**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.
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Replacement Speculation Begins
By Robert Barnes
As President Obama begins the search for a replacement for Justice David H. Souter, the following people are being mentioned as possible nominees by administration officials, interest groups and others who watch the court. The list is heavy with women and minorities, because the last three justices confirmed to the court were white men.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050101144.html
-Could Adam Lambert be first gay "American Idol"?
Adam Lambert wears eyeliner and diamond stud earrings, sings like a dream and has won a rare standing ovation from tough-minded judge Simon Cowell. With three weeks to go before the "American Idol" final, Lambert, 27, is favored to win the No. 1 U.S. television talent show and become, possibly, the first gay or bisexual singer to be handed the "Idol" title by millions of Americans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050100403.html
-Carol Ann Duffy chosen as UK poet laureate
By JILL LAWLESS
LONDON -- Britain on Friday awarded the role of national poet laureate to Carol Ann Duffy _ the first woman to hold a post that has been filled by William Wordsworth, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Ted Hughes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/01/AR2009050100961.html
-A Rising Anger in India's Streets
Hindu Extremists Lash Out Against Symbols of Change
By Emily Wax
BANGALORE, India -- At a trendy pub in this cosmopolitan IT capital, Hemangini Gupta, 28, and some of her girlfriends were recently relaxing with cocktails after work. A group of Hindu men later followed them outside, verbally accosting them for drinking in a public bar and for wearing jeans. "These guys went psycho," Gupta said. "This isn't Afghanistan. But here in Bangalore, as a young woman on the streets, if you are driving a car or in a pub or dressed a certain way, you just feel this rising anger."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043004083.html
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-NC congresswoman calls gay death case a 'hoax' during debate on Matthew Shepard bill
ESTES THOMPSON
A North Carolina congresswoman said Thursday she chose her words poorly when she called claims that a Wyoming college student was murdered because he was gay a "hoax." Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx said during debate in the House that Matthew Shepard's 1998 death wasn't a hate crime and shouldn't be invoked by supporters of a bill to expand the definition of such crimes to include violence motivated by sexual orientation.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-foxx-gay-debate,0,533883.story
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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Deception, denial and Opus Dei
Are religious groups illegally funding anti-gay political battles in America?
By DANIELLE TRUSZKOVSKY
On April 17, 2009 I made a trip from Florida to Princeton, NJ, for the sole purpose of visiting 20 Nassau Street. One of the organizations in this building, formerly in Suite 242, is the Witherspoon Institute, an "independent research center" that works to uphold Republican policies; the same suite, 242, is also home to the National Organization for Marriage, which spearheaded the multi-million dollar homophobic "Yes on 8" campaign in California. More . . . .
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/view/editorial/5795.cfm
-Court lets private schools expel lesbians
Bob Egelko
The state Supreme Court left intact Wednesday a lower-court ruling that said a private religious high school wasn't covered by California civil rights law and could expel students it believed were lesbians. Over Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar's dissent, the court denied review of an appeal by parents of two girls who were expelled from a high school in Riverside County. A lawyer for the parents said the ruling, which is binding on trial courts statewide, would allow private schools to discriminate against students on any basis they chose, including sex and religion.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/30/BA5817BGU2.DTL
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Judy Shepard Responds to Re. Foxx
By Julie Bolcer
Judy Shepard appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC on Thursday night to discuss the recent passage of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and to address hurtful comments made by Rep. Virginia Foxx about the murder of her son, Matthew. The hate crimes legislation, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, passed the house by a 75-vote margin on Wednesday. During the debate, Rep. Foxx, a Republican from North Carolina, denied that the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard was motivated by hate, calling the crime a "hoax." Maddow asked Judy Shepard how she felt about that remark.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81685.asp
-Ted Allen Dines Out for Life
Ted Allen's love of food and wine made him a household name. Now he's putting that passion to good use and fighting HIV/AIDS as the spokesman for Dining Out for Life.
By Duane Wells
Ted Allen has become a household name because of his love for food and wine. First gaining notoriety as a contributing editor to Esquire magazine and later as the food and wine specialist on Bravo's Emmy-winning hit series Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Allen has gone on to author a collection of classic recipes titled The Food You Want to Eat and host the culinary-themed series Food Detectives and Chopped for Food Network. Along the way, Ted, Renaissance man that he is, has also found time to serve as a judge on Iron Chef America and Top Chef.
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid81478.asp
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay marriage becomes legal in Sweden today
By Jessica Geen
A gender-neutral marriage law in Sweden has come into force today, meaning gay couples can now marry in the country in religious or civil ceremonies.
However, they cannot yet get married in church ceremonies.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12259.html
-Evangelical group forced to apologise over gay slurs against minister
An Evangelical group which spread false rumours about a gay minister has been forced to apologise. Forward Together told its members that Scott Rennie left his wife and young daughter to live with another man.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12262.html
-Gay lawyer sues Miami firm for discrimination
A gay man is suing a law firm for discrimination, claiming he had been passed over for promotion and denied holiday requests.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12260.html
-Church of Scotland group calls for HIV training for ministers
A Church of Scotland group has said that HIV education should be part of the training for new recruits to the ministry.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12257.html
-Man denies attacking gay squatter
A man accused of taking part in a one-hour attack on gay squatter has continued to deny his involvement. Neil Warner, his former lover Jonathan Wicks, and 2007 X-Factor contestant Kim Marrero were charged with carrying out the attack on Keiran Dulai.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12251.html
-Man jailed for attack after gay joke
A man who severely beat a Good Samaritan over a gay joke has been jailed for four and a half years. Craig Stewart, 20, beat David Torrance unconscious in the attack in March 2008, causing him to spend almost three months in hospital.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12250.html
-US House votes to extend protection to victims of homophobic hate crimes
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, has been passed by the US House of Representatives.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12249.html
=
HeartStrong
http://www.heartstrong.org
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-MISS CALIFORNIA, HEARTSTRONG & TRANSGENDER STUDENTS
While watching the Miss USA pageant to marvel at the shoes, it was not at all surprising to see Miss California, Carrie Prejean, a finalist to become a Deal or No Deal briefcase model, answer the gay marriage question the way she did. She is a current student at the anti-GLBT San Diego Christian College. San Diego Christian College is part of Shadow Mountain Community Churh and shares space with the equally owned Christian Unified Schools of San Diego, and the Southern California Seminary. San Diego Christian College is one of the rare (perhaps only) evangelical Christian colleges which not only has a written anti-gay policy but also an anti-transgender policy. More . . . .
http://www.heartstrong.org/HeartStrong/carrieprejean.html
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Friday, May 01, 2009
FLORIDA DIGEST May 01, 2009
**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.
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Welcome gay weddings
Florida is about to miss a golden opportunity for increased income in uncertain economic times. Couples are flocking to courthouses in Iowa -- Iowa! -- to be wed since the state recently legalized gay marriage. Florida has the infrastructure to support marriage-tourists. Imagine the revenue that could be pumped into local businesses by wedding parties and their guests coming to our sunny shores for ceremonies and receptions. If the moralists in Florida's Legislature have recently discovered a certain flexibility in their core beliefs that has them reconsidering the ills of gambling, perhaps it's time to realize that their resistance to people who aren't exactly like them must wane. Thousands of fellow citizens deserve to have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities of state-sanctioned marriage that my wife and I enjoy. But we've got to hurry, Vermont will begin allowing gay marriage in September, and our sun and beaches will have to compete with the brilliant colors of a New England fall.
TODD STIFF, Miami Springs
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/1026618.html
-Fort Lauderdale beach hotel targets hipsters
The W is going where no Fort Lauderdale hotel has gone before: after affluent hipsters. With stylists instead of housekeepers and brownie spa options, the chic hotel will pursue the cool, not just the rich.
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
Look up at the five large hoops suspended over the W Fort Lauderdale's driveway and you'll get a hint at the bold ambitions on display at the new hotel. ''The entire property has been done in feng shui and biophilia,'' sales director Chris Tompkins explained, rattling off new-age concepts of spiritual design. ``The rings above bring out your negative energy and empty it into the air.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1026895.html
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Stonewall Street Festival to place emphasis on education
Displays from Stonewall Library and Archives will be on hand during event
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
This year's Stonewall Street Festival and Parade in Wilton Manors will place added emphasis on education of the advancement of the gay rights movement throughout the years. According to Lance Horton, Executive Director of Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale, there will be displays, some coming from the Stonewall Library and Archives, which show how the gay community has continuously gained their civil rights despite some setbacks. This returns Stonewall to the original goal set forth by the founders of the festival 10 years ago: to make the Stonewall festival a learning as well as a fun experience.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/news/localnews/5788.cfm
-State GLBT bill fails
Blame pinned on activist group, poor economy
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
As Florida's State Senate and House of Representatives wrap up their legislative sessions for 2009, the proposed bill to make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in housing, employment and public accommodations will not be brought to a vote. This is the third attempt that state senator Ted Deutch (D-Boca Raton) and state representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) have introduced legislation, SB 2012/HB 397, to expand the protected classes in the Florida Civil Rights Act and Florida's Fair Housing Act.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/news/localnews/5786.cfm
-Gay Men's Chorus stages British invasion
Will perform with groups from Ireland and Germany
By DAN RENZI
The vocal talents of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus will be on display "across the pond," at the Various Voices concert May 1-4 in London, England. Thirty members of the melodic men's group will perform with Gloria-Ireland's Gay and Lesbian choir and Die Mainsirenen from Germany, in the show titled "Three of a Kind." The group is one of only three choirs from America asked to participate. "It's a huge production, we are very thrilled to be going," said FLGMC Administrator Bradley Bush.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/news/localnews/5792.cfm
-CDC issues guidance for HIV and swine flu
Those with HIV may experience more severe illness, complications
STAFF REPORTS
The CDC on Thursday issued "interim guidance" for clinicians treating patients with swine flu who are also HIV-positive. The full publication is available here. The document notes that people with compromised immune systems, including people with HIV, are more at risk for seasonal flu, and thus are more likely to be at risk for H1N1, or swine-origin, flu as well.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25257
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-South Florida schools take swine flu precautions
Schools and day care centers in Broward and Palm Beach counties stress hygiene to parents
By Kathy Bushouse Brian Haas and Macollvie Jean-Francois
South Florida's schools and day-care centers are taking precautions and preaching the gospel of good hygiene, as concerns over swine flu escalate. School districts in Broward and Palm Beach counties sent notices home with students, reminding them to wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough, and told employees to stay home if they're sick.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-swine-flu-schools-bn043009,0,878576.story
-Broward County schools celebrate overall gain on FCAT writing test
Two schools in danger of closing showed turnarounds, but scores at several others fell
By Akilah Johnson
Fourth-grade students and their teachers at Larkdale Elementary School are thrilled: By writing their way to a double-digit gain on the FCAT, a school teetering on the brink of closing moved closer to staying put. "We showed up, and we showed out," Kiera Wesby, a fourth-grader at the Fort Lauderdale school, said today.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-broward-fcat-writes-bn043009,0,1369506.story
-Palm Beach County fourth-, eighth-graders improve on FCAT writing;
10th-graders drop slightly
Majority of schools do well, but a few dropped significantly
By Marc Freeman
You can tell just by looking at Eagles Landing Middle students that they don't back down from a challenge. So the 449 eighth-graders at the school west of Boca Raton were motivated for the FCAT writing exam.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-palm-fcat-writes-p043009,0,2018026.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Welcome gay weddings
Florida is about to miss a golden opportunity for increased income in uncertain economic times. Couples are flocking to courthouses in Iowa -- Iowa! -- to be wed since the state recently legalized gay marriage. Florida has the infrastructure to support marriage-tourists. Imagine the revenue that could be pumped into local businesses by wedding parties and their guests coming to our sunny shores for ceremonies and receptions. If the moralists in Florida's Legislature have recently discovered a certain flexibility in their core beliefs that has them reconsidering the ills of gambling, perhaps it's time to realize that their resistance to people who aren't exactly like them must wane. Thousands of fellow citizens deserve to have the same rights, privileges and responsibilities of state-sanctioned marriage that my wife and I enjoy. But we've got to hurry, Vermont will begin allowing gay marriage in September, and our sun and beaches will have to compete with the brilliant colors of a New England fall.
TODD STIFF, Miami Springs
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/letters/story/1026618.html
-Fort Lauderdale beach hotel targets hipsters
The W is going where no Fort Lauderdale hotel has gone before: after affluent hipsters. With stylists instead of housekeepers and brownie spa options, the chic hotel will pursue the cool, not just the rich.
BY DOUGLAS HANKS
Look up at the five large hoops suspended over the W Fort Lauderdale's driveway and you'll get a hint at the bold ambitions on display at the new hotel. ''The entire property has been done in feng shui and biophilia,'' sales director Chris Tompkins explained, rattling off new-age concepts of spiritual design. ``The rings above bring out your negative energy and empty it into the air.''
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/1026895.html
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Stonewall Street Festival to place emphasis on education
Displays from Stonewall Library and Archives will be on hand during event
By STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
This year's Stonewall Street Festival and Parade in Wilton Manors will place added emphasis on education of the advancement of the gay rights movement throughout the years. According to Lance Horton, Executive Director of Pride of Greater Fort Lauderdale, there will be displays, some coming from the Stonewall Library and Archives, which show how the gay community has continuously gained their civil rights despite some setbacks. This returns Stonewall to the original goal set forth by the founders of the festival 10 years ago: to make the Stonewall festival a learning as well as a fun experience.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/news/localnews/5788.cfm
-State GLBT bill fails
Blame pinned on activist group, poor economy
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
As Florida's State Senate and House of Representatives wrap up their legislative sessions for 2009, the proposed bill to make it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in housing, employment and public accommodations will not be brought to a vote. This is the third attempt that state senator Ted Deutch (D-Boca Raton) and state representative Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) have introduced legislation, SB 2012/HB 397, to expand the protected classes in the Florida Civil Rights Act and Florida's Fair Housing Act.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/news/localnews/5786.cfm
-Gay Men's Chorus stages British invasion
Will perform with groups from Ireland and Germany
By DAN RENZI
The vocal talents of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus will be on display "across the pond," at the Various Voices concert May 1-4 in London, England. Thirty members of the melodic men's group will perform with Gloria-Ireland's Gay and Lesbian choir and Die Mainsirenen from Germany, in the show titled "Three of a Kind." The group is one of only three choirs from America asked to participate. "It's a huge production, we are very thrilled to be going," said FLGMC Administrator Bradley Bush.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-30/news/localnews/5792.cfm
-CDC issues guidance for HIV and swine flu
Those with HIV may experience more severe illness, complications
STAFF REPORTS
The CDC on Thursday issued "interim guidance" for clinicians treating patients with swine flu who are also HIV-positive. The full publication is available here. The document notes that people with compromised immune systems, including people with HIV, are more at risk for seasonal flu, and thus are more likely to be at risk for H1N1, or swine-origin, flu as well.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25257
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-South Florida schools take swine flu precautions
Schools and day care centers in Broward and Palm Beach counties stress hygiene to parents
By Kathy Bushouse Brian Haas and Macollvie Jean-Francois
South Florida's schools and day-care centers are taking precautions and preaching the gospel of good hygiene, as concerns over swine flu escalate. School districts in Broward and Palm Beach counties sent notices home with students, reminding them to wash their hands and cover their mouths when they cough, and told employees to stay home if they're sick.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-swine-flu-schools-bn043009,0,878576.story
-Broward County schools celebrate overall gain on FCAT writing test
Two schools in danger of closing showed turnarounds, but scores at several others fell
By Akilah Johnson
Fourth-grade students and their teachers at Larkdale Elementary School are thrilled: By writing their way to a double-digit gain on the FCAT, a school teetering on the brink of closing moved closer to staying put. "We showed up, and we showed out," Kiera Wesby, a fourth-grader at the Fort Lauderdale school, said today.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-broward-fcat-writes-bn043009,0,1369506.story
-Palm Beach County fourth-, eighth-graders improve on FCAT writing;
10th-graders drop slightly
Majority of schools do well, but a few dropped significantly
By Marc Freeman
You can tell just by looking at Eagles Landing Middle students that they don't back down from a challenge. So the 449 eighth-graders at the school west of Boca Raton were motivated for the FCAT writing exam.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-palm-fcat-writes-p043009,0,2018026.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
GLBT DIGEST - April 30, 2009
**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:
-New Hampshire Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
The New Hampshire Senate voted narrowly on Wednesday to legalize same-sex marriage, paving the way for the state to potentially become the fifth in the nation - and the third this month - to allow gay couples to wed. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 13 to 11 in favor of the bill, but only after a last-minute amendment strengthened language granting legal protections for religious groups and organizations that do not want to perform or help carry out same-sex marriages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/us/30marriage.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Same-Sex Couples' Taxes
Regarding Carol Jennings's April 26 letter "Wedded to a Tax Penalty": It must be nice to have the right to decide how you are going to file with the IRS. As a man who has been in a same-sex relationship for over 25 years, I would love to have Ms. Jennings's problem. My partner and I can only dream of the day when the federal government recognizes our relationship and allows us to file as a couple. I, too, am a federal employee and wish that I had the right to add my partner to my health insurance at work. Having recently been transferred, I wish the government would have paid for my partner to move with me, as it would have for Ms. Jennings and her husband. I urge readers to write to their senators and representatives and ask them to federally recognize committed, long-term gay and lesbian relationships.
DOUGLAS GIBSON JR.
Fairfax
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/29/AR2009042904431.html
-Lawmaker Calls Shepard Case a Hoax: Gay rights groups assailed U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) after she called the case behind a bill "a hoax." Foxx's comments came on the House floor during debate over the so-called Matthew Shepard bill, named for a gay man murdered in Wyoming in 1998. The bill would expand a federal hate crimes law to include acts motivated by sexual orientation. "The Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed," Foxx said. "But we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. "The bill was named for him . . . but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills." Foxx later called her comments "a poor choice of words."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/29/AR2009042904971.html
-Miss California to campaign against gay marriage
The Associated Press
The reigning Miss California has gone to Washington to help launch a campaign opposing same-sex marriage. Carrie Prejean told NBC's "Today" show Thursday that she'll be working with the National Organization for Marriage to "protect traditional marriages."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043001121.html
-National poll: mixed views on gay-rights issues
By DAVID CRARY
-A majority of Americans oppose gay marriage but support civil unions for same-sex couples and favor repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. Quinnipiac's polling institute, which surveyed 2,041 registered voters nationwide, said it was one of most comprehensive polls ever on attitudes toward a variety of gay-rights questions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043000844.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gays win new protections in House hate crimes bill, passed despite
conservatives objections
LARRY MARGASAK | Associated Press Writer
Gay victims of violence would gain new federal protections under a revived and expanded hate crimes bill passed by the House on Wednesday over conservatives' objections. Hate crimes - as defined by the bill - are those motivated by prejudice and based someone's race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-hate-crimes,0,6157375.story
=
Steve Rothaus
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-'Top Gun' co-star Kelly McGillis comes out as a lesbian
From Daily Mail: Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis has confirmed Hollywood's worst kept secret - she is a lesbian. The 51-year-old, who played Tom Cruise's love interest in the film about a fighter pilot training school, has long been the subject of rumours but always denied being gay. The actress, who is single, 'came out' in an interview with lesbian website SheWired.com. To read the entire article, click here.
-Aqua Girl 2009 to begin May 6 on South Beach
Aqua Girl '09 runs May 6-10.
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Florida Bar Assoc. supports gay adoption
Christian firm files challenge against pro-gay stance
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Florida's Supreme Court is stepping in to resolve a petition filed between The Florida Bar Association and anti-gay organization Liberty Counsel, regarding Florida Bar Association's rights to file an amicus, or "friend-of-the-court," brief in support of gay adoption.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-23/news/localnews/5760.cfm
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Methodist Court Says No to Same-sex Marriage
By Julie Bolcer
The highest court of the United Methodist Church has ruled that clergy may not officiate at same-sex marriages, even in states where the marriages are legal, the United Methodist News Service reported on Monday. The decision for the 8.3 million member church, made by the Judicial Council at its spring meeting, overturns resolutions from two regional groups in support of clergy who perform same-sex marriages. The California-Nevada Annual Conference and California-Pacific Conference had passed the supportive resolutions.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81405.asp
-Larry Kramer's Case Against "Queer"
Longtime activist and writer Larry Kramer schools the crowd as he accepted an award from Yale's Gay and Lesbian Association.
By Charles Kaiser
Larry Kramer went to Yale University last week to be honored by its Gay and Lesbian Association during its very first alumni reunion. The brooding author-playwright-AIDS activist used the occasion to deliver a broadside against Yale, queer theory -- as well as the word "queer" -- and all the American historians who have buried evidence that Kramer believes makes Abe Lincoln, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) great gay Americans.
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid81256.asp
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Lowenstein: Anti-equality rally reveals divisive strategy
By Jenna Lowenstein
Anti-gay activists have zeroed in on two ways to fracture the community: along lines of race, and lines of faith. Read more...
http://www.365gay.com/blog/lowenstein-anti-equality-rally-reveals-divisive-strategy/
-Withers: Marion Barry is a liar
By James Withers
Dear LOGO bosses: you need to do away with the anti-cursing rule because right now there are a few choice words that need to be said about Marion Barry, The former Washington D.C. mayor attended an anti gay marriage rally to announce that Adam and Steve nuptials are immoral. Okay. Fine. Get in line Mr. Barry. Heck, you can join some folk in my family who spout similar noise. Like Barry those same kin have interesting extracurricular lives, but I digress.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/043009-marion-barry-is-a-liar/
-RachelWatch: 100 Enchanted Evenings
By Ali Davis
100 Days
Wednesday was - in case you spent the last few weeks in an isolation tank - President Obama's 100th day in office, which means he was legally required to hold a press conference and TV talking heads were legally required to sum up his performance with stupid, reductionist letter grades.
http://www.365gay.com/living/rachelwatch-100-enchanted-evenings/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Remembering the Admiral Duncan bombing
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Admiral Duncan nail bomb attack on April 30th 1999 in Soho. It was one of three nail bomb attacks and killed three people, while 80 were injured.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12231.html
-BBC and Channel 4 could be allowed to opt-out of new equality laws
The BBC and Channel 4 may be permitted to opt out of equality laws in order to preserve editorial independence. The new legislation could force them to use quotas of gay, ethnic minority or female actors.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12227.html
-French National Assembly approves recognising foreign civil partnerships
France's National Assembly finally approved of the measure to have foreign legal same-sex marriages recognised in France as PACS in the early hours of this morning.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12228.html
-Gay charities express concern over faith school sex education proposals
New government plans to allow faith schools to teach sex education in line with their religious beliefs have come under fire from gay charities. Under the recommendations, faith schools will be allowed to present lessons in line with their own "context, values and ethos".
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12243.html
-Stephen Fry ponders growing up, love and being gay in a letter to his 16-year-old self
Stephen Fry has written a letter to his 16-year-old self about his melancholy adolescence and his desperation never to grow up.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12239.html
-New Hampshire Senate passes gay marriage bill
New Hampshire's Senate passed a bill yesterday to allow gay marriage. The bill looked set for defeat until an amendment was added to allow clergy to refuse to marry same-sex couples.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12237.html
-Trans woman wins almost $500,000 in discrimination lawsuit
A former Army Special Forces commander who was rejected from a job because she was undergoing gender reassigment has won her case for sexual discrimination.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12235.html
-New York's lesbian finance commissioner forced to resign after allegations of nepotism Martha Stark, New York's finance commissioner, was forced to resign on Tuesday amidst charges of nepotism and allegations that she was having a romantic relationship with a female subordinate.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12225.html
=
JustNews.com
http://www.justnews.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gay Adoption Before Legislature, High Court
When Martin Gill met two young brothers named John and James, whom he later adopted, they had ringworm and no smiles. Four years later, at ages 4 and 8, their smiles come easily. When Dennis Baxley met an 8-month-old baby named Jeff, whom he too adopted, the boy had been shaken to the point of brain damage and blindness. Baxley said they had an "instant bond". For all three children, adoption meant rescue from abuse or neglect.
http://www.justnews.com/news/19326025/detail.html?treets=mia&tid=2655619429813&tml=mia_dailyforecast&tmi=mia_dailyforecast_1_04000104302009&ts=H
=
Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Tanvir Alim a prominent Gay Rights Activist from Bangladesh shares his views on the mindset of the Homosexuals in this pre-dominantly Islamic society. He also gives a vivid description about the contribution of BoB towards educating the gays about their rights and aspirations. Ashok Deb: Dear Tanvir tell me about your association with BOB Tanvir: I was basically an inactive member of BoB. Few BOB well wishers cajoled me to be active way back in 2005, but I refrained being scared of disclosing my sexual identity. The prevailing Homophobia in society and office created an invisible wall which prevented me to COME OUT.
http://lgbtbangladesh.wordpress.com/
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-LONDON RALLIES AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA.
Campaigners around the world are busy preparing for the 5th International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) which takes place on May 17th to mark the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. London will see its biggest ever IDAHO, showing growing concern about the plight of LGBT people around the world who are executed, imprisoned and harassed because of their sexuality. On the other hand Derek Lennard, UK's IDAHO-UK Coordinator commented "We are remembering the Soho bombings today so despite all the advances we have made, none of us are complacent about homophobia and transphobia in the UK". Rainbow flags will fly all over the country to mark IDAHO, particularly and poignantly in the city of Liverpool. "Strangely, they will not be flying from police stations in London", added Lennard.
http://kyrgyzlabrys.wordpress.com/
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-Log Cabin Republicans Applauds passage of H.R. 1913 on Hate Crimes Prevention
Log Cabin Republicans National Board Chairman Terry W. Hamilton issued the following statement on the passage of House Resolution 1913 - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Enforcement Act. "Log Cabin Republicans is encouraged by the passage of H.R. 1913 - it provides local and state law enforcement with the funding and tools necessary to fully prosecute crimes of the most heinous nature - those based out of hate," comments Hamilton. "We are happy to join the National Sheriffs' Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National District Attorneys Association, the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches and other law enforcement and civil rights organizations in support of this legislation."
http://www.logcabin.org/join-forward.html?domain=logcabin&r=T7BmeI1qoHmj
-The Huffington Post
Stand by Your Word, Mr. President: End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
by Aubrey Sarvis
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's Aubrey Sarvis calls on President Obama to repeal DADT: "Keep your promise, Mr. President, and ask Congress and the American people to join you in standing against this reprehensible law that tortures every day so many young men and women who want to serve our country."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aubrey-sarvis/stand-by-your-word-mr-pre_b_191759.html
-SLDN's Open Letter to President Obama yesterday in a full page ad in Roll Call -- on lifting the military ban
Dear Mr. President:
On the campaign trail you said repeatedly the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law should go. On the White House website you pledge to get rid of it. But since November, you've been silent. In response to recent questions about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," your Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen said "I haven't gotten any direction." Your Defense Secretary said, "If we do it,'' meaning if the law is repealed. Mr. President, we thought we were talking about how and when to do this, not if. The far Right opposition is now cleverly framing the debate to box you in and keep this discriminatory law on the books, even daring you to act against their wishes. If you remain silent, it will soon be OK on your watch, to continue firing gay linguists and intelligence analysts.
http://www.sldn.org
-Special Forces vet wins sex-change lawsuit
A federal judge has awarded a former Army Special Forces commander nearly $500,000 because she was rejected from a job at the Library of Congress while transitioning from a man to a woman.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30480401/
-Sin City: Gays in Civil Society
There's a telling section in the Iowa Supreme Court's opinion in Varnum v. Brien, that hasn't gotten as much attention as it should. The section is only about four pages long, but it says everything about the current state of the debate over gay marriage - and, in general, about gays in civil society. After addressing the five key arguments against same-sex marriage, and explaining why they are not sufficient to justify state discrimination against same-sex couples, the court then reaches out to answer a sixth argument that the government had not made: religious opposition: The belief that the "sanctity of marriage" would be undermined by the inclusion of gay and lesbian couples bears a striking conceptual resemblance to the expressed secular rationale for maintaining the tradition of marriage as a union between dual-gender couples, but better identifies the source of the opposition. Whether expressly or impliedly, much of society rejects same-sex marriage due to sincere, deeply ingrained- even fundamental-religious belief.
http://www.indegayforum.org/blog/show/31779.html
-Preaching Sex
By Mark Kernes
MELBOURNE, Fla. - One of the longest-running religious disputes has been why, if sex is shameful, did God make humans capable of orgasm? And if God wants only heterosexual sex within marriage, why did s/he make it possible for men and women to receive pleasure from pretty much any type of sex: Married, unmarried, masturbation, anal, gay, BDSM, etc., etc., etc.?
http://business.avn.com/articles/35131.html
-BLACK AMERICANS HAVE GREATER SENSE OF URGENCY ABOUT HIV/AIDS
New national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides insights into Black America's attitudes about HIV/AIDS - While concerns remain, changes in behavior among Black Americans offer
reasons for hope.
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs070/1011302301100/img/387.jpg?a=1102564058565
-A new national public opinion poll has found support for same-sex marriage has jumped nearly 10 percent in the past month. The CBS News/New York Times poll found that 42 percent of Americans believe same-sex couples should have the right to marry. Last month a CBS/Times poll found support at 33 percent. The new poll is the highest support for gay marriage since CBS news began asking public opinion in 2004 the network said on Tuesday.
-Court partly upholds "dirty words" ban
Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court upheld the government's power under existing law to ban the use on radio and TV of even a single four-letter word that is considered indecent - but left open the question of whether the ban might violate the First Amendment, at least in some situations. The Court, in an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, said the Federal Communications Commission's switch in policy to ban even a fleeting use of such a word was "entirely rational" under the law that governs federal administrative powers.
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/court-upholds-dirty-words-ban/
-Signs G.O.P. Is Rethinking Stance on Gay Marriage
Some Republicans say the issue of gay marriage may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/politics/28web-nagourney.html?emc=eta1
-A Buddhist preacher in Thailand says is planning a good manners guide to curb effeminate activities of gay and transgender monks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8020311.stm
-We've Already Won the Battle Over Gay Marriage
Public support for marriage equality is on the rise, and it is conservatives who are ceding ground.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=weve_already_won_the_battle_over_gay_marriage
-WI: Four tossed off Library Board for not restricting sexually-explicit
books.
http://tinyurl.com/dz7wm7
=
Truth Wins Out - TWO
by Wayne Besen
http://www.truthwinsout.org/
-Truth Wins Out joined local Boston GLBT advocates to demonstrate against Exodus International, which hosted a training seminar on Tuesday to teach people to "pray away the gay." The protest was held at the site of the "ex-gay" symposium - the Park St. Church.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/twos-wayne-besen-to-participate-in-boston-protest-against-exodus-will-also-give-seminar-on-ex-gay-myth-at-mit-on-tuesday/
=
Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Catholics, Obama and Notre Dame
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1213/catholics-obama-notre-dame-commencement
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-New Hampshire Senate Passes Gay Marriage Bill
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
The New Hampshire Senate voted narrowly on Wednesday to legalize same-sex marriage, paving the way for the state to potentially become the fifth in the nation - and the third this month - to allow gay couples to wed. The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 13 to 11 in favor of the bill, but only after a last-minute amendment strengthened language granting legal protections for religious groups and organizations that do not want to perform or help carry out same-sex marriages.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/30/us/30marriage.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Same-Sex Couples' Taxes
Regarding Carol Jennings's April 26 letter "Wedded to a Tax Penalty": It must be nice to have the right to decide how you are going to file with the IRS. As a man who has been in a same-sex relationship for over 25 years, I would love to have Ms. Jennings's problem. My partner and I can only dream of the day when the federal government recognizes our relationship and allows us to file as a couple. I, too, am a federal employee and wish that I had the right to add my partner to my health insurance at work. Having recently been transferred, I wish the government would have paid for my partner to move with me, as it would have for Ms. Jennings and her husband. I urge readers to write to their senators and representatives and ask them to federally recognize committed, long-term gay and lesbian relationships.
DOUGLAS GIBSON JR.
Fairfax
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/29/AR2009042904431.html
-Lawmaker Calls Shepard Case a Hoax: Gay rights groups assailed U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) after she called the case behind a bill "a hoax." Foxx's comments came on the House floor during debate over the so-called Matthew Shepard bill, named for a gay man murdered in Wyoming in 1998. The bill would expand a federal hate crimes law to include acts motivated by sexual orientation. "The Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed," Foxx said. "But we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. "The bill was named for him . . . but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills." Foxx later called her comments "a poor choice of words."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/29/AR2009042904971.html
-Miss California to campaign against gay marriage
The Associated Press
The reigning Miss California has gone to Washington to help launch a campaign opposing same-sex marriage. Carrie Prejean told NBC's "Today" show Thursday that she'll be working with the National Organization for Marriage to "protect traditional marriages."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043001121.html
-National poll: mixed views on gay-rights issues
By DAVID CRARY
-A majority of Americans oppose gay marriage but support civil unions for same-sex couples and favor repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. Quinnipiac's polling institute, which surveyed 2,041 registered voters nationwide, said it was one of most comprehensive polls ever on attitudes toward a variety of gay-rights questions.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043000844.html
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gays win new protections in House hate crimes bill, passed despite
conservatives objections
LARRY MARGASAK | Associated Press Writer
Gay victims of violence would gain new federal protections under a revived and expanded hate crimes bill passed by the House on Wednesday over conservatives' objections. Hate crimes - as defined by the bill - are those motivated by prejudice and based someone's race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/politics/wire/sns-ap-us-hate-crimes,0,6157375.story
=
Steve Rothaus
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-'Top Gun' co-star Kelly McGillis comes out as a lesbian
From Daily Mail: Top Gun actress Kelly McGillis has confirmed Hollywood's worst kept secret - she is a lesbian. The 51-year-old, who played Tom Cruise's love interest in the film about a fighter pilot training school, has long been the subject of rumours but always denied being gay. The actress, who is single, 'came out' in an interview with lesbian website SheWired.com. To read the entire article, click here.
-Aqua Girl 2009 to begin May 6 on South Beach
Aqua Girl '09 runs May 6-10.
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Florida Bar Assoc. supports gay adoption
Christian firm files challenge against pro-gay stance
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Florida's Supreme Court is stepping in to resolve a petition filed between The Florida Bar Association and anti-gay organization Liberty Counsel, regarding Florida Bar Association's rights to file an amicus, or "friend-of-the-court," brief in support of gay adoption.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-23/news/localnews/5760.cfm
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Methodist Court Says No to Same-sex Marriage
By Julie Bolcer
The highest court of the United Methodist Church has ruled that clergy may not officiate at same-sex marriages, even in states where the marriages are legal, the United Methodist News Service reported on Monday. The decision for the 8.3 million member church, made by the Judicial Council at its spring meeting, overturns resolutions from two regional groups in support of clergy who perform same-sex marriages. The California-Nevada Annual Conference and California-Pacific Conference had passed the supportive resolutions.
http://advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81405.asp
-Larry Kramer's Case Against "Queer"
Longtime activist and writer Larry Kramer schools the crowd as he accepted an award from Yale's Gay and Lesbian Association.
By Charles Kaiser
Larry Kramer went to Yale University last week to be honored by its Gay and Lesbian Association during its very first alumni reunion. The brooding author-playwright-AIDS activist used the occasion to deliver a broadside against Yale, queer theory -- as well as the word "queer" -- and all the American historians who have buried evidence that Kramer believes makes Abe Lincoln, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Meriwether Lewis (of Lewis and Clark) great gay Americans.
http://www.advocate.com/exclusive_detail_ektid81256.asp
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Lowenstein: Anti-equality rally reveals divisive strategy
By Jenna Lowenstein
Anti-gay activists have zeroed in on two ways to fracture the community: along lines of race, and lines of faith. Read more...
http://www.365gay.com/blog/lowenstein-anti-equality-rally-reveals-divisive-strategy/
-Withers: Marion Barry is a liar
By James Withers
Dear LOGO bosses: you need to do away with the anti-cursing rule because right now there are a few choice words that need to be said about Marion Barry, The former Washington D.C. mayor attended an anti gay marriage rally to announce that Adam and Steve nuptials are immoral. Okay. Fine. Get in line Mr. Barry. Heck, you can join some folk in my family who spout similar noise. Like Barry those same kin have interesting extracurricular lives, but I digress.
http://www.365gay.com/blog/043009-marion-barry-is-a-liar/
-RachelWatch: 100 Enchanted Evenings
By Ali Davis
100 Days
Wednesday was - in case you spent the last few weeks in an isolation tank - President Obama's 100th day in office, which means he was legally required to hold a press conference and TV talking heads were legally required to sum up his performance with stupid, reductionist letter grades.
http://www.365gay.com/living/rachelwatch-100-enchanted-evenings/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Remembering the Admiral Duncan bombing
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the Admiral Duncan nail bomb attack on April 30th 1999 in Soho. It was one of three nail bomb attacks and killed three people, while 80 were injured.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12231.html
-BBC and Channel 4 could be allowed to opt-out of new equality laws
The BBC and Channel 4 may be permitted to opt out of equality laws in order to preserve editorial independence. The new legislation could force them to use quotas of gay, ethnic minority or female actors.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12227.html
-French National Assembly approves recognising foreign civil partnerships
France's National Assembly finally approved of the measure to have foreign legal same-sex marriages recognised in France as PACS in the early hours of this morning.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12228.html
-Gay charities express concern over faith school sex education proposals
New government plans to allow faith schools to teach sex education in line with their religious beliefs have come under fire from gay charities. Under the recommendations, faith schools will be allowed to present lessons in line with their own "context, values and ethos".
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12243.html
-Stephen Fry ponders growing up, love and being gay in a letter to his 16-year-old self
Stephen Fry has written a letter to his 16-year-old self about his melancholy adolescence and his desperation never to grow up.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12239.html
-New Hampshire Senate passes gay marriage bill
New Hampshire's Senate passed a bill yesterday to allow gay marriage. The bill looked set for defeat until an amendment was added to allow clergy to refuse to marry same-sex couples.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12237.html
-Trans woman wins almost $500,000 in discrimination lawsuit
A former Army Special Forces commander who was rejected from a job because she was undergoing gender reassigment has won her case for sexual discrimination.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12235.html
-New York's lesbian finance commissioner forced to resign after allegations of nepotism Martha Stark, New York's finance commissioner, was forced to resign on Tuesday amidst charges of nepotism and allegations that she was having a romantic relationship with a female subordinate.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12225.html
=
JustNews.com
http://www.justnews.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Gay Adoption Before Legislature, High Court
When Martin Gill met two young brothers named John and James, whom he later adopted, they had ringworm and no smiles. Four years later, at ages 4 and 8, their smiles come easily. When Dennis Baxley met an 8-month-old baby named Jeff, whom he too adopted, the boy had been shaken to the point of brain damage and blindness. Baxley said they had an "instant bond". For all three children, adoption meant rescue from abuse or neglect.
http://www.justnews.com/news/19326025/detail.html?treets=mia&tid=2655619429813&tml=mia_dailyforecast&tmi=mia_dailyforecast_1_04000104302009&ts=H
=
Forwarded from Gays Without Borders
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Tanvir Alim a prominent Gay Rights Activist from Bangladesh shares his views on the mindset of the Homosexuals in this pre-dominantly Islamic society. He also gives a vivid description about the contribution of BoB towards educating the gays about their rights and aspirations. Ashok Deb: Dear Tanvir tell me about your association with BOB Tanvir: I was basically an inactive member of BoB. Few BOB well wishers cajoled me to be active way back in 2005, but I refrained being scared of disclosing my sexual identity. The prevailing Homophobia in society and office created an invisible wall which prevented me to COME OUT.
http://lgbtbangladesh.wordpress.com/
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-LONDON RALLIES AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA.
Campaigners around the world are busy preparing for the 5th International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) which takes place on May 17th to mark the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. London will see its biggest ever IDAHO, showing growing concern about the plight of LGBT people around the world who are executed, imprisoned and harassed because of their sexuality. On the other hand Derek Lennard, UK's IDAHO-UK Coordinator commented "We are remembering the Soho bombings today so despite all the advances we have made, none of us are complacent about homophobia and transphobia in the UK". Rainbow flags will fly all over the country to mark IDAHO, particularly and poignantly in the city of Liverpool. "Strangely, they will not be flying from police stations in London", added Lennard.
http://kyrgyzlabrys.wordpress.com/
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-Log Cabin Republicans Applauds passage of H.R. 1913 on Hate Crimes Prevention
Log Cabin Republicans National Board Chairman Terry W. Hamilton issued the following statement on the passage of House Resolution 1913 - The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Enforcement Act. "Log Cabin Republicans is encouraged by the passage of H.R. 1913 - it provides local and state law enforcement with the funding and tools necessary to fully prosecute crimes of the most heinous nature - those based out of hate," comments Hamilton. "We are happy to join the National Sheriffs' Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National District Attorneys Association, the Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches and other law enforcement and civil rights organizations in support of this legislation."
http://www.logcabin.org/join-forward.html?domain=logcabin&r=T7BmeI1qoHmj
-The Huffington Post
Stand by Your Word, Mr. President: End "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
by Aubrey Sarvis
The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network's Aubrey Sarvis calls on President Obama to repeal DADT: "Keep your promise, Mr. President, and ask Congress and the American people to join you in standing against this reprehensible law that tortures every day so many young men and women who want to serve our country."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aubrey-sarvis/stand-by-your-word-mr-pre_b_191759.html
-SLDN's Open Letter to President Obama yesterday in a full page ad in Roll Call -- on lifting the military ban
Dear Mr. President:
On the campaign trail you said repeatedly the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law should go. On the White House website you pledge to get rid of it. But since November, you've been silent. In response to recent questions about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," your Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mullen said "I haven't gotten any direction." Your Defense Secretary said, "If we do it,'' meaning if the law is repealed. Mr. President, we thought we were talking about how and when to do this, not if. The far Right opposition is now cleverly framing the debate to box you in and keep this discriminatory law on the books, even daring you to act against their wishes. If you remain silent, it will soon be OK on your watch, to continue firing gay linguists and intelligence analysts.
http://www.sldn.org
-Special Forces vet wins sex-change lawsuit
A federal judge has awarded a former Army Special Forces commander nearly $500,000 because she was rejected from a job at the Library of Congress while transitioning from a man to a woman.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30480401/
-Sin City: Gays in Civil Society
There's a telling section in the Iowa Supreme Court's opinion in Varnum v. Brien, that hasn't gotten as much attention as it should. The section is only about four pages long, but it says everything about the current state of the debate over gay marriage - and, in general, about gays in civil society. After addressing the five key arguments against same-sex marriage, and explaining why they are not sufficient to justify state discrimination against same-sex couples, the court then reaches out to answer a sixth argument that the government had not made: religious opposition: The belief that the "sanctity of marriage" would be undermined by the inclusion of gay and lesbian couples bears a striking conceptual resemblance to the expressed secular rationale for maintaining the tradition of marriage as a union between dual-gender couples, but better identifies the source of the opposition. Whether expressly or impliedly, much of society rejects same-sex marriage due to sincere, deeply ingrained- even fundamental-religious belief.
http://www.indegayforum.org/blog/show/31779.html
-Preaching Sex
By Mark Kernes
MELBOURNE, Fla. - One of the longest-running religious disputes has been why, if sex is shameful, did God make humans capable of orgasm? And if God wants only heterosexual sex within marriage, why did s/he make it possible for men and women to receive pleasure from pretty much any type of sex: Married, unmarried, masturbation, anal, gay, BDSM, etc., etc., etc.?
http://business.avn.com/articles/35131.html
-BLACK AMERICANS HAVE GREATER SENSE OF URGENCY ABOUT HIV/AIDS
New national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides insights into Black America's attitudes about HIV/AIDS - While concerns remain, changes in behavior among Black Americans offer
reasons for hope.
http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs070/1011302301100/img/387.jpg?a=1102564058565
-A new national public opinion poll has found support for same-sex marriage has jumped nearly 10 percent in the past month. The CBS News/New York Times poll found that 42 percent of Americans believe same-sex couples should have the right to marry. Last month a CBS/Times poll found support at 33 percent. The new poll is the highest support for gay marriage since CBS news began asking public opinion in 2004 the network said on Tuesday.
-Court partly upholds "dirty words" ban
Splitting 5-4, the Supreme Court upheld the government's power under existing law to ban the use on radio and TV of even a single four-letter word that is considered indecent - but left open the question of whether the ban might violate the First Amendment, at least in some situations. The Court, in an opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia, said the Federal Communications Commission's switch in policy to ban even a fleeting use of such a word was "entirely rational" under the law that governs federal administrative powers.
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/court-upholds-dirty-words-ban/
-Signs G.O.P. Is Rethinking Stance on Gay Marriage
Some Republicans say the issue of gay marriage may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/politics/28web-nagourney.html?emc=eta1
-A Buddhist preacher in Thailand says is planning a good manners guide to curb effeminate activities of gay and transgender monks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/8020311.stm
-We've Already Won the Battle Over Gay Marriage
Public support for marriage equality is on the rise, and it is conservatives who are ceding ground.
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=weve_already_won_the_battle_over_gay_marriage
-WI: Four tossed off Library Board for not restricting sexually-explicit
books.
http://tinyurl.com/dz7wm7
=
Truth Wins Out - TWO
by Wayne Besen
http://www.truthwinsout.org/
-Truth Wins Out joined local Boston GLBT advocates to demonstrate against Exodus International, which hosted a training seminar on Tuesday to teach people to "pray away the gay." The protest was held at the site of the "ex-gay" symposium - the Park St. Church.
http://www.truthwinsout.org/pressreleases/twos-wayne-besen-to-participate-in-boston-protest-against-exodus-will-also-give-seminar-on-ex-gay-myth-at-mit-on-tuesday/
=
Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Catholics, Obama and Notre Dame
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1213/catholics-obama-notre-dame-commencement
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 30, 2009
**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.
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-New library can help curb hate crime, sheriff says
ANTHONY MAN
Shortly after becoming sheriff in 2007, Al Lamberti was jolted by a state report showing Broward was the most diverse county in Florida - and also No. 1 in hate crimes. That's what led him to appear at the April 23 ribbon-cutting for the gay-oriented Stonewall Library and Archives. More than simply a political statement by the county's top elected official, the Republican sheriff said the Stonewall Library would ultimately improve public safety.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flesbgayhistory0430esbapr30,0,1274081.story
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Three South Florida GOP House members voted in favor of hate crimes law
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Mario Diaz-Balart
Source: Log Cabin Republicans
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Florida Bar Assoc. supports gay adoption
Christian firm files challenge against pro-gay stance
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Florida's Supreme Court is stepping in to resolve a petition filed between The Florida Bar Association and anti-gay organization Liberty Counsel, regarding Florida Bar Association's rights to file an amicus, or "friend-of-the-court," brief in support of gay adoption.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-23/news/localnews/5760.cfm
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Broward, Palm Beach counties improve scores on FCAT Writing test
First in series of FCAT results for state's fourth-, eighth- and 10th-grade students
By Akilah Johnson
South Florida schools wrote their way to higher FCAT Writing scores compared to last year, and they did better than the state. About 89 percent of Broward students and 88 percent in Palm Beach County earned the coveted 3.5 on the writing portion of the high-stakes test this year, according to Florida Department of Education scores released this morning.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-fcat-writing-advancebn042909,0,779716.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-New library can help curb hate crime, sheriff says
ANTHONY MAN
Shortly after becoming sheriff in 2007, Al Lamberti was jolted by a state report showing Broward was the most diverse county in Florida - and also No. 1 in hate crimes. That's what led him to appear at the April 23 ribbon-cutting for the gay-oriented Stonewall Library and Archives. More than simply a political statement by the county's top elected official, the Republican sheriff said the Stonewall Library would ultimately improve public safety.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/fort_lauderdale/sfl-flesbgayhistory0430esbapr30,0,1274081.story
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Three South Florida GOP House members voted in favor of hate crimes law
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Lincoln Diaz-Balart
Mario Diaz-Balart
Source: Log Cabin Republicans
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Florida Bar Assoc. supports gay adoption
Christian firm files challenge against pro-gay stance
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Florida's Supreme Court is stepping in to resolve a petition filed between The Florida Bar Association and anti-gay organization Liberty Counsel, regarding Florida Bar Association's rights to file an amicus, or "friend-of-the-court," brief in support of gay adoption.
http://www.floridablade.com/2009/4-23/news/localnews/5760.cfm
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Broward, Palm Beach counties improve scores on FCAT Writing test
First in series of FCAT results for state's fourth-, eighth- and 10th-grade students
By Akilah Johnson
South Florida schools wrote their way to higher FCAT Writing scores compared to last year, and they did better than the state. About 89 percent of Broward students and 88 percent in Palm Beach County earned the coveted 3.5 on the writing portion of the high-stakes test this year, according to Florida Department of Education scores released this morning.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-fcat-writing-advancebn042909,0,779716.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - April 29, 2009
**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:
-Same-Sex Marriage Holds Peril for G.O.P.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
It was only five years ago that opposition to same-sex marriage was so strong that Republicans explicitly turned to the issue as a way to energize conservative voters. Yet today, as the party contemplates the task of rebuilding itself, some Republicans say the marriage issue may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/politics/29memo.html?_r=1&sq=gay&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=4&adxnnlx=1241003080-RJLoWE6tEazmXiNHb+zeIA
-Maine: Vote on Gay Marriage Expected
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
The joint judiciary committee of the Legislature approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage in the state, setting the stage for the House and Senate to vote on it as soon as next week. Eleven of the 14 committee members voted in favor of the bill, two voted against it and one proposed letting voters decide the matter in a referendum. Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, has not said whether he will sign the bill. The New Hampshire House of Representatives approved a same-sex marriage bill last month, and the Senate is scheduled to take it up Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/29brfs-VOTEONGAYMAR_BRF.html?scp=3&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Ministers Lead Protest of D.C. Legislation
By Hamil R. Harris
Freedom Plaza was transformed into an intersection of faith and protest yesterday as about 150 people rallied to denounce support for same-sex marriage in the District.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042801608.html
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Video | Watch the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2009 trailer
Courtesy of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/04/video-miami-gay-lesbian-film-festival-2009-trailer.html
-'Outrage!' to be screened Thursday at Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival;
Lucy's 'Mame' too!
Late Tuesday night, the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival got confirmation that Outrage!, the film that attempts to out Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and other politicians, will be shown 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the Regal South Beach. Two hours later, the festival will screen Jerry Herman's 1974 musical Mame starring Lucille Ball and the late Beatrice Arthur. See you all at the movies!
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/04/outrage-to-be-screened-thursday-at-miami-gay-lesbian-film-festival-lucys-mame-too.html
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Kennedy introduces hate crimes bill in Senate
Move comes as House prepares for floor debate Wednesday
By CHRIS JOHNSON
As U.S. House lawmakers made preparations Tuesday for a floor vote on hate crimes legislation, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced similar legislation in the Senate. The new Senate bill, called the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, is named after a gay college student who was murdered near Laramie, Wyo., in 1998 because of his sexual orientation. Like the House bill, it would enable the Justice Department to prosecute hate crimes committed against LGBT people.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25214
-Colo. law on same-sex benefits heads to governor
Measure given final approval by House Tuesday
A bill allowing partners of gay and lesbian state workers to get health insurance coverage is headed to the governor. The measure was given final approval Tuesday by the House. It would add domestic partners to the list of dependents eligible for coverage. Same-sex partners who have been in a committed relationship with a state employee for at least a year would qualify. Supporters say gay couples don't have the option of getting married and it's only fair to provide an alternative. Opponents say it will be costly and is unfair to heterosexual couples who are committed but not married.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25212
-Maine panel endorses same-sex marriage
Gov. Baldacci remains undecided
A same-sex marriage bill is going to the Maine Senate and House with a strong committee endorsement. Eleven of the 14 Judiciary Committee members voted Tuesday to pass the bill, while two voted against it and one proposed sending it to voters in a November referendum. Gov. John Baldacci remains undecided. Supporters said the bill corrects an inequality that's long existed in Maine law, while one of the opponents pointed to overwhelming constituent opposition to the bill. Republican Sen. David Hastings of Fryeburg said he prefers sending a straightforward question to voters. The committee session was interrupted by an outburst by a protester, who shouted that the bill is morally wrong. She was escorted by police from the State House.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25209
-Gay marriage opponents vow to fight on
By ROD BOSHART
Same-sex marriage opponents who stood by Monday while county courthouses were flooded with gay couples applying for licenses vowed to carry their fight back to the Statehouse and voting booths in 2010. Republican legislative leaders Rep. Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha and Sen. Paul McKinley of Chariton said their effort to amend Iowa's Constitution to restore marriage as only between one man and one woman was "stopped cold by Democratic obstructionism" and Gov. Chet Culver's lack of executive leadership.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2009/04/28/news/politics/11235432.txt
=
Soulforce Newsletter
http://www.soulforce.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Two Weeks Left to Apply to Soulforce Q Camp
The May 15 deadline is approaching for applications for the first ever Soulforce Q Camp in Austin, Texas. If you or someone you know is interested in being a part of this unique experience, consider applying today! Please, note the dates for the Soulforce Q Camp have changed in order to collaborate with our ideal host venue. The new dates are July 14-23.
-Urgent Need - Faith Leaders' Support Today... Sign on!
We are looking for individual faith leaders or faith communities to sign on a collective statement of support for LGBT people in Uganda that directly responds to the work of the U.S.-based Family Life Network that is espousing religiously fueled anti-LGBT thought. We are working in collaboration with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Human Rights Watch, and others around the world in an effort to gather endorsements from religious groups or clergy for this letter, text below, to be sent to the Ugandan government. If you would like to sign on to the letter to the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Hon. Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, calling for a stop to the pursuit of an anti-LGBT taskforce and more safety for sexual and gender diversity, please email Haven Herrin at Haven@Soulforce.org with your name and organization or affiliation. Please respond as soon as possible, as this letter must be sent to Uganda within the week.http://www.soulforce.org/
-Amazing Racers, Mel and Mike White, and Mike's mother Lyla, invite you to a special Mother's Day reception at the home of Mike White in Santa Monica, California. For every person that either makes a donation in honor of Mel and Mike White or who buys tickets to this fun and festive event, the Soulforce Board of Directors will match every $1 you give, with $1--- up to $10,000.
http://www.soulforce.org/
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Lesbian Finance Commissioner Resigns After Misconduct Allegations
By Julie Bolcer
New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark resigned on Tuesday amidst charges that she had a romantic relationship with a female subordinate and hired relatives to work in her agency. Two weeks ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked the Department of Investigation to look into Stark's relationship with former Assistant Commissioner Dara Ottley-Brown. Stark has maintained that they began dating after Ottley-Brown left the Finance Department.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81190.asp
-First Openly Gay U.S. Senator?
By Neal Broverman
Openly gay Suffolk County, N.Y., legislator Jon Cooper has formed an exploratory committee to look into his chances at being elected to the U.S. Senate. Cooper hopes to challenge New York's junior senator Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's Democratic primary. Gillibrand was appointed to the seat by Gov. David Paterson after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted her post in January; Gillibrand must run for election in 2010.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81136.asp
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-RachelWatch: Specter Switches Teams
By Ali Davis
Today: Nate Silver, former Senator Lincoln Chafee, and another great moment of TRMS Amateur Theatre. Read more...
http://www.365gay.com/living/rachelwatch-specter-switches-teams/
-Out of jail, but Senegal gays risk death
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
(Dakar) Radio stations and newspapers in Senegal are urging people to attack gays. One station called on listeners to stone anyone suspected of "being a homosexual."
http://www.365gay.com/news/out-of-jail-but-senegal-gays-risk-death/
-Paterson joins gays calling for passage of rights bills
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
Gov David Paterson joined thousands of gay rights activists rallying Tuesday in front of the Capitol for the passage of bills allowing same-sex marriage, safe schools, and transgender rights.
http://www.365gay.com/news/paterson-joins-gays-calling-for-passage-of-rights-bills/
-Poll: Gay marriage support jumps 10 percent in month
By The Associated Press
A new national public opinion poll has found support for same-sex marriage has jumped nearly 10 percent in the past month.
http://www.365gay.com/news/poll-gay-marriage-support-jumps-10-percent-in-month/
-Canadian politician says he's 'more tolerant' since writing anti-gay email
By The Canadian Press
(Vancouver, British Columbia) A British Columbia Liberal candidate who wrote an email more than a decade ago in which he said he did not support homosexuality says a lot has changed since then and he's now much more tolerant.
http://www.365gay.com/news/canadian-politician-says-hes-more-tolerant-since-writing-anti-gay-email/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-David Cameron to appear at London Pride?
David Cameron has accepted an invitation to appear at an event during London's Gay Pride week, it has been reported.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12211.html
-Prosecution closes at child sex abuse trial of former head of gay charity
The prosecution have summed up eight weeks of evidence in the trial of a former gay charity chief, accused of sexually assaulting a three month old child.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12207.html
-California to consider gay and trans prisoners' housing needs
A bill which would allow sexual orientation and trans status to be taken into account when housing prisoners is to be considered by California's state assembly tomorrow.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12210.html
-Gay squatter 'attacked by three people'
A gay man who was squatting after becoming homeless was subjected to an hour-long attack by his ex-lover, a former X-Factor auditionee and another man, a court has heard.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12209.html
-Dutch park unveils signs to 'warn visitors' about gay cruising spots
A park in the southwest of Amsterdam has put up signs indicating areas where gay men are allegedly known to have sex so no one will be caught unaware.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12212.html
-First gay couples tie the knot in Iowa
Yesterday saw the first batch of gay weddings in Iowa, just over three weeks after the state's Supreme Court made them legal.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12206.html
-Zimbabwean gays demand to be recognised in new Constitution
Gay rights activists in Zimbabwe have demanded to be recognised in the country's new Constitution which is currently being drafted, saying they need protection as a vulnerable minority.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12205.html
-Teacher 'suffered ten years of homophobic harassment'
The case of an Irish teacher who was allegedly bullied by colleagues for ten years over his sexual orientation is being challenged in the High Court.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12204.html
-Australian government rejects civil unions
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has rejected a proposal that civil unions should be offered to gay couples. A government spokesperson stated that the decision "reflects the widely held view in the community that marriage is between a man and a woman".
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12203.html
-Interview: Dan Choi on the extra burdens Don't Ask, Don't Tell places on soldiers
In the second part of a series of interviews, Dan Choi tells Adrian Tippetts of the mental and emotional burden the gay ban places on service members.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12201.html
-Catholic charity withdraws case over gay adoption
One of the two Catholic adoption agencies which launched a legal challenge over gay adoption has withdrawn its case.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12200.html
-US Presbyterian church votes against openly gay clergy
The Presbyterian church has once again rejected allowing openly gay clergy to serve. Amendment B would have changed language in the church's constitution which requires pastors to live in ""fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman or chastity in singleness."
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12198.html
-Interview: Arabic filmmaker Maher Sabry
In 'All My Life' (Toul Omri), Maher Sabry has ventured where no Arabic filmmaker has before. The film, which is undoubtedly the most daring and sexually explicit LGBT film ever to come out of the Arab world, tells the tale of 26-year-old Rami, an accountant living in Cairo
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12196.html
=
Anything but Straight
by Wayne Besen
http://www.waynebesen.com/
-Beauty Queen Vs. Bitchy Queen
The Miss USA contest began as a beauty contest and ended up as a mud bath. The theatrics started when celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who was a pageant judge, asked Miss California, Carrie Prejean, if she supported marriage equality. "I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other...choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage...(but) I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," Prejean replied. She then added that she did not wish to offend anyone.
http://www.waynebesen.com/2009/04/beauty-queen-vs-bitchy-queen.html
=
Obama's 1st 100 Days - A Quiz
Have you been paying attention since Jan. 20? Take our quiz and see how much you know about President Barack Obama's honeymoon in office.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30392290/from/ET/
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Same-Sex Marriage Holds Peril for G.O.P.
By ADAM NAGOURNEY
It was only five years ago that opposition to same-sex marriage was so strong that Republicans explicitly turned to the issue as a way to energize conservative voters. Yet today, as the party contemplates the task of rebuilding itself, some Republicans say the marriage issue may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/politics/29memo.html?_r=1&sq=gay&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=4&adxnnlx=1241003080-RJLoWE6tEazmXiNHb+zeIA
-Maine: Vote on Gay Marriage Expected
By ABBY GOODNOUGH
The joint judiciary committee of the Legislature approved a bill to allow same-sex marriage in the state, setting the stage for the House and Senate to vote on it as soon as next week. Eleven of the 14 committee members voted in favor of the bill, two voted against it and one proposed letting voters decide the matter in a referendum. Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat, has not said whether he will sign the bill. The New Hampshire House of Representatives approved a same-sex marriage bill last month, and the Senate is scheduled to take it up Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/us/29brfs-VOTEONGAYMAR_BRF.html?scp=3&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Ministers Lead Protest of D.C. Legislation
By Hamil R. Harris
Freedom Plaza was transformed into an intersection of faith and protest yesterday as about 150 people rallied to denounce support for same-sex marriage in the District.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042801608.html
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Video | Watch the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2009 trailer
Courtesy of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/04/video-miami-gay-lesbian-film-festival-2009-trailer.html
-'Outrage!' to be screened Thursday at Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival;
Lucy's 'Mame' too!
Late Tuesday night, the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival got confirmation that Outrage!, the film that attempts to out Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and other politicians, will be shown 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the Regal South Beach. Two hours later, the festival will screen Jerry Herman's 1974 musical Mame starring Lucille Ball and the late Beatrice Arthur. See you all at the movies!
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/04/outrage-to-be-screened-thursday-at-miami-gay-lesbian-film-festival-lucys-mame-too.html
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Kennedy introduces hate crimes bill in Senate
Move comes as House prepares for floor debate Wednesday
By CHRIS JOHNSON
As U.S. House lawmakers made preparations Tuesday for a floor vote on hate crimes legislation, Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced similar legislation in the Senate. The new Senate bill, called the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, is named after a gay college student who was murdered near Laramie, Wyo., in 1998 because of his sexual orientation. Like the House bill, it would enable the Justice Department to prosecute hate crimes committed against LGBT people.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25214
-Colo. law on same-sex benefits heads to governor
Measure given final approval by House Tuesday
A bill allowing partners of gay and lesbian state workers to get health insurance coverage is headed to the governor. The measure was given final approval Tuesday by the House. It would add domestic partners to the list of dependents eligible for coverage. Same-sex partners who have been in a committed relationship with a state employee for at least a year would qualify. Supporters say gay couples don't have the option of getting married and it's only fair to provide an alternative. Opponents say it will be costly and is unfair to heterosexual couples who are committed but not married.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25212
-Maine panel endorses same-sex marriage
Gov. Baldacci remains undecided
A same-sex marriage bill is going to the Maine Senate and House with a strong committee endorsement. Eleven of the 14 Judiciary Committee members voted Tuesday to pass the bill, while two voted against it and one proposed sending it to voters in a November referendum. Gov. John Baldacci remains undecided. Supporters said the bill corrects an inequality that's long existed in Maine law, while one of the opponents pointed to overwhelming constituent opposition to the bill. Republican Sen. David Hastings of Fryeburg said he prefers sending a straightforward question to voters. The committee session was interrupted by an outburst by a protester, who shouted that the bill is morally wrong. She was escorted by police from the State House.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25209
-Gay marriage opponents vow to fight on
By ROD BOSHART
Same-sex marriage opponents who stood by Monday while county courthouses were flooded with gay couples applying for licenses vowed to carry their fight back to the Statehouse and voting booths in 2010. Republican legislative leaders Rep. Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha and Sen. Paul McKinley of Chariton said their effort to amend Iowa's Constitution to restore marriage as only between one man and one woman was "stopped cold by Democratic obstructionism" and Gov. Chet Culver's lack of executive leadership.
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2009/04/28/news/politics/11235432.txt
=
Soulforce Newsletter
http://www.soulforce.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-Two Weeks Left to Apply to Soulforce Q Camp
The May 15 deadline is approaching for applications for the first ever Soulforce Q Camp in Austin, Texas. If you or someone you know is interested in being a part of this unique experience, consider applying today! Please, note the dates for the Soulforce Q Camp have changed in order to collaborate with our ideal host venue. The new dates are July 14-23.
-Urgent Need - Faith Leaders' Support Today... Sign on!
We are looking for individual faith leaders or faith communities to sign on a collective statement of support for LGBT people in Uganda that directly responds to the work of the U.S.-based Family Life Network that is espousing religiously fueled anti-LGBT thought. We are working in collaboration with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), Human Rights Watch, and others around the world in an effort to gather endorsements from religious groups or clergy for this letter, text below, to be sent to the Ugandan government. If you would like to sign on to the letter to the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Hon. Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, calling for a stop to the pursuit of an anti-LGBT taskforce and more safety for sexual and gender diversity, please email Haven Herrin at Haven@Soulforce.org with your name and organization or affiliation. Please respond as soon as possible, as this letter must be sent to Uganda within the week.http://www.soulforce.org/
-Amazing Racers, Mel and Mike White, and Mike's mother Lyla, invite you to a special Mother's Day reception at the home of Mike White in Santa Monica, California. For every person that either makes a donation in honor of Mel and Mike White or who buys tickets to this fun and festive event, the Soulforce Board of Directors will match every $1 you give, with $1--- up to $10,000.
http://www.soulforce.org/
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Lesbian Finance Commissioner Resigns After Misconduct Allegations
By Julie Bolcer
New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark resigned on Tuesday amidst charges that she had a romantic relationship with a female subordinate and hired relatives to work in her agency. Two weeks ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg asked the Department of Investigation to look into Stark's relationship with former Assistant Commissioner Dara Ottley-Brown. Stark has maintained that they began dating after Ottley-Brown left the Finance Department.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81190.asp
-First Openly Gay U.S. Senator?
By Neal Broverman
Openly gay Suffolk County, N.Y., legislator Jon Cooper has formed an exploratory committee to look into his chances at being elected to the U.S. Senate. Cooper hopes to challenge New York's junior senator Kirsten Gillibrand in next year's Democratic primary. Gillibrand was appointed to the seat by Gov. David Paterson after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accepted her post in January; Gillibrand must run for election in 2010.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81136.asp
=
365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-RachelWatch: Specter Switches Teams
By Ali Davis
Today: Nate Silver, former Senator Lincoln Chafee, and another great moment of TRMS Amateur Theatre. Read more...
http://www.365gay.com/living/rachelwatch-specter-switches-teams/
-Out of jail, but Senegal gays risk death
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
(Dakar) Radio stations and newspapers in Senegal are urging people to attack gays. One station called on listeners to stone anyone suspected of "being a homosexual."
http://www.365gay.com/news/out-of-jail-but-senegal-gays-risk-death/
-Paterson joins gays calling for passage of rights bills
By 365gay Newscenter Staff
Gov David Paterson joined thousands of gay rights activists rallying Tuesday in front of the Capitol for the passage of bills allowing same-sex marriage, safe schools, and transgender rights.
http://www.365gay.com/news/paterson-joins-gays-calling-for-passage-of-rights-bills/
-Poll: Gay marriage support jumps 10 percent in month
By The Associated Press
A new national public opinion poll has found support for same-sex marriage has jumped nearly 10 percent in the past month.
http://www.365gay.com/news/poll-gay-marriage-support-jumps-10-percent-in-month/
-Canadian politician says he's 'more tolerant' since writing anti-gay email
By The Canadian Press
(Vancouver, British Columbia) A British Columbia Liberal candidate who wrote an email more than a decade ago in which he said he did not support homosexuality says a lot has changed since then and he's now much more tolerant.
http://www.365gay.com/news/canadian-politician-says-hes-more-tolerant-since-writing-anti-gay-email/
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-David Cameron to appear at London Pride?
David Cameron has accepted an invitation to appear at an event during London's Gay Pride week, it has been reported.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12211.html
-Prosecution closes at child sex abuse trial of former head of gay charity
The prosecution have summed up eight weeks of evidence in the trial of a former gay charity chief, accused of sexually assaulting a three month old child.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12207.html
-California to consider gay and trans prisoners' housing needs
A bill which would allow sexual orientation and trans status to be taken into account when housing prisoners is to be considered by California's state assembly tomorrow.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12210.html
-Gay squatter 'attacked by three people'
A gay man who was squatting after becoming homeless was subjected to an hour-long attack by his ex-lover, a former X-Factor auditionee and another man, a court has heard.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12209.html
-Dutch park unveils signs to 'warn visitors' about gay cruising spots
A park in the southwest of Amsterdam has put up signs indicating areas where gay men are allegedly known to have sex so no one will be caught unaware.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12212.html
-First gay couples tie the knot in Iowa
Yesterday saw the first batch of gay weddings in Iowa, just over three weeks after the state's Supreme Court made them legal.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12206.html
-Zimbabwean gays demand to be recognised in new Constitution
Gay rights activists in Zimbabwe have demanded to be recognised in the country's new Constitution which is currently being drafted, saying they need protection as a vulnerable minority.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12205.html
-Teacher 'suffered ten years of homophobic harassment'
The case of an Irish teacher who was allegedly bullied by colleagues for ten years over his sexual orientation is being challenged in the High Court.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12204.html
-Australian government rejects civil unions
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has rejected a proposal that civil unions should be offered to gay couples. A government spokesperson stated that the decision "reflects the widely held view in the community that marriage is between a man and a woman".
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12203.html
-Interview: Dan Choi on the extra burdens Don't Ask, Don't Tell places on soldiers
In the second part of a series of interviews, Dan Choi tells Adrian Tippetts of the mental and emotional burden the gay ban places on service members.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12201.html
-Catholic charity withdraws case over gay adoption
One of the two Catholic adoption agencies which launched a legal challenge over gay adoption has withdrawn its case.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12200.html
-US Presbyterian church votes against openly gay clergy
The Presbyterian church has once again rejected allowing openly gay clergy to serve. Amendment B would have changed language in the church's constitution which requires pastors to live in ""fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman or chastity in singleness."
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12198.html
-Interview: Arabic filmmaker Maher Sabry
In 'All My Life' (Toul Omri), Maher Sabry has ventured where no Arabic filmmaker has before. The film, which is undoubtedly the most daring and sexually explicit LGBT film ever to come out of the Arab world, tells the tale of 26-year-old Rami, an accountant living in Cairo
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12196.html
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Anything but Straight
by Wayne Besen
http://www.waynebesen.com/
-Beauty Queen Vs. Bitchy Queen
The Miss USA contest began as a beauty contest and ended up as a mud bath. The theatrics started when celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, who was a pageant judge, asked Miss California, Carrie Prejean, if she supported marriage equality. "I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other...choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage...(but) I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," Prejean replied. She then added that she did not wish to offend anyone.
http://www.waynebesen.com/2009/04/beauty-queen-vs-bitchy-queen.html
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Obama's 1st 100 Days - A Quiz
Have you been paying attention since Jan. 20? Take our quiz and see how much you know about President Barack Obama's honeymoon in office.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30392290/from/ET/
=
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#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 29, 2009
**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.
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Video | Watch the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2009 trailer
Courtesy of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/04/video-miami-gay-lesbian-film-festival-2009-trailer.html
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Mark's List
http://frontpage.jumponmarkslist.com/MSFL/2008/052908.htm
-Want to enjoy the most satisfying meal you'll ever eat?
Then join us for this year's edition of
Dining Out For Life on - Thursday, April 30, 2009.
When you dine at a participating restaurant, a portion of your food bill is donated to support local services in the fight against AIDS. Care Resource Dine Out
www.careresource.org
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Teachers at Boca Raton High, Park Vista High among 5 Dwyer Award winners Five win honor in 25th year of program that recognizes Palm Beach County's best educators
By Marc Freeman
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-palm-dwyer-awards-p042809,0,4932613.story
-Iguana problems tackled at Palm Beach County symposium
By Missy Diaz
Leapin' lizards. Literally.
More than 100 people showed up at the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service building west of West Palm Beach Tuesday to learn about everything iguana. There was information ranging from what plants are most vulnerable to an iguana palate to how to harass and euthanize them if they become a nuisance. Some options? A "Super Soaker" filled with ice water, a tether ball attached to a rope and the "ever popular broom or mop." While euthanasia is an option for some, there are strict guidelines governing the method, Bill Kern Jr., a University of Florida associate professor of entomology and nematology, told the crowd.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-iguana-problem-p042809,0,1247701.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Video | Watch the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2009 trailer
Courtesy of the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2009/04/video-miami-gay-lesbian-film-festival-2009-trailer.html
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Mark's List
http://frontpage.jumponmarkslist.com/MSFL/2008/052908.htm
-Want to enjoy the most satisfying meal you'll ever eat?
Then join us for this year's edition of
Dining Out For Life on - Thursday, April 30, 2009.
When you dine at a participating restaurant, a portion of your food bill is donated to support local services in the fight against AIDS. Care Resource Dine Out
www.careresource.org
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Teachers at Boca Raton High, Park Vista High among 5 Dwyer Award winners Five win honor in 25th year of program that recognizes Palm Beach County's best educators
By Marc Freeman
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-palm-dwyer-awards-p042809,0,4932613.story
-Iguana problems tackled at Palm Beach County symposium
By Missy Diaz
Leapin' lizards. Literally.
More than 100 people showed up at the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service building west of West Palm Beach Tuesday to learn about everything iguana. There was information ranging from what plants are most vulnerable to an iguana palate to how to harass and euthanize them if they become a nuisance. Some options? A "Super Soaker" filled with ice water, a tether ball attached to a rope and the "ever popular broom or mop." While euthanasia is an option for some, there are strict guidelines governing the method, Bill Kern Jr., a University of Florida associate professor of entomology and nematology, told the crowd.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-iguana-problem-p042809,0,1247701.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
NATIONAL & WORLD NEWS - April 28, 2009
**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.
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER SWITCHING PARTIES; DEMOCRATS GET FILIBUSTER-PROOF MAJORITY
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Seate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next senator from Minnesota. (Former senator Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042801523.html
-Poll: Public Does Not Want Torture Probe
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/27/opinion/polls/main4972844.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_4972844
-Senate set to confirm Sebelius as health secretary
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1021346.html
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#####
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER SWITCHING PARTIES; DEMOCRATS GET FILIBUSTER-PROOF MAJORITY
Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning. Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Seate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next senator from Minnesota. (Former senator Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042801523.html
-Poll: Public Does Not Want Torture Probe
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/27/opinion/polls/main4972844.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_4972844
-Senate set to confirm Sebelius as health secretary
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1021346.html
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#####
GLBT DIGEST - April 28, 2009
**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:
-A Quiet Day in Iowa as Same-Sex Couples Line Up to Marry
By MONICA DAVEY
In a way, life looked unexpectedly ordinary here on Monday as Iowa began allowing same-sex couples to marry. The large, angry protests some had imagined never materialized in this city, the state's most populous. Neither did the crowds of couples from all over the nation that some feared might create a carnival-like atmosphere captured in earlier images from other places.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28marriage.html?scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Catania Says Clinic Is Poorly Managed
Handling of Retirement Funds at Issue
By Tim Craig
D.C. Council member David. A. Catania said yesterday that Whitman-Walker Clinic's leaders might have committed a federal crime by mishandling employees' contributions to their retirement funds, highlighting the continuing hostility between clinic officials and some council members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042701869.html
-Personal Low, Career Peak
After Drug-Fueled Crash, Patrick Kennedy Turned Focus to Mental Health-Care Reform
By Vincent Bzdek
Political aides counseled Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to mention the incident when he was campaigning for reelection in 2006. "Don't bring it up," they insisted, as Kennedy recounts their reaction. "Everybody already knows about it." Talking about it only reminded Rhode Island voters of other Kennedy family misdeeds and misfortunes, they said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800059.html
-Same-Sex Marriage 'Armageddon' in D.C.?
By Marc Fisher
Proponents of the District's move to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages sanctioned by four states were thrilled last week when a planned anti-gay marriage demonstration in front of the D.C. Council's offices didn't come off. But organizers of that rally say that was just a scheduling glitch and that the real thing is happening today at 10 a.m. on Freedom Plaza. The rally, according to lead organizer Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Bowie, "will launch the Armageddon of the marriage battle in this country."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042703196.html
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Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Pageant PR rep accuses Miss California of lying
By LISA LEFF
A spokesman for the Miss California pageant on Monday denied that contest officials told the reigning beauty queen to publicly apologize for her statement opposing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.
-Branding Perez: Polarizing blogger has big goals
By ERIN CARLSON
Perez Hilton is still poking fun at celebrities. But as a blogger, radio host, author and now highly publicized advocate of gay rights, he's also become one - and not just as a famous person, but a powerful and wide-reaching brand.
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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Hundreds to push for gay marriage in Albany today
Gov. Paterson will address group this morning
About 2,000 people are expected at a lunchtime rally outside the Capitol today in support of gay rights legislation. The bills would allow same-sex marriage, protect transgender civil rights, and provide safe schools for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual youth.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25194
-Pro-gay marriage groups spent more than $228,000
Most money came after Gov. Douglas veto announcement
Supporters of Vermont's new gay marriage law spent more than $228,000 lobbying for it in the three months before the historic April 7 votes to pass it over Gov. Jim Douglas' veto. Lobbyist disclosure forms filed at the secretary of state's office on Monday show that the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task force spent more than $168,000 on advertising and lobbying on the issue from January through March.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25193
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay Clergy Amendment Fails
The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted over the weekend to reject an amendment that would allow openly gay clergy. As of Sunday, said the Presbyterian News Service, the unofficial count was 69 presbyteries in favor of the amendment, and 88 opposed - enough to reach the simple majority needed among the 173 presbyteries voting nationwide this spring.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81010.asp
-Newsom to Maddow: Prop 8 Would Pass Today
By Julie Bolcer
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom dropped into the Rachel Maddow show on Monday night for his first interview since formally declaring his candidacy for California governor last week. The pair traversed a wide-ranging discussion about the state's mounting challenges, with Maddow approaching the subject of marriage equality toward the conclusion of the seven minutes, noting the legal same-sex marriages that began yesterday in Iowa.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80985.asp
-Gay Gang Member Gets Life for Killing Boyfriend
By Michelle Garcia
A member of the Latin Kings gang who killed his lover was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, according to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper in North Andover, Mass.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80912.asp
-16 Arrested in Oklahoma Sex Sting
Sixteen men, ranging in age from 20 to 61, have been arrested after a four-day sting to squash gay sex in a public park in Oklahoma City. According to The Oklahoman, Hobie Point has been a hotbed of activity for men hooking up with other men for at least a decade.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80836.asp
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Magnitude of VA hospital HIV, Hep infections unknown
By The Associated Press
Thousands of veterans were at first shocked to learn they should get blood tests for HIV and hepatitis because three hospitals might have treated them with unsterile equipment. Now, just a couple of months after the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the dire warnings, veterans are growing frustrated by the lack of information from the tightlipped federal agency.
http://www.365gay.com/news/magnitude-of-va-hospital-hiv-hep-infections-unknown/
-Miss Calif. could lose crown
By The Associated Press
A spokesman for the Miss California pageant on Monday denied that contest officials told the reigning beauty queen to publicly apologize for her statement opposing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.
http://www.365gay.com/news/miss-calif-could-lose-crown/
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Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Faith schools to be allowed to tell pupils homosexuality is wrong
New plans to force all schools to teach sex education will allow faith schools to educate pupils in line with their religious beliefs. This will allow schools to tell pupils that homosexuality, sex outside marriage or using contraception is wrong.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12195.html
-Gay monks told to stop wearing makeup
Gay and trans Buddhist monks in Thailand have been given a new set of guidelines aimed to curb "flamboyant" behaviour such as wearing makeup.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12189.html
-Authorities 'must protect' nine Senegalese men from homophobic attacks
Amnesty International has warned that the nine Senegalese men released from prison last week after being jailed for "indecent conduct and unnatural acts" are at risk of homophobic attacks.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12191.html
-Turkish LGBT activists await ruling on closure of legal group
Turkey's leading gay rights group Lambda Istanbul will soon hear whether a local court ruling will uphold a Supreme Court decision to safeguard its freedom.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12194.html
-Controversy at Yale University's first LGBT reunion
Ivy League university Yale held its first LGBT student reunion last weekend, although the event saw controversy when a former student attacked the institution over its treatment of gay history.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12188.html
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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-NY: Insanity Defense in Manhattan Murder?
DUNCAN OSBORNE | Gay City News
Jeromie Cancel, the accused killer of Kevin Pravia, a 19-year-old gay man, wants to use a psychiatric defense at trial that could reduce the charges against him or acquit him entirely if the jury believes he was insane when he killed the Pace University student in 2008. "There was a prior history at Bellevue and also subsequent to his arrest," said Michael Alperstein, Cancel's attorney, at an April 24 hearing. "There are substantial records at Bellevue." Cancel, 23, was apparently hospitalized at an institution in Queens prior to his arrest, but Alperstein said he had not yet found the institution or records of that episode. Cancel has met once with a psychiatrist, identified only as Dr. Siegel in court, who is working for the defense and will see him again. "He's going to continue to see him," Alperstein said. Cancel is charged with second-degree murder. Allegedly, he met Pravia in Union Square early in the morning on August 30 and Pravia bought some cocaine from Cancel. They walked to Pravia's Chelsea apartment, used some of the drug, and Cancel allegedly strangled Pravia to death after the younger man fell asleep. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6734/
-Facebook Rejects Lesbian Movie Ad
Bil Browning | Bilerico Project
The social media giant Facebook recently rejected an ad for the lesbian flick "And Then Came Lola" for what it's deemed is an inappropriate image. (And, yes, ladies, you can clickety to embiggen the ad.) David at QueerMusings has the scoop:
The reason Facebook gives for rejecting the advert is as follows: "The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate. Per sections 3 and 8 of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines, the image on your ad should be relevant and appropriate to the item being advertised. Make sure your image is directly relevant to what you are advertising. Images that are overly explicit, provocative, or that reveal too much skin are not allowed. Images that may either degrade or idealize any health condition or body type are also not allowed. If you choose to submit this ad again, please use an appropriate image that adheres to all of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines." Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6732/
-Tennessee Schools Ban LGBT Website
Legal Treal
Public High Schools in Tennessee are filtering out access to LGBT websites like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and many more. However, websites that claim to "cure homosexuality" are not being filtered out. Unlike the recent "computer glitch" excuse used by online book retail website Amazon.com when gay and lesbian titles were filtered out of their sales rankings, that is not the case here. The Knox County and Metro Nashville Public Schools are claiming the existence of the filter yet blaming their filtering service for the blockage of the websites in question, while the school district's internet filtering service, Education Networks of America, says that schools using their service choose which websites to block.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6730/
-Is Hungary Ready for Same-Sex Unions?
Translation: Alexandra Baxter | Cafe Babel
Although four EU countries have already agreed to legalise homosexual marriage, Budapest, despite having initially given it the green light, has rejected the legislation. Now Hungary, and the 10% of its population who live with a long- term partner, are awaiting the national and European elections for an answer. The debate first began in 2004 when Péeter Gusztos, a member of the liberal party alliance of free democrats (SzDSz), first proposed the idea of legal registering same-sex unions, a move which would give homosexual couples equivalent rights to those enjoyed by married couples. On 17 December 2007, a few months after extreme right-wing groups caused disturbances at the gay pride celebrations in Budapest, the centre-left coalition government adopted Gusztos' proposals. Everything seemed to be going well and the proposals were to be put into effect from January 2009. However on 15 December 2008, just two weeks before the legislation was due to come into force, the supreme court ruled that it was in fact unconstitutional. The court threw the legislation out on the pretext that the procedure of the civil partnership was far too similar to the inviolable and sacrosanct convention of marriage.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6728/
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Inside Higher Education
-Larry Kramer Questions Gay Studies
Author/activist offers scathing critique of Yale program he helped build and of discipline, arguing that history would have been a better focus than theory and gender studies.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/28/kramer
-Bypassing Controversy
Graduates of Oberlin College -- a cradle of social justice movements like abolitionism -- have never had to look very far for activist opportunities. Indeed, the college's commencement ceremonies actually seem tailored toward students who want to make a political stand. The processional has traditionally run beneath Oberlin's Memorial Arch, a controversial structure that either symbolizes the sacrifice of missionaries killed in China or the repression wrought by American imperialism, depending on one's point of view. For those who take the latter position, bypassing the arch -- and breaking with the established processional route -- has become something of a tradition
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/28/oberlin
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Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-'TAMPER WITH MARRIAGE & WE'RE IN BIG TROUBLE'
By DAN MANGAN
Archbishop Timothy Dolan yesterday said advocates of gay marriage "are asking for trouble," arguing that traditional, one-man/one-woman marriage is rooted in people's moral DNA. "There's an in-built code of right and wrong that's embedded in the human DNA," Dolan told The Post in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview, a week after becoming the New York Archdiocese's new leader.
-ACLU lobbying for changes in nudity laws
Forum asks: Pranksters and protestors or criminals and sex offenders?
BOULDER, Colo. - A 69-year-old man is caught masturbating behind a Dumpster at the University of Colorado in 2006. He was ticketed for public indecency, a petty offense carrying a punishment slightly harsher than littering. A 46-year-old man was found shirtless, drunk and urinating on the side of the road in east Boulder County the same year. He was ticketed for indecent exposure, a class 1 misdemeanor that carries mandatory registration as a sex offender if convicted. Public nudity in Boulder isn't exactly uncommn: Last year, more than 60 cyclists biked bare to protest oil-burning cars; a CU student ran naked across campus while tripping on acid, and another, also tripping, jumped naked out of a car and rolled around in the street; a 55-year-old man took several nude jogs along Folsom Street; and a teenager streaked the Boulder-Fairview football game.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/apr/26/aclu-lobby-nudity-laws-sex-offender-naked-boulder/
-Craig Newmark: I'm Not Planning To Close Craiglist's 'Erotic' Section
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The founder of Craigslist does not plan to close the "erotic services" section of the Web site despite criticism that has intensified after a medical student was accused of killing a Boston masseuse who advertised there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/25/craig-newmark-im-not-plan_n_191350.html
-I'm Gay and Iraqi: Please Help Me!
The situation for gay Iraqis has never been more dire: With reports of torture, "anal gluing," and murder coming out of the Middle East, is the U.S. surge to blame for this sudden explosion of antigay violence?
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid80106.asp
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Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Become Member of IRanian Queer Railroad Refugee Sponsorship Plan - RSPV
Please visit our website to find more information about this humanitarian
plan. You can find RSP link in our left side navigation bar or type this address:
http://www.irqr.net/RSP.htm
-The Romanian LGBT group ACCEPT and IGLHRC responded jointly to a proposed amendment to the Romanian civil code that would prohibit adoption of children by same-sex couples. The two organizations wrote to the executive government and the special parliamentary commission for the civil code. The letter included legal and other arguments against the proposed amendment. The legislative process includes the revision of the civil and penal codes and procedure codes.
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/893.html
-Austrian Administrative High Court
lifts Mandatory Surgery for Transsexuals
Rechtskomitee LAMBDA: "A historic decision"
As just announced the Austrian Administrative High Court in a landmark judgment of 27 February 2009 declared mandatory sex change surgery for transsexuals unlawful. Rechtskomitee LAMBDA (RKL), Austria's civil rights organisation for homo- and bisexual as well as transgender women and men, speaks of a historic decision. Austria, different than other countries (Spain, United Kingdom, Hungary, Sweden and Estonia) only recognized the new gender of (male-to-female-)transsexuals if they let remove their genitals. Not all transsexuals however are able to fulfil this condition, be it for their age, their health or their social situation.
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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-A Quiet Day in Iowa as Same-Sex Couples Line Up to Marry
By MONICA DAVEY
In a way, life looked unexpectedly ordinary here on Monday as Iowa began allowing same-sex couples to marry. The large, angry protests some had imagined never materialized in this city, the state's most populous. Neither did the crowds of couples from all over the nation that some feared might create a carnival-like atmosphere captured in earlier images from other places.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28marriage.html?scp=2&sq=gay&st=cse
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Catania Says Clinic Is Poorly Managed
Handling of Retirement Funds at Issue
By Tim Craig
D.C. Council member David. A. Catania said yesterday that Whitman-Walker Clinic's leaders might have committed a federal crime by mishandling employees' contributions to their retirement funds, highlighting the continuing hostility between clinic officials and some council members.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042701869.html
-Personal Low, Career Peak
After Drug-Fueled Crash, Patrick Kennedy Turned Focus to Mental Health-Care Reform
By Vincent Bzdek
Political aides counseled Rep. Patrick Kennedy not to mention the incident when he was campaigning for reelection in 2006. "Don't bring it up," they insisted, as Kennedy recounts their reaction. "Everybody already knows about it." Talking about it only reminded Rhode Island voters of other Kennedy family misdeeds and misfortunes, they said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/28/AR2009042800059.html
-Same-Sex Marriage 'Armageddon' in D.C.?
By Marc Fisher
Proponents of the District's move to recognize the validity of same-sex marriages sanctioned by four states were thrilled last week when a planned anti-gay marriage demonstration in front of the D.C. Council's offices didn't come off. But organizers of that rally say that was just a scheduling glitch and that the real thing is happening today at 10 a.m. on Freedom Plaza. The rally, according to lead organizer Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Bowie, "will launch the Armageddon of the marriage battle in this country."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042703196.html
=
Steve Rothaus
www.MiamiHerald.com/gay
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Pageant PR rep accuses Miss California of lying
By LISA LEFF
A spokesman for the Miss California pageant on Monday denied that contest officials told the reigning beauty queen to publicly apologize for her statement opposing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.
-Branding Perez: Polarizing blogger has big goals
By ERIN CARLSON
Perez Hilton is still poking fun at celebrities. But as a blogger, radio host, author and now highly publicized advocate of gay rights, he's also become one - and not just as a famous person, but a powerful and wide-reaching brand.
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Hundreds to push for gay marriage in Albany today
Gov. Paterson will address group this morning
About 2,000 people are expected at a lunchtime rally outside the Capitol today in support of gay rights legislation. The bills would allow same-sex marriage, protect transgender civil rights, and provide safe schools for gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual youth.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25194
-Pro-gay marriage groups spent more than $228,000
Most money came after Gov. Douglas veto announcement
Supporters of Vermont's new gay marriage law spent more than $228,000 lobbying for it in the three months before the historic April 7 votes to pass it over Gov. Jim Douglas' veto. Lobbyist disclosure forms filed at the secretary of state's office on Monday show that the Vermont Freedom to Marry Task force spent more than $168,000 on advertising and lobbying on the issue from January through March.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25193
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Gay Clergy Amendment Fails
The Presbyterian Church (USA) voted over the weekend to reject an amendment that would allow openly gay clergy. As of Sunday, said the Presbyterian News Service, the unofficial count was 69 presbyteries in favor of the amendment, and 88 opposed - enough to reach the simple majority needed among the 173 presbyteries voting nationwide this spring.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid81010.asp
-Newsom to Maddow: Prop 8 Would Pass Today
By Julie Bolcer
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom dropped into the Rachel Maddow show on Monday night for his first interview since formally declaring his candidacy for California governor last week. The pair traversed a wide-ranging discussion about the state's mounting challenges, with Maddow approaching the subject of marriage equality toward the conclusion of the seven minutes, noting the legal same-sex marriages that began yesterday in Iowa.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80985.asp
-Gay Gang Member Gets Life for Killing Boyfriend
By Michelle Garcia
A member of the Latin Kings gang who killed his lover was convicted Friday of first-degree murder, according to the Eagle-Tribune newspaper in North Andover, Mass.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80912.asp
-16 Arrested in Oklahoma Sex Sting
Sixteen men, ranging in age from 20 to 61, have been arrested after a four-day sting to squash gay sex in a public park in Oklahoma City. According to The Oklahoman, Hobie Point has been a hotbed of activity for men hooking up with other men for at least a decade.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80836.asp
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365Gay.com
http://www.365gay.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Magnitude of VA hospital HIV, Hep infections unknown
By The Associated Press
Thousands of veterans were at first shocked to learn they should get blood tests for HIV and hepatitis because three hospitals might have treated them with unsterile equipment. Now, just a couple of months after the Department of Veterans Affairs issued the dire warnings, veterans are growing frustrated by the lack of information from the tightlipped federal agency.
http://www.365gay.com/news/magnitude-of-va-hospital-hiv-hep-infections-unknown/
-Miss Calif. could lose crown
By The Associated Press
A spokesman for the Miss California pageant on Monday denied that contest officials told the reigning beauty queen to publicly apologize for her statement opposing same-sex marriage during the Miss USA pageant.
http://www.365gay.com/news/miss-calif-could-lose-crown/
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Faith schools to be allowed to tell pupils homosexuality is wrong
New plans to force all schools to teach sex education will allow faith schools to educate pupils in line with their religious beliefs. This will allow schools to tell pupils that homosexuality, sex outside marriage or using contraception is wrong.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12195.html
-Gay monks told to stop wearing makeup
Gay and trans Buddhist monks in Thailand have been given a new set of guidelines aimed to curb "flamboyant" behaviour such as wearing makeup.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12189.html
-Authorities 'must protect' nine Senegalese men from homophobic attacks
Amnesty International has warned that the nine Senegalese men released from prison last week after being jailed for "indecent conduct and unnatural acts" are at risk of homophobic attacks.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12191.html
-Turkish LGBT activists await ruling on closure of legal group
Turkey's leading gay rights group Lambda Istanbul will soon hear whether a local court ruling will uphold a Supreme Court decision to safeguard its freedom.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12194.html
-Controversy at Yale University's first LGBT reunion
Ivy League university Yale held its first LGBT student reunion last weekend, although the event saw controversy when a former student attacked the institution over its treatment of gay history.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12188.html
=
Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-NY: Insanity Defense in Manhattan Murder?
DUNCAN OSBORNE | Gay City News
Jeromie Cancel, the accused killer of Kevin Pravia, a 19-year-old gay man, wants to use a psychiatric defense at trial that could reduce the charges against him or acquit him entirely if the jury believes he was insane when he killed the Pace University student in 2008. "There was a prior history at Bellevue and also subsequent to his arrest," said Michael Alperstein, Cancel's attorney, at an April 24 hearing. "There are substantial records at Bellevue." Cancel, 23, was apparently hospitalized at an institution in Queens prior to his arrest, but Alperstein said he had not yet found the institution or records of that episode. Cancel has met once with a psychiatrist, identified only as Dr. Siegel in court, who is working for the defense and will see him again. "He's going to continue to see him," Alperstein said. Cancel is charged with second-degree murder. Allegedly, he met Pravia in Union Square early in the morning on August 30 and Pravia bought some cocaine from Cancel. They walked to Pravia's Chelsea apartment, used some of the drug, and Cancel allegedly strangled Pravia to death after the younger man fell asleep. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6734/
-Facebook Rejects Lesbian Movie Ad
Bil Browning | Bilerico Project
The social media giant Facebook recently rejected an ad for the lesbian flick "And Then Came Lola" for what it's deemed is an inappropriate image. (And, yes, ladies, you can clickety to embiggen the ad.) David at QueerMusings has the scoop:
The reason Facebook gives for rejecting the advert is as follows: "The image of this ad is either irrelevant or inappropriate. Per sections 3 and 8 of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines, the image on your ad should be relevant and appropriate to the item being advertised. Make sure your image is directly relevant to what you are advertising. Images that are overly explicit, provocative, or that reveal too much skin are not allowed. Images that may either degrade or idealize any health condition or body type are also not allowed. If you choose to submit this ad again, please use an appropriate image that adheres to all of Facebook's Advertising Guidelines." Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6732/
-Tennessee Schools Ban LGBT Website
Legal Treal
Public High Schools in Tennessee are filtering out access to LGBT websites like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and many more. However, websites that claim to "cure homosexuality" are not being filtered out. Unlike the recent "computer glitch" excuse used by online book retail website Amazon.com when gay and lesbian titles were filtered out of their sales rankings, that is not the case here. The Knox County and Metro Nashville Public Schools are claiming the existence of the filter yet blaming their filtering service for the blockage of the websites in question, while the school district's internet filtering service, Education Networks of America, says that schools using their service choose which websites to block.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6730/
-Is Hungary Ready for Same-Sex Unions?
Translation: Alexandra Baxter | Cafe Babel
Although four EU countries have already agreed to legalise homosexual marriage, Budapest, despite having initially given it the green light, has rejected the legislation. Now Hungary, and the 10% of its population who live with a long- term partner, are awaiting the national and European elections for an answer. The debate first began in 2004 when Péeter Gusztos, a member of the liberal party alliance of free democrats (SzDSz), first proposed the idea of legal registering same-sex unions, a move which would give homosexual couples equivalent rights to those enjoyed by married couples. On 17 December 2007, a few months after extreme right-wing groups caused disturbances at the gay pride celebrations in Budapest, the centre-left coalition government adopted Gusztos' proposals. Everything seemed to be going well and the proposals were to be put into effect from January 2009. However on 15 December 2008, just two weeks before the legislation was due to come into force, the supreme court ruled that it was in fact unconstitutional. The court threw the legislation out on the pretext that the procedure of the civil partnership was far too similar to the inviolable and sacrosanct convention of marriage.
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6728/
=
Inside Higher Education
-Larry Kramer Questions Gay Studies
Author/activist offers scathing critique of Yale program he helped build and of discipline, arguing that history would have been a better focus than theory and gender studies.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/28/kramer
-Bypassing Controversy
Graduates of Oberlin College -- a cradle of social justice movements like abolitionism -- have never had to look very far for activist opportunities. Indeed, the college's commencement ceremonies actually seem tailored toward students who want to make a political stand. The processional has traditionally run beneath Oberlin's Memorial Arch, a controversial structure that either symbolizes the sacrifice of missionaries killed in China or the repression wrought by American imperialism, depending on one's point of view. For those who take the latter position, bypassing the arch -- and breaking with the established processional route -- has become something of a tradition
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/04/28/oberlin
=
Forwarded from Kenneth Sherrill - Ken's List
kenslist@groups.queernet.org
Go to the links for the following articles:
Contact rays.list@comcast.net if you can't access the article
-'TAMPER WITH MARRIAGE & WE'RE IN BIG TROUBLE'
By DAN MANGAN
Archbishop Timothy Dolan yesterday said advocates of gay marriage "are asking for trouble," arguing that traditional, one-man/one-woman marriage is rooted in people's moral DNA. "There's an in-built code of right and wrong that's embedded in the human DNA," Dolan told The Post in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview, a week after becoming the New York Archdiocese's new leader.
-ACLU lobbying for changes in nudity laws
Forum asks: Pranksters and protestors or criminals and sex offenders?
BOULDER, Colo. - A 69-year-old man is caught masturbating behind a Dumpster at the University of Colorado in 2006. He was ticketed for public indecency, a petty offense carrying a punishment slightly harsher than littering. A 46-year-old man was found shirtless, drunk and urinating on the side of the road in east Boulder County the same year. He was ticketed for indecent exposure, a class 1 misdemeanor that carries mandatory registration as a sex offender if convicted. Public nudity in Boulder isn't exactly uncommn: Last year, more than 60 cyclists biked bare to protest oil-burning cars; a CU student ran naked across campus while tripping on acid, and another, also tripping, jumped naked out of a car and rolled around in the street; a 55-year-old man took several nude jogs along Folsom Street; and a teenager streaked the Boulder-Fairview football game.
http://www.dailycamera.com/news/2009/apr/26/aclu-lobby-nudity-laws-sex-offender-naked-boulder/
-Craig Newmark: I'm Not Planning To Close Craiglist's 'Erotic' Section
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The founder of Craigslist does not plan to close the "erotic services" section of the Web site despite criticism that has intensified after a medical student was accused of killing a Boston masseuse who advertised there.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/25/craig-newmark-im-not-plan_n_191350.html
-I'm Gay and Iraqi: Please Help Me!
The situation for gay Iraqis has never been more dire: With reports of torture, "anal gluing," and murder coming out of the Middle East, is the U.S. surge to blame for this sudden explosion of antigay violence?
http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid80106.asp
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Become Member of IRanian Queer Railroad Refugee Sponsorship Plan - RSPV
Please visit our website to find more information about this humanitarian
plan. You can find RSP link in our left side navigation bar or type this address:
http://www.irqr.net/RSP.htm
-The Romanian LGBT group ACCEPT and IGLHRC responded jointly to a proposed amendment to the Romanian civil code that would prohibit adoption of children by same-sex couples. The two organizations wrote to the executive government and the special parliamentary commission for the civil code. The letter included legal and other arguments against the proposed amendment. The legislative process includes the revision of the civil and penal codes and procedure codes.
http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/893.html
-Austrian Administrative High Court
lifts Mandatory Surgery for Transsexuals
Rechtskomitee LAMBDA: "A historic decision"
As just announced the Austrian Administrative High Court in a landmark judgment of 27 February 2009 declared mandatory sex change surgery for transsexuals unlawful. Rechtskomitee LAMBDA (RKL), Austria's civil rights organisation for homo- and bisexual as well as transgender women and men, speaks of a historic decision. Austria, different than other countries (Spain, United Kingdom, Hungary, Sweden and Estonia) only recognized the new gender of (male-to-female-)transsexuals if they let remove their genitals. Not all transsexuals however are able to fulfil this condition, be it for their age, their health or their social situation.
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 28, 2009
**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.
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
GAY MALE EMPOWERMENT:
SunServe on the Campus of Sunshine Cathedral MCC
A Series to Explore The Best of Being Gay
7-9 pm, on last Thurs of the month, Feb - July 2009
SunServe on the Campus of Sunshine Cathedral MCC
1480 SW 9th Ave, Fort Lauderdale
$10 per person per session*
TO REGISTER: Send an E-MAIL right now to
GayMaleEmpowerment@gmail.com.
Our registrar will contact you
Or call 954-548-4602
=
Sunshine Cathedral - Ft. Lauderdale
The Sunshine Community Foundation in conjunction with the transgender community
Presents Kind of a Drag - A Fundraising Event
Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 8pm Sharp!
For Tickets Call 954-462-2730
or reserve online at www.sunfound.net
$15 in advance & $25 at the door
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Broward schools officials to discuss 4-day week for high schools today
Move would save school system $35 million
By Macollvie Jean-Francois
Broward School Board officials today are expected to discuss putting high schools on a four-day week schedule. A four-day week, combined with a 6-classes-a-day schedule, could save up to $35 million, school district officials have said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-four-day-school-week-042809,0,3735748.story
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
- Florida state workers' salaries in the cross hairs
http://www.lobbytools.com/publisher/go.cfm?15083151
-Florida House approves oil drilling bill, but Senate won't hear it
http://www.lobbytools.com/publisher/go.cfm?15083938
-Lawmakers adjourn without even mentioning budget
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/state/epaper/2009/04/27/0427flabud.html
-Florida license plate debate not over just yet
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-04-28/story/florida_license_plate_debate_not_over_just_yet
-Gov. Crist supports Jesus license plate
http://www.lobbytools.com/publisher/go.cfm?15084372
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
GAY MALE EMPOWERMENT:
SunServe on the Campus of Sunshine Cathedral MCC
A Series to Explore The Best of Being Gay
7-9 pm, on last Thurs of the month, Feb - July 2009
SunServe on the Campus of Sunshine Cathedral MCC
1480 SW 9th Ave, Fort Lauderdale
$10 per person per session*
TO REGISTER: Send an E-MAIL right now to
GayMaleEmpowerment@gmail.com.
Our registrar will contact you
Or call 954-548-4602
=
Sunshine Cathedral - Ft. Lauderdale
The Sunshine Community Foundation in conjunction with the transgender community
Presents Kind of a Drag - A Fundraising Event
Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 8pm Sharp!
For Tickets Call 954-462-2730
or reserve online at www.sunfound.net
$15 in advance & $25 at the door
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
=
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Broward schools officials to discuss 4-day week for high schools today
Move would save school system $35 million
By Macollvie Jean-Francois
Broward School Board officials today are expected to discuss putting high schools on a four-day week schedule. A four-day week, combined with a 6-classes-a-day schedule, could save up to $35 million, school district officials have said.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-four-day-school-week-042809,0,3735748.story
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
- Florida state workers' salaries in the cross hairs
http://www.lobbytools.com/publisher/go.cfm?15083151
-Florida House approves oil drilling bill, but Senate won't hear it
http://www.lobbytools.com/publisher/go.cfm?15083938
-Lawmakers adjourn without even mentioning budget
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/state/epaper/2009/04/27/0427flabud.html
-Florida license plate debate not over just yet
http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-04-28/story/florida_license_plate_debate_not_over_just_yet
-Gov. Crist supports Jesus license plate
http://www.lobbytools.com/publisher/go.cfm?15084372
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
Monday, April 27, 2009
FLORIDA DIGEST - March 27, 2009
**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.
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
April 24 - May 3
Films in Ft. Lauderdale
http://mglff.com/2009/flglff.php?PHPSESSID=f46d6ec1742396280133cf38a2da4e63
-Thursday, April 30
Suddenly, Last Winter
5:00PM | Gateway CinemaLicking wounds after the recent passages of Propositions 8 and 2 in California and Florida, blinking bewilderedly at the absurdly homophobic landscape in which they live, America's gays and lesbians stare with envy at Canada, Spain, and numerous other countries who have achieved legal recognition of same-sex unions on a federal level. Yet envy at the seemingly more socially enlightened societies of Europe, in particular, melts away quickly with the arrival of a new documentary from Italy . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-King Size
7:00PM | Gateway CinemaThree-way relationships are a fascinating and controversial subject - are they desperate alliances created out of duos in decline? Or are they the envious pleasure of unrepressed individuals who grant themselves the freedom to embrace the polygamous aspects of their animal instincts? Does the visibility of these relationships have a dampening effect on more mainstream gay socio-political struggles, such as the right to marry? King Size, a light-hearted and whimsical sex musical comedy, tackles all these complex topics without shortchanging them . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Friday, May 1
Baby Love
5:00PM | Gateway CinemaThis excellent 'comedy of manners' movie, set in Paris, is about Manu, a Pediatrician in his mid 40's with a very successful life, who desperately wants to be a Dad even though his determination causes him to break up with his longstanding partner, Philippe, a lawyer who has no paternal instincts at all . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Bandaged
7:00PM | Gateway CinemaFilmmaker Maria Beatty has made a name for herself as the leading creator of 'erotic-noir' lesbian fetish films. Her stunning narrative-feature thriller, Bandaged, is a continuation of the theme . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Dream Boy
9:00PM | Gateway CinemaSet in rural Louisiana, inhibited but intelligent young Nathan is the new kid in town. His family having just moved, the shy teen doesn't have any friends and passes his time lustfully gazing at Roy, the blonde haired high school senior who lives next door and drives the school bus in his off time . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Saturday, May 2
Do You Sleep In The Nude?
2:00PM | Gateway CinemaIn the 1960s and early 70s film critics raised the appreciation of the art of movies to new heights with their passionate critiques. This enormously entertaining documentary highlights the life and work of the larger-than-life Rex Reed, who was for a short time the most widely read film critic in America. Reed, whose pointed barbs and poignant praises have appeared regularly in Vogue, GQ, Holiday, Women's Wear Daily, New York Daily News and the New York Post, was the former co-host of the TV show At the Movies and is still actively writing about film today for The New York Observor . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Amancio
4:00PM | Gateway CinemaYuma, Arizona is a relatively small town with a few notable distinctions. Located on the banks of the Colorado River and bordering both California and Mexico, it is the birthplace of Chicano activist Cesar Chavez and one of the hottest places in the country . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-El Niño Pez
6:30PM | Gateway CinemaLucia Puenzo quickly made a name for herself with her debut film XXY, a haunting and beautiful story about an intersex boy finding his way through adolescence and a society that doesn't understand him, and finding love and affection along the way . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Mr. Right
8:30PM | Gateway CinemaThis delightful, heartwarming romantic comedy follows the lives of three gay, metrosexual couples in London. Harry wants to ditch his job producing home improvement shows on TV to travel the world. Harry loves Alex, a young aspiring actor who barely loves himself. William, a hunky ex Rugby player, loves Lawrence the TV soap star, but his nine year-old daughter is determined that true love will not find its course. Lastly, there is Tom, a successful but insecure artist who will let his boyfriend Lars, a handsome sometimes model, get away with literally anything as long as he doesn't leave him . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Sunday, May 3
For My Wife
2:00PM | Gateway CinemaDavid Rothmiller and LD Thompson's documentary For My Wife tells the harrowing tale of Charlene Strong's call to activism following the death of her beloved partner Kate Fleming . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Born In '68
4:00PM | Gateway CinemaOne of the world's best-known same-sex filmmaking couples returns with an epic history of France's leftist movement. Beginning in 1968 when free-love and communal idealism was in vogue, revolutionaries Yves and Herve share the love of the beautiful Catherine on a populous flower-child farm several hours away from Paris . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Country Teacher
7:15PM | Gateway CinemaWith its beautiful cinematography, quiet but captivating performances, and the gorgeous vista of the Czech countryside, The Country Teacher affirms itself as one of eastern Europe's greatest LGBT offerings in some time . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
Films in Miami
http://mglff.com/2009/index.php
-Patrik, Age 1.5
7:30PM | Gusman TheatreSven and Goran make up an attractive and successful gay couple who've left the bustle of city life behind and relocated to a small town in their native Sweden. With its white picket fences, perfectly manicured lawns, and block parties, their new neighborhood seems as if it were plucked right out of Pleasantville. Gay people are few and far between here, and the couple's arrival is met alternatively with hostility and over compensating pleasantries. Even the kids in Goran's pediatric practice openly share their parents' prejudices. Still, the couple carries on, focusing their energies on the soon-coming results of their adoption application.. . . more
Opening Night Film: Members $17* Non-members $22*
Opening Night Gala: Members $35 Non-members $50
-Saturday, April 25
Antarctica
1:00PM | Regal 17This sexy and sweet Israeli feature navigates past the region's politics to present a film about two siblings searching for love and happiness while dealing with the Jewish mother from hell. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Training Rules
2:00PM | Regal 18Training Rules is a documentary about homophobia in the athletic department at Pennsylvania State University. Narrated by international swimming great Diana Nyad (National Public Radio), the film looks at the long and homophobic reign of Rene Portland, the coach of Penn State's women's basketball team whose three rules for her players were: no drinking, no drugs and no lesbians. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Country Wedding
3:15PM | Regal 17Borrowing from the great tradition of 'road movies', The Country Wedding is a thoroughly charming and funny look at what happens when you put a squad of ill-matched characters together on a journey none of them are prepared for. Inga and Bardi are a fun and vivacious young couple. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Baby Formula
5:15PM | Regal 17 & 18Capitalizing on the success of her short film Succubus and the real-life pregnancies of her two lead actresses Angela Vint and Megan Fahlenbock, Alison Reid's feature debut The Baby Formula charms us with a humorous take on what happens when lesbians decide to start a family. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Mr. Right
7:30PM | Regal 17 & 18This delightful, heartwarming romantic comedy follows the lives of three gay, metrosexual couples in London. Harry wants to ditch his job producing home improvement shows on TV to travel the world. Harry loves Alex, a young aspiring actor who barely loves himself . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Every Little Step
9:40PM | Regal 18"One singular sensation" is more than a memorable lyric from a joyfully infectious tune: it is at once a great description of both A Chorus Line the stage musical from which it comes and of John D. Stern and Adam Del Deo's fantastic documentary film, Every Little Step . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Grimm Love
10:00PM | Regal 18It is said that reality is often stranger than fiction. The superbly executed Grimm Love proves that axiom to be true . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Sunday, April 26
Her Name Was Steven
1:00PM | Regal 18Steve Stanton had the epitome of the American Dream. As City Manager of Largo, Florida, Steve had a successful career as a public servant, where he managed a $130 million dollar budget and 1,200 employees and was respected and liked by his peers. His six-figure salary afforded a nice life for him, his wife, and son. Yet in early 2007 Steve's world came to a scratching hault when the guarded secret of his forthcoming sexual reassignment surgery was leaked to the local press . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Suddenly, Last Winter
1:30PM | Regal 17Licking wounds after the recent passages of Propositions 8 and 2 in California and Florida, blinking bewilderedly at the absurdly homophobic landscape in which they live, America's gays and lesbians stare with envy at Canada, Spain, and numerous other countries who have achieved legal recognition of same-sex unions on a federal level. Yet envy at the seemingly more socially enlightened societies of Europe, in particular, melts away quickly with the arrival of a new documentary from Italy . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Fairytale Of Kathmandu
3:00PM | Regal 18Director Neasa Ní Chianáin first encounters legendary Irish Poet Cathal O Searcaigh as a student in awe of him. Years later, the two are now friends and the poet invites her to accompany him on his annual three month visit to Nepal, which he considers his spiritual home . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Country Teacher
3:15PM | Regal 17With its beautiful cinematography, quiet but captivating performances, and the gorgeous vista of the Czech countryside, The Country Teacher affirms itself as one of eastern Europe's greatest LGBT offerings in some time . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Drool
5:30PM | Regal 17 & 18
Nancy Kissam's clever and hilarious film takes Thelma and Louise one step further (okay, maybe two or three). In her feature debut Kissam creates a comical explosion from interracial lesbian romance, husband killing, teenage oral sex and glamour makeovers. If that isn't enough, how about a road trip to Savannah for cocktails . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Baby Love
7:45PM | Regal 17
This excellent 'comedy of manners' movie, set in Paris, is about Manu, a Pediatrician in his mid 40's with a very successful life, who desperately wants to be a Dad even though his determination causes him to break up with his longstanding partner, Philippe, a lawyer who has no paternal instincts at all . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-One Day In A Life
9:45PM | Regal 18
As One Day In A Life begins, Salvatore arrives at a beautiful beach. Clad only in his Speedos, the confident and handsome man quickly catches the attention of a younger admirer and the two go off into the dunes together for a brief tryst. Emerging from this amorous interlude, Salvatore returns to the beach, soon meeting a group of neighboring sun worshippers, including an impossibly cute and flirtatious younger man who shows immediate interest . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Muñeca
10:00PM | Regal 17A long time South American bastion of conservatism, Chile seems to be redefining itself as a modern and progressive country, having elected a woman, Michelle Bachelet, as president, and shifted its portrayal of gay characters from stereotypes into well-rounded figures . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Monday, April 27
The Killing Of Sister George
7:00PM | Regal 17The Killing of Sister George is a classic. Equal parts heavy drama and hysterical camp, it is one of the first mainstream movies to prominently feature lesbian characters. Though not politically correct, it offers an interesting perspective on the changing portrayal of lesbians in film . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Clapham Junction
9:45PM | Regal 17Set during a 36 hour period in urban-London, Clapham Junction is a film where the characters and their lives intersect, often to tragic result. Though the comparisons to Paul Haggis' Crash will be quickly drawn, this film takes you places Haggis wouldn't dream of entering . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Tuesday, April 28
Victim
7:30PM | Regal 17With its echoes of film noir, the superb Victim was the first serious approach to homosexuality the cinema had ever made. Made in Britain in 1961 where, as in the US, being gay was still a crime, the movie was later banned from American theaters simply because it used the word 'homosexual' . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-What Boys Want
9:30PM | Regal 17Brace yourself for nearly an hour and a half of laughter. These funny shorts will take you on a comic journey, from mock-infomercials to musicals and everything in between . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Wednesday, April 29
El Niño Pez
7:30PM | Regal 17Lucia Puenzo quickly made a name for herself with her debut film XXY, a haunting and beautiful story about an intersex boy finding his way through adolescence and a society that doesn't understand him, and finding love and affection along the way . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Luchando
9:30PM | Regal 17Like the sweat that glistens on the bodies of the boys who stroll the malecon, sex and sensuality ooze from the pores of the Cuban people. Havana, from its heydays in the 1950's as the nightlife capital of Latin America, to its current position as a favored vacation destination for toursits, echoes the sexiness of its people . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Thursday, April 30
What Girls Like
7:30PM | Regal 17Bringing you the best in women's shorts from all over the globe, this program is sure to titillate, make you laugh, and make you feel. Get ready for a journey that will take you from drama to crisis to love. You'll be smiling when the lights come up . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Paolo
9:30PM | Regal 17In Andrea Franco Batievsky's documentary film Paolo, we are
introduced to the adorable Paolo Reategui. Like the millions of other immigrants who've made New York City their home, Paolo is searching for his version of the American dream. He shares his spacious Brooklyn apartment with his sister and a friend, he parties at the city's hippest gay clubs, and works in a high-end Manhattan boutique. He has a great group of friends and a wonderful relationship with his mom who lives in Miami. Yet amidst the skyscrapers, parties, and friends, something is missing from Paolo's life: his roots . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Friday, May 1
An Evening with John Waters - "This Filthy World"
8:00PM | Lincoln TheaterThe Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival & Edison Farrow are proud to present an evening with the iconic, irreverent, and deliciously twisted John Waters! The man who brought us Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and made Divine a cult-icon will take to the stage of the Lincoln Theater on South Beach for one-night only, in his first South Florida stage appearance in over a decade! John Waters' one-man show is a "vaudeville" act that celebrates the film career and obsessive tastes of the man William Burroughs once called "The Pope of Trash." Focusing in on Waters' early negative artistic influences and his fascination with true crime, exploitation films, fashion lunacy, and the extremes of the contemporary art world, this joyously devious monologue elevates all that is trashy in life into a call to arms to "filth followers" everywhere. Everyone is invited to the after-party at the Shore Club but VIP Ticket holders will get a chance to meet John Waters, enjoy complimentary vodka cocktails and sit in the best seats in the theater.
Tickets: Members $35 - $100 Non-members $35 - $125
-Saturday, May 2
Annul Victory
1:00PM | Miami Beach CinemathequeIf you woke up on November 5th and your elation about Barack Obama's groundbreaking victory was tinged with sadness because of the passing of Proposition 8 in California, then Annul Victory is a film for you . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Fig Trees
2:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusEvery year thousands of people die from AIDS for lack of access to treatment. In this startling and inventive experimental documentary, filmmaker John Greyson and composer David Wall employ opera to tell the story of two activists at opposite ends of the world- Tim McCaskell of Toronto and Zackie Achmat of Capetown -both fighting for mass-access to HIV/AIDS medication . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Experimental Shorts
3:00PM | Miami Beach CinemathequeFor the first time at the MGLFF, we've decided to push the envelope by providing to audiences a fresh and different kind of shorts program. These films are not for the faint at heart, but if you like Tarentino and can stand the sight of a little blood, you'll love the sick and sticky stories in here. They are chock full of meaning, intellect and (albeit bizarre) beauty . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-City of Borders
4:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusThis excellent award-winning documentary follows the lives of five different and totally diverse gay men and women in Israel/Palestine whose common link is the fact that they all hang out at 'Shushan,' Jerusalem's only gay bar . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Chica Busca Chica
6:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusChica Busca Chica is Spain's answer to the L Word. In this sexy and cute show we are introduced to a group of ladies looking for love in all the right and sometimes wrong places as they play musical beds to their hearts' desire . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Shank
8:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusThis gritty, cutting-edge drama is a part of a new genre from contemporary queer filmmakers that shows another side of gay life. Shank is no cozy affair; void of the cliché plot devices typical of a coming of age story, this is a film that is refreshingly shocking, very explicit and painful at times . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Sunday, May 3
Ruby Blue
1:00PM | Colony TheatreJan Dunn's latest feature is a slow building meditation on suburban isolation and the healing effects of relationships. With fine performances by Bob Hoskins and Josiane Balasko, Dunn is able to transcend plot contrivances to create a personal film, addressing issues of mob mentality, child neglect and transphobia . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-I Can't Think Straight
3:15PM | Colony TheatreI Can't Think Straight is an entertaining, lighthearted romantic comedy from South African director Shamim Sarif. This sweet story is about two young women from different cultures, one woman of Indian origin, the other a Palestinian (who s about to get married), who meet and fall in love. Those of you who attended last year's Film Festival will immediately recognize the stunning lead actresses Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth from the film The World Unseen . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Little Ashes
6:30PM | Colony TheatreThe setting is 1922 Madrid. Spain is in flux, serving as a perfect breeding ground for rebellious creative types who dare to be different. The Residencia de Estudiantes (the local fine arts university), a gathering place for local intellectuals, is the backdrop for a powerful convergence among Spanish luminaries Salvador Dalí, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Luis Buñuel. The three become fast friends, creating an explosive artistic triumvirate, and relish the attention that their avant-garde work and personas attract . . . more
Film Ticket Only: Members $15 Non-members $20
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From Dolphin Democrats - Ft. Lauderdale
Go to the links for the following articles:
-The City of Fort Lauderdale will host a public meeting on May 7, 2009 to present preliminary design concepts for the State Road A1A Corridor from Oakland Park Boulevard north to the City limits, based on several four-lane scenarios. The meeting will be conducted in an open-house format.
A1A Corridor Study Public Meeting
Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 6:00 p.m.
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Avenue (A1A & Oakland Park)
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
RSVP: 954-828-4756
The public is encouraged to attend and provide input regarding potential future enhancements to the streetscape and the pedestrian environment. For more information about the A1A Corridor Study, please contact the City of Fort Lauderdale Planning and Zoning Department 954-828-8980.
-For the first time in 24 years, the mayor of the city of Ft. Lauderdale
(Jack Seiler) will address the Dolphin Democrats at our meeting on Wednesday May 13, 2009 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Of course Jack Seiler has addressed the club recently; however it is in his posistion as the Mayor of Ft Lauderdale that he has not addressed the club in the past 24 years. Join us as we celebrate this historic occasion!
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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-FL: FAU Students Create Petition Seeking Gay, Transgender Protections
Scott Travis | South Florida Sun Sentinel | Sun Sentinel
Florida Atlantic University would become the latest state school to specifically protect gays and lesbians from harassment and discrimination, and one of the first to protect transgendered people, if a student plan succeeds. Some students are collecting signatures for a petition that asks the university to add sexual orientation and gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy. So far, they've received about 1,000 signatures, with the hopes of collecting 3,000, said Amy Milin, 20, president of Lambda United, FAU's gay/straight alliance. A bill is also making its way through student government. It has received support from the incoming and outgoing student government presidents and the House of Representatives on the Boca Raton campus, said House member Boris Bastidas, 20, of Tamarac, who sponsored the bill. The plan will now go to student government leaders on other FAU campuses. FAU is one of only three public universities in the state not to specifically list sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy. The others are Florida State University and Florida A&M University, both in Tallahassee. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6694/
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Internet sales tax plan fading away, again
THE ISSUE: Internet sales tax plan fading away, again.
Even as the leaders of the Florida House and Senate try to reconcile two versions of a new state budget, they are poised to fritter away another opportunity to collect billions of dollars in unpaid sales taxes. According to some estimates, Florida is losing more than $2 billion a year in those taxes. State law technically requires Floridians who buy from remote retailers - purchases online, by telephone or by mail order - to pay taxes on their purchases. Very few, perhaps only the compulsively honest, go to the trouble and expense of filling out forms and paying what they owe. Local governments that charge their own additional sales taxes also lose out.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-sales-tax-editorial-m042709sbapr27,0,5144231.story?track=rss
-Alligator Alley to remain closed today
ALLIGATOR ALLEY - Alligator Alley will remain closed today due to excessive smoke from a large brush fire, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The major east-west highway connecting Broward and Collier counties has been inaccessible off and on since Wednesday because of heavy smoke from a massive brush fire at Big Cypress.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-alligator-alley-brush-fire-closure-bn042609,0,7588050.story
-Five ships to arrive in Fort Lauderdale for Fleet Week
Navyy, Coast Guard and Canadian vessels will sail into Port Everglades this morning for the annual event that allows locals to tour the ships. Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will come ashore for community projects and parties.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sfl-fleet-week-ships-042209,0,7004468.story
-New gadgets help prepare for hurricanes
By Daniel Vasquez
We may not be able to avoid bad storms in South Florida, but we can turn to technology to help us stay safe and ride out whatever Mother Nature sends our way. Note to self: Hurricane season starts June 1. Here is a list of gadgets that belong in any hurricane kit.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/time-money/home/sfl-hurricane-gadgets-vasquez-c0sbapr27,0,5629323.column
-Three Broward charter schools may be given one year to shape up
By Akilah Johnson
It is contract renewal time for four Broward County charter schools, but three of the new agreements come with this stipulation: You have one year to get your act together or close.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-charter-school-renewal-b4270sbapr27,0,6947119.story
-Search our database: Who's getting a salary and a pension?
SEARCH
Getting a salary and a pension
Under the state's Deferred Retirement Option Program, longtime employees agree to retire within five years while their pension money is put in an investment account guaranteed to make 6.5 percent a year. That gives them a one-time lump-sum payout. This is supposed to encourage senior employees to retire, making way for younger, lower-paid employees. But the state also allows retired employees to return to their jobs after 30 days. Elected officials can collect both their salaries and pensions after that 30-day period. Regular employees can collect one pension check in that 30-day period, then suspend their pension for 11 months before collecting both a salary and pension.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-dropdatabase,0,1920543.htmlstory
-Florida Atlantic University, other state colleges may add technology fee
Students at state schools likely face new charge for technology
By Scott Travis
Boca Raton - Students at Florida's public universities may soon have to pay higher fees in exchange for more tech-savvy campuses. The Legislature last year authorized all 11 state universities to charge a technology fee equal to 5 percent of tuition beginning this fall. The board of trustees for each university must approve the fee before it can be imposed.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-fau-technology-fee-p042709sbapr27,0,6174396.story
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Mark Rosenberg, professor and administrator, named FIU's new president
BY LUISA YANEZ
Mark Rosenberg, a beloved, brainy and bespectacled Florida International University professor and administrator whose FIU career spans more than three decades, emerged from a national search Saturday to become the school's fifth president.
http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/1018233.html
-Gambling no prize for schools
BY MICHAEL R. VASQUEZ
Backers of the proposed Seminole compact say it would benefit education, but previous expansions of gambling failed to prevent the current school-funding crisis. In the name of improving education, Florida voters have twice expanded gambling, first with the introduction of the lottery in the 1980s, and more recently by bringing slot machines to Miami-Dade and Broward parimutuels.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1019407.html
-Diversity group promised by BSO's Lamberti has yet to meet
BY AMY SHERMAN
When Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti's opponent last year tried to portray him as ignoring minorities by appointing an all-white transition team, the sheriff fired back with promises. Against the backdrop of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale a few weeks before Election Day, Lamberti surrounded himself with black and Hispanic leaders to announce the formation of groups to address internal diversity issues at the Broward Sheriff's Office and hate crimes in the community.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1019848.html
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-A U.S Senate campaign may be tougher for Charlie Crist than some realize
Posted at 12:43 PM in Charlie Crist, U.S. Senate
Amid the meltdown of the 2009 session of the Florida Legislature, one theme that has resurfaced again and again is that Gov. Charlie Crist is not engaged and is already looking ahead to his next election - and his next job in the U.S. Senate.
http://findout.typepad.com/the_fine_print/2009/04/the-road-to-the-us-senate-may-not-be-the-easier-path-for-crist.html
-Hard Lines on Havana Soften in Miami
Cuban Americans Reexamine U.S. Policy
By Nick Miroff
Edel Hernández arrived at the airport here last week with a giant duffel bag and a ball cap pulled low over his eyes. Two years earlier he had left Cuba, and he hadn't seen his wife since. "It's been hard," he said, his eyes welling as he tugged on the visor. "Really hard."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602250.html
-Capital ideas: Sansom jurors sending a powerful message about capitol corruption
Paul Flemming
On April 17, former House Speaker Ray Sansom was indicted, charged by a Leon County grand jury with official misconduct for inserting what the jurors concluded was a sham $6 million project in the state's budget. The jury's presentment, the reaction of citizens who got a good look at how the bratwurst is made at the Capitol, dripped indignation.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090427/OPINION/904270323/1015
-House leaders give ground on Florida election law overhaul
By Steve Bousquet
Following harsh criticism from voting rights groups and a threatened veto by Gov. Charlie Crist, House leaders have retreated from a sweeping overhaul of Florida's election laws.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article994733.ece
-Powerful gulf oil drilling lobby faces strong resistance in Florida
By Lucy Morgan and Mary Ellen Klas
Dangling the promise of millions for the state's dwindling budget, a group of mostly unidentified oil and gas companies is bankrolling a last-minute fight to bring offshore drilling to Florida's coastline.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article995616.ece
-Government-paid abortions? Latina advocacy group says it's time
posted by Jeannette Rivera-Lyles
A study released last week by the Pew Hispanic Foundation says that nearly half of illegal immigrant households (47%) consist of couples with children. That is a greater share than for households of U.S.-born residents (21%) or legal immigrants (35%).
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_momsatwork/2009/04/a-study-released-last-weel-by-the-pew-hispanic-foundation-says-that-nearly-half-of-illegal-immigrant-households-47-consist.html
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
April 24 - May 3
Films in Ft. Lauderdale
http://mglff.com/2009/flglff.php?PHPSESSID=f46d6ec1742396280133cf38a2da4e63
-Thursday, April 30
Suddenly, Last Winter
5:00PM | Gateway CinemaLicking wounds after the recent passages of Propositions 8 and 2 in California and Florida, blinking bewilderedly at the absurdly homophobic landscape in which they live, America's gays and lesbians stare with envy at Canada, Spain, and numerous other countries who have achieved legal recognition of same-sex unions on a federal level. Yet envy at the seemingly more socially enlightened societies of Europe, in particular, melts away quickly with the arrival of a new documentary from Italy . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-King Size
7:00PM | Gateway CinemaThree-way relationships are a fascinating and controversial subject - are they desperate alliances created out of duos in decline? Or are they the envious pleasure of unrepressed individuals who grant themselves the freedom to embrace the polygamous aspects of their animal instincts? Does the visibility of these relationships have a dampening effect on more mainstream gay socio-political struggles, such as the right to marry? King Size, a light-hearted and whimsical sex musical comedy, tackles all these complex topics without shortchanging them . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Friday, May 1
Baby Love
5:00PM | Gateway CinemaThis excellent 'comedy of manners' movie, set in Paris, is about Manu, a Pediatrician in his mid 40's with a very successful life, who desperately wants to be a Dad even though his determination causes him to break up with his longstanding partner, Philippe, a lawyer who has no paternal instincts at all . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Bandaged
7:00PM | Gateway CinemaFilmmaker Maria Beatty has made a name for herself as the leading creator of 'erotic-noir' lesbian fetish films. Her stunning narrative-feature thriller, Bandaged, is a continuation of the theme . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Dream Boy
9:00PM | Gateway CinemaSet in rural Louisiana, inhibited but intelligent young Nathan is the new kid in town. His family having just moved, the shy teen doesn't have any friends and passes his time lustfully gazing at Roy, the blonde haired high school senior who lives next door and drives the school bus in his off time . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Saturday, May 2
Do You Sleep In The Nude?
2:00PM | Gateway CinemaIn the 1960s and early 70s film critics raised the appreciation of the art of movies to new heights with their passionate critiques. This enormously entertaining documentary highlights the life and work of the larger-than-life Rex Reed, who was for a short time the most widely read film critic in America. Reed, whose pointed barbs and poignant praises have appeared regularly in Vogue, GQ, Holiday, Women's Wear Daily, New York Daily News and the New York Post, was the former co-host of the TV show At the Movies and is still actively writing about film today for The New York Observor . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Amancio
4:00PM | Gateway CinemaYuma, Arizona is a relatively small town with a few notable distinctions. Located on the banks of the Colorado River and bordering both California and Mexico, it is the birthplace of Chicano activist Cesar Chavez and one of the hottest places in the country . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-El Niño Pez
6:30PM | Gateway CinemaLucia Puenzo quickly made a name for herself with her debut film XXY, a haunting and beautiful story about an intersex boy finding his way through adolescence and a society that doesn't understand him, and finding love and affection along the way . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Mr. Right
8:30PM | Gateway CinemaThis delightful, heartwarming romantic comedy follows the lives of three gay, metrosexual couples in London. Harry wants to ditch his job producing home improvement shows on TV to travel the world. Harry loves Alex, a young aspiring actor who barely loves himself. William, a hunky ex Rugby player, loves Lawrence the TV soap star, but his nine year-old daughter is determined that true love will not find its course. Lastly, there is Tom, a successful but insecure artist who will let his boyfriend Lars, a handsome sometimes model, get away with literally anything as long as he doesn't leave him . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Sunday, May 3
For My Wife
2:00PM | Gateway CinemaDavid Rothmiller and LD Thompson's documentary For My Wife tells the harrowing tale of Charlene Strong's call to activism following the death of her beloved partner Kate Fleming . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Born In '68
4:00PM | Gateway CinemaOne of the world's best-known same-sex filmmaking couples returns with an epic history of France's leftist movement. Beginning in 1968 when free-love and communal idealism was in vogue, revolutionaries Yves and Herve share the love of the beautiful Catherine on a populous flower-child farm several hours away from Paris . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Country Teacher
7:15PM | Gateway CinemaWith its beautiful cinematography, quiet but captivating performances, and the gorgeous vista of the Czech countryside, The Country Teacher affirms itself as one of eastern Europe's greatest LGBT offerings in some time . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
Films in Miami
http://mglff.com/2009/index.php
-Patrik, Age 1.5
7:30PM | Gusman TheatreSven and Goran make up an attractive and successful gay couple who've left the bustle of city life behind and relocated to a small town in their native Sweden. With its white picket fences, perfectly manicured lawns, and block parties, their new neighborhood seems as if it were plucked right out of Pleasantville. Gay people are few and far between here, and the couple's arrival is met alternatively with hostility and over compensating pleasantries. Even the kids in Goran's pediatric practice openly share their parents' prejudices. Still, the couple carries on, focusing their energies on the soon-coming results of their adoption application.. . . more
Opening Night Film: Members $17* Non-members $22*
Opening Night Gala: Members $35 Non-members $50
-Saturday, April 25
Antarctica
1:00PM | Regal 17This sexy and sweet Israeli feature navigates past the region's politics to present a film about two siblings searching for love and happiness while dealing with the Jewish mother from hell. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Training Rules
2:00PM | Regal 18Training Rules is a documentary about homophobia in the athletic department at Pennsylvania State University. Narrated by international swimming great Diana Nyad (National Public Radio), the film looks at the long and homophobic reign of Rene Portland, the coach of Penn State's women's basketball team whose three rules for her players were: no drinking, no drugs and no lesbians. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Country Wedding
3:15PM | Regal 17Borrowing from the great tradition of 'road movies', The Country Wedding is a thoroughly charming and funny look at what happens when you put a squad of ill-matched characters together on a journey none of them are prepared for. Inga and Bardi are a fun and vivacious young couple. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Baby Formula
5:15PM | Regal 17 & 18Capitalizing on the success of her short film Succubus and the real-life pregnancies of her two lead actresses Angela Vint and Megan Fahlenbock, Alison Reid's feature debut The Baby Formula charms us with a humorous take on what happens when lesbians decide to start a family. . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Mr. Right
7:30PM | Regal 17 & 18This delightful, heartwarming romantic comedy follows the lives of three gay, metrosexual couples in London. Harry wants to ditch his job producing home improvement shows on TV to travel the world. Harry loves Alex, a young aspiring actor who barely loves himself . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Every Little Step
9:40PM | Regal 18"One singular sensation" is more than a memorable lyric from a joyfully infectious tune: it is at once a great description of both A Chorus Line the stage musical from which it comes and of John D. Stern and Adam Del Deo's fantastic documentary film, Every Little Step . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Grimm Love
10:00PM | Regal 18It is said that reality is often stranger than fiction. The superbly executed Grimm Love proves that axiom to be true . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Sunday, April 26
Her Name Was Steven
1:00PM | Regal 18Steve Stanton had the epitome of the American Dream. As City Manager of Largo, Florida, Steve had a successful career as a public servant, where he managed a $130 million dollar budget and 1,200 employees and was respected and liked by his peers. His six-figure salary afforded a nice life for him, his wife, and son. Yet in early 2007 Steve's world came to a scratching hault when the guarded secret of his forthcoming sexual reassignment surgery was leaked to the local press . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Suddenly, Last Winter
1:30PM | Regal 17Licking wounds after the recent passages of Propositions 8 and 2 in California and Florida, blinking bewilderedly at the absurdly homophobic landscape in which they live, America's gays and lesbians stare with envy at Canada, Spain, and numerous other countries who have achieved legal recognition of same-sex unions on a federal level. Yet envy at the seemingly more socially enlightened societies of Europe, in particular, melts away quickly with the arrival of a new documentary from Italy . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Fairytale Of Kathmandu
3:00PM | Regal 18Director Neasa Ní Chianáin first encounters legendary Irish Poet Cathal O Searcaigh as a student in awe of him. Years later, the two are now friends and the poet invites her to accompany him on his annual three month visit to Nepal, which he considers his spiritual home . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-The Country Teacher
3:15PM | Regal 17With its beautiful cinematography, quiet but captivating performances, and the gorgeous vista of the Czech countryside, The Country Teacher affirms itself as one of eastern Europe's greatest LGBT offerings in some time . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Drool
5:30PM | Regal 17 & 18
Nancy Kissam's clever and hilarious film takes Thelma and Louise one step further (okay, maybe two or three). In her feature debut Kissam creates a comical explosion from interracial lesbian romance, husband killing, teenage oral sex and glamour makeovers. If that isn't enough, how about a road trip to Savannah for cocktails . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Baby Love
7:45PM | Regal 17
This excellent 'comedy of manners' movie, set in Paris, is about Manu, a Pediatrician in his mid 40's with a very successful life, who desperately wants to be a Dad even though his determination causes him to break up with his longstanding partner, Philippe, a lawyer who has no paternal instincts at all . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-One Day In A Life
9:45PM | Regal 18
As One Day In A Life begins, Salvatore arrives at a beautiful beach. Clad only in his Speedos, the confident and handsome man quickly catches the attention of a younger admirer and the two go off into the dunes together for a brief tryst. Emerging from this amorous interlude, Salvatore returns to the beach, soon meeting a group of neighboring sun worshippers, including an impossibly cute and flirtatious younger man who shows immediate interest . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Muñeca
10:00PM | Regal 17A long time South American bastion of conservatism, Chile seems to be redefining itself as a modern and progressive country, having elected a woman, Michelle Bachelet, as president, and shifted its portrayal of gay characters from stereotypes into well-rounded figures . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Monday, April 27
The Killing Of Sister George
7:00PM | Regal 17The Killing of Sister George is a classic. Equal parts heavy drama and hysterical camp, it is one of the first mainstream movies to prominently feature lesbian characters. Though not politically correct, it offers an interesting perspective on the changing portrayal of lesbians in film . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Clapham Junction
9:45PM | Regal 17Set during a 36 hour period in urban-London, Clapham Junction is a film where the characters and their lives intersect, often to tragic result. Though the comparisons to Paul Haggis' Crash will be quickly drawn, this film takes you places Haggis wouldn't dream of entering . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Tuesday, April 28
Victim
7:30PM | Regal 17With its echoes of film noir, the superb Victim was the first serious approach to homosexuality the cinema had ever made. Made in Britain in 1961 where, as in the US, being gay was still a crime, the movie was later banned from American theaters simply because it used the word 'homosexual' . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-What Boys Want
9:30PM | Regal 17Brace yourself for nearly an hour and a half of laughter. These funny shorts will take you on a comic journey, from mock-infomercials to musicals and everything in between . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Wednesday, April 29
El Niño Pez
7:30PM | Regal 17Lucia Puenzo quickly made a name for herself with her debut film XXY, a haunting and beautiful story about an intersex boy finding his way through adolescence and a society that doesn't understand him, and finding love and affection along the way . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Luchando
9:30PM | Regal 17Like the sweat that glistens on the bodies of the boys who stroll the malecon, sex and sensuality ooze from the pores of the Cuban people. Havana, from its heydays in the 1950's as the nightlife capital of Latin America, to its current position as a favored vacation destination for toursits, echoes the sexiness of its people . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Thursday, April 30
What Girls Like
7:30PM | Regal 17Bringing you the best in women's shorts from all over the globe, this program is sure to titillate, make you laugh, and make you feel. Get ready for a journey that will take you from drama to crisis to love. You'll be smiling when the lights come up . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Paolo
9:30PM | Regal 17In Andrea Franco Batievsky's documentary film Paolo, we are
introduced to the adorable Paolo Reategui. Like the millions of other immigrants who've made New York City their home, Paolo is searching for his version of the American dream. He shares his spacious Brooklyn apartment with his sister and a friend, he parties at the city's hippest gay clubs, and works in a high-end Manhattan boutique. He has a great group of friends and a wonderful relationship with his mom who lives in Miami. Yet amidst the skyscrapers, parties, and friends, something is missing from Paolo's life: his roots . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Friday, May 1
An Evening with John Waters - "This Filthy World"
8:00PM | Lincoln TheaterThe Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival & Edison Farrow are proud to present an evening with the iconic, irreverent, and deliciously twisted John Waters! The man who brought us Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, and made Divine a cult-icon will take to the stage of the Lincoln Theater on South Beach for one-night only, in his first South Florida stage appearance in over a decade! John Waters' one-man show is a "vaudeville" act that celebrates the film career and obsessive tastes of the man William Burroughs once called "The Pope of Trash." Focusing in on Waters' early negative artistic influences and his fascination with true crime, exploitation films, fashion lunacy, and the extremes of the contemporary art world, this joyously devious monologue elevates all that is trashy in life into a call to arms to "filth followers" everywhere. Everyone is invited to the after-party at the Shore Club but VIP Ticket holders will get a chance to meet John Waters, enjoy complimentary vodka cocktails and sit in the best seats in the theater.
Tickets: Members $35 - $100 Non-members $35 - $125
-Saturday, May 2
Annul Victory
1:00PM | Miami Beach CinemathequeIf you woke up on November 5th and your elation about Barack Obama's groundbreaking victory was tinged with sadness because of the passing of Proposition 8 in California, then Annul Victory is a film for you . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Fig Trees
2:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusEvery year thousands of people die from AIDS for lack of access to treatment. In this startling and inventive experimental documentary, filmmaker John Greyson and composer David Wall employ opera to tell the story of two activists at opposite ends of the world- Tim McCaskell of Toronto and Zackie Achmat of Capetown -both fighting for mass-access to HIV/AIDS medication . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Experimental Shorts
3:00PM | Miami Beach CinemathequeFor the first time at the MGLFF, we've decided to push the envelope by providing to audiences a fresh and different kind of shorts program. These films are not for the faint at heart, but if you like Tarentino and can stand the sight of a little blood, you'll love the sick and sticky stories in here. They are chock full of meaning, intellect and (albeit bizarre) beauty . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-City of Borders
4:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusThis excellent award-winning documentary follows the lives of five different and totally diverse gay men and women in Israel/Palestine whose common link is the fact that they all hang out at 'Shushan,' Jerusalem's only gay bar . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Chica Busca Chica
6:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusChica Busca Chica is Spain's answer to the L Word. In this sexy and cute show we are introduced to a group of ladies looking for love in all the right and sometimes wrong places as they play musical beds to their hearts' desire . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Shank
8:00PM | FIU Biscayne Bay CampusThis gritty, cutting-edge drama is a part of a new genre from contemporary queer filmmakers that shows another side of gay life. Shank is no cozy affair; void of the cliché plot devices typical of a coming of age story, this is a film that is refreshingly shocking, very explicit and painful at times . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Sunday, May 3
Ruby Blue
1:00PM | Colony TheatreJan Dunn's latest feature is a slow building meditation on suburban isolation and the healing effects of relationships. With fine performances by Bob Hoskins and Josiane Balasko, Dunn is able to transcend plot contrivances to create a personal film, addressing issues of mob mentality, child neglect and transphobia . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-I Can't Think Straight
3:15PM | Colony TheatreI Can't Think Straight is an entertaining, lighthearted romantic comedy from South African director Shamim Sarif. This sweet story is about two young women from different cultures, one woman of Indian origin, the other a Palestinian (who s about to get married), who meet and fall in love. Those of you who attended last year's Film Festival will immediately recognize the stunning lead actresses Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth from the film The World Unseen . . . more
Film Ticket: Members $7 Non-members $11
-Little Ashes
6:30PM | Colony TheatreThe setting is 1922 Madrid. Spain is in flux, serving as a perfect breeding ground for rebellious creative types who dare to be different. The Residencia de Estudiantes (the local fine arts university), a gathering place for local intellectuals, is the backdrop for a powerful convergence among Spanish luminaries Salvador Dalí, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Luis Buñuel. The three become fast friends, creating an explosive artistic triumvirate, and relish the attention that their avant-garde work and personas attract . . . more
Film Ticket Only: Members $15 Non-members $20
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From Dolphin Democrats - Ft. Lauderdale
Go to the links for the following articles:
-The City of Fort Lauderdale will host a public meeting on May 7, 2009 to present preliminary design concepts for the State Road A1A Corridor from Oakland Park Boulevard north to the City limits, based on several four-lane scenarios. The meeting will be conducted in an open-house format.
A1A Corridor Study Public Meeting
Thursday, May 7, 2009 - 6:00 p.m.
Beach Community Center
3351 NE 33rd Avenue (A1A & Oakland Park)
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
RSVP: 954-828-4756
The public is encouraged to attend and provide input regarding potential future enhancements to the streetscape and the pedestrian environment. For more information about the A1A Corridor Study, please contact the City of Fort Lauderdale Planning and Zoning Department 954-828-8980.
-For the first time in 24 years, the mayor of the city of Ft. Lauderdale
(Jack Seiler) will address the Dolphin Democrats at our meeting on Wednesday May 13, 2009 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Of course Jack Seiler has addressed the club recently; however it is in his posistion as the Mayor of Ft Lauderdale that he has not addressed the club in the past 24 years. Join us as we celebrate this historic occasion!
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Daily Queer News
www.dailyqueernews.com
Go to the links for the following articles:
-FL: FAU Students Create Petition Seeking Gay, Transgender Protections
Scott Travis | South Florida Sun Sentinel | Sun Sentinel
Florida Atlantic University would become the latest state school to specifically protect gays and lesbians from harassment and discrimination, and one of the first to protect transgendered people, if a student plan succeeds. Some students are collecting signatures for a petition that asks the university to add sexual orientation and gender identity to its nondiscrimination policy. So far, they've received about 1,000 signatures, with the hopes of collecting 3,000, said Amy Milin, 20, president of Lambda United, FAU's gay/straight alliance. A bill is also making its way through student government. It has received support from the incoming and outgoing student government presidents and the House of Representatives on the Boca Raton campus, said House member Boris Bastidas, 20, of Tamarac, who sponsored the bill. The plan will now go to student government leaders on other FAU campuses. FAU is one of only three public universities in the state not to specifically list sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy. The others are Florida State University and Florida A&M University, both in Tallahassee. Read more
http://www.dailyqueernews.com/news/6694/
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Internet sales tax plan fading away, again
THE ISSUE: Internet sales tax plan fading away, again.
Even as the leaders of the Florida House and Senate try to reconcile two versions of a new state budget, they are poised to fritter away another opportunity to collect billions of dollars in unpaid sales taxes. According to some estimates, Florida is losing more than $2 billion a year in those taxes. State law technically requires Floridians who buy from remote retailers - purchases online, by telephone or by mail order - to pay taxes on their purchases. Very few, perhaps only the compulsively honest, go to the trouble and expense of filling out forms and paying what they owe. Local governments that charge their own additional sales taxes also lose out.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-sales-tax-editorial-m042709sbapr27,0,5144231.story?track=rss
-Alligator Alley to remain closed today
ALLIGATOR ALLEY - Alligator Alley will remain closed today due to excessive smoke from a large brush fire, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The major east-west highway connecting Broward and Collier counties has been inaccessible off and on since Wednesday because of heavy smoke from a massive brush fire at Big Cypress.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/sfl-alligator-alley-brush-fire-closure-bn042609,0,7588050.story
-Five ships to arrive in Fort Lauderdale for Fleet Week
Navyy, Coast Guard and Canadian vessels will sail into Port Everglades this morning for the annual event that allows locals to tour the ships. Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen will come ashore for community projects and parties.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sfl-fleet-week-ships-042209,0,7004468.story
-New gadgets help prepare for hurricanes
By Daniel Vasquez
We may not be able to avoid bad storms in South Florida, but we can turn to technology to help us stay safe and ride out whatever Mother Nature sends our way. Note to self: Hurricane season starts June 1. Here is a list of gadgets that belong in any hurricane kit.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/time-money/home/sfl-hurricane-gadgets-vasquez-c0sbapr27,0,5629323.column
-Three Broward charter schools may be given one year to shape up
By Akilah Johnson
It is contract renewal time for four Broward County charter schools, but three of the new agreements come with this stipulation: You have one year to get your act together or close.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-charter-school-renewal-b4270sbapr27,0,6947119.story
-Search our database: Who's getting a salary and a pension?
SEARCH
Getting a salary and a pension
Under the state's Deferred Retirement Option Program, longtime employees agree to retire within five years while their pension money is put in an investment account guaranteed to make 6.5 percent a year. That gives them a one-time lump-sum payout. This is supposed to encourage senior employees to retire, making way for younger, lower-paid employees. But the state also allows retired employees to return to their jobs after 30 days. Elected officials can collect both their salaries and pensions after that 30-day period. Regular employees can collect one pension check in that 30-day period, then suspend their pension for 11 months before collecting both a salary and pension.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/broward/sfl-dropdatabase,0,1920543.htmlstory
-Florida Atlantic University, other state colleges may add technology fee
Students at state schools likely face new charge for technology
By Scott Travis
Boca Raton - Students at Florida's public universities may soon have to pay higher fees in exchange for more tech-savvy campuses. The Legislature last year authorized all 11 state universities to charge a technology fee equal to 5 percent of tuition beginning this fall. The board of trustees for each university must approve the fee before it can be imposed.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-fau-technology-fee-p042709sbapr27,0,6174396.story
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Miami Herald
http://www.miamiherald.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Mark Rosenberg, professor and administrator, named FIU's new president
BY LUISA YANEZ
Mark Rosenberg, a beloved, brainy and bespectacled Florida International University professor and administrator whose FIU career spans more than three decades, emerged from a national search Saturday to become the school's fifth president.
http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/1018233.html
-Gambling no prize for schools
BY MICHAEL R. VASQUEZ
Backers of the proposed Seminole compact say it would benefit education, but previous expansions of gambling failed to prevent the current school-funding crisis. In the name of improving education, Florida voters have twice expanded gambling, first with the introduction of the lottery in the 1980s, and more recently by bringing slot machines to Miami-Dade and Broward parimutuels.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/1019407.html
-Diversity group promised by BSO's Lamberti has yet to meet
BY AMY SHERMAN
When Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti's opponent last year tried to portray him as ignoring minorities by appointing an all-white transition team, the sheriff fired back with promises. Against the backdrop of the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center near Fort Lauderdale a few weeks before Election Day, Lamberti surrounded himself with black and Hispanic leaders to announce the formation of groups to address internal diversity issues at the Broward Sheriff's Office and hate crimes in the community.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/1019848.html
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-A U.S Senate campaign may be tougher for Charlie Crist than some realize
Posted at 12:43 PM in Charlie Crist, U.S. Senate
Amid the meltdown of the 2009 session of the Florida Legislature, one theme that has resurfaced again and again is that Gov. Charlie Crist is not engaged and is already looking ahead to his next election - and his next job in the U.S. Senate.
http://findout.typepad.com/the_fine_print/2009/04/the-road-to-the-us-senate-may-not-be-the-easier-path-for-crist.html
-Hard Lines on Havana Soften in Miami
Cuban Americans Reexamine U.S. Policy
By Nick Miroff
Edel Hernández arrived at the airport here last week with a giant duffel bag and a ball cap pulled low over his eyes. Two years earlier he had left Cuba, and he hadn't seen his wife since. "It's been hard," he said, his eyes welling as he tugged on the visor. "Really hard."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/26/AR2009042602250.html
-Capital ideas: Sansom jurors sending a powerful message about capitol corruption
Paul Flemming
On April 17, former House Speaker Ray Sansom was indicted, charged by a Leon County grand jury with official misconduct for inserting what the jurors concluded was a sham $6 million project in the state's budget. The jury's presentment, the reaction of citizens who got a good look at how the bratwurst is made at the Capitol, dripped indignation.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090427/OPINION/904270323/1015
-House leaders give ground on Florida election law overhaul
By Steve Bousquet
Following harsh criticism from voting rights groups and a threatened veto by Gov. Charlie Crist, House leaders have retreated from a sweeping overhaul of Florida's election laws.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article994733.ece
-Powerful gulf oil drilling lobby faces strong resistance in Florida
By Lucy Morgan and Mary Ellen Klas
Dangling the promise of millions for the state's dwindling budget, a group of mostly unidentified oil and gas companies is bankrolling a last-minute fight to bring offshore drilling to Florida's coastline.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article995616.ece
-Government-paid abortions? Latina advocacy group says it's time
posted by Jeannette Rivera-Lyles
A study released last week by the Pew Hispanic Foundation says that nearly half of illegal immigrant households (47%) consist of couples with children. That is a greater share than for households of U.S.-born residents (21%) or legal immigrants (35%).
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_momsatwork/2009/04/a-study-released-last-weel-by-the-pew-hispanic-foundation-says-that-nearly-half-of-illegal-immigrant-households-47-consist.html
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[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
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Sunday, April 26, 2009
GLBT DIGEST - April 26, 2009
**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.
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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-From a Pulpit, Peace Over Politics
By MICHAEL WINERIP
BABY BOOMERS supposedly are divisive people, still locked in the political and cultural wars of the 1960s and '70s. This, we're told, is why Barack Obama, though technically a boomer (b. 1961), isn't actually a boomer. He is alleged to be the next generation, a master of consensus who refuses to be bogged down in the old quagmires. This view of boomers is outdated. It is true we're a generation with strong opinions. Coming of age in the era of Vietnam, civil rights, feminism and gay rights, we would have had to be dead not to have strong opinions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/fashion/26generationb.html?scp=8&sq=gay&st=cse
-Bea Arthur, TV Battle-Ax, Dies at 86
By BRUCE WEBER
Bea Arthur, who used her husky voice, commanding stature and flair for the comic jab to create two of the most endearing battle-axes in television history, Maude Findlay in the groundbreaking situation comedy "Maude" and Dorothy Zbornak in "The Golden Girls," died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was coy about her age, and sources give various dates for her birth, but a family spokesman, Dan Watt, said in an e-mail message she was 86.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/arts/television/26arthur.html?scp=7&sq=gay&st=cse
-Same-Sex Ruling Belies the Staid Image of Iowa
By MONICA DAVEY
As of Monday, gay couples will be allowed to marry in places like this small town that once served as the background for Grant Wood's "American Gothic," the painter's famous depiction of stern, traditional Midwesterners.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/26iowa.html?scp=5&sq=gay&st=cse
-Presbyterians Bending Toward Justice
By Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards
Co-Moderator of the More Light Presbyterians
"Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke those prophetic words at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1967. From a different time and a different movement, his words resonate with me today as I absorb the news from my church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), that ordination of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) sisters and brothers in Christ will not happen this year. The national governing body of our church passed an amendment last summer that opened that door, but a majority of local church bodies across the country have failed to ratify it.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/04/presbyterians_bending_toward_justice.html
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Stray Backpack Prompts Whitman Evacuation
Walt Whitman High School and two nearby houses were briefly evacuated yesterday after a stray backpack was found in the school's parking lot, a discovery that raised particular concern, officials said, because it came a day after activists gathered there to protest the sexual orientation of the poet for whom the Bethesda school was named. A Montgomery County police officer found the bag shortly before noon. Because it contained items that resembled pipes, the bomb squad used a special robot to destroy it. The backpack was determined to be harmless. On Friday, activists from Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas protested at the school, saying it should not have been named for the influential 19th century poet. Whitman is generally regarded as having been gay or bisexual, but his sexual identity remains enigmatic. -- Hamil R. Harris
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042502798_3.html
-My Students. My Cellphone. My Ordeal.
By Ting-Yi Oei
The Channel 4 Newsbreak was meant to shock: "High school assistant principal in Loudoun County arrested for child pornography," announced WRC's Jim Vance. "Details following the Olympics." That was last Aug. 20. The assistant principal was me. And the story on the late evening news that night was how many people who knew me -- and countless others in the Washington area who didn't -- learned that I was the subject of a prosecution that over the past year has turned my life upside down and ruined my reputation and my career. Although all the charges against me were recently thrown out of court, my experience is a warning for all educators who find themselves trying to negotiate the slippery terrain where rapidly advancing technology intersects with risky adolescent behavior.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702663.html
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Busy agenda emulates Roosevelt style
Doyle McManus
If it seems arbitrary -- even unfair -- to take the measure of a new president after just 100 days in office, you can blame Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1933, with the nation in a financial meltdown, Roosevelt came to the White House and, with an enthusiastic Democratic Congress at his command, enacted a whirlwind of emergency legislation. There was a bank stabilization bill, unemployment relief and farm supports, stock market regulation, the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority -- and the repeal of Prohibition. It took FDR only 103 days to launch that first version of his New Deal, and that initial storm set a tone for the rest of Roosevelt's first term: constant action, bold experimentation, unprecedented expansion of the authority of the federal government.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/national/sfl-obama-100-days-part3-042609,0,2110674.story
-Gay couples' marriages to set Iowa apart
State residents less surprised than outsiders about legal pioneering
By Monica Davey
As of Monday, gay couples will be allowed to marry in places like this small town that once was the background for Grant Wood's American Gothic, the painter's famous depiction of stern, traditional Midwesterners. Many people, even some who live here, cannot mesh their plain-Jane image of Iowa with the front lines of the same-sex marriage debate.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-iowa-gay-marriage-a042609_sbapr26,0,7613792.story
-Couch surfing gives smart travelers some financial cushion
Travelers save money, make friends through global Web site.
By Charles Grau
When Will Bradwell and his friends were planning a cross-country road trip three years ago, the idea of paying for hotels, gas and food seemed impossible for their college-student budgets. Then a friend suggested CouchSurfing.com. Launched in January 2004, it's a hospitality-exchange networking site where people offer free lodging. When opening a free account, you can choose to host, surf or show travelers around (even if you're not hosting).
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/sfl-couchsurfing-travel-t042609brapr26,0,473939.story
-Gay travelers unwilling to give up their trips
In bad economy, travel industry is making a pitch for 'pink money.'
By Rex W. Huppke
As Americans rejigger their budgets to abide the nation's economic gloom, travel plans are being routinely cast aside, leading to plummeting airline traffic and a tourism downturn around the globe. But at least one demographic has refused to relinquish its passion for travel. Chicagoan Tim Engdahl is part of that group: gay, gainfully employed, with no kids and a lifelong wanderlust.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/sfl-gay-travel-t042609brapr26,0,4013926.story
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South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Missing BlackBerry data at issue in Wone murder
Defense team says data could have helped prove innocence
By LOU CHIBBARO JR
Attorneys representing three gay men charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the murder of Washington attorney Robert Wone accused prosecutors in court Friday of failing to preserve evidence from Wone's BlackBerry cell phone that could have helped prove their clients' innocence.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25141
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The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Rent Opens at Orange County High School
By Boo Jarchow
A student production of Rent at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., will open tonight, despite having originally been canceled by the school's principal because of objections to the play's gay content. Students wore rainbow buttons to support the musical, which were confiscated by school officials. However, after reading the script, principal Fal Asrani gave permission to go ahead with the production. But the drama didn't end there.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80484.asp
-Westboro Planning Mass Suicide?
By Michelle Garcia
The world may not be seeing more of the controversial fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in the near future. A cryptic blog entry posted by the Topeka, Kan.-based church on April 18 -- and unearthed by Gossip-Boy -- says "it's about time for us to leave this place."
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80486.asp
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Linguists fired under military gay ban 'could have alerted US over 9/11'
A leading campaigner in the fight to repeal the US military gay ban has said that a lack of skilled linguists, who were fired for being gay, may have undermined the government's potential to prevent the September 11th bombings.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12153.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Charlie Crist is the "headliner" of Outrage, the documentary about gay politicians
posted by OtownRog
Florida Governor Charlie Crist is the lead attraction in Kirby Dick's documentary Outrage, about closetedCrist politicians who vote against gay rights, according to Jeff Wells, who just saw it at Tribeca. This is the director of the terrific This Film is Not Yet Rated, so it's not easy to dismiss, even though Dick's sourcing (alt weeklies) seems suspect. Can't find where it says the film will be shown in a few Florida cities in May on the official site, though a commenter on an earlier post maintains that is the case. anybody got a link?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2009/04/charlie-crist-is-the-headliner-of-outrage-the-documentary-about-closeted-gay-politicians.html
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Michelle Obama and Frank Kameny
For those who don't know, Dr. Kameny was a pioneer gay activist who helped persuade the APA to remove homosexuality from the DSM.
http://stonewalldemocrats.org/opmphotos
=
Southern Poverty Law Center
http://www.splcenter.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Today we filed suit to stop the horrible abuse of children at a Mississippi detention center, where they are confined in filthy, bug-infested cells for 23 hours a day with no adequate mental health or education services. Our client, D.W., is a 17-year-old African-American youth who endured a brutal physical assault by guards who slammed his face into a concrete floor. After a week at the facility, he tried to hang himself with a bed sheet. But rather than provide him counseling, guards harassed and taunted him - telling him his mother no longer cared and would not visit him again. The children held at the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center in Biloxi are not hardened criminals. Most are accused of minor, nonviolent offenses and are simply awaiting court hearings.
http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=374&splcnewsletter=dnewsgen-042009
=
Gay American Heros
http://www.gayamericanheroes.info/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-BRAVE... School district launches website promoting 'gay' pride in classrooms
Under the stated intent of making schools "safer" for all students, the San Francisco Unified School District has launched a website - believed to be the first of its kind - that provides resources designed to "meet the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth" in its schools. "April is Gay Pride Celebration!" touts the website's home page. "Check out some of the event options in our 'Host an Activity' section." In addition to the "Host an Activity" section, loaded with suggestions on how teachers can celebrate Gay Pride Month in their classrooms, the website includes dozens of resources, including district policies on sexual expression and discrimination issues, curriculum for teaching on LDBTQ issues, a list of district-approved speakers and presentations, studies, and testimonials from school officials on how they're making their schools more friendly to LGBTQ students. Susan, a school nurse from Burton High School, for example, explains the steps her school is taking: "Probably the most fun activity that we've organized and I think the most informative for the students is what we call the Rainbow Café," writes Susan. "One week during Gay Pride Month ... we have a room that's set aside and there are snacks. The [Gay-Straight Alliance] has usually chosen a topic, and each day at lunch there's a speaker on a different topic. So Monday might be gays in the military, Tuesday might be gay parents, the next day might be gays and religion, and then it might be legislating civil rights for gays. We usually culminate the week with a Day of Silence. We've asked teachers to give extra credit to allow kids to come who wouldn't normally come. But because they get extra credit, kids who wouldn't be exposed to this kind of programming will be taught to think about it. "Another fun activity we do at the high school level," Susan continues, "is we bring the New Conservatory Theater every year to perform 'The Other Side of the Closet.' Students then have an opportunity to hold a discussion afterward. It's fabulous."
http://www.healthiersf.org/LGBTQ/index.html
=
Soulforce
http://www.soulforce.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-A Message of Challenge and Hope to the Roman Catholic Church
In our continuing dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, Soulforce members and friends arrived in New York City from around the country to take a message of challenge and hope directly to the office of the Vatican at the United Nations. Soulforce asked the church to take a stand against recent defamatory language from Roman Catholic leaders, and join 67 other countries in signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
[...] Watch videos: http://www.soulforce.org/article/1508 and
http://www.soulforce.org/article/1509
=
Human Rights Campaign [HRC]
Judy Shepard has waited more than 10 years for this moment. Congress could vote as soon as NEXT WEEK on the hate crimes bill that would give LGBT people the protections they need and deserve, and honor the memory of Judy's son. And tomorrow, during House Judiciary Committee action, right-wing lawmakers are planning an attempt to derail the bill with "poison pill" amendments. So your action is more urgent than ever. Watch this powerful new video of Judy's personal story, and take action on the hate crimes bill now!
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hate_crimes_video/3kg6ek699j63k5kw?
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-From a Pulpit, Peace Over Politics
By MICHAEL WINERIP
BABY BOOMERS supposedly are divisive people, still locked in the political and cultural wars of the 1960s and '70s. This, we're told, is why Barack Obama, though technically a boomer (b. 1961), isn't actually a boomer. He is alleged to be the next generation, a master of consensus who refuses to be bogged down in the old quagmires. This view of boomers is outdated. It is true we're a generation with strong opinions. Coming of age in the era of Vietnam, civil rights, feminism and gay rights, we would have had to be dead not to have strong opinions.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/fashion/26generationb.html?scp=8&sq=gay&st=cse
-Bea Arthur, TV Battle-Ax, Dies at 86
By BRUCE WEBER
Bea Arthur, who used her husky voice, commanding stature and flair for the comic jab to create two of the most endearing battle-axes in television history, Maude Findlay in the groundbreaking situation comedy "Maude" and Dorothy Zbornak in "The Golden Girls," died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was coy about her age, and sources give various dates for her birth, but a family spokesman, Dan Watt, said in an e-mail message she was 86.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/arts/television/26arthur.html?scp=7&sq=gay&st=cse
-Same-Sex Ruling Belies the Staid Image of Iowa
By MONICA DAVEY
As of Monday, gay couples will be allowed to marry in places like this small town that once served as the background for Grant Wood's "American Gothic," the painter's famous depiction of stern, traditional Midwesterners.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/26iowa.html?scp=5&sq=gay&st=cse
-Presbyterians Bending Toward Justice
By Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards
Co-Moderator of the More Light Presbyterians
"Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke those prophetic words at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1967. From a different time and a different movement, his words resonate with me today as I absorb the news from my church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), that ordination of our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) sisters and brothers in Christ will not happen this year. The national governing body of our church passed an amendment last summer that opened that door, but a majority of local church bodies across the country have failed to ratify it.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/04/presbyterians_bending_toward_justice.html
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Stray Backpack Prompts Whitman Evacuation
Walt Whitman High School and two nearby houses were briefly evacuated yesterday after a stray backpack was found in the school's parking lot, a discovery that raised particular concern, officials said, because it came a day after activists gathered there to protest the sexual orientation of the poet for whom the Bethesda school was named. A Montgomery County police officer found the bag shortly before noon. Because it contained items that resembled pipes, the bomb squad used a special robot to destroy it. The backpack was determined to be harmless. On Friday, activists from Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas protested at the school, saying it should not have been named for the influential 19th century poet. Whitman is generally regarded as having been gay or bisexual, but his sexual identity remains enigmatic. -- Hamil R. Harris
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042502798_3.html
-My Students. My Cellphone. My Ordeal.
By Ting-Yi Oei
The Channel 4 Newsbreak was meant to shock: "High school assistant principal in Loudoun County arrested for child pornography," announced WRC's Jim Vance. "Details following the Olympics." That was last Aug. 20. The assistant principal was me. And the story on the late evening news that night was how many people who knew me -- and countless others in the Washington area who didn't -- learned that I was the subject of a prosecution that over the past year has turned my life upside down and ruined my reputation and my career. Although all the charges against me were recently thrown out of court, my experience is a warning for all educators who find themselves trying to negotiate the slippery terrain where rapidly advancing technology intersects with risky adolescent behavior.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702663.html
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Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Busy agenda emulates Roosevelt style
Doyle McManus
If it seems arbitrary -- even unfair -- to take the measure of a new president after just 100 days in office, you can blame Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1933, with the nation in a financial meltdown, Roosevelt came to the White House and, with an enthusiastic Democratic Congress at his command, enacted a whirlwind of emergency legislation. There was a bank stabilization bill, unemployment relief and farm supports, stock market regulation, the creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority -- and the repeal of Prohibition. It took FDR only 103 days to launch that first version of his New Deal, and that initial storm set a tone for the rest of Roosevelt's first term: constant action, bold experimentation, unprecedented expansion of the authority of the federal government.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/elections/national/sfl-obama-100-days-part3-042609,0,2110674.story
-Gay couples' marriages to set Iowa apart
State residents less surprised than outsiders about legal pioneering
By Monica Davey
As of Monday, gay couples will be allowed to marry in places like this small town that once was the background for Grant Wood's American Gothic, the painter's famous depiction of stern, traditional Midwesterners. Many people, even some who live here, cannot mesh their plain-Jane image of Iowa with the front lines of the same-sex marriage debate.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-iowa-gay-marriage-a042609_sbapr26,0,7613792.story
-Couch surfing gives smart travelers some financial cushion
Travelers save money, make friends through global Web site.
By Charles Grau
When Will Bradwell and his friends were planning a cross-country road trip three years ago, the idea of paying for hotels, gas and food seemed impossible for their college-student budgets. Then a friend suggested CouchSurfing.com. Launched in January 2004, it's a hospitality-exchange networking site where people offer free lodging. When opening a free account, you can choose to host, surf or show travelers around (even if you're not hosting).
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/sfl-couchsurfing-travel-t042609brapr26,0,473939.story
-Gay travelers unwilling to give up their trips
In bad economy, travel industry is making a pitch for 'pink money.'
By Rex W. Huppke
As Americans rejigger their budgets to abide the nation's economic gloom, travel plans are being routinely cast aside, leading to plummeting airline traffic and a tourism downturn around the globe. But at least one demographic has refused to relinquish its passion for travel. Chicagoan Tim Engdahl is part of that group: gay, gainfully employed, with no kids and a lifelong wanderlust.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/travel/sfl-gay-travel-t042609brapr26,0,4013926.story
=
South Florida Blade
http://www.floridablade.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Missing BlackBerry data at issue in Wone murder
Defense team says data could have helped prove innocence
By LOU CHIBBARO JR
Attorneys representing three gay men charged with obstruction of justice in connection with the murder of Washington attorney Robert Wone accused prosecutors in court Friday of failing to preserve evidence from Wone's BlackBerry cell phone that could have helped prove their clients' innocence.
http://www.floridablade.com/thelatest/thelatest.cfm?blog_id=25141
=
The Advocate
http://advocate.com/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Rent Opens at Orange County High School
By Boo Jarchow
A student production of Rent at Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., will open tonight, despite having originally been canceled by the school's principal because of objections to the play's gay content. Students wore rainbow buttons to support the musical, which were confiscated by school officials. However, after reading the script, principal Fal Asrani gave permission to go ahead with the production. But the drama didn't end there.
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80484.asp
-Westboro Planning Mass Suicide?
By Michelle Garcia
The world may not be seeing more of the controversial fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church in the near future. A cryptic blog entry posted by the Topeka, Kan.-based church on April 18 -- and unearthed by Gossip-Boy -- says "it's about time for us to leave this place."
http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid80486.asp
=
Pink News - UK
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Linguists fired under military gay ban 'could have alerted US over 9/11'
A leading campaigner in the fight to repeal the US military gay ban has said that a lack of skilled linguists, who were fired for being gay, may have undermined the government's potential to prevent the September 11th bombings.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-12153.html
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Charlie Crist is the "headliner" of Outrage, the documentary about gay politicians
posted by OtownRog
Florida Governor Charlie Crist is the lead attraction in Kirby Dick's documentary Outrage, about closetedCrist politicians who vote against gay rights, according to Jeff Wells, who just saw it at Tribeca. This is the director of the terrific This Film is Not Yet Rated, so it's not easy to dismiss, even though Dick's sourcing (alt weeklies) seems suspect. Can't find where it says the film will be shown in a few Florida cities in May on the official site, though a commenter on an earlier post maintains that is the case. anybody got a link?
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_movies_blog/2009/04/charlie-crist-is-the-headliner-of-outrage-the-documentary-about-closeted-gay-politicians.html
=
Forwarded from Euro-Queer
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Michelle Obama and Frank Kameny
For those who don't know, Dr. Kameny was a pioneer gay activist who helped persuade the APA to remove homosexuality from the DSM.
http://stonewalldemocrats.org/opmphotos
=
Southern Poverty Law Center
http://www.splcenter.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-Today we filed suit to stop the horrible abuse of children at a Mississippi detention center, where they are confined in filthy, bug-infested cells for 23 hours a day with no adequate mental health or education services. Our client, D.W., is a 17-year-old African-American youth who endured a brutal physical assault by guards who slammed his face into a concrete floor. After a week at the facility, he tried to hang himself with a bed sheet. But rather than provide him counseling, guards harassed and taunted him - telling him his mother no longer cared and would not visit him again. The children held at the Harrison County Juvenile Detention Center in Biloxi are not hardened criminals. Most are accused of minor, nonviolent offenses and are simply awaiting court hearings.
http://www.splcenter.org/news/item.jsp?aid=374&splcnewsletter=dnewsgen-042009
=
Gay American Heros
http://www.gayamericanheroes.info/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article:
-BRAVE... School district launches website promoting 'gay' pride in classrooms
Under the stated intent of making schools "safer" for all students, the San Francisco Unified School District has launched a website - believed to be the first of its kind - that provides resources designed to "meet the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth" in its schools. "April is Gay Pride Celebration!" touts the website's home page. "Check out some of the event options in our 'Host an Activity' section." In addition to the "Host an Activity" section, loaded with suggestions on how teachers can celebrate Gay Pride Month in their classrooms, the website includes dozens of resources, including district policies on sexual expression and discrimination issues, curriculum for teaching on LDBTQ issues, a list of district-approved speakers and presentations, studies, and testimonials from school officials on how they're making their schools more friendly to LGBTQ students. Susan, a school nurse from Burton High School, for example, explains the steps her school is taking: "Probably the most fun activity that we've organized and I think the most informative for the students is what we call the Rainbow Café," writes Susan. "One week during Gay Pride Month ... we have a room that's set aside and there are snacks. The [Gay-Straight Alliance] has usually chosen a topic, and each day at lunch there's a speaker on a different topic. So Monday might be gays in the military, Tuesday might be gay parents, the next day might be gays and religion, and then it might be legislating civil rights for gays. We usually culminate the week with a Day of Silence. We've asked teachers to give extra credit to allow kids to come who wouldn't normally come. But because they get extra credit, kids who wouldn't be exposed to this kind of programming will be taught to think about it. "Another fun activity we do at the high school level," Susan continues, "is we bring the New Conservatory Theater every year to perform 'The Other Side of the Closet.' Students then have an opportunity to hold a discussion afterward. It's fabulous."
http://www.healthiersf.org/LGBTQ/index.html
=
Soulforce
http://www.soulforce.org/
Contact rays.list@comcast.net for the full article
-A Message of Challenge and Hope to the Roman Catholic Church
In our continuing dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church, Soulforce members and friends arrived in New York City from around the country to take a message of challenge and hope directly to the office of the Vatican at the United Nations. Soulforce asked the church to take a stand against recent defamatory language from Roman Catholic leaders, and join 67 other countries in signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.
[...] Watch videos: http://www.soulforce.org/article/1508 and
http://www.soulforce.org/article/1509
=
Human Rights Campaign [HRC]
Judy Shepard has waited more than 10 years for this moment. Congress could vote as soon as NEXT WEEK on the hate crimes bill that would give LGBT people the protections they need and deserve, and honor the memory of Judy's son. And tomorrow, during House Judiciary Committee action, right-wing lawmakers are planning an attempt to derail the bill with "poison pill" amendments. So your action is more urgent than ever. Watch this powerful new video of Judy's personal story, and take action on the hate crimes bill now!
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hate_crimes_video/3kg6ek699j63k5kw?
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
NATIONAL & WORLD DIGEST - April 26, 2009
**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:
-After an Off Year, Wall Street Pay Is Bouncing Back
By LOUISE STORY
The rest of the nation may be getting back to basics, but on Wall Street, paychecks still come with a golden promise. Workers at the largest financial institutions are on track to earn as much money this year as they did before the financial crisis began, because of the strong start of the year for bank profits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/business/26pay.html?hp
-House Heavyweight Feels Threat to Power
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
So powerful was Representative John P. Murtha at one time that he used to put up billboards in his Western Pennsylvania district declaring that "the P is for Power." Few in Congress dared disagree: he doled out or withheld billions in federal money each year for lawmakers' pet projects, better known as earmarks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/politics/26murtha.html?hp
-At the Polls, Icelanders Punish Conservatives
By JOHN F. BURNS
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - It is a tale of light and dark - of a small but rugged country far from anywhere that has suffered as severely as any in the developed world at the hands of buccaneering free-marketeers, but which is now slowly digging itself out from the financial wreckage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/europe/26iceland.html?hp
-Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/science/earth/24deny.html?hpw
-Pakistani Official Warns Taliban Must Disarm
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan's top civilian security official says the Taliban in the northwest's Swat Valley must disarm or ''face action.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/26/world/AP-AS-Pakistan.html
-In Pakistan, Guile Helps Taliban Gain
By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Initially, Buner was a hard place for the Taliban to crack. When they attacked a police station in the valley district last year, the resistance was fearless. Local people picked up rifles, pistols and daggers, hunted down the militants and killed six of them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/asia/26buner.html?_r=1&hp
-To Save Money, M.I.T. Drops 8 Sports Teams
By CATE DOTY
High school students with dreams of competing in alpine skiing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, beware: when this academic year ends, the institute will no longer have a varsity team.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/education/25mit.html?hpw
-The Banality of Bush White House Evil
Torture was a tool in the campaign to exploit 9/11 so that fearful Americans would support a war that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26rich.html?ref=opinion
-Time to Come Clean
President Obama worries that a commission to investigate torture and tally its costs would distract from focusing on the economy, but the truth is the opposite.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26kristof.html?ref=opinion
-The Stress Test Results
The nation's largest banks received the results of their government stress tests on Friday. The rest of us should get the news next week. For the Obama administration, the tests could be a major success, if they provide clear data on which to base a bank-rescue strategy. Or the tests could be one of its worst failures, especially if they are not seen as credible. That would feed already profound financial anxieties and make it even harder for President Obama to manage the economic crisis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26sun1.html?ref=opinion
-Moore's Law and the Law of More
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
It is not an exaggeration to say that the team that President Obama appointed to promote his green agenda is nothing short of outstanding - a great combination of scientists and policy makers committed to building an energy economy that is efficient, clean and secure. Now there is only one vacancy left for him to fill. And it's one that only he can fill: Green President. Is he ready to do that job with the passion and fight that will be required to transform America's energy future? Hope so. Not sure yet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26friedman.html?ref=opinion
-Health Care Reform, Step One
The Senate has a not-to-be-missed opportunity in the next few weeks to pass legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products. It should move quickly - during the brief period of calm before the senators must grapple with health care reform and other difficult issues.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26sun3.html?ref=opinion
=
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Wrong on Gays in the Military
Alright, I've had it! Had it with the antiquated arguments against gays serving openly in the military espoused today on The Post's Op Ed page by James J. Lindsay, Jerome Johnson, E.G. "Buck" Shuler Jr., and Joseph Went. Gay men and lesbians should be allowed to serve. They should be allowed to serve openly. And they should be allowed to serve with the honor and dignity such service entails.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/04/wrong_on_gays_in_the_military.html
-Sochi's Olympic Troubles
By Boris Nemtsov
SOCHI, Russia -- My country has produced some of the best Olympic athletes in history, but some things about the preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which are to be held in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, are very disturbing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403300.html
-Sound the Alarm
What does the Obama administration hope to accomplish by publicly warning of a Pakistani collapse? THE TALIBAN raised fears in Pakistan last week by briefly seizing new territories near the capital, Islamabad. But in its own way, the Obama administration offered as much reason for panic about the deteriorating situation in that nuclear-armed Muslim country. In the course of just three days, the U.S. secretaries of State and Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the commanding general of American forces in the Middle East all publicly warned, in blunt and dire language, that Pakistan was facing an existential threat -- and that its government and Army were not facing it. "I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042502492.html
-Expiring Tax Cuts
What to do before the 2010 drop-dead date
THE LOOMING expiration of the Bush tax cuts offers an opportunity that the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress seem determined to squander. No one is proposing allowing all the tax cuts to expire as scheduled, on Dec. 31, 2010, nor should they. But a rational discussion of tax policy would include thoughtfully weighing which tax cuts to keep in place, which ones to pay for and perhaps even which taxes to increase. It may not surprise you to learn that this not happening. Instead, Congress is busy figuring out how to best break its own rules -- the ones that supposedly require tax cuts to be paid for rather than simply tacked on to the already bulging bill for the next generation. Meanwhile, President Obama has appointed a tax reform panel -- a good idea -- but counterproductively constrained its mission.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042502489.html
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Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Nation of Newcomers
A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States
Unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. -- now estimated to number 11.9 million -- are more geographically dispersed, but their recent rapid growth in the labor force has halted. A new demographic analysis includes population and labor force estimates by state. Read more
-Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008
No other country in the world has as many total immigrants from all countries as the United States has immigrants from Mexico alone. About 11% of everyone born in Mexico is currently living in the U.S. Read more
-Posting Politics
The Internet's Role in Campaign 2008
Three-quarters (74%) of internet users went online during the 2008 election to take part in, or get news and information about the 2008 campaign. This represents 55% of the entire U.S. adult population. Read more
-Is God Green?
Faith in Global Warming
The unaffiliated (58%) are the most likely to say there is solid evidence the earth is warming because of human activity while white evangelical Protestants (34%) are the least likely to believe in man-made global warming. Read more
-Buried Treasure - Pirates Capture Media
Press coverage of the economic meltdown hit a record low for the year as pirate drama seized the No. 1 spot online, in network TV, radio news and cable news. Read more
-A More Mixed Economic Picture
More Americans -- including far more Republicans than before -- are hearing at least some good economic news. Many follow Somali pirate story. Read more
-When Will Jesus Return?
Christians' Views of the Second Coming
Fully 79% of U.S. Christians believe in the Second Coming of Christ. Only 17% don't -- fewer than the 20% who believe the Second Coming will occur in their lifetime. Read more
-Daily Number
66% - Most Say Single Motherhood is a Bad Thing
The same year (2007) that out-of-wedlock births rose to record levels, a Pew Research survey found that two-thirds of Americans believe unmarried motherhood is harmful to society. Check back every weekday for another number in the news. Read more
-Recession-Era Reevaluations
Luxury or Necessity? Consumers Make a U-Turn
From the kitchen to the laundry room to the home entertainment center, Americans are paring down the list of familiar household appliances they say they can't live without. Read more
-Obama at 100 Days
Strong Job Approval, Even Higher Personal Ratings...
The 44th president scores more highly with the public at the 100-day mark than his recent predecessors. But what sets him apart is how he is viewed personally. Also, Obama receives better ratings on foreign policy and terrorism than on domestic issues. Read more
-But Will Obama Ride Reagan's Ratings Roller Coaster?
A close look at reactions to Reagan's first few months in office provides striking parallels with what polls now find about opinions of Obama. And the Reagan experience may well provide clues as to what lies ahead. Read more
-Torture in America
Public Remains Divided About Torture
Amid intense debate over the use of torture against suspected terrorists, public opinion remains about equally divided overall, although Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say it is at least sometimes justified. Read more
-Fair and Balanced
Fox News Stands Out as "Too Critical" of Obama
No one network was singled out as "too easy" on the president by the general public, but the impression that there is a pro-Obama bias to media coverage is widespread among Republicans. Read more
-Tea Parties: Fox News vs. MSNBC
Protests proved to be something of a journalistic Rorschach test. Read more
-Blogs, Not Press, Feature Gay Marriage Story
Same-sex marriage was the No. 1 story in social media but No. 15 in the traditional media. Read more
-Religion and Revolution
Faith in South Africa 15 Years After the End of Apartheid
Data from a 10-country survey of Pentecostals in 2006 provide estimates of the religious affiliation of South Africa's urban population. Read more
-Daily Number
57% - Most Like it Hot
Fully 57% of the public prefer a hotter climate while 29% would rather live in a colder one. Check back every weekday for another number in the news. Read more
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama And The Swells
Polls show President Obama gaining support from both affluent and blue-collar voters.
by Ronald Brownstein
As President Obama approaches the 100-day mark, one of his principal political assets is the breadth of his public approval. One of his principal challenges may be extending that personal support to his agenda. Both ends of that equation are illuminated in a national survey released this week. The Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll explores how Americans manage the financial risks of everyday life -- and where they look for help. The survey, which polled 1,200 adults from April 8 through 14, found that Obama enjoys broad support. His job-approval rating stood at 61 percent, with just 28 percent disapproving. At least 57 percent of voters in every age group gave him positive marks. So did at least 55 percent of voters in every income category, including six-figure earners. Republicans have cooled toward Obama (just 26 percent approve), but they make up only about one-fourth of the electorate; and Obama remains dominant among Democrats (89 percent approval) and solid among independents (61 percent approval).
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090425_7496.php
-Govt. Releases Stress Test Details
New Federal Reserve Report Warns That Some Banks Lost Substantial Capital, but Doesn't Name Names
By CHARLES HERMAN and DANIEL ARNALL
Would U.S. banks survive if the economy took an even deeper downturn? The Federal Reserve shed new light on how it's trying to answer that question in a report issued today on the government's bank "stress tests."
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7421449&page=1
-Fundamentally Different
by John B. Judis
That's what American capitalism will be once Obama's done with it. My colleagues Frank Foer and Noam Scheiber have written a compelling account of the Obama administration's approach to economic policy. And although I don't pretend to know the president's mind, I might agree with their summary statement that "Obama has no intention of changing the nature of capitalism." Still, I want to make what may seem to be a paradoxical argument: that regardless of the president's intentions, he will change American capitalism in fundamental ways--in particular, he will alter the relationship between the government and the economy. My argument rests on what he has actually proposed to do and how his proposals, if enacted, would situate his administration in the history of American economic reform.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=f889d9db-8e99-4eef-a138-5dfec44c6843
-Pelosi: I didn't know about use of waterboarding
By Glenn Thrush
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing back on GOP charges that she knew about waterboarding for years and did nothing. Pelosi says she was briefed by Bush administration officials on the legal justification for using waterboarding - but that they never followed through on promises to inform her when they actually began using "enhanced" interrogation techniques.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0409/Pelosi_I_didnt_know_about_waterboarding.html
-Nancy Pelosi fires back at Jon Stewart
The House speaker blasts a 'Daily Show' bit.
By Andrew Malcolm and Johanna Neuman
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is used to the limelight, even the barbs. The California Democrat, a 12-term representative from San Francisco, learned politics from her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., congressman and mayor of Baltimore. Pelosi is the first woman to serve as minority leader and speaker of the House of Representatives.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ticket26-2009apr26,0,7479304.story
-Voting rights fight on in Texas
State challenging federal oversight part of legislation
By Paul Weber and Mark Sherman
The community of Canyon Creek was ranchland rich with limestone and cedar trees when Jim Crow held sway in the South. The first house wasn't built until the late 1980s and not even a hint of discrimination attaches to this little slice in suburbia.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/04/26/voting_rights_fight_on_in_texas/
-If Everyone Knew, Who's to Blame?
By Mark Danner
Here's a question: When was the last time American officials waterboarded a detainee? Well, that would be 2003 -- six years ago. Here's another: When did Americans first find out about it? That would be 2004 -- five years ago. May 13, 2004, to be precise, in an article in the New York Times that informed readers that "C.I.A. interrogators used graduated levels of force, including a technique known as 'water boarding,' in which a prisoner is strapped down, forcibly pushed under water and made to believe he might drown."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042402654.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
-Obama urges overhaul of system for making college loans, urges more availability for the young
PHILIP ELLIOTT
President Barack Obama on Friday renewed his call for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct government loans to young people, a challenge to a decades-old program with strong congressional support. Obama's plan to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program could save $48 billion for taxpayers over the next decade, but critics warn it could turn the Education Department into a national bank. Lenders and some college officials oppose the proposal, which Obama backed as a U.S. senator and pushed during the presidential campaign.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article995257.ece
-Democrats plan to avoid filibuster on healthcare bill
A legislative maneuver would allow the senators to pass a bill to overhaul healthcare without a single GOP vote. Republicans warn against the move.
By Noam N. Levey
Reporting from Washington -- Senior Democrats have reached broad agreement on a plan to prevent Republicans from blocking President Obama's sweeping healthcare proposals, congressional officials said Friday. The plan, which would use special provisions of the budget process to prevent a Senate filibuster, threatens to sow outrage among Republican lawmakers and could complicate Democrats' efforts to push through the rest of their agenda. But Obama and his allies believe their decision to use the "budget reconciliation" process will allow passage of the kind of health system overhaul that has eluded Washington.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare25-2009apr25,0,2883760.story
=
[Send your comments about articles to Rays.List@Comcast.net]
#####
=
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-After an Off Year, Wall Street Pay Is Bouncing Back
By LOUISE STORY
The rest of the nation may be getting back to basics, but on Wall Street, paychecks still come with a golden promise. Workers at the largest financial institutions are on track to earn as much money this year as they did before the financial crisis began, because of the strong start of the year for bank profits.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/business/26pay.html?hp
-House Heavyweight Feels Threat to Power
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
So powerful was Representative John P. Murtha at one time that he used to put up billboards in his Western Pennsylvania district declaring that "the P is for Power." Few in Congress dared disagree: he doled out or withheld billions in federal money each year for lawmakers' pet projects, better known as earmarks.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/us/politics/26murtha.html?hp
-At the Polls, Icelanders Punish Conservatives
By JOHN F. BURNS
REYKJAVIK, Iceland - It is a tale of light and dark - of a small but rugged country far from anywhere that has suffered as severely as any in the developed world at the hands of buccaneering free-marketeers, but which is now slowly digging itself out from the financial wreckage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/europe/26iceland.html?hp
-Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/science/earth/24deny.html?hpw
-Pakistani Official Warns Taliban Must Disarm
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan's top civilian security official says the Taliban in the northwest's Swat Valley must disarm or ''face action.''
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/26/world/AP-AS-Pakistan.html
-In Pakistan, Guile Helps Taliban Gain
By JANE PERLEZ and PIR ZUBAIR SHAH
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Initially, Buner was a hard place for the Taliban to crack. When they attacked a police station in the valley district last year, the resistance was fearless. Local people picked up rifles, pistols and daggers, hunted down the militants and killed six of them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/world/asia/26buner.html?_r=1&hp
-To Save Money, M.I.T. Drops 8 Sports Teams
By CATE DOTY
High school students with dreams of competing in alpine skiing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, beware: when this academic year ends, the institute will no longer have a varsity team.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/25/education/25mit.html?hpw
-The Banality of Bush White House Evil
Torture was a tool in the campaign to exploit 9/11 so that fearful Americans would support a war that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26rich.html?ref=opinion
-Time to Come Clean
President Obama worries that a commission to investigate torture and tally its costs would distract from focusing on the economy, but the truth is the opposite.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26kristof.html?ref=opinion
-The Stress Test Results
The nation's largest banks received the results of their government stress tests on Friday. The rest of us should get the news next week. For the Obama administration, the tests could be a major success, if they provide clear data on which to base a bank-rescue strategy. Or the tests could be one of its worst failures, especially if they are not seen as credible. That would feed already profound financial anxieties and make it even harder for President Obama to manage the economic crisis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26sun1.html?ref=opinion
-Moore's Law and the Law of More
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
It is not an exaggeration to say that the team that President Obama appointed to promote his green agenda is nothing short of outstanding - a great combination of scientists and policy makers committed to building an energy economy that is efficient, clean and secure. Now there is only one vacancy left for him to fill. And it's one that only he can fill: Green President. Is he ready to do that job with the passion and fight that will be required to transform America's energy future? Hope so. Not sure yet.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26friedman.html?ref=opinion
-Health Care Reform, Step One
The Senate has a not-to-be-missed opportunity in the next few weeks to pass legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products. It should move quickly - during the brief period of calm before the senators must grapple with health care reform and other difficult issues.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/26/opinion/26sun3.html?ref=opinion
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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Wrong on Gays in the Military
Alright, I've had it! Had it with the antiquated arguments against gays serving openly in the military espoused today on The Post's Op Ed page by James J. Lindsay, Jerome Johnson, E.G. "Buck" Shuler Jr., and Joseph Went. Gay men and lesbians should be allowed to serve. They should be allowed to serve openly. And they should be allowed to serve with the honor and dignity such service entails.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2009/04/wrong_on_gays_in_the_military.html
-Sochi's Olympic Troubles
By Boris Nemtsov
SOCHI, Russia -- My country has produced some of the best Olympic athletes in history, but some things about the preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics, which are to be held in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, are very disturbing.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042403300.html
-Sound the Alarm
What does the Obama administration hope to accomplish by publicly warning of a Pakistani collapse? THE TALIBAN raised fears in Pakistan last week by briefly seizing new territories near the capital, Islamabad. But in its own way, the Obama administration offered as much reason for panic about the deteriorating situation in that nuclear-armed Muslim country. In the course of just three days, the U.S. secretaries of State and Defense, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the commanding general of American forces in the Middle East all publicly warned, in blunt and dire language, that Pakistan was facing an existential threat -- and that its government and Army were not facing it. "I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists," said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042502492.html
-Expiring Tax Cuts
What to do before the 2010 drop-dead date
THE LOOMING expiration of the Bush tax cuts offers an opportunity that the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress seem determined to squander. No one is proposing allowing all the tax cuts to expire as scheduled, on Dec. 31, 2010, nor should they. But a rational discussion of tax policy would include thoughtfully weighing which tax cuts to keep in place, which ones to pay for and perhaps even which taxes to increase. It may not surprise you to learn that this not happening. Instead, Congress is busy figuring out how to best break its own rules -- the ones that supposedly require tax cuts to be paid for rather than simply tacked on to the already bulging bill for the next generation. Meanwhile, President Obama has appointed a tax reform panel -- a good idea -- but counterproductively constrained its mission.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/25/AR2009042502489.html
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Pew Research center
http://pewresearch.org/
Go to this link for the following articles:
-Nation of Newcomers
A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States
Unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. -- now estimated to number 11.9 million -- are more geographically dispersed, but their recent rapid growth in the labor force has halted. A new demographic analysis includes population and labor force estimates by state. Read more
-Mexican Immigrants in the United States, 2008
No other country in the world has as many total immigrants from all countries as the United States has immigrants from Mexico alone. About 11% of everyone born in Mexico is currently living in the U.S. Read more
-Posting Politics
The Internet's Role in Campaign 2008
Three-quarters (74%) of internet users went online during the 2008 election to take part in, or get news and information about the 2008 campaign. This represents 55% of the entire U.S. adult population. Read more
-Is God Green?
Faith in Global Warming
The unaffiliated (58%) are the most likely to say there is solid evidence the earth is warming because of human activity while white evangelical Protestants (34%) are the least likely to believe in man-made global warming. Read more
-Buried Treasure - Pirates Capture Media
Press coverage of the economic meltdown hit a record low for the year as pirate drama seized the No. 1 spot online, in network TV, radio news and cable news. Read more
-A More Mixed Economic Picture
More Americans -- including far more Republicans than before -- are hearing at least some good economic news. Many follow Somali pirate story. Read more
-When Will Jesus Return?
Christians' Views of the Second Coming
Fully 79% of U.S. Christians believe in the Second Coming of Christ. Only 17% don't -- fewer than the 20% who believe the Second Coming will occur in their lifetime. Read more
-Daily Number
66% - Most Say Single Motherhood is a Bad Thing
The same year (2007) that out-of-wedlock births rose to record levels, a Pew Research survey found that two-thirds of Americans believe unmarried motherhood is harmful to society. Check back every weekday for another number in the news. Read more
-Recession-Era Reevaluations
Luxury or Necessity? Consumers Make a U-Turn
From the kitchen to the laundry room to the home entertainment center, Americans are paring down the list of familiar household appliances they say they can't live without. Read more
-Obama at 100 Days
Strong Job Approval, Even Higher Personal Ratings...
The 44th president scores more highly with the public at the 100-day mark than his recent predecessors. But what sets him apart is how he is viewed personally. Also, Obama receives better ratings on foreign policy and terrorism than on domestic issues. Read more
-But Will Obama Ride Reagan's Ratings Roller Coaster?
A close look at reactions to Reagan's first few months in office provides striking parallels with what polls now find about opinions of Obama. And the Reagan experience may well provide clues as to what lies ahead. Read more
-Torture in America
Public Remains Divided About Torture
Amid intense debate over the use of torture against suspected terrorists, public opinion remains about equally divided overall, although Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to say it is at least sometimes justified. Read more
-Fair and Balanced
Fox News Stands Out as "Too Critical" of Obama
No one network was singled out as "too easy" on the president by the general public, but the impression that there is a pro-Obama bias to media coverage is widespread among Republicans. Read more
-Tea Parties: Fox News vs. MSNBC
Protests proved to be something of a journalistic Rorschach test. Read more
-Blogs, Not Press, Feature Gay Marriage Story
Same-sex marriage was the No. 1 story in social media but No. 15 in the traditional media. Read more
-Religion and Revolution
Faith in South Africa 15 Years After the End of Apartheid
Data from a 10-country survey of Pentecostals in 2006 provide estimates of the religious affiliation of South Africa's urban population. Read more
-Daily Number
57% - Most Like it Hot
Fully 57% of the public prefer a hotter climate while 29% would rather live in a colder one. Check back every weekday for another number in the news. Read more
=
Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama And The Swells
Polls show President Obama gaining support from both affluent and blue-collar voters.
by Ronald Brownstein
As President Obama approaches the 100-day mark, one of his principal political assets is the breadth of his public approval. One of his principal challenges may be extending that personal support to his agenda. Both ends of that equation are illuminated in a national survey released this week. The Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor poll explores how Americans manage the financial risks of everyday life -- and where they look for help. The survey, which polled 1,200 adults from April 8 through 14, found that Obama enjoys broad support. His job-approval rating stood at 61 percent, with just 28 percent disapproving. At least 57 percent of voters in every age group gave him positive marks. So did at least 55 percent of voters in every income category, including six-figure earners. Republicans have cooled toward Obama (just 26 percent approve), but they make up only about one-fourth of the electorate; and Obama remains dominant among Democrats (89 percent approval) and solid among independents (61 percent approval).
http://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/nj_20090425_7496.php
-Govt. Releases Stress Test Details
New Federal Reserve Report Warns That Some Banks Lost Substantial Capital, but Doesn't Name Names
By CHARLES HERMAN and DANIEL ARNALL
Would U.S. banks survive if the economy took an even deeper downturn? The Federal Reserve shed new light on how it's trying to answer that question in a report issued today on the government's bank "stress tests."
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=7421449&page=1
-Fundamentally Different
by John B. Judis
That's what American capitalism will be once Obama's done with it. My colleagues Frank Foer and Noam Scheiber have written a compelling account of the Obama administration's approach to economic policy. And although I don't pretend to know the president's mind, I might agree with their summary statement that "Obama has no intention of changing the nature of capitalism." Still, I want to make what may seem to be a paradoxical argument: that regardless of the president's intentions, he will change American capitalism in fundamental ways--in particular, he will alter the relationship between the government and the economy. My argument rests on what he has actually proposed to do and how his proposals, if enacted, would situate his administration in the history of American economic reform.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=f889d9db-8e99-4eef-a138-5dfec44c6843
-Pelosi: I didn't know about use of waterboarding
By Glenn Thrush
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pushing back on GOP charges that she knew about waterboarding for years and did nothing. Pelosi says she was briefed by Bush administration officials on the legal justification for using waterboarding - but that they never followed through on promises to inform her when they actually began using "enhanced" interrogation techniques.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/glennthrush/0409/Pelosi_I_didnt_know_about_waterboarding.html
-Nancy Pelosi fires back at Jon Stewart
The House speaker blasts a 'Daily Show' bit.
By Andrew Malcolm and Johanna Neuman
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is used to the limelight, even the barbs. The California Democrat, a 12-term representative from San Francisco, learned politics from her father, Thomas D'Alesandro Jr., congressman and mayor of Baltimore. Pelosi is the first woman to serve as minority leader and speaker of the House of Representatives.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ticket26-2009apr26,0,7479304.story
-Voting rights fight on in Texas
State challenging federal oversight part of legislation
By Paul Weber and Mark Sherman
The community of Canyon Creek was ranchland rich with limestone and cedar trees when Jim Crow held sway in the South. The first house wasn't built until the late 1980s and not even a hint of discrimination attaches to this little slice in suburbia.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/04/26/voting_rights_fight_on_in_texas/
-If Everyone Knew, Who's to Blame?
By Mark Danner
Here's a question: When was the last time American officials waterboarded a detainee? Well, that would be 2003 -- six years ago. Here's another: When did Americans first find out about it? That would be 2004 -- five years ago. May 13, 2004, to be precise, in an article in the New York Times that informed readers that "C.I.A. interrogators used graduated levels of force, including a technique known as 'water boarding,' in which a prisoner is strapped down, forcibly pushed under water and made to believe he might drown."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/24/AR2009042402654.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
-Obama urges overhaul of system for making college loans, urges more availability for the young
PHILIP ELLIOTT
President Barack Obama on Friday renewed his call for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct government loans to young people, a challenge to a decades-old program with strong congressional support. Obama's plan to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program could save $48 billion for taxpayers over the next decade, but critics warn it could turn the Education Department into a national bank. Lenders and some college officials oppose the proposal, which Obama backed as a U.S. senator and pushed during the presidential campaign.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/article995257.ece
-Democrats plan to avoid filibuster on healthcare bill
A legislative maneuver would allow the senators to pass a bill to overhaul healthcare without a single GOP vote. Republicans warn against the move.
By Noam N. Levey
Reporting from Washington -- Senior Democrats have reached broad agreement on a plan to prevent Republicans from blocking President Obama's sweeping healthcare proposals, congressional officials said Friday. The plan, which would use special provisions of the budget process to prevent a Senate filibuster, threatens to sow outrage among Republican lawmakers and could complicate Democrats' efforts to push through the rest of their agenda. But Obama and his allies believe their decision to use the "budget reconciliation" process will allow passage of the kind of health system overhaul that has eluded Washington.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-healthcare25-2009apr25,0,2883760.story
=
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#####
FLORIDA DIGEST - April 26, 2009
**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.
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
New documentary on a gay man's murder to screen at Gay Film Festival
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - April 22, 2009
A new documentary on the brutal murder of a young gay Mexican-American in Yuma Arizona, and one man's journey to seek justice for that man's family, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, will be shown on May 2, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at the Gateway Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as part of the Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Tickets are available through the box office or online at the film festival website -- http://mglff.com/2009. More information on the film can be found at www.amancio-themovie.com.
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LOCAL FILM PRODUCER LAUNCHES WORLD-WIDE PREMIERE OF FIRST DOCUMENTARY AT MIAMI & FT. LAUDERDALE GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - April 23, 2009
On Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m., local film producer, Bruce Presley's first full-length documentary, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, will be screened at the Gateway Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as an entry in the 2009 Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Co-sponsored by Presley's Downtown Loft Studio and Compass, Inc., the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Palm Beach County, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, is the first of many gay-themed documentaries Presley hopes to produce in the coming years. Shot in Yuma Arizona, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone is the story of one man's journey to seek justice for the murder of a young gay man.
www.amancio-themovie.com
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Lambda Legal
Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami says they don't have to allow their patients visitors
Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, together 18 years, were about to depart from Miami on a family cruise with their three children, when Lisa suddenly collapsed. From the moment Janice and the children arrived at Jackson Memorial Hospital, they encountered prejudice and apathy. The hospital refused to accept information from Janice regarding Lisa's medical history, informing her that she was in an antigay city and state and that she could expect to receive no information or acknowledgment as family. A doctor finally spoke with Janice, telling her that there was no chance of recovery. Despite the doctor's acknowledgment that no medical reason existed to prevent visitation -- and despite the fact that Janice held a durable healthcare power of attorney for Lisa -- no hospital employee would allow Janice or the couple's children to see Lisa until nearly eight hours after their arrival. Lambda Legal has filed a lawsuit against Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida on behalf of Janice Langbehn and her three children. In its response to the lawsuit, the hospital does not dispute Janice's account of what happened that night. Instead, they claim they did nothing wrong.
http://www.glma.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=888
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-School Board wants 'ultimate control' but no operations cost in WXEL acquisition Board wants total control, but not liability
By Laura Green
The Palm Beach County School Board wants to "maintain ultimate control" over every aspect of the WXEL radio and television stations it's negotiating to acquire, from veto power over the programs on air to a blanket rule that no current employees be fired. But it wants someone else to pay to operate the stations and bear all liability.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-wxel-palm-beach-school-boardpnapr26,0,1559512.story
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama gets high marks in S. Florida
Almost 100 days into his presidency, Barack Obama has solidified his support in South Florida, but there is also an energized core of opposition.
BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
It's nearly 100 days into his presidency, and Barack Obama has yet to disappoint Jean Acevedo, a small-business owner who ardently cast her vote for the Democrat in November. Acevedo praises Obama's juggling of big issues. In her estimation, the president has made all the right moves in redirecting environmental policy and revitalizing foreign relations, and in aggressively tackling the economic trouble he inherited -- although like many people she is wary of massive bailouts and ballooning federal deficits.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1018237.html
-Crist looks ineffectual waiting for consensus
By MARY ELLEN KLAS
Gov. Charlie Crist lowered a spade into the ground to plant a red crape myrtle on the Capitol grounds Friday, and all was good. The sky was a brilliant blue. The Arbor Day tree was nestled next to a blooming rose garden, and Florida's sun-tanned governor was characteristically buoyant. "The session is scheduled to be concluded on May 1 and I remain optimistic that that possibility still exists," Crist said.
http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/1392800.html
-Stymied budget taking toll on Republican lawmakers
As the Legislature gridlocks, the Republicans who control the process fear for the strength of their party after more than a decade in power.
BY MARC CAPUTO
At a white cloth-covered table dotted with glasses of orange juice, Republican legislative leaders proudly toasted the on-time end of a lawmaking session, a no-new-taxes budget and the ascendancy of the GOP in Florida.
http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/1018141.html
-Differences remain in budget deadlock
Deadline likely will be missed, Atwater says
By Josh Hafenbrack and Aaron Deslatte
Florida lawmakers' budget stalemate ground into the final week of the 60-day session Friday, with Senate President Jeff Atwater conceding it would be "very difficult" to bridge big-ticket decisions on higher cigarette taxes, Seminole gambling and spending cuts on time. At the end of another day of closed-door negotiations, the North Palm Beach Republican told senators both sides "certainly narrowed the issues ... but there are some gaps that remain."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/legislature/sfl-florida-budget-b042509sbapr25,0,3877084.story
-Closed-door budget talks halted for weekend break
By MICHAEL C. BENDER and DARA KAM
Republican leaders in the House and Senate emerged Friday from a seventh day of closed-door budget negotiations without a deal, sending lawmakers home for the weekend and leaving little hope for a timely end to the legislative session next week.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/state/epaper/2009/04/24/a1a_legis_0425.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0
-Turn back stealth plan to suppress Florida voters with election rule changes
This FLORIDA TODAY editorial is posted in advance of a House vote Friday in the Florida Legislature that would weaken state voting laws. It will also appear in Friday's printed editions of the newspaper. Florida's lawmakers should encourage greater participation in our democracy by making it easier for people to go to the polls. Instead, GOP leaders in Tallahassee recently unleashed a last-minute assault on the right to vote.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090423/BREAKINGNEWS/90423042/-1/SEVENDAYS
-Bill would make voting difficult, Dems say
Stephen D. Price
Calling a proposed elections bill payback for a Democrat taking the presidential race in the Sunshine State, Democratic lawmakers and civil-rights activists are asking legislative leadership to scrap an attempt to change elections laws.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090420/NEWS01/90420021/1006/NEWS01
-Crist hints at vetoing bill to rewrite Florida election laws
By Steve Bousquet
Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday strongly hinted that he would veto a proposed rewrite of Florida's election laws as a broad array of grass-roots groups launched an all-out assault on the legislation. "What is it we're trying to cure?" Crist asked in a Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau interview. "The more opportunity you give people to vote, the better it is for democracy. So that aspect of it concerns me."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article993766.ece
-Suppressing the Vote in Florida
Since 2000, Florida has been synonymous with badly run and undemocratic elections. This distinction has not come to it by chance. Many of the state's election officials and legislators work hard to keep eligible voters from casting ballots. The Florida Legislature is at it again, threatening to pass new rules that would make it harder for eligible voters, especially those from minorities and those who are poor, to register and vote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19sun2.html
- Sink Opposes Drilling Bill
State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has announced she opposes a bill in the state Legislature to allow near-shore oil and gas exploration. The measure "would threaten Florida's economy by bringing oil rigs three miles off our coast, sanctioning drilling in the shallow waters of the Gulf, and allowing unlimited pipelines to go through sensitive areas up to our beaches," Sink said in a statement.
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/sink-opposes-drilling-bill/
-Our views: Big Oil's ambush
Legislature's late move for near-shore oil drilling must be stopped
It's Big Oil's sneak attack. With the clock ticking on the final days of the legislative session, the industry and its supporters are suddenly trying to ram through changes that would allow oil and gas drilling within 3 miles of Florida's coast.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090426/OPINION/90424023/1004&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL
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#####
~~FLORIDA GLBT NEWS~~
New documentary on a gay man's murder to screen at Gay Film Festival
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - April 22, 2009
A new documentary on the brutal murder of a young gay Mexican-American in Yuma Arizona, and one man's journey to seek justice for that man's family, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, will be shown on May 2, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at the Gateway Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as part of the Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Tickets are available through the box office or online at the film festival website -- http://mglff.com/2009. More information on the film can be found at www.amancio-themovie.com.
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LOCAL FILM PRODUCER LAUNCHES WORLD-WIDE PREMIERE OF FIRST DOCUMENTARY AT MIAMI & FT. LAUDERDALE GAY & LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - April 23, 2009
On Saturday, May 2, at 4 p.m., local film producer, Bruce Presley's first full-length documentary, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, will be screened at the Gateway Cinema in Fort Lauderdale as an entry in the 2009 Miami & Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. Co-sponsored by Presley's Downtown Loft Studio and Compass, Inc., the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Palm Beach County, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone, is the first of many gay-themed documentaries Presley hopes to produce in the coming years. Shot in Yuma Arizona, Amancio... Two Faces on a Tombstone is the story of one man's journey to seek justice for the murder of a young gay man.
www.amancio-themovie.com
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Lambda Legal
Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami says they don't have to allow their patients visitors
Janice Langbehn and Lisa Pond, together 18 years, were about to depart from Miami on a family cruise with their three children, when Lisa suddenly collapsed. From the moment Janice and the children arrived at Jackson Memorial Hospital, they encountered prejudice and apathy. The hospital refused to accept information from Janice regarding Lisa's medical history, informing her that she was in an antigay city and state and that she could expect to receive no information or acknowledgment as family. A doctor finally spoke with Janice, telling her that there was no chance of recovery. Despite the doctor's acknowledgment that no medical reason existed to prevent visitation -- and despite the fact that Janice held a durable healthcare power of attorney for Lisa -- no hospital employee would allow Janice or the couple's children to see Lisa until nearly eight hours after their arrival. Lambda Legal has filed a lawsuit against Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida on behalf of Janice Langbehn and her three children. In its response to the lawsuit, the hospital does not dispute Janice's account of what happened that night. Instead, they claim they did nothing wrong.
http://www.glma.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=888
~~FLORIDA GENERAL NEWS~~
Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-School Board wants 'ultimate control' but no operations cost in WXEL acquisition Board wants total control, but not liability
By Laura Green
The Palm Beach County School Board wants to "maintain ultimate control" over every aspect of the WXEL radio and television stations it's negotiating to acquire, from veto power over the programs on air to a blanket rule that no current employees be fired. But it wants someone else to pay to operate the stations and bear all liability.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/schools/sfl-wxel-palm-beach-school-boardpnapr26,0,1559512.story
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Fort Report
http://www.fortreport.com/
Go to the links for the following articles:
-Obama gets high marks in S. Florida
Almost 100 days into his presidency, Barack Obama has solidified his support in South Florida, but there is also an energized core of opposition.
BY ANDRES VIGLUCCI
It's nearly 100 days into his presidency, and Barack Obama has yet to disappoint Jean Acevedo, a small-business owner who ardently cast her vote for the Democrat in November. Acevedo praises Obama's juggling of big issues. In her estimation, the president has made all the right moves in redirecting environmental policy and revitalizing foreign relations, and in aggressively tackling the economic trouble he inherited -- although like many people she is wary of massive bailouts and ballooning federal deficits.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/5min/story/1018237.html
-Crist looks ineffectual waiting for consensus
By MARY ELLEN KLAS
Gov. Charlie Crist lowered a spade into the ground to plant a red crape myrtle on the Capitol grounds Friday, and all was good. The sky was a brilliant blue. The Arbor Day tree was nestled next to a blooming rose garden, and Florida's sun-tanned governor was characteristically buoyant. "The session is scheduled to be concluded on May 1 and I remain optimistic that that possibility still exists," Crist said.
http://www.bradenton.com/331/story/1392800.html
-Stymied budget taking toll on Republican lawmakers
As the Legislature gridlocks, the Republicans who control the process fear for the strength of their party after more than a decade in power.
BY MARC CAPUTO
At a white cloth-covered table dotted with glasses of orange juice, Republican legislative leaders proudly toasted the on-time end of a lawmaking session, a no-new-taxes budget and the ascendancy of the GOP in Florida.
http://www.miamiherald.com/458/story/1018141.html
-Differences remain in budget deadlock
Deadline likely will be missed, Atwater says
By Josh Hafenbrack and Aaron Deslatte
Florida lawmakers' budget stalemate ground into the final week of the 60-day session Friday, with Senate President Jeff Atwater conceding it would be "very difficult" to bridge big-ticket decisions on higher cigarette taxes, Seminole gambling and spending cuts on time. At the end of another day of closed-door negotiations, the North Palm Beach Republican told senators both sides "certainly narrowed the issues ... but there are some gaps that remain."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/legislature/sfl-florida-budget-b042509sbapr25,0,3877084.story
-Closed-door budget talks halted for weekend break
By MICHAEL C. BENDER and DARA KAM
Republican leaders in the House and Senate emerged Friday from a seventh day of closed-door budget negotiations without a deal, sending lawmakers home for the weekend and leaving little hope for a timely end to the legislative session next week.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/state/epaper/2009/04/24/a1a_legis_0425.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0
-Turn back stealth plan to suppress Florida voters with election rule changes
This FLORIDA TODAY editorial is posted in advance of a House vote Friday in the Florida Legislature that would weaken state voting laws. It will also appear in Friday's printed editions of the newspaper. Florida's lawmakers should encourage greater participation in our democracy by making it easier for people to go to the polls. Instead, GOP leaders in Tallahassee recently unleashed a last-minute assault on the right to vote.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090423/BREAKINGNEWS/90423042/-1/SEVENDAYS
-Bill would make voting difficult, Dems say
Stephen D. Price
Calling a proposed elections bill payback for a Democrat taking the presidential race in the Sunshine State, Democratic lawmakers and civil-rights activists are asking legislative leadership to scrap an attempt to change elections laws.
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090420/NEWS01/90420021/1006/NEWS01
-Crist hints at vetoing bill to rewrite Florida election laws
By Steve Bousquet
Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday strongly hinted that he would veto a proposed rewrite of Florida's election laws as a broad array of grass-roots groups launched an all-out assault on the legislation. "What is it we're trying to cure?" Crist asked in a Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau interview. "The more opportunity you give people to vote, the better it is for democracy. So that aspect of it concerns me."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/article993766.ece
-Suppressing the Vote in Florida
Since 2000, Florida has been synonymous with badly run and undemocratic elections. This distinction has not come to it by chance. Many of the state's election officials and legislators work hard to keep eligible voters from casting ballots. The Florida Legislature is at it again, threatening to pass new rules that would make it harder for eligible voters, especially those from minorities and those who are poor, to register and vote.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19sun2.html
- Sink Opposes Drilling Bill
State Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink has announced she opposes a bill in the state Legislature to allow near-shore oil and gas exploration. The measure "would threaten Florida's economy by bringing oil rigs three miles off our coast, sanctioning drilling in the shallow waters of the Gulf, and allowing unlimited pipelines to go through sensitive areas up to our beaches," Sink said in a statement.
http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/news/story/sink-opposes-drilling-bill/
-Our views: Big Oil's ambush
Legislature's late move for near-shore oil drilling must be stopped
It's Big Oil's sneak attack. With the clock ticking on the final days of the legislative session, the industry and its supporters are suddenly trying to ram through changes that would allow oil and gas drilling within 3 miles of Florida's coast.
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090426/OPINION/90424023/1004&referrer=NEWSFRONTCAROUSEL
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#####
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