Iceland Elects First Female Majority Parliament

Iceland looks set to make history by becoming the first European country to elect a female majority to parliament. 

The country has long been considered a leader in gender equality and was ranked the most gender-equal nation in the world for the 12th year running in a World Economic Forum report released in March.

Let's hope the gender hierarchy continues to be broken down across the world. No complaints, hierarchy supporters. Men have had their turn for centuries. Turn around is fair play.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58698490

Switzerland Approves Same-Sex Marriage

In a move putting it in line with other European Union countries, Switzerland approved same-sex marriage in a national referendum.

Switzerland's parliament and the governing Federal Council supported the "Marriage for All" measure. Switzerland has authorized same-sex civil partnerships since 2007.

Most countries in Western Europe already recognize same-sex marriage, while most of those in Central and Eastern Europe don't allow wedlock involving two men or two women.

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/26/1040761090/switzerland-same-sex-marriage-referendum

Time to Take the Automobile Off the Top of the Transportation Hierarchy

Driving is the most dangerous activity Americans do every day. One of the reasons is that roads have historically been built for cars to go fast, and pedestrians and cyclists are rarely considered in most road designs. Cyclists and pedestrians are at their own risk when trying to go from one place to another.  

Fatalities on our streets have increased during COVID, mostly because with less cars on the streets, people are driving faster.

Controlling speeds on roads is the most important goal of any car safety strategy. There are two main ways to do that: change the physical design of the road with “traffic calming” measures that encourage slower driving, like narrowing lanes and adding speed bumps, or change the legal speed limit, which is easier and inexpensive but less effective.

https://www.vox.com/22675358/us-car-deaths-year-traffic-covid-pandemic

FBI Coverups of Larry Nassar Sexual Abuse

Good Ole Boys in the FBI? Did men turn their backs to the abuse of Larry Nassar in women's gymnastics because they want to protect each other? According to testimony, they went out to drink beer with each other to discuss career opportunities instead of the truth about the abuse.

Four elite gymnasts - Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Maggie Nichols, and Aly Raisman - testified that they were abused by Nassar who was allowed to continue after FBI officials made false statements and failed to properly document complaints by the accusers, resulting in a delay into probes of sexual abuse that allowed Nassar to continue to abuse athletes at Michigan State University and elsewhere.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/13/politics/biles-maroney-nichols-raisman-fbi-nassar-testimony/index.html

Paralympics: Powerful Political Statement

The Economist writes that the Paralympics are not just an athletic statement, but also a powerful political statement. These images show the growth of the Paralympics.

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/08/27/the-paralympics-have-gone-from-strength-to-strength

Amnesty International: Taliban Fast to Trample Human Rights

According to Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the World Organization Against Torture, the Taliban are rapidly dismantling the human rights gains of the past twenty years during their takeover which has been going on for five weeks.  

The Taliban has been killing civilians and surrendered soldiers, and blocking humanitarian supplies to regions of the country. They also have reimposed restrictions on women, freedom of expression and civil society.

Hierarchial men imposing their restrictions on everyone else, all in the name of a hierarchial religion. In hierarchial religions, man is not made in the image of a deity, but the deity is made in the image of a man on top of a hierarchy.

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/taliban-stamping-out-human-rights-in-afghanistan-says-new-briefing/

Ontario Anti-Vaxxers Don't Have Rights to Accomodations

Anti-vaxxers in Ontario are gaining opposition when they attempt to use anti-discrimination laws to stop vaccination requirements for public facilities. 

The decision to get vaccinated is voluntary, and a person who chooses not to be vaccinated because of a personal preference does not have the right to accommodation under the Human Rights Code, the Ontario Human Rights Commission said this week in a policy statement. 

Anti-vaxxers with top-of-the-hierarchy attitudes who do not feel the need to act in ways that benefit the common good are finding themselves, as of Wednesday, not able to go into indoor dining, gyms, concert venues, and more in Ontario. Standing up to the top of the hierarchy is always controversial to the people trying to preserve hierarchies. 

https://www.orangeville.com/news-story/10485169-anti-vaxxers-don-t-have-a-right-to-accommodations-ontario-human-rights-watchdog-says/