06/19/2013
Prepare yourself for Julius, the 16-foot yellow Burmese python. He's coming, and even closed doors can't stop him. As horrifying as the prospect of a lengthy, unwanted visitor is, however, it turns out that Julius may just be a big ole' softy.
Mashable reports:
The video below, which stars a 16-foot albino burmese python, was uploaded two years ago by Vimeo user Jenner. However, the snake, named "Julius," is the latest pet to experience Internet fame.
According to Jenner, when the snake is tired of being in a dark room, "she flips on the light, opens the door and bails."
"This is why we keep doors locked with her around. We don't need her harassing the neighbors," add Jenner in the video description.
Catch this snake's playful antics, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "Now Snakes Can (Gasp!) Open Doors: VIDEO"
Posted Jun. 19,2013 at 1:12 PM EST by Joseph Ehrman-Dupre in Nature, News, Video |
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By ARI EZRA WALDMAN
The upcoming Supreme Court decisions on DOMA and Prop 8 will not be the last word on marriage, in particular, or gay rights, in general. As we look forward to those words, however, let's take a look ahead and discuss how the legal landscape may be more complicated after the end of June. "Gay Rights After SCOTUS" is Towleroad's series on LGBT legal issues after Perry and Windsor. In today's column, state-to-state marriage recognition.
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) makes things really easy: it mandates that no matter what this or that state says about marriage, gay marriages are never going to be recognized by the federal government. So-called "federal marriage law" -- to the extent that there is such a thing -- will be a lot more complicated when the Supreme Court tosses DOMA into the dust bin of history.
Complication is not always a bad thing. It just takes a little more work.
Normally, marriage law is pretty simple: For 99 percent of heterosexual couples, the hardest thing about marrying in one state and moving to another state is packing the fine china. Sure, there are some states (New York) that allow first cousins to marry and some states (West Virginia) that do not, but for the most part, when a man marries a woman, they are married in all legal respects whether they live on the 65th floor in an Upper West Side hi-rise or in a ranch house in Oklahoma.
The end of DOMA doubles down the complexity faced by legally married same-sex couples. What is the governing law for marriages for federal law: the place of celebration or the place of domicile? What if the choice of law is different from different aspects of federal law? What happens when a legally married couple moves to a state that feels that their marriage violates public policy? What of gay couples that do not have the option of marrying and are in registered domestic partnerships or civil unions that provide all the benefits of marriage?
It's time to start imagining a world where we have to answer these questions. Join me AFTER THE JUMP as we look forward to a brave new world.
CONTINUED, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "Gay Rights After SCOTUS: Complexities of 'Federal Marriage Law'"
Posted Jun. 19,2013 at 12:12 PM EST by Ari Ezra Waldman in Ari Ezra Waldman, DOMA, Gay Marriage, Law - Gay, LGBT, News, Proposition 8, Supreme Court |
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President Obama is in Berlin today and gave a major speech at the Brandenburg Gate. Though the speech was wide-ranging in what it covered, he received huge cheers at the mention of gay and lesbian rights.
Said Obama:
I'd suggest that peace with justice begins with the example we set here at home, for we know from our own histories that intolerance breeds injustice. Whether it's based on race, or religion, gender or sexual orientation, we are stronger when all our people -- no matter who they are or what they look like -- are granted opportunity, and when our wives and our daughters have the same opportunities as our husbands and our sons. (Applause.)
When we respect the faiths practiced in our churches and synagogues, our mosques and our temples, we're more secure. When we welcome the immigrant with his talents or her dreams, we are renewed. (Applause.) When we stand up for our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters and treat their love and their rights equally under the law, we defend our own liberty as well. We are more free when all people can pursue their own happiness. (Applause.) And as long as walls exist in our hearts to separate us from those who don’t look like us, or think like us, or worship as we do, then we're going to have to work harder, together, to bring those walls of division down.
I've cued it up to the portion transcribed above, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "President Obama Gets Big Cheer for Mention of Gay Rights in Berlin: VIDEO"
Posted Jun. 19,2013 at 11:55 AM EST by Andy Towle in Barack Obama, Berlin, Germany, News |
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(Photo: Christa Holka)
BY BOBBY HANKINSON
It’s an exciting month for Bright Light Bright Light. The Welsh-born pop artist (né Rod Thomas) celebrates the release of his latest EP, Moves, tonight at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City, and he is playing Pride celebrations later this month in Seattle and San Francisco. His achingly beautiful dance tracks do much more than just get your feet moving; they can stop your heart and bring tears to your eyes. It’s no wonder he’s been drawing comparisons to Erasure, Kylie and Robyn.
We spoke with the openly gay artist about what his hometown has in common with Twin Peaks, what it means to be an out artist and what fans can expect from the next album.
More, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "Towleroad Interview: Bright Light Bright Light"
Posted Jun. 19,2013 at 11:00 AM EST by Bobby Hankinson in Bright Light Bright Light, Interview, Music, Music Video, News |
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The Los Angeles Police Department has released a surveillance tape that shows a gang of men stalking and attacking a transgender woman and is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to their arrest. The victim was hospitalized for a week with severe injuries, NBC Los Angeles reports:
The victim, known as “Vivian,” was assaulted while walking on Hollywood Boulevard about 2:15 a.m. on May 31, police said.The Los Angeles Police Department released security camera footage that shows multiple males chasing a woman in a red dress down a dark Hollywood Boulevard. The group is seen kicking the victim on the ground before running away. One of the suspected attackers was wearing a white tshirt with the letters YSL (Yves Saint Laurent), and black pants.
Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "LAPD Offers $25K Reward for Information on Suspects in Gang Attack on Trans Woman: VIDEO"
Posted Jun. 19,2013 at 10:51 AM EST by Andy Towle in Crime, Los Angeles, News, Transgender |
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Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has come out in support of marriage equality, HRC reports:
Today Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) announced that she supports marriage equality. Murkowski joins two of her Republican colleagues – Senator Rob Portman of Ohio and Senator Mark Kirk of Illinois – in endorsing the right of committed and loving gay and lesbian couples to marry.
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin released the following statement in response to the news:
“Senator Murkowski’s courageous and principled announcement today sends a clear message that marriage equality must come to all 50 states in this country. As the Supreme Court prepares to rule in two landmark marriage cases this month, a growing bipartisan coalition is standing up for the right of all couples to marry—and there is no turning back that tide. We hope other fair-minded conservatives like Senator Murkowski stand up and join her. Alaska may be nicknamed ‘the Last Frontier,’ but we’ve got to make sure that LGBT Alaskans don’t have to wait to find justice.”
Murkowski spoke to Anchorage's KTUU:
“This is a hard issue … because marriage is such a deeply personal issue. There may be some that when they hear the position that I hold that are deeply disappointed. There may be some who embrace the decision that I have made. I recognize that it is an area that, as a Republican, I will be criticized for,” she said in the KTUU interview.
Posted Jun. 19,2013 at 10:28 AM EST by Andy Towle in Alaska, Gay Marriage, Lisa Murkowski, News |
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