Ukrainian City of Odessa Holds First LGBT Pride March – WATCH

Ukrainian City of Odessa Holds First LGBT Pride March – WATCH

odessa pride

The Ukrainian city of Odessa held its first LGBT pride march last weekend despite threats from protesters and attempts by local authorities to block the march.

LGBT rights activists were originally told by local police that the march could not be sanctioned because of threats from right-wing extremists to disrupt the pride celebration. Authorities in countries hostile to LGBT rights have been known to cite public safety as a reason for cracking down on pride demonstrations in the past. This happened in Istanbul in both 2015 and 2016.

In Odessa, however, pride organizers were ultimately able to convince police to allow the march to go ahead. Approximately 50 people showed up for the pride and police were on hand to offer protection and quell any possible violence.

NBC OUT reports:

As a result, an area near the historic Potemkin Stairs was cordoned off by a few hundred police officers and special forces.

‘We know that there is a threat from small extremist groups that operate in Odessa,” Anna Leonova, an organizer of Odessa Pride, told NBC OUT. “But I don’t believe that in our city there are forces that … may constitute a danger for us.”

“Today you are making history,” Zoryan Kis, an LGBTQ activist and one of the organizers of Kiev Pride, told the crowd. Kis said Odessa Pride would have been impossible just one year ago.

Police did encounters a small group of right-wing protesters who were cordoned off and held back from disturbing the march.

Screen Shot 2016-08-16 at 8.30.54 AM

One protester shouted at police, “Guys are shedding blood there [in eastern Ukraine where the conflict with Russia continues], but you protect gays.” Eastern Ukraine has been a flashpoint since Russian-backed forces invaded Crimea in 2014.

Watch a news report, below.

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Henry Cavill, Rudy Giuliani, Virginia, Larry Wilmore, American Horror Story, Danell Leyva: HOT LINKS

Henry Cavill, Rudy Giuliani, Virginia, Larry Wilmore, American Horror Story, Danell Leyva: HOT LINKS

CLIP OF THE DAY.

virginiaPOLLS. Clinton leads Trump by 14-point margin in Virginia:  “Clinton leads Trump by a 14-point margin — 52 percent to 38 percent — among registered voters in the state and by an eight-point margin among likely voters, 51 percent to 43 percent. Clinton’s edge dips to seven points among likely voters when third-party candidates are included. Aside from the rural southwestern part of the state, Clinton’s lead spans all regions, most by a wide margin.”

SAN FRANCISCO. Uncovering gay history

2016 ELECTION. Even Obama is sick of talking about Trump. “Frankly, I’m tired of talking about her opponent,” Obama told fat cat Democratic donors at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Martha’s Vineyard. “I don’t have to make the case against her opponent because every time he talks he makes the case against his own candidacy….There’s still a lot of uncertainty out there. And if we are not running scared until the day after the election, we are going to be making a grave mistake.”

NYDN. Rudy Giuliani forgets 9/11 happened.

Tomorrow’s front page…
RUDY’S MOST PATHETIC POLITICIZING OF 9/11 YET: ex-mayor “forgets” t.co/GIgYSvkz5U pic.twitter.com/szM2NbrcnZ

— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 16, 2016

CLIMATE CHANGE. July 2016 was the hottest month in recorded history. “NASA calculated that July 2016 was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1950-1980 global average. That’s clearly hotter than the previous hotter months, about 0.18 degrees warmer than the previous record of July 2011 and July 2015, which were so close they were said to be in a tie for the hottest month on record, said NASA chief climate scientist Gavin Schmidt.”

WNBA. Gay players wonder when a male player is going to come out.

cursed-child-bookCURSED CHILD. JK Rowling and queerbaiting: “In the case of Harry Potter and the Possible Example of Queerbaiting, the accusation stems from the play’s portrayal of male friendship. Albus and Scorpius become very close friends from the beginning of their first year at Hogwarts. Both shy and shunned and neither much like their famous fathers, their friendship becomes critical. Albus and Scorpius make a fuss out of hugging (“We said we wouldn’t do that!”) in a manner resembling the common trope “Hot Gay Hugging”: a hilarious title for the less-than-funny absence of casual intimacy allowed between homosexual characters. Hetero couples get to kiss, the gays are limited to a (hot gay) hug. And Albus and Scorpius do go for it, with all the awkwardness you’d expect from two English lads.”

CANCELED. The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore is done: “My only regret is that we won’t be around to cover this truly insane election season. Although on the plus side — I must say — our show going off the air has to only mean one thing: racism is solved!”

Cesar BaquerizoCESAR BAQUERIZO. Novelist fights gay conversion therapy in Ecuador: “Baquerizo’s novel is set in the early 1990s, when homosexuality was still criminalized and hundreds of clinics operated in the country. It relates the journey of two young men from Guayaquil, Tomás and Sebastián, as they progress through one such clinic named “Grow and Live Normally.” The horrors they experience—including electroshock therapy, physical aversion therapy, forced medication, and more—may have seemed so extreme to readers that they could have dismissed them out of hand as fiction, a shameful lesson from Ecuador’s deep past.”

FLORIDA. Transgender inmate hangs self in jail cell. “A transgender Florida inmate who filed a hand-written lawsuit claiming that being forced to use her male birth name was ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ hanged herself in her jail cell, her family said. Florida corrections officials said Justin Lee Naber’s Aug. 6 death inside Florida City’s Dade Correctional Institution is under investigation.”

ATLANTA. Spelman College may admit transgender students: “Ingrid Hayes, vice president for Enrollment Management will convene a task force that makes a recommendation to the president on the admission and enrollment of transgender students.”

DOUBT. Here’s the trailer for the new CBS drama co-starring Laverne Cox.

BLIND DATE. The latest American Horror Story promo.

SUPERMAN. Henry Cavill teases his new (black?) outfit.

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LUNCHMEAT. Here’s what happens when flies land on your food:

 

TOO HOT FOR TUESDAY. US Olympic gymnast Danell Leyva.

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Scott Eastwood Rips His Shirt Off for a Pushup Challenge – WATCH 

Scott Eastwood Rips His Shirt Off for a Pushup Challenge – WATCH 

scott eastwood

Actor Scott Eastwood shows off his famous physique in a new video posted on Instagram where he takes on ‘the 22 pushup challenge.’

Similar to the ALS ice bucket challenge, the 22 pushup challenge is intended to raise awareness about military veterans suffering from mental health challenges. It is named for the 22 veterans who commit suicide every day.

Wrote Eastwood on Instagram, “Thanks @prattprattpratt and @therock for calling people out this morning. the #22pushupchallenge is to raise awareness for our veterans that are suffering out there. We must never forget about those who fight and die for this country. If you are suffering call 1-800-273-8255.”

Eastwood was following in the footsteps of Chris Pratt and Dwayne Johnson who earlier posted videos of themselves doing the pushup challenge.

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Other celebrities that have taken the challenge are Chris Evans and John Krasinski.

Thank you to all the men and women who serve this country #22PushupChallenge @Renner4Real @AnthonyMackie pic.twitter.com/BbA5j67uaM

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) August 15, 2016

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A recurring theme among these videos seems to be the presence of dogs who want to play rather than watch their master do pushups.

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HRC Alabama Co-Hosts Equity Fair

HRC Alabama Co-Hosts Equity Fair

Post submitted by HRC Alabama Field Organizer Tori Wolfe-Sisson

On September 2, HRC Alabama will collaborate with direct service and non-profit organizations like Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable and Empowered (TAKE), AIDS Alabama and the ACLU of Alabama to hold an Equity Fair. The Equity Fair will include resources to legally change names, LGBTQ friendly businesses who are hiring and accepting applications, voter registration and reinstatement training as well as activist training from noon to 8 P.M Our goal is to bring together our coalition partners, volunteers and supporters, along with LGBTQ community members and allies, to empower them to become better advocates and closer communities.

In HRC’s 2015 State Equality Index (SEI), Alabama was ranked in the lowest-performing category: High Priority to Achieve Basic Equality. The SEI is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ people and their families. Alabama was one of 28 states to receive this score.

States in this category have many laws that undermine LGBTQ equality, from those that criminalize HIV and sodomy, to measures allowing religious-based discrimination against LGBTQ people. An overwhelming majority do not have non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation or gender identity protections; few have hate crime laws. LGBTQ advocates largely work on killing bad bills, and on passing municipal protections for LGBTQ people.

Alabama, for example, lacks explicit LGBTQ protections in the workplace, housing and public accommodations and is one of six states that have passed laws restricting the inclusion of LGBTQ topics in schools. 

We hope that through this event and more like it in the future, we are able to solidify and build LGBTQ equality across the Yellowhammer State.

For more information contact Tori Wolfe-Sisson at [email protected]

To learn more about the SEI, click here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-alabama-co-hosts-equity-fair?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Sweden Seizes Gay Footballer at Pride Event, Will Deport Him to Anti-LGBT Liberia

Sweden Seizes Gay Footballer at Pride Event, Will Deport Him to Anti-LGBT Liberia

Andrew Nagbe

Gay Liberian football player Andrew Nagbe was seized by Swedish authorities while partaking in LGBT Pride events at the Stockholm Pride festival at the end of July, and will be deported to Liberia.

Homosexuality is illegal in Liberia and Nagbe says he is in grave danger of violence and imprisonment, the Scotsman reports:

“I want to play football and live as an openly gay man in Sweden,” the midfielder told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter when interviewed in detention.

It is still illegal to be openly gay in Liberia, and Nagbe claims he will suffer abuse if he returns home.

“In prison I’ll be beaten and raped every day until I am released and leave the country again. Everyone I know in Liberia knows I am gay now, so they won’t hold back,” he added from detention.

Swedish authorities have thus far rejected his residency application, the news outlet adds:

The Swedish migration service maintain that Nagbe’s claims to be both gay and that he would have his safety compromised if he returns home are not verifiable.

Only by presenting new evidence will Nagbe be able to appeal the ruling. Metin Rhawi, chief executive at Södertälje FK and a politician with the governing Social Democratic party has described the decision as “heartless.”

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Father Posts Heartbreaking Message for the Bullies Who Caused Son to Take His Life: WATCH

Father Posts Heartbreaking Message for the Bullies Who Caused Son to Take His Life: WATCH

The father of a 13-year-old Staten Island teen who hanged himself this week after being mercilessly harassed by bullies at Holy Angels Catholic Academy posted a heartbreaking video to Facebook about what his family has been put through.

Daniel Fitzpatrick, his son, left a two-page letter before taking his own life.

“I gave up,” the teen scrawled on two sides of a single sheet of paper. “The teachers . . . they didn’t do anything,” he said, pouring his heart onto the page.

…His parents said the boys targeted him during gym class, often throwing balls at him. A teacher also embarrassed Daniel by calling him “lazy” in front of the class, the boy’s father alleged.

Kristen, the youngest of Daniel’s three older sisters, also attended Holy Angels in Bay Ridge and said the teacher was known for humiliating students.

He would hold up tests and papers at school dismissal, publicly displaying students’ scores to embarrass those who did poorly, she said.

“If one person didn’t like you, no one liked you,” she said. “Danny was always left out. He used to come up to me and ask me to get kids to play with him. The other kids would say they thought he was weird.”

Fitzpatrick’s father denounced the bulllies in his video, which has since gone viral:

“I hope the memory of what you did to my son is burned in your memory for the rest of your life and you suffer as much as he has suffered under your bulls**t…I have no words to describe the pain I am feeling right now. The parents of those boys, you know who you are, your boys know who you are, I know who you are – now the world knows what kind of people you are and what you will be. To the parents of the boys who tormented my son, all I have to say is I hope you never have to feel what my family is going through right now. You get to hold your children every night and day for the rest of your lives, I don’t get that anymore. Your little monsters took that from me, and my wife, and his sisters.”

💔 to see yet another story like this. RIP daniel; condolences to his family. we need to listen + care more. t.co/LJ8JM58xNh

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) August 15, 2016

info on @gofundme campaign for daniel’s family 👇🏻 t.co/NdySyLgcFE

— Monica Lewinsky (@MonicaLewinsky) August 15, 2016

A GoFundMe campaign hoping to raise funds for Fitzpatrick’s memorial has raised more than $100,000.

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‘Huge Hillary Fan’ Would ‘Totally Bottom for That B**ch’ – WATCH

‘Huge Hillary Fan’ Would ‘Totally Bottom for That B**ch’ – WATCH

Hillary fan

Samantha Bee sent a roving correspondent out to the hordes at the DNC and landed an interview with “the single repository for all the missing Hillary enthusiasm” which they’ve now posted as a web extra.

Why does this fan love “homegirl” so much? “She’s always been like a strong badass b**ch that I love.”

Watch:

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