Two Gay Bars in Phoenix Robbed on Same Night

Armed robbers targeted two gay bars in the Melrose neighborhood of Phoenix. 

www.advocate.com/crime/2016/9/30/two-gay-bars-phoenix-robbed-same-night

Two Thai Transgender Woman Denied Entry into Hong Kong (Video)

www.advocate.com/politics/2016/9/30/two-thai-transgender-woman-denied-entry-hong-kong-video

Barack & Bill, North Carolina, Earthquake Advisory, ‘Purple and White Zebras’, Ambrosia Starling, USA Today, Joe Biden: HOT LINKS

THAT FRIEND. President Obama tries to get Bill Clinton to hurry up and board Air Force 1 after attending funeral for Shimon Peres.

“Bill!” Who can keep a President waiting? Why, another President of course @BarackObama @billclinton @POTUS t.co/rPlvoI87xQ

— Sky News (@SkyNews) September 30, 2016

BUM MIC. Commission on presidential debates says that there was an issue with Donald Trump’s mic–but only in the debate hall: “Regarding the first debate, there were issues regarding Donald Trump’s audio that affected the sound level in the debate hall.”

TEXAS. Official compares LGBT workers to “purple and white zebras” in discussion of nondiscrimination protection: “Commissioner Kelly Snell (pictured) asked if the county starts adding protection clauses to the nondiscrimination policy, when would they draw the line and stop?” the Tribune-Herald reports. “Snell said someone could then want to include purple and white zebras in the county’s nondiscrimination policy.”

NORTH CAROLINA. Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) pulls 8 out of 10 sports championships from the state over HB 2: “The CIAA’s transition, beginning with the relocation of eight championships, is the first step in demonstrating that the conference does not support laws which prevent communities from effectively protecting student-athletes and fans,” the conference said. “The Board will continue its discussion on hosting future championships in North Carolina and whether the tournament will remain after 2017.”

EARTHQUAKES. Is Southern California going to be hit with the big one sometime soon? “A series of quakes under the Salton Sea may be a signal that the San Andreas Fault is on the verge of buckling. For the next few days, the risk of a major earthquake along the fault is as high as 1 in 100. Which, holy crap.”

ALABAMA. The Moores are upset over today’s ruling.

Roy: “”This was a politically motivated effort by radical homosexual and transgender groups to remove me as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court because of outspoken opposition to their immoral agenda. This opinion violates not only the legal standards of evidence but also the rule of law which states that no judge can be removed from office except by unanimous vote.”

Wife Kayla, referring to drag queen Ambrosia Starling: “This small unelected group of people, mostly Democrats, have overturned an election of the people of Alabama. All these efforts are being led by a guy who dresses up like a woman and prances around on the stage. The good people of Alabama have had their votes taken away from them once again.”

THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Director and star Nate Parker refuses to apologize over rape case: “I was falsely accused. … I went to court. … I was vindicated. I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here …. Her family had to deal with that, but as I sit here, an apology is – no.”

UNITED NATIONS. Human Rights Council appoints Vitit Muntarbhorn, from Thailand, as UN’s first Independent Expert on the “protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)”: “Muntarbhorn is a household name with LGBTI activists in Thailand, though is not an activist himself. He participated in the drafting of the Yogyakarta Principles and was a panelist at the launch of the Principles in Geneva in 2007. He engages with National Human Rights Institutes in the Asia-Pacific region on broad human rights issues, including the rights of LGBTI communities. Muntarbhorn acted as a Technical Advisory Group member of the joint United Nations Development Programme, US Agency for International Affairs, and Swedish International Development Agency’s, ‘Being LGBTI in Asia’ initiative.”

DR. CHASE MERIDIAN. Nicole Kidman talks about marrying Tom Cruise at a very young age. 

AFRICA. US Hate group World Congress of Families spreads anti-LGBT message in Kenya: “It advances an agenda to roll back women’s rights, as well as deny people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities their basic human rights. Whereas understanding, tolerance and generosity have been the values of the African tradition, groups like WFC export hate and propaganda to our countries, disguised in flowery and seemingly harmless language like ‘Family Values’.”

FUNDRAISING. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and other LGBT stars turn out to help Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles. 

ENDORSEMENTS, PT 1. USA Today takes sides in the presidential election for the first time in history, slams Trump as “unfit”: “This year, the choice isn’t between two capable major party nominees who happen to have significant ideological differences. This year, one of the candidates — Republican nominee Donald Trump — is, by unanimous consensus of the Editorial Board, unfit for the presidency.”

PT. 2. San Diego Union-Tribune endorses Hillary, first Democratic endorsement for president in paper’s 148 year history: Based on what Trump has said, we could see an administration that’s friendlier to ruthless Russia — which is waging a cyberwar against America — than to such democracies and historic partners as Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Japan and Australia.”

UNCLE JOE. Vice President Biden slams Donald Trump on taxes: “Just pay your fair share for God’s sake.”

INSTAHUNK. Nigerian body-builder Duke-Nduka.

The post Barack & Bill, North Carolina, Earthquake Advisory, ‘Purple and White Zebras’, Ambrosia Starling, USA Today, Joe Biden: HOT LINKS appeared first on Towleroad.

Barack & Bill, North Carolina, Earthquake Advisory, ‘Purple and White Zebras’, Ambrosia Starling, USA Today, Joe Biden: HOT LINKS

A Look at LGBT Artifacts From the National African-American Museum

The museum features relics from LGBT pioneers such as James Baldwin, Gladys Bentley, Jason Collins and Alvin Ailey 

www.advocate.com/pride/2016/9/30/look-lgbt-artifacts-national-african-american-museum

Australian Documentary Investigates Suspicious Deaths of 88 Gay Men in Sydney: WATCH

A new Australian multimedia project is aiming to investigate whether as many as 88 deaths in Sydney from the 1970s onward, including 30 unsolved cases, were gay hate crimes.

Deep Water project will include a documentary, a podcast, an online interactive hub and a four-part fictional drama starring Orange is the New Black’s Yael Stone (right).

Among the 30 unsolved murders, the project examines the case of US-born Scott Johnson who was found dead in 1998 near a well known cruising area in Sydney. Johnson’s death was ruled a suicide the following year. However, in 2012 the New South Wales deputy state coroner overturned the suicide finding. She could not determine how Johnson died.

Deep Water producer Darren Dale says he was inspired following the unsolved murder of Ahmed Ghoniem in 2012 and the rape and murder of Irish woman Jill Meagher in the same year. Meagher’s killer was apprehended and imprisoned.

Although the two murders were unrelated, Dale told the Guardian Australia:

“[Meagher’s] death galvanised people, everyone was talking about it – as it should be, there was a real threat to women – and television broke into schedules to report it.

“I live in Potts Point [in Sydney], and I thought, if there is someone attacking and murdering gay men – more gay people living there than I suspect anywhere else in Australia – then how come it’s not in any of the papers, it’s not been in the news?”

Speaking about the four part Deep Water drama, which will air before the documentary, Yael Stone said:

“The story is inspired by events but the producers are wanting to be very sensitive because these are deeply traumatic things that have happened to people and their families. They’ve really steered clear of basing characters on real people.

“[The documentary] is going to be quite confronting and moving, from the sounds of it. It’s such an interesting package. For [network] SBS to be so supportive of making this wonderful drama, and pairing it with real-life stories, it will add such a richness to the way this content is interpreted by the public.”

Later this year a third inquest funded by Scott Johnson’s brother Steve will look at 50 to 60 “persons of interest.” Steve Johnson believes that “inherent biases play a role in both the minimal media coverage of these stories and in the public and police response to violent crimes against gay people.”

Coming soon to @SBS, #DeepWater: The Real Story, part of a network event unearths gripping true Aus crime story t.co/KYFMWS5B8Z

— Michael Ebeid (@michaelebeid) September 27, 2016

“I’m unsure what role homophobia played in the 1980s,” he said, “but it certainly seemed that the police systematically avoided investigating the deaths of gay men, or men presumed to be gay.”

The Deep Water drama will premiere on Wednesday, October 5th. Deep Water – The Real Story will air on Sunday, October 16th.

Watch a preview for the 4-part drama series below.

The post Australian Documentary Investigates Suspicious Deaths of 88 Gay Men in Sydney: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

Australian Documentary Investigates Suspicious Deaths of 88 Gay Men in Sydney: WATCH

Gay Cameroonian Asylum Seeker Fearing ‘Persecution and Torture’ Faces Deportation From the UK

An African asylum seeker in the UK has said he faces deportation because he has not done enough to prove he is gay.

Valerie Ediage, who arrived in the UK from Cameroon six years ago, says his life would be at risk if he returned home. Homosexuality is illegal in Cameroon and those convicted face up to five years in prison.

Ediage, who volunteers at a support group for gay people, told the BBC that he “lived in fear” in Cameroon where “you fear prosecution and torture” for being gay.

RELATED: Seven Gay Cameroonian Men Arrested During Police Raid

Awaiting the outcome of his latest asylum application, Ediage has supplied evidence including intimate photographs with his partner and support letters from gay friends. However, officials have said he hasn’t “given them sufficient evidence.”

Cameroon asylum Seeker, Valerie Ediage told to prove he is gay – t.co/vFVFM8ObMl pic.twitter.com/BVSuq6xnUX

— Camer infoline (@Camerinfoline) September 29, 2016

Aimee Challenor, the equality spokesman for the Green Party, said:

“Valerie has been a committed member of our community in Coventry. He has been instrumental in setting [up] a LGBT migrant support group in Coventry, he has attended Pride parades in Birmingham. I cannot see how the Government has made this decision.”

PREVIOUSLY – United Kingdom To LGBT Asylum Seekers: ‘Prove You’re Gay’

Officials declined to respond specifically to Ediage’s case. However, in a statement the Home Office said it remains “committed to improving the asylum process for those claiming asylum on the basis of their sexual orientation and decision-makers are provided with dedicated guidance and training on the management of such claims.” 

(Image via Twitter)

The post Gay Cameroonian Asylum Seeker Fearing ‘Persecution and Torture’ Faces Deportation From the UK appeared first on Towleroad.

Gay Cameroonian Asylum Seeker Fearing ‘Persecution and Torture’ Faces Deportation From the UK