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Diaries

Dem. Representatives petition the TSA on behalf of trans passengers

Submitted by Robyn on Tue, 10/13/2015 - 2:20pm

In the wake of the September 21 harassment by TSA officers of transgender women Shadi Petosky at Orlando International Airport for having a "genital anomaly", 32 members of Congress have demanded answers from Transportation Security Chief Peter Neffenger.

While we understand the importance of vigilant airport security, we cannot countenance a security protocol that subjects transgender travelers to this level of indignity. To that end, we urge TSA to complete a thorough review of its current procedures and address any shortcomings that may, however unintentionally, subject transgender travelers to inequitable or improper treatment by security personnel.

Open Thread 10-13-15

Submitted by JtC on Tue, 10/13/2015 - 8:13am

Good morning 99percenters!
Climate news dump and music by Doc Watson.

'Capitalism is Mother Earth's Cancer': World People's Summit Issues 12 Demands
The establishment of an independent climate tribunal to hold wealthy nations accountable emerged as a central goal of conference in Bolivia

Decrying capitalism as a "threat to life," an estimated 7,000 environmentalists, farmers, and Indigenous activists from 40 countries convened in the Bolivian town of Tiquipaya for this weekend's World People's Conference on Climate Change, aiming to elevate the demands of social movements and developing countries in the lead-up to upcoming United Nations-led climate talks.

Wow. The astounding grip the Saudis have on Western discourse.

Submitted by lotlizard on Tue, 10/13/2015 - 5:07am

The West Rightly Condemns Isis Vandalism of Ancient Sites – But Not When the Saudis Do It

Explosives pulverize historic sites in the Middle East, bulldozers erase ancient tombs and shrines, historic forts are torn down and Ottoman facades destroyed. The home of the favourite wife of the most revered man in an entire religion is even turned into a block of toilets. How can the world prevent this wicked desecration and extinction of a heritage that belongs to all mankind? I am, of course, referring to those iconoclastic Wahhabi-Salafist Muslim head-choppers … the Saudis!

Human Rights Watch, UN Human Rights Office challenge Malaysian Federal Court ruling

Submitted by Robyn on Mon, 10/12/2015 - 2:43pm

photo Jina_zps4vpbhvna.jpgOn October 8 the Malaysian Federal Court reversed a lower court ruling that the state of Negeri Sembilan's prohibition on cross-dressing was unconstitutional. On entirely technical grounds, the Federal Court upheld Sharia law that prohibits "a male person posing as a woman."

The judicial decision is a serious setback in a four-year struggle by transgender activists to end arbitrary arrests of transgender women on the basis of discriminatory laws.

--Human Rights Watch

This Federal Court ruling is a major setback for transgender rights.

Trans women in Malaysia, who were buoyed by the landmark lower court decision recognizing their rights to be themselves, have been let down once again.

--Neela Ghoshal, Human Rights Watch

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