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The beauty of Tootsie
Australian company arms Saudi government department responsible for gender based violence
UN readies for another resolution while Australia stands in the way of ending impunity for wartime rape
Greens policy on ME/CFS
Pass the snuff and loosen the corsets – they're back to researching hysteria
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In Susan's Humble Opinion
Author: Susan
Tonight was a very special night for me. I went to the launch of the Kennedy Award, an exhibition of paintings, finalists in a competition with the theme of beauty. The idea was to take the theme beyond the superficial.
It was special night for me, because I was in the exhibition, the subject of a painting over a meter tall painted by the wonderful Marieka Hambledon. Being painted by her was a wonderful experience. I would have loved for us to win. But we didn't and both of us were overjoyed. We were overjoyed because the painting that won is incredible. It was called 'Tootsie, just an Old Drag Queen'.
Congratulations to Jaq Grantford on becoming a 2019 Kennedy Prize Finalist with the artwork "Tootsie, Just an Old Drag Queen" Exhibition "Beauty" Sat Aug 31 to Sunday 15 Sep RSASA Level One Cnr of Kintore Ave & North Tce in the State Library Building, Adelaide @jaq_grantford_art #australianartist #australianpainter #melbourneartist #melbourneart #themeofbeauty #2019kennedyprize #kennedyartprize #kennedyartprizefinalist #australianoilpainting #dragqueen #dragqueenwigs
A post shared by Kennedy Prize – Australia (@kennedyartsfoundation) on Aug 26, 2019 at 4:52am PDT
Today was also wear it purple day, an annual awareness day for LGBTQI people. In Australia, young LGBTQI people are five times more likely to attempt suicide and twice as likely to engage I self-harm compared to the general population.
Tootsie, the subject of the winning painting, was 20 years old when he was imprisoned just for being gay. When the judges announced the award, they said you could almost smell the subject. It's true. Though Tootsie is smoking one cigarette, the artist tells us he was in fact a chain smoker and the haze almost sits in the room with him, with his lipstick smeared coffee cup.
But why we were so happy this painting won over ours is because there is an incredible beauty in Tootsie and his story, so vivid on the canvas, eyeshadow still on his frail skin. There is beauty in this tale that is so different than those on magazine covers or billboards. That beauty is well worth the prestigious Kennedy Award of $25,000. And may that beauty be a lesson to us all.
Posted on August 30, 2019 August 30, 2019 by Susan Tagged art, awards, feminism, gender, human rights, justice, social justice	Leave a comment
This week, the 104 countries that have signed up to the Arms Trade Treaty will be gathering for their annual meeting in Geneva. This year, their discussions will focus on gender-based violence.
Both the ABC and the Guardian recently published photos of shipments of weapons systems from an Australian manufacturer being shipped directly to the government of Saudi Arabia. The weapons systems were sold to the Ministry of Interior, the government department responsible for quashing public dissent and women's rights.
Label of item for shipping at Sydney International Airport (Photo supplied by Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights)
This sale breeches our obligations under the international Arms Trade Treaty. The Arms Trade Treaty is supposed to stop the sale of weapons to countries responsible for significant human rights breeches.
The Ministry of Interior is in charge of the police, courts and prisons that are all responsible for gender-based violence. They are also largely responsible for implementing the guardianship system that requires women to obtain permission from a male guardian to travel abroad, obtain a passport, or be discharged from prison.
Australian advocates for women's rights who were at the UN for negotiations of the Arms Trade Treaty were part of the effort include gender provisions in the treaty. The aim of the activists was to help gender based violence by ending the export of the weapons used to facilitate that violence.
Ray Acheson was a leader in those negotiations. She is the Director of the Reaching Critical Will campaign of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. They've been working on disarmament issues for over a century.
The legally binding clause of the treaty authorisation of exports must consider if they will "facilitate serious acts of gender-based violence." Acheson said "Saudi Arabia is a known violator of women's rights and LGBT rights. The risks of gender based violence inside Saudi Arabia are high."
Indeed, a 2013 law supposed to reduce domestic abuse still allows male guardians to persistently abuse women. Male relatives are also able to bring legal claims against 'disobedient' female dependents who flee domestic violence. Human Rights Watch has documented cases where police have turned women away when they sought to report abuse.
Earlier this year, the male guardianship system returned to the Australian news when Rahaf al-Qunun's attempted to flee to Australia, escaping her family due to fears for her life. The Ministry of Interior maintains an extensive intelligence network and special police force that has been used to prevent and punish such attempts to break free from the guardianship system.
Over the past twelve months, various elements of the Ministry of Interior have undertaken a campaign of arrests, imprisoning and torturing women's human rights defenders. Women including Eman Al-Nafjan, Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef and Samar Badawi were among a dozen leading activists arrested after the ban on women driving was lifted in May last year. Each of them were reportedly tortured while in custody.
The Saudi Arabian public prosecutor's office had announced that the group undertook "coordinated activity to undermine the security, stability and social peace of the kingdom." These security related charges could bring sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment. In reality, the women used social media to speak up about women's rights in the country.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women has called on the Saudi government to "ensure that women activists are able to exercise their right to freedom of expression and association" and that counter-terrorism law, the anti-cybercrime law and regulations for electronic publishing are not used to "abusively to criminalize women human rights defenders."
The Australian Government needs to use this opportunity to re-examine its processes for authorising arms exports in accordance with the Arms Trade Treaty.
Posted on August 29, 2019 August 29, 2019 by Susan Tagged Australia, business, feminism, gender, government, human rights, international law, law, security, social justice	Leave a comment
The UN Security Council is in the process of developing a new resolution on Women, Peace and Security. The resolution has been anticipated for several months and is due to be passed as part of the Council's annual open debate on conflict related sexual violence which is due to be held in New York on Tuesday. An Arria formula meeting was held earlier in the year to prepare council members for the debate, with a particular focus on ending impunity for conflict related sexual violence. Conflict related sexual violence is the focus of four of the existing eight resolutions on women, peace and security. But even the Council has bemoaned the lack of prosecutions for these crimes.
Nobel Laureate Nadia Murad will address the Council during the Open Debate. She has spoken out time and again for justice for survivors from her community who experienced sexual violence as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide at the hands of Da'esh in Syria and Iraq. For all the times the international community has shone a spotlight on her tears, we have still failed to do what she asks.
Germany, the current President of the Security Council and chair of this week's debate is the only country to put a member of Da'esh on trial for any of these gendered crimes. But tens of thousands of foreign fighters travelled from countries around the world and committed these crimes. Many of those foreign fighters come from countries that are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and are therefore obliged to investigate and prosecute these crimes in their own court systems.
Both houses of Australia's Federal Parliament passed multi-party motions calling for the investigation and prosecution of Australians who may have perpetrated sexual violence as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Several federal ministers have reinforced this obligation. These ministers have included Julie Bishop as Foreign Minister, Peter Dutton as Minister for Home Affairs and Linda Reynolds as Assistant Minister for Home Affairs.
Despite this, the government has failed to implement the strategies required to make such investigations and prosecutions are reality and they have invested energy into policies and legislation which prevent such action. Chapter eight of the Commonwealth Criminal Code clearly articulates the crimes that are laid out in the Rome Statute and ensures that Australian authorities have jurisdiction over such offences even when they are perpetrated overseas, against victims from another country. But this legislation has never been tested in court. The Australian Federal Police require the funding and other resources to stand up unit dedicated to such investigations. No such funding was made available in the latest federal budget.
In order for these prosecutions to occur, the perpetrator must be in federal custody. But the government has pursued a range of legislative and policy processes removing this probability. Given the parliament passed legislation allowing the government to revoke the citizenship of anyone who travelled to Iraq or Syria to join Da'esh, the government was obliged to include an administrative step determining if such individuals perpetrated war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide before making a determination about citizenship revocation. The citizenship review board that advices the Minister for Home Affairs on such matters has apparently continued to fail to account for such obligations. Now, over a dozen individuals, some of whom are known to have perpetrated heinous crimes against women have had their citizenship revoked, further reducing the likelihood that their victims will see the justice they so rightly deserve.
There is a group of Yazidi women who are fighting for access to support services under Australia's victims of human trafficking schemes. These women were purchased by an Australian man, for the purpose of sexual slavery, and repeatedly sexually and violently abused. Under Australia's own criminal laws, those women count as victims of human trafficking, modern slavery, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. But rather than allow them justice, the government revoked the citizenship of their abuser. If they so choose, they could bring a case against the Commonwealth for failure to uphold their obligations under the Rome Statute. Their country of residence, or any other country of interest could take Australia to the International Court of Justice for failing to fulfil our obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Early in the new year, the government tried to go even further, seeking legislative changes that would allow them to revoke the citizenship of even more people, and enforcing Temporary Exclusion Orders to delay Australians of counter-terrorism interest from re-entering Australia. This is yet another policy that would prevent the arrest or detention of individuals responsible for conflict related sexual violence.
At the Arria formula meeting earlier in the year, civil society presenter Akila Radhakrishnan from the Global Justice Centre said achieving accountability for conflict related sexual violence "requires more than just eloquent rhetoric; it will require Council members to take concrete action and display considerable political will. Sexual and gender-based violence is, at its core, an expression of discrimination, patriarchy and inequality." Countries like Australia must stop getting in the way of justice and follow up the global rhetoric with the actual action required to end impunity for conflict related sexual violence. We must investigate and prosecute these crimes now!
Posted on April 21, 2019 April 22, 2019 by Susan Tagged conflict, diplomacy, ethics, feminism, gender, government, human rights, international law, International Relations, justice, law, leadership, peace, politics, security, social justice, United Nations	Leave a comment
The Australian Greens have launched a policy on the debilitating neurological disease myalgic encephalomyelitis, a type of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome known in Australia as ME/CFS. Senator Jordan Steele-John has campaigned passionately for patients with ME since coming to parliament in 2017. This is the first ever political policy to be released on ME/CFS and is well timed with a Federal election due in May.
The Senator was kind enough to call me today to discuss the new policy. After years of campaigning with the hashtag #millionsmissing from their normal lives, the Senator explained this policy was an important way to show the patient community that they were no longer invisible. "When the evidence shows that a disease like this is real, it doesn't mean that people automatically stop experiencing stigma." He went on to say this policy was designed to show that it was not just his words that the Greens had to offer ME/CFS patients, but the whole Green movement now had a plan for action to help make their lives better.
The Greens' policy has four parts. The first is to increase funding for biomedical research to $15 million dollars that would be administered by the National Health and Medical Research Council. This would allow funding for a range of innovative work being done across Australia by a range of different organisations. It would be enough to cover the gap in funding to scale up the sample size of calcium ion channel research being undertaken by the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases, as well as a range of other significant biomedical research projects. Since the release of the Greens' policy, the Coalition Government has announced $3 million dollars in ME/CFS research funding.
Secondly, they propose a national ME/CFS summit to bring together patient advocates, biomedical researchers, clinicians, the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), Department of Human Services, and Department of Social Services. Such an event could be facilitated in such a way that it would catalyse policy alignment between all these groups, with a particular focus on government departments, service providers and medical practitioners. At present, the discrepancies between current research, medical practice, the NDIA and other government departments pose a significant barrier to the health and wellbeing of the hundreds of thousands of Australians who suffer from ME/CFS.
In many cases, patient advocacy groups have been the only source of support and guidance through these frought bureaucratic processes that combine to discriminate against people with ME/CFS. These groups have run on the smell of an oily rag for decades but take a leading role in coordinating communication and advocacy to improve the standard of care for ME/CFS patients. Funding and support of these groups is the third component of the Greens' policy and it is long overdue.
The fourth component of the policy is a promise to provide participant pathways for people with ME/CFS to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The NDIS was established with the explicit purpose of supporting Australians with disabilities to access social, economic and community life. Senator Steele-John was infuriated by the revelations that the NDIS had vastly underspent this financial year, but was still failing so many Australians in need of support.
There are a range of reasons given to the scores of people with ME/CFS who are rejected from the scheme. Some reasons relate to outdated research that suggested Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Graduated Exercise Therapy would make them better; making them ineligible under the criteria of 'permanence'. Others find themselves caught up in the stigma and misconception of medical professionals who misdiagnose them with Conversion Disorder or Somatic Symptom Disorder. If all the symptoms experienced by a person with ME/CFS are described in either the International Consensus Primer or the Canadian Consensus Criteria, then they will not meet the criteria for Conversion. But approximately 80% of people with ME/CFS are women, who for centuries have had their physical symptoms disregarded as mental illness. In addition to advocacy efforts to have ME/CFS added to List B of the NDIS, Senator Steele-John spoke about aims to continue working with his colleague Senator Rachel Siewert to reform the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to improve its fairness and reasonableness in NDIS appeals. He also spoke about the relationship between the AAT and abusive behaviour towards people with ME/CFS, which may mean it falls in the remit of the Royal Commission into violence and abuse of people with disabilities, the terms of reference for which are due to be finalised before the election.
Senator Steele-John's efforts to support the ME/CFS community are commendable. It is a source of great hope that he has been able to expand on the good work undertaken by his predecessor Senator Ludlam and bring his entire party on board to work for the improvement of the lives of people living with this debilitating commission. He is facing a tough re-election campaign, facing off against candidates from the One Nation party. We can only hope that the good people of Western Australia get out to support his campaign and vote him back into the Senate in May so he can continue his invaluable work for Australians with disabilities, including those living with ME/CFS.
Posted on April 1, 2019 April 1, 2019 by Susan Tagged disability, gender, government, politics	Leave a comment
Professor Andrew Lloyd is the only advisor to the National Disability Insurance Agency regarding the debilitating neurological disease Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, a type of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS). A poster for a study being undertaken by his 'Fatigue Clinic' at the University of New South Wales asks the sexist question "are women with CFS ovary-reacting?"
ME/CFS is a life altering disease that affects not just the nervous system, but the gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and other systems in the body. Up to 240,000 Australians have ME/CFS. It is estimated that a quarter of those are bed or house bound. Others may be able to work but all will have severely affected quality of life. There is currently no known cause or cure for the disease.
Across the country thousands of people with this disease are being refused access to much needed supports through the NDIS, and many more refused access to the Disability Support Pension. These policy decisions are a direct result of Prof Lloyd's outdated recommendations for patients to undergo Graded Exercise Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy as curative treatments, or methods of reducing the symptoms of their disease.
However, Graded Exercise Therapy has been shown to be unsafe for people with ME/CFS. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy is a psychological treatment that was first recommended before biological evidence of the disease was discovered. While a very small number of patients has improved with Graded Exercise Therapy, neither treatment has been shown to be statistically effective treatments for the disease defined by the leading international criteria.
ME/CFS effects four times as many women as men. This ratio is the same as autoimmune diseases. The disease has a history (and, all too often, current reality) of sufferers not being believed, misdiagnoses, conflation with psychosomatic diseases and mental illness, and labelling with terms such as hysteria.
Historically, hysteria was a diagnosis given exclusively to women originally described as having wandering wombs, but later to describe high levels of sexual desire, emotional outbursts or nervousness. Not only is hysteria not an actual disease, it's history as a label men placed on women for exhibiting natural behaviour makes it a touchy subject for modern women who's health concerns have been disbelieved or downplayed. Even in modern times, the term hysteric is used to describe overly emotional people.
While the relationship between patients menstrual cycle and the severity of their symptoms is an under-researched area, it would be incredibly problematic if the sentiment in the title of the poster for this project permeated the research design. There is a huge amount of poorly designed, unethical, and poorly executed research on this disease and a dire need for high quality biological research. It would be terrible if the University of New South Wales was spending scarce research funding to rekindle outdated views of women's health.
Research poster at UNSW 'Fatigue Clinic'
Posted on October 18, 2018 April 12, 2019 by Susan Tagged gender, health, social justice	Leave a comment
Nadia Murad: small town girl, reluctant hero, Nobel Laureate
Over the years, the Nobel Peace Prize has chosen some doozy candidates, but it remains one of the world's most preeminent honours. Last weekend, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced this year's award would be shared by Nadia Murad and Dr Denis Mukwege. Both these people have fought for years to end sexual violence in armed conflict.
Nadia Murad grew up in a small town in northern Iraq. She dreamed of becoming a teacher or a beautician. But in 2014, her life was torn apart when ISIS forces swept through her village in an effort to kill the men in her community, enslave the women and girls, and convert the boys. Nadia is a member of a small religious and ethnic community. Although they believe in one heavenly God, ISIS believe they are devil worshippers. That day, Nadia was kidnapped, trafficked to Mosul and sold into sexual slavery. She was beaten and brutally gang raped for a month before finally escaping.
As in so many communities, Nadia and women like her who were so brutally assaulted feared the shame of their community. But she bravely stood up and told her story. What happened to Nadia was not her fault. The only person to blame for rape is the rapist. But what Nadia experienced was not just rape, it was part of a campaign to eradicate her community. It was genocide.
As difficult as it can be for survivors to tell their stories, Nadia sat before the United Nations Security Council and told the world what had happened to her. She told them of the pain and suffering she experienced at the hands of ISIS. She told them what they'd done to her whole community.
Since then, she has continued to campaign for justice. She feels her survival obliged her to fight for the rights of persecuted minorities and victims of sexual violence. In a statement after the Nobel announcement, she reiterated that she wanted to see perpetrators of sexual violence in a courtroom, not executed.
But in many ways, she is still beholden to the experience forced upon her. She is still a relatively ordinary young women, wanting to train to be a beautician; but is thrust into the spotlight because of her bravery, and the heinous acts of men from around the world.
After the announcement was made, in a nod to the #metoo movement and the topical Kavanaugh hearings, Nadia said "my hope is that all women who speak about their experience of sexual violence are heard and accepted."
Nadia Murad at the National Press Club in Washington DC
Nadia is currently working to help rebuild villages that were destroyed in the battle with ISIS. Villages were burned to the ground, there is no medicine or food, and no crops in fields. While the Nobel Prize money, her share will be about half a million US dollars, will be very much appreciated, it won't go far in the face of such great need. She explained that it costs about $US 20-30,000 to buy back a Yazidi sex slave and estimated there are about 3000 women and girls still held in captivity.
She has now called "on governments to join me in fighting genocide and sexual violence." The Australian parliament has committed to investigate and prosecute these crimes, but so far has not acted to do so. To do so, they would need to establish and fund a dedicated team to investigate and prosecute our nationals who perpetrated these crimes as well as gather testimony from Yazidis who now call Australia home.
"A single prize and a single person cannot accomplish these goals. We need an international effort." If all governments undertook such efforts, then, perhaps Nadia will have the prize she truly seeks, justice for her and her community, and a serious step toward ending impunity for conflict related sexual violence.
If you'd like to help Nadia's cause, you can donate to Nadia's Initiative via squarespace at https://nadiasinitiative.org/donate/
Posted on October 17, 2018 October 17, 2018 by Susan Tagged conflict, feminism, gender, health, justice, politics, social justice	Leave a comment
Ford v Kavanaugh
The following is a guest blog post from my friend and human rights campaigner, Daniel Yeow.
Yesterday's hearings have never been a clearer message that women's opinions are worth less than men's. Ford's memory was continually questioned, while Kavanaugh's was not. His belligerence was never called out. Her character was constantly attacked.
A thorough FBI investigation would have, while time-consuming, resolved this in a manner respectful of the truth. The choice by the GOP to turn this into political theatre has turned it into an extremely undignified race to the bottom. What little chance remained that Kavanaugh could credibly claim to be an appropriate candidate for the supreme court has now vanished.
They accuse her of politically motivated false accusations, when statistically it is more likely for a man to be sexually assaulted than to be falsely accused of it. Rushing the confirmation of the candidate, after yesterday's farce, proves that it is in fact the republicans who are acting out of political motivation – putting party and ideology ahead of country and due process.
Pragmatically, the judiciary committee is pushing to vote to recommend the candidate, which will probably happen. Then the senate has to confirm.
What the GOP needs to realise is that, even though they can 'win' with their 51-49 majority, yesterday's political theatre, paired with Trump's low approval ratings mean that putting Kavanaugh on the supreme court could spell long-term electoral disaster (and in the short-term, even the possibility for a filibuster-proof 2/3 majority for democrats). Confirming the candidate would be the end of the political careers of many GOP senators. On the other hand, crossing the aisle and voting against the party will, in this insane-mobster political environment, result in similar career-ending repercussions.
So for a decent number of senate republicans, they have to make a decision on what will likely be the last thing they do in their political careers. I can't predict what they will do, but I hope they at least have a conscience which includes women as equals, despite the strong messaging from others in their party.
P.S. I should probably also add that I believe her and not him. Not that that matters. What people are forgetting is that this isn't a criminal case. This is essentially a job interview. The question isn't "did Kav try to rape?", it is "is this guy appropriate material for the supreme court", and he clearly isn't.
Posted on September 28, 2018 September 28, 2018 by Susan Tagged gender, justice	Leave a comment


Home › Business › An Interview with Troy Albrecht, Founder of No-Spill Party Cups.
An Interview with Troy Albrecht, Founder of No-Spill Party Cups.
Lansing Economic Area Partnership will be hosting its 4th annual Hatched event on December 28th featuring nine winners from their 2017 monthly business pitch competition to compete for a $10,000 grand prize. Lansing Mosaic caught up with one of the winners who will be competing, Troy Albrecht. Troy Albrecht is the founder of No-Spill Party Cups, silicon-weighted plastic cups that won't spill water while playing party games.
How did you find out about The Hatching?
I heard about The Hatching contest through Michigan State University's Entrepreneurial Association. I have been a member there for two years now; it's a fantastic program and has helped many people. I won the April, 2017 contest for No-Spill beer pong cups.
When did you realize you had a passion for entrepreneurship?
I realized I had a passion for entrepreneurship while reflecting on my attempts to start multiple business endeavors throughout my life. I always have new ideas for products and I wanted to learn the skills that would help me act upon them. I have also been interested in the entrepreneurial aspects of the standard business major courses and so decided to make it part of my degree as a minor and really work towards starting businesses early.
Your idea includes a No-Spill Beer Pong Cups. Maturin LLC is such a unique name. Tell us about the meaning behind the name.
supposedly created this universe. Turtles/tortoises have just been a trend for me for a while; I have a turtle on my car dashboard, business card, necklace, phone background, etc. I decided it was a good name for the company so that it could encompass many different types of businesses.
Tell us about your community involvement in the greater Lansing area.
I try to stay involved with the Michigan State University community both professionally and in recreation. My business's first product launch, No-Spill Beer Pong Cups, will begin in the East Lansing community through retail, tailgates, fraternities, etc. In addition, some of the recycled material that goes into the No-Spill Cups comes from the East Lansing area. I am a member of The Hatch and the Entrepreneurship Association. I enjoy collaborating with other students who are also pursuing start-up businesses and working through the inevitable complications.
Are you a student? If so where do you attend school?
I am currently attending Michigan State University as a Junior Business Management major with an Entrepreneurship minor.
What are you doing to prep for the Hatching Finale coming up in November?
For the Hatching Finale I am refining the product to be in its final form by the November contest. I plan to make some initial sales for financial data to show the exact profit margin and sales price at the contest. I am also redesigning the financing to allocate the prize money to the most useful channels to accelerate my business. I have been interviewing and surveying to get a broader public opinion on the factors of price, use, preferred methods of acquiring, and more so that I can have a set specific marketing plan to present to the judges.


Annoucing our Campership program…Give the gift of camp and spread the Blue Star Magic!
Reflections for a Sweet New Year!
Blue Star just keeps getting better and better!
Summer Theme 2016…We are One!
What is the secret ingredient in the BSC Magic?!
Summer 'Chai Theme: choose kindness. share peace.


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Vanessa Lachey Gives Birth to Baby No. 3 With Husband Nick Lachey: Meet Phoenix Robert
By Evan Real
He's here! Vanessa Lachey took to Instagram on Monday, December 26, to announce the birth of her son, Phoenix Robert — her third child with husband Nick Lachey.
PHOTOS: Celebrity Babies 2016
Vanessa — who is also mom of son Camden, 4, and daughter Brooklyn, 23 months, with Nick — posted a photo of her bundle of joy's tiny hand clasping her fingers and shared her excitement over becoming a third-time mom.
It's a very Merry Christmas indeed! We had our Christmas Miracle. Phoenix Robert Lachey decided to show up early and was born on Christmas Eve. Mommy, Daddy, Camden & Brooklyn LOVE You very much! #LacheyPartyOf5
A post shared by Vanessa Lachey (@vanessalachey) on Dec 26, 2016 at 6:15am PST
"It's a very Merry Christmas indeed! We had our Christmas Miracle. Phoenix Robert Lachey decided to show up early and was born on Christmas Eve," she captioned the sweet snap. "Mommy, Daddy, Camden & Brooklyn LOVE You very much! #LacheyPartyOf5."
PHOTOS: Just Like Us: Celebrity Moms
The former TRL host, 36, revealed back in September that she and Nick, 43, were expanding their family. She shared an Instagram pic of her brood standing in front of their new home. Above the group shot is a headline: "We got a new crib! Now we need a new crib!"
Nick and Vanessa Lachey in 2015. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly
During a May 2015 interview with Us Weekly, the TV personality opened up about the joys of parenthood and watching her kids interact.
"When I introduced Camden to Brooklyn, I had my doctor give me some tips," Vanessa told Us at the time. "I had Camden give a gift to Brooklyn — we laid out three stuffed animals, we said, 'Which one do you want to pick for Brooklyn?' He goes, 'That one, that one!' and so he picked the little giraffe."
PHOTOS: The Biggest Boy Bands of All Time!
For his part, the former boy-bander believes fatherhood has changed his life for the better. "It's just all-encompassing. You would do anything for your children — not that you wouldn't for your wife or someone else you love, but there's a sense of protectiveness and responsibility that comes with your child, which you don't feel in any other relationship," he told the Huffington Post in July 2013. "[Becoming a dad] has changed my life in every possible way."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The first episode has already aired and is a super hit with the audience.
In fact, India has been listed as the most excited country in Asia for the show. As per Instagram's Asia data of conversations, in the past 30 days, the maximum searches for Game Of Thrones have been performed by Indians.
The top five nations who were the most excited for GoT were USA, Brazil, Great Britain, India, and Germany.
What did you think of the first episode? Hit the comments section below!
This is why Nazar actress Ritu Chaudhry Seth celebrates every festival Strange fan theories about Game Of Thrones!


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Home News IPCC report into use of force by police officers highlights need for greater scrutiny
IPCC report into use of force by police officers highlights need for greater scrutiny
Leanne Stephenson
Solicitor, Civil Liberties
A new report on the use of force by police officers has made for interesting reading today, highlighting a string of cases in recent years where officers have physically overstepped the mark when going about their duties.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPPCC) says research has indicated that people think force is used more readily by officers than a decade ago.
Those who'd had direct experience said they believed officers were 'more ready to use excessive force' and that verbal communication was not attempted first, whilst also saying they lacked confidence in the complaints system.
As an expert handling claims against the police for misconduct, assault and wrongful arrest, the findings have not surprised me.
The IPCC's 'Police Use of Force' study brought together evidence from complaints and investigations over a five-year period from 2009 to 2014, as well as examining public perception.
Over that time, 40 people died during or following the use of force, although not all were directly related, or a consequence of, the force used.
Shocking examples of police misconduct
The report has certainly highlighted some shocking examples of misconduct.
It includes details of an officer throwing hot water over a man in custody, and an officer committing assault and perjury when punching someone a number of times in the back as he held the victim down on the ground.
The report also highlighted how in one case, an officer received a final written warning for head-butting a child.
Other findings of the report included:
A high death rate when restraint equipment, such as leg straps and belts, was used, or when police used force in a hospital
People with mental health concerns being four times more likely to die than other people
Young people experiencing use of force were disproportionately likely to be of black and ethnic minority (BME) background
Representing victims of police misconduct
In my work for Hudgell Solicitors, I represent many people who are victims of police officers using excessive force.
Officers must always consider whether the use of "reasonable force" has a lawful objective and basis when making an arrest.
Situations when they may use more force include in self-defence, to defend another person, to prevent damage to property, and to prevent a crime and make an arrest.
The power to arrest should also only be used by police as a last resort, and there must be a lawful reason for making any arrest in the first place. Any physical force used in the course of making an arrest must also be, necessary, reasonable and proportionate.
Interestingly, the report has highlighted that at present, there is no "standardised national practice for police forces to record all types of force used".
Nor is there a requirement to retain video footage captured via body cameras, which are much more commonly used.
It has now been recommended that retaining footage from such cameras becomes standard practice in cases involving complaints or serious injury, and this certainly seems a sensible move.
Camera footage can prove vital in cases involving a complaint against the police, and we see an increasing number of clients who come to us already armed with evidence to support their case. It is often surprising, however, how often pieces of film footage cannot be located during investigations by forces themselves.
The IPCC is also calling for the creation of a national database to record the use of firearms, Tasers and other restraint techniques to identify concerns and improve public confidence. This is a must. It will bring greater transparency to the entire process of investigating complaints against the police.
Police officers must be held accountable
Dame Anne Owers, Chairman of the IPCC, concluded by saying all officers must be accountable for their use of force, particularly when it leads to death or serious injury.
She says police are not always "alert to when there ought to be concerns about the way force is being used", and that is certainly a common factor in the cases we see.
Police officers are often under a lot of pressure, whether that be to handle difficult situations, or to meet targets and bring people in when crimes have been committed.
However, everybody has the right to be treated lawfully, fairly and with respect by the police, something this report has highlighted is not always the case.