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Pregnant British Woman Could Face Laos Death Penalty

TresSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:00:00 -0700

Another reminder that carrying drugs to countries with draconian anti-trafficking laws is extremely dangerous: a Nigerian-born woman from London arrested for carrying heroin may face death by firing squad in Vientiane, Laos.

Samantha Orobator, 20, was arrested in August for carrying 1.1 pounds of heroin in the Laotian capital. Anna Morris, a lawyer for Reprieve, a group that uses the law to enforce human rights for prisoners, told CNN that "For that amount of heroin the sentence is normally the death penalty."

On top of her other woes, Orobator became pregnant in prison, and her lawyers worry that she may have been raped there. There is no British embassy in Laos, but the British Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said that Laos authorities are aware that the British government is opposed to the death penalty and have dispatched British Embassy officials and the British Ambassador to visit her.

Orobator's trial begins this week.

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First Day of Spring Arrives Around the World

CitizenSugar — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 07:00:40 -0700

Though we've been saying it all month on the Sugar network, Spring is finally here. It began, officially, yesterday when the Spring, or vernal, equinox occurred at 7:44 a.m. (EDT). Legend likes to say the equinox (both Fall and Spring) are when day and night become equal, but legend is, characteristically, wrong. Dark-light equality has everything to do with longitude and latitude and very little to do with Pisces fish, the outgoing astrological sign, swimming into the sunset.

But Spring is Spring and when it's sprung the world must sing, right? From England and France to Iran and Iraq, see how the world welcomed the season.

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Advertising Is Not Dead! Atheist Bus Campaign Runs in UK

CitizenSugar — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:00:07 -0800

If religious organizations can advertise, why shouldn't atheists be able to? That's what England decided, when atheist ads were proposed and accepted. They are a response to religious ads that ran in 2008, which suggested people who don't believe in god would "spend all eternity in torment."

This Tuesday "There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" was splayed across 800 buses. And next week, the campaign will move underground, where 1,000 ads featuring quotes from Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, and Katharine Hepburn will ride the subway.

Of course, you can't help but notice it says there's probably no god. What kind of atheist says that? To see why the atheists hesitated on the nonexistence of god, read more.

"Probably" was an edit made to add ambiguity and appease British advertising guidelines. "There is no god" would, after all, be inaccurate to those who believe.

And maybe those edits were smart because nobody in the already secular country seems to care. The Queen, head of the Church of England, has been, well, mum. And even the Methodist Church welcomed the campaign as a way to get people talking about god. So, what is it? Free speech prattle? A way to talk about God or no god? Or a sign that atheism is becoming more and more accepted?

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Baby Survives Abortion, Living Healthy Life

LibertySugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0700

A baby thought to be terminated eight weeks into the pregnancy has survived. The parents are an English couple who chose to have an abortion because their first son had died from a kidney disease, and their second was born with serious kidney damage and is currently living with one kidney.

Jodie, the mother, says that she was taking birth control when she became pregnant with Finley. After the abortion procedure, she felt flutters in her stomach and returned to the doctor to find out she was in fact 19 weeks pregnant.

Because the abortion happened so early in the pregnancy, and the fetus was so small, the doctors missed it. At first Jodie was angry, but she decided to give her son a second chance at life.

The baby was born with minor kidney damage, and is expected to live a normal life. Finley truly has some determination to live - considering he beat out birth control and an abortion. Is this story a miracle, or a tragedy?

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The Reviews Are In! Foreign Press Mixed on McCain

CitizenSugar — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:00:22 -0700

John McCain has just wrapped up his semester abroad (OK, Congressional delegation tour of the Middle East and Europe - but Graham and Lieberman look like they could be the backpacking/hostel types - right?) The foreign press followed his every move, and the resulting clippings make for a pretty mixed bag of reviews. But if the media is any reflection of their readership, this front page fodder is fascinating.

See if you can match the statement with the country.

“The rebel who dreams of the White House,” and “Sénateur Hothead.”
“If Iraq is Better, It’s Because of John McCain,” “old dog,” and he “looks older than his 71 years and every bit as tired as he should be, having just dragged his campaign from the grave to achieve an improbable victory over half a dozen younger rivals for the Republican nomination," finally, “John McCain, veteran war hero: yes. But a descendant of Robert the Bruce? Baloney.'’
“McCain, 71, is not a young man, which is by no means a sin, a fault, nor something that should disqualify him from serving as president of the United States," and "His answers are not of the rapid-fire variety; they are slower, more methodical.'’

To see which country said what, read more.

France.
England.
Jerusalem.

I find the different media perspectives wildly interesting - and telling. Are you surprised both by the apparent frankness of the coverage, and which countries seem partial to McCain?

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Check This: Underage Drinking

LibertySugar — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:00:04 -0800

England is considering giving police the power to confiscate alcohol from any person under 18 years old who is carrying it in public. Currently, officers can only take booze if they have reasonable suspicion that the minor has been drinking it, or is going to drink it.

The fact that England is even debating this issue shows how attitudes and laws about youth drinking vary from country to country. While binge drinking or driving under the influence is dangerous no matter where you live, Americans seem to have a hypocritical stance toward underage drinking.

A vast majority of us had a drink before the legal age (21 years old), but we still subject the youth to harsh penalties for possessing, purchasing, drinking, or being in the presence of alcohol. Sometimes I wonder if our unrealistic laws actually encourage irresponsible drinking.

Do you think 21 years old is too tough?

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Have You Ever Gotten Into a Brawl With Another Woman?

TresSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0800

First, a rumored bar fight involving Mischa Barton, and now Miss England? Whatever happened to sweet and demure?

Rachel Christie, the reigning Miss England, has to give up her crown and withdraw from the Miss World competition which will be held in South Africa next month because of an alleged bar brawl earlier in the week with another beauty queen, one Sara Beverley Jones (Miss Manchester).

As someone who has thrown a punch (or two) back in the day, I'm no one to judge, so I shall refrain. Did you get into physical fights with other girls when you were younger, or have you ever gotten into a brawl with another woman?

Emma Thompson Tells Trafficked Woman's Story in Art

TresSugar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:00:00 -0800

Academy-award winning actress Emma Thompson was so moved by the plight of a Moldovan woman who survived being trafficked for sex, she decided to create an art installation that would help viewers to put themselves in Elena's shoes and bring attention to this growing problem.

"Journey," which will be exhibited in New York City Nov. 10 to 16 in Washington Square Park, tells the story of Elena, a woman from the Eastern European republic of Moldova who, at age 18, was promised a secretarial job in England. Instead, once she got there, her passport was confiscated and she was forced into prostitution.

"Journey" consists of seven shipping containers. Each has a keyhole through which the viewer can peer to see a chronology of Elena's story. The first shipping container depicts Elena's childhood and the loss of her father. In another, the viewer can see Elena approached in a Moldovan marketplace and offered work.

Thompson personally curated one of the more disturbing of the shipping containers which depicts Elena's forced prostitution in England. She had Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell design the clothes she was forced to wear, and when the viewer looks into the keyhole, she sees her face superimposed onto the body of a woman in prostitute's clothing. They wanted the viewer to have an experience of what it meant to lose one's identity. Thompson said that even men "didn't laugh or find it funny. They understood absolutely what it meant."

Thompson met Elena while doing work with UNODC (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime) to help raise awareness about the practice of trafficking women, and it sounds as if she's not only telling her plight, she's giving Elena the voice that was taken away from her. In the last shipping container, Elena tells her story on tape.

Vatican Says Female Anglican Bishops Reveal a Divine Divide

LibertySugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:00:39 -0700

The Roman Catholic Church has signaled the start of Schism 2.0 (at least), thanks to the Church of England's decision to allow women bishops in its Church. As for its own clergy, the Vatican has promised automatic excommunication for any Catholic bishop who attempts to ordain a woman as a priest.

The Catholic cardinal in charge of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity said:

"Such a decision is a break with apostolic tradition maintained in all of the Churches in the first millennium, and is therefore a further obstacle for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England."

The cardinal warned that the Church of England's decision would have a long-term impact on the previously fruitful interfaith dialogue.

Does the Catholic Church's belief that since Christ chose only men as his apostles, only men can be priests represent an irreconcilable difference between Catholics and Anglicans? What would be gained by a healthy dialogue between the two Christian churches that separated during the 16th century?

Wedding Tourism Coming to English Churches?

LibertySugar — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:30:20 -0700

The Anglican Church wants to make it easier for couples to get married in their church of choice.

Under the proposed rules, couples can marry anywhere they have lived for six months or where their parents or grandparents married. Currently, only regular church attendees or those who live within the parish can be married in the parish church.

Since the Anglican Church is England's official state church, the changes must be approved by Parliament and given Royal Assent. Church leaders favor the new rules, which they say reflect a modern and mobile society. Others fear "wedding tourism" - they think people committed to religious communities (with pretty churches) will have to compete with the nonfaithful out-of-towners.

Do you think the relaxed rules will bring more weddings, and thus more worshipers? Can couples celebrate the tradition of getting married in a church without faith? Should church weddings be reserved only for church goers?

To see all of our wedding coverage, check out IDoSugar.com

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