FBI warns shops on checkout thefts

Last updated Jan 24, 2014, 2:35 AM PST

Criminals using fake credit cards, made with data stolen from Target, are already being arrested.

The FBI has issued a warning to US shops telling them to beef up defences against cyber-thieves.

The agency included its warning in a confidential report to large retailers that was obtained by Reuters.

In particular, said the FBI, shops need to look for the type of malware used to steal millions of credit card details from shoppers at retailer Target.

The FBI said it had seen about 20 cases in the last year where data was stolen using the same type of malicious code.

That code has been inserted on to credit and debit card swiping-machines, cash registers and other point-of-sale (POS) equipment.

"We believe POS malware crime will continue to grow over the near term, despite law enforcement and security firms' actions to mitigate it," read the FBI report.

The low cost of the virus code, its wide availability on underground markets and the potential for profit if POS equipment was compromised made it very attractive to thieves, said the agency. One copy of the type of software used to grab data at tills was on sale for only $6,000 (£3,600), said the FBI report.

The report was sent out as more details emerge about the extent of the security breach at US retailing giant Target.

Reports suggest that the attackers who planted malware on Target tills were scooping up card data for 19 days during the busy Christmas season. The thieves are believed to have got away with complete details for 40 million cards and stolen personal data on about 70 million customers.

The attack is believed to have been one of the biggest retail cyber-attacks in history.

Recent arrests suggest the data stolen from Target is already being used to create counterfeit cards. In mid-January two people were arrested at the Texas-Mexico border with 96 fake cards later identified as being from the huge cache stolen from Target.

BBC © 2014

Analysis: Wealth gap, a guide to what it is, why it matters
 

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER and JOSH BOAK
AP Economics Writers
January 27, 2014

WASHINGTON - From the White House to the Vatican to the business elite in Davos, Switzerland, one issue keeps seizing the agenda: the growing gap between the very wealthy and everyone else.

It's "the defining challenge of our time," says President Barack Obama, who will spotlight the issue in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. A Gallup poll finds two-thirds of Americans are unhappy with the nation's distribution of wealth. Experts say it may be slowing the economy.

Why has the issue suddenly galvanized attention? Here are questions and answers about the wealth gap - what it is and why it matters.

Q. Hasn't there always been a wide gulf between the richest people and the poorest?

A. Yes. What's new is the widening gap between the wealthiest and everyone else. Three decades ago, Americans' income tended to grow at roughly similar rates, no matter how much you made. But since roughly 1980, income has grown most for the top earners. For the poorest 20 percent of families, it's dropped. Incomes for the highest-earning 1 percent of Americans soared 31 percent from 2009 through 2012, after adjusting for inflation, according to data compiled by Emmanuel Saez, an economist at University of California, Berkeley. For the rest of us, it inched up an average of 0.4 percent. In 17 of 22 developed countries, income disparity widened in the past two decades, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Q. So who are the top 1 percent in income?

A. They're bankers, lawyers, hedge fund managers, founders of successful companies, entertainers, senior managers and others. One trend: Corporate executives, doctors, and farmers made up smaller shares of the top 1 percent in 2005 than in 1979. By contrast, the proportion of the wealthiest who work in the financial and real estate industries has doubled. The top 1 percent earned at least $394,000 in 2012. Through most of the post-World War II era, the top 1 percent earned about 10 percent of all income. By 2007, that figure had jumped to 23.5 percent, the most since 1928. As of 2012, it was 22.5 percent.

Q. How has the middle class fared?

A. Not well. Median household income peaked in 1999 at $56,080, adjusted for inflation. It fell to $51,017 by 2012. The percentage of American households with income within 50 percent of the median - one way of measuring the middle class - fell from 50 percent in 1970 to 42 percent in 2010.

Q. Does it matter if some people are much richer than others?

A. Most economists say some inequality is needed to reward hard work, talent and innovation. But a wealth gap that's too wide is usually unhealthy. It can slow economic growth, in part because richer Americans save more of their income than do others. Pay concentrated at the top is less likely to be spent.

It can also trigger reckless borrowing. Before the 2008 financial crisis, middle class households struggled to keep up their spending even as their pay stagnated. To do so, they piled up debt. Swelling debt helped inflate the housing bubble and ignite the financial crisis. Experts note that the Great Depression and the Great Recession were both preceded by surging income gaps and heedless borrowing by middle class Americans.

Q. Has it become harder for someone born poor to become rich?

A. The evidence is mixed. Countries that have more equal income distributions, such as Sweden and other Scandinavian countries, tend to enjoy more social mobility. But a study released last week found that the United States isn't any less mobile than it was in the 1970s. A child born in the poorest 20 percent of families in 1986 had a 9 percent chance of reaching the top 20 percent as an adult, the study found - roughly the same odds as in 1971.

Other research has shown that the United States isn't as socially mobile as once thought. In a study of 22 countries, economist Miles Corak of the University of Ottawa found that the United States ranked 15th in social mobility. Only Italy and the Britain among wealthy countries ranked lower. By some measures, children in the United States are as likely to inherit their parents' economic status as their height.

Q. So why has income inequality worsened?

A. There's no simple answer. Globalization has created "superstars" and concentrated pay among corporate executives, Wall Street traders, popular entertainers and other financial elite. At the same time, factory workers now compete with 3 billion people in China, India, eastern Europe and elsewhere who weren't working for multinational corporations 20 years ago. Many now make products for Apple, Intel, General Motors and others at low wages. This has depressed middle-class pay. And pay has risen much faster for college graduates than for high-school graduates. These trends have contributed to a "hollowed out" labor market, with more jobs at the higher and lower ends of the pay scale and fewer in the middle.

Social factors contribute, too. Single-parent families are more likely to be poor than other families and less likely to ascend the income ladder. Finally, men and women with college degrees and high pay are more likely to marry each other and amplify income gaps.

Q. Does wealth distribution follow a similar pattern?

A. It's even more pronounced. A Pew Research Center study found that the wealthiest 7 percent of households grew 28 percent richer from 2009 through 2011. For the bottom 93 percent, collective wealth fell 4 percent. That's largely because wealthy households own far more stocks and other financial assets than others. By contrast, whatever wealth middle-class Americans have is mainly in their home equity.

Since the Great Recession ended, stock-market averages have soared, setting records in 2013. Home values, though, remain far below their peaks reached in 2006. That divergence has benefited the richest and left others struggling.

Q. Where do the 1 percent live?

A. Investor Warren Buffett famously lives in Omaha, Neb. Les Wexner, whose fashion empire includes Victoria's Secret, is an Ohioan. But the wealthy mainly cluster around the largest cities. Of the 515 U.S. billionaires, 96 live around New York City, according to the intelligence firm Wealth-X. Los Angeles is home to 22, Chicago 21, San Francisco 20, Houston 14. Millionaires are more widely dispersed. Maryland has the highest concentration. Of all its households, 7.7 percent have $1 million or more in financial assets. New Jersey, Connecticut, Hawaii and Alaska have the next-highest concentrations, according to a report from Phoenix Marketing International.

Q. Has the Obama administration made progress in narrowing the wealth gap?

A. No. By most measures, it's worsened in the past seven years. President Barack Obama managed last year to restore higher tax rates on incomes above $398,350. And he's pushed other steps that might narrow the gap slightly, such as a higher minimum wage. But congressional Republicans have resisted most such measures.

Q. Is everyone concerned about the wealth gap?

A. Some conservative economists question much of the data. They note, for example, that Saez's figures don't include government benefits, such as Social Security or food stamps, or employer payments for health insurance, that benefit the less-than-rich. Yet the Congressional Budget Office did include government benefits and the effect of taxes in its own study and still found a sizable gap: For the top 1 percent, income jumped 275 percent, adjusted for inflation, from 1979 to 2007. For the middle 60 percent of Americans, it grew less than 40 percent.

Q. So what do experts say is the best way to shrink the wealth gap?

A. Most ideas break down along political lines. Liberal economists tend to support a higher minimum wage, greater access to pre-school and college education and more spending on roads, bridges and other infrastructure to help generate good-paying jobs. Most favor higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for such programs.

Conservatives tend to back tax cuts, government deregulation and other steps they say will accelerate hiring and growth and raise living standards for everyone. They tend to focus on the need to advance income mobility.

In a speech this month, Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio acknowledged the enormous pay disparity between a fast food company's cashier and its CEO.

"The problem we face is not simply the gap in pay between them, but rather that too many of those cashiers are stuck in the same job for years on end," Rubio said.

---

I have been informed that Morrie Turner, creator of Wee Pals comic strip, passed from ongoing illness.

In addition to his comic strip, Morrie was as generous and loving man, as well as a member of my church. He was so well loved, there was a line every Sunday morning to greet him with hugs and kisses.

He will be missed.

Coke features first gay family to appear in a Super Bowl ad
 

Coke features first gay family to appear in a Super Bowl ad


Feb. 2, 2014 at 9:07 PM ET

Video: Coca-Cola's commercial showed different types of people that make up “America The Beautiful," including the first gay family featured in a Super Bowl ad.
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/coke...-ad-2D12044708

In the second quarter of the Super Bowl, Coke became the first advertiser to show a gay family in an ad for America's big game.

The snippet appeared as one of many vignettes in a sweeping ad that celebrated America's collection of diverse creeds, codes and individuals. In the five-second clip, two male partners and their daughter go roller-skating while a chorus of children sing "America the beautiful."

The hashtag #AmericaIsBeautiful went trending on Twitter shortly after the spot aired.

Gay rights organization GLAAD praised the ad, calling it "a step forward for the advertising industry."

Coke has been under fire for its marketing lately. A social marketing effort that allowed customers to give each other digital coke bottles with words written on them backfired after the site wouldn't allow users to put the word "gay" on them.

The beverage maker has also been criticized for sponsoring the 2014 Olympics because the host country, Russia, in 2013 passed a law banning "the distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" to minors

"Coca-Cola has demonstrated to corporate America that being LGBT-inclusive is good business, but as the world turns its attention to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics, it's time for sponsors of the Olympics like Coca-Cola to show the whole world how beautiful LGBT families are," said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement after the ad aired.

Maine Supreme Court rules in favor of transgender girl in Orono school bathroom case
 

Maine Supreme Court sides with transgender student in bathroom case
Maine's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the school district of Orono violated state law by prohibiting a transgender student from using the girls' bathroom at a public elementary school in 2009. The ruling is reportedly the first time an American court has deemed it unlawful to bar transgender students from using facilities that align with their gender identity. "This is a momentous decision that marks a huge breakthrough for transgender young people," Jennifer Levi, director of GLAAD Transgender Rights Project, said

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/3...bathroom-case/

Bill seeks honorable discharges for veterans expelled under DADT
 

Bill seeks honorable discharges for veterans expelled under DADT
A bill introduced in the Senate on Thursday would grant honorable discharges to gay and lesbian veterans who were expelled under the military’s “don't ask, don't tell" policy. About 114,000 service members were dishonorably discharged because of their sexual orientation prior to the reversal of DADT in 2011. "Many of these brave men and women that served our country are currently barred from benefits that they earned and are entitled to, and in the most egregious cases they are prevented from legally calling themselves a veteran," said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who introduced the bill.

Judge upholds constitutionality of Hawaii marriage law
 

Judge upholds constitutionality of Hawaii marriage law
A Hawaii judge on Wednesday upheld the constitutionality of a law that brought marriage equality to the state in 2013. The ruling was issued in a lawsuit brought by Republican state Rep. Bob McDermott. "This is a very good day for the people of Hawaii," state Attorney General David Louie said in a statement

GLMA: Discrimination and Suicide Attempts Among Transgender People
 

Link Suggested Between Experiences of Discrimination and Suicide Attempts Among Transgender People
New analysis of responses to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS) shows that transgender respondents who experienced rejection by family and friends, discrimination, victimization or violence have a higher risk of attempting suicide. 78 percent of survey respondents who suffered physical or sexual violence at school reported suicide attempts, as did 65 percent of respondents who experienced violence at work. Over half of those who experienced harassment or bullying in schools reported lifetime suicide attempts, as did 57 percent of those who reported that their family chose not to speak/spend time with them. High prevalence of suicide attempts was also found among those who had ever experienced homelessness (69%) and those who reported a doctor or healthcare provider refused to treat them (60%). The study utilized data collected through the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS), which was conducted by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Click here to read the report.

Obama nominates gay black man for federal bench
 

Obama nominates gay black man for federal bench
The Obama administration announced Wednesday its nomination of Judge Darrin Gayles for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the first openly gay black male federal judge. "We commend the administration for nominating a qualified jurist who will also add diversity to the federal bench," Steven Thai, press secretary for the Gay & Lesbian Victory Institute, said. Gayles' nomination comes after Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., blocked another nominee, also an openly gay black man.

Medicines Made in India Set Off Safety Worries
 

NEW DELHI — India, the second-largest exporter of over-the-counter and prescription drugs to the United States, is coming under increased scrutiny by American regulators for safety lapses, falsified drug test results and selling fake medicines.

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, arrived in India this week to express her growing unease with the safety of Indian medicines because of “recent lapses in quality at a handful of pharmaceutical firms.”

India’s pharmaceutical industry supplies 40 percent of over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs consumed in the United States, so the increased scrutiny could have profound implications for American consumers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/wo...ries.html?_r=0

just read this - it is horrible
 

Columbus, Georgia News

Three suspects arrested for allegedly raping a woman and setting her on fire Posted: Feb 17, 2014 7:20 AM CST Updated: Feb 17, 2014 7:59 AM CST Posted by Samantha Perpignand - email

Three suspects are behind bars at the Muscogee County Jail for allegedly raping, shooting, and setting a woman on fire on New Year's Day. Ketorie Glover, Robert Johnson, and Joey Garron are the suspects. Police say the men forced a woman into a car at gunpoint and raped her. They then allegedly set the car on fire with the woman still inside. The woman was found screaming for help in a wooded area on Farr Rd. after the alleged attack. She was transported to Midtown Medical Center and has since had extensive medical treatment. The victim's cousin says the woman was attacked by the men due to a conflict that happened during a rap contest. Glover will appear in court Monday morning at 9 a.m. He is charged with aggravated assault, aggravated battery, aggravated sexual assault and sodomy, rape, first degree arson, hijacking a motor vehicle, kidnapping, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. The other two suspects remain in police custody. RELATED: Woman shot, left in vacant lot on Farr Rd. Copyright 2014 WTVM. All rights reserved.

15 million Afghan women and girls could be legislated into slavery; 13 years of struggle for their rights abandoned...

“With this ban, the Sitara of Hirat, whose nose and lips were cut off by her husband and only her family were present, cannot seek justice.”
................
"Rights groups say a proposed law in Afghanistan will allow perpetrators of domestic violence to escape prosecution, and are calling for international pressure to prevent President Hamid Karzai from signing it into law.

Afghanistan's parliament, a two-chamber house dominated by conservative Muslim leaders and former warlords, passed a "criminal procedure law" last year, which experts say contains articles that deny women legal protections.

To go into force, it needs Karzai's signature.

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai should refuse to sign a new criminal procedure code that would effectively deny women protection from domestic violence and forced or child marriage," Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement published on its website on Wednesday.

The draft document contains an article that according to HRW states: "The following people can not be questioned as witnesses... relatives of the accused."

That language, according to HRW, would effectively protect women's abusers.

Most victims are abused by family members inside the home, meaning that only relatives would witness the crime in the majority of cases.

"A woman who is the victim of domestic violence won’t be able to testify against her husband, a girl who has been forced into a marriage against her will won’t be able to testify against her father," Heather Barr of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera's Jane Ferguson.

"Laws that make domestic violence, make forced marriage, make child marriage illegal will become meaningless if this law is passed.”

Saeeq Shajjan, a lawyer with his own firm in Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera that the full bill had not been made public.

"The bill could be very problematic. The prosecution will have a difficult time to bring cases against offenders, particularly in cases of domestic abuse," he said.

"If this is passed it could ruin the good work we have been doing over the past 13 years for human rights, especially for women."

A spokesperson for Karzai said he could not comment on the president's intentions and was not aware if the draft of the new law had yet reached him.

The politics of women's rights

Debate about the new bill comes at the same time as Afghan leaders aspiring to be the nation's next president take the stage in televised presidential debates and the same year the United States withdraws from the country.

In a statement posted on the organisation's Facebook page, Parnian Nazary, Advocacy Manager for Women for Afghan Women (WAW) asked President Karzi not to sign the law.

"WAW urges the presidential candidates to take a position on the issue as an indication of their commitment to Afghan women’s rights. Above all, we ask people and governments in the developed world who value justice, and especially the US government, which has promised not to abandon the women of Afghanistan, to shout out loud and clear their refusal to accept this assault on women’s rights."

The proposed legislation would run counter to a groundbreaking law on Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW) passed in 2009.

In an email to Al Jazeera, Wazhma Frogh, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Research Institute for Women Peace and Security – Afghanistan said: “This article is a blow to Evaw law as well because the Evaw law cannot be implemented if a woman doesn't have any witness.

“In Afghanistan almost all cases of violence against women is inside homes and if relatives can't testify then no woman can seek legal protection from violence.

“With this ban, the Sitara of Hirat, whose nose and lips were cut off by her husband and only her family were present, cannot seek justice.”


Source:

Al Jazeera and agencies

Uganda's Gay bill was signed today
 

URGENT NOTICE THAT NEEDS TO GO VIRAL

The president of Uganda signed the bill KILL THE GAYS
today!!! This means thousands of people are going to be
KILLED,IMPRISONED,RAPED AND TORTURED simply because
they are gay/lesbian or know someone who is!!!This needs
to be seen and heard by everyone so they might get some
help before geniside happens!This needs to go viral so those
in office and those who have avenues to help will all know.
IF THIS WAS YOUR FAMILY WOULDN'T YOU WANT THE SAME?
I have many friends who are in fear of being murdered this very
moment with no place to hide! They need media and people in high
places to take notice. Africans as well as U.S. citizens
alike are there in threat!
PLEASE RE-POST THIS TO YOUR PROFILES ON DIFFRENT SITES.
And energy of prayers that untill they recieve help, that
they will be protected and have a place to hide out.
Thank you very much!
Also please sign petition and share this link as well.
This petition claims life imprisonment only but speaking

to others I have found it to be much more than this.

https://www.allout.org/en/actions/kill-the-bill-taf

DoD Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for same sex couples.
 

The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has announced an Open Enrollment Window for the DoD Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) for same sex couples.

Military Retirees who were married to a same-sex spouse on or before June 26, 2013, may now have spouse coverage in the SBP. Depending on the retiree?s circumstances, enrollment for their spouse may be automatic or the retiree may need to elect spouse coverage. Either way, retirees MUST ACT by June 25, 2014 to participate in the SBP Open Enrollment Window.

The DFAS announcement encourages Military Retirees with same-sex spouses to visit http://go.usa.gov/Ww6x<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgo.usa.gov%2FWw6x&h=IAQE1kxwf &s=1> as soon as possible for more information to learn what steps are to be taken by June 25, 2014 to secure or decline the SBP benefit for their spouse. (NOTE: The above link takes you to the DFAS website that discusses the general topic of SBP and making the election. (See: http://www.dfas.mil/retiredmilitary/provide/sbp.html<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dfas.mil%2Fretiredmilitar y%2Fprovide%2Fsbp.html&h=-AQE0Ou-E&s=1> ) There are other links to websites with information about who is eligible, costs, and the procedures.)

Although it is not discussed in the DFAS announcement, same-sex ?former spouses? would also be eligible for court awarded Former Spouse SBP coverage in the event of a divorce or dissolution of a same-sex marriage

A car just plowed into a crowd at the Austin Texas South by Southwest event, killing at least two people and injuring many more. :praying: for our austin people and the others effected.

Lol! More sanctions from Obama against Russia are just plain ridiculous and had to laugh when Putin was just like "k we make sanctions against you too." Does he really think he can bully Russia... :p Especially with the majority of the EU and Britain dependent on Russia for oil, Obama is pretty much alone in his ridiculous sanction crusade.

I also have to laugh at Clinton comparing Russia to Nazi Germany when the US continues to support the state that is probably the closest to it in the modern era: Israel, who has gone so far as to segregate Palestinians in pretty much every possible way, continues to murder Palestinians with impunity and remains on annexed Palestinian land. But I suppose you have to be a "friend of the west" to be able to get away with a racist state. It's just pitiful...and all this supposedly for the "freedom of the Crimean people"...who just fucking voted in a referendum that they want to join Russia. As such, Russia has not truly "annexed" anyone because the people of Crimea voted overwhelmingly to join Russia. But because the outcome isn't something the west likes it has to claim that Crimeans were "intimidated." Meanwhile Crimean football teams are already applying to switch from the Ukrainian to the Russian league next season. Or perhaps it frightens the nation states of the west that a region can successfully vote to determine which nation they'd prefer to be a part of, and since most Crimeans already identify as Russian it's a bit of a no-brainer.

Now some American Republicans want FIFA to bar Russia from hosting the 2018 World Cup, and for once Blatter does something smart and stood up against them.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/26691561


This article made me laugh my ass off even more though: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ron-Obama.html

Washington state
 

Just in, landslide in Washington State has people buried in debrie calling out for help.

Pray for those poor people, and Washington folks check in when you can.

Are you kidding me?
 

Okay, this isn't exactly breaking news, but I am really angry about this (I just read it on MSN.com)....


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon woman on trial for the murder of her 4-year-old son believed the boy was gay and that was a motive behind the deadly beatings, a prosecutor said.

Jessica Dutro's son Zachary died in August 2012, days after collapsing at the homeless shelter where his family was living southwest of Portland.

Washington County Judge Don Letourneau ruled Wednesday, after jurors were released for the day, that a Facebook message from Dutro to her boyfriend was admissible evidence, The Oregonian newspaper reported (http://is.gd/rfralf ).

In the message, Dutro told her boyfriend, Brian Canady, that Zachary was "facing the wall" because he had made her angry.

Her son was going to be gay, she wrote, using a slur. "He walks and talks like it. Ugh."

Canady would have to "work on" Zachary, she wrote.

The message established Dutro's motive for inflicting a pattern of abuse, prosecutor Megan Johnson said. Dutro assaulted three of her children, but Zachary received the harshest treatment, authorities said.

The judge ruled additional web searches done by Dutro were also admissible. On Aug. 16, 2012, the day her son's life support was terminated, Dutro searched terms such as anger management and parenting classes, prosecutors said. She also searched listings for free stuff and sex with strangers, they said.

Earlier this month, Canady pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault for his role in the homicide.

The boy died of blunt-force trauma to his abdomen and a delay in medical treatment, prosecutors said.

Dutro, 25, is charged with murder, murder by abuse and second-degree assault.

Link: http://news.msn.com/crime-justice/pr...ived-to-be-gay

FT. HOOD SHOOTING TODAY
 

Today a gunman at Ft. Hood,TX , several people injured, 1 is known to be dead as of 540pm central time. The Gunman is still loose and on the run!!. People are asked to stay indoors, Ft. Hood is on Lockdown and told to shelter in place, meaning take shelter where ever they are at the time and not go about business on post.

This is Breaking news as of 540 pm. The news has not been told anything other than what I have posted. The closest hospital with a trauma center is Scott and White Hospital I believe which is in Temple, TX about 45 mins. to an hour from Killeen, TX.


I pray none of you have family in Killeen,TX or Ft. Hood that may be injured. Prayers going up for all.

Multiple friends at Ft. Hood and one that works at the hospital in Temple... too early to tell, but not a good situation.

CORRECTION: MY local ABC News says the closest trauma hospital is in Killeen TX, named Scott and White Hospital.

I will keep posting updates as I hear them on the news. Or you can turn on ABC news or your local news stations .

Please say prayers for family members and friends to keep them safe and for others in this situation.

There have been reports of at least 14 shooting victims injured now, 4 critical and 1 known deceased. Nearest trauma center is Scott and White Hospital in Killeen TX, not very far from FT. HOOD.

Please pray they catch the gunman and any associates if any. And pray for the families there and here at the planet.

Not again!

18 TOTAL VICTIMS, 4 CONFIRMED DEAD INCLUDING 1 SHOOTER........ ACCORDING TO CNN NEWS .

IT IS BELIEVED TO BE A FT. HOOD SOLDIER THAT DID THE SHOOTING.....A SOLDIER ON SOLDIER ATTACK AND NOT RELATED TO TERRORISM......THAT IS WHAT OFFICIALS ARE NOW SAYING.

CNN now reports there are multiple injured, multipled fatalities, and 3 sent to Scott and White Memorial Hospital and the shooter is dead.


waiting on report from officials news conference from Ft. Hood.

according to CNN news 4 shooting victims sent to Scott and White Hospital in TEMPLE TX not killeen, and 2 more in route of which one by land and 1 by air to hospital. The hospital spokesman said the injured vary from stable to severe critical.

Still waiting on Ft. Hood Spokesman to speak on news to give more information.

News Conference on CNN from Ft. Hood General.
 

16 confirmed injured, 4 confirmed fatalities including the shooter according to Ft. Hood General during press conference. It is an ongoing investigation to find out anymore information as to why it happened and how.
It is confirmed that the shooter used a .45 caliber smith and wesson handgun that was purchased in the local area of Ft. Hood. They are investigating the shooter's psychiatric background,background history, searching twitter, facebook, etc, his home, computers, etc, and anything else they can search about him and why this happened. It is confirmed that the shooter shot himself in the head and died. The soldier was married and his family was in the local area, they are awaiting to notify his family members. He was undergoing evaluation for behavioral health and mental health, he was on medication for depression, he was not wounded in war.

Michigan Hate Crime
 

Michigan Hate Crime
Just saw and read this news article.
Here's the CNN link:

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/05/us/mic...ndex.html?c=us

Nine-month-old charged with attempted murder in Pakistan. You read/hear this jaw-dropping stuff and words just fail you.

http://in.reuters.com/video/2014/04/...4&refresh=true

NFL's 1st openly gay player.
 

Rams pick Michael Sam in draft, clearing way for him to become NFL's 1st openly gay player.
http://images.cox.com/media/apimages...a4988392f1.jpg

The NFL at last has its first openly gay player, and he'll play for the Saint Louis Rams.

The Rams drafted defensive end Michael Sam, who came out publicly in February, with the 249th pick Saturday, ending months of speculation to when – or if – Sam would hear his name called in the draft.


Sam becomes the first openly gay athlete drafted into one of America's major professional sports leagues. Veteran NBA player Jason Collins came out last summer and plays for the New Jersey Nets.

"For Michael, it's a little bit of relief that it's over, and you can finally say you're part of the NFL family. That is a dream come true for so many football players. That's a realization that all his hard work has paid off," gay former NFL player Wade Davis, the executive director of the You Can Play Project, told USA TODAY Sports. "Now he can really start to focus on his new journey."

First gay marriage license issued in Arkansas
 

Arkansas Issues First Same-Sex Marriage License After Ban Struck Down

http://www.arktimes.com/imager/b/blo...?cb=1399743238
The couple drove up to Eureka Springs from Little Rock when they learned the Pulaski County courthouse wouldn’t be open today. The AP has more:

Seaton and Rambo slept in their Ford Focus after arriving at 2 a.m. Saturday, waking up every 30 minutes to make sure they were at the head of the line. The moment they saw another couple pull up, Seaton and Rambo bolted to the courthouse.

“I don’t think I ran that fast,” Rambo said.

The Carroll County Courthouse was the only one scheduled to open today for regular hours, and it’s due to close at 1:00 p.m. CDT. Here’s the scene when it opened:
http://ww2.hdnux.com/photos/27/76/47.../3/628x471.jpg

Kristin Seaton and Jennifer Rambo Saturday, a day after a federal judge struck down the state's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage
Arkansas issued its first same-sex marriage license Saturday morning as couples lined up outside a local courthouse one day after a judge overturned the state’s gay marriage ban.

Kristin Seaton and Jennifer Rambo of Forth Smith were the first Arkansas couple to receive a marriage license Saturday after Pulaski County judge Chris Piazza ruled the ban unconstitutional Friday. The couple has been together for four years.

NRA
 

BY: SUNNIVIE BRYDUM

It Continues to Get Worse in Uganda, as LGBT Couple Tried for First Time in Court

We've previously reported about the deteriorating climate for LGBT people (and women) in Uganda, and sadly, despite international outrage, that homophobic environment doesn't appear to be improving.

On Wednesday, for the first time in the East African nation's reported history, two LGBT Ugandans were brought to trial for engaging in "sex against the order of nature." That charge appears to be intentionally vague, allowing for basically any kind of "nonnormative" sexual activity to be subject to criticism, arrest, and, according to Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, life imprisonment.

Kim Musika, a 24-year-old businessman, and Jackson Musaka, a 19-year-old transgender woman, are facing charges under Uganda's amended penal code, Section 145, which prohibits consensual sexual relationships between members of the same sex, reports blogger and activist Colin Stewart. According to numerous reports, the trial will be the first time that anyone has been brought to trial for allegedly violating Section 145, which was drafted during colonial rule and enacted in 1950.

Notably, the pair are not being charged under Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act, which President Yoweri Museveni signed into law February 24 and which prescribes lifetime prison terms for "aggravated homosexuality" as well as lengthy jail sentences for any individual and severe penalties for organization found guilty of "aiding or abetting homosexuality."

Nevertheless, the two Ugandans could face lifetime prison sentences if they're found guilty of violating the colonial-era law that was reportedly rarely enforced before the escalation of violent antigay sentiment sparked by the Anti-Homosexuality Act's passage earlier this year.

The accused, who have been held in Luzira Prison since their January arrest, are being represented by the advocacy group Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum — Uganda. The group's executive director, Adrian Jjuuko, told Stewart at his blog, Erasing 76 Crimes, that the legal team tried unsuccessfully to secure bail for the incarcerated Ugandans.

Jjuuko confirmed that Musika and Musaka are facing charges of "'carnal knowledge against the order of nature’ and ‘permitting a male person to have carnal knowledge of oneself against the order of nature,’" and explained that Musika was being beaten by a mob in late January when Human Rights Awareness officials intervened.

Despite the increasingly hostile environment, several prominent activists have elected to stay in the country, though many have been forced to continue their work underground, lest they be targeted by politically emboldened police or townspeople. Although international outrage has been loud and swift — including the removal of some foreign aid upon which the Ugandan government heavily relies — a majority of Ugandan citizens report supporting the law. More than 1,000 Ugandans gathered at a rally near Kampala last month to celebrate and "give thanks" for the law's passage.

President Yoweri Museveni, who is up for reelection in 2016, led that march through the streets of Kampala, while demonstrators carried signs with messages like "Museveni, thank you for saving the future of Uganda," "Homosexuality + AIDS = 100%," and "Obama, we want trade not homosexuality."

http://www.shewired.com/outrageous/2...guage?page=0,1

Watch Live: Harvey Milk Stamp Unveiling Ceremony
 

The White House

Wednesday, May 21, 2014


Watch Live: Harvey Milk Stamp Unveiling Ceremony

This Thursday, May 22, the White House Office of Public Engagement, the United States Postal Service and the Harvey Milk Foundation will host a first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony for the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp at the White House.

The event will feature remarks by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Tammy Baldwin, Representative John Lewis, Deputy Postmaster General Ronald A. Stroman, and other distinguished guests including the Co-Founders of the Harvey Milk Foundation, Stuart Milk and Anne Kronenberg.

Watch live starting at 3:00 p.m. EST at www.whitehouse.gov/live.<http://click.mail.whitehouse.gov/?qs=1849eaeafaf5885478397f9d8421eea98b5256de7be9e3 6f81beb837bc9d738e170f02e1a105ce7e>

If you're following on social media, the hashtag is #HarveyMilkStamp.

[Harvey Milk Stamp]

(by United States Postal Service)

Harvey Milk was a visionary leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk's achievements gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination. Milk believed that government should represent all citizens, ensuring equality and providing needed services.

Tragically, his political career was cut short less than a year after he took office in California when he and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were assassinated on November 27, 1978.

In 2009, President Barack Obama posthumously awarded Harvey Milk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom<http://click.mail.whitehouse.gov/?qs=1849eaeafaf588543776aabec0c166753c7e32cc28a333 7ea0f9191f91126c29310426ac758be360>. And in 2013, the White House Office of Public Engagement honored ten openly LGBT elected and appointed officials as "Harvey Milk Champions of Change."<http://click.mail.whitehouse.gov/?qs=765f55d15e590ca4e33410f915b4237f933604e489e8b7 665bd406a6bcc5008df7adf1b91145ddc2>

See more information on the Harvey Milk Forever Stamp.<http://click.mail.whitehouse.gov/?qs=765f55d15e590ca4ce6fdd6f0dce7878a6d52ce5a3ea28 73667cb311068d56a58d78dc0c75550735>

The White House * 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW * Washington, DC 20500 * 202-456-1111

Gays sacrifice Pride to come to rescue of Balkan flood victims
 

LGBTI campaigners in Serbia cancelled IDAHO and Pride Week to volunteer for flood relief work
23 MAY 2014 | BY TRIS REID-SMITH

http://www.gaystarnews.com/sites/def...bia_floods.jpg
Thousands have been left homeless by the floods in the Balkans, which have spread death and destruction.
LGBTI rights campaigners have ditched Pride Week to come to the rescue of the flooding victims in Serbia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.

Europe’s Balkans region has been faced with its worst natural disaster in 120 years with floods killing people and animals and destroying homes, crops and businesses.

Now Gayten-LGBT, one of the region’s leading lesbian, gay, bi, trans and intersex organizations, has revealed how its members are trying to help.

On 16 May, they decided to cancel all their actions planned for Pride Week and for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) the next day.

Milan Djuric of Gayten-LGBT said: ‘Everybody here is trying to help out in the best way they can.

‘We have been volunteering in help centers, collecting food, clothes, hygiene and cosmetic products, helping out with the evacuees, providing psychological help, etc.

‘The spirit of the people and the ways they have been employing to help flood victims are remarkable – where government failed to protect its citizens before and after the flood, people themselves took actions of solidarity and mutual aid.

‘Together with our fellow partners here, we are taking action. We need any kind of help!’

Duric said ‘the best way is to send help in food, clothes, etc, directly to help centers anywhere in Serbia’ rather than to send money.

‘Gayten-LGBT calls out to their friends and allies in the world to support the people affected by the floods,’ he added.

‘Our heartfelt solidarity goes out to all the people who have lost their homes and people they love in this catastrophe. We hope that the floods ease down soon, the rivers recede and that the needed help reaches the people as soon as possible.’

Djuric made the appeal in a private letter to global LGBTI activists but asked Gay Star News to share his message to gain more international support.

But despite their efforts, church leaders in Bosnia are still using the floods to spread hate against LGBTIs.

They have claimed the floods were sent by God to punish them for Austrian drag artist Conchita’s victory in the Eurovision Song Contest.

Original article HERE

Japan’s First Lady joins thousands marching in Tokyo LGBT pride parade
 

TOKYO — Thousands gathered in Tokyo’s trendy Shibuya business and shopping district for LGBT Pride on Sunday.



Japan’s first lady, Akie Abe, wife of conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, joined the festivities, standing on a float (pictured, right, in white) amid a sea of 3,000 marching participants.

Akie Abe, 51, known for her liberal inclinations, wrote on her Facebook page later that she has been involved in the issue since joining a commission set up by UNAIDS and the Lancet medical journal last year, reports AFP.

“I want to help build a society where anyone can conduct happy, enriched lives without facing discrimination,” she wrote. “I had the pleasure of spending fun time filled with smiles. Thank you.”

Unlike traditional Japanese first ladies, Akie Abe has projected a cheerful confidence, freely speaking her mind and making remarks that often resonate with the modern public.

The Prime Minister did not join her at the event, and instead spent the day visiting victims of the 2011 tsunami.


Original article and Getty Images HERE

Breaking News in 1939, we just didn't know about it.
 

This man is amzing. Great story.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...n_5365539.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...test-gift.html

Lost a truly good one ...

Maya Angelo dies at 86 in North Carolina

https://www.yahoo.com/news/author-ma...151746880.html