g_b documentary on the bible and homosexuality

[mikeintoronto vij_man_2...@yahoo.ca [gay_bombay]]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyA-lv8JQnw

g_b No easy walk to freedom: Sec 377 documentary

[mikeintoronto vij_man_2...@yahoo.ca [gay_bombay]]

No Easy Walk to Freedom
No Easy Walk to Freedom , a 90-minute documentary by Nancy Nicol, tells the 
story of the struggle for decriminalization of homosexuality in contemporary 
India.
In 2001, the Naz Foundation, an HIV/AIDS non-governmental organization in 
Delhi, filed a petition against section 377 of the Indian penal code, an 1861 
British colonial law that criminalizes “carnal knowledge against the order of 
nature.”


In 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down section 377 in a precedent-setting 
ruling celebrated by activists, human rights and legal experts worldwide. 
Citing Nehru and Ambedkar, architects of the Indian constitution, the High 
Court upheld “constitutional morality” and equality over this colonial era law. 
However in December 2013, the Supreme Court of India set aside the 2009 verdict 
and upheld section 377, recriminalizing LGBT people in India.


In an ironic twist of history, defenders of section 377 in India argued that 
decriminalizing homosexuality is “contrary to Indian culture,” and that 
“homosexuality represents western values.” In fact, homosexuality was never 
criminalized in India prior to the British, and pre-colonial societies in India 
were replete with diversity of gender identity and sexual orientation. Section 
377 in India was the first of such laws, which later spread throughout the 
colonial empire, to be enacted by the British. Today, this colonial legacy 
remains responsible for half of the laws worldwide that criminalize people on 
the grounds of sexual orientation.


Thus the fight against section 377 in India is significant not only because of 
its impact on the second most populous country in the world, it also has far 
reaching implications for the struggle to remove these colonial era laws 
worldwide. In the famous words of Jawaharlal Nehru, "there is no easy walk-over 
to freedom anywhere.”


Filmed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow and rural India, No Easy Walk to 
Freedom exposes the human rights violations under section 377 against a 
backdrop of the growth of queer organizing in India and the historic legal 
battle to overturn the colonial law.




No Easy Walk  to Freedom
© 2014 Intervention Video Inc
www.noeasywalktofreedom.com


No Easy Walk to Freedom, is one outcome from Envisioning Global LGBT Human 
Rights, a large international research and documentary project led by Nancy 
Nicol. Envisioning is comprised of 31 partners based in Africa, the Caribbean, 
India and Canada, working together to share resources, knowledge and research 
to advance LGBT human rights.   It is housed at the Centre for Feminist 
Research, York University, Toronto, Canada.


Please see our website for other project-related research and outcomes. 

g_b Just saw Summer in my veins - a documentary by Nishit Saran (1977-2003`)

[mikeintoronto vij_man_2...@yahoo.ca [gay_bombay]]

Did anyone know Nishit personally? His story is brave and what a pity it ended 
suddenly.


If you have not seen it, please look in YouTube.


Vijay (Toronto)

g_b Is there an LGBT Film Festival anywhere in India?

[mikeintoronto vij_man_2...@yahoo.ca [gay_bombay]]

There is a Toronto version called "Inside Out" that is in its 24th year. This 
year it ran from May 22 - June 1, 2014. Check http://www.insideout.ca/


Some films shown are up on You Tube already. Search for Boys (Jongens) in Dutch 
and Eastern Boys (French).


Today there is a showing of "No easy walk to freedom" by the founder of 
Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights Organization named Nancy Nicol. The film 
deals with section 377 of the IPC.


Vijay (Toronto)

g_b pubic hair

[mikeintoronto]

q for aditya b.

are you n indian or s indian and are you straight or curly?

vijay - toronto - canada

g_b Lesbian themed movie made by some UK Malayalis

[mikeintoronto]

Pl see " The Edge of Sanity"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yuz1y7PCSg

Vijay (Toronto)

g_b Malayalam movie with a gay character

[mikeintoronto]

The movie is called ENGLISH

g_b Malayalam movie with a gay character

[mikeintoronto]

See Malayalam movie ENGLISH directed by Shyamaprasad. Available on YouTube. 
There are 4 parallel themes. One is an Indian doc, married, an leading a secret 
life as a bisexual. His wife finds out in the end.

Fairly matter-of-fact and non judgemental.

Vijay ((in Toronto)

g_b Re: Kathleen Wynne, Prime Minister

[mikeintoronto]

Aditya, I assume you are in your 30's. Given India's reverence to old age, you 
can campaign for the next 50 years!
 
Seriously though, I have some ideas for the next election cycle.
 
If LGBT is 10% of India, it is a significant minority, greater than the number 
of Sikhs, Christians, and so on. I guess 500+ MPs will be elected in the next 
cycle. What I suggest is that an independent  panel rate each candidate based 
on their reaction to LGBT. At some stage, LGBT and their sympathisers could 
form their own political party.
 
Let us work within the existing democratic system.
 
Vijay (Toronto, Canada)

g_b Ramdas and his craziness

[mikeintoronto]

Wish someone would file a case against Ramdas. He will be forced to produce his 
evidence for his so-called treatment. Also, it will ignite some kind of media 
debate. And politicians will have to choose a side. Right now, they 
conveniently evade the issue.
 
Is there evidence of his statements online? Maybe we can start by registering a 
blog where people can contribute their views.
 
I was reading somewhere about how a Uganda group filed a case against a US 
evangelical pastor who was indulging in anti-gay speeches and he had mobilised 
his church to finance anti-gay activities in Uganda.
 
Thanks - please share your views.
 
Vijay (Toronto, Canada)

g_b Gay Mathematician from England Gets Royal "Pardon"

[mikeintoronto]

WWII codebreaker Alan Turing gets royal pardon for gay convictionBy Belinda 
Goldsmith | Reuters – 14 hours ago
* Email0
*
*
*
* Print
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MONTREAL - Vito Rizzuto, the reputed Mafia boss from Montreal whose powerful 
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hospital. …
More headlines »
By Belinda Goldsmith
LONDON (Reuters) - Mathematician Alan Turing, who helped Britain win World War 
Two by cracking Nazi Germany's "unbreakable" Enigma code, was granted a rare 
royal pardon on Tuesday for a criminal conviction for homosexuality that led to 
his suicide.
Turing's electromechanical machine, a forerunner of modern computers, unraveled 
the code used by German U-boats in the Atlantic. His work at Bletchley Park, 
Britain's wartime codebreaking centre, was credited with shortening the war.
However, he was stripped of his job and chemically castrated with injections of 
female hormones after being convicted of gross indecency in 1952 for having sex 
with a man. Homosexual sex was illegal in Britain until 1967.
Turing killed himself in 1954, aged 41, with cyanide.
Justice Minister Chris Grayling said the pardon from Queen Elizabeth would come 
into effect immediately and was a fitting tribute to "an exceptional man with a 
brilliant mind".
"His brilliance was put into practice at Bletchley Park during the Second World 
War where he was pivotal to breaking the 'Enigma' code, helping to end the war 
and save thousands of lives," Grayling said in a statement.
"His later life was overshadowed by his conviction for homosexual activity, a 
sentence we would now consider unjust and discriminatory and which has now been 
repealed," he said.
Only four royal pardons had been granted since the end of World War Two, a 
spokeswoman for Grayling said.
Cosmologist Stephen Hawking and 10 other eminent scientists had campaigned for 
years for "one of the most brilliant mathematicians of the modern era" to be 
pardoned.
One of those scientists, Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said, "The 
persecution of this great British scientist over his sexuality was tragic and 
I'm delighted that we can now focus solely on celebrating his legacy."
In 2009, then Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly apologized on behalf of the 
government for "the appalling way" Turing was treated but campaigners called 
for a full pardon.
In May 2012, a private member's bill was put before the House of Lords in the 
British parliament to grant Turing a statutory pardon and in July it gained 
government support.
Cameron on Tuesday described Turing as "a remarkable man who played a key role 
in saving this country in World War Two".
"His action saved countless lives. He also left a remarkable national legacy 
through his substantial scientific achievements, often being referred to as the 
father of modern computing," Cameron said in a statement.
The work at Bletchley Park, a secluded country house north of London, only 
became public knowledge in the 1970s when its role in the war and that played 
by Turing was revealed.
The cryptographers who worked there are credited with helping to shorten World 
War Two by up to two years and they deciphered around 3,000 German military 
messages a day.
Turing's team cracked the Enigma code, which the Germans regarded as 
unbreakable, as well as designing and developing Colossus, one of the first 
programmable computers.
But after the war, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the Colossus 
computers and 200 "Turing bombe" machines be destroyed to keep them secret from 
the Soviet Union.

g_b Kathleen Wynne, Prime Minister

[mikeintoronto]

http://www.thestar.com/projects/kathleen_wynne.html
 
http://tinyurl.com/lkd8wg6
 
Story about Ontario's PM, a lesbian, with a wife and family. May be some day, 
this may happen in India.
 
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 
Vijay (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)

g_b Please sign and circulate

[mikeintoronto]

From: av...@avaaz.org
Subject: A dark day for gay rights
Date: Fri, 13 Dec 2013 15:51:25 -0500

Dear friends,


 

Two Indian judges just ruled that gay sex is illegal and can be punished with 
life sentences! Outrage is building, and if enough of us lend our support 
today, we can embarrass India and get this crazy ruling overturned. Sign now so 
that love conquers fear in India: 

 Two Indian Supreme Court judges just decided that gay sex is illegal. 
ILLEGAL!! But if we act fast we can help reverse this crazy backwards ruling.

Men and women in India now face police harassment and life imprisonment. This 
hateful decision is being met with outrage, and if we now show India that 
outlawing love is making them an international embarrassment we can get the 
Indian Parliament to fast track passing a law that the judges have to respect.

Sign now to help love conquer fear in India. When we reach 1 million we’ll get 
all our names written onhundreds of giant hearts ringing the Indian parliament, 
then place prominent ads showing that the world will no longer accept making 
love illegal: 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/indias_gay_outrage_loc/?bRArpab&v=32698 

The shocking court decision came as a surprise. In 2009, a lower court in India 
had ruled that a colonial-era law making gay sex illegal violated the Indian 
Constitution. Most people expected the Indian Supreme Court to uphold that 
ruling. Instead, they reversed it, endorsing the medieval argument that gay sex 
is "unnatural, immoral and a reflection of a perverse mind."

Indian lawyers are already preparing to challenge the decision in further legal 
proceedings, but the Indian Court essentially said this is an issue for the 
Indian Parliament to decide. The Indian government suggested they could take it 
to Parliament but that they likely won’t have the votes to change the law and 
that doing so could take a very long time. But if we make India an 
international scandal for outlawing gay sex, we can help swing votes and speed 
the process.

Sign now and send this to 10 others -- let’s make the response to the Indian 
Supreme Court’s decision overwhelming: 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/indias_gay_outrage_loc/?bRArpab&v=32698 

In most of the world, gay rights have gone through a watershed decade. People 
everywhere are realizing, if they hadn’t already, that love is love and 
deserves respect and protection. But this didn’t happen by accident -- it 
happened because of conscientious communities like ours who called out 
injustice wherever we saw it. India is now the next frontier -- let’s join with 
those in India to stand up for love.

With hope and determination,  

Ian, Alex, Alice, Julien, Christoph, Melanie, Emilie, Ricken and the entire 
Avaaz team 

More information

LGBT community outraged as SC rules gay sex illegal, upholds Sec 377
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/lgbt-community-outraged-as-sc-rules-gay-sex-illegal-upholds-sec-377/438991-3.html

India Top Court reinstates gay sex ban
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-25329065

Delhi High Court strikes down Section 377 of IPC
http://www.hindu.com/2009/07/03/stories/2009070358010100.htm

Article 377 and LGBT rights: here's what you need to know
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-article-377-and-lgbt-rights-here-s-what-you-need-to-know-1933370



Support the Avaaz Community!
We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or 
corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a 
long way.




Avaaz.org is a 31-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure 
that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. 
("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in 
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g_b Actress comes out to her 12 year old

[mikeintoronto]

http://tinyurl.com/mcsfla8

g_b RIP - Shankuntala Devi

[mikeintoronto]

Hi
Just read about this lady who died in Bangalore. She was married (1944-1979) to 
a Bengali IAS Officer, who was bisexual/gay.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia.

Book on homosexuality
In 1977, she published the first[12] study of homosexuality in India.[13] In 
the documentary For Straights Only, she says that her interest in the topic 
came out of her marriage to a
homosexual man, and subsequent desire to look at homosexuality more
closely in order to understand it.[14]
The book, considered "pioneering",[15] interviews two young Indian homosexual 
men, a male couple in Canada
seeking legal marriage, a temple priest for his views on homosexuality,
and contains a review of the existing literature on homosexuality. It
ends with a call for decriminalising homosexuality, and "full and
complete acceptance—not tolerance and not sympathy".[15] According to Subhash 
Chandra's review of Ana Garcia-Arroyo's book The Construction of Queer Culture 
in India: Pioneers and Landmarks,[16]
For Garcia-Arroyo the beginning of the debate on homosexuality in the twentieth 
century is made with Shakuntala Devi's book The World of
Homosexuals published in 1977. [...] Shakuntala Devi's (the famous
mathematician) book appeared. This book went almost unnoticed, and did
not contribute to queer discourse or movement. [...] The reason for this book 
not making its mark was because Shakuntala Devi was famous for her mathematical 
wizardry and nothing of substantial import in the field of homosexuality was 
expected from her. Another factor for the
indifference meted out to the book could perhaps be a calculated silence 
because the cultural situation in India was inhospitable for an open
and elaborate discussion on this issue.
>
>
>Regards Vijay (in Toronto)
>

g_b 3 recent interviews from TV Ontario

[mikeintoronto]

 Gay Fathers of Toronto Online 
   
Gay Fathers of Toronto Online  Group   

Message 
Over the last 3 days TVOntario has broadcast 3 amazing interviews. If you

didn't see them, below are the YouTube links.

Alison Wearing and her father (one of the original members of Gay Fathers
of Toronto) met with several current members. Her book and play continue to
provide an inspiration for men to make changes to their lives.

Andrew Solomon, author of "Far From the Tree", is very articulate when
describing his own feelings and experience. But he is careful not to
project those ideas onto other LGBT people and frequently acknowledges the
wide range of other experiences and philosophies among gays and lesbians.

Each of these is about 30 minutes long.



*Alison Wearing:*
Aug 14 interview -* "Growing Up with a Gay Dad"*
https://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=wlJzhqJh W3w

*Andrew Solomon:*
Aug 12 interview - *"Out of the Closet, Under the Altar"*
http://tinyurl. com/lvb6tcq
Aug 13 interview - *"Being Gay in the 21st Century" *
http://tinyurl. com/n6plpy3
  
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g_b Re: Malayalam Film: Lesbian themed : 20 years ago

[mikeintoronto]

Please see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4_vAzgc6_w&feature=mv_sr

Title is "Deshadana Kili Karayarilla"
means
"The Migratory Bird Does Not Shed Tears"


Director is Padmarajan, one of the great directors of good Malayalam 
cinema.(before the sex and sin reputation of nowadays)


Vijay (Toronto)

g_b Too funny not to share

[mikeintoronto]

New Zealand just passed both laws - gay marriage and legalized marijuana.
The fact that gay marriage and marijuana were legalized on the same day makes 
perfect biblical sense because Leviticus 20:13 says, "If a man lies with 
another man they should be stoned."
We just hadn't interpreted it correctly before!
 
Vijay (Toronto)

g_b Re: Article from Toronto Star : May 9, 2013 "Confessions of a Fairy's Daughter".

[mikeintoronto]

 
There is an organisation called Gay Fathers of Toronto 
(http://www.gayfathers-toronto.com/).

Recently they featured Alison Wearing (45), writer and stage actor, whose 
father came out in the 1970's when it was very secretive and socially 
unacceptable to be gay in Canada. Her book is called "Confessions of a Fairy's 
Daughter".

Vijay (Toronto)


By: Andrea Gordon  * 
Feature
Writer, *The Toronto Star,* Published Thu May 09 2013

The moment of truth arrived on an ordinary day in the kitchen of an
unremarkable red brick house in small-town Ontario.

It was 33 years ago and Alison Wearing was 12. She remembers the ugly beige
linoleum with brown squiggles, and her toes curling around the rail of the
stool as she watched her mother unload cereal bowls from the dishwasher
that never quite got the dishes clean.

“There are a lot of things about Dad that you don’t know,” her mother said,
as she lifted out the cutlery basket.

Something about the word “gay” hung in the air amid the clink-clink of
knives and forks.

Then the crushing realization that the world as she knew it had just ended.

That moment and the family’s long journey from turmoil to acceptance comes
to vivid life in Wearing’s new memoir, *Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter*,
released this week.
Photos View gallery

- [image: Alison Wearing' s memoir, Confessions of a Fairy's Daughter,
about growing up with a dad who came out of the closet in the 1970s, is out
this week.] zoom
- [image: Alison Wearing' s Confessions of a Fairy's Daughter, Knopf, 304
pages, $24] zoom
- [image: Alison Wearing with her dad, Joseph, in 1982.] zoom

These were the days long before the phrase “same-sex marriage” made
headlines or gay couples appeared on sitcoms. People actually used the word
“fairy.” Toronto Pride Week hadn’t yet launched. And the thought of an
openly gay premier was about as out-of-this- world as *The Jetsons.*

The only thing young Alison knew about “gay” was that it was Very Bad News.
Something to do with boys kissing other boys. In other words, gross. And
pretty much the worst thing that could happen.

So as her father, Joe, came out in his 40s, his daughter went underground.
He left their Peterborough home and spent most of his time in Toronto. She
and her two brothers visited on weekends, relished his gourmet meals,
Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and eccentric circle of friends. But back
home, she became a storyteller and an actor whenever people asked about him.

“My life in theatre started then, I had to create,” says Wearing, now 45.

“All these questions would come at me. I had to invent on-the-spot stories
about my life that would be acceptable.”

Years later, those same skills have come full circle. Now she’s used them
to tell the truth. And she’s done it in an engaging and poignant account of
her family’s experience, which happened to parallel gay liberation in
Canada.

The story, she soon discovered, is much more than the one she set out to
tell.

“It’s not just about having a gay father. It’s about seeing your parent as
a person, having what you think of as an imperfect family and dealing with
it,” she says.

“It’s about what happens when someone in your life is not the person you
thought they were. How do we embrace that and accept them and grow through
that?”

That middle-class red brick house offered up all the key ingredients:
secrecy, longing, conflict, acceptance, love, laughter and a rollicking
cast of characters.

Joseph, now 77, was a politics professor who gave his preschoolers bonus
minutes in the bath if they could recite the names of every prime minister.
He was also an amateur musician who rolled out pastry for croissants on
weekends, and then conducted an imaginary orchestra to the blaring Verdi
“Requiem” while they baked.

There was her marathon-runner mother who preferred nourishing her kids with
piano playing. And two brothers who showed creative genius when it came to
tormenting their sister.

It was a story that practically told itself, first as a 30-page script for
her one-woman stage production that premiered in 2011, and now as a full
memoir.

Cocooned in the turret of her neighbour’s house in Stratford day after day,
the memories poured out “and I’d have to race to keep up with it.”

Her own part was finished in a couple of months. But she knew there was
more to tell. She went to get an opinion from her dad, who lives in Toronto
with the partner he’s been with for 30 years.

He disappeared to the basement and came back with a box he hadn’t opened
for three decades. Inside were clippings and scribbled diaries full of more
details than she ever wanted to know.

“Instantly I knew, here’s the rest of the book right here.”

Now she had a way to tell the other side of the story in her father’s
voice. And it’s a compelling one, as Joe Wearing grapples with his
conflicting desires and tries to come to terms with living as both a gay
man and a doting father.

Despite mix

g_b Re: I am writing in to you for your advice and help.

[mikeintoronto]

Just my 2 bits - 
 
Your friend has not been dealing with you for much of this year, so he cannot 
expect you to help with his promotion. Bringing up last year;s SMS will not 
help him.
 
Best way is to go to your HR Dept and discuss what your options are. I do not 
know what the company culture is - but these days everyone wants to be 
politically correct and will do the right thing. They wll definitely have rules 
about sexual harassment.
 
You have to eluiminate any residual feelings for this guy. Just treat him as an 
unpleasant junior. It is good that you came to know his true colours before too 
much damage was done.
 
Best of luck
 
Vijay (in Toronto)

g_b Canada's largest bank (Toronto Dominion): Gay themed ads

[mikeintoronto]

Take a look at this blog:
 
http://blogs.ubc.ca/claire/2010/10/18/new-market-ops-the-queer-market/
 
http://tinyurl.com/a7dyww8

The banks in Canada are targetting a gay audience, at least in the cities. Look 
up other ads online.
 
Ontario, Canada's largest province, recently elected its first openly lesbian 
prime minister - Kathleen Wynn - she lives with her partner openly.
 
 
Slow, but definite signs of progress. Since India c
 
 
opies the west in all things, maybe it is time to adopt a few good practices!
 
Vijay (in Toronto)

g_b Re: The 1981 Toronto Riots

[mikeintoronto]

This was a turning point in Toronto's gay history.
 
http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/The_1981_Toronto_bathhouse_riots-9730.aspx
 
Vijay, Toronto

g_b Re: the amount of love that is put into

[mikeintoronto]

There are alwaya two views - even on Mother Theresa. Check Christopher Hitchens 
book on her. Also I do not recall her saying anything in support of the LGBTQ 
community.
 
V (Toronto, Canada)

g_b The book on Gandhi

[mikeintoronto]

Hi guys,

I have no read the book, but have followed the story this week. The book was 
written by an American journalist who has been earlier awarded the Pulitzer 
prize. This week, it has been recommended by CNN's Farid Zakaria in his GPS 
programme. It focusses on the S African days that changed the man from a 
ordinary lawyer to a Mahatma.

The book was published in USA and there was no controversy initially. Some 
tabloid in UK quoted a review of the book (i.e. not the book itself). It had 
transcripts of the letter written by Gandhi to the German guy while in S 
Africa. 
The UK tabloids said that Gandhi was bisexual and had cheated on his wife with 
the German guy. The tabloids also claimed that Gandhi was a racist.

The author has denied these accusations and in the entire book, there is no 
mention of the word "bisexual".

Anyway, in modern times, people make controversies about anything. If you base 
your arguments on a tabloid story and not the original book, there are bound to 
be problems.

Hope it does not become another storm in India. Unlikely though, since Gandhi 
is 
not associated with any senas or sanghs!

Vijay - in Canada

g_b Swine Flu and Tulsi Treatment

[mikeintoronto]

I was watching a long program (TV Interview) on NDTV hosted by Prannoy Roy and 
featuriung 4 doctors, 2 from India and 1 from USA/1 from UK.

They were quite reassuring and reiterated that swine flu is just the same as 
normal flu. Just that a vaccine is expected only by October. Meanwhile there 
are no cures, including the venerable tulsi.  By the way, even the common cold 
has no vaccine. There is no cause for panic and shutting down schools, cinemas 
etc or even wearing masks as a fashion accessory.

The only thing that prevents it is frequent washing of hands. And people with 
diabetes, heart problems etc need to be careful because their systems are more 
vulnerable. If someone gets swine flu, the advice is to stay home, drink lots 
of fluid, take paracetemol for the fever, do not go to school/work. Healthy 
people need not wear masks unless they are visiting an ill person or a hospital.

More people will die in India from diarhea and dehydration than from swine flu. 
If anyone is interested, watch www.ndtv.com.

Vijay (in Toronto)


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