The Toughest Guy in Sicily is Gay.

Governor Rosario Crocetta--or Presidente della Regione Siciliana--elected in October 2012, is the unlikeliest man  to govern the testosterone-fueled Mafiosi Sicily as he is not only anti-mafia, but  openly gay.. Yet, despite the two strikes against him, he won the  support of the people with his accomplishments during his anti-mafia crusade as Gela’s mayor for seven years (2003-2009).  During that time, Crocetta purged the city government of  this dangerous entity, and persuaded many shopkeepers to quit paying extortion fees.  In addition, as Gela's mayor, he put the brakes on the single-bidding contract system that left the city’s garbage collection under Stidda control. He also served on the EU’s Anti-Mafia Commission. Needless to say, he's made a very dangerous enemy, and has fortunately survived three assassination attempts.  Still, Crocetta said his election victory as Sicily's governor means "the Mafia can pack its bags."

“Back when he was mayor of a coastal town plagued by mob violence, Crocetta took on the dons, combating the ingrained practice of pizzo, or forced protection payments, while helping put hundreds of gangsters behind bars. His anti-mafia revolution led crime boss Daniele Emmanuello to call for his assassination, with police subsequently arresting a series of mobsters for plots against his life.

A devoted Catholic, Crocetta claims that southern Italy is "less homophobic than the north." His sexuality rarely became a dominant issue during his governor’s campaign, but it was there, just beneath the surface, and on occasion, even made the headlines. Nevertheless, as a matter of contention, homophobia paled in comparison to the act of declaring "war" on La Cosa Nostra. Not too long ago, anti-Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino attempted to serve a far-reaching blow to the Mafia with the introduction of 'mafia association' as a charge before they were murdered in 1992.

“Freedom is about the moment you stand up and rebel. Sicily has stood up and is on its feet. What is happening here? A cultural revolution. I don’t know if we’ll succeed, but it’s about time we tried.” -- Rosario Crocetta

Links:

Inside The Sicilian Mafia's Drug Empire

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The Fascist Prison Island of Freedom.

Unlike Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy had no law criminalizing homosexual activity. Why not?  Well, it was thought that such a provision would publicize homosexuality. Like Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Benito Mussolini declared Italy too masculine for homosexuality to exist. Nevertheless, despite its non-existence, a group of 45 thought to be homosexual men were labelled "degenerate", expelled from their homes and interned on the  island of San Domino, in the Tremitis.

"Unwittingly, the Fascists had created a corner of Italy where you were expected to be openly gay." -- Alan Johnson, BBC News

Needless to say, despite the lack of sanctions, the shame connected to homosexuality at the time--that has not been totally eradicated--made life for homosexuals in Italy extraordinarily unpleasant.  So, in spite of the prison island and their shackled exile status, for the first time in their lives, these men could be themselves

"But some of the few accounts given by former exiles make clear that life was not all bad on San Domino.

It seems that the day-to-day prison regime was comparatively relaxed.
Continue reading the main story

We did theatre, and we could dress as women there and no-one would say anything”

Giuseppe B San Domino inmate

Unwittingly, the Fascists had created a corner of Italy where you were expected to be openly gay.

For the first time in their lives, the men were in a place where they could be themselves - free of the stigma that normally surrounded them in devoutly Catholic 1930s Italy.

What this meant to the exiles was explained in a rare interview with a San Domino veteran, named only as Giuseppe B - published many years ago in the gay magazine, Babilonia - who said that in a way the men were better off on the island.

"In those days if you were a femminella [a slang Italian word for a gay man] you couldn't even leave your home, or make yourself noticed - the police would arrest you," he said of his home town near Naples.

"On the island, on the other hand, we would celebrate our Saint's days or the arrival of someone new... We did theatre, and we could dress as women there and no-one would say anything."

And he said that of course, there was romance, and even fights over lovers.

Some prisoners wept, Giuseppe said, when the outbreak of World War II in 1939 led to the end of the internal exile regime on San Domino, and the men were returned to a kind of house arrest in the places where they came from.

Links:

The Island and the City: Homosexuals in Exile in Italy in Fascist , by Gianfranco Goretti and Tommaso Giartosi

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Iran Sentences Banksters to Death.

First, let me state that I am 100% against the death penalty for any reason, however, this is the first time--as far as I know-- that banksters will be punished for participating in the destabilization of the global economy. An Iranian court dished out four death sentences in the country's biggest bank-fraud scandal to date: the embezzlement of $2.6 billion.

Constitution of the Islamic republic Article 49

"The government has the responsibility of confiscating all wealth accumulated through usury, usurpation, bribery, embezzlement, theft, gambling, misuse of endowments, misuse of government contracts and transactions, the sale of uncultivated lands and other resources subject to public ownership, the operation of centers of corruption, and other illicit means and sources, and restoring it to its legitimate owner; and if no such owner can be identified, it must be entrusted to the public treasury. This rule must be executed by the government with due care, after investigation and furnishing necessary evidence in accordance with the law of Islam.

Now Iran's "justice" system is barbaric and I am in no way promoting this type of oppression.  Death sentences in Iran are, in theory, legal for: armed robbery, treason, murder, drug trafficking, rape, pedophilia, sodomy, kidnapping, and terrorism, and I guess, bankster fraud. Regarding sodomy, the Iranian Judiciary does not recognize the concept of sexual orientation, and thus from a legal standpoint there are no homosexuals or bisexuals - only heterosexuals "committing" homosexual acts, which is ludicrous in an of itself. On the other hand, transgendered individuals are classified as a distinct group with legal rights.

Meanwhile, in the west, the banksters', Wall Street CEOs, Blackwater executives and/or corrupt politicians--aren't they all?--are rewarded with promotions, bonuses, and trillions of dollars in bail-outs.  The bottom line is that elite criminals should be prosecuted, not protected.

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Nurture allows what nature endows.

Check out the Born This Way Blog.

A photo/essay project for gay adults (of all genders) to submit childhood pictures and stories (roughly ages 2 to 12), reflecting memories and early beginnings of their innate LGBTQ selves. Nurture allows what nature endows. And it's their nature, their truth!

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Demonizing Homosexuality in the Name of Jesus Christ is Paradoxically Oxymoronic

Updated again: This poor woman can't even go to the park.

When there were two men relaxing at the side of the pool unnaturally close to each other, effeminately rubbing elbows and exchanging doe-eyes, I was again anxiously watching my children hoping they wouldn't ask questions. They don't see Daddy do that with anyone but Mommy. We haven't been back to the pool for a couple of weeks, except once but it rained. The truth is, now I don't really want to go back.

I have no words...Oh wait, yes I do. Thank goodness she won't be bumping into Jesus anytime soon. What the hell would she tell her children when they saw Jesus unnaturally close to his male disciples as he effeminately rubs their feet, exchaning, what can only be called, doe eyes?  

Not to mention, no one really knows the sexuality of Jesus, if He even had one.  The Secret Gospel According to Mark implies Jesus might even be gay, Himself.

According to Morton Smith, of Columbia University, a manuscript that he found at the Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem in 1958, showed that the full text of St. Mark chapter 10 (between verses 34 and 35 in the standard version of the Bible) includes the passage:

"And the youth, looking upon him (Jesus), loved him and beseeched that he might remain with him. And going out of the tomb, they went into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days, Jesus instructed him and, at evening, the youth came to him wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the Kingdom of God".

Updated again: Should Gay People Be Allowed to Marry? - After a Maine state law permitting same-sex marriage was repealed at the polls Tuesday, the New York Times asked the question to students 13 years and older: Tell us what you think about same-sex marriage. Do you think gay marriage should be permitted or not? Why? Do you think it will be allowed nationwide in your lifetime?

Updated: James Lawson, an architect of the civil rights movement, sees a similarity today in attitudes toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, he said while addressing a gathering and panel discussion hosted by Soulforce.

“There is a great need for us to link the ‘isms’: anti-Semitism, racism, sexism and now heterosexism. They come from the same kind of place.”

Imagine being told you are not allowed to love who you love, not allowed to marry who you love, and are not allowed to express the way you feel about who you love. That there is something wrong with you for falling in love with who you fall in love with.

Jesus, an unmarried man, who spent the majority of his adult life surrounded by twelve men, who made no secret of his love for those men, preached about love, first and foremost. Homosexuality is about love, first and foremost.

Yet, many people, in the name of Jesus Christ, preach hate in order to abolish this type of love...the type of love involving two people of the same gender. These men and women experience the same deep and/or intense affection for each other as people of opposite gender. They just don't fit into society's idea of what romantic love should look like. So, we bash it...outlaw it...make sure it remains not only forbidden and inferior to heterosexual love, but claim it is somehow damaging to heterosexual love.

Hate is encouraged among those who want to curtail the rights of others who fall in love with their own gender, and what's even worse is that the hating or judging of homosexuals -- "Judge not and you shall not be judged" -- is often the central focus of attention of Christianity, at the expense of almost everything else Jesus Christ clearly stood for.

Promiscuity is often given as a reason for condemning homosexuality...that it's not so much about love, as it is sex. Really? If that's the case, then why does a Denmark study on divorce, where the vast majority of gay marriages are male-male, show a much lower divorce rate amongst homosexuals? The rate of divorce for gay men is the lowest at 14%, compared to 23% of all lesbian marriages, and 46% of all heterosexual marriages.

Homosexuality does not promote promiscuity...if anything, the prohibitive stance society takes against homosexual love is responsible for elevating the rate of indiscriminate sex practiced amongst gay men, in particular. However, keep in mind that that rate is more than likely, exaggerated a great deal.

What's truly remarkable is despite all the hate preached about homosexuality in the name of Jesus, more often than not, gay men and women build loving relationships with who they fall in love with anyway, proving that love can conquer all.

So, for those of us who insist on strictly adhering to Biblical teachings, we should seriously consider the following:

MARK 12:18-27
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband a male heir... Oh my, this may pit brother against brother...guaranteeing certain death for the brother who marries an attractive female.

DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21
If it is discovered that a bride is not a virgin, the Bible demands that she be executed by stoning immediately...Well, there goes 85% of the female population.

DEUTERONOMY 22:22
If a married person has sex with someone else's husband or wife, the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death...And the rest of the female population and 60% of the male population.

MARK 10:1-12
Divorce is strictly forbidden in both Testaments, as is remarriage of anyone who has been divorced...Well without the female population divorce shouldn't be an issue.

LEVITICUS 18:19
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during a woman's period. If they disobey, both shall be executed...Well, considering the female population has already ceased to exist, this should not be a problem.Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, and the Bible had very little to say about it, so why is Jesus so often used to promote an agenda of hatred toward those who are only trying to live what Jesus preached and lived?

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Church Prunes Gay Trees in Sin.

Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church, in Charlotte, NC, has been hit with a $4,000 fine for excessive pruning. That's right...$100 per branch, for trimming its own trees...incorrectly!

The Charlotte Observer reports, that city officials slapped Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church with a fine of $100 per branch for “excessively pruning” its crape myrtles.

Now,  it just so happens that is the same church at which the debate to end the "ban on gays and lesbians becoming clergy and lay leaders in the Presbyterian Church took place, which culminated in a vote of 162-154 to change the denomination's constitution by removing a 1997 amendment that said the ordained must either be single and chaste or in a heterosexual marriage".

The Presbytery of Charlotte added its support Tuesday to ending the ban on gays and lesbians becoming clergy and lay leaders in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Presbyterian church leaders from the seven-county Charlotte region voted 162-154 to change the denomination's constitution by removing a 1997 amendment that said the ordained must either be single and chaste or in a heterosexual marriage.

Going into Tuesday's local vote, that change already had won the backing of a majority of presbyteries in the country. It was scheduled to become effective in July, whatever the Charlotte vote.

Still, Tuesday's debate at Albemarle Road Presbyterian Church drew about 40 speakers - in addition to the two Charlotte pastors chosen to present the two sides.

Could it be, perhaps, that some of the church's more homophobic members,  who just so happened to be in the employment of the city, blamed, what they assumed were "gay" trees, for influencing the end of the ban on gay clergy? Because, you see, the fine will be dropped if the trees are REPLACED...with homophobic trees, no doubt.

"Tom Johnson, senior urban forester for the Charlotte Land Development Division, said, the fine would be dropped if the church replaced each of the improperly pruned trees".

Just a thought.

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Hypocrisy of the "Heterossexuality as Institution" Gestapo

Zach Wahls, a son anyone would give their right arm, gives the best definition of family I've heard:

"...the sense of family comes from the commitment we make to each other...to work through the hard times, so that we can enjoy the good ones.  It comes from the love that binds us.  That's what makes us a family." - Zach Wahls



Jesse Ventura on gay marriage: (interrupting Pat Buchannan, Thank God!) "You can't take a civil right's issue and put it up to a vote...if you did that, we might still have slavery if it was allowed to be voted on...You can't take civil rights and let people vote on it! [If you care what Pat had to say...listen for yourself..below] Well, not by the populace itself, Pat. You can't put a civil rights issue on a general ballot a state and let people vote on it because if you did that in the Southern states, you can bet they would've voted to continue slavery."




As Jesse said, the government has no right to legislate love, and in modern times, that's what marriage is based on: love between two consenting adults, pure and simple.

If the heterosexual marriage gestapo cares so much about the "institution" of marriage, let them start with their own marriages, and then heterosexual marriage in general. You know...take a look at the planks in their own eye. The problem is that there are so many, they're blinded.

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Glen Beck University of Unintelligible "Professors".

Where "weak minds are servilely crouched".

David Barton, a Texas Evangelical who appeared as an "expert" witness in the Texas Board of Education textbook hearings, a frequent guest on Glenn Beck's program, a "professor" at Beck University and who served as the chair of the Texas GOP, launched an effort with Newt Gingrich on behalf of Sharron Angle in Nevada, and stumped for John McCain in 2008 says homosexuality should be regulated.

"So if I got to the Centers for Disease Control and I'm concerned about health, I find some interesting stats there and this should tell me something about health.

Homosexual/bi-sexual individuals are seven times more likely to contemplate or commit suicide. Oooh, that doesn't sound very healthy.

Homosexuals die decades earlier than heterosexuals. That doesn't sound healthy.

Nearly one-half of practicing homosexuals admit to 500 or more sex partners and nearly one-third admit to a thousand or more sex partners in a lifetime.

I mean, you go through all this stuff, sounds to me like that's not very healthy. Why don't we regulate homosexuality?" -- David Barton,

I do believe Thomas Jefferson saw Beck and Barton in his crystal ball when he said the following:

“Man once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck.”
— Thomas Jefferson

“Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is the mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus.”— Thomas Jefferson

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Is Gay Media Dead?

Window Media, the nation’s largest publisher of LGBTQ media has closed its doors and with it, The Washington Blade, America’s oldest gay newspaper.

“The bottom line was they filed for Chapter 7, which means liquidation. I think a lot of us expected a Chapter 11 reorganization … but they didn’t go that route and I guess the creditors wanted out.” -- Kevin Nass, editor for Washington Blade

While the death of print media seems inevitable, and everyone in the print industry is struggling, the loss of The Blade is significant because it caters to a niche market, with no alternatives to turn. With the exception of big national news such as Prop 8, the mainstream media does not report on issues or stories relevant to the gay community, and even less so since the recession.

So, does this mean gay media is dead?

The New Gay: for everyone over the rainbow or TNG thinks it is, and it may not be such a bad thing, or at least it opens the windows of opportunity. TNG is a website/forum that encourages gay people to choose to "define ourselves instead of letting a narrowly defined mainstream gay culture do it for us".

While the creators of TNG all agree that being "gay" is not just about sexual orientation, and they reject the stereotypical, yet embraced idea, that gay is a "white male culture defined by consumerism, superficiality and anti-intellectualism", they don't subscribe to any one way of "being gay". TNG wants to start a "truly representative, broad new gay community based on diversity, compassion and self-reflection".

The Blade's coverage of gay culture, according to Zach Rosen, provided a very narrow view of gay life

"Gay media should reflect the world around it, not the other way around. The Blade’s insistence on only covering the most vapid, the most A-list, the most anti-intellectual, camp-at-all-costs, male dominated aspects of our life have done real and lasting damage to the 90% of us who don’t fit so narrow a rubric." - Zach Rosen

Whatever your opinion of The Washington Blade, it was the official gay paper in the US for the last 40 years, and no other newspaper covers or has the resources to cover American gay issues in the same way.

However, there will be at least one more edition as the former staff of the Blade plans to publish a "revived edition this week, investigating who killed the gay weekly newspaper...and why two offers by prospective publishers to buy the Blade were not accepted earlier this year".

In other news:

Court Upholds Recognition of Gay Marriages in Narrow Ruling

Gay Couple Awarded Benefits Compensation

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Same-Sex Marriage in USA

Government recognition of same-sex marriage is presently available in seven countries and five U.S. states. Currently, however, gay married couples fork over $467,000 more than straight married couples in the US.

Upwards of $467,000, when you account for the 1138 federal rights and benefits afforded to heterosexual couples that are denied to same-gender couples. That's how much the Times estimates a gay couple will pay -- in a worst case scenario -- over the span of their lifetimes for extra costs related to health care, legal affairs, and other issues.

The Respect for Marriage Act introduced in September by Rep. Jerrold Nagler (D-NY) and has 91 co-sponsors would fully repeal DOMA.
Although similar to marriage, a domestic partnership does not confer any of the 1,138 rights afforded to married couples by the federal government.

The following is a review of a 1997 and 2004 government report that outlined the specific benefits afforded married couples in the United States. These are benefits and rights denied gay and lesbian couples taken from the website Equality Matters:

Right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including:

-- Social Security pension
-- veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing
-- survivor benefits for federal employees
-- survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers
-- additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease
-- $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty
-- continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits
-- renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse
-- continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances
-- payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death
-- making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts

Right to benefits while married:

-- employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges
-- per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating
-- Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances)
-- sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits

Larger benefits under some programs if married, including:

-- veteran's disability
-- Supplemental Security Income
-- disability payments for federal employees
-- medicaid
-- property tax exemption for homes of totally disabled veterans
-- income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates

Joint and family-related rights:

-- joint filing of bankruptcy permitted
-- joint parenting rights, such as access to children's school records
-- family visitation rights for the spouse and non-biological children, such as to visit a spouse in a hospital or prison
-- next-of-kin status for emergency medical decisions or filing wrongful death claims
-- custodial rights to children, shared property, child support, and alimony after divorce
-- domestic violence intervention
-- access to "family only" services, such as reduced rate memberships to clubs & organizations or residency in certain neighborhoods
-- Preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs
-- Tax-free transfer of property between spouses (including on death) and exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses.
-- Special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens
-- Spouse's flower sales count towards meeting the eligibility for Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut Greens Promotion and Information Act
-- Threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime
-- Right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse
-- Court notice of probate proceedings
-- Domestic violence protection orders
-- Existing homestead lease continuation of rights
-- Regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants exemption
-- Funeral and bereavement leave
-- Joint adoption and foster care
-- Joint tax filing
-- Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society
-- Legal status with stepchildren
-- Making spousal medical decisions
-- Spousal non-resident tuition deferential waiver
-- Permission to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse, including burial or cremation
-- Right of survivorship of custodial trust
-- Right to change surname upon marriage
-- Right to enter into prenuptial agreement
-- Right to inheritance of property
-- Spousal privilege in court cases (the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege)

Spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including:

-- veteran's medical and home care benefits
-- housing assistance
-- happy birthday housing loans for veterans
-- child's education loans
-- educational loan repayment schedule
-- agricultural price supports and loans
-- eligibility for federal matching campaign funds
-- Ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home:
-- Subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs
-- Ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage

There are some laws that either benefit or penalize married couples over single people, depending upon their own circumstances:

-- Marriage penalty/bonus
-- Someone working for their spouse cannot be defined as an "employee"
-- Someone cannot change beneficiaries in a retirement plan or from waiving the joint and survivor annuity form of retirement benefit, without the written consent of his or her spouse
-- Wages can be garnished at a maximum of 60% (instead of the normal 25% limit) if the garnishing is for alimony or child support

The Netherlands was the first country to authorize same-sex marriage in 2001, and now Belgium, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and in the US: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

New York, Rhode Island, District of Columbia (DC) and New Mexico do not allow same-sex marriages to be performed, but do recognize such marriages performed elsewhere.

In the US, domestic partnership is a city, county, state, or employer-recognized status that may be available to same-sex and, sometimes, opposite-sex couples. Domestic partnerships in the United States are determined by each state or local jurisdiction, so there is no nationwide consistency on the rights, responsibilities, and benefits accorded domestic partners.

Related Headlines:

Outcome Over Gay Marriage in Maine is a Toss-up.

Gay marriage question focus of Maine TV debate

Focus of Gay-Marriage Fight Is Maine

A marriage equality bill that respects religious objectors

In Battle Over Gay Marriage, Timing May Be Key
NY Sen. Schumer-Gay Marriage in All 50 States is Goal

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Bullycide and the Mutilation of a Child's Spirit.

Second update: The American Academy of Pediatrics released a new policy statement (pdf file) on June 29, 2009, recognizing the serious threat bullying poses to kids’ health and safety, and increasing the involvement of pediatricians when it comes to dealing with bullying.

Listen here to Dr. Robert Sege, one of the report’s authors and chief of ambulatory pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, and Sirdeaner Walker, the mother of 11-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hovver (pictured below) who hanged himself last April after being relentlessly bullied at his Springfield, Massachusetts elementary school.

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Update: Another 11-year old, Jaheem Herrera, frustrated with bullies calling him "gay", "ugly", and "the virgin", took his own life.

His mother found him hanging by his belt in the closet."He used to say Mom they keep telling me this ... this gay word, this gay, gay, gay. I'm tired of hearing it, they're telling me the same thing over and over," she told CNN, as she wiped away tears from her face.

But while she says her son complained about the bullying, she had no idea how bad it had gotten.

"He told me, but he just got to the point where he didn't want me to get involved anymore because nothing was done," she said.

Bermudez said she complained to the school about bullying seven or eight times, but it wasn't enough to save him.

"It [apparently] just got worse and worse and worse until Thursday," she said. "Just to walk up to that room and see your baby hanging there. My daughter saw this, my baby saw this, my kids are traumatized."

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The parents of Eric Mohat a 17-year old, who was "harassed so mercilessly in high school that when one bully said publicly in class, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will miss you," he did", aren't seeking monetary compensation; "rather, they are asking that the high school that their son attended recognize their son's death as a "bullicide" and put in place what they believe is a badly needed anti-bullying program."



In another case, 11-year old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's mother found him hanging by an extension cord on the second floor of their home Monday night after, as his mother said, "he had endured another day of taunting at New Leadership Charter School, where he was a sixth-grader." Carl left behind a note for family members. He would have turned 12-years old on April 17.

The perception that a child is violating stereotypical gender roles by other children plays a significant role in bullying behavior. Students taunted and threatened both Eric and Carl on a daily basis, often referring to them as "gay," "fag," "queer" and "homo", and in Eric's case, and possibly Carl's, often in front of teachers. Both Carl's mother and Eric's parents tried to intervene and called the school repeatedly to complain about the situation, but nothing changed.

In one national survey, the reason most frequently reported by victims of bullying for being harassed was the student’s appearance. The next most cited reason for frequent harassment was sexual orientation ( A National Report on School Bullying).

In another report, students in middle school reported remarks about someone’s presumed homosexuality or gender identity as one of the most common forms of verbal harassment. In addition, a new review of studies from thirteen countries from Yale School of Medicine, have found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied and suicide.

Bullying, all too often, occurs with the full complaisance of adults - teachers, coaches, parents, etc - especially when it comes to perceived sexual orientation of boys, in particular. Young girls who don't conform to gender roles (tomboys) are accepted and even desired up to a certain age, whereas boys who don't conform are not at all accepted and almost certain to experience some form of bullying.

When children grow up in a society that preach and teach that gay people are not acceptable, hence, encourage this group to hide (Don'tAsk Don't Tell, closeted people in the public eye: politicians, Hollywood actors, etc.) who they are, and to hate themselves, it's no wonder that 30% of GLBT youth take their own lives and why the bullying of this group of children, in particular, occurs.

I can't let anyone find out that I'm not straight. It would be so humiliating. My friends would hate me, I just know it. They might even want to beat me up. Any my family, I've overheard them lots of times talking about gay people. They've said they hate gays, and even God hates gays, too. It really scares me now, when I hear my family talk that way, because now, they are talking about me .... Sometimes I feel like disappearing from the face of the this earth. - 16-year old Bobby Griffith *

This reason - the bullying and high suicide rate of GLBT youth - alone, is what makes the neoconservative long-term plan of targeting gay people, in order to generate "moral" panic - going as far as to suggest that our civilization is "at stake" - in order to secure their greedy agenda, just plain evil. Ironically, our civilization is "at stake" not because of gay marriage, but because of their greedy agenda.

If these same adults, complicit in the bullying behavior, were faced with the threat of potential law suits, they might change their tune. If that's what it takes, let the law suits begin.

"Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well-considered, and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child's spirit." Erik Erikson

* Bobby Griffith, quoted in Miller, B. Jaye, "From Silence to Suicide: Measuring a Mother's Loss," in Blumenfeld, Warren J. (ed.). Homophobia: How We All Pay the Price, Boston: Beacon Press, 1992, pp. 88-89.

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It Was Only a Kiss.

"It started out with a kiss How did it end up like this It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss..." so Brandon Flowers, of the Killers, ever so convincingly, belts out in his song, "Mr. Brightside".

But apparently, to some, a kiss is reason enough to get the police involved and rough up the kissers, as this is exactly what happend on June 29 in El Paso, Texas. Five men were kicked out of the restaurant, Chico's after two of them kissed. A private security guard, after calling the men an anti-gay slur in Spanish, called the police, who then, cited a statute on homosexual conduct which was declared unconstitutional six years ago.

In other "kissing" news, a graduate of East Side High School is suing over the school blacking out a photo of him and his boyfriend kissing on his paid personal page in the school yearbook. The school did not black out photos of heterosexual students kissing.

NEWARK (CN) - A graduate of East Side High School demands punitive damages for "severe mental and emotional trauma" because on his paid personal page in the school yearbook, the school blacked out a photo of him kissing his homosexual partner, but it did not black out photos of heterosexual students kissing.

Andre Jackson demands punitive damages for discrimination, pain and suffering, civil rights violations, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hs is represented in Essex County Court by Anthony Mack

A lawsuit? Over a yearbook picture? Sounds like overkill, right?

Wrong. "Overkill" is the reason this student is suing. The school destroyed this student's picture in a zealous attempt to "spare" the heterosexual student body at the expense of the homosexual student body, reinforcing the deeply ingrained hostility many people in our society have against the GLBT population. This attitude is what prompts the violence we often see against something as innocent as two same-sex individuals, kissing or holding hands.

Recently, the FBI reported that anti-gay hate crimes have been on the rise since 2005. Last month, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reported that violent hate crimes against GLBT people increased 24% in 2007 and additional 2% in 2008.

This morning, at the LDS Temple in Salt Lake Utah, a kiss-in was staged to show support for" gay couple, Derek Jones, 25, and Matthew Aune, 28, who say they were detained by Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints security guards after one man had kissed the other on the cheek Thursday. They had argued with the guards and were later cited for trespassing."

Is there any wonder why America is the most violent developed nation in the world?

Questions linger about raid at Fort Worth gay bar.

Another Dallas-area gay bar raid prompts questions

Remembering his 'powerful love'

Jackson Lee demands probe of gay sailor's death

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Same Sex Couples Necessary For the Survival of the Species.

Neil Patrick Harris and partner David Burtka
Homosexual coupling occurs in over 1,000 species, from locusts and fruit flies, to penguins, dolphins and primates and the latest studies claim the pairing of same sex couples is not only widespread, but a "necessary biological adaptation for the survival of the species."

For a number of reasons, same-sex bonds have played a significant role in keeping a variety of species from possible extinction. For example, male-male pairings in locusts killed off the weaker males; female-female pairings in the Laysan albatross population raised offspring due to a shortage of males; same-sex couples amongst the dolphins engage in interactions to facilitate group bonding, and many of us have heard about the gay male penguins who hatched the egg rejected by its biological parents.

These are just a few examples that indicate, that not only has natural selection shaped same sex couples, but that same sex coupling acts as a selective force in and of itself. Therefore, it could be said that prohibiting marriage on the basis of a partners' gender is not only unconstitutional, but could adversely affect the evolution of human beings in the long run.

There is no doubt that same sex couples predate recorded human history, cross all social and cultural boundaries, and have played more than an instrumental role in creating culture which is so crucial to human survival. We don't come equipped with built in defense mechanisms like so many other species, as we lack the speed; endurance; strength; "molar" power; ability to fly; ability to camouflage ourselves; and/or shoot poisonous substances, etc.

Yet, in the transition from hunter-gatherers to modern day humans, despite the aforementioned deficiencies, we continue to thrive. While it is true, that our superior intelligence and our innate power or capacity to create factors heavily in our continued existence, it is our exigency to share the world with others that seals the deal.

Gay men and women, all throughout history - from Alexander the Great to Julius Caesar ["every women's husband, every man's wife"] to Leonardo da Vinci to Barney Frank - have overwhelmingly participated in the process of constructing, maintaining and innovating the culture and civilization we depend, not only for the evolution of our species, but the quality of our lives.

Not that it should matter, but sexuality is not a choice. Aside from the fact that gay men have larger penises, recent studies have demonstrated biological differences between homosexuals and heterosexuals. Amongst many other discoveries, Dr. Allen and Dr. Gorski at UCLA found that the part of the brain structure called the anterior commissure, a "cord of nerve fibers that allows two halves of the brain to communicate with one another, is larger in homosexual men than it is in either heterosexual men or in women." Who is to say that this anatomical difference not only affects sexuality but other spheres as well? Perhaps this difference accounts for what appears to be gay men's large contribution to our political and cultural landscape.

So, if thousands of gay and lesbian couples are forced to leave their American homes and move to one of the countries that do acknowledge homosexual relationships, or we go along with what the right-wing Christian group Family Research Council wants,

"I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society." -- Peter Sprigg, FRC's Vice President for Policy

there is no question American culture would suffer tremendously, if not collapse all together.

And the real reason for the existence of homophobia:

"Uncovered Kinsey Report data show homosexual members have hetero ones by a head."

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Commemorating Carl Walker's Birthday. The National Day of Silence.

Approximately one week ago I blogged about how children bullying other children can mutilate a child's spirit which can lead to bullicide (suicide by bully), as it did in Carl Walker's case. Sexual orientation is cited as the second most common reason given for bullying after appearance.

Yesterday, April 17, which would have been Carl Walker's 12th birthday, had he not taken his own life, also marked the National Day of Silence. This day is supposed to "bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. Each year the event has grown, now with hundreds of thousands of students coming together to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior."

Essence Magazine interviewed Carl's mother who provided more details of her son's tragic death. Although Carl, only 11-years old, had not declared his sexuality, he was teased for what the other children perceived to be his sexuality.

"He told me that he was being called names and the kids were saying, "You're gay; you act like a girl."

It can't be emphasized enough that 30% of GLBT youth successfully take their own lives, and all of those deaths can be attributed to the acceptance of homophobia throughout all areas of our society. Unfortunately, this includes the child's own family, and friends. Unlike other minorities, who can seek comfort or support within the family, church, or many times, their community, children who are either gay, or perceived to be gay - sometimes before they even know that they are - have no support system whatsoever.

Is it any wonder that the suicide rate is so high within this group of young people?

Homophobia is Killing Our Youth

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Forcing Democracy and the Tragic Results

Pressured into prostitution by his impoverished circumstances, as are many children in Iraq, 14-year old Ahmed Khalil, was executed for homosexual behavior in 2006.

He sold his body only to help his impoverished family survive, and the Iraqi police shot him at point-blank range, pumping two bullets into his head and several more bullets into the rest of his body.

Saddam Hussein was the worst kind of tyrant, however, homosexuality was usually tolerated. At the very least, gay people were not in danger of being assassinated by fundamentalist death squads.

Fast forward to current day Iraq, and the security situation has vastly improved, however, it continues to become less secure for some, in particular, men, women, and even children suspected of homosexuality, in what was started as a sexual cleansing process four years ago.

Praised by President Bush as a leading moderate, the U.S. backed Iraq's leading Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, even after he issued, in 2005, a fatwa urging the killing of LGBT people in the "worst, most severe way" possible.

The kidnapping and executing of people suspected of homosexuality (even young children) prostitutes, unveiled women, sellers and consumers of alcohol and people with Sunni-sounding names ensued as it was condoned and encouraged by this Shia spiritual leader, another consequence of imposing democracy on another culture very unlike our own. However, "imposing democracy" is far from the real reason we started this war.

The US has been arming and training both the Sunnis and the Shiites at the same time, all along, fully realizing the hatred each group has for the other...fully realizing the collateral damage this tactic would inflict. Why? Because creating volatile and instability, and creating a fractured division in Iraq is essential to conquering the most oil rich region in the world. The Iraqis, or as one woman describes, *the beast (over one million and counting, not to mention all the injured, poverty stricken Iraqis) had to be sacrificed.

The story of 14-year old Ahmed Khalil:

“Ahmed Khalil was a likeable, playful 14 year old boy, born in the southern Iraqi town of al-Ammara. The eldest child, he came from an uneducated family who lived in great poverty.

After the 2003 US-led invasion, the Iraqi economy collapsed, causing widespread unemployment and the disintegration of social services. With no income or welfare support in al-Ammara, Ahmed's family moved to Baghdad a couple of years ago, after the fall of Sadaam Hussein.

His father wanted to find a job to support his wife, two sons and daughter. The family settled in al-Dura, a very poor southern district of Baghdad.

Ahmed's father worked as a night watchman on a building site for the pitiful wage of $10 dollars a month, plus permission for him and his family to live on the site until the construction of the new houses was completed. They lived in the shell of the unfinished buildings. It was a life of desolation and destitution.

Ahmed was often bullied by the neighborhood boys for being poor. He had no one to protect him. It is unclear whether Ahmed was gay or not. He had sex with men, often in exchange for small amounts of money and food. He did this in order to help his family financially. Sometimes they were so desperate, he had sex for a few potatoes or some bread.

Ahmed's ‘gay' reputation spread all over his neighborhood, causing great scandal. His behavior was reported to the police by informants in the community. In early April 2006, Ahmed was found dead on the doorstep of his house. He had been shot, with two bullets in the head and several bullets in the rest of his body.

According to a neighbor, who saw Ahmed's execution from his bedroom window, four uniformed police officers arrived at Ahmed's house in a four-wheel-drive police pick-up truck. The neighbor saw the police drag Ahmed out of the house and shoot him at point-blank range.

Several other neighbors confirm this account, although they did not see the actual shooting. They say they heard gunshots and saw the police leaving the scene. They then found Ahmed's body lying on the ground outside his house. Ahmed was executed by the police.

Two days before Ahmed's execution, his father was arrested and interrogated by the police. They demanded to know what he knew about Ahmed's sexual activities and blamed Ahmed for corrupting the community. Officers eventually released Ahmed's father. His son was killed soon afterwards.

Both Ahmed's mother and father wept over their sons' brutal killing. Even though homosexuality is taboo, they did not agree he deserved to die. The family see him as a victim of poverty and police murder.

Because they are so poor, the family could not afford a funeral for their son.

The day after Ahmed was murdered, his family moved out of the area, fearing police retribution and denunciation within the local community. The family's whereabouts and fate is unknown.

Ahmed is one of many hundreds of teenage boys and girls in Iraq who sell their bodies to survive and support their impoverished families." -- Ali Hili, an exiled gay Iraqi who is Middle East Affairs spokesperson for the London-based gay human rights group OutRage!.

*A view from Iraq:

[...]When the sacrificial beast falls, the knives multiply.And Iraq was seen as a "beast" to be sacrificed. "Beast" in the positive sense.A beast is strong, has good survival instincts, is sturdy, can defend itself, has developed capacities and skills to remain alive in a jungle it knows all too well.And like in a Corrida, the minute the bull falls, the arrows multiply. And it kicks and fights back till its last breath and more arrows fall down upon it, until it is inert, immobilized on the grounds...This is exactly what happened to Iraq. The "beast" had to be sacrificed.And the Matadors multiplied their spiky arrows. All kinds of spiky arrows...Strip it naked and finish it off...

Fire from the skies and from the grounds. Bombs, DU, Napalm, Bullets...destroy homes, buildings, schools, universities, hospitals...segregate, ghettos...check points, id's, digital prints, biometric measures, numbers...ransack homes in the middle of the night, strip people naked, steal their belongings, rape their women...detain, blindfold, tie, abduct, kidnap...prisons, camps, detention centers, dungeons....torture till they go blind, paralyzed, amputated...or insane. Rape and sodomize them - men, women and children...steal and destroy the history, the monuments, the art, rip away the genius, tear apart that creativity, smash that contribution to civilization...go for the heads and the hands that produced it. Steal, steal and steal some more. Steal the treasury, the arts, the antiquities, the universities, the oil, the savings, the ratios...Burn...burn the culture, the manuscripts, the books, the libraries, burn the fields, the land...burn it...burn it...desecrate the sacred, the holy places, the spaces of worship, the holy books...desecrate nature, pollute it, soil it, poison it -- all of it..the sky, the earth, the water...uproot them, exile them, cut away their ties, abandon them, let them wander in the wilderness...Oh God this is too much.

Now they are naked and vulnerable...so prey on their last breath...prey on any point of strength they may have left...and go for that too.Dump on them...dump on them your anger, your hatred, your envy, your frustrations, your rage, your lust, your covetousness, your greed, your sadism, your unnamed desires, your beastly instincts, your death instincts, your moral depravity, all the "stuff" you don't allow yourselves to do in your "respectable homes and countries", all the "stuff" you don't allow yourselves on your own grounds, because you try so hard to appear and give the best, the famous facade of your civility...dump on them and exploit them even more...dump on them your shadows, your evilness, those parts of yourself you cannot own, cannot face...dump on them...the beast has fallen, multiply your knives.

Exploit them even more...they are vulnerable, as vulnerable and as naked as you want them to be. Go ahead, pontificate and justify to them...rationalize it away, smile while reading your essays and think hard while writing your articles...go ahead refine the deceit, refine it...find a thousand reasons why it is the way it is...and exploit them some more...Exploit their refugees with high prices, with their begging for permits, with their hunger, with their desperation...exploit their needy women, exploit their widows...exploit their orphans, street kids, traffic them, prostitute them for your porno rings...go ahead do more...They are all naked in front of you...dump some more...what else do you envy and you want to strip from them ? What else is left ?

What is there to strip from people who have reached the point of selling their organs for survival ? what is there to steal from people who no longer go to schools, who no longer read and write ? what is their left to destroy from homes, monuments, sites, buildings and hospitals when they are already in shambles ? what is there left to erase and burn when there is no history and no books left ? What is left to rape from diseased bodies ridden with poison and cancerous tumors...What is there left ?

The passion has turned to a never ending grief, the generosity has become a beggar, the pride and the honor a naked woman reaching out for a cloth to cover herself and the intelligence, a burning, raw, survival instinct, gasping for its last breath...Is there anything left to prey on, to destroy, kill, torture, rape, use and abuse steal, plunder, pillage...exploit...is there anything else you need to dump ?Iraq has become your mirror Ladies and Gentlemen. Look at Iraq and you will see yourselves. All of you. Individually and collectively.We look into the mirror....I look into the mirror and we, I, see nothing but You.And all I need, want, desire -- is to throw up the garbage, the rejects of "humanity", to vomit "human" kind." -- Layla Anwar

Links:
Gays Without Borders
Web of Deceit: Part 1

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New Education Secretary Pushed for Gay High School

Not only is Obama’s new pick for Education secretary, Arne Duncan, head of Chicago Public Schools a good buddy - they play basketball together - he’s been pushing for Chicago to start their first gay high school.

Public school officials in Chicago, recommended approval of a "gay-friendly" high school because harassment and violence are causing gay students to skip class and drop out at alarming rates. According to a 2003 Chicago Public School District survey, gay students are three times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe, and other studies showed similar trends across the country.

The national study, which the group says is the most comprehensive report ever on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students nationwide, found that 86.2 percent of those students reported being verbally harassed, 44.1 percent physically harassed and 22.1 percent physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. 39 states don't have laws against bullying based on sexual identity

From the Chicago Tribune:

The Chicago Public Schools’ first high school designed for gay, lesbian and transgender teens is among 20 new schools recommended to the school board today by CPS Chief Arne Duncan.

The proposed schools range from technology-focused high schools to the School for Social Justice Pride Campus, which officials said would cater to but not focus exclusively on gay youth.

Backers said they envision a small high school offering a college-preparatory curriculum in which students would take four years each of English and math, three years each of foreign languages and science, as well as fine arts and physical education. It would be a performance school, meaning it would have the same staffing and oversight requirements as other district schools.Backers said they envision a small high school offering a college-preparatory curriculum in which students would take four years each of English and math, three years each of foreign languages and science, as well as fine arts and physical education. It would be a performance school, meaning it would have the same staffing and oversight requirements as other district schools.

The announcement of the schools, which are expected to open in the fall of 2009 and 2010, took place at the Chicago International Charter School's Ralph Ellison Campus, 1817 W. 80th St. Public hearings on the proposed schools are expected before the Board of Education votes on them Oct. 22.

"If you look at national studies, you see gay and lesbian students with high dropout rates...Studies show they are disproportionately homeless," Duncan said. "I think there is a niche there we need to fill."

Supporters have said the Pride Campus would help students find a safe school environment because studies have shown that gay youth are at a greater risk of dropping out of school and abusing drugs and alcohol, and are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide. A 2003 district survey shows that gay and lesbian youths are three times more likely to miss school because they don't feel safe.

Opponents have called the move a misuse of public funds. At a recent public hearing on the proposal, some gay rights advocates have said the move would segregate these students and said the district should work more on fostering acceptance by mainstream students, teachers and other school officials.

Of course, not all are happy with the idea of a gay high school.

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The Way Americans Really Feel About Gay Marriage

From BET:
As we celebrate the hope for reform that we think Obama will bring, our country's presidential choice was bittersweet for the gay community as same-sex marriage bans passed in several states that same day.

Anyway, since the news on that front has been anything but uplifting the last couple of weeks, here are a few tidbits of inspiration.

Gay High School expands mission. - "While the school will be open to all students, its special mission will be to provide a haven where students can feel safe and valued for who they are," reads the mission statement of the proposed school.

Prism Comics who promotes the works of the LGBT community in comics announced that Perry Moore's acclaimed novel Hero will be adapted into an hour-long television series on Showtime. Hero tells the story of a teenage superhero, Thom Creed, who must deal with his ex-superhero father's disgrace, his own sexuality, and a murderer stalking the world's heroes. At Comic-Con, Stan Lee, the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics praised Moore’s Hero, calling the book’s young gay protagonist “a one-of-a-kind hero for the future.”

Wanda Sykes is out.

James Dobson, leader of "Focus on the Family" donated nearly $600,000 to help fight gay marriage in California. It turns out he must pay an additional price as 202 jobs will be cut companywide — more than 20 percent of his workforce.

OK, not exactly news from America...

Mumbai gives Israeli gay couple a baby boy Less Than a year ago, Omer and Yonathan Gher dropped a rose in to the Arabian Sea with a silent prayer, just as a fortune teller had told them to do.

A coming out story. 45-year-old Greg always knew he was different, but coming out was a huge step for the family man he became. He tells us his story.

I believe this is the way most Americans really feel about gay marriage. I often wonder how many people voted "Yes" thinking they were supporting gay marriage.

Links:
Gay Wallet - is a community of people who support LGBT businesses and organizations.

Gay Wallet on Twitter

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Desmond TuTu Apologizes to Gay People

“I want to apologise to you and all those who we in the church have persecuted.

“I’m sorry that we have been part of the persecution of a particular group. For me that is quite un-Christ like and, for that reason, it is unacceptable.”

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U.S. Will Deport Gay Iranian Where He May Face the Death Penalty

The U.S. ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment in 1992 stating, "It is the policy of the United States not to: expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States."

Homosexuality is considered a criminal act in Iran, punishable by lashing, hanging, stoning, cutting in half by sword, and other heinous methods of torture. If the U.S. deports Hassan Parhizkar, he is sure to face cruel and inhumane treatment, very possibly ending in his death.

If you wish to protest Hassan Parhizkar 's threatened deportation from the U.S., sign the online IRQO petition on his behalf. Organizations wishing to join the campaign to stop Parhizkar’s deportation should contact his lawyer, Parastoo G. Zahedi, by e-mail at PGZLAW@aol.com, by phone at 703-448-0111, or by fax at 703-448-5552.

Also, check out Gays Without Borders -- An informal network of international GLBT grassroots activists working to make the world a safer place for GLBT people, and for full GLBT equality in all aspects of legal and social life

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What are Conservatives Really Interested In?

Conservapedia statistics:
1. Main Page‎ [1,899,525]
2. Homosexuality‎ [1,518,111]
3. Homosexuality and Hepatitis‎ [516,389]
4. Homosexuality and Promiscuity‎ [417,946]
5. Homosexuality and Parasites‎ [387,620]
6. Homosexuality and Domestic Violence‎ [339,502]
7. Gay Bowel Syndrome‎ [329,463]
8. Homosexuality and Gonorrhea‎ [329,081]
9. Homosexuality and Mental Health‎ [263,979]
10. Homosexuality and Syphilis‎ [263,029]

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