Brunei won’t impose death penalty for gay sex after global protests

Brunei will not impose the death penalty on those convicted of engaging in gay sex after global outrage and protest after new laws passed in the country last month.

The country’s ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, addressed the nation and the world in a televised speech on Sunday, where he revealed he would provide a moratorium on capital punishment and ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

His decision comes following mass condemnation of the small southeast Asian country’s initial decision to extend the death penalty for gay sex, with the likes of actor George Clooney, musician Sir Elton John and comedian and host Ellen DeGeneres among those who protested the loudest.

Ahead of the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Sultan said: “I am aware that there are many questions and misperceptions with regard to the implementation of the SPCO. However, we believe that once these have been cleared, the merit of the law will be evident.”

As evident for more than two decades, we have practised a de facto moratorium on the execution of death penalty for cases under the common law. This will also be applied to cases under the SPCO, which provides a wider scope for remission.

Some crimes already command the death penalty in Brunei, including premeditated murder and drug trafficking, but no executions have been carried out since the 1990s.

Though this is a progressive move, LGBT+ citizens are still facing punishment in the country

Human Rights Campaign Director of Global Partnership Jean Freedberg told CNN:

The world has turned its eyes to Brunei in recent months and we urge the countless advocates, activists and organizations who seized this moment to speak out against these human rights abuses to continue to do so.

And campaigners continue to fight to overturn the laws completely

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Ellen DeGeneres

✔@TheEllenShow

Tomorrow, the country of #Brunei will start stoning gay people to death. We need to do something now. Please boycott these hotels owned by the Sultan of Brunei. Raise your voices now. Spread the word. Rise up.

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Stop dismissing bisexual women like Miley Cyrus. What’s the point in liberation if it’s not everyone?

The need to put ourselves into boxes and reject those who don’t fit may provide a sense of comfort in a harsh world, but it won’t solve discrimination

• Molly Fleming

In a recent article for The Spectator, feminist activist Julie Bindel wrote: “Why are boringly straight women claiming to be lesbians?” In it she accuses singer Miley Cyrus and others of being “lesbian tourists” masking their heteronormativity in a bid to be more “interesting”.

Not long ago, Cyrus, who identifies as queer, described her marriage to Liam Hemsworth as “redefining, to be fucking frank, what it looks like for someone that’s a queer person like myself to be in a hetero relationship”.

While Cyrus’s statement is hyperbolic – she is far from the first queer woman to be in a relationship with a man – Bindel’s argument is far more problematic, ignoring the idea that people can be attracted to more than one gender. And it speaks to a broader issue of biphobia in the lesbian community, where dismissing bisexual women as “confused” or simply non-existent can be rampant.

Bisexuals exist, I promise. There is a clear “B” in the LGBT+ acronym that so many seem unable to acknowledge. If you’re struggling to remember, it’s the “bacon” in the new M&S Stonewall sandwich.

The argument that women who date multiple genders won’t face violence also couldn’t be further from the truth. A United Nations report claims bi women are “especially at risk” of sexual violence. Other studies have found that bisexual women are more likely to be abused by their partner than lesbians and five times more likely than heterosexual women when it comes to sexual assault.

I understand Bindel’s frustration. Of course we all low-key hate the girl who tells you she’s queer but “could never go below” with a woman, but that doesn’t mean we get to pick and choose people’s sexuality.

There is no question that a minority of people use the term queer to hide behind their privilege. I will always remember an acquaintance explaining to a closeted me that she understood oppression as she was now a “political lesbian” – despite not being attracted to women.

Queerness has, for some, become a way to disown the privilege you hold. But the truth is that it doesn’t work that way.

The privilege I experience as a white, middle class woman didn’t go away when I came out. Oppression doesn’t negate privilege and in queer spaces those dynamics are often replicated and amplified – with racism rife.

You can’t be the gatekeeper of other people’s sexualities, and for every woman that details their thrilling festival threesome, there are far more who are desperately trying to find their place in the world. Those are the ones who sidle up at parties, tentatively asking when I knew I was gay.

Make no mistake, limiting who gets to be a woman, or queer, hurts everyone. In the same way the hyper-regulation of trans bathrooms affects non-conforming women, so too will Bindel’s bumbling attempt to define who can and can’t be a lesbian.

When anti-trans lesbians invaded Pride last year, for example, most lesbians were appalled, myself included. A minority of lesbians are using their struggle to perpetuate hate, whilst most recognise that trans women’s invaluable place within our community, with many on the front-line of women’s rights for decades.

Using Bindel’s logic, you have to ask what it does take for someone to be considered a “real lesbian”. Is there a graduation ceremony, a member’s club or a quota? Was I not a lesbian before I had sex with a woman?

Do I need to sleep with multiple women in order to identify? Does watching The L Word while frantically googling the Kinsey Scale count or do I need to have been in a couple of serious long-term relationships first?

I have cried on the shoulders of bisexual women and fallen in love with non-binary people. I’ve protested alongside those who refuse to be pigeonholed by their sexuality and gender and the intersections of our identities has been a source of strength not dispute.

The need to put ourselves into boxes and reject those who don’t fit may provide a sense of comfort in a harsh world, but it won’t solve homophobia. Suffering shouldn’t be a condition of one’s sexuality. I’m not more of a lesbian because my family initially rejected me than my friend whose mum marches at Pride.

As a younger lesbian, I am grateful to my elders, like Bindel, who fought for my right to live my life openly and I don’t take my identity or their struggle for granted. But what’s the point in liberation if it’s not everyone?

In a world where queer people are still fighting to be in the curriculum, and gay white men dominate our nightlife, shouldn’t we be standing in solidarity with each other as a community to create a safe space for everyone?

Elephant Man: 

Joseph Merrick's unmarked grave discovered in London, says author

Biographer says she is ‘99 per cent certain’ she has tracked down correct site

Joseph Merrick, photographed by Radiological Society of North America  PA Archive/PA Images

The unmarked grave of Joseph Merrick – the Victorian freak show exhibit better known as the Elephant Man – has been discovered in London, an author has claimed.

Jo Vigor-Mungovin said she tracked down the precise burial spot of his remains in an east London cemetery almost 130 years after died.

A circus attraction deemed a medical marvel due to his severe deformities, Mr Merrick’s skeleton was carefully preserved at the Royal London Hospital after his death in 1890. The final resting place of his soft tissue, however, has remained a mystery for over a century.

Mr Merrick’s life was depicted in a 1980 film by director David Lynch titled The Elephant Man. The cause of the Leicester man’s deformities is still uncertain, but some believe he had a genetic disorder known as Proteus syndrome.

Ms Vigor-Mungovin consulted cemetery records around the time of his death and found he had been interred at the City of London Cemetery and Crematorium near Epping Forest.

Microplastics have seeped into our water systems — over 80 percent of drinking water in India is contaminated with it — and even infiltrated our food sources






EARTH DAY 22 April, 2019

by Dr. Vikas Goswami

Joint efforts by stakeholders can help control the use of single-use plastics and effectively manage solid waste.

When a dead pregnant whale washed ashore in March 2019 in Italy with nearly 23kg of plastic in her stomach, it created ripples on social media. Just weeks earlier, a young whale also died in the Philippines after ingesting almost 40kg of plastic bags. But such tragic events are not just limited to Italy or the Philippines, it is an alarming trend that has also been seen in Indonesia, Thailand, and Spain.


How many of us throw away plastic shopping bags once we’ve emptied them? How often have we binned plastic spoons and straws after just one meal? Excessive use of single-use or disposable plastics is having severe environmental consequences, and the dead whales are just the tip of the iceberg. The UN estimates that up to five trillion single-use plastic bags are used every year across the world. Overall, half of all plastic produced is designed to be thrown away after just being used once.


As single-use plastics continue to choke our rivers, seas, and oceans, it doesn’t seem surprising then that microplastics have been found in the Mariana Trench, which is the deepest part of the ocean in the world. Microplastics have seeped into our water systems — over 80 percent of drinking water in India is contaminated with it — and even infiltrated our food sources. Research hasn’t yet figured out a way of filtering them and scientists are racing to find out the implications on our health.


Managing India’s solid waste


Closer home, the situation isn’t too different either. India generates 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day and at least 40 percent of this doesn’t get collected, according to official statistics. It usually ends up poisoning the soil and choking water bodies.


The situation (rightfully) seems grim, but there is hope. Efforts by various stakeholders, including the government, the community, local bodies, and the private sector are proving to step in the right direction. The Swach Bharat Abhiyan, the Government’s five-year cleanliness drive, for example, works towards collaborative efforts, including that of citizens, to tackle cleanliness and waste segregation disposal. Workshops, cleanliness drives, and rallies have been held to sensitize stakeholders in various cities on the importance of solid waste management. This has reflected in results wherever it was implemented properly: door-to-door collection coverage increased from 53 percent to 80 percent in 2017 and 43 percent of wards in the country have been segregating their waste at source (as per data available in 2018).


Extended producer responsibility or EPR, which was a key element of the Centre’s Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, has also led to plastic being collected and being recycled, reused or designed to be compostable. The Central Pollution Control Board’s EPR waste recovery targets have further given a fillip to recycling efforts.


Local solutions for local issues


Local bodies too have been playing their part. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) decentralized solid waste management in order to promote recycling and converting waste into energy. Garbage at its Kanjurmarg landfill is treated using bio-methanation. BMC staff has also been training households on how to segregate waste. The Muzaffarpur Municipal Corporation in Bihar adopted a zero landfill model and now has two processing centres for segregated waste from 34 of 49 wards.


The biggest change however probably been seen among the community itself. Though community participation is mandatory under the new Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 (SWMR), awareness is clearly increasing. The “world’s largest beach clean-up in history” is proof enough of this. It took hundreds of volunteers, three years and the removal of 20 million kg trash to transform Versova beach — one of the dirtiest in Mumbai — into an Olive Ridley turtle breeding site. A small but growing number of people are exploring leading zero-waste lifestyles by embracing the three pillars of waste management: reuse, reduce and recycle. Many are also realizing the wisdom of following simple practices such as carrying cloth bags to buy groceries, ditching plastic cutlery, or even using steel or glass containers for storage.


Involving corporate stakeholders


Corporates can also play a proactive role in promoting the cause for cleanliness through their CSR and sustainability programmes. There are several testimonials to corporate playing the Good Samaritan. Dabur has tied up with the Indian Pollution Control Association and a waste management company to recycle plastic waste across nine states. Coca-Cola India’s bottling partners work with other stakeholders to collect and recycle PET waste. Bisleri’s Bottles for Change programme connects waste pickers with schools, colleges, and offices in 14 wards in Mumbai to collect PET bottles safely. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail upcycles PET bottles into staple fibers to create sustainable clothing.


Godrej has reduced its plastic intensity by 14 percent and by 2025, it aims to ensure that the plastic it uses will be recyclable, reusable, recoverable and or compostable. Seventy-two percent of its waste is currently diverted from landfill and it aims to touch 100 percent.


Another corporate intervention is facilitating behavior change communication through partnerships with local government bodies and nonprofits. However, individual efforts are not enough to tackle the emergency at hand. In order to bring change at scale, it is imperative that the government anchors campaigns save the environment.


Tackling solid waste and ending plastic pollution requires a multi-pronged effort. Increasing awareness, bringing about large-scale behavior change and effective partnerships between all stakeholders concerned can help achieve it. And as recent efforts have shown, it is possible to bring about change and make a dent in the pollution problem.




Dr. Vikas Goswami, Head Sustainability at Godrej Industries

AND WHERE DO PLASTICS COME FROM? 

POLYMERS MADE FROM HYDROCARBONS

Coca-Cola and Nestle among worst plastic polluters based on global clean-ups

“These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis,” said Von Hernandez, global coordinator of Break Free From Plastic. “By continuing to churn out problematic and unrecyclable throwaway plastic packaging for their products, these companies are guilty of trashing the planet on a massive scale. 

“It’s time they own up and stop shifting the blame to citizens for their wasteful and polluting products.” 

'These brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis'

• Global glacier mass loss 1961–2016
• Earth's glaciers lost 9 trillion tons of ice. That's the weight of 27 billion 747s.
• The map below, developed by the European Space Agency, illustrates where this ice loss has occurred. Alaska leads the race with over 3019 gigatons lost in total, or 816 million 747s.

The world's total ice loss between 1961 and 2016.IMAGE: EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY / ADAPTED FROM ZEMP ET AL. (2019) NATURE / DATA COURTESY OF WORLD GLACIER MONITORING SERVICE

• Released 08/04/2019 5:00 pm
• Copyright ESA, adapted from Zemp et al. (2019) Nature, and data courtesy of World Glacier Monitoring Service
• Description A paper published in Nature describes how an international team led by the University of Zurich in Switzerland used classical glaciological field observations combined with a wealth of information from various satellite missions to painstakingly calculate how much ice has been lost from and gained by 19 different glacierized regions around the world. They reveal that 9625 gigatonnes of ice was lost from 1961 to 2016, raising sea level by 27 mm.
  
  Read full story: Glaciers lose nine trillion tonnes of ice in half a century
• BY MARK KAUFMAN
  APR 08, 2019
• 
  Nine trillion metric tons. 
  That's how much ice Earth's glaciers lost in the 55 years between 1961 and 2016. An international team of scientists used satellite and direct field observations to conclude that Earth's glaciers have melted such a profound sum of ice in the last half-century. They published their report Monday in the journal Nature.  
• 
  If one were to assume an average weight of 735,000 pounds for a 747 airliner (not the colossal Alaskan bear), that comes out to around 27 billion 747s worth of ice lost over this period. 
• 
  This grand figure also means the planet is now losing, on average, 335 billion metric tons of ice per year. (For reference, there are 2 trillion pounds of ice in just 1 billion tons.)
  "In other words, every single year we are losing about three times the volume of all ice stored in the European Alps, and this accounts for around 30 percent of the current rate of sea-level rise," Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service at the University of Zurich and lead author of the research, said in a statement. 
•  The world's total ice loss between 1961 and 2016.
• The pronounced melting in Alaska is little surprise. The Arctic is the fastest warming region on Earth, warming two to three times faster than the rest of the globe. 
  Overall, the over 9 trillion metric tons of melted ice equates to a little over an inch of sea level rise, or 27 millimeters, over the 55-year period. 
• 
  But, critically, it's not just melting glaciers that are driving sea level rise, which has raised sea levels by around 9 inches along portions of the East Coast in the last century. The ocean is absorbing vast quantities of heat, and is expanding. Specifically, the absorbent oceans soak up over 90 percent of the heat trapped by human-generated greenhouse gas emissions. 
• 
  What's more, the pace of melt is expected to pick up as the planet continues on its accelerated warming trend — stoked by the highest levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide in millions of years.
• 
  Projections of sea level rise by century's end are between two and three feet, though NASA scientists admit this is almost certainly a "conservative estimate." In more extreme scenarios, the number could be as much a six feet by 2100. 
•  
  There is only one region of the world, southwest Asia, that has gained some ice mass since the 1960s. But its neighbor, southeast Asia, lost a similar amount of ice, canceling these fleeting gains. 
• 
  Overall, the picture is clear. Greenland is in hot water. Ice loss in the Antarctic is picking up steam. The vast Himalayan glaciers have a dire future, at best. And you don't need to be a scientist employing sophisticated satellite technology to see what's transpiring on Earth. 
   Animation showing how the distribution over Earth's surface of annual average temperature anomalies has been shifting due to global warming since 1850. #GlobalWarming #ClimateChange
• 
  Alaska's famous Mendenhall Glacier is vanishing in front of the public's eyes. In 1850, there were an estimated 150 sizable glaciers in what is now Glacier National Park. Today, there are 26 glaciers large enough to be counted.   
• 
  The reason for such wide-scale planetary change is not due to the whims of weather, natural variation, volcanoes, or other factors climate scientists have considered for decades.
  "We know it's caused by global warming and human emissions of these greenhouse gases," NASA oceanographer Josh Willis, who has been watching Greenland melt into the sea, told Mashable. "The basic physics of the warming planet have been known for over a century."
• 
  

THIS IS NOT THE CANADIAN GARBAGE THAT HAS BEEN IN THE PHILIPPINES HARBOUR FOR FIVE YEARS, THAT IS IN A SHIP STILL

The Philippines is the third biggest source of plastic ocean pollution in the world.

Canadian garbage wrongly dumped in the Philippines is coming home
Canada has made an offer to the Philippines to repatriate six dozen shipping containers full of rotting garbage that were erroneously shipped there six years ago

Canada makes formal offer to bring home trash that Philippines threatened ‘war’ over
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte berated Canada on Tuesday in a long-running dispute over the 100 shipping containers of garbage exported to the ...

Canada violated international law by dumping garbage in the Philippines: lawyers
Canada broke international rules when it dumped more than 100 shipping containers of garbage disguised as plastics for recycling into the Philippines six years ...



Inside the global fight over a 2500-ton heap of garbage
Rodrigo Duterte, president of the Philippines, made global headlines last week when he threatened to “declare war” on Canada over some 2500 tons of trash.
Popular Science




You can’t preach environment while ignoring your own trash
Trudeau must accept what his environment minister preaches to the rest of us common folk on a daily basis: pollution isn't free anymore, Scott Thompson says.



Alberta’s Filipino community says president’s trash-related threat is rubbish
EDMONTON—Members of the Filipino community in Alberta are wrinkling their noses over the international spat caused by dozens of containers of Canadian ...
Toronto Star



A Timeline Of The Canada-Philippines Trash War Before Duterte's Threats
The countries have been going back and forth for nearly six years about Canadian trash abandoned in.

Feast your eyes on this spectacular Hubble photo of a spiral galaxy

The Hubble telescope has captured a dazzling new photograph of a spiral galaxy, NGC 2903. 

 

Fake mews? Confusion over cat at Thai king's coronation ceremony

A SCHRODINGER'S CAT CONUNDRUM; IS THE CAT REAL OR FAKE 

WORLD NEWS
MAY 5, 2019 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Animal lovers in Thailand were thrown into confusion on Sunday over whether a Siamese cat presented to the newly crowned Thai king and his queen was a living feline - or not.

Royal officials place a chicken and a cat next to the bed of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn during the ceremony of Assumption of the Royal Residence inside the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, May 4, 2019. Picture taken May 4, 2019. The Committee on Public Relations of the Coronation of King Rama X via REUTERS

Thailand is holding three days of coronation events for King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 66, who was officially crowned on Saturday in elaborate ceremonies.

It is tradition at royal coronations to present a cat - as well as several symbolic household items - to a new monarch as part of the private Assumption of the Royal Residence blessing ceremony, which was held on Saturday at the Chakrabat Biman residence.

Cats are considered lucky by many Thais and the tradition of giving one as a housewarming gift signifies a stable home.

On Sunday morning, several Thai media outlets carried a photo of two uniformed palace officials next to what appeared to be a docile Siamese cat and a fluffy white rooster. The image, distributed by the Bureau of the Royal Household, was not captioned.

But by afternoon, the Thai-language news site Manager was reporting that the palace had used a “cat doll” instead of a live cat.

A palace official, contacted by Reuters, said: “The royal ceremony required the use of a rooster and a cat. It should not be the focus whether the animals were real or not, but instead the ritual itself is important.”

Reuters was unable to independently confirm whether live animals were used in the ceremony or the photograph

A Facebook page Maewthai.com - “ThaiCat.com” - posted a copy of the palace photo with a message from a well-known cat breeder saying he originally had been asked to select two gentle male Siamese cats for the ceremony but his cats were ultimately not used.

“I feel grateful for His Majesty’s kindness for feeling compassionate about the cats, fearing that the animal would suffer from waiting too long during ceremonies, so the cats were not used,” said the breeder, whose post did not identify him by name.

The breeder did not directly address whether the cat in the palace photo was a doll.

That ambiguity confused some Thais who posted comments online.

“So is it real or fake cat?” a Facebook user called Niphawan Rakpontee asked.

Another user named Krittaya Parichayanan said “It’s a real cat isn’t it?”

“This is likely a stuffed cat,” user Prapaporn Tongprasan said.

Thailand has strict lese majeste laws carrying prison sentences of up to 15 years for insulting the king, queen or the heir-apparent.

Historical images of the 1926 coronation of King Rama VII, the current monarch’s great uncle, show a group photo with female members of the royal family holding both a Siamese cat - a breed that originated in Thailand - as well as a rooster.

The tradition of using cats in royal household ceremonies dates back centuries, said historian and writer Sujane Kanparit.

“The meaning of having a cat is that it brings warmth to the household. It is an old court tradition that has appeared in the royal chronicles,” he told Reuters.

Asked if the cat in the palace photo was alive or a doll, Sujane said: “I have no idea.”
Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Frances Kerry

Energy industry, legal experts push back against Kenney’s B.C. pledge

JAMES KELLER
CALGARY
MAY 3, 2019 

Jason Kenney proclaimed the law, previously known as Bill 12, within hours of taking office this week, escalating Alberta’s attack on B.C. for its opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney’s decision to press ahead with a law allowing his government to cut off oil shipments to British Columbia faces two significant threats: a risky court battle and the possibility of inflicting pain on the province’s already struggling oil industry.

Mr. Kenney proclaimed the law, previously known as Bill 12, within hours of taking office this week, escalating Alberta’s attack on B.C. for its opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. The B.C. government immediately responded with a constitutional challenge, which will have its first court hearing in Calgary on Tuesday.

Mr. Kenney has said he doesn’t intend to use the law immediately, insisting it would be a last resort.

Oil producers have been cautious about weighing in on the debate about Bill 12, though several have urged the two governments to avoid any disruption of shipments to B.C.

“We understand and share the frustration of the premier – and of Albertans,” wrote Mel Duvall, a spokesman for Husky Energy Inc., in an e-mail.

“We sincerely hope it will never come to needing to use the legislation. Any market intervention by government can have unintended consequences and shake investor confidence.”

Earlier in the week, the CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. told reporters in Calgary that Bill 12 represented a “fairly significant intervention” that would hurt the company.

“We’re hoping that through the government’s negotiations this can get sorted out, because the last thing we want to do is have an impediment in serving our customers,” Mark Little said.

And Parkland Fuel Corp., whose refinery in Burnaby relies on Alberta crude to produce gasoline and diesel, urged the provinces to find another way to resolve the conflict.

“Any measure that restricts the supply of oil to British Columbia would be negative for the economies of both B.C. and Alberta,” the company said in a statement.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers declined to comment specifically on Bill 12. It issued a statement from CEO Tim McMillan that simply reaffirmed the group’s support for the Trans Mountain expansion.

Richard Masson, a former head of the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission who is now a fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, predicted that any interruption related to Bill 12 would be short-lived.

“The producers can survive a little bit of pain. It hurts them some, but it would be way more impactful on consumers,” Mr. Masson said in an interview.

“The impacts on the B.C. consumer and the economy would be felt so quickly and so sharply. I don’t think it would last weeks. I think it would last days.”

At any rate, legal experts have cast doubt on Mr. Kenney even getting the chance to inflict such pain on B.C.

Joel Bakan, a law professor at the University of British Columbia, predicted B.C. will get an injunction and Alberta will eventually lose in an “open and shut” case. He said that while provinces have the power to restrict natural resource exports in some circumstances, they can’t discriminate against other provinces – which is precisely what Mr. Kenney says he wants to do.

“Premier Kenney did not do himself any favours by directly targeting B.C. in his remarks, because that simply feeds the narrative that the whole purpose behind this law is to target British Columbians,” Prof. Bakan said in an interview.

Michael Hurst, whose Calgary-based law firm, Dentons, has argued that Bill 12 could withstand a legal challenge, said it could depend on what the eventual licensing system looks like.

"It is entirely possible that it would restrict the export of the controlled commodities in all directions,” he said. “The possibilities are actually quite broad.”

With a report from The Canadian Press