We Shall Always Remember You!

I never completely understood him but I really liked him in his complexity

Secular State. Religion & Gay Rights

http://www.cuatro.com/noticias/videos/ivri-lider-israeli-icono-gay-pais/20090627ctoultpro_17/

Spainish Justice System Going Backward

The most famous case was an attempt to extradite Gen Pinochet in 1998

For more than a decade, a drab, beige building in central Madrid has been the global destination of choice for anyone wanting to file allegations of genocide, torture and crimes against humanity.

Spain's left-leaning government sees things rather differently.

This is not about pressure from one country or another, but rather it's about deciding the best role for Spain in tackling impunity

In parliament, it is sponsoring a controversial change in the law, which would limit the future scope of universal jurisdiction to cases in which (i) the victims are Spanish, (ii) the alleged perpetrators are in Spain, or (iii) some other clear link to Spain can be demonstrated.

The Audiencia Nacional - National Criminal Court - has heard complaints of human-rights abuses as far afield as Guatemala, Rwanda, Chile, Tibet, Gaza and Guantanamo Bay.

Currently, 10 cases from five continents are being investigated by Spanish judges, under the principle of "universal jurisdiction," which holds that some crimes are so grave that they can be tried anywhere, regardless of where the offences were committed.

In a recent statement, almost 100 organisations collectively praised Spain's "pioneering approach," gushing that the country "should feel proud of itself" for becoming a reference point for other nations.

Read +

Not the Same One before and After Valencia

Obama on DOMA

June 15, 2009

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President: I have had the privilege of meeting you on several occasions, when visiting the White House in my capacity as president of the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights organization representing millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people across this country. You have welcomed me to the White House to express my community’s views on health care, employment discrimination, hate violence, the need for diversity on the bench, and other pressing issues...

If we are your equals, if you recognize that our families live the same, love the same, and contribute as much as yours, then the answer must be no.

We call on you to put your principles into action and send legislation repealing DOMA to Congress.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese

Read +

Fascism/Individualism like The One Below Hurts me, Makes me Mad!

Spain to punish 'barbaric bakery'

A Spanish bakery accused of barbaric behaviour towards an illegal worker will face "the full weight of the law", the government has vowed.

The statement comes amid shock over the case of a Bolivian worker whose arm was cut off in an accident at work.

Bosses at the bakery in Valencia are accused of dumping him 100m (330 feet) from the hospital entrance and throwing the severed limb in a rubbish bin.

Read more

A Beautiful Courageous Gay Love Story

(San Angelo, Texas) The mayor of this West Texas sheep ranching town offered a stunning explanation when he suddenly resigned: He was in love with a man who was an illegal immigrant and had gone to Mexico.

They had to move, he said, because there was no legal way for them to remain together in the United States.

“It wasn’t a decision that any U.S. citizen should have to make,” former Mayor J.W. Lown said in an interview from Mexico. “I left a home. I left a ranch. I left a promising political career.”

“I did not want to consciously violate the law,” Lown said. “We want to make a life together and do it in the right way and follow the law.”

San Angelo, meanwhile, will be without a mayor until the City Council decides whether to appoint someone or schedule a special election.

Lown hopes to eventually return here with his partner.

“I don’t know how long this is going to take. It could take months. It could take years, but I’m prepared to wait as long as it takes,” he said. “I hope I’ll have some shred of my good name left when this is resolved.”

EU adopts Blue Card Scheme for Skilled Migrants

The EU on Monday (25 May) adopted plans for a European Union work permit aimed at attracting highly skilled foreigners to the bloc, similar to the US' Green Card.

Dubbed the Blue Card, it will allow foreign workers to be employed in any EU member state except Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark and enjoy limited social and welfare rights for themselves and their family members for a renewable period from one to four years.

The EU tries to attract high-skilled foreigners on its labour market. (Photo: European Commission)

The 24 member states who have signed up for the scheme will have two years to transpose it into national law.

They will grant Blue Card holders equal treatment with nationals when it comes to "working conditions, including pay and dismissal", recognition of qualifications, the right to participate in trade unions and limited social security and pension rights, as well as access to housing and counselling. Read More.

Spain-EU holds 'voodoo' traffickers

The traffickers allegedly supplied women for the sex trade across Europe

Spanish police have arrested 23 people suspected of trafficking Nigerian women into the country and forcing them into prostitution by using voodoo curses.

Experts said the women were scared into submission because of a vow they were forced to take on the graves of their ancestors before they left Nigeria.

The money the women earned was then kept until they had paid off the debt incurred getting to Spain, police said.

The traffickers allegedly supplied women for the sex trade across Europe.

Earlier this month, 11 people went on trial in the Netherlands accused of using voodoo to force up to 150 Nigerian women and girls into prostitution in Europe.

Prosecutors said most were minors at the time they disappeared from Dutch asylum centres, ending up in Italy, Spain and France.

'Black magic'

In a statement, Spanish police said they had detained 23 people after raids on 10 homes across the country. Material used in voodoo rituals, computer equipment and several passports were also seized.

FROM BBC WORLD SERVICE More from BBC World Service

Police said they had opened an investigation in February after receiving a complaint from a Nigerian woman in the south-eastern city of Seville, who said she had been one of the traffickers' victims.

The suspects had carried out "voodoo rituals and black magic to frighten the women and keep them always under control with the threat of 'destroying their souls' or 'making them crazy'", they added.

Read More