553 Pussy Riot film at Sundance Film Festival. Mother abducts own baby from hospital ??

Pussy Riot film at Sundance Film Festival. Mother abducts own baby from
hospital ??

(1) Pussy Riot film to be screened at Sundance Film Festival
(2) Madonna exploits ‘Pussy Riot’ name in t-shirts available in her
online store
(3) ‘South Park’ paradise: High on drugs Jesus joins ‘Free Pussy Riot’
appeal
(4) Pussy Riot As Person Of The Year? Russian Group Listed On TIME
Magazine's Short List
(5) RUSSIAN court restricts internet access to Pussy Riot videos
(6) Gender discovery like assault: husband
(7) Divorce court orders husband to move his parents' grave - from home
he inherited from them
(8) GAY couple pay an Indian surrogate mother to give birth
(9) Nanny State: Mother accused of abducting her own baby from hospital
(10) Police find baby taken by mother from hospital

(1) Pussy Riot film to be screened at Sundance Film Festival

http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/pussy-riot-film-sundance-919/

Published: 29 November, 2012, 21:11

A documentary telling the story of the feminist Russian punk band, Pussy
Riot, will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival in 2013.

The world premiere of the film by Oscar-nominated producers of “Hell and
Back Again” and “Afghan Star” will be held in Park City, Utah in January
2013. The Russian and British co-production will be screened at Sundance
in the World Cinema Documentary program, competing against 11 other films.

The film, directed by Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin, is dedicated to
the notorious punk band that rose to international fame after their
controversial act at Russia’s main cathedral in February 2012.

Two of the band members are now serving jail terms for their Anti-Putin
song, staged in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral- the other
convicted member of the group was later released on probation.

“Who is really on trial in a case that has gripped the nation and the
world beyond, three young artists or the society they live in,” the
filmmakers ask.

Sundance World Cinema Documentary program will also showcase a Chinese
production “Fallen City” following four years in the lives of three
families who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Also showcased will
be a film about Google’s ambitious project to build a giant digital
library “Google and the World Brain.”

The festival will also feature US Dramatic and US Documentary
Competition programs, a World Cinema Dramatic Competition program and
the Next Competition- focusing on innovative, forward-thinking
approaches to storytelling.

Sundance Film Festival was founded and is headed by actor Robert
Redford. Since 1978 is has been held annually to celebrate independent
moviemaking.
The 2013 Festival will be held in January 17-27 in Park City, Salt Lake
City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah.

(2) Madonna exploits ‘Pussy Riot’ name in t-shirts available in her
online store

http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/madonna-pussy-riot-tshirts-806/

Published: 02 November, 2012, 13:31

The ‘Material Girl’ Madonna has put on the market t-shirts with a ‘Pussy
Riot’ inscription. The pop diva set an example herself when she
emblazoned the name of the jailed Russian punk band on her back while
performing ‘Like a Virgin’ in Moscow.

The t-shirts dedicated to the jailed Russian punk band are available at
Madonna’s official online store, and symbolically come in the color
white. Priced at $19.95, the shirts have the ‘Pussy Riot’ inscription
on the front.

Earlier this year, during her performance at Moscow's Olympiysky Center,
Madonna put on a balaclava mask and called for the three jailed members
of the band to be set free.

Calling all the girls by their names, Madonna said that they were paying
too high a price for what they had done. She also noted that she wanted
peace, freedom and talent to reign in the world. Her Russian fans
greeted her speech with a wave of applause.

The three members of the feminist punk group were arrested after they
stormed the Christ the Savior Cathedral, where they performed a
profanity-laden ‘punk prayer.’ The trio were sentenced to two years in a
medium-security prison for hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.

The women insisted they never intended to offend people's religious
sensibilities; one of them was released on probation after successfully
appealing her conviction.

(3) ‘South Park’ paradise: High on drugs Jesus joins ‘Free Pussy Riot’
appeal

http://rt.com/art-and-culture/news/south-park-pussy-riot-749/

Published: 01 November, 2012, 18:01

The recent doping scandal involving cyclist Lance Armstrong has been
given special treatment in the latest episode of ‘South Park’ which also
featured signature character Jesus in a “Free Pussy Riot” t-shirt
dedicated to the jailed Russian punk band.

The punk group members were arrested after they stormed the Christ the
Savior Cathedral, where they performed a profanity-laden ‘punk prayer.’
The trio were sentenced to two years in a medium-security prison for
hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. The women insisted they never
intended to offend people's religious sensibilities; one of them was
released on probation after successfully appealing her conviction.

While A-list celebrities from Sting to Madonna voicing their support for
Pussy Riot, ‘South Park’s’ new episode, entitled ‘A Scause for
Applause’, didn’t go into the punk group story, opting for what appeared
to be a more relevant issue.

“Rocked by the recent news of drug use by a beloved icon, the world is
left feeling lost and betrayed. The boys, join with the rest of the
nation, and remove their yellow wristbands. Everyone is on board, except
for Stan, who just can’t seem to cut off his bracelet,” the summary to
the episode, which premiered on Wednesday, said.

When Stan refuses to get rid of his bracelet, the community follows in
his footsteps and starts wearing “Stan Ground” bracelets. “I stand for
standing,” Stan tells the world, his statement becoming a catchphrase.
Cartman, meanwhile, is wearing bracelets for just about every occasion
imaginable, including those informing ‘I love Boobies’ and “Lap dancing
is not a crime’

When Jesus turns up, things get wild. The episode comes to a close with
Jesus taking drugs and destroying the factory producing the plastic
bracelets, in what appears to be a parody of Dr. Seuss’ signature
children’s stories. Jesus wearing the “Free Pussy Riot” t-shirt
emphasizes what’s written on his chest by saying the slogan out loud,
with those around repeating the demand to free members of the Russian
punk band.

(4) Pussy Riot As Person Of The Year? Russian Group Listed On TIME
Magazine's Short List

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/pussy-riot-time-magazine-person-of-the-year_n_2204925.html

Huffington Post, November 28, 2012

Members of Pussy Riot have been nominated for Time's Person of the Year.

Past winners of TIME Magazine's Person of the Year award have included
Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy, and, in 2006, simply
"You."
Could the next winner be Russia's feminist punk-rock group Pussy Riot?

TIME released the list of candidates for the honor on Monday and
Pussy Riot appeared as one of the nominees.

"In a year when so many voices of liberty and dissent have suffered
harsh retribution, the Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot has paid a
particularly steep price for provocative political expression," TIME's
Bruce Crumley writes in the group's listing.

TIME gives readers the option of voting on whether a certain candidate
should win the honor. As of Wednesday afternoon, 39 percent voted that
Pussy Riot should "Definitely" be named Person of the Year, while 61
percent voted "No Way."

Pussy Riot rose to international prominence when three members of the
controversial group were arrested for "hooliganism" as a result of a
protest performance that the group staged at Moscow's Christ Savior
Cathedral.

The group reportedly yelled, "Mother Mary, please drive Putin away," in
protest of Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Other names on this year's list of candidates include Psy, Felix
Baumgartner, and Joe Biden.

(5) RUSSIAN court restricts internet access to Pussy Riot videos

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/russian-court-issues-pussy-riot-video-ban/story-e6frg6so-1226527589707

Russian court issues Pussy Riot video ban

AFP November 30, 2012 3:42PM

A RUSSIAN court has issued an order that would limit internet access to
videos of performances by punk band Pussy Riot, two of whose members are
jailed, ruling the films to be extremist.

The "restrict access" ruling appears to impose a wholesale ban on
accessing the videos inside Russia, but it remains to be seen how it
will be implemented.

Among the videos the court found to be extremist was the infamous "Punk
Prayer" in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, which landed two
band members in prison camps, Russian news agencies reported.

The judge, who did not actually watch any of the clips during the
hearings, also restricted Pussy Riot's website and the band's popular
Livejournal blog, the location of most of its manifestos and photos from
other actions.

Google representative Alla Zabrovskaya told AFP in an email that the
internet giant's video-sharing subsidiary YouTube needs to receive the
court's written order listing the specific internet links before making
its own decision on the matter.

The judge's decision pertains to four videos from different performances
published on five different websites, a court spokeswoman told the
Interfax news service.

The ruling supported the position of Moscow's prosecutors, who told the
court that linguistic experts found the clips offensive.

Materials officially branded "extremist" are put on a blacklist kept by
the Russian justice ministry. Their dissemination can be considered a
criminal offence.

Currently, the list has about 1500 items, mostly related to banned
religious and ultra-nationalist groups or those deemed to have a fascist
ideology.

The only YouTube clip on the list is a video from a nationalist rally
set to a song called "Kill Jews, Save Russia". The clip is not available
in Russia.

A legal expert with the Agora human rights group, Damir Gainutdinov,
criticised the ruling, arguing the law on extremism did not apply to
Pussy Riot videos.

"Everyone says that the video hurt the feeling of religious people, but
it didn't contain any calls for extremist actions, so it cannot be
extremist," he told local radio.

Two Pussy Riot band members are currently serving two-year sentences
after their cathedral performance was ruled an act of hooliganism
motivated by religious hatred.

The video of the February "Punk Prayer" has gone viral and been viewed
on YouTube several million times. Its lyrics appeal to the Virgin Mary
to "get rid of (President Vladimir) Putin".

Pussy Riot also sang a song "Putin Got Scared" on Red Square, and staged
an illicit concert on the roof of a Moscow prison for those detained at
a protest rally last December.

The band's Yekaterina Samutsevich, who has been convicted for the church
stunt but freed with a suspended sentence, called Thursday's ruling a
"direct recognition of artistic censorship" in Russia.

"It's awful that they will be blocking most of the photos and videos
made by Pussy Riot," she said, but added the viral nature of YouTube may
make a complete ban difficult.

Samutsevich earlier vouched to protect the group's clips and appealed to
be included as an interested party in the legal process, but was denied
last week.

The Pussy Riot case has polarised Russian society while the group's
prosecution was seen as excessive by many Western countries, and global
stars like Madonna pledged support.

However the band's fate appeared sealed when Putin called the two-year
sentence correct and repeatedly defended the tough verdict from
criticism by Western leaders.

Putin, who returned to a third historic presidential term in the Kremlin
in May, has overseen the passage of a series of laws restricting freedom
of speech and the internet.

This month, a new blacklist of websites took effect that allows the
government to block pages with banned content, including extremism.

Critics have said the new law's vague wording can be exploited, while
observers say that the blacklist is a clear step toward wide-ranging web
restrictions similar to those in China.

AFP

(6) Gender discovery like assault: husband

http://www.smh.com.au/world/gender-discovery-like-assault-husband-20121127-2a68e.html

Sydney Morning Herald

November 27 2012

A Belgian man is trying to have his 19-year marriage annulled after
discovering his wife was born male and had a sex-change before they met.

Now 64, the Antwerp man identified by media outlets only as "Jan", met
Indonesian Monica, 17 years his junior, when she worked as an au pair
for his sister.

"I thought she was an attractive woman. And she was all woman. I feel
like I have been assaulted. She had no male traits," Jan told a Belgian
newspaper.

"Over the years she was taking the (contraceptive) pill and even during
sex I never noticed anything."

The truth was revealed recently during a row between the pair.

Jan said his relationship with Monica had become strained in recent
times as she repeatedly stayed out late and chatted with other men online.

Unsuccessful in a legal bid to have Monica evicted from the couple's
home, Jan is now trying to annul the marriage, media outlets report.

AAP

(7) Divorce court orders husband to move his parents' grave - from home
he inherited from them

http://www.smh.com.au/national/dust-to-dustup-husband-ordered-to-dig-up-parents-ashes-in-divorce-row-20120903-25ako.html

Dust to dust-up: husband ordered to dig up parents' ashes in divorce row

Louise Hall

Sydney Morning Herald, September 04 2012

A MAN forced to dig up his parents' ashes after the Family Court ordered
his former wife retain the family farm has described the decision as "a
kick in the guts".

The man, given the pseudonym Mr Moss by the court, had to demolish the
memorial garden he had established, which included removing headstones
over buried urns containing his mother's and father's ashes.

Mr Moss and his former wife, known as Mrs Moss, "desperately wanted" the
sole right to the southern highlands property.

But Justice Stewart Austin cited the "transportability of [her]
husband's mementoes" as weighing in Mrs Moss's favour when deciding who
should get the farm when their joint assets were carved up.

While the property had much sentimental value to Mr Moss, the ashes were
not interred and the headstones were not immovably fixed, Justice Austin
said. Mr Moss was given 14 days to dig up the urns and remove the
headstones and a bronze bust of his father.

"It's a kick in the guts," he said. "It's not just a block of land or a
piece of dirt - it was my parents' home."

When his father died in 2002, Mr Moss began creating a memorial garden.
And when his mother died six years later, her funeral was held in the
garden and her ashes buried next to her husband's.

Mr and Mrs Moss separated in August 2010, although they continued to
live together at the property with their two children until April last year.

Mr Moss told the court that although he earned $160,000 a year in a
managerial position, he wanted to take over the property and generate
income as a farmer.

Justice Austin said Mrs Moss had established a network of friends and
become enmeshed in the community, yet it was beyond her financial
capacity to acquire similar property in the same locale. She had not had
a job since 1994 and hoped to make a living running a hospitality
business on site.

Justice Austin doubted Mr Moss could make the property profitable as a
commercial farm, given it had never carried more than a dozen animals
and only 10 to 20 bottles of olive oil had been sold to guests.

Mr Moss said he hoped to buy another farm where he could re-bury his
parents' ashes.

(8) GAY couple pay an Indian surrogate mother to give birth

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/twins-win-for-gay-dads/story-e6frf7l6-1225992667107

Surrogate gives birth

By Mark Dunn

Herald Sun, Melbourne

January 22, 2011 12:00AM

A GAY couple who paid an Indian surrogate mother to give birth to twin
girls have won a major legal case for parenting rights.

The case comes as overseas surrogacy booms, with 350 babies expected to
be brought to Australia in 2011, compared with 50 just two years ago.

The Herald Sun can reveal the parenting rights breakthrough hot on the
heels of Nicole Kidman's shock new surrogate baby revelation and the
success of TV hit comedy Modern Family, which features a gay male couple
with a baby girl.

The 20-month-old girls were born in Mumbai to a woman who carried eggs
from an anonymous donor impregnated with sperm from one of the men.

The Melbourne couple went to the Family Court seeking full parental
status for the non-genetic father.

"In this case, the children do not have the benefit of a mother, but
they have the good fortune of having two fathers," Justice Paul Cronin
found.

"As a matter of law, the word 'parent' tends to suggest some biological
connection, but ... biology does not really matter; it is all about
parental responsibility."

Lawyer Susan Buchanan, who represented the couple at the Family Court,
said the ruling could pave the way for other same-sex couples to win
full parenting rights.

A gay couple told 60 Minutes last year they paid $40,000 for an Indian
woman to give birth to twin girls.

"They're going to grow up finding this totally normal until they see
otherwise and then, you know, when they start asking questions we'll
give them the answers," one of the men told the program.

The Family Court decision was welcomed by surrogacy advocates.

"It's a major step forward having that kind of judgment because it sets
a precedent," said Sam Everingham, of Australian Families Through
Gestational Surrogacy.

"Any judge would have seen that this is a modern family made in a fairly
unconventional way."

But Catholic ethicist Nicholas Tonti-Filippini said surrogacy should be
discouraged because a "committee of parents" - surrogate, donors and
commissioning parents - confused a child's sense of identity.

"Parents don't have rights, they have responsibilities. The crucial
thing in all of this is that the courts make decisions in the interest
of the child."

The Family Court made "parenting orders" in three international
surrogacy cases last year where couples- and in one case, a single
Sydney man - returned to Australia seeking citizenship for the newborns.

India is the most popular source of surrogate babies.

Mr Everingham said more than 200 surrogate babies would be born this
year to Indian women, who will charge about $25,000.

About 100 babies will come from the US, where the going rate is
$150,000-plus, while about 50 will come from Thailand, where the charge
is up to $50,000.

(9) Nanny State: Mother accused of abducting her own baby from hospital

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/search-for-mother-who-took-onedayold-baby-20120315-1v7bf.html

Search for mother who took one-day-old baby

March 15, 2012 - 3:26PM

{photo} Missing ... Emily Wotherspoon. {end}

Police are urgently searching for a young mother they say abducted her
one-day old baby from a Taree hospital this afternoon.

Police said the mother was not cleared by medical staff to take the
child from the hospital.

Medical experts at the hospital in York Street have told police the baby
will need urgent medical care within 48 hours.

Emily Wotherspoon, 26, was seen leaving the hospital on foot at 12.20pm,
wearing black tights with football shorts over the top and a grey
singlet top, police said.

She was described as being 170 centimetres tall, with a light brown
complexion and long dark hair.

Police are asking anyone who sees her or the baby to phone triple-0. ==

http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/latest_releases?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmViaXoucG9saWNlLm5zdy5nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjIyMTEwLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE%3D

Concern for Child - Final Alert - Missing mother and baby not located -
Taree

Thursday, 15 March 2012 07:38:55 PM

The one-day-old baby girl who was abducted from a Taree hospital at
lunchtime today has still not been located.

About 12.20pm today (Thursday 15 March 2012), the baby’s 26-year-old
mother, Emily Wotherspoon, left the York Street Taree building on foot.

The woman is described as being 170cm tall, light brown complexion, long
dark hair.

When she was last seen she was wearing black tights with football shorts
over the top and a grey singlet top.

Medical experts at the hospital have told police the baby will need
urgent medical care within 48 hours.

Police are asking the public to be on alert and report any sightings of
this woman or the child. .

Ring Triple Zero (000) to provide any information about this abduction. ==

http://www.wauchopegazette.com.au/news/local/news/general/dayold-baby-abducted-in-taree/2489908.aspx

Day-old baby abducted in Taree

15 Mar, 2012 04:11 PM

A one-day-old baby girl has been abducted from a Taree hospital today.
At about 12.20pm, the baby’s 26-year-old mother, Emily Wotherspoon, left
the York Street, Taree, building on foot.

Police said they have visited Ms Wotherspoon's last known address - in
Wauchope - but have been unable to find her.

She is described as being 170cm tall, light brown complexion, long dark
hair.

When she was last seen she was wearing black tights with football shorts
over the top and a grey singlet top.

Medical experts at the hospital have told police the baby will need
urgent medical care within 48 hours.

Police are asking the public to be on alert and report any sightings of
this woman or the child.

Ring Triple Zero if you have any information. ==

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/true-crime-scene/newborn-baby-in-need-of-urgent-medical-help-abducted-by-her-mother-from-hospital/story-fnat7jnn-1226300717336

Newborn baby in need of urgent medical help abducted by her mother from
hospital

Henry Budd

The Daily Telegraph March 15, 2012 5:13PM

A ONE-day-old baby girl in need of urgent medical care has been
allegedly abducted from a hospital by her mother.

POLICE ARE URGENTLY SEARCHING FOR EMILY WOTHERSPOON, WHO THEY SAY
ABDUCTED HER ONE-DAY OLD BABY FROM A NSW HOSPITAL THIS AFTERNOON.
PICTURE: POLICE MEDIA SUPPLIED

Mother Emily Wotherspoon, 26, allegedly walked out of the hospital
with the infant about 12.20pm.

Medical experts at the hospital, in Tarnee on the mid-north coast of New
South Wales, told police the baby needed urgent medical care within 48
hours.

The woman is described as being 170cm tall with a light brown complexion
and long dark hair.

When last seen, she was wearing black tights with football shorts over
the top and a grey singlet top.

Ms Wotherspoon reportedly fled from The Manning Hospital, located 311km
north of Sydney in New South Wales, between Newcastle and Port
Macquarie, this afternoon and has not been seen by police since.

Police are asking the public to be on alert and to ring 000 to provide
any information about this abduction.

(10) Police find baby taken by mother from hospital

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-16/police-find-baby-taken-by-mother-from-hospital/3895478/

ABC Radio News

Updated March 16, 2012 23:18:16

Emily Wotherspoon and her baby were found safe and well.

A 26-year-old woman and her newborn baby have been found safe and well
on the New South Wales mid north coast after an extensive police search.

Authorities had been concerned for the welfare of the one-day-old baby
girl, because she had not been cleared for release when her mother took
her from Taree's Manning Base Hospital on Thursday.

Police found Emily Wotherspoon and her baby at a house in Coffs Harbour
after a tip off from members of the public.

They have been taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital for checks.