Not that I'm complaining.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Activists say Argentina now leads the world in transgender rights after giving people the freedom to change their legal and physical gender identity simply because they want to, without having to undergo judicial, psychiatric and medical procedures beforehand.

The gender identity law that won congressional approval with a 55-0 Senate vote Wednesday night is the latest in a growing list of bold moves on social issues by the Argentine government, which also legalized gay marriage two years ago. These changes primarily affect minority groups, but they are fundamental, President Cristina Fernandez has said, for a democratic society still shaking off the human rights violations of the 1976-1983 dictatorship and the paternalism of the Roman Catholic Church.

Activists and academics who have tracked gender identity laws and customs worldwide said Thursday that no other country has gone so far to embrace gender self-determination. In the United States and Europe, transgender people must submit to physical and mental health exams and get past a series of other hurdles before getting sex-change treatments.

HERE

(not youtube, rather their owners, Universal)

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

Der Freitag (auf Deutsch)

,,Stromnetze gehören in Bürgerhand", formuliert BEB-Vorständlerin Luise Neumann-Cosel die Grundidee der Energiegenossenschaft, die von Parteien unabhängig sein soll. ,,Wenn die Energiewende gelingen soll, braucht es echte Bürgerbeteiligung."

"Electricity grids belong in citizens' hands,... if the energy transition is going to be successful, it needs real citizen participation (share?)."

I'm certain there's a long way to go, though they've already raised a million €. At the very worst it truly promotes better public involvement on grid issues.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

George Lucas' rich neighbors don't want him building a movie studio in their backyard. His response is the best thing he's done in years.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, for four decades Lucas has owned a large swath of land in Marin County in the North San Francisco Bay and has spent the past few years trying to transform the ranch on it into a massive, nearly 300,000 square foot, state-of-the-art movie studio complete with day care center, restaurant, gym and a 200-car garage. His neighbors, however, have rejected it every step of the way. Despite the promise of bringing $300 million worth of economic activity to the area, the already-well off neighbors are worried about years' worth of construction activity and the additional foot traffic it will bring into their neighborhood once completed.

The local homeowners association has been such a thorn in Lucas' side that he's decided to abandon the studio construction entirely, issuing this official statement about Lucasfilm's withdrawal of the new studio: