GLBT DIGEST March 25, 2008

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-'Boys Don't Cry' Director Turns Her Lens on What It Means to Be a SoldierLOS ANGELES -- Don't try to tell director Kim Peirce that her new movie"Stop-Loss" is about the Iraq war. "It's not," she says. Case closed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032403252.html


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Washington Post
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Fox Refuses To Pay FCC Indecency Fine
In an unusually aggressive step, Fox Broadcasting yesterday refused to pay a$91,000 indecency fine levied by the Federal Communications Commission foran episode of a long-canceled reality television show, even as the networkfights two other indecency fines in the Supreme Court.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402969.html?hpid=moreheadlines


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Steve Rothaus
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/columnists/steve_rothaus/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Army allows gay Palestinian to reunite with Israeli lover
Young Jenin man seeking to move to Israel to live with Tel Avivian partnergranted special permit by IDF after claiming his life at risk in PA
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/


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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Social worker says he will oppose Sally Kern in fall elections
Says extremists share Kern's views
A 59-year-old social worker says he plans to run against an Oklahomalawmaker whose anti-gay remarks have provoked calls for her resignation.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=17325


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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Clinton Steps Back From Sniper Fire Claim
(Washington) Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign said she "misspoke" last weekwhen saying she had landed under sniper fire during a trip to Bosnia asfirst lady in March 1996.

-Obama Seduced By A Virgin
(Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands) Democratic presidential candidate Sen.Barack Obama is spending some down time in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

-Group Behind Ban On Gay Adoptions Begs For Cash
(Little Rock, Arkansas) An umbrella group of social conservatives trying togather enough signatures to force a referendum that could ban couples whoare not married from adopting children in Arkansas has launched a desperateappeal for money.

-NY Rangers Accused Of Not Doing Enough To Silence Homophobic Fans
(New York City) Gay New York hockey fans are pressing the Rangers for ameeting over what is described as repeated homophobic outbursts by fansattending games at Madison Square Garden.

-National Conference To Address Gay Black Concerns
(Washington) Hundreds of LGBT African Americans will meet in Baltimore nextmonth in the first ever conference aimed at empowerment.

-Ala. Inmates With HIV Barred From Work
(Montgomery, Alabama) Prison inmate Kathryn Canty seems like a primecandidate for work release: good behavior, less than three years left toserve, and an accounting degree along with vocational training.

-Landlord Shutters Nepal AIDS Hospice
(Katmandu) Katmandu's only hospice for gay men with HIV/AIDS has closedafter neighbors mounted a campaign against its landlord for allowing thehospice to open in the area.

-Company Cancels Domestic Partner Health Insurance For 9/11 Survivor
(Boise, Idaho) Robert Ryan was one of the lucky ones, escaping the WorldTrade Center on 9/11 with his life. But he continues to suffer from mentaland physical problems that require regular medical care and expensivemedications.

-Murder Suicide Rocks Palm Beach Gay Community
(West Palm Beach, Florida) The deaths of a popular gay bar owner and hisboyfriend have been determined to be a murder suicide according to police inWest Palm Beach.


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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Austin: Anti-Gay Comments Cost Police Commander His Job
A veteran police commander has been suspended for 20 days for demonstrating"personal bias" toward gay officers and a second commander who did notreport the remark and then refused to take a suspension for it has beenfired.

-EarthThunder: Medicine Woman Working For Our Planet
By Patricia Nell Warren
Like many Americans, I have some First Nation ancestry braided with theEuropean ancestry in my family roots. When I connected with a few tribalcousins, I started hearing stories about family groups back in the 1800s whohad never surrendered to the U.S. Army. Instead they slipped off into thewildest, most rugged regions of the West. For several generations, the WildOnes managed to stay hidden -- never leaving a trace for hikers or forestrangers to find, keeping fires tiny and only lit at night. By the 1930s,logging and recreational development of public lands was making it harder tokeep their secret. Yet a few families held on till the 1950s.

-Repealing Gay-Rights Laws Would Have Chilling Effect
Oregon voters may well face two issues this fall that many people probablythink were resolved some time ago: the state's new anti-discrimination anddomestic-partner laws. Although some are trying to characterize thosepotential ballot measures as solely "moral issues," both undoubtedly haveeconomic implications that voters would be well advised to consider.

-Bill Clinton Defends His Gay Marriage Legacy
The students at MTVU sat down with Bill Clinton to discuss Hillary Clinton'scampaign, the Clintons' stance on gay marriage and why Bill Clintonintroduced the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) while he was in office.
Talking about Melissa Etheridge's comment about the Clintons "throwing thegay community under a bus" when introducing DOMA, Bill Clinton said:

-Boston: Locals Sound Off On Being Gay and Jewish
Jews from the GLBT community face the challenge of fitting in with thelarger Jewish community as they come to terms with--and live--their sexualidentities. The experience of being a minority within a minority poses itsown set of problems. The huge gap that exists between religion and sexualityaffects not only GLBT Jews, but sometimes their families

-AIDS Vaccine Testing on Humans Halted Because of Risk
Once again, the grim statistics: 12,000 new cases of HIV are diagnosed everyday -- more than 25 million people have already died from AIDS. But the goodnews is that many more, approximately 40 million people, are still livingwith HIV.

-Black LGBT Conference Strives to Make a Difference
The Black LGBT community is about to take center stage next month inBaltimore as several hundred Black LGBT, their straight allies, family andfriends will gather along with over 50 national experts spanning 35workshops, panel discussions, Q&As and receptions at the National BlackJustice Coalition's Power of Us Conference in Baltimore, April 24-25-26,2008.

-An Open Door: Gay Dominicans Seek More Visibility
It was a balmy Friday night late last month as hundreds of gay men, lesbiansand transgender people gathered in Parque Duarte in the heart of SantoDomingo's Colonial Zone to meet friends, drink and even cruise. A handful of"bugarrones" or male prostitutes discreetly worked the crowd, but Ariel, a25-year-old from the northern city of Santiago, described the park as ahaven of sorts for the capital's LGBT residents.

-Teachers Vote to Send Delegation to Confront Homophobia in Jamaica
The National Union of Teachers Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and TransgenderCommittee won a major victory today when the annual NUT Conference agreed tosend a delegation of teachers to support anti-homophobia groups in Jamaica.
Conference also voted to have a meeting with the General Secretary SteveSinnott to discuss the situation in countries where LGBT people are inconstant danger; and to demand that the Union work with other internationalequality groups to remind them of their obligations to LGBT people.

-The L Word vs. Reality
Recently I ran across a posting in the personals of craigslist.org from awoman in a small town that went something like this, "Please help meconvince my girlfriend that Los Angeles is not like The L Word. Shefantasizes that lesbians in West Hollywood are really like the characters onthe show, and she's leaving me for this make-believe world."


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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Mass. Law Would Benefit Gay Discharged Soldiers
Military veterans discharged under the Pentagon's ban on openly gay andlesbian service members may receive benefits through the state under a billbeing considered by the Massachusetts state senate.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52905.asp

-Alabama Only State to Bar HIV-Positive Inmates From Work Release
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52915.asp


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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
Go to this link for the following articles:

- Hartford, CT: Several pieces of legislation fell by the wayside yesterdayas the Judiciary Committee scrambled to pass more than 100 bills andresolutions before a 5 p.m. deadline.
But two high-profile proposals involving gun control and civil unionsreceived the ax over the weekend when committee members met to craftyesterday's agenda.

-Remember back when MTV asked Bill Clinton such frivolous questions like"boxers or briefs"? Well, that was then and this is now. As Bill Clintoncampaigns on behalf of Hillary, young audiences are still challenging theformer President, but on more weighty matters, such as the Clinton politicallegacy. The students over at MTVU sat down with Bill to talk about thiscurrent campaign, the Clinton Global Initiative and that comment MelissaEtheridge made about the Clintons "throwing the gay community under a bus."
Yep, they're not playing.

-An umbrella group of social conservatives trying to gather enoughsignatures to force a referendum that could ban couples who are not marriedfrom adopting children in Arkansas has launched a desperate appeal formoney. The Family Council Action Committee has sent out an email tosupporters urging them to send what they can.

-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), speaking to rally attendees in Medford, Oregonon Saturday, took issue with how recent political campaigns have used wedgeissues to divide the electorate, but have ultimately done little to make areal difference, especially when there are more important things to worryabout. "I mean, think about what these last few election cycles have beenabout," the Senator said. "We argue about immigration, but we don't try tosolve the immigration problem. It's an argument that is all about people'spassions instead of trying to figure it out.


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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:

-Democrats plan to topple homophobic politician
Oklahoma state representative Sally Kern will face a challenge in Novemberelections after an audio recording was leaked of her comparing gays toterrorists and telling fellow Republicans the "homosexual agenda isdestroying this nation." The recording and accompanying YouTube video havesparked outrage from many, but Kern defended her words, telling the press:"What I'm saying, I believe in." The Demcratic party has announced that RonMarlett, a 59-year-old social worker, will challenge Kern for the OklahomaCity seat.
click here for the full article

-INTERVIEW: Basketball's stereotype-busting gay icon
There can be no better introduction to the conversation of John Amaechi thanto relay his thoughts on the American press and basketball-loving public'sreaction to the revelation that this giant of the game is gay. "I knew itwould be fuss-worthy, especially in America. But it's very weird reallybecause over here if you didn't know you just weren't paying attention."
Amaechi is one of a handful of British players to have reached the heightsof the US National Basketball Association.
click here for the full article

-Socialist candidate for Mayor to attend Stonewall hustings
Lindsey German has confirmed that she will join other candidates for Mayorof London at a gay hustings event next month. The Respect - The Left Listcandidate will appear alongside incumbent Mayor Ken Livingstone, Torycandidate Boris Johnson, Lib Dem Brian Paddick and Green party candidateSian Berry at the event at BFI Southbank on Saturday 19th April. TheStonewall hustings will be the last before Londoners go to the polls on May1st.
click here for the full article

-Cardinal attacks new rights for gay parents
The controversial Easter message from the leader of Scotland's RomanCatholic church contained an attack on new rights for lesbian and gayparents. Press coverage has concentrated on Cardinal Keith O'Brien's claimsthat the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will create"Frankenstein-like" human-animal hybrid embryos, a charge rejected by thegovernment and scientists. During his speech on Sunday the Cardinal accusedPrime Minister Gordon Brown of: "promoting a bill which denies that a childhas a biological father."
click here for the full article

-Downing St protest over gay asylum seekers
More than 120 people took to the streets of London last Saturday tohighlight the plight of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people who seek asylum inthe UK. OutRage!, the National Union of Students and the Middle EastWorkers' Solidarity took part in the protest opposite Downing St. Theydemanded that Mehdi Kazemi, a gay Iranian teenager who faces deportation tohis homeland and possible execution because of his sexuality, be allowed tostay in the UK.
click here for the full article

-Cameron warns Catholics over embryology debate
The Leader of the Opposition has said that critics of new legislation shouldbe careful not to "overstate" its impact. David Cameron's comments followan Easter weekend full of claim and counter-claim about the creation of"animal-human hybrids" as a result of the Human Fertilisation and EmbryologyBill. On Easter Sunday the leader of Scotland's Roman Catholics attackedthe Prime Minister and made lurid claims that the new legislation"comprehensively attacks the sanctity and dignity of human life than thisparticular bill."
click here for the full article

-SNP campaign against gay deportation to Syria
Scotland's governing party has taken up the case of a gay Syrian who claimshe will be tortured and maybe even executed if returned to his home country.
Jojo Jako Yakob is claiming asylum in the UK on the grounds of his sexualorientation and had pleaded with the Home Office to reverse a deportationorder. Pete Wishart MP, the SNP's Home Affairs spokesman, has taken up hiscase at Westminster.
click here for the full article


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GLAAD's "The Best and Worst of National News"

-THE BEST
ABC News' Nightline Presents In-Depth Feature About Transgender ExecutiveMedia coverage of transgender issues can too often be plagued bysensationalism and inaccuracy.
Laudably, ABC News' Nightline avoided both in an in-depth March 6 reportabout transgender Microsoft executive Megan Wallent. The story, titled "AStunning Secret," sensitively discussed why Wallent decided to transition inmid-life and how that decision affected her wife, children and colleagues.
While the story honestly acknowledged the difficulties Wallent and her wifefaced during her transition, ABC News reporter Neal Karlinsky explained thatWallent received more acceptance and support from her loved ones andco-workers than expected. The story concluded with the encouraging messagethat, regardless of where they are in life, people need to acknowledge andbe open about who they are. "...we always try to tell our kids, you have tobe true to yourself," Wallent explained. "You have to be who you are. Youhave to be honest with yourself.�
READ RELATED ARTICLE:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=4394493=1
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact ABC News' Nightline and thank them forsensitively chronicling the life of a transgender person.
CONTACT:
http://abcnews.go.com/Site/page?id=3428117

-Los Angeles Times Discusses the Impact of Marriage on Gay and LesbianFamilies
With the California Supreme Court currently considering theconstitutionality of a ban on marriage for gay and lesbian couples, themedia could easily discuss the issue of marriage as an abstract concept. TheLos Angeles Times instead spotlighted the real-life impact of marriage onseveral same-sex couples whose 2004 nuptials in San Francisco wereinvalidated. In the March 6 article "Same-sex union--it's personal,"reporter Mary Engel conducted extensive interviews to reveal how the briefexperience of marriage emotionally affected these couples before theCalifornia Supreme Court voided their marriage licenses. "It was likestanding there being showered with love and acceptance," said Torie Osbornabout her marriage ceremony in San Francisco. "And what I learned was that awedding--this ancient rite of passage into this institution of marriageâ?"ismore than symbolism. It's more than legal rights. It's a shared communalexperience. We crossed a line into a circle of recognition we didn't evenknow that we weren't in before."
READ ARTICLE:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marriage6mar06,1,2808938.story
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Mary Engel and the Los Angeles Times tothank them for bringing a human face to the issue of marriage equality .
CONTACT:
mary.engel@latimes.com
letters@latimes.com

-Los Angeles Times Addresses Anti-Gay Violence In Schools After LawrenceKing's Tragic Murder
Since openly gay junior high school student Lawrence King was fatally shotby a classmate on Feb. 12 in an apparent hate crime, the Los Angeles Timeshas published an exemplary series of articles about the murder and thelarger issue of anti-gay violence and bullying in schools. Most recently,reporters Paul Pringle and Catherine Saillant powerfully recounted theattempts of King--who lived in a shelter for abused and neglectedchildren--to find a welcoming and safe place in his Oxnard, Californiamiddle school. Their March 8 article "A deadly clash of emotions beforeOxnard shooting" revealed the incessant harassment King received from hisschoolmates for being openly gay and questioned whether more could have beendone by school authorities to prevent his death. At the same time, Pringleand Saillant sensitively informed readers about the troubled upbringings ofboth King and his alleged killer. The article raised disturbing andimportant questions about the current capacity of schools to offer supportand safety for LGBT students and to intervene in the lives of at-risk youth.
READ ARTICLE:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oxnard8mar08,0,5574063.story
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Paul Pringle, Catherine Saillant and the LosAngeles Times to thank them for sharing Lawrence King's tragic story andraising vital questions about the ability of schools to prevent anti-gaybullying and violence.
CONTACT:
paul.pringle@latimes.com
catherine.saillant@latimes.com
letters@latimes.com

-The New York Times Explores Climate of Anti-Gay Violence in Jamaica
In recent years, media have discussed the attacks on gay tourists in Jamaicaas well as the persistence of anti-gay lyrics in some Jamaican dancehallsongs. New York Times reporter Marc Lacey recently went one step further bytraveling to Mandeville, Jamaica to inform readers about recent instances ofanti-gay violence and intimidation in the island nation. In his Feb. 24rticle "Attacks Show Easygoing Jamaica Is Dire Place for Gays," Laceyrevealed that recent brutal assaults on gay people are part of the country'slong history of anti-gay oppression and violence. "One [attack] may be anisolated incident," said Rebecca Schleifer of Human Rights Watch. "When theyhappen on a repeated basis across the country, it is an urgent problem thatdeserves attention at the highest levels." Illustrating the gravity of theproblem, Lacey recounted disquieting stories about a Mandeville policeofficer who now fears being killed after coming out in a local newspaper andabout a mob of people who violently sought to disrupt the funeral of a gayperson. Noting that governmental and religious authorities often perpetuateanti-gay hostility, Lacey's article presented readers with the soberingreality that a daunting amount of work must be done before gay people canlive openly and safely in Jamaica.
READ ARTICLE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/world/americas/24jamaica.html
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Marc Lacey and The New York Times to thankthem for educating readers about the ongoing problem of anti-gay violenceand oppression in Jamaica.
CONTACT:
letters@nytimes.com

THE WORST
-Fox News Continues to Present Derisive Coverage of Transgender People
In a disappointing contrast to Nightline's in-depth and objective coverageof transgender executive Megan Wallent, Fox News coverage continues todiscuss transgender lives only in a dismissive and sensational manner. Themost recent example of the news network's derisive coverage occurred on theFeb. 28 episode of The O'Reilly Factor. During the show, host Bill O'Reillyjoined contributor Laura Ingraham in criticizing a Colorado school districtfor its acceptance of an 8-year-old transgender student. Beyond beinguninformed about the facts of the Colorado case, both O'Reilly and Ingrahamshowed a derisive attitude toward transgender people. This is only thelatest instance of Fox News commentators preferring sensationalism oversubstance when covering transgender issues. On Feb. 12 and Feb. 13, hostNeil Cavuto of Fox News' Your World also discussed the Colorado story byexpressing disdain for the school district's willingness to create a safeand inclusive environment for all its students. And, on Feb. 8, LauraIngraham asserted that a transgender conference was â?okilling ourcultureâ? while guest-hosting The O'Reilly Factor. It is unfortunate that anews network that prides itself as being "fair and balanced" continues topresent inequitable and mean-spirited coverage of transgender people.
READ TRANSCRIPT:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334008,00.html
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Fox News and The O'Reilly Factor to live upto professional journalistic standards and avoid sensational, derisivecoverage of transgender people.
CONTACT:
oreilly@foxnews.com

-Washington Post Column Dismisses Inclusive Children's Book as Propaganda
In recent years, the children's book "And Tango Makes Three"-- which tellsthe true story of two male penguins who raised a penguin chick, has facedconsiderable opposition across the country. Co-authored by playwright PeterParnell and psychiatry professor Justin Richardson, the 2005 book receivedrecognition as an American Library Association Notable Children's Book.However, some parents and administrators have sought to remove the book fromschool libraries because it presents an affirming message about same-sexparents.
After the Loudoun County, Virginia school superintendent recently pulled thebook from school library shelves for this reason, The Washington Postfeatured a March 2 column by blogger and author Barbara Curtis that arguedthat schoolchildren should be guarded from books like "And Tango MakesThree" because they are nothing more than â?opropaganda.â? Unfortunately,Curtis dismissed the book as "meaningless" without displaying any knowledgeabout its content or about readers' responses to it. Instead, Curtis lifteda previous quote by the author of an unrelated children's book to allegethat all books like "And Tango Makes Three" were written "simply forindoctrination purposes." It is disappointing that The Washington Postpublished an article dismissing "And Tango Makes Three" by an author whorevealed a startling lack of familiarity with the book and its effect onreaders.
READ ARTICLE:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022904159.html
TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact Barbara Curtis and The Washington Post tourge them to display knowledge about inclusive children's literature beforecategorically dismissing it


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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
dailyqueernews@yahoo.com
Go to the links for the following articles:

-Two GLBT Democratic Delegates selected
One pledged to Clinton and one to Obama
On March 15, the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Democratic Party metin Nashville to complete selection of the state's delegation to theDemocratic National Convention in Denver. The meeting was postponed fromMarch 8, due to inclement weather in the Nashville area that day.
http://outandaboutnewspaper.com/article.php?id=2490

-Abby: Parents' prejudice leads to son's suicide
DEAR ABBY: I am struggling with the question of whether to reveal aconfidence made more than two years ago. My boyfriend at the time, "Jerry,"revealed to me that he was gay. We remained friends, but I started datingsomeone else. Jerry never confided his secret to anyone else and, eventually feeling overcome with depression, took his own life. Jerry told me more than oncethat he knew how his parents would feel if he told them he was gay. He sawthe way they snickered when they saw a gay couple. They made it very clearto him that they didn't think it was normal. Jerry was sure, seeing the wayhis parents viewed gay people, that this was how he, too, would be viewed.
His parents are now blaming me for Jerry taking his own life. They say itwas because we broke up. Would it be selfish of me to tell them the truth -that THEY are the real reason? Or should I continue to keep his secret? -
His Best Friend, Rochester, N.Y.

DEAR BEST FRIEND: You should reveal that your friend told you he was gay andwas worried about how his parents would accept it. However, when you tellthem, do not expect them to believe you. It will be far easier for them tocontinue pointing the finger at you than to accept that they had a role intheir son's suicide.
http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/544254.html

-FBI Probed Gays Over Hoax Threats Against Falwell, Claims ChristianPublication
Seemingly a propos of nothing, a Christian news service reports that 25years ago the FBI looked into reports that the GLBT community might have itin for Falwell. By the way, the Feds decided there was nothing to thoserumors.
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=72073

-Don't Believe Iranian Propaganda on Gays, Urges Gay HumanistsGovernment's "no evidence" claim slammed
LONDON, March 24, 2008 - The Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA)has demanded that the Government clarify its approach to the deportation ofgay people to Iran after a spokesman in the House of Lords claimed there wasno evidence that gays were being executed because of their sexuality.
http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/08/Mar/2402.htm

-An open door: Gay Dominicans seek more visibility
It was a balmy Friday night late last month as hundreds of gay men, lesbiansand transgender people gathered in Parque Duarte in the heart of SantoDomingo's Colonial Zone to meet friends, drink and even cruise. A handful of"bugarrones" or male prostitutes discreetly worked the crowd, but Ariel, a25-year-old from the northern city of Santiago, described the park as ahaven of sorts for the capital's LGBT residents.
http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=features&sc3=&id=71830

-BBC: Teachers reject 'Army propaganda'
Teachers have voted to oppose military recruitment activities in schools ifthey employ "misleading propaganda".
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7311917.stm

-Sea levels rising too fast for Thames Barrier
A fear that sea levels will rise far faster than predicted this century hasled to a revision of the plan to protect London from a devastating floodcaused by the sort of storm surge in the North Sea that resulted in theclosure of the Thames Barrier yesterday.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/sea-levels-rising-too-fast-for-thames-barrier-799303.html

-Rev. Wright, Obama and me
It's time to inject a bit of sanity into the discussion of the video clipsof Barack Obama's pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright that surfaced 10 days ago.
After struggling with how to put Reverend Wright's moments of hate anddivisiveness into context, I decided that the only way to judge this man wasto put myself in his shoes. I certainly wouldn't want to be judged by themost outrageous two minutes of utterances in my career.
http://citizenchris.typepad.com/citizenchris/2008/03/rev-wright-obam.html

-Colbert Reminds Us of McCain's Embrace of Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell
[VIDEO] Stephen covers the double standard which the media has given a black pastor,
by ironically labeling him as an anti-American racist, while giving hatefulbigots like Robertson and Falwell a free pass to say much worse. After 9/11,Reverend Wright correctly recognized that we were experiencing blowback fromthe terrorism our government had previously committed in the Middle East.
Robertson and Falwell however, placed the blame on American citizens(specifically Feminists, Pagans, the ACLU, and anyone who's ever watchedWill & Grace).
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/80456/

-Nigerian Gay Rights Leader Narrowly Escapes Brutal Attack
UK Gay News is reporting that an unnamed Nigerian gay rights leader narrowlyescaped being killed in a mob attack during a funeral for the sister ofDavis Mac-Iyalla, a leader of Changing Attitudes Nigeria (CAN). The unnamedvictim of the attack recounted what happened on the CAN web site:
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2008/03/22/1678

-London Supporters of Gay Iranian Teen Stage Downing St Protest
London supporters of gay Iranian teen Mehdi Kazemi staged the demonstrationoutside Prime Minister Gordon Brown's residence at 10 Downing Street Iposted about on Friday. These photographs of the protestors were shot by UKblogger Cosmodaddy.
http://www.towleroad.com/2008/03/london-supporte.html

-It's Self-Defense, Stupid
On Tuesday, unbeknownst to itself, the Supreme Court will hear arguments ina gay-rights case. To most people, admittedly, District of Columbia v.Heller is a gun-rights case. In fact, it's the most important gun-rightscase in decades, one that may cast a shadow for decades to come. But to gayAmericans, and other minorities often targeted with violence, Heller isabout civil rights, not shooting clubs.
http://www.indegayforum.org/news/show/31482.html

-A Young Man Fights Back Against The Christian Counselor He's Sent To By HisParents
Parents Had Found Counselor Through 'Focus On The Family' Referral
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2008/03/24/1693


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