News Round-Up: November 12, 2018

Some news items you might have missed:

• No hunky pic to start this news round-up as I want to make sure we all stop and thank our military veterans for their incredible service this Veteran's Day. I come from a military family (my dad was a Major in the Air Force during WWII and the Korean War) and have always been so proud of his service.

• The president of Poland told a reporter recently that he would consider enacting a Russian-style 'gay propaganda' law which would ban any materials that presented the LGBTQ community in a positive light.

• A gay man from the UK, Duarte Xavier, has been found guilty of tricking straight men into having sex with him. He's been sentenced to 15 years in jail for his shenanigans.

• David Burtka, also known as Neil Patrick Harris' husband, will have a major guest-star role in episode 3 of the web series West 40s.

• Mark Penn, a longtime adviser to Hillary Clinton, says the former Secretary of State will mount a 3rd run for the White House in 2020. While many say it's time for her to exit the political arena, I'd vote for her again in a heartbeat.

• A 22-year-old California man, Samuel Woodward, has pleaded not guilty in the stabbing death of  gay University of Pennsylvania student, Blaze Bernstein.

• Over the years, I've gone back and forth regarding Sarah Brightman's pop-opera recordings. Some have been fun and somewhat experimental, while others can feel she's using a small sliver of her voice.

I did love her duet, "Time To Say Goodbye," with Andrea Bocelli in 1997.

Since I recently wrote about Bocelli's new album, I'm of a mind to include Brightman as well.

Her newest album, HYMN, has lovely duet with French tenor Vincent Niclo, who's quite easy on the eyes and ears, and very much worth the listening.

I should also mention my husband worked on Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and knows Sarah. He only has wonderful things to say about her. Check out "Sogni" below.

Polish Police Use Tear Gas/Water Cannons On Anti-LGBTQ Protesters At Pride Parade

(screen capture)

The Associated Press is reporting that police in Poland used a water cannon and sprayed tear gas on far-right protesters who attempted to stop the first Pride parade in the eastern city of Lublin in Poland.

Rainbow-colored flags and banners were carried aloft for the parade by over a thousand LGBTQ participants gathered Saturday in Lublin as 300 right-wing haters blocked the parade's path.

Political authorities had canceled the march but Poland’s Court of Appeal overruled the ban on Friday (12 October) due to freedom of assembly laws.

Watch below.

Did The Polish First Lady Diss Donald Trump's Handshake?

Folks are pointing to this moment today when it appeared that the First Lady of Poland dissed Donald Trump, walking past him to shake Melania Trump's hand.

I'm no fan of the Donald's, but just keeping it real - Poland's First Lady does immediately turn and shake DT's hand after Melania's.

Was it the men and women shaking each other's hands first, or was it a diss?

What do you think?

The Trumpster did seem unhappy here

Tens Of Thousands March In Warsaw "Equality Parade"

(photo via Twitter)

While Poland's government continues to deny any legal recognition of same-sex couples, organizers of the 17th annual ‘Equality Parade’ say 50,000 people showed up yesterday in an effort to “draw attention to the rights of LGBT people, fight discrimination and promote acceptance of same-sex unions.”

Via Deutsche Welle:

Poland’s constitution is one of seven in the EU to ban gay marriage and the country is one of six in the 28-member bloc not to allow same-sex civil unions. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland came to power in late 2015 on a ticket of promoting traditional Polish values, family and Catholic traditions.

Looking at photos of Warsaw #Pride. Reportedly 50 000 turned up, making it the biggest in Polish history. 😭❤🌈 #paradarownosci2017 pic.twitter.com/NeLSYhZIBh

— Ana Oppenheim 🌹 (@AnaOpp) June 3, 2017

Happy to be at today's Warsaw Equality Parade with my husband @ParadaRownosci #paradarownosci2017 pic.twitter.com/BVVSdnXXiF

— Gerard Keown (@gerkeown) June 3, 2017

Thank you all for today's fabulous #PrideWarsaw #ParadaRownosci #paradarownosci2017 pic.twitter.com/oo3BCGppzY

— Wojtek Gronwald (@wojtekg09) June 3, 2017

Poland Rejects Civil Unions For The Third Time

For the third consecutive year, Poland lawmakers have voted down putting civil unions on the agenda for this session of Parliament.

The bill was rejected by a vote of 235 ballots to 185, with 18 abstentations.

Last year's vote in 2013 saw the legislation go down by only 17 votes.

Poland currently does not offer any legal recognition of same-sex couples.

Insert your favorite Polish joke here...

(source)

Poland: First openly gay MP attacked after Gay Pride parade

Poland's first openly gay MP Robert Biedron was the victim of a homophobic attack after a Gay Pride parade on Saturday in Warsaw.

From Polskie Radio:

Biedron said that the attack took place in a cafe in central Warsaw where the MP was relaxing with a group of friends following the march.

“An aggressive man insulted us, using homophobic statements. He began to choke one of my friends and punched him in the face. “When he recognized me he spat in my face, raised his fists and and kicked me in the stomach,” the MP said.

According to Biedron, the assailant then ran away but was arrested shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, Biedron noted that the march itself had been considerably less problematic this year. The MP stressed that there were no signs of stones or bottles being thrown at marchers on Saturday, in contrast to some previous occasions.

Former President of Poland says gays should "adjust to smaller things"

Former President of Poland (and Nobel Peace Prize winner) Lech Walesa raised created a bit of a firestorm this week when he said that gays have no right to a prominent role in politics and that as a minority they need to "adjust to smaller things."

"They have to know that they are a minority and must adjust to smaller things. And not rise to the greatest heights, the greatest hours, the greatest provocations, spoiling things for the others and taking (what they want) from the majority," he told the private broadcaster TVN during a discussion of gay rights. "I don't agree to this and I will never agree to it."

"A minority should not impose itself on the majority," Walesa said.

Disappointing that Walesa would see things this way considering he was Poland's first democratic-era president.

(via ABC News)

Poland legislature says "no" to civil unions

The Polish parliament today narrowly rejected legislation that would grant some relationship rights to same-sex couples.

The lower house of parliament rejected three bills that would have legalized civil unions, including narrowly defeating one proposed by a member of the ruling Civic Platform that would have given limited rights to unmarried partners, including ability to inherit property.

The motion to prevent the Civic Platform bill from going to committees for further work was backed by 228 deputies, with 211 against.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk spoke out in favor of the reform, but 46 members of his own party, including Justice Minister Jaroslaw Gowin, sided with the conservative opposition and voted against all three bills on their first reading.

"You can't question the existence of such people (living in homosexual partnerships) and you can't argue against the people who decide to live in such way," Tusk told the parliament before the votes.

Opponents to the legislation say that recognizing gay relationships "would do nothing" to address Poland's dwindling population. And so, for that reason, even limited rights are denied.