A proposed amendment to North Carolina’s constitution which would make marriage between a man and woman the only legal union recognized by the state passed a statewide vote on Tuesday.

The referendum- North Carolina Amendment One- goes a step beyond outlawing same-sex marriage, which was already illegal in the state. The law decrees that “marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State”- meaning that civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be legally recognized.

With 99.9 percent of precincts reporting, support for the amendment was strong- with about 61 percent of North Carolina voters casting their ballots in favor of the amendment, and roughly 39 percent voting against it, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council- a conservative Christian organization- released a statement applauding the vote.

“We applaud North Carolina voters for joining voters in 31 other states upholding the historic and natural definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman” the statement said. “At every opportunity, the American people have demonstrated a deep appreciation for the unique benefits that marriage between a man and a woman brings to families and society. They recognize that marriage is the only kind of union that results in natural procreation and keeps a mother and father together to raise the children produced by their union.”

North Carolina had previously been the only Southern state that did not have a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage

 http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/05/amendment-one-north-carolina-anti-gay-marriage-measure-passes/

The United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.

 http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5066287&ct=6467529

Delegates at the United Methodist Church’s global convention on Thursday rejected proposals to eliminate a rule declaring homosexuality “incompatible” with Christianity. The 572 to 368 vote was a defeat for gay rights activists who have tried for years to change church doctrine.

“God is weeping,” said Karen Oliveto, pastor at Glide Memorial United Methodist Church in San Francisco, and a leader in the Love Your Neighbor Coalition, which is trying to eliminate church rules condemning same-sex relationships.

http://www.baycitizen.org/religion/story/methodists-refuse-change-doctrine/

This is a sad day for the United Methodist Church. I fear it will cause harm to many young LGBT people of faith and their families who seek to find in their congregations a place where they can practice their faith in an affirming, loving and spirit-filled space.  

Yet, I am filled with hope by the prophetic voices of those who have worked tirelessly for change within the church they love. Hundreds of conference participants, wearing beautiful rainbow stoles created by the Reconciling Methodist Network, stood on the edges of the conference voting tables and did an impromptu communion service for the inclusive Church body, witnessing for a new day when "justice rolls down like water and righteousness like an ever flowing stream" (Amos 5:24).

 http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/the-united-methodist-church-votes-against-lgbt-people/

NO COMMENT!

As many as 100,000 women in Britain have undergone female genital mutilations (FGM) with medics in the UK offering to carry out the illegal procedure on girls as young as 10, it has been reported.

Investigators from the Sunday Times said they had secretly filmed a doctor, dentist and alternative medicine practitioner who were allegedly willing to perform FGM or arrange for the operation to be carried out. The doctor and dentist deny any wrongdoing.

The practice, which involves the surgical removal of external genitalia and in some cases the stitching of the vaginal opening, is illegal in Britain and carries up to a 14-year prison sentence. It is also against the law to arrange FGM.

Research suggests that every year more than 22,000 girls in the UK and up to 6,000 in London are at risk of the potentially fatal procedure.

The Metropolitan police said that since 2008 it had received 166 reports of people who feared they were at risk of FGM. Across all 43 forces in England and Wales, no one has ever been convicted of the offence, according to the Sunday Times.

The model Waris Dirie, who was mutilated as a child, is a vociferous opponent of the practice.

Calling for a crackdown on FGM, she said: "If a white girl is abused, the police come break down the door. If a black girl is mutilated, nobody takes care of her. This is what I call racism."

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/apr/22/female-genital-mutilation-uk-medics

The president of the Saudi Arabia Olympic Committee has ruled out sending women to London 2012, leading to a call for their exclusion from the Games.

Prince Nawaf bin Faisal said his body was "not endorsing any female participation at the moment." 

Sue Tibballs, chief executive of the Women's Sport and Fitness Foundation,  said the Saudi stance was unacceptable.

"We would expect the International Olympic Committee to exclude Saudi Arabia," she said.

"Saudi Arabia's current refusal to send sportswomen to the Olympics puts them directly at odds with one of the IOC's fundamental principles as laid out within the Olympic Charter.

"It reads that 'any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement'."

 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/17632782

My mother, an illiterate burka-clad village woman, became the heroine of my life. As war in Afghanistan raged and my family was torn apart with the death of my father (a member of Parliament) and later several other family members, including my brothers, my mother became the glue that held our extended family together. It is thanks to her determination that I became the first girl child in my family to be allowed to go to school.

The Board of Trustees of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary voted Thursday night to accept gay and lesbian students for ordination beginning with the 2012-13 academic year. The Conservative movement in Israel is known as Masorti.  

A seminary statement said the decision comes following a "long process."

 “The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary views the serious process leading to this decision as an example of confronting social dilemmas within the framework of tradition and halachah,” or Jewish law, Hanan Alexander, chair of the seminary's Board of Trustees, said in the statement. “This decision highlights the institution’s commitment to uphold halachah in a pluralist and changing world.”

 http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/04/19/3093281/masorti-to-ordain-gay-and-lesbians-as-rabbis-in-israel

More than 100 girls at a school in northeastern Afghanistan were admitted to the hospital Tuesday after getting sick from drinking water believed to be poisoned by an opponent of education for girls, an official told Agence France Presse.

"I think some radical elements who oppose girls going to school are behind this act," district governor Mohammad Hussain told AFP, adding that police were looking into the incident.

The schoolgirls suffered symptoms of poisoning such as nausea and headaches after drinking water from a tank at the high school in Takhar, according to AFP.

Haffizullah Safi, head of Takhar's public health department, said: "This is not a natural illness. It's an intentional act to poison schoolgirls," according to Reuters.

Abdul Saboor, spokesman for the education ministry, said he believed it may have been a smaller incident and that an investigation had begun.

Another cute next-door guy type, far from the flamboyant stereotype.

 Speaking of which, you're openly gay now?

Yes. I'm rolling with the punches here. I was asked if I was comfortable doing gay press. I said, "Of course." I didn't think I'd be coming out. But why not now? I think it's the right time to say something. It's not about me; it's about change and the work.

Is part of it to inspire the gay youth out there?

Of course. The whole reason we came up with Kenzie's Scale is to give young gays characters to look up to. It's great that we have Chris Colfer, but we need more characters. I was so moved by your comment on Facebook that "if I'd grown up with gay TV icons that were out, I'd have been so much better off." I didn't have much to look up to as a kid. I had to search to find like-minded images. I'm happy to be that person so kids won't have to grow up and be afraid of their sexuality and this won't be an issue.

 http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2012/04/paul_iaconos_co_1.php

 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1476591/

Voluntary quotas has not worked and yet they insist in following a direction that has proved over and over wrong.

The better definition of insaniity is doing the sme thing again and again while expecting different results.

 Most Germans would like to see firms adopt a voluntary quota to ensure that women hold a certain percentage of top management jobs – but only around one in four would like to see this enshrined in law, new figures show.

 Family Minister Kristina Schröder has been pushing for a voluntary quota, while Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants a legally enforceable one.

The two cabinet members are often depicted by the German media as being at odds.

The survey, published by Der Spiegel on Friday was commissioned by the ARD public television station. It showed one in four Germans favours legally requiring companies to hold a certain percentage of top manager jobs for women.

 http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120413-41933.html

Arizona's Republican Governor Jan Brewer officially banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy on Thursday, when she signed into law the latest in controversial state statutes aiming to restrict abortion access.

The Arizona law exempts women more than 20 weeks pregnant if a doctor determines they are facing a medical emergency. Pro-abortion rights group Planned Parenthood says that could mean doctors will refuse to perform the abortions after 20 weeks for fear of prosecution.

“Politicians should not be involved in a woman’s personal medical decisions about her pregnancy.  Ultimately, decisions about whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy, or raise a child must be left to a woman, her family, and her faith, with the counsel of her doctor,” Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement.

Arizona joins Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, and North Carolina as states that ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Georgia passed a similar bill last month; Republican Governor Nathan Deal has yet to sign it. Abortions banned after 20 weeks are the earliest gestational restrictions on abortion in the country.

 http://www.nationaljournal.com/healthcare/arizona-bans-abortions-after-20-weeks-20120413