**IF YOU CAN'T ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE, CONTACT US AT rays.list@comcast.net and we'll be happy to send the full article.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Rhode-Island-Gay-Marriage.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print
February 23, 2007
R.I. AG's Sister Weds Her Partner
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:52 a.m. ET
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Rhode Island's attorney general said his opinion this week advising his state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts had nothing to do with his sister's wedding to her partner there days earlier.
Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the advisory opinion, which is not binding, was issued in response to a question from a state agency and was based on legal research.
''No disrespect to my sister, who I love very much, but it has zero impact on it,'' he said.
In Wednesday's opinion, Lynch said there was no strong reason for Rhode Island to deny recognition to gay marriages performed in Massachusetts because Rhode Island does not have a law banning such unions.
The opinion came a week after Lynch attended the Feb. 15 wedding of his sister Margaret Lynch-Gadaleta and her partner of 18 years in Attleboro, Mass.
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Gay-Marriage-Schools.html?pagewanted=print
February 23, 2007
Parent Suit on Gay Marriage Talk Tossed
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:03 p.m. ET
BOSTON (AP) -- A federal judge on Friday threw out a lawsuit filed by parents who wanted to keep their young children from learning about gay marriage in school.
U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf said federal courts have decided in other cases that parents' rights to exercise their religious beliefs are not violated when their children are exposed to contrary ideas in school.
Schools are ''entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens,'' Wolf said in his ruling.
Tonia and David Parker of Lexington sued after their 5-year-old son brought home a book from kindergarten that depicted a gay family. Another Lexington couple joined the suit after a second-grade teacher read the class a fairy tale about two princes falling in love.
Both couples claimed Lexington school officials violated their parental rights to teach their own morals to their children. They said they wanted to be notified before gay couples were discussed so they could remove their children from classrooms.
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The Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=11573
Gay group's school workshop on bullying assailed by some parents School board still supporting program
SWANTON, Vt. (AP) | Feb 23, 3:02 PM
Plans for a high school workshop by a gay advocacy group are getting a lot of scrutiny in the northwestern corner of the state.
A conservative radio talk show host has criticized Mississquoi Valley Union High School officials for allowing the two-day series of panel discussions with a group dedicated lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. It's scheduled for next month.
Paul Beaudry — host of radio shows on WRSA in St. Albans and WDEV in Waterbury — has called for the invitation to the group Outright Vermont to be revoked. That group wants to discuss ways to combat bullying and violence.
"I don't think this should be in the schools. If you go to their Web site, they're all about recruiting children into the homosexual lifestyle," said Beaudry, whose child attends the school.
The upcoming workshops were one of the subjects of a School Board meeting Thursday, which drew a crowd of about 75 that was nearly evenly divided between supporters and opponents. Neither the school board nor the superintendent indicated the workshops would be canceled.
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Reuters Foundation
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N23281077.htm
New AIDS drugs aim to combat resistant HIV strains
23 Feb 2007 16:18:04 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Deena Beasley and Ransdell Pierson
LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - More than 25 years into the AIDS epidemic, many drugs are used to treat HIV, but an alarming number of patients are becoming resistant to therapy, driving research into new ways to combat the virus.
Data from clinical trials of several promising new products will be unveiled at a conference of leading HIV researchers in Los Angeles next week.
"There is a confluence of new drugs in the pipeline that people are pretty excited about," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
These include next-generation versions of longstanding HIV fighters as well as drugs that combat the virus through innovative mechanisms, including blocking it from entering immune system cells.
The human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS infects more than 1 million people in the United States and nearly 40 million worldwide. An estimated 40,000 Americans become infected each year.
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LSJ.com
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070223/NEWS01/702230380/1001/news&template=printart
Published February 23, 2007
Family: Anthos slipped into coma, given last rites
Midday update
By John Schneider
Lansing State Journal
Andrew Anthos, the victim of what appears to be an anti-gay assault in Detroit, slipped into a coma Thursday night and was administered last rites, his niece, Athena Fedenis, reported Friday.
"His breathing is very shallow and doctors don't expect him to make it through the next 24 hours," Fedenis said.
Known in Lansing for his attempts get public officials to illuminate the Capitol dome with red, white and blue lights, the flamboyant Anthos was attacked Feb. 13 in front of his Detroit apartment building.
According to family members, witnesses said the attack came after a fellow passenger on a city bus took offense to Anthos' singing, then followed him off the bus.The man then reportedly called Anthos a "faggot" and beat him with a pipe.
Detroit Police spokesman Leon Rahmaan declined Friday to assign a motive to the assailant and said no arrest has been made.
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The Independent Alligator
http://www.alligator.org/pt2/070223gender.php
Friday, February 23, 2007 1:00 a.m.
Transgender alum works for equality
By ALEX TIEGEN
Alligator Staff Writer
Fear of insults or attacks convinced Ivana Black to hide her transgender identity when she enrolled at UF in 2004. Black had faced discrimination before and did not want to be targeted again, she said. She used her long hair and convincing curves to pass as a woman. But when she noticed that other transgender students were reluctant to embrace or reveal their own identities, she felt compelled to come out.
"In order for me to feel comfortable and for other people to be comfortable, I had to be visible (as a transgender)," she said.
During her stay at UF, Black worked toward making UF a more welcoming place for transgender students by educating people about transgender issues and culture. By the time Black graduated, she had made UF a home, but it still had a long way to go. The Student Body constitution, for example, didn't have a protection for transgender students.
But that could change if students approve a referendum during Student Government elections, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday.
If the referendum is approved, the Student Body constitution's nondiscrimination clause will be amended to include the terms "gender identity and expression."
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=2/17/07&end=2/24/07#11575
Please listen
OK, I admit it. I’m a geek. My favorite kind of “music” is NPR .
In moments like this morning, I know why. This morning, Morning Edition ran a Story Corps segment that made me cry in my car. While I was driving.
The interview was between a 14 year old girl and her mother. The mother, Sue Hyde, told the story about how hard it was to grow up in rural Illinois in a large nuclear family, knowing that she liked girls. At 19, Sue came out to her own mother, whose first reaction was to ask “what did I do wrong?”
I’m sure many of us can relate.
Several years later, Sue’s mother became gravely ill. Sue and her partner sat up with her the night before she died, and during one of her last moments of being awake and aware, Sue’s mother told her and her partner that she wanted them to be happy.
By this time in the interview, Sue is crying and telling her own daughter, Jesse, that she doesn’t want Jesse to have to wait so long for her blessing. And Jesse, in turn, assures her mom that she knows and she is.
It was one of those moments that are almost indescribable – it was the universal story of how much we want our parents to love and approve of us, and the joy and relief that comes with getting that love and approval after uncertainty or even denial. To listen to it being shared through yet another generation was so sweet. I wish I had enough money to give those Story Corps geniuses a million dollars to keep up the amazing work.
Possibly the most remarkable thing about this interview is the fact that the word “lesbian” is never even uttered – perhaps especially since Sue is a professional organizer in our community. But this story is all about being a human being, a daughter, and a mother. And yet, the fact that Sue is a lesbian is critical to her human struggle, and clear in the context of the interview.
Please listen. Don’t read the essay, or do, but don’t stop there. The written version doesn’t begin to convey the touching, difficult, love and loss in the interview.
Liza Barry-Kessler’s blog can be found at www.lizawashere.com .
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/02/022307std.htm
Gays Told STD Vaccine 'Waste Of Money'
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: February 23, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Sydney, Australia) The scientist largely responsible for the development of a vaccine to protect men from genital warts and cancers says it is unlikely to help gay men.
The warning from Prof. Ian Frazer comes after reports from the UK that gay men have been access to the drug Gardasil.
Gardasil protects against the sexually transmitted infection, human papillomavirus (HPV). It has been approved for use in males and females from the ages of nine to 26 in the US, Britain and Australia.
The BBC reports that a large number of gay men have been demanding access to the drug an an effort to block anal cancer and genital warts. The British broadcaster reports that a number of private clinics are offering it to men at a cost of about $1,000 for the three-dose treatment. One London clinic told the BBC it had immunized dozens of gay men in the past six weeks.
"It's their money and their choice," Frazer, an Australian, told the Australian Associated Press on Friday.
"But the reality is that adult males who have sex with other males, and who have been in anything other than a monogamous relationship, are very unlikely to benefit."
He said it was true gay men were at a much higher risk of anal cancer and genital warts, particularly if they are HIV-positive.
But Frazer said that to be effective in preventing anal cancer the shots must be administered to people under the age of 26 and preferably to those closer to nine or ten, and that many promiscuous gay men likely already have at least one of the four strains of HPV.
Some British scientists disagree. They argue that the drug should be made available to all adults, saying even the most promiscuous person would not have encountered all four strains that Gardasil combats.
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/02/022307romney.htm
Romney: 'Traditional Marriage Parents' Best For Kids
by The Associated Press
Posted: February 23, 2007 - 3:30 pm ET
(Greenville, South Carolina) Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said that traditional marriage is essential for education in the U.S. to improve, and he recited a schoolyard ditty to underscore his point to gathering of Republican women.
"First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage," the presidential hopeful told a crowd of about 175 people gathered at a private club.
He said student success is closely tied to married couples getting involved in their children's education.
"Every child in America deserves a mom and a dad," Romney said. "We've got to have marriage before we have babies if we're going to have parental involvement in our schools."
Romney also told the crowd that he favors the establishment of charter schools and a system of increased pay for some teachers. "It's time for teaching to be recognized as the profession it is. This is not making widgets," he said.
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/opinion/Libby/Libby.htm
Another Jihad
by Libby Post
13 here. 74 there. Tens of thousands actually when you add up all the civilians who have been killed in Iraq since the Commando-in-Chief began his crusade for democracy.
Like the Crusades of the Middle Ages, all this conflict is doing is causing more bloodshed, religious division and misunderstanding and the persecution of innocent people. In addition to the people who have lost their lives because of sectarian violence, there is a systematic sexual cleansing that is targeting gays, lesbians and heterosexual women who don’t tow the strict Islamic line.
While the media routinely reports about the killing of civilians and our own military personnel, no one has paid much attention to the jihad against lesbians and gays in Iraq. While this is disturbing, it’s not surprising. Say you’re a gay Iraqi and you meet up with NBC’s Richard Engle. If he does a story on you, you’re as good as dead. It will take Iraqi exiles and human rights activists outside of the country to bring this issue to the forefront.
At a Faith, Homophobia and Human Rights conference this past weekend in London, Ali Hili, the leader of an exiled Iraqi LGBT rights groups, told the attendees that the militias blamed for the murder of hundreds of lesbians and gays are sanctioned by the Iraqi government and the folks occupying the country, namely the U.S. Armed Forces, are doing nothing to stop the killings.
The Badr and Sadr militias—the armed wings of the two main Shia parties that control the Iraqi government—are routinely rounding up men and women who they suspect of being gay or lesbian. Most of this activity has been in Baghdad. According to Hili, once people are taken into custody they are never heard from again.
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Forwarded from GLSEN South Florida
Soulforce Equality Ride Begins March 8
(www.EqualityRide.com).
Will Challenge the Anti-gay Policies at 32 Schools.
The 2007 Soulforce Equality Ride launches in just a few weeks! 56 riders,50 days, 32 schools, two buses, and thousands of conversations about socialjustice for LGBT people.
Did you know that over 200 schools still practice and teach discriminationagainst openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students? Take forexample Baylor University with 14,000 students:
"Baylor will be guided by the understanding that human sexuality is a giftfrom the creator God and that the purposes of this gift includes (1) theprocreation of human life and (2) the uniting and strengthening of themarital bond in self-giving love. These purposes are to be achieved throughheterosexual relationships within marriage. Misuses of God's gift will beunderstood to include, but not be limited to, sexual abuse, sexualharassment, sexual assault, incest, adultery, fornication and homosexualacts."
Such policies are not in place just to give LGBT students a false sense ofinferiority and heterosexual students a false sense of superiority. Thesepolicies are strongly enforced! In April 2006 while the first Equality Ridewas on the road, the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, Kentuckyexpelled student Jason Johnson for revealing he was gay on his MySpace page.Other schools state they will let LGBT students attend, but a closerexamination of their policies shows they discriminate against any openly gaystudents.
Before the Equality Ride, the antigay policies of these schools had goneunchallenged. Now in 2007, Soulforce is excited to launch the secondEquality Ride. And from today until March 8th (when the 2007 Equality Ridearrives at the first school) philanthropist and Soulforce supporter BruceBastian will match every financial contribution to the Equality Ride up to$25,000!
You can meet the fifty-six riders at www.soulforce.org/2007riders
In their own words, read what brought each rider to give up two months to goon this journey for LGBT justice. If their stories resonate with you,please sponsor one or more riders. If you choose, your name will appear ontheir sponsor page showing your support.
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http://advocate.com/
All eyes on Ellen
Our favorite trailblazer already has America at her feet—and now, as thefirst openly gay host of the Academy Awards, Ellen DeGeneres is ready to winhearts all over the world.
By Anne Stockwell
Excerpted from The Advocate February 27, 2007
It should come as no surprise that Ellen DeGeneres is hosting the 79thannual Academy Awards. How could she not? With her warm, welcoming vibe andunparalleled comic timing, she’s probably the best performer alive for thejob. But the occasion is no less momentous for that. Think of it: OnFebruary 25, on televisions around the globe, a handsome, out Americanlesbian sporting a tuxedo will be the face of the Oscars, the mother of allawards shows, the biggest night in the entertainment universe. And Ellenwill be making history—again.
DeGeneres is the 66th performer to host the Academy Awards, and only thesecond woman to host solo. There’s a reason that group is so small. “Theshow is L-I-V-E, and there’s no two ways about it,” says Sid Ganis,president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “It doesn’tmean it’s live minus an hour, it means it’s live.”
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The New York Times
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301392.html
Gay Jews Connect Their Experience To Story of Purim
By Nicole Neroulias
Religion News Service
Saturday, February 24, 2007; Page B08
As a child, Idit Klein celebrated Purim by wearing homemade gowns and tiarasto play the beautiful Queen Esther. She fantasized about how she, like theheroine who bravely confessed her faith to save her fellow Jews in ancientPersia, could have somehow rescued her relatives from the Holocaust.
Thirty years later, Klein, the director of Keshet, a Boston-based advocacygroup for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews, likens Esther'sfearful revelation of her religious faith to the experience of coming out ofthe closet.
"Purim is really a quintessential coming-out story," said Klein, now 34."When I came out, I immediately felt the parallels between the experienceand the Esther story. There are wonderful and exciting and obvious parallelsto the experience of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/24/opinion/24sat4.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
February 24, 2007
Editorial
Protecting All Students
Like all too many school districts, Toms River, N.J., has done a poor job of protecting gay students from bullying. According to the New Jersey Supreme Court, the district punished students for being one minute late for class, but made harassing another child for being gay punishable only after a third offense.
In a landmark ruling this week, the court unanimously held that public school districts like Toms River’s are liable for damages if they fail to take reasonable steps to stop prolonged anti-gay harassment of a student by another student. It correctly found that students had a right to be protected against this sort of abuse.
The decision changes the legal landscape in New Jersey, and we hope it will be the start of a new national approach to the problem.
A study by the National Mental Health Association a few years ago found that more than three-quarters of teenagers reported that students who were gay or thought to be gay were teased and bullied in their schools and communities.
The anonymous student who brought the suit against Toms River schools clearly deserved better. He complained of being taunted almost daily from fourth grade on. In high school, he was physically attacked twice, and he said he eventually had to change schools. School administrators disciplined the worst offenders, but failed to address the overall school climate by taking such basic steps as talking to parents and holding student assemblies to make it clear that harassment would not be tolerated.
The court’s ruling provides much-needed support to some of the nation’s most vulnerable young people, and it sets a worthy standard for courts and educators nationwide.
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/02/23/DI2007022300730.html
Thursday, March 1, 2 p.m. ET
Life of a Gay Pro Athlete: John Amaechi
Author, former NBA player
Thursday, March 1, 2007; 2:00 PM
Former NBA player John Amaechi discusses his book, "Man in the Middle," and his struggle to reconcile his sexuality with his life as a pro basketball player.
Amaechi will be online Thursday, March 1 at 2 p.m. to take your questions and comments.
Submit your questions and comments any time before or during the discussion to -
http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/content/submit_sports39.htm
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301814_pf.html
Abuse Victims Demand More Than a Check From the Church
By Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, February 24, 2007; A01
In life, Neal and Jean Evans were very close to their parish priest. In death, less than 20 feet of gently sloping grass separated their graves from his in the Roman Catholic section of Forest Lawn cemetery, just outside of Asheville, N.C.
The Evanses never realized that the priest, William J. Kuder, had serially molested three of their sons beginning when each turned 9. But the sons certainly knew; they found the sight of his tombstone so painful that for years they avoided visiting the cemetery altogether.
On Feb. 6, as part of a legal settlement with the Evans brothers, the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh unearthed the priest's remains and moved them to another cemetery five miles away.
"It was like desecrating my parents to have him there," said Jim Evans, 61, a general contractor in Greensboro, N.C. "Because they never knew in life. But you know that in the hereafter, they knew."
Across the country, victims of sexual abuse by priests are becoming more assertive in demanding compensation other than money. Church officials, reeling from an estimated $1.5 billion in settlements and other costs related to the sex abuse scandal, are often willing to oblige.
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/02/022307hiv.htm
$24-Million Settlement In Lawsuit Against AIDS Drug Maker
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: February 24, 2007 - 12:01 am ET
(Boston, Massachusetts) An organization that fights for fair drug prices says it has reached a settlement in a nationwide class-action lawsuit against EMD Serono and Merck Serono International.
The $24-million settlement resolves claims that Serono wrongfully encouraged doctors to prescribe the AIDS drug Serostim to patients for whom it was unnecessary. Serostim is a recombinant human growth hormone manufactured by Serono to treat AIDS wasting, a condition involving profound involuntary weight loss in AIDS patients.
The lawsuit was filed in September 2005 by the Prescription Access Litigation Project and New York City's District Council 37 of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.
It charged Serono with promoting the use of an unapproved medical device that improperly diagnosed people as having AIDS wasting; providing doctors with travel stipends in exchange for their agreement to prescribe Serostim; and marketing the drug for uses that were not approved by the FDA.
There was no allegation that any patient was medically harmed by Serono’s conduct.
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/02/022307prodi.htm
Did Prodi Bargain Away Gay Unions Bill To Stay In Power
by The Associated Press
Posted: February 24, 2007 - 12:01 am ET
(Rome) Center-left leaders rallied behind Romano Prodi on Friday, boosting his chances of returning to office just days after he resigned as premier.
The politicians told the Italian president, who has been holding talks aimed at solving the political crisis, that they were ready to support any bids by Prodi to return to the premiership. Earlier, they all signed up to a new 12-point government program that Prodi said would be "nonnegotiable."
Prodi stepped down Wednesday evening after an embarrassing parliamentary defeat over foreign policy, including the government's plan to keep troops in Afghanistan. He is staying on in a caretaker role.
"We are convinced that this experience served as a lesson to all of us," said Antonio Di Pietro, who serves as infrastructure minister. "This renewed sense of responsibility and political maturity ... can lead us to do our job better."
Among those who also expressed their support were leaders of Communist parties and other radical leftists.
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/02/022307mexico.htm
Ads Criticize Bristol Myers For High HIV Drug Prices In Mexico
by The Associated Press
Posted: February 23, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(New York City) An AIDS organization has launched an ad campaign against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., demanding that it lower the prices on two of its AIDS treatments in Mexico.
Ads with the headline ``AIDS Drug Prices to Die For'' began appearing on Thursday in The Los Angeles Weekly, according to the campaign's sponsor, AIDS Healthcare Foundation. The foundation runs clinics in the United States and other countries, including two in Mexico.
Similar ads are slated to appear in The Village Voice in New York and La Jornada, a newspaper in Mexico City.
``In Mexico, Bristol-Myers Squibb charges four times as much for Reyataz and Videx as it does in the least-developed countries in Africa and parts of Asia, a cold-hearted business calculation which effectively makes these drugs out of reach for nearly all people living with HIV/AIDS in Mexico,'' Michael Weinstein, the foundation's president, said in a statement.
Bristol-Myers and other makers of AIDS drugs give rock bottom prices to very poor countries. However, according to the foundation, Mexico is considered a middle-income country so it doesn't qualify for extremely low prices.
The foundation said an AIDS drug regimen in Mexico can cost as much as US$6,000 a year, while the country's per capita income is roughly $7,300 a year.
Bristol-Myers didn't have an immediate comment.
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365gay
http://www.365gay.com/health/uncle/swan.htm
Dear Uncle,
My boyfriend has gone crazy. For Christmas a friend gave us a camera for our computer. It was a wonderful thought. My parents live halfway across the country, and we have used it to keep in touch with them. They went out and got a camera of their own, and now we can see each other as we chat.
But, now, I'm beginning to think the whole thing may have been a mistake. A couple of days ago, I came home to find Buddy naked, in front of the camera, jerking off with someone he had met on the web.
I wasn't overly upset that he was getting off, we have a pretty open relationship. But, Uncle, on the web?
We talked about it later and he said he really gets turned on being watched. Now, he wants us to have sex together on the web and maybe set up a website.
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid42282.asp
Victim, 72, of Detroit hate beating dies
Andrew Anthos, whose dream was to light up the Michigan state capitol dome in red, white, and blue, died Friday of injuries sustained in a February 13 hate beating.
Though Anthos, 72, was visiting with friends as recently as Wednesday, his condition declined rapidly in the past two days and he was administered the last rites late Thursday in Detroit Receiving Hospital.
The attack, which left Anthos paralyzed from the neck down and virtually without speech, shocked the gay community, which reached out to his family with love and support—as well as anger and a resolve for justice.
"So many people want to pay their respects," Anthos's niece, Athena Fedenis, told Gay.com on Friday, adding that she considers the gay people who've offered to help "like family. He will not have died in vain."
Anthos, known to loved ones as "Buddy," was gay and biracial, being of half-black, half-white ancestry, Fedenis said. He had been riding the bus that evening from the public library back to his Detroit apartment when another passenger annoyed with his singing approached him and asked if he was gay.
Anthos left the bus and helped a wheelchair-bound fellow passenger through the snow, only to be followed by the assailant, who hit him in the back of the head with a metal pipe and fled.
Washington, D.C.–based gay rights group Human Rights Campaign has offered to pay for Anthos's funeral, Fedenis said.
The wheelchair-using friend was able to provide some information in what now
becomes a homicide investigation, Detroit police detective Sgt. Ryan Lovier said.
But police still seek potential witnesses aboard the bus, which would have arrived at the stop near Detroit's Windsor Towers apartments roughly between 6 and 6:30 p.m.
The assailant is described as a light-skinned black man, no more than 23 years old, about 5 foot 7 and 150 pounds, wearing a dark coat and pants, Lovier said. (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/print_article_ektid42279.asp
Orman comes out in NYT Magazine interview
Television financial guru Suze Orman will publicly talk about her relationship with her partner and being a "55-year-old virgin" in Sunday's New York Times Magazine.
Television financial guru Suze Orman will publicly talk about her relationship with her partner and being a "55-year-old virgin" in Sunday's New York Times Magazine. According to Editor & Publisher's Web site, when she was asked by Deborah Solomon if she is married, Orman countered that she has a "relationship with life." After further pressing, Orman revealed that she is currently in a seven-year relationship with Kathy Travis, a coproducer on The Suze Orman Show.
She told Solomon that the two would like to get married because they each "have millions of dollars in our name. It's killing me that upon my death, K.T. is going to lose 50% of everything I have to estate taxes. Or vice versa."
The host of the five-year-old PBS show has won two Emmys for Outstanding Service Show Host and three Gracie Allen Awards through American Women in Radio and Television. Orman is the author of several best-selling personal finance books and products. She is also a contributing editor for O: The Oprah Magazine and writes a regular column for Yahoo! Finance. (The Advocate)
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Call for Participants - Asian Women for University Research -Incentive Offered
Greetings:
We are Dr. Meifen Wei (Assistant Professor) and Robyn Zakalik (DoctoralStudent) in the Department of Psychology at Iowa State University. Thisstudy involves Asian or South Asian American women who have a concern (e.g.,question, struggle, difficulty, etc.) related to their sexual orientationand/or being an Asian American. This is a research study approved by theUniversity Institutional Research Board (IRB #05-601) at Iowa StateUniversity.
We are looking for participants who are 18 years of age or older. You shouldbe an Asian or South Asian American woman who is romantically attracted toother women. You may identify as lesbian, bisexual, queer, or questioning ORyou may be attracted to women but feel that none of these identificationsrepresent you.
If you feel that you are appropriate for this study based on the abovedescription, please consider participation. Monetary compensation will bemade available to compensate you for the time and effort necessary toparticipate in this study.
If you know of someone else who may be appropriate for this study, we wouldappreciate you forwarding this email on.
If you are interested in participating in this research study and would liketo find out more about it, please email Robyn Zakalik at robynz@iastate.eduParticipation in this research study is voluntary and you may withdraw yourparticipation at anytime.
Sincerely,
Meifen Wei, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
W112 Lagomarcino Hall
Department of Psychology
Iowa State University
wei@iastate.edu
Robyn Zakalik
Graduate Student in Counseling Psychology
W112 Lagomarcino Hall
Department of Psychology
Iowa State University
robynz@iastate.edu
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://newyorklawschool.typepad.com/leonardlink/2007/02/new_jersey_supr.html
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules on Gay School Harassment Case
by New York Law School Professor Arthur S. Leonard, February 21, 2007 inLegal Issues
The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously ruled on February 21 that publicschool students suffering from harassment by their peers based on actual orperceived sexual orientation have a right to sue the school district underthe state's Law Against Discrimination (referred to by the court as theLAD), which bans sexual orientation discrimination in places of publicaccommodation. The case is L.W. v. Toms River Regional Schools Board ofEducation, A-111-05.
According to the opinion for the court by Chief Justice James R. Zazzali,the same standards that apply to workplace harassment under the state'scivil rights law should be used to evaluate whether unlawful harassment hastaken place in the educational environment, because students and employeesare equally protected against discrimination. As in workplace cases, thedefendant school district may discharge its statutory duty by maintaining aformal policy against such harassment and responding to complaints in amanner reasonably calculated to put an end to the harassment. It is thefailure of the school district to respond reasonably that subjects it toliability under the LAD.
The ruling affirmed a decision by the New Jersey Appellate Division, whichhad upheld a determination by the state's Division of Civil Rights. However,because the court's opinion spelled out for the first time the standards forevaluating whether the school district's response to the harassment wassufficient to meet its statutory obligations, the court remanded the matterto the Division of Civil Rights to reopen the hearing record so that eachside could present evidence as to the reasonableness of the district'sresponse.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
LEAD WITH PRIDE
Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp
July 24-29, 2007
Towson University
**************************************************
REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
www.campuspride.org/camp.asp
Campus Pride organizes the first-ever summer leadership camp for LGBT andAlly undergraduate student leaders from campuses across the country. Thefive day annual camp will be hosted by the Queer Student Union at TowsonUniversity from Tuesday, July 24 to Sunday, July 29, 2007. The campfocuses on key leadership skills, campus organizing and how to buildeffective coalitions for change. Camp registration includes all housing,food and camp supplies. More information available online.
CAMP is for you if you want:
**A phenomenal leadership and personal growth experience inclusive of genderidentity/expression and sexual orientation.
**Key leadership concepts to becoming a stronger LGBT & Ally leader.
**Effective strategies and skill training for grassroots coalition building.
**Access to premiere faculty and national leaders in social justice, humanrights and civil rights advocacy.
**Successful campus organizing practices and the chance to explorechallenges confronting your campus.
**Helpful resources and innovative tools from national organizations.
**A personal action plan for your campus to become more LGBT-friendly.
**Opportunity to connect and work with peer student leaders from across thecountry.
**An inclusive approach for celebrating diversity and motivating others.
**An open, safe environment to express yourself.
**Fun, entertainment and lasting relationships.
Target Audience
Undergraduate LGBT & Ally student leaders at colleges and universities
across the United States.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
[euro-queer] Latvian government hesitates to include LGBT peopleinto National Tolerance Programme after loud protests by radicals andChristian fundamentalists
Latvian government hesitates to include LGBT people into National ToleranceProgramme after loud protests by radicals and Christian fundamentalists
Latvian Alliance of LGBT People and Their Friends "Mozaika" is seriouslyconcerned with latest anti-gay hysteria and call on your support in a formof writing letters to the Latvian Prime Ministers and the Secretariat of theMinister for Special Assignments on Social Integration.
Background information
The National Programme for Promotion of Tolerance was adopted by the Latvian
government in 2004. Initial draft of the National Programme contained sexualminorities as one of the Programme's target groups alongside the national,ethnic and religious minorities. Including sexual minorities into theNational Programme was motivated by the research data and public opinionsurveys confirming that sexual minorities is one of the social groups facingone of the highest levels of intolerance and discrimination. Neverthelessthe Latvian government when approving the National Programme excluded sexualminorities from the list of target groups.
Following the event around LGBT Friendship Days/Riga Pride 2006 when thehomophobia became synonym to Latvia in the eye of the internationalcommunity, Aigars Kalvitis, the Prime Minister of Latvia, who maintained hisposition as a Prime Minister after the parliamentary election last October,instructed the Secretariat of the Minister for Special Assignments on SocialIntegration (the Secretariat) to come out with a proposal to tacklehomophobia by the way of explicit inclusion of sexual minorities into theNational Programme for Promotion of Tolerance.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
The Register-Herald
http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_050230525.html
Senate prepares to vote on jail term for voyeurism
Mannix Porterfield
Register-Herald Reporter
— CHARLESTON — Stealing a look at one’s uncovered body, and, worse yet, recording this invasion of privacy on film in secret could be a crime in West Virginia — one that is simply to be known as voyeurism.
In existing law, those who skulk about on another’s property in hopes of getting a look to satisfy them sexually are merely guilty of trespassing.Without a single change Monday, the Senate advanced to the voting stage a bill sought by Sen. Andy McKenzie, R-Ohio, at the behest of a distraught female who fell victim some years ago to a Peeping Tom.
“Everybody thinks this is kind of a funny issue,” McKenzie said, alluding to some guffaws and one-liners tossed around when the bill was taken up in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“But I think it’s a very serious issue. It’s more serious if it happens to you.”
In today’s modern setting, voyeurism has taken on an even more serious side, given the technology that allows intruders to sneak into dressing and locker rooms with camera phones to snap those in the altogether.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070221/hiv_herpes.html?.v=1
Study: Herpes Drug Helps Control AIDS
By Alicia Chang, AP Science Writer, Wednesday February 21, 2007
Study: Herpes Drug Helps Control AIDS Virus and May Prevent Spread
Treating genital herpes can also help keep the AIDS virus under control inwomen with both infections, and might reduce the spread of HIV, too, thefirst major study to test this strategy suggests.
Many people with HIV are also infected with the herpes type 2 virus, andscientists have long known that herpes sores on the genitals can make iteasier to become infected with the AIDS virus and could increase the risk oftransmitting HIV to others.
In the latest study, conducted in Africa and published in Thursday's NewEngland Journal of Medicine, women who took the herpes drug valacyclovir hadless HIV in their blood and in their genital secretions.
The study did not look at whether the drug, sold as Valtrex byGlaxoSmithKline PLC, actually reduces transmission of the AIDS virus.However, scientists generally have found that the more virus someone has,the greater the risk of transmission.
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Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/02/24/upholding_diversity_lessons?mode=PF
GLOBE EDITORIAL
Upholding diversity lessons
February 24, 2007
FEDERAL DISTRICT court judge Mark Wolf was right to dismiss the lawsuit a group of parents brought against the Lexington Public Schools because their children were taught diversity lessons that depicted same-sex couples. The decision Wolf issued yesterday is based on earlier court findings that parents do not have a constitutional right to dictate what their children are taught in the public schools. As such, the decision is a boost not just for tolerance and inclusion but for public education as well.
The parents brought suit after their children were exposed to diversity education materials that included children's books -- such as "Who's in a Family?" and "Molly's Family" -- that featured same-sex parents, along with others. They said their constitutional rights to free exercise of religion were violated, as were their rights as parents to raise their children as they see fit. Judge Wolf reasonably concluded that options remain for the parents, such as private school or home schooling, so their rights were not abridged.
Under a 1993 Massachusetts law, the state Department of Education requires that all public school districts develop curricula advancing respect for diversity, including for gays and lesbians. The Estabrook Elementary School was only following statewide curriculum frameworks that encourage instruction in "different types of families" and "the concepts of prejudice and discrimination." Such classroom material is as legitimate in today's society as the three Rs.
Among other remedies, the parents had demanded in the suit that they be allowed to "observe silently and record" any classroom discussions of gender identity, sexuality, or forms of marriage -- an obvious chilling effect on a school's ability to educate its students. Wolf left open whether the parents should have been able to remove their children from the lessons they found objectionable, finding that a matter for the state courts.
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Boston.com
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/02/24/taking_stock_of_the_2008_field?mode=PF
ROBERT KUTTNER
Taking stock of the 2008 field
February 24, 2007
LOOKING AT the Republican presidential field, you might be forgiven for thinking that none of the main contenders can be nominated.
The presumed front-runner, Senator John McCain, never a favorite of the Bush crowd, has lately emerged as more hawkish than the president himself. But by primary season , the war may be even more unpopular, and most Republicans will be distancing themselves from the Iraq mess, not urging its escalation.
Rudolph Giuliani did well after Sept. 11 , 2001, and was an impressively well-liked Republican mayor in liberal New York. But Giuliani was popular as a steadfast social liberal, respectful of gay rights and abortion rights. Unlike former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Giuliani was far too forthright to start doing pirouettes now. It's hard to imagine the GOP base going along.
And speaking of Romney, the malleable Mitt has done so many reversals that the makers of flip-flop commercials will have a field day. Romney is also on the defensive as a Mormon, since many fundamentalists don't consider Mormons Christians. Almost half a century after the civil rights revolution, this should not matter, but that's right-wing politics for you. Romney is having trouble getting out of first gear.
Of the also-rans, Senator Sam Brownback, a Kansas fundamentalist, is unlikely to travel well. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, has likewise failed to take off. And Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a traditional conservative, would make a good president; but he's too vocal a critic of the president to be forgiven by loyalists.
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From Marc Adams
HeartStrong
http://heartstrong.org/
Dear HeartStrong Friends,
My heart breaks every time one of our students shares their storyand Drew's is no exception. His story is featured on the front of ourwebsite.
I remember well the emotional roller coaster of being trapped in anabusive religious system and trying to live up to the standards Ibelieved were right and then the daily fight against myself. Like Drewand many others, I kept moving around in my efforts to find peace.Between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one I moved thirteen times.Clearly a sign that I was searching for my place to belong.
That search is reflected in Drew's story.
What is hopeful about Drew's story is that, thanks to HeartStrong,he won't have to endure any more years of searching. He is at a place now,at 22, where he is moving forward in his journey of self acceptance andpersonal healing. Something he could never find in his former harshreligious experience.
We are continuously amazed at the bravery of so many of ourstudents.
They endure things at school, home and in their religious congregationsthat most of us are not even able to comprehend. But that is theimportance of HeartStrong.
For more than ten years, HeartStrong has been and still is the onlyorganization in the world with a mission to provide hope and help and toeducate the public about what can and does happen in religiouseducational institutions.
And it only because of you, our supporters that we, as volunteers,can even begin to do our work.
We are still trying to raise about $1800.00 leftover from last year'sexpenses. If you are able to help with that, your gift will be greatlyappreciated. We also need to raise about $10,000 for our 60 SpringOutreach Trip which begins on April 3.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the work of HeartStrong!
Marc Adams, Executive Director
http://www.heartstrong.org
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