World Male News
‘Gender havens’ to avert split in Church
30/04/08 02:19
The Church of England is proposing to tear up
hundreds of years of tradition by establishing
spiritual havens for opponents of women priests and
bishops.
In a desperate attempt to stave off a schism over female ordination, church leaders have suggested the creation of new dioceses based on gender rather than geography.
The proposal – allowing some parishes to flee from the prospect of women bishops to male bishops hundreds of miles away – is one idea intended to preserve the unity of the Anglican Communion amid intense anger among millions of conservative church members.
But it risks antagonising liberals who believe that Anglicanism should not offer a compromise.
Critics said that the solution, which aims to allow for the consecration of women bishops without disenfranchising a substantial minority of opponents, would leave the established Church resembling a “Gruyère cheese”, with large holes left in dioceses.
The plans were published yesterday as church leaders braced themselves for bitter argument at this summer’s ten-yearly Lambeth Conference in Canterbury of the Anglican Communion’s bishops from around the world. Divisions in the Church between liberals and conservatives will be heightened today by comments by the Church’s first openly gay bishop in The Times. The Right Rev Gene Robinson is set to attend Lambeth after his “gay wedding”, against the wishes of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
In his book, serialised in The Times today, Bishop Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, condemned what he described as “destructive, adolescent bullying” over the consecration of women and gays.
Proposals to establish new dioceses were published yesterday by a group chaired by the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Rev Nigel McCulloch. The report demands that the majority, who support women’s ordination, accept that the “theological convictions of those unable to receive the ordained ministry of women are within the spectrum of Anglican teaching and tradition”. Those who hold them should therefore be able to receive pastoral and sacramental care “in a way that is consistent with their convictions”, it says.
The report gives warning that to consecrate women without safeguards for opponents “would trigger a period of uncertainty and turbulence within the Church of England”. Many priests and congregations would undoubtedly leave, it says. “The Church of England that emerged at the end of the process might possibly be more cohesive; it would undoubtedly be less theologically diverse.”
The report breaks new ground by addressing how women can become bishops rather than whether they should. Previous attempts have foundered because of the problem of how to go with the majority support for women bishops while preserving a space for opponents without appearing to be discriminating or half-hearted about women bishops.
The solution of extra-geographical dioceses is one of several proposed, but among the structural solutions it is the favoured option and would appear to be the least complex. However, questions would arise over which cathedrals served the new dioceses, or whether new ones were needed.
Even though about half of those now in training for the priesthood are women, the opposition to them within the Church has barely shrunk. Currently, opponents of women priests remain in their original dioceses and are cared for by traditionalist “flying bishops” but that would not be acceptable to them if their diocesan bishop was a woman. The report proposes ending that arrangement.
Bishop McCulloch said: “The central issue for the Church is the extent to which it wishes to accommodate the breadth of theological views that it currently encompasses in relation to women priests and bishops.”
Forward in Faith, the traditionalist group that had argued for a new, third province, said: “We are pleased that the report appears to have addressed most, if not all, of the issues we raised and that it seems . . . to include proposals which those unable to receive the ordination of women as bishops could in good conscience embrace.”
Lambeth and Rome
— In 1992 the General Synod voted to allow the ordination of women priests; the first 1,000 were ordained two years later
— Of the 470 male clergy who left the Church of England in protest, 58 returned. Many were accepted by Rome
— The synod voted in principle in 2005 to remove the legal barriers to women becoming bishops
— The Church has 7,109 full-time, paid male priests and 1,507 full-time, paid female priests. If unpaid and part-time clergy are included there are 8,785 men and 3,119 women
Sources: Church of England, religioustolerance.org, 29th 2008
In a desperate attempt to stave off a schism over female ordination, church leaders have suggested the creation of new dioceses based on gender rather than geography.
The proposal – allowing some parishes to flee from the prospect of women bishops to male bishops hundreds of miles away – is one idea intended to preserve the unity of the Anglican Communion amid intense anger among millions of conservative church members.
But it risks antagonising liberals who believe that Anglicanism should not offer a compromise.
Critics said that the solution, which aims to allow for the consecration of women bishops without disenfranchising a substantial minority of opponents, would leave the established Church resembling a “Gruyère cheese”, with large holes left in dioceses.
The plans were published yesterday as church leaders braced themselves for bitter argument at this summer’s ten-yearly Lambeth Conference in Canterbury of the Anglican Communion’s bishops from around the world. Divisions in the Church between liberals and conservatives will be heightened today by comments by the Church’s first openly gay bishop in The Times. The Right Rev Gene Robinson is set to attend Lambeth after his “gay wedding”, against the wishes of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams.
In his book, serialised in The Times today, Bishop Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire, condemned what he described as “destructive, adolescent bullying” over the consecration of women and gays.
Proposals to establish new dioceses were published yesterday by a group chaired by the Bishop of Manchester, the Right Rev Nigel McCulloch. The report demands that the majority, who support women’s ordination, accept that the “theological convictions of those unable to receive the ordained ministry of women are within the spectrum of Anglican teaching and tradition”. Those who hold them should therefore be able to receive pastoral and sacramental care “in a way that is consistent with their convictions”, it says.
The report gives warning that to consecrate women without safeguards for opponents “would trigger a period of uncertainty and turbulence within the Church of England”. Many priests and congregations would undoubtedly leave, it says. “The Church of England that emerged at the end of the process might possibly be more cohesive; it would undoubtedly be less theologically diverse.”
The report breaks new ground by addressing how women can become bishops rather than whether they should. Previous attempts have foundered because of the problem of how to go with the majority support for women bishops while preserving a space for opponents without appearing to be discriminating or half-hearted about women bishops.
The solution of extra-geographical dioceses is one of several proposed, but among the structural solutions it is the favoured option and would appear to be the least complex. However, questions would arise over which cathedrals served the new dioceses, or whether new ones were needed.
Even though about half of those now in training for the priesthood are women, the opposition to them within the Church has barely shrunk. Currently, opponents of women priests remain in their original dioceses and are cared for by traditionalist “flying bishops” but that would not be acceptable to them if their diocesan bishop was a woman. The report proposes ending that arrangement.
Bishop McCulloch said: “The central issue for the Church is the extent to which it wishes to accommodate the breadth of theological views that it currently encompasses in relation to women priests and bishops.”
Forward in Faith, the traditionalist group that had argued for a new, third province, said: “We are pleased that the report appears to have addressed most, if not all, of the issues we raised and that it seems . . . to include proposals which those unable to receive the ordination of women as bishops could in good conscience embrace.”
Lambeth and Rome
— In 1992 the General Synod voted to allow the ordination of women priests; the first 1,000 were ordained two years later
— Of the 470 male clergy who left the Church of England in protest, 58 returned. Many were accepted by Rome
— The synod voted in principle in 2005 to remove the legal barriers to women becoming bishops
— The Church has 7,109 full-time, paid male priests and 1,507 full-time, paid female priests. If unpaid and part-time clergy are included there are 8,785 men and 3,119 women
Sources: Church of England, religioustolerance.org, 29th 2008
McCain should copy Schwarzenegger, Reagan
30/04/08 02:12
My nominee for best ex-actor in a very supportive role: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In a few simple sentences, the muscular Republican governor of California did some heroically heavy lifting for all Americans who believe in equal marriage rights for those of us who're gay.
Asked at the gay Log Cabin Republicans' recent national convention whether he would join them in opposing a proposed California ballot initiative that would prohibit gay couples there from achieving marriage equality, Schwarzenegger began, "First of all, I think that (such a ban) would never happen in California because I think California people are much further along on that issue."
Then, as every heart in the room skipped a beat, he delivered some of the most important lines of his career: "And, No. 2, I will always be there to fight against that -- because it should never happen."
The audience leapt to its feet and gave the governor of the nation's most influential state a standing ovation.
Schwarzenegger's Golden State is approaching an historic crossroads: California's Supreme Court, which has a tradition of gay-friendly rulings, will rule on marriage by early June.
If the court sides with fairness, it could immediately open marriage to gay couples or encourage the legislature to do so. Lawmakers have twice passed such legislation, vetoed by Schwarzenegger, who wants the court to weigh in. (He has signed more than 20 gay-rights bills.)
If gigantic, trendsetting California leaps ahead, becoming the second state (after Massachusetts) to allow gay marriage, foes will try to roll back that advance. Even if the court hands down a disappointment, the anti-marriage initiative will likely go to voters this fall.
That's why it's tremendously important that the popular governor is saying you don't have to be a liberal or a Democrat or a young person to oppose taking California backward.
And Californians aren't the only ones who should listen. So should soon-to-be GOP presidential nominee John McCain, his pal.
If California's court rules in gay couples' favor, McCain will stand at his own crossroads: Will he react by choosing the tired old divisive path taken by recent Republican presidential nominees? Or will he wisely try to make the Republican Party more appealing to moderates ready to move forward by modeling himself after the Ronald Reagan of 30 years ago?
McCain unsuccessfully lobbied for an anti-gay amendment to Arizona's Constitution. Yet he opposes amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage unless courts strike down the federal law saying no state has to recognize another's gay marriages and that gay married couples don't get federal spousal benefits and protections.
McCain needs to know that Schwarzenegger's decision to oppose an anti-gay state initiative puts him in good company with another ex-actor in a very supportive role: In 1978, Reagan, then a former California governor with White House ambitions, torpedoed the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gay or gay-friendly teachers.
Advised to duck it, Reagan is credited with sinking the hateful initiative, which lost by 1 million votes.
John McCain is auditioning for the part of a lifetime. Let's hope he takes his cues from Schwarzenegger and Reagan when they led by gay-friendly example.
Source: Deb Price, Detnews (21th April, 2008)
Mehdi Must Stay Demo: Call to Reform Asylum System to Protect Lesbian, Gay Refugees
24/03/08 14:42
LONDON, March 25, 2008 – The British Government is currently failing gay refugees, Peter Tatchell told a rally in Whitehall, outside the Prime Minister’s official residence 10 Downing Street.
Over 120 protesters braved hail and rain on Saturday to demand that gay Iranian asylum seeker, Mehdi Kazemi, be granted refuge in the UK.
They also urged asylum for the Iranian lesbian refugee, Pegah Emambakhsh, and an estimated 12 other gay Iranians who are at risk of deportation back to Tehran.
There were calls for a “fundamental reform” of the way the Home Office treats LGBTI asylum applicants.
“The British government had ordered Mr Kazemi to be deported back to Iran,” said protest speaker Peter Tatchell, spokesperson for the LGBTI human rights group OutRage!.
“Following worldwide protests, the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith MP, has agreed to review Mehdi’s case.
“While there is no guarantee that this review will result in him being allowed to stay, we are hopeful that he will be permitted to lodge a fresh asylum claim and that this will result in Mehdi being given refugee status in the UK,” he emphasised.
Saturday’s protest was sponsored by Middle East Workers’ Solidarity and the National Union of Students LGBT campaign, with the support of OutRage!
The protest's three main demands were:
■ Don’t send Mehdi Kazemi back to Iran
■ Iran’s homophobic laws violate human rights
■ Give the victims of homophobic persecution the right to settle in the UK
“There needs to be a fundamental reform of the way the Home Office processes LGBTI asylum applications,” Mr. Tatchell told the rally:
“The government is currently failing LGBTI refugees:
“Asylum staff and adjudicators receive race and gender awareness training but no training at all on sexual orientation issues,” he pointed out.
“As a result, they often make stereotyped assumptions: that a feminine woman can’t be a lesbian or that a masculine man cannot be gay. They sometimes rule that someone who has been married must be faking their homosexuality.
“The government refuses to explicitly rule that homophobic and transphobic persecution are legitimate grounds for granting asylum.
“This signals to asylum staff and judges that claims by LGBTI people are not as worthy as those based on persecution because of a person's ethnicity, gender, politics or faith.
“The Home Office country reports on homophobic and transphobic persecution are often partial, inaccurate and misleading. They consistently downplay the severity of victimisation suffered by LGBTI people in violently homophobic countries like Iran, Nigeria, Iraq, Uganda, Palestine, Algeria and Jamaica.
“Cuts in the funding of legal aid for asylum claims means that most asylum applicants – gay and straight – are unable to prepare an adequate submission at their asylum hearing.
“Most solicitors don’t get paid enough to procure the necessary witness statements, medical reports and other vital corroborative evidence.
“The Home Office has failed to take action to stamp out anti-gay abuse, threats and violence in UK asylum detention centres.
“Some LGBTI detainees report suffering homophobic or transphobic victimisation, and say they have failed to receive adequate protection or support from detention centre staff,” said Mr Tatchell.
Source: Outrage!, London (24th March, 2008)
Dictionary in race to record word changes
24/03/08 02:31
A comprehensive but painstakingly slow revision of
the English language is being accelerated because of
the speed with which important words are changing
their meaning. After working through four and a half
letters in 10 years, staff at the Oxford English
Dictionary Online are to focus on "urgent" examples
of transformed terms such as "computer", "genetic"
and "gay".
The decision has been taken in the face of an increasingly pressing queue of commonly used words and the vast new resource of references available on the internet. Staff examining the historical usage of the word "European" have found 13,000 online references from 18th-century texts alone, a haul which it would have been impractical to harvest in the era of searching books and manuscripts.
John Simpson, chief editor of the OED, who heads a team of 60 editors on the project, said: "Our team has also become more and more experienced as we go along, in what is the first complete revision of the dictionary since the first edition was published in 1928."
The task began in 1997 with a budget of £34m, starting at the letter M. Online entries showing the original definition and the modern revision have so far been finished as far as the middle of Q.
The first batch of revised words outside the stately alphabetical progression has gone online this month, with users able to see both the 1928 version and the updated definition.
Source: Martin Wainwright, The Guardian (Monday March 24 2008)
The decision has been taken in the face of an increasingly pressing queue of commonly used words and the vast new resource of references available on the internet. Staff examining the historical usage of the word "European" have found 13,000 online references from 18th-century texts alone, a haul which it would have been impractical to harvest in the era of searching books and manuscripts.
John Simpson, chief editor of the OED, who heads a team of 60 editors on the project, said: "Our team has also become more and more experienced as we go along, in what is the first complete revision of the dictionary since the first edition was published in 1928."
The task began in 1997 with a budget of £34m, starting at the letter M. Online entries showing the original definition and the modern revision have so far been finished as far as the middle of Q.
The first batch of revised words outside the stately alphabetical progression has gone online this month, with users able to see both the 1928 version and the updated definition.
Source: Martin Wainwright, The Guardian (Monday March 24 2008)
Gay Africans and Arabs come out online
20/02/08 01:08
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - When Ali started blogging that he was Sudanese and gay, he did not realize he was joining a band of African and Middle Eastern gays and lesbians who, in the face of hostility and repression, have come out online.
But within days the messages started coming in to black-gay-arab.blogspot.com.
"Keep up the good work," wrote Dubai-based Weblogger 'Gay by nature'. "Be proud and blog the way you like," wrote Kuwait's gayboyweekly. Close behind came comments, posts and links purporting to be from almost half the countries in the Arab League, including Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain and Morocco.
Ali, who lists his home town as Khartoum but lives in Qatar, had plugged into a small, self-supporting network of people who have launched Web sites about their sexuality, while keeping their full identity secret. Caution is crucial - homosexual acts are illegal in most countries in Africa and the Middle East, with penalties ranging from long-term imprisonment to execution.
"The whole idea started as a diary. I wanted to write what's on my mind and mainly about homosexuality," he told Reuters in an e-mail. "To tell you the truth, I didn't expect this much response."
In the current climate, bloggers say they are achieving a lot just by stating their nationality and sexual orientation.
"If you haven't heard or seen any gays in Sudan then allow me to tell you 'You Don't live In The Real World then,'" Ali wrote in a message to other Sudanese bloggers. "I'm Sudanese and Proud Gay Also."
His feelings were echoed in a mini-manifesto at the start of the blog "Rants and raves of a Kenyan gay man" that stated: "The Kenyan gay man is a myth and you may never meet one in your lifetime. However, I and many others like me do exist; just not openly. This blog was created to allow access to the psyche of me, who represents the thousands of us who are unrepresented."
NEWS AND ABUSE
That limited form of coming out has earned the bloggers abuse or criticism via their blogs' comment pages or e-mails.
"Faggot queen," wrote a commentator called 'blake' on Kenya's 'Rants and raves'. "I will put my loathing for you faggots aside momentarily, due to the suffering caused by the political situation," referring to the country's post-election violence.
Some are more measured: "The fact that you are a gay Sudanese and proudly posting about it in itself is just not natural," a reader called 'sudani' posted on Ali's blog.
Some of the bloggers use the diary-style format to share the ups and downs of gay life -- the dilemma of whether to come out to friends and relatives, the risks of meeting in known gay bars, or, according to blogger "...and then God created Men!" the joys of the Egyptian resort town Sharm el-Sheikh.
Others have turned their blogs into news outlets, focusing on reports of persecution in their region and beyond.
The blog GayUganda reported on the arrests of gay men in Senegal in February. A month earlier, Blackgayarab posted video footage of alleged police harassment in Iraq.
Kenya's "Rants and Raves" reported that gay people were targets in the country's election violence, while blogger Gukira focused on claims that boys had been raped during riots. Afriboy organized an auction of his erotic art to raise funds "to help my community in Kenya".
There was also widespread debate on the comments made by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last September about homosexuals in his country.
The total number of gay bloggers in the region is still relatively small, say the few Web sites that monitor the scene.
"It is the rare soul who is willing to go up against such blind and violent ignorance and advocate for gay rights and respect," said Richard Ammon of GlobalGayz.com which tracks gay news and Web sites throughout the world.
"There are a number of people from the community who are blogging both from Africa and the diaspora but it is still quite sporadic," said Nigerian blogger Sokari Ekine who keeps a directory of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender blogs on her own Web site Black Looks.
WAYS TO MEET
The overall coverage may be erratic, but pockets of gay blogging activity are starting to emerge.
There are blogs bridging the Arabic-speaking world from Morocco in the west to the United Arab Emirates in the east. There is a self-sustaining circle of gay bloggers in Kenya and Uganda together with a handful of sites put up by gay Nigerians.
And then there is South Africa, where the constitutional recognition of gay rights has encouraged many bloggers to come wholly into the open.
"I don't preserve my anonymity at all. I am embracing our constitution which gives us the right to freedom of speech ... There is nothing wrong that I am doing," said Matuba Mahlatjie of the blog My Haven.
Beyond the blogging scene, the Internet's chat rooms and community sites have also become one of the safest ways for gay Africans and Arabs to meet, away from the gaze of a hostile society.
"That is what I did at first, I mean, I looked around for others until I found others," said Gug, the writer behind the blog GayUganda.
"Oh yes, I do love the Internet, and I guess it is a tool that has made us gay Ugandans and Africans get out of our villages and realize that the parish priest's homophobia is not universal opinion. Surprise, surprise!"
Source: Reuters, 18/2/2008
Irish Students Call on Iranian Government to Halt Executions of Two ‘Gay’ Men
20/02/08 01:05
DUBLIN, February 18, 2008 – The Union of Students in
Ireland (USI) has today called on the Iranian
Government to halt the planned executions of Tayyeb
Karimi and Yazdan who are both thought to be gay.
Both were described as “youths” in the original Iranian official Quds Daily newspaper report on January 2.
USI is supporting Amnesty International’s Irish Section in its efforts to secure clemency and commutation of the death sentences by appealing not only to Irish students but anyone worldwide to write emails to Iranian officials.
“Irish Students are appealing to the Iranian Government to call off the executions of Karimi and Yazdan, and all other defendants whose sentences rest on homophobic sections of the Iranian Penal Code,” USI Gay and Lesbian spokesperson Sonya Donnelly said this morning.
“The USI LGBT Campaign is committed to supporting Human Rights at home and abroad,” she continued.
“We support all efforts to secure clemency and commutation for the accused men, and are urging Irish students to write emails to officials with the influence to intervene and to put international pressure on the Iranian government.”
USI said it is urging Dublin’s Iranian ambassador, Ebrahim Rahimpour, to raise Irish opposition to the part of Iran’s Penal Code which “stipulates execution” for gay men who have sex.
Amnesty International says that Iran’s Penal Code states in Article 110 that men who have gay sex “will be executed” and that “the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge”.
Tayyeb Karimi and Yazadan (surname unknown) were sentenced to death by being “thrown from a height” or “thrown from a cliff”, after an Iranian court convicted them of abducting and allegedly raping two men.
Source: UK Gay News, 18/2/2008
Both were described as “youths” in the original Iranian official Quds Daily newspaper report on January 2.
USI is supporting Amnesty International’s Irish Section in its efforts to secure clemency and commutation of the death sentences by appealing not only to Irish students but anyone worldwide to write emails to Iranian officials.
“Irish Students are appealing to the Iranian Government to call off the executions of Karimi and Yazdan, and all other defendants whose sentences rest on homophobic sections of the Iranian Penal Code,” USI Gay and Lesbian spokesperson Sonya Donnelly said this morning.
“The USI LGBT Campaign is committed to supporting Human Rights at home and abroad,” she continued.
“We support all efforts to secure clemency and commutation for the accused men, and are urging Irish students to write emails to officials with the influence to intervene and to put international pressure on the Iranian government.”
USI said it is urging Dublin’s Iranian ambassador, Ebrahim Rahimpour, to raise Irish opposition to the part of Iran’s Penal Code which “stipulates execution” for gay men who have sex.
Amnesty International says that Iran’s Penal Code states in Article 110 that men who have gay sex “will be executed” and that “the manner of execution is at the discretion of the judge”.
Tayyeb Karimi and Yazadan (surname unknown) were sentenced to death by being “thrown from a height” or “thrown from a cliff”, after an Iranian court convicted them of abducting and allegedly raping two men.
Source: UK Gay News, 18/2/2008
Gay Iranian Teen Asylum Seeker Goes on Hunger Strike As He Faces Return to UK
20/02/08 01:00
LONDON, February 18, 2008 – Mehdi, the 19-years-old
gay Iranian who fled the United Kingdom last year
when the Home Office ordered his deportation to Iran,
is expected to go on hunger strike in the Rotterdam
detention centre where he is being held, his
supporters in the UK said this afternoon.
Following the loss of an appeal in a Netherlands court not to be returned to the UK, Mehdi was arrested on Tuesday of last week.
His uncle, who has lived and worked in the UK for more than 30 years, has been in regular telephone contact with him. But now the only telephone calls Mehdi permitted is with his legal representative in Amsterdam.
“He told me he was to be deported on Tuesday February 26 on a flight from Amsterdam to London Heathrow,” the uncle said.
“Mehdi told me he is going on hunger strike – he is very depressed and is on suicide watch.
“I am very worried,” he admitted.
Mehdi was in England for two years completing his education on a student visa. While in this country he learned that his former boyfriend had been executed for being gay. Before execution, he revealed Mehdi’s identity, it is thought under torture.
It was after he learned of the execution he decided to apply to the UK authorities for asylum, saying that his life would be in danger if he returned to Iran.
Source: UK Gay News, 18/2/2008
Following the loss of an appeal in a Netherlands court not to be returned to the UK, Mehdi was arrested on Tuesday of last week.
His uncle, who has lived and worked in the UK for more than 30 years, has been in regular telephone contact with him. But now the only telephone calls Mehdi permitted is with his legal representative in Amsterdam.
“He told me he was to be deported on Tuesday February 26 on a flight from Amsterdam to London Heathrow,” the uncle said.
“Mehdi told me he is going on hunger strike – he is very depressed and is on suicide watch.
“I am very worried,” he admitted.
Mehdi was in England for two years completing his education on a student visa. While in this country he learned that his former boyfriend had been executed for being gay. Before execution, he revealed Mehdi’s identity, it is thought under torture.
It was after he learned of the execution he decided to apply to the UK authorities for asylum, saying that his life would be in danger if he returned to Iran.
Source: UK Gay News, 18/2/2008
Infamous Male Escort Claims Sen. Craig Saw Him Mike Jones Came Out To Expose Ted Haggard
10/02/08 17:51
DENVER -- The male escort responsible for the
downfall of Christian evangelist Ted Haggard is now
alleging Idaho Sen. Larry Craig also came to see him
in Denver.
In a new radio interview with a station in Palm Springs, Calif., Mike Jones hesitated from making the allegation on the air but a TV camera was rolling during a radio commercial break and that's when he made the accusation.
Jones was in the studios of a news radio station to promote his new book.
The radio station said Jones told them he would reveal something about Craig.
While he hesitated doing so on the air, he was much more open during a commercial.
"Let me just say this. His travel records to Denver have been documented," Jones said.
When the radio interviewer asked if he was ever in a hotel at the same time with Craig, Jones said, "No, he came to see me.
"One of the things I was good at was figuring out what people did for a living when they came to see me, by things they said or their actions. So, be in a position where you have to guess what people did for a living, occupation-wise. Someone comes in to you and the first question they say is, 'Do you follow politics?' And you would say, 'Yes.' 'Oh. The weather is cold outside, isn't it?' What would you think that person is involved with?" Jones asked.
"I will just tell you a gentleman came in and said that exact thing to me."
When the radio interviewer asked if the man looked similar to Craig, Jones responded, "I've been with many politicians and all I can tell you is, for a fact, that Larry Craig is a hypocrite."
When asked for comment, Craig's office responded: "Mike Jones allegations are completely false ... Clearly anyone can make an accusation absent of details that would be easy to refute."
In the meantime, Craig is vowing to finish out his term despite a Minnesota judge on Thursday refusing to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting.
Idaho's governor said he's already chosen a replacement for Craig. Leaders in the senator's own Republican party are pushing hard for Craig to resign.
Haggard resigned as pastor of the New Life megachurch in Colorado Springs last year after Jones accused him of having a three-year, meth-fueled sexual relationship. Haggard denied taking the drug but admitted the relationship.
Source: TheDenverChannel.com, 5/10/2007
In a new radio interview with a station in Palm Springs, Calif., Mike Jones hesitated from making the allegation on the air but a TV camera was rolling during a radio commercial break and that's when he made the accusation.
Jones was in the studios of a news radio station to promote his new book.
The radio station said Jones told them he would reveal something about Craig.
While he hesitated doing so on the air, he was much more open during a commercial.
"Let me just say this. His travel records to Denver have been documented," Jones said.
When the radio interviewer asked if he was ever in a hotel at the same time with Craig, Jones said, "No, he came to see me.
"One of the things I was good at was figuring out what people did for a living when they came to see me, by things they said or their actions. So, be in a position where you have to guess what people did for a living, occupation-wise. Someone comes in to you and the first question they say is, 'Do you follow politics?' And you would say, 'Yes.' 'Oh. The weather is cold outside, isn't it?' What would you think that person is involved with?" Jones asked.
"I will just tell you a gentleman came in and said that exact thing to me."
When the radio interviewer asked if the man looked similar to Craig, Jones responded, "I've been with many politicians and all I can tell you is, for a fact, that Larry Craig is a hypocrite."
When asked for comment, Craig's office responded: "Mike Jones allegations are completely false ... Clearly anyone can make an accusation absent of details that would be easy to refute."
In the meantime, Craig is vowing to finish out his term despite a Minnesota judge on Thursday refusing to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting.
Idaho's governor said he's already chosen a replacement for Craig. Leaders in the senator's own Republican party are pushing hard for Craig to resign.
Haggard resigned as pastor of the New Life megachurch in Colorado Springs last year after Jones accused him of having a three-year, meth-fueled sexual relationship. Haggard denied taking the drug but admitted the relationship.
Source: TheDenverChannel.com, 5/10/2007
Jacko Gets Male Escort in London
10/02/08 16:56
Buttoned down in a blue pinstriped shirt, and wearing his signature black floodpants, Michael Jackson maneuvered his way through London's Heathrow airport yesterday with the help of an armed, four-man security team. Jacko doesn't do anything without protection.
The lipstick-wearing enigma is reportedly in Britain to attend the 25th birthday party of Brunei's Prince Azim and reportedly earn $10 mil for the appearance.
Peter Pan's got to scrape up the cash to fix up the Liza wig and 1982 RayBan collection!
Source: TMZ, 23/5/2007
Lauren Bacall Wants A Male Escort
10/02/08 16:48
Veteran actress Lauren Bacall is on the hunt for a
male escort after playing an aging socialite who
hires one in new film The Walker. The movie icon, 83,
has always admired women like former U.S. First Lady
Nancy Reagan, who hired handsome 'walkers' just to
accompany them to glitzy parties and functions.
And, after playing a society lady in Washington, D.C. in Paul Schrader's new film, Bacall admits she could quite get used to having a regular companion.
She says, "I would guess they come in handy sometime.... I think they have a function. Obviously they had a function during the Reagan administration in a big way because I knew Jerry Zipkin, who was Nancy Reagan's walker, quite well and he was very busy. I think it can be very convenient if you're a woman alone and you want to go to the theater, it's great to have someone to go with. I unfortunately don't have one. I'd love to have a male escort but I don't know any."
Source: World Entertainment News Network, 29/11/2007
And, after playing a society lady in Washington, D.C. in Paul Schrader's new film, Bacall admits she could quite get used to having a regular companion.
She says, "I would guess they come in handy sometime.... I think they have a function. Obviously they had a function during the Reagan administration in a big way because I knew Jerry Zipkin, who was Nancy Reagan's walker, quite well and he was very busy. I think it can be very convenient if you're a woman alone and you want to go to the theater, it's great to have someone to go with. I unfortunately don't have one. I'd love to have a male escort but I don't know any."
Source: World Entertainment News Network, 29/11/2007