Category Archives: politics

The Media, Gay Community, & General Public Are Expecting Too Much From Closeted Gay Athletes.

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Kerry Rhodes gayKerry Rhodes gay rumours II

Last night, the American gossip website Mediatakeout splashed the provactive pics of NFL player Kerry Rhodes embracing his male assistant. Immediately, people began speculating if Rhodes is the first gay NFL player to come out. However, Rhodes told TMZ he is not gay as he attempted to squash the gay rumours. The fact that Rhodes felt the need to announce his heterosexuality is not surprising. The problem is the intense media attention about this elusive gay male athlete means the general public is now paying close attention ttrying to figure out who these gay athletes are. This just puts even more pressure on the closeted athletes to remain in the closet.

Although the mainstream North American media want a gay male athlete from the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB to come out I am not sure if it is going to happen. There are numerous arguments as to why a top male athlete has not come out. The gay community is also to blame because we place so much of our expectations on gay celebrities. We forget that gay celebrities are also people they have flaws, they aren’t perfect, yet we expect them to live up to our impossible unrealistic standards.

For instance, Robbie Rogers the young American soccer player came out as gay a few months ago on his blog. However, on Queerty, Towelroad, and other gay blogs Rogers was attacked and called a coward because he refused to be the gay Jackie Robinson. Rogers told The Guardian, and the New York Times that there is a pack mentality in the sports lockerooms. The heterosexual men use gay slurs, and make jokes about homosexuals. Rogers doesn’t want to deal with the homophobia and I can’t blame the man. Who would want to be subjected to abuse? Rogers is also worried about fans in soccer giving him a hard time when he is competing. This is probably going to happen if a gay man does come out in the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. When the first gay male athlete comes out it is going to be a mixed response. Some people are going to be supportive while others are going to be homophobic.

Meanwhile, female athletes are already coming out and declaring they are lesbians yet they are treated with such disregard and disrespect. In Nigeria, there is new controversy that their soccer Federation is screening out lesbian athletes from joining the women’s soccer team. In North America, lesbian athletes and coaches in women’s basketball also experience discrimination.

Last year, Megan Rapinoe a top American female soccer player came out declaring she is a lesbian yet there was hardly any media attention. Rapinoe brave decision to come out was treated like an afterthought, as though it didn’t matter. Why are courageous lesbian athletes treated with such disdain as though they don’t matter? Rapinoe’s decision to come out is amazing, she’s not afraid of speaking out about homophobia in sports but because she’s a woman she’s treated as inferior by the sports media.

The misogyny of the mainstream sports media is often ignored about the struggles and contributions of lesbian athletes. In professional tennis the only players coming out are the lesbians not the gay men. In modern tennis history numerous lesbians have come out such as Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Amelie Mauresmo, Renee Stubbs, Gigi Fernandez, Conchita Martinez, and Lisa Raymond. Lesbians are treated with respect on the WTA Tour. However, on the ATP men’s tennis tour no gay man has come out since Bill Tidlen in the 1920s.
Even though, professional tennis is an individual sport the gay male tennis players on the ATP Tour are not coming out. The question remains why?

The unknown is a barrier for the gay male athletes, nobody knows what the reaction of sponsors, agents, media, fans, are going to be. Since nobody wants to take the first step to come out the closet door remains firmly shut. The internet is also a lightning rod of homophobia in the fan forums such as ESPN, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports the homophobia is intense. The
core message of the homophobes online is they want a don’t don’t tell policy to remain intact. The homophobes believe if a gay male athlete comes out he’s being selfish, taking attention away from the team and coming out in order to obtain media attention. This argument is weak because homosexuality is still viewed as being private while heterosexuality is treated as public in society. Heterosexual male athletes broadcast their girlfriends, wives, children, talk about their marriages, their love lives to the media. Meanwhile, the gay male athletes have to hide their sexual orientation in order to maintain the peace.

The homophobic comments on blogs are adamant they will not accept a gay male athlete. This homophobia online is often ignored in the press. The subliminal message is masculinty and homosexuality are like oil and water they don’t mix. A gay male athlete would challenge the homophobia that a gay man cannot be masculine and cannot excel in professional sports.

The closeted gay male athletes of course, read the sports websites, they know some sports fans are homophobic and this is probably one of the reasons they remain in the closet.

Another point to consider is, maybe these gay male athletes don’t want to be the gay Jackie Robinson? Maybe, these gay male athletes don’t want the intense media and public attention? Think about it, a gay man who is closeted can live his life discreetly he can date whomever he wants, and nobody knows.

It is interesting that the gay activism in the NFL have been the heterosexual allies such as Chris Kluwe and Brendan Ayanbadjeo. Ayanbadjeo was criticized by the gay media when he announced last week that up to four gay NFL players might come out at the same time. I believe the gay media attacking Ayanbadjeo is counterproductive because he has been very passionate and vocal about gay rights. Ayanbadjeo didn’t have to speak out about homophobia in the NFL he could have kept his mouth closed and followed the status quo.

Sometimes the gay community we are our own worse enemy. I think the gay male athletes are cognizant that if they do come out the gay community is going to put so much pressure on these men to become gay activists. Robbie Rogers has already illustrated that it isn’t fair to expect so much from a gay male athlete. All these guys want to do is compete, play sports, make their money and be the best they can be. The media, the gay community, and the general public need to dial down their expectations of gay athletes.

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Wonderful Article: Why Mitt Romney Lost: Winning Over The Angry White Male Was Not Enough

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November 7, 2012 | Posted by 

What Mitt Romney discovered in this election is something that should be taped on the wall of every white presidential hopeful for years to come: If you cater to angry white men as the foundation of your campaign, you will lose.

The reason can be explained with one word: Demographics. There simply are not enough white men left in America to win the big prize for a presidential candidate. In order to win the presidency, you must knit together a coalition of voters that look much more like the composition of the country than the voters who checked the square for Romney yesterday.

This past May, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that for the first time there were more babies of color born over the past year than white babies. This means that over the next couple of decades, black, Latino and Asian Americans could form a governing coalition that could essentially rule the country.

The depressing future for the Republican Party was neatly summarized by Republican analyst Steve Schmidt last night on MSNBC.

“This will be the last election a Republican can possibly win as a national candidate with these types of numbers,” he said, looking at the results coming in for Obama—but before Obama’s re-election was called. “This will lead to some important moments of soul searching for the Republican party if it is going to be a national party.”

But yet, despite Romney reaching desperately for the votes of white males, in the end he couldn’t even win their stronghold—the Midwestern Rust Belt. Obama beat Romney soundly in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania—together probably the last bastion of the angry white male (aside from the South, of course). Romney began substantially behind the 8-ball with that group after declaring four years ago that the auto industry should be allowed to go bankrupt. In an area of the country where millions of jobs are dependent on that same auto industry, it was an extremely difficult haul for Romney to overcome that statement—particularly after he incorrectly said in recent weeks that Chrysler would be sending Jeep jobs to China, which was an outright lie.

Frankly, if a white male candidate can’t win Michigan and Ohio, he’s not going to win the country.

But beyond Romney’s blunders with the Rust Belt blue collar, Romney was doomed by the numbers. Namely, the coalition of African Americans and Latinos that came together and handed him a monumental loss. It was not a given that Obama would get the Latino vote—after all, Republican George W. Bush got over 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004. But yesterday, Obama got well over 60 percent of the Latino vote—some estimates said as much as 75 percent. It was policy and politics that doomed Romney with Latinos—not just his vociferous attacks on undocumented immigrants during the Republican primary, but his position on issues like healthcare, reproductive rights and taxes.

Steve Schmidt on MSNBC broke down just how much the country has changed over the last 24 years. Romney got about 60 percent of the white vote yesterday, but it brought him only slightly more than 200 electoral votes. The last time a presidential candidate got 60 percent of the white vote was in 1988 with George H.W. Bush—and that number of whites brought him 426 electoral votes in a landslide win over Michael Dukakis. Schmidt called this transformation “stunning.”

The complexion of the country has changed so dramatically over 24 years that nailing down a sizable portion of whites gets you a sad concession speech on election night.

In a year when the unemployment rate hovered just under 8 percent, it was supposed to be conventional wisdom that the presidential incumbent would have a very difficult time holding onto his seat. Knowing this, Romney went after the unemployment number with a vengeance, repeating about a hundred times a day that 23 million Americans were still looking for work.

But it didn’t work.

In the end, Americans chose to hitch their fate once again to a man who they felt could much more closely empathize with their fate, who more easily understood their lives. While Romney tried to sell himself as a businessman who could put America back to work, Americans more likely saw in him the unfeeling boss who did not care how hard they were struggling. He wanted to be embraced as the smart technocrat, but instead came off as a distant multimillionaire.

The lesson is that when the economy is horrible and the nation is suffering, it’s probably more important for the public to feel like you understand and empathize with their plight than for you to throw out some dubious plans for transformation.

And maybe the final lesson was this: Telling the truth matters. Romney thought he could lie with impunity and get away with it. While there was no one to order him to the principal’s office or to threaten to wash his mouth out with soap, in the end Romney probably paid the ultimate price for his duplicity: A thorough and embarrassing defeat.

 

Sydney Morning Herald Article: Gay Marriage Conscience Vote Will Stop Same Sex Marriage Becoming Legal In Australia.

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June 19, 2012


Gay marriage vote on hold

Supporters of same-sex marriage are delaying a final vote in federal parliament hoping to shore up their numbers.

  • ADVOCATES of same-sex marriage accept Parliament will defeat two bills later this year calling to legalise gay marriage but believe public pressure will ultimately prevail.

The Finance Minister, Penny Wong, one of the strongest proponents for a change to the Marriage Act, said yesterday that change would come.

”I think the campaign is not going to go away because, ultimately, it’s a campaign for people’s equality,” she said.


Same-sex marriage... proponent Penny Wong believes change will come.Same-sex marriage … proponent Penny Wong believes change will come. Photo: Andrew Meares

A seven-member parliamentary committee split 4-2 against same-sex marriage yesterday with one abstention as it handed down a report which contained no recommendations, only information for all politicians to use to inform their final decision.

The committee chairman and Labor MP, Graham Perrett, along with fellow Labor MP Laura Smyth, favoured gay marriage while Liberal MPs Sharman Stone and Ross Vasta, and Labor’s Mike Symon and Shane Neumann opposed it.

The other member, the Liberal moderate Judi Moylan, gave no separate opinion.

Because both pieces of legislation are private members bills, time set aside to debate them is limited and no vote is expected until the end of this year at the earliest.

Priority will be given to the bill introduced by the NSW Labor MP Stephen Jones. The other is a Greens bill, sponsored by Adam Bandt.

”We’re short of the numbers at the moment but anything could change,” Mr Jones said.

The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, will vote against gay marriage but has allowed Labor MPs a conscience vote. Number crunchers estimate about 36 of the 70 Labor MPs will vote for same-sex marriage while 10 to 15 are undecided and the rest will vote against.

Tony Abbott will not allow a conscience vote and all Coalition MPs are required to vote against same-sex marriage. Backbenchers can cross the floor but any frontbencher who does so would have to resign from the shadow ministry.

Mr Bandt, who will hold off on his bill until later this year or next year, said the delay between the start of debate and the final vote would be used to increase public pressure on political leaders, especially Mr Abbott, to have a change of heart.

”I’m optimistic of achieving reform within the life of this Parliament with some more discussion and more persuasion,” he said.

Parliament’s standing committee on social policy and legal affairs received a record 276,437 responses to an online survey it conducted as part of its inquiry.

Church groups and the Australian Christian Lobby have fiercely campaigned against gay marriage, despite Labor’s bill exonerating the churches and any other religious groups from having to marry gay people.

Mr Perrett, who holds a marginal Queensland seat, said ”it is important to remember that God did not write the Marriage Act”.

With public opinion polls consistently showing majority support for same-sex marriage, Mr Perrett said it was incumbent upon MPs to respond to growing public support ”by categorically opposing laws that legitimise discrimination”.

Ms Stone and Mr Vasta said the Liberals had promised before the federal election not to legalise gay marriage.

”I do not accept that the view towards marriage has changed since the 2010 federal election,” Ms Stone said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/samesex-marriage-vote-heads-for-defeat-20120618-20ka6.html#ixzz1yPQVs3eN

Grandpa Bob Rae Clears The Path For Sexy Justin Trudeau To Become New Leader Of Liberal Party In Canada!!!

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Bob Rae the interim Liberal  leader made the right decision last week to not run to be the full time leader of the party. Bob Rae is sixty four years old he is simply too old  to reach a younger generation. Rae is not popular in the province of Ontario he was the former Premier of the New Democratic Party back in the early 1990s. Rae is not popular in Quebec either.

The Liberal party needs someone young,  intelligent, and attractive to breathe new life into Canadian politics. Justine Trudeau of course is only forty years old, he has political experience but he also has the youth necessary to reach a younger Canadian generation.

Trudeau is bilingual, he grew up in Quebec and he has an effervescent personality which can translate into votes.

Trudeau is still reticent about whether he will run for the Liberal party leadership.  I strongly believe the Liberal party needs a younger person forty or under to be the new leader.  The public is tired of old farts such as Bob Rae.

Surprising News: Canadian Psycho Luka Rocco Magnotta Extradition From Germany To Canada Could Take Years!!!

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Luka Rocco Magnotta’s extradition from Germany could take years, lawyer says

Published 59 minutes ago

Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA—It could take up to two years for murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta to be extradited from Germany to stand trial here. More, if he decides to fight every step of the way.

For those who’d like nothing more than to hear nothing more about the narcissistic Canadian who was arrested in Berlin surfing news about himself, get ready.

“It’s the flipside of the Karl Heinz Schreiber case,” said Vancouver lawyer Gary Botting, who wrote the Canadian Extradition Law Practice.

In an interview with the Star, Botting said Schreiber’s 10-year battle to fight extradition from Canada to face tax evasion charges generated “huge headlines” in Germany every time. “I think the same thing is going to happen here.”

The Canada-Germany Extradition Treaty was never formally ratified, but it is the guiding legal document and lays out the principles that apply, as well as a timeline of what to expect, said Botting.

Under it, Canada and Germany agree to extradite individuals charged with an act that is a criminal offence in each. Germany does not extradite anyone to face the death penalty. That doesn’t apply here as Canada doesn’t have the death penalty. Unlike Canada, Germany does not extradite its nationals, preferring to prosecute within Germany. Magnotta is a Canadian citizen.

Canada has 45 days from Magnotta’s arrest to file a formal extradition request, called a “record of the case,” which triggers the judicial proceedings.

Germany would then schedule an extradition hearing, possibly assigning Magnotta a lawyer if he cannot afford one. A defence lawyer may request time to become briefed, so Botting estimates it might take six months before a hearing is held.

Magnotta has 30 days after a decision of the court to appeal to the local minister of justice. He could argue he would not get a fair trial in Canada or he could argue he is not fit to stand trial, says Botting. The minister has 90 days before making a decision whether to surrenderMagnotta, which can be extended for another 60 days. The suspect then has 30 days to appeal a minister’s decision to surrender him to Canada to a court of appeal — a process that could take another six months “because courts are busy and lawyers have to prepare factums.”

After that, says Botting, the suspect could appeal a negative ruling to the national court of Germany, the equivalent of the Supreme Court of Canada.

He guessed it would be at least 18 months to 2 years “if every deadline is met” before a decision is made, more if Magnotta decides to drag it out.

“Motivation is a huge factor here. He won’t be motivated to come back to Canada right away necessarily,” says Botting. “If he’s publicity-seeking, that’s exactly playing into his hands. He’s going to fight it every step of the way.”

Moreover, says Botting, extraditions are a hot topic in Europe right now, with a controversy roaring around the use of European warrants — created to ease inter-country transfers of wanted criminals, much the way Canadian provinces easily transfer suspects across provincial boundaries. Sweden and Norway almost never extradite anymore, and Germany’s following suit, he said.

Canada has extradited Schreiber, Holocaust denier Ernst Zundel and Walter Ebke, a resident of the Northwest Territories wanted on terrorism charges in Germany. However, Botting does not recall a recent case where Germany extradited a citizen to face justice in Canada.

Justice Minister Rob Nicholson’s office issued a statement Monday saying Magnotta was arrested on “an Interpol Red notice which under German law constitutes a provisional request from Canada for his extradition. Pursuant to the Canada-Germany Treaty on extradition, Canada has to now submit a formal request for his extradition accompanied by documentation outlining the evidence supporting the request.”

“Officials with the International Assistance Group (IAG) are working expeditiously in conjunction with officials from the Attorney General of Quebec (the prosecuting authority) to prepare the materials in support of the request. Mr. Magnotta is scheduled to make a first appearance in court in Berlin tomorrow morning,” said spokeswoman Julie DiMambro in an email.

“Canada will continue to be advised of the progress of this matter through the German courts.”

Breaking News: Canadian Psycho Cat Killer & Accused Murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta Captured In Berlin Germany!!!

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Luka Rocco Magnotta arrested in Berlin, police confirm

Published 7 minutes ago
The manhunt for body-parts suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta, is over. The Montrealer, whose image was believed to have been captured earlier at a security checkpoint area in France, has been arrested in Berlin, police confirm.The manhunt for body-parts suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta, is over. The Montrealer, whose image was believed to have been captured earlier at a security checkpoint area in France, has been arrested in Berlin, police confirm.AP

Luka Magnotta, the fugitive “Canadian psycho” killer, has been nabbed in Berlin, German police say.

Magnotta was picked up in an Internet café in the German capital, the newspaper Bild reports.

Berlin police have confirmed the arrest.

Earlier, Montreal police said they expected the 29-year-old’s lust for attention would be his downfall sooner or later.

Magnotta had been the subject of an international manhunt for the gruesome killing and dismemberment of a student in Montreal. The self-described porn star had first been detected in France by police using his cellphone as a beacon. They even managed to find a hotel room where he had been staying.

“The man was seen in France, that’s what French authorities told us,” police spokesman Ian Lafreniere told reporters. Lafreniere cautioned that Magnotta may no longer be in that country, and wouldn’t rule out the possibility he had headed elsewhere in Europe or could eventually try to return to Canada.

“He can travel, he’s someone who has been known to travel, so we’re not taking any chances and we want to keep an open mind,” Lafreniere said. “We’ve received more than 360 tips, it’s huge, people really want to help.”

Magnotta, dubbed the Canadian psycho in the European press, is wanted in the gruesome slaying of Jun Lin, 33, a Chinese student at Montreal’s Concordia University. Lin’s torso was found in a suitcase left for garbage collection outside Magnotta’s Montreal apartment last week. Other severed body parts, including a hand and a foot, were mailed to the offices of the federal Conservatives and Liberals.

Police believe Lin was killed and his body dismembered either on May 24 or 25 in a Montreal apartment. A 10-minute video showing what transpired was then posted online.

French media reported Sunday that personal belongings of the porn actor were found in a hotel in suburban Paris. The reports said police discovered pornographic magazines as well as air-sickness bags from the airplane he took to Paris from Montreal.

Le Figaro reported that police were able to pinpoint part of Magnotta’s itinerary through his cellphone activity. It was unclear whether Magnotta was still in the Paris area on Sunday, but Le Figaro reported that authorities had beefed up their presence at railway stations and airports.

Having earlier indicated that Magnotta is good at disguising himself, Lafreniere said Saturday that the suspect could now be anywhere in Europe, though authorities haven’t ruled out the possibility he may be back in Canada.

Police described Magnotta as being 5 feet, 8 inches tall and about 135 pounds, with black hair and blue eyes.

Interpol has issued an international alert out for Magnotta, 29, who was born Eric Clinton Newman and has also used the name Vladimir Romanov. Pictures posted Sunday on Magnotta’s page on the Interpol website show a man with dark hair and a black Mickey Mouse shirt passing through airport security. The airport wasn’t identified.

Magnotta arrived at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on May 26 and was later identified on surveillance cameras, according to Le Figaro. He was apparently put up for one night by a man who later contacted authorities after realizing who his guest had been.

One published report said Magnotta was spotted in a bar and in a hotel where he spent two nights. Another French newspaper, Le Parisien, quoted the manager of a bar who said Magnotta ordered a soft drink at his establishment last Wednesday night and appeared “very nervous.”

The bar manager said the fugitive left with a man who had an “impressive physique.”

An official in the Paris prosecutor’s office, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police are looking into the alleged sightings but had no additional details.

Meanwhile, the Chinese embassy in Ottawa has issued a statement advising Chinese visitors to Canada to take safety precautions.

With files from The Associated Press and Michel Dolbec