LGBTQ news and entertainment
Israel’s Health Ministry has removed its decades-old restrictions on blood donations by gay and bisexual men calling the prior policy discriminatory and “denigrating.” Continue reading “Israel Removes Blood Donation Restrictions On Gay Men”
(image via Depositphotos)
The vaccine, which was rolled out in a national immunization program that began Dec. 20, was 89.4% effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed infections, according to a copy of a draft publication that was posted on Twitter and confirmed by a person familiar with the work.
The companies and Israel’s Health Ministry worked together on the preliminary observational analysis, which has not yet been peer-reviewed. Nearly half of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine. Separately, Israeli authorities on Saturday said the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was 99% effective at preventing deaths from the virus.
Michael Turchin (via Instagram)
• Out: If there wasn’t enough nonsense going on, it looks like the Straight Pride folks in Modesto, California, are gearing up for a return. You know, the celebration of cisgender, hetero white men whose organizers once called themselves a “totally peaceful racist group?” • LGBTQ Nation: A violent mob attack on two young gay men at the Joffa Port has shaken Israel as shocking video circulates of a lone man coming to their rescue while hundreds watched and did nothing to help. • CNN: A new ad from the Trump campaign deceptively alters a photo of former Vice President Joe Biden campaigning outdoors in Iowa to make it seem as if Biden is “hiding” in his Delaware basement. The ad also uses two other images in misleading ways: one of Biden at an Iowa house party and one of Biden praying at a Delaware church. • The Daily Beast: Trump campaign senior advisor Mercedes Schlapp Schlapp attempted to defend Donald Trump’s whiplash-inducing hypocrisy, attempting to not only make the distinction between absentee and mail-in voting but also trying to justify why some states’ mail vote is “safe and secure” while others are not. CNN’s Brianna Keilar finally had enough telling Schlapp she was “sowing doubt” and fear into the minds of voters. “This is just pointless, okay,” Keilar exploded. “This is pointless. I get it, you’re just saying a bunch of crap! Okay. You’re saying a bunch of crap.”
CNN’s Brianna Keilar to Trump campaign advisor Mercedes Schlapp on mail-in-voting: “This is just pointless, okay. This is pointless. I get it, you’re just saying a bunch of crap. Okay. You’re saying a bunch of crap.” pic.twitter.com/vhD4ftJsWM
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 4, 2020
DJ/producer David Nazar (via Instagram)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution: An internal poll conducted for the Georgia House GOP Caucus held bad news for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the former financial executive who dumped millions in stocks after receiving coronavirus briefings in January. Loeffler only received 11% support in the survey regarding her upcoming race this fall, and essentially tied with two Democratic candidates. U.S. Rep. Doug Collins leads the field with 29% of the vote and outpaces Loeffler among Republicans by a 62-18 margin. • KIT212: Check out Kenneth’s weekly look at what’s making news in LGBTQ magazines like South Florida’s Hot Spots! (below). 
• Gay Star News: Magistrates in Israel have ruled the ironically named Rainbow Color print shop must compensate an LGBT+ association after it refused to print posters for the Ben Gurion University LGBT group three years ago. The Beersheba Magistrates Court said the duty to serve customers comes before religious beliefs. • Instagram: In the middle of Madonna’s ‘Madame X’ themed post on Thursday, the pop-star revealed she’d “taken a test” and found out she “had the antibodies.” Madge didn’t elaborate as to when she was tested. She added, “So tomorrow, I’m just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I’m going to roll down the window, and I’m going to breathe in, I’m going to breathe in the COVID-19 air. Yup. I hope the sun is shining.” Note – scientists have not determined if having the coronavirus makes one immune going forward.
Benjamin Netanyahu (image via Flickr)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally indicted on corruption charges Tuesday, just hours before he was set to meet President Donald Trump for the unveiling of the US administration’s long-anticipated Middle East plan.
Netanyahu has been charged with bribery and fraud and breach of trust in three separate corruption cases. Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit submitted the indictment in Jerusalem District Court on Tuesday shortly after Netanyahu withdrew his request for parliamentary immunity, a request he was almost certain to lose.
Netanyahu has insisted he is innocent, calling the investigations an “attempted coup” driven by the left and the media.
The charges in court mean that Netanyahu will be the first sitting prime minister to face trial in the country’s history. A trial date has not been set yet, but the legal process could possibly take years.
Benjamin Netanyahu (image via Flickr)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was formally charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust on Thursday, making him the first Israeli premier to be indicted while in office and sending Israel’s already stalemated political system into further disarray.
Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit capped almost three years of investigation and months of speculation by handing down a 63-page indictment against the country’s longest-serving prime minister and its center of political gravity for the last decade.
The cases against Netanyahu center on police allegations that the prime minister and his wife, Sara, accepted more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods in exchange for political favors and that Netanyahu interceded with regulators and lawmakers on behalf of two media companies in exchange for positive news stories.
Netanyahu has consistently denied all of the allegations calling the accusations and investigation a ‘witch hunt.’ Now, where have we heard that term before? Hmm… (image via Flickr/CC license)
Donald Trump took to Twitter to quote conservative radio host Wayne Allyn Root, who referred to him as the “King of Israel” and the “second coming of God.” The Donald not only thanked Root but quoted him in full. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164138795475881986 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164138796205654016 https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1164138797220671488 This followed Trump telling reporters that Jewish people who vote for Democrats show “either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.” https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1163909975896416259 A few folks on Twitter had some thoughts on the “King of Israel” https://twitter.com/jchaltiwanger/status/1164162095681822720 https://twitter.com/eugenegu/status/1164171220859797504 https://twitter.com/battletested5/status/1164154880199733250 https://twitter.com/OhNoSheTwitnt/status/1164157414460891136
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| (photo: 24x7photo.com/Flickr – CC license) |
LGBTQ activists in Israel are angry after meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his residence Sunday where he reportedly told them he could not promise to promote LGBTQ equality after the upcoming elections on Tuesday.
It was Netanyahu’s first meeting with LGBTQ leaders in ten years.
According to The Times of Israel, Netanyahu said “opposition from religious and ultra-Orthodox parties blocked him from meeting their demands.”
In a statement from the group following the meeting, the representatives said, “The prime minister refused to commit himself to promoting equality of rights as a condition for the establishment of the coalition and expressed concern about the opposition of the religious factions in any coalition that will be established.”
Netanyahu meets with LGBT leaders for first time in 10 years https://t.co/DHJtkkD4Mp— The Times of Israel (@TimesofIsrael) April 7, 2019
With the final polls showing Netanyahu’s Likud party neck and neck with his opponent’s Blue and White party, some political pundits say the Prime Minister took the meeting for the photo op knowing he wouldn’t act on behalf of Israel’s LGBTQ community.
With that in mind, it’s no wonder the estimated 500,000 LGBTQ voters in Israel aren’t leaning in Netanyahu’s direction.
A recent poll showed only 6% of LGBTQ voters in Israel plan to cast their ballot for Likud, in the upcoming election on April 9, while 31% say they favor the Blue and White party.
LGBTQ leaders in Israel are concerned as anti-gay rhetoric has grown more intense in recent years.
In February, the Association for LGBTQ Equality sent a report to Israel’s President Rivlin which documented a 54% jump from 2017 to 2018 in homophobic incidents.
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| (photo: 24x7photo.com/Flickr – CC license) |
In a huge win for gay/lesbian parents, Israel’s High Court of Justice has ruled that the government cannot refuse to list both same-sex parents on a child’s birth certificate.
The decision, issued on December 12, comes as the result of a lawsuit filed by a gay couple who had adopted a son.
According to The Times of Israel, when the two men tried to obtain a birth certificate with both of their names listed as the parents, officials at the Interior Ministry refused.
The court case was filed in conjunction with The Aguda, Israel’s LGBT Task Force, which advocates for gay rights.
The unanimous ruling, by a panel of three judges, noted the decision wasn’t just about the parents’ rights but the child’s right to be recognized as the couple’s son.
“The principle of ‘the good of the child’ argues for the recording of his entire family unit,” wrote Judge Neal Hendel, “and doesn’t permit us to limit ourselves to only one of his parents in the birth certificate.”
“The contrast with the treatment of a child adopted by a heterosexual couple, who has the right to have both adopted parents written in a birth certificate, is a contrast that applies both to the child and to the parents,” Hendel added. “It is unreasonable for the couple to be [legally] recognized as parents but for the certificate not to give expression to that fact.”
The high court decision orders the Interior Ministry to issue a birth certificate with both fathers’ names.
The Times of Israel notes that the ruling could affect two more LGBT parenting cases soon to arrive in the High Court of Justice.
One regards a lesbian couple suing to have both of their names on their child’s birth certificate even though only one woman has a biological link to the child, and the other concerns a transgender man who wishes to have his standing on his child’s birth certificate changed from ‘mother’ to ‘father.’
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| Imagine your doctor looks like this…? #woof |
A few news items you might have missed:
• So, he has lots of clothes on – I know, I know – but this InstaHunk (above), med student Marco, makes my days with pics like this. That face, those arms… #dang
• Israel’s Parliament has voted down a proposed amendment that would have allowed same-sex couples the right to have children via a surrogate. #Boo
• According to a new poll by Pew Research, when asked “What president has done the best job in your lifetime?” more than four-in-ten (44%) say Obama is the best or second best president of their lifetimes, 33% say Bill Clinton and 32% say Ronald Reagan. The Donald was only considered “best” by 19% of respondents.
• A recent study shows condoms are 91% effective in preventing HIV transmission. Previous estimates put the efficacy of condoms at about 70%.
• If a picture is worth a thousand words…
This photo is the perfect metaphor. Donald Trump clearly sees the world the wrong way when compared to other NATO leaders. Is it because he’s a moron, because Putin tells him to or a mixture of both? pic.twitter.com/RRGCN0Hw70— Adam Best (@adamcbest) July 11, 2018