Saturday February 23 @7 pm. Occidental Center for the Artswelcomes back famed folk singer/songwriter duo Steve Gillette& Cindy Mangsen. Gillette (Darcy Farrow; Bed of Roses; Back on the Street Again) and his wife, singer-instrumentalist Mangsenwill delight you with traditional and contemporary folk songs, rich harmonies, accomplished guitar, banjo, and concertina accompaniment, and a good dose of humor! compassrosemusic.com $18 Advance /$22 at the door. Fine refreshments. Black History Month exhibit in our Gallery. Wheelchair Accessible. 3850 Doris Murphy Ct. Occidental, CA. 95465. www.occidentalcenterforthearts.org.
Now, a recent study highlights the startling disparities Black trans women experience in HIV diagnosis and care. In a study with 422 Black trans women from six U.S. cities, nearly 60% of women living with HIV were undiagnosed, only 38% were getting regular HIV care and about a quarter (24.5%) were virally suppressed.
“In the general population, only about 18% of people living with HIV are estimated to be undiagnosed, compared to the 60% of Black transgender women in our study that were undiagnosed. That’s a huge disparity,” said lead author Leigh Bukowski, MPH.
Tiommi Luckett
“These numbers aren’t really a surprise,” said Tiommi Luckett, from Positive Women’s Network, who was not affiliated with the study.
“We’ve been aware that Black trans women are falling through the cracks in HIV testing and care for a long time. We can fix this—but we’ve got to take a hard look at how our systems of care are failing Black trans women. And we have to be aware of what it takes for Black trans women to go in and get tested—if they’re welcome in the space, if they see themselves reflected in the staff, if transportation is an issue, and if they feel safe accessing services,” said Luckett.
Black trans women from across the U.S. participated
Black trans women recruited from Black Pride events in Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Memphis, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. participated from 2014 to 2017 as part of the Promoting Our Worth, Equality, and Resilience (POWER) study.
Participants completed an anonymous self-administered health survey which asked about their HIV status, HIV care, assault, violence, substance use, social support, incarceration, housing status, hormone use, discrimination, sex work and depressive symptoms. Participants were then offered confidential HIV testing, or anonymous HIV testing if the participant did not want to know their HIV status.
The average age of women in the study was 30.7. Most (78%) had health insurance coverage, and 44% reported being able to access health care.
Violence, discrimination and other forms of oppression were commonly reported by participants. About 36% had been incarcerated in the previous two years, more than half (55%) reported experiencing gender discrimination in their lifetime, and 46% reported experiencing racial discrimination in their lifetime. In the past year, 42% had been homeless, 19% reported sex work, 44% reported physical assault and 46% reported violence from an intimate partner.
HIV rates among Black trans women
A total of 190 participants were living with HIV (45% of participants).
The researchers categorized participants as “undiagnosed HIV-positive” if the person tested positive on their HIV test, but indicated that they were HIV-negative or that they did not know their status on the survey. A total of 112 people were categorized in this “undiagnosed HIV-positive” group.
“One of the main findings was that almost 60% of Black trans women were undiagnosed at the time of the survey,” said Bukowski. She cautioned that this finding relies on self-report data, which may be influenced by participants’ reticence to state that they have been diagnosed with HIV on the survey.
There are many things that may prevent Black trans women from being able to access HIV testing services, said Luckett, a Black trans women who has been living with HIV for six years. Lack of transportation, housing, insurance, mistrust of traditional medical settings and other competing life concerns may all play a role.
“If am worried about where I am going to lay my head each night, or if I’m worried about how I’m going to feed myself, the last thing I want to worry about on top of that is an HIV diagnosis. If all looks bleak and hopeless, the last thing I want to find out is that I’m positive,” said Luckett.
Fear of a partner’s reaction can also be a significant barrier.
“You have to look at how violence shows up in people’s lives,” said Luckett. “We [trans women] are no different than anyone else. We want to be loved and feel loved. But a lot of times we’re looking for love in the wrong places. When our partners’ masculinity is threatened, we can become victims of violence. If I go and get an HIV test, and it comes back positive, I could be putting my life in danger.”
To bring in Black trans women, Luckett said that health care providers can incentivize testing with a meal or gift card and must go to where Black trans women already are.
“Come to where we are, because we don’t feel safe going where you are,” she said.
High rates of HIV care after diagnosis
Although the percentage of Black trans women who indicated HIV-positive status on the suvey was low, most of those who did were already accessing HIV care. Of the 78 people who knew of their HIV status, 96% were linked to care, 92% were receiving regular HIV care, 83% were receiving HIV medications and 58% were virally suppressed.
This was “a bright spot” in the research, said Bukowski. Although the rate of undiagnosed HIV was high, most people who were diagnosed were receiving HIV treatment and care.
Women who reported being incarcerated, homeless, using three or more drugs, sex work and physical assault were less likely to be virally suppressed. It was a surprise to the researchers, said Bukowski, that hormone use was also negatively associated with viral suppression.
“When you consider the syndemic nature of heath disparities in this population, and all of the things that Black trans women are experiencing, perhaps it comes down to an either-or decision,” she said. “You can either get hormones or HIV treatment. And they prioritize hormones. In many places, these services are not co-located. So you’re not getting your HIV care in the same place that you’re getting your gender-affirming health care. When you’re faced with these obstacles, it might come down to, ‘What’s most important to me?’”
Luckett pointed to the importance of providing gender-affirming health care such as hormone therapy in the same place as HIV care. “Many women prioritize hormone therapy as more important than antiretroviral therapy,” she said. “Services must be as comprehensive as possible. We don’t always have access to the services we need.”
Nashville on Monday became the first city in the South to recognize LGBT-owned businesses.
Nashville Mayor David Briley signed an executive order including LGBT Business Enterprises certified by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce in contracting and procurement opportunities throughout the city.
The new policy will give NGLCC-certified businesses in Nashville the same access to contracts and economic development opportunities as businesses owned by women and ethnic minorities.
“Thanks to the leadership of Mayor Briley and of our local affiliate chamber, the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce, LGBT entrepreneurs in the Nashville region will now have the opportunity to create jobs and develop innovations that benefit all who live there,” NGLCC Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson wrote in a press release.
“We hope this executive order in Nashville will encourage more mayors to proactively include the LGBT community for the optimum social and economic health of their cities,” NGLCC Co-Founder and CEO Chance Mitchell added.
Nashville is the first new city in 2019 to recognize LGBT-owned businesses. 2018 saw Baltimore and Jersey City and Hoboken, N.J., added to the list of cities that track and include NGLCC-certified businesses.
NGLCC says certified LGBT-owned businesses add $1.7 trillion to the U.S. economy each year.
“We are excited to see LGBTBEs (NGLCC-certified businesses) in every field, from construction to catering and everything in between, help grow the economy of Nashville and beyond,” Nelson wrote.
Kacey Musgraves accepts Album of the Year at the 2019 Grammys. (Screenshot via YouTube)
Country singer Kacey Musgraves won the coveted Album of the Year award for her album “Golden Hour” marking the end of a Grammys award show filled with plenty of queer women representation.
Musgraves, who also won Country Album of the Year, has emerged as an LGBTQ ally in the country music world. She has spoken up for more LGBTQ inclusion in country music and her song “Follow Your Arrow” was hailed as a pro-LGBTQ anthem. Musgraves also served as judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Musgraves also took home Best Country Solo Performance (“Butterflies”), and Best Country Song (“Space Cowboy”) Awards for a total of four winning categories.
Lesbian singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile won three awards during the pre-telecast including Best Americana Album for “By the Way, I Forgive You” and Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance for “The Joke.” She received the most nominations of any woman this year and became the first LGBTQ person to win awards in those categories.
While accepting the award for Best American Roots Performance, she shared that she came out in high school at age 15. She says she never was invited to high school parties or dances.
“I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been a dance of a lifetime,” Carlile said. “Thank you for being my island.”
Carlile also received a standing ovation for her vocal powerhouse performance of “The Joke” during the televised ceremony.
Other queer artists with impactful Grammys performances were Ricky Martin who performed with Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Arturo Sandoval and Young Thug for a Broadway musical-inspired Grammys opener to Cabello’s song “Havana.”
Miley Cyrus, who identifies as pansexual, dueted with Shawn Mendes on his song “In My Blood.” She later also teamed up with Katy Perry, Maren Morris, Musgraves and Little Big Town for a tribute to Dolly Parton.
Janelle Monáe performed her bisexual anthem “Make Me Feel” off her album “Dirty Computer,” mixed in with her feminist song “Pynk.” She didn’t win for either category she was nominated for (Album of the Year and Best Music Video) but she did dedicate her nominations to her “trans brothers and sisters.” In an interview with Variety, the singer was asked about coming out as queer last year.
“People do it everyday,” she replied. “My trans brothers and sisters, they do it everyday. And they are shunned from these sorts of events. So this one is for them.”
Lady Gaga scored two wins (Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written For Visual Media) for her “A Star is Born” duet with Bradley Cooper, “Shallow,” which she also performed.
Dua Lipa and St. Vincent, who is sexually fluid, did a steamy joint performance of her song “Masseducation” and Lipa’s “One Kiss.” St. Vincent and Jack Antonoff won Best Rock Song for “Masseducation.”
History continued to be made with Cardi B becoming the first woman to win Best Rap Album and “This is America” by Childish Gambino winning Best Song. This is the first time a rap song has won in that category.
Jennifer Lopez also gave dance-filled tribute to Motown while Diana Ross honored her own birthday, which is in March, with a performance. Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jennifer Lopez also made appearances at the top of the show to help host Alicia Keys reflect on the importance of music.
Check out the complete list of winners below.
Album Of The Year — “Golden Hour”- Kacey Musgraves
Record Of The Year — “This Is America” – Childish Gambino
Best New Artist — Dua Lipa
Best Rap Album — “Invasion Of Privacy”- Cardi B
Best R&B Album Winner — “H.E.R.”- H.E.R.
Best Rap Song — “God’s Plan”- Drake
Best Country Album — “Golden Hour”- Kacey Musgraves
Song Of The Year — “This Is America”- Childish Gambino
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — “Shallow” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical — Pharrell Williams
Best Rap/Sung Performance — “This Is America”-Childish Gambino
Best Rap Performance — “King’s Dead”- Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake / Bubblin, Anderson .Paak
Best Rock Album — “From The Fires”-Greta Van Fleet
Best Rock Song — “Masseduction” – St. Vincent
Best Metal Performance — “Electric Messiah”- High On Fire
Best Rock Performance — “When Bad Does Good”- Chris Cornell
Best Urban Contemporary Album — “Everything Is Love”- The Carters
Best R&B Song — “Boo’d Up”- Ella Mai
Best Traditional R&B Performance — “Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand”- Leon Bridges / “How Deep Is Your Love”-Pj Morton Featuring Yebba
Best R&B Performance — “Best Part”- H.E.R. Featuring Daniel Caesar
Best Latin Jazz Album — “Back To The Sunset”- Dafnis Prieto Big Band
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album — “American Dreamers: Voices Of Hope, Music Of Freedom”- John Daversa Big Band Featuring Daca Artists
Best Jazz Instrumental Album — “Emanon”- The Wayne Shorter Quartet
Best Jazz Vocal Album — “The Window”- Cécile Mclorin Salvant
Best Improvised Jazz Solo — “Don’t Fence Me In”- John Daversa
Best Reggae Album — “44/876”- Sting & Shaggy
Best Dance/Electronic Album — “Woman Worldwide”- Justice
Best Dance Recording — “Electricity”- Silk City & Dua Lipa Featuring Diplo & Mark Ronson
Best Contemporary Classical Composition — “Kernis: Violin Concerto”- James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony
Best Classical Compendium — “Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist’”; Poems Of Life; Glacier; Rush”- Joann Falletta
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album —” Songs Of Orpheus”-Monteverdi, Caccini, D’india & Landi, Karim Sulayman
Best Classical Instrumental Solo — “Kernis: Violin Concerto”- James Ehnes
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance — “Anderson”- Laurie: Landfall, Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet
Best Choral Performance — “Mcloskey: Zealot Canticles”- Donald Nally
Best Opera Recording — “Bates: The (R)Evolution Of Steve Jobs”-Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edward Parks & Jessica E. Jones
Best Orchestral Performance — “Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11”- Andris Nelsons
Producer Of The Year, Classical — Blanton Alspaugh
Best Engineered Album, Classical — “Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11”- Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra
Best Pop Vocal Album — “Sweetener”- Ariana Grande
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album — “My Way” -Willie Nelson
Best Pop Solo Performance — “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)”- Lady Gaga
Best Country Song — “Space Cowboy” – Kacey Musgraves
Best Country Duo/Group Performance — “Tequila”- Dan + Shay
Best Country Solo Performance — “Butterflies”- Kacey Musgraves
Best Music Film — “Quincy”- Quincy Jones
Best Music Video — “This Is America”-Childish Gambino
Best Regional Roots Music Album — “No ‘Ane’I”- Kalani Pe’a
Best Tropical Latin Album — “Anniversary”- Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano) — “¡México Por Siempre!”- Luis Miguel
Best Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album — “Aztlán”- Zoé
Best Latin Pop Album — “Sincera”- Claudia Brant
Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) — “Faith – A Journey For All”- Jimmy Carter
Best Children’s Album — “All The Sounds”- Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats
Best Folk Album — “All Ashore”- Punch Brothers
Best Contemporary Blues Album —” Please Don’t Be Dead”- Fantastic Negrito
Best Traditional Blues Album — “The Blues Is Alive And Well”- Buddy Guy
Best Bluegrass Album —”The Travelin’ Mccourys”- The Travelin’ Mccourys
Best Americana Album — “By The Way, I Forgive You”- Brandi Carlile
Best American Roots Song — “The Joke”- Brandi Carlile
Best American Roots Performance — “The Joke”- Brandi Carlile
Best New Age Album — “Opium Moon”- Opium Moon
Best Song Written For Visual Media — “Shallow”- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media — “Black Panther”- Ludwig Göransson
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media — “The Greatest Showman”- Hugh Jackman (& Various Artists)
Best World Music Album — “Freedom”- Soweto Gospel Choir
Best Roots Gospel Album — “Unexpected”- Jason Crabb
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album — “Look Up Child”- Lauren Daigle
Best Gospel Album — “Hiding Place”-Tori Kelly
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song — “You Say” -Lauren Daigle
Best Gospel Performance/Song — “Never Alone”- Tori Kelly Featuring Kirk Franklin
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album — “Steve Gadd Band”- Steve Gadd Band
Best Immersive Audio Album —” Eye In The Sky – 35th Anniversary Edition”- The Alan Parsons Project
Best Remixed Recording — “Walking Away (Mura Masa Remix)”- Haim
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical — “Colors”- Beck
Best Historical Album — “Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris”
Best Album Notes —” Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris”
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package — “Squeeze Box: The Complete Works Of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” Weird Al Yankovic
Best Recording Package — “Masseduction”- St. Vincent
Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals — “Spiderman Theme”- Randy Waldman Featuring Take 6 & Chris Potter
Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella — “Stars And Stripes Forever”- John Daversa Big Band Featuring Daca Artists
Best Instrumental Composition — “Blut Und Boden (Blood And Soil)”- Terence Blanchard
Best Alternative Music Album — “Colors”- Beck
Best Musical Theater Album — “The Band’s Visit”- Original Broadway Cast
Best Comedy Album — “Equanimity & The Bird Revelation”- Dave Chappelle
Police in San Francisco have released an updated artist’s impression of a serial homicide suspect.
The so-called ‘Doodler’ attacked gay men in the mid-1970s. Police wish to question him in connection with the slayings of five gay men. These occurred in the Ocean Beach area between 1974-1975.
Police believe the murderer could be the same person who attacked two gay men at the Fox Plaza Apartments, 1390 Market Street, in July 1975.
The suspect was dubbed ‘the doodler’ because one victim at Fox Plaza said he first encountered him, prior to being attacked, drawing caricatures at a former all-night diner on the block.
‘Both victims provided a suspect description of a black male, approximately 19-25 years old, 5’11-6’0, lanky in appearance, with a medium complexion and smooth skin. One of the surviving victims provided further information to police, which resulted in a composite sketch of the suspect.’
‘The investigation thus far had led Police to believe the suspect lived in the Bay Area, but outside of San Francisco and would come into the city at night-time on weekends,’ say police in a statement.
‘Information also indicates there is a likelihood of additional victims who may have survived attempted attacks but have not come forward to document the incidents.’
Suspect often drew sketches of his victims before stabbing them
Police commissioned an artist to do a new sketch, over 40 years later, to show what the suspect could look like today.
The Doodler sought out gay men in after-hours gay clubs and restaurants in San Francisco. He would often sketch drawings of them, before stabbing them.
Police detained a man in 1976 but never charged him. He remains a person of interest. Police have recently interviewed him again.
According to newspaper reports from 1977, one of the reasons police felt unable to charge him was because survivors did not want to ‘out’ themselves by testifying. Two survivors of stabbing attacks potentially linked to the suspect included a ‘well-known entertainer’ and a diplomat.
To help solve the case, police have announced a $100,000 reward for information that could help them secure an arrest. They’ve also released an audio file of a call to police on 27 January 1974. The caller had come across a body but didn’t wish to give their name.
Over 100 trans people are being held in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
There are at least 111 ‘self-identified transgender individuals’ are being held in 20 different facilities across the US, according to ICE spokeswoman, Danielle Bennett.
Of this number, 45 trans women are being held in the privately operated South Texas Detention Complex, located about 55 miles southwest of San Antonio.
Bennett also confirmed that there are a number of trans people being detained in the Cibola County Correctional Center in New Mexico, which has a specialist unit for trans detainees, the Washington Blade reports.
The Cibola County Correctional Center gained notoriety last year as the facility Honduran trans woman Roxsana Hernández was held in before she died in a nearby hospital.
Roxsana Hernandez, the trans woman who died in the custody of US immigration, was only 33 | Photo: Facebook/Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement
Hernández’ death caused outrage among activists, many of whom claimed the HIV-positive 33-year-old died from preventable causes.
Three Democratic Senators, Tom Udall, Martin Heinrich, and Kamala Harris, wrote a letter to ICE demanding an explanation over Hernández’ death.
‘According to ICE, Lovelace Medical Center preliminarily listed Ms. Hernández’s cause of death as cardiac arrest,’ the letter read.
‘The Transgender Law Center had an independent autopsy performed that suggested severe complications of dehydration on top of an H.I.V. infection and also suggested that Ms. Hernández was beaten with a baton or similar object while she was restrained by handcuffs.’
Bennett denied these accusations in a previous statement.
Countless LGBTI people are among refugees seeking asylum at the southern border of the US after fleeing persecution in their home countries.
Trans communities face particular discrimination in South America, which is the deadliest continent for trans people.
The debate over refugees and asylum seekers has become particularly divisive during the presidency of Donald Trump.
The White House has implemented a number of hardline policies with regards to immigrants.
In turn, human rights groups have condemned the US government for ‘cruel’ and inhumane treatment of migrants and asylum seekers.
Trump has also been accused of stoking fears over immigration to help secure funding to build a wall along the southern border, one of his main campaign promises during the 2016 presidential election.
Planned Parenthood, the 102-year-old organization providing sexual health care, is expanding their mission. The organization is introducing programs specifically for gay men and trans people.
Tell me more
For gay men, Planned Parenthood (PP) is now offering PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). This is a type of regimented medication to prevent HIV infection.
‘We’ve just started doing PrEP fairly recently,’ Phebe Brandt, a Philadelphia-based Planned Parenthood clinician, told Philadelphia Gay News.
‘We do all the counseling around it,’ Brandt continues. ‘We do all the testing that’s necessary, we actually provide prescriptions. And if people don’t have insurance and need to go through the program through Gilead to pay for it, we facilitate the applications for that.’
Gilead
Brandt is referring to Gilead’s in-house program created to help uninsured people access these medications, despite the huge out-of-pocket cost. While Gilead, a pharmaceutical company, has come under fire in the past for their high drug costsand accusations of withholding safer drugs, Brandt had nothing but good things to say about this program.
‘Gilead is actually pretty great about helping people afford their drugs,’ she said. ‘They have a very good program for uninsured people. You have to know about it, of course. But you just have to fill out the application for it and you get a pretty quick approval.’
Trans programs
This new PrEP program at Planned Parenthood inspired another expansion — offering treatment to transgender people.
‘We started providing hormone therapy for trans folks over a year ago, the summer of 2017,’ Brandt explains. ‘We soon realized that we were doing a disservice to our patients. Because we realized that trans folks who have sex with men are at such high risk for acquiring HIV, it was a disservice to them to not offer PrEP.’
While these services are currently only available at Brandt’s PP location in the Norristown area of Philadelphia, she expects other locations will begin offering PrEP to trans people soon.
Brandt notes that this new PrEP program was not the first time PP has catered to the LGBTI community, specifically gay men.
‘We’ve always provided services for gay men,’ she stated. ‘We’ve always provided STD testing and treatment for many, many years [and] we’ve been providing HIV testing for as long as it’s been available. We offer rapid testing, too.’
Counseling & Education
But one of the most needed programs, which PP has introduced, is counseling, education, and clinical services to trans people beginning hormone therapy.
‘We have everybody on their first visit meet with a social worker,’ Brandt said of the process. ‘They make sure that the client is in a good place to be starting hormone therapy. Make sure that they’re safe and also go over with them what changes to expect and other things they need to know. Most clients are already very well-educated about all this before they come to us, but we have to be sure. It’s very rare for the social worker to say the client is not in a good place to start the therapy. But we want to check just to make sure that everything’s good for them.’
‘If everything checks out, if everything is good, we actually have the medication in house to get them started on the hormone therapy. So, once again, if somebody doesn’t have insurance, then we can provide the medication on a sliding-fee scale.’
‘We’ve always felt that, as an organization, it was very important to be open to everybody, and to give understanding and excellent care to just anybody that walks through our doors,’ Brandt said.
Gay codebreaker Alan Turing has been named the greatest icon of the 20th century.
Alan Turing prevailed in Tuesday’s (February 5) final of BBC Two Icons series, winning a public vote that saw him go up against Dr Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Ernest Shackleton, David Bowie, Muhammad Ali and Pablo Picasso.
Alan Turing was persecuted for being gay
During World War II, Turing worked at Bletchley Park to crack the German Enigma codes, which is widely believed to have led to the war ending earlier than expected.
Turing, often hailed as the grandfather of modern computing, was convicted of ‘gross indecency’ in 1952 after having sex with a man, and was chemically castrated, barred from working for GCHQ, and driven to suicide.
The pardon would later be extended to all men with historical gay sex convictions.
BBC Icons: Alan Turing ‘still sparkles today’
TV presenter Chris Packham gave a passionate speech about the work of Turing during the BBC Icons show.
He said: “It’s so difficult to say, who’s better, who’s best? But under the conditions, Turing absolutely sparkles.Top Gut Doctor Warns: “Throw Out This Vegetable Immediately”Top U.S. doctor finally speaks out about the danger in your kitchen, American’s #1 favorite vegetable isn’t what you think it is.Ad by United Naturals
“Faced with global catastrophe, he built a computer to turn cipher into song and mysteries into music. The Nazi Enigma machines were not match for his cunning.
“A genius, a saviour, but he was also autistic and gay, so we betrayed him and drove him to suicide.”
— Chris Packham
“But all he got for all of his toil and all of our trouble was a poisoned apple.
“A genius, a saviour, but he was also autistic and gay, so we betrayed him and drove him to suicide.
“Shame. Writ large his death, an unforgiving tattoo on humanity’s conscience.”
TV presenter Chris Packham gave a passionate speech about Alan Turing on the BBC’s Icons series
Alluding to global warming, Packham added: “Scientists are the only hope for our future and they are armed with Alan Turing’s legacy.”
Encouraging members of the audience to take out their smartphones, he added “In each of your hands you hold a little bit of Alan Turing.
“He’s with us when we wake up, he’s with us when we go to bed at night and he’s with us when we talk to our loved ones.
“He’s beautiful isn’t he? Glistening in our darkest hour. Alan Turing’s legacy hasn’t passed. It’s not a relic of the 20th century. His gift to us is our future.”
Brandi Carlile says she “can’t wrap her head around” being the most-nominated female artist at this year’s Grammy Awards, but she’s keenly aware of the overall significance of those accolades.
The folk-rock singer-songwriter’s latest album, “By the Way, I Forgive You,” saw her talking a stance on a number of contemporary issues, like addiction, immigration and bullying. Released in February 2018, the album received massive critical praise and helped Carlile score six Grammy nominations, including Record of the Year (for lead single “The Joke”) and Album of the Year.
“I feel like I’ve always been on the fringes of mainstream acceptance like that, but it means the most that I’ve received this honor at this point in my life,” she said in a new interview with Variety. “Being a 38-year-old mom, with two kids, who’s gay and lives on a farm, and is nominated alongside Janelle Monae and Cardi B, it’s kind of unbelievable.”
Carlile isn’t taking that newly expanded platform for granted, either. She went on to explain why she feels it’s more important than ever for LGBTQ artists to be open about their sexuality in spite of the professional risks that may arise.
“Representation can be kind of life or death for a kid in a small town,” she said. “At the very least it can give someone hope.”
The Washington state native, who cites Elton John and Freddie Mercury as influences and recently teamed up with Sam Smith for a duet version of her hit, “Party of One,” is about to kick off an action-packed Grammys week. In addition to Sunday’s awards ceremony, she’s due to perform at a MusiCares tribute to Dolly Parton on Friday and appear at Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy gala the next day.
And though Carlile may be lauded by LGBTQ fans and advocacy groups for being so frank about her sexuality, she’s quick to credit other queer female artists, such as the Indigo Girls and k.d. lang, for having paved the way.
“They were made fun of for being frumpy or not dressing right or not walking right,” she said. “Me and Courtney Barnett [a gay Australian singer-songwriter] are a product of the fact that they took those hits for us and now, nobody thinks it’s acceptable to say those things about us.”
The UK government must end detainment of LGBTI asylum seekers, activists say.
LGBTI people fleeing death threats should not be detained indefinitely, according to the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights have called to put a time limit on immigration detention.
Many asylum seekers are detained indefinitely.
MPs from across political parties have agreed the Home Office’s immigration detention powers should be pared back.
The committee has also called for an introduction of a 28-day time limit on detainment.
But for LGBTI rights activists, they say even this is too much.
UK government must end detainment of all LGBTI asylum seekers
‘We welcome the recommendation from the Joint Committee on Human Rights to put a time limit on immigration detention,’ Leila Zadeh, Executive Director of UKLGIG, said.
‘The UK is the only country in Europe that does not impose a time limit.
‘A time limit of 28 days is urgently needed to reduce the distress and long-term mental health impact caused by such detention.
‘We also urge the government to end completely the detention of LGBTQI+ people.
‘Detention of LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum is wholly inappropriate. They run a significant risk of being locked up among other people who may display the same discriminatory attitudes and hostility from which they have fled.
‘They also frequently struggle to be granted refugee status if they have to make their asylum applications from inside a detention center.
‘The government should give greater consideration to alternatives to detention that allow LGBTQI+ people seeking asylum to remain in the community while their claims are processed’.
Asylum seekers treated worse than criminals
Harriet Harman, chair of the committee, noted asylum seekers are treated worse than criminals.
She said: ‘If the police want to continue to detain a person beyond 36 hours, they have to bring that person before a court, which is, of course, totally independent of Government.
‘But if the Home Office suspects a person of being in breach of our immigration laws, there is a complete absence of independence in the decision making.
‘A civil servant — nameless, faceless and behind closed doors — just ticks a box to detain them.
‘The first that person will know about it is when someone bangs on their door in the early hours of the morning to bundle them into an immigration enforcement van and take them to a detention centre.”
With no independence in decision-making, mistakes are ‘inevitable’, the Labour MP said.
Rainbow Rush scandal
The UK is rejecting more gay and bisexual asylum claims than ever before.
The grant rate for people claiming asylum on sexual orientation has fallen from 39% in 2015 to 22% in 2017.
It is harder to claim based on sexual orientation compared to all other asylum claims. The grant rate for LGBT asylum claims is 29%, compared to 36%.
It is also harder to appeal.
The success rate at appeal was lower for LGB-related claims (34%) compared to all claims at (37%).
