Yeah, yeah, oh-yeah. Just dropped in to see what my condtion was in

IT'S ALL ABOUT GENDER!!!!

Calif. Justices See Retaliation in Makeup Case
Mike McKee
The Recorder


The saying that beauty is skin deep took on a new complexion Thursday when one of the world's largest cosmetics companies learned it could be liable for insisting on the hiring of "hot" sales representatives.

By a 4-2 vote, the California Supreme Court ruled that L'Oreal USA Inc. could be sued under the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act for allegedly retaliating against Elysa Yanowitz, a former regional sales manager for Northern California, for refusing to fire a woman not considered attractive enough for company standards.

Afghanistan: Protect Women Candidates
Boost Security Measures and Complaint Procedures as Campaign Launches

(New York)—As campaigning begins for the September 18 polls for parliament and provincial councils, the Afghan government and international monitors must take special measures to protect women from attacks and intimidation by the Taliban and regional warlords, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Afghanistan’s official election campaigning period kicks off today.

Leaders jolt black gay men against HIV
Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network


According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly half of African-American men who have sex with men have been infected with HIV -- and a group of black leaders is demanding action from the community.

The Black AIDS Institute published an open letter on Wednesday, titled, "Nearly Half of Us May Already Be Infected. Who Gives a Damn?" It noted that in June the CDC published a study showing 46 percent of black homosexual and bisexual men surveyed in five major cities were already HIV-positive, an infection rate that was more than twice the infection rate among men of other races.

Senators Attest to Alaska Climate Change
By DAN JOLING, AP

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Anyone doubting the effects of human activity on global climate change should talk to the people it affects in Alaska and the Yukon, U.S. Sen. John McCain said Wednesday.

Fresh from a trip to Barrow, America's northernmost city, McCain said anecdotes from Alaskans and residents of the Yukon Territory confirm scientific evidence of global warming.

"We are convinced that the overwhelming scientific evidence indicated that climate change is taking place and human activities play a very large role," McCain said.

CENSORING AGAIN: Comcast Blocks Emails Linking to Cindy Sheehan Website! Cox Cable Joins Nation's Largest Net Provider in Keeping Citizens in the Dark! Other ISPs doing the same thing -- here we go again! only bigger!!

World Running Out of Time for Oil Alternatives
by Anna Mudeva


PETTEN, Netherlands - The world could run out of time to develop cleaner alternatives to oil and other fossil fuels before depletion drives prices through the roof, a leading Dutch energy researcher said on Thursday.

Ton Hoff, manager of the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands, said it could take decades to make alternatives affordable to the point where they can be used widely, although high oil prices were already stimulating such research.

"If we run out of fossil fuels -- by the time the oil price hits 100 dollars or plus, people will be screaming for alternatives, but whether they will be available at that moment of time -- that's my biggest worry," Hoff said.

Prewar Memo Warned of Gaps in Iraq Plans
State Dept. Officials Voiced Concerns About Post-Invasion Security, Humanitarian Aid
By Bradley Graham
Washington Post Staff Writer


One month before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, three State Department bureau chiefs warned of "serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance" in a secret memorandum prepared for a superior.

From the AP WIRE
Survey shows Mainers support gay rights law
By CLARKE CANFIELD


PORTLAND, Maine — Three out of five Mainers would vote to uphold the state´s new gay rights law in a November referendum that seeks to overturn it, according to a statewide survey released Thursday.

Hum hon Gay kamyaab is their new slogan
Gay march demanded free sexual identities and equal rights
Express Features Service


Mumbai, August 16: PINK balloons and painted faces stood out amidst the rush of office-goers on a grey evening at Flora Fountain.

A row of people, who held up banners with catchlines that would make a copywriter proud, stood next to the statue.

‘Pyaar Hua Ikraar Hua Queer Hua To Kya Hua’ screamed a multi-coloured banner. While some passers-by didn’t hide their smirks, a handful participated in a signature drive to amend Section 377.

Women’s rights under attack

Elsa Chanduví.

First regional tribunal denounces women’s rights violations, urging legal action.

"Our countries’ governments are the main culprits that deny women their rights to be able to develop their lives in freedom," said Ana Lucía Herrera of the Women’s Communicational Workshop, in Ecuador.


Herrera participated in the Regional Tribunal for the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Women, which took place July 15 in Lima. Representatives from Bolivia, Colombian Chile, Ecuador and Peru discussed five cases, each signifying a violation of women’s rights in the region.

Expectations for Iraq downshifting
Administration downplays missed deadline for Iraqi constitution, but political progress is coming slowly.
By Peter Grier | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor


WASHINGTON – Twenty-eight months after US forces helped pull down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad's Firdos Square, the Bush administration is facing a hard reality: its vision for Iraq's immediate future may need to be scaled back.

Women's Bookstores: A Dying Breed
By Rachel Corbett, Women's eNews.


As feminist bookstores disappear, so do the intellectual community centers they once provided for women.

Women of the New Iraq
By Haifa Zangana, AlterNet. Posted August 16, 2005.


The war on Iraq has not only made the country and world less safe, it has erased the social and political rights of women who were the most liberated in the Middle East.

A group of Iraqi women recently met the U.S. ambassador in an effort to push the framers of Iraq's constitution not to limit women's rights. Many Western feminist groups and some Iraqi women activists fear Islamic law, which if enshrined as a main source of legislation will be used to restrict their rights, specifically in matters relating to marriage, divorce and inheritance. The U.S. shares this concern; Iraqi women more generally do not. Why?

Gay Marriage Talks Color Maine Debate
By FRANCIS X. QUINN
Associated Press Writer

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine is in the midst of its third referendum campaign in eight years to decide if gays should be given broad civil rights protections. And while the measure has nothing to do with same-sex marriage, conservatives are warning Maine could go the way of Massachusetts if gays are given more rights.

got meat!

USDA finds 1,000 violations of mad cow rules

Meat plants cut corners, failed to remove banned materials

Gay couples ask judge to allow domestic partnership benefits
By DAVID EGGERT
Associated Press Writer

LANSING — Attorneys for 21 gay couples and Gov. Jennifer Granholm asked a judge Tuesday to rule that Michigan's constitution does not prevent governments and universities from providing health insurance and other benefits to partners of gay employees.