Via JMG: INDIA: Top Politicians Vow To Repeal Law Against Homosexuality

In the wake of yesterday's shocking recriminalization of homosexuality by the Indian Supreme Court, politicians there today vowed to repeal the law legislatively.

"We will have to change the law. If the Supreme Court has upheld that law, then we will certainly have to take firm steps," Thursday. "Change has to be made fast, and any delay cannot take place." Sibal's comments were echoed by other government officials. Sonia Gandhi, the head of the ruling Congress Party, who is among the most powerful political figures in the country, said Thursday she was disappointed by the Supreme Court's ruling, adding she hopes "Parliament will address the issue and uphold the constitutional guarantee of life and liberty to all citizens of India, including those directly affected by the judgment." The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, fresh off massive wins in state elections last week, refused to comment on the ruling, "react when we see the government's proposal." The BJP is seen as a front-runner ahead of next year's national elections.

Labels: homosexuality, India, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Science and Nonduality Conference / FB:

Science and Nonduality Conference

first there is a mountain
then there is no mountain
then there is a mountain again

~ Zen Proverb

photo: Joel Santos

 

Via Have A Gay Day / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 12, 2013

Fearlessness

If we’re afraid of who we are, we continually feel frantic about filling that space, anything to avoid that persistent unease beneath the surface of our lives. The fearlessness of the warrior comes from stepping again and again into open space, with body, breath, and heart exposed. It is the fearlessness that is willing to be intimate with fear.

- Aura Glaser, “Into the Demon’s Mouth”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 13, 2013
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Via JMG: Indian LGBT Group Denounces Ruling

 

The Indian LGBT rights group Orinam has issued a reaction to the today's shameful ruling by the Indian Supreme Court.

We are deeply disappointed at the decision of the Supreme Court in Suresh Kumar Kaushal v. Naz Foundation. The decision by overturning the historic Delhi High Court judgment which recognized that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) persons are full citizens of India, attempts to stem the tide of history. By overturning the Naz Foundation judgment, the Supreme Court has, in one fell stroke again reduced LGBT persons to the status of what the Delhi High Court memorably called 'unapprehended felons'. The judgment of the Supreme Court is a unconscionable blow to the dignity of LGBT persons who as per the Indian Constitution are entitled to equal treatment. It withdraws the protective arm of the constitution from LGBT persons and renders LGBT persons vulnerable to discrimination, violence and harassment. It is a tragedy that this judgment forgets the vision of the founders of the Indian republic which was so eloquently captured by the Delhi High Court. By re-criminalizing LGBT persons the judgment ignores the spirit of inclusiveness which is the heart of the Indian Constitution as articulated by Jawaharlal Nehru. It equally abandons the principle of constitutional morality (ie majorities dont have a charter to discriminate against minorities purely because they are majorities) articulated by Dr. Ambedkar which is the cornerstone of a diverse and plural nation.

Read the full statement.

Labels: homosexuality, India, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Sporting Bodies To Respect LGBT Rights

Martina Navratilova and Jason Collins yesterday called on international sporting groups to respect LGBT rights. The pair spoke at a United Nations event marking International Human Rights Day.

They focused in part on the upcoming Winter Olympics in Russia, which passed a law this summer banning homosexual "propaganda." The law has drawn international condemnation and sparked calls for a boycott, though no nations have threatened to pull their athletes. Navratilova, who lost lucrative endorsements when she came out in 1981, said she doesn't support boycotts of any kind. But she said the IOC is "putting its head in the sand" and criticized FIFA, the world soccer body, for awarding the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. "Nobody's talking about Qatar and the World Cup. You can get a jail term there," she said of consensual gay sex in the Persian Gulf nation. In six other countries, including Saudi Arabia, simply being gay is punishable by death, she said. "Gays and lesbians seem to be the last group it's seen as OK to pick on," she said.

Watch video here.

Labels: FIFA, gay athletes, Jason Collins, LGBT rights, Martina Navralitova, Qatar, Russia, Sochi Olympics

Via Freedom to Marry / FB:

Edie Windsor has been named one of TIME's Top 5 People of the Year! 

 

Don't miss TIME's beautiful tribute to the woman whose love story made 2013 amazing: http://ti.me/1aV3jKY

 

 

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 11, 2013

The Matter of Truth

One finds in Buddhist tradition a distinction between “words” and “meaning,” which are often very different from one another, and we would do well to consider the traditional advice—whether we are looking at statues or interpreting teachings—to pay attention to symbolic meaning and not be limited to literal meaning.

- Rita M. Gross, “The Matter of Truth”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 12, 2013
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Is Being Gay a choice?

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 10, 2013

Spiritual Stinginess

We try to turn a profit in practice—to get something from it. We try to get better. We try to get enlightenment. We try to get seen for doing it right. What are we being stingy with here? Wholehearted surrender to the present moment or to what is. Think how stingy we are with that. Think how tightly we hold on. We also imagine that in practicing, what we will “get” will be ours—which is, of course, the greatest delusion of all.

- Sensei Nancy Mujo Baker, "On Not Being Stingy"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 11, 2013
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Via JMG: Edith Windsor: Top Ten Finalist For TIME Magazine's Person Of The Year

 

TIME Magazine today released the top ten finalists for Person Of The Year. On the list is Edith Windsor.  Here are the finalists in alphabetical order. 

Bashar Assad, President of Syria
Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder
Ted Cruz, Texas Senator
Miley Cyrus, Singer
Pope Francis, Leader of the Catholic Church
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Edward Snowden, N.S.A. Leaker
Edith Windsor, Gay rights activist

The 2013 Person Of The Year will be revealed on Wednesday.

Labels: 2013 in review, DOMA, Edith Windsor, Time Magazine

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: BRASIL: 130 Couples Participate In Mass Wedding As Rio Legalizes Gay Marriage

Yesterday Rio De Janeiro became the 14th Brazilian state to legalize same-sex marriage. Over 130 couples married in a mass wedding at the state's Superior Court of Justice.

In mid-May, Brazilian courts determined that public offices that oversee marriages cannot reject gay couples, even though Brazil's national congress has passed no law on the matter. Some public offices had already been accepting marriage applications from homosexual couples, while others denied them. An emotional Viviane Soares Lessa de Faria, 38, smiled at her partner and told news site G1 "I've dreamed of marrying her since I met her." Her wife's 29-year-old son was the couple's best man. For Giuseppe Laricchia, 21, marrying his boyfriend was about guaranteeing rights. "We need to have equality compared with heterosexual couples," he said.

(Via Towleroad)

Labels: Brazil, marriage equality, Rio de Janeiro

 
Reposted from Joe Jervis

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 9, 2013

To Be the Host

The ancient Chinese used the image of the host to describe the observing, stable meditator. Many guests visit the host. Some are invited, and they tend to be kind, charming, and a pleasure to entertain. Others are not invited: they are drunk, unruly, and eat all the food. Or they stand around, staring into space.

- Larry Rosenberg, “To Be the Host”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 10, 2013
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Via Being Liberal / FB:

Via JMG: ROME: Famed Street Lit With Rainbow Lights For Gay Teen, Wingnuts Complain

Italy's right wing Fratelli d'Italia party is demanding the removal of rainbow lights hung over Rome's famous Via Del Corso in the memory of a gay teenager.

A rainbow-flag theme has been selected for the traditional lights along the city's main shopping street, the Via del Corso. The lights run for almost a mile long. The lights were chosen by the local council as a stand against homophobia, following the recent suicide of a gay teenager in the Eternal City. "That is how we came up with the rainbow flag idea," said councilor Imma Battaglia, who also heads up a gay rights campaign group. But that decision has not gone down well with everyone, reports AFP.

The company that put up the lights has responded to the furor by saying that the lights are now also dedicated to the memory of Nelson Mandela.

Labels: Italy, LGBT youth, Rome, suicide

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: German President To Boycott Sochi

German President Joachim Gauck has announced that he will not attend the Sochi Olympics in protests of Russia's anti-LGBT pogrom. ESPN reports:

Gauck took the decision to protest human rights violations and the harassment of Russian opposition political figures, Der Spiegel reported Sunday. The magazine said the Russian government was informed of his decision last week. Presidential spokeswoman Ferdos Forudastan confirmed the move to the dpa news agency on Sunday. Gauck's office could not immediately be reached for further confirmation. Forudastan told dpa that there was no set rule saying German presidents had to travel. Former president Horst Koehler did not travel to Vancouver for the Winter Games in 2010. The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) said on its website that Gauck had not been planning to visit to Sochi "according to our knowledge." DOSB director general Michael Vesper told dpa that "(someone) who doesn't travel doesn't automatically boycott something. It's certainly not directed against the German team." Gauck, an outspoken critic of Russia's human-rights record, is yet to visit the country since taking office in March 2012. A planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2012 fell through, apparently for scheduling reasons.

The presidency of Germany is largely a ceremonial position. Chancellor Angela Merkel, the actual head of the government, has spoken against any boycott of the Sochi Olympics. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

Labels: Germany, LGBT rights, Russia, Sochi Olympics

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma December 8, 2013

The Sangha

Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are three precious jewels in Buddhism, and the most important of these is Sangha. The Sangha contains the Buddha and the Dharma. A good teacher is important, but sisters and brothers in the practice are the main ingredient for success. You cannot achieve enlightenment by locking yourself in your room. Transformation is possible only when you are in touch. When you touch the ground, you can feel the stability of the earth and feel confident.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, "The Fertile Soil of Sangha"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through December 9, 2013
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Via JMG: RUSSIA: Anti-Gay Social Media Group Posts Reward To Out LGBT Teachers

 

Queer Russia reports:

A new St. Petersburg based antigay group emerged on a popular Russian social network Vkontakte has launched an on-line campaign offering an equivalent of $150 for reporting “confirmed” information on LGBT school teachers. The group aims to stop “gay propaganda to minors” in schools and dismiss gay teachers with the help of local authorities. The announcement published on the group’s page Vkontakte urges people to collect and send in any public information about LGBT teachers who are, “explicitly or implicitly”, open about their own sexual orientation on the internet and to their schoolchildren.
The group refuses to accept any rumors or slander and stresses that the information must be available in the open sources so that the group’s activity does not violate the Russian law on collecting personal data without a person’s consent. The announcement claims that such open information can be “threatening to psyche and mind of children who may be around such people”. The group claims to have connections with the Russian authorities in order to perform dismissals “without any bullying, homophobia or calls to violence”, but still enforcing the “gay propaganda to minors ban law”.

The group claims to have be given the names of six teachers within the first 24 hours of their post.

Labels: bigotry, Russia, social media, St. Petersburg

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Empire State Building Honors Mandela

 

The Empire State Building was lit in the colors of South Africa's flag in honor of Nelson Mandela and the Tea Things are very upset about this.

Labels: Empire State Building, Nelson Mandela, NYC, South Africa

Reposted from Joe Jervis