More good!

Two bits of good news in one day. Fab.

Gay and lesbian asylum seekers have won the right not to be deported from the UK if they would be persecuted in their home countries.

The supreme court unanimously allowed appeals from two men, from Cameroon and Iran, whose claims had earlier been turned down because officials said they could hide their sexuality by behaving discreetly.

The government accepted the ruling and said that policy on gay and lesbian asylum seekers would be changed with immediate effect.

For more, go here.

Obama, First Woman President

Sigh. Bill Clinton’s black, Hillary Clinton’s a man, now Obama’s a woman— we really should have expected this. Wouldn’t it be nice if people could just realise that perhaps, just perhaps all these shocking deviations from gender and race generalisations count against the generality of these generalisations?? Nah– instead, let’s hold them up as freakish deviations, allowing us to cling more tightly than ever to the stereotypes.

(Thanks, Eris!)

UPDATE: Philosoraptor has pointed us to this awesome debunking of the linguistic “facts” in which the article was based.

Good.

The US Justice Department is suing Arizona over its immigration law.

The Justice Department lawsuit charges that the Arizona law cracking down on illegal immigrants conflicts with federal law, would disrupt immigration enforcement and would lead to police harassment of those who cannot prove their lawful status. Filed in federal court in Arizona, it says the state’s measure is unconstitutional and asks a judge to stop it from taking effect.

(Thanks, M-A!)