Tag: huffington

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The case for cause marketing

We all are exposed to traditional and typical advertising and marketing messages every day, for everything from food to fragrances to banking to many other products and services we consume on a regular basis.

However, sometimes companies with the most powerful brands in the world take their marketing messages a step further and align them with a cause, which can be incredibly beneficial to society, reports Huffington Post Gay Voices.images-2

“When done properly, cause marketing can change the world and help to move that cause in a positive direction, whether it is health-related, environmental, humanitarian, or social in nature.

“We are currently seeing a positive example of cause marketing by Office Depot, a leading national retailer, who has dedicated its back-to-school effort for the second consecutive year to raising awareness for anti-bullying as it specifically relates to parents, teachers, and students. The company has recently launched a campaign with worldwide music phenomenon One Direction, coinciding with their U.S. summer tour. The theme of the campaign is “1D + OD Together Against Bullying,” and has been designed to raise awareness for anti-bullying, culminating in educational programs beginning this Fall in schools across America.

“By embracing the anti-bullying cause, Office Depot is aiming to create more positive environments for three of its key consumers. First, they want to enable teachers to have more positive classroom and teaching experiences. No one can deny that teaching is a tough profession. Reducing and possibly eliminating bullying at school will take one more stress factor off of teachers’ already full plates. Continue reading “The case for cause marketing”

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Redefining success

EVERY day, news releases and books cross my desk that promise success in all sorts of areas — getting a job, getting a better job, managing your employees, managing your boss, managing your relationships. Today’s New York Times ran a piece on a recent event aimed at redefining what REALLY matters:

“Some are interesting, some are ridiculous and many are repetitive takes on the same theme. But recently, I came across two items that, separately, talked about an issue I’ve tackled before in one of my columns — questioning what we actually mean by success. That column, which appeared almost a year ago to the day, discussed how we shouldn’t always aim for the extraordinary, but celebrate the ordinary. It was one of my most popular articles ever.So I was intrigued when I was told that a conference was being held on the very issue of redefining success. And, separately, that American Express had recently released a study showing that Americans were thinking of success in different ways than in the past.

“The Third Metric: Redefining Success Beyond Money & Power” was the conference presented last week by Mika Brzezinski, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of the Huffington Post, at Ms. Huffington’s new apartment in TriBeCa (some 200 people squeezed into her living room).Panels, covering topics ranging from “Managing a Frenetic Life” to “Wellness and the Bottom Line,” featured a number of prominent people, among them the actress Candice Bergen and Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama.  Continue reading “Redefining success”

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98

In his Sports Illustrated editorial,  Jason Collins wrote he wore the number 98 in 38 games this season while playing for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards as a silent tribute to Matthew Shepard, who was beaten and left to die outside Laramie, Wyo. in October 1998.

Collins writes:

“My one small gesture of solidarity was to wear jersey number 98 with the Celtics and then the Wizards. The number has great significance to the gay community. One of the most notorious antigay hate crimes occurred in 1998. Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student, was kidnapped, tortured and lashed to a prairie fence. He died five days after he was finally found.That same year the Trevor Project was founded. This amazing organization provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to kids struggling with their sexual identity. Trust me, I know that struggle. I’ve struggled with some insane logic. When I put on my jersey I was making a statement to myself, my family and my friends.”

 

The Huffington Post carries a story about this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/30/jason-collins-matthew-shepard-tribute-_n_3187211.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular Continue reading “98”

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“Accept” and “tolerate” not good enough

Last month U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) reversed his stance on gay marriage, largely because his son is gay, and although I felt like I should have been happy about it, it left a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, I’m happy that there is another senator willing to support the civil rights of all U.S. citizens, but my knee-jerk reaction was, “Oh, you support gay marriage now because it directly affects your family? Well, guess what, Mr. Senator: The rest of our kids matter too.” I know that that thought was not generous, and I’m not proud of it, but my frustration is real, and the problem of homophobia is real, reports Huffington Post

“Then U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) made his own announcement. It turns out that he has a gay son too, but his opposition to marriage equality is not going to change. He also made a point to say that he loves his son. A few days later his son did an interview in which he spoke about how his father loves him and is incredibly tolerant. Now I wasn’t frustrated; I was furious. I was furious at this father for putting his politics before the rights of his kid, and I was furious that his child felt the need to defend his father when his father sure as hell isn’t defending him.

“But when I let my temper simmer down and took a step back, I saw that this is an issue that goes far beyond two GOP politicians and their kids.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to hear from gay kids all across the country. A lot of them don’t have supportive families, but some do. I cherish the good stories, but there’s often a moment in those good stories that makes my heart hurt: when they tell me how happy they are that their parents “still” love them — because all those kids knew that not loving them was an option. Continue reading ““Accept” and “tolerate” not good enough”

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On transgender military service

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s announcement just weeks before leaving office that he would bring an end to the policy of excluding women from combat assignments surprised, well, everyone. To call this move historic is to put it mildly. Today’s Huffington Post carried the following article on the last frontier’s of military equality: the ability of transgender service people to serve openly:Unknown

“Not long after that, he made history again, bringing a measure of equity to the benefits offered to same-sex military families before leaving D.C. to return to his much-loved walnut farm in California. History will remember Panetta’s tenure at the Defense Department favorably for these decisions to change policies that no longer reflected the reality of our wars or, just as importantly, the values of our nation.

“As a woman veteran, I was elated with these changes. As the wife of a woman veteran (my wife Danyelle was a West Point classmate of mine and served as an Army officer with honor and distinction), I felt encouraged by them.

“But as a transgender veteran, and an advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) service members, veterans and their families, the changes that Secretary Panetta brought about in his last days in office have left me emboldened. Here’s why: As the combat exclusion for women comes to an end and open service for gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans edges closer to truly equal service, it becomes more and more obvious that there is no longer any rational basis on which to bar qualified transgender people from serving in our armed forces. Continue reading “On transgender military service”

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Ronald Reagan would have supported marriage equality?

images-1Ronald Reagan’s son may just expressed his fervent opposition to same-sex marriagein an editorial, but his sister has a much different view. So, evidently, would his father.

Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis, 60, tells The New York Times that her father — who had a checkered history with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community during his presidency — would have supported marriage equality and “been puzzled” by the opposition to same-sex marriage…at least this is the conclusion drawn in today’s Huffington Post.

“Davis cited Reagan’s “distate for government intrusion into private lives,” as well as his Hollywood connections and close friendship with a lesbian couple that his children affectionately referred to as their aunts as reasons she believed her father would have been in favor of gay marriage, according to writer Sheryl Gay Stolberg. Continue reading “Ronald Reagan would have supported marriage equality?”

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Arizona backs down on transgender law

Faced with an outcry from advocacy groups, an Arizona lawmaker has changed his proposed legislation that would have made it a crime for a transgendered person to use a bathroom other than his or her birth sex, reports the Huffington Post.

“The new bill by state Rep. John Kavanagh ditches that effort and instead seeks to shield businesses from civil or criminal liability if they ban people from restrooms that don’t match their birth sex. The House committee Kavanagh chairs voted to advance the so-called “bathroom bill” late Wednesday on a 7-4 party-line vote as a crowd broke out in chants of “shame, shame, shame.”imgres-6

“The hearing room was packed with people from the LGBT community who opposed the bill and complained that even the revised version was based on fear. Patty Medway, a transgendered woman who was born a man, said she’s been using female bathrooms for years without a problem. She called on Kavanagh to back away from his effort.

“I’ve been using washrooms for 15 years and I don’t want to be discriminated against, and I’m scared to go to a male washroom,” she said.The conservative Republican said he listened to the criticism of what one local television station dubbed the “Show Me Your Papers Before You Go Potty” bill.

“The revised bill is designed to shield businesses from lawsuits while protecting people from being exposed to what he described as “naked men in women’s locker rooms and showers,” Kavanagh said. It doesn’t prohibit businesses from allowing transgender people from using the restroom they want. To Kavanagh’s point that he worried about young girls being exposed to transgendered people in restrooms, Medway said that just doesn’t happen.”

 

Full story: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/arizona-transgender-bathroom-bill_n_2967997.html

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Smith college transgender confusion

imgres-1As colleges and universities adopt increasingly inclusive stances toward transgender students, some institutions are finding themselves confused by an array of contradictory laws and government policies nationwide. As Huffington Post reports,

“An exclusive, women’s liberal arts college has rejected a transgender applicant because a government financial aid document still registers her as male.

“Calliope Wong, a student at Amity Regional Senior High School in Connecticut,posted a picture of her official rejection letter to Tumblr on March 10. Signed by Smith College’s Dean of Admission Debra Shaver, the letter thanked Wong for her application but said that “Smith is a women’s college, which means that undergraduate applicants must be female at the time of admission.” The problem, according to the letter, is that Wong’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) identified her as male. Continue reading “Smith college transgender confusion”

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Elizabeth’s fabulous posibility

imgres-1Queen Elizabeth II is expected to sign a new charter for the Commonwealth, a document which many have interpreted as a nod to gay rights, reports Huffington Post.

“On Monday, Queen Elizabeth will sign the Commonwealth Charter which lays out the core values of the 54 member states, NPR notes. One particular line in this document is making headlines around the world because people have interpreted it as the first time Queen Elizabeth will openly support gay rights in her 61-year reign. Continue reading “Elizabeth’s fabulous posibility”

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Oberlin cancels classes due to hate groups

Oberlin College canceled classes Monday to hold a “Day of Solidarity” following a month of hateful vandalism and the latest report of a person spotted on campus wearing a Ku Klux Klan-style outfit, reports Huffington Post

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Throughout February, multiple acts of vandalism on the Ohio campus have targeted the black, Jewish and LGBT communities with hate speech.

“Black History Month posters were defaced with the N-word, a note found at the LGBTQ Community Coordinator called it the “Nigger + Faggot Center,” and someone wrote “Nigger Oven” in an elevator, among other incidents according to the Review. On several occasions, swastikas were drawn, the Cleveland Jewish News reports.

“On Monday morning, the school’s administration sent out an announcementessentially calling the reported KKK outfit the last straw:

“Early this morning, there was a report of a person wearing a hood and robe resembling a KKK outfit between South and the Edmonia Lewis Center and in the vicinity of Afrikan Heritage House. This report is being investigated by both Safety and Security and the Oberlin Police Department. This event, in addition to the series of other hate-related incidents on campus, has precipitated our decision to suspend formal classes and all non-essential activities for today, Monday, March 4, 2013, and gather for a series of discussions of the challenging issues that have faced our community in recent weeks.

“Oberlin had previously scheduled a convocation for Wednesday in response to the “racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic messages spread anonymously around campus,” according to the school’s Office of Communications, but moved it up to Monday afternoon. Prior to the convocation, there will be a “Rally Against Hate.” AFeb. 13 march in response to the initial vandalism drew around 460 students, according to one student’s count.”

 

Full story at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/04/oberlin-cancels-classes_n_2805573.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay%20Voices

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On hating gym class

When it comes to bullying, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students are prime targets in gym class. imgresRecent research conducted by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) revealed that a majority of LGBT youth are bullied in gym classes across the nation and that many feel unsafe or uncomfortable in the athletic environments.GLSEN analyzed the responses of more than 8,584 students between the ages of 13 and 20 in high schools and middle schools across the country, reports today’s Huffington Post “The research, which found “critical gaps in safety and support,” revealed that LGBT youth not only feel unsafe, but that they’re also underrepresented on athletic teams and aren’t fully backed by school staff and policies. Continue reading “On hating gym class”

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Puerto Rico says no on adoption

Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court narrowly voted Wednesday to uphold a law banning gay couples from adopting children.Unknown

The 5-4 vote came in the case of an unidentified woman who has sought for the last eight years to adopt a 12-year-old girl who her partner of more than 20 years had through in vitro fertilization, reports Huffington Post.  “It was the first time that the court heard a case on same-sex adoptions.

“A majority of judges upheld the constitutionality of a law that states a person cannot adopt a single-parent child if the would-be adopter is of the same sex as the child’s mother or father without that parent losing their legal rights. Continue reading “Puerto Rico says no on adoption”

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Sasha and Malia to make history

“That’s how it goes with kids. You hardly notice how fast they’re growing up, then suddenly big sis is nearly as tall as Mom and the little one is a tween, gently sassing Dad.” You have to hand it to Huffington Post for this entry about something other than the most obvious headlines. As the story continues:

“On the inaugural platform again four years later, a more mature Malia Obama, 14, and Sasha, 11, smiled, sometimes giggled, and chatted with their cousin Avery Robinson as they awaited their father’s arrival. Sasha bounced on her feet a bit as if chilly; later at the parade she danced in her seat to the beat of passing drummers. Malia, rivaling her mother’s 5 feet 11 inches, looked poised in calf-high black boots. Like any girls their age, they whipped out their smartphones in the reviewing stand to take photos.imgres-4

“Both daughters appeared relaxed and oblivious to their global TV audience, unaffected by their rare status, unfazed by the fuss over their father. Continue reading “Sasha and Malia to make history”

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More Asians than Latinos coming to California

Over the past decade a dramatic shift has occurred in California’s immigration demographics,  as Asian immigrants have begun to come to California faster than Latinos.

In 2001, 42 percent of immigrants coming to California were from Latin America, primarily Mexico, while 37 percent were from Asia. In 2011, 57imgres-2 percent of new immigrants were from Asia, and just

22 percent were from Latin America, reports Huffington Post.

“’This is a pretty astounding change over a short period of time,’ Hans Johnson, co-director of the Public Policy Institute of California, told the Sacremento Bee, citing census data. The demographic breakdown of California’s swearing-in of new citizens Wednesday was as follows: 450 from Asia (100 from India, 94 from the Philippines, 63 from Vietnam, 33 from China, 29 from Laos) 160 from Latin America (119 people from Mexico)35 from Ukraine to see which countries immigrants to California came from in 2011. Continue reading “More Asians than Latinos coming to California”

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The Civil Rights issue of our time

“While there’s still a lot more work to be done, 2012 saw some remarkable milestones for transgender people both in the U.S. and abroad,” said today’s Huffington Post in the beginning of its 2012 year-in-review series8206734246_75149a2eb2_z

“From Vice President Joe Biden declaring transgender rights as the ‘civil rights issue of our time,” to the huge update made by the American Psychiatric Association to its Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders, trans acceptance has certainly made some enormous strides this year.

“We even saw one of our favorite TV shows, ‘Glee,’ include a transgender character in its diverse cast, and the transgender flag was flown in place of the iconic rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza in San Francisco for the first time ever.

Check out some more phenomenal transgender stories from 2012 in our roundup below and be sure to let us know what other moments captured your attention in the comments section.”

For more on this story, see “2012 Top Transgender Moments” in Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/top-transgender-moments-stories-2012_n_2347346.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices

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The Trans-trender debate

“The Internet and media have revolutionized coming out and accessing resources for young transgender youth,” reports today’s Huffington Post.

“There are YouTube channels dedicated to FTM testosterone change diaries(keeping track of voice changes, facial hair, body structure, etc.) and others that simply weigh in on issues facing the FTM community today. However, some transgender youth are being called out by members of the same community for not being “trans enough” or are

labeled “trans-trenders,” which is taken to refer to women who take steps to begin to transition to male simply because they do not fit a stereotypical mold of womanhood (“I don’t like my body/situation/how people treat me as a female, so I think I want to be a guy!”) Continue reading “The Trans-trender debate”

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Unborn twins caught fighting in womb

In the “You’ve got to be kidding” category, today’s Huffington Post ran a story about an MRI video of two twins looking like they were fighting while still in mommy’s tummy. Here is how the first couple of paragraphs went:

“’It’s my womb!’ ‘No, it’s my womb!’ Siblings apparently are never too young to be rivals, a video taken from a new high-clarity MRI scan shows.

“The high-tech monitor, also dubbed the “cinematic MRI,” allows doctors to see, in better detail, when twins vie for space in utero, Dr. Marisa Taylor-Clarke of Imperial College’s Robert Steiner MR Unit in London told Reuters. Continue reading “Unborn twins caught fighting in womb”

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Mexico struggles with chewing gum

Forget about the drug cartels for a minute, a new war is bewing in Mexico––against chewing gum. According to the Mexican newspaper, El Universal, PRI deputy, Juan Manuel Diez Francos, has finally moved forward and proposed a federal tax of 50 percent on chewing gum, or chicle as it is known in Mexico. HuffPost LatinoVoices reports that the deputy says ”the chewing gum tax would help pay for the cleaning of chewing gum that people spit out in public places like sidewalks, plazas and parks. As it stands now, he says, the government spends an average of 2 pesos and 50 cents on every piece of gum it un-sticks from these public areas. The cheapest pack of chicle costs only 50 cents.

“It might sound like a trivial issue, but Mexican’s love their gum. It is the second largest consumer of gum after the U.S. according to Kraft Foods. There are 92 thousand tons of chicle produced each year in Mexico, and on average Mexicans consume 2.5 pieces of gum per day. The average cleanup in Mexico City is 70 chicles per square meter. And in a single day, the cost of cleanup of the Zocalo amounts to approximately 2,800 pesos according to Diez Francos.

“The cleaning of chewed gum is not a problem isolated to Mexico. Diez Francos points out that England spends 7 million euros each year cleaning up gum. And the fact is, chewed gum can be a health hazard since it can contain over 50 thousand germs and transmittable diseases. England’s chewing gum problem is so bad, it inspired artist Ben Wilson to take his talents to the tiny blobs spread all over the sidewalks. Concerned about the environment and how advertisements rule the urban environment, Wilson began painting on the gum. He doesn’t just dab them with color, he uses the gum as a canvas for his miniature paintings which he does just about everywhere and on most any subject.”

 

For more see, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/mexico-chewing-gum-tax_n_2205512.html

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Feds bust 132 fake cyber-Monday sites

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Federal law enforcement authorities have announced the seizure of 132 domain names in several countries to stop them from selling counterfeit merchandise online. The Huffington Post reports :

The Cyber Monday crackdown comes on what’s expected to be the biggest online shopping day of the year. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations coordinated the effort with Europol and police in Belgium, Denmark, France, Romania and the United Kingdom.

Authorities say it’s the third consecutive Cyber Monday that websites selling knockoff sports jerseys, DVDs and other goods have been targeted.

They say sites were seized after copyright holders confirmed that products purchased there by investigators were illegal.

Site visitors now see a banner explaining the seizure and copyright infringement.

Homeland Security field offices in Buffalo, N.Y., New Jersey, California, Maryland, Colorado and Texas investigated.

 

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Ian McKellen on bullying

“Here in Britain we’re currently marking Anti-Bullying Week, a national campaign to get schools to work harder to make playgrounds and classrooms safe and fun places to learn and grow up,” writes Sir Ian  McKellan in an editorial appearing on today’s Huffington Post. “Those of us who were bullied at school, for whatever reason, will empathise keenly with young people who dread bullies’ taunts and violence. Bullying isn’t just a ‘rite of passage’ that we should expect as part of growing up. Its effects – low exam scores, depression and anxiety – can affect our whole adult lives. It’s appropriate that this year’s Anti-Bullying Week theme is ‘we’re better without bullying’. Continue reading “Ian McKellen on bullying”