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n2doc's JournalMalta becomes first country in Europe to ban 'gay cure' therapy
New law says 'no sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression constitutes a disorder, disease or shortcoming of any sort'
by Charlotte England
Malta has become the first country in Europe to ban gay conversion therapy.
A new bill, which passed unanimously, stipulates that any medical professional found guilty of prescribing the so-called ‘gay cure’ therapy will be fined or sent to prison.
According to the new law, trying to "change, repress or eliminate a person's sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression" is now a criminal offense.
more
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/malta-becomes-first-country-in-europe-to-ban-gay-cure-therapy-a7459946.html
Green delight as Trump's Irish wall plans withdrawn
Donald Trump's plan to erect a huge sea wall at his Irish golf course has been withdrawn in the light of stiff opposition.
The original application cited rising sea levels as a result of climate change as a key reason for the protective barrier.
But environmental campaigners opposed the two-mile long development saying it threatened a rare breed of snail.
A new plan with smaller wall is expected to be submitted shortly.
more
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38228037
Bob Dole Worked Behind the Scenes on Trump-Taiwan Call
WASHINGTON — Former Senator Bob Dole, acting as a foreign agent for the government of Taiwan, worked behind the scenes over the past six months to establish high-level contact between Taiwanese officials and President-elect Donald J. Trump’s staff, an effort that culminated last week in an unorthodox telephone call between Mr. Trump and Taiwan’s president.
Mr. Dole, a lobbyist with the Washington law firm Alston & Bird, coordinated with Mr. Trump’s campaign and the transition team to set up a series of meetings between Mr. Trump’s advisers and officials in Taiwan, according to disclosure documents filed last week with the Justice Department. Mr. Dole also assisted in Taiwan’s successful efforts to include language favorable to it in the Republican Party platform, according to the documents.
Mr. Dole’s firm received $140,000 from May to October for the work, according to the documents.
The documents suggest that President-elect Trump’s decision to take a telephone call from the president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, was less a ham-handed diplomatic gaffe and more the result of a well-orchestrated plan by Taiwan, one that sought to use the election of a new president to deepen its relationship with the United States — with an assist from a seasoned lobbyist well versed in the machinery of Washington.
more
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/us/politics/bob-dole-taiwan-lobby-trump.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
Tuesday Toon Roundup 3: The Rest
Treasury
CONgress
Media
Populists
idiots
Justice
Protest
Coral
Mr. Fish
Good News
The Art of the Scam
Paul Krugman DEC. 5, 2016
Remember Donald Trump’s tax returns? It was unheard-of for a presidential candidate to refuse to release returns, since doing so strongly suggests that he has something to hide. And at first the Trump campaign offered excuses, claiming that the returns would eventually be made available once an I.R.S. audit was done, or something. But at this point it’s apparent that Mr. Trump believed, correctly, that he could violate all the norms, stonewall on even the most basic disclosure, and pay no political price.
Indeed, it’s clear that Hillary Clinton was in effect punished for her financial transparency, while Mr. Trump was rewarded for his practice of revealing nothing about how he makes money.
And as a result, we can expect radical lack of transparency to be standard operating procedure in the new administration. In fact, it has already started.
Take, for example, the budget process. Normally, an incoming administration issues a fiscal plan conveying its priorities soon after taking office. But as the budget expert Stan Collender notes, there are strong indications that the Trump administration will ignore this precedent (and, possibly, the law) and simply refuse to offer any explanation of how its proposals are supposed to add up. All we’ll get, probably, are assurances that it’s going to be great, believe me.
more
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/opinion/the-art-of-the-scam.html
Betsy DeVos and the twilight of public education
Stephen Henderson , Detroit Free Press Editorial Page Editor
In Detroit, parents of school-age children have plenty of choices, thanks to the nation’s largest urban network of charter schools.
What remains in short supply is quality.
In Brightmoor, the only high school left is Detroit Community Schools, a charter boasting more than a decade of abysmal test scores and, until recently, a superintendent who earned $130,000 a year despite a dearth of educational experience or credentials.
On the west side, another charter school, Hope Academy, has been serving the community around Grand River and Livernois for 20 years. Its test scores have been among the lowest in the state throughout those two decades; in 2013 the school ranked in the first percentile, the absolute bottom for academic performance. Two years later, its charter was renewed.
more
http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/stephen-henderson/2016/12/03/betsy-devos-education-donald-trump/94728574/
Steve Kerr says he used marijuana for back pain, hopes leagues soften stance
OAKLAND, Calif. -- Warriors coach Steve Kerr said on a CSN Bay Area podcast published Friday that he used marijuana for back pain he experienced the past two years.
"I guess maybe I could even get in some trouble for this, but I've actually tried [marijuana] twice during the last year and a half when I've been going through this pain, this chronic pain that I've been dealing with," Kerr told host Monte Poole.
"A lot of research, a lot of advice from people, and I have no idea if I would -- maybe I would have failed a drug test. I don't even know if I'm subject to a drug test or any laws from the NBA, but I tried it, and it didn't help at all. But it was worth it, because I'm searching for answers on pain. But I've tried painkillers and drugs of other kinds, as well, and those have been worse. It's tricky."
"I would hope so, and I'm not a pot person. It doesn't agree with me. I tried it a few times, and it did not agree with me at all. So I'm not the expert on this stuff. But I do know this: If you're an NFL player, in particular, and you got lot of pain, I don't think there's any question that pot is better for your body than Vicodin," Kerr, 51, said. "And yet, athletes everywhere are prescribed Vicodin like it's Vitamin C, like it's no big deal. And there's like this perception in our country that over-the-counter drugs are fine but pot is bad. Now, I think that's changing.
more
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18190785/steve-kerr-says-used-marijuana-back-pain-hopes-leagues-soften-stance
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