Eight months ago, Asma Khader helped to set up a human rights group called the National Campaign for Ending So-Called Honor Crimes in Jordan. Yesterday, the group announced a new public campaign to reverse a law that assigns little or no punishment to the purveyors of so-called “honor crimes.” A beating, murder, rape, or other […]
A National Religious Leadership Roundtable representing more than 40 religious groups recently held a meeting to discuss ways to foster acceptance of lesbian and gays within religious institutions. Attendees at the Colorado Springs, Colorado gathering represented Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Quaker, Methodist, Lutheran and Mennonite faiths. Rabbi Stephen Foster of Congregation Emmanuel in Denver was one […]
Afghan refugee families protested the “gradual invasion of Afghanistan by Pakistan, Arab militias and Talibs (members of the Taliban regime)” in numerous demonstrations this past week. Rallies were held in a San Francisco-area park, across the street from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, D.C., and in the cities of London, Paris, Toronto, and New Delhi. Angry […]
The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported Sunday that Afghan scholar Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost has offered $113 for U.S. President Bill Clinton’s head. “If anyone kills Clinton I will pay a reward of five million afghanis ($113),” Dost was quoted as saying. “If America sets the price of Osama bin Laden at $5 million, then […]
A new study conducted by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that income levels of the poorest 20% of female-headed households fell an average of $580 dollars per family from 1995 to 1997, despite widespread economic growth. The CBPP’s analysis included benefits including food stamps, housing subsidies, and the Earned Income Tax […]
For years, Mexican business have required women seeking employment to submit to mandatory pregnancy tests, and have fired women who become pregnant. Employers say they have a right to know if a potential employee is pregnant because they simply can’t afford to pay for the 12 weeks paid maternity leave they must provide if a […]
The Promise Keepers, an evangelical Christian men’s groups whose goal is to “take back the nation for Jesus” and restore men’s leadership role in the family, held a gathering of more than 12,000 men at a basketball arena in Hartford, Connecticut this weekend. Exhibitors at the recent gathering included “Jews for Jesus,” a group that […]
Two brothers charged with killing a gay couple and suspected of setting fire to three Sacramento-area synagogues have now been linked to the June 25 arson of a building that housed an abortion clinic. Upon searching the brothers’ home, storage locker, and vehicle as part of the murder investigations, officials found evidence linking them to […]
Commissioners for Macomb County, Michigan will offer a resolution today that would ban the county’s Health Department from prescribing morning-after pills or referring patients to another source of the drug. Macomb County Commissioner Leon Drolet commented, “I don’t see where in the Constitution or state government says we are requires to provide it. I can’t […]
A federal appeals court in Chicago has upheld Wisconsin’s so-called “heartbeat rule,” which requires abortion clinics to offer their patients an opportunity to view an ultrasound image of the fetus or to hear the fetal heartbeat before obtaining an abortion. Representatives of several clinics in the state said they planned to comply with the law […]
President Clinton yesterday appointed former deputy attorney general and White House counsel Beth Nolan to serve as chief White House counsel. Nolan is the first woman to hold the position, and replaces former Watergate special prosecutor Charles Ruff. Attorney General Janet Reno praised Nolan’s achievement, saying that Nolan has “extensive expertise in ethics and constitutional […]
When openly-gay Texas Representative Glen Maxey (D-Austin) was asked about Texas Governor and presidential hopeful George W. Bush’s stance on gay issues during a recent interview, he recounted a conversation he had with Bush this past April. Bush allegedly congratulated Maxey’s work in expanding a children’s health-insurance program, and then told Maxey, “Glen, I value […]
According to New York state police, at least four allegations of rape at Woodstock ’99 are currently being investigated. The women, who are all from the East coast in and their 20s, were assaulted near the campgrounds and in the mosh pit. Capt. John Wood, an investigator in the assaults, commented that “it’s going to […]
Proposition 187, which “barred illegal immigrants and their children from receiving public education, social services and healthcare” has been dropped by California’s state government. The measure also revokes the requirements that healthcare providers, school administrators, and law enforcers turn in any suspected illegal immigrants to authorities. Two aspects of Proposition 187 do remain, however. There […]
Yesterday, the House began a debate over a $12.6 billion foreign aid bill. Although a final vote is not scheduled until Monday, members are debating both funding levels and an amendment that would prohibit the United States from giving any foreign aid to countries with legalized abortion laws. In June, the Senate passed a $12.7 […]
The Afghan Islamic Press has reported that Osama bin Laden, the terrorist accused of bombing U.S. embassies in both Kenya and Tanzania, is leaving the country that has protected him from extradition to the U.S. or a third country. The AIP stated that “Osama has decided to leave Afghanistan because of fears of expected attacks […]
Scientists have found evidence that tamoxifen, the drug widely used to treat breast cancer, may lose its effectiveness over time and begin to behave like the hormone it is supposed to block. Tamoxifen works by blocking the action of estrogen and keeping it from attaching to a receptor on the surface of the cell. Researchers […]
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new emergency contraceptive which causes less nausea and vomiting than do existing treatments. The newly-approved contraceptive will be marketed under the brand name “Plan B”and consists of two tablets of levonorgestrel, a synthetic hormone that blocks ovulation or fertilization. The first pill must be taken within 72 […]
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched an intensive investigation of how Morgan Stanley treats its women employees with regard to pay and promotion policies after a top salesperson for the company claimed that she was excluded from all-male events and activities. Allison K. Schieffelin earned more than 1.35 million a year in her […]
President Clinton met with 11 openly-gay elected leaders yesterday at the White House. Attendees included City Council member Dan Baker of Long Beach, CA; Arizona state Rep. Ken Cheuvront; New York State Assemblywoman Deborah Glick; Massachusetts state Rep. Liz Malia; Connecticut state Rep. Evelyn Mantilla; Mike Nelson, Mayor of Carrboro, NC; San Francisco Board of […]
