Now that my morning rant is out of the way, I can get on with the fun stuff. It isnt even 2pm and I have had quite an event filled day.

Once I finished at the gym I went for my obligitory Starbucks. I’ve been feeling pretty Christmasy for the last few days, so I ditched my usual Caramel (light) Machiato and instead opted for the Cherry Mocha. I don’t even like cherries, but it had a picture of holly on the cup in the picture, so it was good enough for me. The place was dead because I had beaten the commuters, so I got chatting to the guy serving me while I waited. He said he was new to the area and was asking about where to go, drink, eat etc.

Without thought, I was just stood at the counter sipping my coffee while we talked. He was fit. And when I say fit, I mean DROP DEAD GORGEOUS, FIT AS FUCK!!! He obviously worked out because he had a great boddy that was rippling out of his shirt, and gorgeous smile and seemed genuinly nice and funny.  I must have being giving off my ’screaming homo’ vibe, because he casually dropped into the conversation that maybe I could show him around town sometime, and in return he would treat me to dinner. We shared a knowing glance before swapping numbers. A little bit og chit chat later and I then had to leave. He gave me a wink as I left and off I went. Now, anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I am in the middle of potentially starting something along the lines of formal dating with someone else, and I aint really one for running two guys at once, but all the same, being chatted up over morning coffee is nice, and put me in a great mood for the day.

I needed a new pair of headphones and the ones I wanted are about £20, so I had to head into town to get them this morning, so once I left the coffee shop, I headed towards the shops. BAD MOVE! I am a nightmare shopper. My friends hate going shopping with me because I will take 4 hours in a each shop. It’s ridiculous. If I know what I need, then I can be in and out in a flash, without distraction, but today, I spotted a sale in All Saints. I swear, I tried to just walk past the shop, but I couldnt do it, so in I went. Just to browse obviously.

An hour later I came out. A fucking hour. I spent nearlu £300 on new clothes when all I wanted was a pair of headphones, which in all the excitement I forgot to get, so by the time I got back to the car and remembered, meant I then had to walk all the way back into town. I made sure this time to keep my head down and not get distracted by any shop windows. I suppose on the plus side, for my £300 I got 3 fantastic pairs of jeans, and a new top. Bargain.

I am starting to think when I need something I should just go online so I wont get distracted by the shiny window displays.

Last Saturday I participated in a research group. It was a kind of focus group. There was one thing that made it special: all the people there were the sons or daughters of lesbians or gay people. I’ll admit, I was excited. So we did the workshop, which was an open discussion about our families and our experiences of being the children of and in the LGBT community. It was really interesting listening to people talking about their families and there was a great positivity to the group.

So the pieces fell in place and, as one might expect, we decided to create a group of sorts. This is going to be a long-term project. We plan on setting up a support, information, advocacy and campaign group for children of LGBT parents. We’ll have a website, Facebook, Twitter and all that jazz. Sound like a bit of fun, or something you’d like to get involved in? Leave a comment or drop me an e-mail (conorpendergrast[at]gmail[dot]com).

But why would you need a group like this?

One theme that emerged from the group was a feeling of being a bit of an outsider. For me,  as a kid, there were times when I felt like a bit of a weirdo, having two mammies (of course, it occurred to me that there are very few ‘normal’ families out there). Having a bit of support in place could make life a lot easier for other children like us.  Knowing that there are plenty of people out there with two mums or two dads can make a big difference.

El mensaje original es el siguiente: “Court of Appeals has overturned the death sentence of Nemat Safavi in Ardebil”.
La información procede de la fuente radicada en Teherán llamada persianbanoo un seudónimo tras el que se esconde un periodista opositor que utiliza la red Twitter para transmitir noticias de Irán al exterior. Según activistas LGBT de Gran Bretaña a los que hemos consultado esta tarde, la fuente les merece credibilidad al estar en su lista de contactos de origen.

Por el momento hemos pedido confirmación tanto a las redes iraníes en el exilio, activistas LGBT iraníes, la propia embajada española en Irán y la corresponsalía de la Agencia EFE en ese país y estamos a la espera de que alguno de ellos nos dé respuesta. Igualmente esperamos nuevas confirmaciones de la noticia por lo que se mantiene la reserva, aunque está claro que de Nemat hay mucha más información de la que hasta ahora se barajaba.

Al parecer, según Human Rights Activists y otra web persa opositora (la misma información se repite aquí), ambas son noticias de hoy, en un expediente de 4 de marzo de 2009 (14 Esfand 87), se establecía que la Corte de Apelación de Ardebil debía revisar el caso de Nemat Safavi (tras haber sido rechazado el expediente en el Tribunal Supremo). Aquí hay una ajustada traducción al inglés donde se habla de otros casos, algunos ya citados en este blog.

Esto parece confirmar la posibilidad de que la vista se haya celebrado ya o que tal vez, de acuerdo con la información que facilita el tweet de Persianbanoo, se haya celebrado hoy.

Según creemos, que la Corte de Apelación haya fallado esto, no significa que el proceso esté agotado y puede ser que el Tribunal Supremo deba aún resolver. Igualmente podría haber, como en el nefasto caso de Makwan Moloudzadeh, alguna suerte de apelación del propio Juez de Ardabil o de algún comité superior de los propios ayatolás que impriman un nuevo giro al asunto y reactiven la sentencia de muerte. Por último, no conviene olvidar que Nemat sigue en prisión y que su suerte final depende de muchísimos factores. En Irán todo es posible.

Como veis toda cautela es poca, sin embargo, el caso Nemat cobra desde hoy un nuevo rumbo. Ya no se trata tanto de saber si existe o no, dónde está y cómo, sino de saber en qué situación está su caso, pues no depende del Tribunal Supremo, sino de la Corte de Ardabil y de actuar urgentemente para su liberación.

At least once a week, a man stands below a red clock between the Woodburn and Ballantine Hall buildings with a crowd circled around. The man usually dresses in plain clothing, holding posters saying “AIDS cures FAGS” and has a walking stick bearing a crucifix on the top.

Preacher at Woodburn Hall

Yes, preachers invade a liberal college campus proclaiming every act we take part in as sinful and blasphemous in the eyes of God. Yet as students mock and harass him, the preacher is a necessary reminder of how much further this country has to go in getting rid of the ignorance that invades this nation.

There is no excuse because these people really bring shame on Americans. Yet, this further propels the idea of how much organized religion has tainted the ideals of a free and an independently-run government. For if it weren’t for the citizens believing the country was founded from Christian morals, then social inequalities would never have been put into question and the whole aspect of a free nation would be in exemplified in our current world.

In fact, when reflecting on my childhood, churches have directly controlled the people’s perception of the true foundations of The United States when in reality, the majority of Founding Fathers were not Christians but Deists. That’s right. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, etc. have all been strongly linked to the Deism religion which has the mission of believing in a supreme being without the need of an organized religion. This was were the term “separation of church and state” formulated and has remained etched in the U.S. Constitution. There were no Christian morals decorated on the document and it never exhibited the intentions of hindering any type of person different from the hegemonic masculine white male. The Constitution was intended to provide each person with the desired freedoms they strived for upon declaring war on Britain.

But since the document was written, the church has interpreted its writing as a Christianly moral document intending to be dictated by what religious leaders believed to be as what “God would want the country to emulate.” This began with only granting the dominant white male full and equal rights in the country. Women, mexicans, African Americans, etc were prohibited from having a say in the “independent” country and were unable to vote or have federal protection. It wasn’t until the ending of the Civil War that persons of color were included as citizens of the nation and were given “equal rights.” Women soon followed and were seen as citizens as they were given the right to vote in presidential elections.

But as people were given equal rights as citizens, the Church created a damaging stereotype as what really constituted as a equal citizen. Soon, African-Americans were designated certain places to eat, use the restroom, etc. Homosexuals were arrested in gay bars or killed for their sexual orientation. The definitions of an equal citizen were blurred because of what a book told the majority of what was tolerable and accepted in a “free” country.

This continues today. Granted, African-Americans were finally given their equal rights through the 60s but as we enter 2010, the gay community still struggles with the full equality that the 14th Amendment guarantees for ever citizen in this country.

The lack of progress has nothing to do with the social world but it has everything to do with the religious community. In a land where religion should be separated from the government process, we still see bills struck down and bans put in place because electorates place their religious beliefs in front of what is governmentally right for the American people.

On any given Sunday, there are probably hundreds of preachers throughout this country that stand on a stage delivering messages of hate, damning the lives of people who are different from their own community. In a religion that teaches to unconditionally love one another, there sure is an abundant amount of hate resonating from within. If organized religion ceased to exist, then we would not have to rely on having only a selected amount of persons, who are “qualified,” denounce the rights of millions of citizens.

Furthermore, it is because of this organized hate that many lives have been lost. Certainly if it weren’t for organized religions degrading homosexuality as an “unforgivable sin” then people like Matthew Shepard would still be alive and Obama would not have had to sign the bill in Shepard’s honor. Persons identifying as a homosexual or lesbian would not have to be worried about being another victim of a hate crime and marriage between two person of the same gender would never be placed into question.

Now steering away from Christianity, organized religion have been one of the main causes for wars or terrorist acts throughout the world. The September 11th attacks would never have occurred, the 2005 bombings in the London subway would have been prevented and probably most importantly, the continuing dispute between Israel and Palestine would cease to exist. Millions upon millions of lives could have been saved if organized religion could be separated from government practices.

Preventing the intrusion of religion is near impossible now for the damage has been done. There is nothing that can be done to prevent leaders from acting on their spiritual beliefs for it is how they’ve been raised.

This is a shame because now in America, the success of a politician is determined by a person’s religion and now political platform. Their spiritual background is looked at before their political record is examined. Hell, President Obama’s campaign was almost lost because of his middle name (Hussein) and speculations that he was Muslim instead of Christian. In fact, when you look at the religious affiliations with each president, only four have denied affiliation to a religion.

A politician should not be elected based on religious merit but he or she should be chosen for their belief in a better government. The United States should start conducting business based on a social equality that would benefit ALL Americans instead of the dominant majority. Since this country is being seen once again as being a country of leadership in the world, the first step that should be taken is to public acknowledge no religious affiliation and promote social acceptance.

Therefore if this is accomplished, we would not have to worry about equal rights but we would be able to focus on more important issues such as the economy and the health care reform….issues that should really matter instead of issues that should have logically been determined years ago.

But until then, I will continue to see a man with a Bible spitting hate at us in between Woodburn and Ballantine Halls. I will also continue to hope that his words won’t trigger someone to produce the next American tragedy that will claim the lives of innocent people.

El actor del show del momento Glee, fue captado mientras muy mono el iba  a comprarse un cafe al starbucks para soportar el frio, minutos despues acudio a un evento llamado The Annual National Toque Campaign for Raising The Roof at Yonge-Dundas, en compañia del magnate de Virgin Richard Branson. El actor de 27 años hizo su donacion y le dieron el gorrito ese, alentando a todos sus fans a que apoyen esta campaña que ayuda a los jovenes adolescentes de Canada, yay por Cory!!

click en las pics para agrandar

I’m sort of surprised the same sex marriage conversations are not evolving more quickly.  The long and short of it (to me) is this:

1. We still (sort of) live in a free country.  Government should not be denying anyone rights; we all agree on that.
2. Marriage is a sticky word – lots of religious folks want to protect it’s definition.

To me, the solution is so obvious I’m surprised we’re still talking about it.  I would love for someone to give me some real reasons with my solution explained in detail here (link) does not work for both sides.

In summary, here’s the solution: Privitise Marriage.  Get the government out of the conversation all together (State and Federal).  This would restore freedom to marriage.  This can be done a number of ways; here are two suggestions.

• Re-write the current government marriage documents and exclude the word marriage.  Write them so that they can be used in any combination.
• Remove the current marriage documents and don’t replace them with anything – get the government away from marriage.  We really should not need the government’s permission to get married.  I understand marriage is related to property but there are other, smarter ways around that.

IT WOULD WORK, RIGHT?

For the folks in favor of same sex marriage:

• Equality is achieved.
• Federal and State documents ether don’t exist, or are identical regardless if the union is same sex, or opposite sex.  The word “marriage” does not exist in government documents.
• Religious organizations have the freedom (regardless of what state they are in) to perform same sex marriages, or not perform same sex marriages thus respecting their religious freedom.
• Same sex couples can choose to get married at the places that choose to perform the ceremony.  It can be called anything in the world.  Party, marriage, celebration, union, lemon, whatever.

For the folks who do not support same sex marriage:

• Marriage is protected, and can be defined by your specific religious organization.
• Marriage is no longer a government word, and it’s name or definition will not be changed by the government.
• Religious organizations exist that do not allow same sex marriages which are an option for membership.

BUT WHAT WOULD SCHOOLS TEACH?

Because marraige would no longer be a federal or state issue, marriage would not come up in the classroom at all.  The only thing they could really teach would be the legal documents that replace the old marriage documents (if they even need to exist) but I don’t think schools would waste valuable time teaching that.  What would they teach… where to fill in the names?  As there is no lesson on W-10’s or other government forms I’m sure the new union documents would be left out of the classroom.

OK folks, so let me have it.  How does this not resolve the issue…?

-dm

Miss California - Carrie Prejean

So by now everyone has heard about the Perez Hilton/Carrie Prejean scandal.  There are three issues at work here.

1. Asking the question.
2. The answer.
3. The response to the answer.

Firstly, asking this question.  Let’s say Perez Hilton asked this “what are your personal beliefs on abortion?”  I think we would all agree that question is in appropriate.  Simularly, asking if same sex marriage should be legalized in all 50 states is also a very polorizing, highly opinion based question.  If I was Miss CA, I would have smiled, waived, and said “world peace.”

Second, the answer was actually pretty good.  She said she loves that we live in a land where people can choose.  Ok, I guess people can sort of choose because they could move to one of the states that allow same sex marriage… I do agree that same sex couples really don’t have much of a right to choose right now.  I personally think that’s a shame as we live in a country that really is supposed to be free.  Please see my previous posts on same sex marriage. So granted, that part of the answer was not spot on since the freedom for same sex couples is pretty limited right now.  None the less, she at least aknowledged that there are some options.

Then, since it was an opinion question, she gave her opinion: that marriage in her opinion was between a

Some guy... blogger I think.

man and a woman.  She did even say “I don’t want to offend anyone out there.”  She did not say anything negative about homosexual people, for all we know she has many homosexual friends.  She just commented on her personal opinion regarding marriage (which is the same opinion of Barack Obama, by the way) as she was requested to do.  I don’t see any fault there.

Thirdly the response.  This is where everyone finally is beginning to see what I have been saying for years.  Perez Hilton is nuts, crude, rude, and worse for society than MTV (and that’s saying a lot).  KEEP IN MIND, MY OPINION OF PEREZ HILTON HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION.  If he was straight, or asexual I would think exactly the same of him.  He’s a blog version of the worst types of tabloid magazine.  I think his site is a plague on culture in the same way celebrity magazines are, and in the same way MTV is.  His actions are not shocking to me at all, unfortunately.

I say this – for every minute that people want to spend reading tabloid blogs or magazines, remember the people who are dying of thirst in other countries and spend some time thinking about them, perhaps donating some money.  I’m telling you, these celebrities are a terrible distraction from very significant things that are happening in the world.  Real people need our help.

-dm

Gotta love yaoi. I do ^-^

These first two images are fanart from the anime/manga Code Geass, by CLAMP. In case you aren’t familiar with the term ‘yaoi’ it is basically the genre of maleXmale romance in Japan. The last one is a random picture by me.

Love is adorable and beautiful, no matter the gender combination. Anyone who thinks otherwise is just shallow and cruel.

I hate it when people use words like ‘homosexual’ and ‘f*****’ as an insult, or even just when the word ‘gay’ is used negatively, as a synonym for ’stupid’. It’s offensive. I have to hear it every single effing day at school and it drives me crazy. To put it lightly, I’m not too fond of the people at my school, or people in this town. I thought this might be one of the last places a hate crime as severe as beating a gay to death would occur, but unfortunately I was wrong. I don’t care what anyone’s reason is for homophobia. It shouldn’t exist.

Check out the ‘Homosexual Spirituality’ page at  www.spirit-alembic.com. You’ll find out that the humans of today have DE-EVOLVED  from the humans of many years ago.

I think it’s a remarkable sign of the tolerant evolution of our society that only 18 months after Heinz pulled an advert because of an (incorrectly) perceived homosexual agenda we can accept a commercial which features a much loved public figure in a happy and comfortable gay relationship.

Well done Matthew Walker, and well done Britain.

de argentinosalerta.org

Un grupo de activistas homosexuales atacó el Centro Cultural Pasaje Dardo Rocha de La Plata, cuando el Arzobispo local, Mons. Héctor Aguer se encontraba celebrando una Eucaristía.

Según informó la agencia católica argentina AICA, los activistas –integrantes de la Marcha del Orgullo Gay- “gritaron insultos a la Iglesia católica y a sus ministros, y realizaron inscripciones con pintura en la fachada y las escalinatas del Centro Cultural”.

Los activistas escribieron lemas ofensivos contra la Iglesia como “iglesia basura”, “la única iglesia que ilumina es la iglesia que arde”, y otros.

Los hechos ocurrieron el sábado pasado, cuando Mons. Aguer, presidía la Misa de clausura de la XI Exposición del Libro Católico en La Plata, que permitió a gran cantidad de visitantes recorrer la muestra con más de 10.000 volúmenes de un centenar de editoriales, expuestos en forma temática.

La celebración eucarística se llevó a cabo en el auditorio del primer piso del Centro Cultural Pasaje Dardo Rocha y contó con la participaron de numeroso público.

¿Quién es este wey?: Tiene 28 años y es originario de Brasil.

Click en leer más para ver todas las imágenes. Click en las miniaturas para verlas en tamaño completo.

WINNERS LIST at the AMAs 2009

ARTIST OF THE YEAR: Taylor Swift

POP/ROCK

Favorite Male Artist: Michael Jackson
Favorite Female Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo, or Group: The Blackeyed Peas
Favorite Album: Number Ones, Michael Jackson

COUNTRY

Favorite Male Artist: Keith Urban
Favorite Female Artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite Band, Duo, or Group: Rascal Flatts
Favorite Album: Fearless, Taylor Swift

SOUL/R&B

Favorite Male Artist: Michael Jackson
Favorite Female Artist: Beyonce
Favorite Band, Duo, or Group: The Black Eyed Peas
Favorite Album: Number Ones, Michael Jackson

RAP/HIP-HOP

Favorite Male Artist: Jay-Z
Favorite Album: Blueprint 3, Jay-Z

ADULT CONTEMPORARY

Favorite Artist: Taylor Swift
LATIN MUSIC

Favorite Artist: Aventura

ALTERNATIVE ROCK MUSIC

Favorite Artist: Green Day

CONTEMPORARY/ INSPIRATIONAL

Favorite Artist: Mary Mary

————————————————————-

PERFORMANCES

Adam Lambert’s Provacative Performance

click to enlarge

Jennifer Lopez Falls during Performance (VIDEO)



Great AMA News Online Links:

¿Metiéndonos donde no debemos?

Apparently there was also some groping about the bikini area.  Wasn’t that special?

Simulated Fellatio et al

Man on Man Kissing

Taylor Swift

Michael Jackson

Green Day

Black Eyed Peas

Traveling Naked

090909

How to Lead a Secret Life

Avoid a fat head

It is better to be drunk than wasted

How to Travel Naked

Beer Alert

A Constellation of Idiots

It is Better to be Drunk than Wasted

Texas Toast

Let us say that you find your selves in the throes of ardor with some hot neoprene nymph when your supposed flesh and blood beloved enters the room.  Is she amused that you cheated on her with a Latex Lover.  Well that’s what Chicken Choker first class would have us believe:

Copping a Rubber Feel

Fashion and blow up dolls

Sarah Palin Sex Doll

Sex with an Android

Doing the Doll

Plastic Orgy

Choking that plastic chicken.

090909

How to Lead a Secret Life

Exotic Vacations

Traveling Naked

Avoid a fat head

It is better to be drunk than wasted

How to Travel Naked

Beer Alert

A Constellation of Idiots

It is Better to be Drunk than Wasted

Texas Toast

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• ***************************

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

• ***************************************************************
• ***************************************************************

• ************************************************************

Runes and Moons

Zazzle!

Angelic Verses

DeviantArt

Rumors of Angels

LuLu

CafePress

Luck

Digital Art

Angel Sightings

Cyber Rainbows

Selling Rainbows

• ************************************************************

More “simulated oral sex?”

Photo credit VTD / Marta Evry

Monday’s Visalia Times Delta carries an article about local LGBT activist Robin McGehee.  A teacher at Visalia’s College of the Sequoias,  Robin is a major player in Central Valley gay rights, as an organizer of Meet in the Middle 4 Equality, and a co-director of the recent National Equality March in Washington D.C.  See the entire article here.

Photo VTD / Marta Evry

Monday’s Visalia Times Delta carries an article about local LGBT activist Robin McGehee.  A teacher at Visalia’s College of the Sequoias,  Robin is a major player in Central Valley gay rights, as an organizer of Meet in the Middle 4 Equality, and a co-director of the recent National Equality March in Washington D.C.  See the entire article here.

Late edit:

The haters are out in full force, be sure to check out the comments at the end of the article.

I like to think that I follow my own rules and conventions. Unlike most of my friends, both gay and straight, I dont strive to conform to fit in any boxes set by society. I find it hard enough being comfortable in my own skin, without the added pressure of living up to everyone else’s expectations as well. Lately however, I have been feeling an enormous pressure to lose weight. In the gay community (at least where I live), there has been an ‘Attack Of The Clones’ where everyone seems to look 15 years old with a barely there waistline and a perma tan.

Don’t get me wrong, I am by no means overweight. I have a 34″ waist, I am 6ft5″ tall and I weigh a little under 15st. I play rugby and I am at the gym at least 3 times a week. I have a pretty healthy lifestyle and in general I dont look too shabby. I have an individual style and I make the most of what I have, but the more I go out and see these ‘clones’, the more I feel like the odd one out, and if truth be told, it is starting to feel uncomfortable?

It is an age old tale that within the gay community you have a limited shelf life. So many people feel like they are over it or past it by the time they hit 25, and the ones who don’t seem to be doing everything in their power to look like 18 year olds again. When I have spoken to friends about this, they have told me that it is a minority, but after a little digging it seems that male anorexia is predominantly made up of gay men, and it is also on the rise. Is it really worth risking your health to fit in and look the part?

The fault, I believe, lies within the gay community itself. While they sit and argue that they should not be put in boxes by the community at large, they are all too quick to label and catagorise themselves. Is it ok to just be gay anymore? Do we have to be a twink, a scally a bear or a queen? And if we do, where do I fit in? I am too old and not skinny enough to be a twink. Not camp enough to be a queen. Too well behaved and dressed to be a scally, and not big and hairy enough to be a bear. Is there a place for me if I refuse to put myself in a box?

The problem is, whether we like it or not, we all conform in the end. We don’t have to like it, but it happens anyway. I started this post thinking about how I needed to lose weight, not for health reasons, but so that I could feel more like I was part of the crowd, and the more I write, the more I realise that if I become more like everyone else, I become less like myself. The world strives on diversity. I have never been short of attention from men, and by looking like everyone else, what will I have that is different to interest anyone anymore?

I suppose in the end it all comes down to being comfortable with yourself. If you strive to look a certain way to make yourself feel better then you should go for it as long as it doesnt affect your health. But if you are trying to look a certain way just to fit in, maybe you need to sit back and think about whether or not it will make you happy. At the end of the day, we all want people to like us for who we are, not how we look. My mum always told me you need to love yourself before anyone else can love you, and I think shes right. Maybe I will give the gym a miss today.

Today, a candlelight vigil was held for two young men on the Anchorage Park Strip.  No one attending had ever met either of the two boys, but around 20 people felt enough connection to them to stand in the cold for an hour and mourn their loss, and the losses that had come before.

You may not be familiar with the young men I’m talking about, so let me try to tell you a little about them as best I can.

Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was a 19 year old, Puerto Rican man whose friend Pedro Julio Serrano remembers him as being a “very very dear friend” and “was a person who you only needed one minute to fall in love with.”  Mercado was an active volunteer for many gay causes, and seems to have had a wide group of friends.  Below is a video put together by his friends an family, who want Jorge remembered for the wonderful person he was, and not by what happened to him.  The majority of the text is in Spanish, but you can see from the pictures that he was cared for by many people.

Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was a 19 year old, Puerto Rican man whose body was found by the side of the road near Cayey, Puerto Rico.  His body was brutalized, his arms were removed from his torso, and he was burned. The man who confessed to committing these acts is Juan Antonio Martinez Matos, a 26 year old man who has served time in prison in the past.  Matos apparently picked Mercado up in a red light district, where Mercado was dressed as a woman.  It is unclear as to when Matos made the decision to kill Mercado; some reports indicate that Mercado pulled a knife on Matos, other reports say that it was only after they started having sex that Matos realized that Mercado was biologically male.  Whatever the case, Matos says that he had a flashback to when he had been raped in prison, and then attacked Mercado.  It seems astonishing to me that a “gay panic” excuse may be used to justify the brutality that was visited on Jorge Mercado’s body after he was killed.

Juan Mercado’s mother, Miriam, released this statement after his death:

“When my son told me he was gay, I told him, ‘Now, I love you more.’ I want to tell the world that hatred is not born with human beings, it is a seed that is planted by adults and is fostered creating a climate of intolerance and violence. We must change our ways and understand that anyone could have been my son. And I want everybody to know that Jorge Steven was a very much loved son.”– Miriam

Jason Mattison Jr. was a 15 year old sophomore at West Baltimore’s Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy.  His English teacher, Ryan C. Jones, remembers how Jason handled harassment.  “[Jason] had a sharp, witty comeback at the ready, and he walked away smiling.  Even if it hurt him, he gave the other person the impression he was stronger.  He was outspoken and excited about everything he talked about,” Jones said. “Walking into school, he was the first one to share what he did over the weekend. He was very, very popular, and he was everyone’s best friend.”

Jason Mattison Jr. was a 15 year old sophomore whose body was found brutalized, gagged, and stuffed in the upstairs closet of his aunt’s house on November 10.  There was initial confusion as to what had happened, as his aunt discovered a T.V. missing and thought that someone had broken in to steal it.  After seeing blood on the banister leading upstairs, she called the police and reported Jason missing.  He was found gagged with a pillowcase and he had received multiple stab wounds to his head and neck.  The man who has confessed to these acts is Dante Parrish, a 35 year old man who is charged with first-degree murder in the case.  He was a longtime family friend of Jason’s cousin, Laquanna Couplin, but she would not say whether he lived there or visited.  It is also unclear as to whether Jason was living in his aunt’s house, or if he was just visiting when he was attacked.  Dante Parrish has a history of violence, described here:

“Parrish was 24 when he pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a man on Maryland Avenue in March 1999. In 2008, the Innocence Project, a group of attorneys who help people they believe were wrongly convicted, took up his case.

They found that Parrish had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder based on a faulty statement of facts read into the court record – there were two witnesses, not three, and a gun was found weeks after the shooting, not with Parrish when he was arrested.

A judge overturned his conviction, citing ineffective defense counsel, and in January, Parrish entered what is called an Alford plea, which allowed him to deny guilt but concede that the state had enough evidence to convict him. He was freed on time served, effectively cutting a 30-year sentence to 10.

Whether Parrish went from prison to live at the rowhouse on Llewellyn Avenue or frequented it could not be determined. Couplin would not elaborate beyond confirming that the man was a longtime family friend.”

Reports indicate that Jason had a “forced sexual relationship” with Parrish, but I was unable to find conclusive statements as to how long this may have been going on, or if Jason’s family knew about it.  I was also unable to find a statement given as to why Parrish murdered Jason.

I want to tell you about one more person.

Don’t worry, this one has a happy ending.

Christopher Narvaez standing up for equal rights in the Summer of '09

Christopher Narvaez is a 35 year old Alaskan resident who moved here from New York.  John and I met him over the Summer when we were fighting for the Equal Rights Ordinance that passed the Assembly, and was then vetoed by Mayor Sullivan.  Chris is a very genuine person, always happy to talk to new people and make them feel comfortable.   He and his partner share a loving  home and support each other while they both try to balance school and work.  Chris struck me as an amazingly patient person when I watched him try to talk to the people in red shirts out on the Loussac Library lawn.  He took the time to talk to them, to listen to what they had to say,

Christopher Narvaez reading statement from the victims' families

and then express why he was there.  Chris was fired from his job because he was gay, and because he wouldn’t quietly put up with the harassment that his co-workers found acceptable.  He has always struck me as the type of person who could find the positive side to any situation, and that is how he became involved with a vigil for two people that he had never met before.

Inspired by these two recent hate crimes, vigils have sprung up across the country to mark the tragedy that those in the GLBT community and their allies have experienced.  We may not have ever met these young men, but we know others who have been abused and mistreated.  We sympathize with the loss of their family and friends.  We wanted to mourn with them.

Trying to keep the flame going.

Chris organized the Candlelight Vigil for Hate Crime Victims, which took place this afternoon at 3pm.  He got a permit for the space on the park strip and sent out invitations through Facebook within the space of two days.  He organized the vigil, reading statements about Jason and Jorge from their friends.  He brought candles for people to hold, and walked around the crowd, re-lighting the wicks almost as soon as the wind blew them out.  Anchorage, and Alaska, is lucky to have such a dedicated person like Chris.  I know that John and I are proud to know him, and to have been a part of this gathering.

Candlelight Vigil for Hate Crime Victims

The last thought that I will leave you with is that while many of you are already aware that these actions could easily happen here in our community, some of you, especially those who don’t identify as a part of the GLBT community, may not understand the implications.  Both of these young men were loved and accepted by their friends and family.  They had support from those around them.  They were still victimized.  GLBT people will not be safe until they can have the full protection of the law.  Those of use who are allies must help them.  We must continue to be involved in the community, because they still need us.  We need to speak out (and loudly) to support those legislators that support equal rights, so that they are not replaced by more puppets of the Anchorage Baptist Temple and those who share their hate.  The fight for equality continues, even though the ordinance was struck down.

Those people that attended the vigil today can attest to it.  I can attest to it.  The fight will continue until we all can be safe.

Let's all try to keep the flame going.

A realidade para os LGBTs continua difícil e perigosa no Irã. O jovem Nemat Safavi, hoje com 21 anos, foi condenado à morte, há cinco anos, por um tribunal de menores no noroeste do país. Nemat foi preso sob alegação de práticas homossexuais. Desde então, ele passou por centros de retificação e educação e agora está preso numa ala para menores na prisão de Ardebil, aguardando a decisão do Tribunal Supremo do país. No entanto, as decisões costumam ser mantidas, o que significa que o jovem está muito próximo da morte.

A Aliança Iraniana para Refugiados Gays está pedindo para as organizações de direitos humanos do mundo todo atenção urgente para esta causa. Ela pede que as pessoas escrevam cartas, fax, e-mails ou telefonem a Human Rights Watch, a Anistia Internacional, ou qualquer entidade LGBT internacional para apoiar Nemat e se opor a sua execução e às leis contra os homossexuais. Para fazer qualquer doação à Aliança (IRQR, na sigla em inglês), clique aqui.

SOURCE: http://paroutudo.com/noticias/2009/11/06/2-74/

Debido a que no pude actualizar tan seguido aqui les dejo las fotos de Taylor Lautner en Nueva York; Tay firmando autografos antes de entrar al show de Jay Leno, haciendo unas compritas en las tiendas mas fashion del lugar, y en el today show, fanaticas de Taylor Lobo Lautner disfruten!

click en las pics para agrandar

To make things clear, as some of the material you’ll find here is very light-hearted, this is an actual news report. All quotes are original. I welcome comments below.

Gay Christians Criticise ‘Hate’ Bill

Dan Bloom

Senior gay and transgender Christians have attacked a pro-discrimination law which was defeated four times in the House of Commons and criticised by the European commission.

The clause, which allows “criticism of sexual conduct” on religious grounds, was kept in the Coroners and Justice Bill in the dying hours of the last parliamentary session despite being defeated in the House of Commons. Justice minister Jack Straw retreated after lords voted to keep it for the fourth time on 11 November.

But the comments from within the UK’s gay Christian community put pressure on the mainstream church, after the European commission wrote to the government last week to say its discrimination laws were “broader than permitted”, effectively forcing churches to end bans on homosexual staff.

Pastor Kieren Bourne of the Living Springs church, Bath, had a sex change operation in 1999 and is part of a small minority of gay or transgender Christians in the UK. He said: “I think it’s appalling. It seems to me that the church is being allowed to get away with discrimination when every other section of society is not.”

Brought up in New Zealand, Rev Bourne, 51, moved to Bath 14 years ago but was surprised by what he perceived as a less liberal atmosphere in the mainstream church. He joined Living Springs, a branch of the 95 per cent gay Metropolitan Community Church (MCC).

“Having the opportunity to question the appropriateness of [gay sex] should be open to people, but without being critical of the individuals concerned.”

-Patrick Whitworth, rural dean of Bath

Now living with a woman in Bathford, Avon, he said the pressure put on gay Christians by employment bans and discrimination leaves many feeling forced out of the mainstream church, and into organisations like the MCC.

And although the minority church, which was founded in 1968, holds tri-annual conferences – the next is in Acapulco, Mexico next year – it does not have the same political weight as other organisations. It has fewer than 15 churches in the UK and the Bath branch has only 13 full-time members.

One of these, Bill Fraser, has been a full-time churchwarden in Bath for five years. He first contacted the MCC last year after announcing his sexuality at an annual parish meeting. But he stayed in the mainstream church to “fight from the inside”, following the example of controversial gay American bishop Gene Robinson.

Another, 64-year-old lay delegate Jenny Bailey, was a long-time member of the Church of England when she began attending the MCC. She revealed her sexuality to her vicar in 1997, and said his hostile reception made her feel pressured to leave.

She said: “I did not feel my personal preferences were relevant inside the church. He said they were. He seemed to think I was going to walk in holding hands with another woman.

“Just a few weeks after that I had a serious accident and broke my ankle into about seven or eight pieces. Nobody phoned to check up and see how I was. I thought, ‘Why am I kidding myself?’. They didn’t want me.”

“I did not feel my personal preferences were relevant inside the church. My vicar said they were.”

-Jenny Bailey, lay delegate, Metropolitan Community Church

But Ms Bailey, who was married for more than 22 years before realising she was gay in her 40s, also issued words of caution about restricting free speech. She said: “I want it for myself, so why should I not want it for other people? It’s up to them, and it’s their personal opinion. But they should not be able to impose it on me.”

While the MCC argues anti-homosexual readings of the bible do not reflect its meaning, the mainstream church in Bath is more traditional.

The Church of England rural dean of Bath, Patrick Whitworth, said: “From the church’s point of view it is not God’s view. So having the opportunity to question the appropriateness of it should be open to people, but without being critical of the individuals concerned.”

Meanwhile a group hosted by the MP Clare Short will meet at the Commons this Tuesday to campaign against similar clauses in the Equality Bill drawn up by Harriet Harman, Labour’s deputy leader.

The bill is designed to ensure greater equality between people of different gender, race, religion and social class. But the group argues religious ‘opt-out’ clauses could be added as the bill progresses to the House of Lords.

Wild bunch that they are, the Upper School faculty makes plans for dinner at  The Flying Saucer. Arriving before the M.A.—he actually got the degree online—I strategically position myself between two co-workers so as to avoid sitting by my erudite co-worker. Shortly after taking his seat, the Dean, much to my surprise, orders a beer. But somewhere in between lighting his cigar and ordering his third twenty-four ounce porter it hits me—this is all for show.

Perhaps it’s his thinning hair. Perhaps it’s his timid demeanor. Whatever it is, Ryan, M.A. is insecure in his masculinity. For the first time, I feel as though I understand the Master and his unchecked, “biblically-based” brand of chauvinism. But, just as my sorrow for the guy begins to set in, his strained guise of machismo kicks in once again.

After overhearing another faculty member casually drop the word “faggot” in a conversation (!), Billups interrupts to share with the table how anxious he is for his freshmen class to begin reading a book that uses the term. My ears perking up, he continues, “I know someone’s going to ask how the author is using the word ‘faggot’”(as if he wasn’t planning on calling his class’s attention to the term even if they didn’t). “I’m going to tell them,” adds Billups, “that the term originally meant ‘a bundle of sticks’ and that faggots still aren’t good for anything but burning.”

“Check, please!”

–

Do you use derogatory epithets in your day to day conversations, even if just casually? If so, would you say they’re completely innocent or do they point to some form of insecurity you may be carrying around? Are you secure enough in your masculinity/femininity to avoid using terms like gay, homo, queer and faggot in a derogatory fashion? Are you secure enough in your masculinity/femininity to tell others to stop using such abusive language?

Now the years after graduating from high school and the years beginning college (because I took a 2 year hiatus) were kinda of a blur.  Working from job to job and just getting by until my younger sister, sister S, graduated from high school and asked me to go to school with her.

Now I had applied to two schools before taking my hiatus.  One was a fashion school in NYC and the other was in another school at the southwest tip of New York.  I got into both and was deciding to go to the fashion school but things were impeding me to arrive to the school when they needed me to show for testing and what not.  Therefore I did not go to either school.  Now the school sister S was interested in going to is a Christian school.  A christian private school that was on News Weeks 100th best schools.  It is a GREAT school, it has great morals, wonderful people… yadda, yadda, yadda…

Once I started school there when I was 20 I started to realize how truly wrong it was to lust after women, to crave women, and to watch pornography.  Yes as a women I was very interested in porn.  Honestly I am still interested in it.  If  I’m putting my stuff out in the open why not just do it and put it ALL out there!

Apparently I had not been upholding the standards that I was supposed to as a Christian girl.  Yet nonetheless I came out of my shell.  I started to become more outgoing, more relaxed with myself, funny, and well liked.  I finally felt I some what belonged.  I felt during my high school years no one understood me because I had to always wear skirts and I was ridiculed about it.  But in college I was accepted for who and what I was (well at the time).  These years I believe have been my most dissatisfying and joyous years by far.

The first few years I think I didn’t care as to what I looked like, who I befriended, what my grades were and just of who I was.  I was just a fresh person on this new campus in a new world!  So I took it in as much as I could!  But slowly, looking back now, I realize how much the school thrusts upon us to get married have children and be happy.  That’s all…

Even though I was there to get an education it felt it was more guided with who was dating who, and for how long.  There was even a running joke.  That many women only came to the school to get their M.R.S. degree.  Which is sad!  I had never heard of that term until I started going to that school.  Also why would you claim that ALL women that go to that school only come to get that degree.  It was as if that was the only reason to go if you were a woman.

Well as naive as I used to be I was so excited that it could happen but never once did I actually go out and look for someone to date.  I wasn’t interested. Nor am I interested still to get that M.R.S. degree unless the laws change and I can actually marry a woman.

But I had become that girl that the school wanted me to become.  The meek, servant of God, loved by all, while being sweet and charming.  But those weren’t the only parts of me.  I had more.  Much more lurking in the dark (as people want to think).  I had so many doors in my soul that I had kept secret.  That I had barred with anything and everything so that I would never look at or even approach.  I was scared to pretend that they were even there.  So I tried not to think of things that would make our wonderful God angry.

Yet this following year all that changed.  I evolved and I became more.  With more understanding and with acceptance I transformed.

Well lovies I will leave this post here.  I will keep you wanting and come back another day to add to sed story!

~RoMa

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist, and the cousin of socialist utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850-1898). Harris’ original “Pledge of Allegiance” was published in the September 8th issue of the popular children’s magazine The Youth’s Companion as part of the National Public-School Celebration of Columbus Day, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s discovery of America. Bellamy’s original Pledge read, “I Pledge Allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

While I find it ironic that the hard core hypocrites of the Right Wing who spew on about American patriotism and freedom hold a statement written by a socialist so close to their heart; I find it even more ironic and hypocritical that these same self-proclaimed patriots are the very people who don’t follow a single ideal put forth by the allegiance, especially the second half of it.

First of all, the Right Wingers don’t seem to understand the definition of “republic”.  Among the definitions of the word is one which states that a republic is a group of people working as equals in the same sphere or field. I don’t recall any Right Winger that I know of ever considering themselves equal to minorities, non-Christians, members of the LGBT community, etc. They seem to feel they are superior to them. Side note: everyone considered equal…isn’t that a socialist concept?

Secondly, … “one nation indivisible…” , I’ve never seen a group of people like the Right Wingers fight so hard to keep things divided in my life; class division, gender division, race, ethnicity, culture, religion…name it, it’s there. If you aren’t Caucasian, Christian, and male…you’re not fit to be in this country.  By the way…I’ve noticed the Right Wingers are so misogynistic, one would have to wonder if they aren’t hiding deep in the closet. They are as bad as Islamic fundamentalists who think women are worth less than camels.

Now, let’s visit the last words, “…with liberty and justice for all.” I really don’t need to state much here, but I will go ahead and point out a few tidbits. Why do we still need affirmative action laws in place? Because we still have people out there who will not hire someone if they are a different race than they are. Never mind if the applicant is the best qualified…their skin and hair color isn’t right. Of course, I would be remiss is I didn’t mention the fact that homosexual patriots, “gaytriots”, as I like to say, are not allowed to serve openly in our armed forces. Plus, hardworking, tax-paying, law abiding homosexual citizens do not have the civil rights they are supposed to be guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.

It is sad that at different periods in our nation’s history, dictatorial elements of our government and society have felt the need to force our citizens to pledge to what the aforementioned elements felt like. They are no better than the heinous agents of the Church of Rome, who globally forced people to bow to their gold laden hypocrisy by means of rape, torture, theft, rewriting religious edicts, twisting beliefs, reassigning the original pagan holy days as their holy days, coercion,…the list goes on.

By adding “God” to the pledge, we destroyed the meaning of religious freedom. Freedom of religion means not only the freedom to worship as the individual sees fit for their own self; it also means the freedom to not worship. In my opinion, forcing someone to pledge their allegiance to the Christian god when they are not Christian, or even religious for that matter, is a violation of their constitutional rights. When I say someone is forced to recite the pledge, I’m referring to the manner in which someone receives admonishment, even physical and verbal assault, for not saying it.  There was a time when it was the law in our nation that children in schools had to say it. While I believe that American children need to be taught the importance of patriotism and good citizenship, they also need to be taught the importance of maintaining the civil rights and freedoms that our constitution is supposed to guarantee.

Whenever I recite the Pledge of Allegiance, I quietly pledge in this manner, “I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag and the Republic for which it’s supposed to stand, one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all.”

After all, if the big boys can change it to suit their needs, why can’t I?