Saturday, September 08, 2007

GLBT DIGEST September 08, 2007

**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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Broward Introduction to Florida Red And Blue!!!!

This is your chance to fight the right-wing state-wide anti-gay initiativeto amend the Florida constitution.

Friday, September 28, at the GLCC, Ft. Lauderdale - 11:45am to 1:30pm.

Michael and I have promised to get a minimum of 10 people to attend thislow dollar boxed lunch - only $25 - to learn about Florida Red And Blue andthe multiple efforts to overcome this hateful amendment. Florida Red andBlue has already raised over $1 million, but our work is only beginning.

Will you support us with this? Every GLBT person in Florida needs to be apart of this effort.

Boxed Lunch Series
$25
Friday, September 28
Noon - 1:30pm
Networking 11:45am
GLCC - Ft. Lauderdale

Send us an e-mail and let us know if you'll join us on the 28th.

Ray and Michael
rays.list@comcast.net



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Schwarzenegger-GOP.html

September 8, 2007
Schwarzenegger Urges Centrist GOP

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:23 a.m. ET

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) -- In a year when Republican presidentialcandidates have aggressively courted the GOP right, Gov. ArnoldSchwarzenegger warned that the party faces a perilous future if it continuesto surrender the political center.

''Our party has lost the middle and we will not regain true political powerin California until we get it back,'' the celebrity governor told hundredsof Republicans at a state party convention Friday.

''The California Republican Party should be a right-of-center party thatoccupies the broad middle of California. That is a lush, green, abandonedpolitical space,'' he said. ''It can be ours.''

The state party's percentage of voter registration has been shrinking, andto reverse it the party must tackle issues with broad public appeal, likeclimate change and building highways, railroads and tunnels, he said. In anapparent reference to abortion and other social issues that often divide theparty, he said members must be accepting of those with other views while notabandoning ''who we are.''

He said he wanted the party to be welcoming to independents -- the fastestgrowing voter group in California. He said the party should open up itsFebruary presidential primary to independent voters -- an issue that couldcome up during the convention.

In a year when many polls show Democrats holding an advantage heading into2008, it was clear the governor intended his message to have nationalrelevance.

Schwarzenegger recently proposed distilling the state GOP platform -- theparty's statement of core values -- into as little as a single page focusingon lowering taxes, limiting the size of government and building a strongnational defense. That proposal, in a letter to party members, made nomention of abortion, gay marriage or other social issues.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/us/politics/08romney.html

September 8, 2007
Romney's Tone on Gay Rights Is Seen as Shift

By MICHAEL LUO

Mitt Romney seemed comfortable as a group of gay Republicans quizzed himover breakfast one morning in 2002. Running for governor of Massachusetts,he was at a gay bar in Boston to court members of Log Cabin Republicans.

Mr. Romney explained to the group that his perspective on gay rights hadbeen largely shaped by his experience in the private sector, where, he said,discrimination was frowned upon. When the discussion turned to a court caseon same-sex marriage that was then wending its way through the state'sjudicial system, he said he believed that marriage should be limited to theunion of a man and a woman. But, according to several people present, hepromised to obey the courts' ultimate ruling and not champion a fight oneither side of the issue.

"I'll keep my head low," he said, making a bobbing motion with his head likea boxer, one participant recalled.

A year after his election, Massachusetts' highest court legalized same-sexmarriage, and Mr. Romney began backing adoption of a state constitutionalamendment to ban it. The proposal ultimately failed, but Mr. Romney hascarried the fight to the presidential campaign trail, an ever more visiblecrusader against such unions as he works to position himself amongconservatives.

Indeed, the issue has become a bedrock of his message. He has foughtsame-sex marriage "every way I have known how to," he said recently in Iowa,"and the fight isn't over." He has called for the federal Constitution to beamended, and he was the first presidential candidate to condemn last week'sruling by a judge in Iowa that overturned that state's ban on suchmarriages.

Mr. Romney bristles when he is accused of shifting on the issue, as he hason abortion, pointing out that he has been consistent in personally opposingboth marriage and civil unions between people of the same sex.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702806.html

At Smithsonian, Gay Rights Is Out of the Closet, Into the Attic
Activist Frank Kameny's Memorabilia Are Now Signs of Progress

By Philip Kennicott
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 8, 2007; Page C01

The obvious question gets the obvious answer: Of course Frank Kameny, apioneer of the gay rights movement, had no inkling that the protest signs hecarried more than 40 years ago would end up in the Smithsonian. But therethey are, hand-lettered, with little stains from their staples discoloringthe faded white cardboard. Two of them, plus three campaign buttons, are nowin the same case as Joe Louis's boxing gloves, near the glass closet thatholds Jackie Kennedy's inaugural gown and in the same shrinelike exhibitknown as "Treasures of American History" that also has Thomas Jefferson'swriting desk and the ruby-red slippers that Dorothy wore on her way to meetthe Wizard.

Kameny, now 82, was on hand Thursday evening to see the very functionaltools of his early activism officially made totems of American history.Although the objects are part of the Smithsonian's National Museum ofAmerican History's collection, the reception was held at the National Airand Space Museum, which is offering space for the must-see icons while thehistory museum itself is closed for renovation.

It was a coincidence, but a fortunate one, that a man who trained as anastronomer, who earned a PhD from Harvard before he was fired by thegovernment in 1957 for being gay, was honored amid rockets and planes anddepictions of the solar system.

"At the time I was fired, the whole space program was just beginning," saysKameny. He might have volunteered as an astronaut, he says. "I might havegone to the moon."

more....



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Virginia

http://www.examiner.com/printa-921168~Parents_ask_judge_to_obstruct_lessons_on_homosexuality_until_appeal_in_%E2%80%9908.html?cid=tool-print-top

Parents ask judge to obstruct lessons on homosexuality until appeal in '08

Courtney Mabeus, The Examiner
2007-09-07 07:00:00.0
Current rank: # 144 of 5,319

Montgomery County -
Groups opposed to the new sexual education curriculum in Montgomery CountyPublic Schools are asking a Circuit Court judge to prevent controversiallessons on homosexuality from being taught until an appeal can be heardearly next year.

The motion, filed this week in Rockville, is the latest volley in a two-yearbattle between the county and three groups: Citizens For A ResponsibleCurriculum, Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays, and the Family LeaderNetwork.

Lawyer and CRC President John Garza on Thursday told The Examiner a hearingdate has not yet been set on its most recent motion, filed Tuesday.

The particular lessons, which are planned for all county eighth- and10th-graders in health courses, are not scheduled to be taught untilsometime in October, he said, well before a January hearing in Circuit Courton the opponents' appeal.

That appeal challenges the state board's decision this summer upholding thecounty's approval of sexual education curriculum that Garza called "blatantdiscrimination against certain religious groups" because of its treatment ofhomosexuality.

The parents disagree with the lessons on three main points:

» The accuracy of the lessons, specifically their teaching thathomosexuality is innate;

» The fact that anal sex is not distinguished as being more dangerous thanvaginal sex;

» That it teaches being against homosexuality makes someone homophobic, evenif the objection is on religious grounds.



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Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/09/07/craig-bust-leads-to-debat_n_63481.html

Max Follmer
Craig Bust Leads to Debate Over Bathroom Stings

September 7, 2007 01:00 PM

Even as it becomes increasingly clear that Idaho Sen. Larry Craig willresign following his arrest for allegedly soliciting sex from an undercoverpolice officer in a Minneapolis airport bathroom, some critics are wonderingwhether decoy operations like the kind that ensnared the three-term GOPsenator are an effective use of police resources.

Attorneys and civil liberties groups say they have long sought to dissuadelaw enforcement officials from using such tactics because they can unfairlytarget gay men, and often skate a fine line between policing and entrapment.

And while few believe that police should allow lewd behavior in parks andrestrooms, critics also insist that there are more effective ways ofdeterring men from "cruising" or looking for sex in public places.

"The fundamental problem is that a sting isn't calculated to stop theactivity," said Matt Coles, director of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Projectat the American Civil Liberties Union. "Are you trying to stop people fromcruising, or are you trying to arrest a lot of people?"

Law enforcement agencies that use undercover stings are reluctant to discusshow many officers are assigned to such operations or how much money isspent.

A spokeswoman for the Minneapolis Airports Commission said the airportpolice -- who have arrested 41 people since May in public indecency cases -could not discuss resources devoted to bathroom stings because providingsuch information "could compromise their ability to perform their duties."

But attorneys say that many departments have stopped using decoys because ofquestions raised about fairness and police priorities.



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The Politico

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5659.html

Gay rights advance may be Pyrrhic victory

By: Dan Gilgoff
September 5, 2007 05:10 PM EST

It's probably difficult to grasp the jubilance of the six gay couples whoprodded a judge in Polk County, Iowa, to strike down the state's gaymarriage ban last week. "This is kind of the American dream," one plaintiffin the case told The Des Moines Register. "It's pure elation - I just cannotbelieve it."

After the 2004 election, though, such elation is somewhat perplexing. Afterall, it was the Massachusetts Supreme Court's 2003 decision to legalize gaymarriage that set off a national movement to ban gay marriage via stateconstitutional amendments.

The movement succeeded not only in getting voters in 11 states to pass suchamendments on Election Day 2004 but also in helping the Republican Partyaccomplish the historic feat of reclaiming the White House while picking upseats in the House and Senate.



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Associated Press

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hBMGH4656uO0t73Igll__enLtEYQ

Ark. Initiative on Adoption Limits Nixed

By ANDREW DeMILLO - 2 days ago

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas's attorney general on Wednesday rejected aproposed voter-backed initiative aimed at barring unmarried couples fromadopting or fostering children. A conservative group hoped to use the ban tokeep gay couples from becoming foster parents.

Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said the proposal submitted by the ArkansasFamily Council is inconsistent. He said the group would be allowed toredraft and resubmit it.

"I strongly suspect they will incorporate our changes and maybe a few oftheir own, resubmit it, and I'll ultimately certify it. But it did not meetthe legal requirements to certify it right now," McDaniel said.

Courts overturned Arkansas' previous ban on gay foster parents. Jerry Cox,the Arkansas Family Council's executive director, has said that a voter-ledinitiative that targeted all unmarried couples - not just gay couples -would better withstand a judge's review.

Cox said last month that the group believes cohabiting heterosexuals are notsafe for children, either.

If McDaniel approves a new draft proposal and the Arkansas Family Councilobtains 61,947 valid signatures in time, the proposal would be on theNovember 2008 ballot.



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Bay Windows

http://baywindows.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=008EC9FBCFF24AD18614290016BE1303&nm=Current+Issue&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&AudID=0813BC739F2044E5A03DCF2DE3FDF7C9&tier=4&id=47564A2BE1C1428D8B4710EF323333A4

Local police officer testifies on ENDA

Laura Kiritsy
lkiritsy@baywindows.com

Springfield Police Det. Michael Carney testified in favor of the EmploymentNondiscrimination Act (ENDA) before a congressional subcommittee Sept. 5.

Carney, an openly gay man, shared a personal story of anti-gaydiscrimination with the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommitteeof the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee. In his testimony, Carneyshared how the toll of being closeted on the job - a choice he made afterwitnessing the abuse of an officer who was thought to be gay at the hands ofhis colleagues - contributed to his alcoholism and eventual resignation fromthe force. After seeking treatment - and founding the New England chapter ofthe support group Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) - Carney applied forreinstatement to the Springfield Police Department three years after hisresignation and came out during his job interview. His application wasdenied. After being rejected a second time, Carney filed a complaint withthe Mass. Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) alleging discriminationbased on sexual orientation. After more than two years of investigation, thecommission found probable cause for Carney's complaint. He rejoined theforce in 1994.

"I'm a good cop. But I had to fight to get my job because I'm gay," Carneytold the subcommittee, according to a written copy of his testimony. "And Inever would have even been able to do that - had I not lived inMassachusetts or in one of the handful of other states that protect gaypeople from discrimination. In fact, if I were a federal employee living inMassachusetts I would not be protected at all."



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Pam's House Blend

http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2901

Exclusive Blender report: Inside Anti-Gay Uganda

by: pam
Fri Sep 07, 2007 at 07:45:00 AM EDT

NOTE FROM PAM: House Blend regular Daimeon (of Get-The-Skinny) is in theextremely gay-hostile East African country of Uganda, which is led by itscorrupt president, Yoweri Museveni. The repressive government there fomentshomophobia and denied basic rights and freedom to the LGBT citizens of thecountry, wielding a colonial-era sodomy law as its weapon, which sanctionspunishment for "carnal knowledge against the order of nature." This has beenused to imprison and torture -- and officially censor discussion of gay andlesbian issues.

No better on the matter is the Anglican Church of Uganda, which recentlyconsecrated an American priest, John Guernsey of All Saint's Church inWoodbridge, Virginia, as bishop to oversee the 33 Christian parishes thatrecently split from the Episcopal Church in the United States over its moreaccepting view of homosexuality. It's no surprise that President YoweriMuseveni sent an official to the ceremony, Prime Minister Prof. ApolloNsibambi, who supports the church's anti-gay stance.

"Importing values from the western world is inimical to our culture. I amglad to mention that the Church of Uganda, the Catholic Church and theMuslims joined hands to resist homosexuality in Africa."

Rather than affirm its gay parishioners, these American churches will nowrecognize the Church of Uganda's authority, which ceased accepting funds orgifts from any American charities affiliated with the U.S. Episcopal Churchwhen the Anglican Communion consecrated openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson fouryears ago.

more....



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Letter to Ugandan President Regarding Homphobia and HIV

from Scott Long
Director
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program
Human Rights Watch
August 23, 2007

President
Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
President of the Republic of Uganda
State House Nakasero P.O. Box 24594
Kampala, Uganda
Via facsimile: +256-41-346-102

Dear President Museveni,

On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I write to express our serious concern overrecent threatening statements from members of your government against therights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Uganda.Such threats are part of a long-standing pattern of harassment and statecondemnation of people based on their sexual orientation and genderidentity. In a climate where one group is singled out as not entitled tobasic human rights, the rights of all Ugandans can be threatened. In aclimate where silence about sexuality is enforced by state action, thehealth of all Ugandans is at risk amid the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

On August 21, Radio One announced that Deputy Attorney General Fred Ruhindihad called for the criminal law to be used against lesbians and gays inUganda. "I call upon the relevant agencies to take appropriate actionbecause homosexuality is an offense under the laws of Uganda," he reportedlysaid. Days earlier, Ethics and Integrity Minister James Nsaba Buturo hadpublicly called homosexuality "unnatural"-and, while deprecating chargesthat police harassed LGBT people, warned "We know them, we have details ofwho they are."

There is a long history of such threats by government officials andgovernment media in Uganda-and of rights abuses following them.



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After Elton

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2007/9/davidyoung

Interview with Judge David Young

byMichael Jensen , Editor
September 5, 2007

Judge David Young doesn't mind being known as "the gay judge", but he reallyis much more than that. He hopes his new court room show will allow him toshowcase the same humanity in daytime television that he brought to hiscriminal courtroom in Florida. He's intensely proud of the work he did aspart of Miami 's pilot program Judicial Probation Monitoring, which workedto get drug addicts clean and productive rather than simply locking them up.

He believes his courtroom show will be different because he's going to runit with heart, humor and the occasional show tune, if that's what it takesto get his point across. The honorable Judge Young recently took the time tochat with us.

AfterElton.com: Are you sick to death of being referred to as the "gay"judge?
David Young: Oh, not at all. I'd rather be called the Brad Pitt judge, butif I can't have that, the gay judge is fine. I'm gay and I'm a judge and Iunderstand that I'm the first one, and breaking new ground and that's anincredible challenge and an incredible opportunity that I'm just relishing,to be quite honest with you.

more....



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Forwarded from Gay and Lesbian SmartBrief

http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp

Out Paris mayor to seek re-election

Bertrand Delanoe, the out mayor of Paris, France, has announced a bid for asecond term. Some also are speculating Delanoe could be a Socialistcandidate for the French presidency in 2012. PinkNews.co.uk (U.K.)

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5358.html



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The New Republic

http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w070903&s=cohn090707

Debunking conservatives' myths about S-CHIP.

Swimming Lessons
by Jonathan Cohn
Only at TNR Online
Post date: 09.07.07

Of all the reasons President Bush and his conservative allies have given foropposing an expansion of government-financed health insurance for children,the one that sounds most persuasive is that a lot of these kids--or, moreprecisely, their families--don't need the help.

The argument goes like this: It's fine to have the government help reallypoor children, who couldn't get health insurance without taxpayerassistance. But under the proposals now on the table, health benefitsprovided by the State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) could beavailable to some children in families with incomes of up to four times thepoverty line--or a little more than $80,000 a year for a family of four. Andthat, say the conservatives, is simply too much.

"This bill essentially extends a welfare benefit to middle-classhouseholds," the administration announced last month, after an S-CHIPexpansion bill passed the Senate. Over at National Review's The Corner,David Freddosso put the issue a little less delicately. "Come on, people!We're talking about whether the government should pay for your two kids'health insurance plans when you make more than $51,000 a year (more than thenew national median income). I know that health insurance is not cheap, butneither are your mortgage and car insurance. You're not going to ask thegovernment to pay for those too, are you?"



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Dallas Voice

http://www.dallasvoice.com/artman/publish/printer_6582.php

Lesbian fights partner's uncle, sperm donor for child custody
By John Wright Staff Writer
Sep 6, 2007, 17:43

Case illustrates danger of entering into informal arrangements involvingbirth of children; attorney advises use of unknown donors

ROUND ROCK - When Tamila Payne and her partner Jennie Ferguson decided theywanted a child about four years ago, Jennie's uncle Mark Lee seemed like theideal sperm donor.

For one, Lee's participation would ensure that the child - to be carried byPayne - would have genetic ties to both women.

"That was the big thing," Payne said. "It would be a part of her as much asit would be a part of me. That was a big reason we wanted to do that. "

An informal arrangement with Lee also would allow the couple to avoid feesassociated with the use of a sperm bank or an attorney to draft up anassisted reproduction agreement. In fact, they didn't even use a doctor, asPayne impregnated herself with a syringe in their home.

After Noah Lee was born in 2004, things went well for a year or so, Paynesaid.

Lee was like an uncle to Noah, according to Payne, even sharing a house inAustin with the couple.

But after Payne and Ferguson split, the situation deteriorated.

Ferguson and Lee moved to Fort Worth, and Lee, whose name is on Noah's birthcertificate, decided he wanted to be the boy's father.



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National Gay News

http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/1598/173/

Same-Sex Couples Stand Up and Be Counted

Friday, 07 September 2007 17:19
Same-Sex Couples
Stand Up and Be Counted

Same-sex married couples will be counted for the first time in nextweek's census release on families -- but activists aren't happy with thequestion put to the gay and lesbian community.

The dissent over the historic Statistics Canada query ranges fromobjections that gays are being relegated to the census questionnaire's"other" box to questions about whether same-sex marriage should be countedat all. Read more....



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National Gay News

http://nationalgaynews.com/content/view/1597/173/

Thompson Won't Support Gay Marriage Ban

Friday, 07 September 2007 17:04
Thompson Won't Support
Gay Marriage Ban

Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., said Friday that hewould not support a constitutional ban on gay marriage, but would allowstates to decide.

Speaking at a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa, the candidatefor the Republican presidential nomination said he would support individualstates' rights to create their own legislation regarding gay marriage, theDes Moines (Iowa) Register reported.

Read More...



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Alternet.org
September 7, 2007

http://www.alternet.org/story/61753/

The Sexual Self-Interest of the Cuckolded Wife
By Susie Bright, www.SusieBright.com

How does Suzanne Craig, wife of the outed Senator, stand next to her
disgraced Potty Liar of a husband at a press conference, and not hurlher
guts?

She's not the first political wife to put on a show. The spectacle ofa
prominent woman standing by her man, now revealed to be anadulterer -- and
of a bent that she could never satisfy -- is one of bewilderingaspects of
the recent Prig-Freak scandals.

Some say there's one explanation for the wifely stoicism: "She'sprotecting
her investment."

Certainly, with the money and prestige involved in a "First Lady"-typeof
profession, this makes practical sense. Maybe if the reporters calledMrs.
Craig after the divorce settlement is signed, and her social future is
assured, they'd get an earful that would make their drums bleed.

However, there's a part to the cuckquean's (female equivalent ofcuckold)
inevitable reaction that is completely denied, because of our cultural
inability to imagine a woman's sexual outrage. We don't even commonlyuse
this word for a female cuckold, which is remarkable considering theextent
of the experience. It's not just GOP Christian SAHM's who are goingthrough
this.

Let us consider the cuckquean's complaint:

more....



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Equality California

http://www.kintera.org/cms.asp?eid=9455331&forwardedEmail=y&enString=9mTRSSVTOqIYLiN2IrKZL8OVL6ICPSXTOuJXJcOYJkK3KtL&campaign_id=64330

California Legislature Again Passes Bill Giving Same-Sex Couples Choice toMarry

Senate Approves Leno's Marriage Bill, Sponsored by EQCA. California RemainsOnly State to Pass Legislation Affording all Couples the Honor and Supportthat Come only with Marriage.

SACRAMENTO - For the second time in two years, the California Legislaturehas passed legislation that would grant same-sex couples the ability tomarry. With a 22-15 vote, the Senate on September 7 approved AB 43, authoredby Assemblymember Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by EqualityCalifornia.

The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act is almost identicalto the bill the Legislature passed in 2005. California remains the onlystate in the nation that has approved marriage for same-sex couples throughthe legislative process.

With the work of EQCA's lobbying efforts, Political Action Committee andgrassroots volunteers, AB 43 picked up three new votes in the Senate thisyear from Senators Ducheny, Padilla and Scott. Senators Ducheny and Scottabstained from voting in 2005. The EQCA PAC played a critical role in the2006 elections to increase the pro-marriage majority in the Legislature.

The bill now goes to the governor's desk for consideration. The governormust take action on all bills by October 14.



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Sacramento Bee

http://www.sacbee.com/114/v-print/story/365874.html

San Diego diocese to pay $198 million to settle abuse claims

By ALLISON HOFFMAN - Associated Press Writer
Published 3:50 pm PDT Friday, September 7, 2007

The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego agreed Friday to pay $198 million to144 victims of clergy sexual abuse, the second-largest payment since thescandal erupted in 2002.

The agreement capped more than four years of negotiations in state andfederal courts and came six months after the diocese filed for bankruptcyprotection just hours before the first of 42 lawsuits was scheduled fortrial.

Victims expressed relief that a settlement was reached, but they were angryit took so long.

"They knew all along that I'd been molested, so to put me through this isunconscionable," said Michael Bang of Atlanta.

The diocese had sought to protect its assets in bankruptcy court, butquickly found it a rough venue before a judge who criticized the church forbookkeeping practices, undervaluing real estate holdings and failing todisclose facts.

The four and a half month sentence was handed down August 31st,approximately one year after the brutal assault committed against atransgender woman with whom the young man sought to have sex until herealizes she was transgender.



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Brazil to offer free sex-reassignment surgery
published Friday, August 17, 2007

http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2007/08/17/5

Brazil's public health system will begin providing free
gender-reassignment operations in compliance with a court order, theHealth Ministry said Friday.

Ministry spokesman Edmilson Oliveira da Silva said the governmentwould not appeal Wednesday's ruling by a panel of federal judgesgiving the government 30 days to offer the procedure or face fines ofUS$5,000 a day.

"The health minister was prompted by the judges' decision," Silvasaid. "But we already had a technical group studying the procedurewith the idea of including it among the procedures that are covered."

Federal prosecutors from Rio Grande do Sul state had argued thatsexual-reassignment surgery is covered under a constitutional clauseguaranteeing medical care as a basic right.

On Wednesday, the 4th Regional Federal Court agreed, saying in itsruling that "from the biomedical perspective, transsexuality can bedescribed as a sexual identity disturbance where individuals need tochange their sexual designation or face serious consequences in theirlives, including intense suffering, mutilation and suicide."



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UK

TURING: Yours shamefully

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-5392.html

7th September 2007 14:45

It is high time that the Home Office defined its policies for dealing withLGBT asylum seekers. Shame that it still refuses to do so.

Iran is no place to be gay. Nor is it the best place for Westerners tocampaign for the rights of sexual minorities.

Even according to the most conservative of estimates, no fewer than 4000people may have been executed in Iran for the 'crime of homosexuality' sincethe Islamic Revolution of 1979.

And under the current regime, hell bent on exerting its self-appointed moralauthority on its population, things are not going to get any better.

Pegah Emambakhsh knew this when she escaped Iran in 2005. In her casethough, things had already gotten out of control.

Her partner had been arrested, tortured, and if some reports are to bebelieved, sentenced to death by stoning.

As soon as Ms. Emambakhsh fled Iran, her father was captured by the Iranianauthorities, and was in turn subject to the brutal interrogation methodsused reserved for criminal suspects.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

Sharma's 'Jihad' makes waves in Toronto
By Etan Vlessing

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com

Sept 8, 2007

TORONTO -- With 9/11-themed films dominating the Toronto InternationalFilm Festival this week, Indian filmmaker Parvez Sharma is grabbingattention with "A Jihad For Love," a documentary six years in the makingabout Islam and homosexuality.

"We are presenting Islam's most unlikely storytellers," Sharma saidFriday of his debut feature about gay and lesbian Muslims battlingracial profiling and harassment after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 andsubsequent terror attacks in London and Madrid.

Sharma knows he faces stiff competition in Toronto for media attention,with a variety of high-profile titles, including Paul Haggis' "In TheValley of Elah," Brian DePalma's "Redacted" and Nick Broomfield's"Battle for Haditha," all focusing on events in the Middle East.

But the New York-based filmmaker insists his documentary puts a focus onIslam distinct from the dominant perspectives of the Western media and"violent extremists."

"Hollywood and the mainstream film industry are jumping on the Muslimbandwagon and making films around Islam because of the U.S.. involvementin Iraq. But I feel that a lot of films that are made about Muslims aremediated through Western eyes," Sharma said.

His film aims at shifting the discourse about Islam by "empowering acommunity that has been silenced, allowing them to tell the story aboutIslam," he added.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

[euro-queer] New from DIRELAND: "Free the Buggers"--Britain & theWolfenden Report

SEPTEMBER 6, 2006

"FREE THE BUGGERS"--BRITAIN & THE WOLFENDEN REPORT In the early 1950s,nearly 5,000 British gays were swept up in a police crackdown known as theGreat Purge. Many establishment figures were among those arrested, leadingto a backlash that prompted the government to appoint the WolfendenCommission to examine laws making homosexuality a crime. As Brits this weekobserve the 50th anniversary of the Wolfenden Report, for a look back at theperils of being gay in '50s Britain and the very mixed results after theWolfenden Report recommended decriminalizing homosexuality, click on:http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2007/09/free-the-bugger.html



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

Nigeria

Cleric condemns homosexuals, lesbians

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Uyo, Sept. 2, 2007 (NAN) The Anglican Bishop of Uyo, Rt.Rev. Isaac Orama, has condemned the activities of homosexuals and lesbians,and described those engaged in them as "insane people''. "It is scaring thatany one should be involved in a thing like that and I want to say that theywill not escape the wrath of God,'' he said. Orama told the News Agency ofNigeria (NAN) today in Uyo, that the practice, which has worsened over theyears, was "unbiblical and against God's purpose for creating man''.

Homosexuals - 2 "Homosexuality and lesbianism are inhuman. Those whopractice them are insane, satanic and are not fit to live because they arerebels to God's purpose for man,'' the Bishop said. He noted that theAnglican Church in Nigeria had continued to lead the fight against thepractice especially in the US where it led the opposition to same sexmarriages. "The aim of such fight is to provide a safe place for those whowant to remain faithful Anglicans and Biblical Christians,'' heexplained.(NAN) NS/IFY/ETS

C Copyright United Press International. All Rights Reserved.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News

http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/2007/09/malaysian-cou-1.html

Malaysian court annuls same-sex marriage
Thursday Sep 6 10:02 AEST

A Malaysian court has ordered a couple to separate, declaring their marriage asame-sex union as the husband was a woman, local media reported.

An Islamic court in the central state of Malacca ruled as void the marriagebetween 40-year-old Mohd Sufian Mohamad and 43-year-old Zaiton Aziz aftermedical examinations showed

Sufian was a woman, the New Straits Times said.

Same-sex relationships are not recognised in the moderate Muslim countrywhich also bans Muslim transsexuals from changing their gender.

A mosque official solemnised the marriage between Sufian, who was bornMazinah Mohamad, and Zaiton in December 2002 but the state religious affairsdepartment refused to register the marriage after becoming suspicious ofSufian's gender.

"According to (Zaiton's) statement, she had never seen or touched herhusband's private parts and had taken him to be a man all along and that shefelt good and satisfied together (with her partner)," Judge Che Saufi CheHusin said in the ruling.

"This is astounding and illogical, It is abnormal to go through life ashusband and wife as such."

He gave the couple 14 days to appeal, The Star newspaper said.

The couple did not show any emotion when the judgment was read out, said thenewspaper, which carried a photograph of a bespectacled Sufian sporting acrewcut and Zaiton in a headscarf and traditional Malay dress.



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365Gay.Com

http://365gay.com/opinion/oped/oped.htm

A Watershed Moment
This week's ENDA hearing is bigger than you think

by Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

This week, a House subcommittee held a hearing on the EmploymentNon-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Given that the bill has been languishing for17 years - in spite of overwhelming public support - a collective "whatever"would be understandable. But folks, this is big - I mean really big - fortwo reasons.

One is that for the first time ever, the version of ENDA now moving throughCongress will cover all our people - lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.The other is that for the first time ever, we have every right to expect -yes demand - that both houses of Congress pass ENDA and put it on thepresident's desk.

Let me start by saying ENDA is not the be-all and end-all of pro-LGBTlegislation, but it's a start. By covering employment discrimination only -and not including discrimination in housing, public accommodations, creditand education - it is far less comprehensive than the first piece of pro-gaylegislation introduced in Congress in 1974.

Nonetheless, ENDA would provide legal recourse to victims of jobdiscrimination based on sexual orientation to people living in the 31 statesthat don't have laws covering anti-gay discrimination and to people livingin the 39 states that don't cover anti-transgender job bias. I also have tonote how profoundly ironic it is that at a time when marriage equality is atthe forefront of national discourse, Congress is only able to take upemployment nondiscrimination protections - which has had between 65 percentto 80 percent public support for years on end. But that's just the waythings are - public support leads, Congress follows (or not).


=


[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####

NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST September 08, 2007

**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.




=

Broward Introduction to Florida Red And Blue!!!!

This is your chance to fight the right-wing state-wide anti-gay initiative
to amend the Florida constitution.

Friday, September 28, at the GLCC, Ft. Lauderdale - 11:45am to 1:30pm.

Michael and I have promised to get a minimum of 10 people to attend thislow dollar boxed lunch - only $25 - to learn about Florida Red And Blue andthe multiple efforts to overcome this hateful amendment. Florida Red andBlue has already raised over $1 million, but our work is only beginning.

Will you support us with this? Every GLBT person in Florida needs to be apart of this effort.

Boxed Lunch Series
$25
Friday, September 28
Noon - 1:30pm
Networking 11:45am
GLCC - Ft. Lauderdale

Send us an e-mail and let us know if you'll join us on the 28th.

Ray and Michael
rays.list@comcast.net



=

The New York Times

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/opinion/07krugman.html

September 7, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist

Time to Take a Stand
By PAUL KRUGMAN

Here's what will definitely happen when Gen. David Petraeus testifies beforeCongress next week: he'll assert that the surge has reduced violence inIraq - as long as you don't count Sunnis killed by Sunnis, Shiites killed byShiites, Iraqis killed by car bombs and people shot in the front of thehead.

Here's what I'm afraid will happen: Democrats will look at Gen. Petraeus'suniform and medals and fall into their usual cringe. They won't ask hardquestions out of fear that someone might accuse them of attacking themilitary. After the testimony, they'll desperately try to get Republicans toagree to a resolution that politely asks President Bush to maybe, possibly,withdraw some troops, if he feels like it.

There are five things I hope Democrats in Congress will remember.

First, no independent assessment has concluded that violence in Iraq isdown. On the contrary, estimates based on morgue, hospital and policerecords suggest that the daily number of civilian deaths is almost twice itsaverage pace from last year. And a recent assessment by the nonpartisanGovernment Accountability Office found no decline in the average number ofdaily attacks.



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Forwarded from Leon Van Dyke

You've got to see this video. It's a great reminder of how just how hard theBush Administration is trying to spin this war.

The escalation has been a failure.

This was one of the bloodiest summers for US troops in Iraq, Iraqicasualties are running at twice the pace of last year and 15 of 18 ofPresident Bush's own benchmarks remain unmet. But the White House is tellingus that black is white, up is down, and things in Iraq are going just great.

We need to pass this video around widely to remind America that the WhiteHouse has a bit of a "credibility gap" when it comes to progress in Iraq.Check it out, then forward it on:

http://pol.moveon.org/troopshome/?r_by=11197-3647857-XcWS8C&rc=paste

Thanks!
Leon



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/opinion/08sat1.html

September 8, 2007
Editorial

Denying Children's Health Care

The Bush administration reached a deplorable, preordained verdict yesterdaywhen it denied New York State permission to expand a valuable healthinsurance program to help cover middle-class children. The administration,which makes no effort to disguise its disdain for government insuranceprograms, imposed new, excessively stringent requirements last month thatnot only guaranteed New York's denial but will make it nearly impossible forany state to expand coverage.

The denial shows the White House at its most ideological and intransigent.Unfortunately, tens of thousands of children in New York - and many morenationally - will end up paying the price.

New York wanted to raise its income threshold for the State Children'sHealth Insurance Program, or S-chip, from the current $51,000 for a familyof four to more than $82,000. There is room to debate whether that level -four times the poverty level - is too high, but the administration is notbasing its rejection on those grounds. Federal officials say they have noauthority to reject a state's plan based on income eligibility alone.

That is apparently why the administration cooked up new requirements thatallow it to block middle-class coverage on other grounds. This is adistressing change for a program that had previously given states greatleeway to devise coverage to fit their own circumstances.



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The New York Times

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/opinion/08herbert.html?pagewanted=print

September 8, 2007
Op-Ed Columnist

Escape From Las Vegas
By BOB HERBERT

Amber is 19 years old and on Sunday she caught a flight out of Las Vegas'sMcCarran International Airport and went home to a small town in Minnesota,not far from the Iowa border.

I'm rooting for her. She's low on funds ("I've got my ticket, that's aboutall," she said), and she's at a crucial turning point in her life.

The question is whether she will go off to college in Florida, and stickwith it, which she insists is what she wants to do, or whether she will slipback into her life as a stripper and lap dancer, which is so often the startof the descent into the hell of prostitution.

"I hate the dancing," she told me. "Sometimes I think I don't have a strongenough mind for it, because of the way people treat me."

I met Amber in Las Vegas last week. I was with Melissa Farley, apsychologist and researcher who was asked by the head of the U.S. StateDepartment's anti-trafficking office to do a study of the sex trade and itsconsequences in Nevada.

(She published the book-length study this week under the title,"Prostitution and Trafficking in Nevada: Making the Connections.")



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/08/science/earth/08polar.html

September 8, 2007
Warming Is Seen as Wiping Out Most Polar Bears

By JOHN M. BRODER and ANDREW C. REVKIN

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 - Two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappearby 2050, even under moderate projections for shrinking summer sea ice causedby greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, government scientists reported onFriday.

The finding is part of a yearlong review of the effects of climate and icechanges on polar bears to help determine whether they should be protectedunder the Endangered Species Act. Scientists estimate the current polar bearpopulation at 22,000.

The report, which the United States Geological Survey released here, offersstark prospects for polar bears as the world grows warmer.

The scientists concluded that, while the bears were not likely to be drivento extinction, they would be largely relegated to the Arctic archipelago ofCanada and spots off the northern Greenland coast, where summer sea icetends to persist even in warm summers like this one, a shrinking that couldbe enough to reduce the bear population by two-thirds.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/science/07bees.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1189256448-lmEYX3WP1+/P0RQllk4mww

September 7, 2007
Virus Is Seen as Suspect in Death of Honeybees

By ANDREW C. REVKIN

Scientists sifting genetic material from thriving and ailing bee coloniessay a virus appears to be a prime suspect - but is unlikely to be the onlyculprit - in the mass die-offs of honeybees reported last fall and winter.

The die-offs, in which adult bees typically vanished without returning tohives, were reported by about a fourth of the nation's commercialbeekeepers. The losses captured public attention as rumors swirled aboutcauses, like climate change, cellphone signals and genetically-modifiedcrops. Scientists have rejected those theories.

Now, one bee disease, called Israeli acute paralysis virus, seems stronglyassociated with the beekeeping operations that experienced big losses, alarge research group has concluded, although members of the team emphasizedthat they had not proved the virus caused the die-offs.

"I hope no one goes away with the idea that we've actually solved the
problem," said Jeffrey S. Pettis, an entomologist with the Department ofAgriculture and co-director of a national group working on the puzzle, whichhas been given the name colony collapse disorder.

It was a coincidence, but a fortunate one, that a man who trained as anastronomer, who earned a PhD from Harvard before he was fired by thegovernment in 1957 for being gay, was honored amid rockets and planes anddepictions of the solar system.

"At the time I was fired, the whole space program was just beginning," saysKameny. He might have volunteered as an astronaut, he says. "I might havegone to the moon."



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702063_pf.html

Why We Should Exit Iraq Now

By Bill Richardson
Saturday, September 8, 2007; A15

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have suggested that there islittle difference among us on Iraq. This is not true: I am the only leadingDemocratic candidate committed to getting all our troops out and doing soquickly.

In the most recent debate, I asked the other candidates how many troops theywould leave in Iraq and for what purposes. I got no answers. The Americanpeople need answers. If we elect a president who thinks that troops shouldstay in Iraq for years, they will stay for years -- a tragic mistake.

Clinton, Obama and Edwards reflect the inside-the-Beltway thinking that acomplete withdrawal of all American forces somehow would be "irresponsible."On the contrary, the facts suggest that a rapid, complete withdrawal -- nota drawn-out, Vietnam-like process -- would be the most responsible andeffective course of action.

Those who think we need to keep troops in Iraq misunderstand the MiddleEast. I have met and negotiated successfully with many regional leaders,including Saddam Hussein. I am convinced that only a complete withdrawal cansufficiently shift the politics of Iraq and its neighbors to break thedeadlock that has been killing so many people for so long.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702030_pf.html

A Damaging Paper Chase In Voting

By Timothy J. Ryan
Saturday, September 8, 2007; A15

When early jet aircraft crashed, Congress did not mandate that all planesremain propeller-driven. But this is the kind of reactionary thinking behindtwo bills that would require that all voting machines used in federalelections produce a voter-verifiable paper record. These bills -- the BallotIntegrity Act (S. 1487), and the Voter Confidence and IncreasedAccessibility Act (H.R. 811) -- are understandable backlashes to the myriadproblems encountered in the implementation of electronic voting.

Paperless Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) machines, those where votes areentered into computers and stored only in computer memory banks, haveencountered numerous failures and no longer inspire public trust. Theresponse proposed in these Senate and House bills is for all such machinesto produce paper receipts that voters can examine to ensure that their voteswere correctly cast. The goal -- a double-check of the machine tally -- isworthy. Unfortunately, paper records are no panacea for the shortcomings ofmachines, and mandating paper removes the incentive for researchers todevelop better electronic alternatives.

For proponents, the rationale for paper verification is simple: Voters haveno way of knowing that a machine faithfully records their votes in itsmemory banks. If a machine were compromised by a hacker, for instance, itsscreen could be made to confirm the voter's intention to vote for "GeorgeWashington" while actually registering a vote for "Benedict Arnold." Assuch, machines must be made to produce paper records that voters can examineand election officials can retain.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702285_pf.html

National Security Bubble
How the Bush administration's attempt to protect the country went awry

Saturday, September 8, 2007; A14

THE GOAL OF the Bush administration after Sept. 11, 2001, was simple andclear: Protect the country from another devastating attack. But in its questto counter unprecedented threats, the White House deliberately avoidedseeking the advice of Congress -- and even that of some of its own topofficials -- for fear of encountering opposition to novel or aggressivetactics. This go-it-alone approach led to the proliferation of dubious legaltheories that authorized activities such as the warrantless surveillance ofU.S. citizens and the torture of suspected terrorists. Perhaps the mostinfuriating aspect of the strategy was that it was largely unnecessary andultimately counterproductive.

The existence of the so-called torture memo and the warrantless surveillanceprogram have been known for some time. But a forthcoming book, "The TerrorPresidency," by former Justice Department official Jack L. Goldsmithprovides an insider's account of the pressures and priorities that led tosuch programs. It also illuminates the dangers of making decisions in abubble, even when -- perhaps especially when -- the goals are so clearlyvalid.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702384.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Ohio Congressman's Death In Arlington Ruled Accidental
From Staff Reports and News Services

Saturday, September 8, 2007; Page A04

Rep. Paul E. Gillmor (R-Ohio) died of blunt head and neck trauma, injuriesconsistent with a fall down stairs, the Virginia medical examiner's officeconcluded in ruling his death an accident.

Gillmor was found dead Wednesday in his Arlington County townhouse after hedid not show up at the Capitol for morning meetings. Aides found his body atthe base of stairs leading to the second floor.

Police found no evidence of foul play, said Lucy Caldwell, a spokeswomanfor the Virginia Department of Health, which includes the medical examiner'soffice. An autopsy was performed, but chemical and ancillary tests have notyet been completed, Caldwell added.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/08/AR2007090800248.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Rumsfeld Headed to Hoover Institution

The Associated Press
Saturday, September 8, 2007; 1:52 AM

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Donald H. Rumsfeld, the former U.S. secretary ofdefense who resigned under fire after directing the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan, will be a visiting fellow at Stanford University's HooverInstitution, the research center announced.

Rumsfeld will serve on a task force of scholars and experts who will focuson issues pertaining to "ideology and terror," the conservative think tankannounced Friday in a press release.



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Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/5117917.html

Sept. 7, 2007, 10:24PM
Student loan bill goes to president

Legislation calls for boost in aid and cut in subsidies
By NANCY ZUCKERBROD
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Congress sent President Bush legislation Friday to boostfinancial aid for college students by cutting some $20 billion in governmentsubsidies to banks that make student loans.

Bush has indicated he will sign the legislation, despite previous objectionsto parts of the bill. Specifically, the administration has criticized astudent loan interest-rate cut and a new loan-forgiveness program, amongother things.

House Democrats had made the popular interest-rate cut a priority during therun-up to the last election.

The House voted 292-97 for the student aid bill Friday. Earlier in the day,the Senate approved the measure 79-12.

The boost in financial aid to college students was one of half a dozendomestic priorities Democrats set when they took control of Congress thisyear. Two others - an increase in the minimum wage and mandatory air and seacargo inspections - already have become law, and a third, ethics reform, isawaiting Bush's signature.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/07/AR2007090702780.html?nav=rss_print

Unions Press Clinton on Outsourcing Of U.S. Jobs

By John Solomon and Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, September 8, 2007; A01

When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to New Delhi to meet with Indianbusiness leaders in 2005, she offered a blunt assessment of the loss ofAmerican jobs across the Pacific. "There is no way to legislate againstreality," she declared. "Outsourcing will continue. . . . We are not againstall outsourcing; we are not in favor of putting up fences."

Two years later, as a Democratic presidential hopeful, Clinton struck adifferent tone when she told students in New Hampshire that she hated"seeing U.S. telemarketing jobs done in remote locations far, far from ourshores."

The two speeches delivered continents apart highlight the delicate balancethe senator from New York, a dedicated free-trader, is seeking to maintainas she courts two competing constituencies: wealthy Indian immigrants whohave pledged to donate and raise as much as $5 million for her 2008 campaignand powerful American labor unions that are crucial to any Democraticprimary victory.



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Bush has bad day at Sydney Opera House

By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 35 minutes ago

SYDNEY, Australia - President Bush had a terrible, horrible, no good, verybad day at the Sydney Opera House.

He'd only reached the third sentence of Friday's speech to business leaders,on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, when hecommitted his first gaffe.

"Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit," Bush said toAustralian Prime Minister John Howard.

Oops. That would be APEC, the annual meeting of leaders from 21 Pacific Rimnations, not OPEC, the cartel of 12 major oil producers.

Bush quickly corrected himself. "APEC summit," he said forcefully, jokingthat Howard had invited him to the OPEC summit next year (for the record, animpossibility, since neither Australia nor the U.S. are OPEC members).

The president's next goof went uncorrected - by him anyway. Talking aboutHoward's visit to Iraq last year to thank his country's soldiers servingthere, Bush called them "Austrian troops."

That one was fixed for him. Though tapes of the speech clearly show Bushsaying "Austrian," the official text released by the White House switched itto "Australian."

Then, speech done, Bush confidently headed out - the wrong way.

more....



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

The Chronicle of Higher Education

http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=qWxdNgrtbXmmhkrcdWTZzqr4tmZrdkbs

A Quiz for Constitution Day

By LAWRENCE DOUGLAS and ALEXANDER GEORGE

This is our second annual Constitution Day quiz. Constitution Day isSeptember 17th. Federal law now requires that educational institutions thatreceive federal funds hold an "educational program" on the Constitution.Give this handy quiz to everyone on your campus - students, professors,administrators, staff, even members of the hockey team - and happily avoidthe suspension of millions of dollars of federal research money.

1. In the Military Commissions Act of 2006, Congress suspended the writ ofhabeas corpus for alien enemy combatants detained at Guantánamo Bay. TheConstitution, however, stipulates that Congress can suspend the writ only"in cases of rebellion or invasion." We can therefore conclude:

1.. We have been invaded.

2.. We are in the midst of a rebellion (against the government, notagainst the Constitution itself).

3.. The Military Commissions Act is unconstitutional.

4.. The Constitution does not protect evil suspects.

5.. The founding fathers intended to make an exception for Gitmo.

more....


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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####

FLORIDA DIGEST September 08, 2007

**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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Broward Introduction to Florida Red And Blue!!!!

This is your chance to fight the right-wing state-wide anti-gay initiativeto amend the Florida constitution.

Friday, September 28, at the GLCC, Ft. Lauderdale - 11:45am to 1:30pm.

Michael and I have promised to get a minimum of 10 people to attend thislow dollar boxed lunch - only $25 - to learn about Florida Red And Blue andthe multiple efforts to overcome this hateful amendment. Florida Red andBlue has already raised over $1 million, but our work is only beginning.

Will you support us with this? Every GLBT person in Florida needs to be apart of this effort.

Boxed Lunch Series
$25
Friday, September 28
Noon - 1:30pm
Networking 11:45am
GLCC - Ft. Lauderdale

Send us an e-mail and let us know if you'll join us on the 28th.

Ray and Michael
rays.list@comcast.net



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Forwarded from Jesse Monteagudo
JesseMonteagudo@aol.com

For more information phone (954) 763-8565.

Stonewall Library Book Club meeting moves to October 25

The Stonewall Library and Archives' Book Club will hold its next meeting on Thursday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m., because of conflict with Stonewall's ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 18. Moderator Jesse Monteagudo ("The Book Nook") will lead a discussion of "Man in the Middle," former NBA star John Amaechi's provocative and inspiring autobiography. Membership in the Stonewall Library Book Club is free and Club meetings are open to the public. The Stonewall Library and Archives is located at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of South Florida, 1717 North Andrews Avenue, in Fort Lauderdale. For more information phone SLA at (954) 763-8565.



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Broward Times

http://www.browardtimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=478&Itemid=45

Lauderdale NAACP, local pastors at odds over gay rights
BY ELGIN JONES

Fort Lauderdale NAACP President Marsha Ellison and a group of black pastors took opposing sides at Fort Lauderdale City Hall this week on the issue of gay rights.

The dueling press conferences are the latest fallout from Mayor Jim Naugle’s recent criticism of gay sex in parks, public bathrooms and other public places in the city.

“All races are affected by AIDS – the young, the old, and a true leader seeks real problems and real solutions,” Ellison said on Wednesday, flanked by gay activists.

“The NAACP says this is not about AIDS, it is about his hate for the gay community and that’s why we’re here today,” said Ellison, who stood under a silk umbrella emblazoned in the rainbow colors of the gay community while the speakers she introduced made their cases.

A day earlier, on Tuesday, a predominantly black coalition of pastors met with Naugle at city hall, and held their own press conference to denounce gay sex.

“Broward County is on a collision course with Satan,” said Mathes Guice, an elder at Koinonia Worship Center, a black church based in Pembroke ark. “Christian men and women are going to have a revival here in Broward County because we cannot let sin prevail. We wholeheartedly support the mayor.”

The black pastors supported Naugle’s position during a closed-door session with the mayor and the press conference that followed. They vowed to do whatever it takes to fend off the campaign waged by gay activists against Naugle.



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"M-GROUP"
SATURDAY September 8, 2007

Hey Guys!

JUST A FRIENDLY REMINDER TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T PARTICIPATED YET IN THEM-GROUPS SATURDAYS.

The M group on Saturday is different than the UNCUT reality Groups on Thursdays.

M Group is a 3 hours Focus group about Prevention and Relationships.

HIV infection, safer sex and sexual encounter negotiations are discussed in a laid back, safe and comfortable environment.

It's a different approach with three hours full of laughs and fun.

Refreshments will be provided and a $20 gift certificate for those who attend.

Don't' miss this opportunity to M Power your self about this issue and at the same time meet new people and possibly make good friends.

Email us back or give us a call!

See You There!!!

M House: 2645 N Andrews Ave
Wilton Manors, FL 33311
Time: 1:00pm until 4:00pm
Half block north of 26th St on Andrews ave (left hand side if you are going north).
Still lost?...what about half mile south of Oakland park on Andrews Ave?...
Still lost?...please call me :) 954 806-1103

RSVP Phone: 954-618-0736



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Dania Beach

Liberty Suites on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfsrqnk0CCA#GU5U2spHI_4



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Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-flbgaybingo0908nbsep08,0,5701956.story

Gay bingo a popular draw at gay, lesbian center in Fort Lauderdale
Gay and Lesbian Center puts new spin on old game of chance
By Elizabeth Baier

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 8, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE

Say the word "gay" and "bingo" in the same sentence and images of the age-old game of chance disappear.

"This ain't your grandmother's bingo," said Marc Hansen — community activist, Fort Lauderdale resident, and bingo caller — between rounds at a recent bingo night at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center.

It's the second Saturday in August, but it very well could be February or June or September. Hansen has been calling the center's bingo on and off for seven years, and says the event is a fun, safe environment for the gay community, a smoke- and alcohol-free alternative to going to clubs and bars.

The monthly bingo games attract scores of men and women, gay and straight, locals and snowbirds — all armed with paper cards and colorful daubers, ready to be the lucky one to shout out BINGO.



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From Equality Florida

Brian Winfield, Communications Director, (727) 488-7799
Basher Get Probation in West Palm Beach Attack

(West Palm Beach) Equality Florida today condemned the “slap on thewrist” sentence given to an 18 year old who viciously beat atransgender women last year.

According to police reports, the teenager brutally assaulted atransgender woman with whom the he had sought to have sex until herealizes she was transgender. The attacker then left, only to returnagain to continue beating the victim, slamming her head into alifeguard stand, knocking out her teeth and covering her in blood.

Palm Beach County Juvenile Court Judge Peter Blanc, handed down thenominal sentence of four and a half months probation and agreed towithhold adjudication, meaning the attacker will serve no jail timeand will not have a conviction on his record.

“At a time when hate violence against gay and transgender people isan ignored epidemic in our state, Judge Blanc’s ruling send adisgraceful and dangerous signal that the lives of transgendercitizens are held in less regard,” said Nadine Smith, executivedirector for Equality Florida.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/229909.html

Posted on Sat, Sep. 08, 2007
Vegas games a step closer
BY MARY ELLEN KLAS AND AMY DRISCOLL

Gov. Charlie Crist is nearing completion on a deal to give the Seminole Tribe of Florida the first Las Vegas-style table games in the state, along with slot machines, in return for up to $200 million a year that would be earmarked for education.

The draft proposal, which became public Friday because of a records request made by The Miami Herald, limits the tribe to card games, such as baccarat and blackjack, and excludes the popular casino games roulette and craps.

It restricts the tribe to offering the games at its seven existing facilities but places no limit on how many slot machines they can have.

The draft doesn't say how much the state would receive in return for giving the tribe these privileges. Those details are still being hashed out, said George LeMieux, Crist's chief of staff and his top negotiators.

Barry Richard, a lawyer for the Seminoles, said the proposal would give the state $50 million immediately and a minimum of $100 million a year.

An additional percentage on top of the $100 million would be paid, based on a formula that takes into account which games are run and how much money the tribe makes, he said.

Another source close to the negotiations said that after the casinos ramp up they will generate $1 billion for the state over five years.



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The Miami Herald

http://www.miamiherald.com/418/story/229905.html

Posted on Sat, Sep. 08, 2007
Ken Jenne, arrogance and suckers
By BETH REINHARD

What's with South Florida's top cops and their lust for free luxury cars?

Amid the torrent of deceits that emerged from Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne's conviction this week on corruption charges was the revelation that his Mercedes-Benz convertible was financed by his former law firm but never disclosed on state ethics or federal tax forms. At one point, Jenne waved off the firm's offer to give him the title to the car because it would ''look bad in the press,'' according to court documents.

A similar survival instinct led Miami Police Chief John Timoney, confronted with pesky questions about a Kendall auto dealer giving him free use of a Lexus SUV, to hedge the truth. He later admitted a ''mistake'' and bought the car.

Their hubris is galling. You pay for your own ride? Sucker.

In Jenne's case, the car was part of a shameful pattern of accepting -- and pursuing -- freebies and favors. Time and time again, Jenne pocketed tens of thousands of dollars from people who depended on his good graces because they did business with his office. Sometimes he funneled the money through subordinates. Jenne knew better, and he kept it a secret.

His guilty plea and looming prison sentence represent a spectacular free fall for a man who cut his teeth going after corruption in the county building department. Back then, Jenne and his crime-fighting partner, Bob Butterworth -- who also went on to a storied career in public service -- were known as ''Batman and Robin.'' His freckle-faced earnestness also earned him the nickname ''Howdy Doody'' when, at 28 years old, he helped craft the document that serves as the county's constitution.

What happened to that young man? What happened to the man who, years later, choked back tears when then-Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed him sheriff in 1998?

more....



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Florida Today

http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070907/OPINION/709070324/1004/opinion

Our views: Saving PIP
Our view: Gov. Crist should step up to stop the end of no-fault insurance

This brings new meaning to the word irresponsible.

Florida lawmakers Wednesday abruptly put a Sept. 18 special session on hold, saying they can't reach consensus on how to slash more than $1 billion from the budget because of shortfalls in tax collections.

It's bad enough the negotiations have been going on behind closed doors, keeping the public in the dark. But the postponed session also likely ensures Florida's no-fault insurance law, which expires Oct. 1., is dead in the water.

The PIP issue -- Florida's requirement that drivers buy $10,000 in personal injury protection insurance--needs a serious examination, too much work to be accomplished in the special session.

But we've said before that lawmakers need to OK a one-year extension of the PIP deadline rather than just let it drop.

Without PIP, Florida will be the only state that doesn't require drivers to have bodily injury liability coverage.

Its expiration means many more drivers on Florida roads will be unable to pay medical bills if injured in traffic accidents, and that health care insurance costs for those who are covered will rise, as hospitals and insurance companies take over where PIP leaves off.



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St. Petersburg Times

http://blogs.tampabay.com/energy/2007/09/sink-announces-.html

September 06, 2007
Sink announces London trip to study financial impact of climate change

My sister blog, The Buzz, reported yesterday that Alex Sink, the state's chief financial officer, is going to be making a trip to London in November to discuss climate change issues with British experts.

Sink's office made the formal announcement in a press release today.

I spoke today with Sink's deputy chief of staff, Kathy Baughman McLeod. She explained that Sink's trip is at the invitation of the British government which has made climate change at one of its top foreign policy priorities. The trip stems from a series of meetings between Florida officials and British diplomats designed to find ways to collaborate over climate change issues. In July Florida Governor Charlie Crist signed partnership agreements with Britain and Germany to share public policy experiences and exchange science and technology concerning renewable energy sources and energy efficiency.

"It's a global issue and Florida is a little behind," explained Baughman McCleod. "Given the size of our state, the level of our CO2 output and our vulnerability to sea level rise, we have every reason to want to be ahead on this issue," she added.


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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####

Friday, September 07, 2007

GLBT DIGEST September 07, 2007

**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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Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/letters/sfl-brmail843xpnsep07,0,2064295,print.story

Larry Craig case as much about honesty as sexuality

September 7, 2007

I feel very sorry for Sen. Larry Craig. It really doesn't matter if he isgay or straight. Regardless of the details (and we don't actually know hisintent or what happened in that airport bathroom), a conclusion can be drawnfrom his post-arrest actions.

I can deduce only one possible conclusion from his refusal to tell anyone ofhis arrest and subsequent plea; he was afraid someone would think he weregay, and afraid of the consequences, personally and professionally. This manwas so afraid that he pleaded guilty to a crime in hopes of keeping hisarrest from friends and family.

This display of dishonesty is not an expression of "family values"; and ifhonesty isn't the cornerstone of "family values," it should be. Maybe weneed a new "list" of family values to which we can all subscribe.

This is exactly why so many gays remain closeted, and should show us itisn't to the benefit of society. As a society, we all need to work towardaccepting one another; including removing the stigmas of gender, sexualityand race.

We all need to learn from his misfortune. I feel strongly this mostimportant lesson of this miserable episode could be easily overlooked.

Barnett Adler
Fort Lauderdale



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Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-rpcol06nbsep07,0,2995515,print.column

Religiosity is everywhere

Rachel Patron
COLUMNIST
September 7, 2007

In the next few days, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, may pass a lawthat strips gay couples of the right to inherit. How is this possible, onemay ask, in a country where gays are allowed to serve in the military,legally adopt, and march each year in parades down the streets of Tel-Avivand Jerusalem?

A simple answer: The pernicious influence of ultra orthodox religiousparties, without whose support neither the right nor the left can form aruling coalition. The price for their participation is control over thepersonal lives and freedoms of the citizenry.

This explains why the definition of a couple was amended from "partners" to"one man and one woman." Hopefully, the increasing pressure from enlightenedsociety will convince parliament to reject this backward legislation.

All over the world religiosity is on the march, led by self-appointedinterpreters of God's will. This Tuesday we'll commemorate the sixthanniversary of the terrorist attack on America that killed thousands in thename of a God brewed up in the mentally-twisted psyches of fanaticalzealots. These religious warriors are on their way to impose a despotic ruleon their own societies, and rain further suffering on the West for daring torepudiate their madness.

Wouldn't one think that America, having undergone the horrors of a religiousonslaught, would delight in the separation of church and state? Surely, nowmore than ever, we must devote ourselves to the proposition that religionshould play a minimal role in our government and public life.



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Sun-Sentinel.com

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sfl-la-0907cause,0,2996602,print.story

One industry won't back Fred Thompson
The actor's late entry and conservatism could hurt his Hollywoodfundraising.

By Tina Daunt
September 7, 2007

Politician turned actor turned politician Fred Thompson may have a Hollywoodstrategy when it comes to his presidential run (after all, he did announcehis candidacy this week on the Jay Leno show), but he'll have a hard timegetting a Hollywood audience.

For starters, the entertainment industry Democrats are much too busyshuttling between Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton fundraisers toeven think about helping out a fellow actor, let alone a conservativeRepublican one. And the Hollywood Republicans -- what few there are --already have yard signs out for the far more moderate Rudolph W. Giuliani.

So what's Thompson to do? Take the show on the road and rake in the dollarselsewhere. The place that made the former Tennessee senator rich as an actorcannot be counted on to pour cash into his presidential run, especially ifhe's going around bashing gay marriage and Roe vs. Wade. The minute he comesout strong against embryonic stem cell research -- a fervent Hollywoodcause -- he'll be banished from every cocktail party north of SunsetBoulevard.

"You're asking me if people here will support Fred Thompson?" said DonnaBojarsky, a longtime industry political consultant. "How do I put it? No.No. And no."

Politico Andy Spahn, who has enough Hollywood clients to pack a DirectorsGuild gala, was more diplomatic.



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Advocate.com

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid48693.asp

September 07, 2007

More than 3,500 police, soldiers to protect pope against protests on Austriavisit

Elite Austrian police commandos and bomb squads were checking venues andequipment Thursday, the eve of Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in the nation,and authorities said more than 3,500 police officers and soldiers were beingdeployed to secure the pope.

Although security was heavy for the three-day visit, which begins Friday,the precautions were not a response to this week's thwarted terrorist plotin Germany, Interior Ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia said.

About 150 members of Austria's elite Cobra police unit-including what Golliadescribed as a ''counterterrorism component''-were to provide personalsecurity for the pontiff this weekend.

Explosives experts used bomb-sniffing dogs to screen Benedict's convoy andthe sites he will visit, and 50 aircraft including military attackhelicopters and interceptor jets were being readied, Defense MinisterNorbert Darabos told reporters.

Officials said they had no information on any threat targeting theGerman-born pope, whose Austria trip will be the seventh foreign pilgrimageof his two-year papacy.



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Advocate.com

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid48703.asp

September 07, 2007

Poll: Clinton, Giuliani least religious

People view Hillary Rodham Clinton and Rudy Giuliani as the least religiousof the major presidential candidates, according to a poll released Thursday.Mitt Romney was seen as most religious, but his Mormonism may hurt him withvoters.

Seven in 10 in the nonpartisan Pew Research Center poll said they believe itis important for a president to have strong religious beliefs, includingbroad majorities of both parties. Most also see each major presidentialhopeful as at least somewhat religious- important because people who view acandidate as religious are likelier to have a favorable opinion of them.

Of those expressing an opinion on the candidates' beliefs, 46% said theyconsider Romney, a Republican contender, to be very religious, far more thanany other candidate. Yet a quarter of all Republicans, including 36% ofwhite evangelical Protestants, said they would be less likely to vote for aMormon.

Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the former Massachusetts governor has''the same hopes and aspirations for his country'' as voters, adding, ''Anysort of abstract aversion toward him because of his denomination will likelyfade.''

Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, was considered very religious by14%, while 16% said the same of Clinton, the Democratic New York senator.



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Advocate.com

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid48713.asp

September 07, 2007
MTV to air bisexual dating show with MySpace icon

MTV is cooking up a bisexual dating show that will feature a woman who madea name for herself on MySpace, according the Associated Press.

"A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila," will pit 16 men and 16 women againsteach other as they all compete for the heart of Tequila. The show isscheduled to debut on October 9 on MTV.

"Tila Tequila made a name for herself by doing things her way, captivatinglegions of fans online, both men and women," MTV executive Tony DiSanto toldTelevision Week. "Now she is taking that attitude and sex appeal to her ownTV series where she is looking for a mate... by again, captivating a groupof both men and women."

Time magazine has reportedly referred to Tequila as "the Madonna ofMySpace." (The Advocate)



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ExpressGayNews.com

http://expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=14208

Second man pleads guilty in Baldwin County gay murder case
Gets two life sentences for Scotty Joe Weaver murder

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (AP) | Sep 7, 10:46 AM

A second defendant pleaded guilty Wednesday to the 2004 murder of a gay BayMinette teenager who was beaten, stabbed and strangled.

Robert Holly Lofton Porter, 21, entered the plea before Baldwin CountyCircuit Court Judge Lang Floyd and was sentenced to two consecutive lifesentences on murder and robbery charges.

Porter's plea came a week before he was slated for trial in the killing of18-year-old Scotty Joe Weaver.

"We just calculated the totality of everything and decided that would beappropriate," Baldwin County District Attorney Judy Newcomb told thePress-Register in a Wednesday story.

Porter had been charged with capital murder. Under the plea, he will bespared the death penalty and eventually can be paroled.



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ExpressGayNews.com

http://cnn.site.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Advisers%3A+Craig+decided+not+to+seek+re-election+before+scandal+broke+-+CNN.com&expire=-1&urlID=23803719&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2007%2FPOLITICS%2F09%2F06%2Fcraig%2Findex.html&partnerID=211911

Advisers: Craig decided not to seek re-election before scandal broke
Story Highlights

Craig pleaded guilty in August to charge stemming from a restroom sex sting

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Larry Craig had already decided not to seekre-election before revelations that he pleaded guilty to charges stemmingfrom a Minnesota sex sting, two of the Idaho Republican's political advisersclaimed Thursday.

Before news of his arrest became public last month, Craig told his formerchief of staff and long time confidante Gregory Casey that he was not goingto run for re-election in 2008, Casey told CNN.

"He and Suzanne had decided that he had been in Congress long enough, and itwas time for him to go home," Casey said, referring to Craig's wife.

In a separate interview, Craig spokesman Dan Whiting also confirmed to CNNthat Craig had already decided not to run for re-election, and originallyplanned to announce that publicly in September.

Neither Casey nor Whiting could say when that decision was made, but Whitinginsisted it was "well before all of this broke."



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ExpressGayNews.com

http://expressgaynews.com/print.cfm?content_id=4014

Italian doctor predicts rise in bisexuality
American experts, activists reject controversial claim

By JOSHUA LYNSEN
Sep. 06, 2007

A prediction last month that bisexuality could become more common worldwideis drawing mixed responses from Americans who identify as such.

Dr. Umberto Veronesi, a prominent Italian physician, was quoted in August inforeign media as saying that sexual intercourse is becoming less aboutreproduction and more about affection. He said that shift could, withinthree generations, cause more people to identify as bisexual.

But not everyone agrees. Sexuality experts, along with activists and authorswho are bisexual, questioned the prediction.

"I think that the idea that 'bisexuality will prevail' is a statement thatcan easily be taken out of context and overstated," said Dr. Paula RodríguezRust, a lesbian and member of the International Academy of Sex Research.

Rodríguez Rust said it's "highly possible" that people in North American andWestern European cultures will increasingly emphasize "the affectionate,relationship-building aspects" of sex over procreation.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090607radio.htm

China Bans Radio Shows That Feature Information On HIV, Sex

by The Associated Press
Posted: September 6, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET

(Beijing) Chinese authorities said two late-night radio shows that discussedsex - gay and straight, HIV/AIDS and drugs have been banned for damagingyoung people and being "extremely pornographic."

The latest order from China's broadcast watchdog follows a ban on televisionshows about cosmetic surgery and sex changes, and the shutdown of a talentshow that regulators deemed coarse.

The stations, both in the southwestern province of Sichuan, "aired programsabout sex and drugs for two to three hours after 9 p.m. every day," theState Administration of Radio, Film and Television said on its Web siteWednesday.

"The programs contained extremely pornographic material, caused great harmto the psychological development of young people, fouled the social air, anddamaged the reputation of China's broadcasting institutions," theadministration said.

The two stations were ordered to suspend the shows immediately and punishthe producers.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090607judge.htm

9-11 Anniversary Brings Children's Book On Father Mychal Judge

by The Associated Press
Posted: September 6, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET

(Secaucus, New Jersey) Kelly Ann Lynch, like so many others in Father MychalJudge's vast congregation without walls, was devastated by word of the firechaplain's death in the shadows of the World Trade Center.

``Those first few weeks, it was hard to see anything good,'' said thePennsylvania mother of four. ``It just felt so dark and so sad and soempty.''

Time passed, until the darkness gave way to a bright idea. Lynch - whosefather once served as an altar boy for Judge - became consumed with turningthe martyred priest's life into a children's book, keeping his message oflove alive for future generations.

``He Said Yes: The Story of Father Mychal Judge,'' a biography timed toarrive with the sixth anniversary of 9/11, is an illustrated 32-page walk inthe Franciscan priest's sandals. M. Scott Oatman did the artwork.

``He left behind a legacy for all of us,'' Lynch said recently overbreakfast at a New Jersey hotel, a short hop from the East Rutherford parishwhere her family first met Judge. ``I took the most important parts of hisstory, and tried to simplify it. His story was meant to be shared.''



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090607canada.htm

Businessman Pleads Guilty To Killing Elderly Gay Man

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: September 6, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET

(Toronto, Ontario) A 45-year old Toronto-area man has been sentenced to lifein prison with no hope of parole for 17 years for the brutal stabbing of a72-year old pensioner he met on an Internet gay chat line.

David Reid had pleaded guilty to killing Harley Walker last year in Walker'sdowntown Toronto home. Walker's badly decomposed body were found earlierthis year in a shallow grave near a road east of the city. (story)

Last October police were called to Walker's home in Toronto's Cabbagetownarea by neighbors who had not seen Walker for several days.

Inside the house there was no sign of Walker but police found what theydescribed as the indication of a violent struggle, including a considerableamount of blood.

Investigators also found the Walker's bank account had been cleaned out andother assets had been cashed in.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090607court.htm

Man Sentenced To Double Life Terms In Gay Alabama Man's Murder

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: September 6, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET

(Bay Minette, Alabama) A 21 year old man has been sentenced to twoconsecutive live terms for the killing of a gay man in 2004.

Robert Holly Lofton Porter pleaded guilty Wednesday to intentional murder inthe slaying of Scotty Joe Weaver.

Prosecutors said the murder was motivated in large part because Weaver wasgay.

Lofton was the second of three people to be sentenced.

In May, Christopher Gaines, 22, was sentenced to life without parole afterpleading guilty. (story)



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090707bloom.htm

Could Bloomberg Still Be A Presidential Spoiler?

by The Associated Press
Posted: September 7, 2007 - 6:00 am ET

(New York City) New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg posted a statement on hispersonal Web site Thursday saying "it's time for something real" in the 2008presidential campaign, while still denying that he will run.

The posting was sure to reignite speculation that the multibillionaire willenter the race next year as a self-financed, third-party candidate.

"For too long, the American people have been served up empty promises basedon what politicians think we want to hear," he said in the statement. "It'stime for something real. ... That's what this upcoming campaign needs to beabout."

The former CEO recently dropped his Republican affiliation to become anindependent while aides and supporters increasingly talk up the idea of aBloomberg candidacy. He also has expanded his out-of-state travel,delivering broad but vague plans on national issues such as immigration,poverty, education and the environment.

In the statement, Bloomberg addresses the presidential rumors that haveswirled around him. "As I've said before and I'll say again - I am notrunning," he said.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090707condo.htm

Questions Raised About Effectiveness Of Condoms Imported From China

by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: September 7, 2007 - 9:00 am ET

(Washington) First it was tainted pet food from China, then lead paint onchildren's toys, now questions are being asked about Chinese made condomsbeing distributed free by the District of Columbia.

The giveaway is part of a District health department effort to curb thespread of HIV/AIDS - said to be among the worst of major cities in thecountry.

Thousands of the condoms have been returned with people complaining that thecellophane yellow, purple and yellow rappers were either open when they weredistributed or came open when people put them in their pocket or wallet.

There also are concerns that the expiration on the packages is illegible.

"People were saying, 'These packets aren't any good,'" Franck DeRose,executive director of the Condom Project told the Washington Post.



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365gay.com

http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/09/090707census.htm

Canadian Census To Count Same-Sex Married Couples Separately

by The Canadian Press
Posted: September 7, 2007 - 11:00 am ET

(Toronto, Ontario) Same-sex married couples will be counted for the firsttime in next week's census release on families, and activists aren't happywith the question put to the gay and lesbian community.

The dissent over the historic Statistics Canada query ranges from objectionsthat gays are being relegated to the census questionnaire's ``other'' box toquestions about whether same-sex marriage should be counted at all.

In the words of one activist: ``Marriage is marriage... why should we bereflected differently than anyone else?''

For one man who fought on the same-sex marriage frontline, the statisticsbeing released Wednesday will send a powerful message of hope to gays andlesbians around the world, a group he says whose very lives are at risk insome countries just for being gay.

``It's so very important in places like Africa, parts of Latin America,Russia, Israel,'' said Michael Leshner, a lawyer and one of Canada's firstlegally married gay men.



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The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/07/opinion/07fri2.html?pagewanted=print

September 7, 2007
Editorial

Questions About a Rising Suicide Rate

A sharp jump in suicide rates among young Americans has left researcherspuzzled as to the cause and wondering what lessons to draw from it. Someresearchers are even suggesting that regulatory warnings about the safety ofantidepressant drugs might have triggered the problem, leading doctors andtheir patients to shun potentially life-saving medications.

The new findings on suicide rates among 10- to 24-year-olds, reportedyesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are a startlingreversal. From 1990 to 2003, the rate fell by more than 28 percent, from9.48 to 6.78 suicides per 100,000 young people. From 2003 to 2004, the ratejumped back up to 7.32 per 100,000, an increase of 8 percent, the largestsingle-year rise in 15 years. Whether this is a short-lived increase or thestart of a long-term upward trend is not yet clear.

The most provocative interpretation is that the upsurge was inadvertentlycaused by regulatory warnings. An article published in the American Journalof Psychiatry this week argued that, after American and European regulatorsissued warnings that antidepressants might increase the risk of suicide inyoung people, there was a decrease in antidepressant prescriptions forchildren and adolescents in the United States and the Netherlands - and anincrease in suicide rates among youngsters in both countries. The articleacknowledges that there was "only a small decrease" in prescription rates inthis country but speculates that some of the most vulnerable youths may havebeen left untreated.



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The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/06/AR2007090602760.html?hpid=artslot

HIV Loosens Tribe's Resistance to Circumcision
Many Kenyans See Survival at Stake

By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, September 7, 2007; A01

MBITA, Kenya -- Family gatherings for Collins Omondi once were boisterousaffairs here on the verdant shores of Lake Victoria. But in just 11 years,AIDS has killed seven of his uncles, six aunts, five cousins and both hisparents. His extended family now consists of one surviving uncle, an auntand their 2-year-old child -- all of whom have AIDS.

Omondi, 28, a tall, broad-shouldered fish trader, has come to believe that aquirk of culture contributed to the decimation of his family. They wereLuos, members of the only major tribe in Kenya that does not routinelycircumcise boys. The absence of this ritual, Omondi said, helps explain whyLuos are dying from AIDS at a rate unheard of among other Kenyans and rarein East Africa.

Twenty years after the first reports of a connection between HIV rates andcircumcision, scientists are saying it is essential to understanding thepath of the disease through Africa and possibly to reversing its course.President Bush's $15 billion anti-AIDS program is pledging millions ofdollars to Kenya and other countries so they can offer circumcision servicesin communities long defined, in part, by their reluctance to perform theprocedure.

The unprecedented effort already has provoked a backlash from the Council ofLuo Tribal Elders, which decided last year to officially oppose it. Butalong the beaches of Lake Victoria, where fishermen push their colorfulsailboats into the waves before dawn each day, many express a willingness toleave this tradition behind if it means surviving an epidemic that seems tohave no end.

"We are the people who are sick," said Omondi, who recalled the hauntingfeeling of walking through his father's empty home on a nearby beach. "Weare the ones who lose people every day."

Most African tribes traditionally circumcise boys in rituals marking theonset of manhood. But the Luos and some other Nilotic tribes, whoseancestors migrated south from Sudan, used to mark the end of childhood in adifferent but also painful way -- removing six bottom front teeth.

AIDS emanated from the jungles of Cameroon or Gabon but hit massive epidemiclevels after reaching the uncircumcised tribes around Lake Victoria and,later, southern African tribes that had abandoned their own traditionalcircumcision rites. These differences help explain why West Africa, wherecircumcision is routine, has HIV rates much lower than in southern or EastAfrica. Within Kenya, roughly one in 17 adults has HIV. Yet among Luoadults, the virus has infected one in five.

Scientists say the cells in a man's foreskin are unusually easy for HIV topenetrate. Removing it through circumcision also makes the skin on the penishead grow thicker and more resistant to infection. Trials in Kenya, Ugandaand South Africa have shown that circumcised men are 60 percent less likelyto contract HIV. The World Health Organization endorsed it as a keyprevention strategy in March.

"It's now the most proven, effective HIV prevention strategy we have formale heterosexuals, so it's really important that we make this widelyavailable," said Robert C. Bailey, an epidemiologist at the University ofIllinois at Chicago who oversaw the Kenyan trial in nearby Kisumu.



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The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/09/07/separating_the_law_from_the_lewd?mode=PF

Separating the law from the lewd

By Ellen Goodman | September 7, 2007

WELL, that didn't take long. A mere five days from the Roll Call revelationsto the presumed resignation. Thirty-three years of public service down thetoilet, and that is the last bathroom joke I'll make.

When Larry Craig got caught in a sex sting in a Minneapolis airportrestroom, Republican stalwarts broke the speed record turning him from thedistinguished senator into the disgusting senator. Gay rights groups did notrise to the defense of their public enemy. One of the few politiciansexpressing actual empathy for Craig was Jim McGreevey, the "outed" formergovernor of New Jersey who is now - you cannot make this stuff up - indivinity school.

By Tuesday, even Idahoans thought it was all over. The most popular news onthe Idaho Statesman website was about a woman rock climber who got her longhair caught in the ropes while she was rappelling.

Now what's happening? It looks like Craig's "intention to resign" left aloophole as wide as his stance. If he can fight off the charges to which hepleaded guilty, his spokesman and his lawyer now say, he may not resign.

I have no desire to throw myself between Craig and the madding crowd. He wasnever my kind of senator. I don't want to send my grandson into a publicrestroom used for assignations. Nor do I enjoy watching another humiliatedwife standing by her husband.

But I have to agree with Senator Arlen Specter in separating the law fromthe lewd, the criminal from the yucky. What law did this sad sack of a62-year-old senator with his ludicrous explanations actually break?

Craig was charged with violating privacy under what is essentially a PeepingTom law.

The charge was dropped because it would never have held up. He then pleadedguilty to disorderly conduct. But what exactly was the disorder or theconduct? Soliciting sex in a public place? In fact, all he actually did wastap his feet and put his hand under a stall. As Dale Carpenter at theUniversity of Minnesota Law School notes, there was no specific sexualallegation, no indecent exposure, no money, no abuse, and the other man -the policeman - tapped back: "Can't you send ambiguous signals in Minnesotawithout it being a crime?" asks Carpenter.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

HoustonChronicle.com

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5098972.html

Hate-crimes legislation stirs pulpit and podium
By BARBARA KARKABI

Every Thursday like clockwork, the Rev. John Crimmins sits down to write hisSunday sermon.

The senior pastor at Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church feels a moralduty to preach that marriage is between one man and one woman and thathomosexual behavior is a sin.

These principles, he says, are clearly stated in the Bible. Just asimportant, he believes, is his freedom to preach as he sees fit withoutgovernment interference.

Like many other conservative Christian pastors, Crimmins is concerned abouta bill pending in the U.S. Senate that would add sexual orientation andgender identity to the criteria for federal hate crimes.

He worries that it could criminalize preaching against issues includinghomosexuality, same-sex marriage and abortion, and muzzle pastors in thepulpit.

Crimmins and other like-minded pastors agree that anyone assaulting a fellowhuman being should be punished. But they believe current laws aresufficient.

Their concerns were a key issue presented at a Houston rally hosted by RickScarborough, former pastor of Pearland's First Baptist Church and founder ofNacogdoches-based Vision America, and Alan Keyes, a conservative Republicanand former presidential candidate.

more....



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

[euro-queer] Malta: Anti-discrimination journalist awarded

Times of Malta
Wednesday, September 5, 2007

< Anti-discrimination journalist awarded >
Julia Farrugia, the local winner of the EU's anti-discrimination journalistaward 2006, was honoured by Joanna Drake, head of the European CommissionRepresentation in Malta and the award jury.

Ms Farrugia's article Till Death Do Us Part was published in the newspaperIllum and deals with the topic of trans-sexuality. The jury selected herarticle to be the Maltese winner as she opened a proverbial door for thistopic in the media. It will now be published in a book with other Europeanwinning articles.

For the fourth time this year, the award will honour journalists who,through their writing, create a better understanding of the benefits ofdiversity and encourage readers to fight discrimination.

It has become a fixture of the EU's wider campaign against discriminationand participant numbers have been increasing every year, with a recordnumber of over 700 entries received last year.

Journalists writing about issues of diversity and discrimination have untilSeptember 30 to submit their work and be in with the chance of winning theEU Journalist Award 2007 and prizes.

The winner and the two runners-up, as well as the winner of the specialaward, will receive a grant for a research trip to an EU country of theirchoice, total value of prizes being €12,000. In addition, the winnerswill be invited to the awards' ceremony held in Brussels in December. Formore details on the award and to submit articles, visit http://journalistaward.stop-discrimination.info.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

From American Family Association
Don Wildmon

Ford sales collapse again - Boycott a driving force
Simply put, people are not buying Fords.

Ford Motor Company continues to suffer monthly sales losses because of itssupport of homosexuality.

For August, Ford reported a 14.4% drop in sales over the same month lastyear.

Rather than taking a neutral position in the culture war, Ford uses itsprofits to support gay activist groups, whose top agenda is to pushpro-homosexual marriage and "gay" hate crimes laws on the rest of thenation.

While other automakers are at least holding their own (GM sales actuallywent up in August), Ford continues to suffer huge sales losses month aftermonth.

It's obvious by now that homosexuals don't have enough purchasing power tokeep the Ford ship afloat.



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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org

http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=66&id=16326

Congressional Subcommittee Hears Testimony on the EmploymentNon-Discrimination Act

09.06.07
By R. Prest

The Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions of the U.S. Houseof Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor heard testimonyyesterday in support of H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.ENDA would ban workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgender employees.

Witnesses included Nancy Kramer, founder and CEO of Resource Interactive,based in Columbus, Ohio; Officer Michael P. Carney, a Massachusetts policeofficer, and Brooke Waits, a Texas cell phone company employee, bothterminated because anti-gay job discrimination; Professor Lee Badgett of theUniversity of California-Los Angeles Williams Institute; Professor HelenNorton of the University of Colorado School of Law; and Kelly Baker,VP/diversity at General Mills. Joe Solmonese, president of the Human RightsCampaign, also submitted written testimony to the subcommittee.

"It is time for a federal law that would make it illegal to fire a GLBTperson just because of who they are," Solmonese said in a press release."ENDA will bring the value of meritocracy to a community that has had to dowithout it for too long."

ENDA is sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH),Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Rep. Christopher Shays (R-CT). It iscurrently legal to fire workers on the basis of their sexual orientation in31 states and on the basis of gender identity and expression in 39 states.Corporate America has already taken significant steps toward this goal, withalmost 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies now including sexual orientationin their non-discrimination policies.

Carney and Waits, the two fired workers, were expected to talk about theirpersonal experiences with anti-gay discrimination in the workplace.Professor Badgett was expected to discuss the statistics surroundingworkplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and genderidentity. Professor Norton was scheduled to cover the legal aspects of thelegislation, and Baker was to describe how General Mills'anti-discrimination policy has contributed to its corporate success. Kramerwas expected to discuss how her small business's inclusive policies havestrengthened its ability to compete.

"Passing ENDA will not create a burden on businesses, large or small,"Kramer said in a release. "Instead, it will ensure that hardworking GLBTAmericans can earn a living, provide for their families, and contribute tothe innovation and creativity that makes American business great."

"One's sexual orientation or gender identity simply must not bar a personfrom the opportunity to achieve his or her potential, to support her family,or to contribute to his or her community," Solmonese added. "Civil rightslaws have improved job opportunity for millions of Americans, raisingstandards of living and providing hope of a better future for eachsuccessive generation. ENDA will bring the GLBT community, at last, underthe protection of federal civil rights law. The time has come to pass it."

To read Solmonese's complete testimony submitted to Congress, visit:
www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/7376.htm.

Source: Human Rights Campaign



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Interview with Kamran & kaveh; Iranian gay couple

By Arsham Parsi
Translated by Solmaz
Edited by Ava

Can you introduce yourself?

My name is Kamran, I am 24 years old .Kaveh, my partner, is 25 years old andwe have been together about 3 years.

What is the problem of an Iranian homosexual?

Kaveh: The first is that we cannot discuss any of our problems. We have aproblem with the government due to our sexual orientation; the Islamicgovernment does not accept us and we are condemned to hanging and stoning.In comparison the rest of the problems are minor.

How do you describe life as a homosexual in Iran?

Kamran: Very easy; one cannot work, cannot have fun, and cannot go out. Youcannot go out with your partner because everybody will look at you as if youare abnormal. The way we are looked at is a source of torment for us. Eventhough physically we are not any different from them they discriminate against us. This makes our lives extremely difficult. I don't think there is anyproblem greater than being labeled abnormal in society when you are certainnothing is wrong with you. If someone abuses you, you cannot issue a complaint to any organization or report to the police, because you'll create more problems for yourself.

What are the family problems faced by homosexuals?

for full story in English, go to: www.irqo.net/IRQO/English/pages/090.htm


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Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people at risk in Nicaragua

August 28

In spite of positive initiatives across the Americas, Nicaragua continues tocriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.

Although to Amnesty International's knowledge no one has to date beenprosecuted under Article 204 of the Nicaraguan Penal Code, it potentiallycriminalizes not only gay men, lesbians and bisexual people in same-sexrelationships, but is vague enough to permit the prosecution of individualsfor activities such as campaigning for LGBT rights or anyone providingsexual health information or services. Anyone imprisoned under this lawwould be considered by Amnesty International to be a prisoner of conscience.

"Anyone who induces, promotes, propagandizes or practices in scandalousform sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex commits the crime ofsodomy and shall incur 1 to 3 years' imprisonment". Article 204

Amnesty International considers the use of "sodomy" laws to imprisonindividuals for same-sex relations in private is a grave violation of humanrights. Article 204 contradicts numerous provisions in international humanrights law. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR), to which Nicaragua acceded without reservations in 1980, protectsthe rights to freedom of expression (article 19), freedom from arbitraryinterference with the right to privacy (article 17) and freedom ofconscience (article 18).



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Truth Wins Out
by Wayne Besen
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007

TRUTH WINS OUT RESPONDS TO THE SEXUAL ASSAULT CONVICTION OF 'EX-GAY' LEADERCHRISTOPHER AUSTIN

'Ex-Gay' Therapy Is Dangerous And Puts Vulnerable People At Risk, Says TruthWins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen

NEW YORK - Truth Wins Out expressed relief today that Christopher Austin, an'ex-gay' counselor in Irving, Texas, was convicted of sexually assaulting aclient. Austin was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but received seven yearsprobation, had to register as a sex offender and was ordered to pay a $2,500fine. After years of reported abuse - including several alleged victims whotestified at the trial - it is welcome news that Austin has finally been putout of business, says TWO.

"We are deeply gratified that this 'ex-gay' predator is no longer in thecounseling business, where he exploited his position of authority tosexually abuse vulnerable clients," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director ofTruth Wins Out. "Ex-gay therapy is extremely dangerous and places confusedclients in the hands of repressed therapists. It is a recipe for disaster."

According to the 283rd Criminal District Court, a jury convicted Austin of aSecond Degree felony. Court documents said that the ex-gay leader,"unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly caused penetration of [pseudonymStephen Trask]."

Austin had started Renew Ministries, a counseling center run out of a churchin Irving. He was affiliated with the National Association For Research andTherapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). Indeed, Austin taught a seminar at NARTH's2004 annual convention entitled, "Understanding and Treating CompulsiveSexual Behavior in Men with Value-Incongruent Homosexual Issues: AMultidimensional Approach."

Austin spoke of the "devastating spiritual effects homosexuality has on aman's heart." However, he failed to take his own advice when he once wrote,"Before addressing the brokenness in others, we must defeat all theresponses of our own flesh."

"As we have seen with Christopher Austin, Mark Foley and Larry Craig, gaypeople who do not learn to accept themselves act out in unhealthy ways,"said Besen. "I hope Austin can use this experience to come out and havehealthy gay relationships, so he won't have to exploit other people."

Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wingpropaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.



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Truth Wins Out

by Wayne Besen

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007

Contact: Wayne Besen
Phone: 917-691-5118
E-Mail: wbesen@truthwinsout.org
Web: www.TruthWinsOut.org

TRUTH WINS OUT CALLS FOR THE RESIGNATION OF PFOX EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REGINAGRIGGS AFTER GROUP FABRICATES HATE CRIME

The Depraved Actions of Griggs Are Sickening And Unconscionable, Says TruthWins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen

LOS ANGELES - Truth Wins Out called on PFOX Executive Director Regina Griggsto resign today for faking a hate crime incident at a the Arlington CountyFair in Virginia. Griggs claimed that a gay activist at the PFOX boothphysically attacked an "ex-gay" volunteer. She said that police intervenedand ejected the assailant from the event. Ex-Gay Watch editor David Robertsinvestigated her claims and found that Griggs' story appears to be acomplete fabrication.

"Once we started checking with people who would know, the evidence wasoverwhelming that it could not have happened the way they claimed," saidDavid Roberts, Editor of Ex- Gay Watch. "Fair officials, the police,eyewitnesses - they all report that no physical attack took place, policewere not involved, and no one was escorted off the property. PFOX claimedall those things, and Focus on the Family and other Christian media repeatedthe claims."

"Regina Griggs has lost all credibility and must resign in shame for herdishonest behavior," said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out."What PFOX did was warped, twisted and an insult to real hate crimevictims."

On Aug. 28, PFOX sent out a press release with the headline, "Gays AssaultEx-Gays At County Fair." According to the release:

"As happens every year, gay activists disrupted our booth activities. Theyscreamed obscenities, threw our materials from the exhibit table to theground, insisted we recognize their same-sex 'spouses,' demanded that PFOXleave, and hit a PFOX volunteer because he is ex-gay."

The Ex-Gay Watch investigation revealed that a slight disagreement occurredbetween a woman and a male PFOX representative. However, Roberts contactedJackie Abrams, Vice Chair of the Arlington County Fair. Abrams said that nophysical altercation occurred, police were never called and no one wasejected from the fairgrounds. According to Roberts, "she was emphatic andcertain."

"I was in radio contact with the other board members during the Fair, anddefinitely would have known if the police had been summoned. It did nothappen," Abrams told Roberts.

Following Griggs' bogus account of the supposed hate crime, PFOX imploredits members to give money. "...our brochures and flyers cost money toprint. We also have to pay for exhibit fees and travel. If you would like tohelp with costs, please make a tax deductible donation."

"The entire notion of ex-gay is a big lie, so I can imagine it is not adifficult leap to take it to the next level and completely manufacture afraudulent story for political and financial gain," added Besen. "Thepolice, Arlington County Fair officials and eyewitnesses refute Griggs'story. She has a lot of explaining to do if she wants to save her reputationand keep her job."

Truth Wins OUT is a non-profit organization that counters right wingpropaganda, exposes the "ex-gay" myth and educates America about gay life.
For more information, visit www.TruthWinsOut.org.



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Link to Tokyo Pride pictures:

http://wockner.blogspot.com/2007/08/5000-at-tokyo-pride.html



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