Category Archives: Transhuman News

Longtime State Department diplomat Randy Berry will serve in a new post tasked with improving the situation of LGBT people around the world.

Special Envoy for LGBT Human Rights Randy A. Berry

Human and LGBT rights organizations are hailing the U.S. State Department's choice of Randy A. Berry as the nation's first LGBT human rights envoy.

"We looked far and wide to find the right American official for this important assignment," Secretary of State John Kerry said in a written statement about the much-anticipated appointment, announced today. "Randys a leader. Hes a motivator. But most importantly for this effort, hes got vision. Wherever hes served from Nepal to New Zealand, from Uganda to Bangladesh, from Egypt to South Africa, and most recently as Consul General in Amsterdam Randy has excelled."

The idea of appointing of a special envoy for LGBT human rights was championed by several groups and individuals, including American Jewish World Service, the Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights First. and Sen. Ed Markey, who last year introduced a bill to create the envoy post that will now be occupied by Randy Berry.

At a moment when many LGBT people around the world are facing persecution and daily violence, this unprecedented appointment shows a historic commitment to the principle that LGBT rights are human rights, said HRC president Chad Griffin in a statement issued after the announcement that the new post would be filled by Berry.

President Obama and Secretary Kerry have shown tremendous leadership in championing the rights of LGBT people abroad," Griffin continued. "Now, working closely with this new envoy, weve got to work harder than ever to create new allies, push back on human rights violators, and support the brave leaders and organizations that fight for LGBT rights around the world."

Other groups were equally pleased with the administration's choice to fill post of special envoy for LGBT human rights.

We congratulate Mr. Berry on being appointed to this important position," said Human Rights First's Shawn Gaylord. "We look forward to working with him to promote equality for LGBT people around the world, to support the activists who are working for change at great risk to themselves, and to ensure that the United States continues to make the protection of the human rights of all people a key foreign policy priority"

Human Rights First expects to meet with Berry in the near future, presumably to discuss priorities, collaboration strategies for securing a better future for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world.

More:
High Praise for State Department's First-Ever Envoy for LGBT Human Rights

A theory of everything might be impossible to come by but a theory of humankinds potential destruction is not, says Stephen Hawking.

The British theoretical physicist fears that human aggression may be the tragic flaw that could lead to our demise.

The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression, Hawking said, according to a blog post on the website for Londons Science Museum. It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.

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A major nuclear war could be the end of civilization and possibly the human race, he said.

The quality I would most like to magnify is empathy. It brings us together in a peaceful, loving state, he added.

Adaeze Uyanwah and Stephen Hawking. Source: Instagram

Uyanwah, who was on a special tour of the Science Museum guided by Hawking, asked which common human features he would most want to magnify or alter.

She beat out 10,000 contestants from around the world to become the citys Official Guest of Honor.

Its incredible to think that decades from now, when my grandchildren are learning Stephen Hawkings theories in science class, she said, Ill be able to tell them I had a personal meeting with him and heard his views firsthand.

Originally posted here:
'Human aggression could destroy us all'

A new centre designed to promote civic engagement in post-Soviet countries has formally begun operating in Prague. Backed, among others, by Czech charity People in Need, the Prague Civil Society Centre is seeking to cultivate values such as openness and human rights in countries including Belarus, Russia, Armenia, Georgia and Ukraine. The move comes amidst growing tensions between the West and Vladimir Putins Russia. I spoke with Rostislav Valvoda, head of the centre, and began by asking him to explain its mission:

Vladimir Putin, photo: CTK The mission of the centre is to empower civil society across the countries of Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. This means civil society organizations, NGOs, and citizen initiatives that can be both physical and online-based bloggers. We simply use a broad understanding of civil society to include opinion-makers as well as some professional groups such as journalists, independent filmmakers, artists and so on.

Cultivating this kind of civic engagement could arguably be viewed by the leadership in Russia Vladimir Putin as some kind of meddling in his sphere of influence

We do not see this as meddling. We see it as supporting a civil society in terms of what a civil society wants, and what the needs of the people on the ground are.

Tell me something about the funding that has come together for this project. I understand it is a kind of joint operation with People in Need, the US Agency for International Development, the Swedish and Czech governments too, as well as some private foundations.

The centre is being established in partnership with two founding organizations People in Need, and the Human Rights House Foundation, a Norwegian-based NGO, and also in co-operation with the renowned Polish think-tank the Institute for Public Affairs. These are the three founding organizations. And we have attracted funding from five donors two private donors, the CS Mott Foundation and the Oak Foundation; and then the US, Swedish, and Czech governments.

Rostislav Valvoda, photo: Czech Television Given that Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty is also situated in Prague and is also beaming news in an eastward direction, is the Czech Republic becoming a kind of centre for cultivating democracy in post-communist countries?

We certainly hope that the centre will become a hub for activists and civil society actors from Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. But at the same time that the centre will not be just a big brick and mortar institution, but rather a coordinating centre, and the activities will take place in other countries in the region, and also across Central Europe that means in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and even in Germany.

Why is such a centre necessary? Obviously, given the growing tensions between the West and Russia, do you feel that there is more need for a centre like this now than there may have been ten years ago or so?

We do not see the reason for the centres creation being rooted in the current tensions. Rather, we see the necessity by the growing pressure that is being put on civil society in places to the east of the Czech Republic. Meaning, we are seeing growing pressure through legislation with ever more curbs being put on NGOs and human rights defenders, for instance, in places such as Russia and Azerbaijan, and we think that this trend is of concern.

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New Czech-based civil society centre to help cultivate post-Soviet democracy