Robert Kuttner: Social Security: The Coming Cave-in

'Burqa ban' key to Dutch coalition
The new Dutch Government intends unprecedented measures to rein in Immigration [EPA] The new Dutch Government could be the second country after France to impose a ban on the full face-covering veil after the formation of a minority Coalition Government. The banning of burqua was agreed on Thursday as a price for parliamentary support from The anti-immigration Freedom Party demanded the so-called "Burqa ban" and a pledge to halve Immigration as the price for joining two center-right...

Netherlands: Wilders PVV Party Joins Coalition Government After Center-Right Parties Agree to Ban the Burqa...
Sticking to his beliefs… (Reuters) - T wo center-right parties agreed on Thursday to ban the Burqa in the Netherlands as the price for parliamentary support from the Anti-Islam Freedom party for their minority Government. The Netherlands would become the second European Union country to ban the Burqa after France, in what many see as a shift to the Right which has dented the bloc’s reputation for tolerance and may increase security risks. The agreement tightens the rules on...

UK Government u-turn may bring back revised ContactPoint children's database
© istock The Government is considering bringing back a version of the Controversial ContactPoint Children's database, just months after the original project was halted. The ContactPoint database project was launched by the previous Labour Government, but the Tories vowed to scrap it if they won power, on the grounds that it was a potential security risk to Children. After the election the Coalition Government announced it was pulling the plugs on the project, but now a parliamentary...

Anti-Islamist Dutch Politician, Facing Trial for 'Inciting Hatred,' Secures His Party's Role in New Government
Who would have thought, a couple of years ago, that the Freedom Party would have a huge amount of influence in Government? anti-Islamist Dutch politician Geert Wilders said on Tuesday evening. Wednesday, September 29, 2010 By Patrick Goodenough Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, center, is cheered by supporters on election night in The Hague on Wednesday June 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Cynthia Boll) (CNSNews.com) Days before anti-Islamist Dutch politician Geert Wilders trial for...

Where We Are On TV Report 2010-2011 Season
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) representations have increased for the third year in a row to a record percentage according to an analysis of the 2010-2011 scripted Primetime broadcast television season conducted by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).  The Where We Are on TV report forecasts the expected presence of LGBT characters in the upcoming 2010-2011 television schedule. The study shows that LGBT representations will account for 3.9% of all...

Taste and Morals - Oysters and Snails
Hollywood and Homosexuals, it’s like chocolate chip cookies and milk - only sometimes you drop the cookie in the milk and it becomes a soggy mess. Over the years Hollywood has portrayed Gay men as sissies, Lesbians as the perfect turn-on for the straight man, Bisexuals as psychopathic killers and Transgender people as the brunt of the jokes or life of the party. It has also portrayed us in more positive lights, usually in lower Budget films, but still in a positive light (i.e....

Kern Backers Go From Calling Novotny a "Confused It" to "He"
A few weeks ago Charlie Meadows, founder and Chairman of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee which is backing militantly Anti-gay state Rep. Sally Kern, sent out an email to supporters calling Kern's Transgender opponent, Brittany Novotny, "a confused it." Needless to say, Meadows' childish Bigotry generated an outcry, so now he has backed off .... and is referring to Novotny as "he" :  The head of a conservative group no longer calls Oklahoma's...

San Francisco Goodwill store hires transgender people
In this economy, it's tough for anyone to find a job, but for one segment of the population it's especially difficult. So one local store is knocking down barriers and putting them on the Payroll. An estimated 70 percent of Transgender people in California face workplace Discrimination. This is the first Goodwill in the nation to provide training and job skills. It's a temporary store, but those involved in the program think it will have long-term effects. Mia Tu Mutch, 19, says Discrimination...

First transgender astronaut?
Like what you read? Subscribe to The Bilerico Project by Email. Want others to read it too? Use the buttons and links here to share this entry with others. ( Move your cursor over a button or link to learn more about it. ) 5 Comments Best wishes to Amy and Genesis! I hope you both reach your goals! Thanks for sharing some of the process with us. What is the goal of the coldness project? sean-michael | September 28, 2010 5:52 PM

Liberty Counsel's Matt Barber stands up for gay persecution
crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters In a hysterical screed published by the American Family Association's One News Now , Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel sets his aim at the United Nations: The United Nations is pressing for acceptance of the Homosexual lifestyle worldwide, which was made evident during a recent Human Rights meeting in Geneva. A written statement from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on U.N. members to abolish laws that discriminate against...

Kern Backers Go From Calling Novotny a "Confused It" to "He"
A few weeks ago Charlie Meadows, founder and Chairman of the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee which is backing militantly Anti-gay state Rep. Sally Kern, sent out an email to supporters calling Kern's Transgender opponent, Brittany Novotny, "a confused it." Needless to say, Meadows' childish Bigotry generated an outcry, so now he has backed off .... and is referring to Novotny as "he" :  The head of a conservative group no longer calls Oklahoma's...

Goodwill works with transgender org
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ei: Uribe's appointment to flotilla probe guarantees its failure
At the beginning of this month the Israeli government announced it would cooperate with one out of two international UN-sponsored investigation commissions into the 31 May Gaza Freedom Flotilla massacre, a move which UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon claimed was "unprecedented." However, the details of this commission and who will take part in it -- particularly the notorious outgoing president of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe Vélez -- cast doubt over its impartiality. The commission is...

‘The Most Important Blow Ever Against the FARC’
There’s good news from Colombia. The government announced on Wednesday morning that the FARCs senior Military commander, Mono Jojoy, was killed during an operation that started Monday against a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) stronghold in the Macarena region. The operation involved four branches of the Military, 30 planes, and 27 helicopters. Jojoy, also known as Jorge Briceno but whose name was Vctor Julio Surez Rojas , had a price on his head of $5 million and...

Ministry of Finance launches bribery crackdown
The Afghan government announced yesterday that it is investigating whether relatives or close associates of high-ranking Officials are receiving improper payments, Kickbacks or bribes. All domestic and international companies and institutions have been ordered to provide detials of all the amounts of money they pay, or have already paid, to anyone related to or close to Top Officials within the next four weeks, A statement released by the Ministry of Finance said: "If the requested...

Afghan gov't probes pay of officials' relatives
Kabul, Afghanistan – The Afghan government announced Wednesday that it is investigating whether the relatives or close associates of high-ranking Officials are receiving improper payments, Kickbacks or bribes. President Hamid Karzai has instructed all domestic and international companies and institutions to provide the amounts of money they pay to anyone related to or close to Top Officials, a statement released by the Ministry of Finance said. The information must be disclosed within four...

The World from Berlin: 'Anti-Establishment Rage Is Fuelling Populism Everywhere'
After 111 days of talks, the Netherlandsmight finally have a Coalition Government --with the support of Geert Wilders' Islamophobic PVV party. The German press takes a look at the Dutch developments, with somearguing that the minority Government is unlikely to last. The Netherlands had long been regarded as a beacon of tolerance and Liberalism but that image has been tarnished in recent years as support has grown for the Islamophobic Populist politician Geert Wilders and his Right-wing...

UK renewable energy production falls for second time in 2010
The UK has suffered a second fall in Renewable Energy production this year, raising concern about the more than 1bn support the industry receives each year from Taxpayers. The drop in electricity generated from wind, hydro and other Clean sources in the first half of 2010 could also be a setback to the Coalition Government's promise that the UK could help lead a " third industrial revolution " and create a low-carbon Economy. The DECC today said lower than expected wind speeds and rainfall...

Netherlands to ban burka, says anti-Islam MP
The Netherlands will ban the burka under measures agreed in a pact to form a minority Coalition Government, according to Geert Wilders, the Anti-Islam MP whose party is part of the deal.

Gay Characters on Scripted TV Increasing
The number of Homosexual characters on scripted television is rising, according to a new report by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The Gay Rights group's annual "Where We Are on TV" study found that there are 23 Gay and Lesbian characters that regularly appear on TV shows this season -- or 3.9 percent of all series on regular scripted shows. Last year, 3 percent of roles were for Gay characters and the conservative Media Research Center told CBN News the numbers will...

Why Republicans and the Prospect of a Government Shutdown If They Win Big in November is Not All That Frightening
"Their argument is that laying down markers on core liberal priorities has a way of expanding the field of what's politically possible. And even if expanding that field was never realistic, they argue, Obama would be in a better position anyway if he'd fought more visibly for those core priorities, because Rank and File Dems would know what it is they should go out and vote for on Election Day. These critics are rejecting the ingrained Beltway notion that you should never fight for...

McWhorter On How Bishop Long Could Use His Scandal To Combat Homophobia In The Black Community
The accusations against Bishop Eddie Long are, in themselves, not a “black” story, of course. We are accustomed to the spectacle of superstar preachers opposed to Homosexuality, such as Ted Haggard and George “Rentboy” Rekers, caught with their pants down with people who are not women. However, the situation presents Long with an opportunity for true redemption, in that he could make a key statement to a black America behind the curve on the acceptance of...

Michigan attorney general defends employee's right to blog
(CNN) -- Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox defended an assistant's Constitutional Right to wage an Internet campaign against an Openly Gay College Student, even though he considers that employee a "bully." "Here in America, we have this thing called the First Amendment, which allows people to express what they think and engage in political and social Speech," Cox told Anderson Cooper on CNN's "AC 360" on Wednesday night. "He's clearly a bully ... but is that...

The Fire Inside: Linda Evans at San Francisco Dyke March
This is the first Lesbian/Gay/ Bisexual/Transgender Pride weekend I will celebrate in freedom!... I am especially honored to be part of the first Dyke March dedicated to women in Prison - to remember all the dykes and women Prisoners who are locked up and cannot be with us in the streets... I think that there is nothing more powerful than looking out and seeing all of you. It is mind boggling for me and overwhelming after being in Prison for all those years to feel our power. And we've got a...

Assistant AG with antigay blog appeals order to keep off U-M campus
Meanwhile, the U-M administration issued a statement today supporting Chris Armstrong, the president of the Michigan Student Assembly and target of Shirvells blog, saying U-M does not tolerate Bigotry of any type. Shirvell was issued the trespass warning Sept. 14, said Diane Brown, spokeswoman for the U-M Police. He cant come onto any campus property, Brown said. Brown, asked why the trespass order was issued, said U-M police had received a complaint "about him being a possible suspect in...