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Urge President Obama to pardon Chelsea Manning

Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell is asking people to urge US President Obama to pardon Chelsea Manning, who was convicted of distributing US military secrets.
“Manning exposed human rights abuses by the US military. She is a courageous human rights defender and should not be in prison. One aspect of Manning’s commitment to human rights is her active support for LGBT equality. She participated in LGBT Pride marches and campaigned against the homophobic US military policy, ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’. In 2008, she attended a rally in New York to oppose attempts to ban same-sex marriage in California. The LGBT community should rally to support her. She is a hero,” said Mr Tatchell.

Stephen Fry – Out There (BBC2)

In a two-part documentary on BBC2 this week, Stephen Fry reports from around the world on the nature of homophobia. It makes chilling, heartbreaking and infuriating viewing, but did contain signs of hope, particularly from India.

Stephen Whittle – Argentina Grants Lulu, 6-Year-Old Transgender Child, Female ID Card

Argentina’s government has granted a six-year-old transgender girl an ID that corresponds with her gender identity.
Late last month, government officials granted Lulu, who was born biologically male but reportedly dressed and identified as a female since she could talk, a female identification card under the country’s Gender Identity Law, according to the International Business Times.
With an awareness of how government documents designating one’s assigned sex can function as a form of body policing and gatekeeping, Argentina remains the only country in the world to allow individuals to change one’s sex without medical or legal approval.

RIP Amber Maxwell, a Rebel and a Fighter

The revolutionary socialist movement lost a great fighter on Saturday 24 August.
Amber Maxwell lived a difficult life. As a transgender woman, she found it impossible to find permanent work or accommodation. But through all her hardship, she put everything she had into the fight for socialism. Amber seemed to have boundless energy and enthusiasm for politics. Every week she would catch the bus from the homeless youth hostel where she lived to the University of Western Australia to help us build the organisation, sell Red Flag, fight cuts to higher education and campaign for refugee rights

What Does 'Transgender' Really Mean?

For many unfamiliar with the “trans” community, the announcement by Bradley Manning that he’ll now be “Chelsea Manning” raises a host of questions. Even mental health professionals who specialize in gender identity say there is much about it that is unclear, so classifying it for treatment is challenging for the transgender individual and doctors.