Bucha

I have no words.

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"They Have Orders to Erase Us All"

Soviet POWs covering a mass grave after the Babyn Yar massacre, October 1, 1941.
From Wikipedia - public domain.

 

After a Russian missile struck Babyn Yar in Kyiv, the site of a memorial and mass grave of more than 100,000 victims of Nazi massacres, Ukrainian President Zelensky made this statement today:

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The General Assembly of the United Nations voted today on a resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine:  141 nations voted for the resolution, 5 against, and 35 abstained.  The map shows how the vote went:

Click to enlarge.

This is a good time to review the founding principles expressed in the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

• to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
• to regain faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
• to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS

• to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and
• to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
• to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
• to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS

Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations.

By the way, have you ever read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?  A beautiful statement of fundamental principles all member states should try to live up to.  Read it here.

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Invasion map of Ukraine, March 2, 2022, 1800 GMT.
Click to enlarge.

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The Queen on Climate Change

 Her Majesty the Queen, heeding her doctors' advice to stay home and take a little rest from her outside duties, today sent a video message to the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), which is meeting in Glasgow this week:

 

Whether the nations will listen to her, any more than they listen to me, remains to be seen.

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How to Measure a Happy Nation

The World Happiness Report was released yesterday, and Norway is officially number 1 on that scale.  It is of course not a strictly scientific measurement, like the freezing point of water, or the diameter of the moon, but a made-up statistic:  a conglomeration of numbers put together by some bright boys to make a point.  Next year, they might decide to use a totally different scale - so don't put too much faith in a thing like this, fellas.  How on earth could anyone know whether Nils Nilsson in Norway is any happier or sadder than you are, just at this moment?  Still, it is mildly interesting to think about.

The actual report is found here.  Or you can watch a report from CBS Sunday Morning instead:

The Voice of a Girl, the Hope of the World

Reuters reports:

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year for demanding education for girls, marked her 16th birthday with an emotional speech at the United Nations on Friday in which she said education could change the world.

"Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution," a confident Yousafzai said to cheers from the podium. Wearing a pink head scarf, Yousafzai told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and nearly 1,000 students from around the world attending a Youth Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York that education was the only way to improve lives.

Yousafzai was shot at close range by gunmen in October as she left school in Pakistan's Swat Valley, northwest of the country's capital Islamabad. She was targeted for her campaign against the Islamist Taliban efforts to deny women education. "They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed and out of that silence came thousands of voices," she said in Friday's speech. "The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born," Yousafzai said.

She wore a white shawl draped around her shoulders that had belonged to former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated during a 2007 election rally weeks after she returned to Pakistan from years in self-imposed exile. "I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I'm here to speak up for the right of education for every child," she said. "I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists," she said. "I do not even hate the talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him."

Your Head Trucker also recommends this 2009 documentary about Malala, her family, and her home town from the New York Times - caution, some scenes are gruesome:

The Comic Side of Marriage Equality

The Archie comic book series has had a gay character, Kevin Keller, for some time now. In the latest issue of Life with Archie, Kevin marries his fiance, Dr. Clay Walker.

Wow.  Your Head Trucker is speechless at the thought of how far we have come from the days when I was a kid reading those comics - and the only choice a guy had was between Betty and Veronica, or Ginger and Mary Ann. Some changes since, huh?

Psst:  Hey guys, I think I missed the last memo from Gay Headquarters, so clue me in: is this part of our United Nations plot to make half the world population homosexual within the next 20 years?

And where can I get my own gay marriage, is there like a sign-up sheet or something?

You Go, Hillary

Your Head Trucker is feeling mighty proud of our Secretary of State today, after making the historic declaration that "gay rights are human rights" before the United Nations yesterday in Geneva. Rachel gives the scoop:

And here's the entire speech, if you want to see and hear it:



Or read the transcipt of this landmark speech here. As Rachel says, it's worth your time.

Also yesterday, President Obama issued a memorandum to federal agencies about the need to use American foreign aid and diplomacy, including granting asylum to gay and lesbians.  Offical text of the memorandum is here.

It warms your Head Trucker's heart to hear these breathtaking statements - I am old enough to remember when homosexual was a word only whispered in public - especially since of late it has been so dispiriting to think about the anti-gay forces at work around the world. Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out says:

The list of countries that recently declared war on sexual minorities include: Russia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Uganda, Iran, and Zimbabwe. For the contemptible despots who run these underachieving nations, fomenting homophobia makes political sense. By turning homosexuals into bogeymen these rulers can conceal their corruption and appear moral through the blessings of craven clergy. . . .

But today’s actions by the administration and Clinton’s speech were different. The words were spoken with true vision and encrusted in values. There was clarity and passion, and no one was left wondering where our country stood on the rights of LGBT people.

This was one of those times where our nation demonstrated true international leadership and made me incredibly proud to be an American. It was stirring to witness our country act decisively as a force for moral good. There was no patronizing that relegated the LGBT community to the role of liberalism’s unwanted stepchild. There were no carefully crafted and focus grouped code words that sugarcoated the abuses – just the honest truth spoken from the heart. . . .

The stunning events in Geneva mark the moment Barack Obama secured a national LGBT vote for his 2012 re-election campaign. Today we felt hope – but more importantly, we witnessed monumental change.

Amen.

Of course, some buttheads still don't get it, and probably never will. But oh let's do hope history hurries up and puts them on the shelf before too long.

BTW - your Head Trucker is not old enough to remember this date as a "day that will live in infamy" - no really, I'm not - but he does vividly remember it was exactly five years ago today that the Canadian Parliament voted for the third and final time to affirm equal marriage in that country.  I watched the roll-call vote live, with tears running down my face, as member after member rose to vote on that historic occasion which finally ended all debate on the matter in the True North.

Canada, perhaps even more so than the United States, is a nation of immigrants now, and I was struck by the many different ethnicities represented by various Members of Parliament, from the four corners of the globe.  It seemed to me that this was like a United Nations, joining together people from all over the world to ratify the equal respect and dignity of gay people.  And I will never forget that moment.

So here's to better times for all of us queer people, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and all the fabulous colors of the rainbow.

Update: Be sure to read John Aravosis's excellent post:

Leave Hillary alone: Her UN speech was freaking great

Obama to U.N.: Stand Up for the Gays

(begin at the 4:45 mark)

In his speech before the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York yesterday, President Obama urged that all countries respect the rights and dignity of gay people:

And to make sure our societies reach their potential, we must allow our citizens to reach theirs. No country can afford the corruption that plagues the world like a cancer. Together, we must harness the power of open societies and open economies. That’s why we’ve partnered with countries from across the globe to launch a new partnership on open government that helps ensure accountability and helps to empower citizens. No country should deny people their rights to freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.

Wow. Powerful words.  Thank you, Mr. President.

White House Condemns Ugandan Antigay Bill

From The Advocate:

In its strongest statement yet, the Obama Administration condemned a homophobic Ugandan bill that would carry a death sentence for acts of homosexuality in some cases.

“The President strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history,” read the White House statement that came late Friday in response to an inquiry from The Advocate.

About damn time is all I can say, boys. 

Even if it is one single sentence in a generic White House statement - not from those Nobel-Peace-Prize-winning lips.  Well, you see how the glory and the power of this world operates, and always has.

Hell, Rick Warren managed to talk for 6 minutes on this topic.  But I suppose we have to take what we can get from the man who repeatedly promised to be our fierce advocate, eh fellas?

The Advocate goes on to report that the tide may be turning against the bill in Uganda, with a state-run newspaper arguing against it.  Read the Advocate article for more details; and God bless our brothers and sisters there.

Update:  Now the Vatican has weighed in on the subject, though like the White House, without the direct words of the principal occupant.  According to reports in Truth Wins Out and Box Turtle Bulletin, Father Philip Bene, legal attaché to the Holy See’s UN mission, delivered this official statement to a United Nations panel on antigay violence on December 10th:

As stated during the debate of the General Assembly last year, the Holy See continues to oppose all grave violations of human rights against homosexual persons, such as the use of the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The Holy See also opposes all forms of violence and unjust discrimination against homosexual persons, including discriminatory penal legislation which undermines the inherent dignity of the human person.

As raised by some of the panelists today, the murder and abuse of homosexual persons are to be confronted on all levels, especially when such violence is perpetrated by the State. While the Holy See’s position on the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity remains well known, we continue to call on all States and individuals to respect the rights of all persons and to work to promote their inherent dignity and worth.

But as Timothy Kincaid of BTB points out in the same article, don't think the Church has changed its mind about all you nasty, hellbound queers:

However, the Church speaks of “cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment” and of “discriminatory penal legislation”. The Church is not, in this message, calling for the decriminalization of homosexual acts. Indeed, to do so would be contrary to their statements of a year ago. At that time, when the European Union called for decriminalization, the Vatican officially objected, making the peculiar argument that such a call discriminates against nations that don’t recognize same-sex unions. (Catholic News Service 12/08/08)

And, surprisingly, even three signers of the antigay Manhattan Declaration, which I've not had time to blog about but which has been covered extensively by other gay bloggers recently, have made this somewhat compassionate statement - though of course with the same old you're-going-to-hell-damn-you message blended in; still, it's an improvement over past attitudes:

Surely, no one guilty of a single act of homosexual conduct (or fornication, adultery, or other sexual offense) should spend the remainder of his life in prison as a consequence of his sin. Such harshness, such lack of mercy, is manifestly contrary to the example of our Lord and cannot be given the support of those who seek to follow Christ. In response to a proposal to punish consensual sexual crimes with such extreme penalties the Christian must surely echo the words of Jesus: “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Harshness and excess must be avoided. Those who experience homosexual desire and yield to it should not be singled out for extreme measures or for revulsion. Homosexual persons, whether they struggle to live chastely or, alas, do not, are human beings. They are children of God made in His very image and likeness. They are our brothers and sisters. Christ loves them as he loves all of us.

Well how nice to learn, after half a century on this planet, that I am a human being after all.  And Jesus loves me too.  How very nice, how very kind of these straight white men, the lords of creation, to say so.

Now why the fuck was there never a priest or preacher said that to me 40 years ago, when I so desperately needed to hear it, huh?

Oh well, life goes on.  What does not kill us makes us stronger.  And maybe, just maybe, these little tiny cracks in the wall of homophobia show that the world is changing in a good way, after all.  Slowly.

Pope Says Save the Trees, Stop the Gays!

The news never changes. The gays are the most nasty, wicked, awful people imaginable, and they are destroying society, the family, the country, the whole damn planet.

Jeezus, what would the straight bigots do without us to blame for all their misdoings? I'm so tired of this.

Britain's Daily Telegraph reports the latest words of wisdom from His Holiness, aka B-16:

In his address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration, he described behaviour beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work" and said that the Roman Catholic Church had a duty to "protect man from the destruction of himself".

It is not "outmoded metaphysics" to urge respect for the "nature of the human being as man and woman," he added.

"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official described homosexuality as "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound".

The Pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman.

He also defended the Church's right to "speak of human nature as man and woman, and ask that this order of creation be respected".

Last week, as the Vancouver Sun reported, the Vatican also refused to support a United Nations declaration, sponsored by France and the Netherlands, calling upon all governments to decriminalize homosexuality:

Archbishop Celestino Migliore said the Vatican opposed the resolution because it would "add new categories of those protected from discrimination" and could lead to reverse discrimination against traditional heterosexual marriage.

"If adopted, they would create new and implacable discriminations," Migliore said. "For example, states which do not recognise same-sex unions as 'matrimony' will be pilloried and made an object of pressure," Migliore said.

A strongly worded editorial in Italy's mainstream La Stampa newspaper said the Vatican's reasoning was "grotesque".

Pointing out that homosexuality was still punishable by death in some Islamic countries, the editorial said what the Vatican really feared was a "chain reaction in favour of legally recognised homosexual unions in countries, like Italy, where there is currently no legislation". . . .

Vatican spokesman Rev Federico Lombardi said "no one wants the death penalty or jail or fines for homosexuals" but defended Migliore's comments, adding that the Vatican was in the majority on the issue.

"It's not for nothing that fewer than 50 member states of the United Nations have adhered to the proposal in question while more than 150 have not adhered. The Holy See is not alone," Lombardi said.

An editorial in Rome's left-leaning La Repubblica newspaper said the Vatican's position "leaves one dumbstruck". Margherita Boniver, a leading member of the Italy's leftist Democratic Party, called it "alarmingly anachronistic". . . .

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. But in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity and a wound".

The United States, land of the free and home of the brave, also refused to sign the declaration, as the Associated Press reports:

Alone among major Western nations, the United States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

In all, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding declaration — which backers called a historic step to push the General Assembly to deal more forthrightly with any-gay discrimination. More than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them homosexual acts can be punished by execution.

Co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands, the declaration was signed by all 27 European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries. There was broad opposition from Muslim nations, and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review. . . .

According to some of the declaration's backers, U.S. officials expressed concern in private talks that some parts of the declaration might be problematic in committing the federal government on matters that fall under state jurisdiction. In numerous states, landlords and private employers are allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.

Carolyn Vadino, a spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., stressed that the United States — despite its unwillingness to sign — condemned any human rights violations related to sexual orientation.

Gay rights activists nonetheless were angered by the U.S. position. "It's an appalling stance — to not join with other countries that are standing up and calling for decriminalization of homosexuality," said Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. She expressed hope that the U.S. position might change after President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

Also denouncing the U.S. stance was Richard Grenell, who until two months ago had been the chief spokesman for the U.S. mission to the U.N. "It is ridiculous to suggest that there are legal reasons why we can't support this resolution — common sense says we should be the leader in making sure other governments are granting more freedoms for their people, not less," said Grenell, who described himself as a gay Republican. "The U.S. lack of support on this issue only dims our once bright beacon of hope and freedom for those who are persecuted and oppressed."

More than 50 countries opposed to the declaration, including members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, issued a joint statement Thursday criticizing the initiative as an unwarranted attempt to give special prominence to gays and lesbians. The statement suggested that protecting sexual orientation could lead to "the social normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts" such as pedophilia and incest.

But the bright side of all this is that gay rights is no longer an unmentionable topic at the UN, as Reuters reports:

Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen told reporters it was a "very special day at the U.N."

"For the first time in history a large group of member states speaks out in the General Assembly against discrimination based on sexual orientation," he said. "With today's statement, this is no longer a taboo within the U.N."

Historical note: Half of the nations that criminalize gay sex do so based on laws inherited from the British Empire. Human Rights Watch has produced an extensive report on the legal history of sodomy laws in Britain and its former colonies (PDF, 66 pages), well worth reading if you have a penchant for history.

Update: A big ol' honk to Joe.My.God. for the definitive summary of Der Pope's remarks:

Every time you take it up the ass, we lose another acre of the Amazon.

Vive la France

The word from Paris is that Junior Human Rights Minister Rama Yade--how do you say hottie in French?--has announced that France will submit a proposal to the United Nations General Assembly in December, calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide.

You go, girl. As the picture shows, France is taking a very admirable, very wide stance on queer affairs in the world. Garçon, bring us another big baguette and a bottle of that lovely French bubbly!

Btw, in case you didn't know this, fellas--your queerness can get you a nice long term in the slammer in 90 countries around the world right now. And the death penalty in six.

Something to think about at the next Pride parade. And on election day.