GLBT DIGEST - July 07, 2008

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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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-David Gushee and Rachel Laser: Call for Culture War Truce
Dear Senators McCain and Obama:
For our entire lives, America has been polarized by an angry culture warover such divisive issues as abortion and gay rights. It has been a fightmarked by sincere passion and principles on the one hand, but also bystridency, vituperation, and lack of respect for the opposing sides' motivesand beliefs on the other. We write to you from two traditionally warringcamps, one evangelical and one progressive, joined in one voice and onevision, to offer an olive branch to end the culture wars. [...] Gay andlesbian issues, like abortion, have also been tearing the nation apart. Hereagain, the differences are real and rooted in theological and philosophicaldifferences. But on these issues too we can find a shared common value andshared path forward. That shared value is human dignity.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/07/call_for_culture_war_truce.html


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Express Gay News
http://www.expressgaynews.com/
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-Fred Barnes's Advice To McCain: Revive Your Struggling Campaign By UsingGay-Bashing As A Wedge
Discussing Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) struggling campaign on Fox News Sundaytoday, Weekly Standard Executive Editor Fred Barnes argued that McCain"needs to pay attention to the right." "Here's what he needs to do, he needsto touch on some of the social issues which energize the right," declaredBarnes. Barnes specifically said that McCain is "going to have use" gays in the military and gay marriage as wedge issues:
BARNES: In particular, gays in the military for one. We know Barack Obama isfor allowing gays in the military, and Bill Clinton tried to do, but backedoff. This is not a popular issue. Gay marriage is another one. These areboth issues that I think McCain's going to have to use. You can't ignore theright. If he does, he'll lose.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/06/barnes-gay-mccain/


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National Gay News
http://nationalgaynews.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/
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-The Talk of the Green Iguana
Will American voters elect the first gay vice president in November?
By Bob Norman
The rumors about Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the Green Iguana justwouldn't go away. The story goes that the Florida governor frequented theGreen Iguana, a bar in Tampa, back in the early 1990s when he was juststarting his political career. He was less careful back then, people say,and during his partying at the Green Iguana, he was openly gay. When I gotRick Calderoni, the bar's well-known owner, on the phone, I expected him tostonewall me about it. He didn't.
http://www.browardpalmbeach.com/2008-02-28/news/the-talk-of-the-green-iguana/

-Cookie, Magic Johnson and Spike Lee Help Fight HIV Among Blacks
A growing number of black leaders and stars try to dispel the fear andstigma surrounding tests for the virus. "Ladies," said Cookie Johnson,looking straight into the camera, her husband's arm draped across hershoulders. "Have you been tested . . . " " . . . for HIV?" finished Lakersbasketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson. As the most prominent AfricanAmerican face of HIV, Johnson, who is now a businessman and philanthropist,has long used his fame to raise public awareness of the virus that causesAIDS.


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Marriage Equality News
http://samesexmarriage.typepad.com/weblog/
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-'Gay marriage--the key to happiness?'
Link: Los Angeles Times
Who knew? The legalization of gay marriage might make Californians happier.
At least that's what a new study based on surveys of 350,000 people innearly 100 countries suggests. No, the authors aren't gay activists, nor dothey seem to be peddling any particular political agenda. But in theirsearch to discover which countries are happier than others and why, thesescholars -- led by University of Michigan political scientist RonaldInglehart -- have stumbled on one pretty fundamental conclusion about whatpeople want out of life: freedom.


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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
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-UK: Schools must tackle homophobia says Lib Dem leader
Nick Clegg called on schools to be more effective in tackling homophobicbullying in a speech at the annual Stonewall Education For All conferencetoday.

-Budapest police praised by Pride organisers
This weekend's Budapest Pride experienced full support from police amidviolent fascist attacks, said organisers.

-Japanese ban on gay magazines in jails is illegal say lawyers
A 30-year-old detainee in the Tokyo Detention House has been denied theright to read gay magazines.

-Stonewall raise homophobic bullying with Gordon Brown
The Prime Minister met with members of gay equality organisation Stonewallon Saturday morning at Downing St.

-Harman was booed because of asylum stance claims Tatchell
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has said that a Cabinet minister gota frosty reception at Pride London on Saturday because of the government'sstance on gay asylum seekers.

-Gays have no legal protection from international persecution says tribunal
A gay asylum seeker has been told that he should be safe in his homeland ofSyria, provided he behaves "discreetly." A tribunal found that gays have noright of protection from international persecution.

-Boyzone star Stephen Gately suffers £80,000 break-in
Gay Boyzone star Stephen Gately has suffered from a burglary in which helost £80,000 worth of jewellery.


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Forwarded from Victoria Lavin
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
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-Employers Use Federal Law to Deny Benefits
Dying of cancer, Thomas Amschwand did everything he was told to make surehis wife would collect on the life insurance policy he had through hisemployer. "He was obsessed with dotting every `i' and crossing every `t',"Melissa Amschwand-Bellinger recalled about her husband, who died in 2001 atage 30. But Spherion Corp., the temporary staffing company where Amschwandworked, told Amschwand-Bellinger she would not receive any of the $426,000in benefits she believed she was due. When she went to court, Spherionsucceeded in getting her lawsuit thrown out. The Supreme Court on June 27refused to review the case.

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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:

-No Pride in Serbia -Gay Community asks for protection of their rights
There are no conditions in Serbia to hold Pride Day marked by LGTB community on June 27, representatives of NGO's "Labris" and "Gay Straight Alliance" said. At a news conference held a day before Pride, Labris representative Dragana Vuckovic said political elites in Serbia are still unaware that sexual orientation is a basic human right, emphasising the importance of the state allowing gatherings such is Pride to take place without any violence staring next year. There have been no attempts in Serbia for seven years to hold Pride, Vuckovic said, adding that police did not stop the participants of the first Pride in 2001 from getting severely beaten on the streets of the Serbian capital. "In a homophobic environment such is Serbia, this is a political protest that sends a clear message to the state and society that we all should have equal rights and be equally protected without any kind of discrimination or violence", she said.
http://www.coe.org.rs/eng/news_sr_eng/?conid=653


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Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
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-UK: Keep Babakhan Badalov Safe in Cardiff
Babi Badalov has been campaigning to stay in the UK since his claim forasylum was rejected. He has been informed that he is now liable to bedetained and has to sign in every week at the Border and Immigration Agencyoffices in Cardiff. His first signing was last Tuesday (24th June) andsupporters from the campaign accompanied Babi to the BIA offices. Concern ishigh that he may be snatched at one of these signings so everyone wasrelieved to see him come out of the building, not least Babi himself.
http://gayswithoutborders.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/uk-keep-babakhan-badalov-safe-in-cardiff/


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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
Kenneth.Sherrill@hunter.cuny.edu
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
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Contact rays.list@comcast.net if can't access the article

-We would like to draw your attention to a recently formed Yahoogroup forPurdue University GLBT Alums and former students, PurdueGLBTA (see thedescription below). If you could forward this notice to your e-list, wewould appreciate it, since it is likely that your list contains a fewex-Purdue folks. This is the FIRST Purdue GLBT Alumni group.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PurdueGLBTA/

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