(New York, February 27, 2006) – Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov's promise to ban the city's first-ever gay pride parade is a threat to civil liberties and civil society, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to the mayor. Human Rights Watch called on Mayor Lukzhov to let the parade proceed as scheduled on May 27.

"Mayor Luzhkov is giving prejudice a veto over the rights to peaceful expression and assembly," said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "The freedom to speak out and demonstrate publicly is not just a reflection of diversity. It is essential to democracy."

Organizers have been planning a parade of over 5,000 participants for several months. However, the mayor's spokesman, Sergey Tsoy, told reporters on February 16 that, "The Moscow government is not even going to consider allowing a gay parade." He claimed that the proposed event has "evoked outrage in society, in particular among religious leaders."

Tsoy said the mayor "was firm that the city government will not allow a gay parade in any form, open or disguised, and any attempts to organize an unsanctioned action will be resolutely quashed."

National politicians stepped in to condemn the parade. "Some say that the ban on the gay parade does not correspond to human rights," Lubov Sliska, the first vice-speaker of the State Duma, said. "There are several million people in Moscow who do not want homosexuals to have this procession. Who is going to protect their rights?"

The move comes in the wake of actions by other governments in the region against the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Last year in Poland, city authorities banned gay and lesbian pride marches in Warsaw and Krakow. In Latvia, authorities sought to ban a parade in Riga, but the ban was overturned by court order.

In response, the European Parliament in January overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning prohibitions on the marches, as well as "incitement to hatred and violence."

"Human rights are not a popularity contest," said Long. "Letting this march proceed is an international obligation. If prejudice is allowed to trump the rights that all citizens should enjoy, then everyone's freedoms are ultimately endangered."

 Mariah Carey will star in Tennessee, an independent drama to be directed by Aaron Woodley (Rhinoceros Eyes) from a script by Russell Schaumberg, reports Variety. The film will be produced by Lee Daniels (Monster's Ball) and shoots in New Mexico and Tennessee this spring.

Carey plays a waitress who sets off with two brothers to find their estranged father. Their goal: Get dad involved in saving their younger brother, who has leukemia.

While Carey's movie resume is overshadowed by the disappointing 2001 film Glitter, Daniels got the idea to cast her after watching her Grammy-winning album "The Emancipation of Mimi" become the biggest selling disc of 2005 and viewing her work in 2002's WiseGirls.

"I never saw 'Glitter,' but I liked her work in the other film. Because this character is interracial and struggles with all sorts of issues because of that, I thought she was perfect," said Daniels, who also produced "The Woodsman" and made his directing debut on the Helen Mirren-Cuba Gooding Jr. starrer "Shadowboxer."

Additional Information:
Russell Schaumburg has written numerous feature-length film screenplays, including “Tennessee” and “The Man in the Woods”. Both placed among the top 50 finalists in the prestigious Chesterfield Writer’s Film Project. He was also a semifinalist in The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting program.

Lee Daniels, producer of “Monster’s Ball” and “The Woodsman,” optioned Schaumburg’s “Tennessee” this past May, and its upcoming production was recently announced in Daily Variety.

“Tennessee” is a story about two brothers who must return to their boyhood home in East Tennessee from New Mexico to find their abusive father when one of the brothers falls ill and needs a life-saving bone marrow transplant from the very man they ran from many years ago.

Scottish students have launched a campaign to overturn a ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood.

The National Union of Students (NUS) claims current guidelines are outdated and discriminatory - and stop thousands of people saving lives.

Under the current policy, men who have sex with men are banned as they are classed as of a higher risk of passing on sexually transmitted diseases.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) defended the policy.

I am alone.
Empty
Non progressive
Stuck

Need to believe in more
Success
Moving forward
Going

Feeling, alone.
Gone
Away from the world
Here.

Everyone is moving fast
Slow
In step ahead of the game
There.

I just got of work.. after being there since 10p last night. Man, I am feeling a little blah. I don't want to go to sleep to early and not go to sleep at night. You know what I mean?

Quick flash of events:

+ Thinking of redecoring my apartment with some real furniture.
+ Went to IKEA to see if I could buy some stuff but didn't.
+ Saw JP. It was like whoa! I wish I could have talked to her.
+ Bought Soul Calibur III and play it at least three hours a day.
+ Bought a DVD Recorder but it doesn't work... made my TV black and white.
+ Got invited to do a model shoot for a beer promotion. Oh yeah! Excited
+ Cancelling my old web host and moving over to my hot new one.
    >> hopefully my new site or my old one, either way will be back up.

Well.. I'll speak on it later. Laters <3.

BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 15 — Idaho's Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to a measure that would bar all forms of "domestic legal unions" except marriage between a man and a woman.

The Republican-led State Senate voted 26 to 9 to ratify a state constitutional amendment, previously approved by the House. The measure will now go up for a popular vote.

Gay rights groups say the law would effectively bar any form of union that would allow same-sex couples to share rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples, like shared custody or insurance benefits.

It's finally Thursday.. and my computer is not working again. Eventually I'll get everything working all at once because this theme is supposed to go with my website but that's not going down anytime soon. Ya-know-what-I mean? I think I am going to eventually going to buy an external hard drive so I don't have to worry about losing work.  I can easily re-install programs.. and it's hard to recreate work over.

+ Mariah

I went out and bought the Marie Claire with Mariah on the cover. I haven't had a really a urge to read it. It seems like pretty much the same thing that she's been saying for the last few years, just written differently. I want to get the Rolling Stone that she's on the cover of. I think it's pretty cool that the last few weeks of Rolling Stone have been Grammy nominated artists. Speaking of Grammy's.. I am proud that my girl got three awards, but totally upset. I am upset about the Album of the Year award. I don't think that U2 deserved it. I would be just fine if someone like Mr. West would have gotten it and wouldn't have had a problem with it all. Just wonder who these people are that decide who gets these awards. It's just odd to me. Yeah anyway.

+ Working

I worked all weekend and stuff and by Monday night I was exhausted. It was distrubing. I worked eight hours each day and on one day I had to work 15 hours because no one else would come in. It's just really distrubing because no one has decided to give me a midshift cashier. If I ask for a break or something it's like a terrible thing or I have to wait for whatever that person is doing to get done. I really dislike it. I am really not liking be walked on. So I am just going to start stepping up and letting everyone know that it's not right. I have to do it before I break down like I did the last time. Otherwise, I enjoy the job just don't like how people that I work with treat me sometime.

+ School

I am going to start the process of trying to get back into school again. There has to be someway for me to get back into school. If anyone has any ideas or can lend some time to help me out.. give a shout.

+ Love

I spent Valentine's Eve with Shane. I bought him some new clothes and a big box of Mrs. Fields chocolates. They are pretty good. He likes them. We spent the whole day of Valentine's Day with him as well. It was awesome.

//I posted some more pictures on Buzznet, you should check them out.
                http://elmono.buzznet.com/

 

RICHARD GRAY AND ARTHUR MACMILLAN

AT least three gay "weddings" have been held in Scotland every day since new laws allowing homosexual couples to legally register their relationships came into force less than two months ago.

Another 385 homosexual couples have booked registrations to take place over the next three months.

Gay rights campaigners expressed welcome surprise at the rush for registrations, but critics of the new legislation say civil registrations are eroding the sanctity of marriage.

Edinburgh boasts the most, with 67 civil partnerships registered and another 178 booked. At the other end of the M8, there were 44 carried out in Glasgow and another 81 booked. But the figures are still dwarfed by traditional marriages, with each city holding 300 a month.

Further analysis of the figures for Edinburgh also suggest its higher number of homosexual registrations may be fuelled by couples from outside the city seeking to take advantage of its gay friendly environment. Around 30% of the registrations in Edinburgh were by couples living elsewhere.

According to the figures, more than twice as many male couples have so far sought to enshrine their relationships in law than female couples since the first civil partnerships on December 20 last year.

Rather than the garish, flamboyant affairs displayed in celebrity unions such as Elton John's partnership with David Furnish, most ceremonies in Scotland have been quiet and discreet.

Gretna, a favourite destination for heterosexual marriages, saw four immaculately turned out gay couples dressed in morning suits and highland outfits on the steps of its famous registry office. Staff also reported receiving more than 50 enquiries from couples interested in having a ceremony conducted.

Jane Chandler, senior registrar at Gretna, said: "All the couples we have had wanted low key and discreet ceremonies with a few friends and family around them.

"There is nothing to tell them apart from the other marriages we conduct except the couples are the same sex.

"The first couple we had been together for 29 years, so it was an emotional moment for them."

The figures also reveal an intriguing east-west split in the proportion of ceremonies being carried out.

East coast council areas have seen a higher uptake of the legislation, with eight all male registrations in Fife and another 16 booked. Aberdeen and East Lothian have both held six registrations.

In comparison East Ayrshire has carried out none so far, but has five booked for the future in Kilmarnock. South Lanarkshire has had one lesbian "wedding".

Professor Lynn Jamieson, a sociologist from Edinburgh University, said: "In rural areas it will be difficult for couples to have a ceremony without everyone finding out, so if they are looking to have a discreet registration they may look to go somewhere they are not known."

Only two areas have experienced no demand for civil partnerships, Midlothian and the Western Isles. In December Scotland on Sunday revealed the Western Isles as the only place in the UK to ban homosexual ceremonies.

Four council areas, Stirling, Moray, Highlands, Scottish Borders and Argyll and Bute, refused to respond to requests for the figures.

John Murray, 27, and Chris Kolm, 27, both from Glasgow, are one couple now planning to take advantage of the new law by having a registration ceremony in April after being together for five years.

Murray said: "We can see ourselves being together for quite some time and a civil partnership does bring benefits for more practical, legal reasons, but we wanted to do it for more romantic reasons.

"Both our families are going to be there to help us celebrate our relationship."

Calum Irving, director of gay rights group Stonewall, said he hoped the number of couples registering would help encourage a culture change in the way homosexual relationships are viewed. He said: "It proves there was pent up demand for legal recognition for same sex relationships."

But senior figures in the Catholic Church in Scotland have attacked the legislation. Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow said:

"This new law has created a fiction of marriage by implicitly basing such publicly recognised partnerships on a sexual engagement. This can only diminish the special status of marriage."

This article:

  http://www.scotsman.com/?id=220732006

Gay & Lesbian issues:

  http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=294

Web links:

  Stonewall
  http://www.stonewall.org.uk/

  ScotsGay
  http://www.scotsgay.co.uk/

  International Lesbian & Gay Association
  http://www.ilga.org/

  Scottish Media Monitor
  http://www.scottishmediamonitor.com/

  Glasgay
  http://www.glasgay.co.uk/

  Equality Network
  http://www.equality-network.org/

  Gay Parent magazine
  http://www.gayparentmag.com/index.html

  Gay Scotland
  http://www.gay-scotland.org/

  Outright Scotland
  http://www.outright-scotland.org/

  Pink Parents
  http://www.pinkparents.org.uk/

I feel emotional
   I am on some kind of trip that I can't seem
   to get off of.
   My mind wanders and searches for truth.
   For answers

I feel that I don't know
    What I am doing and how I should be doing it.
     I take the first step of prevention and always get caught in the cross fire
     It burns down my soul and makes me vulernable
     Taking me away from what I thought that I knew

I try to be
    the best that I can be but there seems to be 
    always that one thing that I forget to do or to cover
    Or I am always feeling like I am in the wrong
    And I try to be the best that I can be to achieve my dream
            but people stand in the way of what I want to do
            and I can't help but wonder what it is that I need to do to be on top
            to achieve what I want and to do better than I have been and be
            Someone that achieved more than the average something 
            that the rest of the world will have to learn to accept and believe.

 

Today was my day off. It was so relaxing. I did a lot of stuff that needed to be done. While helping a friend with something that she needed help with. I remember the time when I was in high school and trying to figure out where I wanted to go to school. It was great to help them out with their questions. It was sad going through the mess with the bank that we had to deal with. It was really annoying.

+ Caught up on my cable/internet/phone bill
+ Paid my electric bill
+ Found out that I had to go to Radio Shack to get a tripod for my satellite
+ My lappy is working for a bit.

Overall feeling accomplished. Still wishing I was going to class. Anyway, night night.