Thursday's News and Pop Culture Round-Up
LDS Church-owned Deseret News pulls ad for gay suicide memorial
Above is the most recent ad that the LDS Church-owned Deseret News won't run. It is a memorial service presented by the Foundation for Reconciliation. The memorial, "From Despair to Hope," honors lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) suicide victims as well as "those who have successfully overcome conflicts involving their sexual orientation and the LDS Church." The memorial will be held this Sunday October 4th at 7 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, 569 S. 1300 East, Salt Lake City.Salt Lake Tribune reports:
MediaOne, which handles advertising for both the News and The Salt Lake Tribune , accepted payment from the nonprofit Foundation for Reconciliation, to run an ad, announcing a memorial service this Sunday, in both papers. But on Wednesday, a MediaOne employee told the group's Cheryl Nunn that the ad had been rejected by the News.
"Anything that's related to the church we have been asked to present that to [the Deseret News ] and then they decide," said MediaOne President Brent Low. "This one was directly talking about the church and sexual orientation." Without receiving the discount offered from advertising in both papers, the group asked to pull the blurb from the Tribune , as well, and received a full refund, Low said.
Peter Danzig, a Salt Lake City spokesman for the Foundation for Reconciliation, called the newspaper ad "innocuous." Danzig hopes remembering the "suffering" of those who have taken their own lives because of despair felt from conflict arising between their sexual orientations and Mormon faith and families will "compel" attendees "to create hope for other people."
READ MORE
Domestic partnership certificates issued in Nevada
Nevada's secretary of state issued domestic partnership certificate No. 1 at the state Capitol on Thursday as a state law providing many of the same legal rights as marriage to gay and straight partners went into effect.The Houston Chronicle reports:
The first couple to be issued the certificate — Lee Cagley and Larry Davis — shared tears and laughter and were congratulated by Secretary of State Ross Miller. "This gives us the legal rights to act for each other's benefit," said Davis, a funeral home director. "It's a wonderful privilege and we're grateful." Cagley, 58, and Davis, 48, said they've been in a relationship for three years, and held a commitment ceremony on Oct. 13, 2007, in Las Vegas. They also were married in California on Aug. 3, 2008, before voters there overturned gay marriage in the state.
While Nevada's constitution bans same-sex marriage, the domestic partnership law extends rights similar to those held by married couples — including community property and the right to seek financial support after a breakup — to cohabitating couples.
Nevada joins 16 other states that have laws recognizing domestic arraignments outside of marriage. READ MORE
Michael Jackson relatively healthy for 50-year-old: Los Angeles County coroner's report
Michael Jackson's arms were covered with puncture marks, his face and neck were scarred, and he had tattooed eyebrows and lips, but he wasn't the sickly skeleton of a man portrayed by tabloids, according to his autopsy report obtained by The Associated Press.CBC reports:
The Los Angeles County coroner's report shows Jackson was a fairly healthy 50-year-old before he died of a drug overdose. His 136 pounds (62 kilograms) were in the acceptable range for a five-foot-nine (1.72 metres) man. His heart was strong with no sign of plaque buildup. And his kidneys and most other major organs were normal.
Still, Jackson had health issues: arthritis in the lower spine and some fingers, and mild plaque buildup in his leg arteries. Most serious was his lungs, which the autopsy report said were chronically inflamed and had reduced capacity that might have left him short of breath.
But according to the document, the lung condition was not serious enough to be a direct or contributing cause of death.
"His overall health was fine," said Dr. Zeev Kain, chairman of the anesthesiology department at the University of California, Irvine, who reviewed a copy of the autopsy report for The Associated Press. "The results are within normal limits." Kain was not involved in the autopsy. The full autopsy report has not been released publicly, but The AP obtained a copy. READ MORE
France aims for two million electric cars by 2020
France plans to invest 1.5 billion euros (2.2 billion dollars) on infrastructure for the two million electric and hybrid cars it wants on its roads by 2020, the ecology minister said Thursday.Physorg reports:
A million battery-charging points will be built by 2015, 90 percent of them in private homes but also in car parks and at roadside sites, according to a national plan presented by Jean-Louis Borloo. "No player can take the risk alone, but if all the actors take it at the same time, that works," the minister told reporters as he outlined his government's strategy on helping reduce C02 emissions via cleaner cars. The state and major companies will order 100,000 electric vehicles by 2015. Nine hundred million euros of the investment money -- to be used mostly for infrastructure but also for buying cars and on subsidies to buyers and makers of vehicles -- could come from a state loan due to be launched next year. READ MORE
Marriage Equality bill introduced in Illinois Senate
The introduction of the Equal Marriage bill by Senator Heather Steans would legalize marriage between two adults of the same sex in Illinois.Equality Illinois:
“This is not an issue of sacred versus secular - there are plenty of synagogues and churches that both recognize and perform same-sex marriages,” said Bernard Cherkasov, Chief Executive Officer of Equality Illinois. “Rather, marriage is a civil right – plain and simple. The state cannot have a civil institution of marriage – with its plethora of benefits, rights, and responsibilities – and exclude from it an entire class of citizens.”
The bill would provide for state recognition of same-sex marriage, while ensuing that religious institutions are not required to perform any marriages that inconsistent with their religious practices.
For more information and to donate visit: Equality Illinois
And the winner for "Douche Bag of the Year" goes to... Bossip
And the winner for "Douche Bag of the Year" goes to Bossip for publishing the wedding pictures of Michael Cole Smith & Jamil Smith Cole and encouraging their readers to publicly humiliate the couple. The contributors to Bossip should be ashamed of the themselves.For the full story read: Pictures from Black Gay Wedding Spurs Hateful and Homophobic Internet Campaign
About Bossip:
Bossip.com is the leading celebrity online property which has an urban sensibility. In addition, we are the fastest growing urban-focused new media property on planet earth. We provide daily updated content and have developed a strong reputation, with numerous mentions by GQ Magazine, New York Daily News, Time Magazine, Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, LA Times, New York Times, Boston Globe, USA Today, Washington Post, VH1, TMZ, and other major media outlets. Bossip draws a loyal following of young and influential trend setters who are up to date with what’s hot in society and is the perfect place to reach a large audience of the culturally obsessed.
Meet Our Contributors
CBanko, Contributor
CBanko is a graduate of L.A. Street University, So Cal. Most people consider themselves figured out, but Chuck feels like a work in progress. The joy of his life are his wife and two kids. The area he stems from is where bagging, clowning, and talking sh*t is a talent, as well as a way of life…everyday, all day.
CaliLuvah , Editor
Cali is a native of La La land and was the last known female in the city who didn’t have plastic breasts, lips or dunk which is why she migrated to the Atl. As a graduate of UC Berkeley with a BA in Sociology and of the University of Miami with a Masters of Fine Arts in Screenwriting, she lives to write and writes to live. She has an unhealthy love affair with beauty products and can’t stop watching brain-melting reality TV, which at the rate she’s going means she’ll be officially brain dead in less than three weeks.
Liv2Laugh, Exclusive Content Manager
As a graduate of Michigan State University, Liv2Laugh molded her English major with concentrations in Creative Writing, Film and African American Culture. Like most hopeful writers, she lived off of ramen noodles and spamiches before landing a cool freelance gig at Upscale Magazine and The Atlanta Voice. She was soon reeled in by the charms of celebrity news sites and quickly enslaved herself to one. Her motto? “Tact is for people who aren’t witty enough to be sarcastic.”
Pictures from Black Gay Wedding Spurs Hateful and Homophobic Internet Campaign
I feel so bad for Michael Cole Smith and his husband Jamil Smith Cole, seen here in one of their wedding pictures. Rod 2.0 has done an excellent and very thorough report on this story.Rod 2.0 reports:
Vicious homophobia rears its ugly head once again at Morehouse College, one of the nation's premier historically black colleges. Two staff members forwarded pictures of the extravagant wedding ceremony of popular Minneapolis hairstylist Michael Cole Smith and husband Jamil Smith Cole. One employee added an anti-gay rant and works in the office of President Robert Franklin, reports Southern Voice.
"I can’t believe this wedding. It’s 2 men. They don’t smile in a lot of pictures and they look like a few brothers I’ve seen in the streets looking STRAGHT. Black women can’t get a break, either our men want another man, a white woman (or other nationality that’s light with straight hair), they are locked up in jail or have a 'use to be' fatal disease. I’m beginning to believe Eve was a black woman and we Black women are paying for all the world’s sins through her actions (eating the apple)," wrote Sandra Bradley [a Morehouse employee].
To add insult to injury:
The pictures have been posted to many black gossip blogs where hateful anti-gay commentary is standard operating procedure. At ghetto-obsessed and fact-challenged Bossip, there are almost 500 comments at the post charmingly entitled "What the Hell is Wrong with These Pictures". The vast majority are hurtful. One woman compares gay men to "rapists and serial killers".
Read Rod's full report here.
Actress Glenn Close to host The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later pre-show
Tony award-winning actress, Glenn Close to host The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later pre-show.Playbill reports:
When the epilogue to the Laramie Project, which is entitled The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, makes its New York City premiere Oct. 12 at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the evening will feature a pre-show that will be webcast live to the over 150 other theatres across the country that are also presenting the epilogue.
The webcast will include guest host Glenn Close, welcoming remarks by Judy Shepard and a post-production Q and A moderated by National Public Radio Arts and Culture correspondent Neda Ulabay. READ MORE
Tickets On Sale For THE LARAMIE PROJECT: 10 YEARS LATER At Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall
Broadway World reports:
In New York, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later will be directed by Moisés Kaufman and held at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall (1941 Broadway). Tickets can be purchased at Lincoln Center or by calling 800-721-6500.
The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later focuses on the long term effect of the murder of Matthew Shepard on the town of Laramie. It explores how the town has changed and how the murder continues to reverberate in the community. The play also includes new interviews with Matthew’s mother Judy Shepard and Mathew’s murderer Aaron McKinney, who’s serving dual life sentences, as well as follow-up interviews with many of the individuals from the original piece.
OMG! Is this the foot-long preserved penis of the legendary Russian mystic, Rasputin?
This is the somewhat disturbing prize specimen in Russia's first ever museum of sex and erotica - the preserved 12inch penis of legendary lover and mystic Grigori Rasputin.UK Metro reports:
Or at least, that's what the owner of the museum claims. The erotica exhibition in St. Petersburg hosts a variety of sculptures and paintings - but the main attraction is the alleged Rasputin. penis, preserved in a jar.
Anti-gay group, National Organization for Marriage, to be investigated by Maine Ethics Commission
The National Organization for Marriage has given over $160,000 to the fight against Maine’s same-sex marriage law and now they will be investigated for possible campaign finance violations.Bangor Daily reports:
Members of the Maine Ethics Commission voted 3-2 Thursday morning to look into whether the National Organization for Marriage has purposefully skirted campaign finance laws in order to hide the identities of donors. The complaint, filed by the group Californians Against Hate, alleges that those donations were then funneled to Stand for Marriage Maine, the organization leading the battle to repeal Maine’s same-sex marriage law.
“This [complaint] is nothing more than an attempt to intimidate and to harass people who believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman,” said Brian Brown, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based group. READ MORE
Shirtless 'Eclipse' Wolfpack
The third Twilight movie, Eclipse, is currently filming in Vancouver. Check out these pics of a shirtless wolfpack--which includes Bronson Pelletier (Jared), Alex Meraz (Paul), Tyson Houseman (Quil Ateara), Kiowa Gordon (Embry Call).SocialiteLife reports:
It's hard to believe that Summit Entertainment already has the Eclipse stars out in Vancouver, filming scenes for the third Twilight movie, when New Moon has yet to hit theaters. While the boys will bare their chests for the camera, between takes, they take the opportunity to stay warm by bundling up in matching bathrobes and Ugg boots because it is mighty nipply out! More pics here.
Check out all the Twilight related posts here.
A kid was responsible for the Obama Assassination poll on Facebook: U.S. Secret Service
The Secret Service have identified the person responsible for the Facebook poll asking if President Obama should be assassinated. A spokesman for the Secret Service say the "juvenile" is not a threat to Obama and no charges will be laid against him or his parents. Unbelievable.AP reports:
After Secret Service agents met with the child and the child's parents, they determined there was no intent to harm the president. "Case closed," Agent Edwin Donovan said. "I guess you could characterize it as a mistake." No criminal charges will be filed against the juvenile or the juvenile's parents, said Donovan said. Donovan would not identify the names of the child or parents or say where they are from.
D.C. Councilman David Catania to introduce a bill next week legalizing same-sex marriage
Will the District of Columbia be the next battleground in the debate over marriage equality in the United States?NBC reports:
D.C. Councilman David Catania said he will introduce a bill next week legalizing same-sex marriage. Standing before 200 or so activists from the city's gay and lesbian community, Catania, the District's first openly gay councilman, told the crowd he is ready to introduce his long-awaited same-sex marriage bill. With nine co-sponsors lined up, there is little doubt the measure will be approved by the 13-member council. But all laws in the District are subject to congressional review, and federal lawmakers have intervened in local affairs. READ MORE
Manga version of Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' is a huge success in Japan
Sales of a comic version of Adolf Hitler's notorious political tract "Mein Kampf" have become a hit in Japan.UK Telegraph reports:
The manga book describes both Hitler's autobiography and his infamous Nazi manifesto in the unlikely form of easy-to-read comic pictures and captions. The book, which forms part of a series on world classics turned into manga, covers a range of aspects of Hitler's life, from his childhood to the formation of his political party.
Its success in Japan has reportedly ignited a debate in Germany about whether the ban on the work imposed since 1945 should be overturned. Since it was published in Japan last November, its popularity has soared, with sales of more than 45,000.
The current copyright of the book within Germany lies in the hands of the finance ministry of the state of Bavaria which will not reproduce it out of respect to the relatives of those who suffered during Hitler's regime. READ MORE
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley to be inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley will be inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame this fall along with 14 other individuals and organizations.Chicago Tribune reports:
U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley is being honored for his support of gay issues during his public service career. His first act in Congress was to co-sponsor the Hate Crimes Bill, and he's called for the repeal of the military's ban on gay service members. He was also a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And he's urged President Barack Obama to include same-sex marriages in the 2010 Census. The hall of fame recognizes achievements by both members of Chicago's gay communities and their allies. The hall of fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Nov. 12 at the Chicago Cultural Center.
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