The council that oversees the country's judiciary said it was wrong for some offices just to issue civil union documents when the couple wanted full marriage certificates.

Correspondents say the decision in effect authorises gay marriage.

However full legalization depends on approval of a bill being examined by the Congress.

Tuesday's resolution by Brazil's National Council of Justice was based on a 2011 Supreme Court ruling that recognised same-sex civil unions.

It doesn't take much for most people to recognize that Hawai'i is a special place. But did you know that Hawai'i is home to what is believed to be the largest seasonal population of humpback whales anywhere in the world?  

Each winter, from November to May, visitors, residents, and ocean users in Hawai'i share the ocean with thousands of humpbacks that migrate thousands of miles from their northern feeding grounds to the warm, shallow waters of the Hawaiian Islands where they mate, calve, and nurse their young. For this reason the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (sanctuary) was designated to protect humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai'i.

The population of humpback whales (central North Pacific stock) that uses Hawai'i's waters as their principle wintering ground likely lies between 10,000 and 15,000 animals, although not all of these animals are in Hawai'i at the same time during the season. The lower number represents a population estimate determined by a comprehensive research effort done between 2004 and 2006. The upper number represents a conservative approximation of growth based on annual rate of increase determined in 2006 and observation of other population indicators indicating that the population is likely still increasing.

During whale season it is commonplace to see humpback whales resting near shore as well as performing acrobatic displays that can be seen from miles away. On one recent peak season day, researchers observed twenty different mother calf pairs just in Maalaea Bay (the Maui Sunseeker is located on the coast of this Bay).  

There is no doubt that Hawai'i offers some of the most unique whale watching in the world and that has led whale watching to become very popular among both visitors and residents alike. There is nothing like experiencing the breaches and tail slapping of humpback whales whether from boat or shore, and, although populations seem to still be increasing the whales still need our help! They are threatened by injuries caused by collisions with vessels and by entanglement in fishing gear and marine debris. 

On Monday, March 11, 2013, the sanctuary led a response effort to free an entangled male humpback whale and the animal was successfully disentangled in waters surrounding Maui. The entanglement involved several wraps of small gauge line around the animal's tail, which was already cutting into the animal, making the entanglement life threatening. In total, over 200 feet of line, and 2 buoys were recovered from the entangled animal that swam off quickly once cut free. After some investigation the animal appears to have been entangled in local fishing gear.  

The objective of the rescue program is not just to free animals but to also gain information to reduce the future threat of entanglement.  

You can help support this work and other work of the sanctuary by donating to the Hawai'i National Marine Sanctuary Foundation or by supporting the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation's Kohola Campaign.

 http://hawaiihumpbackwhale.noaa.gov/

http://hawaiinmsf.org

 http://www.nmsfocean.org

Enjoy the whales and help protect them for future generations!

Christine Brammer, Communications Coordinator

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary was designated by Congress in 1992 to ensure the protection of humpback whales and their habitat in Hawai'i.  

The sanctuary is managed jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Hawaii's Department of Land and Natural Resources. The sanctuary focuses their management efforts focus on education, outreach, research, and resource protection.

Visit us in person at:

Humpback Whale Sanctuary 

Kihei, HI 96753

1.800.831.4888

SPONSORED   BY   :  MAUI  SUNSEEKER  LGBT RESORT

At the Maui Sunseeker we've taken every opportunity to make our studios, rooms and suites especially inviting and comfortable. Our private lanais with either garden or ocean views welcome you with true Hawaiian spirit.  

MAUI  SUNSEEKER.

Organizers said about 12,000 people took part in the inaugural parade, which has been held for several years around the Harajuku district as a gay pride event. The week of special events runs until May 6.

“This is our first attempt to link up with many groups” of sexual minorities, said one of the organizers, Hiroko Masuhara, 35. “The parade is a symbolic event in the Tokyo Rainbow Week program.”

  Several corporations were at the event, including Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Google, IBM, Phillips, and UBS.

Kenji, from IBM, joined the parade and told us: 'IBM would like to improve the environment and the workplace for people who are LGBT.'

Kentaro, co-head of the Goldman Sachs LGBT Network in Japan, was also at the event.: 'We are here not just for our employees, but for the gay community to help their visibility.

'We want to make a difference to people who don’t really know what LGBT is.'

Legions of officers with water cannon braced outside the National Assembly for violence that had not come by late evening. The protests against the measure included thousands but were peaceful. Other gatherings were simply celebrations.

But it was an issue that galvanized the country's faltering right, which had been decimated by infighting and their election loss to President Francois Hollande.

The measure passed easily in the Socialist-majority Assembly, 331-225, just minutes after the president of the legislative body expelled a disruptive protester in pink, the color adopted by French opponents of gay marriage.   read more.

LGBT people understand what I'm talking about. Boystown is a gay refuge, rainbow pillars and all. It's become the place that we, as a community, have built for ourselves over the years at times when most of society told us we had no place. And in regards to going out, it's a community where many gay folks feel the most safe when tossing back a few beers.

Sure, society has come a long way in terms of LGBT rights, but things aren't really that perfect yet. We, as LGBT people, still have a lot of things to worry about when thinking of going out for a night on the town."

While it has had some press coverage in the past, nothing has been done to stop it. And travel sites like VRBO/Homeaway and Flipkey have denied responsibility and done little more than add a page under their FAQs to tell you how to avoid being a victim. The advice they provide is not foolproof (I actually did almost everything they tell you to do) – and the real problem is that their online contact form is subject to pfishing. 

At minimum a warning should be posted on their contact form so that potential renters like me will take extra care when booking our reservations. And banks need to do more to stop known scammers from using their institutions to handle these transactions that are defrauding people.

Here’s what happened to me:

I made several inquiries on Paris rentals via the online form on VRBO. This was the only site I used and no one (including my family) knew the details (dates) of our trip. We are flying into London, so it could not be determined based on our plane tickets.

Several responses were sent to me including an e-mail noting that the sender had a property available for the dates I had listed with a link to a Flipkey rental listing. He said he would give me a special price if I prepaid now and signed the e-mail by the legitimate owner (Pascal Zytomirski) of the property. When I Googled the property and the owner's name (one of the fraud prevention steps recommended), I saw he owned the property and it had great reviews so I thought I did my homework.

Whoever the scammer is (Grand Travel Rentals AC) sent me several e-mails and even asked when we would be arriving so he could send a driver to pick us up at the train station. It all seemed very legitimate including a professional contract with Pascal's name. I signed the contract and wired funds to his bank account (one of the recommended forms of payment per VRBO). I did not call the property owner – since we are dealing with time differences I thought e-mail made sense – if I had and was observant, I would have seen that the phone number on the listing did not match the one of the contract (though you can have more than one phone number – I know I do).

 However, had I called the one on the contract I woud have reached the scammer which would not have helped. On Saturday (April 6), I happened to looked at the link to the property that was sent to me (doing some travel planning) and saw a posted notice that the property had been the target of a scammer. I contacted the owner via the Flipkey link and he confirmed I had been scammed. I have contracts with the owner's name (Pascal Zytomirski), but apparently Grand Travel Rentals and the account that we sent the money to are not his. Pascal informed me that at least two (so far) renters have come forward that were scammed with the exact same contract/sent money to the same bank.

Apparently, this has been going on since 2010. Almost all cases involve accounts at Barclays. There have been slight variations in the scam, but most have followed the exact same pattern as mine. There is Facebook Group that has been formed to assemble the victims to take action.

It is being headed up by the following individuals who can give you more background on the scam. They are property owners in Bali who have seen many of their potential renters get scammed and decided to do something about it. They believe this is a multi-million dollar operation. They have given me permission to share their contact information with you:

Elizabeth Love +6285936128899; balipoodledoodle@yahoo.com or Nick Hyam +6285857220155; nick_hyam@yahoo.com

You can also find more dialog and heartbreaking stories if you search on HomeAway’s community forum under “scam”. Here is a link to one of the many discussionstrings.

Please encourage your followers to file a report if they have been scammed. I sent one to ActionFraud in the UK and also IC3 in the US – both handle Internet Fraud. I have also submitted complaints to VRBO and Barclays. VRBO has denied any responsibility and Barclays is still reviewing it (but based on what other have experienced, I have no hope they will do anything). My bank put a tracer on the wire transfer and Barclays said the money was transferred immediately out of the account as soon as it was sent. So, there is no recourse for me to recover funds. Also, my bank made me close my account and open a new one. Apparently a scammer can reverse engineer a wire transfer and attempt to auto debit funds from your account. Scary! No one seems to know this. In addition, victims should join the Facebook Group.

With the increasing popularity of sites like VRBO, it has become a real hunting grounds for scammers. If you can help stop just one person from being scammed...wouldn’t that be rewarding? I know it would give my loss some meaning.

Thank you for your consideration, CG Communications
www.cgcommunications.com

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If you want to join us in person, ABC-6 asks you to fill-out the form located here. If you cannot join us in person, you can watch the live broadcast or live webcast on WSYX Channel 6 or their website.

While we may not change the minds of those on the stage on Thursday, it is clear to a majority of Ohioans that this amendment is about family security, civil rights, and the protection of religious freedom. The truth is, no house of worship will be required to perform or recognize a wedding that conflicts with their teachings and beliefs. At the same time, anti-gay houses of worship and their faithful will not be permitted to stop a loving couple from marrying; because marriage is and always will be a civil right.

WHO: FreedomOhio and Equality Ohio

WHAT: Marriage Town Hall

WHEN: 7-8 pm Thursday, April 11th

Out In The Vineyard is an experiential Wine Country Tour and Event company promoting positive LGBT lifestyles and offering exclusive, luxury itineraries and events to the discriminating gay and lesbian traveler and our friends.