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Global LGBT Recap: Promise and Peril in the New Year

By Peter Montgomery

…il terms for hate crimes. Russia: Principle 6 Campaign & It Gets Better An international cast of athletes has joined the Principle 6 campaign, which as created by Athlete Ally and All Out to give athletes, spectators, and others a way to raise awareness of anti-LGBT laws in Russia before and during the Sochi Olympics. The campaign is built around Principle 6 of the Olympic charter, which states: “Sport does not discriminate on grounds of race, rel…

Women as Head Pastors Was Final Straw for Southern Baptist Convention — Not Scandal, Sexual Abuse, or Dalliance with Dictators

By Caroline Matas

…her leaders avoid the same mistakes he made.” Scandal, abuse, and unsavory international influence are not unique to Saddleback Church, but instead seem to be a thematic constant of the Southern Baptist Convention. Moreover, scandal, abuse, and unsavory international influence had, apparently, no bearing on Saddleback’s rejection from the SBC. What truly put them out of cooperation with the denomination was their choice to give Wood’s wife Stacie…

Anti-Gay Celebration in Uganda; Weddings in England; ‘Francis Effect’ at the Vatican

By Peter Montgomery

…ts at the United Nations and the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council. In international bodies, the Holy See regularly teams up with groups like Family Watch International and the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute as well as groups of Islamic and African nations to oppose any effort to apply human rights language or principles to same-sex relationships, or to extend the definition of “family.” The Holy See, Feder concludes, “seems to rem…

Countering the “Countering Violent Extremism” Program

By Elizabeth Shakman Hurd

…t two years, the Obama administration has dramatically elevated CVE in the international agenda” in developing a “preventative, civilian-led framework.” USAID and others have taken steps to incorporate CVE into their programming. There is talk of women’s CVE initiatives. According to Sewall, “women’s empowerment is not only essential for defeating violent extremism; defeating violent extremism is essential for women’s empowerment. CVE is a feminis…

Global LGBT Recap: Adventists Talk About, Not To, LGBT People; British Muslim Group Welcomes Gay-Rights Activist; Homophobia Exports Continue

By Peter Montgomery

…l countries are passing brutal anti-LGBTI legislation. Uganda and Nigeria: International Fallout Continues The European Parliament passed a resolution last week condemning anti-gay laws in Nigeria and Uganda. In response, the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Parliament reportedly “said it will discourage African heads of state and government from attending the EU-Africa summit scheduled for May should Western nations impose sanctions on Uganda and…

Debate Over Mother Earth’s ‘Rights’ Stirs Fears of Pagan Socialism

By Bron Taylor

…arth,” language below proposed by Evo Morales on the occasion of the first International Day for Mother Earth on April 22, 2009. Most people who care about their planet and its inhabitants will discover that this indigenous and socialist leader from Bolivia makes more sense than the voices expressed on Fox. And in any case, it is a good idea when observing Earth Day in 2011 to be aware of the International Mother Earth Day, which was devised to tu…

Russia and the US Have More in Common Than You Might Think

By Chrissy Stroop

…I enjoyed interacting with the Stanford undergraduates and teaching on an international master’s program in which students from Russia, other post-Soviet states and various Western countries got along well and became friends. In my second year, however, a chill fell over the classroom. The Westerners sat on one side, those from Russia and Ukraine on the other—minus one Ukrainian who had dropped out—and the two student factions openly antagonized…

Ahmadinejad Aside, Anti-Racism Conference Was Deeply Flawed

By Austin Dacey

…abide by ICERD. What’s more, the text calls for an elaboration of existing international standards in order to keep pace with new forms of intolerance (read “Islamophobia”). Now the Algeria-chaired Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards, under the influence of the Islamic states and their African allies, is seeking to add to ICERD a protocol that would outlaw religiously offensive speech as “incitement.” This is the real action that’s taking…

Does Helen Thomas Work for Israel?

By Shaul Magid

…srael is a legitimate nation-state created by the United Nations, the only international body we have. Her comment was not about “the occupation,” it was about the legitimacy of Israel’s existence. And that legitimacy is not merely a “Jewish claim” (though it is that also); it is an international declaration. Israel did not conquer Palestine in a war. The Arab world rejected partition in 1948 and Israel accepted it. The state was created with the…

Oppose Afghanistan But Not a Pacifist? Tough.

By Gabriella Lettini

…entious objection? The reasons are many: the need for freedom of religion, international agreements on the conduct of war, motivations for military service, and backdoor drafts. The majority of religions in the United States allow participation in what Christians call “just war.” President Obama asserted that the failure of just war in World War II compelled the United Nations to create agreements such as the Nuremberg Principles and Geneva Conven…