In 2012, Dave Mullins and Charlie Craig sued Colorado baker Jack Phillips for refusing to bake a cake for their wedding. Today, Colorado's Civil Rights Commission ruled that Phillips did violate civil rights law by doing so. A judge found the same in December; today's seven-member panel just agreed.

Phillips, who claims he's gotten local support for refusing to bake cakes for gay people, is not pleased. "I will stand by my convictions until somebody shuts me down," he told the AP after the ruling. But the Commission says he has to bake for everyone now. Phillips owns the Masterpiece Cakeshop in the Denver suburb of Lakewood and is a self-identified devout Christian.

This ruling underscores the piecemeal way gay rights have come to be recognized in the U.S. Gay marriage is currently illegal in Colorado, but now it's also illegal to refuse to bake a cake for a gay marriage. Mullins and Craig, at least, are happy with today's ruling. "We're just thrilled," Mullins said.

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Photo by Lisa F. Young via Shutterstock.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/politics/2014/05/colorado-baker-now-has-to-make-wedding-cakes-for-gay-couples/371930/

The Rot Among the Rebels in Ukraine

Kidnapped in Ukraine

DONETSK, Ukraine — Slices of pineapples, batteries, flashlights, and cans of fish swam in puddles of beer on the floor, all dusted with a gooey layer of flour and cornmeal. The giant hypermarket Metro in Donetsk was flooded with looters Friday morning, grabbing whatever struck their fancy from its endless shelves.

They seemed not to care that they were risking their lives. Just around the corner from the store, snipers opened fire at anyone who approached the nearby Donetsk airport. But as soon as the looters made it alive to the free consumer paradise, in a frenzy of greed or survival or both, they loaded up mountains of goods on their carts.

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On the floor of the wine department, drunken Valeriy moaned that his wife expected him to pick her up from work, but he wanted to stay and live in the free-alcohol heaven; he insisted journalists not photograph his “being drunk as a pig.”

Outside the shopping center, two more drunk looters described the violent scenes of shootings earlier this week between Ukrainian National Guard forces and rebels; on Thursday the two men helped wounded local civilians to reach the hospital. The entire neighborhood was “terrorized” by stories about female snipers from the Baltic countries shooting men in the lower parts of their bodies. All that made the looting seem all right.

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Unlike, Valeriy, Dmitry Yagudin realized that this could be his last chance to provide so plentifully for the six unemployed members of his family. He planned his looting carefully, eyeing the space available on his cart. He ignored bottles of expensive whiskey, blankets and hair dryers. “In wartime, one needs more serious things,” he explained, loading up blenders and juice makers. He passed right by the technology counters. “No, computers are not for me,” he said. “I am not an insane looter. If not for Ukrainian helicopters and snipers in my neighborhood, I would never do this.” Then he pushed his loot outside and up the street towards his house.

Like a big wobbling shopping cart, the entire Donetsk region, it seemed, was slowly being pushed toward a very uncertain future where the fear of death, kidnapping, economic crises, disillusionment, unemployment and the sundry unknowable horrors of civil war all mingled.

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The leader of the separatist resistance, the self-proclaimed prime minister of the self -proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Borodai, blamed Kiev for all the republic’s troubles.

"Ukrainian authorities do everything to create a hopeless humanitarian catastrophe in eastern cities; a week ago they stopped paying salaries to state employees in the region,” Borodai complained in an interview on the square in front of his headquarters, standing by his Infiniti loaded with gunmen, rocket propelled grenades and a machine gun in the trunk.

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The problems seemed to grow on the rebellious government faster it could handle them—on Thursday, Borodai claimed his people collected six more dead comrades outside the airport. Looting at the Metro store was another headache among many, he said.

The prime minister of the self-proclaimed government also admitted it was still “a pending challenge” to unite warlords, make them responsible and obey the command of the republic’s government. Battles with Ukrainian military in Luhansk, the region on the border with Russia, and Slovyansk, the epicenter of the fighting, were not the responsibility of the separatist leaders in Donetsk, he said.

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Then, more bad news arrived from the Luhansk region: on Thursday night, four observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) reportedly were detained in Severodonetsk, 100 kilometers away. The team consists of four international members, as well as one Ukrainian language assistant. They were travelling in two vehicles. Another group of OSCE observers disappeared in Eastern Ukraine on the evening of May 26.

The risks did not stop the OSCE special monitoring mission from enlarging its presence in Ukraine, adding 23 people to the current team of 248.

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As unrest grows in Ukraine, even Prime Minister Borodai’s 11th-floor headquarters splintered into bitter feuds. Sewage pipes burst on the 7th floor of the building, distributing a strong, rotten smell that seemed to match the mood. The commandant of the floor, Regina, a woman in a red blouse with sharp angry features, stormed into the Donetsk People’s Republic press center yelling and demanding her arm-chairs back—she believed that somebody from the self-proclaimed administration stole the two armchairs from her own office.

Quiet and upset, the press secretary, called Klaudiya, said that the republic “was on the verge of its own revolution—I hope we have prevented it.”

Petition calls for USA Swimming exec's Hall of Fame induction to be rescinded

Nineteen women claiming to be survivors of sexual abuse by U.S. swim coaches are petitioning the International Swimming Hall of Fame to rescind its June 14 induction of USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus.

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Chuck Wielgus speaks during a news conference prior to the 2012 Olympic Games. (AP)

"Many of these coaches had well-known, long histories of sexual abuse," the letter states, "yet Wielgus enabled these men to continue to coach for years."

In an interview with Yahoo Sports, Kelley Currin, one of the 19 petitioners, called Wielgus' selection for induction "a slap in the face of abuse victims."

"It's baffling," she said. "He has clearly shown that he is not an effective leader for an organization that has not done everything it can to protect athletes."

Nancy Hogshead-Makar, senior director of advocacy at the Women's Sports Foundation, authored the petition on behalf of the 19 women. The letter lists several allegations of inaction and even obfuscation on Wielgus' part, backed up by court documents with Wielgus' own testimony. The petition states Wielgus' policies were "hostile to victims."

Among the allegations:

• That Wielgus "covered up two separate sexual misconduct complaints against coach Andy King, going so far in one of them to direct the club to keep the matter 'confidential' and that he would not conduct an investigation.

King is currently serving a 40-year sentence for abusing more than a dozen girls.

• That when Wielgus discovered that a USA Swimming employee, Everett Uchiyama, had "molested a swimmer," Wielgus allowed him to resign "quietly and secretly," and that a USA Swimming press release announcing the resignation made "no mention of [Uchiyama's] sexual abuse."

No charges were ever filed against Uchiyama.

• That despite knowledge that Rick Curl, a USA Swimming coach, had molested swimmer Kelly Davies Currin starting at age 13, Wielgus allowed Curl to coach young swimmers.

In 2013, Curl was sentenced to seven years in prison for sexual abuse.

"We're not saying it's his fault that these things happened," Hogshead-Makar, an Olympic gold medalist, told Yahoo Sports. "We're saying he knew about these issues and didn't do anything about it."

In a statement from five current and past presidents, USA Swimming strongly refutes the claims made in the petition and backs Wielgus.

"Each of us has worked directly with Chuck Wielgus over the past 17 years and we wholeheartedly stand behind him and his outstanding accomplishments," the statement said. "His integrity and leadership have been inspirational to us, and we have seen first-hand his positive impact on USA Swimming's 400,000 members that include athletes, parents, volunteers, coaches and staff.

"Without hesitation, we attest that Chuck is a man of impeccable character who consistently exhibits a value system steeped in ethics and personal accountability. A stalwart leader in the sport of swimming and amateur athletics, he possesses a history of honesty, compassion and success that merits his induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame."

USA Swimming also released a detailed account of its actions in several of the sex abuse cases, along with a "personal note" from Wielgus, which states in part, "For me personally, the abuse by coaches in the sport has weighed heavily on me more than any other topic. We all wish we had a do-over at periods in life and that was one for me."

A call and email to Bruce Wigo, the president of the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was not immediately returned, but he wrote in an email to USA Today: "The petition raises disturbing, grave questions that we take most seriously," Wigo said, adding that the Hall of Fame "is reviewing the petition."

At least one member of the board of the Hall of Fame is against Wielgus' induction. Terry Carlisle, who has coached swimming at the high school and college level for 25 years, told Yahoo Sports he will be at the induction ceremony in June and "I hope I don't see Chuck Wielgus."

"This has been happening for a long, long time," Carlisle said of the sexual abuse issues within USA Swimming. "It's very much like the Penn State situation. They know this abuse is going on. What they do is the administrators pretend they're not really aware of it. Administrators in sports don't act unless there's real criticism."

Carlisle said he asked the Hall of Fame in February not to induct Wielgus.

"I was really concerned that if we inducted him and this thing exploded," Carlisle said, "the Hall of Fame would be under a lot of shame."

Carlisle's name is on the petition as a "supporter," along with Hall of Fame swim coach Randy Reese, and several others. One of the petitioners is legendary long-distance swimmer Dyana Nyad, herself a victim of sexual abuse by an Olympian swim coach. Nyad's abuse, like those of the other petitioners, happened before Wielgus' tenure. But the victims believe Wielgus' inaction has led to further abuse.

Caren McKay, who says she was abused beginning at age 13, told Yahoo Sports she was "flabbergasted" that Wielgus was up for induction. She said she reported her former coach, Andy King, to the police in 2009, and was never contacted by anyone at USA Swimming.

"It makes it seem like what happened was insignificant," McKay said. "There was a time when he could have made changes and didn't."

In its release, USA Swimming calls many of the statements made in the petition "untrue" and "intentionally misleading."

Earlier this year, USA Swimming released an independent review of its Safe Sport program and appointed a task force to review the findings and offer recommendations.

For Hogshead-Makar and the petitioners, the steps Wielgus has taken have come too late.

"He's only done so at the point of a gun," she said. "That's not leadership and it's not Hall of Fame material."

Nineteen women want to stop the induction of a top U.S. swimming official into the sport's hall of fame.

Say claims were cast aside

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AP) — The U.S. Air Force has deployed two of its most advanced long-distance surveillance drones to a base in northern Japan over the past week, enhancing its ability to monitor nuclear activities in North Korea and Chinese naval operations.

The deployment of the two unarmed Global Hawk drones to Japan, a key U.S. ally, is intended to demonstrate Washington's commitment to security in Asia as part of its rebalancing of forces to the Pacific. But it will likely rankle with China and North Korea, which have been working to improve their own unmanned aircraft fleets.

Lt. Gen. Sam Angelella, commander of U.S. Forces Japan, said Friday the drones will remain here until October, when the typhoon season on the drones' home base on the Pacific island of Guam is over. Similar rotations from Guam to Misawa are expected in the future, though Angelella said no firm plans have been made. He refused to comment on the specific missions the drones will carry out but noted that the Global Hawk's "capabilities are well known."

The drone is considered particularly valuable because it can conduct long-range missions without the limitations of pilot fatigue, is able to fly at a maximum 60,000 feet (18.3 kilometers) and can "loiter" around any particular site of interest for 24 hours or more.

From Japan, it can easily monitor areas on the Asian mainland — including North Korea's nuclear sites — or targets at sea — such as areas where China and other countries have had confrontations over territory.

The military keeps much of the Global Hawk's work secret, but Angelella spoke of its use in humanitarian missions including Japan's 2011 tsunami and the devastating typhoon that hit the Philippines last year. More recently, he said, the drone was used in surveillance work following the mass abduction of more than 300 girls in Nigeria by Islamic extremists.

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This undated photo released Thursday, May 30, 2013 by aerospace technology company Northrop Grumman …

The deployment of the drones will also help Japan familiarize itself with the aircraft. Tokyo plans to buy three Global Hawks.

Angelella said the aircraft has proven itself to be one of the most reliable in the Air Force. While still under development, the Global Hawk began supporting overseas contingency operations two months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. As of September last year, it had surpassed 100,000 flight hours, three-quarters of which were performed in combat.

Safety is a key factor in Japan because many U.S. bases here are located in heavily populated areas.

Under a mutual security pact, the U.S. maintains about 50,000 troops in Japan, which is home to several major air bases, the headquarters of the U.S. 7th Fleet and more than 10,000 Marines.

Though some residents of the city of Misawa have raised concerns about the drone deployment, opposition has been notably muted compared to the often emotional and deep-rooted protests against the deployment of new aircraft or troops on the southern Japan island of Okinawa, where most of the U.S. military in Japan is based.

But the deployment comes at a politically sensitive time.

Tokyo is now hotly debating a significant revamp of the role of its military forces, which have since World War II been rebuilt and are now one of the strongest in Asia, though they remain restricted to a narrowly defined strategy of national defense.

Citing the perceived threats from China and North Korea, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is championing an effort to change that and allow the Japanese military to be able to fight more closely with U.S. troops in contingencies.

Abe's focus has been on what the Japanese military should be allowed to do when an ally defending Japan comes under attack — what the Japanese call collective self-defense. But opponents fear loosening restrictions will open the door for the Japanese military to be drawn into broader U.S. conflicts that don't have a direct connection to Japan's national defense.

U.S. sends advanced drones to Japan

The two unarmed Global Hawks will enhance ability to keep tabs on North Korea and China.
Sensitive work

Washington (AFP) - US lawmakers urged France to break its contract to sell two warships to Russia and instead sell or lease them to NATO, which said Friday it was up to Paris to decide.

Three congressmen led by Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to the transatlantic alliance's Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressing concern about the construction and sale to the Russian navy of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers.

"It is critical that NATO countries no longer provide powerful weapons to enhance Russia's ability to intimidate or even invade its neighbors," the lawmakers wrote Thursday, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression in Ukraine.

An agreement by NATO to buy or lease the ships instead "would send a strong signal to President Putin that the NATO allies will not tolerate or in any way enable his reckless moves," they added.

The lawmakers warned that the ships would "enhance the very expeditionary capabilities Russia used to capture Crimea" in March, a move strongly protested by NATO and the West.

The Mistral can carry 16 helicopters, four landing craft, 60 armed vehicles and some 700 troops.

France has said it is leaving the door open to re-examining the $1.6 billion contract in October, when the first warship is scheduled for delivery to the Russian fleet.

Since Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, Washington has voiced repeated objections to the deal, but Russia has stressed that France would face heavy penalties if the deal is scrapped.

Rasmussen, asked about the Mistral sale at an event in Vilnius, Lithuania, said "it's for France to decide."

"As regards NATO, we're now reviewing our future relations with Russia," he added. "We've already suspended practical cooperation and NATO foreign ministers will discuss our relations in June."

Engel joined Republican Michael Turner, who chairs the US delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, and William Keating, the top Democrat on a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that deals with Europe, in signing the letter.

They acknowledged the likely financial ramifications for France should the contract be cancelled, including the loss of about 1,000 jobs.

Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned that Moscow was testing NATO's mettle and that the 28-member alliance must bolster its military spending to face down the challenge.

But a NATO diplomatic source said it was "not very realistic" that the purchase could be made by the alliance, whose major shared military assets are currently limited to AWACS early warning aircraft.

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