2012 Olympic Women's and Men's Basketball Tournament Draw Held

We're getting closer to the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on July 27 and the USA women's and men's basketball squads already know who will be in their respective groups when the basketball competition starts

For the four time defending gold medalist USA women, who are seeking their fifth consecutive gold medal in these games they will be in Group A that consists of Angola, China  and three of the qualifiers from the FIBA women's tournament that will be conducted in Turkey June 25-July 1.   


Group B on the women's side is shaping up to be the 'Group of Death' with Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Russia, and the two remaining FIBA Olympic tournament qualifiers.

The Canadians are still alive for an Olympic women's berth.but will have to play in the Qlympic qualifying tournament in Ankara to get it.  They are in Group D with France and Mali and will either have to finish first or second in the group to advance to a matchup with whoever comes out of Group C between Croatia, Korea and Mozambique. 

For the FIBA world champion USA men, they will be seeking back to back Olympic gold in this tournament but will be missing Derrick Rose who just tore his ACL in the NBA playoffs and Dwight Howard who had back surgery and is out.    They are in Group A and will face Manu Ginobili and the Argentines, Tony Parker and France, Tunisia playing in their first ever Olympics, and two qualifiers from the FIBA Men's Olympic qualifying tournament to be conducted in Venezuela 

Group B on the men's side will consist of Australia, Brazil, China, the host Great Britain, Spain an the third FIBA qualifier 

The Men's Olympic qualifying tournament will be conducted in Caracas, Venezuela July 2-8.   In addition to the host Venezuelans will have perennial African champs Angola, who were shockingly upset in the Afrobasket tournament final by Tunisia.  

Nigeria, Russia, Lithuania, Greece, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Macedonia, Jordan, New Zealand and Korea round out the list of nations battling for the last three London Olympic basketball tournament spots

In both the women's and men's Olympic tourneys, top four teams in each group advance, then the four remaining teams play knockout games with the Group A winner facing off against the fourth place team in Group B, the Group A Runner up playing the third place team in Group B and the Group A third and fourth place teams squaring off in knockout games against the Group B winner and runner up. 

Winners keep playing until they get to the gold and bronze medal matches. 

The Olympic basketball competition will last until August 12, and I'm so looking forward to it.

Game Changing Trans Document Decision In Canada

The positive momentum for trans rights issues continues in Canada

In what is seen as a game changing decision, on April 11 the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal struck down a rule that required gender reassignment surgery in order to change the gender code on birth certificates.

The 95 page decision was the result of a challenge filed by a trans woman who complained she was discriminated against because she could not change her legal documents unless she had surgery.

The transwoman in question later had SRS in 2008.   

“She had an orchiectomy (the removal of the testicles), at least in part to satisfy the requirement to change the sex designation,” explains lawyer N. Nicole Nussbaum to Xtra.ca.

“They completely knocked that out,” Nussbaum says. “The tribunal doesn’t have the authority to strike down a law, but they can say the law is not enforceable.”

The tribunal found that the Vital Statistics Act requirement of “transsexual surgery” prior to changing the sex designation on a birth certificate discriminates against trans people, she says. The provincial government has been ordered to remove this stipulation.  

Birth certificates are also used as foundation documents to change other federal level documents such as passports in Canada   

As a result of the precedent setting decision, the province of Ontario has 180 days to revise the criteria for a sex designation change.  

In addition, the decision of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal could potentially precipitate changes to similar laws in other provinces and territories and strike a major legal blow against the rule that only allows gender code changes on Canadian passports after SRS surgery

Looks like our Canadian trans cousins in Ontario are celebrating a major win that hopefully will be replicated across the Great White North.

Toby's Act Reintroduced For Fourth Time

I've been writing posts about NDP MPP Cheri Di Novo's attempts since 2007 to cover trans people's human rights in Ontario by adding gender identity and expression to the Ontario Human Rights Code via Toby's Act. 

It was named for Toby Dancer, a music producer and trans parishioner of DiNovo's who committed suicide a few years ago.  She has attempted three times to get this passed but it either has languished in the Ontario Legislature or has died due to the Legislature being dissolved for provincial elections..   

On February 21 DiNovo introduced Toby's Act at Queen's Park with members of the Trans Lobby Group in the house to observe what they and MPP DiNovo hope will be a successful effort to pass it this time.   It has support not only from the NDP, but Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi and Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott are also co-sponsors of Toby's Act.

"As a tri-party sponsored bill, it really has a good chance of success," DiNovo says in an Xtra interview.. "What I am hoping is it takes a much more direct method. The government can bring it in after first reading. Maybe they just need a nudge. So we are appealing to the premier and appealing to the cabinet to do the right thing and move on this."
 
Especially in light of the September 2011 case of blatant trans discrimination that blew up at the Trail's End Market in London, ON that garnered international attention and the recent Talackova case that highlights the need for Canadian trans citizens human rights to be protected..

If the federal government is going to be slow to act in terms of protecting the rights of Canadian trans citizens, then the provincial legislatures need to step up and act where the Conservative majority federal government won't.

Here's hoping that Toby's Act finally passes in Ontario and my trans cousins long wait for coverage under the Ontario Human Rights Code ends this year.

The Talackova Press Conference

There was a press conference yesterday in Los Angeles as Canadian transwoman Jenna Talackova continued her fight along with her attorney Gloria Allred to take down the odiously transphobic 'natural born woman' rule that the Miss Universe pageant system has used since 2001 to bar trans contestants from competing in it.

Here's the money video from that press conference courtesy of CNN.

Talackova Will Be Allowed To Compete In Miss Canada Universe Pageant

Amazing what a little international publicity, a Change.org pettition with over 40,000 signatures, social media outrage and hiring Gloria Allred as your attorney will do to overcome blatant anti-trans discrimination.

The Trump-owned Miss Universe organization bowed to the media firestorm and reversed their decision to bar Ms. Talackova from the Miss Universe Canada pageant because she was trans.   The 23 year old Vancouver born beauty was selected as one of the 65 contestants to participate in the May 19 event in Toronto.


“The Miss Universe Organization will allow Jenna Talackova to compete in the 2012 Miss Universe Canada pageant provided she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada, and the standards established by other international competitions,” Michael D. Cohen, executive vice president and special counsel to Donald Trump, said in an email.

Talackova was scheduled to appear in a press conference in Los Angeles with Allred later today to outline why she should be allowed to compete and the steps Allred was preparing to take on behalf of her client if it didn't happen.

The Miss Universe Canada website states that to enter, women must be a Canadian citizen between the ages of 18 and 27.  If basic requirements are met, they are asked to fill out a longer application form.  The entry form does not mention any rules against sexual reassignment surgery or plastic surgery.

The nebulous 'natural born woman' rule they instituted in 2001 was bull feces to begin with.  Hopefully the Miss Universe organization will permanently do away with that discriminatory and transphobic rule so that transwomen who desire to compete in the Miss Universe national pageants around the world and meet the entrance requirements will no longer be barred from doing so. 

Good luck Jenna.  You're on your way to making some trans history when you step on the stage next month.   I and your transsisters around the world hope that you at least make the semifinalist round in the Miss Canada Universe pageant.

And if you're blessed enough to win the 2012 Miss Canada Universe title, we'll be cheering for you at the Miss Universe pageant in December