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California Governor Signs Several LGBT Bills
By Diane Anderson-Minshall
October 10 2011 2:00 PM EDT
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a series of bills last week that got props from LGBT organizations around the country. Those bills included Seth's Law, an anti-bullying measure named after 13-year-old student Seth Walsh who hanged himself after he had been hounded at school by classmates who perceived him to be gay. A federal investigation later concluded that the Tehachapi Unified School District failed to properly respond to the teen's ongoing harassment. According to On Top magazine, the new law mandates that schools post anti-bullying policies throughout campuses, provide complaint forms on their websites, and give schools a timeline to investigate and resolve complaints.
Brown also signed two important transgender rights bills into law as well. The Gender Nondiscrimination Act makes "gender identity and expression" its own protected category at work, at school, in housing, at public accommodations, and in other settings. The second, the Vital Statistics Modernization Act, "will alleviate the confusion, anxiety and even danger that transgender people face when we have identity documents that do not reflect who we are," says Masen Davis, Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center. The bill makes it easier for transgender people to get a court-ordered gender change and updated birth certificate.
"Our victory is a testament that California is at its best when we work together to realize the ideal that everyone should be treated fairly and equally," said Davis. "The barriers that transgender people face are life threatening and we applaud Governor Brown, Assemblymember Atkins, and Assemblymember Lowenthal for their tremendous leadership to remove some of the obstacles that prevent transgender Californians from living as our authentic selves."
Another bill signing being celebrated is the California Dream Act, a move heralded by gay student activists, like Dream Team LA's Jorge Gutierrez, who've been at the forefront of pushing the immigrant rights bill through. Equality California, the state's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights advocacy group, which launched the "Equality Beyond Borders" project (focusing on increasing support for LGBT inclusive immigration reform among LGBT people) also heralded the new legislation that makes undocumented immigrants eligible to receive state financial aid to attend California universities and community colleges.
The only LGBT-friendly bill Gov. Brown vetoed last week was SB 416, which would have added voluntary demographic questions about sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, domestic partnership status, and spouse's gender to statewide surveys.
MetroWeekly reported that Brown amended his veto with a note that said that determining the content of state health surveys was better handled through the "rigorous and thoughtful process" that exists for making those determinations, rather than through the legislative process.


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Home 1 › Made From Scratch 2
Storey Publishing
Discovering the pleasures of a handmade life was a longtime dream for urban homesteader Jenna Woginrich. At 24 years old, living in an apartment in Knoxville, Tennessee, and working as a computer designer, Woginrich was nurturing her dream of learning to homestead. Now, at 27, she's settled on a rented farm in rural Vermont, where she cares for two working sled dogs, chickens, a flock of sheep, honeybees, a couple of geese, fluffy Angora rabbits, and a backyard garden that provides much of her own food. Part memoir and part how-to manual, Made from Scratch recounts Woginrich's growing independence and the successes and missteps she experiences as she learns to more fully live off the land. By turns upbeat, dramatic, and sometimes sorrowful, her story embodies the experience of the new homesteader one who is committed to reducing dependence on commercially produced goods while still working a day job to pay the rent. Woven into the narrative, readers will find easy-to-follow instructions for making clothing, playing a musical instrument, preserving fruit, brewing the best pot of coffee imaginable, and much more. Now available in paperback, this new edition features additional material on moving from Idaho to Vermont, a topic that will delight fans of her blog.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A meteorite that struck southern India could be the first confirmed instance of a death caused by a space rock.
On February 6, a meteorite reportedly fell in the premises of a college in Vellore district in the state of Tamil Nadu. Witnesses described an explosion "that could be heard at least 3 kilometers away". The force of the explosion severely injured Kamraj, a bus driver employed by the college, who was walking inside the campus. He later died on his way to the hospital while three other workers also sustained injuries. The meteorite shattered window panes of buses and buildings and left a four-feet deep crater. The Chief Minister of the state confirmed the fatality and announced compensation for the victims. Scientists from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics visited the site and recovered a dark bluish stone reported to weigh about 10 grams. Meanwhile, experts at NASA who examined photographs of the crater suggested that it was more consistent with a land based explosion and not a meteorite strike.
The meteorite has been named 'BEC-1', referring to the site and sample number, as per international standards. This is the first time that a meteorite has caused a confirmed fatality. The odds of being killed by a meteorite are very low, about 1 in 250 million. According to data from the International Comet Quarterly, a previous fatality was attributed to a meteorite, although it was never confirmed.
Born and brought up in India, Ramasamy has a bachelor's in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Anna University, Chennai and a Master in Space Studies from the International Space University, Strasbourg. He has experience in the telecommunication industry having worked at Ericsson and Verizon India. His major interests are Astronomy, Planetary science, space advocacy and outreach.


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Hilton Washington DC National Mall
480 L'Enfant Plaza | Washington, DC 20024-2253 [SEE MAP]Washington, DC [SEE ADDRESS]
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at the Hilton Washington DC National Mall
Along with a restaurant, this smoke-free hotel has an outdoor pool and a fitness center. Other amenities include a bar/lounge, a coffee shop/café, and valet parking.
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Covid panic over new strain 'unjustified' scientists say
Panic over 'mutant Covid' strains is unjustified, experts say, with even scientists on government advisory teams 'surprised' at ministers' reaction.
Boris Johnson justified his decision to bring in more restrictions last weekend - which led to millions having to cancel Christmas and more the 40 countries closing their borders to the UK - on findings from Nervtag, the group that looks at new viral threats. But sources with knowledge of the meeting insist most of its members made no recommendations on restrictions, instead suggesting more research was needed. Minutes of the meetings back up this claim.
One insider said they believed forceful lobbying by a small number of experts pushed the government into the action, despite the fact most of the Nervtag members had not called for it.
They suggested that the new strain gave pro-lockdown scientists the opportunity to lobby for tighter restrictions as well as allowing the government to defend a reversal of its controversial relaxation of Christmas rules.
The minutes show that the group unanimously only had "moderate confidence" the new strain was more transmissible than other variants concluding a new body of scientists be "convened to provide further advice on risk and risk mitigation measures". The minutes make no reference to the need for any new restrictions.
Other scientists have questioned whether it was even possible to reach the conclusion the new strain was up to 70 per cent more transmissible, a claim made by Mr Johnson on announcing the new tiers. This has since been revised to 56 per cent.


Aatu features 2 salty water pools with sunbeds, perfect to relax and enjoy the Adults only quietness.
All our rates include buffet breakfast.
Breakfast is served daily in our restaurant from 8:30 till 10:30 hours and can be enjoyed during many months in our outdoors terrace with soft background music.
The buffet includes several kinds of fruit, sliced and pieces, assorted fruit juices and cereals, yogurts, cheeses, cold meats, ham, Spanish ham, salmon, several types of breads, olive oil, tomatoes and garlic to prepare the typical bread Catalan, jams in glass terrine, Nutella, butter, assorted pastries: croissants, Danish pastry, etc, cakes… Coffee is from Nespresso and we offer assorted teas. Besides our show cooking service provides all sorts of eggs: fried, scrambled, omelets, boiled eggs, etc.
Empordà–Costa Brava is a privileged area, with a wide range of leisure, sport and culture; there are several quality golf courts in the surroundings of the Hotel, from where you can start long walks, cycling tours, enjoy horse-riding or drive a few kilometres to the most beautiful area of Costa Brava: Begur, Llafranch, Calella de Palafrugell, etc. You can´t miss the coastal paths, the ones around Begur (Aiguablava, Sa Tuna, Sa Riera), in Calella de Palafrugell… there are many and all worth a stroll.
Terracota Museum in La Bisbal; Cork Museum in Palafrugell; Museo Palau Solterra, photography museum in Torroella de Montgrí; Fishing Museum in Palamós, etc. Les Gavarres is a mountainous massif of Mediterranean forest with an interesting heritage of ancient typical farm houses, dolmens and menhirs.
La Bisbal d'Empordà, Friday; Palafrugell, Sunday; Torroella de Montgri: Monday; Palamós: Tuesday.
There are several routes that depart from the same Hotel, suitable both for cycling and trekking, and that will take you to the neighboring towns, Ullastret, Palau-Sator, Fontclarà, Sant Feliu de Boada, Pals, etc.
To rent bicycles we recommend Cicles JK and ebikes àrea, both in Palafrugell.
Just a few kilometres from the Hotel we find several quality golf courses: Golf Platja de Pals, Empordà Golf Club, Club de Golf Costa Brava, Golf d'Aro and Gualta pitch&putt.
You can´t miss the coastal paths, the ones around Begur (Aiguablava, Sa Tuna, Sa Riera), in Calella de Palafrugell… there are many and all worth a stroll.
Barcelona is just one hour and a half drive and Girona 45 minutes drive and both can be reached from the train station in Flaçà, 14 kilometres from the Hotel.