Radcliffe nervous about baring all on Broadway
By Michelle Nichols
NEW YORK (Reuters) – British actor Daniel Radcliffe hopes to debut on Broadway next year in a reprise of his London role in “Equus,” a performance where he shed not only his clothes but the mantle of Harry Potter.
Radcliffe won rave reviews for his performance as a tortured teenager during an 8-week run of Peter Shaffer’s grueling psychological thriller in London earlier this year, but said the prospect of acting in New York was “terrifying.”
“It will be amazing, but I will be terrified because I was talking to Richard Griffiths about playing New York and he said the most stupid thing you can do is underestimate New York audiences,” said Radcliffe, 18, in an interview with Reuters.
Griffiths, who appeared with Radcliffe in “Equus” in London and played the role of Uncle Vernon in the Harry Potter movies, won a Tony Award in New York in 2006 for his role in “The History Boys.”
While promoting his latest movie, “December Boys,” in New York, Radcliffe — best known for bringing to life author J.K. Rowling’s boy wizard Harry Potter — said “Equus” could open late next year in New York.
“I would be very nervous because I think that (the audiences are) even more discerning than in London,” he said. “But I know we have a good show, it was a good show when we did it in London and hopefully if we do it again it will still be that good. It has to be better.”
Media hype over Radcliffe’s nude scene in the play sparked more than $4 million in advance ticket sales in London.
“Equus” was first produced in London in 1973 to critical acclaim and won a Tony Award for best play in 1975 during a long run on Broadway. It was adapted by Shaffer for a 1977 film starring Richard Burton and Peter Firth, which received three Oscar nominations in 1978.
“December Boys,” Radcliffe’s first major role outside the Harry Potter films, opens in the United States, Britain and Australia this month. The movie tells the tale of four orphans growing up at a Catholic convent in outback Australia.
Radcliffe said he will begin working on “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” — the sixth movie in the seven part series — this month and that the project would likely take a minimum of eight or nine months.
Wanda Sykes
Wanda Sykes on Gay Marriage
Cruise Ships coming to Montreal: Fall Schedule 2007
Cruise Ships coming to Montreal: Fall Schedule 2007
On October 8th I have been granted access on board the Fred Olsen Cruise Liner – Black Watch by GLP Worldwide Expeditions, who are representing Fred Olsen Cruise Lines in Canada. There are travel shows beginning in Vancouver and Victoria next week, and move Eastwards across Canada, calling in Alberta and as well Ontario.
On September 22 – and 23 the Arctic Sunrise will be ported at the Old Port in Montreal with open ship tours on both days from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
The Fall Foliage Cruise ship calendar is getting busy I will be posting other dates here as I get them.
August 2007
22 – Spirit of Nantucket
25 – Maasdam
26-27 – Spirit of Nantucket
September 2007
6-7 – Spirit of Nantucket
8 – Maasdam
8-10 – Grande Caribe
9-10 – Alexander von Humbolt
14-16 – Grande Caribe
15 – Christopher Columbus
19 – Veendam
22 – Maasdam
27 – Saga Ruby
October 2007
1-3 – Grand Mariner
2 – Crystal Symphony
6-9 – Grande Caribe
8-9 – Black Watch
China frees 3 Canadian activists after Tibet protest
Canadians, all from British Columbia, were demanding China pull out of Tibet
Three Canadians arrested by Chinese police following a protest at the Great Wall against China’s presence in Tibet have been released.
Melanie Raoul of Vancouver was arrested Tuesday in China.
(Courtesy of Freya Putt)
The British Columbian activists — Lhadon Tethong, Sam Price and Melanie Raoul — left China after their release on Wednesday and flew into Hong Kong.
“It was draining, exhausting, psychologically traumatizing, although we weren’t physically hurt,” Raoul, 25, told CBC News from Hong Kong.
Raoul and Price, both of Vancouver, were arrested Tuesday after they unfurled a 42-square-metre banner reading “One World, One Dream, Free Tibet 2008″ in English and Chinese from the Great Wall.
The banner adds three words — “Free Tibet 2008″ — to the official slogan of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which began their one-year countdown on Tuesday.
Tethong, 31, was arrested Wednesday. She was not involved in the Great Wall protest, but she spent her time in China writing a blog and posting videos and photos online about what the group calls China’s “propaganda campaign” leading up to next year’s Olympic Games.
Five other activists — two from the U.K and three from the United States — were also arrested and released.
All the activists are part of Students for a Free Tibet, a New York-based group for which Tethong serves as executive director.
Tethong said the group knew their actions on the Great Wall weren’t legal and that arrests were a possibility.
Lhadon Tethong, one of three Canadian protesters released by Chinese authorities, is seen at a Buddhist temple in Beijing in this undated photo.
(Beijing Wide Open/Canadian Press)
“We knew that was the most likely scenario, but it’s not like it was the goal of what we were doing,” said Tethong, a Tibetan-Canadian who was born and raised in Victoria, but now lives in New York.
“The goal was to raise the issue.”
“Some people might think that’s sort of extreme, but we would say China violating the fundamental human rights of Tibetans and their own people and the cultural genocide of Tibet is extreme.”
Police surrounded Tethong in front of an Olympic merchandise store in Beijing and demanded to see her passport. They brought her into a police station, where they showed her printouts of her blog.
“They definitely took jabs at me for being Tibetan,” Tethong said. “They were saying I have an an accent like a Chinese and I have blood from China.”
We were scared for her
Tethong’s sister, Deyden Tethong, told CBC News that she and her family were scared while Tethong was in custody.
“It was nerve-racking for us,” Deyden said at 12:15 ET, about 15 minutes after learning that her sister had boarded a plane out of Beijing.
“We were very scared for her, but at the same time she keeps saying, ‘I have a Canadian passport, so I know people are looking out for me.’”
Sam Price, 32, was one of six activists arrested Tuesday in China.
(Courtesy of Freya Putt)
Deyden said she was surprised her sister was detained, since she was not part of the group of activists on the Great Wall.
“The activists that were taken off the Great Wall, that made sense,” Deyden said. “It was pushing the boundaries and it was illegal, but my sister, all she was doing was blogging about her feelings … and talking about what she saw and what she felt.”
Raoul’s mother, Valerie, said she is excited to see her daughter again.
“We don’t know when they’ll be coming back to Vancouver, but they know they’ll get a really big welcome,” she said.
Harper Promised to Help
The incident drew international attention, with videos of the Great Wall protest posted on YouTube. Prior to news of the activists release, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday that his government was working to gather information.
“We’ll be doing everything we can do to help and of course pointing out to the Chinese government — as we’re entitled to do — that such expressions of opinion are a natural part of the human rights that Canadians do expect in this country,” Harper said.
The Students for a Free Tibet group wants Tibet freed from China and say the Chinese government is using the Games to gain international acceptance.
The group also wants the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to push the case for Tibetan freedom.
China invaded Tibet in 1950, and in 1999 declared it to be an “inseparable part of China.” In 2004, a government policy paper said Tibet had always been part of China, and before the Chinese imposed direct rule, Tibet was “even darker and more backward than medieval Europe.”
With files from the Canadian Press
The Tams in Montreal
The Tams in Montreal
Woo Hoo my first production video from Mount Royal taken with my new camera.
Enjoy!!!
Ugh, after all that work, there is a freakin typo at the end of the video!!
*ACK*
OUTMASS 2007 at Christ Church Cathedral
The 2007
O U T M A S S
Christ Church Cathedral
635 Rue Ste. Catherines
Montreal
Saturday July 28, 2007
at 7:00 p.m.
Bring a friend and celebrate!!!
The Reverend Canon Joyce Sanchez will be Officiating
and the Bishop will be giving the sermon.
If you are in Montreal for Pride, please join us.
OUT MASS 2006 with the V. Rev Bishop Gene Robinson
of New Hampshire…
As close to Canadian Idol – as I will ever get!!
This is Sass Jordan Performing LIVE here in Montreal at the Street Festival going on today in the downtown core. Ste. Catherines street is shut down and an immense stage was erected outside the HMV. We happened upon this concert and I took these photos. I think I am a good photographer, don’t you agree??? I guess you’ll be the judge of that! There are 41 photos in this set, which are all going to be put in my Flickr account so you can go see them soon. Click on the Flickr box and go to my photo stream, there are 140 photos up now. I’ve also added 11 photos of the city from the Penthouse Pool area views that you haven’t seen yet of the South Shore and of Downtown Montreal.
So here they are:
Montreal prepares for moving day garbage
CBC News
The city of Montreal will increase recycling services to divert garbage that will pile up in alleys and on sidewalks this weekend, as thousands of Quebecers get ready to move homes.
While the rest of Canada stops to enjoy July 1 celebrations with parades and barbecues, Quebecers have to sweat through the province’s annual moving day.
The ritual usually leaves mountains of garbage, castaway furniture and clothes collecting pollen in back alleys and under stairwells.
But this year the city is putting more recycling trucks on the road to pick up some of the refuse.
“If the citizen decides to hide it in his back lane, then we’re going to have a big problem,” said city of Montreal executive member Marcel Tremblay.
Quebec’s annual moving day has fallen on Canada Day since 1973, when the provincial government decided all rental leases should start on July 1, to minimize disruption for children in school.
Montreal residents can call (514) 872-3434 or (514) 872-2237 to find out when extra recycling pickups are scheduled for their neighbourhood.
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Montreal still suffers from affordable housing shortage
CBC News
Quebec tenant groups are angry the provincial government won’t fund an emergency rental supplement this year for families forced to move to apartments they can’t afford.
With Quebec’s annual moving day just 11 days away, affordable housing activists say a growing number of families will have to move into apartments they can’t afford.
Until last year the provincial government offered emergency rental supplements to low-income families to help buffer the affordable housing shortage that saw vacancy rates drop to below one per cent in Montreal.
While vacancy rates have since stabilized at about three per cent in Montreal, the Quebec Coalition of Tenants’ Association says there is still a need for the program because many families still won’t be able to find affordable homes.
The “lack of large apartments at any price” is the problem, coalition spokesman André Trépanier said. “But for sure, there’s more apartments that are expensive, and the few large apartments available are very expensive.”
Many Montreal families will find themselves living in temporary shelters run by the city after July 1 because they can’t find a suitable apartment, Trépanier warned. The city also offers free storage to families struggling to find new dwellings.
Montreal has set up a housing hotline for residents seeking assistance. The number is (514) 868-4002.
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If You Don’t have to Move
Then DON’T !!!
For Christ’s Sake …
Oh, Canada …
Happy Canada Day, Eh!!
There is a parade stepping off outside my apartment building tomorrow morning, here in Montreal. Have a great day tomorrow!! July 1st is Moving Day in Montreal, there have been movers coming and going all weekend here and in the neighborhood. Tomorrow is going to be insane. Beware of falling furniture out of upper windows in neighborhoods all over Montreal. It won’t be pretty and it will be messy, to say the least…
It is a full moon, and the first of the month and the natives are restless. At the grocery store today I watched several innuit people start screaming and yelling and causing a BIG kerfuffle at the check out, it wasn’t pretty. OY!!! They were buying their Magnum bottles of beer and food, more beer than food and causing a BIG kerfuffle at the check out, it wasn’t pretty.
O Canada!
Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all thy sons command.With glowing hearts we see thee rise,
The True North strong and free!From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Don't force your man to go shopping with you
Wal*Mart: Roswell, NM.
Seen over at: The Mouse House
This is why women should not take men shopping against their will.
DON’T TAKE ME IF I DON’T WANT TO GO………..
After Mr. and Mrs. Fenton retired, Mrs. Fenton insisted her
husband accompany her on her trips to Wal-Mart.
Unfortunately, Mr. Fenton was like most men–he found shopping boring and preferred to get in and get out.
Equally unfortunately, Mrs. Fenton was like most women–she loved to browse. One day Mrs. Fenton received the following letter from her local Wal-Mart.
Dear Mrs. Fenton,
Over the past six months, your husband has been causing quite a commotion in our store. We cannot tolerate this behavior and may be forced to ban both of you from the store. Our complaints against Mr. Fenton are listed below and are documented by our video surveillance cameras.
1. June 15: Took 24 boxes of condoms and randomly put them in people’s carts when they weren’t looking.
2 . July 2: Set all the alarm clocks in Housewares to go off at 5-minute intervals.
3. July 7: Made a trail of tomato juice on the floor leading to the women’s restroom.
4. July 19: Walked up to an employee and told her in an official voice, “Code 3 in Housewares. Get on it right away.”
5. August 4: Went to the Service Desk and tried to put a bag of M&M’s on layaway.
6. September 14: Moved a “CAUTION – WET FLOOR” sign to a carpeted area.
7. September 15: Set up a tent in the camping department and told other shoppers he’d invite them in if they would bring pillows and blankets from the bedding department.
8. September 23: When a clerk asked if they could help him he began crying and screamed, “Why can’t you people just leave me alone?”
9. October 4: Looked right into the security camera and used it as a mirror while he picked his nose.
10. November 10: While handling guns in the hunting department, he asked the clerk where the antidepressants were.
11. December 3: Darted around the store suspiciously whileloudly humming the ” Mission Impossible” theme.
12. December 6: In the auto department, he practiced his“Madonna look” by using different sizes of funnels.
13. December 18: Hid in a clothing rack and when people browsed through, yelled “PICK ME! PICK ME!”
14. December 21: When an announcement came over the loud speaker, he assumed a fetal position and screamed “OH NO! IT’S THOSE VOICES AGAIN!”
And last, but not least …
15. December 23: Went into a fitting room, shut the door, waited awhile, then yelled very loudly, “Hey! There’s no toilet paper in here!”
Regards,
Walmart
It's All About Me !!! Episode 1
This episode is brought to you by the Motion Picture: Trick
Thank God it’s Friday. The weather is beautiful outside, there is a light breeze and the temperature is sitting at a comfy 22c. It was a busy day today. I had to go to the clinic and drop labs, that is always fun. I had to fill out a questionnaire for the TMC 125 drug that I am taking now for the study. The common list of symptomatology and emotional status in the last four weeks.
I love those questionnaires because I leave little obnoxious comments on the page along with my answer like:
1. Do you feel good about yourself? Why of course, I am always slap dash happy!
2. Have you thought about killing anyone lately? No! But now that you mention it!!
3. Have you been depressed in the last four weeks? No, not really, but if you really want my sob story for the month I can tell you about it. And this one really made me laugh,
4. You are “Somewhat sick” — WTF? Are you kidding? This must be a trick question! I’ve got HIV, is that somewhat sick? Does that make me somewhat sick?
5. Have you thought about hurting yourself in the last four weeks? Um, Not really!!
6. Do you have any complaints (medically, sexually, emotionally)??? Well, now that you ask!!
I will have to fill out this questionnaire every time I go into the clinic to follow my progress with the new medications. They are serious questions, I was just in that kind of mood this morning to be catty! Someone at the other end will get a good laugh out of me at least.
After I finished at the hospital I headed over to the village to look see the goings ons, since I needed to get out of the house for a while. I went over to the new “North Bound Leather and Fetish shop, since I had not seen the renovated store. It is quite beautiful. With state of the art display cases with the trinkets and jewelry, and they painted the walls which brightened up the space a great deal.
Then it was off to Priape for a little impulse shopping. And to see the boys – Pride is gearing up quite nicely. Ste Catherine’s street is blocked off in the village and there are terraces in front of all the bars and restaurants for outdoor dining.
The village is hosting an art show right now. I did my shopping and headed home. The trains were PACKED because the Montreal Jazz Festival is in town until the 11th of July. So there are a bunch of festivals going on at the same time, really, you could leave home in the morning and be occupied all day and night. Here is the list as it goes:
- The LotoQuebec Fireworks Festival
- The Montreal Jazz Festival
- The Village Art Show
- Pride will be in a few weeks
I had to pick up the rest of my meds at the pharmacy on the way in. To give you an idea about the cost of HIV meds here – This was my bill today:
- Prezista – Darunavir (300mg) Insured: $23.65 Uninsured: $862.78
- Norvir (1oomg) Insured: $0.00 Uninsured: $93.42
- Incidental Medications Insured: $30.57 Uninsured: $75.79
- TMC 125-C214 (Clinic Distribution) I don’t have these costs yet.
- Integrase (Clinic Distribution) I don’t have these costs yet.
GrandTotals: Insured: $54.22 (What I pay p/month) — Uninsured: $1031.99
Thank God I live in Canada…
PODCASTING!!
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Would you like to see “All About Me on Video?” Since traffic here has spiked over the last few weeks, I thought about putting up some pod casts. So send us your questions, concerns and pecadillos and we will start posting those videos for you very soon.
This concludes All About Me Episode #1
Let Pride Begin in Montreal – 29 July 2007
L.G.B.T.A.
To The Rescue
Montreal’s Gay Pride Parade
Is On…
L.G.B.T.A LINK HERE
The Parade will take place on
July 29th 2007 at 1 p.m.
on Rene Levesque – heading West
***********************************************
It seems that LGBTA has come forward to stop the infighting between the Diverscite and local merchants in the Village. On the local news feed, I heard some say that Montreal doesn’t need a gay pride parade any more because gay marriage is acceptable, so why bother any more?
This from CFCF News (CTV News Affiliate in Montreal)
Gay pride parade back on !!!
Montreal’s gay pride parade is back on again. The parade will be held the afternoon of Sunday, July 29. A new organization, LGBTA Montreal, was formed to organize the parade, that will kick off a week of gay pride events in the city.
After years of infighting between various gay groups, it had been announced the parade would be cancelled this year. In the past, it has drawn hundreds of thousands of people, gay and straight alike.
Gay Bishop Snubbed by Anglican Conference
Gay Bishop Snubbed by Anglican Conference
By Luke Baker
LONDON (Reuters) – The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of 77 million Anglicans worldwide, has not invited two wayward bishops to a major conference next year, a move likely to stir controversy in the deeply divided communion.
Archbishop Rowan Williams has sent invitations to more than 800 Anglican bishops asking them to attend the Lambeth Conference in July and August 2008, but has not invited two American bishops — Gene Robinson and Martyn Minns.
Robinson has caused division since he was consecrated as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, becoming the Anglican Church’s first openly gay bishop.
Robinson said he was deeply disappointed by Williams’ decision, asking in a statement: “How does it make sense to exclude gay and lesbian people from the discussion?
“Isn’t it time that the bishops of the Church stop talking about us and start talking with us?”
Minns, a deeply conservative Episcopalian, was installed last year as the head of a new Nigerian-based church branch in the United States designed as a refuge for orthodox believers. The Anglican Communion does not recognize his position.
“I have to reserve the right to withhold or withdraw invitations from bishops whose appointment, actions or manner of life have caused exceptionally serious division or scandal within the Communion,” Williams wrote in his invitations, which were sent out on Tuesday.
“I do not say this lightly, but I believe that we need to know as we meet that each participant recognizes and honors the task set before us and that there is an adequate level of mutual trust between us about this.”
It is possible that others will either not be invited or will have their invitations withdrawn before the conference takes place if anything “untoward or unacceptable” occurs between now and then, an Anglican spokesman said.
“There are one or two other cases where the archbishop is currently seeking further advice,” Tim Livesey, the head of public affairs for Lambeth Palace, told reporters.
Next year’s Lambeth Conference, the 14th to be held since 1867, promises to involve intense discussion on ideological and doctrinal issues that have caused serious rifts within the communion in recent years, with the African church generally becoming more conservative and other parts breaking away.
With more than 50 provinces within the communion, stretching from the Pacific islands of Melanesia, throughout Africa, to the United States, the church has struggled to bring its diversity under one roof.
Events such as the Lambeth Conference, which does not determine Church doctrine, are supposed to be a forum for reflection and discussion, and an opportunity to overcome internal problems.
While the non-invitation of Robinson and Minns is likely to provoke debate, particularly in the United States and Africa, Livesey said it was possible that Robinson, at least, could be allowed to come as a “guest” of the conference — a minor concession that might temper criticism.
“The archbishop is currently studying that possibility,” Livesey said.
****************************************
2 Bishops not Invited to Anglican Parley
By ROBERT BARR, Associated Press Writer
LONDON – Two bishops at the heart of the U.S. Episcopal Church’s divisions over sexuality and scripture will not be invited to next year’s global gathering of Anglican prelates, the archbishop of Canterbury’s office said Tuesday.
Bishops V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and Martyn Minns of the breakaway Convocation of Anglicans in North America were not among more than 850 bishops invited, said Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary-general of the Anglican Communion.
Robinson was the first Anglican bishop to be openly living in a same-sex relationship, and his election in 2003 opened a huge rift between the liberal and conservative wings of the church.
Minns was consecrated bishop on May 5 in Woodbridge, Va., by Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, the most outspoken of the numerous Anglican critics of Robinson’s elevation.
Robinson may be invited to attend the Lambeth Conference as a guest, but Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is not contemplating inviting Minns, Kearon said.
“The question of Gene Robinson … I think has exercised the archbishop of Canterbury’s mind for quite some time,” he said, and there was no question that Robinson was duly elected and consecrated a bishop according to the rules of the Episcopal Church.
“However, for the archbishop to simply give full recognition at this conference would be to ignore the very substantial and very widespread objections in many parts of the communion to his consecration and to his ministry,” Kearon said.
Robinson said Williams’ decision was a “great disappointment.”
“At a time when the Anglican Communion is calling for a ‘listening process’ on the issue of homosexuality, how does it make sense to exclude gay and lesbian people from the discussion?” Robinson said in a statement released by his office.
“This is not about Gene Robinson, nor the Diocese of New Hampshire,” he added. “It is about the American church. It is for the Episcopal Church to respond to this divide-and-conquer challenge to our polity, and in due time, I assume we will do so.”
The conference, generally held every 10 years and covering all sorts of topics, will take place at the University of Kent in England July 16-Aug. 4, 2008.
Katharine Jefferts Schori, the presiding bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, had also been informed of the invitation decision, Kearon said.
He said Williams had expressed his displeasure about Akinola’s intention to consecrate Minns as a bishop. “There is no question that he (Minns) is a bishop, but his consecration is not regular,” Kearon said.
“I am not aware of any intention to invite him as a guest. It is a very different situation,” he added.
Kearon said that Williams was deliberating on whether to invite one or two other bishops, but he declined to give any details.
The divisions wracking the 77 million-member Anglican Communion were prominent at the last Lambeth Conference in 1998.
By a large majority, bishops at that conference adopted a resolution “rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with scripture,” and declared their opposition to the “legitimizing or blessing of same sex unions nor ordaining those involved in same gender unions.”
Nonetheless, Episcopalians in New Hampshire elected Robinson as their bishop, a choice confirmed by the Episcopal Church’s governing General Convention.
A year earlier, the diocese of New Westminster in western Canada alarmed doctrinal conservatives by authorizing services of blessing for same-sex partnerships.
In his invitation letters, which were sent by e-mail, Williams said:
“At a time when our common identity seems less clear that it once did, the temptation is to move further away from each other into those circles where we only related to those who completely agree with us.
“But the depth and seriousness of the issues that face us require us to discuss as fully and freely as we can, and no other forum offers the same opportunities for all to hear and consider, in the context of a common waiting on the Holy Spirit.
“I have said, and repeat here, that coming to the conference does not commit you to accepting every position held by other bishops as equally legitimate or true. But I hope it does commit us all to striving together for a more effective and coherent worldwide body, working for God’s glory and Christ’s Kingdom.”
Priest Quits Rather Than Uphold Ban On Gay Marriages
You can read all about this fracture of ‘church’ over at Father Jakes Blog Here.
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) An Anglican priest has resigned rather than submit to a directive from his bishop not to officiate at gay weddings.
The Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck of the Saskatoon Native Ministry announced last month that he would marry gay couples if asked. Same-sex marriage is legal in Canada.
In an open letter, Sanford Beck said the Canadian church’s ban on same-sex marriages and blessings “theologically problematic and fundamentally unjust.”
Bishop Rodney Andrews asked the priest to reconsider his position by March 31 or risk losing his license to minister.
Andrews pointed to Anglican Church of Canada guidelines which prohibit either blessing services or marriages for same-sex couples.
“To my knowledge, the Rev. Shawn Sanford Beck has not presided at a same-sex blessing or a same-sex marriage. Accordingly, I issued Shawn a short-term license effective April 1, 2007. Shawn has chosen not to accept licensing and has returned the license to me,” Andrews said in a statement.
“He has subsequently resigned his position with the Saskatoon Native Ministry.”
Andrews said that Sanford Beck remains a priest but is considered “On leave without permission to officiate”
Earlier this month Canadian Anglican bishops issued a pastoral statement rejecting the blessing of same-sex unions while acknowledging that there will be further votes on the matter when the church’s governing body meets next month. (story)
The issue of how the worldwide Anglican Church treats gays has been growing since the election in 2003 of Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in the US. Robinson is openly gay and in a long term relationship.
The head of the U.S. wing of the Anglican church supports ordaining gays and allowing blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. The Americans could be expelled from the international communion if they don’t ban the blessings of same-sex couples and ordination of gay bishops by Sept. 30.
The Canadian church has placed a moratorium on such blessings at least until the General Synod next month, which is a gathering of about 400 Anglican delegates, staff, national and international partners. A General Synod is held once every three years.
©365Gay.com 2007
Hate Crimes Legislation…
Hatred has a long lineage…
Will you allow George Bush to perpetrate a Hate Crime, by Vetoing the Hate Crime Legislation now making its way through the halls of Politics. Will you allow George Bush to be dictated what he should do again? They won’t allow Gay Marriage across the board and surely the government cannot look “SOFT” on Gays by allowing Hate Crimes Legislation to be passed into law.
This action would rub Bushy’s ass so raw, like sandpaper on a babies ass…
You know what they say about people who hate so vehemently and openly to the masses, They have skeletons in their closets that they don’t want others to see or know about. Men and women who do not do the right thing by LGBTQ peoples, say more in their hatred and silence than they do when they speak about loving thy neighbor.
We cannot allow the Leader of the American People to use his veto power to stop proper justice from being served on the animals who have perpetrated some truly heinous crimes over the last decade. If statistics prove that crimes based on “Sexual Orientation” are on the rise, then we must stop that number from rising any further.
IT IS TIME, for the People of America to Speak with a resounding voice against those who counsel the President. Christian Groups, Focus Groups, Special Interest Groups, and those posturing for higher office, and those who have no respect for LGBTQ people.
IT IS TIME for the United States to rise to the call of rights for everyone, not just some. If you allow George Bush to Veto this legislation, then YOU and ONLY YOU are guilty of allowing that man any more power than he deserves. George Bush is not my choice for president and never was.
I am surely not the first person to write these words and I am sure that his views on Homosexuality and Sexual Orientation keep him up at night, while he maintains this epic WAR of lies and deception.
“You are either with us, or you are with the Terrorists!!!”
IT IS TIME for the United States to get on board the bus of the proper treatment, respect, dignity and RIGHTS for all, not just some. Canada has legislation that protect LGBTQ peoples. We do not tolerate violence based on sexual orientation.
IT IS TIME to STOP the President of the United States from making any more STUPID decisions. and IT IS TIME to get on the impeachment bus for more reasons than one, and take this man out of office so that we should not have to worry about another WORLD LEADER denouncing the rights, protection, dignity and respect of LGBTQ people.
There are TOO MANY Leaders around the world who place in the “HATE” column and not enough World Leaders in the “RESPECT” column.
STOP GEORGE BUSH from making another MONUMENTAL MISTAKE…
Check the voting record for your state below and by all means if you did not agree with the way they voted then contact them and tell them so…
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House Passes Gay Hate Bill, White House Threatens Veto
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
(Washington) The House of Representatives passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act Thursday, just hours after the White House said aides would recommend President Bush veto the measure.
The House voted 237 to 180. A parallel bill is working its way through the Senate.
The Shepard Act, also called the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, would allow the Department of Justice to assist local authorities in investigating and prosecuting cases in which violence occurs against people based on their sexuality.
Federal hate crime legislation already covers people on the basis of race and religion.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) – the only openly gay man in the House – presided over the chamber as the final vote was taken.
“Today, we paid a sad but fitting tribute to victims of hate crimes like James Byrd, Matthew Shepherd and Michael Sandy,” said Rep. Nadler (D-NY).
“No American should be threatened with violence because of who they are. Hate crimes attack not only the individual victim, but they send a violent message to an entire group of people. This hate crimes legislation takes critical steps to address violent bigotry and vicious acts of hatred. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to swiftly act to protect all Americans.”
FBI statistics show that one in six hate crimes is motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation.
This is a historic day that moves all Americans closer to safety from the scourge of hate violence,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese in a statement following the vote.
“Today, legislators sided with the 73 percent of the American people who support the expansion of hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.”
But as the House was preparing to vote the White House issued a statement saying that if the measure passed both houses and goes to the President, his senior advisors would recommend that he veto it.
A statement from the Executive Office of the President said: “The Administration favors strong criminal penalties for violent crime, including crime based on personal characteristics, such as race, color, religion, or national origin.
“However, the Administration believes that H.R. 1592 is unnecessary and constitutionally questionable.”
The White House statement said that state and local criminal laws already provide penalties for the crimes defined by the bill and “there has been no persuasive demonstration of any need to federalize such a potentially large range of violent crime enforcement.”
The veto threat was immediately denounced by gay Democrats.
“By issuing a premature veto threat, President Bush fails to understand that he is not the sole decider regarding the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” said Jo Wyrick, NSD Executive Director.
“Once again, the majority of American oppose the position of the President, and that is why we are urging the Senate Leadership to quickly move on this important legislation. We need Senate Democrats to step up before President Bush can step down.”
The statement came on the heels of intense lobbying by social conservatives for Bush to issue statement condemning the bill.
The American Family Association sent an alert to thousands of its members calling on them to email and phone the White House to call for a veto.
“The Hate Crimes Act criminalizes a vast array of state and local acts and threatens religious leaders with criminal prosecution for their thoughts, beliefs, and statements,” AFA claims – something supporters of the bill and LGBT civil rights groups dispute.
Concerned Women for America also is calling for a veto.
In a letter to the President the group says “there is no evidence to suggest that homosexuals or cross-dressers do not receive equal protection under the law.”
A hate crime bill passed the House in the last Congress but was dropped in the then Republican-controlled Senate last year.
The legislation has the support of LGBT civil rights groups and has been endorsed by more than 210 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: the National Sheriffs’ Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.
For the first time, the ACLU fully supported hate crimes legislation.
In the past, the organization said it has not been able to support hate crime bills because they were written in a way that threatened constitutionally protected speech. But the legislation introduced by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) showed that it is possible to protect targets of hate crimes without jeopardizing free speech or association rights, the ACLU said in a statement.
“Prosecuting violent hate crimes is critically important. This bill will also protect due process and the Constitution, especially our First Amendment rights to speak freely and associate with whom we’d like,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.
“When a person inflicts violence based on hate, it is important that they be punished. But defendants must have a fair trial, and should not be judged based on what they say and the company they keep, unless specifically related to the crime. While we may disagree with some people’s speech, it must be protected or all of our speech is at risk. “
©365Gay.com 2007
Gay marriage evil, abortion terrorism: Vatican
By Philip Pullella – Reuters Online
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican’s second-highest ranking doctrinal official on Monday forcefully branded homosexual marriage an evil and denounced abortion and euthanasia as forms of “terrorism with a human face.”
The attack by Archbishop Angelo Amato, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was the latest in a string of speeches made by either Pope Benedict or other Vatican officials as Italy considers giving more rights to gays.
In an address to chaplains, Amato said newspapers and television bulletins often seemed like “a perverse film about evil.” He denounced “evils that remain almost invisible” because the media presented them as “expression of human progress.”
He listed these as abortion clinics, which he called “slaughterhouses of human beings,” euthanasia, and “parliaments of so-called civilized nations where laws contrary to the nature of the human being are being promulgated, such as the approval of marriage between people of the same sex …”
Amato spoke at a time when the Vatican and Italy’s powerful Roman Catholic Church are at loggerheads over plans for a highly controversial law that would give unmarried heterosexual and homosexual couples some form of legal recognition.
The Church and Catholic politicians, even some in Prime Minister Romano Prodi’s centre-left coalition, see the proposed law as a Trojan Horse and say it could lead to gay marriages.
Amato, who is said to be very close to Pope Benedict, criticized the media’s coverage of ethical issues.
After denouncing “abominable terrorism” such as that carried out by suicide bombers, he condemned what he called “terrorism with a human face,” and accused the media of manipulating language “to hide the tragic reality of the facts.”
“For example, abortion is called ‘voluntary interruption of pregnancy’ and not the killing of a defenseless human being, an abortion clinic is given a harmless, even attractive, name: ‘centre for reproductive health’ and euthanasia is blandly called ‘death with dignity’,” he said in his address.
Gay rights group have criticized the Pope and Catholic Church officials in the past over such comments, accusing them of interfering in Italy’s domestic affairs.
Groups opposed to gay marriage and recognition of unmarried couples are planning a national rally in Rome next month.
Italy’s Roman Catholic Church, set up on diocesan and parish levels, has the organizational machinery to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people. A huge turnout, which is expected, could be a major embarrassment for Prodi’s government.
The Onion of Love…
“Love is like a smelly onion that you pull back layer after layer, until you are standing there weeping over the sink!”
Thirty Rock…
Radcliffe makes compelling debut
|
By Neil Smith |
Equus deals with controversial themes of sexuality |
A star-studded audience saw Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe make his full West End debut in Equus.
Christian Slater, Bob Geldof and Richard E Grant were just a few of the luminaries who braved the paparazzi outside London’s Gielgud Theatre.
Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry and Helena Bonham Carter – performers with close ties to the Harry Potter phenomenon – were also in attendance.
For all the celebrity talent in the stalls, however, there was only one focus of attention once the lights went down.
The controversial nature of Peter Shaffer’s 1973 play, combined with reports of Radcliffe’s on-stage nudity, has already made this the hottest ticket in town.
To concentrate on the sensational aspects of Thea Sharrock’s production, however, would be a disservice to its star’s accomplished and thoroughly committed performance.
Boasting a well-toned physique and a compelling stage presence, Radcliffe quickly distances himself from his boy wizard alter-ego.
Minimal experience
Indeed, the overriding impression is of a gifted young actor casting off the shackles of a restrictive screen persona.
Radcliffe and Joanna Christie leave little to the imagination |
True, he is perhaps too composed to be wholly credible as Alan Strang, the disturbed stable boy sectioned for blinding six horses.
Nor do his polished vowels befit a character who, according to Shaffer’s text, is both ill-educated and semi-literate.
With a maturity and intensity that belie his 17 years, though, the teenage heart-throb compellingly conveys the angst and trauma of a youth in crisis.
And as Shaffer pieces together the sorry history that led him to commit such an inexplicable act of violence, Radcliffe ensures he retains both our sympathy and our compassion.
Looking visibly drained and shaken as he took his bows, Tuesday’s opening night clearly took its toll on an actor with minimal theatrical experience.
Then again, he had just been required to strip naked for a sex scene with co-star Joanna Christie that leaves little to the imagination.
With two rows of audience members seated directly behind the actors on stage, there is nowhere to hide.
It would be no slight on their exertions, though, to lavish equal praise on Richard Griffiths for his work as the conflicted therapist who guides Strang through his psychological minefield.
Tortured mind
In a role created on stage by Alec McCowen and played on film by Richard Burton, Griffiths is a portrait of avuncular concern tempered by nagging self-doubt.
Richard Griffiths’ performance has also been praised |
It is a dichotomy that mirrors the play’s ambivalent attitude towards psychiatry when it comes to explaining the workings of a tortured mind.
Animal lovers will be relieved to know Equus – the Latin word for horse – has actors wearing metal headgear standing in for actual livestock.
In lesser hands such a device might seem incongruous, but Sharrock makes it feel entirely natural.
This is no mean feat in a drama that presents a lurid cocktail of sexual repression, religious obsession and stylised animal cruelty.
But the real triumph is Radcliffe’s for winning his thespian spurs in one of the most demanding roles an actor his age could tackle.
Compared to the emotional exposure the part entails, his well-publicised disrobing seems almost incidental.
Harry Potter fans, though, have one more shock in store should they choose to see their hero in his current guise.
More shocking than wounding horses and having sex? Perhaps. Shortly after the interval, Daniel smokes a cigarette.
Equus continues at the Gielgud Theatre in central London.
Scissor Sisters are coming to Montreal
You can check out The Scissor Sisters website.
The last time that the scissor sisters came to Montreal we went to the show and we had such a great time. Now they were on the Brit Awards the other night – and today I saw on the website that Montreal is once again on the roster. March the 6th, at Metropolis starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $22.00 in advance and $27.00 at the door.
If you’ve never seen them perform, you must. They are fantastic. Del is especially dreamy.
The Holocaust, One Must NEVER Deny It…
This: From Michaels Blog
According to an Associated Press report, “Elie Wiesel was accosted and dragged out of an elevator last week by an apparent Holocaust denier who wanted to grill Wiesel about his writings…
“In a posting on a Web site, a writer is taking credit for the attack, explaining that he wanted to quiz the Nobel Peace prize winner about his Holocaust memoir, “Night,” which the posting calls almost entirely fictitious.”
I recently got Night on CD’s from the local library and have been listening to it on the long drives between my hospice visits. It is shattering to hear, and I can see why anyone would want to deny that such things could possibly have been.
Yet they were.
Tom, Jewish by birth and upbringing, lost relatives in the camps, including one who is now recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church, Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross). His former sister-in-law’s partner is also related to Aunt Edith.
Holocaust denial is an interesting phenomenon and one that I have certainly heard of but about which I am no expert. What strikes me today is that some of what has gone on in our war in Iraq is stuff that later generations will want to deny happened. How could a powerful, wealthy, “Christian” nation have been responsible for torture, for exploitation, for disappearing people? How much easier to think that our enemies are making it up to discredit us!
*** I took a class on the Holocaust ***
Taught by Prof. Frank Chalk
Who sits on the Comission for the
Prevention of Genocide and who lost
family during the HolocaustHere are the Numbers
In the beginning years of the start of exterminations, gas trucks were retrofitted with the ability to kill human beings. The “test subjects” for this small project were CHILDREN, Mentally and Physically challenged SICK children and then adults. Hospitals were cleared out of the sick and the dying because they were not thought to be worthy of life. Most of them were children. CHILDREN!!
When it was made apparent that gassing worked and could kill mass numbers of people, the gas trucks became “gas centers.” The death camps were to be built so that MASS numbers of people could be exterminated.
You cannot deny that the Holocaust took place. Because so many people were affected by this. The Armenians who were exterminated, Jews and Poles in Europe, Gypsies and Christians who were also sent to camps to die.
Homosexuals and deviantly judged people were also sent to camps to die. And as of last year 2006, there were only a handful of LBGT people still alive, who had survived the Holocaust and lived to tell the story.
Go to your local Holocaust Museum they are located in many citeies around the world. I have seen the Museum in Miami and Montreal. You can go over on my sidebar and click the (Survivors of the SHOA) foundation and see for yourself, that which we can never deny happened, because that would be to deny that over 6 million people died for nothing and that their lives were lived in vain. Deniers will say what they will. Shame on them and you if you think they are right!!
I challenge you to take a course on the Holocaust like I did, then come to your own conclusion. I for one have irrefutable data in my head – in my notes and what I saw for myself from people who were there, not to know the truth. We were fortunate to meet many “survivors” during this class time and I heard them tell the stories. And a denier has the gaul to say that it never happened, that the Holocaust was a fabrication?? That is just insane…
“That we should remember – so that we should never forget…”
I wanted to post these numbers for you so that we can all agree that David Irving, one person who denies the Holocaust in many books, one which part of the final asks about is called “Lying about Hitler” History, Holocaust, and The Trial of David Irving, written by Richard J. Evans.
The largest Nazi extermination camp.
- Location: Oswiecim, Poland
- Established: May 26th1940
- Liberation: January 27th, 1945, by the Soviet Army.
- Estimated number of victims: 2,1 to 2,5 million (This estimated number of death is considered by historians as a strict minimum. The real number of death is unknown but probably much higher, maybe 4 millions)
Belzec
From march 1942 until early 1943, it is estimated that about 600,000 Jews were murdered in Belzec extermination camp.
Chelmno:
Chelmno, also known as Kulmhof, was a small town roughly 50 miles from the city of Lodz, Poland. It was here that the first mass killings of Jews by gas took place as part of the ‘Final Solution’.
Majdanek
The killing operations began in Majdanek in April 1942 and ended in July 1944. Majdanek also provided slave labor for munitions works and Steyr-Daimler- Puch weapons factory. The estimated number of deaths is 360,000, including Jews, Soviet POWs and Poles.
Sobibor
Sobibor was the second extermination camp to come into operation in the Aktion Reinhard program. Estimated number of deaths: 250,000, the majority being Jews.
Treblinka
Opening for “business” on July 23, 1942, with the beginning of the evacuation of the Warsaw ghetto, some 245,000 Warsaw Jews and 112,000 Jews from other places in the Warsaw district were murdered in Treblinka by September 21. 337,000 Jews from the Radom district, 35,000 from the Lublin district and 107,000 from the Bialystok district also met their death in Treblinka with 738,000 Jews who had been residents of the General Gouvernement. From outside Poland many thousands of Jews were transported to and killed in Treblinka: 7.000 from Slovakia, 8,000 from Theresienstadt concentration camp, 4,000 Jews from Greece, and 7,000 Jews from the Macedonia portion of Bulgaria. In addition to the Jews, some 2,000 gypsies were killed in Treblinka.
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands – The ancient chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while she was in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland must be cut down, the Amsterdam city council said Tuesday.
The diseased tree in the courtyard behind the canal-side warehouse where the Frank family took refuge for more than two years has been attacked by an aggressive fungus and a moth, called the horse chestnut leaf miner. Experts estimate the tree’s age at 150-170 years.
The chestnut is familiar to some 25 million readers of “The Diary of Anne Frank.” Anne often looked at it longingly from the attic, the only window that was not blacked out to prevent anyone seeing movement inside the apartment in the rear of the warehouse on Prinsengracht street where the Frank family hid.
The Jewish teenager made several references to it in the diary that she kept during the 25 months she remained indoors until the family was arrested in August 1944.
The tree’s condition has rapidly deteriorated in recent years, the city said. The inner wood is rotten and the dying roots and bark are not regenerating.
“It’s very sad, but the decision has been taken,” said Patricia Bosboom, spokeswoman of the Anne Frank House museum. “It’s one of the oldest chestnut trees in Amsterdam.”
It will take several weeks before the city issues the required license to fell the tree.
The museum, where the tiny apartment has been preserved, said grafts already have been taken and a sapling from the original chestnut will replace the once-towering tree.
“Nearly every morning I go to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs,” Anne wrote on Feb. 23, 1944. “From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind. …
“As long as this exists, I thought, and I may live to see it, this sunshine, the cloudless skies, while this lasts I cannot be unhappy.”
Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945.
Have you Confessed???
Today the mailman was kind enough to deliver my Amazon pack containing our copy of Madonna’s Confession Tour. I have to say that the television version we saw here in Canada, was missing a fair amount of the concert including certain interlude pieces that were “political” to say the least.
If you had not an opportunity to see the concert live, and you did catch the television broadcast, you won’t get to see the concert in its entirety unless you get a copy of the Concert DVD. Which also comes with a companion CD with live music on it.
Buy it HERE
