A record with a queer edge of random musings, murmurs and dorky/silly things that are me - citizen of the world and traveller of the globe.
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." (Dr. Seuss)
"Our lives can only be lived forward and understood backwards. Living a life and understanding it, occupy different dimensions" (Soren Kierkegaard)
August 26, 2008
Looks like Homeland Security is at it. Again.
An woman in California was threatened with arrest and forced to leave a government building because a security guard took offence to her T-shirt.
Lapriss Gilbert, 31, wore a lesbian.com shirt when she went to collect a Social Security card for her son. The guard, who works for Paragon Security, challenged her and forced her to leave the building. Ms Gilbert contacted her mother who called the police but before they arrived she was readmitted and escorted to the front of the queue, the LA Daily News reports.
The security company is under contract to the Department of Homeland Security to guard the building in Van Nuys.
A department spokeswoman condemned the guard’s actions and said that Paragon had been contacted about the incident. Ms Gilbert was reportedly told by the guard that he had jurisdiction over her clothing under the Rules and Regulations Governing Conduct on Federal Property. In fact it makes no reference to clothing.
"As an African-American and a lesbian, I haven't been through one day without facing some sort of discrimination … but this is just shocking" Ms Gilbert told the Daily News.
Currently listening to Nine Inch Nails (album: The Slip)
On Wednesday AP reported that a hacker broke into a Homeland Security Department telephone system over the weekend and racked up about $12,000 in calls to the Middle East and Asia.
The hacker made more than 400 calls on a Federal Emergency Management Agency voicemail system in Emmitsburg, Md., on Saturday and Sunday, according to FEMA spokesman Tom Olshanski.
FEMA is part of Homeland Security, which in 2003 put out a warning about this very vulnerability. The voicemail system is new and was installed recently. It is a Private Branch Exchange, or PBX, a traditional corporate phone network that is used in thousands of companies and government offices. Many companies are moving to a higher tech version, known as Voice Over Internet Telephony.
This type of hacking is very low-tech and "old school," said John Jackson, a St. Louis-based security consultant. It was popular 10 to 15 years ago. Telecommunications security administrators now know to configure security settings, such as having individual users create unique passwords and not continue to use the password assigned to users in the initial setup.
"In this case it's sort of embarrassing that it happened to FEMA themselves — FEMA being a child of DHS, with calls going to the Middle East," Johnson said.
Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, India and Yemen are among the countries calls were made to, Olshanski said. Most of the calls were about three minutes long, but some were as long as 10 minutes. Sprint caught the fraud over the weekend and halted all outgoing long-distance calls from FEMA's National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg.
FEMA's chief information officer is investigating who hacked into the system and where exactly the calls were placed to. At this point it appears a "hole" was left open by the contractor when the voicemail system was being upgraded, Olshanski said. Olshanski did not know who the contractor was or what hole specifically was left open, but he assured the hole has since been closed.
In 2003, Homeland Security and the FBI investigated multiple reports about private industry being breached by these types of hackers.
"This illegal activity enables unauthorized individuals anywhere in the world to communicate via compromised U.S. phone systems in a way that is difficult to trace," according to a department information bulletin from June 3, 2003.
I'm sorry, but I can't help but snicker. I guess Homeland Security got a taste of what it's like to have the tables turned.
On October 27th Snow Patrol will release a new album called "A Hundred Million Suns".
The band will precede the release of the album with a single: "Take back the city" (out October 13th).
I had expected Team USA to play against Germany in their quest for Olympic soccer gold, but to my surprise Germany didn't make the finals (they won bronze), and the US women faced the Brazilian soccer team (Marta is certainly a force to be reckoned with). They're taking home gold - for the third time. And even though Natasha Kai did not score the winning goal, she did pull a Chastain:
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Openly gay Aussie diver Matthew Mitcham takes home gold (10m):
Residents of San Francisco's Castro district, which expects to see additional increases in tourism once the movie Milk is released this fall, are troubled by an increase in tour buses which stop to unload out-of-towners eager to see the gays in their natural habitat:
"For gay and lesbian residents, who are doing nothing more remarkable than, say, walking over to Cliff's Hardware Store, the idea that as many as six tour buses could turn up at once seems bizarre. They also worry that the upcoming release of the movie "Milk," based on the life story of Castro Street politician Harvey Milk, will just be another step toward turning the Castro into a kind of urban theme park for looky-loos. 'It is the spectacle of people who might be different. That's all it is,' said attorney Rob Guite, a Castro resident. 'The tourists appear to have little regard for the neighborhood and its residents and view the stop as akin to visiting a zoo or other attraction where they are entertained by exhibits or animals.'"
When Castro Street was transformed in January for the shooting of Milk businesses expressed concern over the circus atmosphere that filming brought to the neighborhood but felt reassured that the movie would help revitalize businesses in the area.
The Berlin memorial to gay and lesbian Nazi victims has been vandalised.
Having only been erected on 27th May, a viewing window in the memorial and a fence around it were broken on 16th August. Gunter Dworek, spokesman for the Lesbian and Gay Association (LSVD) told TheLocal.de that the attack was revolting, an outrage and a scandal. He said a protest will be held at the memorial on Monday against the vandalism to draw attention to on-going discrimination.
The memorial was opened by Berlin's first openly-gay mayor, Klaus Wowerit, and representatives of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). Of the memorial, an ILGA-Europe spokesperson said: "The Berlin memorial has important symbolic value. It is in the centre of a city from where decades ago the policies of the extermination of homosexual people along with such groups as Jews, gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses and political dissidents, was conceived and the deadly orders were given."
More than 50,000 gays and lesbians are believed to have been convicted under the Nazis due to their sexuality. Up to 10,000 of them died in concentration camps. Many survivors, far from being liberated, were transferred to prisons.
The laws used against gay people in Germany remained in the statute books until 1969. It was only in 2002 that the German parliament issued a formal pardon for any gay people convicted by the Nazis.
The British intelligence service MI5 is pushing to recruit more LGBT people to the organisation.
MI5 is being advised by Stonewall, the UK's leading gay equality organisation, on how to attract a more diverse range of applicants.
The intelligence service also wishes to encourage spies to be more open about their sexuality.
This year MI5 will appear in Stonewall's graduate recruitment guide, which lists gay-friendly employers. Ben Summerskill, director of Stonewall, told PinkNews.co.uk: "We are delighted that MI5 have decided to explore the pool of talent within the LGBT workforce. We will encourage graduate recruits to work in this area in the future. This is a sign that people in all sorts of public services are looking in a different way at how to recruit talented people. Previously, public services were delivered by the 'Man from the Ministery', who was white and heterosexual; that is now changing."
Mr Summerskill also told the Times on Sunday: "I am optimistic that in 10 to 15 years their [MI5’s] employment profile will look very much like modern Britain. There is no reason why there shouldn’t be a lesbian or gay director-general.”
Until the early 1990s gays and lesbians were prevented from taking sensitive government jobs as it was believed that they would be vulnerable to blackmail.
Since the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London, MI5 has expanded rapidly, with staff numbers predicted at 3,500 by the end of 2008.
MI5 are working towards diversifying their workforce by recruiting people from all backgrounds with a range of capabilities. The MI5 recruitment website states: "An in-depth knowledge and understanding of a variety of communities, cultures and languages isn’t just an advantage, it can be absolutely critical. At present, we are very keen to speak to people who speak: Arabic (all dialects, and particularly North African), Sorani, Bengali, Urdu with or without Gujarati, Punjabi, Chinese (Mandarin), Somali, Pushto, Persian and Russian. We welcome all applications, but would be particularly interested to hear from women, individuals from ethnic minority groups and disabled people."
Currently listening to Coldplay (album: Viva la vida)
Team USA faced the Canadian soccer players on Friday. Natasha Kai scored the winning goal against Canada, leading up to the inevitable barrage of "Olympic Hero" puff pieces from the mainstream media. And while you'll learn that the Hawaiian native sports 19 tattoos, is a "free spirit" and in a pinch will take up the role of locker room DJ, there's no mention that Kai is also openly gay. But I thought I'd mention it. Again. The U.S. women's team takes on Japan in the semi-finals on Monday. My other favorite soccer team - Germany - will be facing Brazil.
reuters
More Olympic news: Dara Torres lost an improbable gold medal Sunday morning by one-hundredth of a second.
The 41-year-old Torres, a five-time Olympian, settled for two more silver medals on the final day of swimming at the Water Cube. She had three runner-up finishes in all, but was oh-so-close to a gold in the 50-meter freestyle.
Germany’s Britta Steffen nipped Torres at the wall to complete a sweep of the women’s sprint events in Beijing. The middle-aged American smiled, her head dropping back, when she saw a time of 24.07 seconds — just behind Steffen’s winning effort of 24.06. The German added to her gold in the 100 free.
When she was questioned on-camera immediately following her close defeat to Germany's Germany's Britta Steffen, Torres first response was to joke, "Maybe I shouldn't have filed my nails last night."
Torres received her silver, then hustled back to the locker room to grab her cap and goggles. She anchored the U.S. to a second-place finish in the 400 medley relay, unable to catch Libby Trickett on a frantic sprint to the wall.
Still, not bad considering she had retired a second time after the 2000 Sydney Games, then got the urge to compete again after having her first child two years ago. Not content swimming in the old-timers’ division, she set out to prove that age is only a number.
Consider that point made.
Torres got off to a good start in the 50 and appeared to be leading midway through the race, a frenetic sprint from one end of the pool to the other. As they came to the wall, Torres and Steffen were stroke for stroke. The German reached out with her left hand and Torres stretched with her right. Steffen’s fingertip got there first.
Completing a race for all ages, 16-year-old Australian Cate Campbell claimed the bronze in 24.17.
In the relay, Torres claimed the 12th medal of her career. If she decides to compete for the next Olympic Games she'll only be 45.
Ok, one more picture of that hawt lady (note the cool watch and the thumb ring):
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Now on to the Winter Games in 2010. The Globe and Mail reports that Vancouver is "cleaning up" the city:
Anne-Marie Monks, a 62-year-old homeless woman, recently had a tantalizing offer of a free trip away from the grittiest streets of Vancouver. Her welfare officer said she could have a bus ticket to visit her daughter in Kamloops.
Good offers are as rare as three hot meals in her neighbourhood. But Ms. Monks declined. “It was a one-way ticket,” she said. “This wasn't a visit, it was telling me to go away and never come back.”
Sending the homeless out of town might not be official policy, but with the 2010 Olympics looming, some worry it will be the ticket to cleaning up the Dante-like stretch of Vancouver known as the Downtown Eastside.
Every major city in Canada has destitute people, but nowhere are they concentrated in such a harrowing display of human desperation as in Vancouver, where a dense neighbourhood of junkies, streetwalkers and mentally ill people openly challenges British Columbia's licence-plate slogan, “The Best Place on Earth.” The area is a 10-minute stroll from the site designated as the Olympics' international media centre.
With the clock ticking down to Feb. 12, 2010, B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell this week assured reporters at the Beijing Olympics that Vancouver's Downtown Eastside would be a different place by the time the Winter Games start. Mr. Campbell set out a formidable challenge with a short deadline for a neighbourhood that is well known as Canada's poorest postal code. But if he falls short, it will not be for lack of trying, provincial and municipal politicians and government staff said this week.
A massive investment has been made in the past two years to break the grip of addiction and homelessness on thousands in British Columbia. The impact is expected to reverberate across the province, but the final measure will be taken in the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan said the city is in the golden age of social housing. “We are seeing more investment in social and supportive housing than ever in the history of the city.”
He cautioned not to expect a significant demographic shift. “The Downtown Eastside will be for many years a place you find people of low incomes,” he said. But he believes the clusters of addicts, mentally ill people and the homeless will fade away. “There has been an effort to keep all the social problems in one neighbourhood, and I do not think that serves the people who have those problems very well,” he said. “We find that, when they can move outside the Downtown Eastside, a lot of problems go away.”
Echoing a recent study that found that those who moved out of the Downtown Eastside reported a significant decrease in unstable housing and heroin and cocaine injection, Mr. Sullivan indicated he was confident that a surge in social housing, new mental health facilities and treatment programs in Vancouver – and beyond – will bring results.
The Downtown Eastside is a world of misery crammed into 10 blocks. The local amenities include a 24-hour drive-thru drug market, lanes where addicts openly inject drugs, and dealers who work in view of the police station. Homeless people sleep on the sidewalk, in doorways and in Oppenheimer Park, a few blocks from Hastings Street, where a tent city sprouted in mid-June.
Two days after Mr. Campbell was grilled in Beijing about Vancouver's homelessness problem, authorities dismantled the tents and offered rooms in residential hotels. Yesterday, crews were picking up litter in the park. No sign of the tent city remained.
Police said they acted in co-operation with B.C. Housing and welfare officials. “When you start having numbers of people camping out, you start moving into personal safety issues,” said Constable Jana McGuinness of the Vancouver police. “Before anyone could be harmed, a solution – even short-term – needed to be found.”
But critics said the park was a political embarrassment. The homeless people there bypassed those who have waited for housing for months. “It was politically motivated,” said Vancouver Park Board commissioner Spencer Herbert. “It was a public-relations disaster to have 40 people in tents just a couple of blocks from GM Place, where Olympics events will be happening. The timing is very curious, with [Mr.] Campbell getting nailed about the homeless. I think they decided they needed to get the problem ‘disappeared.'“ B.C. Housing and Social Development Minister Rich Coleman insisted the government does not intend to clean up the neighbourhood by handing out one-way bus tickets. No one is going to be forced to do anything, he said. “No one is being pushed out of any area because of the Olympics.”
When asked about the offers of one-way tickets out of town, he said that the government intends to ensure that people have options. “Certainly you cannot handle all their addiction and mental health issues … in the Downtown Eastside. Some people would do better if they were given opportunities. We are not going to take them and force them to go anywhere. But certainly the options have to be there for them,” he said. Some people said they believe they would be better off closer to their family. “We're certainly open to helping anyone who wants to do that.”
Mr. Coleman said his ministry grappled with housing issues for a year after he was appointed in 2005, and did not start with the Olympics in mind. “We're looking at the entire province, not just the Downtown Eastside, when we're looking at housing,” he said.
The first step was rent assistance for the working poor and seniors. They then looked at how to bring housing together with services for addicts, the homeless and mentally ill people.
The initiatives were designed to move the homeless from temporary shelter to “supportive housing,” which means medical and social services available in the same building, and then to subsidized, non-market housing.
Over the past 18 months, the B.C. government has announced funds for programs to connect street people with food, clothing and shelter where they are. It increased funding for beds in temporary shelters. Working with Vancouver and other municipalities, it unveiled plans for new social housing and renovations of skid-row residential units.
It revamped the model for providing social services, ensuring that those who move into the new housing will have support there to deal with issues ranging from nutrition to mental health to drug treatment. And in an initiative that could reverse the trend to concentrate social services in the Downtown Eastside, the provincial government has moved aggressively to support social housing, drug treatment programs and mental health facilities outside the neighbourhood.
The province made an offer to municipalities: “We said, you guys find the land in the communities … and we are there with capital, and that's what we've been doing,” Mr. Coleman said, adding that several communities have recognized dealing with their homeless population is not someone else's job.
The government also started buying social-housing properties three years ago. So far, it has bought 17 skid-row hotels and apartment buildings in Vancouver and 14 in Langley, Prince George and elsewhere. The housing will integrate shelter with mental health and addiction services. “If we can get somebody in an environment where there are other supports around them, their success rate is definitely higher than if we leave them isolated in the Downtown Eastside,” Mr. Coleman said. Some results should be evident by the time the 2010 Olympics begin.
But Harsha Walia, project co-ordinator at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, where Ms. Monks frequently spends the night, was skeptical. She said offers to leave town have increased, fuelling concerns that the homeless, already under harassment from police, will face added pressures as the Olympics approach.
“Women tell us about it every day,” she said. “They're told they can get a one-way ticket, either to some other part of Canada or some other part of the province.”
To be continued...
Popnography.com's Noah Michelson is bringing Sharleen Spiteri's new album to the American LGBT audience:
Photo: Getty Images
After fronting the U.K. pop band Texas for more than 20 years, Sharleen Spiteri has ditched the group to release her debut solo album, Melody. For those of you scratching your head and saying "Sharleen who? Texas what?" -- you're right -- you've probably never heard her or them. Other than their song "So-called Friend" being chosen by uber fan Ellen DeGeneres as her early '90s sitcom theme, like so many bands wildly popular overseas, Texas never managed to make a dent in the American music scene.
But, as is so often the case, just because it's true doesn't make it right. No matter what she's singing -- from glossy pop to full-on rock -- Spiteri has one of the most powerful and evocative voices in the music industry today. For Melody she time traveled back to the middle of the 20th century and doused herself with the shimmering, romping doo-wop of the '50s and the moody, expressive soul of the '60s. The result is a horn-blaring, guitar-chugging, drum-skidattling good time with Spiteri crooning herself through love imagined, love discovered, and love lost only to rinse and then repeat the cycle all over again.
Now, before you get all huffy and whine that you're beyond done with the U.K. retro-glazed songstresses we've all been inundated with in the last year or two, you should know that Spiteri was penning Motown-inspired hits way before Amy Winehouse was doing key bumps (yes! that long ago!) and before Duffy had even hit puberty. Texas' "Black Eyed Boy" plays like the Supremes' long lost daughter turning up at the best birthday party you've never been to, and the video for "Inner Smile" has Spiteri aping Elvis -- and in a queer twist -- driving the teenage fan girls into a sweaty musical -- and genital -- panic.
Melody clocks in at roughly 37 minutes, just enough time for Spiteri to wow us with her pipes and old school-tinged production -- she wrote and produced every last note on the album -- without leaving us feeling woozy from our trip through the time warp. You can see the video for the first single, "All The Times I Cried," below and the album is available (but only as an import) at your local record shop or if all else fails, Amazon.com.
The following was posted a week and a half ago, but I just remembered it. I'm all for equal opportunity, and if that means that men should be able to wear kilts, by all means, wear one!
SEATTLE - A 6-foot-tall, 250-pound letter carrier is campaigning for the right to take off his pants. Dean Peterson wants the U.S. Postal Service to add kilts as a uniform option for men.
The idea was soundly defeated in July at a convention of his union, the 220,000-member National Letter Carriers' Association, so Peterson knows convincing management will be an uphill struggle, but at least he'll be comfortable in his kilt, or Male Unbifurcated Garment.
"In one word, it's comfort," he said.
With his build, Peterson said, his thighs fill slacks to capacity, causing chafing and scarring.
Peterson, 48, has Finnish and Norwegian ancestry but not Scottish. He began wearing kilts a couple years ago when his wife brought one back from a trip to Scotland. (A spokeswoman for Britain's Royal Mail said kilts are not allowed as part of its letter carrier uniforms.)
Now Peterson wears them everywhere — to one son's football games, the other son's concerts, shopping and gardening: "It's the difference between wearing jammies to bed and wearing your work clothes to bed."
Before the convention in Boston, Peterson spent his family's $1,800 economic stimulus tax rebate to mail about 1,000 letters and photographs of him wearing a prototype Postal Service kilt to union branches in every state, Guam and Puerto Rico.
"Unbifurcated Garments are far more comfortable and suitable to male anatomy than trousers or shorts because they don't confine the legs or cramp the male genitals the way that trousers or shorts do," he wrote. "Please open your hearts — and inseams — for an option in mail carrier comfort!"
The union's executive committee recommended disapproval, saying there was not enough demand for kilts to be worth the bother of the resolution, and delegates agreed by a large margin. But Peterson said there are plenty of approved uniform items that very few mail carriers wear, including a cardigan sweater, vest and pith helmet. He said many convention delegates did express support after his resolution was voted down.
"I got so pumped up after being at such a low that I'm taking this to the next convention in 2010 in Anaheim, Calif.," he said.
I came across a post on Jena Malone's hair - and it was like seeing the story of my hair!
I mean, up till I was 19 my hair basically looked kinda like this:
At 19 I had grown tired of my long locks, and it had become fashionable for girls to grow their hair long. So what was the next logical step for me? Exactly: cut off mine. Heh. (I even shaved it off shortly before my graduation ceremony, but that's a whole different story...) So, in my early 20s I sported a 'do which is somewhat comparable to this:
Call it lesbian hair, call it (s)punky. I think it's a cool 'do, Jena Malone! I dig it.
Even though the official opening is tomorrow, the first (preliminary?) soccer games for the Olympic Games was played today; the Netherlands v Nigeria - a tie - and the Norwegian women beat Team USA 2-0. Team Captain Kristine Lilly isn't playing because she's pregnant AND Abby Wambach isn't playing because she broke a leg (literally). Sheesh!
Natasha Kai and Abby Wambach
Yesterday I read an article which didn't surprise me one bit; having spent 8 days in Beijing a few years ago I got a glimpse of the country - and its politics. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter.
Olympic gold medalist and outspoken Darfur activist Joey Cheek has had his visa revoked by the Chinese embassy, hours before the speedskating champion was set to fly to China. And he wasn't even planning on wearing a mask when he got there.
Chinese officials don't need a reason to revoke anyone's visa but, in their eyes, they had plenty of reasons to snatch Cheek's. He is the founder of Team Darfur, a group of 70 athletes whose goal it is to raise global awareness of the human-rights violations taking part in the Darfur region of Sudan. China's military, economic and diplomatic ties to Sudan have been well-publicized in the lead-up to the Games.
Said Cheek of his ban in a prepared statement:
"I am saddened not to be able to attend the Games. The Olympic Games represent something powerful: that people can come together from around the world and do things that no one thought were possible. However, the denial of my visa is a part of a systemic effort by the Chinese government to coerce and threaten athletes who are speaking out on behalf of the innocent people of Darfur.
Cheek was going to China to support the athletes on Team Darfur -- including soccer player Abby Wambach -- and to promote the cause, one that he has championed for years.
With the Games getting closer, the world seemed ready to forget about all the Chinese issues in order to focus on the Games themselves. Unfortunately, China's actions make that impossible. The world is left to discuss the Chinese government's reluctance to allow any dissension in their country, despite repeated promises that they'd clean up their act when the Olympics came to town.
Gay and lesbian refugee claimants struggling to shed old-world views of their sexuality are turning to new-age technology to make their case.
Facebook, the online social network, is being used as a tool by some claimants to help prove their sexual orientation to immigration officials in Canada.
"Sexuality has always been very complicated and when you have to prove it as a matter of life and death you will use any resource you have available to you," Diego Macias of Among Friends, a Toronto-based gay and lesbian refugee support group, told The Canadian Press.
Those seeking refuge after 1992 were permitted to claim status based on their sexual orientation and required to prove their claim to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). Wearing their sexuality on their sleeve was never an option for many back in their home countries and finding suitable evidence to support their claims can be difficult.
Macias tells his members to use technology to their advantage and feels facebook can help demonstrate involvement in the gay and lesbian community.
"During Pride we took hundreds of pictures and we have a facebook group and when people sign up to that group we encourage them to show their membership to the IRB member."
In more than 75 countries people face jail, or worse, for having gay sex. Acts of homosexuality are punishable by death in several countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Sudan. In many other Muslim countries homosexuality carries prison sentences, fines, or corporal punishment.
Last week in Winnipeg a federal court judge upheld a decision to ship a Nigerian man back to his native country because the IRB ruled his claim of being gay was a hoax. He says his life is in danger if he goes home.
Experts say it can take different components to paint a convincing picture of one's sexual orientation for the Immigration and Refugee Board.
"I have used facebook (because) people put stuff on there about themselves and who they are, and in a relationship with," immigration lawyer El-Farouk Khaki, who specialises in representing gay and lesbian refugee claimants, told The Canadian Press. Khaki explains how many in this situation have spent years - even decades - trying to hide their sexuality back in their country of origin, so any glimpse into a claimant's new life can help.
"Basically it's like a jigsaw puzzle and you just try and take the little pieces here and there and you try and construct a larger picture of a person's life," he explained. Khaki says he often provides his clients with a list of items that can help prove their sexual orientation to the immigration board - and there is very little off-limits.
Claimants can use letters from family and friends, pictures at Pride festivities and memberships on gay chat rooms. Incorporating one of the most-used web-based networks in the world (facebook has 90 million members) is just the next logical step says Khaki.
"Before there was facebook, I was using other profiles," says Khaki, giving examples of Gaydar.com and adam4adam.
Evidence can come in many forms, agrees Charles Hawkins, spokesman for the Immigration and Refugee Board.
"A refugee claimant may not have (typical) documentation to support their claim and individuals may have to be more resourceful in their submissions. A member of the board can accept any relevant evidence and then assign an appropriate value to that evidence." Hawkins told The Canadian Press.
With Macias' support group at more than 45 members and more coming through the doors every week, he says he will continue to use facebook to support refugee claims.
"I do foresee the IRB saying this is not an acceptable form of evidence," says Macias. "But until then I am going to keep on using it."
Currently listening to Emerson Hart (album: Cigarettes & gasoline)
Today's episode of Brunch with Bridget totally made my day - watch it here. Her guest is Cathy Shim, whom you may recognize from Reno 911! and 3Way. Their silliness and antics kept me laughing out loud. My favorite moments in this vlog: Cathy answering Bridget's phone, Cathy's weaponry (my friend Julia would totally dig this)... And Bridget in a fan - very distracting. In a good way, of course.
SAGE, the world'soldest and largest non-profit agency dedicated to serving and advocating for LGBT older people, has opened a fully-equipped Cyber Centre at their offices in New York City.
"It has been a dream for SAGE for years because we know that computers and the internet are a great way for older people to stay connected to each other and the community, and that's what SAGE is all about," said executive director Michael Adams.
The SAGE Cyber Centre offers ten-week courses by Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) teaching users how to master computer basics and use of the internet.
Classes began earlier this year in intergenerational collaboration between SAGE, OATS, and the LGBT Community Centre's Youth Enrichment Services programme.
The young people acted as instructional assistants, providing some hands-on support to the seniors as the instructor takes them through the class. The first class of seniors graduated in April 2008.
US President Bushhas signed a new law lifting a ban on HIV positive people from entering the United States and signed new legislation to fight AIDS in the developing world.
There will be a rise in the budget to fight against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis of $15bn to $48bn.
The law also removes a requirement for a third of the AIDS fight to be targeted at abstaining from sex rather than through medical research or distribution.
As he signed the bill, Mr Bush said: "It's going to save millions of people. This bill embodies the extraordinary compassion of the American people. We are a compassionate nation. And that's what this bill says loud and clear. I want to thank everybody who's helped make this bill possible."
Earlier this month the United States Senate approved the bill and includes clauses that will end the ban. However, the ban will not automatically be lifted, and it is unclear exactly when procedures will be changed to comply with the new law.
At present any foreign national who tests positive for HIV is "inadmissible," meaning he or she is barred from permanent residence and even short-term travel in the United States. There are waivers available, but obtaining them has always been difficult.
The ban originates from 1987, when fear about the spread of the disease led US officials to require anyone with HIV to declare their status and apply for a special visa.
At present the law requires the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to include infection with HIV (the only disease or condition specified in the statute) on the list of diseases that serve as a basis for inadmissibility.
The new law has been welcomed by both AIDS charities and gay campaigners.
"We appreciate the President signing the repeal of this unjust and sweeping policy that deems HIV-positive individuals inadmissible to the United States," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. "The HIV travel and immigration ban performs no public health service, is unnecessary and ineffective. We thank our allies on the Hill who fought to end this injustice and now call on Secretary of Health and Human Services Leavitt to remove the remaining regulatory barriers to HIV-positive visitors and immigrants."
The creation of a new French database, EDVIGE, is proving to be highly controversial.
The database will be used by French intelligence services and police to collate information on "individuals, groups and organisations who by their individual or collective activity are deemed to endanger public order," according to www.edri.org.
EDVIGE was created by a decree issued on 27 June 2008 in the framework of the merger of two French intelligence services, RG and DST. Filing of information can start as early as age 13 and will contain data on "civil status and occupation; physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses; physical characteristics, photographs and behaviour; identity papers; car plate numbers; fiscal and patrimonial information; moves and legal history."
Gay and lesbian associations have highlighted that the data collected will also include sexual orientation and health, in particular HIV status. This has been confirmed by a representative of the Interior ministry, who declared that "the mention of these data will only be authorised for incidental need in relation with an activity. In the intelligence field, this mainly means activism."
A large mobilisation against EDVIGE has begun with a petition which has gathered over 16,000 individual signatures since it was launched on 10th July.
Monsieur Sarkozy, vous êtes fou?! Anyhoo, to finish off this post, more silliness from Bridget McManus and Cathy Shim in an episode of 3Way. Enjoy!
It took him two days to painstakingly recreate the paintingPhoto: PA
Tania Ledger describes her lawn as a 'perfect blank canvas'Photo: PA
Tania Ledger from Croydon in south London employed a 3D art expert who reconstructed the famous painting for the The Da Vinci Code film to do the same in her garden.
Chris Naylor took two days to replicate Leonardo Da Vinci’s masterpiece in grass, using a small lawnmower and a handful of garden tools.
Eerder deze week berichtte AT5 dat ook het Kwakoefestival zich gaat inzetten voor integratie van de homoseksuele medemens. De Surinaamse homoseksuele medemens.
In navolging van Roze Maandag op de kermis in Tilburg en Roze Woensdag tijdens de Nijmeegse Vierdaagse krijgt het Amsterdamse Kwakoe Festival een Roze Zondag. Op zondag 27 juli sluit het festival daarmee aan op de Amsterdam Gay Pride. Hiermee krijgt de Gay Pride uit de Amsterdamse binnenstad ook multiculturele zichtbaarheid in het Bijlmer Park.
Het COC maakte afgelopen dinsdag bekend dat Kwakoe dit jaar een "roze zondag" heeft. Het is de eerste keer dat homoseksualiteit zo zichtbaar aanwezig is tijdens Kwakoe, aldus COC-directeur Tania Barkhuis. Aan het begin van de avond staat in de manifestatietent in het Bijlmerpark een "roze intermezzo" geprogrammeerd, waarbij onder meer Antilliaanse gedichten over homoseksualiteit worden voorgedragen. Aansluitend op de "roze zondag" op 27 juli begint maandag homofestival Gay Pride, dat tot 3 augustus duurt. Op 2 augustus is de beroemde Canal Parade.
Hopelijk zal dit daadwerkelijk leiden tot een goede onderlinge verstandhouding (want, zoals een Surinaamse vriendin van me met enige spot zegt: "Er zijn toch geen Surinaamse homo's?"), niet alleen van het uiterlijke schijn soort. Vanuit financieel oogpunt is dit zeker een goede zet van de organisatie, want waar vroeger de maandagen van de Tilburgse Kermis de dag was waarop geen kip te zien was, nu is die juist uitgegroeid tot de best bezochte dag.
My friend Keith pointed out that Mariska Hargitay is the mantra in the new Mike Myers movie. Personally, I'm not planning to see it - even though Mariska has a cameo appearance in it. First a clip of Myers explaining how he got to the Mariska Hargitay mantra, second a clip of the cameo:
With the news that William Petersen (Gil Grissom) is leavingCSI: Crime Scene Investigation during the upcoming ninth season, the show is searching for a replacement. CBS has considered high profile actors such as Laurence Fishburne and John Malkovich to portray a new character. "He's not going to fill Billy's position," a spokeswoman told the New York Post, "but it's going to be a two-part episode."
As previously reported, the character will start as a professor who specializes in pathology. Eventually, after helping the team solve the case in the two-part episode, the character will become a CSI. "It's all under discussion," said a production source. However, that doesn't mean Petersen will be gone forever. "Billy does plan to come back," the spokeswoman explained, and he will stay on as an executive producer for the show.
The show's new addition will be a scientist with a dark secret -- his genetic makeup is similar to that of known killers.
"He comes in not immediately as the boss, but he has an interesting genetic profile that in certain sort of medical contexts, they've noticed that many times serial killers have that same genetic profile," Tassler told a gathering of TV critics in Beverly Hills. "This gentleman knows this about himself and is sort of in this journey and -- and to discover who his true character will ultimately become," she said.
The role has yet to be cast.
At the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles, Showtime entertainment president Robert Greenblatt announced that L Wordcreator Ilene Chaiken is currently developing a spinoff to the series, which will air its sixth and final season in early 2009.
Greenblatt said that shooting of the spinoff will start directly after production wraps on Season 6, and it will star one of the actors from The L Word in a crossover. He also said the chosen actress does not know yet it will feature her. Pressed for more details, he said: "We're still forming it. I"m sure I have a million e-mails already from loyal viewers about it, but we're still in the process of figuring it out."
Greenblatt also announced that Chaiken has decided that the end of Season 6 will include an open-ended component that will be carried onto the internet. If Showtime moves forward with the spinoff, that online story will segue into the new television series. The spinoff has not yet been titled.
Thank you, AfterEllen.com... Oh, speaking of which: I think I'm having my fifteen minutes of fame at their afterellen.com/chat (in 3D!) Lookit:
See that little black haired puppy with the big eyes and the yellow golden space suit that says "Oink?" THAT'S ME! Tee-hee-hee... And the sassy looking blonde with the purple jacket next to me is AfterEllen.com creator Sarah Warn. I'm standing next to a celeb - lil' ole me. How cool is that?
I met up with my friend Tweety in Maastricht yesterday, and as we we were running errands, I snapped this:
On July 7th Hercules and Love Affair released another single off their self titled album: "You belong". The accompanying video features several members of Hercules and Love Affair - including cutie Kim Ann Foxman:
Dude, how cool is her hair?
Now Texas front woman Sharleen Spiteri's solo album's released all kinds of magazines publish interviews with the Scottish singer. Digital Spy (UK's version of TV Guide) talks to her about musical influences and dressing style. Free UK publication G3 also focusses on her loyal GLB(T) fanbase.
Enjoy a session Sharleen recently did for BBC Radio 2 *HERE* The set is a mix of new (solo) material and Texas songs. And crowned Queen of the Balado, she played at T in the Park (a British music festival) last week.
Born Scotsman John Barrowman will be the subject of "The making of me". The BBC (Europe) is going to air this episode Thursday, July 24 at 22:00 CET. Here'e an interview he did on a BBC morning show a while ago - with some hilarious pictures:
Finally, a shout out to my friend WP, who (together with two friends) is going to do a 6-day beach hike (July 21-26) and in the end she's covered 140K. Good luck, ladies, happy trails and happy feet (no injuries) to the three of you!
I am glad the ultra sound was clear: everything is healing up nicely. I'm told some swellings can stay on a while - so one thing less to worry about. Not that I did. I noticed the weird bump on my upper arm and swelling on my left clavicle only after almost six weeks.
The pain in my shoulder is not caused by a ripped muscle after all; the person who did the ultra sound yesterday thinks my rotator cuff needs to start making its own (natural) "lube" again and I'll be fine.
I picked up the X-rays at the hospital yesterday evening and my physiotherapist, Rob, had a look at it earlier today. He thinks the left clavicle stands on an (slightly) off angle, but since he's not sure he's going to consult about it. I have no clue. I just hope the pain (and discomfort) will disappear soon, and to get the mobility back in my shoulder.
Today's physiotherapy session Rob took his time stretching the muscles in my left shoulder, while he let me talk about my travels and my travel plans. The stretching was very uncomfortable, and the fact that I was talking about one of my passions couldn't distract me from the worst pangs. He warned me he'd give me something to remember him by (till the next time). And he was right: the part from shoulder to elbow now feels as if a pick up truck drove over it. Mind you, I don't mind aching muscles after a proper work out. This is different.
Earlier at work I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers to welcome me back after a period of absence due to my shoulder. That was a nice surprise.
Sean Penn as Harvey Milk takes the front page of Vanity Fair's August 2008 "Fanfair" section. The film opens November 26.
Gil Grissom is saying goodbye. The tenth episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation's ninth season will be the last appearance of William Petersen (Gil Grissom) as a full-time series regular on the series. However, that doesn't mean the audience has seen the last of Grissom. "Billy is leaving," said executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. "But he will remain throughout the run of the series an executive producer. And he will, whenever CBS asks, come back. I don't think you've seen the last of Gil Grissom."
"I'm in a great place in terms of knowing that I'll be more free to make choices. And I'm responsible enough to not do it in a way that would hurt [the show]," Petersen explained. "I want it to work for the writers, I want it to work for the cast, and, most importantly, I want it to work for the audience. I don't want them to abandon the show." The actor also pointed out that his decision to leave isn't a sign of deeper problems. "For me, it's a really good situation," he clarified. "I don't want the audience to think it's not... [It isn't] like there's something going on, like 'Petersen's unhappy,' 'cause it's not true. It's quite the contrary."
CSI lost Jorja Fox (Sara Sidle) last year, and Gary Dourdan's (Warrick Brown) departure was announced later on. With Petersen leaving, that means three original cast members will be gone from the show. "This will be a year of transition for the show," Mendehlson said. "We always knew it was coming, and I'm glad it didn't come until now." She went on to say, "There's never going to be another William Petersen, and there will never be another Jorja Fox. But we are not out to just replace those actors. We're out to add new characters to the show, and the show will change as a result. But that's a good thing."
Petersen's exit isn't the only thing coming up in season nine. Fox will be back as Sara for "multiple" episodes, according to Mendelsohn, and the Miniature Killer will be back to "cross paths" with Grissom. Director William Friedkin, a good friend of Petersen's, will also return to helm another episode of the series (after previously directing "Cockroaches")--this time the show's 200th episode. "Billy will definitely be on the set for Mr. Friedkin's episode -- whether it's behind the camera or in front of the camera is TBD," Mendelsohn said. "I don't think you'll be able to keep him away once he's back in L.A."
As previously announced, Lauren Lee Smith (L-Word's soup chef) will join the show as Riley Adams, a new CSI. "She has a very distinct personality... a very wry sense of humor. She doesn't take herself too seriously," Mendelsohn explained, and executive producer Naren Shankar added, "This is a person who, unlike the rest of our gang, has not had Grissom as a mentor. So there's a very different relationship between Riley and Grissom."
Another new character to be added to the series won't be a criminalist to begin with. "He's a professor with background in pathology. He will appear when Grissom is investigating what will be a two-part case," Mendelsohn said. "He will help Grissom and the team bring the perpetrator to justice, and then this character will stay around and ultimately become a CSI." The character will have a rare genetic abnormality, and the show is seeking to cast a high-profile actor to fill the role.
One question that remains is how Grissom will leave the show. "I wouldn't want to say exactly what we're going do -- I want people to watch, certainly," Petersen said. "But Sara is involved... It's often darkest just before the dawn." The actor went on to say, "My biggest problem with leaving the show at any point isn't leaving Grissom -- I'm an actor, it's time to do other things. [The hard part will be saying goodbye] to the cast and crew. [So] I'm going to stay as involved as I'm allowed to be throughout the remainder of this show. Until they turn off all the lights."
Promos for The Dark Knight has haunted me for days. Not because of Heath Ledger (bless him), but because the look and feel of some of the posters reminded me of something else. I now know why.
Look how much these Batman ads resemble the promo posters for The Crow, the film during which actor Brandon Lee was shot and killed:
... And I can - finally - rejoice:
Witchblade: The Complete Series Release Date: July 29
A Plot Refresher:
Sara’s a no-nonsense NYC homicide detective who’s focused on the here-and-now — well, until she discovers the Witchblade, a mystical weapon that’s been wielded by women (everyone from Joan of Arc to Sara’s grandmother) through the ages. I wish I could say I got into the show because it was inspired by a cool comic book or it had a good mix of mythology and episodic action. Not true — I’m just a sucker for anything that has Yancy Butler walking through a wall of flames with a sword attached to her arm.
The DVD Lowdown:
Not only does it include both seasons, but the set also comes with the TNT original movie that kicked the whole thing off and three behind-the-scenes features. If you’re a Witchblade purist, you’ll probably want to stick with the comics and the anime series. For everyone else who just likes a good sci-fi or cop show, the 23-plus episodes are worth the chunk of change.
Oneof the albums I brought back from my recent trip to San Fran was Hercules and Love Affair; the album is full of retro disco-esque tunes that somehow appeal to my "inner ear". AfterEllen recently featured an interview with one of the group members, Kim Ann Foxman. I had no idea she's so cute! (In the picture she's the second person from the right.)
Holly Marie Combs, Brooke Burns and Rochelle Ayteshave been cast in Lifetime's remake of the British series Mistresses, which featured a lesbian story line. It is not clear whether the lesbian/bisexual characters are still in the picture, since the fourth main character has not yet been cast.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A stripper who danced on the poles of Santiago subway trains to challenge the prudishness of Chilean society was arrested on Thursday during one of her lightning performances.
Monserrat Morilles, 26, surprised subway riders all week stripping to skimpy underwear, but she refused tips. She said she was protesting a lack of tolerance in Chile, one of Latin America's most conservative societies where the first generation since the Pinochet dictatorship is reaching adulthood.
"This is just a beginning. We are starting an idea here that will grow and be developed further," she told Reuters as police and subway guards surrounded her.
The professional pole dancer worked quickly all week to avoid arrest, getting on at one station, finding a subway car with no children on it and stripping in time to exit at the next station. Chilean media dubbed her "La Diosa del Metro" or Subway Goddess. She called her performances "happy minutes."
"Chile is still a pretty timid country," said her manager Gustavo Pradenas. "People aren't very extroverted and we want to take aim at that and make Chile a happier country."
I was halfway across the US when this aired on BBC2; Sharleen tells Graham Norton what happened when she "met" Paris Hilton. From the things I heard of this Scottish lady is that she's nice - but she doesn't take crap. Not from anyone. Paris Hilton included.
The world's oldest known blogger, 108-year-old Olive Riley, died on Saturday: "An Australian woman described as the world's oldest Internet blogger has died at the age of 108 after posting a final message about singing "a happy song" in her nursing home. Olive Riley 'passed away peacefully on July 12 and will be mourned by thousands of Internet friends and hundreds of descendants and other relatives,' a note on her website said. Riley had posted more than 70 entries on her blog from Woy Woy on the east coast since February last year, sharing her thoughts on modern life and her experiences living through the entire 20th century." Watch a video of Riley here.
For those who don't know it yet: L-Word has been renewed for another season. Season 6 will be the finale (only 8 episodes), and they began filming July 2 in Vancouver, BC. It's said that the core cast, including Rose Rollins will be returning. Interviews from other actors themselves indicate that Cybil Shepherd (Phyllis), Clementine Ford (Molly) and Marlee Matlin will be returning for one or two episodes. Alexandra Hedison (Dylan Moreland from Season 3) and Janina Gavankar (Papi from Season 4) have both stated in interviews that they will be making appearances as well... It is expected that Showtime in the US will air Season 6 in January as usual, providing there is no actor's strike.
Starting July 1st, Discovery Channel - in the Netherlands - will start airing Miami Ink. I've seen several episodes back in 2006 (it airs on TLC in the US) and it was enough to want to ink up my entire body. The last one I got was done by Teresa of ElectroLadylux Tattoos in Vancouver, BC - last year. And I'd definitely go back for more. Or maybe I ask my friend Krista for her friend Paul's address (apparently, he's set up shop in Van as well).
Transgender youth in New York's juvenile detention centers are now allowed to wear whatever uniform they choose, be called by whatever name they want and ask for special housing under a new anti-discrimination policy drawing praise from advocacy groups.
''New York is way ahead of the curve,'' said Roberta Sklar, a spokeswoman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. ''When you have a system like the New York Office of Children and Family Services putting out a clear nondiscrimination policy, it should be seen as a model for similar kinds of agencies all over the country.''
The policy went into effect March 17, the day Gov. David Paterson was sworn into office. Last month, Paterson directed all state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed elsewhere as valid in New York.
Paterson spokesman Errol Cockfield said the policy reflects the state's intent to be ''tolerant, responsive and respectful'' of gender identity and gender expression issues.
On another note:
A secondary school in north eastern Thailand has designed a new bathroom for its growing community of transvestites.
The "transvestite toilet", designated by a human figure split into half man in blue and half female in red, has since been used since class started last month.
"The Kampang School came up with the idea of the unisex toilet after a survey conducted last term showed that more than 200 of the school's 2,600 students considered themselves transvestites," said school director Sitiak Sumontha.
He added that the introduction of the new toilets would help transvestite students to go to the restroom in peace, as going to the female facilities made some other students uncomfortable and using the men's room often resulted in harassment.
"They don't have problems with transvestites but going to the same private area, like a toilet, makes them uneasy," he told Associated Press. "The transvestite kids may behave even more effeminately than the girls, do but their anatomy is still like that of a boy."
Kampang is not Thailand's first educational institution to set up transvestite washrooms. A technical college in the northern province of Chiang Mai set up a "Pink Lotus Bathroom" for its 15 transvestite students in 2003.
It is not known how many transvestite students there are in Thailand, but Deputy Education Minister Boonlue Prasertsopar recently said the ministry plans to count the number of transvestite university students. He added that if there was a lot of them in universities and going to the bathroom causes problems, then the ministry would consider building toilets and dormitories for them.
Most rural Thais are conservative in many ways, but the toilet initiative at the school reflects the Thai's amazing ability of tolerant and support the country's visible transsexual and transvestite community.
The Buddhist country has always been seen as a liberal country when it comes to LGBT issues. Though the country does not support same-sex unions, the LGBT community is still considered one of the world's most free and open.
SAN FRANCISCO - Dozens of gay couples planned to rush down to their county clerk's office Monday evening to be among the very first to say "I do" under the historic court ruling making California the second state to allow same-sex marriages.
The May 15 decision by the California Supreme Court was set to take effect at 5 p.m. While Mondays are not exactly a big day for weddings, at least five county clerks around the state agreed to extend their hours to issue marriage licenses, and many gay couples planned to get married on the spot. Local officials will be required to issue licenses that have the words "Party A" and "Party B" where "bride" and "groom" used to be.
In San Francisco, where Mayor Gavin Newsom helped launch the series of lawsuits that led the court to strike down California's one-man-one-woman marriage laws, workers got ready for the crush of couples by setting up a satellite office in the lobby of City Hall.
As of Friday, nearly same-sex 620 couples had booked appointments to obtain licenses at San Francisco City Hall over the next 10 days.
Clerks elsewhere around the state reported nowhere near as high a demand but said they were training volunteer marriage commissioners to officiate at civil ceremonies in anticipation of a surge in business.
Unlike Massachusetts, which legalized gay marriage in 2004, California has no residency requirement for marriage licenses, and that is expected to draw a great number of out-of-state couples. The turnout could also be boosted by New York state's recent announcement that it will recognize gay marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
A UCLA study issued last week estimated that half of California's more than 100,000 same-sex couples will get married over the next three years, and an additional 68,000 out-of-state couples will travel here to exchange vows. The study estimated that over that period, gay weddings will generate some 2,200 jobs and $64 million in badly needed tax revenue for the state, which is ailing financially.
Amid the preparations, some religious leaders and conservative activists (like the dispicable Fred Phelps) objected to the social change unfolding around them. The seven bishops of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles issued a statement Monday reiterating the Roman Catholic Church's position on same-sex marriage.
Although government officials cannot legally withhold marriage licenses from same-sex couples, the clerks in comparatively conservative Kern, Calaveras and Butte counties last week stopped performing weddings altogether.
Among the reasons they cited were concerns that the increased demand would overwhelm their staffs and endanger the security of the election equipment they also oversee as part of their jobs.
Robin Tyler, 66, and Diane Olson, 54, who like Lyon and Martin were among the two dozen couples who served as plaintiffs in the litigation, also were scheduled to get married on Monday afternoon. The Los Angeles County clerk agreed to issue them a marriage license a day ahead of the general public in recognition of their role in the case.
"The word 'marriage' is important to me to this day because marriage is a universally understood word," Olson said. "Robin is a different relationship to me than any other relationship I've had in my life. She's my special person."
Best Stand-Up
Wanda Sykes points out how ridiculus it is to deny any two people the right to marry.
Best Gay Marriage Ad
Watch a clip of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon cutting the cake - sweet:
Currently listening to Nicole Atkins (album: Neptune City)
For those of you who watched Mistresses - with the delectable but never-gonna-work pairing of Shelley Conn and Anna Torv - rejoice. In 85 days Fringe is going to air on FOX, with Torv starring as FBI agent Olivia Dunham (with American accent). The innerweb compares Fringe with X-Files, Cloverfield and Alias (interesting) and there's a lot going on. Just Google it. Or check out a trailer here:
A band called Creaky Boards, of which I've never heard of, is not amused about Coldplay's "Viva la vida" (their current hit single "Violet Hill" is flying high in the European charts). According to them "Viva la vida" sounds an aweful lot like one of their own songs, incidentally called "The songs I didn't write". To me, this looks like a way to get publicity (for their own gain), but word out there is that in January Coldplay singer Chris Martin was spotted at a Creaky Boards concert. Check out what Creaky Boards posted on YouTube *here*
Singer/songwriter Aimee Mann recently released her fourth indie album called "@#%&*! Smilers " and it gives you exactly what you expect from her: beautiful arrangements, understated vocals that sound like the little voice in your head you tend to hear when things in your life are going down the drain, and lyrics that comfort you. Aimee still doesn't "do" singles. Instead she does records. You remember those, right? A collection of songs recorded using real instruments with well-written lyrics that you can listen to straight through without having to fast forward through the filler to get from one radio-friendly hit song to the next? Check out the video for "31 Today". It was directed by Bobcat Goldthwait and features her dorking around with buddy comedian Morgan Murphy, and a cuty kittie:
According to torchwood.tv John Barrowman made a trip to UCLA's Human Genetics Lab to take part in a study on "the scientific search for what makes people gay. Barrowman supposedly had his DNA sampled and spent time in an MRI machine that measured his reactions to nude pictures of both sexes. The study is being filmed by the BBC for a three-part documentary airing in August and also involved Barrowman being reunited with his first high-school girlfriend. Nothing like stirring up memories of your awkward teenage hetero fumblings to officially confirm that you're a 'mo.
A long-tailed macaque monkey looks for fish in a river in Lesan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, in Sept. 2007. Long-tailed macaque monkeys have a reputation for knowing how to find food, whether it be grabbing fruit from jungle trees or snatching a banana from a startled tourist. Now, researchers say they have discovered groups of the silver-haired monkeys in Indonesia that fish.
Currently listening to A Girl Called Eddy (album: A girl called Eddy)
The only public university in Las Vegas won't be producing any more crime scene investigators.
With the success of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) opened a forensic science program to take advantage of the interest spawned by the series. However, students at the university will no longer be able to study to be a CSI. After less than five years, the program is being shut down.
The program generated publicity for the university, but money is a problem. UNLV doesn't have the funds to hire the director and faculty members needed to work toward accreditation. "The decision needed to be made," Michael Bowers, vice provost for academic affairs, told the Las Vegas Sun, "whether we were going to allow it to continue to limp along in its present state or whether we were going to phase it out or sink the resources into it to make it the robust program that it needed to be."
The loss of the program is a shame, says Randy McLaughlin, the acting director of crime scene investigation for the Metro Police. "It's unfortunate," he explained. "We want to train our own and recruit our own from our area ... People that grew up here, people that were raised here, are more likely to stay around and contribute to the community." Even though UNLV will phase out the program, "Every student currently in the forensic science concentration will have the opportunity to graduate," Bowers said in an e-mail.
The original article is published by the Las Vegas Sun.
A Polar Bear that swam 200 miles from either Greenland or a "distant chunk of Arctic ice" finally reached land in Iceland, where it was shot by a group of police. They said they were afraid it posed a threat to humans, but couldn't wait 24 hours for a "correct tranquilizer" to be flown in.
Actually: "Sveinbjarnardottir's account was disputed by the chief vet in the town of Blönduó, Egill Steingrímsson, who said he had the drugs necessary to immobilise the bear in the boot of his car. 'If the narcotics gun would have been sent by plane, it would have arrived within an hour,' he said. 'They could keep tabs on the bear for that long.'"
And then the pigs posed smugly behind it like some kind of trophy — a starving, exhausted, (not to mention endangered) animal whose life had just ended by their rifles.
After nearly 10 years, public funding for gender-reassignment surgery is being reinstated in the province of Ontario, the Vancouver Sun reported.
A decade ago, while the province was governed by the then-majority Conservative Party, the surgery was removed from the list of medical procedures covered by the government.
Ontario Health Minister George Smitherman predicted that "eight to 10" people will apply for the surgery each year, but already there are more than 100 transgender individuals in Ontario on the list.
The list, however, may not reflect the typical annual number of applicants; many people waiting for the surgery are part of a backlog that has been growing since 1998. Once the province finalizes the decision, those applicants will begin to receive their compensated surgeries.
"A population which has needs that are quite difficult to understand were subjected to a lot of politics," the Sun quoted Smitherman as saying, reflecting on the discriminatory nature of the past government's decision.
"I think we should be careful not to use what is $200,000 on a $40.2 billion budget as an excuse to try and create a them-and-us conversation."
Canadian transgender activists celebrated the announcement, saying that the government is showing "courage."
The provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan all cover costs to have the surgery; Newfoundland and Labrador do so in some cases, while Quebec does not cover the procedure, the Sun reported. (The Advocate)
More health related news:
An amendment urging the European Commission to raise the issue of people with HIV being exempted from entry into the US visa waiver programme has been passed by MEPs.
It formed part of a larger resolution, which was approved by 511 votes to 29, on a range of visa issues between the US and the EU. Currently the EU is involved in visa negotiations with the US authorities to secure visa-free travel (visa waiver) for EU citizens from all 27 member states.
The European Parliament resolution states that any formal agreement on repatriation of EU citizens should be acceptable only on the basis of reciprocity and obligations relating to the possible introduction of an electronic system for travel authorisations for US citizens travelling to the EU.
Amendment 3a, which passed by 309 to 218, urges the EC to: "Include in the negotiations the exclusion of Europeans with HIV from the visa waiver programme, and ensure equal treatment of all EU citizens; agrees with the Commission that there are no objective reasons for a travel ban for HIV infected persons."
Last month Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford launched an online campaign to end the American policy which effectively bars HIV positive people from entering the country.
Under current US immigration law, any foreign national who tests positive for HIV is "inadmissible," meaning he is barred from permanent residence and even short-term travel in the United States. There are waivers available to this rule, but obtaining them has always been difficult. The ban originates from 1987, when fear about the spread of the disease led US officials to require anyone with HIV to declare their status and apply for a special visa.
New regulations purport to speed up the waiver application process because consular officers would be empowered to make decisions on waiver applications without seeking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sign off.
However, by using this "streamlined" application process, waiver applicants would have to agree to give up the ability to apply for any change in status while in the US, including applying for legal permanent residence.
Deborah Jack of the National AIDS Trust said: "People in the UK should no longer be subjected to discriminatory laws that restrict their travel to the US based on HIV status. Such a law only breeds stigma and discrimination."
Since the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999, the Council (heads of government) has been responsible for establishing the rules on visas, including the list of third countries whose nationals must be in possession of a visa or are exempt from the visa requirement. Last month the Council decided to give the Commission a formal mandate to negotiate with the US on all Community-related issues.
MEPs raised the issue that US citizens are exempt from EU visa requirements yet a comparable exemption does not apply to all EU citizens, as the US still maintains the visa requirement for nationals of Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
"The rate of visa refusal, which is based on non-transparent criteria, is greater than 10% of applications," the resolution stated. "Any form of direct or indirect discrimination between European citizens on the grounds of their nationality should be prohibited not only inside the European Union, as laid down in Article 12 of the EC Treaty, but also outside the European Union, notably when such discrimination is the consequence of a lack of coordination in international negotiations between the EU institutions and Member States."
The United States is one of 13 countries in the world, including Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, that bans travel for individuals who are HIV-positive.
In July 2007 the European Commission quietly approved an agreement which gives the DHS unprecedented access to the personal information of anyone on a transatlantic flight, including details of their sexual orientation. (Just in case you didn't know yet. And I agree with you: WTF?!)
The DHS insists on the right to use the information for disease control, and there are fears that gay passengers may be singled out as possible HIV risks.
The plans involve upgrading information which is already sent by airlines to the DHS on the millions of tourists who visit the US every year, including payment details, home address and the passengers in-flight meal choice.
The agreement adds 19 possible new categories, including information on ethnic origin, political and philosophical opinions, credit card numbers, trade union membership, sex life and details of the passengers' health. The information will be provided by passengers when making bookings.
Canadian middle school students told they can't wear anti-homophobia t-shirts: "School principal Kim MacKenzie said the word "gay" was used inappropriately. He said the T-shirts weren't appropriate for a middle-school level and didn't comply with the school dress code. 'This is a middle school,' he said, adding no other disciplinary actions were taken. 'There were questions from Grade 5 students as to what homophobia was. That's something that many of our parents would have a concern with -- the notion of how that conversation (was started) in the school,' said MacKenzie."
Sounds to me those kids perfectly understand what they were doing. I don't think they were offending others nor were their messages negative. Is it wrong to educate about "alternative lifestyles"?
A Christian group based in San Diego found grounds for outrage over the new retro-style logo. Three words: Get. A. Life.
The Resistance says the new image "has a naked woman on it with her legs spread like a prostitute. It’s extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks.“ WTF?! The logo will run on Starbucks cups for "several more weeks," said company spokeswoman Bridget Baker, and will live on as the logo for Pike Place bags of coffee.
An interesting case, since - as far as I know - even in the Netherlands it's impossible for two women to be listed as biological parents of a baby:
An Israeli lesbian couple have filed a suit in a Tel Aviv district court for the right to both be named the biological parents of their newborn baby boy.
The case is exceptional as it is the first time that both partners in a homosexual relationship have had an active and biological role in the birth of the child. After the woman who bore the child experienced fertility problems the couple decided that the other partner would conceive the child through artificial insemination.
The foetus was transferred to the woman's partner, meaning that although the first woman is the child's genetic and partly biological mother, only her partner will officially be declared a biological parent. As a result of a previous High Court of Justice decision, the state of Israel accepts that both parents in a lesbian or homosexual relationship may be recognised as parents of the child. The couple have filed the suit because they believe that the child would experience unnecessary distress if both parents were not officially biological parents.
Israel is opposed to allowing both partners in a lesbian couple to be registered as the biological mothers. "Before approving the request for artificial insemination, the Health Ministry made it clear that the woman who donated the egg would not be considered the child's mother and that if she wanted to be, she would have to adopt him," State's representative Attorney Orly Manzur told the court, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The case continues.
Which reminds me: my friend Menachem is currently in Israel with his wife and daughter for Jewish Passover. I need to contact them about meeting up in NYC when they get back.
Dede Oetomo received the annual Felipa de Souza Award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in 1998 for his contribution to LGBT human rights in Indonesia. After completing his Ph.D. in linguistics at Cornell University in the US, he returned to establish Indonesia’s first gay outreach organisation, Lambda Indonesia in Surabaya, East Java, in 1982; and later the GAYa NUSANTARA Foundation in 1987. He is today the most publicly visible activist for gay/lesbian rights in Indonesia being one of the first to openly discuss homosexuality and HIV/AIDS issues in the mass media. In 1999 and 2004, Oetomo ran for the national parliament, providing further opportunities to argue that gay and lesbian persons deserve full inclusion in Indonesian society.
Fridae correspondent Justin Ellis spoke to Oetomo at the Asia Pacific Outgames in Melbourne this year where Oetomo reflected on three decades of LGBT advocacy in Indonesia.
æ: When did LGBT advocacy begin in Indonesia?
Dede: I would date it to the late 60s when the waria, the male to female transgenders became more visible and organised. They worked on social issues mostly, and out of survival, and usually with the help of municipal governments. In the 80s, following the example of the waria and ideas from the west, gay men and lesbians started organising.
Gay men more openly, with post office box numbers and magazines, the lesbians more discreetly. The gay movement, and in a way the waria movement, were boosted by HIV work in the early 90s, and the lesbians flourished after 1998 because of the growth in women’s feminist groups. Some of them were hostile to lesbians, but lesbians dominated others. There is a movement in many parts of Indonesia at the moment. There are gaps, for example in Sumatra and Kalimantan, but the existing organisations are quite strong.
æ: You established Indonesia’s first gay outreach organisation, Lambda Indonesia in1982? Did you experience any resistance?
Dede: In 1982 we were doing brochures and translations of materials, and even though Lambda Indonesia was a gay (male) organisation we meant to ask the waria and lesbians to join and a few lesbians did join. We didn’t have any incidents but there were administrative problems such as in 1988 when an over eager journalist in Surabaya (the East Java city and province where Oetomo lives) newspaper reported us to the local office of the Minister of Information.
We received a warning letter asking us to register our newsletter - not to ban it. The threats started to come in the late 90s. I could date them from 1997, especially around Yogyakarta and Solo on Java, but now they have stopped.
æ: And GAYa NUSANTARA was founded in 1987.
Dede: GAYa NUSANTARA was founded to simply connect people with each other. This was before the Internet so our magazine was the one way for people who were a bit shy and not street savvy to meet each other. Now, our strongest work in East Java province and in the city of Surabaya and cities in other districts is HIV prevention, care, support and treatment, together with the government and international organisations.
But we are also doing more advocacy work on LGBT rights. This year, and this is very special and new, we are planning an activists’ school to meet the demand from activists in other areas. With more visibility of LGBT organisations they feel they need to know more about the complexities of gender diversity and, for example, which hadith (Islamic teaching) to quote if a Muslim cleric challenges you about homosexuality.
And I’m happy to report that within GAYa NUSANTARA we now have active waria and also lesbians, so finally there are not only gay men but also all kinds of people, including sex workers. We might even have some female sex workers join us this year.
æ: How did the human rights agenda change with the end of the Suharto regime?
Dede: I would date changes a little earlier than 1998 with the formation of the National Human Rights Commission of
