PLEASE PARDON THE MESS!

Greetings visitors, especially new readers.
This blog was initially created to record and assist the studies of the 2011 Human Rights class of Southern Methodist University. In case you're interested, it was a resounding success; all students passed, with the highest cumulative average yet recorded!

After classes ended, some efforts have been made to turn the material into a more broadly applicable resource for future classes; however, as the blog is maintained by one individual, the project has fallen by the wayside somewhat.

If you are a current SMU Human Rights student, with access to up-to-date syllabi and course material, and are interested in taking over the project, or even contributing to it, please contact the blogger via a comment below.

Some of the work that needs to be done:

• Archiving old syllabi info and updating new work.
• Tagging old posts.
• Standardizing formats.
• Contributing new content: notes and audio recordings of new lectures, reviews of assigned media,  news articles.
• Translating pages. (Especially Spanish and French.)
• Accessibility: audio recordings of text-only pages.

Also, if you have attended any of the Human Rights study abroad programs and would like to contribute posts about the experience, it would be great to have your input on those as well!

Texas Republicans applaud the murder of 200+

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/they-messed-with-texas/

Articles [59]

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/obama-admin-first-to-host-transgender-meeting-at-white-house/
!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.dallasvoice.com/unconfirmed-reports-sen-royce-west-vote-transgender-marriage-ban-1072782.html

http://www.dallasvoice.com/trans-professor-denied-tenure-sosu-1075471.html

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110426-dallas-county-adds-protection-for-transgender-employees.ece

http://thedailycougar.com/2011/04/27/video-brings-hate-crimes-to-light/

http://baylorlariat.com/2011/04/29/6713/

http://www.dallasvoice.com/ap-texas-bill-seeking-ban-transgender-marriage-1073952.html

http://www.dallasvoice.com/lege-update-senate-flirts-trans-marriage-ban-lgbt-youth-removed-suicide-prevention-bill-1073773.html

http://www.dallasvoice.com/ap-texas-bill-seeking-ban-transgender-marriage-1073952.html

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/education/article/Students-eye-gay-resource-centers-funds-1362705.php
"Taste of their own medicine" wtf clearly this is political backbiting!

http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-05-joy-and-pain-as-transgender-indians-wed-hindu-god/

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/transgender-people-face-social-isolation/2154850.aspx

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/235629/brazil-top-court-recognizes-same-sex-civil-unions

Useful Links

CHART OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS

LIST OF NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNERS

Articles [58]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/27/us-mexico-drugs-idUSTRE73Q4Z920110427

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13192077

HR Lecture 14/14 - Refugees; World Refugee Survey; Power

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Games

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_White

Budweiser Ad

This article pretty much sums up my first thoughts on the Budweiser ad that has everyone's panties in a wad:
http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/119525/budweiser_military_ad_swings_both

But I think that, as usual, civilians looking at this ad are missing an important insider perspective.

The military is SUPER queer in that military culture necessarily transcends the rules of civilian culture in many ways. I mean, we're talking about a world where the number one skill/goal everyone shares is the ability to kill, and kill efficiently. Which is up there in the top ten taboos of "civilized" society... Once you subvert an essential social rule like "don't kill people!" all the others go out the window - including appropriate ways to show emotion and affection.

So it's moments like this, where civilian and military world clash (and the tension in this ad was really beautiful, that line between the two guys, the dark emptiness on one side, the warmth of the barn and homely tones on the other, delicious!), that we get this kind of ambiguity.

On one side of the military world, your brothers DO come before everyone else. Gender, sex, all that doesn't even exist in the trench. The guy (and today that "guy" may be male or female) next to you may be the one you go to bed with, or it may be the one whose guts you hate back home. It doesn't matter in that moment, and that moment affects life outside of the trenches.

So the center of speculation seems to be around the question of who is the other guy the soldier calls? Is that is boyfriend? His best friend? His brother? A fellow soldier who already came home? And a big part of this question is why or how dude #2 ranks being what appears to be the first person to get the news of dude #1's homecoming. This is where civilians seem to get really confused.

It actually makes good sense that, whatever their relationship, our soldier boy would call another guy first. It might be too much for him to talk to his parents just yet. That's definitely a huge moment - some vets can't see them fast enough, others need time to prepare for that extremely emotional moment. He may not think he's ready to face the whole town yet, he knows he's about to enter into some major culture shock and he wants to ease in slowly. If the other guy is also a veteran, or at all familiar with this homecoming process, he stands the best chance of knowing what will be good for his buddy; he should know if his friend just needs some peace and quiet for a little while, or if they should throw a big party for him. If there's a wife or girlfriend the same rules apply as with parents, sometimes more so. (Let's also not forget that in the military our families are seen as troopers too! So many vets keep their homecoming a secret because they want to surprise and celebrate the family as much as the family want to surprise them.)

Now, all this is not to say I'm denying the possibility of something deeper there. Quite the contrary, in my head I will definitely look at that moment when they hug with vaguely romantic overtones because I want there to be gayness not because I think it is or isn't a gay moment.

Whether it is "gay" or not isn't important, there's a lot more going on there in that moment, it transcends and diminishes sexuality to an almost insignificant factor.

Someone somewhere asked "what it's not okay for straight guys to hug now?" Of course we know that's not true, but what IS important is that there are certain rules about how, when, and with whom men (and women!) may show affection, and whether or not you are straight, and what your relationship is with between huggers is often important. Because the rules for the civilian and military world are different, that's what makes this moment so difficult to interpret. But I definitely think that it's more than okay for the hug we saw to happen between two men of any orientation or relationship.

When I look at that hug, I see love there, but more than anything I see relief. I see healing, I see a hard earned connection, I see the need of a human being transitioning from trauma to safety, grabbing the first familiar and friendly source of safety. (Let's not forget the poor kid just made a super lonely journey, only to arrive with no apparent fanfare or welcome, he's probably incredibly relieved that someone remembered he was coming!)

And now a political interpretation. With the repeal of DADT, we are sending a larger message, one that says "it's okay if you're gay". Doing this and integrating queer people into the military and allowing us visibility isn't a way of "celebrating the lifestyle" or "promoting the homosexual agenda" it merely says "being gay is not a bad thing."

Consequently, important moments like this one are more available. A young man returns home from war, if he needs a fucking hug, he and the men in his support network shouldn't have to worry about whether fulfilling that need makes them "look gay." If we're not afraid of "the gay" we are not afraid to be associated with it, and we can get on with our lives.

Aaaaaand I'm officially tired of talking about it!

Articles [57]

WHOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WATCH: Dallas County adds trans protections
Posted: 26 Apr 2011
Source: Dallas Voice

Articles [56]

Pakistan transgenders pin hopes on new rights
Posted: 25 April 2011
Source: BBC News
Tags: transgender, Pakistan, legal documents

Senate OKs two of three transgender rights bills
Posted: 25 April 2011
Source: Las Vegas Review Journal
Tags: transgender, US, Nevada, new laws, goodnews

A Dad Testifies for His Transgender Teen Daughter
Posted:
Source: Huffington Post
Tags:


Online Dish: Bill Would Restrict Transgenders' Restroom Choices
http://www.fox26medford.com/entertainment/kiah-online-dish-transgender-bathroom-bill-story,0,3838350.story


Cook County Jail Will House Transgender Detainees Based On Gender Identity

Maryland Delegate Asks For Transgender Protective Legislation in Light of Recent Attack; County Executive Calls Attack "Wake Up Call"

Hawaii legislature approves employment pretection for transgender people


A LOT of articles concerning the Texas bill proposed

Film: Hotel Rwanda

Wikipedia Information
IMDB
SMU Catalogue #: IDD 01762
Netflix: DVD only


Notes:

Health & H.R. reading - development of public health

"Yellow fever fear inspired a wave of similar organized public health activity elsewhere in the United States. In 1798 Congress ordered the creation of the Untied States Marine Health Service, conceived of as an agency that would monitor sailors and protect American ports from incoming disease. Two years later the nation's capitol was built upon a large swamp located between the strategic states of Maryland and Virginia. Immediately overrun by yellow fever, smallpox, viral encephalitis, and a host of other diseases, Washington, D.C., constituted a public health disaster from the moment of its inception. In 1802 the District of Columbia enacted a series of public health ordinances modeled after those in New York."

...
Okay, this is how I know I've been studying Human Rights too much. The part I underlined made me laugh SO hard. Why??? That's not funny! Nevertheless... interesting to know such details about your country's inception, yeah?

Dear Anonymous (A Restroom Rant)

This is a response to one of the comments on my last post, found HERE. The post itself will remain an ongoing monitor of the development of media surrounding the incident, while this post will represent my responses to the larger issue of access to appropriate public restroom facilities for transgender people.

---------

Dear Anonymous #4,
You said:
"This is a tricky issue if this person is a transgender. As a woman with a young daughter I would not want a transgender in the restroom and here is the reason. A man can easily dress as a woman just to get a chance to fondle a young girl in the privacy of a restroom. How are we to know? That's just it. We don't know.

I... I admit that I have to work very hard to keep my composure as I respond to you, as your comments invoked a great deal of sick-making anger in me, but I think you raise something that is SO SO SO important I can't just leave it be. Just let me figure out where to start... Ah yes...


I love children. I don't need to be a parent to care about their safety and want what's best for all kids. I have three younger brothers, one of which I had the privilege to see being born and all of whom I have had the pleasure of helping to raise. I am also a well-paid, trusted, and much-adored babysitter/nanny, have been since I was old enough to be left alone with children. I take that job very seriously, so much so that I make a point to keep my CPR and First Aid certifications up to date, and I almost never, EVER actually charge for my services. (Coming from the household I grew up in, I know how hard it can be to find a quality sitter when you need one, how preventative it can be to not be able to afford one. As a feminist I know that not being able to find or afford child care is one of the biggest challenges facing - especially single parent - families.)

I have cared for children of all ages, sexes, gender expressions, races, and degrees of physical and mental ability. I have wiped their bums, given them baths, slathered them all over with sun screen, as well as fed them, played with them, kissed away tears, and dressed them from total nudity to the sixth layer of protection from the elements.

I am transgender. Even "worse," I am a transsexual. (The difference being I have had at least one surgical procedure related to my gender dysphoria and have been injecting testosterone into my body as part of a Hormone Replacement Therapy Regime, as opposed to simply seeking validation for my identity purely through social acrobatics. This distinction is debatable and controversial but that's how I lay it out.)

I am also a human being. And sometimes I need to pee. Sometimes I need to sit. Sometimes I just need to wash my hands or check my appearance, and the bathroom is usually the best/only place to do that.

Which bathroom do you expect me to use?

Now, I am a man. A trans man. I was born female. I used to be a little girl. At 22 years old, I still retain some of the physical features which commonly mark a person as female, but I have gone through three years of hormone therapy and today I sport a beard and sideburns and a fairly deep voice and hairy arms and deliberately dress to let people know they should identify me as male.

Where do you expect me to do my business?

I use the men's room. I have since I was 16 years old. I use it in spite of the fact that every time I undo my belt I realize how vulnerable I am, and that any other person in that bathroom might now take advantage of me do to me exactly what is being done to the girl in that video, or worse. Apparently, my chances of getting the tar beaten out of me are equally likely no matter which restroom I use.

But let me turn away from myself and my own selfish needs, and those of other trans people, and address your concern for your children, which I completely empathize with.

I want you... to please, just THINK for a second, about how absurd your fear is. REALLY. Think about what goes on the bathroom. And having used both restrooms, I can vouch for the fact that except for some subtleties, things are basically the same on either side. You go in. You pick a receptacle. You enter its domain, and God willing it has a door which you shut behind you. You do your business, hopefully hygienically. You emerge, hopefully you wash your hands, and you leave.

If you are a child, you generally do all of this in the company of your parents, or said parental remains just outside and waits. Unless you have a damned incompetent or negligent parent. If you are with your child, what does it matter who is in there, you are there to see nothing goes awry, from the kid flushing him or herself down the toilet, to being kidnapped.

When I was a little girl, I can't tell you how many times I went into the men's room - escorted by my daddy - when the ladies' was full and there was a line and I HAD To GO. (Funny how just walking by the freezer section does that to a kid's bladder...) I'm pretty sure most of the men there were more embarrassed than I was to see me there. I never once got molested or even came near being touched or even breathed on by the men there.

My point being, we're talking about PUBLIC restrooms. Your fear of your child being molested in private is therefor unfounded. Your child should never be "alone" in there.

Let me point something else out to you. Your statement, heartfelt as it is, is so disgustingly full of sexism it makes me shake. You basically just pointed a finger at all men in the world and screamed CRIMINAL! PEDOPHILE! You insinuate that ONLY MEN are capable of molesting children. As if in the presence of ALL females (who have the right anatomy) your child is somehow totally safe. You're wrong. Women are just as capable of molesting children as men are.

Also, whether you intended to or not, you have implied that ALL MEN will, given the slightest opportunity, fondle any pretty little thing that walks their way. This makes it nearly impossible for men like me (and, for just one example, the guys over at the Good Men Project) to prove ourselves decent human beings. In your eyes, just by dint of our gender, we are criminals. How is that fair? Where's the justice?

Let me tell you something else, for your illumination. Men, as a group (not all individual men, but en masse), HATE pedophiles. I would almost argue that your children are safer in the men's room than in the ladies' because if the average man saw or even suspected another man of violating a child, he would not hesitate to intervene, often violently. Men in prison for abusing children often face the threat of LETHAL beatings at the hands of other men. I have no doubt that if, during my time as a little girl in the men's bathroom at the mall, I had said anything to the effect of "don't touch me daddy" half a dozen men would beat down the stall door to sanction him then and there.

Hey, if we're going to call up stereotypes and myths, we might as well call up the most likely scenarios! Admittedly, I have zero hard evidence for the proposal in the previous paragraph, but then, that's still more than you have for your assumptions, considering the amount of research evidence to the contrary of your biased assumptions that underlie your fears and excuses for reinforcing prejudices.

Speaking of which, I hardly think I need reiterate the statistic that THE VAST MAJORITY of rape and molestations, ESPECIALLY of children, are perpetrated by someone who the victim KNOWS, often knows intimately. That's family members and close family friends. Not random strangers in the bathroom.

Last of all, let me get to this line. "a man can easily dress as a woman"
You do not know what you are talking about. Please take a Saturday off sometime soon and go down to Station 4 on Cedar Springs, and watch the drag show there. Grab one of the queens and ask her how "easy" it is to dress as a woman, even just for blatantly entertainment purposes. I will even offer to babysit for you that night.

To me there is no issue, there is no trick. You are perpetuating a completely UNFOUNDED and HARMFUL fear that makes violence like THIS happen. If I get beaten up the next time I go to the bathroom, and no one helps me, my blood is on YOUR hands.

"How are we to know? That's just it. We don't know."
No. We don't know. We don't know when a person passes through the doors of the restroom if their intent is to piss, shit, wash their hands, snort a line of cocaine, fondle our children, or some combination of these.

But this is America, where we presume a person is innocent until proven guilty.


Imagine if I stood here and said "I think it's terrible how some people treat those colored folks, but you know, they ARE so dirty - don't they have the highest instances of AIDS? - do we really want them using our water fountains? You know they're so prone to violence, can we really allow them to sit on our side of the bus? Those black folks breed like rabbits, their sex drive is so high, we can't trust them to go to the same bathroom or swimming pool as us, they just can't help themselves. If a black man even LOOKS at a white woman going into the bathroom he's sure to realize she's vulnerable and go after her and rape her, we have to keep their bathrooms way apart from ours!"

Now replace every racial epithet with "trans" and you've got some of the primary arguments that keep people like me and this poor girl under the boot of oppression. Also my bladder hurts!


---------------------
Transphobia is related to, but not the same as homophobia. As we can plainly see, it has its deepest roots in internal and external gender-based violence, both misogynistic and misandristic in nature.

---------------------

Anon2
April 22, 2011 8:20 PM

Savage beating of transgender woman, McDonald's, Baltimore, MD

"Where am I supposed to go??"
The plaintive cry of a transwoman in between savage beatings as two teen girls in Baltimore respond to her mere presence with extreme violence. It seems this individual, who is clearly presenting as female, regardless of her personal identity or legal sex, attempted to use the bathroom deemed socially appropriate for her at the time. The results were violent and potentially lethal.

The manager, employees, and other customers, with a single ineffective exemption, look on, laughing, shouting, commenting to one another - and of course, filming with cell phones, which is how we get the privilege of watching this entire horrifying incident unfold.

THIS POST will continue to be updated as more news and information develop, so please check back occasionally. New posts will appear at the bottom. Occasionally I will add commentary. I do encourage your comments, questions, and input - anonymously if necessary.

---------------------------------------------------

~~~~NSFW!~~~~
The original tipoff
Source: Buck Angel's tumblr (microblog)
Date/Time: 22 April; ~12:00

~~~~NSFW!~~~~
Original post identifying the victim as trans
Source:
Date/Time:



Source:
Date/Time:

Commentary:
http://pajamasmedia.com/tatler/2011/04/22/nearly-everyone-in-this-video-is-a-criminal-or-an-accessory-to-a-crime/
Source:
Date/Time:

NewsOne:
http://newsone.com/nation/newsonestaff2/mcdonalds-girl-beat-up-seizure/

Original source:
http://worldstarhiphop.com/videos/video.php?v=wshhiHb913Lf4TpU4q5m

Other report:
http://www.brokencountry.com/index.php/2011/04/22/mcdonalds-beating-video/

Viralization report:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-viral-video-mcdonalds-20110422,0,4613709.story

Further reporting and commentary:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=ec0_1303444048

Public identification of the person responsible for filming the assault:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/mcdonalds/mcdonalds-employee-filmed-brutal-beating-640128

Bilerico:
http://www.bilerico.com/2011/04/transwoman_severely_beaten_at_baltimore_mcdonalds.php
With information on how to contact McDonald's and let them know what you think.
(Glad I never eat at this establishment anyway. Their history is worse than their "food".)

From a Twitter feed:
http://twitter.com/#!/BeerInBaltimore
"County police confirm that the beating happened April 18 at a McDonald's in Rosedale, in the 6300 block of Kenwood Ave."

Attempted to reach media figures for comment. (Waste of Skype credit.) This is the latest official comment from their website:
http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/Media_Contacts.html

Commentary on racialized aspects of the incident:
http://www.tmrzoo.com/2011/24079

Attackers officially face charges:
http://essex.patch.com/articles/teen-charged-adult-sought-as-video-of-attack-goes-viral#youtube_video-5759303

All in:
http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_county_crime/woman-injured-after-mcdonald%27s-beating

The victim was 22. I'm 22. Just thought I'd make the story that much more Human:
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/3ce4f4a2eac048d9b63818c3b772855c/MD--Videotaped-Beating/

More reporting:
http://missjia.com/video-girl-seizure-jumped-baltimore-mcdonalds.html
updated version from miss jia
http://missjia.com/update-video-girl-baltimore-mcdonalds.html


More reports, victim's condition unconfirmed:
http://www.wbaltv.com/r/27640819/detail.html

Question of Hackett's claims, no police response:
http://planetfreedom.org/?p=157451

Just like to point something else out. Regardless of whether the victim is "really trans" or not, we MUST look to the responses provided by the man who posted this video originally - a one Charm Hackett - who claims that "that wasn't really a woman, that was a man". Even if this is a case of mistaken identity, the implications are clear. If you're trans - or even suspected of being trans, but especially if you ARE trans - and you get beaten for using the "wrong" restroom, you deserve it.

Interesting debate flares up on forums:
http://www.politicalforum.com/current-events/182756-violence-another-mc-donalds-almost-kills-customer-12.html

2:
http://www.sternfannetwork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=600533

Joe My God takes up the story:
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/04/maryland-trans-woman-brutally-attacked.html

more queer reporting:
http://wamarriage.org/2011/04/transwoman-severely-beaten-at-baltimore-mcdonalds-while-employees-watch/

Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379691/Caught-camera-Shocking-moment-girl-beaten-point-seizure-McDonalds-staff-idly-watch-on.html

first use of "hate crime"
http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/crime_checker/baltimore_county_crime/woman-injured-after-mcdonald%27s-beating

http://www.wpix.com/wpix-teen-brutally-beaten-at-mcdonalds,0,5375468.story

http://business.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979253699

http://lgbtweekly.com/2011/04/23/transgender-maryland-woman-beaten-in-balitimore-mcdonalds/
PETITION:
http://www.change.org/petitions/demand-that-the-employees-on-duty-at-mcdonalds-be-held-responsible-in-the-beating-of-a-trans-woman



http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=dWgI5tKlUQ7uJ2MM_iKo_zh7kircM

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=dAKkkJDFAlFeBGMC_sH9FJblHbKoM


Now she's a "male cross-dresser"
http://nation.foxnews.com/culture/2011/04/22/smoking-gun-woman-beat-mcdonald-s-was-male-cross-dresser


http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110422-video-brutal-beating-leaves-woman-convulsing


BALTIMORE POLICE REPORT [PDF]
http://media2.myfoxdc.com//documents/McDonaldsBeatingPoliceReport.pdf

http://lezgetreal.com/2011/04/trans-woman-brutally-attacked-at-baltimore-mcdonalds/

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2011/04/baltimore-police-investigate-brutal-attack-on-trans-woman-at-local-mcdonalds/

http://yesbuthowever.com/baltimore-mcdonalds-beating-cross-dresser-500746/

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2014851073_apusvideotapedbeatingmaryland.html


http://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1634724.php/Maryland-woman-beaten-to-seizure-by-two-women-in-McDonalds-VIDEO
^^a lot of damned invasive ads in this article^^

http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/04/trans-woman-assaulted-at-mcdon.html

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/04/22/video-shows-woman-being-beaten-at-baltimore-co-mcdonalds/

http://oneclick.indiatimes.com/article/07epdFvaRHf0t?q=McDonald%27s

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/update-mcdonalds-releases-statement-regarding-horrific-beating-video/

Update:
I only just managed to watch this video a second time. The first time I watched it all the way through was around 2:30 this afternoon, and it shook me up so badly. It took awhile to transmute my feelings into anger and channel that energy into tracking the story, something I hope will prove productive. So I've only seen it once, and here I am about 9 hours later trying to watch it again. I wanted to go back and verify some of the things I thought I saw or heard the first time around. Such as the victim's query "where am I supposed to go then?" at about 1:00 in (which, if she is trans, and we interpret this incident as the girls telling her not to use the women's restroom, makes sense). I'm also seeing new things. If you go to the video, around the 1:40 marker, in the middle of the older woman attempting to intervene, you can see the poor girl gripping the woman's leg in desperation. Also, it sounds like the manager is the one who probably called the police who eventually arrived on the scene. Which also makes sense and makes some of his actions earlier in the video clearer. There may not have been much he could have done to actually stop the violence, and with at least one of the attackers being an underage girl, he likely did not want to put himself in a situation where he appears to have assaulted a child. Unfortunate as it was for the victim, he did more or less the right thing by going to call the police as quickly as possible.

I'm making lots of assumptions here, of course.




UPDATES:

Employee who filmed now fired, victim identified:
http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2011/04/mcdonalds-fires-employee-who-recorded-brutal-beating-of-transgender-woman/

YouTube video from Gay Family Values analyzing original video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf12dGhJalE

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/mcdonalds/mcdonalds-fires-employee-who-filmed-beating-102975

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-mcdonalds-video-20110423,0,1302714.story

VICTIM SPEAKS ON HER EXPERIENCE:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-mcdonalds-beating-20110423,0,3336656.story

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379691/Transgender-girl-beaten-seizure-McDonalds-attack-victim-hate-crime.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2011/04/23/2011-04-23_mcdonalds_beating_video_victim_is_transgender_maryland_attack_is_hate_crime_says.html?r=news

Interesting (and frustrating, especially considering the nature of some of the comments here) take on the incident:
http://100waystogetrevenge.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/how-to-get-revenge-mcdonalds-beating-gets-more-confusing/

Another blogger weighs in, while racism and sexism abound:
http://www.occidentaldissent.com/2011/04/23/black-run-america-mcdonalds-victim-was-a-tranny-prostitute-chrissy-lee-polis/

http://www.examiner.com/strange-news-in-national/fight-at-baltimore-mcdonald-s-may-be-handled-as-hate-crime-video

http://unicornbooty.com/2011/04/transgender-woman-beaten-into-a-seizure-at-mcdonalds/

Just another reporting:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/04/23/2182322/mcdonalds-in-md-to-probe-response.html
http://unicornbooty.com/2011/04/transgender-woman-beaten-into-a-seizure-at-mcdonalds/

https://news.change.org/stories/mcdonalds-employees-beat-that-trans-woman

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/abraham/detail?entry_id=87630


HEAR THE VICTIM HERSELF:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-mcdonalds-beating-20110423,0,3336656.story

http://www.metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/04/trans-woman-assaulted-at-mcdon.html
http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2011/04/vigil-planned-for-physically-a.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1380506/Teonna-Monae-Brown-18-charged-McDonalds-attack-transgendered-girl.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

HR Lecture 13/14 - The Death Penalty: United States (2/2)

Human Rights Week 13
brought to you by Livescribe

China's Human Rights plan and critique of America

http://www.china.org.cn/archive/2009-04/13/content_17595407.htm

http://www.cfr.org/china/national-human-rights-action-plan-china-2009-2010/p19095

Revamp from Xinhua.net:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-04/12/c_13824038.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/12/c_13824071.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/video/2011-04/11/c_13823315.htm

ACT NOW! Texas SB 723

http://anaturalizedcitizen.blogspot.com/2011/04/times-tardy.html

http://www.dallasvoice.com/texas-senate-adjourns-voting-trans-marriage-ban-tomorrow-1073038.html

https://www.facebook.com/notes/resource-center-dallas/action-alert-texas-sb-723-going-to-a-senate-vote-on-monday/10150148329433837

http://planetransgender.blogspot.com/2011/04/call-democratic-senator-carlos-i-uresti.html

Precious Cargo

I try to curb my road rage more during the high school-transport hours (ie. 7:30-am and 2-4pm) especially when I get stuck behind a slow moving family-van or cut off by a twitchy four-door. I try to assume mom/dad/other is distracted and trying to get her precious cargo home safely, and I definitely don't want to be the person who screws that up. I can't even stand to see kids crying/getting hurt/dying in movies or TV. (Just ask my mom - she wouldn't let me watch Titanic for a long time, not because of the nudity or whatever, but because there's a brief ((as in, seconds long)) scene with a dead baby in the water, and she knew that would tear me up and possibly give me nightmares. It nearly did!)



And when they are upset in real life... well, by which I mean genuinely sad or hurt, not the little brats who cry because their parents can't control them or only know how to communicate by pissing people off. And in those cases, I might be complaining about the kid crying, but what I'm really mad at is the useless parental unit who doesn't know that his kid needs to eat and sleep more than once a day.) But man, I saw this little boy sobbing outside the ice cream shop yesterday, and I knew it was because he dropped his parfait, and I was literally seconds away from buying him a new one myself...



Because, you know, that's just about the worst thing that can happen to you as a little kid. You know what I mean? That ice cream melting on the hot Texas sidewalk is literally tragic. It doesn't matter what happened five minutes ago, or what's going to happen in ten minutes, whether either of those things is good or bad. There are millions of people who suffer horribly and die every day, but you don't know that. All you know is that one minute ago life was light and sweet and cold and wonderful and now it's just hot and sticky and all that has been taken away.



And there's nothing I can do about those other people. I can't stop genocide or feed the millions of starving or put shoes on anyone's feet. I can't convince my government that universal healthcare IS more important than lowering the price of gas, or Ecuador's government that their forests are more important than the oil underneath them.



But dammit I can fix that one kid's broken smile and get him a new ice cream. I can ease his mom's stress for a few seconds. And I can slow my ass down on the highway, get home five minutes later than I wanted to, and drink my tea knowing I didn't kill anyone today.



This probably seems really weird and random to be thinking about, but it's not, I'll explain. I recently finished one of those stupid defensive driving courses. REALLy stupid. But derned if I don't have a tendency to "learn" something from every experience. It's the curse of the academic. Anyway, that's why I was kind of hyper-aware of my own driving today, and realized there's a marked difference in my road rage (and DAMN do I have road rage! In all honesty I shouldn't be on the road, I really shouldn't...) when I get caught on the road at those certain times of day. The internal dialogue went something like this:



"Hmm... did you know you're not screaming at that slow-ass van in front of you?"
"Well, it /IS/ three o'clock. School's out, it's probably a mom with kids."
"So?"
"So... I can't get mad at her for driving slow, that's her precious cargo!"
"Ah. Okay. ... You realize /you're/ somebody's 'precious cargo' as well, right?"
"Well it's different if I'm driving myself, if I get hurt it's my own fault, I can only blame myself for breaking my precious cargo butt."
"No, I mean you're /your mom's/ precious cargo!"
"... DAMMIT!" *fails to speed through any amber lights for the rest of the drive home*

Articles [55]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/asia/21china.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
Two Rights Lawyers Released in China


http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Zimbabwe-Police-Arrest-Human-Rights-Lawyers-120223884.html
Zimbabwe Police Arrest Human Rights Lawyers


http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/students-attend-human-rights-day
Students attend Human Rights Day

Hiroshima bomb animation - GRAPHIC WARNING

This is a clip from the animated version of the comic 'Barefoot Gen' by Keiji Nakazawa - referenced in the film White Light/Black Rain. It illustrates the peace preceding, incredible and horrifically violent destruction, and terrifying aftermath of an atomic bomb, the way no photograph or film ever could.

Please be warned, it is disturbing. And fucking sad. And if you choose to go and watch the rest of it (it seems to be available on YouTube in its entirety, I couldn't bear to see it all) do so at your own risk.

Articles [54]

Transgender man fired from New Jersey workplace makes case against employer
Posted: 15 April 2011
Source: New Jersey News Room
Tags: transgender, US, employment discrimination, gender

Syria accused of torturing protestors
Posted: 15 April
Source: KPLC (NBC)
Tags: Syria, torture, Middle East, protests,

Born in a death camp: A miracle baby and her mother
Posted: 16 April 2011
Source: BBC News
Tags: children, nazi, concentration camps, ww2, good news,