cases, and vascular disease another 30 percent.

Men with diabetes would be the next target group for clinical trials, Lund said.

The results reported at the European Association of Urology conference could be an effective "therapeutic option for patients suffering erectile dysfunction from other causes," Haahr said.

It is estimated that nearly half of men between the ages of 40 and 70 experience erectile dysfunction to some degree.

The global market for drugs treating the disorder is expected to top $3.4 billion (3.15 billion euros) by 2019.

Failure to perform sexually can also, in some men, result from relationship problems, performance anxiety or repressed homosexuality, Haahr said.

Millennials have less sex, study finds

Yahoo – AFP, August 2, 2016

A study focused on millennials -- the generation of people born in the 1990s -- found
 they were the most sexually inactive group since the Depression era (AFP Photo/
Indranil Mukherjee)

Miami (AFP) - Young people today are not having as much sex as previous generations, despite the widespread availability of dating sites and apps and more accepting attitudes about premarital sex, researchers said Tuesday.

The study focused on millennials, the generation of people born in the 1990s, and found they were the most sexually inactive group since the Depression era.

"The only other generation that showed a higher rate of sexual inactivity were those born in the 1920s," said the study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University and published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

The report found that among Americans aged 20 to 24, those born in the early 1990s were significantly more likely to report no sexual partners after age 18 than Gen X'ers born in the late 1960s.

Fifteen percent of 20- to 24-year-old American millennials reported having no sexual partners since turning 18, compared to six percent of those born in the 1960s.

"This study really contradicts the widespread notion that millennials are the 'hookup' generation, which is popularized by dating apps like 'Tinder' and others, suggesting that they are just looking for quick relationships and frequent casual sex," said co-author Ryne Sherman, associate professor of psychology in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University.

Fertility Apps Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up To Be, Study Finds

"Our data show that this doesn't seem to be the case at all and that millennials are not more promiscuous than their predecessors."

Young women today are about twice as likely as men to be sexually inactive, it found.

The study also showed that fewer young people get a driver's license or work for pay, suggesting they "are growing up more slowly than those born in the 1980s."

Separate research out earlier this year by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 41 percent of high school students said they had never had sex, down from 54 percent in 1991.

Sherman said the reasons for the shift are complex, but that factors may include more sex education, greater awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, easy access to pornography and perhaps differing definitions across generational lines of what sex is, whether it means oral sex or intercourse.

Somehow, knowing more about sex and being able to see it on video has not translated into more actual sex for young people today.

"While attitudes about premarital sex have become more permissive over time, rise in individualism allows young American adults to have permissive attitudes without feeling the pressure to conform in their own behavior," said Sherman.

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What Retirement? Singapore Recruits Older Workers to Stay

Singapore Population Growth Hits 10-Year Low

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Seven billion people and climbing, but not everywhere

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  3 - Longer Life is Going to Happen, But…

Here is one that is a review. We keep bringing it up because Humans don't believe it. If you're going to start living longer, there are those who are frightened that there will be overpopulation. You've seen the way it is so far, and the geometric progression of mathematics is absolute and you cannot change it. So if you look at the population of the earth and how much it has shifted in the last two decades, it's frightening to you. What would change that progression?

The answer is simple, but requires a change in thinking. The answer is a civilization on the planet who understands a new survival scenario. Instead of a basic population who has been told to have a lot of children to enhance the race [old survival], they begin to understand the logic of a new scenario. The Akashic wisdom of the ages will start to creep in with a basic survival scenario shift. Not every single woman will look at herself and say, "The clock is ticking," but instead can say, "I have been a mother 14 times in a row. I'm going to sit this one out." It's a woman who understands that there is no loss or guilt in this, and actually feels that the new survival attribute is to keep the family small or not at all! Also, as we have said before, even those who are currently ignorant of population control will figure out what is causing babies to be born [Kryon joke].

Part of the new Africa will be education and healing, and eventually a zero population growth, just like some of the first-world nations currently have. Those who are currently tied to a spiritual doctrine will actually have that doctrine changed (watch for it) regarding Human birth. Then they will be able to make free choice that is appropriate even within the establishment of organized religion. You see, things are going to change where common sense will say, "Perhaps it would help the planet if I didn't have children or perhaps just one child." Then the obvious, "Perhaps I can exist economically better and be wiser with just one. It will help the one!" Watch for these changes. For those of you who are steeped in the tradition of the doctrines and would say that sounds outrageously impossible, I give you the new coming pope [Kryon smile]. For those of you who feel that uncontrolled procreation is inevitable, I encourage you to see statistics you haven't seen or didn't care to look at yet about what first-world countries have already accomplished on their own, without any mandates. It's already happening. That was number three.….”

Dutch make breast reconstruction standard in cancer treatment

DutchNews.nl, March 23, 2015    

Efforts are being made to standardise the way women diagnosed with breast cancer in the Netherlands are offered reconstructive surgery, broadcaster Nos says on Monday.

In some hospitals women are not offered reconstructive surgery immediately after an operation at all, while in others breast reconstruction is a standard part of the treatment plan. 

Patients’ and doctors’ organisations have now agreed to try to standardise the approach to ensure women are properly informed about the choices they can make and their treatment. 

‘It is often possible to carry out reconstructive surgery immediately after a breast amputation, so that the patient does not wake up ‘flat-chested’,’ René van der Hulst, chairman of the plastic surgeons’ association NVPC told the broadcaster. 

Research shows that reconstruction reduces the psychological, social and sexual problems which arise from losing a breast.

World's first successful penis transplant performed in South Africa: Doctors

The Strait Times - AFP, March 13, 2015

 

A still image from an online report on the surgery. South African doctors
 announced Friday that they had performed the world's first successful penis
transplant, three months after the ground-breaking operation. -- Photo Unca

JOHANNESBURG (AFP - South African doctors announced on Friday that they had performed the world’s first successful penis transplant, three months after the ground-breaking operation.

The 21-year-old patient had his penis amputated three years ago after a botched circumcision at a traditional initiation ceremony.

In a nine-hour operation at the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, he received his new penis from a deceased donor, whose family were praised by doctors.

“We’ve proved that it can be done – we can give someone an organ that is just as good as the one that he had,” said Professor Frank Graewe, head of plastic reconstructive surgery at Stellenbosch University.

“It was a privilege to be part of this first successful penis transplant in the world.”

Doctors say the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, has made a full recovery since the operation on Dec 11 and has regained all urinary and reproductive functions.

“Our goal was that he would be fully functional at two years and we are very surprised by his rapid recovery,” said Professor Andre van der Merwe, head of Stellenbosch’s urology division.

MT @eNCAnews: Cape #penistransplant gives circumcision victims' hope >> http://t.co/wJ7EZAuEB5 pic.twitter.com/CDVyHbyUfY
— Stellenbosch Univ (@StellenboschUni) 13 maart 2015

In 2006, a Chinese man had a penis transplant but his doctors removed the organ after two weeks due to “a severe psychological problem of the recipient and his wife”.

Scores of South African teenage boys and young men have their penises amputated each year after botched circumcisions during rite-of-passage ceremonies.

“There is a greater need in South Africa for this type of procedure than elsewhere in the world,” Van der Merwe said in a statement.

Dangerous Rituals

African teenagers from some ethnic groups spend about a month in secluded bush or mountain regions as part of their initiation to manhood.

The experience includes circumcision, as well as lessons on masculine courage and discipline.

A commission last year found 486 boys had died at the winter initiation schools between 2008 and 2013, with a major cause being complications such as infection after circumcision.

“For a young man of 18 or 19 years, the loss of his penis can be deeply traumatic,” said Van der Merwe.

“He doesn’t necessarily have the psychological capability to process this. There are even reports of suicide among these young men.”

Van der Merwe described the anonymous donor and his family as “the heroes” of the story.

“They saved the lives of many people because they donated the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, skin, corneas and then the penis,” he said.

The South African team included three senior doctors, transplant coordinators, anaesthetists, theatre nurses, a psychologist and an ethicist.

Surgeons from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital had searched extensively for a suitable donor as part of a pilot study to develop penis transplants in Africa.

Some techniques were developed from the first facial transplant in France in 2005.

They now plan to perform nine more similar operations.

South Africa has long been a pioneer of transplant surgery.

In 1967, Chris Barnard performed the world’s first heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

The Chinese man who rejected his new penis in 2006 received his transplant after parents of a brain-dead man agreed to donate their son’s organ.

Over 100 drugged and raped in Japan fake clinical study

Yahoo – AFP, February 3, 2015

Over 100 drugged and raped in Japan fake clinical study

Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese police have arrested a man for allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting more than 100 women who believed they were taking part in a medical study, detectives and local media said Tuesday.

Detectives say scores of women responded to adverts seeking volunteers for "clinical research measuring blood pressure during sleep" over two years to November 2013.

They believe Hideyuki Noguchi, 54, gave the women sedatives after luring them to hotels and hot spring resorts.

Once the women were unconscious, he raped them and filmed each assault, police said.

Footage of the attacks was posted on the Internet or sold to producers of porn films, allegedly netting Noguchi more than 10 million yen ($85,000), TBS and other broadcasters said.

Noguchi is not know to have any medical training or expertise.

A spokesman for police in Chiba, east of Tokyo, said officers had confirmed at least 39 victims, aged from their teens to their 40s in Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka, Tochigi and Shizuoka.

Detectives believe they are just a fraction of the total number of women whom Noguchi attacked, thought to number well over 100, media reports said.

Germany plans trauma center for 'Islamic State' rape victims

German Development Minister Gerd Müller has told a newspaper of the government's plans to create a care facility for the victims of "Islamic State" violence. Germany has the highest number of aslyum seekers in Europe.

Deutsche Welle, 22 Dec 2014

German Development Minister Gerd Müller told the mass-circulation newspaper Bild on Monday that Berlin has plans to create a trauma center in Germany for the victims of mass rape carried out by "Islamic State" militants (IS) in Syria and Iraq.

Müller said while on a visit to Iraq he spoke to five young girls who had been captured by IS and raped. Three of them were pregnant as a result.

"We have to take care of such girls," Müller told the paper, saying that a care facility in Germany could serve at least 100 women and girls.

He did not provide a timetable for the project nor did he say where in Germany such a facility would be established.

Müller's statements came after a United Nations report revealed last month the extent of the crimes perpetrated by IS on the people living in the cities and towns they capture. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria released a document full of harrowing descriptions of massacres, torture, sexual enslavement and forced pregnancy.

Influx of asylum seekers bring right-leaning protests

Germany is Europe's top destination for asylum seekers. Around 230,000 asylum applications are expected in 2015, up from an initial estimate of 200,000.

The increase in the flow of asylum seekers has spawned populist a movement, often called PEGIDA ("Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West"), which has held demonstrations against what they see as the Islamization of Germany in cities like Bonn, Düsseldorf, and Kassel.

In Dresden, the group has held protests some thousands strong every Monday for weeks. The movement is often accompanied by counter demonstrators under the banner of No-PEGIDA.

es/pfd (AFP, epd)

Doctors convicted of serious misconduct face lifetime ban

DutchNews.nl, December 3, 2014

Health minister Edith Schippers wants to bring in a life-time ban for doctors and other care providers who are guilty of serious misconduct.

Schippers says in a briefing to MPs she wants to prevent doctors from going back to work with patients if they have a very serious conviction.

At the moment, doctors and other medical staff who are found guilty of misconduct can be struck off the BIG register of healthcare professionals. But this only stops them from running their own practices and they are still able to work under the supervision of colleagues or institutions, broadcaster Nos says.

However, this should no longer be possible in very serious cases such as sexual offences, Schippers said. She is now considering introducing a ban on professionals working with certain categories of patients and in some cases a ban on practicing medicine or other forms of healthcare altogether. 

The minister said she is discussing the options with health ministry officials.

Her analysis of the medical misconduct legislation follows the recent case of a drug-addicted neurologist who misdiagnosed patients but continued to work in Germany, despite being struck off in the Netherlands.

Between 2004 and January 2013, 42 Dutch healthcare professionals – including doctors, nurses and physiotherapists – were struck of the BIG register for misconduct, RTL news says.

Congolese doctor receives EU prize for helping rape victims

Yahoo – AFP, 26 Nov 2014

Denis Mukwege, a Congolese gynaecologist, has been awarded the European
Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize (AFP File)

Doctor Denis Mukwege received the European Parliament's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize on Wednesday for his work in helping thousands of gang rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

European Parliament president Martin Schulz, who presented the 59-year-old with the award at a ceremony in Strasbourg, said Mukwege "fought for the dignity of women, justice and peace in his country".

"You have eased the pain of countless women and girls and offered them a helping hand so that their injured bodies and broken bodies may be healed," said Schulz.

A Congolese delegation sang for joy and waved flags from the parliamentary gallery as Schulz handed Mukwege a plaque to mark the award, named after Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov.

Mukwege -- who was named as recipient of the award in October for his work in treating the appalling injuries inflicted on the victims -- said he hoped the prize would help to bring the plight of women in his country to an end.

"By this prize you have decided to raise the visibility of the struggle of Congolese women," he said to repeated standing ovations from European MPs in the huge parliament chamber.

"In every raped woman I see my wife, in every raped grandmother I see my mother, in every raped child I see my children," added Mukwege, whose spouse attended the ceremony with him.

He has previously been tipped as a possible Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Members of the pro-Western Ukraine democracy and rights group EuroMaidan, which led the popular revolt against deposed president Viktor Yanukovych, were invited to the ceremony as runners up for the prize.

The third candidate was prominent Azerbaijani rights activist Leyla Yunus.

Rival forces fighting for control of the vast mineral riches in eastern DR Congo have used mass rape for decades to terrorise the local population into submission.

Mukwege trained as a gynaecologist, going on to found the General Referral Hospital of Panzi near Bukavu in South Kivu province which has seen some of the worst violence.

He survived an assassination attempt two years ago after speaking out about the continued use of rape in the conflict and accused the world of failing to act.

Last year, however, he defied threats and returned home to a warm welcome from thousands of people.

The Sakharov prize in 2013 was won by Pakistani education campaigner Malala Yousafzai, while previous winners since the award was founded in 1988 include late South African rights icon Nelson Mandela and Myanmar activist Aung San Suu Kyi.