Breaking News Events

[UofMfan]

Kim Jong Il Dead: North Korea Leader Dies At 69

[Sassy]

Originally Posted by UofMfan

Kim Jong Il Dead: North Korea Leader Dies At 69

Y'all feel free to join me in this song: ... "Ding dong the Il is dead, the Il is dead, the Il is dead... ding dong the wicked ol' Il is dead".....

LOL

Yes yes, dead, dead, bad me for making fun. Sorry. I'm a newsie. Translate that into one jaded betch

[UofMfan]

Politician speaks of Obama assassination, bias author lumps racism and Ron Paul


I am appalled by this and so should you.

Here is where to report THIS guy: 1.usa.gov/v7ku85

[UofMfan]

Originally Posted by UofMfan

Politician speaks of Obama assassination, bias author lumps racism and Ron Paul


I am appalled by this and so should you.

Here is where to report THIS guy: 1.usa.gov/v7ku85

I am sorry, it looks like the link I posted is no longer working.

Different article, not as well written, same effect here.

[betenoire]

Of equal concern is the part where he said:

"...if ever serving on a jury for anyone charged with a crime against any elected or appointed government employee or any board member of any finance corporation, we must always protect such patriots despite the evidence. Always vote "not guilty" for these heroes."

[Soft*Silver]

Holy Moses! Chaz Bono and his fiance has split!!!!

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Miss_Tia

Holy Moses! Chaz Bono and his fiance has split!!!!

Probably because he's a misogynistic douchebag.

(Sorry. I really do not like the guy.)

[SoNotHer]

Cold Shutdown Declared at Japan's Crippled Nuclear Plant

TOKYO, Japan, December 16, 2011 (ENS) - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan today declared that the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have been brought to a state of cold shutdown, turning a corner in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. "The nuclear reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown and therefore we can now confirm that we have come to the end of the accident phase of the actual reactors," Prime Minister Noda told a news conference.

The cold shutdown state - when water used to cool nuclear fuel rods remains below boiling point so the fuel cannot reheat - is a target in the second phase of a timetable established by the government and the plant's owner-operator Tokyo Electric Power Company to bring the crippled facility under control. TEPCO's damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant after explosions damaged three of the plant's six reactors, March 17, 2011

On March 11, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami knocked out power to the Fukushima Daichi systems used to cool its reactors, triggering a series of explosions, nuclear fuel meltdowns in three of the reactors, and the release of massive amounts of radiation into the environment. The accident is rated at Level 7, the highest on the UN's International Nuclear Event Scale, and is considered the world's second most serious nuclear disaster, after Chernobyl.

TEPCO said today that cold shutdown means the plant is "stabilized in case an accident occurs, we will be able to keep the radiation dose at the site boundary at a sufficiently low level," not exceeding one milliseivert per year. Prime Minister Noda said, "We can now maintain radiation exposure at the periphery of the plant at sufficiently low levels even in the event of another accident."




More than 80,000 people were evacuated after the accident; many are still living in shelters. A 20 kilometer (12 mile) exclusion zone remains in place around the nuclear plant. Many challenges remain, Noda said, including decontamination work in no-entry zones and government-designated evacuation zones around the plant and the return of thousands of evacuees to their homes.

The Prime Minister emphasized the need to facilitate disposal of contaminated debris, including the establishment of temporary and permanent storage facilities. It is expected to take decades to deconstruct the damaged power plant and decontaminate the surrounding area.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog today welcomed Japan's announcement. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement that "overall the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which owns the plant, and the Japanese Government have made 'significant' progress."

The IAEA defines cold shutdown as being established when three conditions are reached: the reactor pressure vessel's temperature is less than 100 degrees Celsius, the release of radioactive materials from the primary containment vessel is under control and public radiation exposure by additional release is being significantly held down.

The agency is continuing to monitor the status of the plant and the radiological situation in Japan and "continues to stand ready to provide necessary assistance to Japan as requested," said Amano. Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency completed its assessment of Japan's response to nuclear contamination in areas around the Fukushima power plant, highlighting areas of progress and offering advice on issues where the mission felt that current practices could be improved.

The mission concluded that "a lot of good work, done at all levels, is ongoing in Japan in the area of environmental remediation," and that the authorities adopted a very cautious approach in the early phases of the accident. At the same time, the IAEA mission report stated that there is room to take "a more balanced approach, focusing on the real priority areas, classifying residue materials and adopting appropriate remediation measures on the basis of the results of safety assessments for each specific situation."

Meanwhile, new problems continue to surface at the damaged power plant. Earlier this month, TEPCO officials said that 45 cubic meters (1,590 cu ft) of radioactive water had leaked into the Pacific Ocean from a crack in the foundation of a water treatment facility. Crews stopped the leak with sandbags.


Drums of nuclear waste at Fukushima Daiichi, November 15, 2011 (Photo courtesy TEPCO)

TEPCO said the water contained radioactive cesium at levels "roughly the same as or slightly higher" than the adjacent seawater, and may have contained strontium, a radioactive element which can cause bone cancer. TEPCO pledged in a statement today, "We will make concerted efforts in our company with refreshed determination to go ahead" to pay compensation for damages due to the accident, provide a secure and steady supply of electricity and "Make a through radical efficiency and rationalization of management."

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/dec2...-12-16-02.html

[Kobi]

CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Egyptian women marched in the streets of Cairo on Tuesday, protesting abuse by soldiers who dragged women by the hair, stomped on them and stripped one half naked on the street while cracking down on anti-military protesters in scenes that shocked many in the conservative society.

The march was a rare protest by women and its numbers — about 10,000 by some estimates — underlined the depth of anger over the images from the fierce crackdown over the past five days on protesters demanding the ruling military step down immediately.

Even before the protest was over, the ruling military council issued an unusual apology for what it called "violations" — a quick turnaround after days of dismissing the significance of the abuse.

The council expressed "deep regret to the great women of Egypt" and reaffirmed "its respect and total appreciation for the women of Egypt and their right to protest, effectively and positively participate in the political life on the road to the democratic transition." It promised it was taking measures to punish those responsible for violations.

Ringed by a protective chain of male protesters, women from different social classes and religious background gathered in Tahrir Square and marched through the streets of Cairo. Many carried the pictures of soldiers attacking women — particularly one of a veiled woman whose clothes were half pulled off, baring her down to her blue bra, by soldiers who beat her and stomped on her chest.

"They say they are here to protect us, but they are stripping us naked," the marchers chanted.

"The girl dragged around is just like my daughter. They do that and then call us thugs," said Um Hossam, a 54-year old woman in traditional black dress and a veil. "I am a free woman and attacking this woman or killing protesters is just like going after one of my own children."

The attacks on the women came in fierce clashes since Friday as troops broke up protests by activists demanding the immediate end to the rule of the military, which took power after the Feb. 11 fall of Hosni Mubarak. The clashes saw military police chasing young men and women through Tahrir Square and nearby streets, beating them with clubs and sticks. The crackdown has killed 14 protesters, mostly from gunshots.

The images of abuse drew the ire of the U.N. rights chief and unusually harsh words from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Addressing students at Georgetown University on Monday, Clinton said the events in Egypt in recent days were shocking and accused the Egyptian security forces and extremists of specifically targeting women.

"And now, women are being attacked, stripped, and beaten in the streets," she said. "This systematic degradation of Egyptian women dishonors the revolution, disgraces the state and its uniform, and is not worthy of a great people."

http://news.yahoo.com/egyptian-women...183310648.html

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Miss_Tia

Holy Moses! Chaz Bono and his fiance has split!!!!

Perhaps she is tired of being raped? She never struck me as very enlightened, but, I am glad she is getting out of that relationship- he is a misogynist and very abusive. Same old white, opportunistic, entitled Hollywood celebrity brat.I am sorry I ever supported his being on DWTS. There are so many honorable Transmen that wouold be far better spokespersons for the transgendered. I am glad that many other transmen have spoken out against Chaz Bono as any kind of positive representative for LGBTI activism and rights.

Frankly, many of the transmen right here on our site would be fantastic trans spokespeople with respect for women.

[Corkey]

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/a...n-studies?bn=1


Clinical human trials oh HIV vaccine approved by FDA

[atomiczombie]

Originally Posted by AtLast

Perhaps she is tired of being raped? She never struck me as very enlightened, but, I am glad she is getting out of that relationship- he is a misogynist and very abusive. Same old white, opportunistic, entitled Hollywood celebrity brat.I am sorry I ever supported his being on DWTS. There are so many honorable Transmen that wouold be far better spokespersons for the transgendered. I am glad that many other transmen have spoken out against Chaz Bono as any kind of positive representative for LGBTI activism and rights.

Frankly, many of the transmen right here on our site would be fantastic trans spokespeople with respect for women.

What do you mean by raped AtLast? Do you mean literally? Because I have never seen her say anything about being raped by Chaz.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Corkey

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/a...n-studies?bn=1


Clinical human trials oh HIV vaccine approved by FDA

It's about time! They've been talking about this vaccine from Western University for YEARS.

[Nadeest]

They are conducting trials of it,here in Houston, already, or at least one possible vaccine to prevent it.

[betenoire]

Originally Posted by Nadeest

They are conducting trials of it,here in Houston, already, or at least one possible vaccine to prevent it.

the difference is that this here vaccine uses dead HIV virus (which is what most vaccines use - dead virus or very small quantities of live virus). The vaccine being tested in Houston is actually a combination of immune boosters and antiviral medication.

[Ashton]

Seasonal well being fellow planetiers!
[IMG][/IMG]

[AtLast]

Manning defense's focus on gender identity disorder alarms some
Joshua Roberts / Reuters

By Mike Brunker
msnbc.com

Raising the hackles of some attorneys who work on transgender legal issues, defense attorneys for Bradley Manning apparently intend to make an almost novel legal argument -- that the Army private was suffering from gender identity disorder when his alleged crimes were committed -- if his case proceeds to court martial as expected.

In the first five days of Manning’s preliminary hearing at Fort Meade, Md., prosecutors and defense attorneys have both presented evidence that Manning, accused of leaking hundreds of thousands of secret government documents to the WikiLeaks website, was wrestling with gender issues in the period leading up to the publication of the documents.

The defense stated Saturday that Manning, 24, had written to one of his supervisors when he was stationed in Iraq before his arrest and said he had concluded he was suffering from gender identity disorder, which is classified as a medical disorder in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. He included a photo of himself dressed as a woman in the letter and said the issue was affecting his ability to do his job or think clearly.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A defense attorney and a witness also stated that Manning had created a Facebook profile and opened at least one email account using the name “Breanna Manning,” which the attorney described as an “alter-ego.”

As the hearing continued Tuesday, prosecutors presented testimony indicating that Manning had used another soldier’s laptop to order a book on female facial reconstructive surgery from Amazon.com that he had shipped to his Potomac address.

A search of Amazon.com for the term “female facial reconstructive surgery” returns just one title, “Facial Feminization Surgery: A Guide for the Transgendered Woman.”

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Also Tuesday, Manning’s attorneys did little to challenge testimony by prosecution witnesses tying Manning to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and other electronic evidence collected in the case.

Manning is charged with aiding the enemy and violating the Espionage Act. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

If Manning’s case does go to court martial, his attorneys will apparently be just the second defense team to attempt to use a gender identity disorder as at least a partial defense in a military case, according to Jack King, a staff attorney with the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys specializing in mental health issues.

The only other case on record, he said, involved Karen Davis, a Navy electrician's mate, second class, formerly known as Charles Marx, who was prosecuted in the mid-1980s “for wearing women's clothing (a skirt, nylons, a women's blouse, a bra, women's fashion jeans, nail polish, a purse, and a wig) on numerous occasions while at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.”

In appealing her court martial in 1988, Davis' attorneys argued that such conduct was not illegal. They also stated that, while living as Marx, she had been diagnosed by several Navy psychiatrists as having gender identity disorder and that cross-dressing was therapeutic.

The military appeals court allowed her dishonorable discharge to stand for the reason that cross-dressing was “prejudicial to good order and discipline and discrediting of the Armed Forces."

King said such a case would be unlikely today, given the greater understanding of gender identity disorder.

“Now, if a person could show that because he or she believed themselves to be a member of the opposite sex they had an irresistible impulse to cross-dress, they would in all likelihood qualify for a medical discharge,” he said.

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Several attorneys who work with transgender legal issues said they were not aware of a gender identity disorder defense being raised in a civilian court, and King said it’s easy to see why not, noting that such a diagnosis “doesn’t prevent you from knowing right from wrong.” The disorder is most often raised in criminal proceedings as part of an overall insanity defense, or by expert witnesses arguing that a defendant is so mentally damaged that he or she should be committed, he said.

And several lawyers who work with transgender clients indicated they were not happy with the direction that the Manning proceedings have taken.

“We don’t think that being transgender, if he in fact is, has anything to do with him breaking the law,” said Kylar Broadus, an attorney with the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. “Obviously the charges are serious and we don’t want the trial to be sensationalized or detracted from by him being transgender.”

“Our opinion is there is no correlation between anything he has done and gender identity disorder,” agreed Dru Levasseur, a transgender rights attorney with Lambda Legal.

“This plays into stereotypes that are not true,” he continued. “There are a lot of gender identity disorder people fighting for their lives to be respected and understood as human beings who need equal access to the law. This type of scenario just confuses the situation.”

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/21/9590399-manning-defenses-focus-on-gender-identity-disorder-alarms-some

[Kobi]

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...er-alarms-some
---------------------


I keep mulling this over but I dont understand the strategy or the reason for it.

Are they saying the court martial strategy is different from the criminal strategy?

Are they trying to say his possible "gender identity order" is a mitigating factor? Or extenuating circumstances? When they say his "alter ego", it makes me think multiple personality defense. Are they using an insanity defense and trying to develop a rationale for it? Would "gender disorder" be a favorable thing in a court martial i.e. medical grounds for dismissal rather than criminal?

It sounds like Manning himself brought this to peoples attention - "The defense stated Saturday that Manning, 24, had written to one of his supervisors when he was stationed in Iraq before his arrest and said he had concluded he was suffering from gender identity disorder, which is classified as a medical disorder in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. He included a photo of himself dressed as a woman in the letter and said the issue was affecting his ability to do his job or think clearly."

Is the defense between a rock and a hard place as a result of this disclosure i.e. do they have no option but the address it as best they can in a framework that might benefit their client?

This is about as odd as the Sandusky legal approach.

Have law schools developed new defense strategies based on the Kobayashi Maru principles?

Seriously, am I missing something here or is there something missing in the story?

[Kobi]

Matt Katz and Aaron Lafrenz of Brooklyn, N.Y., were surprised to receive a letter from President Barack Obama congratulating them on their marriage. (Courtesy Matt Katz)

A gay couple in Brooklyn, N.Y., were surprised to find a letter in their mailbox six months after their wedding congratulating them, but they were more surprised to find it was from the commander in chief.

Matt Katz, 32, and Aaron Lafrenz, 36, were married at the Katz family's Brooklyn home on July 23, 2011, the day before gay marriage became legal in New York state. The following day, the two went to Brooklyn borough hall and were among the first gay couples to legally be married in the state.

This December, Katz and Lafrenz received a letter in their mailbox with the White House seal indented in the paper and the signature of one Barack Obama on the bottom. Obama has been opposed to gay marriage in the past, though he has recently said his views on the topic are "evolving."

Katz told ABC News today that a family friend, Arlene Weinstock, had requested the letter on their behalf after hearing that the White House would take requests upon the passage of the New York gay marriage bill. Weinstock, of Long Beach, Calif., assumed that the request had not been fulfilled when the couple hadn't heard from the White House during the summer, but realized today that she was the cause of the mysterious presidential salutation.

"I was so super confused," Katz said, noting that he was not a major political activist and had no strong ties to gay rights groups. "But Aunt Arlene called me up and said, 'This is my fault!'"

The White House confirmed to ABC News that they sent the letter.

The letter reads, in part, "Your union marks the beginning of a lifelong partnership as you share in the joys of your life together. I wish you the very best as you embark on your journey together and hope your bond grows stronger with each passing year."

Katz said he was happy to receive the letter, but acknowledged the president is probably looking to shore up the gay vote ahead of the 2012 election.

"I do think he's trying to (pander), but I don't blame him," Katz said. "At this point, this is not necessarily a ploy but he can't for public office reasons be on one side, so maybe this is his way of winking at the gay public in New York and saying I really need your vote now."

Katz said his father is a longtime supporter of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and when he first received the Obama letter, he asked his father whether that had anything to do with it. His father said no.

The White House, when asked about the letter today, responded that it "regularly sends congratulatory messages from the president to members of the public."

Richard Socarides, a former adviser to Bill Clinton and current president of Equality Matters, a gay rights group, agreed that it a fairly normal move and did not signal a change in the president's position on gay marriage rights.

"Those letters usually come out of the staff secretary's office. They're very careful, but I'm sure that - I don't think this is reflective of a policy decision. I think it's sort of curious, but likely serendipitous," Socarides said.

Despite telling ABC News in October that the issue of gay marriage was something he "struggled with," Obama has never come out in support of gay marriage. He has said he supports "strong civil unions." Obama also led the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which banned gays from serving openly in the military.

Katz said that despite the letter's mysterious arrival, the couple was happy to receive it and will likely frame and display the letter in their home.

"For a minute there I really really thought it was a gag gift, but it has the seal, and it's him and Michelle. We'll definitely frame it," he said.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs...HRlc3QD;_ylv=3

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Kobi

http://openchannel.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...er-alarms-some
---------------------


I keep mulling this over but I dont understand the strategy or the reason for it.

Are they saying the court martial strategy is different from the criminal strategy?

Are they trying to say his possible "gender identity order" is a mitigating factor? Or extenuating circumstances? When they say his "alter ego", it makes me think multiple personality defense. Are they using an insanity defense and trying to develop a rationale for it? Would "gender disorder" be a favorable thing in a court martial i.e. medical grounds for dismissal rather than criminal?

It sounds like Manning himself brought this to peoples attention - "The defense stated Saturday that Manning, 24, had written to one of his supervisors when he was stationed in Iraq before his arrest and said he had concluded he was suffering from gender identity disorder, which is classified as a medical disorder in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. He included a photo of himself dressed as a woman in the letter and said the issue was affecting his ability to do his job or think clearly."

Is the defense between a rock and a hard place as a result of this disclosure i.e. do they have no option but the address it as best they can in a framework that might benefit their client?

This is about as odd as the Sandusky legal approach.

Have law schools developed new defense strategies based on the Kobayashi Maru principles?

Seriously, am I missing something here or is there something missing in the story?

I find this quite confusing as well. I can see why LGBTIQ lawyers have concerns, however, based upon assignment of criminal action stemming from GID. That is worrisome.