California Joins Lawsuit Against Trump’s Trans Military Ban
The Golden State will put its considerable weight behind a case challenging the legality of Trump’s impulsive ban on trans service members.
www.advocate.com/military/2017/11/18/california-joins-lawsuit-against-trumps-trans-military-ban
2017 Is The Deadliest Year Yet For Transgender People
There has been more reported violence against transgender people so far in 2017 than any year before in the U.S., according to a report released today by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, which tells the stories of all 25 transgender people who have been killed this year. LGBT people are already more likely to be targets…
The post 2017 Is The Deadliest Year Yet For Transgender People appeared first on Towleroad.
Gerry Adams Announces He Is Standing Down As Sinn Fein President
Gerry Adams will be standing down as Sinn Fein president next year after more than three decades at the helm of the party.
Adams announced his intention to stand down on Saturday, telling the Sinn Fein ard fhéis (party conference) in Dublin: “Leadership means knowing when it is time for change.”
The 69-year-old republican veteran also said that he will not stand for election to the Irish parliament at the next election.
Adams, who has been party president since 1983, said a special meeting of the party would be called next year to elect a successor.
He told the conference: “I have always seen myself as a team player and a team builder.
“I have complete confidence in the leaders we elected this weekend and in the next generation of leaders.
“I want to thank everyone who has welcomed me into their homes and communities and who have made me part of countless campaigns, countless elections and countless negotiations.”
Adams said that his decision to stand down was formulated along with party colleague Martin McGuinness before his death earlier this year.
The outgoing leader said: “Last year Martin McGuinness and I said that there was a plan for change in the party leadership as part of the process of regeneration and renewal.
“Ten years after entering government with Ian Paisley, Martin’s intention was to step down as Deputy First Minister on May 8th.
“Then life punched us in the face.”
He said that the Peace Process was “one of our great achievements”, adding: “Republicanism has never been stronger. This is our time. We will grow even stronger in the future.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/gerry-adams-standing-down-sinn-fein-president_uk_5a10a3a9e4b0e97dffedc39f
Airlander 10 Crashes In Cardington Airfield, Bedfordshire, After Coming Loose From Its Moorings
A woman had to be taken to hospital on Saturday after the world’s largest aircraft, Airlander 10, came loose from its moorings.
The aircraft is the length of a football pitch and is part plane, part airship.
It collapsed in Cardington Airfield in Bedfordshire after its hull ripped and deflated at around 9.30am on Saturday.
Officers attending collision involving the #Airlanderpic.twitter.com/ldWNzxyXlz
— BCH Road Policing (@roadpoliceBCH) November 18, 2017
HAV said in a statement: “The aircraft was not flying at the time of the incident.
“Our initial assessment is that the aircraft broke free from its mooring mast for reasons that will be investigated.
“The aircraft has a safety system which operates automatically in circumstances of the aircraft breaking free of its mast, and is designed to rip open the hull and deflate the aircraft.
“This is a safety feature to ensure our aircraft minimises any potential damage to its surroundings in these circumstances. The aircraft is now deflated and secure on the edge of the airfield. The fuel and helium inside the Airlander have been made safe.”
photo dated 17/08/16 of the Airlander 10, the world’s largest aircraft, during its maiden flight.” alt=”File photo dated 17/08/16 of the Airlander 10, the world’s largest aircraft, during its maiden flight.” data-credit=”PA Wire/PA Images” data-portal-copyright=”PA Wire/PA Images” data-provider=”pressassociation” data-provider-asset-id=”2.33780637″ data-has-syndication-rights=”false”>
The firm said that a member of HAV staff sustained “minor injuries” and has since been discharged from hospital after being taken there as a precaution.
HAV said that another member of staff also sustained minor injuries while dealing with the aftermath of the incident.
Bedfordshire Police shut down some of the nearby roads during the incident.
HAV apologised for any inconvenience that may have been caused.
The firm added: “We are testing a brand new type of aircraft and incidents of this nature can occur during this phase of development. We will assess the cause of the incident and the extent of repairs needed to the aircraft in the next few weeks.”
Last summer, the aircraft, which is about 15 metres longer than the biggest passenger jets, nose-dived and crashed.
Airlander is now safely back in the hangar. Next steps: assess, repair and get it flightworthy again. #Airlanderpic.twitter.com/ep1bS5mIxX
— Hybrid Air Vehicles (@AirVehicles) August 26, 2016
No-one was injured during that incident but the cockpit was severely damaged.
The Airlander uses helium to become airborne and can carry 10 tonnes of cargo.
It is 92 metres long, 44 metres wide, 26 metres high and can travel at 92mph.
HAV believes it could be used for a variety of functions, such as surveillance, communications, delivering aid and even passenger travel.
Sara Ramirez Stands to Break More Ground on ‘Madam Secretary’
Since leaving TV, Ramirez came out as bisexual and fought tirelessly for her communities. She and her character Kat may have a few things in common.
www.advocate.com/television/2017/11/18/sara-ramirez-stands-break-more-ground-madam-secretary
Jeremy Corbyn Says Kezia Dugdale Should Not Be Suspended From The Labour Party For Going on ‘I’m A Celeb’
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that Kezia Dugdale should not be suspended from the party for going on reality TV show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!
Dudgale’s successor as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Richard Leonard, suggested earlier today that suspension was something the party’s MSPs should “consider”.
But Corbyn told the Press Association on Saturday: “It’s her choice to go on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, I don’t think it’s appropriate to suspend someone from the party for doing that, that’s her choice.”
Dugdale looks set to join the likes of boxer Amir Khan, former MEP Stanley Johnson and singer Vanessa White in the jungle for the ITV show.
Staunch Corbyn supporter Leonard was named Scottish Labour leader after defeating his rival Anas Sarwar on Saturday.
He won 56.7% of the vote and a clear majority amongst members and affiliated supporters, telling the crowd at his election in Scotland today that the party north of the border “will become a movement for socialism” under his leadership, adding “we need a change to the political culture”.
But his victory in the leadership race was in part overshadowed by news his predecessor is to head to Australia to take part in the TV programme, which begins on Sunday.
Leonard said he was a “bit disappointed” by Dugdale’s decision, and Scottish Labour would consider if the former leader should be suspended as a result.
Speaking in Glasgow just after he was elected leader, Leonard said suspension was not his initial reaction but he added: “I think it’s something the group will have to consider.”
It is unclear if Dugdale informed or sought approval from Scottish Labour party bosses about the move.
Leonard told journalists: “I awoke as many other people did this morning to the news that Kezia is going into that programme, and I think that is something the group is going to have to consider over the next few days and I think we will consider.”
He added: “I was a bit disappointed but I think it is a decision the group is going to have to consider.”
In 2012 the Conservative Party suspended MP Nadine Dorries for taking part in the same programme, although she was reinstated the following year.
Leonard said: “I don’t know the circumstances of Nadine Dorries and I don’t at this stage know all the circumstances of Kezia’s decision, so we will need to give that due consideration at the group over the next few days.”
Dugdale became the leader of Scottish Labour after the party’s trouncing in the 2015 general election, in which it lost 40 of the 41 seats it had held north of the border to the SNP.
She stepped down suddenly in August, prompting the leadership contest, with both Leonard and fellow MSP Anas Sarwar vying to succeed her.
Sarwar said he would have preferred the former leader to remain at Holyrood rather than taking part in a reality TV programme.
He said: “She’s made the decision she had. I would prefer that she was in the Parliament working for her constituents, working for the Labour Party.
“I want us focusing on education, the NHS, and employability, rather than kangaroo testicles.”
He said he wanted Dugdale to stay in politics and the Labour Party after taking part in the show, although Sarwar admitted taking part in the programme was “not a decision I would have made”.
But he quipped: “Now she has made that decision I want us to have that phone bank running to make sure that she eats every bug possible, is in the pit with the rats as much as possible, so she fully enjoys that experience and is raring to go when she comes back.”
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/jeremy-corbyn-kezia-dugdale-labour-im-a-celeb_uk_5a105990e4b0e97dffedbb41
Jason Momoa’s eight pack, Terry Miller’s beer mug, & Simon Dunn’s banana hammock
Instagram + studs = Instastuds
Aylesbury Crash: Helicopter Pilot Named Among Victims Of Mid-Air Collision
One of the four people killed in a collision between a helicopter and a small plane has been named.
Captain Mike Green was flying the two-seater helicopter which collided with a Cessna 152, a light two-seater aircraft.
Green was, according to Sky News, a senior instructor with more than 30 years of flying experience.
He was a member of the Helicopter Services team based at Wycombe Air Field in Buckinghamshire.
Captain Mike Green has been named as one of the four victims of a crash involving a plane and a helicopter in Buckinghamshire @danwnews pic.twitter.com/Ckmo317AH9 — Sky News (@SkyNews) November 18, 2017
The crash happened in dense woodland near the historic Waddesdon Manor in Upper Winchendon, near Aylesbury at around midday on Friday.
Two people were aboard each aircraft, Thames Valley Police Superintendent Rebecca Mears said at a press conference on Friday evening.
Investigations are underway into the cause of the crash.
A member of the Rothschild family has told of her shock after a mid-air collision between a helicopter and an aircraft missed her by five minutes.
The woman, who did not want her full name published, told the Press Association she heard a loud bang while she was driving her car to a dog grooming event, near Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire.
Just five minutes earlier she had been picking a plant in the Wilderness Woods, the scene of the crash site, on the Waddesdon Estate.
“I’m totally shocked,” she said. “I heard a loud bang, which I thought was a car crash.”
Waddesdon Estate gardener Len Bellis described how he found the “burning wreckage” minutes later.
He had been working nearby when he heard a “horrendous noise”.
Mr Bellis said two men came running towards him from the woods shouting, “did you see it, did you see it?”
He said one of them told him he heard a plane “stuttering” just before the crash.
“I just came across the wreckage,” said Mr Bellis, who described the light aircraft as a “wreck” and “non-existent”, apart from the 5ft burning fuselage.
He said he later found out he was just 10 yards from a body in the undergrowth.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/aylesbury-helicopter-aircraft-crash_uk_5a10500ae4b0e97dffedba0f
These HIV-undetectable men have something important to say, and it’s worth your time
Do you really know what it means to be HIV-positive and undetectable?
