We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Print
Email
PDF President Obama declared June 2009 is "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month." No new rights or anything like that, but we got a proclamation.
Obama wants us to know he "continue[s] to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans." That's good. But, he's President now, not a candidate. A lot of worked very hard to elect Obama, due in part to his campaign promises of equal rights for LGBT Americans. But, now, we need action or at the least the inklings of a plan of action. So far, we've seen no indication of how Obama is going to turn his support of those measures into reality. We've seen words, nice words like the ones below, but nothing really concrete on the legislative front, besides the Hate Crimes bill, which already passed both the House and Senate back in 2007.
Here's the proclamation:
Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans.
LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country's response to the HIV pandemic.
Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration -- in both the White House and the Federal agencies -- openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism.
The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect.
My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States.
These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
Very nice and appreciated. But, this is 2009, not 1993. We need more than words, we need real action. And, from watching how activists on other issues are making progress with Team Obama, one thing is clear: we're going to have to be pretty forceful, loud and unrelenting about what we want if we expect any movement.
Also, as I've noted before -- and will continue to note, GLAD filed a lawsuit aimed at finding Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional. The government's answer is due by the end of June. During this LGBT Pride Month, if the Obama administration chooses to actually defend DOMA (and they do have a choice), that will speak much, much louder about his continued support for gay Americans than this proclamation. (I actually think if Obama wasn't hindered by his political advisers and consultants, he'd be much better on the issue. You know, in an off-the-record kind of way, he probably already is.)
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
[Source: News Article]
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
[Source: Boston News]
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
[Source: China News]
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
[Source: News Leader]
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
[Source: Duluth News]
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
We got a proclamation! It's "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"
posted by 71353 @ 1:26 AM,
,
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
 |
| Click map for full view. Taliban presence, by district, in Kandahar, Uruzgan, and Helmand provinces. Information on Taliban presence obtained from open source and derived by The Long War Journal based on the presence of Taliban shadow governments, levels of fighting, and statements from ISAF commanders. Map created by Bill Raymond for The Long War Journal. Last updated May 26, 2009. |
As Afghan and US forces complete an operation that targeted a Taliban stronghold in northern Helmand province, another area is identified as a Taliban safe haven that hosts al Qaeda training camps.
The Baghran district in northern Helmand hosts several camps run by al Qaeda's paramilitary Shadow Army, several military and civilian sources told The Long War Journal. Hundreds of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have rotated through the Baghran camps. The Shadow Army, or the Lashkar al Zil, is al Qaeda?"s paramilitary force that closely operates with the Taliban and other jihadi groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan [see LWJ report, Al Qaeda's paramilitary 'Shadow Army'].
The trained fighters are then sent to conduct operations against Afghan and Coalition forces in Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces. "Some relatively well-trained Talibs come out of these camps," an intelligence official said. "They are trained to operate in small units, and expertise on IED [improvised explosive devices or roadside bombs] and suicide attacks are passed on to some fighters."
Some of the complex attacks in Kandahar and Uruzgan are thought to have been carried out by fighters trained at the Baghran camps, including the Feb. 2 suicide attack inside a training center for police reservists in the town of Tarin Kot in Uruzgan province. Twenty-one Afghan police were killed and seven more were wounded in the suicide attack.
Baghran, the northernmost district in Helmand, is located in a remote and mountainous region, and serves as an ideal sanctuary for the Taliban and al Qaeda operating in southern Afghanistan. There are no Coalition forces present and the region is largely unpatrolled.
The district was the scene of a major US airstrike in August 2007 that targeted what the US military called a "sizable meeting of senior Taliban commanders." Hundreds of Taliban fighters and leaders were said to be gathering in a village in Baghran to conduct a public execution of two "spies."
Mullah Dadullah Mansour, at the time the military commander in the south, and Mullah Abdul Rahim, a senior commander in Helmand who operates from Pakistan, were both reportedly in attendance. Both leaders survived the strike. Locals claimed that more than 50 civilians were wounded but the US military maintained that only Taliban fighters were killed or wounded.
Nearby Nad Ali district also an al Qaeda and Taliban stronghold
The district of Nad Ali in Helmand also serves as a safe haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda and hosts camps for the Shadow Army.
In that district, Afghan and Coalition forces recently completed a four-day operation in the village of Marja, which was described by the US military as a "key militant and criminal operations and narcotics hub in southern Afghanistan" and "a main command node." According to Quqnoos, an English-language Afghan news outlet, Marja has been under Taliban control for more than a year and a half [see LWJ report, Afghan and US forces battle Taliban in northern Helmand stronghold].
The military said more than 60 Taliban fighters were killed during the operation as the Taliban "mounted an ineffective and uncoordinated defense" of the village. No Afghan or US troops were reported killed during the fighting, and more than 223 tons of narcotics and 37 tons of materials used to make explosives were seized.
Afghan and Coalition forces cordoned the town's main bazaar, where Taliban command and control centers and narcotics and bomb factories were located, and then called in airstrikes to destroy the buildings.
US and Afghan military officers deemed the operation a major success. "The commandos thoroughly demolished a vital operational, logistical, and financial hub for the enemy and completed this mission victorious as the militants and criminals crawled away defeated and operationally-neutered," Ministry of Defense spokesperson Major General Mohammad Zahir Azimi said in a US military press release..
But Afghan and US forces did not remain in Marja to deny the Taliban and al Qaeda the opportunity to reestablish control of the region, according to a report in Quqnoos.
"The troops have left the area after the operation and the area is again under the control of the Taliban," said Daud Ahmadi, the spokesman for the governor of Helmand.
US Marines moving into Helmand in force
A US military officer said the raid in Marja is the best that can be done at this time because too few forces are available to secure all of the territory in southern Afghanistan.
"Until the additional troops are available, search and destroy operations like the one in Marja are the best we can do," the officer said. "The operation succeeded in its limited objective, and that command center needed to be taken out, but we won't make serious headway in the south until we can hold the ground in places like Marja."
This summer, the US will send an additional 17,000 troops to help stabilize the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan. More than 8,000 Marines and 9,000 soldiers will be deployed to Afghanistan by this summer. The bulk of these troops will be deployed to the eastern and southern provinces where the Taliban control wide swaths of territory.
The fighting in Helmand is expected to intensify as the Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade are deploying in the province and will also be operating in neighboring Farah province. The Marines have established two bases, Camp Dwyer and Camp Leatherneck, to support operations in the south.
Camp Dwyer is a forward operating base that will host the majority of the Marine forces. Leatherneck will host a battalion of Marines and the brigade's air combat element, which has more than 60 Harrier and Hornet attack aircraft, 12 Cobra attack helicopters, and more than 90 transport helicopters.
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
[Source: Good Times Society]
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
[Source: State News]
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
[Source: News Herald]
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
[Source: Cbs News]
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
[Source: Broadcasting News]
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
Al Qaeda Shadow Army camps located in northern Helmand
posted by 71353 @ 1:13 AM,
,
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
PrintEmailPDF by Mark Silva
As President Barack Obama prepares to depart Tuesday for a trip that will carry him from Saudi Arabia to France -- with an address to the Muslim world from Cairo in the middle of the journey -- he is starting to aim his megaphone at a global audience.
In an interview with the BBC on the eve of the trip, the president was asked about delivering his appeal for peace to the Muslim world from a city, Cairo, where many political prisoners are being held, and how he can reconcile the two.
"The message I hope to deliver is that democracy, rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion those are not simply principles of the West to be hoisted on these countries, but rather what I believe to be universal principles that they can embrace and affirm as part of their national identity,'' Obama said in an interview airing this evening.
"Now, the danger, I think, is when the United States or any country thinks that we can simply can impose these values on another country with a different history and a different culture .. our job,'' Obama tells BBC interviewer Justin Webb.
"Absolutely we'll be encouraging ......and I think the thing that we can do most importantly is to serve as a role model, and that's why, for example, closing Guantanamo from my perspective -- as difficult as it is -- is important, because part of what we want to affirm to the world is that these are values that are important even when it's hard, maybe especially when it's hard -- and not just when it's easy."
Part of the interivew will be broadcast on BBC World News and BBC World Service radio at 9 pm United Kingdom time, and the full interview will air on Tuesday a 04:30 am UK time. The BBC Obama interview also will be shown online.
The president leaves Tuesday evening for Saudi Arabia, where he will hold private meetings with the king before traveling to Cairo for his public address on Thursday, and then on to Dresden, Germany, for a visit to the Buchenwald concentration camp, and finally to Paris for commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landing.
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
[Source: Msnbc News]
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
[Source: Mma News]
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
[Source: World News]
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
[Source: Wesh 2 News]
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
[Source: Channel 6 News]
Obama: U.S. serving 'as a role model'
posted by 71353 @ 12:57 AM,
,
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
PrintEmailPDF Christopher Hitchens says that if you want to give a girl a good night out in Washington you should take her to New York. Barack Obama obviously thinks the same. Having promised his wife Michelle during the election campaign last year that he would take her to a Broadway show when it was all finished, he duly headed north at the weekend for a performance of Joe Turner's Come and Gone, a play by August Wilson about the migration of freed slaves from the deep south. A promise is a promise, so it is perhaps unfair to criticise the president too much for fulfilling his private campaign pledge. Nevertheless, a president who wants to wean Americans off their emissions-heavy travel habits was not setting a good example by taking two helicopter trips and a plane to New York and back, as the Obamas did. Nor, however excellent the Broadway performance, was the trip fair to Washington, whose theatres are one of its own great attractions. A few blocks from the White House, the Shakespeare theatre, under Michael Kahn's direction, is a particularly fine company, but the Arena and the Studio also do excellent innovative work. There are grander theatres at the Kennedy Center, the Warner and the National as well as the delightful small Folger, part of the Shakespeare library on Capitol Hill. Presidential trips to the Washington theatre have a bad history, of course, but the Obamas could have plenty of good nights out in their own city with a fraction of the carbon footprint it took to go to New York.
guardian.co.uk ? Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
[Source: Good Times Society - by The American Illuminati]
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
[Source: Health News]
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
[Source: News Argus]
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
[Source: Wb News]
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
[Source: News 2]
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
In praise of ... American theatres | Editorial
posted by 71353 @ 12:23 AM,
,
Multimedia
Top Stories
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links