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Iran treats its Arab minority as second-class citizens. Now it is planningto hang six of them after rigged trials held in secret.
By Peter Tatchell
The Guardian - London, UK - Comment Is Free - 26 October 2007
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2007/10/irans_antiarab_racism.html
President George W Bush justifies his imposition of sanctions against Iranon the grounds that Tehran supports the insurgency in Iraq and is seekingnuclear weapons. Not a word from Washington about the way the Iranian regimeis abusing the human rights of its own people. Bush doesn't care about theirfate. In this sense, he mirrors the Iranian state.
The charge sheet against Tehran includes the probably true allegation thatit is supplying Iraqi insurgents with weapons that are being used to kill USsoldiers. But it doesn't include any mention of Tehran's murder of its owncitizens. Surprise. Surprise.
US policy on Iran is dictated primarily by selfish geo-political interests.Concern about terrorism and nuclear weapons are, in part, a populist cover.They disguise a secret neo-imperial agenda. Washington's real goal is toextend its sphere of influence, remove a non-compliant regime and guaranteeits access to already diminishing global oil supplies (of which Iran holdsabout 10% of the world's known reserves).
The latest human rights abuses by Tehran are the secret, rigged trials andthe imminent execution of six more ethnic Arab Iranians (Ahwazi Arabs) inAhwaz, the provincial capital of Khuzestan in south-western Iran - homelandto five million Arabs.
the news of their impending executions has been smuggled out of Iran by themen's families and is corroborated the Federation for Human Rights (FIDH),Amnesty International, the Human Rights & Democracy Activists group and bythe inadvertent admissions of Khuzestan's prosecutor, Musa Pirbani.
more.....
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The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/26/AR2007102601931.html
Political Tide Turning
Religious Americans Have Long Voted Republican, but Issues Such as the IraqWar, Gay Marriage and the Environment Are Forcing Them to Reconsider in '08
By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 27, 2007; B09
E xperts watching the 2008 presidential election say they see ferment in asegment of the population that has long been more likely to vote Republican:religious Americans.
Since the 1980s, white Americans who attend regular worship services anddescribe themselves as religious have been much more likely to say in pollsthat they are Republican than Democrat or independent. Even among minoritygroups that vote heavily Democratic -- Jews, blacks, Latinos -- the morereligious people are, the more likely they are to vote Republican.
But early data suggest that some of the religious vote is up for grabs nextyear. While exit polls showed that 82 percent of white evangelicalProtestants who attend church weekly voted for President Bush in 2004, only60 percent of the same group said they expected to vote GOP in 2008,according to a Pew Research Center survey released this year. Amongweekly-attending white Catholics, the percentage dropped from 61 percent to38 percent; among weekly-attending white mainline Protestants, from 57percent to 36 percent.
Pollsters and political scientists say some religious voters who supportedBush now feel discouraged, either by the war in Iraq, or by the rich-poorgap, or because they feel he didn't go far enough on the hot-button socialissues they cared about, such as abortion and gay marriage. And new issueshave risen in importance for religious voters that are not seen as GOPpriorities, such as the environment.
Concern about the ferment was apparent last weekend in Washington, wherethousands of Christian conservatives were being courted by GOP candidates ata conference of the Family Research Council. Christian leaders have lamentedrecently that none of the GOP candidates seems able to enthuse theirconstituents.
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-gay-straight-alliance,0,5673310.story
Court Allows Anti-Harass Training Suit
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press Writer
7:53 PM EDT, October 26, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky.
A high school student can pursue nominal damages from an eastern Kentuckyschool district over its required anti-harassment training, an appeals courtruled Friday.
The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that the Boyd County schooldistrict's policy provided a "chill" on student Timothy Allen Morrison'sability to profess his Christian beliefs and opposition to homosexuality.The ruling sends the case back to U.S. District Judge David Bunning for ahearing on damages.
Judge Karen Nelson Moore, joined by Judge John R. Adams, wrote that theallegation of a policy stifling free speech is enough to allow Morrison toseek damages. To make his case, the judges said, Morrison must show that thepolicy would "deter a person of ordinary firmness" from exercising freespeech rights.
Joel Oster, an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a Scottsdale, Ariz.,Christian law group that represented Morrison, said the ruling has left him"ecstatic."
"It's everything we could have hoped for," Oster said. "This vindicates ourclient's constitutional rights."
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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=14966
Rumors swirl over fate of ENDA amendment
Pelosi, Baldwin mum on reports that freshman Dems kill trans measure
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Oct 26, 4:21 PM
The offices of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and gay Rep.Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) declined to comment today on a press report thatHouse Democrats have decided not allow Baldwin to introduce an amendment torestore transgender protection to the Employment Non-Discrimination Act(ENDA).
the Hill, a daily newspaper that covers Congress, reported on Thursday thatfirst-term Democratic members of the House urged Pelosi not to bring up theBaldwin amendment because it would hurt their re-election efforts next year.
"House Education and Labor panel Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), whosecommittee passed ENDA, said he told the freshman lawmakers at theirWednesday breakfast with Pelosi that the amendment did not have the votes topass and would not be brought to the House floor," the Hill reported.
The report came two days after House Democratic leaders postponed a votethis week on ENDA, saying they needed more time to assess the support forthe Baldwin amendment.
The newspaper, considered an authoritative source on the inner workings ofCongress, reported that Reps. Ron Klein (D-Fla.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.)delivered a message to Pelosi on behalf of their fellow freshmen Democratsthat the first-term House members did not want to vote on a transgenderamendment.
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NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15654565
Song Links Saggy Pants to Being Gay
October 27, 2007
Mel Evans
A new campaign links saggy pants with homosexuality. AP
The Bryant Park Project, October 26, 2007 · A new campaign by the city ofDallas targets the hip-hop style of wearing your pants low enough that yourboxers are showin - and part of your posterior, too.
The campaign has a signature song, "Pull Your Pants Up," by Dooney Da'Priest, that links so-called saggin' with being gay. After the BPP bloggedNPR's original report on the public service announcement, listeners objectedto lyrics they
Andrew Jones commented on a line about living "on the down low" - commonslang for a man who has secret sexual encounters with other men.''It's cutewhen homophobia is part of a citywide campaign," Jones wrote. "Shaming theyouth by calling them gay, love that from the government."
An accompanying billboard says it's rude to be "walking around showin' yourbehind to other dudes." The song's refrain is "Be a real man - pull yourpants up."
In an interview with a local television station, Dooney explained thatsaggin' comes from jail, where he argued that showing your boxers has a veryparticular meaning. "You're letting another man know that you're available,"Dooney said.
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365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/102607nz.htm
New Zealand Civil Unions Reach Milestone
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: October 26, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(Wellington) New Zealand has reached its 1000th civil union a governmentagency has revealed.
The civil union law went into effect in April 2005.
To obtain a license, partners must be at least 18, not related, andcohabitating. Civil unions are available to same-sex couples andopposite-sex couples who do not want to marry.
Four in five civil unions have been between same-sex couples.
Lesbians Alburta Gibson and Tina Pitman became the 1000th couple to takeadvantage of the law. The South Auckland couple met 6 years ago.
more . . . . . .
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365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/102607craig.htm
Craig To Make Constitutional Argument
by The Associated Press
Posted: October 26, 2007 - 5:00 pm ET
(St. Paul, Minnesota) Idaho Sen. Larry Craig will argue before an appealscourt that Minnesota's disorderly conduct law is unconstitutional as itapplies to his conviction in a bathroom sex sting, according to a new courtfiling.
This is the first time Craig's attorneys have raised that issue. However, anearlier friend-of-the-court filing by the American Civil Liberties Unionargued that Craig's foot-tapping and hand gesture under a stall divider atthe Minneapolis airport are protected by the First Amendment.
Craig has been trying to withdraw his August guilty plea disorderly conduct.A judge turned him down earlier this month, and now Craig is taking hisrequest to the state Court of Appeals. The Republican at one point said hewould resign but now says he will finish his term, which ends in January2009.
Craig's legal arguments are previewed in a "statement of the case" filedlate Thursday. In addition to the constitutional argument, it says the judgeerred by not allowing Craig to withdraw his plea, and that the judge whosentenced Craig to a fine and probation never signed anything saying heaccepted the guilty plea.
Craig was arrested in June by an undercover police officer who said thesenator moved his foot next to the officer's foot and tapped it in a waythat indicated he wanted sex. He was also accused of sending a signal byswiping his hand under the divider between the stalls. Craig said theofficer misconstrued those motions.
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365Gay.Com
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon07/10/102607phelps.htm
Man Testifies Phelps Anti-Gay Military Protest Made Him Physically Sick
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: October 26, 2007 - 3:00 pm ET
(Baltimore, Maryland) In what is believed to be the first civil lawsuitagainst the Rev. Fred Phelps' church over an anti-gay protest at the funeralof someone from the military killed in Iraq, the father of the dead Marinesaid the demonstration made him sick to his stomach and gave him nightmares.
Albert Snyder is suing Phelps and his Topeka, Kan.-based church after churchmembers demonstrated at the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder last yearin Maryland, and then posted pictures of the protest on their Web site.
Cpl. Snyder was killed in March, 2006.
Snyder's lawsuit alleges church members violated the family's right toprivacy and defamed the Marine and his family at the funeral and on thechurch's Web site.
"They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt myfamily," Albert Snyder testified.
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To Form a More Perfect Union: Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
The Iowa Catholic Conference's governing board issued a statement Fridaysupporting the passage of an amendment to the Iowa Constitution denotingmarriage as a union only between a man and a woman as a way to preserve akey societal building block. ....... Also Friday, a separate coalitionof clergy announced plans to hold a rally/prayer vigil expected to drawseveral hundred people from around Iowa to a Des Moines church in support ofa marriage amendment and to address issues organizers believe will underminemarriage and silence the church. ...... The focus of the event, she said,will be the ramifications of a recent Polk County court decision that struckdown a state law and legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa. The rulingcurrently is under a stay order pending an appeal before the Iowa SupremeCourt.
--
Massachutts: What's a gay activist to do after winning marriage equality?That's the question leaders of Mass Equality have put to their members,soliciting input on strategic direction for the organization now that gaysin the Bay State can marry each other legally and are protected from jobdiscrimination. Activists in other parts of the world, including England andCanada, are facing the same dilemma. Massachusetts is the only state tolegalize same-sex marriage, but it's also legal in Belgium, Spain, theNetherlands, Canada and South Africa. The United Kingdom has civilpartnerships that grant all the rights of marriage. Marc Solomon, executivedirector of Mass Equality, said his organization has received thousands ofresponses to a survey it posted to its web site two weeks ago, but he hasnot had a chance to go through them yet.
--
The General Counsel for the for the American Jewish Congress, Marc D. Sternwarns of the "The granddaddy of all battles", the coming fight for taxexamptions for those who hold to orthodox positions concerning humansexuality and marriage. The debate over the rights of homosexuals willimpact religious organizations far beyond the issue of same-sex marriage, alawyer specializing in church-state issues said Oct. 24. Marc D. Stern,general counsel for the American Jewish Congress, gave the closing talk at adaylong briefing in New York on the views of various religious traditionsabout homosexuality. "The granddaddy of all battles will be fought over taxexemptions," Stern said. He cited a case in which a religious organizationthat rented out its gazebo for weddings refused to rent it for a same-sexmarriage and as a result had its property tax exemption suspended. The caseremains under appeal, Stern said.
--
AUSTRALIA's first Jewish same-sex commitment ceremony is likely to be heldin Sydney over the summer months, after Progressive rabbis this week agreedon a format for such unions. Approaches to same-sex commitment, the role ofnon-Jewish partners and the ethics surrounding the climate-change debatewere some of the topics discussed at the Union for Progressive Judaism's(UPJ's) biennial conference in Hobart this week.At a meeting of the Councilof Progressive Rabbis of Australia, New Zealand and Asia (Moetzah), heldafter the four-day conference, UPJ rabbis adopted a British model forconducting same-gender commitment ceremonies. Moetzah chair Rabbi JeffreyKamins told The AJN that a set of guidelines from Rabbi Mark Solomon, aformer Australian now with the British Liberal Judaism movement, has beenadopted. The English model was adopted because it makes a clear distinctionbetween a commitment ceremony and a marriage ceremony, he said.
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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/
Go to the website, above, for the following articles:
--
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's campaign held a hurriedly puttogether conference call Thursday night with gay and lesbian leaders inSouth Carolina to discuss the candidate's gospel tour, which includes asinger who says homosexuality is a choice. Obama campaign spokesman KevinGriffis refused to talk about what was discussed on the call with SteveHildebrand, Obama's early voting state strategist, and Joshua DuBois, whoruns faith programs for the campaign.
--
A federal appeals court today agreed with the American Civil LibertiesUnion, ruling that a school policy designed to protect lesbian, gay,bisexual, and transgender students from harassment went too far insquelching the right of some religious students to express their views onhomosexuality. "The court understood what we've been saying all along - thatyou don't have to violate anyone's First Amendment rights to protect gay andlesbian students from being harassed at school," said Sharon McGowan, astaff attorney with the ACLU's national Lesbian Gay Bisexual TransgenderProject. "Respecting students' rights to express their religious views aboutgay people and keeping gay students safe at school aren't mutuallyexclusive, and schools can and should do both."
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Scientists have genetically tweaked the brains of worms to get females toseek out other females for mating in experiments that have bolstered theevidence for a biological basis for sexual preferences. US biologistsselectively turned on a gene associated with maleness in the brains offemale worms and found that these altered worms were attracted to the samesex. The findings were published yesterday in the journal Current Biology.
--
Maine: Many people know that GLBT translates to gay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgendered people. A new organization is adding an "A" to the end of thatto stand for allies - straight people who support the GLBT community.
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When the wnba's newest team opens its season next May in Philips Arena, youcan bet the crowd will include a strong showing by lesbian fans, eager tohave a professional franchise to call their own. The public effort earlierthis year to land the expansion team in Atlanta included gay and lesbianvolunteers, scores of lesbians who pledged to buy season tickets, and eventsdesigned to rally the area's gay market. With the official announcement Oct.17 that Atlanta will add another team to its roster of professional sportsofferings, lesbian fans are now anxiously awaiting the opening tip nextseason.
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Florida: The city of Opa-locka has passed a ban on wearing sagging pants oncity property. On Wednesday, the city commission adopted a law that wouldprohibit pants worn below the waistline.Commissioner Timothy Holmes said hesponsored the ordinance because he did not want the city's youth to weartheir pants too low.
"It's not nice," he said. "It's not respectable."
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The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/27/us/27georgia.html
Georgia Court Frees Man Convicted in Sex Case
By BRENDA GOODMAN
October 27, 2007
ATLANTA, Oct. 26 - After more than two years in prison for having consensualoral sex with a fellow teenager, Genarlow Wilson shook the hand of a wardenFriday at the Al Burruss Correctional Training Center in Forsyth, Ga., andsmiled shyly as he walked into the arms of his waiting mother and youngsister.
Mr. Wilson's mother had skipped up to the prison door to wait for him.
"I ran around inside the house 20 times," said Juanessa Bennett, his mother,describing her reaction to hearing that her son would be set free.
Mr. Wilson, who is now 21, was released just hours after the Georgia SupremeCourt ended his 10-year prison sentence. The court said the sentence for theact, which was considered a felony at the time, violated the Constitution'sprotection against cruel and unusual punishment.
In a 4-to-3 ruling, the court's majority said the sentence was "grossly disproportionate" to the crime, which "did not rise to the level ofculpability of adults who prey on children."
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-forum27bullynboct27,0,5458284.story
Combat bullying with more school initiatives
October 27, 2007
By Meline Kevorkian and Robin D'Antona
The recent tragedy at a Cleveland high school has once again brought theissues of school violence, bullying and school safety to the minds ofeducators, parents and community leaders.
Schools have been actively developing policies and practices to reduceviolence, but there's a need for more initiatives, especially in ourschools. Researchers have, in fact, linked bullying prevention to schoolsafety and student achievement. More than 90 percent of educators surveyedworldwide at various size schools ranging from elementary through highschool linked bullying to school violence.
Bullying is not just a negative or hostile exchange between one or moreindividuals of unequal power. It is about how children and adults interact.Bullying is about a culture that allows and encourages this behavior.Investigators believe bullying may have played a role in the recentCleveland incident.
Bullies operate in various environments. They are not only found in theclassroom and the playground, but also on athletic fields, board rooms andeven in cyberspace. In the past eight years, bullying prevention and theconnection to school safety was brought into the center of a nationaldialogue.
With national focus and new laws introduced in many states, we now haveexperts offering opinions on how to deal with this problem. There are manyprograms being offered; some offer excellent solutions and others fall shortof their goals. The challenge is being able to tell the difference betweenwhat works and what is just a temporary fix.
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Forwarded from EuroQueer
You can find an overview of the second day of the ILGA-Europe's annualConference in Vilnius on our website: www.ilga-europe.org
You will also find pictures from various conference events:
http://www.ilga-europe.org/europe/news/images_from_our_conference_in_vilnius
Juris Lavrikovs
Communications Officer
ILGA-Europe
from Vilnius
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
CNETNews.com
October 24, 2007 2:32 PM PDT
http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9803929-38.html
Appeals court overturns law targeting 'sexually explicit' photos
Posted by Declan McCullagh
A federal appeals court has struck down, on First Amendment grounds, along-standing requirement forcing people who produce "sexually explicit"images to keep detailed records about their operations.
The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday (click for PDF: http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/07a0430p-06.pdf) that the "2257"record-keeping requirements--which bedeviled the adult industry because theyapply even to Web sites that "reproduce" sexually explicit material--areoverly broad and violate Americans' free-speech rights.
Tuesday's ruling is a remarkable win for adult publishers, not just becauseof the weighty nature of the regulations but also because the lawsuit hasbeen going on for so long. The case was originally filed in September 1995,and this is likely going to be the last word unless the U.S. Supreme Courtgets involved.
Although the Justice Department tried to downplay the impact of therecord-keeping rules, the court reasonably noted that the regulations applyeven to couples taking erotic photos for their own private use. Uploadingthem to the Web is regulated as well, of course.
"This reach is extremely broad, and the most commonsense limitation, forwhich the statute and regulations provide some support, would be to limitthe statute's reach to photographs taken for a commercial purpose, that is,photographs taken for the purpose of sale," the 6th Circuit said. But, thejudges added, "the plain text and definitions of the terms used admit...nocommercial limitation on who will be considered producers."
Translation: an adult couple taking a single erotic photo of themselves witha digital camera in their own bedroom is required to (a) inspect their owngovernment-issued photo identification; (b) ascertain that they're at least18 years old; (c) photocopy their own IDs; (d) photocopy the erotic image;(e) file this information in physical form; (g) display the date and astreet address "prominently" in their files; (g) open these files to agentsof the Justice Department without advance notice.
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
[euro-queer] Sweden: Gay marriage and defence in focus at Moderate
conference
Gay marriage and defence in focus at Moderate conference
Published: 25th October 2007 08:32 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/8894/
Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderate Party starts its annual conference on Thursdaywith a mountain to climb if it is to recover the poll rating it enjoyed whenit was elected just over a year ago.
A poll by Sifo earlier this month gave the four-party government its lowestrating since the election, trailing the opposition by 11 percent.
But the message from the party leadership is that the party's move towardsthe centre-ground of Swedish politics will not be reversed.
One of the key issues to be voted on at the conference is a proposal toallow gay marriage - something the leadership is keen to push through. If,as seems likely, the conference adopts the motion, the Christian Democratswill be the only party not to support a gender-neutral marriage law.
Supporting gay marriage would also serve to complete the Moderates'transformation from a traditional conservative party to a more centristorganization, but it is a big step for traditional-minded members.
Anti-gay marriage supporters, drawn mainly from the Catholic and evangelical churches, have this week taken out adverts to urge politicians to reject theproposal. Among those involved in the group is Anna-Maria Corazza Bildt,wife of Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. While most ministers have expressedsupport, former prime minister Bildt has refused to state his position onthe issue.
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
[euro-queer] 'I was forced to flee Iran' - Xtra Vancouver
'I was forced to flee Iran' - Xtra Vancouver
INTERNATIONAL VIEWS / Iranian gays do exist and need the world's supportArsham Parsi / Xtra West / Thursday, October 25, 2007
http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx?AFF_TYPE=4
&STORY_ID=3795&PUB_TEMPLATE_ID=2
I was born in September 1980, in Iran. As a teenager growing up in Shiraz, Iwas lonely and filled with self-loathing. I had never met another queer, andI thought I was a freak.
I prayed to become a good person, a normal person. Other people fasted forone month, but I fasted for three.
Then I found the internet. And I discovered that I was not alone.
After that, I started to understand who I am and come to terms with mysexual identity. I began to do advocacy work for the queer community inIran, but my work earned me the attention of the Iranian authorities and Iwas forced to flee Iran on Mar 4, 2005.
It was 12:45 pm. I have never forgotten that time. I had to leave all my ownthings in my motherland and go into exile. It was intolerable.
My train took me to Turkey, where I was able to register as a refugee at theoffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ankara. I hadstopped praying by then.
When I fled to Turkey, I promised my God that I would continue my supportfor Iranian queers and that would be my form of worship.
Three months after arriving in Turkey, my case was accepted, and two monthslater I was invited to Canadian Embassy in Ankara. Eight months later, hereI am in Canada.
Homophobia runs deep into Iranian society. This, of course, partly reflectsthe influence of the conservative Islamic legal and religious standardspromoted by the government. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini notoriously calledfor homosexuals to be extirpated as "parasites and corruptors of the nation"who "spread the stain of wickedness."
It also reflects a patriarchal social system in which sexuality iscontrolled and feared, except when at the service of reproduction.
more.....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7063132.stm
Lithuanian mayor bans gay rally
By Mathew Charles
BBC News, Vilnius
An annual gay rights conference in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, wasattacked with smoke bombs, after a rally in the city was banned.
Over 200 gays, lesbians and transsexuals attended the meeting.
Delegates inside a local bar found it difficult to breathe after the smokebombs were thrown, but had to stay inside because of safety concerns.
The event was to be part of a week of events organised by ILGA Europe, a gayrights group based in Brussels.
A press officer for Mayor Juozas Imbrasas told the BBC the public gatheringhad been banned because of what she said were "safety concerns" due tobuilding works.
ILGA Europe rejected the mayor's decision saying no alternative site hadbeen offered to them and described the ruling as appalling.
Executive Director Patricia Prendiville said "It is a positive duty of thecity authorities to offer an alternative venue to the applicant and they didnot do that.
"There is no doubt that the City of Vilnius used the construction works as acover. "
more....
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Donald E. Wildmon
Founder & Chairman - American Family Association
Ford reaffirms commitment to homosexual groups
Ford says more "gay" support could be forthcoming
In an interview with The Advocate (Nov. 2007 issue), America's largesthomosexual magazine, Ford states more gay-specific ads are a distinctpossibility.
In reaffirming its commitment to advancing homosexuality, Ford spokesman JimCain said, "We haven't ruled out the possibility of doing more targeted (gayspecific) ads."
The comment came in a four-page article entitled, "Driving the Gay Market,"summarizing Ford's past and current advertising practices in gay and lesbianpublications.
Providing evidence of their continued commitment to the homosexual agenda,Ford placed a full-page ad in the November 2007 issue of OUT promoting itsnew Volvo C30 automobile. OUT is the nation's second largest homosexualmagazine.
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Thursday 10.25.07
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/freshman-democrats-kill-transgender-amendment-2007-10-25.html
Reps. Tim Walz (Minn.) and Ron Klein (Fla.), leaders of the class offreshman Democrats, carried a message to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) onTuesday that their fellow first-term lawmakers did not want to vote on anamendment extending civil rights to transgender employees.
House Education and Labor panel Chairman George Miller (D-Calif.), whosecommittee passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, said he told thefreshman lawmakers at their Wednesday breakfast with Pelosi that theamendment did not have the votes to pass and would not be brought to theHouse floor.
In addition, Miller told the freshmen he recognized that the amendmentexposed the first-term lawmakers to political attacks from conservatives andliberals alike, said two sources who attended the breakfast.
Democratic leaders are wrestling with when and how to bring the EmploymentNon-Discrimination Act, which would ban discrimination in the workplacebased on sexual orientation. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) had introduced anamendment extending the civil rights protections to transgender workers.Such language was included in the initial bill until Democratic membersconvinced House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.)to pull it.
Frank approves the transgender language but maintains it lacks the votes topass.
"People didn't want to force a 'hard' vote that might hurt their electionchances," Hilary Rosen, a Democratic lobbyist and gay and lesbian advocate,wrote on the Huffington Post, a liberal blog.
Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget said on Wednesday in itsStatement of Administration Policy that President Bush's senior adviserswould recommend he veto the bill on the grounds that it is unconstitutionaland restricts religious liberty.
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[Send your comments about articles to rays.list@comcast.net]
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