5/16/09
Gay Russians Arrested | Boycott Eurovision
The Moscow mayor has banned LGBT gatherings and enforced this order with violent arrests of gay pride organizers and participants. The only hope for our GLBT brothers and sisters is a international outcry that the Russian politicians can not ignore.
CNN Arrests at Moscow gay parade ahead of Eurovision Song Contest
Gay Russia.ru Russian Gay Activists Unveil Plans for Their Slavic Pride on Eurovision Day
Call the Russian Embassy 1-202-298-5700, 5701, 5704
Contact your legislators
5/15/09
Lady Boys of Bangkok Show Prompts UK Cisgender Woman to Demand "Womanhood Badges"
Apparently the female staff of the venue "Hippodrome" in Yarmouth England have taken exception to the gender diverse performers of a Thai cabaret show.
To ensure no one confuses them from the performers they have demanded to be allowed to wear tee shirts and badges with the inscription "100% Woman" loudly proclaiming their cisgender womanhood.
I am wondering, should all gender diverse worldwide be made to wear a badge? Pehaps a pink triangle?
Source : EADT24 .Badges to sort women from ladyboys
By Kelli Busey Badges? We don't need no stinkin badges!
May 15, 2009
planetransgender
National Religious Campaign Against Torture | White House Witness June 11 2009
Encourage your regional faith group leaders (e.g., "bishop-level" clergy or a rabbi who serves as director of a regional Jewish council) to travel to DC to participate in this event. Please contact us with information about regional religious leaders who may want to participate in this witness.
Encourage local clergy and people of faith to consider traveling to DC to participate in this witness. Download and copy this flier to help promote the event.
Use this event as a focal point/reference for your local organizing in June by connecting your local activities and media outreach to this national event. For example, consider organizing a local religious witness on June 11, and be sure to inform Members of Congress that any meetings you have with them during the last week of June, to talk about accountability and the Commission of Inquiry, is part of a national effort that includes this witness at the White House.
We look forward to working with you to make this a powerful part of our overall June witness.
Linda Gustitus, President
President Obama Please Stop The War | You Promised You Would
What a shame. Today the House voted 368 to 60 to spend billions more of our tax dollars ($96.7 billion) for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. While we walked the halls of Congress all week urging a "NO" vote, Congressmembers were being lobbied hard by the White House to vote for it. President Barack Obama met with the Progressive Caucus to push the war funding, and each member who showed skepticism received phone calls from the White House.
"Did you know that President Obama is more popular than Jesus Christ?," Cong. Emanuel Cleaver asked us. "I didn't like this bill, but I voted for it. It's hard to stand up to such a popular president."
Fifty-one courageous Democrats (list below), however, did just that. "The pressure was intense," said freshman Cong. Donna Edwards. "But I just returned from Afghanistan and people there kept saying that the solution is not more troops but more development assistance."
Cong. Lynn Woolsey agreed. "This bill has no exit strategy," she told us, "and it allocates over 90% of the money for the military and less than 10% for development. This even contradicts General Petraeus' own counter-insurgency doctrine of 80% non-military and 20% military."
While we were outside Congress with the banner "Stop Funding War," Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee stopped to talk to us." "I must tell you ladies that I voted for the bill this time but I don't feel good about it and I plan to revisit this. I want to thank you for being out here and tell you that you need to keep doing what you're doing, keep the pressure on--in fact, turn it up. That's the only way we'll ever get out of these wars."
Next week the war funding will be voted in the Senate. So please take Congresswoman Lee's advice and turn up the pressure. Call the Congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121, ask for your Senators, and say--loudly and clearly--that you want him/her to vote against more money for war. Say you want a surge in negotiations and development assistance, not troops. For more help see talking points below.
We know--and you know--that war is not the answer. Let's help Obama and Congress move us on a new path.
Yes we can, yes we will--end war.Allison, Audrey, Blaine, Dana, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Janna, Janet, Jean, Jodie, Liz, Lori, Lydia, Medea, Nancy, Pam, Paris, and Rae
PS. If you haven't seen the courageous team of Desiree Fairooz and Medea Benjamin taking on Rumsfeld, don't miss it.
Here are some key talking points:
At a time of economic crisis and multiplying domestic needs, the 2009 Supplemental is an appalling waste of our money.
The Supplemental funds the increase of troops to Afghanistan, escalating the war rather than ending it.
The Supplemental places no restrictions on American bombings in either Afghanistan or Pakistan, despite the disproportionate harm to civilian inhabitants.
The Supplemental maintains a high level of American troops in Iraq for the duration of FY 2009.
Nay Votes on H R 2346, Supplemental Appropriations, 5/14/09
Baldwin
Capuano
Clarke
Cohen
Conyers
Cooper
Costello
Doggett
Edwards (MD)
Ellison
Farr
Filner
Honda
Inslee
Kagen
Kaptur
Kucinich
Lee (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lofgren, Zoe
Markey (MA)
Massa
Matsui
McDermott
McGovern
Michaud
Payne
Pingree (ME)
Polis (CO)
Schakowsky
Serrano
Shea-Porter
Speier
Thompson (CA)
Tierney
Towns
Tsongas
Velazquez
Frank (MA)
Grayson
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Miller, George
Napolitano
Neal (MA) Oberstar
Waters
Watson
Weiner
Welch
Woolsey
Jamison Green | FtM Transmen and Partners Survey
In case you haven't yet heard the news from Twitter...here are two surveys that are going to offer some awesome vital resources for FTM folks and those who love them.
The surveys are being done by Jamison Green, author of “Becoming a Visible Man” and former President of FTMInternational. According to the survey "He is interested in the sexual health and satisfaction of all transmen, whether or not they have had hormones or surgery, and in the experiences of their partners. He will use the data as raw material for a book, tentatively entitled "The FTM Guide to SEX," plus academic presentations and journal articles to educate medical and therapeutic service providers about trans lives. Collaborating is urologist and surgeon Dr. Miroslav Djordjevic of Serbia. Dr. Djordjevic is interested in post-operative quality of life for all transmen who have had genital reconstruction. Dr. Djordjevic and Mr. Green plan to make professional conference presentations together and to co-author a journal article using the data collected here."
If folks have questions about who Jamison is: http://www.jamisongreen.com/
The surveys are designed for FTM or trans men and their partners. Partners do not have to be in a current relationship, and if a FTM person or trans man has been partnered to another FTM person or trans man they may of course take both surveys. In order to take the surveys you must be 18 or older. For these surveys the proctors are using the following definition for FTM or trans man: “a person who was born with a female body--and assigned female or intersex at birth--and who plans to initiate, has initiated, or has completed medical treatment to masculinize his body”, some examples of identities may include FTM, trans man, genderqueer, or intersex man.
Here is the survey for partners of FTM folks and trans men. It takes between 20-40 minutes based upon your life experience. Partners
And here is the survey for FTM folks and trans men. Again, takes between 20-40 minutes based upon your own life experiences: FTM folks
If folks have any questions about the surveys you can direct the questions to Jamison! (jamisong at earthlink.net.)
Cross posted from Coffee and Gender and Queers United
5/12/09
Former Catholic Achbishop is Gay | Welcome Rembert Weakland
Source : Associated Press
"NEW YORK (AP) - A Roman Catholic archbishop in Milwaukee who resigned in 2002 over a sex and financial scandal involving a man describes his struggles with being gay in an upcoming memoir about his decades serving the church."
" Archbishop Rembert Weakland tells The Associated Press that he wrote about his sexual orientation because he wanted to be candid about how it came to life in him, how he suppressed it and how it "resurrected again."
"Called "A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church: Memoirs of a Catholic Archbishop," the book is set to be released in June."
AP Story Former Catholic head of Milwaukee admits he's gay