Higher level of abuse among same-sex couples than straight ones, Hong Kong study
In harm’s way: Higher level of abuse among same-sex couples than straight ones, Hong Kong study
Four times as many individuals in a same-sex relationship than in a straight one have reportedly been victimised by physical assault, according to a landmark study by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the Women Coalition of HKSAR.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/higher-level-…
(San Diego) A judge granted a sentencing delay last Tuesday to a man who assaulted a lesbian musician while she hugged her girlfriend. The lawyer for Vinzen Matthew Williams, 21, sought the delay.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/man-who-assau…
Pastor, D.C. Church Offer Gay African Americans A Message of Acceptance and Responsibility
In the middle of a sermon, Bishop Rainey Cheeks felt his medicine bottle bulging in his pocket and realized he hadn’t taken his pills. He paused in the pulpit and faced the congregation in his tiny storefront church.
“Excuse me,” Cheeks remembers telling his parishioners last year as he poured three pills into his hand. “This is my HIV medicine. I’m going to take it now.”
As he washed down the pills with water, Cheeks saw some members staring with wide eyes. Everybody knew that their pastor, an imposing man with flowing dreadlocks who once competed in taekwondo championships, is gay. But not everyone knew that he is HIV-positive.
“Go ahead, Rev,” a few congregants urged. But most shrugged and waited for the bishop to swallow and get on with delivering the good word.
Inner Light Ministries in the District’s H Street corridor might seem like a traditional black church, with fiery sermons, electric gospel music, a soulful choir and a congregation that sways and claps in rhythm. But it is hardly that.
See Pastor, D.C. Church Offer Gay African Americans A Message of Acceptance and Responsibility
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pastor-dc-chu…
Saddam’s rule ‘better’ for gay Iraqis
Investigating reports of the murder and torture of gay men in Iraq, Ashley Byrne found that some gays found Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship preferable to the threat of violence they face today.Some readers will find parts of his report disturbing.
There has been so much news of death and destruction from Iraq that the position of sexual minorities is rarely touched on in the mainstream media.
But stories of torture and murder of gay Iraqis, particularly men, have been emerging in the gay press for several years
See Saddam’s rule ‘better’ for gay Iraqis
BBC News -
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/saddams-rule-…
Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric
On July 14, the day of a legislative hearing on the transgender rights bill currently on Beacon Hill, WCVB’s NewsCenter 5 ran a story about the bill on its evening newscast. Anchor Liz Brunner introduced the story by saying, “It’s being called the bathroom bill, [and it] is essentially meant to end discrimination based on transgender status.” Behind Brunner was an image of the traditional male and female stick figures found on restroom doors, positioned next to the State House dome and above the tagline, “Bathroom Bill.” Yet the only people calling the trans rights bill, House Bill 1728, a “bathroom bill” are its opponents, and the label is a misnomer by any objective criteria.
H.B. 1728 adds trans-inclusive language to the state’s non-discrimination laws in the areas of employment, public accommodations, credit, housing, and education, as well as to the state’s hate-crimes laws, going far beyond simply allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or expression. Opponents of the legislation, led by the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), claim that the bill will allow male sexual predators to masquerade as women and sneak into women’s restrooms and locker rooms. WCVB’s coverage of the transgender rights bill, as well as the coverage by some other local media outlets, suggests that the work of the bill’s opponents to label the legislation a bathroom bill in public discourse has been at least somewhat successful. See Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric Bay Windows
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/local-media-s…
Gay activists and union leaders commit to year two of Hyatt Boycott
At a press conference last Friday, GLBT activists and union leaders marked the one-year anniversary of the Manchester Hyatt Boycott, launched last year in response to hotel owner Doug Manchester’s $125,000 contribution to qualify Proposition 8 for the ballot.
“For over a year we have urged San Diegans, Californians and Americans to boycott the Manchester Hyatt because of Manchester’s contribution to Proposition 8 and onerous workloads for the hotel’s housekeepers,” said Cleve Jones, a national gay leader and former aid to slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk. “The hotel’s own people have admitted to losing over $7 million in business due to the boycott. This boycott has truly shown the power of our reenergized community and the alliance between the gay community and labor.”
Proposition 8 eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. Boycott organizers also committed to continue the boycott and expand its scope.
“One of our goals for the next year will be to take the boycott to the next level – global,” said Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate. “We will ask travel planners and tour operators throughout the world not to book meetings and room nights at the Manchester properties. We will put up a virtual bright yellow caution tape around Manchester’s hotels, and ask people not to cross it.”
The boycott has drawn increasing media attention and picked up steam since it began. Early on, several groups announced that they would move or cancel events at the hotel. Recently, the American Association of Justice, a trial lawyers group moved its entire convention out of the Manchester Hyatt to San Francisco to honor the boycott. At a recent gay and lesbian travel exposition, a hotel spokesperson confirmed that the boycott has cost the hotel more than $7 million.
At the July 17 press conference, organizers unveiled more than just a new approach. They came with a new logo and visual aid – bright yellow caution tape reading “Do not cross. Do not support bigotry and discrimination.” Organizers say the caution tape is intended as a reminder for individuals throughout the country not to patronize the hotel.
“We want to send a very simple message to all those planning to travel to San Diego that the Manchester Hyatt Boycott is on and stronger than ever,” said Human Relations Commissioner, Nicole Murray-Ramirez. “The unions, hotel workers and gay community started this fight together and we intend to finish it together.”
See Gay activists and union leaders commit to year two of Hyatt Boycott
Gay and Lesbian Times
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-activists…
SCLC SPLIT OVER GAY MARRIAGE: Los Angeles office at odds with national officials.
*Civil Rights Movement icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a group of Black activists who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1959.
Even after King’s assassination in 1968, the SCLC remained one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations. But now the group’s cohesion is under threat. The issue which could potentially split the organization is same-sex marriage.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based leadership of the group has threatened to suspend or remove Rev. Eric P. Lee as head of the Los Angeles SCLC chapter because of his outspoken support for homosexual marriage.
But Lee and supporters in the L.A. chapter are fighting back essentially arguing that the national board does not have the authority to remove him. Lee is also thought to be seeking support from other SCLC chapters around the country.
Officially the national board says it is neutral on the gay marriage issue but in reality, the group dominated by Black Southern ministers is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage. Their view appears to be backed by a large majority of African Americans. An Edison/Mitofsky exit poll found that 70 percent of Black voters supported California’s Proposition 8 last fall. The proposition banned gay-marriage in the state.
A similar national online survey conducted recently by Taylor Media Services found 72 percent of Blacks opposing same-sex marriage which was supported by a slim majority of whites. Hispanics were evenly split on the issue.
SeeS CLC SPLIT OVER GAY MARRIAGE: Los Angeles office at odds with …
Eurweb.com –
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/sclc-split-ov…
Another front for fairness
AT A HEARING at the State House last week, supporters of a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression outlined the myriad barriers that confront transgender people – those who are born male but live as females, or vice versa. Unlike those whose religions or sexual orientations expose them to discrimination, transgendered people might not be able to avoid the issue when applying for jobs, apartments, or loans. The truth may become evident from a check on a Social Security number or a search of credit reports.
Transgender advocates aren’t looking for sympathy. The goal of the legislation, introduced by Representative Carl Sciortino, is to give transgender residents of Massachusetts space to live without discrimination or violence. The bill responds sensibly to a real problem, and deserves to pass.
Transgender people don’t make the transition lightly; many, though not all, undergo gender-reassignment surgery. The case of Dana Zircher, profiled recently by the Globe’s Bella English, underscores the difficulty of the process, even when individuals have supportive families and employers. Zircher, a software designer and a parent, has undergone a divorce, surgery, and 350 hours of electrolysis.
Instead of addressing the complexities of actual people’s lives, though, opponents are trying to undermine Sciortino’s legislation by calling it a “Bathroom Bill.’’ The difference between a transgender woman and a man who wants to infiltrate a ladies’ room is perfectly obvious, at least to anyone who is not deliberately obfuscating the issue. The difference would surely be obvious to police officers and judges. Thirteen other states, including Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island, and dozens of cities, including Boston and Cambridge, already forbid discrimination against transgendered people – and public washrooms are as safe as ever.
See Another front for fairness
Boston Globe
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-front…
Sailor arrested in Camp Pendleton shooting death of seaman
SAN DIEGO – A sailor was charged Thursday with fatally shooting and burning Seaman August Provost during an alleged burst of crime June 30 at Camp Pendleton.
In announcing the charges, Navy officials suggested that Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Campos killed his victim indiscriminately. They again said there’s no evidence of a hate crime against Provost, who was gay, or of gang-related activity.
Campos, 32, of Lancaster, had served with Provost on Assault Craft Unit 5. He faces 16 charges, including murder, arson, unlawful entry, theft of military property and wrongful possession of a firearm, Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest, said during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the San Diego Naval Base.
The Navy hasn’t announced a date for Campos’ pretrial hearing, called an Article 32 hearing.
See Sailor arrested in Camp Pendleton shooting death of seaman
San Diego Union Tribune –
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/sailor-arrest…
100 Nations Meet in Copenhagen to Celebrate and Fight for Homosexual Rights
COPENHAGEN, — This week, thousands of people from across the globe will arrive in the Danish capital Copenhagen to take part in the most important international event for homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender men and women – World Outgames 2009. On the agenda is one of the largest and most important conferences on homosexual rights the world has ever seen.
Nearly 100 nations will be represented, and up to 200,000 participants, tourists and Copenhageners are expected to take part in World Outgames 2009 from July 25 – August 2. Apart from focusing on human rights for nine days, a large number of theme festivals and an extensive cultural and sports program will make Copenhagen the place to be.
“By hosting World Outgames, Denmark will send a signal to the rest of the world that it should maintain focus on the right to love whomsoever one wishes, irrespective of gender and sexuality. From Northern Europe to South America, in Eastern Europe and the Far East, there are human rights battles to be fought – particularly for homosexuals. We hope that World Outgames and the thousands of people from around 100 different countries will be able to spread the message to the world,” says Uffe Elbaek, director of World Outgames 2009.
The heart of World Outgames is a major international human rights conference being held in close cooperation with Amnesty International and IBM focusing on the necessity that all people, irrespective of gender and sexuality should have equal rights.
“It is important for Copenhagen that issues concerning homosexual rights and tolerance can be discussed without prejudice. World Outgames enables us to pay tribute to the diversity and openness that is such an innate part of the city. We are greatly looking forward to welcoming participants and spectators,” says Lars Bernhard Jorgensen, CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen.
A great variety of cultural activities will take place in Copenhagen during the event. Cities such as Melbourne, Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Antwerp will contribute with music, entertainment, dance and much more. Sporting events throughout the city will include some 30 disciplines – such as ice hockey, beach volleyball and triathlon in Copenhagen’s harbor area. Apart from the cultural program and the sport events, the city will be awash with a large number of free activities.
Also, a gay cruise with 2,600 passengers will be docking at Copenhagen during World Outgames, and a mass blessing has been arranged at Copenhagen Cathedral offering gay couples special recognition by the Church to commemorate the 20th anniversary of legally recognized same-sex civil unions in Denmark.
Facts and additional information about homosexual rights in Denmark:
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/factsheetWOG
Read more about World Outgames: http://www.copenhagen2009.org/
Official program: http://www.copenhagen2009.org/program
Download photos: http://www.copenhagen2009.org/photo
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/100-nations-m…
(San Diego) A judge granted a sentencing delay last Tuesday to a man who assaulted a lesbian musician while she hugged her girlfriend. The lawyer for Vinzen Matthew Williams, 21, sought the delay.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/man-who-assau…
Pastor, D.C. Church Offer Gay African Americans A Message of Acceptance and Responsibility
In the middle of a sermon, Bishop Rainey Cheeks felt his medicine bottle bulging in his pocket and realized he hadn’t taken his pills. He paused in the pulpit and faced the congregation in his tiny storefront church.
“Excuse me,” Cheeks remembers telling his parishioners last year as he poured three pills into his hand. “This is my HIV medicine. I’m going to take it now.”
As he washed down the pills with water, Cheeks saw some members staring with wide eyes. Everybody knew that their pastor, an imposing man with flowing dreadlocks who once competed in taekwondo championships, is gay. But not everyone knew that he is HIV-positive.
“Go ahead, Rev,” a few congregants urged. But most shrugged and waited for the bishop to swallow and get on with delivering the good word.
Inner Light Ministries in the District’s H Street corridor might seem like a traditional black church, with fiery sermons, electric gospel music, a soulful choir and a congregation that sways and claps in rhythm. But it is hardly that.
See Pastor, D.C. Church Offer Gay African Americans A Message of Acceptance and Responsibility
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pastor-dc-chu…
Saddam’s rule ‘better’ for gay Iraqis
Investigating reports of the murder and torture of gay men in Iraq, Ashley Byrne found that some gays found Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship preferable to the threat of violence they face today.Some readers will find parts of his report disturbing.
There has been so much news of death and destruction from Iraq that the position of sexual minorities is rarely touched on in the mainstream media.
But stories of torture and murder of gay Iraqis, particularly men, have been emerging in the gay press for several years
See Saddam’s rule ‘better’ for gay Iraqis
BBC News -
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/saddams-rule-…
Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric
On July 14, the day of a legislative hearing on the transgender rights bill currently on Beacon Hill, WCVB’s NewsCenter 5 ran a story about the bill on its evening newscast. Anchor Liz Brunner introduced the story by saying, “It’s being called the bathroom bill, [and it] is essentially meant to end discrimination based on transgender status.” Behind Brunner was an image of the traditional male and female stick figures found on restroom doors, positioned next to the State House dome and above the tagline, “Bathroom Bill.” Yet the only people calling the trans rights bill, House Bill 1728, a “bathroom bill” are its opponents, and the label is a misnomer by any objective criteria.
H.B. 1728 adds trans-inclusive language to the state’s non-discrimination laws in the areas of employment, public accommodations, credit, housing, and education, as well as to the state’s hate-crimes laws, going far beyond simply allowing transgender people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or expression. Opponents of the legislation, led by the Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI), claim that the bill will allow male sexual predators to masquerade as women and sneak into women’s restrooms and locker rooms. WCVB’s coverage of the transgender rights bill, as well as the coverage by some other local media outlets, suggests that the work of the bill’s opponents to label the legislation a bathroom bill in public discourse has been at least somewhat successful. See Local media swallows ‘bathroom bill’ rhetoric Bay Windows
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/local-media-s…
Gay activists and union leaders commit to year two of Hyatt Boycott
See Gay activists and union leaders commit to year two of Hyatt Boycott
Gay and Lesbian Times
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/gay-activists…
SCLC SPLIT OVER GAY MARRIAGE: Los Angeles office at odds with national officials.
*Civil Rights Movement icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a group of Black activists who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1959.
Even after King’s assassination in 1968, the SCLC remained one of the nation’s leading civil rights organizations. But now the group’s cohesion is under threat. The issue which could potentially split the organization is same-sex marriage.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based leadership of the group has threatened to suspend or remove Rev. Eric P. Lee as head of the Los Angeles SCLC chapter because of his outspoken support for homosexual marriage.
But Lee and supporters in the L.A. chapter are fighting back essentially arguing that the national board does not have the authority to remove him. Lee is also thought to be seeking support from other SCLC chapters around the country.
Officially the national board says it is neutral on the gay marriage issue but in reality, the group dominated by Black Southern ministers is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage. Their view appears to be backed by a large majority of African Americans. An Edison/Mitofsky exit poll found that 70 percent of Black voters supported California’s Proposition 8 last fall. The proposition banned gay-marriage in the state.
A similar national online survey conducted recently by Taylor Media Services found 72 percent of Blacks opposing same-sex marriage which was supported by a slim majority of whites. Hispanics were evenly split on the issue.
SeeS CLC SPLIT OVER GAY MARRIAGE: Los Angeles office at odds with …
Eurweb.com –
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/sclc-split-ov…
Another front for fairness
AT A HEARING at the State House last week, supporters of a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression outlined the myriad barriers that confront transgender people – those who are born male but live as females, or vice versa. Unlike those whose religions or sexual orientations expose them to discrimination, transgendered people might not be able to avoid the issue when applying for jobs, apartments, or loans. The truth may become evident from a check on a Social Security number or a search of credit reports.
Transgender advocates aren’t looking for sympathy. The goal of the legislation, introduced by Representative Carl Sciortino, is to give transgender residents of Massachusetts space to live without discrimination or violence. The bill responds sensibly to a real problem, and deserves to pass.
Transgender people don’t make the transition lightly; many, though not all, undergo gender-reassignment surgery. The case of Dana Zircher, profiled recently by the Globe’s Bella English, underscores the difficulty of the process, even when individuals have supportive families and employers. Zircher, a software designer and a parent, has undergone a divorce, surgery, and 350 hours of electrolysis.
Instead of addressing the complexities of actual people’s lives, though, opponents are trying to undermine Sciortino’s legislation by calling it a “Bathroom Bill.’’ The difference between a transgender woman and a man who wants to infiltrate a ladies’ room is perfectly obvious, at least to anyone who is not deliberately obfuscating the issue. The difference would surely be obvious to police officers and judges. Thirteen other states, including Vermont, Maine, and Rhode Island, and dozens of cities, including Boston and Cambridge, already forbid discrimination against transgendered people – and public washrooms are as safe as ever.
See Another front for fairness
Boston Globe
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/another-front…
Sailor arrested in Camp Pendleton shooting death of seaman
SAN DIEGO – A sailor was charged Thursday with fatally shooting and burning Seaman August Provost during an alleged burst of crime June 30 at Camp Pendleton.
In announcing the charges, Navy officials suggested that Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Campos killed his victim indiscriminately. They again said there’s no evidence of a hate crime against Provost, who was gay, or of gang-related activity.
Campos, 32, of Lancaster, had served with Provost on Assault Craft Unit 5. He faces 16 charges, including murder, arson, unlawful entry, theft of military property and wrongful possession of a firearm, Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest, said during a news conference Thursday afternoon at the San Diego Naval Base.
The Navy hasn’t announced a date for Campos’ pretrial hearing, called an Article 32 hearing.
See Sailor arrested in Camp Pendleton shooting death of seaman
San Diego Union Tribune –
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/sailor-arrest…
100 Nations Meet in Copenhagen to Celebrate and Fight for Homosexual Rights
COPENHAGEN, — This week, thousands of people from across the globe will arrive in the Danish capital Copenhagen to take part in the most important international event for homosexual, bi-sexual and transgender men and women – World Outgames 2009. On the agenda is one of the largest and most important conferences on homosexual rights the world has ever seen.
Nearly 100 nations will be represented, and up to 200,000 participants, tourists and Copenhageners are expected to take part in World Outgames 2009 from July 25 – August 2. Apart from focusing on human rights for nine days, a large number of theme festivals and an extensive cultural and sports program will make Copenhagen the place to be.
“By hosting World Outgames, Denmark will send a signal to the rest of the world that it should maintain focus on the right to love whomsoever one wishes, irrespective of gender and sexuality. From Northern Europe to South America, in Eastern Europe and the Far East, there are human rights battles to be fought – particularly for homosexuals. We hope that World Outgames and the thousands of people from around 100 different countries will be able to spread the message to the world,” says Uffe Elbaek, director of World Outgames 2009.
The heart of World Outgames is a major international human rights conference being held in close cooperation with Amnesty International and IBM focusing on the necessity that all people, irrespective of gender and sexuality should have equal rights.
“It is important for Copenhagen that issues concerning homosexual rights and tolerance can be discussed without prejudice. World Outgames enables us to pay tribute to the diversity and openness that is such an innate part of the city. We are greatly looking forward to welcoming participants and spectators,” says Lars Bernhard Jorgensen, CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen.
A great variety of cultural activities will take place in Copenhagen during the event. Cities such as Melbourne, Tel Aviv, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Antwerp will contribute with music, entertainment, dance and much more. Sporting events throughout the city will include some 30 disciplines – such as ice hockey, beach volleyball and triathlon in Copenhagen’s harbor area. Apart from the cultural program and the sport events, the city will be awash with a large number of free activities.
Also, a gay cruise with 2,600 passengers will be docking at Copenhagen during World Outgames, and a mass blessing has been arranged at Copenhagen Cathedral offering gay couples special recognition by the Church to commemorate the 20th anniversary of legally recognized same-sex civil unions in Denmark.
Facts and additional information about homosexual rights in Denmark:
http://www.visitcopenhagen.com/factsheetWOG
Read more about World Outgames: http://www.copenhagen2009.org/
Official program: http://www.copenhagen2009.org/program
Download photos: http://www.copenhagen2009.org/photo
| Published by |
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/100-nations-m…
