Pope Francis seems to sound subtle alarm on same-sex marriage during address to US Congress

Pope Francis did not say the words ‘same-sex marriage’ during his historic address before the US Congress on Thursday (24 September) but seemed to subtly be expressing his disapproval of what is now legal in all 50 states.

The head of the Catholic Church has been widely seen as more progressive than his predecessors but on such social issues as same-sex marriage and abortion, his stance remains firm

‘How essential the family has been to the building of this country!,’ the Pope said, ‘And how worthy it remains of our support and encouragement!

‘Yet I cannot hide my concern for the family, which is threatened, perhaps as never before, from within and without. Fundamental relationships are being called into question, as is the very basis of marriage and the family. I can only reiterate the importance and, above all, the richness and the beauty of family life.’

There has been hope among LGBTI organizations that the Pope would address such issues as same-sex marriage and discrimination against LGBTI Catholics within the church.

Full text here

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Greg Hernandez

www.gaystarnews.com/article/pope-francis-seems-to-sound-subtle-alarm-on-same-sex-marriage-during-address-to-us-congress/

Carly Rae Jepsen, A Great Big World, and Futuristic to Perform at 19th Annual HRC National Dinner

The annual dinner will be held on October 3. 
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/carly-rae-jepsen-a-great-big-world-and-futuristic-to-perform-at-19th-annual?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Even Donald Trump Thinks “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli Sucks, Calls Him A “Spoiled Brat”

You know you’re in the wrong when even one of the most reviled men in America thinks you suck.

Earlier this week, Martin Shkreli, founder and CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals, made international headlines when he raised the price of Daraprim, a drug used to treat life-threatening parasitic infections in AIDS patients, by more than 5,000 percent, thus earning himself the title of “America’s most hated man.” Now, Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has jumped on the Shkreli bashing bandwagon.

Related: Ex-Hedge Funder Buys Rights To AIDS Drug, Raises Price 5,455 Percent

Trump criticized the 32-year-old ex-hedge-funder-turned-pharmaceutical-price-gouger’s in the only way he knows how: By attacking his looks.

“You want to know the truth?” Trump said during a press conference this week. “He looks like a spoiled brat.”

Then he added that “hedge fund guys” like Shkreli will be the only people who see their taxes raised if he is elected president in 2016.

Related: Price-Gouging Pharma CEO Can’t Seem To Handle The Entire Internet Hating Him After All

Given Shkreli’s thin skin (as demonstrated by the childish fights he’s been engaging in on Twitter), we’re sure Mr. Trump’s comments were especially bruising to the young businessman’s ego.

“There’s something about that one — the way he raised it and to that extent,” Trump continued. “And then he sat back smug, like he was hot stuff. That guy is nothing. He is zero. He is nothing.”

We never thought we’d say this, but we actually agree with the Donald on this one.

Related: Greedy CEO Drops Price Of AIDS Drug, Pissed He’s Not Going To Make A Killing

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/gAhjC6sbBoE/even-donald-trump-thinks-pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-sucks-calls-him-a-spoiled-brat-20150924

The OXD Mirror: The Black Madonna Does Nick Höppner, Double-Dose Tuff City Kids and more

BY TAD HAES

When The Black Madonna became the resident DJ of the long-running queer nightclub Smart Bar in Chicago in 2012, following house music legends such as Derrick Carter and Frankie Knuckles, it became clear that we would be hearing great things from her in the future. Since then, she was promoted to Smart Bar’s Creative Director and is responsible for booking all talent and events at the venue. Not only that, but she is also a fierce and established producer.

Reminiscent of the rawness of classic Chicago house, her latest release – a tech-house rework of Nick Höppner‘s ‘Relate’ – cements The Black Madonna’s relationship with the techno mavens of Berlin-based label Ostgut Ton (Berghain/Panorama Bar). The masterfully produced track starts off with hypnotic looping synths which build up and lead to a bright climax full of energy and echoing percussion elements. This is surely one of the dance highlights of the year.

• I have been closely following the work of Tuff City Kids (Phillip Lauer and Gerd Janson), who have consistently put out amazing work this year. I enjoy it so much that I decided to include two of their recent remixes in today’s column. Fort Romeau‘s ‘Cloche’ gets a disco-y synth heavy version while Private Agenda‘s ‘Paralysed’ is transformed into an acid house banger.
• Italian producer Francesco de Bellis, or simply Francisco, released the addictive ‘Beat Line,’ with elements inspired by italo-disco and 80’s new wave.
• Alixander III – of Toronto defunct house group Azari & III (RIP) – keeps it true to his unique house style with his second release on Berlin label Toy Tonics. The new EP is a follow up to the stellar Heavy Friends Part I and includes ‘Broken Promises,’ a collaboration with italian duo Marsupials.
• London-based producer Rashid Ajami announced his debut release on Noir Music, Night Prayer, with remixes by French trip dOP, who reworked the original track into haunted vocal and a dub versions.

This Friday: Occupy The Disco & The Carry Nation at Le Bain at The Standard, Highline

We are thrilled to share the decks with one of our favorite NY queer duos, The Carry Nation, this Friday, 9/25 at Le Bain at The Standard, Highline. It’s been a while since our last nighttime party at the iconic venue and if there is one thing we can promise all night is great music. Well, that and a fun, welcoming crowd. Come dance with us starting at 10pm and arrive early to avoid lines. No cover.

Le Bain at The Standard, Highline
444 W 13th St
New York, NY 10014
United States

OCCUPY THE DISCO (OXD) curates and recommends music events to the gay community in NYC—in an effort to move the focus of the nightlife scene beyond the promoter and venue and to the music itself. OXD’s goal is to educate, entertain, engage and empower the gay audience to reclaim their ability to question and experience the unknown. The OXD Mirror will serve to showcase tunes that are definitely off-the-beaten-path but rightfully deserve the attention of the gay ear.

Follow us on Spotify!  Subscribe to our ‘As Seen on Towleroad Playlist to listen to tracks posted from past weeks. For more information on OXD, check out our website and accompanying blog at www.occupythedisco.com, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter: @OccupyTheDisco.

The post The OXD Mirror: The Black Madonna Does Nick Höppner, Double-Dose Tuff City Kids and more appeared first on Towleroad.

Occupy the Disco

The OXD Mirror: The Black Madonna Does Nick Höppner, Double-Dose Tuff City Kids and more

South Park Episode Features Brutal Rape of Trump

While the long-running animated series South Park has made a name for itself lampooning figures from Al Gore to Paris Hilton, its latest takedown of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump may be beyond the pale.

At the end of Wednesday’s episode, the show’s gay (and gender detransitioned) teacher, Mr. Garrison, rapes Trump to death. How the episode got to that point makes little sense — Garrison decided to run for president with a promise to get rid of the illegal Canadians inundating their Colorado town, ends up going to Canada where Trump was elected leader there (the reason the Canadians are leaving their own country), encounters Trump, and rapes him until he dies.

The episode ends with the Canadian immigrants returning home and Garrison announcing Caitlyn Jenner is his running mate. Jenner was also recently featured in a South Park episode, as The Advocate reported.

Clever political satire or cheap humor laced with rape jokes and transgender digs? You be the judge. Watch a short clip below, via the Daily Mail.

Neal Broverman

www.advocate.com/television/2015/9/24/south-park-episode-features-brutal-rape-trump

Here's What It Really Takes For A Man To Be A Feminist

Feminism is a movement that fights for women’s equality, but that doesn’t mean only women can be a part of it.

YouTubers Allison Raskin and Gaby Dunn took on the question, “Can men be feminists?” in a video posted on Sept. 21 for their Just Between Us series. The answer they came up with? Yes, absolutely — with a few important caveats. (Spoiler alert: Listen to women. Don’t pretend you know what they need better than they do.)

Raskin was quick to welcome dudes to the feminist club. “If you’re a man and you say that you’re not a feminist then what you’re saying is you don’t respect women,” she said.

Dunn acknowledged that being part of a movement focused on women may seem complicated for men, and brought up her experience with Black Lives Matter to stress how crucial it is to be an ally without talking over people who experience the discrimination that the movement fights against on a daily basis.

“I know that it’s tough because a lot of times you don’t want to take up space in a movement that isn’t about you,” Dunn said. “I struggle with this with Black Lives Matter. I want to support Black Lives Matter, but I don’t want to talk over or pretend I know more or tell them what to do.”

The same idea applies to feminism. Men can be feminists if they take the time to listen and understand the discrimination women face.

Thanks to celebs like John Legend and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, there are many male feminists already working to do this and be positive allies. Join the fight for equality and you’ll be in some pretty good company.

Also on HuffPost:

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REVIEW: Town of Ramsgate – Wapping, London

The riverside neighborhood of Wapping seems to be blessed with some of London’s best pubs.

The Town of Ramsgate is a small, old, narrow pub, with a rear courtyard that overlooks the Thames river that rushes by its back door.

You can’t ask for a better example of the classic English pub.

We called in for a drink on a Sunday afternoon – it was busy but relaxed. We sat in the sun and steadily worked our way through several pints.

Perfect.

Read more from Gareth Johnson

Read more restaurant reviews

The post REVIEW: Town of Ramsgate – Wapping, London appeared first on Gay Star News.

Gareth Johnson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/review-town-of-ramsgate-wapping-london/

Bisexual Community Leaders Convene at the White House

HRC Senior Content Manager Beth Sherouse joined 100 bisexual community advocates for a White House Bisexual Community Policy Briefing on Monday, September 21.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/bisexual-community-leaders-convene-at-the-white-house?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

PHOTOS: Guys Over 50 Are Super Sexy And Here’s The Proof

We’ve been saying it forever: Guys over 50 are super sexy. Now, California-based photographer Tommy Wu and multimedia designer Alan Reade (known professionally as Tommy+Alan) have produced evidence to support that claim.

The “Men Over 50 Project” celebrates hot everyday guys who have made it past the big 5-0. The project features both photos of the men as well as accompanying one to two minute audio clips.

Related: An Open Letter To Ageist Gay Men

“Many of the men in this project talk with us frankly about both their triumphs and their struggles,” Tommy+Alan write in their artists’ statement. “We felt it was important for you to hear their stories in their own words.”

The interviews include stories of surviving illnesses, struggling with societal conventions, dealing with ageism, and what it means to get older in a youth-obsessed culture.

Scroll down to see some of the photos from the project, and be sure to visit Tommy+Alan’s website to see more and to hear the interviews. You’ll be glad you did.

Graham Gremore

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/hIvADAzOqHE/photos-guys-over-50-are-super-sexy-and-heres-the-proof-20150924

Vladimir Putin Gives Elton John a Call (For Real This Time)

After falling victim to Russian pranksters pretending to be Vladimir Putin, Sir Elton John has received a phone call from the real Russian president. According to the Kremlin, Putin phoned the pop star Wednesday and asked him not to be offended by the prank. Putin also proposed a meeting and said John was welcome to discuss “any issue of interest.”

Earlier this month John, accompanied by his husband David Furnish, met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kiev to lobby him on LGBT rights. While there he told the BBC he would like to meet Putin and confront him about his country’s anti-LGBT record.

“I’d love to meet him [Putin], I’d love to sit down and talk to him. It’s probably pie in the sky but unless you try, unless you put your foot in the water, your toe in the water … at least if I meet him and say, ‘Listen, come on, let’s have a cup of tea, let’s talk about this’, he might laugh behind my back and then he shuts the door and call me an absolute idiot but at least I can have a conscience and say I’d tried.”

Related, Elton John Responds to Pranksters Pretending to Be Vladimir Putin: ‘Homophobia is Never Funny’ 

The post Vladimir Putin Gives Elton John a Call (For Real This Time) appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Vladimir Putin Gives Elton John a Call (For Real This Time)