Hasta La Gadget!

Scott Panetti, a 56 year old man in Texas was scheduled to be executed the other night for murdering his in-laws in 1992. What is important to note about this case is that in 1978, he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, a very serious brain disorder. With bi-partisan support and much public outcry, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals halted the execution just hours before Mr. Panetti was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection.

In the stay of execution, the Circuit Court wrote, “We stay the execution pending further order of the court to allow us to fully consider the late arriving and complex legal questions at issue in this matter.” Yes, there is complexity to this case but there are also facts that make this decision simple and easy to understand…..

Mr. Panetti showed signs of a mental disorder as a teenager and his first diagnosis was in 1978 while he was in the US Navy. In 1990, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital for the second time and has been hospitalized for his medical condition more than a dozen times.

At the time of the murder of his in-laws, he had gone off of his medication, was hearing voices and experiencing delusions and put on a business suit before surrendering to the police.

Mr. Panetti has represented himself in court, sometimes wearing a cowboy costume and a purple bandana. He rejected a plea offer that would change his sentence to life imprisonment, mounting an insanity defense. But instead of calling witnesses to attest to his mental health, he tried to subpoena John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, Jesus Christ and 200 others. He was incoherent during the trial and fell asleep.

His attorneys appealed before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, requesting funding for a mental health expert to evaluate his competency, something that hasn’t been done since 2007. His lawyers also appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, requesting the stay based on the 8th Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment because, as argued by his attorneys, Panetti still hears voices and suffers from delusions which prevent him from understanding why he is being executed.

We also know that Mr. Panetti is a son, a father and a brother. One of the brightest lights in the dark vigil over the past week has been Mr. Panetti’s sister’s loving plea for her brother’s life in the petition that she initiated that was signed by 97,287 supporters. The petition began with this poignant statement from his sister, “Scott Panetti is a paranoid schizophrenic who wore a TV-western cowboy costume in court and was allowed to represent himself while on trial for his life. But I know him as my big brother, the strong and handsome sailor, who came home to visit when on leave from the Navy.”

And most importantly, we know that judgement is a slippery slope and that love and forgiveness are always the safer choices. Questions of justice and civil rights are looming large on many fronts in our country right now, so let’s celebrate the light that our federal court system has shown in this moment for a thoughtful review of a decision about Scott Panetti and his medical condition. Because at issue is not only his life or death, but our nation’s collective soul.

By Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Almost two decades ago, in Beijing, 189 countries made a commitment to achieve equality for women, in practice and in law, so that all women could at last fully enjoy their rights and freedoms as equal human beings.

They adopted a comprehensive and ambitious plan to guarantee women the same rights as men to be educated and develop their potential. The same rights as men to choose their profession. The same rights to lead communities and nations and make choices about their own lives without fear of violence or reprisal. No longer would hundreds of thousands of women die every year in childbirth because of health care policies and systems that neglected their care. No longer would women earn considerably less than men. No longer would discriminatory laws govern marriage, land, property and inheritance.

In the years that followed, the world has witnessed tremendous progress: the number of women in the work force has increased; there is almost gender parity in schooling at the primary level; the maternal mortality ratio declined by almost 50 percent; and more women are in leadership positions. Importantly, governments talk about women’s rights as human rights, and women’s rights and gender equality are acknowledged as legitimate and indispensable goals.

However, the world is still far from the vision articulated in Beijing. Approximately 1 in 3 women throughout the world will experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Less than a quarter of parliamentarians in the world are women. In over 50 countries there is no legal protection for women against domestic violence. Almost 300,000 women and girls died in 2013 from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Approximately 1 in 3 married women aged 20 to 24 were child brides. In many parts of the world, women and girls cannot make decisions on their most private matters — sexuality, marriage, children. Girls and women who pursue their own life choices are still murdered by their own families in the dishonorable practice of so-called honor killings. All of our societies remain affected by stereotypes based on the inferiority of women, which often denigrate, humiliate and sexualize them.

Today we have the responsibility to protect the progress made in the past 20 years and address the remaining challenges. In doing so, we must recognize the vital role of women who defend human rights, often at great risk to themselves and their families precisely because they are viewed as stepping outside socially prescriptive gender stereotypes. We must recognize the role of all people, women and men, who publicly call for gender equality and often, as a result, find themselves the victim of archaic and patriarchal, but powerful, threats to their reputations, their work and even their lives. These extraordinary individuals — women’s human rights defenders — operate in hostile environments, where arguments of cultural relativism are common and often against the background of the rise of extremist, misogynistic groups, which threaten to dismantle the gains of the past.

Attacks against women who stand up to demand their human rights and individuals who advocate for gender equality are often designed to keep women in their “place.” In some areas of the world, women who participate in public demonstrations are told to go home to take care of their children. Consider the recent example of a newspaper publishing naked photos of a woman, claiming she was a well-known activist — an attack designed to shame this defender into silence. In other places, when women claim their right to affordable modern methods of contraception, they are labelled as prostitutes in smear campaigns seeking to undermine their credibility. Online attacks against those who speak for women’s human rights and gender equality by so-called “trolls” — who threaten heinous crimes — are increasingly reported.

These attacks have a common thread — they rely on gender stereotypes and deeply entrenched discriminatory social norms in an attempt to silence those who challenge the age-old system of gender inequality. However, these defenders will not be silenced, and we must stand in solidarity with them against these cowardly attacks.

This is why my Office has decided to launch a campaign to pay tribute to women and men who defy stereotypes and fight for women’s human rights. The campaign runs from Human Rights Day, December 10 this year, to International Women’s Day, March 8, 2015. We encourage everyone to join the ranks of these strong and inspiring advocates, on social media (#reflect2protect) and on the ground.

As we approach the 20-year anniversary of Beijing, discrimination and violence against women, and the stereotypes that confine them into narrowly fixed roles must end. Women have the right to make their own decisions about their lives and their bodies. Guaranteeing and implementing these rights are non-negotiable obligations of all States. Women human rights defenders were instrumental in securing the ambitious program laid out in Beijing. Their work, their activism and their courage deserve our recognition, our support and our respect.

About the author: Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and has extensive experience in international diplomacy and the protection of human rights. He was the first President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and the former President of the UN Security Council. In this op-ed , he discusses achievements and gaps in guaranteeing equal rights for all and stresses the importance and courage of women human rights defenders, and the challenges they face. OHCHR will begin a new campaign on Human Rights Day, 10 December, to galvanize recognition for human rights advocates.

This blog post is part of a HuffPost series in collaboration with UN Women, in recognition of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. To see all the other posts in the series, click here. For more information about UN Women’s Beijing+20 campaign, click here.

Step into the surprisingly floppy robotic body of a Pokémon trainer with Pokémon VR. YouTuber misterbunbun – there’s a 90% chance he’s a 4-year old’s pet rabbit – made the short virtual reality game for the Leap Motion 3D Jam. The game puts you in control of Pikachu as you take on a wild Magnemite.

If played with the Leap Motion, you can pick up and throw Pikachu’s Pokéball, press onsceen buttons and overall control the game with your hands. Otherwise you can use a keyboard or voice commands (via a program called VoiceAttack) to play the game.

What will your starting link be? Choose this one to download Pokémon VR or this one check out the other Leap Motion 3D Jam games.

[via Siliconera]

Double-O-Seven, meet DB10: Aston Martin and EON Productions have teamed up to reunite secret agent James Bond with his original ride. Aston Martin’s design team worked closely with Sam Mendes, director of the upcoming Bond film Spectre, to create the ultimate car for the world’s most famous spy.

The following article centers on leaked images and spoiler information from the upcoming Star Wars movie The Force Awakens. Because of this, we’d like to take this moment to warn you not to proceed further if you’re not excited to see what’s going to happen in this next installment in the never-ending Star Wars saga. Today’s installment of leaks aplenty … Continue reading