Over 3,000 people gathered in Amsterdam to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit on Monday. The throng of gay rights activists and supporters flew rainbow flags at half-mast around the city that prides itself on expression and enjoying every kind of freedom. 

 

The cheerfully dressed crowd constantly chanted “Go home Putting!” during a festive protest outside the museum where Putin enjoyed dinner with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. 

 

Amsterdam in 2001 became the first nation to legalize gay marriage. 

Protesters were primarily targeting a bill before the Russian parliament that outlaws homosexual “propaganda” among minors, but also a broad rights clampdown in the nation of Russia, where Putin is serving his third term as president. 

 

Western governments and activists have expressed considerable anger over the measure, which imposes fines of up to 500,000 rubles (roughly $15,850) for any “public acts” that promote homosexuality or pedophilia. 

 

“The law does not impose violations on the rights of sexual minorities in our nation,” said a defiant Putin. “These people enjoy full liberties and rights like everyone else in Russia.”

 

Putin went onto say that gay couples could not produce children and that “Russia and Europe have demographic problems.”

 

“We need to reach a majority with this community; we need to work collectively and not insult each other.”

 

Dozens of police units were deployed in the highly secured area, including anti-riot forces. Dutch police reported that they had briefly detained one individual, a gay activist who wrote expletives against the Russian President on the window of his Amsterdam studio. 

 

Putin’s visit centered on trade negotiations with the Netherlands; many business leaders traveled with Putin discuss trade deals. 

 

Russia and The Netherlands have a detailed trade relationship as many Russian companies are registered in The Netherlands because of its favorable tax regime. 

 

Source: CNN

 

The Federal Reserve typically releases minutes from its 2pm meetings; however, it was forced to put the minutes out five hours early on Wednesday after learning that some people inadvertently received the minutes on Tuesday. 

 

The Federal Reserve accidently emailed the minutes from its March meeting to approximately 100 people a day early. While no major announcements were expected to come from the minutes, they are nevertheless viewed as a primary document that can move markets and influence politics. Wall Street analysts and players often delve deep into the minutes for clues about when the central bank may cut back on its bond-buying policy or hike-up interest rates.  

 

For this reason, the minutes are typically protected by the central bank and their release is supposed to be executed in a precise manner. A spokesman for the Fed told various news outlets that the mistake was entirely accidental and it can be chalked up to a human error. The 100 or so individuals on the list included mostly Congressional employees and employees of trade organizations. These individuals received the minutes shortly after 2 p.m. on Tuesday. 

 

After noticing the error this morning, the United States Federal Reserve decided to release the minutes to the public at 9 a.m. on Wednesday. It is currently not clear whether any trading took place based on the premature release, but the Reserve Board’s Inspector General will conduct an investigation regarding the error. 

The minutes contained very little information regarding expected Fed policy. The primary takeaway from the release is that most Fed members think the central bank should keep buying $85 billion in assets a month, at least until the midway point of this year. 

 

The Fed’s current policy includes purchasing $45 billion in treasuries and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month; the primary intent is to lower long-term interesting rates. That said, the program, which is regarded as quantitative easing, is viewing by some as the primary reason why the S&P 500 and the Dow are at record highs. 

 

The central bank continues to keep short-term interest rates close to zero to further boost the economy. The Fed announced it plans to keep the interest rate near zero until the unemployment rate dips below 6.5 percent or inflation exceeds 2.5 percent a year. The bulk of Fed officials do not expect this to happen until at least 2015. 

 

Source: AP

 

 

President Obama’s $3.77 trillion budget proposal for 2014 calls for long-term changes to Social Security and Medicare in hopes of reducing the deficit by $1.8 trillion over the next decade.

 

The budget’s blueprint, which has already drawn criticism from both the right and left, offers changes to Social Security and Medicare. The budget also includes tax increases that would hit high-income corporations and homes. 

 

The Obama budget also calls for greater spending on infrastructure, nondefense research and early childhood education programs. These investments would be funded by other measures to avoid further adding to the deficit. 

 

“Debate in Washington has raged between reducing our deficits and making investments needed to grow our economy. My budget answers this argument; we can grow our economy, and reduce our deficits,” said the President. 

 

President Obama’s budget was released with a delay, coming after the House and Senate each passed separate and different 2014 budget frameworks. 

 

While the proposal is not expected to fly on Capitol Hill, Obama’s budget sets a powerful marker for continuing debt talks with lawmakers. 

 

President Obama’s budget calls for a $50 billion investment to repair bridges, highways, airports and transit systems. The budget would also create a National Infrastructure Bank to merge public and private capital for noteworthy projects.

 

Obama has already faced heavy criticism from the left for supporting a switch to a chained CPI measure, which is a new way to track inflation to ultimately reduce federal spending by slowing the growth in federal benefits which are adjusted each year for cost of living purposes. Obama’s budget; however, calls for ways to compensate low-income veterans and recipients of Supplemental Security Income. 

 

By 2020, the use of the chained CPI measure would yield an average tax increase of $311 among the 80 percent of homes that would see a tax increase. 

 

Among the President’s new tax measures, Obama plans to place a cap on the tax-advantaged portion of a person’s savings across tax-preferred retirement accounts, such as IRAs. 

 

The President’s debt reduction proposal comes from an offer he made to House Speaker John Boehner during last year’s fiscal cliff talks. The proposal, if accepted, would replace the automatic budget cuts, which took effect last month.  

 

 

Source: whitehouse.gov

 

A recent wave of tremendous cyber-attacks has proven it is possible to bend, but not shatter the Internet. 

 

It is easy for a virus to take down a website; attack methods known as “distributed denials of service” enable cybercriminals to direct considerable amounts of traffic to a website to overwhelm its servers and render the site unreachable. Government websites, banks and financial exchanges have been commonly targeted venues for distributed denial of service attacks. 

 

However last month, European spam-prevention service Spamhaus was rocked by the largest known cyber-attack in history causing Internet speeds to slow throughout large chunks of Europe. The attackers utilized nearly 100,000 servers to transmit 300 gigabits of traffic per second during the breach. The attack was more than three times larger than the Iranian-sponsored cyber-attacks of September 2012, which impeded access to some American banks’ websites for days. 

 

Yet many experts contend that the entire Internet cannot just be flipped on or off like a simple light switch. “The infrastructure of the Internet is highly robust and designed to guarantee reliable traffic at a high quality of service,” said Dr. Schneck, chief technology officer at Intel’s Internet security division. 

 

Despite the relative ease of taking down individual websites, it would be particularly difficult to sustain a widespread level of attack for a lengthy period of time, let alone a continuous flow of traffic that would exceed the limits of Internet service providers. 

The Internet is also too widely distributed to fall victim to a widespread attack. There have numerous occasions when regional access to the Internet was disrupted, either by attacks on vital services, accidental cable cutting, or a government-run utility limiting or shutting off access. Yet the Internet continued to work for billions of people outside of those regions. 

 

In the United States, a number of redundancies are built into the Internet; if one or two avenues are disrupted from your local network to the Internet, you likely won’t even notice a hitch. 

 

Another reason why the Internet is impossible to take down: cyber attackers depend on the Internet to operate. “The Internet is what the attackers need to deliver their attack,” said Gavin Reed, the director of engineering and products for Cisco. “I suppose it is possible for an attack to be large enough to destroy large chunks of the Internet, but we have not seen that happen.” 

 

Only government bodies have the ability to grind the entire Internet to a halt for a sustained period of time. So even as cyber-attacks increase in frequency and size, cyber criminals will never be able to take down the entire Internet. 

 

Source: whitehouse.gov

 

 

As the battle for the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act heats up in the state of New York, two prominent members of the Trans Rights Coalition have launched powerful media campaigns to educate New York residents about discrimination on the basis of expression and gender identity. 

 

The New York State Pride Agenda movement—often known as the Empire State Pride Agenda Campaign—has been broadcasting a radio spot in a number of media markets throughout the state. These advertisements serve as a reminder to listeners that New York employees should be judged on their accomplishments and merits, and not on the basis of their expression or gender identity. The Human Rights Campaign issued a simply statement to back the initiative of the Empire State Pride Agenda campaign, by saying “nobody deserves to be fired from their job or not hired for an employment opportunity because of who they are.”

 

Housing works has issued several postcards that illustrate the struggles that transgender New Yorkers face on a day to day basis. Housing works also explains on its webpage why the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act is such a critical piece of legislation to an initiative whose mission is related to the homelessness and HIV populations. 

 

Both campaigns draw attention to the prominence of New York State passing the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act this legislative session. This piece of legislation would prohibit discrimination against transgender people in employment, education, housing, credit and public accommodations. The state of New York protects lesbian, gay, bisexual, and heterosexual people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 

 

The Human Rights Campaign claims that it is time for the state of New York to close the gap and guarantee that transgender individuals are afforded the same vital anti-discrimination protections that are provided to the rest of the population. Currently sixteen states, Washington D.C., and 166 cities and towns in the United States institute similar laws, including Buffalo, Albany, New York City, Suffolk County, Rochester, and Tompkins County in the state of New York.  

 

 

Source: Human Rights Campaign

 

George Canellos, age 48, has been serving as the Department’s director since January and previously served as the division’s Deputy Director since June of last year. Mr. Canellos played a vital role in developing the division’s Cooperation Program and generated numerous legislative and policy initiatives regarding national priority enforcement actions. 

 

From July of 2009 to June of last year, Mr. Canellos served as Director of the Security Exchange Commission’s New York Regional Office. Under this role, Mr. Canellos was responsible for 400 enforcement attorneys, investigators, accountants, and compliance examiners involved in the prosecution and investigation of enforcement actions and the performance of compliance in the region. This regional office was responsible for the largest concentration of SEC-registered finance institutions, including in excess of 4,000 investment banks, broker-dealers, hedge funds, mutual funds and investment advisers. 

 

Previously, Mr. Ceresney served as a partner at a prestigious law firm, where he focused on representing individuals and entities involved in white collar crimes and SEC investigations. Before working at this firm, Mr. Ceresney served as a Deputy Chief Appellate Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where Mr. Ceresney served as a principal member of the Securities and Commodities Major Crimes and Fraud Task Force unit. 

 

“Andrew and George are two of the finest lawyers and people I know. They are a fantastic combination to lead the Enforcement Division, which is responsible for protecting investors and keeping or markets vibrant and safe,” said the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mrs. Mary Jo White. 

 

The Enforcement Division is the Security and Exchange Commission’s largest unit, with in excess of 1,200 accountants, investigators, trial attorneys and an assortment of other professionals. In recent years this division has achieved considerable success with prosecuting insider trading, financial crisis and other financial cases, while returning billions of dollars to defrauded investors.  

 

 

Source: SEC.gov

 

The Rhode Island Senate made history this week after passing S-38, also known as the marriage equality bill, by a vote of 26 to 12. The state of Rhode Island is now poised to become the tenth state in the nation along with Washington, D.C. to formally legalize gay marriage. 

 

The Rhode Island House of Representatives unanimously passed the marriage equality bill this January, but because of an amendment passed in the Senate, the bill will return to the House for a final vote. When the House passes the amended version of the bill, the measure will be placed in front of equality supporter Governor Mr. Lincoln Chafee for his signature. 

 

The Rhode Island vote is particularly historic because earlier this week the Senate Republican Caucus declared their unanimous support for the measure. 

 

Rhode Island will be the last state in New England to enact marriage equality laws. The Human Rights Campaign had been involved for a number of years in the state of Rhode Island, working closely with marriage Equality Rhode Island and several legislative bodies to build support for relationship recognition in the state, particularly when civil unions were formally made legal in 2011. 

 

The Human Rights Campaign joined with residents of Rhode Island and Rhode Islanders United for Marriage to pass the marriage equality act. The Human Rights Campaign contributed staff and other resources to bolster the odds of the bill passing. The Human Rights Campaign sent a senior organizer to work with city councils to build support at the local level. The Human Rights Campaign also hired a local faith organizer to work with religious bodies who support equality and fairness for all residents of Rhode Island. 

 

The final vote in the state’s House of Representatives will take place next week; the state’s governor is expected to sign the bill sometime after the House approves the measure. Marriage equality in the state of Rhode Island should take effect by the 1st of August. 

 

 

Source: Human Rights Campaign

 

It’s the biggest move of Jason Collins’ career, and it occurred off the court. 

 

Jason Collins, who has played 12 years in the National Basketball Association most notably for the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics, has disclosed to the nation that he is a homosexual. This announcement makes Jason the first active openly gay male athlete in the four major pro team sports’ leagues. 

 

The 7-foot center, who is now a free agent, “literally and figuratively,” made the disclosure in a story appearing in the upcoming issue of Sports Illustrated. 

 

“Jason Collins has changed the face of the sports,” said the Human Rights Campaign. The prominent civil rights group that has long been fighting for gay rights likened the announcement to Jackie Robinson becoming the first African-American to play in major league baseball in the modern area. “At a time when millions of Americans are reflecting on the life and legacy of Jackie Robinson, Mr. Collins is a hero of our own times,” the HRC said. 

 

Jason Collins is a 12-year NBA veteran who has played for six NBA teams (the Wizards, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston Celtics, and Washington Wizards). Collins has averaged 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 713 games. 

 

NBA Commissioner David Sterns claimed that the 34-year-old veteran is widely respected throughout the entire league. “We are proud he has assumed the role as a leader with this very important issue,” Stern said in a statement. 

 

Ernie Grunfeld, the President of the Washington Wizards, said the team is “very proud of Jason and support his decision to live openly and proudly. Jason has been a leader and an outstanding teammate throughout his career. Jason’s qualities will continue to serve him both as a role model and as a player for others of different sexual orientations.” 

 

Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers called Collins “a true pro” and one of his favorite to coach. “If we have learned anything from Jackie robins, it is that teammates are the first to accept change,” Rivers claimed. “It will be society who will be forced to learn more about tolerance.”

 

 

Source: whitehouse.gov

 

Throughout the United States, some of the most fundamental and vital work being accomplished on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender inclusion is occurring in cities and local communities. Efforts to boost the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community are being undertaken at the local level to provide greater efficacy to the cause. This localized feeling makes sense because there is no level of government with a more personal relationship with its citizen base. Cities and local communities have the power to make substantial and real change in their communities and, as the 2012 Municipal Equality Index revealed, towns and cities are bringing equality to a locality near you. 

 

Here is a prime example of this shift to localization: while Mayor Healy has been a longtime friend to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community throughout his term as Mayor of Jersey City, he instituted a mayoral LGBT task force. As a result of his efforts, Jersey City earned an 83 on the 2012 MEI, and while that score was in the top 20 percent of scores throughout the nation, Mayor Healy demanded more. The mayor of Jersey City currently has his sights set on a perfect score in 2013, and he is appointed a full-fledged task force to help him accomplish this task. 

 

The Human Rights Campaign provided many thanks to municipal leaders like Mayor Health and their cities for implementing more inclusive policies to expand the reach of crucial city services. Most importantly, the Human Rights Campaign 

 

 

Source: Human Rights Campaign

 

Starting in October of this year, Americans without access to affordable health coverage through their jobs will be able to purchase insurance through various state-run exchanges. 

 

Today, the government announced the unveiling of the forms prospective buyers will fill out to apply for health insurance from private insurers under the Obama healthcare law. The United States Federal Government will not start accepting and processing applications for Obamacare until later this year. 

 

The form of applicants is three pages, which is a marked improvement from the 20-plus page draft version that circulated earlier this year. 

 

The revised application for benefits, which was unveiled by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, requires potential applicants to file personal information, citizenship status, employment status, income details, current health coverage, Social Security number, and other information that is subsequently verified by other federal bodies. Those applying for family coverage under the program will be asked to fill out an 11-page application that asks for additional information. Those individual who do not require financial assistance may file the three-page form that does not require applicants to disclose their income. 

 

This application will be used in the 33 states with federally managed exchanges. The application will also be made available in the other 17 states that chose to establish their own healthcare packages. 

 

The state-based insurance exchanges are a flagship of the Affordable Care Act, which is the formal name given to Obamacare. The United States Congressional Budget Office forecasts that 7 million people will receive health benefits through the exchanges in 2014; this number is expected to increase to 24 million by 2016. 

 

The U.S. Federal Government; however, has a long way to go to convince individuals to sign up for benefits under Obamacare. Roughly 42 percent of Americans do not even realize the law is in effect, including many who thought that the U.S. Congress or the Supreme Court had struck it down. In addition to these individuals, merely half do not understand how the new law will affect them or their families. 

 

 

Source:whitehouse.gov