Discrimination // Current

A Day Without A Gay

In the light of recent events that have taken place in the state of California, many people have decided that it’s time to... more

donkeyfly69
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Closing Arguments: Picking Sides on Prop 8

California's recently passed Proposition 8, which recognizes only marriages between a man and woman, has spurred protests... more

julesrs007
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Keith Olbermann On Gay Marriage In California

Keith Olbermann delivers his famous special comment again, this time on the topic of gay marriage and Prop 8 in California. ... more

Future_America
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Keith Olbermann in proposition 8

Keith Olbermann special commentary on proposition H8.

bubidu
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HISTORY OF SYPHILIS (Abstract)

In Italy the disease was manifested in epidemic shape in 1494 with sieges of Naples by the French troops on the orders of Charles... more

camdic
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Prop 8 (eliminates gay marriage) Protest in California; Man is beaten by LAPD

Many people gathered all over California to protest the passing of Prop 8, which eliminates gay marriage. Even though I am not... more

cvancefilms
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Gay Marriage Ban Protest

In California, protesters have begun demonstrating against a gay marriage ban that voters approved by a narrow margin on Tuesday.... more

VSiskos
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Proposition 8 in California still remains too close to call. Might take until mid-December.

From the report: Proposition 8 in California still remains too close to call. “We all know that our marriages did not... more

pilgrimperks
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Myspace's hateful message

I am completely dumbfounded that Myspace.com is supporting Yes on Prop 8. I never expected such hate and abuse from a supposedly... more

pilgrimperks
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Local councils ban Latin words

Several local councils in the UK have banned their staff from using Latin phrases. It is said that Latin terms might confuse... more

ClareW
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Muslim caterer sues Met police over pork

Muslim catering manager Hasanali Khoja was told he would be expected to handle pork products at his new job at the Empress State... more

ClareW
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Obama's aunt ordered to leave U.S. by immigration judge

WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman who has been quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the United... more

jrchel
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Cover up tattoos, some employees told!

"We don't allow discrimination based on skin color, yet we came up with a policy that discriminated against people with... more

Datura420
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Atheist challenges College, Boy Scouts

"Each fall, the College of Charleston hosts a week-long United Way Campaign with the aim of raising money for the charity, which redistributes its donations amongst a host of local nonprofits.

When CofC President George Benson sent out the announcement last week, math professor and outspoken atheist Herb Silverman fired back with the same call for a boycott that he's authored for the last nine years. He objects to the United Way because they support the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), which publicly rejects homosexuals and atheists from their ranks.

"In order to be a member, you have to believe in some type of greater being, whether it's the Christian God or Muslim Allah," says Legare Clement, Scout executive for the Coastal Carolina Council. "We're even accepting the children of Wicca belief, multiple gods and things like that, so it's very liberal in the understanding of what God is. But it has to be a belief in a supreme being."

In 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the BSA's right to deny membership to gays and atheists, based on their First Amendment rights to "expressive association" as a private organization. That stance has led some of the country's United Way chapters to deny funding to the Scouts.

Charleston's Trident United Way, however, is a regular supporter of Scoutreach, a BSA program directed toward communities where traditional, volunteer troops have failed, such as rural areas like Edisto Island and Hollywood and inner-city neighborhoods like the Neck of the peninsula and North Charleston.

Trident United Way Vice President of Communications Barry Waldman speaks of our "sickeningly striated community" in Charleston, citing a 40 percent dropout rate and 40 percent of families with a gross income under $20,000. Nearly half of adults have a literacy rating falling below the level needed to hold a clerical job. Waldman says it all underscores the importance of programs like Scoutreach.

"Boys (in these areas) are headed for these dysfunctions unless we can capture them in time. Scoutreach offers them positive role models, leadership skill building, and instruction in 21st century workplace skills. That's why United Way invests in this one Boy Scout program," says Waldman, adding that he wishes the national group was "more open-minded" but appreciates the good work they do.

In Silverman's view, any positive impact by Scoutreach is overshadowed by the group's discriminatory policies.

"Just as the United Way would never assist the Ku Klux Klan or any other organization that openly discriminates against African-Americans, Catholics, or Jews, I feel it should also not endorse discrimination against gays and atheists," he wrote in a 2000 letter published in USA Today. " "Each fall, the College of Charleston hosts a week-long United Way Campaign with the aim of raising money for the charity,... more

DeliaTheArtist
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21 days ago

How drugs laws compound race inequality

The war on drugs disproportionately targets black people in the US and UK, exacerbating oppression, says Sebastian Saville On... more

Enjoy_Cannabis
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17 responses

1 month ago

Sarajevans Stand Up to Hate Attacks

The activist group Citizens of Sarajevo is taking a stand against increasing violence aimed at sexual and gender minorities in the Bosnian capital -- particularly attacks perpetrated at last week's Queer Festival -- and calling on the international community to do the same.

"The threats issued against the organizers of the first Queer Sarajevo Festivala (QSF) over the last month or so culminated and materialized last night, during the opening ceremony," reported OneWorld Southeast Europe's Sanjin Buzo after Festival participants were attacked.

"Human rights issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina are dominated by the attempts of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY), established in 1993 in The Hague, to establish accountability for the most serious crimes committed during the war," states OneWorld UK.

Please Help Us Fight Discrimination and Violence!

From: Citizens for Sarajevo

We, the citizens of Sarajevo, call upon the representatives of the International Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina to raise their
voices against the escalation of violence in the Capital, especially with regards to the recent events that increased the feeling of insecurity among law-abiding people. Namely, the events that followed he opening of the Queer Festival in the night of the 24th September, when eight people were injured and other participants and visitors verbally and physically harassed in the very heart of the city, are only the continuation of violent crimes that we have been witnessing over the past year, the most horrific one being the brutal murder of a young boy, Denis Mrnjavac back in February. We believe that the failure of the authorities to take responsibility for prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators in an efficient manner led to this shocking surge of crime.

This inefficiency was clearly demonstrated at the opening of the Queer Festival, when a group of Wahabis and young hooligans expressed their disapproval of sexual and gender minorities through physical violence. The Sarajevo Canton Police did not manage to prevent the attacks although the event was assessed in advance as a high-risk one, nor did they show enthusiasm in apprehending the perpetrators. Prior to the event, the leading political parties in power and the representatives of religious institutions further stirred up the negative atmosphere with their discriminatory and homophobic speeches. Religious and political leaders should be made aware that
the violence which occurred is a direct result of their homophobic speeches.

The tacit - or otherwise - political approval of violence is supported by the fact that the inflammatory speeches that preceded the Festival
were used as a means for mobilising the electoral body. What is even more frightening is the fact that not one of the main political parties in power condemned the violence after it occurred, which additionally proves their indirect support to the perpetrators of crimes. All these facts clearly illustrate that the representatives of authorities do not comply with the BiH legislative: The rights to peaceful assembly and to freedom of expression are recognized and protected by a number of international treaties to which Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

This is why we ask you to demand from the representatives of the authorities to condemn the violence that occurred on 24th September and to apprehend and punish the perpetrators. If they fail to do so, we fear that the promotion of fascism and homophobia will spread to the other spheres of social life of the wider community. We, the citizens of Sarajevo, have the right to freedom, without fear of persecution because of our personal beliefs or sexual orientation.The activist group Citizens of Sarajevo is taking a stand against increasing violence aimed at sexual and gender minorities in the... more

goldenways
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1 month ago

Google opposes same-sex marriage ban

Google has taken a stand against Proposition 8, an anti-gay marriage measure on the November ballot in California. ... more

JanaPokana
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20 responses

1 month ago

Oh, yes it's ladies' night, judge rules

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's closing time for a lawsuit alleging ladies' nights at nightclubs discriminate against men. ... more

GrandKnow2
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1 response

1 month ago

T.G.I. Friday's guilty of HIV discrimination

The company that owns T.G.I. Friday's restaurants has been fined $5,000 for an outlet's wrongful termination of an... more

JanaPokana
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0 responses

1 month ago

Workplace bias against Muslims on the rise, survey says

Increasing complaints of workplace bias against Muslims are saddening and disheartening, a former board member of Dallas Peace Center said Wednesday after the release of a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Muslims are in the cross hairs," said Hadi Jawad of Dallas, chairman of the center’s End the Occupation of Iraq committee.

The national report, called Without Fear of Discrimination, outlines 2,652 incidents and experiences of anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment in 2007. That is the highest number of civil rights cases ever recorded in the Washington-based group’s report, the only annual study of its kind, council officials said.

The increase is partly due to the inclusion of a new category of cases of mailed, faxed and e-mailed hate messages, according to the results. However, the study did detect a decrease in categories such as physical violence and verbal harassment, which allows "a note of cautious optimism," said the report by CAIR, America’s largest Islamic civil-liberties group.

The findings were not startling to officials in the Muslim community or with the Austin-based ACLU of Texas.

Lisa Graybill, the legal director of the state’s ACLU office, said it receives about 200 to 250 complaints a month, with many of those related to "folks who are or are perceived to be Muslim."

"I’m really sorry to say these results [from CAIR] are not totally surprising," she said.

Jawad, 56, who emigrated from Pakistan when he was 19, called harassment a "collective punishment" of Muslims after 9-11. "There’s been a drastic change since then," he said. "I’m stunned how neighbors turned against neighbors, against people who have absolutely nothing to do with that violence."

He mentioned incidents of individuals ripping hijabs, or head coverings, of Muslim women shopping in malls.

The hecklers "yelled obscenities and tell them to go home — and some of these girls were born here," he said.

"I find this totally un-American. I love the country and the ideals of equality, opportunity and justice. . . . I find these elements [bias and harassment] are hurting Americans more than anything."Increasing complaints of workplace bias against Muslims are saddening and disheartening, a former board member of Dallas Peace... more