Watched about half an hours worth of televisoin this morning. I don't watch television that much so it was interesting to find out on E! that Paris Hilton was released from prison, blah, blah, blah. More interestingly, I watched FTVs coverage of a couple of designers collections. I especially fell in love with a few of Stella McCartney's pieces from her Spring/Summer 2007 Collection. My favourite pieces were:
The cobalt blue and khaki colours were probably the main factors why I even noticed this collection. I'm luvin' the sexy boyfriend shirtdress (image 2) for the casual, kick-back-your-heels-and-have-a-break-approach. A perfect change to the high pencil skirts (which are great too) which created the more masculine, edgy look -women can relax this season as they will feel less inclined to do high maintenance. Women can now, at least until next season introduces its own fresh trends, enjoy the casualness of this collection.
And this pieces are quite nice, especially if you're about to head to more warmer tropical locations of this planet. Not noting any places in particular...should I state the obvious...'We need a holiday!'.
She loves to play volleyball, is very opinionated (especially in Economics classes) but is also an active global citizen in the fight against poverty. She is an official ZeroSeven Ambassador - one of 500 Ambassadors from all over Australia who have been selected and trained in order to spread the Make Poverty History message and inspire those they meet to take action to end extreme poverty.
Every 3 seconds, a child dies from a preventable disease - watch this video.
Every single day, 30,000 children are dying as a result of extreme poverty.
07/07/07 (hint the reason why the road trip will end in Sydney on 07/07/07) marks the halfway point to achieving all 8 of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, a plan to halve world poverty.
The MDGs were created in September 2000, amongst the largest gathering of world leaders, at the UN Head Quarters in New York and now the time has come to ensure we make those goals a reality.
The Millennium Development Goals :
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger ; Achieve Universal Primary Education ; Promote Gender Equality ; Reduce Child Mortality ; Improve Maternal Health ; Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria & Other Diseases ; Environmental Sustainability ; Develop a Global Partnership ;
Embracing this new era of global responsibility, the Australian Government has set an aspirational target* of contributing 0.7% of the country’s total wealth to Foreign Aid by 2015.
However, today the Australian government is running behind schedule with only 0.3% currently committed.
'If the Minister is as serious about increased aid as he is about effective aid then I think the two will combine to transform Australia’s role in the world of engagement with the poorest of the poor' ...Bono, U2 Frontman (on Treasurer Peter Costello).
The Government has pledged to increase aid by 2010. This effort however is only expected to lift Australia’s contribution to around 0.36% of the country's wealth. This is predicted to place Australia 19th out of the world’s 22 richest nations for our lack of generosity.
Siobhan will begin her journey to MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY on the MAKEPOVERTY HISTORY ZEROSEVEN Road Trip from 01/07/07 for one week and head down to Sydney. The Road Trip aims to make a call on the Australian government to take action to end extreme poverty by taking action to increase aid to 0.7% of budget by 2015. Along the route from Brisbane to Sydney, there will be a number of MAKEPOVERTY HISTORY events, including 6 MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY concerts. This will provide regional communities, as well as capital cities, with an amazing opportunity to become involved in what is the greatest youth movement of our time.On board and lending their support in various ways are the who’s who of Australian musicians including Missy Higgins, Evermore, Little Birdy, Dallas Crane, Blue King Brown, Antiskeptic, Borne, Bliss n Eso, Guy Sebastian, True Live, Custom Kings, Bias B, Jess Mc Avoy and Symbiosis among others.
Human Rights and Ethics Issues: David Hicks' trial Current mood: distressed Category: News and Politics
For some of you who may not know, I am studying Arts/Law at the moment at QUT. I am particularly trying to major in Human Rights and Ethics for my Arts degree.
Since I mentioned David Hicks' in the previous post, I decided to post this. It a couple of months old and I originally posted it on a discussion board on a uni related site. Anyways, you are all probably aware that the hype surrounding his case has sort of subdued, but here it goes:
*****
The David Hicks' trial has been pondered upon, in particular the human rights abuses that he has claimed to have suffered while incarcerated at the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. Here's just a brief discussion of claims of human rights abuses and how these claims (if they eventuated) breach international human rights laws and guidelines.
In an affidavit David Hicks claimed that his human rights were violated through the following (here is a summary of some of his claims):
Ten-hour torture sessions, which involved him being shackled and blindfolded, marked by kicking, beatings with rifle butts, punching about the head and torso,
Death threats at gunpoint and anal penetration with objects
While in custody of American officers he was placed in a self-contained cell designed to deny all stimuli (this is a CIA sensory-deprivation torture technique) which continued for 8 months.
Hicks experienced extreme mood swings and became suicidal.
An American attorney "found Hicks at the brink of despair...unable to comprehend the reality of his trial..." claim of suicide supported by Moazaam Begg, a British man formerly held at Guantanamo Bay who recounted in his book after release Enemy Combatant: A British Muslim's Journey to Guantanamo and Back of Hicks talking about suicidal impulses during his periods in isolation "He often talked about wanting to smash his head...against the metal of his cage and just end it all"
His head had been rammed into asphalt several times
He was forced medication of which the identity was unknown to him including the influence of sedatives which were forced upon him.
He was forced to run in leg shackles that regularly ripped the skin off his ankles (physical torture)
As a matter of policy, he was deprived of sleep.
It is notable that if these statements were indeed true, the U.S. government has breached Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions which states that all military detainees are entitled to humane treatment.
On 6 December 2006, Hick's legal team lodged documents with the Federal Court of Australia, arguing that the Australian government had breached its protective duty to Hicks as an Australian citizen in custody overseas, and failed to request that Hicks's incarceration by the U.S. comply with the Geneva Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of HUman Rights. So has the Australian government done enough to protect the human rights of David Hicks? Well earlier this year, in an interview with Southern Cross Broadcasting, Mr. Howard said the following: "....let me simply say that it has gone on for so long now that we will be pressing the Americans almost on a daily basis". Former PM, Malcolm Fraser speaking at the Human Rights Education Conference of 2007, accused the Aus government of betraying Hick's rights and said that the military commission (where Hicks' trial is to commence on Mar 26) had been structured to produce a guilty verdict. To support Malcolm Fraser's questioning of the legality of the Military Commission in which Hick's trial will be heard, it can be argued that such military commissions breach Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions as it does not amount to a "regularly constituted court aaffording all the judicial guarantees which are recognised as indispensable by civilized peoples". Also, the Int'l Committee of the Red Cross' Customary International Humanitarian Law 355 (2005) explains that courts are 'regularly constituted' under Common Article 3 if they are "established and organised in accordance with the laws and procedures already in force in a country". It must be noted that the military commission which david hicks' trial is to be heard, only came into effect with the passing of the Military Commissions Act 2006 and therefore does not amount to a "regularly constituted" court.
Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that "everyone shall be entitled to a fiar and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law". Similarly, Article 75 (4) of Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions 1949 also reiterates this right to a trial before an "impartial" court. Notably, under the Military Commmissions Act 2006, the military commission will be composed of officers appointed from the U.S. armed forces who will act as the jury on questions of fact and will detrmine the sentence if an accused is found guilty by them. Undoubtedly, the system lacks the necessary degree of independent to be impartial and independent. The Military Commission system, therefore, does not safeguard David Hicks' fundamental right as stated in the Geneva Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
So will David Hick's receive a fair trial? The Military Commission rules do not exclude evidence obtained by the use of moral or physical coercion exerted on a prisoner in order to induce him to admit himself guilty of the fact of which he is accused. This breaches the requirement of a fair hearing stated by Article 14 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the fundamental guarantees provided by Article 75(4)(f)of Protocol 1.
Okay, fixed myself a bowl of salad (herb and garlic tuna, tomatoes, avocado, balsamic dressing..same old, same old) and decided to sit down and catch up on some current affairs by skim reading some newspapers. Exams are finally over so I guess reading newspapers and enjoying a salad you prepared yourself can be therapeutic at times.
The article gives an account of torture mechanisms and techniques that have developed over the past fifty years or so. Neighbour's article goes on to question why these torture mechanisms are still being used by the U.S. government despite being labelled as 'unreliabile' and thus, ineffective in the war against terror.
Have a look at this picture:
Most of you will probably associate it with the prisoner abuse claims that occurred at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq that caused much international controversy about two years ago. Most people who have heard only little or not much about torture techniques may at first see this picture only as a man or woman simply standing, arms stretched on what looks like a cardboard box - or even as a gimmick, something that kept the U.S. army personnel entertained in the middle of nowhere.
Upon closer examination, this photograph reveals a can full of worms, unearthing some of the most gruesome and inexcusable human rights violations that have occurred to date. Alfred McCoy, a historian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation from the Cold War to the War on Terror (click herefor more McCoy's' deconstruction of these images and CIA torture techniques) adds more to this picture by citing that this photo represents two CIA foundational techniques. Firstly, the hood on the detainee acts as a sensory disorientation and deprivation technique. Secondly, his arms stretched out are intended to inflict pain upon him/herself (ie self inflicted pain).
What truly shocks me is the possible legalisation of torture techniques that could allow people such as John Howard and George W. Bush to sign a warrant issued by a judge to authorise torture. Have a look at the picture of the prisoner in Abu Ghraib again. If this person was your father, mother, sister, brother, nephew or friend, would you let this happen to them?
In Neighbour's article, the argument of well-known Harvard academic and criminal lawyer,Alan Dershowitz is used to justify 'painless' torture mechanisms that could be used by governments such as the U.S. and Australia. Dershowitz who claims to not be a supporter of torture contravenes his personal belief and states that governments should be able to use torture as long as they are done so in an "accountable, transparent way." Notably, the U.S. does not have a clean slate in relation to matters dealing with accountability and transparency. For example, no one knew that the U.S. were using torture techniques on the detainees at Guantanamo Bay until one of its own, former chief lawyer for the US Navy, Alberto J. Mora blew the whistle on the use of such torture techniques. Think of the human rights abuse claims made by David Hicks against the U.S. government and the U.S government's failure to bear the onus of such claims.
After reading this, who would you believe...a man imprisoned for over five years without a formal charge or a government which claims itself to be democratic and a signatory to numerous United Nations' human rights conventions, yet exercises a form of modern tyranny.
The Report primarily focuses on the issue of the water crisis, the causes and the problems experienced by the poor. The main arguments being that water is not a scarce resource, however, the poor have been sysytametically disadvantaged due to political choices.
However, what really drew my attention and something that I think would start a great discussion relates to the following excerpt (see page 3):
In the world of the early 21st century national security concerns loom large on the international agenda. Violent conflict, concerns over terrorist threats, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the growth of illicit trade in arms and drugs all pose acute challenges. Against this backdrop it is easy to lose sight of some basic human security imperatives, including those linked to water.
The 1.8 million child deaths each year related to unclean water and poor sanitation dwarf the casualties associated with violent conflict. No act of terrorism generates economic devastation on the scale of the crisis in water and sanitation. Yet the issue barely registers on the international agenda.
It would be interesting if people could get involved and share some ideas or thoughts.
Just got fresh pictures that were taken a couple of weeks ago at the Queensland Oaks' Day (Ladies Day). I really wanted to go because TV Rock were performing live after the races.
I wasn't going to watch the horses because I am NOT A GAMBLER. I spread the word around my friends and Zanthea (aka Zee) was keen. Got very excited but the excitement subdued and literally died when I did some research and found out from the Queensland Turf Club's website that:
(Under 18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult exercising parental supervision).
ARGHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay, don't panic...think of someone really hard that you know that is over eighteen and will do anything for you....ANSWER: ALEX KALINOE. Made a quick call and all was settled.
Saturday June 2
Woke up early but procrastinated for two hours in bed. Called Alex at 9.45am and asked where she was: almost in the city. Oh $h!t. I did the 'it's okay, I'll be there in no time' attitude and procrastinated some more. Received a text message: 'I'm in the city, let me know when you get in'...I replied: "Don't worry, take your time...I'm still straightening my hair". Half an hour later, I discovered that the zipper on my dress had decided to end its life and not fulfil its purpose - okay, no time to moan and cry - it can be fixed. I then made a mental note to grab a few safety pins when I got into the city. Threw a pair of jeans, boots and jumper on and hopped into a cab and headed directly for the city. Met Alex at Pig N Whistle. She was all glamed up and looked puzzled when she saw how casual I dressed. Lol. I reassured her that I was going to be ready in less than half an hour: first I needed some safety pins, chicken fillets (substitute for strapless bra: ugly silicone 'fake breasts' that push your ahems up) and a quick dash to the Hilton bathrooms to change.
2.30 p.m. Four and a half hours later, I was finally dressed - thankfully, got the safety pins to sit perfectly without protruding out my back, and hailed a cab. "So where are we off to ladies". In a chorus, we both replied: "Eagle Farm Racecourse pleeeeeeeeeease!"
Thanks for an awesome day Lexy. I know you had fun too burning the grass in your Wittner heels to hits like 'Flaunt it' and 'Smack my bitch up'...good times!
I cooked my own breakfast this morning! I can't remember the last time I cooked a decent meal. It's not actually the traditional, egg benedict, toast and bacon this morning but this morning I've decided to test my agility in the kitchen by frying some kebabs , tossing a rocket salad (avocado, tomatoes, balsamic dressing) that I grabbed from Zone Fresh, New Market yesterday afternoon. I wish I could take a picture and post it here but I screwed up my memory card while holidaying in Vanuatu a couple of months ago. Pictures from that holiday too can no longer be retrieved. :(
Anyways, its raining here in Brisbane. Temperature unknown. I'm being a silent observer this morning. Despite the occassional interruption of birds whistling and 'Beautiful things' by Tiesto playing, I'm enjoying the beauty and serenity of being especially lucky to sit upstairs on the balcony. There are trees, mostly palm trees that cacoon the balcony. It's really pretty to look out - very calming especially when its the first thing you wake up to the morning. There are so many tall palms here and a number of birds usually visit them - to do what, I don't know (?). The birds are being especially noisy this morning (some kinky mating ritual I suppose), but I'd rather wake up to wildlife then to the sound of trains or worse - AN ALARM CLOCK! Thank God, I didn't set mine this morning.
Exams are coming up. To be quite frank, I do not feel any sense of urgency. I feel like the past six months have been more like trial months personally as a uni student. Life outside of high school is nothing like boarding school - people don't get paid to do your laundry, travelling to campus is no longer a walk across the street, there isn't a familiar voice that cranks over the PA system at seven in the morning to remind you that a new day has begun and it is time to wake up. Uni life involves a great deal of self-motivation and discipline. The 'D' word. Discipline. Something I lack greatly at my age. But fortunately, something I have been able to identify and label as an issue. I'm getting to know my weaknesses. It's assuring to know that I am not being absolutely arrogant of how I am living my life and that my conscience hasn't totally left me. Hmmm.
The cobalt blue and khaki colours were probably the main factors why I even noticed this collection. I'm luvin' the sexy boyfriend shirtdress (image 2) for the casual, kick-back-your-heels-and-have-a-break-approach. A perfect change to the high pencil skirts (which are great too) which created the more masculine, edgy look -women can relax this season as they will feel less inclined to do high maintenance. Women can now, at least until next season introduces its own fresh trends, enjoy the casualness of this collection.
![100_0495[1]](http://inlinethumb42.webshots.com/6057/2017797440061079975S500x500Q85.jpg)
