Montreal Gay Bar Faces Human Rights Complaint

Audrey Vachon was recently refused service at Le Stud in Montreal's gay village after sitting down with her father for a quiet afternoon pint. A waiter came over and told her father, Gilles, that the bar doesn't serve women.
Vachon, 20, says the waiter avoided looking at her during the conversation.
"On the spot I didn't believe it, I thought it was a bad joke," Vachon said Wedensday in an interview.
"I didn't say a word until I'd left. I was too shocked. I was embarrassed, I was humiliated, I felt guilty that I'd even gone there, like I'd done something wrong."
Vachon said she would be the first to complain if homosexuals were refused service at a business.
Bar owner Michel Gadoury says Le Stud has banned women most nights since it was established 11 years ago. He says he doesn't understand the fuss.
The bar, an understated spot in a flamboyant part of the city, has the trappings of a local pub with pool tables and video poker terminals.
On many nights it shows gay pornography on TV screens instead of the usual hockey game fare.
"Le Stud is the best place in town for a truly manly meat market," said a review on one travel website.

studbar.com
cp.org

Sam The Record Man To Close For Good

The famous store on Yonge St. will close for good on June 30, 2007.

More Mark Day Comedy

Contestants to vie for kidney transplant on controversial Dutch reality TV show

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) - A Dutch reality show that claims to be trying to draw attention to a shortage of organ donors said Tuesday it would go ahead with a program in which a terminally ill woman will choose a contestant to receive one of her kidneys.
The program, "Big Donor Show," has been attacked as unethical and tasteless. One member of the Dutch parliament suggested the government should block Friday's broadcast.
"We know that this program is super controversial and some people will think it's tasteless, but we think the reality is even more shocking and tasteless: waiting for an organ is just like playing the lottery," Laurens Drillich, chairman of the BNN network, said in a statement.
He said waiting lists in the Netherlands are more than four years long and 200 patients die annually for lack of a donor.
The network identified the donor as "Lisa," a 37-year-old woman with an inoperable brain tumour. During the show, she will hear interviews with the three candidates, their families and friends before choosing who will get her kidney.
The show is being produced by Endemol NV, the creator of the "Big Brother" series.
A spokeswoman for BNN said that there could be no guarantees the donation would actually be made, "but the intention is" Lisa's donation would be carried out before she died.
That is because her wish to donate to a particular candidate "wouldn't be valid anymore after her death" under Dutch donation rules, Marieke Saly said. If Lisa does donate one kidney while living, the other kidney may still be awarded to someone else on a national donation waiting list under the country's organ allotment system.
Viewers will be able to vote for the candidate they feel is most deserving via SMS text message, but "Lisa will determine who the happy one is," BNN said in a statement.
Saly could not say how much it will cost to send an SMS, but most TV programs charge around US$1.35.
Joop Atsma, a lawmaker of the ruling Christian Democrats, raised the issue in parliament, asking the government whether the program violated any law.
"Is it desirable that public broadcasting would go down this path, and is there no way to send a strong signal that we reject this?" he said.
Education Minister Ronald Plasterk, addressing parliament on behalf of the government because the health minister was ill, replied that there were serious questions about whether the transplant would actually go through as BNN has advertised it - but that there was no way to stop the program from airing.
"The information I have right now tells me that the program is unfitting and unethical, especially due to the competitive element, but it's up to program makers to make their choices," he said.
"The constitution forbids me from interfering in the content of programs: let there be no mistake about that, that would be censorship."
He said that there were practical barriers.
"In every transplant the tissue of the donor and the patient must match as much as possible," Plasterk said. "The doctors in this program can't make any concessions on that front."
There also was doubt whether Lisa's organs could be donated at all because it might spread her cancer, he said.
"So it's very possible that in practical terms we're not talking about anything here, because it's possible this transplant can't take place," he said.
Noting the shortage of donors, he said it was a good time for a debate on the question of what incentives to donate are ethical.
He cited the example of a Dutch funeral home that is offering discounts to the families of people who were registered as donors, and an idea presented by the country's Kidney Institute to give registered donors preference on organ waiting lists.

Religion encourages hatred..

Elton John's comments that organized religion justifies anti-gay discrimination have sparked mixed responses from the gay community.
"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred toward gay people," John said in an interview published Saturday in the London Observer's Music Monthly Magazine.
"I would ban religion completely," he said. "Organized religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings."
John also said religious leaders have failed to do anything about world conflicts.
He added: "The world is near escalating to World War Three and where are the leaders of each religion? Why aren't they having a conclave? Why aren't they coming together?"

Click here for the rest of the story at gay.com

Hotel wins right to ban breeders/lesbians

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian hotel popular with gay men has won the right to refuse entry to heterosexuals and lesbians, officials and the owner said Monday.
The Peel Hotel in Melbourne won an exemption from the Equal Opportunity Act to prevent insults and abuse directed toward gays in its bars and nightclubs, owner Tom McFeely told AFP.
"The hotel predominantly markets itself towards homosexual males, towards gay men and we want to protect the integrity of the venue as well as continue to make the men feel comfortable," McFeely said.
"When large numbers of heterosexuals or even lesbians are in the hotel that changes the atmosphere and many gay men can feel uncomfortable."
The landmark decision by a civil tribunal gives the establishment -- which does not offer accommodation -- the right to refuse entry to people considered a threat to the safety and comfort of its patrons.
Helen Szoke, the chief executive of the Victoria state government's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, said the Peel Hotel's gay clientele had experienced harassment, hostility and violence.
"(They) also have felt as though they've been like a zoo exhibit with big groups of women on hens' parties coming to the club," she said.
McFeely said his aim was not to ban all straight patrons and lesbians but to limit their numbers so gay men could freely express their sexuality.
He said he expected a backlash from other patrons, but added: "I'm not worried about it because to be frank I don't really care what heterosexuals or lesbians think.
"My main motivation is to protect my gay male customers and I realise heterosexuals and lesbians may be upset. but I don't care about that.
"We are open at 8.00pm and we go all the way through till the morning. We have two dancefloors -- it is a nightclub environment."
McFeely said it would be easy to sort out desirable gays from undesirable straights and lesbians.
"It is particularly easy to implement with the females 'cause that is pretty obvious.
"With the heterosexual males, if they identify themselves as that at the door, or indeed we question their behaviour in the venue and if they come across as being heterosexual, then we will simply ask them to leave if the behaviour is unappropriate."
Human rights group Liberty Victoria supported the decision, vice-president Michael Pearce said.
"There are numerous places where heterosexual people can go," he said.
"I think what (the tribunal) has said is that there aren't that many places where gay people can go and meet without the risk of being harassed or vilified, and that they are entitled to have their own spaces to do that in."

Gay Teletubbies...again!

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's conservative government took its drive to curb what it sees as homosexual propaganda to the small screen on Monday, taking aim at Tinky Winky and the other Teletubbies.
Ewa Sowinska, government-appointed children rights watchdog, told a local magazine published on Monday she was concerned the popular BBC children's show promoted homosexuality.
She said she would ask psychologists to advise if this was the case.
In comments reminiscent of criticism by the late U.S. evangelist Jerry Falwell, she was quoted as saying: "I noticed (Tinky Winky) has a lady's purse, but I didn't realize he's a boy."
"At first I thought the purse would be a burden for this Teletubby ... Later I learned that this may have a homosexual undertone."
Poland's rightist government has upset human rights groups and drawn criticism within the European Union by apparent discrimination against homosexuals.
Polish Education Minister Roman Giertych has proposed laws sacking teachers who promote "homosexual lifestyle" and banning "homo-agitation" in schools.
The 10-year-old show, that features four rotund, brightly-colored characters loved by children around the world, became a target of religious conservatives after Falwell suggested Tinky Winky could be homosexual.

Dr. Phil Tuesday

Every teenage girl wanted to be her and every teenage boy wanted to date her. With her signature perfectly brushed long hair, Marcia Brady, of the hit early 1970s TV show The Brady Bunch, epitomized the wholesome American girl. But the true life of Marcia Brady, whose real name is Maureen McCormick, is far from the world of lighthearted blended-family conflicts that played out on the sitcom in which she starred. Today she is embroiled in a family battle where brother is pitted against brother and father against daughter. Maureen believes her brother, Kevin, has literally brainwashed her father to alienate him from Maureen and the rest of her family, including his grandchildren. She comes to Dr. Phil desperate for help to save her family.

Your Quit Date is:Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 12:00:00 AM
Time Smoke-Free:5 days, 7 hours, 2 minutes and 30 seconds
Cigarettes NOT smoked:106
Lifetime Saved:19 hours
Money Saved:$40.00


QuitTipofTheDay!
A Question Of PrioritiesSometimes you have to make quitting your #1 priority; which can mean putting your social life on hold during the early days. If you must socialize in risky environments, perhaps your party friends can help you by smoking less around you, etc. This is your quit, and you need to do whatever you can to not smoke. The responsibility is yours.

www.quitnet.com

Social lending gains net interest

Pouring your cash into the far reaches of the world wide web may sound like a crazy idea.
After all, the internet has seen its fair share of nasties from phishing e-mails posing as a bank to key logging software pinching our passwords and personal information, all in an effort to steal our identity and cash.
But now there is a wave of sites trying to convince people that the web is the place for their money.
The concept is called social lending and the idea is to introduce people who need money to people who want to lend some - cutting out the middlemen like banks and mortgage companies.

Click the link for the full article from BBC Click.

www.deltafair.com

Marble slab falls from Toronto skyscraper

A section of Toronto's financial district remained closed Wednesday morning after a slab of marble fell from First Canadian Place the previous evening.
The piece, weighing about 140 kilograms, fell 60 floors, landing on the third-floor roof of a building during high winds and heavy rain Tuesday evening. No one was injured.
Toronto police Staff Sgt. Jay Frosh said inspectors will examine the building at King and Bay streets to make sure no other pieces of marble have come loose.
Once it's deemed safe, streets closed in the area will be reopened, but there's no word on when the inspection will take place.
The area blocked off to pedestrians and traffic reaches from King Street to Adelaide Street and from York Street east to Bay Street.
Workers at First Canadian Place were being allowed into the building Wednesday morning through an underground entrance.
Public transit service has been disrupted in the area. King Street streetcars were being diverted between Bay and Yonge streets. There were no buses on Bay between Adelaide and King, and express buses were not running on Adelaide between York and Bay.
The skyscraper was constructed in 1975 and remains Canada's tallest office building at 70 storeys or 298 metres.

Helen Mirren says no to dinner with the Queen
Updated Mon. May. 7 2007 5:27 PM ET
Associated Press
LONDON -- The Queen won't be meeting "The Queen'' just yet.
Helen Mirren, who won an Academy Award earlier this year for playing Queen Elizabeth, has turned down an invitation to dinner at Buckingham Palace, a British newspaper reported.
The Mail on Sunday said Mirren had been invited to dine with the Queen last week, but sent her regrets because she is filming "National Treasure: Book of Secrets'' in the United States.
"The palace very kindly extended an invitation to dinner last Tuesday, May 1,'' Mirren said in a statement quoted by the newspaper. "But, unfortunately, I was filming in South Dakota and unable to change my schedule. I am very sad not to have been able to attend.''
Representatives of Mirren and the Queen could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Mirren won the best actress prize at February's Oscars for her performance in "The Queen,'' set in the aftermath of the 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The 61-year-old actress saluted the Queen in her acceptance speech for maintaining "her dignity, her sense of duty and her hairstyle'' for more than 50 years.
"She's had her feet planted firmly on the ground, her hat on her head, her handbag on her arm and she's weathered many, many storms. ... If it wasn't for her, I most certainly wouldn't be here. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Queen,'' Mirren said, holding her Oscar aloft.
Buckingham Palace said after the awards that it was "looking at a number of options'' for a visit by Mirren, director Stephen Frears and writer Peter Morgan.

OTTAWA (AFP) - An adventurous tabby took an unexpected trip this week, after slyly crawling into her keeper's luggage and clearing lax Canadian airport security, local media said Wednesday.
Mary Martell unwittingly traveled 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) from Saint John Airport on Canada's Atlantic coast all the way to Toronto, then to Niagara-on-the-Lake by car with the live cat in her suitcase.
She told public broadcaster CBC the bag was scanned at the airport, but she was not stopped and it was eventually loaded into the airplane's cargo bay.
"They had asked me, when they put ... the luggage through the X-ray, whether I had a turkey," she said.
"(Airport security) kept going back and forth with (the suitcase)," Martell said. "I was adamant: 'Look, I have no turkey.'"
Martell said she only discovered Ginger, the family pet, when she opened her luggage in a hotel room, after the three-hour journey. The cat had apparently snuck into a bag while Martell was packing.

Moonflower

A pantropical climber having white fragrant nocturnal flowers.

Vinca
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vinca (from Latin vincire "to bind, fetter") is a genus of five species of in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The common name, shared with the related genus Catharanthus, is Periwinkle.

Large Periwinkle (Vinca major) flower
They are subshrubs or herbaceous, and have slender trailing stems 1-2 m [1] long but not growing more than 20-70 cm [2] above ground; the stems frequently take root where they touch the ground, enabling the plant to spread widely. The leaves are opposite, simple broad lanceolate to ovate, 1-9 cm [3] long and 0.5-6 cm [4] broad; they are evergreen in four species, but deciduous in the herbaceous V. herbacea, which dies back to the root system in winter.




The flowers, produced through most of the year, are salverform (like those of Phlox), simple, 2.5-7 cm [5] broad, with five usually violet (occasionally white) petals joined together at the base to form a tube. The fruit consists of a group of divergent follicles; a dry fruit which is dehiscent along one rupture site in order to release seeds.

Harper - Be Canadian on Climate!

Prime Minister Harper's Clean Air Act has been called "embarrassing" by David Suzuki and "a complete fraud" by Al Gore. What's more, Canada has been undermining international negotiations to stop climate change, receiving an international "award" for the worst country in the world on climate change last year. This is not what Canada is all about, and it has to stop.

Click here to visit the Avaaz.org and send a message to Harper.

Emily April 2007

A flower box that I planted today.

EDUCATION EQUALITY FOR ONTARIO

CLICK HERE NOW!

www.greenparty.ca

www.torontocentregreens.ca

www.gpo.ca

Montana Meth Project

Concealed Music in Scottish Chapel Discovered

I visited Roslyn chapel in Scotland with David in 2005. It is the chapel featured near the end of the book and movie, 'The DaVinci Code'. It is very, very beautiful and almost all of the surfaces are carved stone. Legend has it that there are secret messages in the ornate and patterned carvings inside the old church. Click the title above to link to the website of the composer and musician who discovered the hidden music.