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Afghan Refugees fleeing the countryThe safety of Afghanistan Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans people was immediately in serious question with the rapid return of Taliban control of Afghanistan. International LGBT organizations report their contacts in Afghanistan have gone dark or have become unreachable, and many organizations around the world are calling for governments and international bodies to provide for their protection and to offer asylum.
Taliban Have Been and Remain Mortal Threat to All Gay Afghanistan Residents
President Joe Biden’s announcement of complete troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by Aug. 31 sparked fears that the nation’s democratic government would fall back into the hands of the Taliban, unseated by the U.S. and its allies when the war began 20 years ago. Those fears came true with unexpected speed in recent days, and though the initial words from the Taliban is that they will respect the rights of women, this is not how it has gone in the regional cities they have taken over on the way. Most commentators expect the militant organization will reinstate Sharia Law, an expectation behind the many Afghanis trying to leave the country as soon as possible by any route available.
Under the now-deposed government of President Ashraf Ghani LGBTQ Afghans enjoyed more, but still severely limited protections. The threat to LGBTQ lives under the Taliban has been made clear. The surprise would be if they was any change. Gul Rahim, who claims to be a Taliban judge, detailed last month that LGBTQ Afghans will be executed under Taliban rule. “There are only two penalties for gays: Either stoning or he has to stand behind a wall that falls on him. The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high,” Rahim told German newspaper Bild.
We have found no reports specifically about LGBTQ plans or attempts to get out of the county and how they have fared, in general leaving is now a chaotic and dangerous proposition for almost all Afghans.
Images of Afghans surrounding American planes on the tarmac of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul have given way to the stream of individual stories from those who get out anywhere, all of which end saying most of those in danger remain in Afghanistan without a clear path to getting out. On the first day of flights out, some died trying to get on flights, including some who reported clinged to aircrafts as they lifted off the ground.
Taliban forces have begun blocking citizens from accessing the airport, breaking a promise made to the Biden administration. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stated Wednesday that U.S. military forces in Kabul and Qatar were “engaging directly with the Taliban to make clear that we expect them to allow all American citizens, all third-country nationals and all Afghans who wish to leave, to do so safely and without harassment.” At the moment, Sherman could only confirm that the Taliban wasn’t impeding Americans from leaving, though she couldn’t confirm that the status of every American currently in Afghanistan was known.
President Biden has rushed thousands more soldiers and government employees to help protect and defend the Kabul airport, saying their capacity to process American Partners will double by early next week and flights will ramp up to hourly all day and night.
Taking responsibility, Biden acknowledged “the buck” stops with him, the president said he and the military shared the same surprise as everyone else at the speed with which the Taliban took the country, highlighting that even after 20 years of training, a trillion-dollar investment, and extraordinary supply of American arms (now in Taliban hands) the Afghani military still would not defend itself even minimally.
While surprised by the speed and expressing concern about the current chaos, the Biden position is that there was going to be chaos no matter what, placing blame on Trump “negotiations” that led to the release of top Taliban leadership who were then in Pakistan prisons. One of those Trump-released leaders arrived to take lead in the Taliban government Thursday.
With plenty of blame to go around and decades of books and writing. to assign it, most worked to focus on getting Americans, allies and local partners through the impossible and dangerous process of getting out of the country.
The Washington Blade reported Sunday that transgender U.S. State Department contractor Josie Thomas was among a collection of people trapped in a diplomatic support facility near the Kabul airport. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul stated that it could no longer “ensure safe passage” to the airport.
Refugee Crisis Looms
Those who are able to get out face a real possibility of ending up stateless with. the small numbers of refugees most nations are stepping up to accept. While Canada has promised to grant 20,000 displaced Afghans asylum and Biden pledged to expand refuge access to Afghans that worked with U.S. organizations in Afghanistan and others “who otherwise are at great risk”, other nations have been more cagey about housing Afghan refugees.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and other top European officials announced a strategy to keep Afghan refugees in “transit countries” such as Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Iran and Pakistan, countries with large Afghan refugee populations, and all without real protections for LGBTQ people.
Advocacy groups called on European nations to offer asylum to refugees from Afghanistan gay populations.. “As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, members of the LGBTIQ community are among those at greatest risk of suffering under Taliban rule. The international community must act quickly and decisively to aid all those fleeing persecution,” said the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration.
In the UK, Stonewall UK urged the government to allow Afghan refugees as well. “LGBTQ+ Afghans have endured routine discrimination, abuse & persecution, including by the state. With the Taliban in power we expect this situation to deteriorate further, including the potential for a return to active enforcement of the laws that prohibit same-sex relationships,” read a statement from the organization.
“The U.K. government must step up now to put in place a rapid response humanitarian evacuation program and help resettle Afghan people, as well as take action to protect those who have already sought asylum here in the U.K.,” said Stonewall UK CEO Nancy Kelley. “This is a time for showing leadership in upholding the UN Refugee Convention, and helping LGBTQ+ Afghan refugees to survive, resettle and thrive.”
Going Dark
Speaking to the Washington Blade, Charbel Maydaa, founder of Lebanese advocacy organization MOSIAC, said she has lost contact with many in the nation since the Taliban’s resurgence. “We don’t know what’s happening. They’re not online or they are really afraid to talk on Facebook,” Maydaa said.
Maydaa stated that LGBTQ advocacy group ILGA Asia, of which Maydaa serves as alternate co-chair, is working to establish shelters for LGBTQ Afghans that are still in the country as they wait for a chance to leave the country. The organization is also pleading with governments internationally to “literally rescue them.”
“LGBT+ Afghans really don’t have any options. They can either await a slow death or a quick one. Whatever little joy they had will evaporate knowing that the Taliban can take their life at any moment,” gay Afghan author and activist Nemat Sadat told PinkNews. “As bad as life was for LGBT under the regimes of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, there is no telling how severe it can get under the Taliban … It’s not hyperbolic to say that the Taliban will do what Nazis did to homosexuals: weed them out and exterminated them from Afghan society.”
Afghanistan Gay: Previously on Towleroad
LGBTQ Orgs Alarmed Their Afghanistan Gay Contacts Have Gone Dark; Call On Nations, World to Prioritize LGBTQ Safety As Likely Taliban Target
Brian Bell August 19, 2021 Read More Taliban return to power as president and diplomats flee Kabul
Towleroad August 15, 2021 Read More Trump Says He Never Brought Up Russian Bounties for Scalps of U.S. Troops in Calls with Putin: WATCH
Andy Towle July 29, 2020 Read More Large Financial Transfers Back Up Reports About Russian Bounties for Scalps of U.S. Troops
Andy Towle July 1, 2020 Read More Trump Knew Russia Was Paying Taliban Bounties for the Scalps of American Troops in March 2019, a Year Earlier Than Previously Thought
Andy Towle June 30, 2020 Read More ‘He Can’t Spin This Out’ — Trump Knew About Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops as Early as January: WATCH
Andy Towle June 29, 2020 Read More
View the full article

Published by
AFP Mat Wooller, director of the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility, kneels among mammoth tusks at the University of Alaska Museum of the North Washington (AFP) – Walking the equivalent of twice around the world during a life lasting 28 years, one wooly mammoth whose steps have been traced by researchers has proven the huge beast was a long-distance wanderer.
The findings, published Thursday in the prestigious journal Science, could shed light on theories about why the mammoth, whose teeth were bigger than the human fist, became extinct.
“In all popular culture — for example if you watch (the cartoon) ‘Ice Age’ — there are always mammoths who move around a lot,” said Clement Bataille, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the lead authors of the study.
But there is no clear reason why mammoths should have trekked great distances “because it is such an enormous animal that moving around uses a lot of energy,” he told AFP.
The researchers were amazed by the results: the mammoth they studied probably walked around 70,000 kilometers (43,500 miles), and did not stay just on the plains of Alaska as they expected.
“We see that it traveled throughout Alaska, so an immense territory,” said Bataille. “It was really a surprise.”
Readings on a tusk
For their study, the researchers selected the tusks of a male woolly mammoth who lived at the end of the last ice age.
The animal — named “Kik” after a local river — lived relatively close to the time of the extinction of the species, around 13,000 years ago.
One of the two tusks was cut in half to take readings of strontium isotope ratios.
Strontium is a chemical element similar to limestone and is present in soil. It is transmitted to vegetation and, when eaten, is deposited in bones, teeth… or tusks.
The tusks grow throughout a mammal’s life, with the tip reflecting the first years of life, and the base representing the final years.
Isotope ratios are different depending on geology, and Bataille developed an isotopic map of the region.
By comparing it with the data from the tusks, it was possible to track when and where the mammoth had been.
At the time, glaciers covered all of the Brooks Range of mountains in the north and the Alaska Range in the south, with the plain of the Yukon River in the center.
The animal returned regularly to some areas, where it could stay for several years. But his movements also changed greatly depending on his age, before he eventually died of hunger.
During the first two years of his life, researchers were even able to observe signs of breastfeeding.
“What was really surprising was that after the teenage years, the isotopic variations start to be much more important,” said Bataille.
The mammoth has “three or four times in its life, made an immense journey of 500, 600 even 700 kilometers, in a few months.”
Scientists say the male may have been solitary, and moving from herd to herd to reproduce. Or he could have been facing a drought or a harsh winter, forcing him to seek a new area where food was more plentiful.
Lessons for today?
Whether for genetic diversity, or due to scarce resources, it is “clear that this species needed an extremely large area” to live,” said Bataille.
But, at the time of the transition from the ice age to the interglacial period — when they were extinct — “the area shrank because more forests grew” and “humans put quite a lot of pressure on southern Alaska, where mammoths probably moved much less.”
Understanding factors that led to the disappearance of mammoths may help protect other threatened megafauna species, such as caribou or elephants.
With today’s climate changing, and humans often restricting big species to parks and reserves, Bataille said, “do we want our children 1,000 years from now to view elephants the same way we view mammoths today?”

View the full article

Afghan Refugees fleeing the countryThe safety of Afghanistan Gay, Lesbian, Bi, Trans people was immediately in serious question with the rapid return of Taliban control of Afghanistan. International LGBT organizations report their contacts in Afghanistan have gone dark or have become unreachable, and many organizations around the world are calling for governments and international bodies to provide for their protection and to offer asylum.
Taliban Have Been and Remain Mortal Threat to All Gay Afghanistan Residents
President Joe Biden’s announcement of complete troop withdrawal from Afghanistan by Aug. 31 sparked fears that the nation’s democratic government would fall back into the hands of the Taliban, unseated by the U.S. and its allies when the war began 20 years ago. Those fears came true with unexpected speed in recent days, and though the initial words from the Taliban is that they will respect the rights of women, this is not how it has gone in the regional cities they have taken over on the way. Most commentators expect the militant organization will reinstate Sharia Law, an expectation behind the many Afghanis trying to leave the country as soon as possible by any route available.
Under the now-deposed government of President Ashraf Ghani LGBTQ Afghans enjoyed more, but still severely limited protections. The threat to LGBTQ lives under the Taliban has been made clear. The surprise would be if they was any change. Gul Rahim, who claims to be a Taliban judge, detailed last month that LGBTQ Afghans will be executed under Taliban rule. “There are only two penalties for gays: Either stoning or he has to stand behind a wall that falls on him. The wall must be 2.5 to 3 meters high,” Rahim told German newspaper Bild.
We have found no reports specifically about LGBTQ plans or attempts to get out of the county and how they have fared, in general leaving is now a chaotic and dangerous proposition for almost all Afghans.
Images of Afghans surrounding American planes on the tarmac of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul have given way to the stream of individual stories from those who get out anywhere, all of which end saying most of those in danger remain in Afghanistan without a clear path to getting out. On the first day of flights out, some died trying to get on flights, including some who reported clinged to aircrafts as they lifted off the ground.
Taliban forces have begun blocking citizens from accessing the airport, breaking a promise made to the Biden administration. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman stated Wednesday that U.S. military forces in Kabul and Qatar were “engaging directly with the Taliban to make clear that we expect them to allow all American citizens, all third-country nationals and all Afghans who wish to leave, to do so safely and without harassment.” At the moment, Sherman could only confirm that the Taliban wasn’t impeding Americans from leaving, though she couldn’t confirm that the status of every American currently in Afghanistan was known.
President Biden has rushed thousands more soldiers and government employees to help protect and defend the Kabul airport, saying their capacity to process American Partners will double by early next week and flights will ramp up to hourly all day and night.
Taking responsibility, Biden acknowledged “the buck” stops with him, the president said he and the military shared the same surprise as everyone else at the speed with which the Taliban took the country, highlighting that even after 20 years of training, a trillion-dollar investment, and extraordinary supply of American arms (now in Taliban hands) the Afghani military still would not defend itself even minimally.
While surprised by the speed and expressing concern about the current chaos, the Biden position is that there was going to be chaos no matter what, placing blame on Trump “negotiations” that led to the release of top Taliban leadership who were then in Pakistan prisons. One of those Trump-released leaders arrived to take lead in the Taliban government Thursday.
With plenty of blame to go around and decades of books and writing. to assign it, most worked to focus on getting Americans, allies and local partners through the impossible and dangerous process of getting out of the country.
The Washington Blade reported Sunday that transgender U.S. State Department contractor Josie Thomas was among a collection of people trapped in a diplomatic support facility near the Kabul airport. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul stated that it could no longer “ensure safe passage” to the airport.
Refugee Crisis Looms
Those who are able to get out face a real possibility of ending up stateless with. the small numbers of refugees most nations are stepping up to accept. While Canada has promised to grant 20,000 displaced Afghans asylum and Biden pledged to expand refuge access to Afghans that worked with U.S. organizations in Afghanistan and others “who otherwise are at great risk”, other nations have been more cagey about housing Afghan refugees.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and other top European officials announced a strategy to keep Afghan refugees in “transit countries” such as Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. Iran and Pakistan, countries with large Afghan refugee populations, and all without real protections for LGBTQ people.
Advocacy groups called on European nations to offer asylum to refugees from Afghanistan gay populations.. “As Afghanistan falls to the Taliban, members of the LGBTIQ community are among those at greatest risk of suffering under Taliban rule. The international community must act quickly and decisively to aid all those fleeing persecution,” said the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration.
In the UK, Stonewall UK urged the government to allow Afghan refugees as well. “LGBTQ+ Afghans have endured routine discrimination, abuse & persecution, including by the state. With the Taliban in power we expect this situation to deteriorate further, including the potential for a return to active enforcement of the laws that prohibit same-sex relationships,” read a statement from the organization.
“The U.K. government must step up now to put in place a rapid response humanitarian evacuation program and help resettle Afghan people, as well as take action to protect those who have already sought asylum here in the U.K.,” said Stonewall UK CEO Nancy Kelley. “This is a time for showing leadership in upholding the UN Refugee Convention, and helping LGBTQ+ Afghan refugees to survive, resettle and thrive.”
Going Dark
Speaking to the Washington Blade, Charbel Maydaa, founder of Lebanese advocacy organization MOSIAC, said she has lost contact with many in the nation since the Taliban’s resurgence. “We don’t know what’s happening. They’re not online or they are really afraid to talk on Facebook,” Maydaa said.
Maydaa stated that LGBTQ advocacy group ILGA Asia, of which Maydaa serves as alternate co-chair, is working to establish shelters for LGBTQ Afghans that are still in the country as they wait for a chance to leave the country. The organization is also pleading with governments internationally to “literally rescue them.”
“LGBT+ Afghans really don’t have any options. They can either await a slow death or a quick one. Whatever little joy they had will evaporate knowing that the Taliban can take their life at any moment,” gay Afghan author and activist Nemat Sadat told PinkNews. “As bad as life was for LGBT under the regimes of Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani, there is no telling how severe it can get under the Taliban … It’s not hyperbolic to say that the Taliban will do what Nazis did to homosexuals: weed them out and exterminated them from Afghan society.”
Afghanistan Gay: Previously on Towleroad
LGBTQ Orgs Alarmed Their Afghanistan Gay Contacts Have Gone Dark; Call On Nations, World to Prioritize LGBTQ Safety As Likely Taliban Target
Brian Bell August 19, 2021 Read More Taliban return to power as president and diplomats flee Kabul
Towleroad August 15, 2021 Read More Trump Says He Never Brought Up Russian Bounties for Scalps of U.S. Troops in Calls with Putin: WATCH
Andy Towle July 29, 2020 Read More Large Financial Transfers Back Up Reports About Russian Bounties for Scalps of U.S. Troops
Andy Towle July 1, 2020 Read More Trump Knew Russia Was Paying Taliban Bounties for the Scalps of American Troops in March 2019, a Year Earlier Than Previously Thought
Andy Towle June 30, 2020 Read More ‘He Can’t Spin This Out’ — Trump Knew About Russian Bounties on U.S. Troops as Early as January: WATCH
Andy Towle June 29, 2020 Read More
View the full article

The Biden administration wants to address employment discrimination, homelessness and other issues that have a disproportionate effect on transgender people.
The White House on Wednesday said it would gather federal agencies in the coming weeks, including the Justice Department, Defense Department and Department of Health and Human Services, to revise policies driving poverty, violence, and discrimination against transgender people. 
The announcement comes after the Biden administration had already pledged to reverse Trump-era policies that disproportionately impacted transgender Americans and restricted LGBTQ+ access to health care, housing, and equal treatment in prisons.
The administration’s latest policy change affecting trans people came from the State Department, which said it would allow nonbinary and intersex people to obtain IDs and passports with an “X” gender marker instead of an “M” or an “F.” 
President Joe Biden with Youth Trans Leader Ashton Mota, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg marking “Pride back in the White House”Members of the White House initiative announced Wednesday, headed by the Gender Policy Council and Domestic Policy Council, plan to meet with trans advocates in the next few weeks to hear their policy recommendations. Meeting with advocates will be the group’s first step to address issues including employment discrimination, homelessness, abuse, and school bullying, White House spokesperson Matt Hill said. 
The White House has focused on trans rights at several events commemorating Pride month, culminating with a virtual “transgender equality” event on Wednesday that included U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, HHS Secretary Rachel Levine and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke as speakers.
“So far this year, hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures,” Biden said at his Pride speech last week in the East Room. 
“These are some of the ugliest, most un-American laws I’ve seen, and I’ve been here awhile.  Many of them target transgender children, seeking to prevent them from receiving the appropriate medical care, for using the bathroom at high schools while they’re — the one where they’ll be most safe, even preventing them from joining sports teams with their classmates,” he said.
Ashton Mota, the 16-year-old Human Rights Campaign ambassador who introduced Biden at his Pride speech last week, thanked the administration on Wednesday at the virtual transgender equality event. “After coming out and receiving support from my family, that’s one of the best things I could have asked for — because it’s given me a platform and a pedestal to be able to use my voice and represent a community that usually isn’t given a seat at the table to have these important conversations,” he said.
Originally published by The 19th
Trans protections previously on Towleroad
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Lil Nas XThe reign of Montero in the culture continued at Sunday’s BET Awards when out gay rapper Lil Nas X ended his scorching performance by locking lips with one of his backup dancers, giving the BET Awards stage its first gay male kiss ever.
The moment capped off another stellar performance of the artist smash hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” that drenched itself in Black queer expression. Lil Nas X hasn’t been shy about embracing his queer identity since coming out as gay in 2019, openly expressing it through his music, fashion and performances in ways that mainstream hip-hop has never seen.
Sunday’s kiss garnered a standing ovation from the live crowd made up of Lil Nas X’s peers in music and other media. He even got to share a backstage moment with Tyler, the Creator, another popular rapper who hasn’t been shy about expressing his LGBTQ-ness through his music, most notably on his 2019 album “Igor.” Lil Nas X previously praised Tyler and Frank Ocean for being examples of queer Black men in hip-hop that “made it easier for me to be where I am comfortably.”
The immense praise was well received, but Lil Nas X didn’t hide that he was a ball of nerves on Sunday. “It took me a lot of time to mentally prepare for this performance,” he tweeted afterward. “While on stage I was trembling knowing that I was performing something like that in front of my straight peers. Even during the performance I was having a hard time calming my nerves. Thank you guys for the love.”
The performance did draw some homophobic criticism, though much of it focused on Lil Nas X’s form of queer expression rather than the fact that he did it. According to ABC News, multiple people criticized the artist for what they saw as him trying to “act the part” of a gay man and contributing to the “emasculation” of men by dressing and acting overly feminine. That criticism was levied both at his performance and the Andrea Grossi gown he wore on the red carpet.
The outspoken rapper nipped that train of thought in the bud quickly in the wake Sunday’s performance. “Y’all hate yourselves so much, Y’all live your lives trying your best to appease straight [people],” Lil Nas X tweeted Monday. “Y’all are uncomfortable with what I do because y’all are afraid they will be uncomfortable with you. Work on yourselves, I love who I am and whatever I decide to do. Get there.”
Perhaps the most welcomed exaltation of Lil Nas X’s performance came from BET itself. The official BET Twitter account released a video of the performance, including the statement lip smack, with the caption “YESSSSSS! Lil Nas X just did that.” The channel has made a concerted effort to speak to Black queer populations, feature Black queer artists and highlight the roles of Black people in the advancement of LGBTQ rights in recent years.
Lil Nas X’s performance wasn’t the only moment from Sunday’s BET Awards that placed that initiative in the forefront. Out rapper/actor Queen Latifah received the Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday night, thanking her longtime partner, Eboni, and declaring “Happy Pride” during her speech.
The days after the event have also been significant for LIl Nas X. He released a trailer reminiscent of Marvel Studios touting the release of his first album, “Montero,” and celebrated the two-year anniversary of his coming out on Wednesday. “I have officially been gay for two years,” he said. ” Wow that was fun what should I do next!?”
Lil Nas X: Previously on Towleroad
Lil Nas X’s BET Awards Liplock Praised as Rapper Flames Homophobic Critics, Celebrates Two Years of Being Out; ‘I Love Who I Am and Whatever I Decide To Do’
Brian Bell July 1, 2021 Read More ‘I Will Never Trust Pants Again;’ Lil Nas X Humorously Details ‘SNL’ Wardrobe Malfunction
Brian Bell May 25, 2021 Read More Lil Nas X Gay Expectations: Disdainful of ‘sense of responsibility’. It’s not my job to be a good role model
Towleroad May 11, 2021 Read More Stranger Things 4; Lil Nas X; Rainbow Capitalism; Apex Legends; Will Smith’s Dad Bod; Arm Wrestling; Edith Surreal; Adele; EFFY: HOT LINKS
Brian Bell May 6, 2021 Read More Kids Ask Lil Nas X About The Closet (Sort of); His ‘Diamond Record’, And His Nicki Minaj Costume; Plus a Response Video
Michael Goff April 16, 2021 Read More Mega-Post Update — Nike Sues; Church of Satan endorses Lil Nas for ‘giving middle finger to those who said he’d burn in hell’; Lil Nas X Coronation Day 4
Michael Goff March 29, 2021 Read More View the full article

Lil Nas XThe reign of Montero in the culture continued at Sunday’s BET Awards when out gay rapper Lil Nas X ended his scorching performance by locking lips with one of his backup dancers, giving the BET Awards stage its first gay male kiss ever.
The moment capped off another stellar performance of the artist smash hit “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” that drenched itself in Black queer expression. Lil Nas X hasn’t been shy about embracing his queer identity since coming out as gay in 2019, openly expressing it through his music, fashion and performances in ways that mainstream hip-hop has never seen.
Sunday’s kiss garnered a standing ovation from the live crowd made up of Lil Nas X’s peers in music and other media. He even got to share a backstage moment with Tyler, the Creator, another popular rapper who hasn’t been shy about expressing his LGBTQ-ness through his music, most notably on his 2019 album “Igor.” Lil Nas X previously praised Tyler and Frank Ocean for being examples of queer Black men in hip-hop that “made it easier for me to be where I am comfortably.”
The immense praise was well received, but Lil Nas X didn’t hide that he was a ball of nerves on Sunday. “It took me a lot of time to mentally prepare for this performance,” he tweeted afterward. “While on stage I was trembling knowing that I was performing something like that in front of my straight peers. Even during the performance I was having a hard time calming my nerves. Thank you guys for the love.”
The performance did draw some homophobic criticism, though much of it focused on Lil Nas X’s form of queer expression rather than the fact that he did it. According to ABC News, multiple people criticized the artist for what they saw as him trying to “act the part” of a gay man and contributing to the “emasculation” of men by dressing and acting overly feminine. That criticism was levied both at his performance and the Andrea Grossi gown he wore on the red carpet.
The outspoken rapper nipped that train of thought in the bud quickly in the wake Sunday’s performance. “Y’all hate yourselves so much, Y’all live your lives trying your best to appease straight [people],” Lil Nas X tweeted Monday. “Y’all are uncomfortable with what I do because y’all are afraid they will be uncomfortable with you. Work on yourselves, I love who I am and whatever I decide to do. Get there.”
Perhaps the most welcomed exaltation of Lil Nas X’s performance came from BET itself. The official BET Twitter account released a video of the performance, including the statement lip smack, with the caption “YESSSSSS! Lil Nas X just did that.” The channel has made a concerted effort to speak to Black queer populations, feature Black queer artists and highlight the roles of Black people in the advancement of LGBTQ rights in recent years.
Lil Nas X’s performance wasn’t the only moment from Sunday’s BET Awards that placed that initiative in the forefront. Out rapper/actor Queen Latifah received the Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday night, thanking her longtime partner, Eboni, and declaring “Happy Pride” during her speech.
The days after the event have also been significant for LIl Nas X. He released a trailer reminiscent of Marvel Studios touting the release of his first album, “Montero,” and celebrated the two-year anniversary of his coming out on Wednesday. “I have officially been gay for two years,” he said. ” Wow that was fun what should I do next!?”
Lil Nas X: Previously on Towleroad
Lil Nas X’s BET Awards Liplock Praised as Rapper Flames Homophobic Critics, Celebrates Two Years of Being Out; ‘I Love Who I Am and Whatever I Decide To Do’
Brian Bell July 1, 2021 Read More ‘I Will Never Trust Pants Again;’ Lil Nas X Humorously Details ‘SNL’ Wardrobe Malfunction
Brian Bell May 25, 2021 Read More Lil Nas X Gay Expectations: Disdainful of ‘sense of responsibility’. It’s not my job to be a good role model
Towleroad May 11, 2021 Read More Stranger Things 4; Lil Nas X; Rainbow Capitalism; Apex Legends; Will Smith’s Dad Bod; Arm Wrestling; Edith Surreal; Adele; EFFY: HOT LINKS
Brian Bell May 6, 2021 Read More Kids Ask Lil Nas X About The Closet (Sort of); His ‘Diamond Record’, And His Nicki Minaj Costume; Plus a Response Video
Michael Goff April 16, 2021 Read More Mega-Post Update — Nike Sues; Church of Satan endorses Lil Nas for ‘giving middle finger to those who said he’d burn in hell’; Lil Nas X Coronation Day 4
Michael Goff March 29, 2021 Read More View the full article

Published by
Reuters   By Gabriela Baczynska, Philip Blenkinsop and Sabine Siebold
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Respect LGBT rights or leave the European Union, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told his Hungarian counterpart as the bloc’s leaders confronted Viktor Orban over a law that bans schools from using materials seen as promoting homosexuality.
Several participants spoke of the most intense personal clash among the 27 EU leaders in years on Thursday night.
“It was really forceful, a deep feeling that this could not be. It was about our values; this is what we stand for,” Rutte told reporters on Friday.
“I said ‘Stop this, you must withdraw the law and, if you don’t like that and really say that the European values are not your values, then you must think about whether to remain in the European Union’.” French President Emmanuel Macron called it a battle over civilisation and culture.
Hungary is now likely to face a legal challenge at the EU’s highest court. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said Budapest should also be subject to an as-yet untested procedure to cut EU funding for those who violate democratic rules.
The new mechanism was introduced as closely aligned conservative governments in Poland and Hungary have shielded one another for years from grave sanctions under existing tools to protect EU democratic and human rights values.
The provisions for schools have been included in a law primarily aimed at protecting children from paedophiles – a link that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described as “primitive”.
In power since 2010 and facing an election next year, Orban has become increasingly conservative and combative in promoting what he says are traditional Catholic values under pressure from the liberal West.
He told reporters before the closed-door meeting that the law was not an attack on gay people but aimed at guaranteeing parents’ right to decide on their children’s sexual education.
The EU is pushing Orban to repeal the law – the latest in a string of restrictive policies towards media, judges, academics and migrants.
Seventeen out of 27 leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, signed a joint letter reaffirming their commitment to protecting gay rights.
“We all made it very clear which fundamental values we adhere to,” she said.
Bettel, who is openly gay, said the only country other than Poland to support Orban in the discussion was Slovenia.
He said it was time for Brussels to test its new procedure: “Most of the time, money is more convincing than talk.”
(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
 

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New £50 notes memorializing groundbreaking British computer scientist and World War II hero Alan Turing went into circulation on Wednesday, the date of what would have been his 109th birthday.
The new note, which the Bank of England announced in 2019, is the first to be printed on plastic instead of paper and features Turing’s portrait on the note’s back along with a collection of signifiers highlighting Turing’s legacy in the fields of computing and mathematics. Those include listing Turing’s birthday in binary code, a table and formula from his foundational paper “On Computable Numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem” and one of Turing’s more memorable quotes: “This is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what is going to be.”
“Our banknotes celebrate some of our country’s most important historical figures. That’s why I am delighted that Alan Turing features on the new polymer £50 note,” said Andrew Bailey, Governor of the Bank of England. “Having undertaken remarkable codebreaking work here at Bletchley Park during the Second World War, he went on to pioneer work on early computers, as well as making some ground-breaking discoveries in the field of developmental biology.”
“He was also gay and was treated appallingly as a result. Placing him on this new banknote is a recognition of his contributions to our society, and a celebration of his remarkable life,” Bailey added.
The appalling treatment Bailey refers to is the criminalization of his gay identity despite his efforts to help defeat the Axis Powers during World War II by decoding the German Enigma codes. The new note features drawings of the British Bombe, one of the tools Turing used to break the Nazis’ code.

Despite his heroic status, Turing was still prosecuted for being a gay man and underwent forced chemical castration at the hands of the Crown in 1952. Turing would die by suicide two years later. He was 41.
The U.K. government didn’t apologize for Turing’s treatment until 2009. Queen Elizabeth II posthumously pardoned Turing in 2013 and named a law pardoning hundreds of other men prosecuted for simply being gay after him. The Bank of England also flew the Progress Pride flag on Wednesday in honor of Turing’s memory.
“Alan Turing’s appearance on the £50 note is a landmark moment in our history. Not only is it a celebration of his scientific genius which helped to shorten the war and influence the technology we still use today, it also confirms his status as one of the most iconic LGBT+ figures in the world,” said Jeremy Fleming, Director of British spy agency GCHQ.
“Turing was embraced for his brilliance and persecuted for being gay,” he added. “His legacy is a reminder of the value of embracing all aspects of diversity, but also the work we still need to do to become truly inclusive.”
Alan Turing: Previously on Towleroad
Gay WWII Codebreaker Alan Turing to Be New Face of UK £50 Note



July 15, 2019 Read More Justin Bieber, Rebecca Romijn, Donald Trump, Alan Turing, RBG’s Mentor, Joy Behar In Black Face, A Transgender Reveal Party, and More: HOT LINKS



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October 20, 2016 Read More Image courtesy of the Bank of England
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Carl Nassib’s historic coming out on Monday is still sending shockwaves through the sports world and beyond. Nassib became the first active NFL player ever to come out as gay and is expected to become the first out gay player to play in an NFL regular-season game when he suits up for the Las Vegas Raiders later this year.
Just as good, his NFL compatriots have been overwhelming in their support for him since the news broke.
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis voiced his support for Nassib in a statement to ESPN. “It’s 2021. All the more power to Carl. It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a person or as a Raider,” Davis said.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden also chimed in with kind words for Nassib, saying, “I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great.”
Notable among the current NFL players that responded was New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley, who played with Nassib in college at Penn State University.


Other current and former NFL players, including JJ Watt and Warren Moon, publicly lauded Nassib as well.



Nassib also received support from fellow out former NFL players, including Michael Sam and Dave Kopay, the first former NFL player ever to come out as gay.




A number of NFL teams joined in the Pride party.



James Franklin, Nassib’s head coach during his time at Penn State, expressed he was “even more proud” of Nassib for living his truth.

DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, stated the union “supports Carl and his work with the Trevor Project is proof that he – like our membership – is about making his community and this world a better place not for themselves, but for others.”
The Trevor Project also thanked Nassib for his $100,000 donation, which the NFL will be matching in support of Nassib.

Get ready to grab your Carl Nassib jersey!



Click to Page 2 and learn: Who is matching Nassib’s donation to Trevor project?; What is Nassib’s political party? How long will it be for his jersey to become the top seller? What’s Dan Savage think? And what do the gays look like “on their way to carl nassib’s instagram?”
Page 2 –> View the full article

Budweiser, Bud Light and all other Anheuser-Busch products won’t be on the menu at The Stonewall Inn during Pride weekend in what the iconic LGBTQ bar’s owners characterize as a protest of the company’s donations to politicians supporting LGBTQ discrimination.
“We just felt Stonewall having the platform, the power to do this, it was important to stand up,” Stonewall Inn co-owner Stacy Lentz told The Guardian. “We really just want Anheuser-Busch to stop donating to lawmakers who are trying to legalize discrimination.”
In addition to pausing sales, the bar will also hold a ceremonial pouring down the drain of Bud Light and Stella Artois in support of the newly established “Keep Your Pride” campaign, an initiative from the recently created Corporate Accountability Action organization highlighting five large corporations, including Anheuser-Busch, publicly supporting the LGBTQ community while making hundreds of donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians.
According to the National Institute on Money in Politics, the beer-brewing giant made 48 donations totaling $35,350 to state and federal legislators in Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi that supported LGBTQ discrimination between 2015 and 2020. “Keep Your Pride” also highlights donations from AT&T, General Motors, NBCUniversal and Coca-Cola, with donations from all five totaling $324,250 between 2015 and 2021.
“It’s unacceptable for so-called ‘allied’ corporations to use Pride celebrations as marketing opportunities, claiming to support the LGBTQ community while they take direct action that hurts LGBTQ people across the country,” Marie Coyle, spokesperson for “Keep Your Pride,” told The Advocate.
“It’s never been more important for these companies to put their money where their mouth is,” Coyle added. “Either they can put an end to their support of these dangerous elected officials, or they can keep their Pride this year.”
Lentz agrees, saying, “You can’t turn your logo rainbow on social media, call yourself an ally, and then turn around and make donations that fuel hate … there are really no excuses, and companies like Anheuser-Busch need to own up to what they’ve done.”
In a statement to The Guardian, Anheuser-Busch said it “supports candidates for public office whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation and industry growth.” The company also noted that it has” a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world we cherish and celebrate one another.”
Bud Light Protest: Previously on Towleroad
Stonewall to Pour Bud Light Down the Drain, Halt Anheuser-Busch Sales During Pride Weekend in Protest



Brian Bell


June 21, 2021 Read More Stonewall Inn Has Been Under Looming Landlord Ultimatum To Sign Long-Term Lease; ‘There is a need to preserve LGBTQ+ history’



Brian Bell


June 11, 2021 Read More Gill Foundation Offers $250,000 Donation to Protect History and Legacy of NYC’s Stonewall Inn Amid Coronavirus Crisis



Andy Towle


June 30, 2020 Read More NYC’s Historic Stonewall Inn Says It May Not Survive COVID Shutdown, Launches Crowdfunding Campaign



Andy Towle


June 24, 2020 Read More David Letterman and Jonathan Van Ness Have a Facial Hair Face-to-Face on Self Care, Stonewall, and LGBTQ Rights: WATCH



Andy Towle


July 2, 2019 Read More The Stonewall You Know is a Myth – and That’s OK: WATCH



Towleroad


June 30, 2019 Read More Photo courtesy of Rhododentrites/Creative Commons
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Published by
Reuters   By Gabriela Baczynska, Philip Blenkinsop and Sabine Siebold
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Respect LGBT rights or leave the European Union, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told his Hungarian counterpart as the bloc’s leaders confronted Viktor Orban over a law that bans schools from using materials seen as promoting homosexuality.
Several participants spoke of the most intense personal clash among the 27 EU leaders in years on Thursday night.
“It was really forceful, a deep feeling that this could not be. It was about our values; this is what we stand for,” Rutte told reporters on Friday.
“I said ‘Stop this, you must withdraw the law and, if you don’t like that and really say that the European values are not your values, then you must think about whether to remain in the European Union’.” French President Emmanuel Macron called it a battle over civilisation and culture.
Hungary is now likely to face a legal challenge at the EU’s highest court. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said Budapest should also be subject to an as-yet untested procedure to cut EU funding for those who violate democratic rules.
The new mechanism was introduced as closely aligned conservative governments in Poland and Hungary have shielded one another for years from grave sanctions under existing tools to protect EU democratic and human rights values.
The provisions for schools have been included in a law primarily aimed at protecting children from paedophiles – a link that Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo described as “primitive”.
In power since 2010 and facing an election next year, Orban has become increasingly conservative and combative in promoting what he says are traditional Catholic values under pressure from the liberal West.
He told reporters before the closed-door meeting that the law was not an attack on gay people but aimed at guaranteeing parents’ right to decide on their children’s sexual education.
The EU is pushing Orban to repeal the law – the latest in a string of restrictive policies towards media, judges, academics and migrants.
Seventeen out of 27 leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, signed a joint letter reaffirming their commitment to protecting gay rights.
“We all made it very clear which fundamental values we adhere to,” she said.
Bettel, who is openly gay, said the only country other than Poland to support Orban in the discussion was Slovenia.
He said it was time for Brussels to test its new procedure: “Most of the time, money is more convincing than talk.”
(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
 

View the full article

Budweiser, Bud Light and all other Anheuser-Busch products won’t be on the menu at The Stonewall Inn during Pride weekend in what the iconic LGBTQ bar’s owners characterize as a protest of the company’s donations to politicians supporting LGBTQ discrimination.
“We just felt Stonewall having the platform, the power to do this, it was important to stand up,” Stonewall Inn co-owner Stacy Lentz told The Guardian. “We really just want Anheuser-Busch to stop donating to lawmakers who are trying to legalize discrimination.”
In addition to pausing sales, the bar will also hold a ceremonial pouring down the drain of Bud Light and Stella Artois in support of the newly established “Keep Your Pride” campaign, an initiative from the recently created Corporate Accountability Action organization highlighting five large corporations, including Anheuser-Busch, publicly supporting the LGBTQ community while making hundreds of donations to anti-LGBTQ politicians.
According to the National Institute on Money in Politics, the beer-brewing giant made 48 donations totaling $35,350 to state and federal legislators in Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi that supported LGBTQ discrimination between 2015 and 2020. “Keep Your Pride” also highlights donations from AT&T, General Motors, NBCUniversal and Coca-Cola, with donations from all five totaling $324,250 between 2015 and 2021.
“It’s unacceptable for so-called ‘allied’ corporations to use Pride celebrations as marketing opportunities, claiming to support the LGBTQ community while they take direct action that hurts LGBTQ people across the country,” Marie Coyle, spokesperson for “Keep Your Pride,” told The Advocate.
“It’s never been more important for these companies to put their money where their mouth is,” Coyle added. “Either they can put an end to their support of these dangerous elected officials, or they can keep their Pride this year.”
Lentz agrees, saying, “You can’t turn your logo rainbow on social media, call yourself an ally, and then turn around and make donations that fuel hate … there are really no excuses, and companies like Anheuser-Busch need to own up to what they’ve done.”
In a statement to The Guardian, Anheuser-Busch said it “supports candidates for public office whose policy positions and objectives support investments in our communities, job creation and industry growth.” The company also noted that it has” a clear role to play in bringing real change and creating an inclusive and equitable world we cherish and celebrate one another.”
Bud Light Protest: Previously on Towleroad
Stonewall to Pour Bud Light Down the Drain, Halt Anheuser-Busch Sales During Pride Weekend in Protest



Brian Bell


June 21, 2021 Read More Stonewall Inn Has Been Under Looming Landlord Ultimatum To Sign Long-Term Lease; ‘There is a need to preserve LGBTQ+ history’



Brian Bell


June 11, 2021 Read More Gill Foundation Offers $250,000 Donation to Protect History and Legacy of NYC’s Stonewall Inn Amid Coronavirus Crisis



Andy Towle


June 30, 2020 Read More NYC’s Historic Stonewall Inn Says It May Not Survive COVID Shutdown, Launches Crowdfunding Campaign



Andy Towle


June 24, 2020 Read More David Letterman and Jonathan Van Ness Have a Facial Hair Face-to-Face on Self Care, Stonewall, and LGBTQ Rights: WATCH



Andy Towle


July 2, 2019 Read More The Stonewall You Know is a Myth – and That’s OK: WATCH



Towleroad


June 30, 2019 Read More Photo courtesy of Rhododentrites/Creative Commons
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