Punk Smurf pens a bilingual blog

From the UK:

Abu Usamah, a Birmingham-based imam, appeared in Channel 4’s Undercover Mosque documentary, in which he was seen advocating the killing of gays and Muslims who leave their faith.

He was invited to speak by the Islamic societies at City University and University College London (UCL), although UCL has now cancelled his appearance. Read more about it here.

A straight couple who tried to apply for a civil partnership this morning have said they are willing to take their case to the European Court of Human Rights. Rightfully so. (I know civil partnerships are possible for Dutch straight couples.) Read more about it here.

Currently listening to A Girl Called Eddy (album: A Girl Called Eddy)

You might - or might not - have read about the outrage caused by a British “journalist” called Jan Moir. The first time I heard about it was when a British friends of mine started posting about it, clearly showing their disapproval and disgust for Moir’s total ignorance. One even went as far as calling her the C-word (and he is one of the smartest, nicest straight man I know - so for him to use that word…). Anyway, read about it here and the update here (hello, 21,000 complaints and then some). Sounds to me as if Moir has a problem with certain possible “assets” of the homosexual lifestyle. And she’s conveniently forgetting the fact that similar “assets” can be found in heterosexual lifestyles as well. She’s issued some sort of apology in the meantime, but she clearly doesn’t get it. Jan Moir may think she’s not a homophobe, she can at least pride herself in being a bigot.

Fortunately, there are still good things happening in the UK; like this Scottish LGBT-friendly soccer team who are deservedly nominated for a Stonewall Award.

AfterEllen.com reviews an interesting comic book called Dolltopia, which is really a book for all ages, and discusses diversity. I’m not a big fan of the graphics, but it serves its purpose, and it does look interesting to me. Looks like creator Abby Denson’s been promoting Dolltopia across North America.

Globe and Mail ran an interesting article about the wiring of boys’ and girls’ brains. It turns out there’s no significant difference, but it’s magnified by parents… And - surprisingly - same sex schools.

According to this article the Taliban has published a rulebook, and reading it I didn’t know whether to wince or snicker at the stupidity of it all. I mean, any educated person instinctively knows that a band of bearded men telling others to treat women badly (I’m not even sure they are considered second class citizens), what to think, how to act and how to dress cannot be for the greater good. To the advantage of the Taliban; yes. For the greater good; no.

This veteran spoke out in favor of same sex marriage. I can only say that if he’s honored with any medals I am sure he has earned each and every one of them! I’d just want to give a hug and say thank you.

In the meantime President Obama is tackling DADT, the Canadians again show they may not shout as loud as the Americans do, but they are just as great. Halifax’s Chronicle Herald published an article on Canadian forces and their inclusion of gays. A friend of mine can attest to that; she didn’t join till she was 33. And she is still serving 19 years later. Just sayin’, President Obama.

Are you on Facebook, and confused about “live feed” and “news feed”? Check out this page on how to adjust the settings to make it less confusing, and more desirable for you to read (some people seem to post every fifteen minutes - if you know what I mean)…

Charlize Theron. I like her. Vocal human rights advocate. Don’t get me wrong, but she is such a hussy! She kissed a lady for charity. Some lucky lady (she coughed up $140,000 but got a 20-second smooch)…

More Serena Ryder news. (I should get paid for this. I’d settle for a smooch with Serena. Just kidding! Or am I?) She’s currently touring the US with labelmates NeedToBreathe (Serena’s playing Chicago on Halloween!) and “Is it o.k.” will be released in the US on November 3rd - almost a year after its release in homeland Canada. Read more on it here. In the meantime Serena’s also featured in one of City Sonic’s episodes on how she started out. Watch it here.

When I found out Vertical Horizon had a new album out (”Burning the days“) I was thrilled; I wasn’t aware of the fact the band had reformed. Their album “Everything you want” was one of my favorite albums in the late ’90s. Now and then, I still play a couple songs with the singer of my band. Let’s hope they start touring again

Outsports reports (click link for article):

Members of the Australian Wallabies rugby team have joined the “This is Oz” campaign, an online photo project meant to raise awareness about homophobia and anti-gay discrimination.

The Wallabies joined in support of the Sydney Convicts, Australia’s gay rugby union team (and holders of the Bingham Cup title). Said Convicts founder Andrew Purchas:

“We’re very pleased that the Wallabies and the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) has been so responsive and willing to support us and come on board with This Is Oz. Having these kind of high level professional sportsmen giving their support goes a long way to breaking down barriers , and countering the stereotypes and supporting diversity and acceptance … Kids really look up to these guys and follow their lead, so it really does a lot of good.”

Australian Wallabies players Al Baxter, Stephen Moore (above), and Dave Pocock and Stirling Mortlock (below).

Awesome, eh?

A leading Muslim academic has said there is evidence in the Koran that homosexuality can be compatible with Islam.

In an interview with the Times, Dr Amanullah De Sondy, 29, said that despite the evidence, conservative Muslims will not accept homosexuality as they are “deeply homophobic”.

De Sondy, who holds a teaching position at the School of Divinity in Glasgow University, said: “Homosexuality is not incompatible with Islam. The two can and have coexisted. The important thing is to link it with living a good life and creating a good society. If you ask them privately, the vast majority of my generation of Muslims are deeply homophobic. I think it is particularly entrenched because so many Muslim societies are rooted in traditional ideas of the family and patriarchy. On the story of the destruction of Sodom, which appears in both the Koran and the Bible, he said: “It is often said to illustrate God’s disapproval of homosexuality. But on closer inspection it is about his disapproval of the rape of young boys. There is a big difference.”

De Sondy claims that one Muslim saint was said to have had a gay relationship: “In the 16th-century Punjab, there lived a Sufi [Muslim mystic] saint and poet called Shah Hussain. He fell in love with a Hindu boy. They lived together and are buried in the same tomb. But some people want to rewrite history, saying the boy was in fact a girl.”

It seemed as if all of a sudden all kinds of shite on Kelly Clarkson popped up on the Net: people were disgusted by how fat she’s gotten. WTF?! She’s not fat. She looks fine to me. Wasn’t one of the reasons she won American Idol several years ago she looks like the girl next door? Well, having seen pictures I must say she does indeed look like an average American girl. Fortunately, some of the folks commenting on her current body do point out there are more qualities too Ms. Clarkson than looking thin, like here. And in case you were wondering: no, I’m not a fan of Ms. Clarkson. She has a good singing voice, but musically it’s just not my cup of tea.

Earlier this month Hillary Clinton made it a point of recognizing June as gay and lesbian pride month. On the other hand President Obama is still awefully silent when it comes to his GLBT agenda…

Unlike film director Ky Dickens, who turned her experiences (facing homophobia from the sisters in her Vanderbilt sorority) into a movie called “Fish out of water“. In it she not only tackles homophobia, Ky also takes on hate monger Fred Phelps. I think the trailer looks very promising.

And in the meantime Hong Kong government have announced that the Domestic Violence Ordinance will have an amendment to include same sex couples. Unfortunately, marriage for same sex couples is still not an option.

Europe is voting for a new EU Parliament, and it looks like the majority is leaning to the right. (FYI: I gave my vote to a left party.) I’m not happy with the outcome.

I was just reminded of Stephen Colbert as a serious actor in L&O: Criminal Intent. It was pretty good. So good, it took me a few moments to realize the actor who looked so much like Stephen is, in fact, mr. Colbert himself!

Finally, I’m stoked to see The Gaslight Anthem play Effenaar on Tuesday

I never watched much of “Grey’s Anatomy” before Brooke Smith walked into Seattle Grace and up to Sara Ramirez. And now that she has walked out, I can guarantee that I won’t be watching anymore.

It is a testament to Brooke’s sheer talent that as Erica Hahn she erased all memories of “it puts the lotion in the basket” for me. And then, well, then there was the glasses scene. In less than two minutes she brought up what is a universal revelation in the life of almost every gay and lesbian person. The lightbulb. Whether it comes quietly to oneself or jarringly in the open, it happens.

While it’s still not entirely clear why Smith was fired — anonymous sources say ABC execs didn’t like Smith’s character or her lesbian storyline, ABC insists it was just an issue of bad chemistry — I keep coming back to the very first article I read about the controversy, by L.A. Times critic Mary McNamara.

I suspect what irked whoever made the call … is precisely what made the Erica/Callie relationship worth talking about. Not that they were both women — good heavens, how dull — but that they were, how shall we say, average size. With hips, you know, and actual breasts. Not two girly waifs exchanging a stolen kiss or a grope in the women’s room stall over a line of coke, not an androgynous club kid putting her best moves on some sitcom heroine. But two women of substance, physically and psychologically, falling in love and talking about it way too much, the way women tend to do.

 

In other words — homophobia is only one factor in the decision to let Smith go. Sexism and ageism are the others. (Read her entire blog post here.)