July 17, 2010

Gays march in deeply Catholic Poland

Gays march in deeply Catholic Poland

Published: Saturday July 17, 2010

Thousands of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and supporters of equal rights for sexual minorities marched through the streets of Warsaw on Saturday, urging Poland's government to give homosexual partnerships legal status.
But they admitted legislation was not on the cards in the strongly Catholic country, where homosexuality is still a social taboo and relatively few people choose to be openly gay.
"We demand a civil partnership law," read a massive banner at the head of the colourful Europride parade

which wound through the Polish capital in sweltering heat, close to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
"We're hoping to open up a debate on the topic of affording legal status to the partnerships of gay and lesbian couples but we're not optimistic such legislation will be passed anytime soon," Jacek Adler, editor in chief of the www.gaylife.pl Polish gay lifestyle website, told AFP.
Opinion surveys show that 80 percent of Poles oppose gay marriage and 93 percent believe gay and lesbian couples should not have the right to adopt children. Two out of three Poles oppose gay demonstrations.
Saturday's event is the first time the annual Europride parade is being held in an ex-communist state. Last year's march, in Zurich, Switzerland, attracted some 50,000 people.
Marchers, some from as far away as Vancouver, Canada

, jived along the route to hits by gay icon Kyle Minogue among others.
But it was more low-key affair than those in western Europe which also feature scantily clad revellers and drag queens.
"I don't think Poland is as homophobic as some people think it is, but for whatever reasons, people are still uncomfortable with the issue of homosexuality," Ken Coolen, director of Vancouver's gay pride parade told AFP.
"It's the midst of a change here in Poland, where more people are coming out," he said.
"We want to be in solidarity with Polish gay and lesbians and we want also to show the police in Poland that there is no problem to be openly gay in the police," Stockholm policeman Goran Stanton, who also serves as head of the Association of Gay Police of Sweden, told AFP.
Some 2,000 police officers, some clad in riot gear, were on hand to provide security against possible counter protests by far right groups.
The march passed on largely unhampered apart from an incident when eggs and bottles were hurled at protestors by some people trying to block the parade. Eight were detained for attacking police officers, reports said.
Catholic groups opposing homosexuality distributed pamphlets to parade goers with an image of Jesus Christ saying: "I have not come to condemn but to redeem."
They also held prayer vigils at local churches "in the intention of redeeming parade participants."
The decision to hold Europride in Warsaw sparked controversy in deeply-Catholic Poland -- where gays have long complained of intolerance, and openly homophobic remarks by politicians are far from rare.
"We started lobbying already in 2005 against all odds and amid a very unfriendly atmosphere towards gay rights in our country," said Adam Biskupiak of the Equality Foundation, the Polish group which is organising the rally.
Poland's late conservative president Lech Kaczynski -- who died in a plane crash in April -- banned a gay rights rally by local campaigners in 2005 when he was mayor of Warsaw.
He later fell foul of the European Court of Human Rights for that decision.
Despite Warsaw city hall now being controlled by Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, a member of the Civic Platform liberal party now governing Poland, city authorities declined support -- both symbolic and financial -- for the Europride event.

Out candidates could double LGBT representation in Congress

The Victory Fund has endorsed three non-incumbent gay candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives this year. If all three win, they would double the number of out members of Congress, joining incumbent Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Jared Polis, D-Colo, each of whom are also endorsed by the Victory Fund in their campaigns for reelection. It’s the group’s largest-ever slate of federal candidates.

Readers may be familiar with the campaigns of Mayor Steve Pougnet of Palm Springs, Calif. (pictured right), and Mayor David Cicilline of Providence, Rhode Island (pictured left). Pougnet is the Democratic nominee challenging Rep. Mary Bono Mack, a Republican who angered the LGBT community when she voted against an amendment that would start the repeal process for the military’s ban on gay troops. Cicilline is seeking an open seat in the wake of the retirement announcement by Rep. Patrick Kennedy.

The third and newest non-incumbent endorsee is Scott Galvin of Florida (pictured center). The North Miami City Councilman is seeking the seat being vacated by Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate. Galvin is competing in a Democratic primary with eight other candidates, which makes the path to victory more possible, according to a profile of Galvin in the Washington Blade.

New filings with the Federal Election Commission show each of these candidates is a serious threat: Cicilline is in a much stronger financial position than his primary opponents, having raised some $400,000 in the last quarter alone; Pougnet nearly surpassed Bono Mack’s fundraising in the quarter ended June 30, which is unusual for a non-incumbent challenging a sitting member of Congress; and Galvin is holding his own against a crowded primary field, even though the best-funded candidate in that race is writing himself checks.

Right now there are just three members of the LGBT community among 535 members of Congress. This could be the year we double that number and grow our voice in the federal government.

www.gaypolitics.com

How to Sell Socks To The Gay Population

1pic=Matt Aymar & Calvin Klein

Listen Sen. David Vitter Made a Funny About Rachel Maddow No Longer Looking Like a Woman

When you're gabbing on a radio show with a couple of like-minded fellas, sometimes it's easy to forget your conversation is being broadcast to the public. Like the one Sen. David Vitter, the Louisiana Republican, had on Rush Radio 99.5 in New Orleans, where he laughed and laughed about Rachel Maddow's "womanly" yearbook photo.

So went the conversation:

MALE HOST: I wonder if Senator Vitter is ever going to post, like, maybe the video of the first time he was on the floor of the Senate. If I have to show the way I looked the first time I was on TV, you should do that too.
VITTER: We should go further back than that, how about high school yearbook?
MALE HOST: Oh yeah.
VITTER: De La Salle marching band.
MALE HOST: That'd be cool. Well you know, with Rachel Maddow they had that picture of her…
FEMALE HOST: Looking like a woman.
MALE HOST: Yeah it was really bizarre.
VITTER: [LAUGHS]: Must have been a long time ago.
ALL THREE: [HEAVY LAUGHTER]

And now guess who's very sorry? In an open apology letter, the senator's office releases this addendum:

Dear Rachel,
Regarding my remark during a radio conversation today, I apologize.
The hosts made their comment and I obviously chimed in. While we do not usually agree on the issues, I do not think you deserved that comment.
Sincerely,
David

“I’d Rather Have a Dad & Daddy”

July 17, 2010 by Jason Shaw

Tony and Barrie Drewitt-Barlow are probably the UK’s most famous gay ‘dads’ as they rose to public attention a decade ago after they fought and won a long and drawn out battle to bring back to the UK twins Aspen and Saffron who were born by a surrogate mother in America after being conceived from egg donation. It was a case that hit the headlines of all the major news and current affairs shows of the time. There were some in the media who accused the gay couple of “Shopping for the ultimate accessory”

Things are a lot different ten tears down the line – “ Ten years ago everyone thought we were a pair of paedophiles. Gay men wanting to be parents! What else could we be? We had to be paedophiles. We’ve spent the last 10 years trying to persuade people that’s not the case. We’ve spent 10 years getting people to understand we’re just another family.” Barrie says.

That family comprises of the twins, Aspen and Saffron, who are both 10 now, Orlando whose 6, and the latest additions, twins Jasper and Dallas who are just five months, all conceived via egg donation and carried by surrogate mothers.

What’s it like with the now that the younger twins are here, and Barrie replies – “It’s put a strain on our relationship, but we expected that. We notice the difference being older – we’re knackered a lot of the time. And Tony and I don’t get much time on our own together these days!”

The couple have clearly defined roles within the family unit, much like any other, Barrie seems to be the ‘nurturer’ of the two “I do the cooking, I do the ironing. I organise the play-dates, I take the children to school. I work out what’s going to happen when Saffron’s rounders game at one end of the county clashes with Aspen’s cricket match in the other direction, and they both need picking up at the exact same time that the nanny finishes. I’m the family organiser, Tony is the breadwinner”

It’s entertaining to read the interview with these two in today’s Guardian newspaper, it’s also highly encouraging. It shows clearly that being gay is no barrier to making a creating a family these days, either with adoption, surragacy, fostering, or special arrangements with the lesbian couple down the street. Despite many headaches, hitches, problems and prejudice Tony and Barrie have made it work, have faced their critics head on and in most cases blown them out of the water, simply by being a happy family.

“I’d rather have a dad and a daddy than a mum and a dad,” says Aspen “But you can’t make babies like us in Britain – it’s not allowed. I think that sucks.” And: “If they want to have children, they should be allowed to.”

Cutting Edge: My Weird & Wonderful Family will be shown on Channel 4 in the UK on 21 July at 9pm

The Guardian interview is here.

Jason Shaw

GayAgenda.com’s United Kingdom Correspondent.

Jason’s honest and open account of life in and out of the dating game can be found at www.seafrontdiary.com

The UK’s PM Pull’s Embarrassing Petition

July 17, 2010 by Jason Shaw

Veteran UK gay rights protester and campaigner Peter Tatchell believes that Prime Minister David Cameron’s office has closed down early a petition against the Pope’s forthcoming UK visit. Tatchell said, “This looks like an attempt to prevent the petition from embarrassing the government by gaining a large number of signatures in the run-up to Pope Benedict’s visit to the UK in September.”

The petition was on the website of ’10 Downing Street’ the home and office of the UK’s Prime Minister, when trying to access it, the message on the screen is ”This petition is now closed, its deadline had passed.”

“The Prime Minister’s office originally agreed that the petition would remain open until the Pope arrived in the UK” Claims Tatchell, “But his officials declared it closed on 6 June and only informed me of this decision yesterday.”

The petition had been frozen since early April, on the grounds that the general election was on the way and it’s not re-opened. However, even though it was only online and open for a short period of time, it still gathered 12,339 signatures - one of them mine!

The Conservative Government of David Cameron are fully behind the Pope’s visit, including it’s already spiraling security costs at a time when pretty much everything else controlled by the public purse is being cut by around 40%

Jason Shaw

GayAgenda.com’s very own UK Correspondent

Jason’s personal blog is The Seafront Diaries, an honest and open account of life from a slightly eccentric English gent!
A march and rally against the Pope has been slated for Saturday 18 September in London, organised by The Protest the Pope coalition.

Should The Rainbow Flag Be Redesigned?

In 1978, Gilbert Baker designed
the rainbow flag (also known as
the gay pride flag) as a symbol of
LGBT pride, liberation and diversity.
"In the beginning the Rainbow Flag
was about liberation," Baker said in
a UK Gay News op-ed piece. "It was
about breaking free of an existence
limited by fear and conformity, the
right to express sexuality without
shame or retaliation from those who
legislate "morality.'"

The Rainbow Flag debuted at the 1978
San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Freedom
Day Parade. It has since been used around the world as a symbol of LGBT unity in many variations,
including adaptations such as bumper stickers and decals. However, despite its widespread use, in a
May 2008 UK Gay News op-ed, Gilbert claimed that the flag was not complete and that it continues to
grow along with the movement it represents.

But now, with the level of LGBT activism at heights unseen since Stonewall, is it time for a change? WNYC & PRI’s Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen thinks a makeover is in order. The station is asking listeners to redesign the rainbow flag for the 21st Century. Artists can submit their ideas on 360's Flikr site. The winner will be announced on WNYC's June 26th show.

"WNYC & PRI’s Studio 360 is all for gay pride...but rainbows are so...1978," the station says. What do you think? Is it time for newly designed pride flag?

Image © David Silverman/Getty Images.

By Ramon Johnson, About.com

This Girl Will Put a Smile On Your Face: Pic and Video

Forget cats and dogs. Our heart goes out to Sonya, an adorable slow loris.

In this first video she gets a tasty lunch of neighborhood worms. Judge for yourself how absolutely yummy she thinks they are. A locavore’s delight.

Former BP Chief: The Closet’s Pretty Lonely

by Kilian Melloy

MEDIUM
SMALL

The British oil company BP (formerly British Petroleum) has been in the headlines of late due to the catastrophic destruction of one of its oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and the subsequent months-long undersea gusher that uncontrollably spewed an estimate 184 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean, wreaking enormous ecological damage along the coastline.

With a successful bid to seal off the gusher having finally been accomplished, the oily murk in the gulf’s waters may begin to dissipate, though the environmental consequences will linger for decades to come. But according to the openly gay former CEO of BP, another murk persists: the closeting of leading figures in industry, athletics, and other sectors of society, because successful, influential figures are still too afraid of the consequences of coming out and living honest, open lives.

Lord John Browne himself resigned from his post at the head of BP in 2007, when he was outed by a secret male partner. Browne wrote about his outing and its effects on his personal and professional life in a memoir titled Beyond Business.

Now Lord Browne has written a July 15 op-ed for U.K. newspaper The Guardian that declares "Being out is a blessing," and expresses concern for another prominent British public figure, David Laws, who resigned his post as chief secretary to the Treasury less than three weeks after assuming the role in the newly elected coalition government headed by David Cameron, a Tory politician who aggressively courted Britain’s GLBT voters during his campaign.

Laws had sought to conceal the nature of his relationship with the man from whom he rented lodging. But when it came to light that Laws had put about $61,000 in rent on the government’s tab over a period of years--money that went to his partner, James Lundie--Laws found himself both outed, and out of a job.

British government rules stipulate that expenses claimed by government employees "must not be used to meet the costs of ... leasing accommodation from a close business associate, or a partner, or a family member," with "partner" being defined as "one of a couple, whether of the same sex or of the opposite sex... who although not married to each other or civil partners are living together and treat each other as spouses."

Laws initially claimed that he had not broken the letter of the rules, saying, "Although we are living together, we did not treat each other as spouses--for example, we do not share bank accounts and indeed have separate social lives." However, in political circles, the two were known as a couple. The scandal broke on May 29.

Laws faced deep distress in his personal life, having hidden his true sexuality for so many years. "When I grew up, being gay was not accepted by most people, including many of my friends," said Laws. "So I have kept this secret from everyone I know for every day of my life. I was so determined to keep my sexuality a secret that James and I behaved as if we were just good friends."

Browne wrote in the Guardian piece that, "The recent resignation of David Laws, the former chief secretary to the Treasury, suggests that public figures continue to feel they have no choice but to cover up their sexuality.

"When I was ’outed’ on someone else’s terms it was an important and terrifying moment," added Browne. "But it also turned out to be a blessing. I was overwhelmed by the support and friendship of many people. Three years on, my life is much happier. I have a great partner and I feel much more relaxed about being open with people. I wish it could have been that way from the start."

Talented Gays Still Products of Their Times

Browne went on to explain how he had been conditioned by the times in which he came of age to feel an urgent need to conceal the truth about his sexual identity. "When I was growing up, homosexual relationships were still illegal," he wrote. "Boys would leave school cloaked in whispers; men were sent to prison in disgrace. The law changed while I was at university, but the specter of earlier intolerance cast a long shadow over my life."

That shadow brings with it lingering regrets. "Keeping secrets is not fair to anyone," wrote Browne. "It denies friends and family the chance to know who you really are. I realize now that being open about your sexuality is not about pleasing the public. It is about being honest with the people who know you best and love you the most. Looking back, I wish I could have been more truthful with those closest to me, especially to my mother."

Browne went on to express concern that homophobia’s damaging effects would continue. "Despite the exemplary diversity policies in many companies, my sense is that the business world remains more intolerant of open homosexuality than other walks of life such as the professions, the media and the arts," he observed. "And it is extraordinary how few openly gay sports stars there are.

"Even in today’s more tolerant age, there are many lonely people out there still afraid to reveal who they really are for fear of marginalization and abuse," Browne added. "Invidious homophobia is much rarer now, but fear of discrimination continues to hold gay people back."

In a BBC interview to promote his memoir, Browne spoke to how times had changed, saying that now, "When I describe the situation to someone much younger than me, they look at me with amazement. but I think they can’t possibly understand the fear that was engendered in people’s hearts about being gay."

Asked "how painful" it had been to keep the truth about himself from being know, Browne told the interviewer, "Very, very much indeed... It is not something I would recommend for anybody in today’s 21st century."

The BP oil spill catastrophe prompted some to wonder whether the man who succeeded Browne as head of the company did as good a job dealing with the crisis as Browne would have done, had Browne not felt compelled to resign as a result of being outed as a gay man. A Man 19 Examinerarticle cited the book The G Quotient by Kirk Snyder, which suggests that gay business leaders make more effective managers.

The article also noted that although about half of the Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partnership benefits to their gay and lesbian employees, there has only been one instance in which a Fortune 500 executive publicly acknowledged being gay or lesbian--Proctor & Gamble’s former President of Global Business, Susan Arnold, who left the company last year.

"Still, fear of retribution, either by fellow employees or company stockholders; keep a number of individuals from being open about their sexuality," the article stated. Even so, "the next generation of openly gay business professionals refuses to live their lives in the closet," observed the article. "Capable, qualified individuals are opting to rely on their merits and let their sexuality not be a defining factor in their qualifications as an upper level executive.

Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.

Nate Phelps, The Son Of 'That' Phelps Joins Campaign To fight Homophobia

BY LEA STORRY, CALGARY HERALD JULY 16, 2010

Nate Phelps is the estranged son of American anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps.

Photograph by: Todd Korol, National Post

CALGARY — Nate Phelps, the estranged son of a notorious anti-gay American preacher, has been selected to head an organization in Calgary that fights against homophobia.

Phelps is the new executive director of The Centre for Inquiry, an atheist and agnostic organization that believes in the separation of church and state.

Its mission stands in stark contrast to the values and beliefs held by Phelps' father, Pastor Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., who came to the attention of Canadians in 2008 when he tried to come here to picket Greyhound Bus beheading victim Tim McLean's funeral. The senior Phelps said the decapitation was God's response to Canadian policies on abortion and homosexuality.

In recent years, his Kansas congregation has outraged many Americans for its verbally abusive protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq.

Though he was raised in his father's faith, Nate Phelps has as an adult been an outspoken critic of the senior Phelps.

In 2005, Nate Phelps moved to Canada and was living and working in Cranbrook before being recruited by The Centre for Inquiry, a charitable organization with a mandate to educate in religion, ethics and society; pseudo-science, paranormal and fringe-science claims; and medicine and health.

Nate Phelps said he won't use the centre as a soapbox to speak out against his father.

"I think there is a place for a strong secular role in Canada. We keep an eye on things happening and keep a secular balance," he said.

In his first in-depth television interview in April, the younger Phelps talked about a childhood dominated by a fear of going to hell. In the interview, he said he believes the Westboro Baptist Church shares some of the same traits as a cult.

The centre's former executive direction, Cliff Erasmus, who stepped down from the position while on sabbatical said Phelps is widely known in the secular community and that is a boon for the group.

"I hate to be using another person's celebrity for an agenda but his agenda is the same (as ours)," said Erasmus. "Education is No. 1 and battling homophobia is No. 2."

Phelps' role as executive director of the centre is to build on membership and visibility in the community.

Steve Polyak, publisher of GayCalgary and GayEdmonton magazines, thinks the job is a great path for Phelps. Polyak heard Phelps speak at the University of Calgary in March.

"It shows that people can change from what they're raised to believe by parents and the Bible," added Polyak.

Started in 1991 and based in the U.S., the centre has been operating in Calgary for two years.

Readmore:http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Controversial+preacher+joins+campaign+against+homophobia/3288691/story.html#ixzz0txHaNBGL

July 16, 2010

Consuming Red Food Dye May Mean You're Eating Bugs

It's hard to fathom how many insects we actually eat. I'm sure there are tons in the fields that get plowed into our wheat and other grains on a daily basis. But then there are the bugs that are intentionally put in our food, like the companies which use the female cochineal, described as a "cactus-loving insect," in order to add a reddish color to foods like ice cream, yogurt, juice, tomato sauce, candy, and even cosmetics.

The bugs are harvested in Mexico, and then they're crushed into a fine powder that is then sold to food processing companies as a pigment known as "carmine." The substance appears on labels simply as "color added" or "artificial colors" (although occasionally it's noted as Red 40 or E120).

I'm actually thinking of picking up the phone right now to thank my mom for refusing to let us eat anything that contained either "artificial colors" or "color added," although I don't think she had any idea about the bugs