Big Thumbs Down to the Ukraine.

Elton John and his partner of many years, David Furnish, have decided they wanted to adopt a child from an orphanage in the Ukraine. This child is a special needs child as he is HIV positive. This child has a very small likelihood of being adopted (only 30 HIV positive children have been adopted in the last 2 years according to the article.) And yet... under the conditions that he is not "legally married" and "too old," he is being denied the ability to give this child a loving home and an incredible opportunity at a very happy and stable life. Let's hear it for Yuriy Pavlenko, Minister of Family, Youth and Sports in the Ukraine, as well as Ukranian law and the Happy Child Foundation (oh, the irony) who are standing in the way of making this dream come true. If this were Brad and Angie, it's sure that they would be encouraged to make multiple adoptions. But no, this is clearly a case of gay discrimination (gay marriage and other civil unions aren't recognized in the Ukraine, and even if they were, those interviews seem to be opposed to it anyway.) I honestly don't see Elton and his partner doing this as some kind of publicity stunt. And while I recognize that a celebrity adoption one child from a foreign orphanage doesn't help the world entirely, at least he's willing to open his heart and home to someone who might otherwise never be adopted, never know what having parents is, and essentially live as much more difficult life. Shame on you, Ukraine (but let me not point all my fingers at you, as I realize we here in the U.S. have many strides to make as well...)

(Mostly) Local Headlines Of The Week!

I've been a little preoccupied since I began school this past Wednesday, so I apologize for the silence around here. I'll try to up it to at least one post a day (although that might be striving for a bit much.) Either way, here's some stuff you may have missed during the week that I thought was interesting for x, y, and z reasons!

The Herald actually wrote about a local vegan baker! Pretty exciting stuff in this city of many carnivores. I haven't actually had these yet, but I did go to The Last Carrot not long ago where I saw they had vegan cake by Peace-A-Cake, who are also mentioned in the article. Methinks it's time to take another trip down to the Grove!

Haulover Park is going to be collecting certain kinds of recyclables this weekend (including things like computers, printers, TVs, batteries, and more.) Check out the article to find out if your items are on the recyclable list. Apparently this is going to be benefitting a women's shelter, although I'm not sure what they'll be doing with my old batteries. Either way, good cause so go support!

In even more exciting news... A new farmer's market is gonna be appearing in my neighborhood soon! Apparently this Kenyan couple have decided to put together a farmer's market starting this October over at The Falls' Shopping Center's parking lot! I'm pretty psyched as that would be the closest farmer's market to me yet!

Sabbath Memorial Rescue (whom I've blogged about before) just got a story in the Miami Herald regarding some help they're now receiving from another shelter in Broward County. Very cool, indeed.

Strides are currently being made to find a way to rid Florida of its' ban on gay adoption. Currently, the ban is in the appeals court, but it might eventually make it's way to FL's supreme court. See more about it here:

And in related news, Uruguay has approved a bill to allow gay adoption in their country. Although a progressive first step, we now wait with baited breath to see how their Senate takes it. If approved, I will be stunned. No, but really, if approved, they would be the first Latin American country with such a law, which will surely pave the way for other countries to begin the process of doing the same.