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La Presse en Rose

Canadian Activist to Hold Rally Protesting US HIV Travel Ban

Martin Rooney of British Columbia works to raise awareness and money for AIDS organizations here in Canada and also in Tijuana. However, he is prevented from doing his work in Mexico because he is denied entry to the US since he is HIV positive. The ban first came into effect in 1993, but was overturned by George W. Bush in the summer of 2008. However, since the Department of Health and Human Services still classifies HIV as a contagious disease, anyone wishing to visit or immigrate to the US must first obtain a waiver and have it approved in advance. This red tape snarl has been loosened only marginally by a new streamlined waiver form provided by the Department of Homeland Security. Many cross-border shoppers, attendees at conferences and sporting events simply choose to avoid the US, rather than deal with the restrictions.

Pressure is being put on the Obama administration to remove these discriminatory regulations. Rooney will hold a rally on August 16 at the Peace Arch on the Canada/US border to bring attention to the hardships imposed by the travel ban. The event, sponsored by E.G.A.L.E, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force – USA, the International Court Council of Canada, US and Mexico, will have Dr. Hedy Fry, MP (Lib) Vancouver Centre and Helen Kennedy, Executive President of E.G.A.L.E. as speakers.. (Ralph Higgins, OUTLOOKS.ca)

Uganda Hosts Anti-Gay Conference

In a country where homosexuality is punishable by death and where gays and lesbians are almost routinely persecuted, it would seem unnecessary to bring in outsiders to make the case against the queer population.

However, in June, three American, right-wing anti-gay leaders arrived in Kampala to stage a seminar entitled, “Exposing the Truth Behind Homosexuality and the Homosexual Agenda.” The three men are leaders in exgay ministries, sexual reorientation groups and one is the author of a book which purports to prove that gays were responsible for the Holocaust. It is feared that thisverbal gay-bashing will add fuel to an already raging fire in Uganda where homosexuality is considered immoral and un-African. (Ralph Higgins, OUTLOOKS.ca)


New Catalyst Research Reveals Workplace Barriers for LGBT Employees Limit Advancement Opportunities and Contributions to Organizations

LGBT employees report unique experiences of exclusion and echo similar workplace hurdles to women

TORONTO — Even in Canada, a country with legislated human rights protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, LGBT employees face workplace barriers that limit career advancement and, therefore, restrict potential contributions to organizational success, according to Catalyst’s third report on building LGBT-inclusive workplaces, Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces: Engaging Organizations and Individuals in Change. The new Canadian-based study, sponsored by Scotiabank, finds that a lack of awareness, which may cause other employees to rely on stereotypes, can lead to a hostile work environment for LGBT employees including discriminatory behaviours such as inappropriate humour or derogatory language; exclusion from important relationships and advancement opportunities; and a lack of role models.

The study suggests that since some LGBT employees are “invisible” and choose not to disclose or come out, organizations may not fully understand the benefits, needs, and challenges of these employees. It also points out that when LGBT employees spend less effort managing disclosure and can focus on their work, both organizations and employees benefit.

“Leaders who understand the bottom-line benefits of diversity should be eager to implement LGBT-inclusion programs,” said Deborah Gillis, Vice President, North America, Catalyst. “LGBT inclusive workplaces can increase employee engagement by allowing employees to be authentic and spend less time self-editing. That reduces costs by decreasing turnover. It can also potentially increase revenue by encouraging LGBT employees to help the organization tap new markets and enhance customer loyalty.”

According to the study, concerted efforts by organizations to create LGBT-inclusive workplaces, such as diversity training, employee networks, and mentoring programs, help to raise awareness and dispel myths, resulting in better workplace relationships, improved perceptions about workplace fairness, and increased career satisfaction and organizational commitment for LGBT employees.

“We believe very strongly in the importance of promoting inclusive practices, and that inclusion can only happen in the absence of judgment or bias,” said Sylvia Chrominska, Scotiabank Group Head Global Human Resources and Communications. “We applaud Catalyst for providing information that will serve to continue the conversation amongst Canadian businesses about the need for LGBT inclusion as part of a well-rounded strategy to achieve real diversity. As a recognized employer of choice, Scotiabank has long acknowledged the importance of inclusion.”

Through its LGBT series, Catalyst extends its focus on gender diversity to include LGBT employees—recognizing that women may identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. This Catalyst study offers new insights about specific challenges facing LGBT women. While few differences were based on gender, LGBT women did report “less friendly workplaces” than LGBT men:

* 76 percent of LGBT women versus 85 percent of all others reported that their manager was comfortable interacting with them.
* 70 percent of LGBT women reported that their manager evaluated performance fairly versus 80 percent of LGBT men and 77 percent of non-LGBT women and men.
* On average, LGBT women are “out” to 50 percent of their workgroup versus LGBT men out to 72 percent of their workgroup.

The study reports that LGBT employees working in organizations with effective and inclusive diversity practices indicated better workplace relationships and greater organizational commitment and career satisfaction (linked to greater productivity) than LGBT employees at organizations without them. To help organizations become more inclusive and increase their brand as an “employer of choice,” Catalyst offers a number of recommendations, including:

* Increase awareness—identify and tackle organizational issues related to LGBT employees company-wide.
* Implement diversity training to help dispel LGBT myths/stereotypes.
* Help LGBT employees find mentors and employee groups.
* Make consistent and inclusive communications a core goal.

Scotiabank is the Contributing Sponsor of Building LGBT-Inclusive Workplaces: Engaging Organizations and Individuals in Change.

For more information on building LGBT-inclusive workplaces, please go to: www.catalyst.org.


Sexual Harassment
Yes it DOES Happen to Us!

-- Lifestyle Advice by Evan Kayne --

The notion of Sexual Harassment has been grossly stereotyped in the straight world to imply a man as the aggressor and a woman as the victim. For straight men, it has been made to seem more humiliating to press charges against a female aggressor than to deal with her advances, no matter how annoying or obstructive it may be to their job. It has been suggested that this is a non-issue within the gay community, when in fact, adding GLBT individuals into the mix merely results in parallel situations, and a wealth of new possibilities.

• Your co-worker knows that you are gay/lesbian, and insults you with sexual comments or suggestive gestures to humiliate you. It continues despite you having made it expressly clear that you do not appreciate this kind of attention.

• Your straight landlord knows that you are gay/lesbian, but makes unwanted sexual advances toward you. Though you’ve told him/her you are not interested, he/she vows that they will eventually “convert” you to be straight.

• A gay/lesbian co-worker feels entitled to grope you, come onto you, or make inappropriate sexual comments about you as you are working, no matter how many times you have expressed that they are unwelcome.

• You’ve had sexual relations with your employer in the past, and they imply a threat on your job, or suggest withholding a promotion unless you continue having this sexual relationship with them.

These are all prime examples of sexual harassment that can, and do happen to GLBT individuals, sometimes even within our own community. We are all human beings, and working together gives rise to opportunities that we are biologically motivated to pursue. So it’s important to know where the line is drawn, your rights as a victim, and your limits as someone who may hold power over others - be they gay or straight.

According to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission, “Sexual harassment is any unwelcome behaviour, sexual in nature, that adversely affects, or threatens to affect, directly or indirectly, a person’s job security, working conditions or prospects for promotion or earnings; or prevents a person from getting a job, living accommodations or any kind of public service.”

Sexual harassment is usually about exerting power over someone else. A harasser can be a supervisor...

--more (Page 36 Gay Calgary Magazine PDF version)--

La Press en Rose ©, 2009, The Wizard of 'OZ'

45 life lessons and 5 to grow on

by by Regina Brett, Columnist for The Plain Dealer, Cleveland.com

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.. It is the most-requested column I've ever written.
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

*Thanks, Gary T

Don't neglect your vehicle

Car Trouble!


*Thanks, Gary

Avro Arrow model marks 100 years of Canadian aviation history

Fifty years after the federal government cancelled the Avro Arrow project, a full-scale replica of the airplane was rolled into position Friday at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, 70 kilometres south of Edmonton.

Volunteers, along with students and staff from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Aircraft Structures program, put 500 hours into refurbishing the model, which was originally built in several stages and used in the CBC television miniseries Canada's Broken Dream.

"I'm hoping to instill some enthusiasm in the students, get them to learn and understand a little piece of Canadian history they can take with them for the rest of their careers," Dave McIntosh, chair of the Aircraft Structure program at NAIT said Friday.

Replica on display until September

The project was completed to mark the 100th anniversary of powered flight in Canada, and the 50th anniversary of the cancellation of the Arrow project.

The 80-foot model looks just like the original, according to Byron Reynolds, honorary curator of the aviation program at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum.

Byron Reynolds is the honorary curator of the aviation program at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin. (CBC) "It's absolutely stunning, and it turned out wonderful. Of course it's not an air-worthy replica by any sense … but it gives you some idea of what could have been if the program had continued. We'd probably still be flying them now 50 years later," Reynolds said.

There are two full-scale replicas of the Avro Arrow in Canada, one is in Toronto and the second is this one in Alberta, he said.

"In February of 1959 when that airplane was cancelled, we were absolutely at the top of our game," Reynolds said. "Canada took a second seat to nobody … nobody had anything that would even remotely compete with this airplane flying or even on the drawing board at that time."

When the project was cancelled in 1959 by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, all prototypes and blueprints were destroyed, he said.

"It's a remnant of our technological past glories here in Canada and a fitting tribute to all those who have contributed to aviation in Canada over the last 100 years," he said.

The full-scale model will be on display at the museum until early September.

Read about the Avro Arrow.

The History of Windows

Windows:
A thirty-two bit extension and graphical shell
to a sixteen bit patch
to an eight bit operating system
originally coded for a four bit microprocessor
which was written by a two-bit company
that can't stand one bit of competition…

*Thanks, Gary

No-No's for Seniors

Many who are over 50, WAY over 50, or on the way to 50 are quite confused about how they should present themselves.

They're unsure about the kind of image they are projecting and whether or not they are correct as they try to conform to current fashion.

In spite of what you may have seen on the streets, the following combinations DO NOT go together and should be avoided:


1. A nose ring and bifocals


2. Spiked hair and bald spots


3. A pierced tongue and dentures


4. Miniskirts and support hose


5. Ankle bracelets and corn pads


6. Speedos and cellulite


7. A belly button ring and a gall bladder surgery scar


8. Unbuttoned disco shirts and a heart monitor


9. Midriff shirts and a midriff bulge (not just on seniors)


10. Pierced nipples that hang below the waist


11. Bikinis and liver spots.


12. Short shorts and varicose veins.


13. Inline skates and a walker.



And the ultimate 'Bad Taste' in fashion for the older folks...


14. Thongs and Depends.


Please keep these basic guidelines foremost in your mind when you shop.

*Thanks, Gary

Medical Afflictions of the Cartoon World

*Thanks, Gary

A & Q...

I have decided to remove this post of jokes about Dyslexia. I feel it was in bad taste...

Common Myths about Dyslexia

* Dyslexia is rare: Dyslexia touch about 23% of the population.


* Dyslexics will not succeed in life: A great majority of dyslexics have invented or done something great for humanity.


* Dyslexia will prevent your child from succeeding: Your child should succeed not despite dyslexia but because of it.


* Dyslexia: Why the Confusion? Dyslexics are learning disabled: Dyslexics can also be learning disabled but usually they only become learning disabled because of ineffective teaching.


* It is difficult to diagnose: It is easy once we know what we are looking for.


* Reading difficulties disappears with age: Not if it’s dyslexia.


* Repeating a school grade can remove dyslexia: To do more of the same that made you fail in the first place.


* Dyslexia is limited to those who reverse letters or numbers: Only 10% of dyslexics reverses letters.


* Dyslexia is caused by parents who do not read to their children: Some parents read often to their children, some are writers, own book shops, are translators…


* Dyslexia cannot be diagnosed until a child is in third-grade: It should be diagnosed in kindergarten


* Only a psychologist can assess individuals with Dyslexia: Only if he has received training in the assessment of people with dyslexia


Extract of: BRAZEAU-WARD, Louise, «I'm confused, is it dyslexia or is it learning dissability?», Canadian Dyslexia Centre, 2003.

Famous People with Dyslexia ~ Authors

Agatha Christie (1890 – 1976), was an English crime fiction writer. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but is remembered for her 66 mystery novels. Her work with mystery novels, particularly featuring detectives Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, have given her the title the 'Queen of Crime' and made her one of the most important and innovative writers in the development of the mystery novel. Christie has been called - by the Guinness Book of World Records, among others - the best-selling writer of books of all time, and the best-selling writer of any kind second to William Shakespeare.
An estimated one billion copies of her novels have been sold in English, and another billion in 103 other languages. As an example of her broad appeal, she is the all-time best-selling author in France, with over 40 million copies sold in French (as of 2003) versus 22 million for Emile Zola, the nearest contender. In 1955, Christie was the first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's highest honor, the Grand Master Award, and in the same year, Witness for the Prosecution was given an Edgar Award by the MWA, for Best Play.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, critic and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of the macabre, Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction. He is also credited with contributing to the emergent science fiction genre.

Ernest Miller Hemingway (1899 – 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His distinctive writing style is characterized by economy and understatement and had a significant influence on the development of twentieth century fiction writing. Hemingway's protagonists are typically stoics, men who must show "grace under pressure." Many of his works are considered classics in the canon of American literature. Hemingway, nicknamed "Papa," was part of the 1920s expatriate community in Paris, as described in his memoir A Moveable Feast, and was known as part of "the Lost Generation," a name he popularized. He led a turbulent social life, was married four times, and allegedly had various romantic relationships during his lifetime. Hemingway received the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for The Old Man and the Sea. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

Jules Verne (1828 – 1905) was a French author and a pioneer of the science-fiction genre best known for novels such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (1870), Journey To The Center Of The Earth (1864), and Around the World in Eighty Days (1873). Verne was noted for writing about space, air, and underwater travel before air travel and submarines were actually invented, and before practical means of space travel had been devised. He is the third most translated author in the world, according to the Index Translationum statistics. Some of his books have been made into films. Verne, along with Hugo Gernsback and H. G. Wells, is often popularly referred to as the "Father of Science Fiction"

Famous People with Dyslexia ~ Artists

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) was a German composer. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of music, and was the predominant figure in the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western classical music. His reputation and genius have inspired — and in many cases intimidated — ensuing generations of composers, musicians, and audiences. While primarily known today as a composer, he was also a celebrated pianist and conductor, and an accomplished violinist. Born in Bonn, Germany, he moved to Vienna, Austria, in his early twenties, and settled there, studying with Joseph Haydn and quickly gaining a reputation as a virtuoso pianist.
In his late twenties he began to lose his hearing gradually, and yet he continued to produce notable masterpieces throughout his life, even when his deafness was almost total. Beethoven was one of the first composers who worked as a freelance — arranging subscription concerts, selling his compositions to publishers, and gaining financial support from a number of wealthy patrons — rather than being permanently employed by the church or by an aristocratic court.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452 –1519) was an Italian polymath: architect, anatomist, sculptor, engineer, inventor, mathematician, musician, scientist, and painter. He has been described as the archetype of the "Renaissance man", a man infinitely curious and equally inventive. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time, and perhaps the most intelligent and capable man to ever have lived.
Leonardo is famous for his realistic paintings, such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, as well as for influential drawings such as the Vitruvian Man. He conceived ideas vastly ahead of his own time, notably conceptually inventing a helicopter, a tank, the use of concentrated solar power, a calculator, a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics, the double hull, and many others. In addition, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, astronomy, civil engineering, optics, and the study of water (hydrodynamics).

Mozart (1756 – 1791) was a prolific and influential composer in the Classical era. His output of more than six hundred compositions includes works widely acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. Mozart is among the most enduringly popular of European composers, and many of his works are part of the standard concert repertoire. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest composers of classical music.

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881 - 1973) was a Spanish painter and sculptor, one of the most recognized figures in 20th century art, he is best known as the co-founder, along with Georges Braque, of cubism. It has been estimated that Picasso produced about 13,500 paintings or designs, 100,000 prints or engravings, 34,000 book illustrations and 300 sculptures or ceramics.

Vincent van Gogh (1853 – 1890) was a Dutch draughtsman and painter, classified as a Post-Impressionist. His paintings and drawings include some of the world's best known, most popular and most expensive pieces. He did not embark upon a career as an artist until 1880, at the age of 27. Initially he worked in sombre colours, until an encounter in Paris with Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism accelerated his artistic development. He produced all of his more than 2,000 works, including around 900 paintings and 1100 drawings or sketches, during the last ten years of his life. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, and in the two months before his death he painted 90 pictures.

Famous People with Dyslexia ~ Politicians

Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790) was one of the most well-known Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a leading author, politician, printer, scientist, philosopher, publisher, inventor, civic activist, and diplomat. As a scientist he was a major figure in the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As a political writer and activist he, more than anyone, invented the idea of an American nation, and as a diplomat during the American Revolution, he secured the French alliance that made independence possible. Franklin was noted for his curiosity, his writings (popular, political and scientific), and his diversity of interests. His writings are proverbial for being wise and scintillating to this day. As a leader of the Enlightenment, he gained the recognition of scientists and intellectuals across Europe.

John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963), was the 35th President of the United States. He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. His leadership during the USS PT-109 incident during the Second World War in the South Pacific was a turning point in his life. Kennedy represented Massachusetts from 1947 to 1960, first as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and then in the U.S. Senate. He was elected President in 1960 in one of the closest elections in American history. He is the only Roman Catholic to be elected President of the United States. Major events during his presidency include the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, early events of the Vietnam War and the American Civil Rights Movement. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas.

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was an American Vice President, governor of New York State, philanthropist and businessman. A leader of the liberal wing of the Republican Party, he was Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, where he launched many construction and modernization projects. Scion of one of the world's richest and best known families, he failed repeatedly in his attempts to become president, but he was appointed Vice President of the United States of America in 1974. He served from 1974 to 1977, and did not join the 1976 GOP national ticket with President Gerald Ford. He retired from politics when his term as Vice President was over.

Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) was an English statesman, soldier, and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Well-known as an orator, strategist, and politician, Churchill was one of the most important leaders in modern British and world history. He won the 1953 Nobel Prize in Literature for his many books on English and world history. Sir Winston Churchill was voted the greatest-ever Briton in the 2002 BBC poll the 100 Greatest Britons.

Famous People with Dyslexia ~ Scientists

Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist widely considered one of the greatest physicists of all time. While best known for the theory of relativity (and specifically mass-energy equivalence, E=mc2), he was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics for his 1905 explanation of the photoelectric effect and "for his services to Theoretical Physics". He was known for many scientific investigations, among which were: his special theory of relativity which stemmed from an attempt to reconcile the laws of mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field, his general theory of relativity which extended the principle of relativity to include gravitation, relativistic cosmology, capillary action, critical opalescence, classical problems of statistical mechanics and problems in which they were merged with quantum theory, leading to an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules; atomic transition probabilities, the probabilistic interpretation of quantum theory, the quantum theory of a monatomic gas, the thermal properties of light with a low radiation density which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light, the theory of radiation, including stimulated emission; the construction of a unified field theory, and the geometrization of physics.

Alexander Graham Bell (1847 – 1922) was a Scottish scientist and inventor who emigrated to Canada and later the United States. Today, Bell is widely considered as one of the foremost developers of the telephone, together with Antonio Meucci – inventor of the first telephone prototype – and Philipp Reis. In addition to Bell's work in telecommunications technology, he was responsible for important advances in aviation and hydrofoil technology. Much of his later work was done in Canada.

Galileo Galilei (1564 – 1642) was an Italian physicist, astronomer, and philosopher who is closely associated with the scientific revolution. His achievements include improvements to the telescope, a variety of astronomical observations, and effective support for Copernicanism. According to Stephen Hawking, Galileo probably contributed more to the creation of the modern natural sciences than anybody else. He is often referred to as the "father of modern astronomy," as the "father of modern physics", and as the "father of science". The work of Galileo is considered to be a significant break from that of Aristotle. The motion of uniformly accelerated objects, treated in nearly all high school and introductory college physics courses, was studied by Galileo as the subject of kinematics.

Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) was an American inventor and businessman who developed many devices which greatly influenced life worldwide into the 21st century. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production to the process of invention, and can therefore be credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. Some of the inventions attributed to him were not completely original but amounted to improvements of earlier inventions or were actually created by numerous employees working under his direction. Nevertheless, Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,097 U.S. patents in his name, as well as many patents in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. He lived to the age of 84.

Famous People with Dyslexia ~ Business People

William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American entrepreneur and the co-founder, chairman, former chief software architect, and former CEO of Microsoft, the world's largest software company. Forbes magazine's list of The World's Billionaires has ranked him as the richest person on earth for the last thirteen consecutive years, with a current net worth of approximately $53 billion. When family wealth is considered, his family ranks second behind the Walton family. Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. Since amassing his fortune, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.

Nicholas Negroponte (born 1943) is an architect and computer scientist best known as the founder and Chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab. He is the younger brother of John Negroponte, former United States Director of National Intelligence.

William R. Hewlett (1913 – 2001) was the co-founder, with David Packard, of the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP). Hewlett received his Bachelor's degree from Stanford University in 1934, an MS degree in EECS from MIT in 1936, and the degree of Electrical Engineer from Stanford in 1939. Hewlett attended classes taught by Fred Terman at Stanford and became acquainted with David Packard during his undergraduate work at Stanford. He and Packard began discussing forming a company in August of 1937, and formally incorporated Hewlett-Packard Company on January 1, 1939. In 1939, he also married Flora Lamson, and the couple eventually had five children: Eleanor, Walter, James, William and Mary. He was President of HP from 1964 to 1977, and served as CEO from 1968 to 1978, when he was succeeded by John A. Young. He remained chairman of the executive committee until 1983, and then served as vice chairman of the board until 1987. In 1995 he received the Lemelson-MIT Prize Lifetime Achievement Award.

Famous People with Dyslexia ~ Actors<

Jack Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an iconic, three-time Academy Award and seven time Golden Globe winning American method actor known for his often dark-themed portrayals of neurotic characters. He has been nominated for an Academy Award 12 times (winning 3 of them), more than any other male actor, and second only to Meryl Streep (who has 13 nominations and 2 wins) in total nominations. He is tied with Walter Brennan for most wins by a male actor, and second to Katharine Hepburn for most acting wins overall (Hepburn had 4). He has also won seven Golden Globe Awards and he received a Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.

Robin Williams (born July 21, 1951) is an Academy Award-winning American actor and comedian. As an actor he has had starring roles on television, stage, and film. The majority of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some memorable performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot). His first starring roles, Popeye (1980) and The World According to Garp (1982), were both considered flops, but with Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) Williams was nominated for an Academy Award and established a screen identity. Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos, for example, The Birdcage, Mrs. Doubtfire.

Tom Cruise (born July 3, 1962) is a three-time Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and film producer. Counted as one of the most successful movie stars in Hollywood, he is the only actor to have six consecutive $100 million plus blockbusters on his resume. His first leading role in a blockbuster movie was 1983's Risky Business. From then on, he starred in many top films, becoming an iconic celebrity of Hollywood. Despite the recent scrutinizing media coverage of his personal life, mainly regarding his support of Scientology and his related criticism of psychiatry, he remains a star of worldwide renown.

*Canadian Dyslexia Association

Mandate: The mandate of the Canadian Dyslexia Association is to promote awareness of dyslexia in order to improve the quality of life of the estimated five million Canadians who have dyslexia.

What am I?

* I am found in cars.
* I was patented in 1953.
* The first of me wasn’t introduced until 1973.
* There can be more than one of me.
* You won’t find me in old cars.
* Hit the brakes and I may hit you.
* I open very quickly.
* I can save lives in a crash.

click here for the answer

Forget Shorter Showers

Why personal change does not equal political change
by Derrick Jensen | Orion Magazine

Published in the July/August 2009 issue of Orion magazine



WOULD ANY SANE PERSON think dumpster diving would have stopped Hitler, or that composting would have ended slavery or brought about the eight-hour workday, or that chopping wood and carrying water would have gotten people out of Tsarist prisons, or that dancing naked around a fire would have helped put in place the Voting Rights Act of 1957 or the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Then why now, with all the world at stake, do so many people retreat into these entirely personal “solutions”?

Part of the problem is that we’ve been victims of a campaign of systematic misdirection. Consumer culture and the capitalist mindset have taught us to substitute acts of personal consumption (or enlightenment) for organized political resistance. An Inconvenient Truth helped raise consciousness about global warming. But did you notice that all of the solutions presented had to do with personal consumption—changing light bulbs, inflating tires, driving half as much—and had nothing to do with shifting power away from corporations, or stopping the growth economy that is destroying the planet? Even if every person in the United States did everything the movie suggested, U.S. carbon emissions would fall by only 22 percent. Scientific consensus is that emissions must be reduced by at least 75 percent worldwide.

Or let’s talk water. We so often hear that the world is running out of water. People are dying from lack of water. Rivers are dewatered from lack of water. Because of this we need to take shorter showers. See the disconnect? Because I take showers, I’m responsible for drawing down aquifers? Well, no. More than 90 percent of the water used by humans is used by agriculture and industry. The remaining 10 percent is split between municipalities and actual living breathing individual humans. Collectively, municipal golf courses use as much water as municipal human beings. People (both human people and fish people) aren’t dying because the world is running out of water. They’re dying because the water is being stolen.

Or let’s talk energy. Kirkpatrick Sale summarized it well: “For the past 15 years the story has been the same every year: individual consumption—residential, by private car, and so on—is never more than about a quarter of all consumption; the vast majority is commercial, industrial, corporate, by agribusiness and government [he forgot military]. So, even if we all took up cycling and wood stoves it would have a negligible impact on energy use, global warming and atmospheric pollution.”

Or let’s talk waste. In 2005, per-capita municipal waste production (basically everything that’s put out at the curb) in the U.S. was about 1,660 pounds. Let’s say you’re a die-hard simple-living activist, and you reduce this to zero. You recycle everything. You bring cloth bags shopping. You fix your toaster. Your toes poke out of old tennis shoes. You’re not done yet, though. Since municipal waste includes not just residential waste, but also waste from government offices and businesses, you march to those offices, waste reduction pamphlets in hand, and convince them to cut down on their waste enough to eliminate your share of it. Uh, I’ve got some bad news. Municipal waste accounts for only 3 percent of total waste production in the United States.

I want to be clear. I’m not saying we shouldn’t live simply. I live reasonably simply myself, but I don’t pretend that not buying much (or not driving much, or not having kids) is a powerful political act, or that it’s deeply revolutionary. It’s not. Personal change doesn’t equal social change.

So how, then, and especially with all the world at stake, have we come to accept these utterly insufficient responses? I think part of it is that we’re in a double bind. A double bind is where you’re given multiple options, but no matter what option you choose, you lose, and withdrawal is not an option. At this point, it should be pretty easy to recognize that every action involving the industrial economy is destructive (and we shouldn’t pretend that solar photovoltaics, for example, exempt us from this: they still require mining and transportation infrastructures at every point in the production processes; the same can be said for every other so-called green technology). So if we choose option one—if we avidly participate in the industrial economy—we may in the short term think we win because we may accumulate wealth, the marker of “success” in this culture. But we lose, because in doing so we give up our empathy, our animal humanity. And we really lose because industrial civilization is killing the planet, which means everyone loses. If we choose the “alternative” option of living more simply, thus causing less harm, but still not stopping the industrial economy from killing the planet, we may in the short term think we win because we get to feel pure, and we didn’t even have to give up all of our empathy (just enough to justify not stopping the horrors), but once again we really lose because industrial civilization is still killing the planet, which means everyone still loses. The third option, acting decisively to stop the industrial economy, is very scary for a number of reasons, including but not restricted to the fact that we’d lose some of the luxuries (like electricity) to which we’ve grown accustomed, and the fact that those in power might try to kill us if we seriously impede their ability to exploit the world—none of which alters the fact that it’s a better option than a dead planet. Any option is a better option than a dead planet.

Besides being ineffective at causing the sorts of changes necessary to stop this culture from killing the planet, there are at least four other problems with perceiving simple living as a political act (as opposed to living simply because that’s what you want to do). The first is that it’s predicated on the flawed notion that humans inevitably harm their landbase. Simple living as a political act consists solely of harm reduction, ignoring the fact that humans can help the Earth as well as harm it. We can rehabilitate streams, we can get rid of noxious invasives, we can remove dams, we can disrupt a political system tilted toward the rich as well as an extractive economic system, we can destroy the industrial economy that is destroying the real, physical world.

The second problem—and this is another big one—is that it incorrectly assigns blame to the individual (and most especially to individuals who are particularly powerless) instead of to those who actually wield power in this system and to the system itself. Kirkpatrick Sale again: “The whole individualist what-you-can-do-to-save-the-earth guilt trip is a myth. We, as individuals, are not creating the crises, and we can’t solve them.”

The third problem is that it accepts capitalism’s redefinition of us from citizens to consumers. By accepting this redefinition, we reduce our potential forms of resistance to consuming and not consuming. Citizens have a much wider range of available resistance tactics, including voting, not voting, running for office, pamphleting, boycotting, organizing, lobbying, protesting, and, when a government becomes destructive of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we have the right to alter or abolish it.

The fourth problem is that the endpoint of the logic behind simple living as a political act is suicide. If every act within an industrial economy is destructive, and if we want to stop this destruction, and if we are unwilling (or unable) to question (much less destroy) the intellectual, moral, economic, and physical infrastructures that cause every act within an industrial economy to be destructive, then we can easily come to believe that we will cause the least destruction possible if we are dead.

The good news is that there are other options. We can follow the examples of brave activists who lived through the difficult times I mentioned—Nazi Germany, Tsarist Russia, antebellum United States—who did far more than manifest a form of moral purity; they actively opposed the injustices that surrounded them. We can follow the example of those who remembered that the role of an activist is not to navigate systems of oppressive power with as much integrity as possible, but rather to confront and take down those systems.

Derrick Jensen is an activist and the author of many books, most recently What We Leave Behind and Songs of the Dead.

© 2009, Orion Magazine Online
*Thanks for the link, Bran

La Presse en Rose

The Wizard has decided to start a newsletter type post for GLBTT news and views. It will be called "La Presse en Rose" and following is the first edition! Enjoy!

Gay Couple Cuffed Over Kiss In Utah

A gay couple has been banned from property owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) after an altercation with security guards over a kiss, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The men say they were roughly cuffed and banned from the Mormon Church's headquarters campus in Salt Lake City, Utah after one man kissed the other on the cheek.

In the altercation, Matt Aune, 28, and his partner Derek Jones, 25, were detained by church security guards, and cited by city police for trespassing.

The pair crossed the Main Street Plaza, which belongs to the church, Thursday night holding hands as they walked home from a concert. Near the edge of the plaza, Aune says he stopped, hugged Jones and kissed him on the cheek.

The couple was cuffed and detained when they protested against requests by the guards that they leave. Guards told them public displays of affection are not allowed on the plaza.

“They targeted us,” Aune told the paper. “We weren't doing anything inappropriate or illegal, or anything most people would consider inappropriate for any other couple.”

In a statement, church officials denied discriminating against the couple, saying they were asked to leave as any other couple would be. But when the paper asked what is considered inappropriate behavior, spokeswoman Kim Farah refused to answer.

Farah said the two men were detained and the police were called because they “became argumentative,” used profanity and refused to leave.

Aune admits he used profanity: “When I was handcuffed, I was very pissed and I unleashed a flurry of profanities.”

The Mormon Church has been under intense criticism by gay rights advocates after its members, at the request of church leaders, donated millions of dollars – and thousands of volunteer hours – to the campaign to ban gay marriage in California, Proposition 8. (By On Top Magazine Staff)

List of Anti-gay companies

Many anti-gay businesses and their owners or top managers will gladly take (fleece) Gay Dollars. They may offer a product or service that looks friendly, fun or enticing to the GLBT community. But they use their profits to turn on you and stab you in the back by supporting anti-gay causes or to deny equal benefits.
This list is meant to educate the public so consumers can make informed choices. Some of these choices one makes might include the following: take your business elsewhere; boycott or pick the business; write or email the company to inform them why they have lost your business; educate your friends and families about the company. Eventually corporate leaders and businesses will learn that anti-gay bigotry is bad for business.

A-1 Self Storage Company: Terry Caster is the owner. It is a family (third generation) run company. They have over 40 locations in California. The Californians Against Hate blog reports: “Mr. Caster and his family have contributed $693,000 to the Protect Marriage campaign. That makes the Casters the 2nd largest individual donors to Yes on Prop 8.”

CBRL Group Inc. (Cracker Barrel restaurants) Operates 579 full-service Cracker Barrel restaurants and gift shops in 41 states. The business has a long history of discriminating against gays and blacks, both as employees and dinners. It had an HR policy from 1991 until 2002 that said "It is inconsistent with our concept and values, and is perceived to be inconsistent with those of our customer base, to continue to employ individuals in our operating units whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values.” Seventeen workers were fired because they admitted or were assumed to be gay after the first few months that the policy was created. [Wikipedia] A spokesperson in 2008 said Cracker Barrel “welcomes all guests, and our equal opportunity employment statement clearly states that we will not tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation." However, it does not offer diversity training, domestic partner benefits or any support for their GLBT employees. It has a Corporate Equality Index score of 15/100.

--more--

Political IQ - Close your wallet, open your mouth

by Diane Silver (Gay and Lesbian Times)

What we have here is a teachable moment. It would be a shame to waste it.
In June, the Obama administration touched off a firestorm in the GLBT community. The ignition point was a Department of Justice brief that defended the Defense of Marriage Act so vigorously people first thought it was written by holdovers from the Bush administration.

Surely progressive Obamites, representing a president who claimed to hate DOMA, couldn’t have compared same-sex marriage to the nuptials of an uncle to a niece? They couldn’t really have written that DOMA is neutral and, thus, hurts no one? It turns out that Obama’s justice department could and did just that.

The blogosphere erupted. Some GLBT donors pulled out of a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, and protestors picketed outside. Another DNC fundraiser in Boston was also picketed.

Obamites hastily convened an Oval Office ceremony where the president signed a memo providing limited benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. These benefits don’t include health insurance and were labeled too little too late by many, myself included. At the same time, even the mainstream media began reporting that the always loyal gays were considering a political divorce.

I’m not ready to divorce Obama or the Democrats – at least not today. But I do want to note that all of this upheaval has provided us with a teachable moment.

Here’s the point: People who should be our greatest supporters – straight progressives and liberal politicians – are sometimes our biggest roadblocks. This isn’t necessarily because they’re secret homophobes or political cowards, although a serious lack of spine can be an obstacle.

The problem is their ignorance.

I bumped into this at lunch with a straight journalist. This kind soul doesn’t have a homophobic bone in his body. His beat is progressive politics, which keeps him in touch with a range of issues, including GLBT rights.

When I told him GLBT Americans were unhappy with Obama, he was surprised. When I mentioned that handing out a few, minor benefits to a few federal employees wouldn’t placate us, he was flabbergasted.

He didn’t understand the depth of suffering DOMA inflicts. He had no idea that immigration law tore our families apart. He was shocked that we took the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military ban so personally.

Our meal was cordial, yet I sensed that he was struggling to understand what I was saying. I suspect that on a gut level he didn’t grasp the fury and despair that GLBT people know too well.

My liberal friend isn’t alone in his ignorance.

Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, reports that focus groups with heterosexuals show that even those with gay friends and family are ill-informed.
“A panel of straight people who knew gay people said they did not believe discrimination was real or nearly as bad as we described it because their gay friends or family would have told them,” Smith wrote on her organization’s blog.
Gays confirmed to Equality Florida that they didn’t talk to their straight friends and family about discrimination. Smith reports that gay participants in their focus groups said about heterosexuals that “if they cared, they would ask.”
I don’t think the lack of questioning comes from lack of caring. I think the problem is that straights are simply clueless. They don’t know they need to ask. If you had always lived in the comfort of heterosexuality and your concept of GLBT life is “Will and Grace,” smiling Ellen Degeneres and gay Pride marches, how are you supposed to know about our suffering?

If we don’t tell our friends, family and coworkers what it’s like to be treated like second-class human beings, how are they going to understand? The religious fanatics who campaign against equality aren’t going to tell them.

Obama and his staff should know better. I agree with those who say it’s time to close the Gay ATM. The GLBT community has to send the message to Obama and the Democratic Party that we will not support them if they don’t support us. And “support” means taking concrete action to repeal the policies and laws that hurt us.
Closing our wallets and refusing to donate is a fine first step, but I think we have to do more. (Diane Silver is a former newspaper reporter and magazine editor, whose work has appeared in The Progressive, Salon.com, Ms and other national publications.)


Don't Ask - Don't Tell The Truth


-- A fun upbeat video on the facts surrounding the Don't Ask - Don't Tell Policy --



uploaded by dontfwithmefellas

La Press en Rose ©, 2009, The Wizard of 'OZ'

Quotes of the Day

I don’t see the point of being a human being if you’re not going to be responsible to your fellow human beings. Selfishness thefts away the human and reduces you to just a being.
– Candea Core-Starke

Respect for ourselves guides our morals; respect for others guides our manners.
– Laurence Stern, Anglo-Irish author, clergyman (1713-1768)

In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.
– John Churton Collins, British literary critic (1848-1908)

Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
– Barry Switzer, football coach

A person of character seeks true happiness in living a life of purpose and meaning, placing a higher value on significance than success.
– Michael Josephson

Philadelphia swim club accused of discrimination

*Thanks, Darcene for the link