Posts Tagged legal

Thank You Thursdays: The Supreme Court strikes down harmful anti-prostitution pledge

For years, the United States has endorsed an explicitly discriminatory policy against sex workers. PEPFAR, our international HIV/AIDS aid policy, contains an anti-prostitution pledge requirement stating that no funds “may be used to provide assistance to any group or organization that does not have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.” In practice, this means that life-saving materials like condoms, contraceptives, and even information about sex and sexuality can’t legally be distributed to sex workers by any international agencies that accept US funding. Domestic agencies have to make no such pledge, although prostitution is obviously not legal in most of the US.

This, despite the fact that female sex workers are the ones who could most benefit from ...

For years, the United States has endorsed an explicitly discriminatory policy against sex workers. PEPFAR, our international HIV/AIDS aid policy, contains an anti-prostitution pledge requirement stating that no funds “may be used to provide assistance ...

Breaking: Dominique Strauss-Kahn to settle out of court with Nafissitou Diallo

The French press is reporting that the former IMF chief will be settling out of court with Nafissitou Diallo, the NYC based hotel maid who has pursued a case against him for sexual assault, if she drops the civil suit–to the tune of 6 million.

“Details of the deal, which comes after prosecutors dropped related criminal charges last year, weren’t immediately known and likely will be veiled by a confidentiality agreement. That could prevent the two from speaking publicly about a May 2011 encounter that she called a brutally sudden attack and he termed a consensual “moral failing.”

Lawyers for Strauss-Kahn and the housekeeper, Nafissatou Diallo, made the as-yet-unsigned agreement within recent days, with Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon ...

The French press is reporting that the former IMF chief will be settling out of court with Nafissitou Diallo, the NYC based hotel maid who has pursued a case against him for sexual assault, if ...

Quick Hit: Can a lawsuit bring some racial diversity to The Bachelor and The Bachelorette?

Jennifer Pozner has an interesting piece up at the Daily Beast on the class-action racial discrimination suit against The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

That calculus has governed casting on The Bachelor since its 2002 debut on ABC. Ten years, one spinoff (The Bachelorette), and 24 seasons later, every star of TV’s oldest reality romance franchise has been white. So were 22 of the 25 hopefuls on The Bachelorette’s Season 8 premiere last week. With that history, it came as no surprise that we heard almost no dialogue from the lone black contestant, Lerone, or that Southern blonde Emily Maynard sent him packing at the end of the episode. (On Twitter, one viewer suggested a #MenOfColorCountdown to see how long the ...

Jennifer Pozner has an interesting piece up at the Daily Beast on the class-action racial discrimination suit against The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.

That calculus has governed casting on The Bachelor since its 2002 debut on ABC. ...

Federal judge sends racist, anti-Obama email; claims he didn’t mean for it to be racist

Another one for the–you can’t be fucking serious–files. Bush-appointed federal judge Chief Judge Richard Cebull from the federal district court in Montana sent the following email. 

“Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

“A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?'” the email joke reads. “His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!'”

Cebull acknowledged that he sent the email to seven other people, he also ...

Another one for the–you can’t be fucking serious–files. Bush-appointed federal judge Chief Judge Richard Cebull from the federal district court in Montana sent the following email. 

“Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even ...

Topeka, Kansas considers decriminalizing domestic violence to avoid prosecuting cases

Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.

Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, facing a 10% budget cut, announced that the county would no longer be prosecuting misdemeanors, including domestic violence cases, at the county level. Finding those cases suddenly dumped on the city and lacking resources of their own, the Topeka City Council is now considering repealing the part of the city code that bans domestic battery. The thinking here is that the county won’t let domestic violence go unpunished in Topeka and so will be forced to step in and start prosecuting it again ...

Last night, in between approving city expenditures and other routine agenda items, the Topeka, Kansas City Council debated one rather controversial one: decriminalizing domestic violence.

Here’s what happened: Last month, the Shawnee County District Attorney’s office, ...

The (un)Real World: “You might get raped, pregnant and fired.”

This is appalling.

As would be expected, if you go on the Real World there is a contract with a long list of stipulations that you have to sign. As someone who used to watch the show, I’m sure you have to sign away any possibility of how you may be portrayed. But apparently, a closer look at the contract tell us that you may also get raped.

via Feminists for Choice and Jessica.

The Real World just got mad unreal. The Village Voice has more stipulations.

This is appalling.

As would be expected, if you go on the Real World there is a contract with a long list of stipulations that you have to sign. As someone who used to watch the show, I’m ...