February 2012
224 posts
12 tags
Vandana Shiva: Create Food Democracy, Occupy our...
via GLobal Crop Diversity Trust
The biggest corporate takeover on the planet is the hijacking of the food system, the cost of which has had huge and irreversible consequences for the Earth and people everywhere.
From the seed to the farm to the store to your table, corporations are seeking total control over biodiversity, land, and water. They are seeking control over how food is grown,...
4 tags
Woman lived as a man for 41 years because parents...
Such uneccessary shame and sadness to this woman’s story, based on ignorance and fear. And I take issue with the word hermaphrodite although the article does go on to explain intersex in somewhat better terms.
Q.
Caroline Kinsey, 42, was born with both male and female sex organs but was raised as a boy
She didn’t find out she had Disorder of Sex Development until she was 19
She...
5 tags
Gay classified as mental disorder
Why am I not surprised Alberta hasn’t updated their codes? Or that there are Alberta doctors who would even consider billing under such a code?
Q.
Alberta docs use outdated code
By Karen Kleiss, Postmedia NewsFebruary 27, 2011
Alberta doctors continue to bill the province for treating homosexuality as a mental disorder akin to bestiality and pedophilia, despite assurances ...
4 tags
Absolutely Positive: The ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE... →
absolutelypositivefilm:
Absolutely Positive is a dramatic short film that follows four characters, all from different walks of life, as they get tested for HIV. From Anthony Williams of Second Glance Productions, Absolutely Positive shows the events of why the characters decide to get tested, the thoughts that run…
This looks like a really interesting short film, please have a look at...
6 tags
Trans festival brings Sparkle to Manchester
Sparkle festival hits Canal Street in the northern English city again in July for a weekend of fun and live entertainment
27 February 2012 | By Joe Morgan
Transgender people from all over Britain are looking forward to fun-filled weekend festival of live entertainment in Manchester in July.
British transgender charity Sparkle is organizing the event in the LGBT heart of...
6 tags
Zimbabwe: Gay rights out of constitution
By Staff Reporter 26/02/2012 12:28:00
The final draft constitution, earmarked to replace the Lancaster House Constitution, will criminalise homosexuality and ban same-sex marriages according to the views of the majority of Zimbabweans, it has emerged.
In an interview, Constitution Select Committee (Copac) co-chair Mr Edward Mkhosi (MDC) said Zimbabwe had unequivocally affirmed ...
Trader Joes is pushed into Fair Trade agreement:... →
reagan-was-a-horrible-president:
On Thursday, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced it had signed a Fair Food Agreement with Trader Joe’s, a significant step forward its efforts to bring fairness and accountability to the food industry. “We are truly happy today to welcome Trader Joe’s aboard the Fair Food Program,” CIW’s Gerardo Reyes said in a joint statement issued by CIW and Trader...
7 tags
Lady Gaga And Johnny Depp Back Harvey Weinstein's...
February 26th, 2012 2:15pm EST
Stars including Lady Gaga and Johnny Depp have thrown their support behind movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s campaign to have his movie Bully awarded a lower age rating. The Weinstein Company boss was left fuming this week after American censors gave the documentary film a restrictive R rating, meaning younger kids won’t be able to see it...
Extreme poverty in US has more than doubled since... →
anticapitalist:
A policy brief recently issued by the National Poverty Center (NPC) reveals that the number of households in the US living on less than $2 a day per person has increased by 130 percent since 1996, from 636,000 to some 1.46 million today.
This means that some 4 million people in “the richest country on earth” (according to US capitalism’s apologists) are surviving on less than...
3 tags
USMC Homecoming
(via joemygod)
From the Facebook page Gay Marines, where this photo has garnered over 650 comments in twelve hours. Not all of the messages are friendly, but most are. UPDATE: Stogiebear found us this link.
“To everyone who has responded in a positive way. My partner and I want to say thank you. Dalan, the giant in the photo, can’t believe how many shares and likes we have...
5 tags
Help Wanted: LGBT Families To Adopt
by Michael Talon on February 26, 2012
Britain has certainly moved forward over the last few years, accepting that our families have amazingly loving homes and have the same ability to provide support to children as heterosexually coupled families.
The country’s first ever National LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week kicked off this past week highlighting powerful...
4 tags
Civil union history in Queensland
Sixteen gay and lesbian couples make history with first civil unions in Queensland, Australia
26 February 2012 | By Jack Arthur Smith
Last Friday marked the first civil unions between same-sex couples in Queensland history after sixteen gay and lesbian partners tied the knot to the cheers and congratulations of friends, family and members of the public.
Flanked by supporters,...
7 tags
Finally, a smoking gun connecting livestock...
By Tom Laskawy
24 Feb 2012 7:41 AM
How does the livestock industry talk about antibiotics? Well, it depends on who’s doing the talking, but they all say some version of the same thing. Take the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; they say there is “no conclusive scientific evidence indicating the judicious use of antibiotics in cattle herds leads to antimicrobial...
5 tags
Wives of gay men in China speak out about ‘tragic...
I find this article interesting as it is (originally) published in a Chinese paper and thus has at least tacit approval of the Chinese government. This suggests to me the Chinese government may be trying to create opportunities for more open discussions of sexuality. Or I am just overly hopeful…
Q.
An online community called ‘Tong Qi’ is giving voice to the wives of gay men
24...
3 tags
6 tags
Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent Confirms Role Of...
Better late than never.
Q.
By Zack Ford on Feb 24, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Anoka-Hennepin Superintendent Dennis Carlson (AP Photo/Dawn Villella)
As recently as three weeks ago, the superintendent of Anoka-Hennepin School District, Dennis Carlson, was still denying that bullying or the school’s anti-LGBT environment had anything to do with the multiple student suicides that took place over the...
4 tags
Protesters storm paper over trans hate article
Angry readers picketed The Dominion Post in Wellington, New Zealand, after it printed a ‘dangerous’ article about trans parents
24 February 2012 | By Matthew Jenkin
Photo by Emily Haskell
Outraged protesters marched into the offices of a newspaper in Wellington, New Zealand, today, accusing the publication of transphobia.
The rally was organized by rights group The...
7 tags
Gay activists organize ban on St. Petersburg
February 24, 2012 Sergei Chernov
A new proposed bill targeting homosexuals has produced an outcry in the international community, but looks set to pass nevertheless.
A new bill introduced by St Petersburg’s authorities is expected to prevent homosexuals from “promoting sodomy, lesbianism, bi-sexuality and transgenderism to minors.” Source: ITAR-TASS
The tourist...
7 tags
Toby’s Act is Back—New Ontario Parliamentary Bill...
UPDATE — We can begin by signing this petition on change.org, brought to us by Queer Ontario.
by Christin Scarlett Milloy
Today in Ontario’s Provincial Parliament, at Queen’s Park in Toronto, MPP Cheri DiNovo has once again introduced Toby’s Act (Right to be Free from Discrimination and Harassment because of Gender Identity or Gender Expression). It was my privilege to be present at this...
7 tags
Gays flee as irate residents storm Likoni seminar
In an almost repeat attack on gay persons and MSMs (men who have sex with men) in Mtwapa Mombasa in March last year, a mob stormed a venue of a seminar of homosexuals, scattering the delegates.
The Daily Nation reported the story as follows:
‘About 30 participants scampered from the Likoni CDF Youth Empowerment and Library Centre through the back when about 100 youth led by...
4 tags
Moldova city bans 'gay propaganda'
Gay rights campaigners have slammed the city of Balti’s anti-gay law as ‘shameful’
24 February 2012 | By Matthew Jenkin
The decision by a city in Moldova to ban ‘homosexual propaganda’ has been branded ‘shameful’ by gay rights campaigners.
Balti’s City Council yesterday announced it would prohibit ‘aggressive propaganda of...
3 tags
BREAKING: Maryland Senate Passes Marriage Equality...
Today, the Maryland Senate passed marriage equality legislation with a vote of 25-22. Opponents proposed numerous amendments in an attempt to derail the bill, including several that failed in the House last week. Sen. Bryan Simonaire (R) even read the full text of the children’s book King & King on the floor, expressing concern that schools will teach that same-sex couples exist — one of...
Are you in a college-level Gay-Straight Alliance...
tyleroakley:
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Gay spouse given health benefits in U.S. court... →
reuters:
A U.S. judge ruled unconstitutional part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, saying that a plaintiff court employee’s same sex spouse should be allowed to enroll in her government health insurance program.
Read more of this report filed by Dan Levine
Trans* protections pass in Baltimore council →
gaywrites:
The Baltimore County Council yesterday passed legislation protecting people from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill passed 5 to 2 and will protect trans* people “in housing, employment, education, financing or public accommodations.” Next week the bill will go to the Senate.
The bill comes about one year after the beating of...
3 tags
Increasing acceptance of gay life in India, report...
Law school’s report says that LGBT people have ‘increased self-confidence’ since 2009’s decriminalisation of gay sex
22 February 2012 | By Anna Leach
A report from a top law school in India has found there’s been greater societal acceptance and a decrease of police harassment of LGBT people since the decriminalisation of gay sex in 2009.
Delhi’s Jindal...
6 tags
Obama Administration Announces Health Grants To...
By Kellan Baker on Feb 22, 2012 at 1:50 pm
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced two new grant competitions focusing on connecting HIV-positive transgender women of color with health care services, including primary care and HIV-related care.
The first grant opportunity, which is designed to improve the overall quality of HIV care for transgender...
4 tags
’Ex-Gay’ Movement on the Rise in Latin America ::... →
The ex-gay movement may be loosing credibility in the west but, sadly, seems to be to gaining ground in Latin America, just as they are in Africa.
Q.
4 tags
Gay marriage 'inevitable', Gillard tells guests
Jessica Wright
February 22, 2012
Three same-sex couples dined with the Prime Minister at The Lodge last night along with two surprise guests, brothers Dylan and Matthew Miller. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has told three same-sex couples she believes laws allowing them to marry in Australia are inevitable.
Ms Gillard and partner Tim Mathieson hosted the ...
4 tags
More Kids Are Getting Gender-Reassignment Surgery
Why the sudden upsurge in (positive!) news articles about Trans* youth? Not that I’m complaining, just curious.
Q.
by Lindsay Tanner
Associated Press
Monday Feb 20, 2012
A small but growing number of teens and even younger children who think they were born the wrong sex are getting support from parents and from doctors who give them sex-changing treatments, according to reports...
6 tags
Sexuality and the South Asian diaspora
The Deets:
Gender, sexuality and creativity: self-expressions in the South Asian diaspora With Farzana Doctor, Vivek Shraya and Josh Vettivelu
March 1 at 3pm
York University Toronto
FEATURE / Gay activists employ different approaches to change attitudes
Carolyn Yates / National / Friday, February 17, 2012
As countries in South Asia take strides toward legalizing...
Raising Queer Kids: In Her Own Words →
neutrois:
A beautiful blog about a daughter who has come out as gay, at age 10. And her mother, who provides all the love and support one could want.
4 tags
Delay puberty for children with gender doubts, My...
by Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk 20 February 2012, 5:06pm
Drew-Ashlyn Cunningham was speaking at Kingston University
Primary school children should be taught about transsexuals from age ten and have the option of jabs which delay the onset of puberty, Drew-Ashlyn Cunningham has said.
Cunningham, who starred on Channel 4′s acclaimed My Transsexual Summer, was speaking while...
6 tags
Kids Who Don’t Gender Conform Are at Higher Risk...
Swapping gender roles is common in childhood play, but a new study finds that non-conforming kids are at risk for physical and sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress.
By Alexandra Sifferlin | @acsifferlin | February 20, 2012 |
Fuse / Getty Images
Fitting in can be a tough business for kids, especially for the boy who wants to play dress-up and the girl with the short...
4 tags
Five-year-old may be youngest trans person in UK
by Stephen Gray 20 February 2012, 3:15pm
Zachy Avery may be the youngest NHS-recognised trans person in the UK (Photo: Flickr user Robynlou8)
A five-year-old may be the UK’s youngest transgender person recognised by the NHS, with parents who say they will “leave it up to him to decide what he wants to do”.
Born Zach Avery but now living as a girl, the Daily Telegraph reports...
4 tags
Sweden set to drop sterilisation rule for official...
by Stephen Gray 20 February 2012, 12:17pm
There is now no opposition within the government (Photo: Ankara)
The Swedish Christian Democrat party has abandoned its support for the rule which requires transgender people to be sterilised before the state recognises their gender and so cleared the way for repeal.
77,000 people signed an AllOut.org petition calling on the country...
4 tags
Ricky Gervais says gay-hate parents are abusers
British comedian Ricky Gervais has told CNN’s Piers Morgan that homophobic parents are child abusers
20 February 2012 | By Tris Reid-Smith
Ricky Gervais, one of Britain’s most celebrated comics, says homophobic parents are child abusers.
He made the comments while being interviewed on CNN’s Piers Morgan show in the US on Friday night (17 February).
He said: ‘It’s when I see...
Monsanto's Roundup Found in People's Urine →
A recent study conducted by a German university found very high concentrations of Glyphosate, a carcinogenic chemical found in herbicides like Monsanto’s Roundup, in all urine samples tested. The amount of glyphosate found in the urine was staggering, with each sample containing concentrations at 5 to 20-fold the limit established for drinking water. This is just one more piece of evidence that...