tagged w/ Equality
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OSLO, Norway - Gay couples in Norway will be granted the same rights as heterosexuals to marry, adopt and undergo artificial insemination under a new equality law passed Tuesday. Norway's upper house of parliament voted 23-17 in favor of the gender-neutral marriage law on the same day that gay couples were marrying in California.'
The law takes place January first. Sounds like Northern Europe cherishes equal rights more than the US, since Denmark was the first for civil unions, and the Netherlands were the first to allow gay marriage.OSLO, Norway - Gay couples in Norway will be granted the same rights as heterosexuals... more
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A promotion by the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter to boost the adoption of black-coated dogs and cats has drawn criticism for being racially insensitive.
The shelter has halted its "Black is Beautiful" Week after the president of the Austin chapter of the NAACP raised concerns in the media. They had planned to reduce adoption fees for black-coated animals to $25 for a week. The normal fee for adoption is $85.
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin NAACP, said it was a "violation" to use "Black is Beautiful" as a promotion for an animal shelter and that the shelter was right to halt the promotion. The phrase became popular during the 1960s civil rights movement as a way to promote equality and African American self-esteem.
Black-coated animals do not get adopted as quickly as other animals. Either out of superstition or fear that they might be a more aggressive dog, they tend to be underadopted.
The shelter has 12 black adult cats available for adoption out of about 25 and that about half of the shelter's dogs are black. Two of those dogs have been at the shelter for two months. The average stay for animals is about 11 days. The shelter does euthanize animals based on factors such as space and adoptability.A promotion by the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter to boost the adoption of... more
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Please sign this petition and forward it to everyone you know.
It's 2008, time for true equal rights.
I'd equate the gay rights issue to that of the civil rights era.
It's time for change, true equal rights for ALL.
Please sign this petition and forward it to everyone you know.
It's 2008,... more
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A short new piece i created about students from Howard University, Morgan State, University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Coppin State and how we all gathered in Annapolis Maryland to protest for equal funding for Black Colleges. A short new piece i created about students from Howard University, Morgan State,... more
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Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi has named former topless model and beauty queen Mara Carfagna as equal opportunities minister in his new cabinet. The 33 year-old former showgirl has a degree in law and wrote her thesis on rights of information and broadcasting systems. Apparently she has a strong ‘family values’ platform and refuses to discuss her modeling days saying “I am a bit of a prude.”Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi has named former topless model and beauty... more
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devo64
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4 years ago
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The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.
The justices released the 4-3 decision Thursday, saying that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for... more
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The whole 'emo kid beat-down' thing is getting extremely ridiculous. I mean, I don't understand why somebody would want to beat somebody else unconcious because they look, think, dress, and act differently than the others may do. I think that all people should be treated equally no matter their race, religion, and even clique.The whole 'emo kid beat-down' thing is getting extremely ridiculous. I mean,... more
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American popular culture has always had a tendency to romanticize hoodlums, whether Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde or Tony Soprano. But the hip-hop world's celebration of savage violence, educational failure and misogyny by gangsta rap has been one of the worst influences on American youth, especially black youth, in decades. If you want to ruin a nation, a society or an ethnic group, persuade its members that the highest form of achievement lies in criminality.
Folk art has never been so popular -- or lucrative. The worst of gangsta rap has not merely reflected behavior but has also inspired it, much of it lawless and destructive. Its lyrics are paeans to murder and mayhem. It celebrates an outlaw culture that disrespects women, mocks middle-class values and preaches against any cooperation with police in catching criminals.
The baggy britches that are now de rigueur in hip-hop circles grew out of jail rituals. When men are arrested, their belts are confiscated, so their trousers tend to droop. It's from that unfortunate facet of ghetto life that the ubiquitous sagging pants were launched.
Even before the 1980s, when gangsta rap oozed out of downtrodden black neighborhoods, too many black men were marginalized -- unlettered, unemployed, imprisoned. They were already the victims of a fratricidal cycle of violence, predator and prey. They were already disproportionately fathers in absentia, completely divorced from the lives of their children, providing neither material support nor moral guidance.
If black men enthusiastically abandon a passable reputation for the notoriety of a prison record, then black America is in serious trouble. If it is better to be an outlaw than to be a teacher or a chemist or accountant, then young black men will continue to go to prison in record numbers. If it is more acceptable to be violent and reckless than to be a responsible father and husband, then marriage will continue to decline in black communities.
While racism remains a potent force in American life, it doesn't hold the malignant power of gangsta culture.American popular culture has always had a tendency to romanticize hoodlums, whether Al... more
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Aboriginal children in Australia were sometimes used for medical tests, it has been claimed.
Aborigine rights campaigner Kathleen Mills said she had heard of children being injected with a leprosy treatment and becoming very ill.
She said many members of the "Stolen Generations" - Aborigines taken from their homes and raised by white families - had similar experiences.
Senior politicians said they had never heard such claims before.
Ms Mills was speaking outside a Senate hearing in the northern city of Darwin, which is investigating possible compensation for the Stolen Generations. Aboriginal children in Australia were sometimes used for medical tests, it has been... more
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Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions. Now, some are finding that breaking up is hard to do, too.
In Rhode Island, for example, the state's top court ruled in December that gays married in neighboring Massachusetts can't get divorced here because lawmakers have never defined marriage as anything but a union between a man and woman. In Missouri, a judge is deciding whether a lesbian married in Massachusetts can get an annulment.
"We all know people who have gone through divorces. At the end of that long and unhappy period, they have been able to breathe a sigh of relief," said Cassandra Ormiston of Rhode Island, who is splitting from her wife, Margaret Chambers. But "I do not see that on my horizon, that sigh of relief that it's over."
Over the past four years, Massachusetts has been the only state where gay marriage is legal, while nine other states allow gay couples to enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships that offer many of the rights and privileges of marriage. The vast majority of these unions require court action to dissolve.
Gay couples who still live in the state where they got hitched can split up with little difficulty; the laws in those states include divorce or dissolution procedures for same-sex couples. But gay couples who have moved to another state are running into trouble.
Massachusetts, at least early on, let out-of-state gay couples get married there practically for the asking. But the rules governing divorce are stricter. Out-of-state couples could go back to Massachusetts to get divorced, but they would have to live there for a year to establish residency first.
"I find that an unbelievably unfair burden. I own a home here, my friends are here, my life is here," said Ormiston, who is resigned to moving to Massachusetts for a year.
It's not clear how many gay couples have sought a divorce.Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions.... more
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lfm
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4 years ago
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Equality of status - shouldn't that be a matter of course? Shouldn't that be ABC? Humankind has a long way ahead to reach that pointEquality of status - shouldn't that be a matter of course? Shouldn't that be... more
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genio
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4 years ago
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Britain's gay population see themselves confronted by prejudice throughout society according to a survey conducted by equality charity Stonewall.
The charity suggested public bodies were too 'smug' about their record on discrimination and that everywhere from the workplace and the school playground to hospitals are rife with homophobia.
The poll of 1,658 gay adults found that one in four think they'll be treated less fairly by police if they become a victim of hate crime, one in five think a heterosexual person stands a better chance of getting social housing and a significant minority expect to be treated with a lower quality of care at a GP's surgery or hospital.
Image credit: http://www.slapupsidethehead.com/Britain's gay population see themselves confronted by prejudice throughout... more
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richjm
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Barack Obama addressed the nation responding to a recent media frenzy over inflammatory remarks made by the senator's church minister.
Obama didn’t take the safe route and simply denounce statements made by his pastor. In a bold, moving, and spellbinding press conference in Philadelphia, the senator went much further in discussing the racial divides in our country, their causes, and the hope for continuing to make our nation a more perfect union.
He discussed how issues and people, including his pastor, are more complicated than caricatures being pushed by those on the right and left, and how ignoring wounds won’t make them heal.
Barack Obama addressed the nation responding to a recent media frenzy over... more
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Ahead of International Women's Day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for more integration of women into work usually handled by men, saying the world has at its disposal "the most significant and yet largely untapped potential for development and peace."Ahead of International Women's Day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called... more
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I wrote this song while campaigning with the grassroots group United for Obama.
Like many I've felt disfranchised for many years because I saw too many politicians playing games and not backing their promises with actions. In Barack Obama I found a leader that didn't bow down to corporate powers and who fought for what was right no matter what his audience was. He spoke of cutting gas emissions to automakers and addressed the African-American community of the importance of ending discrimination, not only against them, but also within the community, the discrimination against immigrants, the Jewish people or gays and lesbians. This struck a chord with me. We must fight discrimination of all kinds, not because it is personally convenient, but because it is the right thing to do. Because all of us as a society will be better off if we truly embrace equality and justice for all. Here is a man who not only offered a compassionate and effective way to provide affordable health care to all but who also stood firm from the beginning against this indefensible war even when this position was unpopular and politically inconvenient.
I've heard people criticize Barack Obama because he's a great speaker. But it only reveals desperation to try to put down his ability to energize people of all ages, genders and races into becoming more active in the democratic process. What these critics are trying to ignore is the fact that we are not only responding to Barack's eloquence, but also to the truth of his message. It is a message of a more balanced engagement with world, of an economy that is not rigged to benefit the few, a message of tolerance and progress.
It is this message that has awaken me, and so many of our young and old, from our long political slumber. It is this renewed enthusiasm that fuels this vast movement, and it is the plurality, the diversity of this movement which inspired me to write this song.
The lyrics were thoughts that had been growing within me, and I'm sure, many others. Obama galvanized our intentions, this campaign focused my thoughts and these words flowed out of me in a matter of hours.
We recorded the song instantly and it is thanks to Eric Byler, Warren Fu, Loni Pham and Annabel Park that you are able to see the finished product so immediately after the fact.
It was a labor of deep-rooted conviction, born of a desire, not to acerbate antagonism, but to help, in however small measure, to unite those of us who have been waiting for so long for a moment in which to step up and really take charge in the betterment of this world. That's right, we can improve this world. It is not an impossibility. We can do it. Yes we can.
Si, Se puede Cambiar !
Andres Useche
www.virb.com/useche
I wrote this song while campaigning with the grassroots group United for Obama.
Like... more
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by Malayna
If you thought Amelia Earhart broke all gender barriers in the flight industry in the 1930's, think again. Recently I picked up an issue of Flight International, which featured an article about female airline pilots in the Middle East. What struck me first about the photo of the two trailblazing female cadets profiled, Aisha Al Mansoori and Salma Al Balooshi, was that their heads were covered by veils worn beneath their pilot caps, which made my feminist-senses tingle.
These women are the first female cadet pilots to be recruited by Etihad (which means "unity"), the national airline of the United Arab Emirates. Based in very westernized Dubai, the airlines flight attendant's uniform also includes loose head scarves attached to pillbox-ish hats as a reflection of the culture. Though on the up side, rather than oppressive, it looks quite Jackie O actually.
My second feminist jolt happened when I read about the first accredited female pilot in Saudi Arabia, Capt. Hanadi Zakariya Hinda, who flies private jets that belong to a prince. Because women aren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia, she still needs to be driven by a male chauffeur to the airport. That seems a bit backwards, but apparently it's not about her competency behind the wheel. It is my understanding that the reason women aren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia is to minimize their exposure to strange men, but still...
According to Air Odyssey.net, Helen Ritchey, the first "documented and verified" female pilot flying for a scheduled airline in the U.S. was hired in December 1934 by Central Airlines. She left less than a year later, falling victim to all-male pilot union discrimination. Check out the above Candid Camera clip to see where American's heads were at in the early 1960's.
We've flown a long way since then, but not far enough. By 1973 four different airlines in America had woman pilots in their cockpits. Today the International Society of Women Airline Pilots says that there are around 4,000 female commercial airline pilots worldwide, with the majority of them being in the U.S. But when you consider that's out of a total of 80,000, females still only account for a pitiful 5%. Is it too silly to suggest that we rename the cockpit something less gender specific? Certainly if women who face such extreme gender challenges in the Middle East are making such headway in that area, shouldn't we be looking to make a little more progress in redressing the balance here in America.
For more enlightening stories go to: http://www.dailymantra.comby Malayna
If you thought Amelia Earhart broke all gender barriers in the flight... more
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Martin Luther King Jr., was taken from us too soon and we must never forget what he achieved and was working for.Martin Luther King Jr., was taken from us too soon and we must never forget what he... more
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I went to the see the film in a theater at the college I attended. It was an assignment for a writing class on film as literature and it was called the "Fat Cats and Underdogs" Series. Below is an excerpt from my essay I wrote about the film, sort of like a film review. Check it out if you like. The video above is a clip from the film on Youtube. If you ever get the chance to see this film it will make you cry. Not only for them then, but for us now. Because the Fat Cats are at it again. A little history repeating.
?The Wobblies?Setting the Record Straight About Syndicalism?
This documentary evoked a complex array of emotional and intellectual reactions in me. I left the theater feeling like the world hasn?t changed much in the last 100 years in some very basic and fundamental ways. The same distinction between the haves and the have-nots still prevails as the fundamental order. In fact, I think that the situation is much worse because the stakes are much higher. Now governments and multinational corporations have the power through technology to destroy the entire planet in their quest for greater power, riches, and control. This country was founded on certain principles that the Wobblies believed in namely free speech, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, the Wobblies are presented as criminals in the opening sequence of this documentary, because that is how they were perceived by the general public due to efforts by the media to vilify them through the use of political cartoons and slogans. Although the Wobblies struggles didn?t necessarily result in their own immediate happiness (many of the individuals interviewed recounted how they were inhumanely treated by people in positions of power), it paved the way for future generations to better pursue the American dream of equality. The IWW and the Wobblies represented an important movement in American history?the labor movement. What shocked me most of all, in the films portrayal of historical events, was how quickly the Bill of Rights could be dismissed by our government and that the Wobblies could be treated with such disregard in the political, social, and economic climate of the time. It seems clear to me that the intention of this documentary is to construct sympathy for the ideas represented by the IWW and to clarify long held misconceptions about this noble organization. The main question this documentary challenged me to consider is whether or not the dream of equality is attainable now, or ever given how firmly entrenched the ruling class has become.
Jon Jaramillo 1999I went to the see the film in a theater at the college I attended. It was an... more
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jubal
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