Las Vegas drag star Edie to perform at Bill’s Filling Station in Fort Lauderdale, Vlada in Miami

News release about Edie:

New York- turned- Las Vegas drag star EDIE will headline two free shows in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9.

First up is Bill's Filling Station in Ft. Lauderdale on Monday, Dec. 7 at 10PM. Then she's off to Miami on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 9PM. That's when she kicks things up a notch at Vlada, her former home in New York City where she performed regularly for two years before moving to Las Vegas to star in Cirque du Soleil's ZUMANITY.

EDIE will perform her solo cabaret show, a fast-paced hour -and then some- of the leggy showgirl singing her favorites all with her signature 60s go-go flair. Add high-kicking choreography, witty off-the-cuff banter, and stories from her new life in Sin City and it’s “Edie Live!” Her back-to-back Florida shows will follow two sold-out nights in New York.

EDIE’s last New York appearance was at the Zipper Theater shortly before she left for Las Vegas in December 2007. One month later she assumed the role of Emcee - the role originated by Joey Arias- and became the new “Mistress of Sensuality” in Cirque du Soleil’s ZUMANITY at the New York-New York Hotel & Casino. Edie just started her third contract and is scheduled to appear through August 2010. Since her debut in the show, Edie has performed for over a million people.

A native of Portland, OR, EDIE began her professional dance career at the age of 17 with Ballet Oregon. For the next eleven years she danced with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet Chicago, and Pennsylvania Ballet before moving to New York to pursue musical theater. EDIE quickly became a fixture in New York City where she racked up a bevy of awards including Best Drag Queen (HX Award), Best Dance Artist and Entertainer of the Year (Glammy Award). She starred in her autobiographical, off-Broadway show “LEGS!,” performed on the MTV Video Music Awards, appeared on “Sex and the City,” was featured at Wigstock and Broadway Bares, and made her Broadway debut alongside Cyndi Lauper and Alan Cumming in the Tony-nominated revival of “The ThreePenny Opera” at Studio 54. EDIE has also been a fixture with the all-gay cruise company ATLANTIS since 2000.

For more information on EDIE's Florida appearances please visit Billsfillingstation.com or facebook.com/VladaMiami

BILLS:

2209 Wilton Drive,

Wilton Manors, FTL, FL 33305

VLADA:

3215 NE 2nd Ave

Miami, FL 33137

THERE IS NO COVER CHARGE AT EITHER VENUE. They are graciously offering EDIE LIVE! free of charge.

For more information on EDIE visit simplyedie.com

or on Facebook.com/Edie Entertainer

To see EDIE in Vegas go to zumanity.com

Thailand looks to limit sex change surgery

By JANE FUGAL, Associated Press

BANGKOK -- Thailand has issued rules making sex change surgery more difficult - including a requirement that potential candidates cross-dress for a year - over fears that some patients are rushing into the operation, a medical association said Thursday.

Transsexuals and transgender men are a common sight in Thailand, appearing on soap operas and working at all levels of Bangkok society, from department store cosmetics counters and popular restaurants to corporate offices and red-light districts. A national transgender beauty pageant draws thousands to the beachside town of Pattaya every year.

But over the past two years, a rash of castrations, especially among young men, has alarmed the medical establishment and prompted the new rules.

Dr. Sampandh Komrit of the Medical Council of Thailand said the new rules went into effect Wednesday and require a person to wait a year after deciding on the surgery. The applicants must be over 18 and are required to dress in women's clothing for the year before surgery. It also requires a mental evaluation before the surgery and continued follow-up visits with a psychiatrist after getting the sex change.

"This is a very important decision in their life," Sampandh said. "After the operation, there is no way to fix it."

Last year, Thailand's Health Ministry ordered hospitals and medical clinics to temporarily stop performing non-medical castrations. The ministry said that the procedure needed stricter monitoring.

Sampandh said he understood the motivation for sex change surgery, adding that he has met many men who insist they would be happier being a woman. But he said the new regulations give them the opportunity to think through their decision.

"This is not a small thing, not like going shopping. Especially the teenagers, think carefully. Don't do it because your friend did it," Sampandh said.

Patients with a long history as cross-dressers would be exempt from the one-year waiting period, he said.

Caption: In this Dec. 25, 2008 file photo, Thai transvestite dancers watch tourists on Patong Beach, in Phuket, Thailand, on Christmas Day. Thailand has issued rules making sex change surgery more difficult, including a requirement that potential candidates cross-dress for a year, over fears that some patients are rushing into the operation, a medical association said Thursday, Nov. 26, 2009. David Longstreath, File / AP Photo

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission: End executions for sodomy charges in Iran

From the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission:

Join the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Iranian Queers Organization (IRQO) and COC Netherlands in calling on Iranian authorities to stop the numerous executions of minors and adults accused of sodomy. Also join us in calling on Western countries with significant diplomatic and economic ties to Iran, including Germany, France, Canada, as well as the European Union, to pursue diplomatic efforts to cease these executions.

Use our electronic system below to send a letter in English to the foreign officials and another letter in Persian to Iranian officials.

The Issue

The Courts in Iran have sentenced a number of men to death after they were accused and convicted of sodomy. Under Iranian law, sodomy includes sexual intercourse between members of the same sex, and is illegal. The punishment for same-sex intercourse between two men (Lavaat) is death and between two women (Mosaheghe) is 100 lashes for the first three offenses and the death penalty for the fourth.

Most, if not all of these arbitrary executions orders follow rushed trials with little adherence to procedure. Judges overseeing sodomy cases often ignore the strict guidelines of the Iranian Penal Code, and instead use questionable investigative methods and inadmissible evidence to decide the case. Frequently, the convictions are based on forced confessions, made under extreme psychological pressure and torture. Additionally, at least three lawyers who have defended people accused of sodomy have expressed fear of harassment and intimidation by the government and vigilantes. The courts do not allow independent observers to examine cases. Such practices violate the defendants' human rights to a fair trial, free from torture.

In most cases, the Court convicts the defendants of sodomy charges solely on the basis of "the knowledge of the judge". According to the Iranian law, when there is not enough evidence to convict a defendant of a sexual crime, the judge may use his knowledge, in a deductive process based on the evidence that already exists, to determine whether the crime took place or not. Unfortunately, the excessive use of this principle means that rather than paying attention to evidence, the judge often sentences defendants to death based on his speculations. A number of prominent legal and religious scholars believe that such a broad application of the "the knowledge of the judge" to issue death penalty for sexual crimes is in violation of the letter and the spirit of Sharia law.

Regardless of the procedural errors of the trials, Iran's practice of punishing sexual crimes such as sodomy with the death penalty is cruel, disproportionate to the nature of the crime, and inherently arbitrary under international law. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has stated that under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a party, applying the death penalty for 'homosexual acts' violates Article 6, and that criminalization of private sexual relations between consenting adults is contrary to Article 17 and 26. Additionally, the Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary, and Arbitrary Executions has expressed concern numerous times about the use of the death penalty for consensual sodomy and has stated that criminalizing sodomy "increases the social stigmatization of members of sexual minorities, which in turn makes them more vulnerable to violence and human rights abuses, including violations of the right to life."

Alarmingly, some of the defendants sentenced to death were tried for sexual acts they were accused of committing as minors. Article 111 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code states that, "Sodomy is only punishable by death if both parties are adults and of sound mind" and Article 6(5) of the ICCPR states that "[A] sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age." Thus, neither Iranian law nor international law permits the execution of these young men.

Click here to read background and view contact information.

GLAAD president: Blurring Adam Lambert’s kiss ‘reinforces an unfortunate double standard’

Posted to GLAAD Blog by Jonathan Rosales, GLAAD's Entertainment Media Manager:

Yesterday, GLAAD issued a statement applauding CBS for its decision to feature Adam Lambert on The Early Show after Good Morning America cancelled his planned appearance. However, during the broadcast this morning, The Early Show made the decision to blur the image of Adam kissing his keyboardist. In response, GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios has issued the following statement:

“The Early Show’s decision this morning to blur Adam Lambert’s kiss from the American Music Awards reinforces an unfortunate double standard that is applied to openly gay performers,” said Jarrett Barrios, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). “I would have hoped CBS would provide the same treatment for images of gay and lesbian people and not create an unfair double standard that treats our community differently. CBS regularly shows kisses throughout every daypart. The kiss was not blurred on ABC nor in news coverage on other networks.  While we continue to applaud The Early Show for featuring Adam Lambert today, we have reached out to the show’s producers to express our concerns about their decision and offer ways they can make their coverage of gay and transgender people more fair.”

President Barack Obama signs World AIDS Day 2009 proclamation

From the White House:

2009aidsday.prc

Thousands in Puerto Rico hold vigil for murdered gay teen

By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Thousands of people marched through Puerto Rico's capital on Wednesday, celebrating the life of a gay teenager whose dismembered, burned body was found dumped along a road in a small mountain town.

The crowd, many of them carrying candles as a breezy dusk settled over San Juan, were also demanding that authorities invoke a law for the first time covering crimes based on sexual orientation in the U.S. territory.

"We're gay people, straight people, young people, old people. It is Puerto Rico that's walking tonight," Pedro Julio Serrano, a spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, said among the marchers gathered outside the island's Department of Justice.

The mutilated body of 19-year-old college student Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado was discovered Nov. 13 along a road in the town of Cayey. He was a volunteer for organizations advocating HIV prevention and gay rights, and Serrano said there have been vigils for him in a dozen cities, including Los Angeles and New York.

Juan Martinez Matos, the 26-year-old suspect held in the case, allegedly met Lopez in an area known for prostitution, according to prosecutor Jose Bermudez Santos.

The prosecutor said Martinez confessed to stabbing Lopez, who was dressed as a woman, after discovering he was a man.

It could not be immediately determined if Martinez is being represented by a lawyer. Officials for the island's public defenders office could not be reached Wednesday evening.

Gay activists have voiced outrage that Martinez wasn't immediately charged with a hate crime. He has been charged with murder.

Ana Quintero, a spokeswoman for Justice Secretary Antonio Sagardia, said the murder case was still under investigation and officials would pursue it as a hate crime if the evidence warrants.

A 2002 hate crime law in this U.S. territory has not been applied to any cases involving sexual orientation or gender identity despite calls to use it more aggressively, Serrano said. A suspect convicted of a hate crime offense as part of another crime automatically faces the maximum penalty for the underlying crime. For murder, that would be life in prison.

Serrano said he has identified at least 10 slayings on the island over the last seven years that should have been investigated as hate crimes, including some in which the victims were sex workers.

Two U.S. Congress members from New York, who are of Puerto Rican origin, have suggested prosecuting the case under new federal hate crimes legislation that extended coverage to sexual orientation. President Barack Obama signed it last month.

Video | Gay North Miami foster father Martin Gill: ‘Thankful for being a family one day at a time’

Frank Gill, a gay foster father in North Miami trying to adopt his two foster children, has written a Thanksgiving message for the ACLU’s national blog:

Thankful for Being a Family One Day at a Time

Thanksgiving will always be an extra special day in our family. Just before Thanksgiving last year, a Florida family court judge declared Florida’s gay adoption ban unconstitutional and allowed me to adopt two foster kids that my partner and I have been raising for almost five years now. Even though the state quickly appealed the decision, it didn't dampen our spirits that Thanksgiving one bit. Having the judge say what I already knew in my heart — that we were the best parents for these two boys — gave us hope that justice would ultimately prevail.

Click here to read the rest of Gill’s posting.

CBS blurs censored ABC footage of Adam Lambert same-sex kiss, but allows airing of Madonna-Britney smooch

AfterElton.com reports that Adam Lambert – claiming he’s a victim of network TV double-standards when ABC edited out his gay kiss from this week’s American Music Awards – proved his point during a follow-up interview on CBS’ Early Show:

During the CBS interview, the network blurred video of Lambert’s AMA kiss, and then showed (uncensored) the Madonna-Britney Spears lip lock in 2003 at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Weather delay: Miami Beach Hate Crimes Vigil postponed to 5 p.m. Dec. 1 at Lincoln & Washington

From Thomas Barker:

As a result of the current weather conditions, the Hate Crimes Vigil for Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado and Jason Mattison has been rescheduled. The vigil will now take place on during the World AIDS Day candle light vigil, next Tuesday, December 1st, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m at the intersection of Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue.

Mayor Matti Bower and along with newly elected Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora are scheduled to speak about how the negative stigma of the gay community affects HIV and hate crimes.

Please join Wire Magazine, Unity Coalition, Equality Florida, South Beach Aids Project, and the Miami-Dade County Health Department for this powerful and important event.

Hate Crimes Vigil for Jorge Steven Mercado and Jason Mattison and World AIDS Day Rally to End AIDS Stigma

Tuesday, December 1st

5 p.m. To 7 p.m.

Intersection of Washington Ave. & Lincoln Road

Video | Watch Juan Lopez of Miami.com break down the best of White Party weekend

From Miami.com/gay:

Trying to figure out what to do for White Party? Here's our White Party video with our picks of the parties not to miss.