MasterAdrian

Gay guy, Amsterdam, NL, human interest, pro-equality, anti-hate.

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    Anti-gay marriage Christian councilor has expulsion upheld
    November 20, 2012






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    Anti-gay marriage Christian councilor has expulsion upheld
    Christina Summers, who wished to vote against government plans for same-sex marriage, was kicked out of Brighton’s liberal Green Party
    20 November 2012 | By Joe Morgan
    Christian councilor Christina Summers lost her appeal after she was kicked out of Brighton’s Green Party for voting against same-sex marriage.

    An anti-gay marriage Christian councilor has had her expulsion upheld from the far-left Green Party in Brighton.

    Christina Summers was kicked out by party officials in the seaside city after voting against the UK government plans to allow gay couples to marry.

    The Green Party has now upheld the expulsion after the councilor, now an Independent, appealed against the decision.

    In a council debate in July, she said: ‘When you touch marriage, you’re touching family and you’re hitting at the very heart of God and I have an enormous problem with that.’

    By disciplining her, Summers said the Green Party is discriminating against Christians – an allegation the party denies.

    An inquiry panel recommended her expulsion after concluding she would be in breach of party policy.

    This stated if she was selected as a candidate and elected to public office, she would not uphold and advance the values of ‘equality for all people, regardless of race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion, social origin or any other prejudice.’

    Following the decision, Summers said the Green Party was discriminating against Christians, but the party said it defended free speech and freedom of beliefs.

    ‘It’s a typical symptom of prejudice, blatant prejudice,’ she told the BBC.

    ‘It raises the big question – can Christians serve in the public realm? They are saying don’t bring your faith into politics.’

    A Green Party spokesman said: ‘This appeal panel has upheld none of her points of appeal and has therefore dismissed the appeal itself.’

    Despite the party saying the decision represented the end of the appeals process; Summers said the fight was not over.

    In a statement through the Christian Legal Centre, she said: ‘I am terribly disappointed at the appeal panel’s decision, not just for myself but for others who share my views on marriage and on free speech.’

  • Mayor of Reykjavik: Homophobes aren’t scared, they’re just assholes
    By James Park
    18 November 2012, 1:08pm Jón Gnarr’s assholes message is a simple one

    Jón Gnarr’s assholes message is a simple one

    The Mayor of Reykjavik, Jón Gnarr, a long time advocate of equality, has spoken out online at the protest yesterday in Paris against equal marriage rights for gay couples.

    Sharing a link to online coverage of protest, Mr Gnarr posted the simple statement: “Homophobia is not a phobia. They are not scared. They are just a bunch of assholes.”

    On Saturday evening, between 70,000 and 100,000 people took to the streets of Paris to protest, as well as demonstrations taking place in the cities of Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille. Protesters carried pink and blue balloons, and rallied under signs saying, “pro-marriage, not ant-gay.”

    On 7 November, French President Francois Hollande’s government approved a bill to legalise equal marriage and allow gay couples to adopt.

    Yesterday’s protest included members of the Catholic church, as well as other advocates of “traditional” marriage and family rights.

    In Reykjavik, there was little opposition to the introduction of equal marriage when in 2010, the parliament unanimously passed legislation to change the law. It is the only country in the world to have introduced equal marriage legislation with no parliamentary opposition.

    In August, with just a week to go before the verdict in the Pussy Riot trial, Mr Gnarr donned a pink dress and danced to the band’s music on a float at his city’s gay pride festiv

  • Mosque for gays to open in France

    ISTANBUL - Hürriyet
    AFP photo

    AFP photo
    Daily Hürriyet reporter Arzu Çakır Morin has conducted an interview with an unusual Muslim man in France, who has been trying to open a “mosque for gays.”

    “When I was 12 years old, I started exploring Islam and performing prayers. At first, I was impressed by the Salafists in Algeria, afterwards I became distant from them because of the terrorist attacks they performed,” Mohammed Ludovic Lütfi Zahed said, explaining his approaching to Islam.

    “After my first night with a man, I realized that I was gay. I have found out that I had been pushing down my feelings with the help of Islam,” he said.

    Çakır questioned the reason why Zahed felt he needed a “mosque for gays.”

    “In normal mosques, women have to sit in the back seats and wear a headscarf and gay men are afraid of both verbal and physical aggression. After performing the Hajj, I realized that a mosque for gays was a must for gay Muslims who want to perform their prayers,” Zahed said.

    “We will use a hall in a Buddhist chapel, which will be opened on Nov. 30th” he said, adding that in the new mosque women and men would be able to perform their prayers together in the same space.

    In response to a question as to whether same-sex marriage ceremonies would be performed, Zahed said: “We will start with Friday prayers, but we will perform marriages afterwards.”

    More than 100,000 people turned out Saturday across France for rallies against government plans to approve same-sex marriage and adoption, as police clashed with counter-demonstrators in one city.

  • Petition: Refugee Status To Uganda’s LGBT If Kill The Gays Bill Becomes Law « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/19/petition-refugee-status-to-ugandas-lgbt-if-kill-the-gays-bill-becomes-

    Petition: Refugee Status To Uganda’s LGBT If Kill The Gays Bill Becomes Law
    November 19, 2012
    Petition: Refugee Status To Uganda’s LGBT If Kill The Gays Bill Becomes Law

    By David Badash on November 19, 2012

    In International,News,Politics

    Post image for Petition: Refugee Status To Uganda’s LGBT If Kill The Gays Bill Becomes Law
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    Tomorrow, Uganda may vote into law its infamous “Kill The Gays” bill, which its top lawmaker and presidential hopeful, Rebecca Kadaga, has promised as a “Christmas gift” to Uganda’s Christians. The bill demands the death penalty for the “crime” of “aggravated homosexuality” and mandatory jail sentences for those caught aiding gay people.

    READ: “David Kato’s Death Result Of Hatred Planted By U.S. Evangelicals”

  • Florida Election Officials Miss Tally Deadline in House Race
    By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
    Published: November 18, 2012

    FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — Election officials missed a deadline on Sunday to report results of a two-day recount in Representative Allen B. West’s bid to remain in Congress, apparently sealing unofficial results giving the victory to his Democratic opponent, Patrick Murphy.

    St. Lucie County did not meet a noon cutoff to finish processing 37,379 ballots that were cast early in the 18th Congressional District race, but it eventually released the results, which showed Mr. Murphy gaining votes in the recount. Regardless, under Florida law, previously submitted results favoring Mr. Murphy will be certified unless an emergency exemption is granted by the state.

    “It puts an end to it as far as we’re concerned,” said Eric Johnson, an adviser to the Murphy campaign. “It puts an end to it as far as the state’s concerned.”

    Mr. West’s campaign showed no immediate sign of conceding.

    “At this time, in our view, the race is still undecided,” said the West campaign manager, Tim Edson.

    Mr. West, a Republican, can still seek to formally contest the election, a difficult legal remedy. His aides gave no indication whether they would pursue such action. Dejected supporters of the congressman claimed that there was fraud, loudly chanting “Count our votes!” before election officials. Mr. Murphy’s supporters held signs reading “Respect the Results: Concede Now” and “Patrick Won!”

    A recount of three days of early-voting ballots was conducted in St. Lucie County last week, narrowing Mr. Murphy’s margin a bit. The county’s canvassing board ultimately agreed to retabulate all eight days of ballots after discovering several errors and Mr. West’s supporters made a relentless push for a fuller recount. The campaign hoped Mr. Murphy’s margin of victory would decrease enough to force a machine recount of all ballots across the entire three-county district.

    The race was the country’s most closely watched House races. The two sides raised nearly $21 million as of Oct. 17, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, and “super PACs” spent about $6.6 million more.

    Mr. West, 51, is a first-term Tea Party favorite and one of two black Republicans in the House. He has made a string of headline-grabbing statements, from calling a majority of Congressional Democrats communists to saying President Obama, Representative Nancy Pelosi and others should “get the hell out of the United States.”

    Mr. Murphy, 29, who has been proclaiming victory since the wee hours of election night, is a political newcomer who portrayed Mr. West as an extremist who has done little in Washington than stoke partisan fires.
    A version of this article appeared in print on November 19, 2012, on page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Florida Election Officials Miss Tally Deadline in House Race.

  • High School Horror : THREE Students Commit Suicide in Seven Weeks « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/19/high-school-horror-three-students-commit-suicide-in-seven-weeks

    High School Horror: THREE Students Commit Suicide in Seven Weeks
    November 19, 2012
    High School Horror: THREE Students Commit Suicide in Seven Weeks

    We’ve got a problem. And, it’s a huge problem. It’s common knowledge to anyone with a pulse, by now, that there’s a problem with teen suicide and bullying. So, I’m not breaking any news there. The problem we’re facing runs deeper, if that’s possible, than the issues of bullying and teen suicide. We’re suffering from a paralysis on how to effectively deal with both issues. And, that’s allowing the issue to continue to spiral out-of-control.

    I received notification this morning of three suicides at one school within a seven-week period, ages 14, 16, and 16: a freshman; a sophomore; and, a junior. And, where did I get the information from? A United Kingdom publication! See, in our country, those who should be sounding the alarm, standing on the tallest buildings and highest mountains screaming through the most powerful sound systems at the top of their lungs that we’ve got ourselves a major problem in this country with bullying and teen suicides are doing their best to sidestep the whole situation. They sweep it under the proverbial carpet in hopes that it will magically disappear. They deny the reality that this is happening in our school, in our country, with and to our younger generation. The problem is that the problem isn’t magically going away. It’s continuing to worsen.Jordan Halmich ended his life September 28th, one month shy of his 17th birthday. It is alleged that he’d been bullied. Donna Cooley was found by her father on November 2nd after scrawling words on a mirror indicating that she’d been bullied.Destiny Pearson ended her life just this past Monday, November 12th. She was a former cheerleader. Destiny was a very well-rounded 16 year old, enjoying riding horses, karate, sewing, reading and writing. Her friends deny any allegations that she had been bullied, citing that she was always the one who would stick up for those being bullied.

    These three teens were all students at St. Clair High School in St. Clair, Missouri. As is the norm in cases of teen suicide, the chief of police in St. Clair issued a statement that, of course, “there was no evidence of bullying.” And, again, I’m at a loss as to where to even start trying to figure this out. The first question that comes to mind is “what, exactly, is it that they’re looking for as “evidence” of bullying? Are these bullied teens supposed to be documenting every instance of bullying? Should they get the documents notarized? Should they get videos of each instance of bullying? Or, should they wait until the bullying becomes physical attack, then take pictures of their bruised bodies? Preposterous questions, all. Or…are they? Apparently, word-of-mouth accounts from the people who spent time with them day-in and day-out accounts for nil. Zip. Nada. Imagine that! You go to school with these people everyday. You are often their close friends. And, in some cases, you actually witness the bullying with your own eyes. Other times, they confide in you what’s going on. YET, when you report that they were being bullied, it falls on deaf ears. Sound familiar? That’s never going to solve anything. Rather, the continuing tendency to sweep this under the carpet is a leading reason why we’re not seeing any progress being made in these instances of bullying and bully-related suicides.

    Rather than acknowledge that there is a problem with bullying, this police chief instead attempted to push the focus elsewhere.

    Obviously there are a lot of emotional problems with these individuals,’ St Clair police chief Bill Hammack told MailOnline. ‘But each case has specific identifiers.

    ‘They are dealing with a lot of emotional and mental issues and there’s not one reason connecting three different suicides of three different teenagers across three different jurisdictions.

    And, he added:

    One common thread that I would see that is occurring is that there is social media involved.

    Of course, it’s highly possible that all of the above played a role in the suicides. In fact, in at least one of the cases, it is documented that there were problems at home as well as at school leading up to the suicide. And, yes indeed, there is a major issue with teens and social media today. That goes without saying. In fact, it is this author’s opinion that today’s young people have entirely too much free reign on the Internet and that, in itself, is only exacerbating an already troubling situation. But, that’s neither here nor there. That said, the issue here is neither of those things.

    The issue here is bullying amongst teens, and preteens, in the schools. The issue is bullying and the reluctance to do anything to intervene and/or prevent it. Oh, of course, many school districts now have anti-bullying policies in place. Some have very strict “zero tolerance” policies on record. And, they are very effective. On paper. In the real world, in the schools, in the classrooms, they are grossly ineffective. In the real world, in the schools and classrooms, they may as well be nonexistent. That’s a problem.

    Young people are told to report all bullying incidents “to a trusted adult…teacher…counselor…other school administrator.” And, they do. To no avail. On the facebook blog page, I very often get reports of people who say they reported their bullying only to be blamed for bringing it on themselves! In other cases, the reports of bullying fall on deaf ears. Eventually, the victim(s) reach their limit and take matters into their own hand. The result is rarely ever good. From being suspended, or expelled!!, themselves for being a bully, to going to school armed and prepared to do serious harm to the perpetrator(s), to taking their own life, the result is very rarely good. The tragedy in that, of course, is that it never has to get to that point. If these officials would stop sweeping this issue under the carpet and start dealing with it for what it is, an epidemic that costing lives needlessly, we wouldn’t see these things continue to occur.

    And, finally, there’s nothing shameful about suicide. The veil of secrecy must be removed. Continuing to keep these tragic events secret does much more harm than good. The belief that making them more public is nonsensical, at best. The belief that it would cause more, “copycat”, suicides is equally foolish. In my opinion. They’re kept under wraps now and, for the most part, they’ve been kept hush-hush for as long as I can remember. Guess what? With the cloak of secrecy, suicide has surged to become the #1 cause of injury death, surpassing homicide and car accidents. As long as there’s this avoidance, this reluctance to put this problem in the spotlight where it belongs, we’re going to continue to see the numbers rise. A problem can’t be addressed and properly solved if we don’t know what the problem is. Keeping suicides secret is allowing them to continue to climb in numbers. That’s not acceptable.

    The community of St. Clair, Missouri has a long road of healing ahead of them. The families and friends of the three suicide victim, a lifetime of grieving. And, unanswered questions. My heart goes out to all of them. In memory of the Jordan Halmich, Destiny Pearson, and Donna Cooley, and all the teen suicide victims before them, and all of the ones who continue to endure bullying, both in school and online, may we never, ever lose the fire that burns within each of us to bring this devastating epidemic to an end.

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  • THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY NOVEMBER 19 « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/19/this-day-in-gay-history-november-19

    THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY NOVEMBER 19
    November 19, 2012

    / / | \ \ | / / | \ \
    GAY WISDOM for Daily Living…

    from White Crane a magazine exploring
    Gay wisdom & culture http://www.Gaywisdom.org

    Share this with your friends…
    \ \ | / / | \ \ | / /

    THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

    NOVEMBER 19

    1828 – FRANZ SCHUBERT, died; TheAustrian, classical composer, born (1797) as Franz Peter Schubert in Vienna was, arguably, one of the great masters of 19th century classical music. Not much about Schubert’s life would immediately suggest anything resembling a modern gay man. But so what? An entire book in 1998 by musicologist and theorist, Lawrence Kramer, Schubert: Sexuality, Subjectivity, Song, is, if not entirely devoted to the subject, addresses it at length with chapter titles like: The Ganymede Complex: Schubert’s Songs and the Homoerotic Imagination, and Mermaid Fantasies: Schubert’s Trout and the “wish to be woman.” No, seriously. As NY Times writer, Edward Rothstein wrote in 1992:

    “By the end of the all-day symposium on Schubert at the 92d Street Y … the audience was getting feisty. The last two hours of discussion on “Schubert the Man: Myth vs. Reality,” were concerned with Schubert’s possible homosexuality. The historical evidence was made available throughout the weeklong Schubertiade festival in a carefully argued 1989 paper by Maynard Solomon. … The second movement of the “Unfinished” Symphony had been analyzed to show its possible homosexual character by the feminist musicologist Susan McClary. And the “marginalization” of Schubert in 1820′s Viennese society had been debated by the panel.

    So by the evening’s end, comments were getting more heated. One frustrated listener asserted that “heterosexuals are more repressed than homosexuals.” Another, speaking with irony, asked whether the fact that Schubert was a “short, fat man” had affected the way he wrote music.

    On the stage, a few of the seven panelists exchanged barbs as well. But controversy was to be expected; this type of discussion is among the most important of our time; musical analysis is becoming less abstract, and critical interpretation steadily draws the most innocent of compositions into the hothouse world of contemporary politics. Crucial questions were raised, though not satisfactorily addressed: Is there any musical importance to a composer’s homosexuality? Can we generalize about homosexual taste? If so, do we risk imposing contemporary notions on a different era?

    The only thing agreed upon, probably, was that Schubert’s personality is not well understood. As for me, I sat through most of Sunday’s talks with a consistent mixture of interest and strong disagreement. Joseph Horowitz, who planned [the 1992] festival, began by summarizing the ambition of the Schubertiade itself. Schubert, he argued, has been trivialized; he has been turned into an innocent, sweet-tempered melodist. But his early music was actually “daring” and “extreme,” Mr. Horowitz said, and he was a promiscuous homosexual who died of syphilis.“

    Aren’t we really saying something like, “If you have to ask…”?

    1889 – CLIFTON WEBB (d: 1966) was an American actor, dancer and singer born Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck in a rural part of Marion County, Indiana, which would, in 1906, become Beech Grove, a self-governing city entirely surrounded by Indianapolis. Webb’s parents were Jacob Grant Hollenbeck, the son of a grocer from a multi-generational Indiana farming family, and Mabelle A. Parmelee, the daughter of a railroad conductor. In 1892, Webb’s formidable mother, Mabelle, moved to New York City with her beloved “little Webb,” as she called him for the remainder of her life. She dismissed questions about her husband Jacob, a ticket clerk who, like her father, worked for the Indianapolis-St. Louis Railroad, by saying, “We never speak of him. He didn’t care for the theater.”

    Webb was in his mid-fifties when actor/director Otto Preminger chose him over the objections of 20th Century Fox chief Darryl F. Zanuck to play the classy, but evil, radio columnist Waldo Lydecker, who is obsessed with Gene Tierney’s character in the 1944 film noir, Laura. His performance was showered with acclaim and made him an unlikely movie star. Despite Zanuck’s original objection, Webb was immediately signed to a long-term contract with Fox. Two years later he was reunited with Tierney (with whom he shares this birthdate) in another highly praised role as the elitist Elliott Templeton in Somerset Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge (1946). He received Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for both. Webb received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1949 for Sitting Pretty, the first in a three-film series of comedic Mr. Belvedere features with Webb portraying the snide and omniscient central character.

    Webb’s elegant taste kept him on Hollywood’s best-dressed lists for decades. Even though he exhibited comically foppish mannerisms in portraying Mr. Belvedere and other movie characters, his scrupulous (read “deeply closeted, highly repressed”) private life kept him free of scandal. The character of Lynn Belvedere is said to have been very close to his real life — he had an Oedipal devotion to his mother Mabelle, who was his companion and who lived with him until her death at age ninety-one. Webb’s mourning for his mother continued for a year with no signs of letting up, prompting Noël Coward to remark of Webb, “It must be terrible to be orphaned at 71.”

    Among the many stories, once, he and Tallulah Bankhead were smitten with the same handsome Austrian army officer and vied for the uniformed stud’s favors. While Tallulah did her stuff vamping him, Webb retreated for a moment, and returned with an armload of roses. To Tallulah’s amusement and the officer’s shock, Webb danced around the man and began pelting him with flowers. Tallulah won.

    1942 – CALVIN KLEIN, American clothing designer, born; Calvin Richard Klein was born in The Bronx to Jewish-Hungarian immigrant parents. He attended the High School of Industrial Arts and matriculated, but never graduated, from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology, receiving an honorary Doctorate at the graduation ceremony in 2003. He did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an old-line cloak-and-suit manufacturer, and spent five years designing at other New York shops. He later launched his first company with a childhood friend, Barry K. Schwartz.

    Klein was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish immigrant community in the Bronx, New York along with Robert Denning and Ralph Lauren. Cal became a protégé of the ever-so-flaming editor of Town & Country Baron de Gunzburg, through whose introductions he became the toast of the New York elite fashion scene, even before he had his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. Later, speaking in an interview with Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol for Interview magazine, published shortly after the Baron’s death, Klein said: “He was truly the greatest inspiration of my life… he was my mentor, I was his protégé. If you talk about a person with style and true elegance — maybe I’m being a snob, but I’ll tell you, there was no one like him. I used to think, boy, did he put me through hell sometimes, but boy, was I lucky. I was so lucky to have known him so well for so long.” Calvin Klein was immediately recognized for his talent after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week. Klein was hailed as the new Yves Saint-Laurent, and was noted for his clean lines.

    His wildly homoerotic advertisements transformed the men’s fashion advertising and fashion industry. Married twice, he has never actually come out. But come on…does anyone really think this man is heterosexual? Even a little?

    1953 – THOMAS LOUIS VILLARD (d: 1994) was an American actor best known for his television role in the 1980s series We Got It Made as Jay Bostwick. His best known film role was in the 1986 film One Crazy Summer, as Clay Stork. He also starred in the 1991 horror film, Popcorn, and the 1992 movie Shakes the Clown with his One Crazy Summer” co-stars Joel Murray and Bob Goldthwait. Villard also appeared in the 1994 comedy movie In The Army Now.

    Villard made numerous guest appearances on TV shows as well and was a panelist on two weeks’ worth of To Tell The Truth in the early ’90s. He was a celebrity guest on Super Password and The Match Game as well as appearances in episodic television on CHiPS, Taxi, The Golden Girls, The A-Team and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Villard was out gay and died of complications of HIV-AIDS November 14, 1994 in L.A..

    1962 – JODIE FOSTER, American actress, born; Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old, and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won for Best Actress in 1989 for playing a rape survivor in The Accused. In 1991, she starred in The Silence of the Lambs as Clarice Starling, an FBI trainee assisting in a hunt for a serial killer. This performance received international acclaim and her second Academy Award for Best Actress. She received her fourth Academy Award nomination for playing a backwoods hermit in Nell (1994). She has also won three Bafta Awards, two Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Award and a People’s Choice award as well as two Emmy nominations.

    Foster is, as the phrase goes, “intensely private” about certain aspects of her personal life, notably her sexual orientation, which has been the subject of speculation. She has two sons but has never revealed the identity of the children’s father(s).

    In December 2007, Foster made headlines when, during an acceptance speech at Hollywood Reporter’s “Women in Entertainment” event, she paid tribute to film producer Cydney Bernard, referring to Bernard as “my beautiful Cydney, who sticks with me through the rotten and the bliss.” Some media interpreted this as Foster coming out, as Bernard was believed to be her girlfriend since both met in 1992 during the filming of Sommersby. Foster and Bernard never attended premieres or award ceremonies together, nor did they ever appear affectionate with one another. Bernard, however, was seen in public with Foster’s children on many occasions. In May, 2008, several news outlets reported that Foster and Bernard had “called it quits. Oh Jody, Jody Jody…are you really going to let Ellen be the “It” Lesbian in town?

    |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

  • Baptist Church’s Sign Sums Up Election: Gays Win, Unborn Lost
    By On Top Magazine Staff
    Published: November 19, 2012

    A Baptist church’s message has people in Trenton, Georgia talking.

    Calvary Baptist Church’s marquee sign read after the general election: “ELECTION / GAYS WIN / UNBORN LOST.”

    President Barack Obama, who won a second term on that night, is a gay rights ally and is pro-choice.

    According to NBC affiliate WRCB, Pastor Billy Wallace would not speak to them about the sign.

    “That’s not right,” Fredia Hoffman said. “That’s your opinion. You need to keep it to yourself, instead of sticking it out here for everyone to read. There’s going to be a lot of differences in people’s opinions and how they feel about that.”

    Kathy Everett disagreed, saying the sign was truth.

    “It’s true, and it is what it is,” she said. “I’m proud to see someone stand up and believe what it is.”

    Clay Moreland, pastor at Woodlawn Baptist Church of Trenton, commented to The Christian Post about the sign’s message.

    “The truth will stand and people don’t like the truth,” he said, adding that the election results were “another sign that Jesus is coming soon.”

    Eddie Cantrell, senior pastor at Trenton First Baptist Church, said the sign was “not something I would do.”

    “I do not believe that any sign will convert a person,” he said.

  • MISSOURI: “Ex-Gay” Leader Of Christian Group Suspected In Murder Of Wife

    Tyler Deaton, the leader of a Kansas City youth prayer group whose members say has “overcome” his “struggle with being gay,” is suspected of ordering the murder of his wife, whose death was allegedly made to look like a suicide.

    Three days later, investigators say, 23-year-old Micah Moore would go to police and uncork the terrible secrets that allegedly occurred over several months at a Grandview home where Deaton and other members of his religious group lived. Witnesses told of a clan of young adults making sex part of their religious experience, of men in the group sexually assaulting Bethany over months, and of Deaton’s role as their “spiritual leader.” But Moore’s darkest admission, according to court records, was that Deaton feared Bethany was about to reveal the group’s secrets. Moore confessed that he had murdered Bethany and tried to make it look like suicide, and, according to court documents, he said Deaton told him to do it. Moore alone has been charged, with first-degree murder. Deaton and others in the group are under investigation, prosecutors said.

    Deaton’s group is part of the International House of Prayer “charismatic movement” headed by the virulently anti-gay Pastor Lou Engle, whose bizarre pronouncements have been covered here on JMG many times. According to members of the group, Deaton was having frequent sex with some of its male members.

    Bethany was sexually assaulted over a period of months while drugged with someone else’s prescription anti-psychotic, witnesses in the house told authorities. This was happening, the witnesses alleged, in a period of time that male members in the house were involved in sexual relationships with Deaton, one saying it was part of a “religious experience.” The statements unfolded with Moore allegedly saying that people in the group feared Bethany was about to tell her therapist about the assaults, and that he killed her with the plastic bag over her head at Longview Lake. He did it, his statement to detectives said, because Deaton told him he knew Moore “had it in him to do it."

    It’s really quite the bizarre story and I encourage you to the read the full report from the Kansas City Star. (Via Christian Nightmares)

  • Here’s proof that husbands do listen to their wives.

    Milk and eggs

    This is a story which is perfectly logical to all males:

    A wife asks her husband,
    “Could you please go shopping for me and buy one carton of milk,
    And if they have eggs, get 6.”

    A short time later the husband comes back with 6 cartons of milk.
    The wife asks him, “Why did you buy 6 cartons of milk?”

    He replied, “They had eggs.”

    (I’m sure you’re going back to read it again!)

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    NOM’s Robert George “OK” With Beating-the-Gay Out of Young LGBTers
    November 18, 2012






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    NOM’s Robert George “OK” With Beating-the-Gay Out of Young LGBTers
    By: Scott Rose Thursday April 19, 2012 6:31 PM

    The notorious gay-bashing bigot Pastor Ken Hutcherson is in league with NOM in Washington State, spreading anti-gay lies, attempting to strip gay human beings of rights, and inciting to anti-gay violence.

    Hutcherson recently told KCTS television that just as two parents with belts can beat the criminal gene out of their offspring, “discipline . . . Removes the gay gene.”

    For a pastor to promote domestic violence is horrifying. When you consider how hard some people work trying to stop domestic violence, and to attempt against the odds somehow to restore the shattered lives of the victims, many of whom suffer from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it is surreal that a hate-mongering pastor would, on television, promote domestic violence.

    Hutcherson smiles like the smug bigot he is when he is prescribing anti-gay domestic violence. But consider this; In 2005, the three-year-old Ronnie Paris, Jr.’s father beat him to death because he believed he was going to turn out gay.

    Domestic violence anti-gay murder is only one negative possible result of NOM’s associate Hutcherson’s public promotion of domestic violence against gay family members.

    Do not fail to notice the sheer obnoxious idiocy of Hutcherson’s reasoning. In the interview — (his segment begins at about the 37 minute mark) — Hutcherson first says that there is no proof that gay people are born gay, but then he instructs parents to remove “the gay gene” by beating homosexual offspring with belts.

    Domestic violence is not acceptable. Beating a gay person does not remove “the gay gene” from them, as Hutcherson fraudulently and hatefully alleges.

    And, of course, when school-age anti-gay bullies hear an adult saying that it is possible to beat “the gay gene” out of somebody, those anti-gay bullies are motivated to carry out violent attacks against students actually gay and/or perceived to be gay.

    I spoke with Ken Hutcherson for this article. He started by alleging that the TV interview had been spliced, to make it appear he was saying things he had not actually said. However, in alleging that, he was being duplicitous. The grotesque anti-gay bigot is so blinded by his gay-bashing ignorance, that he is not even able to understand how ignorant he is. He plainly feels fully justified in his bullying non-acceptance of gay human beings. He re-iterated his statements made in the TV interview, likening criminals and gay people. I attempted to get a clear statement from him that he does not advocate violence against gay people. At one point, he said “You can talk with any of my children. They may have gotten little raps from a belt, but they were never beaten; it was just to keep them in line. Now, that does not mean that they can not choose for themselves. If they want to choose the homosexual lifestyle, they can do that, they can choose unbiblically, but they will not be welcome in our house, because we do not accept sin in our home.” I then explained to Hutcherson that he was reinforcing, not lessening the impression that he thought that threats of violence, and/or actual violence against gay people are acceptable. I told him that it is psychological violence for a parent to reject a gay child, and that to intensify the psychological anti-gay violence with physical violence is barbaric. I told him that such brutal parental rejections explain disproportionate homelessness among gay youth. Hutcherson then launched into a ludicrous off-topic diatribe about how he has gay friends, and how no church in the country has as many people who have “left the homosexual lifestyle” as his. I told him that I had heard quite enough. I had received confirmation that he does indeed think that you can and should hit a gay child with a belt, and that by hitting the child with a belt, to reinforce the psychological aspects of anti-gay domestic violence, the child won’t be gay.

    This sadistic bigot is a monster and a pig, promoting anti-gay domestic violence. He meant exactly what he said during the television interview; nobody had spliced his gay-bashing meaning into it. Let us spell out, for clarification, what a gay child in Hutcherson’s house would experience. The sexual minority child would understand that the parents considered him to be a “sinner” and like a criminal, because of the way in which s/he was different. The child would understand that any evidence that they were a member of a sexual minority could and indeed, would result in psychological and then physical violence, and that if the physical violence did not prevent them from somehow again manifesting that they were a member of a sexual minority, they would be tossed out of the house, no matter their age or ability to survive, to have housing and food. An eventual gay child in the Hutcherson house would be forced to try to survive in a reign of domestic terror, with a bullying, tyrannical theocrat father alleging celestial authority for keeping the child living in that state of fear, only because s/he was a sexual minority. As with all forms of domestic violence, anti-gay domestic violence is not love; it is a crime. An abuser’s justifications — (God said I should psychologically and physically abuse my lesbian daughter) — and victim blaming (You as a lesbian are like a criminal, therefore, you deserve for your father to abuse you) — while characteristic of abusers, are in themselves, part and parcel of the abuse, and never valid.

    Because the National Organization for Marriage is collaborating with Hutcherson in Washington State, and frequently posts his gay-bashing statements approvingly on NOM’s blog, NOM, if it will not condemn his calls for domestic violence against LGBTers, is complicit in those calls for domestic violence.

    I requested comment from NOM’s Founder, Chairman Emeritus, and mastermind the Princeton Professor Robert George. I received no reply. The e-mail was copied to NOM’s Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown and John Eastman. Additionally, it was copied to Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman, who permits George to publish gay-bashing lies with the Princeton name attached, even though doing so violates Princeton’s Code of Conduct.

    It is crucial to understand that, definitively; 1) the gay-bashing religious right, and 2) the Republican establishment are inseparable powers.

    Romney signed Robert George’s NOM’s anti-gay pledge. George wrote a Supreme Court brief saying that gays should be thrown in jail for their intimacy. George also is on the Board of the Family Research Council, an SPLC-certified anti-gay hate group. When a congressman proposed a resolution against the “Kill the gays” law in Uganda, Robert George’s FRC spent $25,000 lobbying against the resolution, on the grounds it constituted “pro-homosexual promotion.” NOM sponsors anti-gay hate rallies, where NOM-approved speakers tell mobs that homosexuals are “worthy to death.” George’s NOM is pushing a Starbucks boycott in the Middle East, fanning hostilities against gay human beings there with no regard for their safety.

    So it is hardly surprising that NOM’s Robert George will not denounce Pastor Ken Hutcherson for promoting anti-gay domestic violence.

    But it should be out there — as a topic of consideration — that NOM’s Robert George is OK with, not just praying away the gay, but additionally, with beating away the gay. If George wants to clarify his position on anti-gay domestic violence, he knows how he can e-mail this reporter.

    John Boehner recently appointed NOM’s Robert George to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. I interpret that appointment as Boehner’s signal of intent to expedite the NOM pledge, should Romney win, and to devastate LGBT rights worldwide. On Bush’s watch, in 2007, Hutcherson attended an anti-gay-rights conference in Latvia.

    No child deserves to be beaten — by their own parents — because they are gay. Hutcherson is making a direct incitement to anti-gay violence. In his hateful fatuousness, he says that he was born black, but gay people were not born gay. What he might consider, is that black people have been beaten only because they were black, and he now is instructing parents to beat their children only because they are gay. What Hutcherson is saying is a lie. No matter how much a parent might beat a gay child, their gay child will still be gay. The gay child, beaten, might live in fear, and never talk about the reality of their orientation; but a gay child absolutely can not be made heterosexual through a beating.It is not OK for parents to beat gay children.

    It is not OK for Romney and Boehner to be politically and materially supporting an anti-gay movement whose leader, Robert George, is directly allied with a major, appallingly ignorant anti-gay bigot who promotes anti-gay domestic violence.

  • Ecuador drops 20 tons of poison on Galapagos Islands to wipe out rats and save unique native species that inspired Darwin « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/18/ecuador-drops-20-tons-of-poison-on-galapagos-islands-to-wipe-out-rats-

    Ecuador drops 20 tons of poison on Galapagos Islands to wipe out rats and save unique native species that inspired Darwin
    November 18, 2012
    Ecuador drops 20 tons of poison on Galapagos Islands to wipe out rats and save unique native species that inspired Darwin

    By Niamh O’doherty

    PUBLISHED: 10:43 EST, 15 November 2012 | UPDATED: 12:03 EST, 15 November 2012

    Ecuador is dropping more than 20 tons of rat poison on the Galapagos Islands in a bid to kill millions of rodents which, the government claims, are threatening the bird and reptile species that make the islands unique.

    A helicopter will begin dropping nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison bait today, as the government tries to wipe out the non-native rodents by 2020.

    The Pacific archipelago helped inspire Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.
    The invasive Norway and black rats were introduced to the Galapagos by whalers and buccaneers who began visiting the islands in the 17th century
    The invasive Norway and black rats, left, were introduced to the Galapagos Islands, right, by whalers and buccaneers who began visiting the islands in the 17th century

    The invasive Norway and black rats, left, were introduced to the Galapagos Islands, right, by whalers and buccaneers who began visiting the islands in the 17th century
    A helicopter will begin dropping nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison bait on the islands today, as part of a campaign to clear out non-native rodents by 2020A helicopter will begin dropping nearly 22 tons of specially designed poison bait on the islands today, as part of a campaign to clear out non-native rodents by 2020

    The invasive Norway and black rats were introduced by whalers and buccaneers who began visiting the islands in the 17th century.The rodents feed on the eggs and hatchlings of the islands’ native species, which include giant tortoises, lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas. Rats also have depleted the number of plants on which native species feed.

    The rats have critically endangered bird species on the 19-island cluster, 600 miles from Ecuador’s coast.’It’s one of the worst problems the Galapagos have. [Rats] reproduce every three months and eat everything,’ said Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a Nature Conservancy specialist.
    The archipelago inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, and the islands are home to many unique species, like these Galapagos sea lionsThe archipelago inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, and the islands are home to many unique species, like these Galapagos sea lions

    The rats have been feeding on the eggs and hatchlings of the native species like giant tortoises, pictured, and lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanasThe rats have been feeding on the eggs and hatchlings of the native species like giant tortoises, pictured, and lava lizards, snakes, hawks and iguanas

    The $1.8m project will be funded by conservation groups and the Galapagos National Park Service.

    ‘This is a very expensive but totally necessary war,’ said Mr Gonzalez.
    Charles Darwin visited the islands during his voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle in the 1830sCharles Darwin visited the islands during his voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle in the 1830s

    Charles Darwin visited the island chain during his voyage around the world on the HMS Beagle in the 1830s.

    Darwin studied the archipelago’s native species and noted that there were subtle differences between the varieties of tortoises and mockingbirds on each of the separate islands.

    His findings later inspired him to develop his theory of evolution.

    The Ecuadorian government now plans to save these unique species by killing off all non-native rodents, beginning with the Galapagos’ smaller islands, without endangering other wildlife.

    The islands where humans reside, Isabela and Santa Cruz, will come last.

    Hawks and iguanas on some islands have already been captured and temporarily moved to prevent them eating the poisoned rodents.

    The director of conservation for the Galapagos National Park Service, Danny Rueda, said the poison had been specially engineered with a strong anti-coagulant to make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days, without a stench.

    Previous efforts to eradicate invasive species mean goats, cats, burros and pigs have all been removed from various islands.
    The government’s goal is to kill off all non-native rodents, beginning on the Galapagos’ smaller islands, without endangering other wildlifeThe government’s goal is to kill off all non-native rodents, beginning on the Galapagos’ smaller islands, without endangering other wildlife

    The director of conservation for the Galapagos National Park Service, Danny Rueda, said the poison had been specially engineered with a strong anti-coagulant to make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days without a stenchThe director of conservation for the Galapagos National Park Service, Danny Rueda, said the poison had been specially engineered with a strong anti-coagulant to make the rats dry up and disintegrate in less than eight days without a stench

    The $1.8m project will be funded by conservation groups and the Galapagos National Park Service. Here, park staff are shown testing equipment that will hold the poisonous bait The $1.8m project will be funded by conservation groups and the Galapagos National Park Service. Here, park staff are shown testing equipment that will hold the poisonous bait

  • GayStarNews – 17 nov 2012 « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/17/gaystarnews-17-nov-2012

    GayStarNews – 17 nov 2012
    November 17, 2012

    New York City’s homeless LGBT teen center finds a temporary home

    Ali Forney Center, New York City’s LGBT homeless center, raising money for new home.

    read more
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    DC Comics’ new Knight’s gender shines forth

    The Shining Knight, also known as Ystin, has said: ‘I’m not just a man or woman. I’m both.’

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    share on Twitter Like DC Comics’ new Knight’s gender shines forth on Facebook

    Uganda speaker wants anti-gay bill passed by Tuesday

    Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has promised the Anti-Homosexuality Bill will be a ‘Christmas gift’ to the Ugandan people

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    Doctor Who’s crime-fighting lesbian couple returns for Christmas

    Evil snowmen will attack in the British family science fiction television show’s Christmas Day special episode

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    Cuba elects first transgender politician

    Cuba elects transgender woman Adela Hernandez to office in a first for the Caribbean socialist state following local government elections

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    UN rights office blasts Cameroon over persecution of LGBTs

    UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s office urges Cameroon to stop jailing suspected homosexuals on circumstantial evidence and to reconsider its criminalization of sex between men

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    Sally Field shares with Katie Couric her pride in openly gay son, Sam Greisman

    ‘It’s a whole different era, his generation’

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    CBS cancels Partners, sitcom about best friends – one gay, one straight

    Comedy starring out actor Michael Urie struggled in the ratings

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    Gay diver Matthew Mitcham battled addiction to crystal meth after 2008 Olympics

    ‘Taking it was something I did to take my mind off things that were upsetting me – to make me feel better about myself’

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    Ty Burrell gets a gay kiss from Matthew Broderick on Modern Family

    His character of Phil is clueless as he also shares shirtless hug with gay man

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    Gay rights activists criticize Emirates election to UN human rights council

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been elected member of the UN human rights council for a three-years, despite its appalling record on the issue, gay rights activists criticize the decision

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    World to remember victims of trans violence

    Vigils, plays and candlelit marches will be held around the world to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance

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    Nations squabble over UN vote on gay and trans killings

    The United Nations is set to vote whether LGBT people should get specific protection from extrajudicial executions and other murders

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    Greek gay Jesus play faces ‘blasphemy’ charges

    Makers of Athens play Corpus Christi could be jailed for depicting Jesus and the Apostles as gay

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    Christian bus driver puts brakes on pro-gay marriage poster

    Passengers in northern England left waiting 20 minutes after bus driver refuses to board over Stonewall’s gay rights advert

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  • US: Synagogues terminate relationship with Boy Scouts of America over homophobic policies
    by James Park
    17 November 2012, 12:46pm
    [Pin It] Email this Pink News story
    Jewish leaders are now questioning if Scouting really serves the Jewish communityJewish leaders are now questioning if Scouting really serves the Jewish community

    Synagogues and other Jewish organisations across the United States are terminating their relationships with the Boy Scouts of America over its policy of discriminating against gay members and leaders.

    One example of the strained relationship between Jewish organisations and the Boy Scouts around homosexuality will be seen next week. Turo Synagogue in New Orleans has for a decade hosted an event for Boy Scouts to learn the virtues of the Ten Commandments over a Thanksgiving Day festival organised with local churches and mosques. But this year, for the first time, the synagogue withdrew its support because of Boy Scouts discriminatory policies towards gay people.

    Back in July, after a two year review, the Boy Scouts of America announced it would retain its ban on gay members, volunteers and staff.

    Rabbi Alexis Berk, who used to host the Boy Scouts at her Reform Synagogue told the Religious News Service: ““Maybe it would be one thing if this were a long-standing policy and they’d never revisited it — but the fact that they freshly revisited it and rendered a freshly bigoted opinion, well, I freshly feel like I can’t participate,” she said.
    “I can’t participate in religious experience that uses religion as a hook on which to hang bigotry.”

    Jewish scouting leader Alan Smason told the newswire: “My personal opinion is the Scouting policy in place now is wrong. They’re discriminating, and there’s no way to justify discrimination in this day and age.”
    Meanwhile, the Chairman of the National Jewish Committee , A.J. Kreimer told the Religious News Service: “This position has taxed Scouting’s relationship with the Jewish community. Our committee’s motto since 1926 has been’Scouting Serves the Jewish Community’ — and that relationship has been strained.”

    Last week, UPS became the latest corporate sponsor of the Boy Scouts of America to end its association with the organiation.

    In a statement, UPS said: ““The UPS Foundation seeks to support organisations that are in alignment with our focus areas, guidelines, and non-discrimination policy.

    “UPS and The UPS Foundation do not discriminate against any person or organisation with regard to categories protected by applicable law, as well as other categories protected by UPS and The UPS Foundation in our own policies. These include, but are not limited to race, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status, pregnancy, age and religion.”

    Intel announced that it would block all donations to any Boy Scout troop that upheld the organisation’s discriminatory policies.

    The issue of the policy has been prominent in the media of late, as Ryan Andresen, now 18, who joined the scouts when he was six, completed all of the requirements for the Eagle Scout Badge, but was refused the badge, once the work was completed.

  • Catholic Church denies teenager confirmation until he publicly denounces gay equality
    By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.UK
    16 November 2012,Lennon Cihak has been denied a confirmation ceremony because he supports gay rights (Photo: Twitter profile)

    Lennon Cihak has been denied a confirmation ceremony because he supports gay rights (Photo: Twitter profile)

    A teenage Catholic boy in Minnesota has been banned from confirmation after he posted a photograph on Facebook urging people to vote for equal marriage rights. He will only be allowed to take part in the rite if he denounces his support for equality.

    Lennon Cihak defaced an anti-equality sign, crossing out the words ‘Vote Yes’ and replacing them with ‘Vote No’ to an attempt to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay couples marrying. He posted a photograph of the sign on Facebook and it was spotted by his local priest, Rev Gary LaMoine.

    The boy’s mother, Shana told, local newspaper, the Forum that she was shocked to hear of the decision after the priest called her into a private conversation. She told the newspaper, “He said ‘I cannot, cannot confirm him. Father would not confirm him, and they won’t confirm him unless he changes his views.” She also claimed that the family have been denied Holy Communion in the parish.

    Rev LaMoine says: “They’re my parishioners, and so when the press comes after me from different points of view and asks me all types of questions about their situation, I hesitate very much because I owe them, I owe that family confidentiality,” he said.

  • ’Kill the gays’ Jamaican singer Beenie Man faces ban
    US gay rights activists protest Beenie Man concert in Chicago over history of homophobic lyrics
    16 November 2012 | By Matthew Jenkin
    Gay rights activists protest Beenie Man concert in Chicago over history of homophobic lyrics

    Gay rights campaigners in Chicago are demanding a concert by Jamaican dancehall star Beenie Man be cancelled.

    The artist, otherwise known as Anthony Moses Davis, gained infamy with tracks featuring anti-gay lyrics such as ’Hang chi chi gal wid a long piece of rope’ and ’Tek a bazooka and kill batty-fucker’.

    Despite him voicing his support for gay rights earlier this year, US-based group The Gay Liberation Network (GLN) are protesting his concert in Chicago on 22 November, calling for the Thanksgiving gig at The Shrine venue to be cancelled.

    In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the US-based group wrote: ’We wish it were possible to say that Beenie Man performs music that is simply engaging entertainment with a great beat and sometimes gritty lyrics.

    ’Sadly, he has a long history of frequent calls for violence against gays and lesbians.’

    Beenie Man signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, intended to stop homophobia among leading reggae stars, in June 2007.

    However, the GLN doubt the performer’s sincerity, claiming he still performs the offensive lyrics and, in 2009, even sung a ’kill the gays’ song in the capital of Uganda, a country that has seen a wave of anti-LGBT violence stoked by local politicians and Western evangelists.

    ’The Shrine has so far ignored the Gay Liberation Network’s offer to meet with them to discuss these issues,’ the GLN added.

    ’We urge you therefore to call and email them today to express your disgust with their giving a venue to a performer who repeatedly calls for lynching LGBTs or any minority.’

    In a video statement posted on YouTube in May, Beenie Man said he respected all human beings ’regardless of sexual preference’ and begged people not to attack him for songs he made 20 years ago.

    He is not the first Jamaican artist to feature gay hate in his songs, with reggae star Sizzla calling for gays to be killed at a concert in March, praising imprisoned fellow star Buju Banton.

  • Sally Field shares with Katie Couric her pride in openly gay son, Sam Greisman
    ’It’s a whole different era, his generation’
    16 November 2012 | By Greg Hernandez

    Sally Field, currently getting Oscar buzz for her performance in the new film Lincoln, talked about more than the movie during an appearance on Katie Couric’s daytime talk show to air Monday (20 November).

    Field shared with Couric her pride in being introduced by her gay son, Sam Greisman, when she was presented with the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally for Equality Award last month in Washington DC.

    ’For me to do it, I had to talk about Sam,’ says Field. ’I felt those were Sam’s issues and Sam’s life and his own private business. And he wanted me to do it, and they asked him to introduce me.’

    Greisman, 25, is the youngest of Field’s three sons and told the crowd that night of his mom: ’When I came out, she didn’t bat an eye. In fact, she was overjoyed. Being gay was just one more thing she loved about me. She couldn’t be more supportive of me.’

    Reflecting on that night, Field tells Couric: ’One of the most important things in my life is that my son introduced me and he hit it out of the park. He wrote the speech, and he delivered the speech, and he was absolutely fabulous. Funny and in his own voice, and of his era, which I think is important - It’s a whole different era, his generation.’

    ’For me to watch him do that and own himself and be so cute and so funny and so smart,’ she adds. ’There’s that word ’cute.’ But somehow it fits for how great and important and appealing he is as a human being.’

  • Greece: Gay play production team and cast charged with blasphemy
    By Scott Roberts
    16 November 2012If found guilty the defendants could face several months in prison

    If found guilty the defendants could face several months in prison

    Actors and the producer and director of a play in Greece that depicted Jesus Christ as gay have been charged with blasphemy.

    Earlier this month, director Laertis Vasiliou was forced to close his production of Corpus Christi in Athens because of political pressure from neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn.

    RTE reports that charges of “insulting religion” and “malicious blasphemy” have been filed after a bishop lodged a lawsuit against those involved in the play.

    The production had been subjected to protests since October, when a Golden Dawn MP was captured shouting homophobic and racist insults at Mr Vasiliou among a violent mob.

    If found guilty, Mr Vasiliou and the other defendants could face several months in prison, a trial date has not yet been set.

    Mr Vasiliou said he was stunned that prosecutors had chosen to go after him rather than pursue tax evaders and others blamed for driving Greece to near-bankruptcy.

    Golden Dawn have increased their power since June’s election and its supporters have been linked to a significant number of attacks on migrant workers, rival political groups and LGBT citizens.

    • I am sorry, BUT when a guy is living in communion with twelve(12) other guys, is not married, and none of the twelve guys is married, WHAT is one to refer to to then?

      That the guys were heterosexual? And were living for reproduction purposes?
      Jesus was homosexual, to the core, he lived a life of sleeping with other men, twelve even so he was not monogamous either, he kissed males were and when ever he could, and he never ever considered to be married to a woman........

      For crying out loud, when will religious idiots acknowledge the facts, and come to their senses, and see that their great example was in fact a homosexual?

  • UN calls for gay rights protection in Cameroon ahead of court appeals
    By Scott Roberts
    16 November 2012, Two of the men were jailed because they drank Baileys

    Two of the men were jailed because they drank Baileys

    The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is calling on Cameroon to end the enforcement of homophobic laws ahead of an appeal involving three men.

    Addressing a news conference in Geneva on Friday, OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville said that the laws breach Cameroon’s international human rights commitments and violates rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination.

    “While the penal code relates specifically to sexual conduct, we are seriously concerned that it is being applied in a broad-brush way to prosecute many individuals on the basis of their appearance, their mannerisms, style of speech or general conduct,” Mr Colville said.

    In 2011, Jean-Claude Roger Mbede was convicted of suspected homosexual conduct after authorities discovered he had sent a text message to another man that said: “I am very much in love with you.”

    In addition, Jonas Singa Kumie and Franky Djome were convicted on the basis of their appearance, which was perceived as effeminate, and the fact that they had been seen drinking Baileys.

    The pair were arrested in July 2011 in a car outside of a night club in the Cameroonian capital Yaoundé.

    All three men have an appeal hearing next week.

    Earlier this month, two prominent lawyers, who have been helping the men, revealed that they had been on the receiving end of death threats – with warnings also made to their families.

    In response, Mr Colville said: “The government of Cameroon has a duty to end these abuses. It should provide adequate protection to human rights defenders working to protect the rights of LGBT persons.”

  • Seattle Judges donate their time to marry same-sex couples in Washington on first available day
    By Joseph Patrick McCormick
    16 November 2012,9 December is the first day couples can have their marriage licenses signed, after a three-day waiting period

    9 December is the first day couples can have their marriage licenses signed, after a three-day waiting period

    Seattle City Hall will open for a special event on a Sunday following a new law taking effect, which will allow same-sex couples to marry in the state of Washington.

    Mayor Mike McGinn, said through spokesperson, Aaron Pickus, that eight municipal judges will donate their time on Sunday 9 December, three days after Referendum 74 becomes active, allowing equal marriage in the state, reported the Associated Press.

    The judges will be available between 12-5pm on Sunday 9 December, the first day it is possible for couples to have their marriage licenses signed, despite being allowed to collect them from 6 December.

    The law takes effect on 5 December, the marriage licenses are available to pick up on 6 December, but are not able to be signed, and made legal, until 9 December, due to a three day waiting period.

    The Stranger, a Seattle based weekly newspaper, on Thursday pledged to donate $2,000 (£,1260) towards materials, and staff members, as well as the municipal judges, will donate their time to host the event.

    On the early hours of 7 November 2012, the state of Washington followed Maine and Maryland in passing a referendum in support of marriage rights for gay couples, and Minnesota voted against outlawing equal marriage.

    Although Washington’s legislature initially legalised the measure in February of this year, opponents succeeded in gathering enough signatures to force a state ballot.

    King County couples can collect marriage licenses from 6 December, and King County Executive, Dow Constantine, said he will sign the first license.

  • GayCityNews « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/17/gaycitynews

    GayCityNews
    November 17, 2012
    NYS Senate Democratic Defections Could Imperil GENDA
    11-16-2012 15:57:05 PM

    BY ANDY HUMM | Democrats in the New York State Senate looked to have won a surprise majority on Election Day, overcoming a huge financial disadvantage, Republican gerrymandering, and no help from Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo. But that prospective majority has been put in jeopardy — and, along with it, the fate of much progressive legislation, [...]…»

    When a Lesbian Marriage Trivializes a Political Career
    11-14-2012 11:50:57 AM

    BY PAUL SCHINDLER | Christine Quinn, just named to Out magazine’s annual Out100, began her career as a tenant activist, then got on board on the ground floor of State Senator Tom Duane’s political career, becoming his chief of staff while he served on the City Council. After several years as executive director of the New [...]…»

    Supreme Court Delays Consideration of Marriage Cases for Ten Days
    11-14-2012 13:26:44 PM

    BY PAUL SCHINDLER | Several cases involving the right of same-sex couples to marry — in the context of both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8 — could go before the US Supreme Court in the current term. The Washington Post reports that the high court has delayed a conference on [...]…»

    Arizona Elects First Out Bisexual US House Member
    11-13-2012 18:43:51 PM

    BY PAUL SCHINDLER | In one of less than a dozen US House races that had not yet been called, Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, on November 12, was declared the winner in a new Arizona district created as a result of the 2010 Census. Sinema, a former state senator, will be the first openly bisexual member [...]…»

    Keep Reaching, Keep Fighting
    11-08-2012 14:29:26 PM

    BY PAUL SCHINDLER | Four years ago, Barack Obama, a first-term US senator from Illinois, was the candidate of “hope and change.” In his young administration, handed an economy that was bleeding hundreds of thousands of jobs each month, change came haltingly and on some issues not at all. The word hope became a cudgel [...]…»

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  • Dear friends,

    I just signed a petition calling on Nigeria’s President to veto a horrific bill that would jail gay and lesbian people for up to 14 years - just for being gay.

    This new law would make it crime not only to be gay but also to know and support a person who is gay or lesbian. Activists in Nigeria have asked for help to stop the bill.

    If the President knows we’re all watching, he will need to respond. With a media firestorm and a petition of 100,000 signatures from around the world - he’ll have to veto. Will you sign with me now?

    www.allout.org/nigeria-veto

    .,._
    Reply via web post

  • No safe haven: Civilians under attack in the Gaza Strip
    Nov 16, 2012 05:43 am | International Eyewitnesses in Gaza
    IMG 6054 001
    Salem Waqef (Photo: Lydia De Leeuw)

    Gaza City, 16 November 2012

    The Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip have entered their third day. We write this report amid the sounds of incessant bombings, which have continued all day yesterday and throughout the night.

    The military escalation carried out by the Israeli Army continues all over the Gaza Strip. From Gaza City, we hear incessant noise of drones and F-16 fighter jets crashing through the sky above our heads. Bombs repeatedly fall in our surroundings, in densely populated civilians areas. At this point, Israeli air forces have conducted nearly 200 airstrikes, bringing the death toll to 19. Among the casualties are ten civilians, including six children and one woman. More than 180 people have been injured by the attacks, the vast majority civilians. The areas targeted included Beit Hanoun, Jabalia refugee camp, Sheikh Radwan and al-Nasser neighbourhoods in Gaza City, Maghazi, Deir El Balah, Khan Younis, and the tunnel area in Rafah.
    IMG 8004
    Haneen Tafesh (Photo: Gisela Schmidt-Martin)

    Yesterday we visited Al Shifa hospital, where most of the injured are brought to. There we spoke with doctors, patients, their relatives, and witnesses about what they are going through in the current escalation in the Gaza Strip. We wish to share some of the stories of the people we met.

    Salem Waqef, a 40 year old man, was severely injured when his home was destroyed in an attack during the early morning of 15 November. His doctors say Salem suffered a brain injury when he was deprived of oxygen. He was brought into the International Care Unit of Al Shifa hospital at 5am where he was placed on a ventilator. He remains in a coma and the doctors said he was in a serious condition.

    At approximately 1.10pm, as we were leaving the ICU, a 10 month old girl, Haneen Tafesh, was brought into the ward. She was unconscious and her tiny body was grey. She had suffered a skull fracture and brain haemorrhage, which resulted from an attack that took place at around 11am yesterday in Gaza’s Sabra neighbourhood. She was in a coma and on mechanical ventilation. Later in the afternoon, we checked how Haneen was doing and doctors said her condition had deteriorated. After returning home in the evening, we learned that she had died.
    IMG 6057 001
    Ahmed Durghmush (Photo: Lydia De Leeuw)

    Ahmed Durghmush is in his early twenties and was brought to Al Shifa ICU at around 9pm Wednesday night, 14 November, after he was injured by an airstrike carried out on the Tel al Hawa neighbourhood in Gaza City. He had suffered a severe brain trauma, caused by shrapnel from an explosion. Dr Fauzi Nablusia, a doctor in the ICU, explained that, when Ahmed arrived, some of his brain matter was protruding from his head wound. He suffered a brain haemorrhage and was operated on. When we asked doctors about Ahmed’s condition later today, they said it had deteriorated. A relative was standing over Ahmed’s bed, expressing his feelings of powerlessness and fear for Ahmed’s fate.
    IMG 6122 001
    Basma Mahmoud el Tourouq (Photo: Lydia De Leeuw)

    The emergency room was dealing with spikes in victim arrivals throughout the day. One of those brought in was 5 year old Basma Mahmoud el Tourouq from Rimal neighbourhood, Gaza City. She was injured in an airstrike near her home around 2.30pm today. The shockwave of the explosion threw her across her bedroom, causing her lower arm to be fractured as she fell on the floor.

    We later listened to the stories of some of the injured children, women and men and their relatives who had been moved up to the different wards of Al Shifa hospital.

    Mohammed Abu Amsha, a two and half year old boy, was injured while he was sitting in front of his grandfather’s house in Beit Hanoun. An F16 fired a missile nearby, and scattering rubble struck him in the head. As we were about to leave, Mohammed’s father mentioned that Mohammed’s uncle had also been injured.
    IMG 8012
    Mohammed Abu Amsha (Photo: Gisela Schmidt-Martin)

    Zuhdiye Samour, a mother and grandmother from Beach refugee camp in western Gaza City, was still visibly shaken by what had happened when she shared her story: “We were sitting together in our house. It was around 8.30 in the evening and we were watching TV, playing films so that the children would be less afraid. Then, we heard the sound of 12 shells being fired from gunboats in the sea.” Zuhdiye and three other civilians were injured as shells dropped in her neighbourhood, a residential area in the north of Gaza City.

    Khalid Hamad, the Director of Public Information for the Ministry of Justice, was one of the other civilians injured in the indiscriminate attack of the residential area. He was at home with his family in Nabarat, Northern Gaza City, when they heard the sound of shelling, targeting a neighbour’s home. A number of people in the neighbourhood rushed outside to help and were targeted by a series of six additional shells. Hamad’s teenage nephew was lightly injured,and another man received shrapnel wounds. “They targeted civilians deliberately”, he said. “The Israeli forces don’t make mistakes.”
    IMG 6152 001
    Duaa Hejazi (Photo: Lydia De Leeuw)

    A 13 year old girl, Duaa Hejazi, was coming back to her home in Gaza’s Sabra neighbourhood, after a walk with her mother and siblings, when an Israeli missile fired on the road in front of their home around 8 o’clock at night. “I was bleeding a lot. My brother was injured too, in his hand. The neighbours brought me to the hospital” Duaa sustained shrapnel injuries throughout her upper body, with some pieces still imbedded in her chest. She would like to pass on a message to other children, living outside of Gaza:

    “I say, we are children. There is nothing that is our fault to have to face this. They are occupying us and I will say, as Abu Omar said, “If you’re a mountain, the wind won’t shake you”. We’re not afraid, we’ll stay strong.”

    During our time al Shifa we also met with Dr Mithad Abbas, the Director General of the hospital. When we asked him about the ways in which Shifa hospital is coping with the incoming patients, he said, “When those cases arrive at our hospital, it is not under normal circumstances. They come on top of the siege, the blockade, which has resulted in a lack of vital medicines and required medical supplies.” The hospital lacks essential basic medicines and supplies, such as antibiotics, IV fluid, anesthesia, gloves, catheters, external fixators, Heparin, sutures, detergents and spare parts for medical equipment.

    The hospital also relies on a store of fuel, which provides power during the daily electricity cuts. If power cuts reach the level of more than 12 hours per day, Dr Abbas estimates that the hospital only has enough fuel in storage to run for approximately one week.

    Hospital staff are encountering chaotic and emotional scenes, as hallways and rooms become overcrowded with people trying to ascertain whether their relatives or friends have been hurt. “People enter the emergency room in panic, looking for their relatives. It is very difficult to deal with,” says Abbas.

    No one knows where the next missile will hit, no one knows where they can be safe. Parents are unable to keep their children safe, let alone provide them a sense of safety.

    These are the names of the martyrs killed in the attacks:

    1- Walid Abadlah, 2 1/2 years

    2- Marwan Abu Al-Qumsan, 52 years

    3- Ramai Hamamd

    4- Khalid Abu Al-Nasser

    5- Habes Mesbeh, 30 years

    6- Wael Al-Ghalban

    7- Hisham Al-Ghalban

    8- Ahmed Al-Jaabari, 52 years

    9- Mohammed Al-Hams

    10- Ranan Arafat, 3 years

    11- Essam Abu El-Mazzah, 20 years

    12- Hani Al-Kaseeh, 18 years

    13- Ahmed Al-Masharawi, 11 months

    14- Hiba Al-Masharawi, 19 years, pregnant woman

    15- Mahmud Sawaween, 65 years old

    16- Hanin Tafish, 10 months

    17- Tareq Jamal Naser, 16 years

    18- Oday Jamal Nasser, 14 years

    19- Fares al-Bassiouni

    – - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

    For further information, please contact:

    Adie Mormech (British) +972 (0) 592280943

    Adriana (Italian, Spanish) +972 (0) 597241318

    Gisela Schmidt Martin (Irish) +972 (0) 592778020 blipfoto.com/GiselaClaire

    Joe Catron (United States) +972 (0) 595594326 twitter.com/jncatron

    Lydia de Leeuw (Dutch) +972 (0) 597478455 asecondglance.wordpress.com

    Meri (Italian) +972(0)598563299

    We are a group of internationals living in the Gaza Strip, working in the fields of journalism, human rights, education, and agriculture. We seek to defend and advocate for the rights of Palestinians in the context of the Israeli occupation and military operations. Besides being eyewitnesses ourselves, we gather our information from our personal networks across the Gaza Strip, from local media reports, medical staff, and local and international NGOs in Gaza.

    We verify the information we send out and hope our reports will contribute to accurate media coverage of the situation in Gaza.

  • GayStarNews 11-16-2012 « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/16/gaystarnews-11-16-2012

    GayStarNews 11-16-2012
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