I made a choice

Exhausted Paralympian Kurt Fearnley 'needed to pick battle' | Travel News | News.com.au

PARALYMPIAN Kurt Fearnley, who crawled the Kokoda Track and ended up doing the same through an airport terminal - and to a bathroom - after Jetstar staff refused to allow him to use his own wheelchair, is optimistic about an apology he has received from the airline.

Fearnley, 28, was told the airline's policy was to take some wheelchairs from disabled people to check in as baggage and offered him a less-mobile wheelchair. He did not want to be pushed around the airport.

"I said there is not a chance that I am going to sit there and be pushed through an airport," he said.

"An able-bodied equivalent, a normal person's equivalent would be having your legs tied together, your pants pulled down and be carried or pushed through an airport."

"I made a choice and that was to make my own way to the gate," Fearnley said. "I jumped on to my brother's shoulder then I crawled."

Fearnley talked about the ordeal in a speech at the 2009 National Disability Awards at Parliament House last night, during his duties as an ambassador and emcee for the event.

He has since received an apology from Jetstar and says an airline representative has told him the company is working on an alternative boarding procedure for disabled passengers.

"They are busy working out an alternative procedure," he said.

"As long as that's going ahead, I'm more than happy."

But he said he wouldn't be afraid of speaking out again if he sees airlines making the same mistake.

"I wouldn't hesitate to take this step again," he said.

"I need to pick my battles here. I'm exhausted. Kokoda has taken a very heavy toll. But I just want to see this one through."

Fearnley said took issue with the airline's wheelchair policy, not the staff.

"The staff have always been great with me, but with the policy about taking my wheelchair away - taking every person with a disability their wheelchair away and not giving them a right to choose.''

Parliamentary Secretary for Disability Services Bill Shorten said he had spoken to Qantas, the parent company of Jetstar, to find out what happened.

"I certainly don't want some gate clerk singled out but I do know Kurt - Kurt is not a whinger," Mr Shorten told Channel Nine.

"Something hasn't gone right here and what's occurred here is someone with Kurt's degree of self confidence to say this isn't right."

Fearnley crawled the Kokoda Track just a week after winning his fourth consecutive New York wheelchair marathon.

Jetstar says it accommodates up to 450 wheelchair-bound passengers each week without incident.

Aborsi dan Hak Reproduksi Perempuan

UNAIR: Aborsi dan Hak Reproduksi Perempuan

Aborsi dan Hak Reproduksi Perempuan ABORSI merupakan masalah kontroversial bagi kesehatan reproduksi. Di Indonesia, pelayanan aborsi aman yang dilakukan dokter atau bidan, rawan penggrebekan polisi karena dianggap bertentangan dengan hukum. Akibatnya, perempuan terpaksa aborsi secara sembunyi-sembunyi-lewat pemijatan maupun penusukan alat ke rahim oleh dukun maupun minum obat atau jamu peluntur- yang bisa menimbulkan komplikasi dan berakibat kematian bagi perempuan. Kematian akibat aborsi menyumbang 11,1 persen terhadap angka kematian ibu yang mencapai 373 per 100.000 kelahiran hidup (Survei Kesehatan Rumah Tangga 1995). Angka kematian ibu Indonesia tertinggi di Asia Tenggara. Sebenarnya, kematian tragis itu bisa ditekan dengan penyediaan pelayanan aborsi yang aman. Konferensi Internasional Kependudukan dan Pembangunan (ICPD) Cairo tahun 1994 dan Konferensi PBB di Beijing tahun 1995 menyepakati, akses pada pelayanan aborsi yang aman merupakan bagian dari hak perempuan untuk hidup, hak perempuan untuk menerima standar pelayanan kesehatan yang tertinggi, dan hak untuk memanfaatkan kemajuan teknologi kesehatan dan informasi. Dalam hal ini perlindungan hukum untuk penyelenggaraan aborsi yang aman diperlukan untuk menjamin hak perempuan untuk menentukan fungsi reproduksi dan peran produksi tubuhnya sendiri. Persoalannya, secara hukum aborsi dilarang di Indonesia. Aborsi dihubungkan dengan ulah remaja atau perempuan yang hamil akibat pergaulan bebas, sehingga aborsi dipertentangkan dengan nilai moral dan agama. Kenyataannya, data Perkumpulan Obstetri dan Ginekologi Indonesia (POGI) tentang survei di Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, dan Denpasar, menunjukkan 89 persen aborsi dilakukan wanita yang menikah. (Kompas, 7 Desember 1997) Jajak pendapat Hasil jajak pendapat yang diungkapkan dalam dialog publik "Hak Reproduksi Perempuan dan Aborsi yang Aman" yang diselenggarakan Forum Kesehatan Perempuan, Kamis (14/12), menunjukkan pada dasarnya masyarakat setuju dengan pengguguran kandungan (aborsi), jika keputusan medis dan psikologis ditentukan oleh dokter melalui proses konseling. Berdasarkan jajak pendapat yang dilakukan Yayasan Lembaga Konsumen Indonesia (YLKI) bekerja sama dengan Mitra Perempuan, Ford Foundation, Fenomena, Universitas Atma Jaya dan Persatuan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia (PKBI) yang dipaparkan Ketua Pengurus Harian YLKI Dra Indah Suksmaningsih MPM, 83,50 persen dari 600 responden perempuan dan laki-laki yang dipilih secara acak dari buku telepon di lima wilayah DKI Jakarta dan dihubungi lewat telepon menyatakan setuju. Sebanyak 85,11 persen mereka yang setuju adalah perempuan menikah. Lebih dari setengah jumlah responden (59 persen) setuju adanya tempat aborsi (rumah sakit, klinik) yang dilakukan secara sah, aman, dengan standar kualitas terjamin. "Hasil jajak pendapat ini mengikis keraguan tentang apakah aborsi merupakan hal yang dapat diterima masyarakat jika terdapat ancaman serius bagi kesehatan secara fisik, psikologis dan atau jiwa perempuan," ujar Indah. Zumrotin K Susilo dari Forum Kesehatan Perempuan menyatakan, kehamilan tidak dikehendaki bisa disebabkan kurangnya akses pada alat kontrasepsi atau kegagalan kontrasepsi, sementara anak sudah banyak dan kemampuan ekonomi tidak memungkinkan. Selain itu juga karena incest atau perkosaan. Kegagalan kontrasepsi, seperti dikemukakan Ketua POGI Prof dr Gulardi H Wiknjosastro, termasuk pada vasektomi dan tubektomi, terjadi sekitar dua persen. "Pelarangan aborsi tanpa memberikan solusi adalah tidak rasional. Jika dilarang, pemerintah harus membuat tempat penampungan bagi perempuan selama kehamilan dan melahirkan serta ikut menanggung pemeliharaan anak yang dilahirkan," kata Zumrotin. Wacana aborsi, seperti yang diungkapkan aktivis perempuan Myra Diarsi, sering dipertentangkan dengan kepentingan agama, sehingga terjadi saling hujat di masyarakat. Padahal yang terjadi adalah kelalaian negara. Pemerintah Indonesia memilih bentuk negara sekuler, namun urusan privat diserahkan kepada agama. Karenanya, pemerintah harus ditagih untuk bersikap jelas dan transparan mengenai aborsi. Hambatan Hal lain yang menghambat pelayanan aborsi, demikian Prof dr Sudraji Sumapraja SpOG dari POGI, adalah sumpah dokter Indonesia, yang antara lain menyatakan "menghormati semua hidup insani mulai dari saat pembuahan". Artinya, kehidupan dianggap mulai saat sel telur dan sperma bertemu. Hal itu menyebabkan aborsi dipandang sebagai kejahatan terhadap nyawa. Menurut Sudraji, Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP) yang berasal dari Wetboek van Straftrecht (WvS) melarang aborsi untuk mencegah kematian ibu, mengingat zaman dulu risiko aborsi cukup tinggi, karena dilakukan tabib, dukun beranak atau tukang obat. Peraturan aborsi diperbaiki lewat UU No 23 Tahun 1992 tentang Kesehatan, namun lafal sumpah dokter menghambat penyusunan peraturan pemerintah untuk melaksanakan UU itu. "Di luar negeri sumpah seperti itu tidak digunakan lagi. Untuk menyediakan pelayanan aborsi aman perlu amandemen KUHP dan UU No 23/1992 dengan mengubah definisi aborsi sesuai pengertian kedokteran yaitu pemberhentian kandungan sebelum janin mampu hidup di luar kandungan, yaitu sampai usia kandungan 22 minggu," urai Sudraji. Di negara maju, menurut Prof Dr dr FA Moeloek dari Ikatan Dokter Indonesia (IDI), aborsi juga masih menjadi pro-kontra. Hasil survei di Finlandia menunjukkan, mayoritas yang setuju abortus adalah para perawat. Sementara yang tidak setuju adalah para bapak. Moeloek, saat menjabat sebagai Menteri Kesehatan, pernah menyatakan akan mereformasi UU No 23/1992. Namun sebelum sempat melaksanakan niatnya, terjadi pergantian presiden dan kabinet. Sejumlah negara Islam, seperti Tunisia, Turki, dan Mesir, menurut dr Sugiat yang pernah menjadi Ketua Majelis Pembinaan Kesehatan Muhammadiyah, mengizinkan aborsi. Menurut Maria Ulfah dari Fatayat NU, dalam Islam ada beragam pendapat tentang aborsi. Secara umum aborsi yang dilakukan di atas usia kehamilan 120 hari dilarang. Namun sebelum 120 hari, ada mazhab yang mengizinkan maupun melarang aborsi. Jalan keluar untuk memberikan pelayanan aborsi yang aman bagi perempuan adalah mengamandemen KUHP dan UU No 23/1992. Namun, prosesnya tidak mudah dan perlu waktu panjang. Sambil menunggu, Ketua Advokasi Profesi POGI dr Sukarman SpOG mengusulkan, pemerintah cq Menteri Kesehatan atau Direktur Jenderal Pelayanan Medik membuat surat keputusan atau edaran kepada aparat terkait (kepolisian) mengenai sikap terhadap aborsi dan penyediaan pelayanan aborsi yang aman. Dengan demikian, tidak ada lagi perempuan yang terinfeksi atau meninggal karena aborsi. Dan tidak ada lagi eksploitasi ekonomi dengan menarik biaya tinggi terhadap tindakan aborsi. (nmp/atk) Kompas CyberMedia Minggu, 17 Desember 2000

Google maps... Alternative GPS application pada Samsung SGH i780

Google maps... Alternative GPS application pada Samsung SGH i780

Green Central - Times Online - WBLG: Religion "holds key to saving planet"

Not long after a British judge ruled that environmental concerns are broadly equivalent to religious belief, I came across this interesting story in The Ecologist suggesting that conventional religions represent the best hope of meaningful action.

The story appeared before a conference organised by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, described by the UN as "the biggest civil society movement on climate change in history".

Faith communities own between 7per cent and 8 per cent of the habitable land surface of the planet, run (or are involved in) half the world's schools and control more than 7 per cent of international financial investments.

Speaking at Lambeth Palace before the ARC conference at Windsor, the Archbishop of Canterbury said religions held the 'moral vision' and that ultimately their impact would have 'deeper roots' than anything achievable at the Copenhagen summit.

UN Assistant Secretary-General Ola Kjorven said with more than 85 per cent of the world's population adhering to a religion the commitments made at the Windsor summit had the potential to be, 'the biggest mobilisation of people and communities that we have ever seen on this issue.'

Melbourne's Federation Square among world's ugliest buildings | Travel News | News.com.au

MELBOURNE'S Federation Square has been named among the 10 ugliest buildings in the world.

Virtual Tourist puts Federation Square fifth on its list of eyesores, alongside a library in Kosovo, a television tower in Prague and New Zealand's 1970s-era parliament building.

Gallery Horrible: World’s ugliest buildings

Editors and members of the popular Virtual Tourist travel network rubbished the $450 million events venue in Melbourne's civic heart, starting with its slogan "Melbourne's Meeting Place".

"We're guessing that this is where city residents meet – to go somewhere else," concluded the judges.

"Frenzied and overly complicated, the chaotic feel of the complex is made worse by a web of unsightly wires from which overhead lights dangle."


Federation Square has been mired in controversy for years, undergoing a redesign before its belated opening in October 2002.

Since then, it has provoked fierce debate among locals and tourists who either love or loathe it.

Its architects, who were out of work for six months after its unveiling, were besieged with hate mail from angry critics.

However, Federation Square management claims to have attracted a record 8.4 million visitors last year says the venue is among the top two tourist destinations in Victoria, alongside the Queen Victoria Market.

About 55 million people have visited Federation Square since it opened, according to the latest official count.

Virtual Tourist's list, its second annual compendium of ugly structures around the world, was complied by members of the online traveller's network and it editors.

It was released in the US over the weekend.

The ugliest building was the Morris A Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland.

New Zealand's 70s-era "beehive" building, a wing of its parliamentary precinct, was ranked number three.

"A slide projector that fell on a wedding cake that fell on a waterwheel is one description of this building known," they write.

Virtual Tourist general manager Giampiero Ambrosi said the structures were awful.

"Many of these buildings don't have the warmth of an ice cube while others don’t even seem completed," Mr Ambrosi said.