Poem: "Headlines" by Robert Phillips

from Circumstances Beyond Our Control: Poems.
© The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Reprinted with permission.

Headlines

War Dims Hope for Peace.
Plane Too Close to Ground, Crash Probe Told.
Clinton Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead.

Miners Refuse to Work after Death.
Include Your Children When Baking Cookies.
War Dims Hope for Peace.

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say
Prostitutes Appeal to Pope.
Clinton Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead.

Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half.
Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide.
-War Dims Hope for Peace.

Stolen Painting Found by Tree.
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over.
-Clinton Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead.

Iraqi Head Seeks Arms.
Police Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers.
War Dims Hope for Peace.
Clinton Wins Budget; More Lies Ahead

Bob Hagen is an Ohio state senator who protested antigay adoption proposals by introducing a bill to bar Republicans from adopting children.

Source: The Advocate, April 25, 2006

Word of the Day:

Senescent (Adjective)

Pronunciation: [sê-'nes-ênt]

Definition 1: A more eloquent and delicate way of saying "old" or "aging."

Usage 1: "Senior citizen" is the sort of term we come up with when we leave it to journalists and correspondents to enrich our vocabulary. Today's word expresses the same sentiment much more elegantly. It is the adjective from the verb "to senesce" which has a noun, "senescence." The adjective may be used to refer to senescent people, too. I would rather be a senescent than a senior citizen—I don't even know what that expression is supposed to refer to. A synonym of "senescence" is "senectitude."

Suggested usage: J. D. Salinger, writing in 1965 in the New Yorker, distinguished senescence from maturation: "Few of these magnificent, healthy, sometimes remarkably handsome boys will mature. The majority, I give you my heartbreaking opinion, will merely senesce." Most of us would prefer to forget about aging, which works out fine, since forgetfulness is an art that comes with senescence.

Etymology: Today's word was borrowed from Latin "sensecens, senescent-," the present participle of senescere "to grow old," the inchoative form of senere "to be old." All these forms go back to senex "old, old man," whose root, "sen-," can be seen in "senior," "senile," and "senate." (I'll bet you had already guessed the last two were related.) Spanish "señor" and Italian "signore" come from the comparative of the same word, senior "older." (Today we tip our hats to Jenna Jordan for launching us on our journey to find this more charming way of expressing and thinking of age.)

—Dr. Language, www.yourDictionary.com

You can help hungry people for free at this website:

www.hungersite.com

Japan is considering coupons for parents :

ReutersFRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2006

Alarmed by its sliding birth rate and rapidly aging population, Japan is hoping the prospect of lower shopping bills will encourage couples to have larger families.

The government is considering issuing identity cards to families with children which would give discounts at stores cooperating with the program, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported Thursday.

The size of the discounts would be decided by the stores, which would also be expected to fund the system in return for favorable publicity surrounding the plan, the newspaper reported.

The government is also considering tax rebates as a way of reducing the economic burden on parents of young children, which is seen as one reason for the declining birth rate, the newspaper said.

Japan's fertility rate, or the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, fell to a postwar low of just under 1.29 in 2004.

Demographers say a rate of 2.1 is needed to keep a population from declining.

The population of Japan shrank in the year to October for the first time since 1945.

I wish that some people who claim to be "true Christians" would spend more time helping others and less time condemning homosexuality.


Anti-gay ad didn't violate law, court rules

Last Updated Apr 13 2006 12:28 PM CDT
CBC News

Saskatchewan's highest court has ruled that a Regina man did not violate the Human Rights Code when he published a newspaper ad that reflected his views about homosexuality.

The ad was 'doubtlessly upsetting to many,' but didn't violate the law, the court ruled.

In 1997, Hugh Owens paid for an ad in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix newspaper that referred to passages from the New International Version of the Bible that condemned homosexuality. The ad also included a picture of two stickmen holding hands with a "not-allowed" symbol covering it.

Owens placed the ad in response to ads he saw announcing an upcoming gay pride week.

After a complaint was filed to the Human Rights Commission, a tribunal ruled Owens contravened a section of the code that prohibits publication of statements that "ridicule, belittle or otherwise affront the dignity" of people based on their sexual orientation.

Owens appealed that decision but the Court of Queen's Bench upheld it.

On Thursday, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal reversed the decision. The decision written by Justice Bob Richards said the ad was "bluntly presented and doubtlessly upsetting to many," but it didn't violate the code.

It also said while the Bible can't be quoted just to incite hatred, the ad Owen's published reflected his sincerely held beliefs and his freedom of religion allows him to bring those beliefs to public debate.

In an interview, Owens said he was pleased with the decision.

"The fact [is] that sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is not against the law in this country," Owens said.

Here's a link that will interest people who love books:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/

Here's a reminder that the Roman Catholic church has a long history of trying to crush dissent.

"It was on this day in 1633 that Galileo Galilei was put on trial by the Inquisition, for supporting the theory that the Earth revolves around the sun. He had angered Pope Urban VIII with a book about his views. The case was referred to the Inquisition and in 1633 Galileo was brought to Rome to undergo his trial. His book was officially banned by the Church, and Galileo was sentenced to an unlimited period of house arrest in his home in Florence. He gradually went blind and died in 1642.

In 1835, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems was finally taken off the Vatican's list of banned books. But it wasn't until 1992 that the Catholic Church formally admitted that Galileo was right."

from "The Writer's Almanac" on NPR in the U.S.

'Brokeback' Enters Chinese Vernacular
by Peter Hacker, 365Gay.com Asia Bureau Chief
April 10, 2006 - 11:00 am ET

(Hong Kong) The word 'Brokeback' has entered the Cantonese vocabulary. Translated as 'dun bui' it is showing up in newspapers and in advertising in Hong Kong to describe gay or non conventional relationships.

Although the film is officially banned in China it has been permitted in the former British colony and DVDs - mostly illegal copies - are being distributed throughout the country.

Recently the Ming Pao Daily News reported that male pop stars Leo Ku and Justin Lo held hands at a concert "brokeback style."

But "dun bui" also is being used to describe other types of pairings. The Apple Daily called two politicians who were prevented from forming a political party "obviously a brokeback couple."

While not implying they were gay, the word was used as a reference to the film's gay characters inability to shun social convention.

Cantonese is considered China's most "progressive" tongue, latching onto all kinds of western slang. It's adoption of 'brokeback' is believed to be the first time the word has been entered a language anywhere in the world.

Whether it is a positive step has divided Hong Kong gays.

Activist Cho Man-kit said the usage of the word has provided a vehicle to discuss homosexuality.

"Everyone wanted a means by which to discuss the homosexual issue without restraint, but there never was one," Cho told the Associated Press. "Once 'Brokeback' emerged, the intense desire to talk about gays was released."

But Roddy Shaw, another gay activist, disagrees. "It's devolved into a derogatory term." Shaw said.

The government of Hong Kong has been under pressure for more than a year to include sexuality in its human rights law.

Last month two legislators accused the government of hiding behind public opinion polls to stall on passing LGBT anti-discrimination legislation. (story) Polls show most people opposed to amending the law.

Last May a watchdog human rights agency condemned the Hong Kong government for dragging its heels.

In a report to the government Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor said that the semi-automatons city state is lagging behind the rest of the world.

The report was issued less than a week after the city saw its first gay rights demonstration. (story)
© www.365Gay.com 2006

American actress Charlize Theron recently said, "I feel so fortunate that I am in a relationship with a wonderful man. I find it incredibly unfair that because of our sexual preference, we have the rights that we have, and that, because of someone else's sexual preference, they don't have those same rights."

Here's a link to a very funny video clip: http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2006_04_09.html#011310

Prison Officer Faces Suspension for Showing "Brokeback Mountain"
by Margo Williams,
365Gay.com Boston Bureau
April 9, 2006 - 12:01 am ET

(Boston, Massachusetts) A Norfolk State Prison worker faces a disciplinary hearing for allowing inmates at the biggest penitentiary in Massachusetts to watch "Brokeback Mountain" - or at least most of it.

The film was abruptly ended 10 minutes before the closing credits on orders from the warden.
The prison has a contract with a video distribution company and films are shown in the gym, and in the cases of some prisoners shown in their cells.

A spokesperson for the prison system that the warden ordered the movie blackened because it depicted sexual content, but denied that the gay theme of the film had anything to do with the decision.

“Norfolk does not allow the viewing of films with sexual content or violence against prison guards,” Diane Wiffin told the Boston Herald.

Wiffin said that the motion picture should have been screened in advance and the worker who was supposed to have done that will be disciplined. That could involve a simple slap on the wrist, a notation in his or her employment file, or a suspension.

The worker, who has not been named, won't get any sympathy from the union that represents prison guards.

“We don’t need to foster that kind of atmosphere in there. It already exists," Ken Ferullo, vice president of the Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union told the Herald.

"These guys are alone together, some of them forever. We’re already running ‘Brokeback prison.' "

© www.365Gay.com 2006