GLBT DIGEST - August 07, 2008

**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.


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

-Vulnerable to H.I.V., Resistant to Labels
The 29-year-old is not gay. He wants that known. He did have sex with a manonce, but that was the result of loneliness and his hormones' being inoverdrive, he said, not because of any attraction to men. He suspects thatthe one encounter was responsible for giving him the virus that causes AIDS.But he is not gay no matter what anybody may think.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/07/world/americas/07mexico.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse&oref=slogin


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

-Probe into Heath Ledger death closed: report
Federal prosecutors in New York have closed an investigation into the fatalprescription drug overdose of actor Heath Ledger without bringing charges,People magazine reported on its Web site on Wednesday. The report, citingan unidentified law enforcement source, also said the U.S. Attorney's Officewill not enforce a subpoena issued in the case by a federal grand juryagainst actress Mary-Kate Olsen.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080700814.html

-Catholic bishops endorse Calif. gay marriage ban
California's Roman Catholic bishops are urging parishioners to support afall ballot measure that seeks to overturn the court ruling that legalizedsame-sex marriage in the state. The California Catholic Conference issued astatement strongly encouraging parishioners "to provide both the financialsupport and the volunteer efforts needed for the passage of Proposition 8."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080700660.html

-Early Lessons Forgotten, AIDS Conference Told
Twenty-five years after AIDS was branded the "gay plague," the virus isagain exacting a disproportionate toll on men who have sex with men, notonly in the United States but also in countries where the epidemic is justemerging.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/06/AR2008080602940.html

-Report: Anglican says gay relationships okay
In newly disclosed letters, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams wrotethat the Bible doesn't forbid same sex relationships when there is acommitment similar to traditional marriages, a British newspaper reportedThursday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/07/AR2008080700768.html


=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:

-UN chief: End bias against gay men
Discrimination against men who have sex with men must end, and countriesmust gear up prevention programs against AIDS in this high-risk group, thesecretary general of the United Nations said Wednesday.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/health/sfl-flaaids0807sbaug07,0,3600157.story

-World Naked Bike Ride
Sparsely clad cyclists ride on June 7, 2008, during World Naked Biking Dayin Copenhagen.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sns-green-naked-bikeday-pg,0,591429.photogallery


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

-Heddy Peña leaves SAVE to join Florida Red & Blue campaign against gaymarriage amendment
Political director and former executive director Heddy Peña has left SAVE(Safeguarding American Values for Everyone) to join the Florida Red & Bluecampaign to defeat Amendment 2.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2008/08/heddy-pea-leave.html

-Women's Business Networker @ Open Doors - 7300 Biscyane Blvd., Miami
The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, in association withPandora Events presents "A Designer Cocktail Event," this month's Women'sBusiness Networker on Thursday, August 7th @ Open Doors, 7300 BiscayneBlvd., Miami. Beginning at 6:30 P.M. to 8:30 P.M., light beverages andcanapés will be served. $5.00 for MDGLCC members; $10.00 for prospectivemembers.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2008/08/womens-business.html

-6th annual Oakland (Calif.) International Black Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &Transgender Film Festival opens Aug. 14
Oakland, Calif. -- It was six years ago when festival producers DebraWilson and Joe Hawkins decided to do what many thought wasn't possible;create a film festival dedicated to showcasing films about the lives oflesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people of African descent.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2008/08/6th-annual-oakl.html


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

-Closet case Crist flip-flops on marriage
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (R) has flip-flopped on the issue of his state'sNovember ballot initiative banning same-sex marriage and now supports themeasure. It's just the latest transparent move by Crist to make himself morepalatable to GOP conservatives in the hopes of being picked as John McCain'srunning mate. He recently announced that he's engaged, after living all butseven months of his life single. Crist was briefly married in 1979. Bladereaders will recall that in 2006, Crist's primary opponent, Max Linn of theReform Party, outed him on a radio show. "Charlie, come out, come out fromwherever you are," Linn said on the radio show. Crist has repeatedly deniedthe rumors. When a Miami radio host asked Crist about the rumors two yearsago, he responded, "The point is, I'm not. There's the answer. How do youlike it? Not that there's anything wrong with that, as they say on Seinfeld.But I just happen not to be." But Linn claims that Crist's sexualorientation is an open secret in Florida, much like Mark Foley's was. "In myopinion, it's widely known throughout the Republican Party that Crist isgay," Linn said. Until this week, Crist had mostly stayed out of the debateover the Florida amendment, which is unnecessary because state law alreadybars same-sex couples from marrying. He adopted a "live and let live"approach to the issue. But with national Republican leaders now eyeing himmore closely, it was time to butch it up and, naturally, bash the gays. It'sunfortunate that Crist and other rumored closet cases (i.e. Lindsey Graham)refuse to learn from Foley and Larry Craig's mistakes.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/blog/index.cfm?type=blog&start=8/1/08&end=8/8/08#20164

-Tape Exposes Democratic Floridian Politico Rouson's Truly Anti-Gay Colors
Floridian politician Darryl Rouson may need to do some same-sex damagecontrol.
http://www.queerty.com/tape-exposes-floridian-politico-rousons-truly-anti-gay-colors-20080805/

-Televised Political Pundits Talk Gay
Gay-baiting previously played an enlarged role in American politics. We allremember the 2000 and 2004 elections, where culture warriors threw stones,Bibles and unholy words toward the lavender set. This year's already shapingup to different, what with the Iraq War and an economy in the toilet.
http://www.queerty.com/televised-political-pundits-talk-gay-20080806/

-The Gays, logo, demographics: Can Logo Survive With Gays 2.0?
The Viacom-owned gay network recently did some "who the hell is ouraudience, anyway?" market research and came up with some fairly interestingnumbers. One such data point: "Less than half of gay people want to live inthe city and a majority want to live in suburbia or small-town America.Regardless of where they want to live, 58 percent want to live closer toother gay people." Really! But the gays always live in the city. The SouthEnd of Boston would be a dump if it weren't for them. But, I guess the timesthey are a blah blah. The second half of that data poses some problems forthe folks polled, as there aren't too many already-established gay suburbanor small-town enclaves. I mean, there are only so many Northamptons in thisworld, eh? But, those could be good numbers for Logo.
http://gawker.com/5033456/can-logo-survive-with-gays-20

-Many states miss goal for gay inclusion at Dem convention
But total number of gay delegates is up from 2004
Many states that aimed to boost gay representation at the 2008 DemocraticNational Convention are falling short of their voluntary goals, according tonumbers from the National Stonewall Democrats.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20191

-Tenn. church rampage suspect eyes insanity defense
Adkisson targeted church for liberal views, acceptance of gays
An unemployed truck driver accused in a fatal church shooting plans aninsanity defense for the rampage that left two people dead and six wounded,his lawyer said Wednesday.
http://www.expressgaynews.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=20190

-Mexican court reinstates fired pos soldier
The soldier from Jalisco, removed from his job after 20 years of service when he tested HIV-positive, is reinstated with back pay by a federal court.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/po/20080805/co_po/mexicancourtreinstatesfiredpossoldier


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

-Archbishop's letters contradict current gay position
(London) Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' current call for amoratorium on both consecrating gay bishops and holding blessings forsame-sex unions appears to belie his earlier writings on the.

-Firefighters in gay bias case leave dept.
Three volunteer firefighters who were accused of homophobia by a gay couplein a multi-million dollar lawsuit have resigned. Peter de Vries, 55, andTimothy Carter, 45, won a $2.8 million judgment against the town last monthin court. The jury also ordered the town to pay $2 million in legal fees.

-Transwoman robbed bank to fund sex change
A transwoman is facing up to 20 years behind bars after being convicted by afederal jury of bank robbery. Add The woman was charged and tried underher birth name - Jimmy Maurice Lewis II - of robbing the Alabama CreditUnion in Huntsville. Police said that Lewis intended to use the money fromthe robberies to finance her sex reassignment surgery.


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

-Obama Supports Right of Same-Sex Couples to Adopt
Barack Obama has expressed his support for same-sex couples' right to adoptchildren, according to the Family Equality Council. The group had sought tolearn the presidential candidates' positions on the topic, and only Obamaresponded. However, John McCain has previously expressed his opposition toadoption by gays in a July 13 New York Times article.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid58998.asp

-Kansas Candidate Loses Primary After Her Sexuality Becomes Issue
Inga Taylor, a lesbian from Wichita, Kan., lost the Democratic primary forthe state's 84th district house seat on Tuesday to a woman who made acampaign issue of Taylor's sexuality. Gail Finney, a marketing consultantwho's also the vice chair of the local Democratic Party, wasn't as wellfunded or organized, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, whichendorsed and financially supported Taylor, a medical assistant. But in thelast days of the campaign, Finney and her supporters took issue withTaylor's sexual orientation and her ties to the "East Coast" -- the VictoryFund is based in Washington, D.C. -- in a coordinated mail, e-mail, andphone campaign.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid58974.asp

-Maryland to Vote to Remove Trans Protections
Conservatives in Maryland are hoping a referendum will pass that intends toreverse a Montgomery County law protecting transgender people fromdiscrimination.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid59020.asp

-Far-Right Christian Group Targets Paterson on Gay Marriage
Conservative legal group the Alliance Defense Fund will face off in the NewYork supreme court on Thursday against Gov. David Paterson about hisexecutive order to recognize out-of-state gay unions. The group is citingthe definition of the word marriage according to the online edition of theMerriam-Webster dictionary, claiming that legal recognition of same-sexmarriages would "undermine the democratic process and force taxpayers tofund benefits for same-sex couples," The New York Sun reports.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid59003.asp

-Canada Pledges Additional $45 Million to Fight AIDS
Canadian health minister Tony Clement announced at the 17th InternationalAIDS Conference in Mexico City that his country will spend $45 million tofight the spread of HIV in Africa. These funds will be on top of the $515million Canada has pledged to fight HIV globally over the past three years.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid58997.asp


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

-Gay In Gay Mag Takes Strong Stand Against Gay Sex Site
In the new issue of Out, Michael Joseph Gross takes on the thing that gayguys sort of refuse to but also can't stop talking about: the hookup siteManhunt. The website, founded in 2001, claims a million members, with400,000 uniques a month-and a stupendously long time-per-visitor, onaverage, 40 minutes. (The New York Times would kill for that.) They get30,000 new members a week, and that is a lot of horny gays. How do thosenumbers stack up in gayland? Matt Foreman, former executive director of theNational Gay and Lesbian Task Force, notes with some awe that Manhunt'smembership is "larger than the membership of every major gay politicalorganization combined."

-Scandalous, Sexy, and Disturbingly Humorous
Website Captures All New Audience
The Lacuna Group, LLC announced today the launch of an innovative sitecatching fire in the Lesbian Community, an honest and bitingly humorouswebsite examining celebrities, pop culture, products, from the uniqueperspective of women who dig women. No other website has done it to thiscaliber. From the funny yet true entry that states boldly that "Angelina washotter when she banged chicks," (that includes pictorial support), to thedownright honest assessment that dental damns suck but should be used..thiswebsite seems to have gained crossover appeal because of its humor andhonesty, and well, sexiness. The blog has edge, but is right on the mark.See what all the fuss is about at www. grrlplanet.com

-Human Rights Groups Petition Iran for Release of HIV/AIDS Doctors
A coalition of AIDS and human rights organizations that includes Physiciansfor Human Rights (PHR) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) has launched a campaignto free two Iranian physicians, Drs. Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei. Thedoctors, who are brothers, are active in HIV/AIDS education, prevention andtreatment in Iran. According to international news reports, Iraniansecurity forces detained the Drs. Alaei in late June, 2008 and are holdingthem incommunicado. The doctors' whereabouts remain unknown. On Sunday, theAssociated Press and Agence France-Presse cited Iranian news reports statingthat the brothers have been charged with participating in "a velvetrevolution," partly due to their activities at international AIDSconferences, such as the one currently taking place in Mexico City. Dr.Arash Alaei had been slated to speak here Thursday.


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

-Earlier this summer, we saw images of committed, loving couples dedicatingtheir lives to each other in marriage. But our opponents are doingeverything they can to pass Prop 8, which threatens to ban marriage for gayand lesbian couples. They've promised to spend over $10 million to denymillions of Californians the fundamental freedom to marry. We can't letthem win this November. Get involved at www.NoOnProp8.com.

-"Some Canada Anglicans may reject same-sex moratorium"
There seems little chance that all Canadian Anglican clergy will honor themoratorium on blessing same-sex unions requested by the worldwide Anglicancommunion. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, leader of the globalAnglican church, warned on Sunday that the 80-million-member church would be"in grave peril" if the U.S. and Canadian branches did not agree tomoratoriums on same-sex blessings and on the ordination of gay bishops.But the head of the Canadian church, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, told Reuters ina phone interview on Wednesday it would be especially tough for BishopMichael Ingham of the British Columbia diocese of New Westminster to haltthe homosexual blessings altogether.

-Dana Rudolph: Obama Builds LGBT Family Expertise
Senators Obama and McCain have very different views of LGBT families, as Imentioned Monday. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from Obama's campaignabout the expansion of his LGBT leadership team. It only adds to his statusas the candidate committed to LGBT families. There will be five newnational co-chairs of Obama Pride, which will build grassroots support forObama in the LGBT community. One is Marsha Botzer, who co-chairs the SafeSchools Coalition, an organization aimed at making schools safer foreveryone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. She was alsoco-chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Board (2005-6), afounding member of Equal Rights Washington, founder of Seattle's IngersollGender Center, and works with Seattle's Pride Foundation.

-Analysis: "Gay-Baiting '08"
The day after the 2004 presidential election, Stephen Colbert appeared onThe Daily Show to give his analysis of just how George W. Bush defeated JohnKerry. "Eleven states approved anti-gay marriage ballot initiativesyesterday," he said earnestly. "Clearly, our deep national fear of hotman-on-man monogamy drove turnout among the nation's so-called valuevoters." Starting in 2000, reaching a peak in 2004, and in 2006 promptingJon Stewart to comment, "It's as though marriage in our country is onlythreatened during even-numbered years," the invocation of gay rightsissues - serving in the military, protection from employment discrimination,and the biggest threat of all, marriage equality - has been the stuff notjust of political humor but of political advertising and cable news punditryas well.


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

-DEA orders actress to answer questions about Heath Ledger's drugs
America's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has issued a subpoena torequire actress Mary-Kate Olsen to testify in front of a grand jury.

-Lesbian politician to co-chair Obama LGBT committee
With the US Presidential race tightening, Barack Obama is stepping up hisefforts to reach out to the gay and lesbian community.

-Less than 1% of civil partnerships ending in 'divorce'
Figures obtained by PinkNews.co.uk show that so far less than 250 lesbianand gay civil partnerships have ended in a dissolution.

-Rowan Williams "a prisoner of the Lambeth mafia" claims gay activist
Peter Tatchell has accused the Anglican church of accommodating homophobesin a way it would never do with racists or anti-Semites.

-Anglican leader criticises church for making gays feel "rejected"
Anglican leaders need to correct the wrongful impression that the Churchrejects gay and lesbian people, the Archbishop of Wales said yesterday.

-'God Hates Fags' sect to picket show about their founder
Alistair Newton, playwright and director of The Pastor Phelps Project: AFundamentalist Cabaret, has invited the show's inspiration, homophobicpastor Fred Phelps, to the opening night.

-Schwarzenegger to decide on honour for assassinated gay politician
The Governor of California has been sent a bill that would make theanniversary of the birth of Harvey Milk a "day of significance" in the state's educational institutions.

=

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