Indian Brothers Seduce Brits With Vegetarian Condoms

LONDON - Indian-born businessmen Shandip and Ketan Shah are scoring it big in Britain with a new vegetarian condom that has proved to be a runaway success with health stores.
The brothers' Fusion condoms are manufactured without any milk-based casein - unlike other brands - and have now been officially registered with Britain's Vegan Society.
All new Fusion condoms packets will carry the official vegan logo - a move that the Shahs hope will persuade more British youngsters to use condoms.
'Vegetarians and Vegans might not have realised that there is a milk extract in most condoms. Fusion condoms want to help this group make an informed choice about safe sex,' said Shandip Shah, managing director of Fusion Condoms.
'New figures show teenage pregnancies are yet again on the rise. We believe contraceptives must be made more widely available to break this trend - which is why Fusion condoms are targeting fashion shops, budget shops, health food shops as well as just chemists,' Shah told IANS.
The brothers, who run a pharmacy in Baker Street, London, said 30 health food stores have already placed orders to stock Fusion condoms as a result of their new vegan status. With many more placing orders it is the first concerted drive by a condom brand to establish vegan-friendly condom sales in health food outlets.
One of London's biggest Indian grocery outlets, Dhamecha Cash and Carry, has also agreed to stock Fusion condoms in all five of their depots.
Britain is home to three million vegetarians and 180,000 vegans - strict vegetarians who don't eat any dairy products - a substantial proportion of the British population.
And with their numbers increasing, particularly among young people, both health food shops and budget shops have begun to diversify their products range to offer customers a one-stop shop.
John Krahn, a director at the Haelan Centre health food shop chain, said: 'Because we have a large vegetarian client base and work a lot with vegan groups, I think it's very important that we are able to stock vegan condoms.
'We aim to be a one-stop shop for our customers, and the reality is that there's a lot of need for condoms. We want to make sure our customers can buy one that meets their ethical criteria.'
Fusion condoms are also designed for more environmentally aware customers, which again often means young people - the condoms are wrapped without the use of cellophane and have their instructions printed on the reverse of the cardboard packaging, eliminating the need for surplus paper inserts.
from Indo-Asian News Service

Three Anti-Gay Protesters At Opening Of 'Rent'

NEWPORT BEACH - It was opening night and the 46 students who make up the cast and crew of Corona del Mar High School's production of "Rent: School Edition" were scrambling through a hallway that doubles as a backstage for the school's tiny student theater.
Hannah Lindt, 18, made last-minute tweaks Thursday to the costumes she spent months searching for at thrift stores, tearing apart and tailoring to fit just so. Sienna Petree, 13, put make-up on cast members -- a homeless person, then a junkie and a cross-dressing street musician named Angel.
Outside, all but one gate to the affluent Newport Beach school was closed. Guy Olguin, principal of Corona del Mar's middle school, directed a staff of security guards in black uniforms. One guard was sent to wander the theater halls, another was positioned at the entrance to the stage, a couple were sent to the front of the school, and another headed to the open gate.
Ever since it was first proposed, the production of the modified version of the Broadway musical about artists struggling to survive in New York City under the shadow of AIDS has been mired in months of controversy.
The show was nearly canceled. The American Civil Liberties Union sued the school, alleging that the campus fosters a homophobic and sexist atmosphere. A handful of members of Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, which is known for its anti-gay protests, vowed to come to the campus to demonstrate against what it saw as the godless enablers of homosexuality.
Ron Martin, the theater teacher and director, said he chose the production after a video appeared on Facebook showing Corona del Mar students using anti-gay slurs and after he overheard students using anti-homosexual insults on campus. He said he hoped the show would help teach students tolerance.
By midday Friday, the protesters had arrived. There were three of them, carrying signs that said, "[Gays] Are Beasts," among others.
As they gathered on the sidewalk, several students came together in counter-protest on the other side of the street. Within minutes, more than 200 -- some wearing rainbow tie-dye shirts and holding peace signs -- stood sentry in front of the campus, clutching signs that said, "Support Love," "God Hates No One" and "Love Is Not a Sin."
The students turned the protest into a mini-celebration, singing songs from the musical and breaking into the school's own fight song. A couple ran through the crowd in swim trunks, with the words "God Loves Gays" written across their chests. One was wrapped in a rainbow-colored cloth. Another wore a handmade shirt that read, "Love Is Equal."
At one point, several students ran across the street to stand near the protesters. They shouted, "God loves gays and lesbians too," and waved their signs at passing cars. Minutes later, Fred Phelps, pastor of Westboro Baptist Church, and his supporters walked away, taking their signs with them.
Martin, the theater teacher who had hoped his choice in musicals might touch some students, came by for a few minutes. But he walked away quickly, fighting tears. "I'm proud of them," he said.
Several cast and crew members stood nearby. In a few hours they would be at it again, tweaking costumes, applying makeup, rehearsing their lines and singing their songs for the second night's show.
from The Los Angeles Times

Suspect In Murder Of Gay Man Ruled Mentally Incompetent

DENTON TEXAS - A suspect accused of murdering and dismembering a gay Dallas man last year has been found incompetent to stand trial.
The finding means 29-year-old Seth Winder will be transferred from the Denton County jail to a state psychiatric facility, according to his defense attorney, Derek Adame. Winder will receive treatment in an effort to restore him to competency so he can stand trial in the murder of 38-year-old Richard Hernandez.
“We’re just kind of in a holding pattern until we figure out what’s going on with his treatment,” Adame said. “I have no idea how long that’s going to be.”
Hernandez, who lived in a portion of Far North Dallas that’s in Denton County, is presumed dead after his disappearance in early September 2008. Dallas police never located Hernandez’s remains, which they believe were deposited in a Dumpster and buried in a landfill.
They first identified Winder as a suspect when he allegedly used Hernandez’s debit card in the days after the murder. The case against Winder is expected to rely heavily on DNA evidence.
Police found a gruesome murder scene inside Hernandez’s apartment — including tissue from internal organs in the bathtub — and they later recovered blood-covered evidence at two campsites where Winder is believed to have stayed.
They also found pornographic images of Winder that were taken inside Hernandez’s apartment on a camera that was recovered at the home of Winder’s father.
Adame said he requested the psychiatric evaluation because he was concerned that Winder didn’t understand the charge against him and was unable to effectively communicate with his attorney about the case.
After the defense and prosecution agreed to accept a mental health expert’s findings, a Denton County District Court judge decided earlier this month that Winder is “incompetent with a probability of recovery,” according to online court records.
The Denton County District Attorney’s Office didn’t return multiple phone calls seeking comment about the case, which recently was the subject of an episode of “The First 48,” a real crime TV show on A&E.
Winder’s psychiatric evaluation is sealed, but Winder’s father said this week he believes his son suffers from schizophrenia.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Rodney Winder said of the court’s finding. “If he’d have gotten the help before, there might have been a better outcome. It’s just too little, too late.”
Rodney Winder said he tried unsuccessfully for years to convince authorities that his son needed help. Seth Winder had been discharged from the Army for mental health reasons and reportedly tried to strangle his mother in 2005.
He also had a fascination with knives, and his strange behavior included chopping up snakes and scattering the pieces in his father’s yard.
“With each year that passed, he would become worse and worse,” said Rodney Winder. “He’s not faking it. He’s bona fide.”
Hernandez’s longtime friend, Rudy Araiza, disagreed.
“I honestly believe that he knew what he was doing, and now this is his way of not paying for his actions or serving time,” Araiza said. “This guy’s just buying himself some time.”
Seth Winder initially was charged with capital murder, which is punishable by death. However, court records show that the charge has been reduced to first-degree murder, which is punishable by five to 99 years in prison.
Adame said he believes prosecutors reduced the charge because they don’t believe there’s sufficient evidence to prove that the murder was committed in the course of a robbery.
Rodney Winder and Araiza both said they hope Seth Winder spends the rest of his life behind bars.
“You can’t let him loose, because you don’t know what he’ll do,” Rodney Winder said. “That would be a travesty if they were to allow him to go free.”
Araiza, who’s gay, said the court’s finding that Winder is incompetent to stand trial would delay closure for Hernandez’s family and friends.
“If this guy was given a trial and found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, that would have closure for me,” Araiza said.
“I feel that peace would be to know that this psycho wouldn’t be out there attempting to hurt anyone else in the same manner that he did Richard.”
from The Dallas Voice

ACLU Demands LGBT Website Access For TN Students

KNOX COUNTY, TENNESSEE - The ACLU is threatening the Knox County, Tennessee, school system with a lawsuit if it does not meet their web demands.
The American Civil Liberties Union is demanding that the school system unblock "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" websites by April 29, 2009, or face a lawsuit. The ACLU claims the filtering software employed by Knox County -- which is provided by Education Networks of America -- blocks students from viewing nonsexual websites that host content they consider protected free speech.
According to an ACLU press release, the default settings on the ENA software block LGBT websites such as Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG); the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); and Human Rights Campaign (HRC). The latter is the largest pro-homosexual lobbying group in the U.S.
Knox County schools are engaging in "illegal viewpoint discrimination," claims the ACLU, by denying students access to "political and educational information about LGBT issues" on school computers. In the ACLU's eyes, that constitutes "censorship" and denies students information for research purposes.
Matt Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, says the ACLU is throwing its weight around again. "This new threat by the ACLU against these schools in Tennessee is simply an attempt to push the homosexual agenda down the throats of every American. This in fact is blatant bullyism," says the attorney.
According to Staver, the school does not have to comply with the ACLU's demands. Many of the websites that are blocked do indeed have inappropriate content, he says.
"They're not just talking about general issues with respect to homosexuality," he explains. "They're pushing a very sexualized agenda in their advertisement and in their content. The school is doing the right thing not to allow these websites to be made available to students in school."
The Christian attorney argues that homosexual activists want to use the schools as "an incubator to sexualize the next generation."
Meanwhile, the ACLU says it is "eager" to find out if any other Tennessee school districts that use the ENA filtering software are "violating students' Constitutional rights by restricting access to LGBT sites."
from One News Now

Just One Look...#103

Breaking The Silence Around Bullying

Despondent over daily bullying and harassment at his middle school in Springfield, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, a sweet-faced 11-year-old, hanged himself earlier this month. His mother, Sirdeaner L. Walker, found him hanging by an extension cord in their home.
Before this tragic moment, she had attempted to get help and support from the administrators of his school, the New Leadership Charter School, where her sixth-grader endured taunting and threats of violence, some of which included anti-gay epithets. Carl played football, soccer, and basketball. He belonged to a Boy Scout troop, was active in his church, and did not identify as gay. Another young person ended a promising life, alone and scared and crushed by his peers' degradations.
The terrible truth is that Carl was not the first child to end his life, nor the last.
Eric Mohat, 17, from Mentor, Ohio, went home from school on March 27, 2007, and shot himself in the head. According to court papers filed in a lawsuit by his parents against his school, Mohat suffered harassment and bullying that took the form of constant name-calling, teasing, and verbal intimidation as well as pushing, shoving, and hitting both in class and in hallways of the high school. His parents do not seek punitive damages; instead, they want the school district to recognize the suicide as the result of homophobia and to implement an anti-bullying program to prevent other similar tragedies.
According to the National Youth Violence Prevention Center, nearly one in three youths nationwide report either being bullied, having bullied someone, or both. For students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), the statistics are grimmer. "Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2 percent) reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half (44.1 percent) reported being physically harassed, and about a quarter (22.1 percent) reported being physically assaulted," according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students.
The report continues, "Nearly two-thirds of LGBT students (60.8 percent) who experience harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school. . . . Of those who did report the incident, nearly a third (31.1 percent) said the school staff did nothing in response."
Nothing in response? Nothing to help young people who rise each morning not knowing if school brings another day of hell on earth or something a bit more tolerable? As parents and school leaders, we cannot tolerate this status quo.
Here in Massachusetts, legislators have filed 14 bills that address bullying in schools. As caring adults, we must work for an anti-bullying law that guarantees public school environments are free of bullying and harassment based on actual or perceived race, national origin, ethnic group, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, weight, or sex. While a listing of actual or perceived characteristics like race or sexual orientation and gender identity/expression may seem unnecessary, it is important that school personnel be attuned to the specific ways that students are targeted.
The Golden Rule hasn't created safe school environments.
My eighth-grade son reports that he often hears and challenges anti-gay slurs and name-calling on the playground, in the hallways, and on his school bus. Would that every kid could be so brave, but many children do not have the self-confidence and support to challenge anti-gay slurs slung around the schoolyard. Students, teachers, and school leaders all need to help end the scourge of bullying.
Carl would have celebrated his 12th birthday yesterday; instead, his mother was expected to "break the silence" at an event in Springfield marking the end of the national Day of Silence, a program to raise awareness about LGBT bullying and harassment at school.
Let's join Sirdeaner Walker by breaking the silence around bullying. Let's ensure that our political leaders take fast action to implement strong school safety policies that include accountability mechanisms, training for school personnel, and specific definitions of bullying behavior and its lonely targets.
from The Boston Globe

Day Of Silence Videos

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Students Encouraged To Skip School On 'Day Of Silence'

A national coalition of pro-family groups are urging parents to keep their students home this coming Friday in protest of the annual "Day of Silence," when students vow silence to bring attention to the discrimination of gay students.
Over 20 Christian-based conservative groups have called for the massive walkout from middle and high schools participating the April 17 event, arguing that the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)'s sponsored event politicizes the classroom to support the belief that homosexuality is moral. They include state chapters of American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Illinois Family Institute, Liberty Council and Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays.
"This day is not about 'tolerance' as it claims, but about forcing propaganda and acceptance of high-risk behavior into the schools with no opposing views allowed," said Linda Harvey of Mission America, which also supports the walkout.
Laurie Higgins of the Illinois Family Institute said that while "all of civilized society must oppose bullying," she opposes the "illegitimate means of using public education to affirm volitional homosexual behavior."
Campaign for California Families said the demonstration will serve as financial "leverage" to get the message across, saying public schools in California lose $100 a day for each child absent.
The groups have encouraged parents and teens who are not willing to risk teacher retribution or missing school to send a letter to schools officials expressing their objections to Day of Silence.
The coalition has also called attention to a resolution sitting before Congress that would urge the federal government and public schools to officially recognize and celebrate Day of Silence. The legislation also requests that "the President issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe the National Day of Silence with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and activities."
House Concurrent Resolution 92 was introduced on April 1 and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
GLSEN claims that over 8,000 students participated in last year's Day of Silence. The organization says the observance is needed, pointing to its 2007 survey showing 86 percent of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation while 44 percent report being physically harassed.
The band of pro-family groups, meanwhile, says that by opposing the event they are in no way endorsing the bullying and harassment of those in the LGBT community.
One Christian professor, however, has come against the walkout, saying it's not very productive.
"How can we get anything accomplished if we leave the field?" Dr. Warren Throckmorton, professor of Psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, wrote last week on his blog on Crosswalk.com.
The expert in mental health and sexuality issues contends that students taking part in Day of Silence have a point, saying he has spoken with Christian students who have admitted to bullying or harassing gay students.
Throckmorton has created an alternative response to Day of Silence, asking Christians to take The Golden Rule Pledge and show up at school to live out the teaching of Christ to treat others as they want to be treated.
When Day of Silence students hand out cards asking, "What will you do to help end the silence?" Christian students should respond: "This is what I am going to do. I pledge to treat others the way I want to be treated. 'Do to others as you would have them do to you.'"
Meanwhile, several other Christian-based conservative groups are promoting the Day of Truth on April 20, the following Monday, as a direct response to Day of Silence. According to Day of Truth's Web site, it was established to "counter the promotion of the homosexual agenda and express an opposing viewpoint from a Christian perspective."
Alliance Defense Fund and Exodus International, the promoters of Day of Truth, are encouraging students to speak the "truth in love" and engage in conversation about homosexuality.
Participants are also asked to hand out cards reading: "I'm speaking the Truth to break the silence. True tolerance means that people with differing - even opposing - viewpoints can freely exchange ideas and respectfully listen to each other. It's time for an honest conversation about homosexuality. There's freedom to change if you want to. Let's talk."
from The Christian Post

Pfizer And Glaxo To Create New HIV Drug Company

LONDON - Drug makers GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Pfizer Inc. said Thursday they plan to create a new company to invest in the research and development of HIV treatments.
The deal allows the two companies to blend Glaxo's portfolio of HIV treatments currently on the market with Pfizer's more robust pipeline of drugs in development.
"The combination of a broad current revenue base and a new diverse pool of pipeline assets provides a significant platform to invest in developing and delivering new HIV medicines," Glaxo Chief Executive Andrew Witty said during a Thursday conference call with analysts.
London-based Glaxo will initially hold an 85 percent equity interest in the new company, with New York-based Pfizer holding the remaining 15 percent.
The new company will have a product portfolio of 11 marketed products including market-leading therapies such as Combivir, Kivexa and Selzentry/Celsentri. Based on 2008 results, the combined portfolio generates sales of around 1.6 billion pounds ($2.4 billion).
The companies said revenues at that level will provide the new company with financial stability and support investment in its pipeline.
"We're going to just simply give it enough cash to support its working capital," Witty said. "It's not going to have any debt."
Witty said the new company can then ask its board, which will be divided according to the ownership stake of the two companies, for more funding.
"It's going to have two parents out there with, I think, a very rapid decision-making mechanism to allow it to be funded for what it needs to do," he said.
The two companies said that the new business "will be more sustainable and broader in scope than either company's individually," adding that it will hold a 19 percent share of the growing market.
"By combining Pfizer's and GlaxoSmithKline's complementary strengths and capabilities, we are creating a new global leader in HIV and reaffirming our ongoing commitment to the treatment of the disease," said Pfizer Chief Executive Jeff Kindler in a joint statement issued to the London Stock Exchange.
The new venture will focus on HIV treatments and not include Glaxo's vaccine program, Witty said.
"Who knows down the road whether or not there'd be a commercial collaboration opportunity if and when those vaccines make it to market, but they're not currently scheduled to go into this business," he said.
The company will have a pipeline of six innovative and targeted medicines, including four compounds in mid-stage drug development. Altogether, the new company will have 17 molecules at its disposal to develop in fixed-dose combinations as possible new HIV treatments.
The new company will contract research and development services directly from Glaxo and Pfizer to develop new medicines.
Shares of Pfizer fell 23 cents to $13.63, while Glaxo slipped 30 cents to $30.53 in Thursday morning trading.
from The Associated Press

Beliefs On Homosexuality Gets Charity Worker Suspended

UNITED KINGDOM - A Christian housing charity today denied any involvement with a hostel worker suspended for expressing anti-gay views.
David Booker, 44, was chatting about his faith with co-worker Fiona Vardy during a late shift at the hostel in Southampton, Hants on March 26.
He told her he was opposed to same-sex marriages and to homosexual clergy but denied being homophobic and said he had homosexual friends.
The next evening, Mr Booker was suspended from his £19,000-a-year post as a hostel support worker with Society of St James where he has worked for the past four years.
Charity English Churches Housing Group (ECHG) used to run the hostel but transferred the support services to the Society of St James in February 2008 and sold the building to Saxon Weald housing association in January 2009.
The charity has been inundated with calls from angry Christians and Derek Caren, ECHG managing director, said: "We have had no involvement with the project or any disciplinary action against any Society of St James staff as it is simply not our business any longer.
"We successfully managed the Southampton Street project for many years but no longer retain an interest and strongly refute any connection with this unfortunate incident.
"I'm dismayed the good name of this organisation has been unfairly tarnished as a result of a mistake."
On March 30, Mr Booker received a formal suspension notice which alleged he "seriously breached" the code of conduct "by promoting your religious views which contained discriminatory comments regarding a person's sexual orientation...
"The action has been taken to safeguard both residents and staff" at the Southampton Street hostel.
Mr Booker, 44, a born-again Christian from Southampton, turned to the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) which instructed human rights lawyer Paul Diamond to represent him.
Trevor Pickup, chief executive of Society of St James, said: "The Society would like to make it clear that it only suspends people when allegations against them are very serious.
"We cannot say more at this point because we have a duty to ensure that Mr Booker is treated fairly.
"If the investigation finds that he has a case to answer then the evidence will be presented to him and he will have the opportunity to defend himself at a hearing where he has the right to representation by a trade union representative or work colleague."
The charity has 170 staff and works with more than 300 homeless people in Southampton.
The Society said it was not a Christian organisation and Mr Pickup added: "We are, however, committed to being fair to all our staff, from whatever background or faith."
from 24 Dash

He Swallowed My Penis!!

A Polish man was rushed to hospital after his best friend bit off his penis and swallowed it.
Marian Milczarek, 53, had a huge argument with his best friend, about a car trailer he had asked to borrow.
According to Marian, his friend, Wojciech Sowinski, then knocked his to the floor of his garage.
Marian, from Lesna said: "He began hitting me with a chain and then pulled down my trousers and started biting. It was agony."
Marian's wife found him coiled in pain and immediately called an ambulance. Although he was treated neither police or medics could find any trace of his penis and believe Wojciech swallowed it.
Dr Adam Domanasiewicz from the hospital where Marian is being treated said: "If we'd had the other bit of his penis we could have sewn it back on."
from Independent Online

Gay Books? Twitter Says #amazonfail And #glitchmyass

Online bookseller Amazon has a bit of a PR nightmare on its hands. It started earlier this weekend when customers and Amazon visitors began to notice that books that had gay, lesbian, bi and trans-gendered themes began to disappear from the site's crucial sales rankings. Author Mark Probst was the first on the case:

On Amazon.com two days ago, mysteriously, the sales rankings disappeared from two newly-released high profile gay romance books: “Transgressions” by Erastes and “False Colors” by Alex Beecroft. Everybody was perplexed. Was it a glitch of some sort? The very next day HUNDREDS of gay and lesbian books simultaneously lost their sales rankings, including my book “The Filly.” There was buzz, What’s going on? Does Amazon have some sort of campaign to suppress the visibility of gay books?

The books were actually being refiled as "adult" books and kept out of sales rankings. Amazon's new policy was so broad that dozens if not hundreds of seemingly innocuous titles were caught in the net. Popular blog Jezebel notes that items like sex toys were somehow left out of the adult material dragnet but books by authors such as Henry Miller, Anais Nin and D.H. Lawrence were listed as "adult" and stripped of their sales rankings.
Amazon's troubles would soon quickly spiral out of control when twitter users caught on to the story and began using the hashtag #amazonfail to spread the word about the company's policy. On Sunday night the tag was the top trending topic on the popular microblogging platform's search engine. Facebook groups, petitions and calls for a boycott sprang up all over the web. Facebook users have also created groups to protest Amazon's move.
Amazon's official response to the disappearing sales rankings is that it was a "glitch" that would be fixed.
But that explanation seems only to have angered people and sparked calls of homophobia. Twitter users began adding the tag #glitchmyass fuelling even more fire to the PR crisis.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Andrea James has tried to follow the story and points out that one author complained about Amazon filing gay books as "adult" content as long as two months ago. Foreign Policy columnist Yevgeny Morozov posits some possible actions that activist net users might take against Amazon.
The story is still developing and many in the book industry will be looking at Amazon's response in the coming days.
from National Post

Happy Easter

Matthew Shepard Human Rights Triangle

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – Sheriff’s detectives found the man they say desecrated a pair of tribute trees honoring pioneers of the gay rights movement in the center of West Hollywood this week, say officials.
The incident occurred Thursday night, March 26, with a second on Saturday night, the result of which left the trees, one a flowering Chinese Magnolia and the other a California Live Oak, suffering from considerable damage.
A transient named Bruce Bartmann, age 47, who is known to make WeHo his tramping grounds, was captured by a Sheriff deputy who spotted him in the Beverly Hills Court hallway on Wednesday; recognizing him from a photo that had been making the rounds, he arrested him on the spot.
The flowering Chinese Magnolia was planted to honor Morris Kight, who died just weeks after his tree’s planting in 2002.
He was honored at that time for his pioneering of the gay movement; founding Gay Pride, co-founding the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, Stonewall Democratic Club are just a sampling of his achievement.
The incident occurred Thursday night, March 26, with a second on Saturday night, the result of which left the trees, one a flowering Chinese Magnolia and the other a California Live Oak, suffering from considerable damage.
A transient named Bruce Bartmann, age 47, who is known to make WeHo his tramping grounds, was captured by a Sheriff deputy who spotted him in the Beverly Hills Court hallway on Wednesday; recognizing him from a photo that had been making the rounds, he arrested him on the spot.
The flowering Chinese Magnolia was planted to honor Morris Kight, who died just weeks after his tree’s planting in 2002.
He was honored at that time for his pioneering of the gay movement; founding Gay Pride, co-founding the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, Stonewall Democratic Club are just a sampling of his achievement.
Ivy Bottini, who serves on the WeHo Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board, was honored at the same time for her part in the founding of the LAGLC, her work in AIDS activism and her leadership in the city on gay issues.
The tree she selected was a California Live Oak.
The park was dedicated to Matthew Sheppard, a Wyoming man who was tortured and killed by homophobes.
The magnolia suffered the worst of the vandalism, being a softer, faster growing wood.
Its limbs were mostly torn off the tree, with the branches left lying around the tree in a heap.
The oak tree suffered minor damage to its smaller branches, but the tree was also toppled, leaving it wobbling in the soil.
Detective Brian Nelson, the lead detective on the case, told WeHo News the Mr. Bartmann had a history of doing unusual things on occasion, and an informant stepped forward after hearing/seeing the report on WeHo News.
A similar incident took place recently, although not involving monument trees, in which Mr. Bartmann was contacted, but the investigation in that case went no further.
The trees have been tended to and mended, with David Gardner, the city’s Urban Forester, saying that they will both survive the damage done to them.
Mr. Bartmann is held in the Twin Tower jail facility on $20,000 bail,
His arraignment has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the charge of felony vandalism, he faces as many as three years in jail.
from WeHoNews

Flying Your Gay-Rights Flag

NEPTUNE, NEW JERSEY — Should the display of flags symbolizing sexual orientation — such as the gay-rights rainbow flag — be allowed in "family neighborhoods"?
That's a question the Township Committee has been asked to tackle at an April 28 public meeting with the Shark River Hills Property Owners' Association.
The question is one of 23 that have been submitted to Mayor Michael Brantley and the committee by members of the association.
"Ref: Display of sexual orientation flags," the question begins. "More and more, we are noticing flags being displayed on (Shark River Hills) properties declaring the occupants' sexual orientation or proclivity — not just the multicolored "gay' striped flags, but also banners indicating fetishes and or other "lifestyle' choices.
"While this type of display may be acceptable in certain gay enclaves, there is simply no justification for it in a family oriented neighborhood like (Shark River Hills.) Your comments?"
Deputy Mayor Mary Beth Jahn said she could answer the question in two words: "First Amendment," she said.
The meeting, set for 7:30 p.m. at the Shark River Hills firehouse on Brighton Avenue, is an annual event during which Shark River Hills residents can discuss their concerns with members of the committee and various department heads.
Each year, questions are submitted to association president JoAnne Collins for inclusion in a letter to the mayor, Collins said.
Collins said "nearly 100 percent" of the questions are submitted anonymously, and she does not filter them.
"I include any question. It's up to the mayor whether he wants to address it or not," Collins said.
She said the question about the flags "is definitely not a concern of mine, nor is it a concern of the property owners' association as a whole."
She said the person who submitted the question "thought one of the flags was explicit in nature."
Committeeman Randy Bishop said he was not sure whether the question would even be addressed.
"I don't know what Mayor Brantley will do," he said.
Brantley could not be reached for comment.
Bishop said he believes that the township "has no business infringing on First Amendment rights of any type because, truthfully, people could be offended by any number of things, and where does it stop when you start?"
Jahn was more blunt, calling the question "extremely ignorant."
"It's a poor reflection on Shark River Hills and the homeowners' association that would even submit that," she said. "It's very painful to learn that we have that kind of bias and ignorance living within our town."
Jahn also wondered why gays and lesbians "are not considered to be family-oriented."
Bishop and Jahn said they have never seen the kinds of flags referenced in the question displayed in Shark River Hills.
"But I will be out looking for examples," Jahn said.
See Say What? Skewed views on strange news. Today: Official attacks zoo's choice of gay elephant
Brantley could not be reached for comment.
Bishop said he believes that the township "has no business infringing on First Amendment rights of any type because, truthfully, people could be offended by any number of things, and where does it stop when you start?"
Jahn was more blunt, calling the question "extremely ignorant."
"It's a poor reflection on Shark River Hills and the homeowners' association that would even submit that," she said. "It's very painful to learn that we have that kind of bias and ignorance living within our town."
Jahn also wondered why gays and lesbians "are not considered to be family-oriented."
Bishop and Jahn said they have never seen the kinds of flags referenced in the question displayed in Shark River Hills.
"But I will be out looking for examples," Jahn said.
from Asbury Park Press

Texas Christian University To Provide Gay And Lesbian Housing

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - Texas Christian University offers special housing for students interested in world affairs. The environment. Foreign languages. And, starting this fall, gay and lesbian issues.
TCU is apparently the first campus in the state to reserve housing for gay students and straight students who support them. And that's earning kudos from advocates for gay students.
"It just basically says that TCU wants their campus to be safe for all students and wants everyone to feel welcomed," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director and founder of Campus Pride. The nonprofit group supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender college students.
Like many colleges, TCU offers themed housing, called "learning communities," in addition to traditional dorms or apartments. For instance, there's the Green House, for students who care about the environment. The Language and International Living House, for those who want to master another language.
Some students proposed a community with a gay and lesbian theme, and so the "DiversCity Q" community opens this fall in some on-campus apartments. Also opening: themed housing for patriotism, fine arts, marine biology and Christianity.
The idea is that students "are able to live with and near other students who have similar interests," TCU spokeswoman Lisa Albert said.
Windmeyer said TCU appears to be the only campus in Texas that offers housing with a gay and lesbian theme.
Campus Pride rates colleges across the country on their friendliness toward gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students. Housing, counseling services and campus nondiscrimination policies are among the criteria. Campus participation in the ratings is voluntary; TCU is not included. Rice University in Houston receives the best rating in Texas, and the University of Texas at Austin comes in second.
Sam Wunderl , a TCU junior, said he thinks gay-friendly housing is "a big step forward" for TCU, and he believes most students are fine with the idea.
"I just think it's important for gays to feel included," said Wunderl, who is straight.
The decision, first reported by the TCU student newspaper, has received mixed reaction in the online world. On Twitter, users posted a range of comments.
"Proud of TCU for being progressive, but there's always the danger of entering 'separate but equal' territory," one woman wrote.
"Very progressive!!" one another woman wrote.
"Awful idea," one man wrote.
from The Dallas Morning News

Gay Men Who Father Children Are 'Egocentric And Vain'

Rupert Everett has launched a scathing attack on gay men who father children - branding them "egocentric and vain".
The openly gay actor slammed surrogacy for homosexual couples as "utterly horrendous" - and poured scorn on gay marriages.
And he rounded on the "tiresome" gay movement, insisting it is populated by "middle-class queens".
The My Best Friend's Wedding star told the Daily Beast website: "I think this surrogacy thing is crap. It is utterly hideous. I think it's egocentric and vain.
"And these endless IVF treatments people go through. I mean, if you are meant to have babies then great. But this whole idea of two gay guys filling a cocktail shaker with their sperm and impregnating some grim lesbian and then it gets cut out is just really weird.
"If I did have the impulse to be a parent, I would adopt - or foster. But this whole thing of forcing the idea of parenthood on us gay men is so bogus. Marriage? Babies? Please. I want to be illegal. I want to live outside the mainstream."
He added: "Or am I slightly ahead of the curve? It has to change. These awful middle-class queens - which is what the gay movement has become - are so tiresome. It's all Abercrombie & Fitch and strollers. Everybody has the right to do what they want to do, but still..."
It's not the first time the actor has expressed strong views.
In June last year he was forced to apologise after branding British soldiers "whining wimps".
His unfortunate remarks came the day before the death toll of troops killed in Afghanistan reached 100 after three British servicemen lost their lives in a suicide bomb blast.
The 49-year-old gay actor, whose father is a retired major, said that modern recruits were "pathetic" and added that "the whole point of being in the Army was wanting to get killed".
He also suggested that many recruits enlisted just so they could torture prisoners.
He issued an unreserved apology saying he felt "terrible anguish" at his earlier remarks.
from Daily Mail

Six Gay Men Shot To Death In Iraq

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - Six gay men were shot dead by members of their tribe in two separate incidents in the past 10 days, an official with Iraq's Interior ministry said.
In the most recent attack, two men were killed Thursday in Sadr City area of Baghdad after they were disowned by relatives, the official said.
The shootings came after a tribal meeting was held and the members decided to go after the victims.
On March 26, four additional men were fatally shot in the same city, the official said, adding that the victims had also been disowned by their relatives.
The official declined to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Witnesses told CNN that a Sadr City cafe, which was a popular gathering spot for gays, was also set on fire.
from CNN

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From Garibaldi Gay