Chile president launches health care reform project

Yahoo – AFP, January 5, 2020

Chile's President Sebastian Pinera has announced a raft of measures aimed
at appeasing protesters and ending months of chaos (AFP Photo/HO)

Santiago (AFP) - Chile's President Sebastian Pinera launched on Sunday a reform project to create a "universal health plan" following months of protests against social inequality and his leadership.

"This plan is based on what the people have asked us for," said Pinera as he presented the project.

A poor public health system and sky-high private costs were among the main gripes of demonstrators.

Congress sat on Sunday to deal with a number of projects as part of Pinera's "social calendar" aimed at appeasing protesters.

The new health plan would benefit the 14.5 million people who rely on public services as well as the three million using private care.

Congress has tried to rush through social projects to help defuse the protest movement that began on October 18, initially as a reaction to a modest metro fare hike.

Twenty-nine people have died during the worst social unrest to hit Chile since the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship ended 30 years ago.

One of Pinera's main policy changes has been to enact a law allowing the South American country to hold a referendum on changing the Pinochet-era constitution.

His new health plan will include "a guaranteed maximum waiting time (and) a drop in the price of medicines," as well as other changes, Pinera said.

He said the government would subsidize "the 200 main" medicines used for chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes, resulting in a 60 percent reduction in costs.

Related Article:

Chile president signs off on constitutional change referendum

'Sex strike' call over Georgia abortion law fuels Hollywood boycott debate

Yahoo – AFP, Javier TOVAR, with Brian Knowlton in Washington, May 12, 2019

Actress Alyssa Milano is leading a campaign for film production companies to boycott
Georgia over the state's new abortion law -- and has called for a sex strike as well
(AFP Photo/Rich Fury)

Los Angeles (AFP) - The recent love affair between Hollywood producers and the US state of Georgia, with its low taxes and affordable lifestyle, is suddenly in jeopardy.

Strict new abortion laws passed in the southern state have prompted calls not only for a boycott of filming there -- but for a sex strike.

A coterie of film stars led by actress-activist Alyssa Milano, including Alec Baldwin, Don Cheadle, Ben Stiller, Mia Farrow and Amy Schumer, had threatened in March to refuse to work in Georgia if it adopted the new abortion restrictions.

But the state's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, signed the bill into law last week.

Several independent film and television production companies have since pledged to boycott the state unless the legislation -- which bans abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat can be detected, generally in the sixth week of pregnancy -- is rescinded.

"Killer Films will no longer consider Georgia as a viable shooting location until this ridiculous law is overturned," the company's CEO Christine Vachon wrote on Twitter.

Milano -- the onetime star of "Charmed" and "Who's the Boss?" -- had said she would fight "tooth and nail" for her Netflix series "Insatiable" to stop filming in Georgia.

Singer and actress Bette Midler has voiced support for Alyssa Milano's call for a 

sex strike over the Georgia abortion law (AFP Photo/Angela Weiss)

But then she took it one step farther, urging women to join her in a sex boycott until the law was repealed.

"JOIN ME by not having sex until we get bodily autonomy back," she wrote on Twitter.

"Protect your vaginas, ladies. Men in positions of power are trying to legislate them. #SexStrike"

Somewhat inevitably, the call by Milano -- whose profile has risen as the #MeToo movement has taken hold -- has sparked controversy.

'Surprisingly effective'

Though her idea earned praise on social media, including from actress Bette Midler, and #Sexstrike trended on Twitter for a while, the idea also earned scorn -- from both sides of the political spectrum.

Liberals accused the actress of pushing the idea that women have sex to make men happy, which she denied, while conservatives mercilessly trolled her.

Milano did not waver, even noting: "History shows that a #sexstrike is surprisingly effective."

Georgia's Republican governor Brian Kemp defiantly signed a new abortion law 

that has angered some film companies and actors (AFP Photo/Kevin C. Cox)

Sex strikes -- usually in the cause of peace or an end to sexual mistreatment -- have been carried out in countries from Colombia to Kenya to the Philippines, with varying success.

Perhaps the earliest reference came from "Lysistrata," Aristophanes' comedy about women in ancient Greece withholding sex to pressure their men to end the Peloponnesian War.

The women prevailed.

What's at stake

Georgia offers filmmakers a number of enticements: a far lower cost of living than in Los Angeles, a variety of landscapes and tax credits of up to 30 percent.

Blockbuster movies like Marvel's "Black Panther" and "Avengers: Infinity War" were filmed in the state; television series including "Stranger Things" and "The Walking Dead" have been shot there.

Last year, more than 450 productions were set in Georgia, where they spent the non-negligible sum of $2.7 billion.

Kemp has stood firm, saying before he signed the legislation into law: "We protect the innocent, we champion the vulnerable, we stand up and speak for those unable to speak for themselves."

The new restrictions could mark a tipping point.

Several independent film and television production companies have pledged to
boycott Georgia state unless the legislation is rescinded (AFP Photo/ALEX WONG)

The Writers Guild of America, representing screenwriters, said the law would make Georgia "an inhospitable place" for industry people to work.

But the major studios -- with huge financial stakes at issue -- have remained largely quiet.

Chris Ortman, a spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America -- which represents Hollywood heavyweights including Paramount, Sony, Universal, Disney, Warner Bros. and Netflix -- said the group would "monitor developments" and wait for the courts to decide.

The film industry, he added, supports 92,000 jobs in Georgia -- a fact that did not go unnoticed by some lawmakers who are worried about employment.

"I appreciate the calls to action... but please do not #boycottgeorgia," tweeted Stacey Abrams, a Democrat who nearly defeated Kemp in November's election.

"The hard-working Georgians who serve on crews & make a living here are not to blame. I promise: We will fight - and we will win."

With a nod to Abrams' plea, directors Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams told The Hollywood Reporter that they will proceed with filming their new show "Lovecraft Country" in the state -- but they will donate their "episodic fees" to groups fighting the abortion law.

Related Article:

Supreme Court blocks Louisiana abortion law

India withdraws controversial tax on sanitary pads

Yahoo – AFP, July 22, 2018

A national survey report released earlier this year said around 60 percent of young
women in India aged between 16 and 24 years did not have access to sanitary
pads (AFP Photo/INDRANIL MUKHERJEE)

India has withdrawn a controversial tax on sanitary pads following a vocal campaign led by activists and Bollywood stars to boost female education and empowerment.

Saturday's announcement is part of a slew of changes to the national goods and services tax (GST) intended to reduce the prices of around 90 key consumer goods, many of which target urban middle classes ahead of next year's general election.

"I think all women will be happy to know that sanitary pads will now have 100 percent exemption. There will be no GST on sanitary pads," India's acting finance minister Piyush Goyal told journalists on Saturday.

Activists, Bollywood actors and some politicians had opposed the 12 percent tax, citing a lack of access and affordability for a key hygiene product as a key barrier to female empowerment in the country.

A national survey report released earlier this year said around 60 percent of young women aged between 16 and 24 years did not have access to sanitary pads.

The figure was as high as 80 percent for some of India's poorer central and eastern states.

Reports in the last few years have linked absence of basic infrastructure such as toilets at Indian government schools outside big urban centres, and lack of access to sanitary pads, with higher dropout rates among girls.

"One of those days when a news brings tears of joy as a cause close to ur heart gets fulfilled," Akshay Kumar, one of Bollywood's most popular stars, wrote on Twitter.

Kumar was the lead actor in Padman, a Bollywood movie released earlier this year about the life of an activist who created a line of low-cost sanitary napkins for rural India.

"Thank you ... for understanding the need for menstrual hygiene and exempting sanitary pads from tax. I'm sure crores (tens of millions) of women in our country are silently sending gratitude ur way," he added.

The new national GST (goods and services tax) was introduced last July under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and was the country's biggest tax overhaul in a generation.

It was meant to unify the over $2 trillion economy into a single market, with four tax rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent.

You could have used a urinal, judge tells woman caught peeing in public

DutchNews, September 18, 2017

A ‘curl’ urinal in Amsterdam. Photo: BMA via Wikimedia Commons

 A 23-year-old Dutch woman has lost her appeal against a fine for urinating in a public place after the judge told her she could have used a urinal. 

Geerte Piening was fined €140 after she was caught urinating between the Balie debating centre and ABN Amro bank on Amsterdam’s Leidseplein 2.5 years ago after a night out. 

The judge on Monday ruled that the fine was legal, saying the ban on urinating in public applies to both men and women. However, he cut the fine to €90 because of the length of time the case had taken to court. 

‘It would have been discriminatory if we fined men €100 and women, say, €50,’ the judge said. ‘You are not allowed to pee just anywhere.’ 

In addition, Piening could have used one of the men’s urinals, the male judge said. ‘It would not be pleasant but it can be done,’ he said. 

The judge went on to say that while there are few public toilets for women in Amsterdam, there was no real need to build more, the AD reported. Piening, he said, was onthe second woman charged with peeing in public that he had come across. ‘Women just don’t do it, compared with men,’ he said. 

Piening’s decision to challenge the fine has turned into a cause celebre. ‘It has become a massive feminist issue, and that was not really what I was after,’ Piening told the AD.‘On the other hand, it is about time the issue was raised. It is embarrassing that there is nowhere for women to go.’

In central Amsterdam there are 35 public urinals for men and just four public toilets for women, according to the Parool. 

Relatd Article:

Pee'd off: Dutch women test urinals in public loo protest

Dutch egg probe widens to chicken meat tests

Yahoo – AFP, Charlotte van Ouwerkerk and Jan Hennop, August 8, 2017

"Chickens have feelings too": Dutch animal activists wave banners and placards
as they stage a protest at a poultry farm in Witteveen (AFP Photo/Erik Brinkhorst)

The Hague (AFP) - In a new twist in Europe's tainted egg scandal, Dutch authorities announced Tuesday they had started testing chicken meat coming from affected poultry farms to determine whether it was also contaminated.

Scientists are looking for the presence of the insecticide fipronil, a substance potentially dangerous to humans, after supermarkets in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland pulled millions of eggs from the shelves.

"We are currently testing chicken meat in the poultry farms where eggs were infected to determine whether the meat is contaminated as well," Tjitte Mastenbroek, spokesman for food security agency NVWA, told AFP.

The probe focuses on "a few dozen" farms that produce both eggs and chicken meat, NVWA said.

Meanwhile, the Dutch Safety Board, the country's agency looking into civilian safety issues, announced it was opening its own probe into why fipronil was not detected earlier in eggs as well as "the role in this of the poultry sector and Dutch government."

"The way consumers have been informed about the risks of fipronil are also being investigated," the Hague-based OVV said in a statement.

Millions of chickens now face being culled in the Netherlands as the scandal widens across Europe.

Hard-hit Germany on Tuesday called on Belgian and Dutch authorities to quickly shed light on what it termed a "criminal network" involved in the contamination of eggs with fipronil.

"When one sees a criminal energy that's almost organised as a network it's unacceptable," said German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt.

He again criticised Belgian and Dutch authorities' tardy response to the crisis.

Belgium's top agricultural official Monday ordered the country's food safety agency to report within a day why it failed to notify neighbouring countries until July 20 despite knowing about fipronil contamination since June.

"It's not in the spirit of the early warning system to be aware in June but only to inform us by the end of July," Schmidt said.

Mastenbroek told AFP that a criminal probe by the NVWA under Dutch prosecution authorities and assisted by Belgium is continuing, looking at the role of companies in contaminating Dutch poultry farms with fipronil.

Meanwhile, the French government said Monday "thirteen batches of contaminated eggs from The Netherlands" were delivered in July to food processing companies located in central-western France.

First egg, now chicken

Mastenbroek said so far her agency's "highest priority" has been the detection of contaminated eggs.

"But now we also have the time to look at meat as a precautionary measure," she said.

Most farms exclusively produce one or the other, said Eric Hubers at LTO, a Dutch farming organisation.

If the meat tests are negative for fipronil, producers will be cleared to resume sales, Mastenbroek said.

LTO said the probability of chicken meat found to be infected was small.

However, if fipronil was detected "farming will be completely suspended," Mastenbroek said.

'Cutting costs'

The contaminated egg scandal erupted last week when up to 180 Dutch farms were shuttered due to the presence of fipronil discovered in some of the eggs.

It is believed the toxic substance was introduced to poultry farms by a Dutch business named Chickfriend brought in to treat red lice, a parasite in chickens.

Dutch and Belgian media reports that the substance containing the insecticide was supplied to Chickfriend -- a small company operating out of the Dutch poultry heartland in the central town of Barneveld -- by a Belgian firm have not been confirmed.

Currently Dutch authorities have closed down 138 poultry farms -- about a fifth of those across the country -- and warned that eggs from another 59 farms contained enough levels of fipronil that they should not be eaten by children.

Belgium has blocked production from 51 farms -- a quarter of those nationwide -- with fipronil found at 21 farms, although levels were ten times below the maximum EU limit, the country's food and safety authority AFSCA said.

Other European countries including Austria, Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal and Romania said they were analysing imported eggs, but so far no contaminated eggs were found.

Enviromental group Greenpeace on Tuesday called for massive reforms in the food supply system to become safer, healthier and more transparent and to do away with so-called "factory farming".

"Factory farming has been at the centre of a number of scandals, from Mad cow (disease) to bird flu, from swine flu to horsemeat," said Davin Hutchins, Greenpeace senior food campaigner.

"These are symptoms of a system trying to cut costs at every corner to maximise profits at the expense of public health and the environment," he said.

Dutch tainted egg probe widens to chicken meat tests https://t.co/8KmjKk8eUs #fipronil pic.twitter.com/RaJ3gTXcFU

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 8, 2017

Related Articles:

Two men arrested in egg scandal following raids in Belgium and NL

Two arrested in Europe as egg scandal spreads east https://t.co/nadjXS4JWM pic.twitter.com/YMTjnlWoy2

— AFP news agency (@AFP) August 10, 2017

Only in California: butcher agrees to display anti-meat sign

Yahoo – AFP, Veronique DUPONT, August 7, 2017

"The Local Butcher Shop" in Berkeley, California, shown in this handout photo from
Direct Action Everywhere, was besieged by anti-meat demonstrators for months (AFP
Photo/Matt JOHNSON)

Los Angeles (AFP) - It was perhaps only a matter of time in ultra-progressive California, but a luxury butcher's shop is surprising patrons with a sign warning about the cruelty of eating meat.

"Attention: Animals' lives are their right. Killing them is violent and unjust, no matter how it's done," reads the notice greeting patrons of The Local Butcher Shop in Berkeley.

The business stuck the sign in its window as part of a "peace treaty" with animal rights activists in the left-leaning university town who have been picketing the store for the last four months.

Every Sunday as it opened for butchery lessons, it was besieged by demonstrators from rights group Direct Action Everywhere (DXE) -- sometimes naked, dripping with fake blood and wrapped in cellophane.

Monica Rocchino, co-owner of The Local Butcher Shop with her husband Aaron, was at her wits' end and decided to meet with the activists.

"They said they wanted Berkeley to become a meat-free city and they were ready to shut down our business," said Monica.

"We asked for actions we could do. And they said they'd think about it, but they kept protesting for 10 weeks. They made our neighbors mad, our neighborhood businesses were losing customers."

Finally, DXE laid down its conditions for burying the hatchet.

Ideal meat

"Either we had to become a vegan butchery or we had to stop giving these classes, or put up a sign saying that animals have rights," Monica told AFP.

She says the sign hasn't impacted custom.

"We go to great lengths to make sure our meat is from local ranches, is raised as humanely as possible, free of antibiotics. We want... this to be the ideal meat. Our customers know this and support us."

She acknowledges, however that the sign will not placate DXE, for whom the issue is black-and-white.

"For them, you kill animals or you don't. I understand that belief but it's another thing to force your ideas on other people," says Monica.

Berkeley, the cradle of the US universities' free speech movement, has been the scene of regular demonstrations from the days of the anti-Vietnam War campaign to recent protests against visiting right-wing speakers.

Recently it has been criticized for chilling free speech after canceling an appearances by firebrand pundit Ann Coulter and right-wing provocateur and former Brietbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos.

Berkeley also happens to be the epicenter of America's organic food industry, its reputation for being green sent up in the TV series "Portlandia," in which restaurateurs provide photographic evidence that their meat is from ethically-raised animals.

DXE organizer Matt Johnson says one of the group's activists felt his blood chill as he saw "an advertisement for these courses where people are taught how to properly dismember the body of an animal."

In line with the better-known Peta animal welfare association, DXE directs its protests "everywhere where violence against animals is normalized -- rodeo, circuses, restaurants, the butchers."

"We dont have any ill will against any individual, no hate for butchers -- only love for animals," says Johnson.

"But we cannot accept small businesses misleading people, saying this is just fine, to be promoting a better brand of violence."

Related Article:

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Guatemala expels Dutch 'abortion ship'

Yahoo – AFP, February 26, 2017

Members of the Dutch organization Women on Waves can be seen on the group's
 "abortion ship" as it visits the Pez Vela Marina in the port of San Jose, Escuintla
department, 120 km south of Guatemala City, on February 23, 2017 (AFP Photo/
JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Guatemala City (AFP) - Guatemala has expelled a Dutch "abortion ship" carrying activists who had vowed to help women circumvent the country's longstanding prohibition against terminating pregnancies, the army said Sunday.

Activists from the group Women on Waves had been guarded aboard their moored sailboat by a navy vessel, Saul Tobar, commander of Puerto Quetzal on Guatemala's Pacific coast, told reporters.

"Notified of its expulsion from the country's territorial waters for having failed to comply with immigration regulations" late Saturday, the crew requested permission to set sail, he said. The activists saw no patients.

The immigration authorities ordered the expulsion on Friday, saying the group's members lied in their entry declaration papers, claiming to be tourists and not members of a "health organization" that aimed to perform abortions.

Abortion is allowed in Guatemala only in cases in which a mother's life is deemed in danger.

The sailboat Adelaide arrived at the southern port of San Jose on Tuesday carrying 10 activists from Guatemala, as well as from Brazil, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.

They had planned to offer abortions in international waters off Guatemala's coast over five days, picking up five women at a time by dinghy.

Abortions were to be induced with two pills. Counseling, treatment and aftercare were also to be available for women seeking the group's services.

However, following the Dutch-registered boat's arrival, President Jimmy Morales ordered the government to file a formal complaint with the prosecutor's office.

(L-R) Merrilee Evans, Daniel Evans and Alice Ottz, members of the Dutch 

organization Women on Waves, speak with a private guard at the Pez Vela 

Marina in the port of San Jose, Escuintla department, 120 km south of 

Guatemala City, on February 23, 2017 (AFP Photo/JOHAN ORDONEZ)

Port officials ordered the activists to stay on board their ship, saying they had not declared the motive of their trip and therefore could not go ashore.

Stopping, unsafe illegal abortions

Women on Waves says some 65,000 illegal and unsafe abortions take place in the Central American country every year.

Although the group would use all available legal means to carry out its campaign, it would also respect Guatemalan law, spokeswoman Leticia Zenevich said.

Women on Waves had previously said its sailing ship was illegally "detained" by the military, which it accused of "obstructing a lawful protest against the state's restrictions on the Guatemalan women's right to safe abortion."

Its arrival had prompted protests by conservative as well as religious groups.

"It's very offensive that this group comes here to practice abortion, which is ultimately to practice murder," said Gonzalo de Villa, president of Guatemala's Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Guatemala Evangelical Alliance president Cesar Vasquez, called the NGO's activities "crimes against humanity."

However, some feminist groups supported the campaign.

Set up in 1999, Women on Waves has generated controversy in the past.

It sent the boat to Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain in previous years, prompting protests by pro-life groups in each country.

The group had urged the Guatemalan government to "remove abortion from the penal code," saying it is "a regular medical procedure and a human right," and calling for access to contraceptives and free, safe abortions.

Parents Demand Official Explanation on Ill-Effects From Fake Vaccines

Jakarta Globe, Alin Almanar, July 20, 2016

Parents wait for their children to be revaccinated at a hospital in Bekasi
on Monday (18/07). (Antara Photo/Risky Andrianto)

Jakarta. Parents who suspect that their children have been given fake vaccines are demanding that the government issue an official explanation about their health effects, instead of sticking to unofficial claims that the counterfeit vaccines pose no health risks at all.

Tests conducted by the Food and Drug Monitoring Ageny (BPOM) show some of the fake vaccines contained regular vaccine mixed with insulin.

If only a small amount is injected, the counterfeit vaccines will not have any side effect, the Health Ministry has said.

"We need official statements from the government," said Imam Subali, the parents' representative, in a meeting with the House of Representatives in Jakarta on Tuesday (20/07).

"This would help ensure that hospitals administering the fake vaccines can be held responsible if the patients suffer ill-effects later," Imam told the lawmakers.

The chairman of the House's Commission IX — which oversees health and manpower affairs, Dede Yusuf said, "The fake vaccines are not necessarily dangerous but the production did not follow hygienic standards."

Tuesday's meeting came five days after the Health Ministry revealed the names of 14 hospitals, most of which are located in Bekasi, West Java, that have allegedly administered counterfeit vaccines.

Shortly after the revelation, enraged parents besieged some of the hospitals, demanding they provide data on patients that have been been given fake vaccines, conduct medical check-ups and perform revaccination if necessary.

The fake vaccine revelation prompted the House to agree last week on establishing a special mechanism to supervise the distribution of vaccines and other medicines in Indonesia.

Late last month, a joint task force made up of officials from the Health Ministry, the National Police and the BPOM was formed to crack down on the fake vaccine distribution ring.

Related Article:

Health Ministry Reveals Names of 14 Health Facilities That Have Been Using Fake Vaccines

Springsteen cancels N. Carolina show over anti-trans law

Yahoo – AFP, Shaun Tandon, April 9, 2016

Bruce Springsteen said he canceled a concert in North Carolina to protest a law
 that targets transgender people, as "some things are more important than a rock
show" (AFP Photo/Jamie McCarthy)

New York (AFP) - Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in North Carolina to protest a law that targets transgender people, vowing to fight against "those who continue to push us backwards."

Springsteen's move marks one of the highest-profile actions yet against the law, which prohibits local governments within the southern state from acting to stop discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people in public facilities and restrooms.

"To my mind, it's an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress," the rock legend said in a statement.

North Carolina's Republican governor, 

Pat McCrory (C), signed the law that 

targets transgender people last month 

after its passage by the state legislature

(AFP Photo/Davis Turner)

"Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry -- which is happening as I write -- is one of them.

"It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards."

Springsteen had been due to perform Sunday in Greensboro, North Carolina as part of a sold-out arena tour revisiting his classic 1980 album "The River."

Springsteen, 66, rose to fame with his tales of the struggles of working-class America and his intense marathon concerts.

He has become increasingly open about his political beliefs in the past decade, campaigning for President Barack Obama and other Democrats.

In his statement, "The Boss" saluted activists and business leaders who have spoken out against North Carolina's law.

Notably, online payment giant PayPal scrapped a $3.6 million investment in North Carolina and the National Basketball Association has warned that it may pull next year's All-Star Game from the state.

The governors of New York and Washington and a number of other local leaders have banned non-essential travel by officials to North Carolina.

North Carolina's Republican governor, Pat McCrory, signed the law last month after its passage by the state legislature in response to a non-discrimination ordinance approved by Charlotte, the largest city in the state.

Spreading of laws in South

A Republican congressman from North Carolina, Mark Walker, told The Hollywood Reporter that other artists were coming to the state including Justin Bieber and Def Leppard.

Saying he might go to the Bieber concert in solidarity, Walker accused Springsteen of a "bully tactic."

"It's like when a kid gets upset and says he's going to take his ball and go home," he said.

The law, known as HB2, requires that transgender people use the restroom corresponding to the sex on their birth certificate.

Another southern state, Mississippi, has followed suit with a measure that allows officials and businesses to deny services to gay people or refuse to employ them if they feel it would violate their religious beliefs.

Steven Van Zandt, a member of Springsteen's E Street Band, said the artists wanted to prevent such laws from spreading, even though it was a "tough decision" to disappoint fans.

"This really vile and evil discrimination is starting to spread state to state and we thought we better take a stand right now and catch it early and maybe try to stop it or at least set some kind of example for others," Van Zandt told reporters at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in New York.

"It's unfortunately the only way people understand -- you have to hurt them economically in order to have them do the right thing morally," said Van Zandt, who led an artist campaign against apartheid in South Africa.

Van Zandt was taking part in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony to present a lifetime achievement award to late producer and songwriter Bert Berns.

Related Article:

"The Akashic Circle" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)

“… Gender Switching

Old souls, let me tell you something. If you are old enough, and many of you are, you have been everything. Do you hear me? All of you. You have been both genders. All of you have been what I will call between genders, and that means that all of you have had gender switches. Do you know what happens when it's time for you to switch a gender? We have discussed it before. You'll have dozens of lifetimes as the same gender. You're used to it. It's comfortable. You cannot conceive of being anything else, yet now it's time to change. It takes approximately three lifetimes for you to get used to it, and in those three lifetimes, you will have what I call "gender confusion."

It isn't confusion at all. It's absolutely normal, yet society often will see it as abnormal. I'm sitting here telling you you've all been through it. All of you. That's what old souls do. It's part of the system. …”