Random collection of news updates
City official faces firing over sex change plan
Largo, FL City Commission has begun the firing process for City Manager Stanton (announced identity as transsexual woman and intentions to transition last week), a position Stanton has held for 14 years.
Here's a link to a CNN.com story and also an Equality Florida petition calling the Commission's decision 'regressive' and 'discriminatory'.
Gender Change Costs Dean a Job
Julie Nemecek is also facing a firing at Spring Arbor University in Michigan. Here is a link to an Inside Higher Ed article with plenty of room to offer feedback, as well as a Facebook group supporting Professor Nemecek for all of you with Facebook profiles. There is activism going on on that campus through SAU's Gay-Straight Alliance. They are asking for letters to be written to SAU before March 6th, which is the mediation date. Contact the group creator for more info.
Chief Illiniwek retired
Speaking of Facebook. Some of you may have already heard about the NCAA finally banning the University of Illinois' incredibly racist mascot. This was a much needed huge step in the continued battle against racial appropriation, mainstream racist imagery, and racist sports mascots.
But the battle is not over by a mile. If you do a "Chief Illiniwek" search on Facebook, you will see a ton of groups created in support of the 'Chief' and bringing him back or whatever, and barely a handful supporting the decision, most of which are just about college sports rivalries and not about the racism promoted in the mascot's existence. So join this one: Good Riddance Chief Illiniwek, that Racist Bastard, is BANNED from NCAA. Celebrate a modern victory against racism!
Free Genarlow Wilson Now!
A 17-year old African-American high school senior has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a consensual sexual act with a fellow high schooler who was 3 weeks shy of being 16, the legal age for consensual sex in the state. According to the following NAACP news page, at "around the same time that Genarlow was sentenced, a high school teacher was convicted of having sex with a student. The white female teacher was sentenced to just 90 days" and that had the two seniors engaged in intercourse instead of oral sex, Wilson's sentence would have been much lighter!
The NAACP article is well worth a read as it highlights SEVERAL ways the system has really fucked up in Wilson's case, and also offers up a petition to sign. There is also a separate site dedicated to Genarlow Wilson's case.
Israeli raid 'will not keep TV station off the air'
An Independent article highlights an Israeli raid on a Palestinian TV station that is not factionally run (ie, does not belong to either Hamas or Fatah or any of the other Palestinian organizations and militias) and offers criticism about both Israeli and Palestinian authorities, policies and actions. Of course what that means is that the Palestinian people have through Sanabel TV a resource that does not divide them or pit them against each other, and that's totally unacceptable (*note sarcasm). The reason for the raid: to arrest those suspected of links to terrorist activity. How many more times are people going to accept this excuse used by the Israeli forces to just come in and capture and/or kill anybody they feel like?
US accused on 'missing prisoners'
Remember those CIA secret prisons? Well 38 people that are believed to have been held in those prisons have now just gone missing! There have been multiple calls from human rights organizations and some countries to permanently close these black sites down, as they are known to be torture sites, and to identify the location of these detainees.
Here's a BBC News article on it.
That's all for now, will be back for more in the future.
Largo, FL City Commission has begun the firing process for City Manager Stanton (announced identity as transsexual woman and intentions to transition last week), a position Stanton has held for 14 years.
Here's a link to a CNN.com story and also an Equality Florida petition calling the Commission's decision 'regressive' and 'discriminatory'.
Gender Change Costs Dean a Job
Julie Nemecek is also facing a firing at Spring Arbor University in Michigan. Here is a link to an Inside Higher Ed article with plenty of room to offer feedback, as well as a Facebook group supporting Professor Nemecek for all of you with Facebook profiles. There is activism going on on that campus through SAU's Gay-Straight Alliance. They are asking for letters to be written to SAU before March 6th, which is the mediation date. Contact the group creator for more info.
Chief Illiniwek retired
Speaking of Facebook. Some of you may have already heard about the NCAA finally banning the University of Illinois' incredibly racist mascot. This was a much needed huge step in the continued battle against racial appropriation, mainstream racist imagery, and racist sports mascots.
But the battle is not over by a mile. If you do a "Chief Illiniwek" search on Facebook, you will see a ton of groups created in support of the 'Chief' and bringing him back or whatever, and barely a handful supporting the decision, most of which are just about college sports rivalries and not about the racism promoted in the mascot's existence. So join this one: Good Riddance Chief Illiniwek, that Racist Bastard, is BANNED from NCAA. Celebrate a modern victory against racism!
Free Genarlow Wilson Now!
A 17-year old African-American high school senior has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for a consensual sexual act with a fellow high schooler who was 3 weeks shy of being 16, the legal age for consensual sex in the state. According to the following NAACP news page, at "around the same time that Genarlow was sentenced, a high school teacher was convicted of having sex with a student. The white female teacher was sentenced to just 90 days" and that had the two seniors engaged in intercourse instead of oral sex, Wilson's sentence would have been much lighter!
The NAACP article is well worth a read as it highlights SEVERAL ways the system has really fucked up in Wilson's case, and also offers up a petition to sign. There is also a separate site dedicated to Genarlow Wilson's case.
Israeli raid 'will not keep TV station off the air'
An Independent article highlights an Israeli raid on a Palestinian TV station that is not factionally run (ie, does not belong to either Hamas or Fatah or any of the other Palestinian organizations and militias) and offers criticism about both Israeli and Palestinian authorities, policies and actions. Of course what that means is that the Palestinian people have through Sanabel TV a resource that does not divide them or pit them against each other, and that's totally unacceptable (*note sarcasm). The reason for the raid: to arrest those suspected of links to terrorist activity. How many more times are people going to accept this excuse used by the Israeli forces to just come in and capture and/or kill anybody they feel like?
US accused on 'missing prisoners'
Remember those CIA secret prisons? Well 38 people that are believed to have been held in those prisons have now just gone missing! There have been multiple calls from human rights organizations and some countries to permanently close these black sites down, as they are known to be torture sites, and to identify the location of these detainees.
Here's a BBC News article on it.
That's all for now, will be back for more in the future.