Often it is the case that we hear reports about the beginning of a story but never hear what happened as the story comes to conclusion.
This diary is to "wrap up" some of the stories I have posted about…or at least bring them to where they stand now.
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Remember Michele (Shelly) Hilliard, the Detroit transwoman whose body was dismembered and burned and dumped along an Interstate access road?
Qasim Raqib has been arrested and charged with Shelly's murder, after police revealed that Shelly was working for them as a drug informant and had set Raqib up in a drug sting in October. After Raqib posted bail, he targeted Shelly for revenge.
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PC Air hired four katooey flight attendants, along with 19 female and 7 male flight attendants, when it was launched earlier in the year by Peter Chan. Unless there are actually 5 of them.
Chayathisa Nakmai, 24, Dissanai Chitpraphachin, 23, Phuntakarn Sringern, 24, and Nathatai Sukkaset, 26 are identified as the transsexual flight attendants in the photo, but then Tanyarat Jirapatpakorn, 22, is quoted in the article:
This is the beginning of the acceptance of transsexuals in Thailand, giving the opportunity for us to work in various fields.
Maybe in the future we can get any job that transsexuals never did before, such as police, soldiers or even pilots.
--Tanyarat Jirapatpakom
The "ladyboy" flight attendants made their debut flight from Bangkok to Surat Thani this past Thursday.
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Recently President Barack Obama issued a memo on foreign policy and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a speech to the UN human rights forum calling for recognition of the human rights for LGBT people .
In the first official U.N. report on the issue, it called on governments to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, prosecute all serious violations and repeal discriminatory laws.
The
25-page report (pdf) includes the following as samples of the problem:
Gay men have been murdered in Sweden and the Netherlands, while a homeless transgender woman was killed in Portugal, it said. Lesbian, bisexual and transgender women in El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan and South Africa have experienced gang rapes, family violence and murder.
It cited allegations that in a police station in Indonesia, a man and his male partner were severely beaten and sexually assaulted a day after having been attacked by civilians.
A lesbian couple in Brazil were allegedly beaten at a police station and forced to perform oral sex, according to the report.
Currently 76 countries have laws criminalizing people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Such laws, including so-called 'sodomy laws', are often relics of colonial-era legislation…Penalties range from short-term to life imprisonment and even the death penalty.
In at least five countries, the death penalty may be applied to those found guilty of offences relating to consensual, adult homosexual conduct.
Those countries would be Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Sudan, and Yemen. Nigeria is trying hard to join them, as is Somalia.
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Vandy Beth Glenn
has returned to work after winning her job back in federal court.
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In Anchorage, Alaska
signatures for a city equal rights initiative have been verified. On April 3 the ballot in the municipal election will ask if protections against discrimination based on race, sex, religion, marital status, disability, etc, should include sexual orientation and transgender identity.
Trevor Storrs of the group One Anchorage said last week gay and transgender Alaskans can't file grievances with the municipal Equal Rights Commission because they are not recognized as part of a protected class.
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Monica Roberts at TransGriot is questioning the authenticity of the situation of the Macy's in San Antonio. She wonders whether or not it was a set-up for the right wingers to push their "religious liberty" doctrine. Monica wants to hear from the San Antonio press about the victim of fired Macy's employee Natalie Johnson's behavior.
So should we all.
