GLBT DIGEST - September 01, 2008

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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
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-A Freewheeling Mayor
Mexico City's Marcelo Ebrard Uses Spectacle to Court the Masses
MEXICO CITY The mayor's got his blue pinstriped suit pants tucked into his dress socks. Bike helmet strap hiked up snug. And he's off. Zooming. Penny loafers planted on pedals, long legs pumping, suit jacket flapping. He blasts past the palm-tree shaded park and the early-morning taco vendors -- trailed by his entourage of a dozen cycling bodyguards and city officials. B-list bureaucrats position themselves along the route, knowing this may be their only chance at face time with "El Jefe," Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/31/AR2008083102293_pf.html

-ASK AMY
DEAR AMY: I am a 45-year-old man, own my own business, sit on the boards of several charities, and enjoy sports and travel. I am also gay, and I have been in a committed relationship for more than seven years. All of my friends, associates and family know about my personal life, with one glaring exception: my mother. She is a healthy, vibrant woman who will turn 78 next year. She is a widow, in great health and has plenty of money. We have traveled together, and I spend all my holidays with her, my sister and my sister's family. I am being terribly unfair to my partner who is being excluded from my family. More important, I am not being honest with my mother. This is the only aspect of my life that is making me truly unhappy. My sister said the time has come for me to sit down and tell our mother the facts of my life. But I am afraid of letting my mother down. I have rationalized this for years by saying that she would not understand because of her religious upbringing. My mother is not living in a cave. She has had many interactions with other gay people (including some of my friends) with traces of disapproval. I cannot imagine why she doesn't ask me to my face why I am not married at my age or have never had a relationship with a woman since college. Do I sit her down and tell her the truth? Or do I let her go to her grave without my "coming out" and confirming any suspicions she may have? -- Out, But Not Out

DEAR OUT: Your mother might not be asking you pointed questions about your life because she is wondering why her middle-age gay son chooses to be in the closet. She may wonder if you are ashamed of your orientation. Or she's a little dense and hasn't put all of the pieces together. You need to tell your mother about yourself and give her the opportunity to share your life. To not do so (for whatever reason) is just a little bit selfish. To put the burden on her to pry this information out of you is just a little bit cowardly. You say that this is the only thing in your life making your unhappy. You can fix this by choosing to be authentic. When you do, you'll feel much better. You can offer your mother support through the organization PFLAG. Its Web site (pflag.org) contains information that might help both of you.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082701185_pf.html


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

-Gustav cuts short New Orleans gay party
Southern Decadence, the largest gay festival in the South, had hardly begun when thousands of people Saturday night were told to flee New Orleans as hurricane Gustav continued to barrel down on the Gulf Coast.
http://www.365gay.com/news/gustav-cuts-short-new-orleans-gay-party/

-Film raises veil on Iranian transsexuals
The struggles of seven transsexuals depicted in a new film are made more complicated by Iran's strict gender codes and cultural obstacles.
http://www.365gay.com/news/film-raises-veil-on-iranian-transsexuals/


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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
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-England wins gay football World Cup
Stonewall Lions FC have triumphed at the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) World Championship on Saturday.

-Gay Tory attacks Britain's Olympic athletes for going to China
One of the most senior Tories in London has attacked the British Olympic team for going to the Beijing Games and implied the Mayor was forced to go.

-Video: Local gays asked to be "Minnesota-nice" to visiting Republicans
A tongue-in-cheek advertising campaign created by a Minneapolis-St Paul agency is encouraging the city's LGBT community to embrace the Republican National Convention.

-Taiwanese gay "priest" accused of fraud and sexual assault
A man who claimed he could ward off ghosts that targeted gay men is to be
investigated by police in Taiwan.

-Jail for two women in Emirates' first lesbian indecency case
A Bulgarian woman and her Lebanese partner have been sentenced to one month in jail after being found guilty by a Dubai court of indecent acts.

-Violence against gays preached in British mosques claims new documentary
Channel 4 will transmit controversial programme this evening that claims anti-Semitism and homophobia are being preached at a leading British mosque.

-Bosnia's first gay festival criticised as "provocative" to Muslims
A Muslim politician in Bosnia has criticised the country's gay community for holding an LGBT event that coincides with his religion's observance of Ramadan.

-Scottish minister backs fight against rural homophobia
The Minister for Communities and Sport in Scotland has said the country's SNP government is committed to fighting prejudice and discrimination against LGBT people.


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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

-Politics, Equity and Meeting Boycotts
To those who favor gay marriage rights, the site of the American Political Science Association's meeting this year couldn't have been better. The association is meeting this week in Boston, where gay marriage is permitted. But for many gay academics, the association's plan to hold its 2012 meeting in New Orleans couldn't be worse. That's because Louisiana has passed one of the most restrictive bans on gay marriage in the country -- a measure that prohibits not only gay marriage, but recognition of any equivalent relationship. As a result, gay academics say that in event of illness or accident in New Orleans, their partners could be denied access to them in hospitals. And that means some gay academics will skip the meeting.

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