Lesbiatopia News Round Up Week Ending 9/28

News-

Ellen DeGeneres recorded a number of phone messages which are designed to remind women to get their breasts examined and to do self examinations in order to prevent breast cancer. DeGeneres’ mother is a breast cancer survivor.

http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2008/09/25/5
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/09/breast_cancer_survivors.php

The US adaptation of the UK Show Little Britain debuted on HBO this week to mixed reviews. The consensus was that the show was extremely crude. Obviously, any critic expecting high wit on this show has never seen the original, which itself is often extremely crude.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7639492.stm

New York based PepsiCo. gave Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, a $500,000 grant to be used towards their education campaign Straight for Equality as well as to help support the local chapters of the organization. The move will undoubtably bring Pepsi Co. the ire of the Conservative Christians. Pepsi Co. joins Levi Strauss in the group of businesses which have voiced support for LGBTI issues of late.
http ://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid62370.asp

Coming Outs-

Clay Aiken failed to surprise many, including Simon Cowell, by coming out of the closet this passed week. Aiken’s sexuality had been the fodder of many a tabloid story since his appearance on American Idol.

http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?2008/09/25/3

Lindsey Lohan appeared to confirm her relationship with Samantha Ronson in a radio interview focusing mostly on the plane crash which killed four and injured Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM, a friend of both Lohan and Ronson.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7632968.stm

Passings-

Paul Newman, the legendary actor, passed away from complications relating to his battle with lung cancer this week. Newman was an active philanthropist using the money he made from his Newman’s Own line of products to found a series of camps for ill children. Additionally, he was active in supporting a number of liberal causes and politicians. Mr. Newman is survived by his family, by his films and his philanthropic organizations. He will be missed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7639614.stm

Lesbiatopia News Round Up 9/13-9/20

As a followup to last week's News Round Up, George Takai and Brad Altman’s wedding occurred a week ago and a nice picture is always in order. (from left to right- Nichelle Nichols, Brad Altman, George Takai, and Walter Keonig)

Cancer Researchers have announced a possible vaccine which appears to have completely eliminated a specific type of breast cancer from mice. The vaccine is still in the early stages of developement.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7613253.stm

Three Australian Rabbis have announced that they will be willing to perform the ceremony for Scott Whitmont and Christopher Whitmont-Stein. The three rabbis are more progressive than the norm within the Judaism, and it should be noted that Judaism is not a monolithic faith any more than Christianity or Islam are.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24340180-5006784,00.html

Gay Bar Robert’s Laffitte reopened soon after Hurricane Ike blew through the area leveling much of Galveston, Texas. The bar has become a haven for the displaced with donations of food being handed out to those in need, and drinks being served to those who need them. Currently, most of the acts revolve around Tina Turner.
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1530098820080916


Diane Schroer, a transwoman and former Green Beret, won her bias case against the Library of Congress. Originally, the Library of Congress had enthusiastically offered Mr. David Schroer a job as a terrorist analyst. However, during the interview, Mr. Schroer informed the hiring committee that he was about to begin transitioning and would be taking the job full time as Diane Schroer. The Justice Department is reviewing the decision and will decide in the near future whether or not to appeal.
http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?date=2008/09/19/3


Actress Cynthia Nixon of Sex and the City Fame won her second Emmy award for her guest appearance on Law & Order SVU. Nixon, who came out in 2004, won her previous Emmy for her work on the hit series Sex and the City. Kathy Griffin also won an Emmy for her Bravo Show My Life On The D-List.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20225677,00.html?xid=rss-fullcontent

Actor Jason Donovan of the British series Neighbors will be joining the cast of the stage musical version of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. He will be playing the part of Anthony ‘Tick’ Belrose, the character played on the big screen by Hugo Weaving.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7619637.stm

On a rather silly note, Vermont Representative Peter Welsh, a Democrat, won the Republican Primary to face himself in the upcoming General Election. Enough Republicans wrote in Welsh’s name that he won the Republican Primary. Auditor of Accounts nominee Tom Salmon also won the Republican Primary despite being a Democrat. The Republican Party did not field any candidates for either office.
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=1234F28CE6B24000&p_docnum=1

Lesbiatopia News Round Up

This is a new feature for our site that we are hoping to run weekly on either Friday or Saturday. What we will be covering is news that impacts the LGBTIQ community that either is too small to require its own piece or simple enough to be summed up in a paragraph.

Archbishop Tutu of the Anglican Church denounced the Church’s obsession with homosexuality last weekend in an interview with the BBC. He stated that he imagined that "God is weeping". He went on to assert that the obsession with homosexuality was damaging the Church’s ability to deal with poverty, disease, and hunger.
Click here for the full story

Openly Gay Anglican Bishop Gene Robinson endorsed Barrak Obama for President of the United States on Wednesday. Bishop Robinson especially urged fellow gays and lesbians to vote for Obama despite any lingering support for Hilary Rodham Clinton.
Click here and here for the full stories.

Former Tennis Star Billie Jean King also endorsed Senator Obama for President, and has lent her name to both Women for Obama and the Obama LGBT Steering and Policy Committee. King, who has been openly lesbian since 1981, considered the implications of Sarah Palin’s joining the McCain campaign and while praising her, rejected any notion of voting for Palin or McCain simply on the basis of Palin’s sex. King opposes many of Palin’s views, especially those linked to LGBT issues.

Click here for the full story

A Monroe County Judge ruled that the Florida ban on same-sex couples adopting children was unconstitutional. The ruling from Judge David J. Audlin Jr. indicated that the ban "singles out a group for punishment." The ban, which has stood for thirty-one years, did not have much support from the Florida state government, and the Miami Herald who first ran this story noted that neither the Department of Children and Families nor the Florida Attorney General attempted to uphold the ban in court. While it will not mean that the couple who brought the lawsuit can move forward with their adoption until an appeal has been filed, it does mean that legal precedent has been set in Florida for other couples to challenge this law.

Click here for the full story

Vermont Freedom to Marry has moved onto Myspace. The Vermont based marriage equality group hopes that by creating a Myspace page that they will be able to not only raise awareness of the fight for marriage rights in Vermont, but around the nation.
Click here for the full story

Canadian singer Sarah McLachlan announced this week that she has officially separated her husband of eleven years Ashwin Sood. McLachlan would not comment on the reasons behind her separation from her husband beyond saying that the situation was ‘pretty gross’; however, some of her more recent songs hinted at issues within her marriage. McLachlan gained fame The couple have two children. Her album Closer will hit the stores later this year.

Click here for the full story

Ellen DeGeneres started off the sixth season of her hit award winning show Ellen this passed week with a new studio and a new ring. DeGeneres (50) recently married long time girlfriend Portia de Rossi in a private ceremony at home. The ceremony was covered in People magazine. She received a standing ovation from her audience when she showed off her wedding ring.

Click here for the full story

George Takai who gained fame playing Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek married his long time partner Brad Altman on 13 September. Takai and Altman have been together for twenty-one years. Walter Koenig will be the best man, and Nichelle Nichols will be the best lady. The ceremony will be a lavish affair. We wish them our best.

Click here for the full story

While we do try to do our best, some stories may be as much as a month in crossing our desks. Alas, the sheer volume of news that has come out in the last month often means things are overlooked. Thank you.