Pro-Choice Protest of the Day

Pro-choice Oklahoma state Senator Constance Johnson (D) introduced an amendment to the Sooner State’s pro-life “personhood” bill (SB 1433) making masturbation illegal.

Oklahoma lawmakers are currently debating legislation that would make it mandatory for women to listen to their fetus’s heartbeat before being allowed to have an abortion.

To protest the bill, Sen. Johnson sought to have an amendment added that would make “any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina…an action against an unborn child.”

Fox is in the Muppet House

A couple of months ago, Fox News decided to attack the new Muppet Movie for being anti-capitalism because their evil nemesis is an oil tycoon. Their absurd 'arguments' - which are really just 2 people's opinions - can be heard in the first video where they attack the entire Hollywood conspiracy.

Shades of Tele-Tubbie's Gay Purse!



Here is Miss Piggy's response to the whole affair. Touché MissP !

"The revolution will not be televised"

Inspired by the spirit of Gil Scott-Heron, the brilliant Ronnie Butler Jr. warns us that ‘…the photos of your junk will be publicized…’.

This is one of the coolest videos I have seen this year! 



Find him on Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/7fgsb7s
Email: info@thephotosofyourjunk.com

Most Admired of All

abcnews.go.com

PRINCETON, NJ - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama continue to be named by Americans as the Most Admired Woman and Most Admired Man living today in any part of the world.

Clinton has been the Most Admired Woman each of the last 10 years, and Obama has been the Most Admired Man four years in a row.

Read more here ...

We DO exist!

Photo by Semco Salehi

“Iranian queers do exist,” said Arsham Parsi, executive director of the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees. “We want to raise awareness for (their) rights.”

Arsham Parsi

Through his Toronto-based organization, Parsi has helped bring more than 50 gay, lesbian and transgendered Iranian refugees to Canada since he fled the country himself in 2005.

Homosexuality is punishable by death in Iran. Its ultra-conservative president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad once proclaimed there were no gay people in the country. It’s an atmosphere that puts even relatives of gay Iranians at risk; Parsi’s family had to move to Turkey after his activism led to threats against them.

The right to ideas

National Film Board of Canada

In RiP: A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers.

The film discusses the changes that have taken place with major music companies suing people who download music online. It raises important questions about the ownership of ideas and whether intellectual property laws should be less propietary and more like those of Brazil.

About Brett Gaylor: Brett Gaylor is the creator of opensourcecinema.org, a video remix community which supports the production of his feature documentary RiP: A remix manifesto.

Sometimes a kiss is NOT just a kiss

Anyone who thinks same-sex couples in the United States should be allowed to marry was invited to Lush outlets across North America to pucker up and smack lips on June 18th. The smoochers were then invited to sign postcards telling the U.S. government to allow gay marriage.


This campaign took place on June 18 at the Byward Market location of Lush Cosmetics in Ottawa.

Photo by Abder

Same-sex marriage is allowed in Canada. In the United States, however, same-sex couples cannot get married under federal law, so they are not covered by the federal rights provided for married couples.

The Sound of a Free Egypt

Protesters in Tahrir Square celebrate after Mubarek steps down.

For all 18 days, I witnessed on TV the determination, the terror, the frustration, the love, the peacefulness and the joy of the Egyptian Revolution.

This video and song depict the people of Egypt in Tahrir Square as the rest of us watched history unfold. Whether you understand the words or not, the song carries a genuine feeling of strength, joy, peace and the Humanity of the Egyptian people. Beautiful!



Click on the link to read a partial translation of the words.

One big step forward ... Human Rights Act to shield transgender, transsexual Canadians

2. The purpose of this Act is to extend the laws in Canada to give effect, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, to the principle that all individuals should have an opportunity equal with other individuals to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have and to have their needs accommodated, consistent with their duties and obligations as members of society, without being hindered in or prevented from doing so by discriminatory practices based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, disability or conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted.

OTTAWA — The House of Commons passed a bill Wednesday that will amend the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code to protect transgender and transsexual Canadians from discrimination.

"It's a great day," said the bill's author, NDP MP Bill Siksay. "It's been in the works for six years, and it's great to see people from all parties supporting the bill. This is not a partisan issue, it's a human rights issue."

When all heads were counted, 143 MPs voted for Bill C-389 and 135 voted against.

The amendments proposed in the bill prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression through adding "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the list of prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Canada Human Rights Act, and through adding transgender and transsexual Canadians as identifiable groups in the Criminal Code's hate crimes law.

The term 'gender expression' refers to an individual's outward expression of their inward sense of gender, Siksay said.

A majority of Conservative members voted against the bill, prompting opposition members to applaud Tory ministers and members Lawrence Cannon, Lisa Raitt, John Baird, John Moore, Shelly Glover and Gerald Keddy when they rose to their feet to support the bill.

Curioser and curioser

Sarah Palin: “Stand With Our North Korean Allies”

Sarah Palin inadvertently pledges her allegiance to the Supreme Leader of North Korea on Glenn Beck's radio show.




... and yet there are 'those' who still sing her praises ...



The world's only chance is that she will win the Republican Leadership Race only to then be definitively trounced by Obama thereby guaranteeing him another 4 years in office.
(Please, God. Please, God! LOL)

Don't Ask Don't Tell -> Don't Care

U.S. President Barack Obama signed the Don't Ask Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 on December 22, 2010, paving the way for gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military.

Obama signed the bill before a cheering crowd that included top military officials and politicians at the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C.

The new legislation will not go into effect for at least 60 days.

Same-sex marriage around the world

Step-by-step
Slowly we turn
Step-by-step
Come on!

This native love is restless and we're just not satisfied.
This native love is restless and we're just not satisfied.

[lyrics - Divine: Native Love (Step By Step)]

Canadian Gothic

"Scott Brison describes it as 'Canadian Gothic.' ... 'Just a couple of guys and their dog standing in a field,' he says about his Christmas card this year.

But there are others, the Nova Scotia Liberal MP says, who are describing it as 'The Brokeback Brisons' – an homage to the Ang Lee movie about two gay cowboys and their love affair on a Wyoming mountain. This is the first time, meanwhile, the couple has posed together for a Christmas card and it is likely the first same-sex married-couple MP Christmas card...

It was sent to about 5,000 friends and constituents.

Europe's Real Borders

This is an interesting map. It shows the boundaries between distinct languages in Europe. Although there may be some discrepancies in it, it is easy to see how political boundaries are so different from linguistic ones.

The Politics of Pride - Beyond Gay

WORLD PREMIERE: Image+Nation Festival of Cinema, Montreal Canada, October 25th

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE: Mix Brasil, Sao Paulo Brasil, November

EUROPEAN PREMIERE: Florence Queer Festival, FLorence Italy, December 3rd

HUMAN RIGHTS FESTIVAL: This Human World: Vienna Austria, December 5th

U.S. to lift HIV travel ban

President Obama announced Friday that he will lift a 22-year-old ban on entry into the United States for people infected with HIV/AIDS.

The administration intends to publish a new federal rule next week eliminating the ban by the start of 2010, he said.

"We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease, yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat," he said at the White House. "If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it."

Obama said that lifting the ban is a "step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment. It's a step that will keep families together, and it's a step that will save lives."

The United States, he said, is one of only a dozen countries that still bar the entry of people with HIV.

Can't Stop Won't Stop

Every year members of Toronto’s queer community nominate and vote for the individuals and groups they feel should lead off the Pride Parade and the Dyke March. Those chosen are not only prominent members of the community, but also personify Pride Week’s theme, which this year is “Can’t stop, won’t stop.”

While those chosen this year — at a Pride Toronto general meeting back in April — are known to many, they may not be known to all. Here is a primer on just who will be leading your Pride Parade and Dyke March.

Janeane Garofalo likes her tea strong!

Red Tie, Blue Tie, Powerful or Creative guy?

Does it matter whether one wears red or blue?

Yes, suggest several studies, including a new one out today in the journal Science.

Red is associated with love, power, nobility and now, scientists say, attention to detail. Blue (the other preferred tie color of choice for business and politics) is now thought to boost creativity.

Nigerian Church scams Christians

In a position paper submitted by the Anglican Church of Nigeria to a parliamentary committee, a new law is being proposed to punish gay couples who get married with five years in jail, while groups of witnesses to the marriage may be sentenced to one year in jail.

We are especially concerned about those who are using large sums of money to lure our youth to see homosexuality and lesbianism as normative. We must consistently and faithfully teach about God’s commands on this ungodly practice and help those with such orientation to seek deliverance and pastoral counsel.