Feisty Aphrodite Archives
Feisty Shout Out Newscast for Week Ending on 6/17/07
Taking a look at this week’s headlines concerning women’s issues around the world, honoring our Feisty Aphrodite media activist of the week and featuring music by independent artists provided by the Podsafe Network.
Listen to the Podcast
This week’s featured Feisty Aphrodite: Gigi Nicolas
Some of this week’s headlines:
Home Health Care Workers Smacked by Supreme Court
Habeas Corpus Wins Another Round
N.Y. Bribery Case Casts Shadow on Divorce Court
Judge OK's Suit Against FBI, Attorney General on Post-9/11 Arrests
Iraq War Veteran Discharged for Protesting in Uniform
Rice Pressed On Iraqi Treatment Of Gays
Fatal Shooting Outside Afghan Girls' School
'Shrek' Furthers Transsexual Agenda(?)
This week's news contributors:
Free Speech Radio News
Feminist Daily News Wire
Women's ENews
365GayDotCom
GayWiredDotCom
BGayDotCom
Lexington Herald-Leader
On Capitol Hill
Home Health Care Workers Smacked by Supreme Court
Allison Stevens
Women's ENews
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that businesses do not have to pay the federal minimum wage or overtime pay to home-care workers; the vast majority of whom are low-income women of color. In Long Island Care at Home v. Coke, the high court voted unanimously to uphold a 1974 Department of Labor regulation that excludes workers who care for elderly or disabled people from federal wage and overtime protections. The decision overturns a federal appellate court ruling in favor of Evelyn Coke, 73, a retired home attendant from Queens, N.Y., who sued her former employer for back pay. The ruling follows a May ruling that restricted women's ability to sue for gender-based pay discrimination and a decision in April restricting abortion rights. "The court's ruling is another blow to struggling, low-wage women," said Nancy Duff Campbell, co-president of the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C.
Legislation On Wage Disparity Complaints
Free Speech Radio News
On Tuesday, House Democrats introduced legislation to address wage discrimination. The bill stems from the Supreme Court case known as Ledbetter versus Goodyear in which a female employee sued the tire manufacturer over gender-based wage disparities. The Supreme Court ruled against Ledbetter, citing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which stipulates a 180 day time limit for the filing of a complaint. The legislation introduced allows for the 180 days to begin once the employee discovers there is a wage disparity - instead of the time limit beginning with date of hire.
Cheney Impeachment Resolution
Matt Laslo
Free Speech Radio News
A month ago, Ohio Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. Back then he had no Congressional supporters. Now he has eight. Kucinich accuses Cheney of deceiving lawmakers prior to the current Iraq War. He says Cheney falsified intelligence and forced the CIA to manipulate data. Kucinich says the eight co-sponsors are just a start. (audio) "We are gaining momentum and before it was speculated that no one else would support the impeachment and today we know that leaders of the progressive caucus and the leader of the Iraq Caucus, Maxine Waters, have come on board. And that is quite significant, quite significant." Kucinich also accuses Cheney of lying about Iran's current nuclear capabilities. He says Cheney is trying to build up a case for America to invade Iran, which is why he wants Cheney gone now.
Immigration Amendment to Double Funding for ICE Still a Possibility
Free Speech Radio News
The White House said it would support a proposal to fund more than $4-billion in border security to re-invigorate debate on the immigration bill. The proposal will be carried out by two Republican architects of the so-called immigration reform bill that was pulled from the Senate floor last week. The House of Representatives is set to increase funding for immigration enforcement in the Homeland Security Appropriations bill. One proposal would expand Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ability to train local law enforcement to enforce federal immigration law. Supporters of the Senate immigration bill delivered more than a million letters to Congress, urging lawmakers to bring the bill back up for debate.
Republicans Block Senate No-Confidence Vote on Gonzales
Free Speech Radio News
An attempt by Senate Democrats to bring to a vote a resolution expressing no-confidence in Attorney General Alberto Gonzales failed Monday. 53 Senators, mostly Democrats (and seven Republicans) voted in favor of the largely symbolic measure. This amid criticism of Gonzales' role in the firing last year of Federal Prosecutors. Independent Senator Joe Lieberman, a former Democrat who often votes with that party, voted against the no-confidence vote. The resolution needed 60 aye votes in order to go forward.
Justice Dept. Expands Probe to Alleged Gonzales Interference
Democracy Now!
However, The Justice Department has announced it will expand its internal probe into the firing of nine U.S. attorneys to look at whether Attorney General Alberto Gonzales tried to influence the testimony of his former senior aide Monica Goodling. Goodling has told lawmakers Gonzales made her uncomfortable when he tried to compare notes on how the firings occurred. Two former White House aides have now been subpoenaed in the ongoing probe. The House and Senate judiciary committees want to question former White House counsel Harriet Miers and former political director Sara Taylor over their roles in the scandal.
Senate Takes Up Energy Bill
Miae Kim
Free Speech Radio News
The Senate this week is taking up energy legislation, after weeks of committee hearings on climate change, energy dependence, and skyrocketing oil prices. The bill would launch an energy policy that incorporates more energy production from so-called renewable sources, and less use of fossil fuels. Republicans say the bill does little to expand energy sources or reduce gas prices -- something they plan to bring up during debate on the bill. Listen to the rest of this story here.
U.S. News
Habeas Corpus Wins Another Round
Free Speech Radio News
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the government cannot hold so-called enemy combatants without charge. Attorneys brought the case on behalf of a US legal resident originally from Qatar who has been held in solitary confinement in a South Carolina Navy brig for the past 4 years. Judges ruled 2-1 that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 can not legally take away a detainee's right to challenge his or her detention. Listen to the rest of this story here.
Simmons College Receives Endowment to Encourage Young Women in Politics
Allison Stevens
Women's ENews
The Barbara Lee Family Foundation awarded Simmons College in Boston a $1.5 million endowment to encourage young women to pursue careers as politicians and policy makers. The grant will allow up to 20 female students a year to serve as interns for female state legislators or statewide elected officials in Massachusetts.
N.Y. Bribery Case Casts Shadow on Divorce Court
Alison Bowen
Women's ENews
A Brooklyn, N.Y., divorce judge has been sentenced for taking bribes in a courtroom where women say they unfairly lost custody of their children. Advocates say the scandal is the tip of an iceberg in a family court system they call dysfunctional. Paul Simonovsky was recently disbarred after pleading guilty to repeatedly bribing former Brooklyn divorce court judge Gerald P. Garson, sentenced June 5 to between 3 and 10 years in prison for accepting bribes and official misconduct. Garson was not convicted of fixing a specific case, but rather of his tainted relationship with Simonovsky, who not only served as a law guardian but also represented plaintiffs in divorce cases. Prosecutors say Simonovsky treated the judge to multiple dinners and gifts of cigars. Video surveillance showed Garson accepting an envelope of $1,000 from Simonovsky. Garson ruled on more than 1,000 matrimony cases since being appointed to the State Supreme Court in 1997, overseeing custody battles and financial disputes.
Over and over again, battered mothers complain of unfair family courts grant shared or sole custody of their children to their batterers. No court ruling has substantiated Gordon's claims, but that is true for a vast number of women who make these troubling and difficult to prove or disprove allegations. Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michael F. Vecchione said the District Attorney's office did not keep track of how many bribers were men, but that most complaints came from women harmed in divorce cases, and as many as 15 women sat in on daily proceedings of the trial. "It seemed as if the cases that people had problems with, what they considered to be unfair decisions, seemed to be by and large against women," Vecchione said. Read the entire story here.
Judge OK's Suit Against FBI, Attorney General on Post-9/11 Arrests
Democracy Now!
A former prisoner swept up in the post-9/11 crackdown on Arab and Muslim males in the United States has won a motion to continue a lawsuit accusing several government officials of ethnic and religious discrimination. Javaid Iqbal says he suffered physical and verbal abuse while spending more than one-hundred fifty days in solitary confinement without a hearing. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller are among those accused in the case.
Judge Rejects Delaying Libby Jail Sentence
Democracy Now!
Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff Lewis “Scooter” Libby could be behind bars within two months. On Thursday, a federal judge denied Libby’s attempt to delay the start of his sentence. Libby was convicted in March on four felony counts of making false statements to the FBI, lying to a grand jury and obstructing a probe into the leak of Valerie Plame’s identity. Administration officials outed Plame after her husband, former U.S. Ambassador Joe Wilson, publicly challenged the Bush administration’s case for going to war on Iraq. Meanwhile Judge Reggie Walton said he had received several threatening letters after handing down Libby’s two-and-a-half year sentence. Walton also criticized a brief from twelve law professors including Harvard’s Alan Dershowitz that argued Libby should avoid jail time. Walton said, “The submission was not something I would expect from a first-year law student.” Libby could still avoid prison if President Bush grants him a pardon.
Ex-Klan Member Guilty in 1964 Killings
Democracy Now!
In Mississippi, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan has been found guilty of kidnapping and conspiracy in connection with the murder of two black teenagers in 1964. James Ford Seale was first arrested shortly after the killings but the charges were thrown out after the FBI turned the case over to local authorities. The Justice Department reopened the case two years ago. During the trial Seale’s cousin Charles Marcus Edwards testified he and Seale had abducted and attacked the black teenagers. Edwards said Seale and other Klansmen then drove the teenagers across the Louisiana border. They put duct tape over their mouths and dumped them into the Mississippi River alive. The victims, Henry Hezekiah Dee and Charles Eddie Moore, were both 19 years old. Their bodies were found about two months later, when authorities were conducting an intensive search for slain civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. Seale could face life in prison.
Probe: FBI Violated Laws, Regulations on Data Monitoring
Democracy Now!
An internal probe has concluded the FBI may have committed more than one thousand breaches of the law or agency rules while gathering data on phone calls, emails and financial transactions in the United States. The probe covers just ten percent of FBI investigations, meaning the actual number of violations could top ten thousand. Most of the breaches came in cases where agents retained phone and email records mistakenly provided by service providers.
Iraq/Afghanistan News
"Friendly Fire" Kills Seven Afghan Policemen
Free Speech Radio News
U.S.led forces in Afghanistan have killed 7 Afghan policemen in what is one of the deadliest incidents of friendly fire since the start of the war. The press officer for Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the police were not aware that US forces were to conduct a night time operation in the area and therefore opened fire as they approached a checkpoint, fearing the troops were Taliban fighters. This prompted return fire from the U.S. ground forces and rocket fire from an attack helicopter called to the scene. Four other policemen were injured in the incident.
Iraq War Veteran Discharged for Protesting in Uniform
Democracy Now!
An American Iraq war veteran has been given a general discharge with honorable conditions after he was reprimanded for wearing his uniform during an anti-war protest. Adam Kokesh is a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. The military began investigating him after the Washington Post published a photograph of him at an anti-war protest in March to mark the fourth anniversary of the war.
Rice Pressed On Iraqi Treatment Of Gays
365GayDotCom
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is being urged to investigate reports that LGBT Iraqis are being rounded up by militias on the streets of Baghdad and murdered. In a letter to Rice the two openly gay members of Congress - Rep Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) - cite a human rights report issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq that says from November 1 to December 31, 2006 there were open and violent campaigns against LGBT Iraqis.
"According to news reports, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the chief spiritual leader of Iraqi Shia Muslims, issued a 'fatwa,' or religiously-inspired legal pronouncement, in October 2005 calling for death for all gays and lesbians in 'the most severe way possible,'" the letter says. "While the fatwa was eventually removed from Sistani’s website last May, it was never revoked, and the decree has led to the deployment of anti-gay death squads by the military arm of the Supreme Council for the Islamic revolution in Iraq, the Badr Corps. As a result, violence against gay Iraqis surged in 2006," the letter goes on to say.
It also refers to a speech made by the leader of an exiled Iraqi LGBT rights group in London who said that hundreds of gay men and women have been murdered by the militias and the US-led coalition is doing little to stop the killings. Ali Hili said that the Badr and Sadr militias - the armed wings of the two main Shia parties that control the government of Iraq - are routinely rounding up men and women, primarily in Baghdad, suspected of being gay. The men and women are never heard from again, Hili said.
The letter from Frank and Baldwin tells Rice that the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq and one from the Institute for War and Peace "present a substantial body of evidence that LGBT Iraqis have been systematically targeted for violence by Islamic clerics and militias.
"Yet the 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released by the State Department this March, made no reference to any human rights violations in Iraq based on sexual orientation," the letter says. The two Democrats are urging Rice to investigate the allegations and incorporate the findings in the annual human rights report. In January Iraq's government strongly criticized a U.N. report on human rights that put its civilian death toll in 2006 at 34,452, saying it is "superficial" because it included people such as homosexuals. Read the entire story here.
Charges Dismissed for Anti-War Port Activists
Democracy Now!
And finally in Washington State, a judge has dismissed charges against sixteen people who took part in an anti-war protest at the Port of Tacoma. The accused were arrested as they tried to block the military from shipping Stryker armored vehicles to Iraq.
International News
Afghani University to Offer Female Dormitory
Allison Stevens
Women's ENews
Female students at Bamyan University in Bamyan, Afghanistan, will soon have a dormitory of their own, the Bayat Foundation said in a press release. The cornerstone for the building was laid June 12. When construction is complete it will enable young Afghan women to forgo commutes and study, sleep and eat safely while attending the university.
Fatal Shooting Outside Afghan Girls' School
Feminist Daily News Wire
Meanwhile, two gunmen killed two girls and wounded six others, including a teacher, outside a girls' school in Logar Province, Afghanistan on Tuesday. The gunmen, who were on a motorbike and have not been identified, attacked the school at midday as students were leaving. Girls' schools in Afghanistan have been under constant threat from extremists who aim to intimidate families from sending their girl children to school, particularly as the Taliban has resurfaced. Although the Taliban has denied responsibility for this incident, they have warned women and children to stay away from schools and remain at home in the past. This shooting follows two other recent murders of Afghan women journalists Shokiba Sanga Amaaj and Zakia Zaki, who was also the headmaster of a girls' school. Read the entire story here.
Kuwaiti Women Barred from Working at Night
Feminist Daily News Wire
The Kuwaiti Parliament unanimously passed a law earlier this week to restrict women's rights by restricting the hours that women are allowed to work. Women will be banned from working between 8:00 pm and 7:00 am with an exception only for women working in the medical profession. Women will also be prohibited from jobs that "contravene with public morals" and that require women to be in otherwise all-male environments. According to AFP, conservative and Islamist ministers, who comprise the majority of the Kuwaiti Parliament, said the new law protects women from "being exploited in immoral activities."
For over 40 years, Kuwaiti women have been fighting for full rights in the conservative Muslim country. In 2005, women in Kuwait won a limited right to vote and run for office. One year later, women were able to vote for the first time. Earlier this year, a parliamentary panel considered expanding Kuwaiti women's rights.
Abbas Dissolves Palestinian Gov’t as Hamas Takes Gaza
Democracy Now!
Hamas is in full control of the Gaza Strip following days of bloody clashes with rival Palestinian faction Fatah. Hamas militants have seized the presidential compound in Gaza City following a week of fighting that’s left more than one hundred dead. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has dismissed the Hamas-led government and declared a state of emergency. Abbas says he will rule by presidential decree until conditions allow for early elections. But Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said his government will carry on.
Gaza’s civilian population is bearing the brunt on top on the dire humanitarian situation brought on by Israeli attacks and closures. Hospitals are operating without water, electricity and functioning blood units -- some even coming under attack. More than one thousand people emerged from their homes to hold a peaceful rally calling for an end to the violence. The marchers, including women and children, converged on a beachfront neighborhood that has been a daily site of fighting. The marchers stood in the crossroads separating gunmen from both sides. But they were forced to disperse when unidentified attackers opened fire, killing two people.
Admin to Increase Gaza Isolation to Weaken Hamas
Democracy Now!
The Occupied Territories are effectively split into two separate entities with Hamas in charge of Gaza and Fatah controlling the West Bank. The Bush administration appears to have settled on the outcome. There are reports the White House will boost aid to Abbas while allowing Gaza to slip into further despair in order to weaken Hamas’ popular standing. On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave her backing to Abbas.
Ex-UN Envoy Chides Quartet, US on Israel-Palestine Stance
Democracy Now!
The turmoil in Gaza comes as new details emerge about criticism from a former top UN envoy on the U.S. and UN role in Israel and the Occupied Territories. In a confidential report disclosed earlier this week, Alvaro de Soto condemns the boycott on the Palestinian government and says the U.S. and Israel have virtually neutralized prospects for peace. De Soto said the Bush administration had relied on a small group of Palestinian contacts who “tell them what they want to hear.” De Soto also faulted the Middle East Quartet of the UN, US, European Union and Russia for abandoning pressure on Israel. He writes: “With all focus on the failings of Hamas, the Israeli settlement enterprise and barrier construction has continued unabated.” De Soto also says the UN should consider dropping out of the Quartet unless its policies are changed.
Shimon Peres Named New President of Israel
Irris Makler
Free Speech Radio News
Israel has a new president: Shimon Peres. This is the second time the Nobel Laureate has run for the post – and opinion polls indicate he was the most popular candidate. But it’s not the people who vote – it’s Parliament that makes the decision, and the vote went to a second round before Peres emerged victorious. Peres is now 84, he’ll be 91 if he finishes his seven year term. His election has been welcomed across Israel’s political spectrum. People there hope he will restore honor to the largely ceremonial office damaged by his predecessor who was forced to step down because of allegations of fraud, sexual harassment and rape. Listen to the rest of this story here.
Sudan Agrees to UN-AU Peacekeeping Force
Democracy Now!
The Sudanese government has announced it will accept a new deal on a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. The accord would put at least twenty-thousand troops and police on the ground. Critics say Sudan is likely to backtrack or impose new conditions, but Sudanese envoy Mutrif Siddig said this is not the case.
Over 100 Women Activists Arrested in Zimbabwe
Feminist Daily News Wire
More than 100 members of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) were arrested June 11 in Filabusi, Zimbabwe during a peaceful demonstration to launch the Peoples' Charter, which includes demands for social rights and liberties. According to WOZA, "The Peoples' Charter is the result of an eleven-month process of consulting ordinary Zimbabweans on what they want in a socially just future." Among the priorities are racial and political tolerance, the repeal of unjust laws, equal access to land, education, and housing.
At Monday's demonstration, two WOZA members were arrested by an armed police officer before the protest even began. WOZA estimates that between 100 and 150 other women voluntarily handed themselves in to the Filabusi Police Station in a show of solidarity. When questioned by a female officer at the station as to the cause of their protest, the detained members explained their grievances. The officer sympathized and called in the District Administrator, who promised to provide food assistance and released them.
The arrests on Monday followed a similar incident in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe last week. Some 20 members of WOZA held a march to launch the group's "10 Steps to a New Zimbabwe" campaign. The two leaders, Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were charged with promoting public violence but were granted bail of $100,000 each. The activists will be brought back to court on June 18. Read the entire story here.
Massive Strike Hits South Africa
Free Speech Radio News
Tensions continue to rise in South Africa two weeks into a strike by an estimated one million teachers, nurses, clerks and other public sector workers. Police and prison staff unions also have threatened to join the strike in a show of solidarity. Workers are demanding a 12 percent pay hike. The government offered them six percent. Terry Bell is an economic analyst and syndicated columnist based in Cape Town. He says what started as a simple pay dispute has mushroomed into a confrontation over the growing wealth gap in post-apartheid South Africa. Listen to the rest of this story here.
Large Child-Slave Operation Discovered In China
Free Speech Radio News
A scandal involving the discovery of children forced into slavery in China is expanding. More than 450 children have so far been found held against their will in brick making factories in two provinces in Central China. Many of the children had been reported as missing by their parents. Thousands of police have been ordered to search area kilns and some close observers of the scandal speculate that the numbers of enslaved children could be over 1000.
Chinese Firm Found To Have Used Child Labor
Free Speech Radio News
In another labor scandal, local authorities in China's southern Guangdong province are investigating allegations of child labor after international trade unions released a report condemning practices in four factories licensed to make merchandise for the 2008 Olympics. The Playfair alliance report, called "No Medal for the Olympics on Labor Rights", says factory workers are underpaid, forced to work overtime and sometimes under-age. One stationary factory condemned in the report admitted that one of its subsidiaries employed primary school students during the school holidays, but it denied the students were making Olympic products. A government spokesperson said that licensees who are found to have violated the relevant labor laws and regulations will be dealt with seriously by the Beijing Organising Committee for the Games.
Oaxacans Mark Popular Uprising With Megamarch and Barricades
Vladimir Flores
Free Speech Radio News
Mexico's Supreme Court is discussing the possibility of creating a special commission to investigate the 2006 social conflict in Oaxaca, which several high court judges say could once again explode at any time. The announcement came as local public school teachers and members of the Popular Assembly of the People of Oaxaca commemorated the first anniversary of the start of the uprising this past week. Listen to the rest of this story here.
Ministers in UK Government Draft New Anti- Discrimination Legislation
Feminist Daily News Wire
The United Kingdom government published a consultation document that included proposals for a Single Equality Bill that will cover England, Wales, and Scotland. The legislation aims to modernize the current sex, race, and religious discrimination laws currently contained in nine major pieces of legislation, 90 statutory instruments, and various guidance documents. A government statement said that the Single Equality Bill will remove "barriers to fairness" by synthesizing the rules. The proposed changes to UK law also include proposals to aid disabled tenants by improving access to and use of communal areas. New mothers would also have the legal right to breastfeed in restaurants, shops, and on public transportation. Read the entire story here.
Reproductive Rights
Philadelphia Now a Pro-Choice City
Allison Stevens
Women's ENews
Philadelphia on June 8 declared itself a "pro-choice city," the Associated Press reported. The city council narrowly passed a resolution declaring its support for women's reproductive rights and freedom.
New Congress Drains Helium From Pro-Choice Hopes
Allison Stevens
Women's ENews
Reproductive rights advocates are beginning to realize the new Democratic-controlled Congress is no cakewalk. Democrats have approved millions more for abstinence-only programs and failed to approve emergency contraception for military pharmacies. "Let's face it, with friends like these, who needs conservative Republicans?" James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.Since Bush took office, federal funding for abstinence-only programs has soared to $176 million from $80 million in fiscal 2001, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America. Teachers in federally funded abstinence-only programs--which have absorbed $1.5 billion in federal dollars over the last 25 years--are permitted to discuss birth control only in the context of its failure rate.
In something of a counter measure to the abstinence programs, Democrats last winter introduced The Prevention First Act, which would ease access to contraception, require insurers to cover birth control, increase funding for comprehensive sex education programs, and ensure that women can get their prescriptions for birth control filled. But that legislation has yet to begin moving through the committee process, and time is running out as Congress faces pressure to complete the 13 annual must-pass appropriations bills before the end of the year.
Last month, Rep. Michael Michaud, a Democrat from Maine, withdrew an amendment to a defense authorization bill that would have required military pharmacies to stock emergency contraceptives. The Democratic chairman of the jurisdictional subcommittee, Rep. Vic Snyder of Arkansas, opposed the bill, and it was unclear whether it had enough support among committee members--a majority of whom are Democratic--to win passage. The legislation would have reversed a decision in 2002 by political appointees at the Department of Defense to block an internal plan to make emergency contraception available at all military health facilities.
Even though the House and Senate are now controlled by Democrats--a party that officially backs the right to abortion--the majority of lawmakers still oppose full reproductive rights, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Washington-based pro-choice lobby. "We don't have enough control yet," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. "We don't have a filibuster-proof majority, and we don't have a veto-proof majority, and until we have those things--and of course a president who will sign forward-looking legislation--we will continue to be in this rut."
But women's rights activists have had some reasons to celebrate as well as suffer disappointment over the past six months. The House passed legislation last month that would expand existing "hate crimes" laws to include gender and other categories such as sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. The bill faces a possible veto from Bush, but women's rights advocates saw House passage as a significant symbolic victory.The same House subcommittee that approved at $28 million increase in funding for abstinence-only education also approved an increase of the same amount for Title X funding, the money that pays basic operating costs at family planning clinics around the country that serve millions of low-income women. Democratic appropriators may also weaken a policy--the so-called global gag rule--that bars international aid to groups who work on abortion issues and possibly a separate one that prohibits domestic federal funding of abortion. Read the entire story here.
Mozambique Coming Close to End Abortion Ban
Allison Stevens
Women's ENews
Mozambique is on course to end its near complete ban on abortion, Agence France-Presse reported June 10. The news comes after a a recent report by the nation's health ministry showed that roughly 100 women were dying every year from unsafe abortions and many more were suffering serious after-effects. Lawmakers are expected to overturn the ban, which outlaws abortion except in cases where a woman's health or life is in danger, after Parliament reconvenes in October, according to the AFP.
A former colony of Portugal, Mozambique first outlawed abortion in 1886 and reaffirmed the ban six years after the country gained independence in 1975. Worldwide, about 68,000 women die annually because of unsafe abortions, most in developing countries, according to the United Nations World Health Organization.
Other Health/Environmental News
Alpine High Speed Rail Project Stopped In Its Tracks
Diletta Varlese
Free Speech Radio News
Residents of the Susa Valley in northwestern Italy have won a partial victory in their two year campaign to halt the construction of a high speed railway thru the Alps. The Italian government has agreed to suspend a controversial project to build a high-speed railway through the Western Italian Alps, pending negotiations with representatives of local communities. Area residents have fiercely opposed the high speed rail project since construction began two years ago. The most controversial part of the project was the excavation of a 90 mile long tunnel through solid mountain. Susa Valley locals say the tunnel would cause irreparable harm to the environment and would negatively affect their quality of life. They carried out a two year long campaign to protest the railway, which included the occupation of construction sites and the blockading of drilling equipment. As part of the agreement reached Wednesday, the Italian government will conduct a proper environmental impact evaluation and will submit a new proposal to local communities to review later this month.
LGBTI News
NJ Transgender Anti-Discrimination Law Goes Into Effect
365GayDot Com
Starting Sunday, New Jersey joins eight other states in making it illegal for employers and landlords to discriminate against transgendered people. The law, which sailed through the Legislature in December, has received little attention in a state that's gaining a reputation for being welcoming to lesbian, gay and transgendered people. Earlier this year, New Jersey began allowing same-sex couples to unite in civil unions. Advocates hope the new law will lead to more acceptance and awareness of people who are born one gender but live as the opposite gender. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center of Transgender Equality in Washington, said she expects more states to follow, including a handful in 2007 and 2008. "It's really simply a reaction to there being more (transgender) people who are out," Keisling said. "As more people transition, it becomes safer to transition."
The law makes it illegal for a landlord to evict a tenant because of his or her gender status, and companies cannot refuse to hire people because they are transsexual, cross-dressers, asexual, of ambiguous gender or simply not traditionally feminine or masculine. The law also bans discrimination in credit, business contracts and public accommodations such as stores or restaurants. Labor law posters at work places notifying workers of their rights will include the transgender protection. Violators could be subject to up to 90 days in jail or fines up to $500. The first such state law was adopted in Minnesota in 1993. Rhode Island, New Mexico, California, Illinois, Maine, Hawaii, Washington and the District of Columbia have adopted similar measures. By January, laws also will be in effect in Iowa, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon.
In New Jersey, legal protections have been in place since a 2001 state appeals court ruling that held it was unlawful to discriminate against a transsexual doctor. Advocates say many employers and landlords and even transgendered people themselves did not know about that decision, known as Enriquez v. West Jersey Health Systems, or the protections it offers. Read the entire story here.
MA Upholds State Constitution's Right to Same-Sex Marriage
Feminist Daily News Wire
On Thursday, legislators defeated a proposed amendment by a vote of 151 to 45 to change the Massachusetts constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. Massachusetts is the only state in the US where same-sex marriage is legal and has been since May 2004. Five other states provide civil unions or their equivalent. The amendment would have required 50 favorable votes in order to be approved for a referendum in the November 2008 election. In the state legislature last year, some 62 lawmakers supported the amendment. With the election of more pro-gay and lesbian rights legislators and Gov. Patrick, and intense work by national and local lesbian and gay rights groups, the amendment was defeated. Read the entire story here.
Next Battle In Massachusetts: Open Gay Marriage To All
365GayDot Com
Fresh off the success of defending gay marriage from its latest attack, advocates say they have one more fight in Massachusetts: Repealing a 1913 law that bars same-sex couples in most other states from coming here to get married. Some say the law - which says couples cannot be married here unless their unions would be legal in their home states - has its roots in the effort to block interracial marriage, and plan soon to strategize for its repeal. Opponents of gay marriage, including the former governor and now Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have said repealing the law would make Massachusetts the "Las Vegas of gay marriage." Read the entire story here.
Woman Charged With Beating Gay Marriage Supporter
365GayDot Com
Meanwhile, a woman who was part of a conservative Christian group rallying Thursday at the Massachusetts Statehouse for a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage is charged with assaulting a gay marriage supporter who was attending a rally across the street opposing the amendment. Diane Steele, 52, was arraigned Friday on charges of assault and battery. Steele, from Richmond in western Massachusetts, was one of about a hundred protestors calling on state lawmakers to approve the amendment and send it to voters in 2008. Steele allegedly crossed the street and slapped the unidentified person. The victim was startled but not hurt. Read the entire story here.
Partner Benefits Rejected by Kentucky Attorney General
Megan Boehnke
Lexington Herald-Leader
Health insurance and other benefits offered to unmarried same-sex and opposite-sex couples at the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville are unconstitutional, Attorney General Greg Stumbo's office ruled Friday. The opinion said the universities' policies to provide domestic-partner benefits come too close to the legal definition of marriage as defined by a constitutional amendment passed in 2004.
However, the opinion said that such benefits could be offered constitutionally if the universities broaden the way they define who's eligible. To get around the constitutional amendment defining marriage only as between a man and a woman, the schools could relax the qualifications for determining a domestic-partner relationship. The universities "could elect to offer health insurance benefits to all of an employee's dependents, or to use any other approach that would not involve the unconstitutional recognition of a legal status resembling that of marriage," the opinion said.
The two universities will probably have to take some action on the issue this month, when they will have to approve their budgets for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, which begins July 1. UK's board of trustees has two meetings in the up-coming week. Read the entire story here.
Bill Would Ban LGBT Discrimination In Pennsylvania
365GayDotCom
Legislation to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. It would cover the areas of housing, employment, and public accommodations. The measure's sponsor, Rep. Dan Frankel (D) told a news conference that without a civil rights law, Pennsylvania is at a competitive disadvantage with its surrounding states Maryland, New Jersey and New York that already have legislation. Current Pennsylvania law provides basic legal protection against discrimination on the bases of race, color, religion, ancestry, age, national origin, handicap or disability, education and the use of a guide dog. The bill has 70 co-sponsors. A Senate version of the bill was introduced in April. Previous attempts to pass an LGBT rights bill have failed.
Thirteen Pennsylvania municipalities have already enacted civil rights laws including protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. But approximately, seventy-five percent of the state’s twelve million residents live or work in communities that do not provide these protections. The bill also has the support of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches, the Service Employees International Union, the Value All Families Coalition and the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Read the entire story here.
Chicago Cops Accused Of Brutally Beating Man Because He's Gay
365GayDotCom
A gay Chicago man has filed a federal lawsuit alleging two police officers beat and denied him his civil rights solely because of his sexuality. Alexander Ruppert, 35, says he was beaten nearly unconscious while the cops hurled anti-gay remarks at him and then was placed in a holding cell for two days without food or water. The lawsuit claims he was removed by the two officers from the Uptown Lounge following an altercation on March 5 and placed in a squad car. He was not initially charged with any offence and was not handcuffed, court papers say. The suit says that Ruppert then was driven to a deserted area behind a theater where he was beaten while the officers called him a "faggot" and other derogatory remarks. At a news conference Ruppert's attorney, Jon Erickson, said the cops stopped the beating when Ruppert told them he had AIDS.
Ruppert was then taken to an area hospital where he received 16 stitches for injuries to his face and head. The lawsuit says that following that he was taken to the Foster Avenue police station, held for 48 hours without food or water. The court papers say that Ruppert was forced to drink from a toilet. He was charged with resisting arrest and aggravated battery against a police officer, and held for a week in the Cook County Jail, until he could make a $50,000 bond. Erickson said the felony charges were dropped last month after Ruppert agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.
A spokesperson for the Cook County prosecutor told the Chicago Tribune that the felony charges had been dropped because the officers did not want to testify in court. "It is not only a crime against an individual. It is a crime against a community," Erickson told reporters at Thursday's news conference. "This was a hate crime disguised as police work." The lawsuit names officers Vincent Torres and Kent Pemberton and the City of Chicago.
Spokespersons for the Chicago Police Department and the City said they have not seen the lawsuit and did not want to comment. Torres and Pemberton remain on duty.
Homeless Man Says Shelter Threw Him Out Because He's Gay
365GayDotCom
A 34-year old homeless Fort Collins man says that he was told to leave a shelter because the pastor who runs it will not allow gay men to stay there. John Garon tells the Coloradan newspaper that he had been staying at Open Door Mission for about three weeks when he was suddenly told by the director, the Rev. Richard Thebo, that he was no longer welcome. The pastor said that he will allow gays and lesbians to use the soup kitchen and shower at the shelter but not sleep there. "I will not let them exert their sexuality here," he told the Coloradan. "Men have to sleep next to other men (in the shelter)."
Last month Gov. Bill Ritter signed into law legislation making it illegal to discriminate in the workplace on the basis of sexuality but the law does not cover accommodation. "The new law is a step forward, Judy Calhoun the executive director of the LGBT Center in Denver told 365GayDotCom. "But it needs to be expanded to cover accommodation as well." Read the entire story here.
Colombia Approves Rights for Same-Sex Couples
By Anthony Cuesta
GayWiredDotCom
Columbia’s Congress passed a bill Thursday that establishes full rights to health insurance, inheritance and social security for same-sex couples, setting the stage to become the first Latin American country to make such a move. The plan is expected to take effect soon and is backed by the country's conservative President Alvaro Uribe.The Associated Press reports that the measure would allow gay couples in long-term relationships to have the same health insurance and social security benefits as heterosexual couples. It also guarantees that assets accumulated during the relationship will be divided between the two, and in the case of death, inherited by the survivor. Previously, possessions were passed on to blood relations.
Some states and cities in Latin America have passed similar laws, but no other country in the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic region has done so at a national level, Marcela Sanchez, director of the gay rights group Colombia Diversa, said to the AP . She said as many as 300,000 gay couples in Colombia stand to benefit. Read the entire story here.
Gays Demonstrate In Rome For Marriage Rights
365GayDot Com
Tens of thousands of gay rights activists marched through the streets of Rome Saturday marking gay pride and demanding legal rights for same-sex couples. Carrying rainbow-colored flags, the demonstrators held banners criticizing the Vatican, which under Pope Benedict has been conducting a fierce campaign to protect traditional marriage. The Italian government has proposed a bill that would grant some legal rights to unmarried and same-sex couples, such as hospital visits and inheritance rights. The bill, which has angered the Vatican, stops short of legalizing gay marriage, as was done in other European countries, such as Spain. It is yet to be taken up by parliament. The march ended up in the same Rome piazza where a massive rally in defense of the traditional family was held weeks ago.
'Shrek' Furthers Transsexual Agenda
BGayDotCom
The conservative Illinois Review blog posted a review of Shrek the Third, giving it a thumbs down because they felt that the mannish character of Doris the Ugly Stepsister, voiced by CNN's Larry King, is the byproduct of the Hollywood propaganda machine aimed at luring America's youth towards the evils of transgenderism.
"Shrek's not the problem. It's the awkward inclusion of a transvestite and the uselessness of the character himself (herself?) in the story that is troubling. Right in the midst of a warm "traditional family" setting, the film writers place a man dressed as a woman in with Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White (the good gals). The crossdressing character simply doesn't make sense, except as a ploy to desensitize children and parents to transgenders." Read the entire story here.
This Week's Featured Feisty Aphrodite
This week's Feisty Aphrodite is Gigi Nicolas. Gigi is most known for her work directing the saucy lesbian drama "The L Word" which airs on Cinemax. However, her recognition comes from her work on a different project. She recently just released a five-part series entitled "My Address: A Look at Gay Youth Homelessness." Gigi wrote and directed the piece that takes an intimate look at the epidemic of gay youth living on the streets through the eyes of young people and staff involved with the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a New York organization that is making waves in remedying this increasing and over-looked problem in America. You can watch all five parts of the series here.
