In a runoff election held yesterday, Dem-Annise Parker won the mayoral election with 53% of the votes to her rival Gene Locke’s 47% (numbers rounded). November’s election was too close to bring in a new Mayor Elect along with several other city positions. Houston has been in a financial turmoil over the past 18 months and eagerly fought for new direction.

Mayor Elect Parker promised her constitutes that her sexual identity would bear no influence on her management of the the city. In a post win acceptance announcement she also stated that she knows what it means for to have won the election and is proud make history.

Houston Mayor Elect Annise Parker “Tonight the voters of Houston have opened the doors to history – I acknowledge that. I embrace that. I know what this win means to many of us who thought we could never achieve high office. I know what it means. I understand, because I feel it, too. But now, from this moment, let us join as one community. We are united in one goal in making this city the city that it can be, should be, might be, will be.”

Neither November’s elections or December’s runoff made major national headlines prior to the final votes. Even without the national press looking on, Mayor Elect Parker did face aggressive local woes against her campaign. But that only came when the race (in November) was down to two and she was considered a threat by the conservative right and religious groups. A smear campaign consisting of phone calls, faxes, and fliers ensued full-on proclaiming Parker would move to legalize same-sex marriage in Houston and expand gay rights.

While the anti-gay effort did have an impact, Houstonians were able look past the viscous attacks and focus on personally proven qualifications and skills needed to get the job done.

In 2007, Dallas mayor candidate Ed Oakley, a long running and successful City Councilman faced the similar anti-gay campaigns and lost the election in what was otherwise a close race with the now current mayor, Tom Leppert. As with Parker, Oakely’s sexual orientation did not become an issue until the final weeks of the race.

There were some key differences in the Dallas race that supporters say ultimately lost the election for Oakley. The Dallas election made international headlines when Time Magazine ran an article on Ed Oakley as possibly being the first mayor of a major U.S. city.  The Dallas Monring News followed suit with the gay angle, making a big deal out of it.  Shortly thereafter, the anti-gay campaign attacks started,

Oakley, in what could have seemed a cornered counter attack, responded by going after his opponent’s character in a negative manner as opposed to sticking with the issues. As a result Oakley may have shown his own character in a negative light.

Perhaps Parker learned from this mistake. Instead of countering a very personal attack against her opponent, Locke, she stuck with the issues of the city and pressed those issues in her favor while highlighting the negatives of her opponent’s qualifications and past experience to handle the job efficiently. It was a strategy that worked.

Congratulations Houston!

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This year we want to do something a little more special in addition.  We have partnered with Love and Pride, the largest retailer of gay themed design jewelry on the planet – their outreach is global.  More importantly, their size allows them to some great things on a grand scale.  Things like help raise money for valiant charitable organizations.  Over there years Love and Pride have given thousands and thousands to charities like the Mathew Shepard Foundation, GMHC (Gay Mens Health Crisis), Lambda Legal and others.

World AIDS day is a time of hope, a time to help and a time to act.  If you want to help out with World Aids Day there is no better way than to help our gay brothers suffering with AIDS at the same time.    You can do this and get something to back in return.  Something that you can cherish, be proud of and to remind yourself and others that we should all continue to care.

Love and Pride donates 100% of the net proceeds of its “A Time for Hope” watch to the GMHC foundation.  It really is a beautifully inspired watch that adorns the famed red ribbon on its face and sports a deep reaching hue of blue in the classic band.  It is a watch to be proud to wear at any gay themed event, political, charity or otherwise – everyday if you are so inclined.

The watch retails for $125, not bad especially considering all of the net proceeds go to the GMHC.  To encourage you to help we’re offering a 30% store-wide discount until December 3rd at 3:00 pm EST.  Just enter the *coupon code, 301130 when you’re ready to check out.  That means the watch is yours, the donations are made and all you pay is $87.50.  Throw something else in your basket that bring the total to $100 or more and you get free shipping too.  That additional item could be the awesome tell-it-like-you-feel-it “Erase Hate” pendant in which 100% of the net proceeds are donated to the Mathew Shepard Foundation.

Of course Love and Pride has tons of fashionably hot jewelry to choose from. We’ve simply chosen two items that fit the day.  While you’re there you might want to pick up some other items for yourself or gift for that special person in your life.

To easily find the watch and pendant simply click on the link at the top of the Love and Pride home page that reads “10% of all proceeds supports equality for all.”

*Coupon code does not apply to the “Erase Hate” pendant.

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1. In Support Of World Aids Day
2. World AIDS Day Is Today December 1st
3. More On Huckabee And AIDS

I’m always thinking of ways that I can help out and give back to the community that has given so much to me. 

I just registered the a series of the domain name, homophobiakills, in .com; .org; .info; .net; .mobi; .us TLDs.  I’m not really sure what will become of the web presence at this point.  But I do know where I want to start.  I want to design a simple t-shirt that reads:

homophobia
              kills

Ideally the design would also include the names of as many murder and suicide victims as I could get.  I feel I would need permission from parents and family members to do this.  Even if it’s a matter of public record and no permission is needed I still would want to ask.  As I do not what want to bring unwanted attention to grieving families.   So the work is cut out for me.

This t-shirt will be used to raise awareness of just how dangerous homophobia is to human life.  It does harm others and in some cases it does kill.  It needs to stop!  The shirt could also be used as a fundraiser to help get this message out there.  As I said, I’m not sure at this point where the website will go.  I’m hoping it takes on a life of its own but it could also make an impact as a supporting portal to other organizations that already fight homophobia.  Either way I’m hoping for success.

This won’t be an overnight task and at least in the beginning my priorities will be all about the t-shirt.  I know that might sound lame but it’s not.  The t-shirt will be the cornerstone of the idea.  Imagine the impact of someone walking down the street wearing one of these tees.  The front reads “homophobia kills” as they walk toward you.  They have your attention as they pass you.  Then on their back you see dozens and dozens of real names with the words “The Victims” boldly placed above them.  Powerful!  There’s also a metaphor to this design: The shirt wearer carries the burden of the victims on their back.  

If you are interested in volunteering on this project or can provide needed information related to it please post your intentions in the comment section below.  You will need to provide a correct and current email address so that I can contact you.  I also plan to reward those who are willing to help and go the extra mile.  Depending on your level of participation you could receive one of these awesome shirts free of charge in.  In addition you’ll get a very special “thank you” on the main website. 

I should point out that I am not sure if this will be a non-profit organization at this time.  That really depends on the role the initiative takes.  For example if it turns out that I am a manufacturer of shirts for other organizations then it stands to reason it would be a for profit entity.  However if it takes on the role of a full fledged operation for the cause then it would be best suited as a non-profit.  All that will be determined as this unfolds.

Right now I just want to make the damn shirt!  I’m sick and tired of watching my LGBT brothers and sisters be victims of a very unnecessary hate. 

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2. Heterophobia Kills Pageant Wins
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A spokesman for the Buckingham Palace said, “It was a mutual and spontaneous display of affection.  We don’t issue instructions on not touching the queen."  You got it, bud.  I’m sure Michelle Obama was thinking, “Hey, she touched me first.  I touched her back.  That’s how I roll!”

By the way, in case you’re interested this all happened at a little shindig the Queen through for world leaders.  This was  the evening before G-20 Summit – Group Twenty Summit.  Since 1999, world leaders at the G-20 meetings have been talking matters of the world economy, finances, growth, development – Stuff like that.  Seems to me Ex-President Bush, oops, I mean former President, must not have been paying attention. Let’s hope Obama does a little better.  The world’s in a mess, ya know.   

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JGL Songs brings us Pride 2009 that commemorates all of LGBTQ history and celebrates the last 40 years of Gay Pride since the riots at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City.  Of particular note, it was June 28, 1969 that a police raid turned violent where gays and lesbians fought back marking the the start of the Gay Movement in the United States.  

The official release of Pride 2009 is prior to the upcoming CD album Pride at 40 to be released later in April 2009.

"Pride 2009" – in celebration of GLBTQ pride and the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, the birth of gay pride. From the upcoming CD "Pride at 40," (JGLsongs LLC). Final audio performed by Jon Gilbert Leavitt featuring Freddy Freeman and Kevin Hannan Music and lyrics by Jon Gilbert Leavitt ©2009 JGLsongs LLC (ASCAP); audio produced by Freddy Freeman and Jon Gilbert Leavitt; video directed by Jon Gilbert Leavitt.

We spoke with Jon Gilbert Leavitt to get some personal insight surrounding the new release.  Jon says Pride 2009 is a follow up to to a song (no video) he wrote in 1999 that marked the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. 

Jon Gilbert Leavitt – “Now, ten years later with a lot of things happening in our community (which frankly, in 2000 I wouldn’t have imagined, like actual, legal gay marriage!), I wanted to update the song and re-record it with new vocals and arrangements, add verses and have it out there in time for this year…the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellions and the birth of (what we know as) gay pride.”

Update it is exactly what he did and the result is nothing less than stellar in our view.  The song is akin to the style of Billy Joel’s We didn’t start the Fire with an urban upbeat and masterfully scored original music pounding the meaning and passion of the lyrics.  We think Pride 2009 should be the anthem of all 2009 Pride events.

Vocals were performed by Kevin Hannan, Freddy Freeman and Jon Gilbert Leavitt.  Hannan is Jon’s partner of 8 years and Freeman is a close friend.  Both of whom Jon met through OutMusic, an alliance of LGBT musicians and collaborators.  Jon Gilbert Leavitt recorded the vocals and musical score digitally in his home studio in NYC.  In a production collaboration with Freeman, his vocals were co-produced in Nashville where Freeman resides.  We asked Jon to tell us an interesting fact about the studio production.  Here’s what he had to say: 

…it has a ton of lyrics…which need to be sung very fast…and still have to be understood. Not easy…so you can imagine how many takes even a few words have to go through! (Try saying “…Greenwich Village, Bloomsbury, gays in high society” ten times very fast.)

On that note we’d like to thank Jon and the gang for graciously providing the lyrics both in PDF as well as annotated on the video itself.  Without them it can be difficult to following along though every word is clear and profound – It’s just fast!

The video production includes a variety of video footage and image stills both modern and vintage to showcase gay life throughout history.  Jon says he purposely chose footage from Pride Events from around the world to help instill the fact that Gay Pride is not just an American movement but has grown on a global scale.  Impacting photographs make up a large portion of the video.  Some of the photographers with Flickr links are Daniel Greene (from Phoenix, AZ), See-ming Lee (from New York) and Duane Dial (from Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN) and Jon Gilbert Leavitt himself. 

Photos left to right by: Daniel Greene, Jon Gilbert Leavitt, See-ming Lee (Click to enlarge).

We asked Jon what he hopes Pride 2009 will achieve,

It’s purpose is not to promo a CD or even sell a CD (I am a composer, writer and produce and develop music – I’m not a band or performer looking to gig and get big e-mail lists), but to get the pride out there to our community – and maybe give some people the ‘aha’ moment about where we came from – whether GLBTQ or straight allies and supporters.

That’s a great answer and it shows the humble generosity of the man behind the scenes.  A man that wants to give back to his community in song.  In order to reach the community the word must get out and be shared.  So if you’re got even the tiniest of space anywhere on the web we ask that you either share the video, provide a link back to JGL Songs and or link to this article.  Pride 2009 will also be featured on an upcoming episode of Introducing… Fresh on the net, a BBC 6 Radio production with Host Tom Robinson.

The upcoming and very soon to be released CD, Pride at 40, featuring Pride 2009 will also contain at least 5 other tracks.  Those tracks are listed below and Jon has been kind enough to offer a few words related to each one.  The completed tracks can be heard on a dedicated page at JGL Songs.

Open World – Becky Maas

A very pop tune I wrote and produced with an amazing female artist named Becky Maas – not lesbian, but amazing nonetheless

Sofabed – Kevin Hannan

A solo cut by Kevin Hannan (of a song we co-composed and I produced); it’s an upbeat rock song which explores the relationship between a straight man with a girlfriend who uses his good gay male friend for sex and closeness although doesn’t think he’s questioning. Therefore, they make it in a sofabed and not the real bed…it’s easily put away and hidden.

Starbucks Boy – David Brown

A song originally written by Dean Friedman called McDonald’s Girl, which was a minor hit for him in the late ‘70’s and remade by the Barenaked Ladies in the ‘90’s and got to be a minor hit. I changed the lyrics from McDonald’s Girl to Starbucks Boy…with Dean Friedman’s permission and enthusiasm. He’s a straight ally with an amazing record of songs and hits that have spanned over 30 years. That song [Starbuck Boy] is currently being recorded by NY-based artist David Brown. It’s a little more rocked-up than the original, and (apropos to the theme), features the sound of a barista’s milk steamer in beat.

Howl – Jon Gilbert Leavitt

A dance-track instrumental I wrote honoring Allen Ginsberg.

Mithli Mithlak – Jon Gilbert Leavitt

Another original dance instrumental track that mixed middle Eastern motifs with house and trance beats. That was inspired by a friend of mine, who produced a wonderful movie called “A Jihad for Love,” about GLBTQ Muslims – very controversial, but did and still is playing in some theatres, festivals, etc. If you never saw that, you should – it’s very powerful. There might also be one more cut on there, by Freddy Freeman, but that depends simply on time.

We listened to the completed tracks and liked them all.  Aside from the feature song, Pride 2009, all are great and our favorite is Howl followed by the close second, Open World.  Mithli Mithlak is an instrumental wonder with the merging of sounds that had to be difficult to mix in order to achieve such masterful results.  It’s clear that Jon Gilbert Leavitt is a master at composing as well as a very talented producer.  We’re also looking forward to hearing Sofabed and Starbucks Boy which was still in production at the time this article was written.  LikaStarr.com will update this page when the Pride at 40 CD has been released.

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So, what happened to that dotcom bubble and how did it burst?  Many things factored into play like over-zealous investors throwing money after more money into any business venture fad of the times.  But moreover, it was the established businesses that fought back after being knocked down a couple times.  A few were lost in the battle but the majority said, “We can do this online thing too” and survived.  Those brick and mortar versions of online retail may not have ever really surpassed the savvy of the dotcom biz but it was enough to suffice and survive.  As a result, it made the dotcom craze not so grand after all and it burst before the teary eyes of many.

Many have said “never again” because technology develops so fast that we have extensive knowledge of what’s new before it even happens.  Not unless something so big and huge like the internet itself, will we ever see another mass phenomenon.

Many financial analysts and scholars have misfired in their economic predictions.  That is a slump in the world economy causing recessions throughout the most prosperous countries.  It has hit fast and hard and was in place before anyone knew we all were under water.  It’s more massive than the internet because it affects every living human and some estates from the already dead as well as every man-made object in the world.  Good or bad, it affects it all.  While these individual recessions may not ever be a deep as our Great Depression they are widespread making it global in unison.  That’s big enough to change the way the world lives and does business.

Coupled with a recession comes major job loss across most sectors in the workplace.  When this happens people go into survival mode.  Those who don’t immediately find a replacement job get very creative.  This creativity leads to them doing their own thing. Multiply this by thousands or maybe even millions (not unlikely with today’s internet access) and you end up with a few good businesses startups that are flexible enough to withstand hard times.  They start on a budget and stay on a budget.  It’s how they were modeled and how they will survive.

Brick and mortar startups are next to impossible in tough financial times.   Rent is high, loans are scarce, labor is expensive and other startup costs such as insurance and product inventory can turn the business belly up before it has a chance to succeed.  Not so with internet based businesses.  Startup is low in comparison.  You need fewer employees because you don’t’ have to have a physical presence at all times.  Many business services can be outsourced at a cheaper rate such as customer service, product storage, packing and shipping, etc.  Overall costs are much lower and many startups can be a one man operation only expanding as it grows.

The lower overhead marks for lower more competitive pricing.  It’s a very appealing marketplace amongst a money conscious people during hard times.  Consequently the state of a global recession could mark the second coming of dotcoms.

The growing field is ripe as big business will fail as they have already begun to.  People are accustomed to net startups and in some cases relate them to the mom & pop shops of yesteryear.  The smaller success stories will be built on trust and compassionate service on the customer end.  The larger successes will be those that can withstand their outreach using flexible business models and attracting investors that learned their lesson from the last go-around.  Investors won’t be so keen to make a mistake twice.  But money speaks volumes and when you’re losing it, you want to get it back.  If a craze sets in, it will be tempting even for the most hard-nosed tight wads.

Does all this indicate a dotcom second coming? – Maybe so.  No one can predict the outcome of all with confidence.  Not even the most intelligent financial wiz of our day could have predicted the scale of the current economic slump.  Some will say they told us so but they never really did.  Yes, a few forecasted bad times for certain financial and industry sectors but nothing on the global scale we’re seeing as the reality of it all.

I’m not a financial analyst and I’m certainly no wizard but I am fairly apt at using logic.  Reality tells me times are tough.  Logic tells me we will survive.  Exactly how we do it remains to be seen.  Yet life experience tells me we’ll inherently use the fastest road to recovery.  That said; the internet is pretty damn fast.  So there you have it.

Editor’s note: I wrote this article originally intended for another site.  However, that fell through and since I thought this blog needed a little substance current with the times I decided to publish it here.  Of course, that wasn’t really plausible without the added pictorial flair.

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For this Sexy Sunday we feature Czech model/trainer/journalist Jakub Stefano.  This sexy hot stud has a huge international following and has a very successful regular gig over at Flirt 4 Free along with his personal blog.  You can find links to his shows on his site. 

This post on Sexy Sunday is also a bit of teaser for an upcoming exclusive with this sexy fit hunk.  Jakub will be revealing more than ever before via his own words and pictures.  Stay tuned, subscribe to our RSS, you won’t want to miss this!  Jakub has recently been featured on All American Guys plust this photo and video from MalePerfection. 

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For this Sexy Sunday we feature Australian actor/model Matt Clifton. This sexy hot stud puts off some steam on a cold winter’s day in the photo above — We’re lovin’ it!  This one could make a great desktop background image; wallpaper.  Matt loves sports and grew up playing rugby as a kid.  He likes all kinds of music except death metal.  Matt says, “Be yourself, I’ll do the same and I’ll love you for it.” Watch Matt’s One Minute Nutshell Video below and hear in his own sexy voice trying to wrap up his life in about a minute, actually one minute, thirty-five seconds.  Sexy Sunday is a new feature on LikaStarr.com

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A special thanks to OMGblog for this post.  During a polo match Prince William took a nature break to relieve himself.  Of course the paparazzi was there to snap the Prince with his, uhm…, polo stick exposed and springing a leak.  See the photos on page two of this post. 

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First up is Filipe Tozzi, a 21-year-old 6′ 2″ model of Ragazzo Model Managment.  To my knowledge Filipe first surfaced on the web via Terra the Boy in September.  I love the two shots below of this model.  They are my favorites of him that I’ve seen thus far.

As far as the eye can see

Next up is the more recent Thiago Vieira of L’Equipe Agency.  I wasn’t able to find Thiago on the agency’s site so I have no stats to give.  But who needs stats when he’s got a face, body and personality that show through the lens with a certain luminosity that could blind you if not careful.  This guy heats up the lens so much the sky opens up in an attempt to put out the flames.

What?!?!  Where did my clothes go?

eh…  Who needs ‘em?  I’ll just have to use both hands!

Fuck!  It’s pourning now.  Where’s my shirt? – Thanks!

All in a day’s work and a smile to die for…

[Photo Source: Made In Brazil -- More of these two hotties can be found there.]

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In the video message Zawahiri implied that Obama does the bidding of “whites” and is the direct opposite of honorable black leaders, citing the 1960′s black Muslim leader, Malcolm X.

The video was spoken in Arabic with English subtitles.  Zawahiri used the words “abeed al-beit” which can be translaed to “house slaves” to describe Barack Obama along with Colin Powel and Condoleezza Rice.  However, Alqaeda’s English subtitle translated the words as “house Negroes.”

The AP reports the message was aimed at convincing Muslims and Arabs that the new President does not represent change in the U.S. or it’s politics.  While that may be true there may also be another aspect of this message missed by the AP.  We, The World and Alqaeda knows that if were not for the black vote in America we wouldn’t have Obama as our new President.  That’s why I think this message was also geared towards African Americans – a message telling them they made a mistake.  If so, that is huge.  There is still a racial divide in our own country and words like these from a terrorist group as powerful as Alqaeda can only help to blur that line.

Thank you Alqaeda!  I never thought I’d say that but your attempt to pit
African Americans against our new president will only make us stronger
as a nation and ultimately aid in bringing an end to our own racial bigotry — Thank you! 

Now that I’ve thanked you, I’d also like to take this opportunity and say, “Elif air ab tixak – kelbeh!”

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That is until Friday when the House had sent one of Kucinich’s articles to the committee in an effort to kill the resolution. It was made clear that this would not be an impeachment hearing but rather airing of the administration’s wrong doings since it had taken office. Speakers were told that no one could bring formal accusations against President Bush or Vice President Cheney or else the hearing would come to a close. Instead, the committee was to focus on the executive power of the Bush administration.

D-New York, Rep. Maurice Hinchey made one of the most compelling statements of the 6 hour meeting during his arguments against the administration. Hinchey said, “This is the most impeachable administration in the history of America” because of clearly violating laws of the constitution and false reasonings of going to war.

The hearing room was packed full of political activists while hundreds of others were forced ot remain outside due to lack of capacity. Cindy Sheehan who has made a name for herself as the “anti-war mother” was removed from the hearing room because she became too loud. Otherwise the activists remained cheerful throughout most of the hearing and no other incidents occurred.

R-Texas, Rep. Lamar Smith said the hearing was nothing more than an anger management class serving only to impeach the credibility of Congress.

D-Calif., Rep. Zoe Lofgren called President Bush the worst president our country has ever suffered.

It is not expected that much if anything will come of this hearing. Though Kucinich did say that if Congress would read his impeachment bills they’d surely agree with him.

If you’re up to it you can see the four part six hour hearing over at CSPAN Junkie

I’ve always been in agreement that Bush and Cheney should be investigated for impeachment. But now that we’re moving into a new election I think it’s a little late for that. It really wouldn’t do much good at this point if the goal is to get them out of office. What I’ve never understood is why this administration has never been investigated. It’s been brought up time and time again but no action has been taken. It seems the administration just keeps slipping under the radar. When someone does get close it immediately goes nowhere.

At the very least some of these allegations are on the House record now as testimonies. Maybe the months and years ahead will lead to this administration being held accountable for war crimes at the very least.

Some Right Wringers will fight to the end denying that our economy has anything to do with the Bush administration or the war. Instead they will blame the Democratic Congress for not doing their job to protect us. That is also true as indicated by the 9% approval rating of Congress. But is also hypocritical to shift all the blame when our economy does have everything to do with the war and the current administration. For those folks that don’t get it. The answer is clear. It’s a chain reaction. That’s just how it works. No we can’t blame high gas prices directly on the war. But it doesn’t take the smartest person in the world to connect the dots.

Just looking at oil prices for example. Who knows where the price would be today had we not gone to war. But we all know where they are now as a result. The big O’s are saying the increase is due to supply and demand. No kidding? I agree 100%. But why is the supply down and the demand up? The answer is partially, if not significantly, due to the war that our president started based on false information. Without Iraq’s ability to produce oil at it’s full capacity Saudi Arabia is stuck with the full brunt of meeting supply. Demand is up across the world, not just in the U.S. Why? Again, partially, if not significantly due to the Iraqi war. U.S. exports are down and exports in other major countries are up. One reason is because we lost major credibility in the eyes of the world because of our war. Increased production in these countries causes the need for more oil for manufacturing and shipping. Sure, there’s a lot more to it but it’s really simple when you take a moment and just just think about it.

Where it gets complicated is what other contributing factors exists. Is there price gouging in crude oil production? Is there artificial price speculation at the futures level? Are the big O’s a part of any of this? Why do the Big O’s continue to rack up record multi-billion dollar profits quarter after quarter? Plus many more questions.

All of these things need to be investigated. But it’s not happening or at least not fast enough to cause any immediate relief. It boggles my mind as to why after all this time. The only thing I can come up with is there is just too much to look at and no one knows where to start. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Prices at the pump are just one of the many, many things causing all of us to suffer in this country.

Even more mind boggling is that it has only taken only 7 short years for this administration to effectively ruin our country and it could take another 20 to 50 years to reverse the damage or a possible 100 years if McCain has his way. That is, if a complete resolution is even possible. What is certain is that it won’t be during the lifetimes of many of us. The majority of seniors who no longer have their golden years to look forward to. Instead, they are left wondering how they’ll make ends meet.

Do not get me wrong. I have never said we shouldn’t have gone after Al Qaeda for what they did to us on 9/11. But even that might have been
avoided if our administration had acted on the many notices that made it aware of a pending attack. In any case, there was no damn good reason
to rage war on Iraq. The only exception to that being if the intention
was to ultimately control one of the largest oil producing regions in
the world. And, yes — American oil companies are getting the
contracts to do just that.

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ABC News is reporting hundreds of super rich people are under investigation for hiding billions from U.S. and European Tax Authorities in a private bank overseas. The bank is located in a small country between Switzerland and Austria. The country is Liechtenstein and is only 1/10th the size of Rhode Island.

It all went down when a disgruntled bank employee downloaded the names of secret account holders of the LGT Bank in Liechtenstein and handed over or sold his information to the tax authorities. The employee, Heinrich Kieber, is currently in hideout from his own country where he is considered a thief. However, he will be testifying tomorrow on behalf of U.S. Tax Authorities in front of a Senate committee via video from a safe location. Keiber’s Washington DC based attorney says the tax evaders are the real criminals.

Peter Lowy, who is on the secret account list, is also wanted for questioning tomorrow. Lowy, a Los Angeles billionaire and owner of Westfield retail shopping center, also purveyor of the retail space for the new World Trade Center in New York. Lowy’s attorney acknowledged his client is on the list, but said Lowy will be out of town and will miss the hearing. He also says his client did nothing wrong.

The reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Hans-Adams II, owns the LGT bank and was also asked for questioning but refused. The royal family says it does own the bank but does not run it. However, the family does enforce the strict privacy banking laws. It is possible the Prince could face charges filed in their perspective countries. But more likely, the bank will be forced to shut down or at the very least lose it’s license to do business with affected foreign countries.

The LGT Bank employee, Heinrich Kieber, has reportedly already made millions by providing the list. As part of the deal he will also get 30% of whatever the IRS collects as a result of his cooperation.

See full story here.

I don’t normally write about stuff like this but there are so many crooked angles in this story, it ain’t even funny.

1. Don’t these rich bitches have enough money already? I mean we’re talking about billionaires and multi millionaires here. It’s not like it’s people who are trying to escape taxes so they can by a loaf of bread or something.

2. The Prince of Liechtenstein — What a greedy-ass bitch! You don’t run the bank — my ass! Even if you don’t, you own the damn thing, you run the government that enforces the laws keep the accounts in secrecy and as owner you profit big.

3. The disgruntled employee. Yeah right, tell me another one. Your ass was bought and you know it!

4. Our government. Where do I even start? Find some sucker to steal the bank records and pay him off to become his own country’s most wanted criminal. Hire a Washington attorney for him and offer him a safe haven of his own. Now, where is he hiding out again? Oh that’s right, we don’t know….hmmm.

5. The IRS — Oh boy! Never mind, I’m not going there. I’ll just say this: There’s not one single written legislative law that says any of us must legally pay taxes. But there are tax evasion laws. So dammit, if I have to pay them, so does everyone else.

6. Finally, I can only wonder who’s names we’ll never see that were on that list. Yeah, I’m talking about the ones that will be or have already been deleted. Any dibs on the politicians, lobbyists or oil tycoons who won’t show up on that list?

I guess the real reason this ruffles my feathers is because I’ve had my own unfortunate dealings with taxes. Several years ago my employer goofed on reporting my income (of course it was my fault because I didn’t catch it) so I ended up having to pay over $12K in taxes and penalties a few years later. Most of that was penalties. It sucked big time but I paid it off like a good little American citizen. Of course I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

What gripes me is that these butt-heads have gotten away with this for years. I’m sure their attorneys will find a way out of most of what they should owe. Either that or there will be settlements that equal pennies on the dollar, etc. We’re talking about a lot of money. Probably billions in back taxes that could be owed by these unpatriotic fuckers. Maybe it’ll be enough to pay for a month or so of this ridiculous war we’re in. That’s right, put it to good use boys.

Yeah, yeah, I know. We’ve all heard about these foreign tax havens all of our lives. So really it’s nothing new.

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Today headlines screamed that ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP are in the final stages of contract negotiations with Iraq. These are “no-bid” contracts which also means other companies cannot bid. It just so happens that these four companies are also the original partners of the Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC). However, they lost their partnerships after Saddam Hussein nationalized IPC.

President Bush has always said the war in Iraq was solely to fight terrorists. In Washington DC, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said the US government was not involved in Iraq’s no-bid oil contracts.

Today, Rice told Fox News, “The United States government has stayed out of the matter of awarding the Iraq oil contracts. It’s a private matter.”

The initial contracts won’t do much for the American Oil companies. The big prize will come later. Initially the work to be done will be repairing currently damaged fields and updating the equipment. The negotiations are also discussing payment in oil rather than cash. With the global price per barrel skyrocketing it sounds like a sure bet for a hefty profit.

The big payoff will come later when companies are allowed to bid on new contracts to develop large untapped oil fields in Iraq. These new fields could put Iraq on top of the world oil market with the possibility of producing more than 600,000 barrels of crude a day. This could be wonderful news for Iraq and to the world of people who are now in hope of stabilizing oil prices.

It could even be better news for ExxonMobil, Shell, Total and BP since the companies who are getting in early on the no-bid contracts will also have the exclusive option to match other oil company’s bids for the new contracts. Essentially, this means that if a Russian company bids on a new contract then ExxonMobil has the right to match their bid and take the contract.

Well hell. It wasn’t about the oil…OK? Whatever, I’m not even going to go there. It’s too late for that. Where I will go is who could ask for a more perfect timing. Yeah, let’s get all this done before a new President takes office. Let’s get this done while we’ve got outrageous gas prices shoved up our asses (and, exactly how did that happen?) so we can’t say anything about it. Get the picture?

I’ve got a feeling that 500 years from now the history books will name a certain someone as the meanest mother fucker of the free world. That is, if it’s still a free world.

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Paul Chapman reports from Reuters:

Scientists are rewriting the history of vertebrate evolution after discovering a 375–million-year-old fossilised fish.

The discovery of the placoderm complete with embryo and umbilical cord puts the earliest known example of creatures giving birth to live young back another 200 million years.

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The worlds largest and by far the most extravagant Gay Pride Parade attracts millions from around the world. The parade was held Sunday May 25th and expected 3 million in attendance.

With the recent announcement of the continued problems in Moscow, the Pride Parade Association of Sao Paulo, Brazil said it would hold it’s parade for Moscow as well. Moscow Pride organizer, Nicolas Alexeyev will be flying into Sao Paulo to attend the festivities. He will also be presented with the “Citizen Award for Respecting Diversity” award. The association released the following statement:

“The presence of Moscow Pride organizer Nicolas Alexeyev will strengthen our fight against homophobia, and for Senate approval of a law criminalizing homophobia,

“We consider that the two Pride Parades are the best examples to homophobia around the world and their organisers and participants represent our best hopes in construction of a world with more justice and respect to the human rights, as well the guarantee of citizenship of LGBT population.

“We hope this alliance can help them in their local struggle, summing more support for a better condition in the next Pride Parades.”

I think this news is terrific. If can’t think of a message to send Moscow’s mayor and its government. I realize it’s not a real expectation that this will change anything right away but hopefully seeing another event reaching out with such a huge attendance will help boost things along over the coming years. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.

In the very least, gay people of Russia can take some redemption out of this knowing that others are on their side. It would be even cooler if all the major Pride events of the world showed the same expression of solidarity.

I wasn’t sure if I should throw in some of the first videos from the Sau Paulo Pride week in conjunction with such a serious article. But then again it’s all about celebrating and freedom of expression. Besides, those boys are hot!

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[Photo Source: en.rian.ru]

In the photo above, British musician Richard Fairbrass of Right Said Fred, was beaten by ultra-nationalist who oppose gays. The photo is from a set taken at the aborted 2007 gay parade in Moscow.

Moscow mayor, Yury Luzhkov, has repeatedly prevented organizers from any public events or actions in the capital. The mayor has denounced these events as “the work of Satan” and “weapons of mass destruction” against Russia by the West.

For the third consecutive year, gay pride organizers were denied the scheduled parade for May 1st and 2nd of this year. As a result gay activists pledged to march on Moscow’s capital streets 5 times a day during the month of May.

Nikolai Alekseyev, a gay pride organizer in Moscow, stated they want to show the European justice that homosexuals are not allowed to freely express their opinions in Moscow. He added that court proceedings would continue against Moscow authorities for banning the parades in 2007 and 2008.

Alekseyev said, “five notifications, which we are submitting to the government of Moscow for each day in May, touch upon the marches on different streets in the city center.” Of course the marches never manifested as they were rejected by the Moscow government.

Meanwhile in the USA, gay human rights activists expressed their support for Russian gays. In San Francisco, activists conversed with the Russian consulate on May 16th. This was of IDAHO events planned around the world. The objective of the San Francisco event was to press the Russian government to grant parade permits to its gay citizens.

[Photo Source: Gay Republic]

George Duvoisin, a gay youth advocate, asked the official they spoke to stand with the group for a photo and he agreed. He also accepted recent news stories and engaged in pleasant conversation with the activists. The official identified himself as Sergei, which is likely Sergei Vakulenko, Russian Consulate in San Francisco.

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I feel sadness and pain for all residents of the Gambia to have such a disturbed leader. My words are not just in regards to his blatant murderous hatred of homosexuals. This man actually says and believes he saves lives (yet he contracts to kill his own). He believes he can cure AIDS, pneumonia and other serious illnesses just by waiving his hands, by touch and herbal concoctions.

I have to wonder if he uses his staff as a magical wand. One wave and hundreds killed or saved. Or, maybe he uses it for a more personal pleasure behind closed doors. Ahh…the magic of imagination. It can take one to some peculiar places.

Lucbilly from YouTube has more on the story.

I came across poetic justice in the words of Lenelle Moise, who responded to President Jammeh’s announcement via her YouTube channel. Have a listen to her moving words below. I must admit this vid gave me chills the first time I played it. It’s a great piece Lenelle

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Caymanian Compass is the leading newspaper of the Cayman Islands. The newspaper’s website crashed following the story of Aaron Chandler’s police detainment for kissing his boyfriend at Royal Palms last week.

According to the paper, it’s site statistics showed 662,991 hits on Monday. But Web Development Manager, Bronwyn Robbins said,

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The changed laws will affect all areas where Gays are discriminated against including taxes, social security, health care, estate and employment benefits and children who are part of

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[Source: Crestock]

Beat the Whites with the red wedge - 1920

This famous piece by El Lissitzky shows the influence of the new avant garde modernist art movements on early Soviet propaganda. There is in fact a clear political message behind this design. When the revolution took place in Russia in 1917, it did not mean that the Soviet Union with its many components was immediatly formed. A civil war erupted between the communists, the reds, and the royalists supporting the old regime, the whites. With that in mind, this becomes a stylized battle plan for the communist victory, rather than just some abstract geometric design.

Lika Starr

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Photo from Matthew Passion

The above photo is from Mattew Passion, a theatrical play that I heard about last year. I wanted to see the play when I first heard of it but that never happened. Since it was first announced not much else has been said about the play. I’m really not sure what happened. There are no dates listed on the site (via the link above) and the Myspace page is not longer valid…

It really sounded like a beautiful play. The synopsis from the site reads:

Matthew Passion tells the story of the passion
of Christ; the story of Matthew Shepard being picked up, beaten up and
left for dead on a hillside in Laramie, Wyoming, and the story of a
middle-aged HIV positive survivor who outlives his life expectancy.
Although the three stories take place in three different locations, and
are two thousands years apart, they all reflect one another and
converge in the final scene.

Lika Starr

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Becks talks about being a gay icon, his fashion sense and Christmas time at home.

David Beckham – First Look – Armani Ad Campaign

On Being a gay icon:

“I’m very honored to have the tag of gay icon…Maybe it’s things like [the fact] I like to look after myself, I like to look smart and presentable most of the time.”

Becks answered questions from listeners on BBC Radio and said he’s had a metrosexual fashion sense from an early age.

He said, “I always liked to look good, even when I was a little kid. I was given
the option when I was a page boy once of either wearing a suit or
wearing knickerbockers and long socks and ballet shoes – and I chose
the ballet shoes and knickerbockers. It was a little bit strange at the time and my dad gave me a bit of stick – but I was happy.”

Beckhams – Looking good no matter what they’re wearing.

[Larger Images]

More on Fashion:

Becks attributes a lot of of his look to wife Posh.

He said, “Without a doubt Victoria has a huge part in the way I look these days.

I think most couples agree you have to listen to your partner and
you have confidence in your partner to tell you whether you look good
or whether you don’t and to help you out with your fashion and dress
sense.

In America I am just in shorts, tee shirts and flip flops -
although if Victoria is listening, she’ll probably turn round and say
the truth, that I actually get my outfit ready the night before.”

Posh may influence some of his look but Becks’ got good taste all his own too as well. He said, “I’m very organized and controlled and need to go to bed at night knowing what I’m going to wear the next morning.”

We also know what he’s wearing the next day never includes a pair of previously worn underwear. Like Becks himself, he likes his garments crisp and clean.

That may not apply to Posh’s undergarments though. She stated on her TV show Victoria’s Secrets in January, 2000 that David likes to “borrow her knickers” on occasion. Becks caught some flack from that publicity by football pundit Mark Lawrenson, who didn’t like the idea of “Posh and David Beckham” saying her pop star status was bad for him.

David Beckham – Proud Papa!

On Christmas time at home:

The Beckham family is back in London for the Christmas holidays while Posh and the Spice Girls take a week long break from their tour.

Becks said, “We spend Christmas just like most families around the world. We get up early.

The boys woke up about 6.30am, which wasn’t too bad. They open their
presents. Me and Victoria always leave our presents to the end because
we want to watch the boys open theirs.

It’s all about the kids until in the evening, when you’re
just sat in the lounge watching Only Fools and Horses and eating all
the leftovers.

And that’s the way it should be. It’s very traditional in our house. We love it.”

He admitted his family has been feeling homesick and said, “One day we’ll back here of course. We miss London and England.”

Lika Starr

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Paddick has been nominated by the Liberal Democrats.  Members of the party elected paddock out of three possible candidates.  London would become the largest city in the world if he wins the election.

On a similar note earlier this year, Dallas, TX came close to electing an openly gay Mayor.  The Democratic candidate, Ed Oakley, was running a dead heat with his republican counterpart Tom Leppert.  That is, until Time Magazine caught wind of the story and ran an article entitled The Lavender Heart of Texas.  After the article ran local publications in Dallas endorsed Leppert who ultimately won the election by a large margin, leaving Oakley, with just under 40 percent of the vote.  The media blamed the loss on Oakley’s campaign style.

Brian Paddick doesn’t come through without controversial skeletons in his past though.  From his softness on marijuana possession in 2000 to his own allegations of drug use by his ex lover in 2002.  Later that same year, it was announced that no formal charges would follow even though the Commissioner was suspended during the investigation.  

[Image Source: pink news]

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