According to an article at GayStarNews 56 Islamic states of the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Cooperation) have sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council a letter which reveals members will not be attending the March 7th panel which will discuss "Discrimination and Violence based on Orientation and Gender Identity".
In the letter members of OIC are opposed to the panel being held and will not accept any considerations or recommendations which may come from the panel regarding the Human Rights of LGBT people.
Two points in the OIC letter are, We are even more disturbed at the attempt to focus on certain persons on the grounds of their abnormal sexual behaviour, while not focusing on the glaring instances of intolerance and discrimination in various parts of the world, be it on the basis of colour, race, gender or religion, to mention only a few.
and, It must also be recognized that the international community agreed during the World Conference on Human Rights, held in Vienna in 1993, that while considering the issue of human rights, national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind. From this perspective, the issue of sexual orientation is unacceptable to the OIC.
In response to Pakistan being one of the countries which will not be in attendance and have denounced the idea of Human Rights for LGBTs, international LGBT activist Peter Tatchell has said, "Pakistan has signed up to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees equal treatment and non-discrimination to all people.
I urge the Pakistani President and Prime Minister to repudiate this intolerant, ignorant letter. The Ambassador's rejection of universal human rights is deplorable. It casts the government of Pakistan in a bad light."
In the 6 years since Logo launched, there has been a seismic shift in culture and the network's new programming slate reflects that. From the push for marriage equality, to the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and even the mass appeal of broadcast TV shows like "Modern Family" all signal a significant movement in today's culture where "out" characters are celebrated for their success and values and the majority of gays and lesbians define themselves by multi-dimensional notions other than purely on their sexual orientation.
"Culturally, we're past the tipping point. For gays and lesbians, it's part of who they are, but they don't lead with it, because many are leading fully integrated, mainstream lives," said Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President of Logo. "Our goal at Logo has always been to honestly reflect our viewers' lives. We're now reinforcing our commitment to them with programming that truly mirrors how many of them are living and want to be entertained today."
That's the opening salvo in a press release from Logo/Viacom which appeared on the website of AfterElton on February 22. In other words (my opinionated not theirs (?) ) de gay got us to where we are and after 6 years we need to make our channel more mainstream to get better ad revenue and cable/SAT pickup option revenue. So we say to de gay thanks for the butt fuck but we need to move on. Oh there will be a sprinkle of Rainbow color here and there but Logo will not be for just homos anymore.
To wit I say, goodbye and good riddance.
Logo has become an empty shell of its former self from when it originally signed on, albeit with repeat after repeat of movies and documentaries about or for de gay, vignettes of docs, music which appeals to de gay and a weekly half hour news program produced by CBS News with Jason Bellini. Watch the video below for a look back when Logo really meant something to de gay and when Logo was proud to "be gay".
But no more, even prior to the announcement of its upcoming programming change Logo had under gone a change sinking to the lowest common denominator of our community (sorry RuPaul) de poof and de hunks. Long gone was good original and dare I say ground breaking programming like Noah's Arc to be replaced by the less costly and frankly boring "reality TV" programs.
Logo in its original format even got commercial advertisers to make ads which cater to de gay the most famous and first was Subaru. Others followed suit realizing here was a channel devoted to de gay, for de gay and the perfect spot to get de gay to buy our product or service.
In a 2009 article at CBS News' Money Watch website Jim Motavalli wrote, This is a potent market with discretionary spending: 40 percent of respondents who bought their latest vehicle new reported household income over $100,000. And 42 percent of gay men and 39 percent of gay women report household income above that level.
So you may ask, if not I'll ask for you, which dimwit or collection of at Viacom and MTV which seems to have taken over Logo decided to make LOGO de NO HOMO channel. Most likely the same ones who fronted the money to produce the Dan Savage program "about" the "It Gets Better" campaign, a TV show which I had to painfully endure for an hour watching a pimply faced twink, a transgender man falsifying a marriage certificate and a black lesbian coming out to her mother, which I might add was the only saving grace for this writer with Mom's reaction to her daughter, "you're my child no matter what". And of course and with no surprise to me the B of LGBT was left out. Funny how that always seems to happen.
What I expected from that show and why I purposely didn't read any pre-show or post-show hype or reviews was the program would be a documentary of how Savage's YouTube phenomenon came into being and if not real folks then how celebs decided to get involved.
If that singular program is any example of what MTV can put out regarding LGBTs when other programs about LGBTs have been far superior and aired on other cable channels, and given it would seem MTV is taking over the reigns of Logo, then boys and girls I think Logo has reached the end of the Rainbow and found only a pot of fool's gold.
Pity, I liked those Subaru commercials for de gay.
Much as I couldn't believe President Barack Obama won the Noble Peace Prize so too today I'm equally befuddled at the news from the Associated Press via Huffington Post that alleged traitor Bradley Manning has been nominated for the Noble Peace Prize for his possible act of treason with leaking classified material to WikiLeaks.
Manning who has become the love child of LGBT bloggers and activists who in my opinion put the Rainbow over the United States and their loyalty to the aforementioned first, are just as screwed up as Manning who suffers from "identity crisis". Last week at a hearing Manning declined to enter a plea.
I suppose when Manning ends up in prison they'll be sending him gift baskets of cookies and writing him letters and those of the T will be complaining the military prison system isn't meeting Manning's identity needs.
Another thing which is beginning to annoy me to no end is the fawning of bloggers and websites over photos of lesbian and gay service members lip locking their beloveds.
Yes boys and girls this is why so many fought so hard to end Don't Ask Don't Tell, so many can say "look de gay can kiss in uniform".
I became enchanted with Bai Ling when I saw her opposite Richard Gere in the movie Red Corner in which she portrayed Gere's defense attorney in a murder trial in China.
Her range of acting in the film went from subdued and obedient follower of Chinese law and politics to one of defiance when she realizes Gere's character is being railroaded and framed for a murder he didn't commit and her character becomes an activist of sorts against the Chinese court system, its secrecy and the way it handles those accused, guilty until proven innocent.
I had lost track of Ling until she appeared on the reality TV show Celebrity Rehab on VH1. When she first appeared I was not only shocked but saddened as to what had happened to this wonderful actress since making Red Corner.
As she said on the show “When I drink champagne, everyone is my friend. I'm allergic to alcohol, I shouldn't even drink at all. I feel dangerous and scared and I need help.”
What came out of that rehab was being able to combat the past deep seeded demons of sexual abuse by her military superiors when she was a teenager and in the People's Liberation Army. Not only was she sexually abused but became pregnant and underwent an abortion according to an interview she did with the Associated Press in 2011. "Because of the Chinese culture of obedience, you don't ask questions. ... You follow and obey."
Because she can now discuss that very dark period of her life she is now helping others through the organization LACF according to a press release earlier this year, She will be speaking with women and young girls, who have or are currently dealing with sexual abuse, in groups.
Bai Ling hopes to be able to pull from her own personal experiences to help those who are suffering move forward with their lives and have confidence that they no longer need to fear their abusers. She plans to share the details that she can from her own obstacles and how she’s worked to overcome them, offering inspiration to those who need it most.
For those of us in the LGBT community, in particular those who like myself are bisexual, for her to be open about her sexuality will be inspiring. But it is equally, if not more important that Bai Ling can help so many others learning of her ordeal with sexual abuse and becoming a survivor.
And by staying sober help many more. While this may put pressure on Ling to keep all of her demons in check, it may also help her in that difficult task.
In this age of celebrity and the pitfalls which can come with it, right now, perhaps more than ever, we the "fans" have found someone we can root for in her continuing success both personal and career and be damn proud of the fact Bai Ling is one of us.
According to an article at GayStarNews 56 Islamic states of the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Cooperation) have sent to the United Nations Human Rights Council a letter which reveals members will not be attending the March 7th panel which will discuss "Discrimination and Violence based on Orientation and Gender Identity".
