Nation’s largest gay newspaper publisher closes
(Atlanta) The nation’s largest publisher of newspapers serving the gay and lesbian community has shut down.
Laura Douglas-Brown, editor of Southern Voice newspaper in Atlanta, said she arrived at work Monday to find the locks changed and a note saying parent company Window Media LLC had closed down.
She said the company’s …
Tags: Gay And Lesbian, Gay Atlanta, Gay Community, Gay Lesbian, Laura Douglas, Lesbian Community, Locks, Nation Newspaper, Newspaper Publisher, Newspapers, Parent Company, Southern VoiceGoodbye, Washington Blade?
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution is reporting that Window Media, owner of the Washington Blade (40 years old), Southern Voice (20 years old), South Florida Blade and other publications has ceased operating.
This is a great loss for the gay community.
Until the rise of the internet, gay and lesbian community papers were our …
Tags: Atlanta Journal Constitution, Gay Community, Lesbian Community, Rise Of The Internet, South Florida, Southern Voice, Washington BladeGay rights attorney dies at 94
Albert L. Gordon, whose sons are gay, was one of LA’s gay community’s lead pro-bono lawyers.
Tags: Gay Community, gay rights, Lead, Pro Bono LawyersIsraelis rally after 2 murdered at gay center
(Tel Aviv, Israel) Reeling from the worst attack ever aimed at homosexuals in Israel, members of the country’s gay community and their supporters rallied Sunday in the heart of Tel Aviv a day after a masked gunman killed two people at a center for gay youth and escaped.
As protesters with …
Tags: Gay Center, Gay Community, Gay Israel, Gay Youth, Gunman, Heart, Homosexuals, Israel, Israelis, People, Protesters, Rally, Tel Aviv IsraelLesbians in China petition to donate blood
(Beijing) Lesbians in China have organized an online petition calling for gay people to be allowed to donate blood, state media reported Tuesday.
The petition, asking the government to remove a law enacted in 1998 banning the gay community from donating blood, has drawn 540 signatures from lesbians and aims to …
Tags: Aims, Beijing China, China Beijing, Donate Blood, Donating Blood, Gay Community, Gay People, Lesbians, Online Petition, Signatures, State MediaGay activists and union leaders commit to year two of Hyatt Boycott
See Gay activists and union leaders commit to year two of Hyatt Boycott
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-activists…
Gay rights advocate questions pick for state civil rights chief in NJ
TRENTON — One of New Jersey’s leading gay rights advocates is raising questions about Attorney General Anne Milgram’s pick for state civil rights chief, a day after two state senators also criticized the choice.
Garden State Equality Chairman Steven Goldstein said Milgram’s nominee to lead the Division on Civil Rights, Chinh Le, is “someone completely unknown” to the state’s gay community, unlike former director Frank Vespa-Papaleo.
“The burden is on the attorney general to further demonstrate that her nominee will continue Frank Vespa-Papaleo’s record of outstanding advocacy for every community, including ours,” Goldstein said.
The state Commission on Civil Rights is expected to vote on Le’s nomination today.
“Chinh Le has an extraordinary background and commitment to justice and civil rights,” Milgram said in a statement. “His experience and involvement in the important social and civil issues facing our state make him well-qualified to lead the division.”
See Gay rights advocate questions pick for state civil rights chief NJ.com
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-rights-ad…
San Jose gay center warns it may have to close
The interim executive director of a gay community center that serves Silicon Valley says the 28-year-old gathering place will have to close its doors unless he can raise $50,000 by September.
Paul Wysocki sent a newsletter to supporters of the Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center on Tuesday warning that dried up government funding and declining corporate support had created a hole in the center’s $310,000 budget. The center provides HIV testing, support services for youth and seniors, and career and recreational programs.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/san-jose-gay-…
Old Game, New Buzz, Gay Community Outraged
Pink News reports on gay groups becoming re-outraged over a game which requires players to shoot gay men. The game is called “Watch Out Behind You, Hunter”, and was originally launched in 2002 by frenchie Stéphane Aguie. The game is banned in France, but that hasn’t stopped it from making the rounds and finding a new host.
The gay group Gay Armenia said it was “completely disgusted” by the game, adding that it was created by “those religious-minded people in Tbilisi, Georgia… who constantly cite Bible to ‘justify’ their homophobia and hatred. A post on the gay group’s blog added: “Is this their ‘orthodox’ way of bringing up children by creating an image of an enemy and teaching them how to deal with it?”
The website’s owner, Jean Christophe Calvet, has rebuked claims of prejudice, saying that he “really didn’t understand why the association was attacking us” . He told news site France24.com: “The guy who came up with the game, Stéphane Aguie, wanted to mock hunters and rednecks, not gay men”.
He continued: “Our games are not politically correct. They’re aimed at teenagers and it’s true that they’re of a juvenile humour”. Mr Calvet said that while the game was removed from French websites after legal action from gay rights groups, it is “impossible to wipe it from all foreign sites too”.
He added: “Incidentally, not everyone in the gay community was supportive of banning the game. “I realise now that this one in particular could be found shocking, but I believe that you should be able to make this kind of joke in the name of freedom of speech.” The site has faced backlash for its games before. In 2001 it was criticised by American groups for a game entitled ‘New York Defender’ where the object was to protect the Twin Towers from plane attacks.
Mr Calvet also commented that the site was attacked over its depiction of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the leader of the French National Front. He took the creators to court after the game involved users throwing axes at his face. He was not the only celebrity depicted in the game, but for him, the axes were changed to swastikas. He added: “In the end, its all a bit of fun.”
See Old Game, New Buzz, Gay Community Outraged
Ve3d.com
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Conservatives reject funding for Montreal gay festival
A gay and lesbian arts festival that was told it met all government criteria under a new tourism stimulus program learned Tuesday it was rejected for funding.
The news arrived at Montreal’s Divers-Cite a few weeks after tension swept the Conservative caucus over funding for Toronto’s Pride week, and just days before the beginning of the event.
The directors of Montreal’s Divers-Cite had actually sprung to the defence of Stephen Harper’s government earlier this month, telling The Canadian Press that the Conservatives had never treated them differently. Some in the gay community attacked them for their comments.
They had submitted a bid under the new Marquee Tourism Events Program for $155,000 to add performers and promotion to this year’s $2-million event.
Government relations and marketing director Paul Girard said bureaucrats handling his file at Industry Canada told him his application met all the criteria, and had been sent up to Minister Tony Clement’s office for final approval.
When he phoned to check on the bid Tuesday, Mr. Girard says he was told by a senior bureaucrat that the $100-million program had received so many requests, the government simply had to make a choice.
“We knew that anybody that was to be refused and didn’t meet the criteria got a quick No,” Mr. Girard said. “As time advanced, we became more and more confident.”
Paul’s sister Suzanne, the festival’s director, says the organization was completely shocked by the response. Divers-Cite has received funding from Economic Development Canada for several years, as well as Canadian Heritage.
See Conservatives reject funding for Montreal gay festival
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