According to a 2011 secret court opinion that was declassified Wednesday, the National Security Agency unlawfully gathered as many as 56,000 emails and other electronic communications between American citizens. NSA’s officials have said the collection was not “intentional” or a “wholesale breach of privacy of American persons.” The document was heavily redacted.
Via eff.org
Via eff.org
Via eff.org
Via eff.org
“I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government,” he wrote. Miller also wrote Stoker , which came out earlier this year.
Kiyoshi Ota / Getty
Actor Wentworth Miller, of Prison Break, came out as "a gay man" in a letter sent Wednesday to the St. Petersburg International Film Festival, declining his participation because, he writes, "I am deeply troubled by the current attitude toward and treatment of gay men and women by the Russian government."
He went on:
The situation is in no way acceptable, and I cannot in good conscience participate in a celebratory occasion hosted by a country where people like myself are being systematically denied their basic right to live and love openly.
Perhaps, when and if circumstances improve, I'll be free to make a different choice.
GLAAD spokesman Wilson Cruz noted in a statement, "Wentworth's bold show of support sends a powerful message to LGBT Russians, who are facing extreme violence and persecution: you are not alone. As people from across the globe continue to speak out against Russia's horrific law, more celebrities and corporations should follow his courageous lead in openly condemning Russia's anti-LGBT law."
Miller, who is 41, also had his first screenplay hit theaters this year — with Stoker, starring Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode and Mia Wasikowska.
Though he has no direct evidence to prove it, Weiner asked Christine Quinn if Bill de Blasio could have been involved in a scandal that plagued the City Council she was in charge of in 2008. The latest poll has Quinn and de Blasio tied for the lead in the race for Mayor of New York City.
Pool / Getty Images
Though he wasn't asked directly about it, Anthony Weiner couldn't fully avoid his sexting scandal at Wednesday's New York City mayoral debate.
"This notion that the city is even ready for a stiff wind right now is overstated," Weiner said in response to a question about preparing the city for a future crisis. But it was right after Weiner said "stiff" that giggles, murmers and eventually sarcastic claps began to emanate from the capacity crowd at the Town Hall theater in Midtown.
Moderator Errol Louis later asked a yes or no question to all the candidates: "Have you ever texted while driving?" After a few candidates responded, Weiner quickly responded "yes," but the crowd was already primed and laughter burst out followed by some uncomfortable looking smiles from several of the candidates, including Weiner.
Christine Quinn gives a thumbs up as Bill Thompson looks on during the Democratic primary candidates for Mayor of New York City first debate at the Town Hall, in New York, August 21, 2013.
POOL / Reuters
But Weiner turned attention away from his own scandal and towards another when he got a chance to direct a question of his own at an opponent.
Weiner asked City Council Speaker Christine Quinn about the slush fund scandal that's followed her around the last few weeks of the campaign and for the last several years as the head of the city's lawmaking body.
Quinn has come under fire for her alleged refusal to release legal documents related to a 2008 slush fund scandal, when Quinn was still Speaker, where several council members and staffers were accused of rerouting city funds to groups in exchange for political support.
Weiner's question to Quinn wasn't, however, about Quinn's refusal to release the documents. It was instead about candidate and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who was a high ranking City Councilman at the time of the scandal. He asked Quinn if de Blasio was mentioned or implicated anywhere in those documents.
"Can you assure us that in that report Mr. de Blasio is not implicated in any way, that there's no mention of him," Weiner asked Quinn.
Quinn didn't confirm or deny his accusation but said she didn't know what report he was talking about and added that all necessary documents had been turned over to authorities.
"Casting aspersions on the public advocate is just outrageous," Quinn said. "I don't even have any idea what he's talking about and I think it's really unfortunate."
"I literally have no idea what Mr. Weiner was just asking," de Blasio added.
The protector of Julian Assange and one-time preferred destination of Edward Snowden is trying to outlaw WikiLeaks-style activity.
Ecuador's President Rafael Correa delivers a speech in a national broadcasting conference at Carondelet Palace in Quito August 15, 2013.
Guillermo Granja / Reuters
WASHINGTON — The head of Ecuador's intelligence agency has asked the legislature to draft a bill that would outlaw the publication of classified documents, amid growing concerns over a government clampdown on the media.
Pablo Romero, the director of Ecuador's intelligence agency SENAIN, asked the Justice Committee of Ecuador's National Assembly on August 8 to draft legislation that would "criminalize the disclosure of confidential information of the State" and require would-be publishers to seek government approval before publication. Romero gave as an example the hypothetical publication of special agents' salaries.
The bill would outlaw the publication of classified documents even if they had previously been published abroad. The move comes less than two months after BuzzFeed published internal Ecuadorian intelligence documents that illustrated the country's plans to buy Israeli spy equipment to beef up its domestic signals intelligence operations. Ecuador's President Rafael Correa condemned the story, convening a press conference on the subject and challenging the media to prove the existence of domestic surveillance in Ecuador. Correa's government even brought a copyright complaint against BuzzFeed through a Spanish law firm, which resulted in Scribd and other uploading services pulling the documents from the Internet.
The proposed law would come during a time marked by concerns over Correa's consolidation of power. Human Rights Watch has called on Ecuador to revoke a decree that gives the government the power to dissolve non-governmental organizations, and the Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the media law passed over the summer, saying "This legislation puts into law a key goal of the Correa presidency: muzzling all critics of his administration."
An Ecuadorian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether or not BuzzFeed's publication of secret documents had a role in prompting the law.
The proposed legislation has concerned opposition activists and reporters in Ecuador, many of whom have left journalism due to increasing government restrictions, including a recently passed media censorship law that makes repeated criticism of public officials — referred to in Ecuador as "media lynching" — illegal.
"We don't know what's going to happen, but the president has a grip on the congress so it's likely going to become law," said one activist who wished to remain anonymous. The source accused the Ecuadorian government of "glaring hypocrisy" for sheltering WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at its embassy in London and offering asylum to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden while barring the kind of activity that made the two seek shelter from Ecuador in the first place. Assange has been at the embassy for over a year.
"It's important that information get out there about the secrets of government," the source said.
Neither can legislate while the other survives.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. / Via BuzzFeed/ John Gara
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. / Via caller.com
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Today marks the first day of the Minnesota State Fair, or what we in the state call the Great Minnesota Get-Together. It began in 1859 and is now the second most-attended in the country (after the fair in some place called “Texas”). And our state fair is better than yours. Here’s why:
Sen. Franken / Via Flickr: senatorfranken
In addition to standard fair food like fried cheese curds and fresh mini donuts, each year brings the debut of insanely imaginative new dishes. This year you can try wine-glazed deep fried meatloaf, candied bacon cannoli, or cocoa cheese bites. And if you really dig the mini donuts, you can also try the new mini donut batter crunch ice cream. You can read the full list of new foods here.
Wine-Glazed Deep Fried Meatloaf
Minnesota State Fair / Via gallery.mnstatefair.org
Candied Bacon Cannoli
Minnesota State Fair / Via gallery.mnstatefair.org
“This is what happens when you get to be 52-years-old.”
“This should not surprise anybody that the NRA would be gathering names or frankly isn’t that opposed to it,” said NAGR executive director Dudley Brown in light of BuzzFeed report.
Adrees Latif / Reuters
WASHINGTON— The National Association for Gun Rights (NAGR), a group that positions itself to the right of the National Rifle Association, slammed its rival Thursday after BuzzFeed reported that the NRA has been building a vast secret database of gun owners.
"Certainly every organization has a right to collect information and try and market but I think the salient point here is that the NRA really isn't opposed to databases in the first place," said NAGR executive director Dudley Brown in an interview. "When's the last time the NRA talked about repealing the Brady check? Or asked candidates for office if they would want to repeal Brady checks? They haven't. This should not surprise anybody that the NRA would be gathering names or frankly isn't that opposed to it. "
The NRA did not immediately return a request for comment.
The NAGR is staunchly opposed to background checks for gun owners and believes that Americans have a constitutional right to carry a weapon without any government regulation or registry. They've repeatedly attacked NRA-backed Republicans, including House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who they believe aren't fully committed to 2nd amendment rights and have accused the NRA of secretly conducting "backroom deals" on gun legislation.
Brown said that the majority of NAGR membership comes through email, Facebook and direct mail solicitation. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul has been known to send out fundraising appeals for the group.
Brown said the NAGR has contacted states to inquire about permit lists but "mostly just to see whether the state makes it available and see if this information is being given out." Brown said they do this to warn their members that such information could be given out and referenced a January map in the Journal News that listed the names and addresses of gun permit holders in parts of New York. The publication later removed the map.
"When they can acquire that kind of data and put it out online for everyone to see, it does I think beg some serious privacy questions," he said. "I don't want the government to know I have a gun, and I certainly don't want it broadcast and advertised. We know the NSA is on everything, but the fact is, so is the NRA."
Brown called the NRA's tactics of collecting data through their own training programs "unprincipled."
"You set up the system that by law requires people to go through this training, of course we believe you shouldn't have to have a permit at all that's why we push constitutional carry all over the country because it removes the database issue," he said.
The IOC received what it called “strong written reassurances” nobody at the Sochi Olympics would face discrimination, despite Russia’s refusal to back down on its anti-LGBT law.
Ria Novosti / Reuters
Russia told the International Olympic Committee Thursday it would comply with the Olympic Charter's anti-discrimination provision and insisted that its controversial ban on "promoting non-traditional sexual relations to minors" did not violate it.
Dmitry Kozak, Russia's deputy prime minister responsible for planning the Sochi Olympics, wrote in a letter that "the Russian Federation guarantees the fulfillment of its obligations before the International Olympic Committee in its entirety," the Associated Press reported.
"Russia has committed itself to comply strictly with the provisions of the Olympic Charter and its fundamental principles, according to item 6 of which 'any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement,'" Kozak wrote.
Kozak was responding to an IOC request for "clarification" over the law.
The IOC published a statement from its president, Jacques Rogge, indicating it was satisfied with the letter, which it described as "strong."
"The IOC is clear that sport is a human right and should be available to all regardless of race, sex or sexual orientation. The Games themselves should be open to all, free of discrimination, and that applies to spectators, officials, media and of course athletes. We would oppose in the strongest terms any move that would jeopardize this principle," it added.
Kozak also made a robust defense of the anti-LGBT law — which essentially forbids any public professions of homosexuality — that went unmentioned by the IOC but was reported by the AP.
Kozak argued that the law was not discriminatory because it prevented people of all orientations from distributing information to children implying LGBT relationships are acceptable.
"These legislations apply equally to all persons, irrespective of their race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, and cannot be regarded as discrimination based on sexual orientation," Kozak wrote.
"These requirements do not attract any limitations for participants and spectators of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi on their legal right of residence in the territory of the Russian Federation or participation in any events stipulated in the Games program that are contradictory to the Olympic Charter or universally recognized standards of international law on human rights," he added.
Kozak did not address whether athletes or spectators who fell foul of the law would be prosecuted. An IOC spokesman told BuzzFeed in early August, however, that Kozak had assured them "that this law will not affect athletes, officials, spectators at the Games" and that "they might even suspend the law during the Games," despite Mutko's comments.
Days later, Kozak said that "there will be no diminishing of rights based on sexual orientation at the Olympics, neither before nor after."
"No one should have any concerns whatsoever. People can get on with their private lives, and spread their respective advantages and attraction among adults. The main thing is that this doesn't touch children," he added.
Seemingly unprepared for the international backlash against the law in the run-up to February's games, Russia has issued a number of contradictory statements about whether the law would be enforced. Sports minister Vitaly Mutko and the Interior Ministry, which controls the police, have insisted it will be upheld.
Separately from Russia's law, athletes who engage in "rainbow displays" — like Swedish high jumper Emma Green-Tregaro's rainbow-colored nails — to support the LGBT community are also liable under the IOC's Rule 50, which bans "political, religious or racial propaganda" as well as "advertising or other publicity." The IOC has not clarified whether these displays would be punishable under the rule or protected by Rule 2, which states that "the IOC's role is … to act against any form of discrimination affecting the Olympic Movement."
IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau told BuzzFeed Thursday that "Rule 50 has seldom if ever been 'enforced' with a ban, expulsion or similar."
"Our research reveals only twice in the modern era when it has been used. The last was the South Korean footballer who unfurled in London a flag supporting a territorial claim to an island at the end of a match against Japan. The athlete received a warning," she said.
"Again, the IOC will always take a sensible approach when dealing with potential actions and always act on a case-by-case basis. What happens in reality is that we often start by having an informal conversation with the athletes concerned who in most cases understand the spirit of the rule and the reason for having it."
"And of course, when asked, athletes will be free to express themselves at the Games," she added.
“If it continues, I think we’re going to have another constitutional crisis in our country in terms of the presidency.”
Oklahoma Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said Wednesday that President Barack Obama was getting "getting perilously close" to the constitutional standard for impeachment. Coburn was speaking at the Muskogee Civic Center in Oklahoma.
"What you have to do is you have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the president, and that's called impeachment," Coburn said, responding to a question about holding President Obama accountable. "That's not something you take lightly, and you have to use a historical precedent of what that means. I think there's some intended violation of the law in this administration, but I also think there's a ton of incompetence, of people who are making decisions."
"Even if there is incompetence, the IRS forces me to abide by the law," a constituent responded to Coburn.
"No, I agree," Coburn said. "My little wiggle out of that when I get that written to me is I believe that needs to be evaluated and determined, but thank goodness it doesn't have to happen in the Senate until they've brought charges in the House. Those are serious things, but we're in a serious time. I don't have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanor, but I think they're getting perilously close."
Coburn then mentioned a story of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees telling him that officials at Homeland Security said to "ignore all the background" and just "approve people."
"I'm documenting all this stuff as it goes along, but I don't know where that level is," Coburn added.
"Barack Obama is personal friend of mine. He became my friend in the Senate but that does not mean I agree in any way with what he's doing or how he's doing it. And I quite frankly think he's in a difficult position he's put himself in, and if it continues, I think we're going to have another constitutional crisis in our country in terms of the presidency," Coburn concluded.
The full video of Coburn's remarks has been embedded below.
The standoff lasted for five hours before the bus retreated back into the Phoenix detention center.
"It was weird, all of the families and moms everybody started running to get in front of the bus," high-profile "dreamer,' Erika Andiola, who was at the vigil, told BuzzFeed.
This is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass.
The new network, financed by a country with the world’s highest per capita carbon emissions, is making climate change a priority — and activists are thrilled. “I think it’s wonderful,” says Mann.
Journalists work in the newsroom at the Al Jazeera America broadcast center, where the network launched Tuesday with a lengthy segment on climate change.
Brendan McDermid / Reuters
When Heidi Cullen, a climatologist and professor at Princeton University, got a call from Al Jazeera America more than a month ago about a debut segment on climate change already in the works, she figured the fledgling cable news network was out to make a point.
"I got the sense that, as a brand new network, they wanted to distinguish themselves," said Cullen, who appeared alongside two other climate scientists on the first episode of "Inside Story," Al Jazeera America's 5 p.m. newscast. The 30-minute program, which focused entirely on climate change Tuesday, equaled nearly half of the coverage devoted to climate change in all of last year on the three network nightly news broadcasts, according to a review by the liberal site Media Matters.
"When they reached out, it was early August," Cullen said. "So this was on the books for a long time. The fact that they decided to do it on the first day was just drawing a line in the sand."
But the new network, which launched Tuesday with a staff of 900 and 12 bureaus across the U.S., is privately funded by the royal family of oil-rich Qatar, posing a potential sticking point for climate activists lauding the network's coverage, and for the man who made the cable launch possible: one of the country's leading voices on global warming, Al Gore, who sold Current TV, and its airwaves, to the Al Jazeera Media Network eight months ago.
Although Qatar has set a plan to shift to renewable sources of energy in the next decade — it aims to generate 20% of its energy from renewables, particularly solar power, by the year 2024 — the country is still emits the world's most carbon dioxide per capita, and petroleum accounts for 70% of government revenues, according to OPEC.
Climate activists, though, don't see a problem: Reporting on, or even talking about, climate change over Al Jazeera airwaves, they say, is an improvement from what viewers see on the networks or the three leading cable news channels — no matter the source of funding.
"I think it's wonderful," said Michael Mann, a climatologist at Pennsylvania State University who was also a guest in the "Inside Story" climate panel. "What it says is that it shouldn't be a matter of your politics or your monetary bottom line as to whether or not you believe in the science of climate change."
"It shouldn't matter whether or not you stand to profit from the continued sale of fossil fuels," Mann said, when asked about issue of Qatari funding. "This is a network built on oil money from an oil-driven economy, but they don't see the need to deny the reality of climate change."
Mann noted that Alwaleed bin Talal, the owner of Kingdom Holding Company and a Saudi prince, is the second-largest shareholder of News Corp, the parent company of Fox News, which regularly features guests and analysts who question whether climate change is a man-made phenomenon.
"Sadly, they have taken a very different tack," he said. "Other networks could take a lesson from [Al Jazeera America]."
Brad Johnson, campaign manager for Forecast the Facts, a climate accountability organization, acknowledged that Al Jazeera's funding is "certainly an issue," but argued that the United States "is also kind of a petro-state."
"Qatar is an oil-rich state that's trying to transition to a modern post-oil economy," said Johnson, "and in theory we describe ourselves in those terms as well."
When asked about the network's funding in an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Gore said, "I understand the criticism, of course, but Al Jazeera has long since established itself as a really high-quality news gathering network," he said. "And by the way, their climate coverage is far more extensive and high-quality compared to any other network in the U.S."
Climate activists, delighted on the whole by the "Inside Story" segment, said if anything they hope the new network could push existing outlets to allot more airtime to the issue, and provide "a critique of what the dominate news stations are doing."
Bill McKibben, author and environmentalist, said was struck by Al Jazeera America's "straightforward, serious tone," he said in an email. "They seem to have the odd conception that news is about important things, and that journalism might want to try to figure those things out."
"I can only hope that the kind of coverage that Al Jazeera got for its climate change coverage really ups the game for other networks," Cullen said.
Although other television news channels have dabbled recently in more serious climate change coverage — MSNBC primetime host Chris Hayes aired an hour-long documentary on the subject last month — most networks will pair a climate change expert with "a climate change denier in the name of balance," said Mann.
That Al Jazeera did not indulge an opposing, more political voice, said Cullen, shows they "are really serious about their coverage."
"There are so many different angles you can take with this story, but I really appreciated that they started with three scientists," she said.
“Let me tell you a little story…”
Colorado Republican Congressman Doug Lamborn shared a story Saturday about spending time and joking with the member of Seal Team Six who shot al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
"Let me tell you a little story," Lamborn said at a town hall event in Colorado Springs. "Because I'm on Armed Services I get to talk with some of our greatest heroes in this country. And I was visiting recently with the guy who shot and killed Osama bin Laden from Navy Seal Team Six. He's a hero, he's a hero."
"He was back stateside, he has two little girls, and they were getting ready to go somewhere and he was listening to the radio. And the guy on the radio, this was a year afterward, the guy on the radio said 'do you remember where you were a year ago when you found out Osama bin Laden was dead?' And he thought to himself 'yeah I was in his bedroom staring down at his corpse.'"
As a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Lamborn has viewed the photos of bin Laden's corpse that were not released publicly.
On a bus tour through New York, the president preaches to a doubting choir. Will his base forgive him for the NSA scandal?
Obama hugs Silvana D'Ettorre who introduced him to deliver remarks at the University of Buffalo.
Jason Reed / Reuters
SYRACUSE, NY — In a bus tour across the state of New York Thursday, President Obama sought to repair the immense damage this year's NSA scandal has done to his reputation among his college-age base by going to battle with the biggest villains in many students' lives: college administrators.
Briefly put, Obama proposes redefining the way the federal government interacts with colleges and college students to focus on value and results. The president called for a government college rating system that lists schools based on factors like the amount of debt average students carry the the amount of money they make when the graduate. At the same time, Obama called for tying aid to student achievement to ensure that students don't rack up debt they can't pay back. Finally, the president called for expanding the program aimed at keeping student loan payments limited to 10% of discretionary income.
Casting the new plan as a righteous crusade against the educational powers that be, Obama repeatedly made the case that he was on their side.
"I've got to tell you ahead of time, these reforms won't be popular with everybody, especially those who are making out just fine under the current system," Obama said at the first rally of the day, on the campus of SUNY Buffalo. "But my main concern is not with those institutions. My main concern is the students those institutions are there to serve, because this country is only going to be as strong as our next generation."
But while the students cheered Obama's aggressive push on college tuition, the NSA surveillance scandal that has consumed his presidency for months — with its echoes of the same Bush-era policies that inflamed college campuses with indignation — loomed large.
"I think the rating system was pretty awesome," said Nick Johns, the 20 year-old student body president at the Buffalo university, referring to a key component of Obama's college affordability plan. "It really showed us what kind of goals he has, it wasn't just empty promises, he had something to back it up too."
But Johns said his friends have been upset with the NSA revelations, and that many of them have aimed their outrage at the oval office. "It has definitely had a significant impact in a lot of people's views on him, especially since he started off his term with taking a strong stance against the violation of privacy," he said.
"Coming from such a very liberal president on so many other issues, it was surprising and bit shocking for us to have that information come out," he said. "Obviously security is a huge goal in this country, but...the fact that people found out from a leak definitely affected myself and my friends' feelings about that aspect of his administration."
Polling has shown a dip in Obama's approval rating in recent months, with some surveys showing a more pronounced dip among younger voters, a core part of Obama's political army since he first rose to national prominence. Some have attributed the slide in part to the NSA controversy, which polling has found pits young supporters of Edward Snowden against Obama, who has called for his prosecution.
On his bus tour, which stopped at the Buffalo university, a Rochester diner and a Syracuse high school, chasing downpours across the state, Obama tried to get close to the college kids once again by promising to pull no punches with the people sending them tuition bills.
Obama called for a new, federally-administered college rating system that will focus on "value," helping students pick schools that will give them the biggest bang for the buck. He took a swipe at existing college ratings.
"Right now, private rankings, like the U.S. News and World Report puts out each year their rankings, and it encourages a lot of colleges to focus, 'how do we game the numbers?'" Obama said in Buffalo. "And, you know, it actually rewards them in some cases for raising costs. I think we should rate colleges based on opportunity."
The students seemed excited to see him. Both the Buffalo and Syracuse stop shared a similar light moment when students began a scream as an announcer introduced the first speaker only to see the scream cut off when the first speaker turned out to be Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who gave brief remarks at both stops. The cheer would resume when Obama finally showed up.
Doug Usher, a pollster with the bipartisan firm Purple Strategies said strong rhetoric on college costs is a rare no-brainer when it comes to wooing the youth vote.
"If you're going to target young people with a specific policy prescription, this is one of the best ones," he said. "College costs is a clear winner, especially talking about loans and debt and that sort of thing. It's one of the few issues that you can so discreetly pull out as directly affecting younger people than just about anybody else in the electorate."
Usher isn't sold on the idea that the dip in Obama's polling with young people is due to the NSA scandal. Indeed, some polling has shown young people are less likely to expect privacy when going online than older people.
"[The NSA] is a big deal, but I don't know how big a deal it is when compared to all the other things not happening in Washington, the economy improving but not as strong as what was expected plus turmoil overseas," he said. "I think it's one ting but it's not the driving factor."
Young Obama voters along the president's route didn't just talk about the NSA. Some are still looking for Obama to live up to a more progressive ideal. Despite the frustrations, they're holding out hope.
"The great evil of our time is plutocracy," said Lyle Rubin, a 30 year-old ex-Marine and PhD student at the University of Rochester. "We're in need of leaders who understand this, and act on it -- politicians like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and Bill de Blasio. Do I count Barack Obama among them? No, I do not."
But Rubin's not ready to give up on the president.
"If he picks Janet Yellen over Larry Summers for Fed chair, I might be willing to give him one last shot," he said.
“I cannot stay silent while your country works to put in place deeply discriminatory laws and policies undermining the rights of LGBT individuals,” the California senator writes to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Boxer also expresses concern about the upcoming Winter Olympics.
J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Sen. Barbara Boxer sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday morning to say that recent anti-LGBT legislation passed is "an affront to fundamental principles of equality."
Boxer — who chairs the subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that oversees human rights issues — also wrote that the new laws "contradict the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Russia is a party."
The letter, a copy of which was provided to BuzzFeed, was sent to the Russian embassy on Friday.
"I cannot stay silent while your country works to put in place deeply discriminatory laws and policies undermining the rights of LGBT individuals," the California senator wrote.
Coming a day after the International Olympic Committee announced it had received "strong written reassurances" that no one at the Olympics, slated to take place in Sochi in February 2014, will face discrimination, Boxer also weighed in on that front — in the form of a warning to Russia.
Noting that she is "deeply concerned" about the impact of Russia's anti-LGBT propaganda law on the Olympics, she wrote: "Any attempt at discrimination will be met with significant protest and will leave a dark stain on Russia's international image for decades to come."
August 23, 2013
The Honorable Vladimir Putin
President
Russian Federation
Dear President Putin:
As the Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee dedicated to the protection of human rights, I urge you to work to repeal recent laws and policies that severely infringe upon the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Russia. These efforts—including legislation you recently signed banning "homosexual propaganda"—are not only an affront to fundamental principles of equality, but also contradict the rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Russia is a party.
I support a strong United States-Russia bilateral relationship and believe we must work to strengthen this important relationship whenever possible. However, I cannot stay silent while your country works to put in place deeply discriminatory laws and policies undermining the rights of LGBT individuals, which have already had tangible and dangerous consequences. I have been shocked by images of Russian LGBT individuals—including young men and women—being harassed, threatened and severely beaten. If these laws and policies are not repealed, the consequences for human life and human dignity could get even worse.
Furthermore, I am deeply concerned about the significant detrimental impact of these laws on the Winter Olympic Games that Russia is scheduled to host next year. The United States—like many other countries—will be sending both LGBT athletes and spectators to the Games. I firmly expect Russia to support the Charter of the Olympic Games, which refers to sport as a human right that should be practiced without "discrimination of any kind." Any attempt at discrimination will be met with significant protest and will leave a dark stain on Russia's international image for decades to come.
I look forward to your favorable reply and action.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
The new Batman star and his wife have given thousands to Booker’s campaigns over the last seven years.
Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
Brian To / WENN
Batman fans were torn Thursday night over the announcement that Ben Affleck would play the superhero in the 2015 sequel to this summer's Man of Steel.
But Affleck did have one big booster tweeting his support to his 1.4 million followers: Newark mayor and candidate for United States Senate, Cory Booker.
When a fan tweeted at Booker Thursday that, if he wasn't a candidate for Senate "he'd definitely be on Twitter talking about Affleck as Batman," Booker retweeted the message and responded with a wave of support for Affleck: "Senate or not this comic book fan is very excited," Booker said, telling detractors, "I'm pro-Ben."
Oops.
Via clotureclub.com
“This is probably controversial to say, but, what the heck, I’m in my second term, so I can say it.”
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — President Barack Obama told a town hall crowd in Binghamton, New York, Friday that the way law is taught in America should change fundamentally.
As part of his bus tour focused on tough talk for school administrators and pushing the education establishment to help make schooling affordable, the president said it's time for law schools to drop a year of classroom instruction.
"This is probably controversial to say, but, what the heck, I'm in my second term, so I can say it," Obama said. "Law schools would probably be wise to think about being two years instead of three years."
Obama said the third year of law school could be replaced with a paid job like an apprenticeship, which would create a dramatic reduction in costs for students.
"The third year, they'd be better off clerking or practicing in a firm even if they weren't getting paid that much, but that step alone would reduce the costs for the student," he said.
“This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly.” Jennifer Natalya Pritzker’s foundation gave $1.35 million earlier this year to study transgender military service.
Jennifer Natalya Pritzker shakes hands with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at a ceremony at the Chicago Pritzker Military Library on June 14.
Annie Chambers / DVIDS
The wealthy donor behind a grant of more than a million dollars to study transgender military service, Jennifer Natalya Pritzker, herself came out as transgender on Friday.
Pritzker, a billionaire, announced the news in a memo to employees at the Pritzker Military Library and Tawani Enterprises, according to a report from Chicago Crain's Business.
According to a statement provided to Crain's:
As of Aug. 16, 2013, J.N. Pritzker will undergo an official legal name change, will now be known as Jennifer Natalya Pritzker. This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly. Pritzker now identifies herself as a woman for all business and personal undertakings.
Jennifer Pritzker is part of the prominent Chicago Pritzker family and the cousin of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker.
In July, BuzzFeed reported that a $1.35 million "launch grant" to the Palm Center was funded by the Tawani Foundation, which itself was founded by Jennifer Pritzker — who had served as a colonel, then known as James, in the Illinois Army National Guard.
The Tawani Foundation aims "to affect significant transformation of organizations and educational programs that enrich knowledge, preserve military heritage, improve health and wellness and conserve unique sites for enduring positive impact on individuals, communities and societies."
