All the details are at the top of the page as usual.

See you later. I hope more of you will be able to make it today. I miss you all.

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DD Live

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but i speak to another single person
i join a chorus of other small voices
i speak with hundreds of other mums
i stand with every daughter
i support and respect all my sisters
i write alongside thousands of other bloggers
i move with millions of other women
i am with every other human being

Today is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights.

THIS IS NOT MY COUNTRY is almost three years old and I am more convinced than ever of the power of this medium. My blog IS my commitment to Human Rights. I will continue to speak out even when I feel it is pointless or I feel vulnerable or I feel threatened or I feel alone.

Because if we don’t keep alert and we don’t speak out, we will lose our hard-won rights and others will never have them. My commitment continues…

Children in Leros refusing food

Technorati: bloggers unite for human rights, human rights, bloggers,

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Bloggers for Human Rights

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Don’t forget Bloggers Unite Human Rights is tomorrow, Thursday 15th May 2008. Write a post and link it here. Spread the word by putting a badge on your blog. Make a donation to a local Human Rights organisation. Write your thoughts in a comment on a participating blog. If you don’t have a blog, you are very welcome to post something in the comments and I will post it here for you. Educate yourself. Do something to show your support of human rights, however small that action might seem to be.

I’m posting this again in case you missed it the first time. Mary J makes me cry (in a good way) every time I watch it.

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Bloggers Unite Human Rights

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Tens of thousands of people who had nothing to begin with are (yet again) victims of natural disasters.

We don’t have words for this.
There are no words.

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There are No Words

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Don’t forget that the 15th of May (3 days from now on Thursday) is Bloggers Unite for Human Rights (see my sidebar). Put a badge on your blog and spread the word.

DD

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Slow Blogging

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A study of female immigrants in Greece was published today by the Research Center for Gender Equality (KETHI) and its findings are depressing but not surprising.

Of some 500,000 female immigrants in Greece, most work as babysitters, cleaners or housekeepers, even though 25 percent are educated to degree level, the KETHI study found. Many of the younger female migrants (in the 18 to 39 age group) would like to start their own business – as many have done in other countries – but barriers to social integration and bureaucracy ensure that most of them remain in low-paid jobs

Discrimination, bureaucracy and employers not paying their social security contributions are blamed for the fact that most of these women will never achieve their potential as vibrant members of this society. They are exploited. Many are basically slaves, working long hours with no benefits and no security.

The Kathimerini article is (as usual) a muddled summary of the report but you can read it here.

I have serious problems with the way the paper reports immigrant issues. The article entitled The foreign woman at home (in the same issue) reads to me like an ode to slavery rather than a commentary railing against the inactivity of the government and the exploitation of “foreign” women. You know like, these foreign women are raising our children and looking after our old people and we have now accepted them as “family members”. Rather than recognising them as women in their own right. With skills, ambitions and dreams other than taking care of you and being the saviors of your happiness.

The article really bothers me…

What do you think ?

Technorati: women, immigration, workers rights, greece

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Women in Their Own Right

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Technorati: ableism, disability rights, carnivals,

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The 37th edition of the Disability Blog Carnival

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All the information for joining the chat is here

.

See you later hopefully.

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DD Live

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Today is World Red Cross Red Crescent Day

Please consider making a donation today for the people of Myanmar. Unfortunately, the International Red Cross does not accept PayPal. If you know of an ethical charity organisation working in Myanmar that does, please let me know.

The official death toll so far is 22,000 but could exceed 100,000 according to the senior U.S. diplomat in the country. The numbers are so high it is hard to imagine…

I am speechless and even more so because I was chatting with someone yesterday who didn’t even know that the cyclone had happened!

Spread the word…

UPDATE: You can make Paypal donations to the World Food Programme

The World Food Programme has sent four aircraft loaded with critically needed food aid and other relief items for thousands of people struck by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar

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World Red Cross Red Crescent Day

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Athens, May 7th 2008

Press Release

With great astonishment we were informed by the media the deposition of a restraining order in the Court of First instance in Athens against our association. The plaintiffs Coconi Kouvalaki, Maria Rodou and Dimitrios Lamprou demand that we cease to use the “‘national’, local characterization Lesbian” and all its derivatives.
The hearing of the case will take place on June 10, 2008.

Our association, since its founding moment, was decided to be named “Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece (ΟΛΚΕ)”, in order to grant lesbians more visibility in the Greek society. It is more than obvious that we refer to women of homosexual orientation. The word lesbian has been used internationally and officially with the specific meaning since the 19th century.

The lack of tolerance that is expressed with this act constitutes lesbophobia. If the plaintiffs consider that the use of the particular term “provokes and insults the right to personality… since it harbors offense to (their) dignity”, this is due to the homophobia which, unfortunately, can be found in at large in the Greek society.

We believe that in a society, where no one is considered as a second class citizen, because of their sexual orientation, no verbal attribution would provoke or insult any of their fellow citizens.

Respectfully,
The board of directors

Αθήνα, 6 Μαῒου 2008

Δελτίο Τύπου

Με έκπληξη πληροφορηθήκαμε από τα μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης την κατάθεση αίτησης ασφαλιστικών μέτρων στο μονομελές πρωτοδικείο Αθηνών από τις Κοκκώνη Κουβαλάκη, Μαρία Ρόδου και τον Δημήτριο Λάμπρου κατά του σωματείου μας, που αξιώνουν την παύση της χρήσης των «”εθνικών” τοπικών χαρακτηρισμών Λέσβιος, Λεσβία, Λέσβια, Λέσβιο, Λεσβιακός –ή, ό».
Ημερομηνία εκδίκασης της υπόθεσης έχει οριστεί η 10η Ιουνίου 2008.
Το σωματείο μας από την πρώτη στιγμή αποφάσισε να ονομαστεί Ομοφυλοφιλική και Λεσβιακή Κοινότητα Ελλάδας για να κάνει τις λεσβίες περισσότερο ορατές στην Ελληνική κοινωνία. Είναι ολοφάνερο ότι αναφερόμαστε σε γυναίκες με ομοερωτικό προσανατολισμό. Η λέξη λεσβία χρησιμοποιείται διεθνώς και επισήμως με τη συγκεκριμένη σημασία από τον 19ο αιώνα.
Η έλλειψη ανοχής που εκφράζεται με την κίνηση αυτή συνιστά λεσβοφοβία. Αν οι ενάγουσες και ο ενάγων θεωρούν ότι η χρήση του συγκεκριμένου όρου «προκαλεί και προσβάλει το δικαίωμα της προσωπικότητας… καθώς ενέχει προσβολή της αξιοπρέπειας (τους)», αυτό οφείλεται στην ομοερωτοφοβία που συναντάται δυστυχώς σε μεγάλο μέρος της ελληνικής κοινωνίας.
Πιστεύουμε ότι σε μία κοινωνία όπου καμία και κανένας πολίτης δεν θα ήταν Β’ κατηγορίας εξ’αιτίας του σεξουαλικού προσανατολισμού του/της, κανείς λεκτικός προσδιορισμός δεν θα μπορούσε ούτε να προκαλέσει ούτε να προσβάλλει καμία και κανένα συμπολίτη μας.

Με εκτίμηση,
Το ΔΣ της ΟΛΚΕ

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The Real Lesbians Update

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Posted by Devious Diva at THIS IS NOT MY COUNTRY

Eurovision Song Contest

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I found this on Flubberwinkle’s blog. I hope you will all take part on the 15th May 2008. Go here for more details.

Pass it on.

Technorati: human rights, bloggers, unite, blogcatalog

Posted by Devious Diva at THIS IS NOT MY COUNTRY

Bloggers Unite for Human Rights

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I know it seems like a long way off ( June 7th ), but Gay Pride 2008 are working hard on this years celebrations. The silliness of the recent argument over the word lesbian and the brilliant activism against “domestic partnership” legislation that would exclude gay couples, has got me thinking about gay rights in Greece and about my support of the people who are working tirelessly to make sure that they are upheld.

Gay Pride 2008 have a new logo, their new slogan “IT’S OUR RIGHT” speaks to me about not only the gay community but about human rights generally in Greece.

To a Greece that is glaringly lax in ratifying the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons
To a Greece that refuses to speak to our needs
To a Greece hindmost in social programs that concern us
To a Greece that asks why we celebrate

Athens Pride responds:

IT’S OUR RIGHT!

It’s our right!:
To express ourselves
To dare
To celebrate with pride

It’s our right!:
To assert ourselves
To marry
To adopt
To give birth

It’s our right!:
To be in love with the same sex
To be in love with all sexes
To question our gender
To reassign our gender

It’s our right!:
To walk hand-in-hand

The media sponsors of the parade have some great links and resources for the gay community.

And they are looking for volunteers:

We really appreciate your interest in being an Athens Pride volunteer!

Besides assisting our grassroots project and helping to write LGBT history in Greece, it’s also a great way to make friends in the community and experience our Greek hospitality

Contact Gay Pride 2008 if you want to help out.

Please send me any other information you have so I can let my readers know the latest news.

DD

Technorati: gay rights, greece, gay pride, it’s our right

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Athens Pride 2008

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I know I don’t live there anymore, but I still care about what happens to my former home city. This is not good news… Boris the Joke Johnson is now Mayor of London. Now they don’t have to imagine… it’s reality.

Londoners - some famous, some not - imagine their city under Boris

Alan Rickman
Actor and director

“If Boris Johnson gets elected it would be a case of the lunatic having no clue how to run the asylum. Good luck to Ken, good luck to all of us.”

Dr Nonee Sen, 68
Barrister

“Boris has as little knowledge of multiculturalism as I have of life on Jupiter. He used to go to this club in Oxford called the Bullingdon Club, full of snobs and creative conmen. The man has not only no physical ability to run anything, he is immoral and a bully. Boris as mayor would be like discovering you had piles and there was no cure for it.”

Vivienne Westwood
Fashion designer

“Boris as mayor? Unthinkable. It just exposes democracy as a sham, especially if people don’t vote for Ken - he’s the best thing in politics. Unthinkable.”

(more…)

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Be Afraid

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This one is shocking to say the least:

Grandiloquence no substitute for deeds

. On this front, the Greek state scores negative marks and the numbers illustrate just how poor its performance is.

Of the some 180,000 children in this country with physical or learning disabilities, only 1,350 will ever make it into secondary education. This percentage of 0.75 reflects the size of the state’s failure, as it confines itself to making grandiloquent statements while leaving the weaker members of society to fend for themselves when it comes to their education.

The government has taken a first step with the draft law for the reform of education for people with special needs. There is concern, however, that these changes will be nothing more than a drop in the ocean compared to what needs to be done. What’s more, the government needs to move fast on change, because it has dragged its feet for far too long.

We must never forget that no one should be excluded from our society.

And can I just say “about time” on this one:

More rights for partners

A landmark ruling by the Supreme Court, which was made public yesterday, means that the unmarried partners of people killed in car crashes can be considered members of the family and are entitled to compensation.

The court issued its decision after hearing the case of the partner of a 51-year-old man who was killed in an accident after the couple had had a baby together.

In its ruling, the court said that it accepted that the man’s partner “was tied by love and respect to her partner” and suffered as a result of his sudden death “deep pain and intense distress and as such deserves adequate financial compensation.”

The court awarded the woman 15,000 euros. It is the first time that a person who is not an immediate relative of someone who has died suddenly has been awarded damages for the loss of their loved one.

In their ruling, the judges also called for laws governing cohabitation to be introduced. The Justice Ministry has already said it is working on such regulations.

Both from Kathimerini

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News from Greece

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