Behind the Aegis
Behind the Aegis's JournalUK anti-Semitic incidents soar in first half of year – report
The number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents in Britain soared in the first six months of this year compared with 2014, probably due to a surge in reporting among fearful Jews, a report by a Jewish community body said on Thursday.
There were 473 recorded incidents between January and June this year including two classified as “extreme violence”, said the Community Security Trust (CST), which advises Britain’s estimated 260,000 Jews on security.
That represented a 53 percent rise compared to the same period last year, said the CST which has recorded anti-Semitic incidents since 1984.
Across Europe, Jews have warned of a growing undercurrent of anti-Semitism, fuelled by anger at Israeli policy in the Middle East and social tensions over immigration and increasing economic hardship under austerity policies that have helped far-right movements gain popularity.
Those fears were exacerbated in January when an Islamist militant gunman killed four people in a Jewish supermarket in Paris, followed a month later by an attack on Copenhagen’s main synagogue.
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A brief history of homophobia in Dewey decimal classification
Libraries in more than 138 countries organise their resources according to Dewey decimal classification, or DDC for short. This proprietary system is the most widely used in the world. The DDC number reflects specific subject areas. Browsing shelves for books on similar topics, grouped together to make them easy to find, is both the beauty of and the frustration with the Dewey decimal system.
Once upon a time and yet not so long ago, LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) topics have variously been assigned to DDC categories such as Abnormal Psychology, Perversion, Derangement, as a Social Problem and even as Medical Disorders. Is it any wonder that someone browsing ‘similar’ library items in this area could feel alienated?
Addressing inclusion and alienation, in June 2015 Linda Rudell-Betts of the Los Angeles Public Libraries wrote a post on making sure its LGBTI Collection was assigned DDC call numbers from the twenty-second edition, so that its users are not confronted with earlier, demeaning classifications:
Dewey decimal classification (DDC) itself would assign lesbians, gay men, bisexual people and transgender people (LGBTI people) to a call number, 301.4157, as a kind of ‘abnormal sexual relations’ (modified fourteenth edition of the DDC).
Admittedly the fourteenth edition of DDC was published in 1942, but nonetheless, the spectre of earlier hurtful classifications can linger even when improved numbers have been assigned.
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WATCH: Cardin rips C-SPAN caller who questions his Jewish faith, loyalty to US
Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) ripped a caller to C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Wednesday who suggested Cardin's Jewish faith poses a conflict of interest with his duties as a U.S. senator.
“I'm normally pretty tolerant to people who ask questions, but I'm not to your assumption,” said Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
"I take great offense to that. Our loyalty is to America, our concerns are with America, our religion is our personal business and should have nothing to do with an evaluation from anyone as to our objectivity on issues concerning America,” he said.
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“Mr. Cardin looks like a regular white guy, nice guy, but in actuality he's a Jewish white guy,” said the caller, identified as Eric from Georgia. “If the public was informed of that by C-SPAN, I think they would take his comments differently.”
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Some things never go out of style.
The international war on LGBT people
As Americans gathered in cities across the country to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage, several thousand Turks also tried to march in support of rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Police in Istanbul attacked them with water cannons and rubber pellets. The repression reflected the narrowing of freedom under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; in past years, Turkey was the site of the largest gay pride marches in the Muslim world.
But Turkey is hardly alone in vilifying, isolating and threatening LGBT people. While 25 countries and territories now allow gay marriage, 75 nations treat homosexual behavior as a crime.
In 10 countries, it is punishable by death — and even where it is not, just being gay is often fatal. A May U.N. report found “continuing, serious and widespread human rights violations perpetrated, too often with impunity, against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.”
“Since 2011, hundreds of people have been killed and thousands more injured in brutal, violent attacks,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights reported.
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mahatmakanejeeves
It's been a year.
This time last year, I sat with my cat, Tony, as he journeyed on to the other side. It has been an interesting year for us, but there was a part that always seemed to be missing. When I got married, finally became legal in Oklahoma, in November, I was sad because Tony wasn't physically there. I did place his picture and ashes on the table of family photos representing those at the wedding who couldn't be there. Of course, had he been there, he probably would have jumped on the table and annoyed me by batting at the candles.
I cried everyday for at least two weeks, then it got better; I'd only cry every other day for another two weeks. I cry every now and again, but the pain isn't as bad. Of course, it didn't help for almost a month, Marigny, Tony's favorite pest, one of our chihuahuas, ran around the house looking for him, then crying when she couldn't find him. Sometimes, I could swear I heard his collar jingling. Each of our pets have a distinct 'jingle' from their collars, well, distinct to me, so I was hearing his jingle. A few times I swear I'd catch a glimpse of him; still do.
I just wanted to share my memories of the cat who came into my life when I met the love of life, and became a beloved friend, and whom I miss very much, even today. He was my "bad kitty; baddest of the bad!" That was the off key phrase I'd sing to him, while I held him like a baby. I think he hated both (my 'singing' and being cradled)! 
For those who have lost pets recently, it does get less painful, but the memories come back all the time...and sometimes, so do the tears.
My Tony, baddest of the bad:
Diane Rehm Presses Sanders On Whether He’s US-Israel Dual Citizen
An interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stopped in its tracks on Wednesday when NPR's Diane Rehm repeatedly pressed the Democratic presidential candidate whether he was a citizen of Israel.
"Senator, you have dual citizenship with Israel," Rehm said during the interview on her nationally broadcast show based on station WAMU.
"Well, no I do not have dual citizenship with Israel," Sanders, who is Jewish, interjected. "I'm an American. I don't know where that question came from. I am an American citizen, and I have visited Israel on a couple of occasions. I'm an American citizen, period."
Rehm cited "a list we have gotten" at NPR that said Sanders was "on that list."
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/bernie-sanders-diane-rehm-israel
demmiblue post in GD.
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Moment of truth...raise your hand if this was unexpected to you.
HRC Supporter Jennifer Hudson Releases New LGBT Anthem
The Oscar Winner is doubling down on her support for the LGBT community with her latest pop hit, “I Still Love You.”
The video, which dropped this morning, features a father’s hesitant and emotional decision to attend his gay son’s wedding.
“I just think the concept was just powerful to go with such a positive song. It’s about love and everyone should have love and have the right to love who they want to love,” Jennifer told MTV News. “So I thought it would be powerful to take a concept like trying to find your equality in love no matter who you love.”
The Grammy and Academy Award winner is a part of Turn It Up for Change, the W Hotel’s marriage equality campaign to support HRC’s work.
http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-supporter-jennifer-hudson-releases-new-lgbt-anthem
to William769
He shows how the news talks about black people by talking about white people instead.
Just a heads-up: This is satire. This. Is. Satire. But that's why it's so freaking good.
Just in case this segment left you scratching your head, let's break down what it all means. This brilliantly scathing piece was meant to show the hypocrisy in how news media talks criminal behavior in black and white communities. And the takeaway is this:
Our media is incredibly biased when it comes to covering crime involving people of color.
How do we know? Let's look at three themes that play out over and over again.
1. Victim-shaming vs. killer sympathy
2014 was full of protests and demonstrations in response to unarmed black men, women, and children killed by the police without consequence. And while these stories were all over the news, too many focused on blaming the victims for previous unrelated criminal behavior.
•When 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot and killed by a police officer in November 2014, a Cleveland news site ran the story "Tamir Rice's father has history of domestic violence" as if his father's past behavior was somehow relevant.
•In April 2015, an unarmed Walter Scott was shot six times in the back by a South Carolina police officer. Although the incident was captured on film and the officer was charged with murder, NBC News ran a story following the incident titled: "Walter Scott Had Bench Warrant for His Arrest, Court Documents Show."
•And after a police officer shot and killed unarmed John Crawford in August 2014 in response to a bad tip from a Walmart customer, multiple outlets ran headlines mentioning that Crawford had THC in his system.
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I don't know if this has been posted here before, or even at DU, but this was too spot-on not to post, especially given some recent events!
May 17th, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia[1][2][3] is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. In the 9th edition, in 2013, commemorations took place in almost 120 countries, in all world regions.[4]
The founders of the International Day Against Homophobia, as it was originally known, established the IDAHO Committee to cooordinate grass-roots actions in different countries, to promote the day and to lobby for official recognition on May 17. That date was chosen to commemorate the decision to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1990.[5]
The day was conceived in 2004. A year-long campaign culminated in the first International Day Against Homophobia on May 17, 2005. 24,000 individuals as well as organizations such as the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), the World Congress of LGBT Jews, and the Coalition of African Lesbians signed an appeal to support the "IDAHO initiative". Activities for the day took place in many countries, including the first LGBT events ever to take place in the Congo, China, and Bulgaria.
In 2009, transphobia was added to the name of the campaign, and activities that year focused primarily on transphobia (violence and discrimination against transgender people). A new petition was launched in cooperation with LGBT organizations in 2009, and it was supported by more than 300 NGOs from 75 countries, as well as three Nobel Prize winners (Elfriede Jelinek, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, and Luc Montagnier). On the eve of May 17, 2009, France became the first country in the world to officially remove transgender issues from its list of mental illnesses.[7][8]
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Biphobia was added to the name of the campaign in 2015.[11]
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Homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are not abstract concepts to GLBT people and those people who love us. From marriage equality (now in the SCOTUS), to being secure in our jobs and homes (27/29 states allow for GLBT people to be fired from their jobs or kicked out of their homes), to being included in hate crime statistics (some states do NOT report anti-GBLT crimes), our lives are often affected by those who hate us. It isn't limited to the United States. All over the world GLBT people fight for equality, while being raped, tortured, imprisoned, murdered, and even put to death by "the state."
Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, and Transgender people are everywhere. We are span all ethnicities...all ages...all economic classes...all religions, and atheism and agnosticism...all nationalities. We are your moms and dads, your brothers and sisters, your neighbors and co-workers, your friends and loved ones. We are people. Our lives matter.
Say "NO!" to homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia!
Barack Obama issues statement on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
Michelle and I join our fellow Americans and others around the world in commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia tomorrow, May 17. We take this opportunity to reaffirm that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights are human rights, to celebrate the dignity of every person, and to underscore that all people deserve to live free from fear, violence, and discrimination, regardless of who they are of whom they love.
We work toward this goal every day. Here at home, we are working to end bias-motivated violence, combat discrimination in the workplace, and address the specific needs of transgender persons. Overseas, I am proud of the steps that the United States has taken to prioritize the protection and promotion of LGBT rights in our diplomacy and global outreach.
There is much more to do, and this fight for equality will not be won in a day. but we will keep working, at home and abroad, and we will keep fighting, for however long it takes until we are all able to live free and equal in dignity and rights.
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What a lovely gift to me from our President on my birthday!
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