Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Scott Shackford

Quote Of The Day - Scott Shackford

"What’s sad about this effort is that if Russia succeeds in getting its hands back on Stoli, then a boycott actually makes sense. But the consequence will be that a powerful businessman who does support the gay community will lose his company. Boycotting Stoli now is a very bad idea. [Stoli owner Yuri] Scheffler is an ally who the gay and lesbian community needs to work with, not alienate. From a Western perspective it may be hard to realize that an incredibly rich person like Scheffler has the potential to be a victim of Russia’s authoritarian regime like its gay citizens or members of Pussy Riot, but it’s extremely important not to look at the nature of power and influence there the way we do here." - Scott Shackford, writing for Reason.  The entire essay is worth your time.

Labels: boycotts, LGBT rights, Russia, Stoli

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Via JMG: HRC: The IOC Shouldn't Trust Russia

Via press release from the Human Rights Campaign:

Mere verbal assurances from the Russian government that foreigners will be exempt from their repressive laws are not enough,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “The IOC must obtain ironclad written assurance from President Putin. But more importantly, they should be advocating for the safety of all LGBT people in Russia, not simply those visiting for the Olympics. Rescinding this heinous law must be our collective goal.”
In June, a law banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" was passed by Russia’s Federal Assembly and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. Under the guise of protecting children from "homosexual propaganda," the law imposes fines or jail time to citizens who disseminate information that may cause a "distorted understanding" that LGBT and heterosexual relationships are "socially equivalent." The fines are significantly higher if such information is distributed through the media or Internet.

The HRC is responding to this story.

Labels: Chad Griffin, HRC, IOC, LGBT rights, Olympics, Russia, Sochi Olympics, sports

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Via JMG: Quote Of The Day - Desmond Tutu

Yesterday I reported that the United Nation's had launched a global campaign for the LGBT rights during a meeting in South Africa.  At the launch announcement was Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

South Africa's Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he will never worship a "homophobic God" and will rather go to hell. The retired archbishop was speaking at the launch of a UN-backed campaign in South Africa to promote gay rights. Archbishop Tutu said the campaign against homophobia was similar to the campaign waged against racism in South Africa. "I am as passionate about this campaign as I ever was about apartheid. For me, it is at the same level," he added.

(Image via Memeographs)

Labels: Desmond Tutu, religion, United Nations

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Via JMG: NBC Responds To IOC Statement

Yesterday the International Olympic Committee released a statement declaring that it had "received assurances from the highest levels" of the Russian government that athletes and fans would be exempt from arrest under the "homosexual propaganda" law during the Sochi Olympics. Buzzfeed's Chris Geidner reached out to NBC for a statement:

“NBCUniversal strongly supports equal rights and the fair treatment for all people. The spirit of the Olympic Games is about unifying people and countries through the celebration of sport and it is our hope that spirit will prevail,” NBCUniversal senior vice president of corporate communications Cameron Blanchard told BuzzFeed Friday evening. Human Rights Campaign had raised questions about the coverage plans in a letter to NBC officials earlier this week, with HRC president Chad Griffin writing, “NBCUniversal … has a unique opportunity — and a responsibility — to expose this inhumane and unjust law to the millions of American viewers who will tune in to watch the Games.”

Geidner reports that NBC noted that the Olympics are still seven months away and that "specific coverage plans are yet to be finalized." Let's hope that coverage includes much more than the above blanket statement of support.

Labels: IOC, NBC, Russia, Sochi Olympics

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 27, 2013

Make the First Move

Usually we are in a stalemate with our world: 'Is he going to say he is sorry to me first, or am I going to apologize to him first?' But in becoming a bodhisattva we break that barrier: we do not wait for the other person to make the first move; we have decided to do it ourselves.

- Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, "The Bodhisattva Vow: Eight Views"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 28, 2013
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 24, 2013

Practicing with Loss

Loss is a fact of life. Impermanence is everywhere we look. We are all going to suffer our losses. How we deal with these losses is what makes all the difference. For it is not what happens to us that determines our character, our experience, our karma, and our destiny, but how we relate to what happens.

- Lama Surya Das, "Practicing with Loss"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 25, 2013
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Via JMG: NEW MEXICO: AG Tells State Supreme Court He Won't Defend Marriage Ban

 

New Mexico Attorney General Gary King yesterday told the state Supreme Court that he will not defend a lawsuit calling for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In written arguments filed with the court, King said the justices should invalidate the state’s ban on gay marriage if they agree to resolve the issue in a lawsuit filed by two Santa Fe men who were denied a marriage license. King, a Democrat who plans to run for governor next year against Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, said New Mexico law effectively doesn’t allow gay marriages although there’s no statutory provision that specifically prohibits, or authorizes, gay couples to be married. “New Mexico’s guarantee of equal protection to its citizens demands that same-sex couples be permitted to enjoy the benefits of marriage in the same way and to the same extent as other New Mexico citizens,” King said in the filing.

The state Supreme Court had asked King to respond to the lawsuit, but in yesterday's response, King also said the couple's case should be rejected because it had improperly bypassed lower courts and would set a precedent for direct actions to the high court. Earlier this month the ACLU and the National Center for Lesbian Rights also filed a lawsuit on behalf of six gay couples asking the state Supreme Court to clarify whether same-sex couples can marry in New Mexico.
RELATED: Back in March the mayor of Santa Fe declared that there is nothing in state law than bans same-sex couples from marrying.

Labels: lawsuits, marriage equality, New Mexico

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma July 23, 2013

Equality

We are not born equal, are not created equal. We are born different, and live different, and die different, because of our different karma. But there are certain areas where things become equal. There is no difference in the attainment of enlightenment. When we attain nirvana, we all are equal.

- Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, "Going Upstream"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through July 24, 2013
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Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Harvey Fierstein

"Mr. Putin’s campaign against lesbian, gay and bisexual people is one of distraction, a strategy of demonizing a minority for political gain taken straight from the Nazi playbook. Can we allow this war against human rights to go unanswered? Although Mr. Putin may think he can control his creation, history proves he cannot: his condemnations are permission to commit violence against gays and lesbians. Last week a young gay man was murdered in the city of Volgograd. He was beaten, his body violated with beer bottles, his clothing set on fire, his head crushed with a rock. This is most likely just the beginning. [snip]

"With Russia about to hold the Winter Games in Sochi, the country is open to pressure. American and world leaders must speak out against Mr. Putin’s attacks and the violence they foster. The Olympic Committee must demand the retraction of these laws under threat of boycott. In 1936 the world attended the Olympics in Germany. Few participants said a word about Hitler’s campaign against the Jews. Supporters of that decision point proudly to the triumph of Jesse Owens, while I point with dread to the Holocaust and world war. There is a price for tolerating intolerance." - Harvey Fierstein, writing for the New York Times.

Labels: activism, Harvey Fierstein, HomoQuotable, LGBT rights, Olympics, Russia, Sochi Olympics, sports, Vladimir Putin

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Via JMG: COLOMBIA: High Court Rebukes Campaign To Block Same-Sex Marriages

 

Colombia's Constitutional Court has told Inspector General Alejandro Ordóñez to drop his campaign to block same-sex marriages. J. Lester Feder reports at Buzzfeed:

Ordoñez had been threatening disciplinary action against any official who took up this authority. His case was based on the fact that the court’s ruling did not specifically say that couples can “marry,” nor did it directly change the law. Instead, it gave congress until June 20, 2013 to change the law to give equal rights to same-sex couples. The 2011 ruling only gives the power directly to judges and notaries because congress failed to act, and ambiguity in the ruling left it unclear whether they will call these unions “marriages” or something else entirely. On Friday, the court rejected Ordoñez’s petition for it to clarify that it did not intend to open marriage to same-sex couples. And Constitutional Court President Jorge Iván Palacio sternly warned Ordoñez to “observe the determinations of this Court and monitor their strict and timely compliance.”

Feder notes that the Court has still not clarified the murky wording of their 2011 ruling. LGBT activists, however, are taking their message to Ordóñez as a very positive sign.
RELATED: Same-sex marriage is legal in the South American nations of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.

Labels: Colombia, marriage equality, South America

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