Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board Responds to Shooting of Gay Man, Insist City Is Safe
After a Palm Springs realtor was shot while holding hands with his husband, officials insist the Mexican resort city is “welcoming and friendly.”
Daily Archives: March 28, 2018
Politician shares juicy details of how a gay adult film star infiltrated a world leader’s security detail
Politician shares juicy details of how a gay adult film star infiltrated a world leader’s security detail
We expect a tense political drama examining this intrigue any day now.
‘Call Me By Your Name’ Screenwriter Pissed That Director Caved on Full-Front Male Nudity
‘Call Me By Your Name’ Screenwriter Pissed That Director Caved on Full-Front Male Nudity
Call Me By Your Name screenwriter James Ivory has a bone (no pun intended) to pick with director Luca Guadagnino: the fim’s lack of male full-front nudity. In an interview with The Guardian published Tuesday, the 89-year-old, who won an Oscar for adapting André Aciman’s novel, said his screenplay explicitly specified that audiences would see Elio…
The post ‘Call Me By Your Name’ Screenwriter Pissed That Director Caved on Full-Front Male Nudity appeared first on Towleroad.
Human Rights Campaign Endorses Tina Smith for U.S. Senate in Minnesota
Human Rights Campaign Endorses Tina Smith for U.S. Senate in Minnesota
HRC announced its endorsement of Senator Tina Smith (DFL-MN) for U.S. Senate in Minnesota.
“Throughout her career, both in the Senate and as Lt. Governor of Minnesota, Tina Smith has been a proven champion for equality who has fought for the rights of all Minnesotans, including the LGBTQ community,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “We are proud to endorse her in this race, and look forward to continuing to work with her in the U.S. Senate to move equality forward for all Americans.”
“The Human Rights Campaign has been a leader in our nation’s march to LGBTQ equality and I’m proud to have their endorsement,” said Senator Smith. “I believe in a society that treats all its members with justice and kindness. As Senator, I will do everything I can to defend the progress that’s been made for LGBTQ equality and fight the injustices that still exist for many LGBTQ Americans—whether it’s making sure our youth feel safe in school or guaranteeing that civil rights protections cover all Americans.”
A long time public servant, Senator Smith has spent her career championing equality, justice and fairness. As Chief of Staff for Minnesota Governor Dayton, she was integral in the push for statewide marriage equality in 2013 and helped pass anti-bullying legislation. Just one week after joining the United States Senate in January, Senator Smith also cosponsored the Equality Act, crucial federal legislation that would finally guarantee explicit, permanent protections for LGBTQ people under our nation’s existing civil rights laws.
Get more out of Skype Interviews with the new shared whiteboard
Get more out of Skype Interviews with the new shared whiteboard
One of the unique features of Skype Interviews is the real-time code editor, which allows the interviewer to assess a candidate’s ability to code without the use of any third-party applications—dramatically improving their shared coding experience. As a direct result of your feedback, we’ve added a digital whiteboard that allows the interviewer and candidate to illustrate diagrams, visualize problems, and showcase scenarios.
Now when you launch Skype Interviews, the whiteboard icon will light up in the sidebar. Simply click it to display the wide range of editor tools that are available. The whiteboard displays the cursor movements of both participants, allowing you to follow each other’s train of thought much better.
Whiteboard editor tools
The digital whiteboard offers a wide range of tools you can use to sketch out complex scenarios, showcase flows, and save the final whiteboard so you can access it again. Here are just a few tools you will see when you launch the whiteboard:
Pencil tool—Use the pencil to sketch out a more complex scenario or setting. You can change the stroke width and color using the property configuration buttons in the center of the tool bar.
Shape tools—If you want to illustrate a diagram to showcase a flow in a scenario, then we’ve got you covered with our rectangle, circle, and line tools. Make sure to also label the objects using our text tool, which will allow you to freely write any text in a given area.
Archive whiteboard—At the end of the interview session, you can save a copy of the whiteboard and archive it for future reference. The saved SVG file can be opened on both Window and Mac computers.
The real-time digital whiteboard makes interviews overall a more collaborative experience—one where the participants will able to visualize their thoughts and ideas, and read back key takeaways after the fact. Our goal to make Skype Interviews the universally accepted tool for all video call interviews—regardless of distance, technical, or non-technical—pushed us to innovate further. Since Skype Interviews is still in preview, it’s critical we continue to hear from you. Your input will help shape the future of this feature. To provide feedback, go to Skype.com/interviews and click Send feedback.
Start your interview today with Skype Interviews!
The post Get more out of Skype Interviews with the new shared whiteboard appeared first on Skype Blogs.
blogs.skype.com/news/2018/03/28/get-more-out-of-skype-interviews-with-the-new-shared-whiteboard/
More than a number: shifting the media narrative on transgender homicide
More than a number: shifting the media narrative on transgender homicide
GLAAD’s More Than a Number: Shifting the Media Narrative on Transgender Homicide report is an advanced reporting guide for journalists and advocates to accompany our Doubly Victimized Guide. It reflects that many more reporters are now covering the homicides of transgender people in the U.S. but there is still a lot of work to do to improve coverage. The biggest hurdle, in this report’s thesis, is to shift from the “deadliest year ever” headlines into a more accurate and respectful framing of lives lost.
This report outlines the importance of moving away from focusing solely on the number of victims lost in a given year, documents the epidemic of anti-trans violence in 2017, and provides reporters with advanced tips and advice from transgender spokespeople and activists about how to better cover anti-trans violence.
“We must evolve the ongoing national conversation around the fatal violence that transgender Americans face far too frequently and work together to report accurately and fairly when covering this epidemic,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “When we reduce individual lives to a number we dehumanize those who we have lost and fail to address the stories and humanity of victims whose trans identities have been erased following their death.”
More Than a Number includes an advanced tip sheet for reporters covering the epidemic of anti-trans violence in the United States. Key highlights include:
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Don’t treat each case as a number: Break away from the same overly simplistic and predictable format: name of the victim, the circumstance of their death, and running tally of the number of known transgender homicides that year and fail to humanize the victim.
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Take time to humanize the victim: Reach out with empathy to friends, family, and community members to get information about their life.
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Remember there is no way to be fully confident that the number of known victims accurately reflects the total number killed in any given year.
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Don’t only report on stories that place the transgender community in the context of victimhood: also cover topics such as victories for transgender equality, accomplishments of members of the transgender community, stories of trans people who have lived prior to the 21st century, and more.
The report also includes advice to reporters from transgender spokespeople around the nation who have had experience educating reporters on the homicides of transgender people and working to improve media coverage, including:
Shelby Chestnut, National Organizing and Policy Strategist, Transgender Law Center: “Reporters can play an important role in correcting the police when they put out misinformation. Take setting the record straight seriously.”
Monica Roberts, Journalist and Writer, Founding Editor of TransGriot: “Nine times out of ten people have a Facebook page, where you can get correct information about the person and nice photos that you can use.”
LaLa Zannell, Lead Organizer, New York City Anti-Violence Project: “Ask about what resources can be included in your reporting. Is there a GoFundMe site to support the family? A vigil to honor the victim? A local organization that can support the community at this time?”
The “More Than a Number” report also includes in-depth case studies that breaks down the media coverage of the homicides of three transgender women who were killed in 2017, Stephanie Montez (Robstown, TX), Ally Lee Steinfeld (Cabool, MO), and Jaylow Mcglory (Alexandria, LA), exposing what went wrong during the initial reporting and what can be improved moving forward.
GLAAD and other organizations like the National Coalition of Anti-Violence will continue the tracking and analysis of homicides of transgender people in the U.S. for the vital information that we can learn and share for advocacy, organizing, education, and memorialization. While GLAAD is advocating for moving media coverage away from simply counting the number of victims each year, and toward an acknowledgment that we cannot yet measure the full scope of this national tragedy, the information we track remains highly valuable. Below are the key demographic trends from the homicides that GLAAD tracked in 2017.
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In the United States alone, 26 people – that we know of – were victims of homicide in 2017.
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25 (96%) of the 26 known transgender victims in 2017 were transgender women or people assigned male at birth who were feminine-presenting.
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24 (92%) of the transgender people murdered this year were people of color.
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As is common practice in initial police or media reports on transgender victims of homicide, at least 22 of the victims (85%) were misgendered in initial reports of their deaths.
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At the date of this report [March 28, 2018], twelve of the murders (46%) are unsolved: of these twelve cases, a person or persons of interest have been identified in only four of them.
READ the full report: www.glaad.org/publications/more-than-a-number
March 28, 2018
www.glaad.org/blog/more-number-shifting-media-narrative-transgender-homicide
The soldier inspired by Marlene Dumas
The soldier inspired by Marlene Dumas
A Gay Couple’s Guide to 5 Great Things To Do In Panama
A Gay Couple’s Guide to 5 Great Things To Do In Panama
Panama is a popular destination for US tourists. It’s located in Central America, sitting just above Colombia and south of Costa Rica. It is often nicknamed The Dubai of Latin America because of the huge economic growth in recent years, and impressive dense skyline. However, unlike Dubai, this Latin American metropolis has a far more welcoming attitude to gay travelers.
The country is most famous for the Canal, but there are also many other little gems to discover here. These are our 5 favorite things to do in Panama, which we discovered during our big Latin America trip.
#1 Visit the Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel. It was initially built by the French in the late 1800s and then completed by the USA who formally opened it on August 15th, 1914. It is a 50 mile waterway connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Vessels take around 8-10 hours to cross it.
The Canal has 3 locks, each with 2 lanes. The best place to see it all operating up close is at the Visitor Center at the Mira Flores lock in Panama City, where you can see ships coming in, water draining out to lower the ship, canal doors opening, and ships continuing on their way.
Check out our time lapse video of it here to see how it operates:
#2 Go nude on Bluff Beach in Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro province is in northeast Panama on the Caribbean coast, next to the border with Costa Rica. It includes a chain of 9 tropical islands, where temperatures rarely drop below 70 Fahrenheit. Our favorite spot was Bluff Beach located on Colon Island, which you can reach by flying from Panama City (45 mins) or overland bus (around 11 hours), followed by a boat crossing from Almirante (30 mins).
This place is hip, super relaxed and popular with LGBTQ travelers. There are even a couple of gay owned hotels here worth checking out, in particular Island Plantation, Lula’s B&B and the Bocas Beach club.
Bluff Beach starts at the BomBom beach bar (great for cocktails and pizza), and stretches out for miles, with hardly anybody around, except the palm trees, the odd gay man and a few dogs. Nudists will love it out here, as will couples looking for a quiet, romantic spot to chill. For more, check out our article about our nudey beach holiday in Bocas del Toro.
Chilling on the gorgeous Bluff Beach in Bocas del Toro, Panama
#3 Party at the only gay club in Panama
Although there is no gay neighborhood anywhere in Panama like there is in most big cities in the States, there are always one or two gay places or events happening on the weekends, usually in the hip Casco Viejo old town area of Panama City.
Currently, there is one official gay club in the entire country called the XS Club. It’s located in quite a rough area, so we advise taking an Uber there and back. The doormen are also quite abrupt, and will dismiss you if you don’t have your original passport or ID, so remember to bring this with you.
Nonetheless it’s a really fun night out – the club is big and the guys are hot. There are some sexy nude/partially nude GoGo dancers, and some nights even have open bar. Check out XS Club’s Facebook page for more information, and for more about the gay scene, check out our gay guide to Panama City.
Sexy GoGo dancers at XS Club in Panama City
#4 Try the national dish: sancocho
Sancocho is a delicious, light chicken soup with potatoes, culantro herb, yuca, corn on the cob and plantains. Sometimes corn on the cob (mazorca) is used, as well as hot sauce and a tropical root vegetable called “ñampi”. You can try it at most traditional restaurants in Panama, and we definitely recommend it.
Due to the varied ingredients used to make a “sancocho”, it is often used as a metaphor for Panama’s racial diversity, ie showing that each different ingredient has just an important and equal role to play in the preparation of this dish. This is why sancocho is considered Panama’s national dish. For more Panamanian culinary inspiration, we recommend reading our article about the 5 famous foods in Panama you need to try.
Sancocho – the national dish of Panama
#5 Visit a deserted island: San Blas
San Blas is the tropical deserted island gem of Panama. Everyone who visited the country before us told us we had to make a stopover here.
San Blas is made up of over 300 rustic islands, and inhabited by the country’s Guna natives. The islands are completely underdeveloped, which is part of their charm and attraction. As such it’s a very rustic experience, so not ideal if you expect luxury on your travels. But if you’re craving a secluded beach experience, with noone around, then this is the place to come.
You can visit San Blas on a day trip from Panama City, or better still, stay a few nights.
Secluded beach fun in San Blas in Panama
The post A Gay Couple’s Guide to 5 Great Things To Do In Panama appeared first on Towleroad.
Thousands of HRC Members Submit Public Comments to HHS’ Attacks on LGBTQ Health
Thousands of HRC Members Submit Public Comments to HHS’ Attacks on LGBTQ Health
More than 4,500 LGBTQ people and allies from every state, including D.C. and Puerto Rico, joined HRC to submit comments about the proposed Trump-Pence administration’s so-called “conscience” regulation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The measure will directly harm LGBTQ people and women by prioritizing physicians’ beliefs over life-saving patient care. If finalized, it would empower health care providers to deny LGBTQ people and women necessary care, and deter healthcare organizations and providers from taking necessary action to guarantee that all patients have access to the care they not only deserve, but are legally entitled to.
We heard from parents of LGBTQ people from across the country, including a mother from McMurray, Pennsylvania, who was “scared to death” about how this would impact her lesbian daughter’s health and a father from West Virginia who was “appalled” at the idea of his transgender child being turned away from care.
HRC heard from LGBTQ people in rural areas, like Wamego, Kansas, who said: “It is hard enough to find competent health care, much less worry about the medical provider refusing to provide services based on his or her religious beliefs. I know I’ve withheld pertinent information regarding my sexuality from my physician, out of fear that he would refuse to retain me as a patient. That sort of fear puts my health very much at risk.”
Hundreds from the medical community have also weighed in, including nurses, doctors, mental health providers and pharmacists all saying that health care providers should do their jobs.
HRC heard from social workers and therapists who have worked directly with LGBTQ people denied care and the impact these denials have on both their physical and mental health.
This regulation is designed to harm LGBTQ people and women and places the beliefs of individual healthcare providers over patient well-being. If finalized, this regulation will undoubtedly empower healthcare providers to deny care while also bullying hospitals and organizations into compromising patient care to avoid unfounded, but costly complaints.
This week, Democrats in both the House and Senate submitted comment letters detailing strong objections to the HHS proposal allowing providers to refuse patients care.
