I want to know what its like ...........

The 14 characteristics of Fascism

Fascism Anyone?

The 14 characteristics of Fascism

by Dr. Lawrence Britt

Free Inquiry magazine, Spring 2003

Dr. Britt, a political scientist, studied the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia), and Pinochet (Chile). He found the regimes all had 14 things in common, and he calls these the identifying characteristics of fascism. ]

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism -- Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights -- Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to 'look the other way' or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause -- The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military -- Even when there are widespread domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism -- The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Opposition to abortion is high, as is homophobia and antigay legislation and national policy.

6. Controlled Mass Media -- Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security -- Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined -- Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected -- The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed -- Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts -- Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts is openly attacked, and governments often refuse to fund the arts.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment -- Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses, and even forego civil liberties, in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption -- Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions, and who use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections -- Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against (or even the assassination of) opposition candidates, the use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and the manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

Federal Appeals Court Finds California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

Federal Appeals Court Finds California's Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

A federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled on Tuesday that California’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional.

Read the story» »

7 Privacy Threats the [US-]Constitution Can't Protect You Against

7 Privacy Threats the Constitution Can't Protect You Against

By Tana Ganeva, AlterNet
Posted on February 4, 2012, Printed on February 4, 2012
http://www.alternet.org/story/153999/7_privacy_threats_the_constitution_can%27t_protect_you_against

Last week, the Roberts Supreme Court uncharacteristically handed down a decision that doesn't radically infringe on civil liberties. The justices unanimously ruled that police overshot their authority by planting a GPS device on suspected drug dealer Antoine Jones' car without a warrant, tracking his movements for over a month. For now, Americans can rest assured that police can't secretly tag them -- at least without a warrant.
At the same time, privacy advocates pointed out -- and some of the justices admitted -- that the court's majority opinion in US vs. Jones completely skirted more pressing privacy issues. The problem, the majority argued, was that police had trespassed on Jones' private property by planting a GPS device on his car. The majority opinion did not address whether or not it's okay for law enforcement to use a sophisticated surveillance technology to log someone's movements for a whole month without a warrant.

In separate, concurring opinions Justices Alito and Sotomayor both warned of the multitude of surveillance technologies that do not require intrusion onto private property to trample privacy rights. Here's a (non-comprehensive) breakdown of existing or impending technologies that make our privacy protections wildly outdated. 

1. Everything you use, all the time.

The Jones case itself presents an outdated problem, because police don't really have to bother with the clumsy task of sneaking a device onto a car; at this point, private companies have shoehorned location trackers in most "smart" gadgets. Justice Alito pointed out that the more than 332 million phones and wireless devices in use in the US contain technology that transmits the user's location. Many cars feature GPS as well, thanks to OnStar navigation. 

"Even if police can't track you using a GPS device," Lee Tien, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, tells AlterNet, "if they can go to your phone company and get information on your whereabouts, what does that matter?" 

As Sotomayor pointed out in the concurring opinion, "GPS monitoring generates a precise, comprehensive record of a person’s public movements that reflects a wealth of detail about her familial, political, professional, religious, and sexual associations… (Disclosed in [GPS] data will be trips the indisputably private nature of which takes little imagination to conjure: trips to the psychiatrist, the plastic surgeon, the abortion clinic, the AIDS treatment center, the strip club, the criminal defense attorney, the by-the-hour motel, the union meeting, the mosque, synagogue or church, the gay bar and on and on). The Government can store such records and efficiently mine them for information years into the future."

Location is just the start. There has probably not been a single week since 2005 without a story about Facebook, or Google, or Verizon, or AT&T terrifying consumers and privacy advocates with some new way to collect too much information and then share it with other companies or authorities. 

The problem is that the law does not adequately address private information that has been shared with third parties, like credit card companies or Google, Facebook and the telecoms, Tien says.

As Sotomayor put it, "I for one doubt that people would accept without complaint the warrantless disclosure to the Government of a list of every Web site they had visited in the last week, or month, or year. " 

2. Cameras everywhere: License plate readers, movement tracking on cameras.

Thanks in part to a decade of Homeland Security grants, America's cities are teeming with cameras -- they're on subways, on buses, on store fronts, in restaurants, in apartment complexes, and in schools. 

In New York, the NYCLU found a five-fold increase in the number of security cameras in one area of New York between 1998 and 2005, and that was before the Bloomberg administration -- inspired by London, most heavily surveilled city in the world -- pledged to install 3,000 cameras in lower Manhattan as part of the Lower Manhattan Security Initiative (this plan was expanded to midtown Manhattan as well). The cameras, which stream footage to a centralized location, are equipped with video analytics that can alert police to "suspicious" activity like loitering. The NYPD, and municipalities all over the country and world also make generous use of license plate readers (LPR) that can track car movement. 

The big issue, as EFF's Tien tells AlterNet, is that these surveillance tools muddy the legal barriers between public and private that are at the heart of constitutional protections, because they're so much more sophisticated than human observation. In other words, a person might expect that what they do on a street corner can be observed, but not that their actions might be logged in a database or that they can be tracked for a month. 

3. Biometrics.

As cameras become more sophisticated and better able to capture higher quality images from further away, there's a push to merge surveillance with biometrics technology -- the use of unique physiological features, like facial features or iris patterns, to ascertain identity. 

After 9/11 many cities and airports rushed to boost their camera surveillance with facial recognition software. The tech proved disappointing, and after testing that hit a paltry 60 percent accuracy rate in one case (that's pretty bad if you're trying to figure out identity), many programs were abandoned. In the years since then, both private companies and university research labs funded with government grants have made vast improvements in facial recognition and iris scans, like 3-D face capture and "skinprint" technology (mapping of facial skin patterns). Iris scans can allegedly tell identical twins apart. 

Many private companies shill these products directly to local law enforcement agencies, a business strategy that police tend to be pretty enthusiastic about. One such success story is the MORIS device, a gadget attached to an iPhone that can run face recognition software, take digital fingerprints and grab an iris scan at a traffic stop. Starting last fall, the MORIS device has been in use in police departments all over the country. 

4. Government databases.

Privacy advocates point out that novel types of biometric technology like facial recognition and iris scans can be an unreliable form of ID in the field, but that has not discouraged government agencies from embarking on grand plans to hugely expand their biometric databases. The FBI's billion-dollar "Next Generation Identification" system (NGI) will house iris scans, palm prints, measures of voice and gait, records of tattoos, and scars and photos searchable with facial recognition technology when it's complete in 2014. The bulk of this information is expected to come from local law enforcement. 

Other government agencies have also been jazzing up their biometric databases. The DoD's ABIS contains millions of biometric records from Iraq and Afghanistan, including images of faces, fingerprints, iris scans, and voice recordings. DHS's IDENT database houses photos searchable with facial recognition. The DoJ, DHS and DoD have a mandate to make their databases "interoperational" so anyone from any agency can search the others. 

The development of the new FBI database is subject to internal review to ensure compliance with privacy laws. But privacy advocates point out that there are few bulwarks against abuses in how the information is collected and used, especially since much of this information can be picked up remotely without consent. 

5. FAST (Future Attribute Screening Technology).

Then there's the tech that's supposed to peer inside your head. In 2008, the Department of Homeland security lab tested a program called Future Attribute Screening Technology (FAST), designed to thwart criminal activity by predicting "mal-intent." Unsavory plans are supposed to reveal themselves through physiological tells like heart rate, pheromones, electrodermal activity, and respiratory measurements, according to a 2008 privacy impact assessment. 

The 2008 privacy assessment, though, only addressed the initial laboratory testing of FAST's prophesying sensors on volunteers. According to a report in the journal Nature, sometime last year DHS also tested the technology in a large, undisclosed area in the northeastern US. 

6. Drones!

Unmanned flying vehicles, a key part of the valiant effort to transform modern warfare into a video game, are likely to become increasingly common domestically. Concerned about air safety issues, the FAA has so far restricted drone use by law enforcement, but that won't last long: Congress has instructed the agency to open six US test sites for drones, according to Bloomberg.

Border agents already use drones to track activity on the border and even inside Mexico. Also, in December the LA Times reported that U.S. Customs and Border Protection generously loaned out drones to police departments. 

An ACLU report from December says that local law enforcement officials are pushing for domestic use of the new technology, as are drone manufacturers. As Glenn Greenwald points out, drone makers "continuously emphasize to investors and others that a major source of business growth for their drone products will be domestic, non-military use." 

Right now drones range in size from giant planes to hummingbird-sized, the ACLU report says, with the technology improving all the time. Some can be operated by only one officer, and others by no one at all. The report points to all the sophisticated surveillance technology that can take flight on a drone, including night vision, video analytics ("smart" surveillance that can track activities, and with improvements in biometrics, specific people), massive zoom, and the creepy see-through imaging, currently in development. 

7. Super drones that know who you are!

In September, Wired reported that the military has given out research grants to several companies to spruce up their drones with technology that lets them identify and track people on the move, or "tagging, tracking, and locating" (TTL). Noah Shachtman writes:

Perhaps the idea of spy drones already makes yournervous. Maybe you’re uncomfortable with the notion of an unblinking, robotic eye in the sky that can watch your every move. If so, you may want to click away now. Because if the Army has its way, drones won’t just be able to look at what you do. They’ll be able to recognize your face — and track you, based on how you look. If the military machines assemble enough information, they might just be able to peer into your heart.

One company claims it can equip drones with facial recognition technology that lets them build a 3-D model of a face based on a 2-D image, which would then allow the drone to ID someone, even in a crowd. They also say that if they can get a close enough look, they can tell twins apart and reveal not only individuals' identity but their social networks, reports Wired. That's not all. Shachtman continues: 

The Army also wants to identify potentially hostile behavior and intent, in order to uncover clandestine foes. Charles River Analytics is using its Army cash to build a so-called “Adversary Behavior Acquisition, Collection, Understanding, and Summarization (ABACUS)” tool. The system would integrate data from informants’ tips, drone footage, and captured phone calls. Then it would apply “a human behavior modeling and simulation engine” that would spit out “intent-based threat assessments of individuals and groups.” In other words: This software could potentially find out which people are most likely to harbor ill will toward the U.S. military or its objectives. Feeling nervous yet?

All of these technologies are either already integrated into daily life or coming down the pike. In Constitution 3.0, Jeffrey Rosen invited scholars and futurists to envision how current civil liberties protections would fare when faced with technologies of the future (not well). One chilling possibility highlighted in the book: What if Facebook and Google decided to archive and post footage from millions of surveillance cameras?

In a speech to Brookings Institute, Rosen says this not-unlikely scenario would make it possible to, "sign onto Google or Facebook, click onto a picture of me, for example, back-click on me to see where I’d come from this morning, forward click to see where I’m going this afternoon, and basically have 24/7 surveillance of everyone in the world at all times."

Tana Ganeva is AlterNet's managing editor. Follow her on Twitter or email her at tana@alternet.org.

© 2012 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.
View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/153999/

Angry 'Ex-Gay' Nurse Rages 'Homosexuality is Not a Civil Right' at NJ Marriage Equality Hearing

Angry 'Ex-Gay' Nurse Rages 'Homosexuality is Not a Civil Right' at NJ Marriage Equality Hearing: VIDEO
Feb 03, 2012 07:40 am |

Here's another intense video from what I would call an extremely damaged gay man and human being at yesterday's marriage equality hearing in New Jersey. Watch, AFTER THE JUMP... Greg Quinlan from Roxbury: "Homosexuality is not a civil right. Civil... read more |

Virginia Passes Adoption Bill Allowing Agencies to Deny Gays Based on Religious Beliefs

Virginia Passes Adoption Bill Allowing Agencies to Deny Gays Based on Religious Beliefs
Feb 03, 2012 11:32 am |

Earlier today I posted about the discriminatory adoption bill pending in the Virginia legislature. The bill allows private adoption agencies to deny service to gay people based on religious or moral beliefs. It passed both houses, the AP reports: The... read more |

Jewish group to offer ‘gay cure’ controversy school teaching packs

An LGBT Jewish forum has said it will offer teaching support packs to the state-funded Jewish school which became embroiled in controversy this month after showing students a slide with the logo of a ‘gay cure’ group.
Keshet UK’s Co-convenor Dave Shaw, who is a former pupil of the school in question, said the group welcomed the school’s internal review of how it deals with discussions on homosexuality, but was disappointed it had declined to meet with the group.
In an article in the Jewish Chronicle last month, students said a sixth-form discussion on homosexuality at JFS which ended with a slide displaying the logo of ‘gay cure’ group JONAH implied it was something they could explore if they thought they might be gay.
The school’s headmaster Jonathan Miller said the material in lesson discussing homosexuality had been taught for years, and told PinkNews.co.uk it was “false” to suggest references to JONAH in that lesson were designed to promote the group.
The Jewish Chronicle said at the weekend it had never suggested the school “promoted” JONAH but questioned why the anti-gay group was ever mentioned.
To mark LGBT History Month, Keshet UK said today it would be delivering teacher’s packs for every teacher at the school to equip them in their handling of homosexuality.
Dave Shaw, Co-Convenor of Keshet UK and an ex-JFS pupil, said: “We are pleased to hear from the headteacher that the school is currently conducting a review of the school’s approach to the topic of homosexuality.
“We firmly believe that as a state-funded school, JFS, like all Jewish schools, must be able to demonstrate that it meets its statutory obligation to be proactive in preventing bullying on the basis of sexuality and create an environment where all students feel included.”
A representative of the school could not be reached for comment today.

Archbishop Must Apologize Immediately for Embracing 'Ex-Gay' Lies, Says TWO

Truth Wins Out Denounces Former Archbishop of Canterbury For Defending 'Ex-Gay' Therapy

Archbishop Must Apologize Immediately for Embracing 'Ex-Gay' Lies, Says TWO

Burlington, Vt. -- Truth Wins Out denounced Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, today for signing a letter in support of Lesley Pilkington, a British "Christian" psychotherapist suspended for professional malpractice after she was caught offering ex-gay therapy to an undercover journalist.

The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy unanimously ruled last May that Pilkington acted recklessly, disrespectfully, dogmatically and unprofessionally. The BACP suspended her accreditation and threatened to revoke it entirely if she failed to complete "extensive training and professional development." Yesterday, Lord Carey and several other clerics issued a letter to the BACP defending Pilkington, saying that ex-gay therapy "does not produce harm."

"Lord Carey's defense of so-called 'ex-gay therapy' is simply appalling," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. "The 'pray away the gay' lie has been denounced by every major organization of medical and mental health professionals, including the Royal College of Psychiatrists, because the truth is that it doesn't work and actually harms people. If Carey would like to meet survivors who were gravely harmed by 'ex-gay' therapy we would be more than happy to arrange such a meeting."

"Whether Lord Carey's embrace of discredited ex-gay propaganda was intentional or simply ignorant, we are astonished by the lack of respect it shows to LGBT Anglicans," added John Becker, TWO's Director of Communications & Development. "The former archbishop should apologize immediately and recant his dangerous words before they cause any more LGBT people to hate or hurt themselves."

The letter alleges that reparative therapy "does not produce harm despite the Royal College of Psychiatrists and others maintaining the contrary" and that "people who seek, freely, to resolve unwanted same-sex attractions hold the moral right to receive professional assistance."

"This attempt to claim the moral high ground is utterly absurd," said Becker. "None of these clerics have a shred of medical or psychiatric training, and the idea that they're even remotely qualified to overrule scientific consensus is ridiculous on its face. Lies told in the name of God are still lies."

"Far from being mainstream, Lord Carey's views are extreme," added Besen. "Instead of parroting discredited ex-gay talking points, the former archbishop should bring his outmoded beliefs into the 21st century and recognize that LGBT people are fine just the way they are."

Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a nonprofit that fights anti-LGBT religious extremism. TWO specializes in turning information into action by organizing, advocating and fighting for LGBT equality.

"Dear Friends"

Affectionate "Dear Friends"

Watch Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRam4zFL5Zs
--

UAE ‘straight makeover’ video slammed

Video: UAE ‘straight makeover’ video slammed
	LGBT people in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have attacked a YouTube video ‘tutorial’ which shows how gays can be ‘cured’ or ‘scrubbed clean’ of their sexuality. Read more...

Archbishop Sentamu has no right to block gay civil marriages

Comment: Archbishop Sentamu has no right to block gay civil marriages
	Peter Tatchell argues that Archbishop Sentamu has no right to block gay civil marriages, the clergyman's demand for discrimination against gay couples is itself dictatorial and Anglican leaders are divisive, intolerant and out of touch. Read more...

German trans girl ‘to be institutionalised’

German trans girl ‘to be institutionalised’
	News that an 11 year old trans girl in Berlin, Germany, is about to be committed to a mental institution by local authorities – following intervention by her absent father – has prompted grave concern by the International LGBTQ Youth and Student Organisation. Read more...

Gay footballers film boosts BBC3 audience by 50%

Gay footballers film boosts BBC3 audience by 50%
	Britain's Gay Footballers, the BBC3 documentary shown last night examining the lack of openly gay players in the British game, drew 2.8% of the viewing audience. Read more...

EFF Requests Information from Innocent Megaupload Users

EFF Requests Information from Innocent Megaupload Users

by aletho

By Julie Samuels | EFF | January 31, 2012

In the media firestorm surrounding the recent Megaupload takedown, there has been little lacking in the way of drama (police helicopters, midnight raids, safe rooms, shotguns, and inflatable tanks, for starters). The legal battles between the government and Megaupload are unlikely to end soon. In the meantime, however, many ordinary users of Megaupload’s services have been swept up in the government’s dragnet, and, as a consequence, have lost access to their own data.

Megaupload, of course, had many lawful customers (see here and here, for example). Yet those people were given no notice that they might lose access to their data and no clear path to getting their property back. Setting aside the legal case against Megaupload, the government should try to avoid this kind of collateral damage, not create it.

We learned yesterday that the government has finished its investigation of Megaupload’s servers and claims that the companies that own those servers – Carpathia and Cogent – are free to delete their contents. Luckily, those companies aren't following the government's example of shooting first and asking later. To that end, Carpathia has put together a site at www.megaretrieval.com where Megaupload customers can contact EFF and provide information to help assess the scope of the issue and possible responses.

If you believe you are one of these users, are based in the United States, and are looking for legal help to retrieve your data, please email your contact information to Megauploadmissing@eff.org. While we will try to respond to everyone, you should understand that we are still at the preliminary stages of our investigation.

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Defending your rights in the digital world

Attached Documents
Jan_24_govt_letter.pdf

aletho

Stacey Campfield Removed From Knoxville Restaurant After Anti-Gay Remarks

Stacey Campfield, Tennessee Senator Behind 'Don't Say Gay' Bill,
Removed From Knoxville Restaurant After Anti-Gay Remarks

Tennessee Senator Stacey Campfield's proposed "Don't Say Gay" law
continues to divide residents -- but one local restaurateur made her
views on the legislation resoundingly clear this weekend.

As Metropulse and Towleroad are reporting, Martha Boggs, the owner of
Knoxville's The Bistro at the Bijou, asked Campfield to leave after he
tried to dine at her establishment.

Following the incident, Boggs posted a status on her restaurant's
Facebook page which read, "I hope that Stacy (sic) Campfield now knows
what it feels like to be unfairly discriminated against."

Metropulse reports that Boggs later clarified her actions in an
interview. "I didn't want his hate in my restaurant," she said. "I
told him he wasn't welcome here. ... I feel like he's gone from being
stupid to being dangerous, and I wanted to stand up to him." Boggs is
also due to appear on HuffPost Gay Voices Editor-at-Large Michelangelo
Signorile's radio program on SiriusXM OutQ today to talk about the
experience.

Many have been quick to applaud Boggs' actions on Facebook. "You
didn't unfairly discriminate against Stacey Campfield," one user
praised. "You have the right to refuse service to anyone, especially a
poorly educated bigot."

Still, another user added, "Denying service to a man because you don't
agree with his opinions is no different than denying service to a man
because you don't like his skin color."

Boggs' actions come on the heels of an interview Campfield gave last
week to Signorile, in which the senator made controversial statements
on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the media's supposed "glorification" of
homosexuals.

"Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community --
it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then
having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall," he said in
the interview. "My understanding is that it is virtually -- not
completely, but virtually -- impossible to contract AIDS through
heterosexual sex...very rarely [transmitted]."

You can listen to that interview here.

More:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/30/stacey-campfield-tennessee-senator-knoxville-restaurant-removed_n_1241693.html

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Beware the Fedex Shipment Notification Scam

The Package Delivery Scam

As I said, I didn't remember shipping a package. Further raising my suspicion was the instruction to click on an attached ZIP file to view my "invoice" for the shipment. As we all know, clicking on files attached to unsolicited emails is a great way to catch a computer virus. But this email was very official looking, with a tracking number, and all the correct verbiage you'd normally see on such a delivery notification.
"Maybe I did send a package," I thought. "Or maybe someone is trying to send me a package." I have to admit, my mouse pointer hovered over that link for just a moment. But instead of clicking on the attachment, I used my email client's "view email headers" feature to see the details of the email's routing. Sure enough, the email was sent not from FedEx.com but from an email address in Beijing. So I deleted that message and its poisonous attachment.

If I had clicked on that attachment, undoubtedly bad things would have happened to me and/or my computer. Someone *was* trying to send me a package, but it wasn't something I'd enjoy opening. Cybercriminals from China, Russia and other countries use this technique to plant viruses, trojan horses, and other malware that can lead to identity theft, espionage, and data loss. It's also a common technique that has been used to enslave millions of computers into botnets.
See my related article Has Your Computer Been Hijacked? and learn how botnets can turn your computer into a weapon that can be used to send spam and attack websites. Or worse.

Don't Get Phished

This was a classic phishing scam, an attempt to get a user to do something dangerous that relies on mimicking a trusted brand name. (See my related article Phishing - Are You Protected? to learn more.) Actually, it was a pretty lame effort because many intended victims would remember whether they had shipped a package. And of course the tracking number was bogus.
A more effective ploy would be a "notification of delivery." It's not terribly unusual to receive a package unexpectedly, and curiosity about the sender's identity would incline many users to click on the fatal attachment. But FedEx, UPS and other shipping services do not send delivery notifications to the recipients of packages.
Shippers do send notices to shippers who request such things and provide a valid email address. To be safer, it's best to create an email address that is used only for such delivery notices, i.e., shipments@myemail.com, and to keep that address just between you and FedEx.
And just to be clear, FedEx did nothing wrong here. This sort of "delivery notice" scam has been around since at least 2008, and just about every major shipping service has been implicated in it. FedEx has a warning about this scam posted on its Web site.
Other scams involving shipping services include requests for payment information: credit card details and bank account info. Legitimate shippers never request payment information via email. You should also be wary of emails which instruct you to download a shipping invoice, or those that request your username, password or account number for an online shipping service. Those credentials could be used to ship contraband in your name, and you'd be stuck with the bill. Again, legitimate shippers will never request such sensitive info via email.
You may even get a "C.O.D. notice" purportedly from FedEx or another shipping service. This variation on the phishing scam tells you that a package is awaiting delivery but you must pay in order to receive it. Payment options may include credit or debit card, bank account, or a wire transfer. Don't be fooled; no shipper does business via email in that way.

Read more: http://askbobrankin.com/beware_the_fedex_shipment_notification_scam.html#ixzz1l3QD0wpJ

British Footballer Joey Barton Speaks Out Against Homophobia

British Footballer Joey Barton Speaks Out Against Homophobia, Reveals Uncle is Gay
Jan 30, 2012 09:50 am |

Premier League footballer Joey Barton of the Queens Park Rangers is speaking out about homophobia in football in a documentary airing on BBC Three in the UK, British tabloid The Sun reports. Barton says the subject is important to him... read more

US trans prisoner sues over hair treatments

US trans prisoner sues over hair treatments
	A trans woman in Massachusetts, USA, has filed a claim against her prison over allegations that she has not been provided with medially required hair treatments. Read more...

Archbishop of York compares David Cameron to a dictator over his support of gay marriage

Archbishop of York compares David Cameron to a dictator over his support of gay marriage
	In a forthright interview with the Daily Telegraph, the second most senior cleric in the Church of England, the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has compared prime minister David Cameron to a dictator over his support of gay marriage. Read more...

UN secretary general: African governments must respect gay rights

UN secretary general: African governments must respect gay rights
	The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has told African leaders that they must respect gay rights in an unusually outspoken declaration made at an African Union summit in Ethiopia. Read more...

Interview: Greg Louganis on gold medals, HIV and Matthew Mitcham

Interview: Greg Louganis on gold medals, HIV and Matthew Mitcham
	He won his first Olympic medal at the age of 16. Four gold medals later, he came out at the 1994 Gay Games. Laurence Watts meets Greg Louganis. Read more...

Comment: Bangladesh’s invisible minority

Comment: Bangladesh’s invisible minority
	Rainer Ebert comments on life for the gay community of Bangladesh, where same-sex intercourse a crime punishable by imprisonment for life. Read more...

New Twitter censorship function prompts concern in anti-gay states

New Twitter censorship function prompts concern in anti-gay states
	Twitter's announcement that it will be able to censor tweets on a country-by-country basis has prompted concern for gay communities in hostile countries. Read more...

Ex-Archbishop of Canterbury backs ‘gay cure’ therapist

Ex-Archbishop of Canterbury backs ‘gay cure’ therapist
	Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury has joined other clerics to back a therapist who was found guilty of professional malpractice last year after offering 'gay cure' therapy. Read more...

Gay Marriage Watch 1/30/12

To see the whole blog, click here:
http://www.purpleunions.com/blog
To see today's individual stories, use the links below:
Dallas Mayor Refuses to Sign Marriage Equality Pledge (Towleroad.com)
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has been a proponent of marriage equality. He's marched in Pride Parades. But as Andy noted yesterday, Mayor Rawlings for some reason refuses to endorse the pro-equality pledge already signed by 100 of the nation's most important mayors. In fact, Mayor Rawlings is the only mayor of a city of Dallas's size that has thus far refused to sign. And as a result of his refusal, LGBT activists last night picketed his office.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/dallas-mayor-refuses-to-sign-marriage-equality-pledge.html
MD: Does New Marriage Equality Bill Strike Balance Between Gay and Religious Rights? (The Washington Post)
LAST YEAR, a last-minute blitz by some conservative and African American lawmakers derailed proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/md-does-new-marriage-equality-bill-strike-balance-between-gay-and-religious-rights.html
OH: Three Local Mayors Sign Marriage Equality Pledge (Gay People's Chronicle)
Three Ohio mayors are among the over 100 city leaders participating in the group Mayors for the Freedom to Marry, which launched at the United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting on January 20.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/oh-three-local-mayors-sign-marriage-equality-pledge.html
NH: GOP Lacks Votes to Repeal Marriage Equality (On Top Magazine)
New Hampshire State Rep. Seth Cohn has said he does not believe gay marriage foes have sufficient support to repeal the state's law.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/nh-gop-lacks-votes-to-repeal-marriage-equality.html
Time for Gay Rights in Jamaica (The Gleaner)
What an end to 2011 for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Jamaica! For the first time in Jamaica's history, on the occasion of our 50th year of Independence, there is a prime minister who has publicly stated that people should not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/time-for-gay-rights-in-jamaica.html
US: Bill Would Ban Gay Weddings on Military Bases (On Top Magazine)
A bill that would bar gay and lesbian couples from marrying on military bases and would allow chaplains to refuse to officiate over such unions was introduced last week in the House, Military.com reported.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/us-bill-would-ban-gay-weddings-on-military-bases.html
Russia: Gay Flight Attendant Told to Marry Woman or Be Fired (Towleroad.com)
Russia's so homophobic, it won't even tolerate gay flight attendants. Maxim Kupreev is a 25-year-old flight attendant employed by Aeroflot, Russia's largest airline. In order to change the prevailing anti-gay atmosphere in his workplace, Kupreev decided to organize a group of LGBT Aeroflot employees. In response, his bosses commanded him: Marry a woman or you're fired.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/russia-gay-flight-attendant-told-to-marry-woman-or-be-fired.html
NH: Marriage Equality Repeal Vote Wednesday (Joe.My.God)
NOM is very excited about Wednesday's vote: For more than two years, we've been working towards this moment. Thanks to your hard work and dedication, a majority in both houses now supports marriage and we are optimistic about next Wednesday's vote.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/nh-marriage-equality-repeal-vote-wednesday.html
ME: NOM Plans to Fight Marriage Equality Referendum (Towleroad.com)
The National Organization for Marriage is going back to Maine to fight a plan by LGBT advocates to legalize same-sex marriage through a ballot measure. Last week the group said it had collected enough signatures to put the question before Maine voters and expressed confidence that public opinion had moved enough that they could win.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/me-nom-plans-to-fight-marriage-equality-referendum.html
NJ: Civil Rights Leader to Join Marriage Equality Fight (NBC NY)
A Georgia congressman who is widely regarded for his courage during the Civil Rights Movement is making a trip to New Jersey to discuss the right of gay couples to marry.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/nj-civil-rights-leader-to-join-marriage-equality-fight.html
MN: Gay Rights Advocates Raise $1.2 Million to Fight Marriage Equality Ban (The Advocate)
The lead LGBT advocacy group opposing an amendment to Minnesota’s state constitution barring gay marriage has raised $1.2 million for its campaign.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/mn-gay-rights-advocates-raise-1-2-million-to-fight-marriage-equality-ban.html
NY: Daniel O'Donnell Marries Partner (NY Daily News)
THE PRIME SPONSOR of New York's gay-marriage law married his longtime partner Sunday in Manhattan.
http://purpleunions.com/blog/2012/01/ny-daniel-odonnell-marries-partner.html
font face="Verdana" size="3">------------------------
PinkSixty Daily News Update - the world of gay/lesbian news in 60 seconds (video):
PinkSixty Gay News Daily Update (Video) (Pink Paper): This is a great 60 second update on LGBT news around the world. See the most current version here: http://www.pinksixtynews.tv
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Gay Marriage Events This Coming Week (Full Events List/Add Your Own Event: http://www.purpleunions.com/mn/gay-marriage-events-list.html):
--USA, CA, Beverly Hills: Jan 30, LA Equal Roots Meeting, 8106 Santa Monica Blvd, 7:30-9:30 PM. http://bit.ly/7fyyh8
--USA, CA, Concord: Day of Decision, Gathering on Ninth Circuit Day of Decision, Rainbow Community Ctr, 6-7 PM. newsletter@marriageequality.org
--USA, CA, Fresno: Day of Decision, Gathering on Ninth Circuit Day of Decision, Cnr N. Blackstone & E. Shaw, 5-7 PM. newsletter@marriageequality.org
--USA, CA, Los Angeles: Day of Decision, Gathering on Ninth Circuit Day of Decision, W. Hollywood Park, 6 PM. newsletter@marriageequality.org
--USA, CA, Palm Springs: Feb 4, Equality Happy Hour, Hamburger Mary's, 4-7 PM. http://bit.ly/bKvO8V
--USA, CA, Sacramento: Day of Decision, Gathering on Ninth Circuit Day of Decision, Cornerstone at Headhunters, 9:30 AM. newsletter@marriageequality.org
--USA, CA, San Francisco: Day of Decision, Rally After Ninth Circuit Prop 8 Decision, Market & 17th (at Castro), 5 PM. http://bit.ly/wiXhrC
--USA, CA, San Francisco: Day of Decision, Gather for Ninth Circuit Decision on Prop 8, 9th Circuit Courthiouse, 95 7th St., 9:45 AM. http://bit.ly/wiXhrC
--USA, CA, San Francisco: Feb 2, One Struggle One Fight Meeting, 209 Golden Gate Ave, 7 PM. http://bit.ly/7HQ8D4
--USA, IL, Chicago: Feb 3, Equality IL First Friday Networking Social, TBD, TBD. http://bit.ly/gOlMG5
--USA, MD, Adelphi: Jan 31, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Paint Branch UU Congr, 6-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Annapolis: Jan 31, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, 5:30-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Baltimore: Jan 31, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Equality Maryland, 6-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Baltimore: Feb 2, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Gay and Lesbian Comm Ctr, 6-8 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Bowie: Jan 30, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Goodloe UU Congr, 6-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Columbia: Feb 1, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Howard County Library-Central Branch, 6-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Frederick: Feb 5, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Evangelical Reformed UCC, 5-7 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, Silver Spring: Feb 2, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality, Office of Delegate Heather Mizeur, 6-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vmtc4H
--USA, MD, TBD: Feb 1, Prayer Breakfast and Clergy Lobby Day w/EQMD, TBD. http://bit.ly/wHtyul
--USA, MN, St. Paul: Jan 30, Phone Bank with Minnesotans United For All Families, 1821 University Ave West, 6:30-9:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vCRR1M
--USA, MN, St. Paul: Jan 31, Phone Bank with Minnesotans United For All Families, 1821 University Ave West, 6:30-9:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vCRR1M
--USA, MN, St. Paul: Feb 1, Phone Bank with Minnesotans United For All Families, 1821 University Ave West, 6:30-9:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vCRR1M
--USA, MN, St. Paul: Feb 2, Phone Bank with Minnesotans United For All Families, 1821 University Ave West, 6:30-9:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vCRR1M
--USA, MN, St. Paul: Feb 3, Phone Bank with Minnesotans United For All Families, 1821 University Ave West, 6:30-9:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vCRR1M
--USA, MN, St. Paul: Feb 5, Phone Bank with Minnesotans United For All Families, 1821 University Ave West, 5:30-8:30 PM. http://bit.ly/vCRR1M
--USA, MO, St. Louis: Jan 30, "8" The Play Reading, Webster University, 7 PM. http://bit.ly/zcNR64
--USA, NC, Charlotte: Feb 2, Coffee and Conversation to Defeat Amendment One, Amelie's Bakery, 5 PM. http://on.fb.me/ytFTgB
--USA, NJ, Montclair: Jan 30, Youth Caucus for Marriage Equality, Garden State Equality HQ, 5:30 PM. http://bit.ly/zoFNon
--USA, NJ, Princeton: Feb 1, Marriage Equality Strategy Session, Private Home, 7 PM. http://bit.ly/zoFNon
--USA, NY, New York: Feb 1, MENY General Meeting, LGBT Center, 6:30-7:30 PM. http://bit.ly/I9vIu
--USA, NY, Stamford: Feb 4, Gay Friendly Wedding Expo, Hilton Hotel, 1-4 PM. http://bit.ly/sqdk1O
--USA, WA, Seattle: Jan 30, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality with Equal Rights Washington, Equal Rights WA Office, 5:30 PM. http://bit.ly/t6TxA5
--USA, WA, Seattle: Jan 30, Drop in Data Entry with Equal Rights Washington, Equal Rights WA Office, 10 AM. http://bit.ly/t6TxA5
--USA, WA, Seattle: Jan 31, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality with Equal Rights Washington, Equal Rights WA Office, 5:30 PM. http://bit.ly/t6TxA5
--USA, WA, Seattle: Feb 1, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality with Equal Rights Washington, Equal Rights WA Office, 5:30 PM. http://bit.ly/t6TxA5
--USA, WA, Seattle: Feb 2, Drop in Data Entry with Equal Rights Washington, Equal Rights WA Office, 10 AM. http://bit.ly/t6TxA5
--USA, WA, Seattle: Feb 2, Phonebanking for Marriage Equality with Equal Rights Washington, Equal Rights WA Office, 5:30 PM. http://bit.ly/t6TxA5
Please tell your friends about Gay Marriage Watch, and let us know if there's anything we can do to improve the blog, or if you have any news to add from your part of the world!
We're also now on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/gaymarriagewatch
You can find us on Google+ Too:
https://plus.google.com/b/111115081403640189189/
And we're doing daily updates on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc
Thanks!
--Scott and Mark, Married November 1st, 2008
PurpleUnions.com, PO Box 4666, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-0022

January 30 THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

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GAY WISDOM for Daily Living...

from White Crane a magazine exploring
Gay wisdom & culture http://www.Gaywisdom.org

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

Once again I had a brain fart (they seem to be coming more frequently!) and I accidentally sent out today's date along with the full weekend. The good news: I figured it out this morning. The bad news: My bad.

Wishing you all a great week.

January 30

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

Dear Readers,

The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the City University of New York Graduate Center (CLAGS/CUNY) and the Harry Hay Centennial Committee are sponsoring a conference: The Life and Visionary Legacy of Harry Hay from September 27 to September 30, 2012, in New York City.

The call for papers asks for brief proposals and CV's by January 31^st but in all likelihood that call will be extended by several weeks. Here is the link to the call:

http://web.gc.cuny.edu/clags/pages/hay.html

There are commitments from historian John D'Emilio, Urvashi Vaid and author Will Roscoe as confirmed keynote speakers as well as a tentative agreement with Tony Kushner to read and discuss a scene from his recent play The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures.

The intentions for the conference are wide-ranging and manifold. Among these are:

• to secure Harry Hay's legacy in the history of LGBT studies;

• to look at the emergence of the LGBT movement in 20th Century America through the lens of the dialectics of the Left; to discuss the place of coalitions, identity politics, sexual liberation & gay rights in the development of the movement; to explore the processes used by gay communities and groups to develop and sustain themselves;

• to explore the search for LGBT identity as a separate people whose time has come; to look at essentialism, social constructivism and assimilation; queer archetypes; gay consciousness;

• to chronicle LGBT participation in the arts, both avant garde (John Cage, Rudi Gernreich, Merce Cunningham, James Broughton) and popular (New Song Movement) and the development of a queer artistic sensibility;

• to trace the spiritual dimensions of our sexuality – in the pre-monotheistic and indigenous world and in the creation of new spiritual paradigms and communities.

The Editors of Daily GayWisdom encourage our readers to participate in this important conference.

1847 - The city of Yerba Buena, California is renamed SAN FRANCISCO a place that still holds a magical aura for gay people everywhere and where, the case of Perry v Schwarzenegger will both overturn Prop 8 and decide the future of marriage equality, probably for the entire nation after appeals.

1855 - HOWARD OVERING STURGIS the novelist and eccentric was born on this date. A millionaire American expatriate, Sturgis passed his life in England knitting, embroidering and writing novels. He is best known for two: Tim: A Story of Eton and Belchamber. Affable and witty, Sturgis was a favorite with Henry James, Edith Wharton, and A. C. Benson, and the subject of a memorable sketch by E. M. Forster. Sturgis maintained a lifelong relationship with a much younger man, William Haynes-Smith, familiarly known as "the Babe", to whom his novel "Belchamber" is dedicated.

1859 - EDWARD MARTYN was born on this date. (d: 1923); Martyn was the first president of Sinn Fein, the Irish republican movement's political party, serving from 1904 to 1908. He was homosexual and the son of a wealthy Catholic family from Tillyra Castle in County Galway.

A pillar of the Celtic Renaissance, in 1899 Martyn co-founded, with the poet W.B. Yeats, what became Ireland's famous national theater, the Abbey. the Irish Literary Theatre (1899), which was part of the nationalist revival of interest in Ireland's Gaelic literary history. He was the first President of Sinn Féin, which he co-founded with Arthur Griffith. He was a cousin and friend to George Moore, though their relationship was often antagonistic.

Violently opposed to British rule in Ireland, he was the center of a court case in 1905 as the result of an off-the-cuff remark in which he stated that "All Irishmen who join the English army ought to be flogged". He died in 1923, unmarried, and after donating his body to science, was buried at his own request in a pauper's grave. He was related to the Hungarian artist and sculptor, Ferenc Martyn (1899-1986).

Martyn was outed by his friend George Moore (1852-1933), a prolific novelist, critic, and polemicist, in his three-volume masterpiece "Hail and Farewell" (published between 1911 and 1914). Moore, who was attracted to the handsome young Yeats, later fell in love with the celebrated French painter Edouard Manet, who painted three portraits of him. Moore was influenced by the homosexual Oxford critic Walter Pater, and Moore's 1879 work, Flowers of Passion, already contained references to Lesbianism. Moore's 1887 novel, A Mere Accident, also has a homosexual theme and its central character is again based on Martyn.

1925 - The poet JACK SPICER was born in Hollywood, California. Most often identified with "the San Francisco Renaissance," he is associated with other poets of the era like Robin Blaser and Robert Duncan.and studied Old Norse, Anglo-Saxon, and German to prepare for a career in linguistics. This putative career was blighted by Spicer's refusal to sign the 'Loyalty Oath', a legal provision that required all California state employees (including graduate teaching assistants at Berkeley) to swear loyalty to the United States.

Although writing and living in the middle of the Beat movement, Spicer and Duncan stood oddly set apart from it, maintaining an approach to poetry and art that wedded aesthetics to intellect. Spicer's relations with his Gay contemporaries Allen Ginsberg and Frank O'Hara remained antagonistic: Ginsberg was too 'populist'; O'Hara a superficial versifier.

The lyric beauty, intellectual power, and formal invention of Spicer's poetry attracted a core of disciples who met in the North Beach bars and the San Francisco parks he favored. The open homosexuality of his core group, the 'Spicer Circle', resulted in the marginalization of some of the most moving love poetry produced in this century.

1948 - Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi, India by a Hindu religious extremist. Gandhi had ended British rule in India through nonviolent resistance. "Non-violence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part of our very being," he stated in 1926. His teachings were used during many of the Gay demonstrations of the 60s and 70s and were a major influence on Martin Luther King, through his gay cohort and fellow organizer, Bayard Rustin, who studied with Gandhi and brought the idea of satyagraha (a synthesis of the Sanskrit words Satya (meaning "truth") and Agraha ("insistence", or "holding firmly to"). back to the American civil rights movement Today, the Gay Christian group Soulforce continues the uses Gandhi's non violence practices in its demonstrations against Christian churches that discriminate against GLBT people.

Advocates of nonviolence believe cooperation and consent are the roots of political power: all regimes, including bureaucratic institutions, financial institutions, and the armed segments of society (such as the military and police); depend on compliance from citizens. On a national level, the strategy of nonviolence seeks to undermine the power of rulers by encouraging people to withdraw their consent and cooperation. The forms of nonviolence draw inspiration from both religious or ethical beliefs and political analysis. Religious or ethically based nonviolence is sometimes referred to as principled philosophical or ethical nonviolence, while nonviolence based on political analysis is often referred to as tactical, strategic, or pragmatic nonviolence. Commonly, both of these dimensions may be present within the thinking of particular movements or individuals

2003 - On this date Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage, with some restrictions. . According to the Belgian Official Journal, approximately 300 same-sex couples were married between June 2003 and April 2004 (245 in 2003 and 55 in 2004). This constituted 1.2 percent of the total number of marriages in Belgium during that period. Two thirds of the married couples were gay male couples; the remainder were lesbian couples. On 22 July 2005, the Belgian government announced that a total of 2,442 same-sex marriages had taken place in the country since the extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples two and a half years earlier.

2006 - Coretta Scott King died in Rosarito Beach, Mexico on this. The great civil-rights activist and tireless supporter of gay rights succumbed to complications from a stroke and ovarian cancer. In arguing against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage King said, "Gay and lesbian people have families, and their families should have legal protection, whether by marriage or civil union. A constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages is a form of gay bashing and it would do nothing at all to protect traditional marriage." In 2003, she invited the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to take part in observances of the 40th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" speech. It was the first time that an LGBT rights group had been invited to a major event of the African American community. King said her husband supported the quest for equality by gays and reminded her critics that the 1963 March on Washington was organized by Bayard Rustin, an openly gay civil rights activist.

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