- Latest Popular Stories, Instablogs Community by Mike79

Canadas age of consent raised by 2 years

Mike — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:45:42 +0000

It is now illegal for adults in Canada to have sex with a partner under the age of 16, one of the new provisions of the Tories’ violent crime law that came into effect on Thursday.

The Tackling Violent Crime Act raises the legal age of sexual consent in Canada to 16 from 14, the first time it has been raised since 1892.

Police Piece Together Details of Austria Incest Case

Mike — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:05:10 +0000

United for the first time, the family of the man who confessed to fathering seven children with his daughter celebrated the birthday of one of the kids, police said Wednesday, as they pieced together details of the family’s...

Cuba walks tightrope of reforms

Mike — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:29:35 +0000

In a campaign that bears much similarity to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev’s 1980s appeal for glasnost, Cuba’s President Raul Castro has been urging the public to investigate social shortcomings, denounce them and propose improvements.

And in concessions to allow Cubans some access to 21st century technology, Castro’s government recently announced the lifting of bans on cellphones and personal computers.

The top-down decisions granting citizens the ability to communicate with one another and to brainstorm solutions have been a hallmark of Castro’s leadership since he took the reins of a nation in crisis 21 months ago from his older brother Fidel.

Cuban intellectuals and common folk are embracing the straight-talk notion, as did Russians 20 years ago. But here, as in the Soviet Union, the leadership is walking a tightrope, risking the collapse of a struggling, authoritarian system by granting long-denied freedoms.

Concern over journalists' safety around the world

Mike — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:39:54 +0000

A new report has expressed concern over the safety of journalists worldwide, accusing public officials of “impotence, cowardice and duplicity” in defending freedom of...