I'm back from vacay! It was everything I needed and more. But now it's back to the real world, which means facing rainy New York and being a full-time feminist activist. Here's what I missed:

• In India, New Delhi's highest court has officially decriminalized homosexuality, which was made illegal in 1861! This is a landmark case if ever there was one.


• File this under: "where the fuck was all the media coverage?!" Cynthia McKinney, who was the Green party candidate in the 2008 presidential race, was held hostage in Israel after attempting to deliver aid and supplies to the Palestinians. But all the news stations are still talking about Michael Jackson. Thank goodness for blogging.


• The House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment to the federal appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 that would have continued a ban on using local funds to help low-income women in Washington, DC access abortion services.


• Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.


• Kai Eide, the United Nations Special Envoy to Afghanistan, urged Afghan leaders to fight violence against women at a meeting in Kabul where he announced a new UN report on the subject, entitled "Silence is Violence." The report urges that women's rights are not a luxury, but a necessity.


• Sarah Palin has resigned as governor of Alaska. While that may be a positive thing in the sense that it means one less conservative anti-choice politician in power, it also draws attention to the disturbingly low amount of women governors there are today.


• Christian activist Randall Terry has launched a horribly disturbing anti-choice campaign to defeat Sonia Sotomayor.


• A "women's-only" pharmacy in Vancouver is attempting to exclude trans women.


• Last month, NOW on PBS aired "Abortion Providers Under Seige," which examines violence and harassment directed towards abortion providers. You can watch the program online.

Whew. Anything else?