Biden signed a law recognizing same-sex marriage in the United States

He also highlighted the need to "protect transgender children."

"We need to challenge the hundreds of callous, cynical laws introduced in the states targeting transgender children, terrifying families and criminalizing doctors who get children the care they need. We have to protect these children." - Biden

❗️It looks more like it's the government that's targeting confused children and their parents and pushing their gender ideology on them

@topicdujour

🇵🇪 Boluarte to 'personally' call AMLO over Castillo stance

Dina Boluarte announced that she will call the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico, who issued on Monday a joint communiqué in which they still consider Pedro Castillo.

Published by the Colombian Foreign Ministry, the four countries assured in the message that Castillo is being "subject to judicial treatment in the same way violating" and asked that the "citizen will" expressed in the ballot box by the Peruvian people be respected.

#Peru

@meriblood

🇺🇸 Texas opposes Biden administration’s push to legalize gender transitioning for kids

Texas will not have to legalize sex-change procedures for children to receive federal funds nor adopt gender identity policies for the workplace.

Attorney General Ken Paxton declared victory in a lawsuit to stop “woke” federal agency mandates concerning sexual orientation and gender after the Biden administration declined to appeal a federal court’s ruling, making the decision permanent.

“This is an important win for common sense and Texas families,” Paxton said in a statement. “We’re going to make it abundantly clear that we will not stand for this.”

#US #Texas

@meriblood

🇲🇽🇺🇸🇨🇦 Mexico puts forward plan to resolve energy dispute with U.S., Canada

In July, U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai requested dispute resolution meetings with Mexico over that country’s policies that favor the state-owned energy utility over private and foreign producers. Such meetings are allowed under the USMCA trade deal between the U.S., Mexico and Canada, which joined the U.S.’ request.

In a release this week, Mexico’s Economy Ministry said that speeding up resolution of the matter is important to ensure certainty for would-be energy investors. Toward that end, the ministry shared a plan with its counterparts that includes establishing working groups to look at the legal status of Mexico’s energy reform, lawsuits from energy companies, outstanding permits and other issues.

#Mexico #US #Canada

@songofoil

🇺🇸 Joe Biden attempts to make Americans feel ‘societal guilt’ over guns

President Joe Biden said the US “should have societal guilt” for the slow pace of action on restricting access to firearms as he marked the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

“We should have societal guilt for taking too long to deal with this problem,” Biden said in a statement. “We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again. We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul ten years ago to turn their pain into purpose.”

I have a funny feeling that these are not guns that should be blamed. When a fire happens, we don’t blame matches for it.

#US

@meriblood

🇺🇸 DeSantis holds early lead over Trump among GOP primary voters

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis edged out former President Donald Trump in a new Wall Street Journal poll of primary voters that pits the two Republicans against each other as top contenders for the GOP nomination in 2024.

52 percent of likely GOP primary voters in the poll preferred DeSantis, compared to the 38 percent who favored Trump in a hypothetical primary race for the Republican nomination. The poll also demonstrated DeSantis’ popularity among likely primary voters, with 86 percent saying they view the Florida governor favorably. Trump’s favorability rating came in at 74 percent.

#US

@meriblood

🇺🇸 Texas school board approves policy that allows educators to carry guns

The Keller Independent School District school board voted 4-3 to adopt a state recommended “guardian” program, which allows approved faculty who undergo 50 hours of training to carry a handgun on campus. Educators who wish to carry on school campuses must also have a License To Carry and pass a psychological evaluation as a part of the “guardian” program.

No wonder that the MSM are doing their best to criticize the initiative – but that is not for them to decide.

#US #Texas

@meriblood

🇺🇸🇲🇽 Suspect in Colorado quadruple killing found in Mexico

Aman suspected of shooting four people dead in a Colorado home was arrested in Mexico over the weekend, according to police.

Joseph Mario Castorena, 21, had been on the run since the adults were found dead in a home in Aurora in the early hours on October 30, the Aurora Police Department said.

The four were Jesus Serrano, 51; his daughter Maria Anita Serrano, 22; her husband Kenneth Eugene Green Luque, 20, and Rudolfo Salgado Perez, 49, who was renting a space in the home.

#US #Mexico

@meriblood

🇺🇸 Texas attorney general sought data on number of people that changed their gender on driver's license

The office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton this summer sought data on how many people had changed the gender information on their driver's license. The journalists who got interested in the even haven’t managed to find out the reason for such a measure.

DPS found over 16,000 gender changes over the past two years, but officials said a manual search would have been required to determine the reason for each one.

#US #Texas

@meriblood

🇵🇪 — JUST IN: Protesters from Peru drive Peruvian police back in a show of strength and resilience against the new provisional government.

⚡️🇵🇪 Peruvian Congress rejects bill calling for early elections

Peru's Congress on Friday rejected a bill to bring forward general elections from 2026 to December 2023, as protests continued across the country.

Hernando Guerra, president of the legislative constitution commission, presented the bill and explained that it would allow "enough time" to make corresponding electoral reforms, but failed to gain a congressional consensus broad enough.

Failing to get 87 votes needed to pass a proposal, the bill garnered 49 votes in favor, with 33 against and 25 abstentions.

#Peru

@meriblood

🇺🇸 Texas Governor Abbott calls for investigation of NGO assisting in border crossings

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called for an investigation into the role non-governmental organizations may have in planning and assisting migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.

In a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the governor highlights the need for what called “Texas’ vigilant response to President Biden’s border crisis,” with the end of Title 42 just days away and record-high illegal border crossings along the Texas-Mexico border.

According to the governor, there have been recent that non-governmental organizations “may have assisted with illegal border crossings near El Paso.”

#US #Texas

@meriblood

🇺🇸 Republicans respond after the 6th chapter of 'Twitter Files' reveals FBI flagged users and tweets

After the sixth part of 'Twitter Files' was published, Republican lawmakers have promised to take action on the alleged connection between former Twitter executives and members of the FBI. It is reported that their joint efforts were aimed at censoring users and their tweets.

"[The] FBI has a lot to answer for after the latest drop of Twitter Files 6," Rep. Matt Gaetz tweeted.

#US

@meriblood

🇺🇸🇲🇽 As Title 42 expires soon, migrants head for U.S.-Mexico border crossings

Hundreds of migrants are trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border and to seek the asylum in America ahead of Title 42 expiration date on Dec. 21.

Migrants from different countries are now present on the bank of Rio Grande: Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Peru, and Venezuela. They hope to cross the border as Title 42 expires and no other regulations are yet introduced.

Under Title 42, thousands of migrants were expelled from the U.S. or not allowed to cross the state’s border.

#US #Mexico

@meriblood

🇵🇪 Mass protests in Peru
as of December 17, 2022

For 11 days mass demonstrations, strikes and clashes with the police have been underway in Peru. They are caused by the parliament's decision to impeach President Pedro Castillo and his following detention.

Peruvians are blocking roads, storming airports, and administrative buildings. Police and the Army use live ammunition to disperse the protests. Demonstrators respond with improvised explosives and gunfire.

So far, more than 30 people have been killed and hundreds injured. The largest number of victims is reported from Ayacucho province, where seven residents have been killed.

🔻Latest events

▪️Defense Minister Luis Alberto Otarola declared a state of emergency throughout the country for 30 days. A curfew has been imposed in 15 provinces.

The measures not only suspend free movement throughout the country ahead of the Christmas, but also provide police with the right to search homes without permission or a court order.

▪️These measures made protesters to tighten their demands, which are now as follows:

➖ the release of Pedro Castillo and his return to the position;
➖ the convening of a Constituent Assembly and creation of a new constitution;
➖ dissolution of Congress.

▪️New President Dina Boluarte has been trying to placate demonstrators with promises of early elections during the week: first they were planned to be rescheduled from 2026 to 2024, and then to 2023. But the Peruvian Congress rejected the relevant bill.

🔻Reactions to Peruvian protests abroad

➖The governments of Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, and Colombia issued a joint statement condemning the imprisonment of President Pedro Castillo. They also accused Boluarte and her supporters of "undemocratic pressure" on the arrested former head of state. In response, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry recalled ambassadors from all four countries.

➖ At the same time, the U.S., the EU and the UN expressed support for Dina Boluarte's government of.

🔻 In the previous review it was mentioned that even though the demonstrations are massive and the clashes fierce, the protesters have serious problems that greatly reduce their chances of success.

These include the lack of unified coordination of actions, as well as discontent with the figure of Castillo himself, who, contrary to his own promises made earlier, made concessions to the local oligarchy.

With no clear leaders in the opposition and no support from the security forces, the protests will gradually fade away. Under these conditions, the new Peru authorities have no reason to make concessions to the demonstrators: it is enough to wait for the protest to fade and to easily disperse those who won't agree to give up.

High-res

Versión en español

#Peru #digest

@rybar together with @meriblood

🇵🇪 Boluarte urges Congress to bring elections forward

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, who has said she is leading a transitional government, urged the country's Congress to pass a proposal to bring forward general elections in a news conference from the presidential palace.

#Peru

@meriblood

🇺🇸 North Carolina high court rejects voter-identification law

The North Carolina Supreme Court struck down a state voter identification law Friday as being racially discriminatory.

The court ruled that Republican lawmakers acted unconstitutionally to minimize Democratic voters’ power with a law that intentionally discriminated against Black voters.

Senate Bill 824 was passed in 2018 by the state’s Republican-controlled legislature even after its Democratic governor vetoed it. Republican-led legislatures in several states have passed similar voter ID laws in recent years, arguing they are needed to prevent voter fraud.

But Democrats and voting rights advocates say the laws are likely to suppress votes from African Americans, who are both more likely to vote Democratic and lack the needed identity cards.

#US #NorthCarolina

@meriblood

🇺🇸 5.4 magnitude earthquake rocks west Texas

Western Texas was rocked by a 5.4 magnitude earthquake Friday, exactly one month after a similar quake struck the oil-producing region, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The powerful tremor was counted as fourth-strongest earthquake in Texas history by the U.S. Weather Service. No injuries were reported.

#US #Texas

@meriblood

🇵🇪 Two Peruvian ministers resign amid protests

Two ministers from Peru's new government have resigned amid protests that have resulted in civilian deaths.

Peru’s Minister of Education Patricia Correa presented her letter of resignation on Twitter and said, "the death of compatriots has no justification. State violence cannot be disproportionate and cause death."

Culture Minister Jair Perez Branez also submitted his letter of resignation.

#Peru

@meriblood

🇦🇷 Forest fires in Argentine Tierra del Fuego the worst ever

Authorities in the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego Friday confirmed that over 10,000 hectares of land have already been consumed by forest fires, making the current episode the largest such catastrophe in the history of the province.

Most of the fires are concentrated around the village of Tolhuin, a town halfway between Río Grande and Ushuaia.

Although recent rainfalls have helped to control part of the forest fire, firefighters have reported the situation to still be extreme.

#Argentina

@meriblood

Students at elite NYC university have occupied campus and are demanding A-grades for everyone

The strike began on December 8 with faculty members lobbying for higher wages and better health care.

Though the faculty strike has since been resolved, the students decided to pursue this cause and issued a 16-point list of demands.

These demands include:

✔️'A' grade for everyone
✔️refund "for the loss of instructional time due to the strike"
✔️resignations of the school’s president, provost, vice president
✔️tuition freeze from 2023 to 2028
✔️university president’s house "to be treated as a communal property"

There are approximately 10,000 students at New School, tuition is $26,854 per semester.

According to The New School’s "about" page, the university is committed to "developing students who will have an impact on the world and address the most pressing social issues of our time."

So are those whining kids supposed to be our future?

@topicdujour