TresSugar

Residents of Lesbos, Greece, Want Their Name Back

LibertySugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:00:50 -0700

Residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have brought a lawsuit against a Greek gay rights group, alleging that the term "lesbian" is an insult to the homeland.

The lawyer representing the three Lesbos plaintiffs says that the group's name - the Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece - "causes confusion by using a geographic term" in connection with social action. The island does not want to be associated with the group's "special character."

It seems the islanders have a seriously uphill battle to fight if they are trying to reclaim the term "lesbian" as a geographical moniker. The ancient female poet Sappho, who hailed from Lesbos, lent the name of her hometown island to female-loving females, as much of her poetry celebrated love between women. Considering travel to Lesbos is popular among the world's gay community, it might be in the island's economic interest to embrace its homosexual association.

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Greece Grants Gay Marriages, Japan Awards Gender Rights

CitizenSugar — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:00:41 -0700

With a Greek mayor who presided over outlawed gay marriages yesterday saying, "The laws on marriage simply do not specify any genders. To me, therefore, if something is not banned by law it is not illegal," now facing jail time for his actions, Japan's government is actually moving toward broader gender ideas.

Japan’s House of Councillors (like the US Senate) has unanimously passed legislation which will allow people with gender identity disorder to officially change their sex, giving Gender Identity Disordered (GID) people the ability to change the way the world perceives them - on paper. To see how, read more.

Gender identity disordered people (someone who sees themselves as having a different psychological make-up than their biological sexual orientation) must agree to live as the opposite sex physically and socially to take advantage of the law. The bill states that this condition must be confirmed by two separate doctors, the applicants must also be over 20 years of age, have no children, be unmarried and have non-functioning reproductive organs due to sex-change surgery.

If this law passes their House of Representatives those with GID will have less difficulty finding employment, voting and traveling as their appearances are obviously not in accordance with official documentation.

Are ideas on a strict gender binary, softening worldwide? Will the difference between male and female someday be seen as a sliding scale? Are rights a step in the right direction?

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No Girls Allowed? Women Stumble On All-Male Mount Athos

CitizenSugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 08:00:56 -0700

Are there any ladies in the house? Accidently, yes. Breaching a ban on women dating back to 1060, four Moldovan women were dropped off on the Greek monastic peninsula of Mount Athos over the weekend.

The unexpected/unwelcomed female visitors told police they had sailed from Turkey after paying $6,300 to two Ukrainian people smugglers, and were unaware they were breaking Greek law.

The four women are aged between 27 and 32, (and were accompanied by one Moldovan man, 41) were discovered by the monks over the weekend. A responding police officer said, "They told police and the monks they were sorry but they couldn't have known this was a no-women area. They were forgiven."

It's a good thing the monks were feeling friendly! To find out why, read more.

Under Greek law, breaching the ban can lead to a jail sentence. How strict is the ban? No women at all - even many female domestic animals - have not been allowed on the mountain since a decree banning women was issued by Byzantine Emperor Constantine Monomachos in 1060. That's one serious sign on the club house! I don't know about you, but nothing makes me more curious about a place than being told I can't go. . . . Do you think this was an honest mistake? Or could they have been on a little exploration mission?

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Greeks Quarrel Over Rights of Unmarried Couples

LibertySugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:00:50 -0700

In Athens, a plan to grant unmarried couples increased rights has upset both conservative and progressive forces. The government wants to grant heterosexual "common law" couples rights analogous to marriage, if the couples sign a simple notary contract. So you could have a legally binding relationship, without the big fat Greek wedding.

The influential Greek Orthodox Church equates common law relationships with prostitution. The Church's governing council is decrying the plan, maintaining that legal recognition of relationships outside of marriage would set off a catastrophic bomb under the foundation of Greek society.

The homosexual community thinks the plan must go further, to see how, read more. The homosexual community asserts that the plan constitutes discrimination by only extending rights to heterosexual couples. Traditional and forward-looking forces are tugging at a Greek society attempting to modernize.

Relationships of mutual obligation, as well as families, are essential to a prospering society. Do you think Athens's plan will help strengthen important relationships, even if they don't fit the traditional mold? Having two heterosexual couples enter into a legally binding relationship sounds a lot like marriage to me. Do you think these alternative couples are more likely to sign the contract, so long as it's not called "marriage?" Why?

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Front Page: Italian Prime Minister Calls Obamas "Suntanned"

TresSugar — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:00:15 -0700

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi calls Barack and Michelle Obama unbelievably "suntanned" after meeting them at the G20. - The Telegraph
Meanwhile, Barack and Michelle will visit Denmark this week to pitch for Chicago as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics. - Politico
Dick Cheney's daughter, Liz Cheney, is a rising star in the GOP. - New York Times
Iran test fired long-range missiles today that are capable of reaching countries including Greece, Russia, and Italy. - CNN

Front Page: The White House Celebrates Ramadan

TresSugar — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:00:42 -0700

President Obama hosted a Ramadan dinner at the White House last night, where he stressed that "Islam is part of America." - AP
Donald Trump fixes the Miss Universe pageant to make sure the prettiest women make it through, according to the pageant's choreographer. - Huffington Post
Tribal leaders are alleging that Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai forged 23,900 votes in the recent election. - New York Times
A car bomb exploded outside the stock exchange in Athens, Greece, today, injuring a female passerby. - BBC News

Kenyan Man Sues Group For Telling His Wife: No Sex

TresSugar — Sun, 10 May 2009 02:00:00 -0700

A Kenyan man is suing activists who urged women to deny their partners sex for a week in protest against their country's political impasse.

In a move that echoed Aristophanes' Greek comedy Lysistrata, a group calling themselves the Women's Development Organization called for the boycott to get political leaders to end their rivalry and work, as the wife of Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga, described it, for "the common person."

James Kimondo told reporters outside a Nairobi courthouse that his wife's refusal to have sex with him caused him "anxiety and sleepless nights." (Who can I sue for a similar problem?) He continued, "I have been suffering mental anguish, stress, backaches, lack of concentration." He is seeking general damages against the Women's Development Organization.

Lysistrata, performed in Athens in 411 BC, was a play by Aristophanes about a woman's mission to end the Peloponnesian War by convincing the women of Greece that the only way their men would negotiate peace is if they stopped having sex with them.

I'm trying to imagine if such withholding would affect women as much. Is your sex drive high enough that you'd be able to be blackmailed into changing your ways in exchange for the return of sex from your significant other?
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Earth Hour Clocks a Big Success

CitizenSugar — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 10:00:15 -0700

All around the word people turned off their lights last night for Earth Hour. Landmarks from Australia, to China, to Greece went dark along with millions of households. Fifty-four percent of you said you would turn off your lights in order to shed light on the climate crisis. Check out international photos from Earth Hour - including before and after shots. Source

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Front Page: Illinois Gov. Arrested, Trying to Sell Obama's Seat

LibertySugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 08:00:41 -0800

FBI agents arrested Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris today on federal corruption charges alleging that they tried to benefit financially in exchange for Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, among other things. Gov. Blagojevich has the sole authority to appoint Obama's successor. - CBS
The executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are on Capitol Hill today, testifying to Congress about who's to blame for the mortgage giants' collapse and the September government takeover. - AP

After a calm funeral for the teen shot by police whose death sparked three days of rioting in Greece, violence broke out in the southern Athens suburb. In central Athens, thousands also confronted police. This is the worst rioting seen in Greece in years. - New York Times
Mexico's top prosecutor says drug-related murders will likely increase next year in Mexico, after new numbers show they doubled in 2008 to a total of 5,400 deaths. - BBC News

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Front Page: 9/11 "Mastermind" to Plead Guilty Without Trial

CitizenSugar — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:00:00 -0800

The alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and his four codefendants have asked to plead guilty to the attacks, meaning the current trial would never go ahead. The defendants told a military judge at Guantanamo Bay that they want to confess. - BBC News
Pakistani security forces have arrested Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the suspected mastermind of the Mumbai massacre, after a raid on a militant camp. - AP

Tight government control of the auto industry, including a provision for a "car czar," will be part of legislation drafted by Congressional Democrats. With details still unclear, it's almost certain that the US car industry will have to submit to substantial government supervision if it wants taxpayer money. - NY Times
Riots continued in Greece today for the third day in a row. After police shot a teenage boy to death, protesters took to the streets throughout the major cities, clashing with police. - CNN