Estonia Becomes the First Country of the Former USSR to Legally Recognize Same-Sex Families

ILGA Europe | October 30, 2014

Thus Estonia became the first country of the former USSR to legally recongise same-sex families. The cohabitation law also allows unmarried cohabiting couples to jointly apply for child adoption.

Gabi Calleja, Co-Chair of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Board, said:

“We warmly welcome this significant development and congratulate Estonian LGBTI activists and Estonian politicians for making such important step towards making Estonia a country where all families are respected and protected. Today’s vote is particularly important as Estonia is the first country of the former USSR to make such historic step.”

Paulo Corte-Real, Co-Chair of ILGA-Europe’s Executive Board, continued:

“Today’s victory for equality in Estonia is very symbolic as we are having our Annual Conference in neighbouring Latvia with 350 participants from 48 countries present and jointly witnessing how justice, respect and dignity are overcoming fears and prejudice.

This is a great reminder to all LGBTI activists across the continent that change is possible, change is happening and we are that change.”

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LGBTI children have the right to safety and equality

ILGA-Europe | October 30, 2014

Today Nils Muižnieks, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, published the Human Rights Comment LGBTI children have the right to safety and equality.

We welcome this important and timely comment which addresses the very specific human rights violations LGBTI children experience. We also consider this comment to be an important contribution against a manipulative usage of arguments wrongly based on child protection and children’s rights by those who oppose and deny the human rights of LGBTI people.

Indeed, human rights are universal, interrelated and indivisible; therefore protecting and ensuring the human rights of children means protecting and ensuring human rights for all children, including LGBTI children.

We increasingly witness the use of a narrow and one-sided interpretation of children’s used in a number of European countries to justify the introduction of restrictive and discriminatory laws limiting access to information, education, and freedom as expression. The same arguments are used to prevent measures tackling school bullying and challenging gender stereotypes.

We particularly welcome the Commissioner’s call to ensure that “sex or gender assignment treatments [are] based on fully informed consent”.

ILGA-Europe Brussels, 2 October 2014

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Action Alert: Drone Strikes that Kill Civilians

Since 2004 drone strikes have killed 2,379 human beings. Of those thousands killed, a mere 12% could be positively identified as “militants.”¹ The evidence is clear: drone strikes are killing innocent civilians. Over and over and over again.  These innocents are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and grandmas. They are NOT terrorists. Sign this petition urging President Obama to oppose authorizing any more drone strikes that take the lives of civilians. A year ago – for the first time ever – Brave New Films brought drone-survivor families from Pakistan to the United States to testify before Congress. Conversations have since changed on Capitol Hill and more members of Congress are paying attention and asking the right questions. The number of US airstrikes in Pakistan has been declining in volume every year but there is still much more work to be done.² We need to continue to ramp up the public pressure against drone strikes. Watch our video of this testimony and sign the petition to stop killing innocent civilians. Thank you for your action. Robert Greenwald, President Brave New Films ¹ “Only 4% of drone victims in Pakistan named as al Qaeda members” by Jack Serle. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. 10.16.14 ² “Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 – 2014” by Bill Roggio. The Long War Journal.

Hurricane Sandy survivor: Chris Christie is sitting on $800 million meant for disaster relief

James Keady (foreground) confronts New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) at a public appearance on Oct. 29, 2014 MSNBC]

Arturo Garcia | Raw Story | October 30, 2014

A  New Jersey activist and Hurricane Sandy survivor filmed during a confrontation with Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Wednesday accused his administration of short-changing a $1.1 billion federal relief package meant to help residents.

“Only 20 percent of those dollars have gotten to the people,” James Keady told MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “Of the $1.1 billion, $219 million has gone out. That means that the governor and his staff in Trenton are sitting on $800 million.”

According to Keady’s advocacy group, Finish The Job, Christie’s administration has mismanaged the Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) while boasting about its success in the public eye.

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Scientists Discover Huge ‘Bathtub Ring’ of Oil on Sea Floor From BP Spill

Emily Atkin | ThinkProgress | Reader Supported News | October 30, 2014

cientists have discovered yet another unforeseen effect of BP’s historic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico: a 1,235-square-mile “bathub ring” of oil on the deep ocean’s floor.

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science on Monday showed that approximately 10 million gallons of oil settled and coagulated on the floor of the Gulf near the Deepwater Horizon rig, which spilled a total of 172 million gallons of oil into the ocean in April 2010. That oil left a footprint on the ocean floor about two times the size of the city of Houston, Texas, and approximately the size of the state of Rhode Island, the study said.

Study author David Valentine told the Associated Press that tests to determine the oil’s chemical signature were not performed because the oil has degraded in the four and a half years since the spill occurred, but also said it’s obvious where the oil is from, since it settled directly around the site of the damaged rig. BP disputes the claim, telling Fuel Fix that the researchers need to chemically identify the source of the oil before they can credibly blame the company.

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Blocking the Youth Vote in the South

The Institute for Southern Studies | Reader Supported News | October 30, 2014

irst they were supposed to vote early — in a nightclub. Then students, employees, and faculty at North Carolina’s Appalachian State University were supposed to vote early a mile from the farthest edge of campus, in a county building that had little parking. Then, after students filed a lawsuit, a state judge intervened, saying that the county board of election’s decision to end early voting in the on-campus student union — after eight years of allowing it — could have no purpose but to disenfranchise students and was unconstitutional. That decision, however, was not the final word. It was put on hold by an appeals court, and then the North Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

By that time, the Watauga County Board of Elections had decided to restore on-campus early voting — a practice it had eliminated by a partisan vote pushed by the board’s Republican majority. Appalachian State is the largest employer in Watauga County, and its students make up roughly 40 percent of the county’s population, but their preference for Democratic candidates does not jibe with the rest of the county’s Republican tilt. In 2012, about 35 percent of the county’s early votes were cast at the Appalachian State student union.

But after all the chaos, it turns out that Appalachian State students are the lucky ones: They are some of the only students in North Carolina who will be able to vote early on campus this year. Early voting sites have been eliminated on college campuses across North Carolina and the South, part of a broader effort by local elections officials and state lawmakers to erect new barriers to voting. The new policies, which run the gamut from shortened early voting periods to strict voter ID requirements, disproportionately affect young voters — and especially youth of color.

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FBI Demands New Powers to Hack Into Computers and Carry Out Surveillance

Ed Pilkington | Guardian UK | Reader Supported News | October 30, 2014

Agency requests rule change but civil liberties groups say ‘extremely invasive’ technique amounts to unconstitutional power grab

 

he FBI is attempting to persuade an obscure regulatory body in Washington to change its rules of engagement in order to seize significant new powers to hack into and carry out surveillance of computers throughout the US and around the world.

Civil liberties groups warn that the proposed rule change amounts to a power grab by the agency that would ride roughshod over strict limits to searches and seizures laid out under the fourth amendment of the US constitution, as well as violate first amendment privacy rights. They have protested that the FBI is seeking to transform its cyber capabilities with minimal public debate and with no congressional oversight.

The regulatory body to which the Department of Justice has applied to make the rule change, the advisory committee on criminal rules, will meet for the first time on November 5 to discuss the issue. The panel will be addressed by a slew of technology experts and privacy advocates concerned about the possible ramifications were the proposals allowed to go into effect next year.

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Eric Holder to Ferguson Leakers: ‘Shut Up’

The Daily Caller | Reader Supported News | October 2014

ttorney General Eric Holder says that he is beyond exasperated — he is “mad,” in fact — at the leaks pouring out of the investigation into the police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Holder even went so far as to advise those responsible for leaking the information to “shut up” in a public interview at the Washington Ideas Forum on Wednesday.

“I think that somebody, these leakers, have made the determination that they’re trying to somehow shape public opinion about this case,” Holder told The Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart.

“And that’s inconsistent with the way in which we conduct investigations, and especially grand jury investigations which are supposed to be secret.”

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US govt bugged journo’s computer, planted docs

Bad News For Bottoms: New Study Finds Too Much Penetration Can Cause Cancer

Graham Gremore | Queerty | October 30, 2014

Oh, great. The fundamentalists are going to have a field day with this one.

A new study out of the University of Montréal has found that men who have sex with 20 or more partners during their lifetimes are less likely to develop prostate cancer. But there’s a catch: It only applies to straight guys. Gay men who bump uglies with 20 or more partners during their lifetimes are more likely to develop prostate cancer.

Epidemiologist Marie-Élise Parent and her researchers surveyed more than 3,200 guys in the Montréal area who answered a comprehensive questionnaire that covered many aspects of their lives, including their bedroom activities. About half of respondents had been diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2005 and 2009.

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