LA LGBT GREENS/OUT AGAINST WAR NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2015

[shane que hee]

LOS ANGELES LGBT GREENS/OUT AGAINST WAR, 923 Levering Avenue Unit 102, Los Angeles CA 90024. Editor:Shane Que Hee. Phone: (310)208-1624; lgbtg...@hotmail.com ; oa...@hotmail.com 

Other: www.cagreens.org/lacounty; www.gp.org; www.losanglesgreens.org; www.campusgreens.org; www.cagreens.org; www.greens.org; www.lavendergreens.org;cal-...@cagreens.org; gplac...@cagreens.org

lavende...@green.gpus.org; lavender-...@green.gpus.org
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LA LGBT GREENS/OUT AGAINST WAR  NEWSLETTER  FEBRUARY 2015  Volume 15  #2

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SAME SEX MARRIAGE:
  The Supreme Court will rule on the appeals to same sex marriage from 4 states, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, probably sometime in June (Time Feb 2 p18;  LAT Jan 10 A14;Jan 17 A1;Jan 23 A19; FILA Jan 22 p11).
  A Mormon dissident, John Dehlin, who supports same sex marriage and airs dissident Mormon Church issues on his website, is expected to be excommunicated on Jan 26 (LAT Jan 16 A12).
  A U.S. District Judge in Michigan ruled that the state must recognize over 300 same sex marriages that were performed in a brief legal window after Mar 21 2014 (LAT Jan 16 A12).
  The evangelical war over same sex marriage was analyzed in Time Jan 26 pp44-48
  Alabama is fighting the federal court’s decision to overturn its ban on same sex marriage (LAT Jan 25 A22).
  Other:  Time Jan 19 p20; Out Feb pp54-77,96; The Advocate Feb/Mar p25; FILA Jan 8 p13,14,56
 
LGBT  NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
   The Imitation Game, based on the life of British Gay mathematician Alan Turing who cracked Germany’s Enigma Code,  continued to build momentum towards the Academy Awards with nominations for the awards of the Screen Actors Guild and Costume Designers’ Guild and 8 nominations for the Academy Awards and the Ensemble Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival (Time Jan 26 pp60-61,67;  LAT Jan 8 A2;Jan 9 D1;Jan 16 A1,E1,E18, E19,E20;Jan 18 A23;Jan 22 E2;Jan 25 E8;Jan 29 S1,S14; FILA Jan 22 p13).  The awards are to be hosted by actor and magician Neil Patrick Harris on Feb 22 (LAT Jan 17 C1).
  Latvia’s Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics is the 1^st high ranking politician in the Baltic states to come out (The Advocate Feb/Mar p27).
  A cinema theatre was badly damaged Oct 29 during a LGBT film festival in Kiev, Ukraine, but the government was helpful in response and Kiev’s Queer Festival went on on Dec 13-16 (The Advocate Feb/Mar p28).
  The pros and cons of PeEP to prevent HIV infection were explored in The Advocate Feb/Mar p29.
  An Egyptian court has acquitted 26 men of charges of “debauchery” after being arrested at a Cairo bathhouse  and being detained for months, three also being sexually assaulted while in prison (LAT Jan 13 A3).
  The odyssey of long-lost Lesbian and heterosexual trysts in the convent of San’t Ambrogio in Germany from 1859 was described in Time Jan 26 p62.
   Homophobe Robert Mugabe, 90, prime minister of Zimbabwe, was elected Chairman of the African Union (LAT Jan 31 A4).
   Leo Varadkar, Irish Health Minister, said he was Gay and supported same sex marriage, a vote coming in May (Time Feb 2 p9).
 
NATIONAL
   Fox’s hip-hop soap opera Empire has a same sex couple, one African American and the other Latino (LAT Jan 6 D2;Jan 7 D1). The show was” described as King Lear meets Dynasty meets Glee.”  The African American father refuses to recognize his singer-songwriter son’s sexuality, and refuses to regard his son’s lover except as a roommate.  Some LGBT hip-hop artists include: Frank Ocean, Big Freeda, Leif, Sam Smith, Brandi Carlile, and Laura Jane Grace.
   Protests have erupted over TLC’s My Husband’s Not Gay (LAT Jan 7 D12).
   Same sex molestation in the Boy Scouts has finally risen its head (LAT Jan 10 AA4).
   Matt Bomer won a Golden Globe on Jan 11 for best supporting actor in The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer (LAT Jan 10 E2). Transparent also won awards for Best Actor in a Comedy series and a TV comedy series (LAT Jan 10 E2;Jan 15 A21).  Transparent has been nominated for a GLAAD award (LAT Jan 22 E2).
  The Advocate’s take on the midterm election results was pessimistic and cocked an eye to 2016  (Advocate Feb/March. p15).
   An outline of Queer comics was amusing (The Advocate Feb/Mar p34).
   Apple CEO Tim Cook, now fully out, was profiled in The Advocate Feb/Mar p58.
   The anniversary of the winning of a pivotal court case for LGBT civil rights was remembered for theanniversary of ONE Magazine Winning its case the U.S. Post office, ONE vs Oleson, which labeled it  “obscene” (LAT Jan 11 A1).  Michael Oliveira, a current archivist at ONE’s archives at the USC Library, was mentioned as was Eric Julber, 90 now but then 30, the straight lawyer who handled the case pro-bono (the ACLU refused it) started with the seized Oct 1954 One issue,  Jonathan Rauch a professor at the Brookings Institution, ONE’s founding editors Dale Jennings and Don Slater, and USC law professor David Cruz.  After the March 1956 guilty verdict, Julber appealed to the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals but lost there in Feb 1957, stimulating him to file to the US Supreme Court on June 13 1957 which reversed the original decision on Jan 13 1958, securing the right of sending LGBT material through the U.S. mail.
   The British director Andrew Haigh of HBO’s Looking, about 3 Gay men in San Francisco, was profiled in LAT Jan 11 D3.
   The US Tennis Association will officially add same-gender couples tournaments to its official roster of events, a move hailed by Nabil Najjar, 50, of the Gay Lesbian Tennis Alliance who lives in Palm Springs and Los Angeles with his tennis partner and long-time lover Robert Girard, 68 (USA Today Jan 14 6C)..  They will both be in the 1^st official event on Mar 7-8 at the Plaza Racquet Club in Palm Springs in the 100 (combined ages) doubles division.
   The biography Becoming Richard Pryor by Scott Saul mentioned Pryor’s having to fellate his neighborhood bully Wilbur Harperat at age 7 (LA Weekly Jan16 p28). His comedy performances at Greenwich Village clubs were mentioned, as was  his legendary 10-min 1977 performance at the Hollywood Bowl for Gay rights where he said “When the niggers were burning down Watts, you motherfuckers were doing what you wanted on Hollywood Blvd, didn’t give a shit about it,” mooned the crowd, and yelled “kiss my happy, rich, Black ass” and stalked off.
    Whitney Houston’s Lesbian fling with Robyn Crawford was essentially pink-washed in the Lifetime biopic Whitney on Jan 17 (LAT Jan 17 E3).
    The film Appropriate Behavior directed by Desiree Akhavan who also stars, was described as “a kind of Iranian American-bisexual Annie Hall crossed with an episode or two of HBO’s Girls” (LAT Jan 17 E6).  It has been nominated for 1^st Screenplay Independent Spirit Award.
    The ACLU lawyer, Al Bendich, 85, who successfully defended Allen Ginsberg’s Howl against its 1957 obscenity charge, died on Jan 5 in Oakland California (LAT Jan 18 B6).  He also successfully defended comedian Lenny Bruce on similar charges in 1962, and was counsel for producer Saul Zaentz..
    Mark Ruffalo won best supporting male actor in a TV movie for his role in Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart at the Screen Actor’s Guild Awards on Jan 25 (LAT Jan 26 E1,E4).
     The Mormon Church has endorsed job and housing protections for LGBTs except for people with religious objections (LAT Jan 28 A1(2);Jan 31 A1). Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign stated that the policy was still “deeply flawed”, a stance also supported by the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s Lorri Jean.. Executive Director Troy Williams of Equality Utah praised the change. Kay Kendall of the National center for Lesbian Rights termed it “‘history-making”.  The flack that the Church suffered over its stance on Prop 8 in California had some influence on the decision. Fred Karger of Californians Against Hate thought the “religious objections” caveat would be used to discriminate.
   Lily Tomlin, 75, recent Kennedy Center awardee, will make her 1^st appearance got her new film Grandma at the Sundance Film Festival (LAT Jan 29 E1).
   The documentary Tig features a Lesbian comedienne Tig Notaro and her lover Stephanie  Allynne,  at the Sundance Film Festival (LAT Jan 31 D1).

CALIFORNIA
    State judges have been barred from belonging to the Boy Scouts because of that organizations discrimination against LGBTs (LAT Jan 24 B7;Jan 25 A1;Jan 27 B4;Jan 30 B1;). The Boy Scouts allows Gay boys but not LGBT adults as leaders.
  The California Supreme Court ruled 5-2 that adults convicted of engaging in unforced fellatio with 16- and 18-year olds must register as sex offenders while those who have sexual intercourse may not have to (LAT Jan 30 B4).

LOS ANGELES
   The alternative nightscene was aired (LA Weekly Jan 9 p51;Jan 16 p51;Jan 23 p52;Jan 30 p48).
  A giveaway by the Andy Warhol Foundation including to the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art was discussed (LAT Jan 7 D3).
  We Ho has made its restrooms unisexual and unigenderal on Jan 15 after the Council 1^st passed the law in June 2014 (LAT Jan 15 A1; FILA Jan 22 p13).  Some notables mentioned in the article were Drian Juarez and Coco LaChine of the We Ho Transgender Advisory Board, Sasha Buchert of the Transgender Law Center, and visitor Gigi Gonzalez.  Other cities to have such a law included Austin TX and Philadelphia PA.
   The Women’s Basketball League of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks has had many Lesbian couples, for example, Stephanie Alleynne and Tig Notaro, and Sherrelle Holmes and her girlfriend (LA Weekly Jan 16 p11).
   Transvestite comedienne Barry Humphries, in his 80s, is on his “farewell tour” with Dame Edna’s Glorious Goodbye at the Ahmanson through March 15 (LAT Jan 22 E8;Jan 25 F4;Jan 30 E1;  FILA Jan 22 p13,31).
   The multimedia Maricon Collective of four men in  their 30s from East Los Angeles, Rudy Bleu, Carlos Morales, Manuel Paul, Michael Rodriguez,  celebrates queer Chicano culture inspired by Joey Terrell in the 70s (LA Weekly Jan 23 p45). Their 1^st party was in April 2014 at Akbar in Silver Lake.   They soon expanded by inviting other queer bands to perform like punk band The Bags and its frontman Alice Bag, Limp Wrist and Shh and their  Martin Sorrondeguy, and the punk band Take.
   The Sapphic film The Duke of Burgundy received an enthusiastic but not uncritical review in LAT Jan 24 E4; FILA Jan 22 p38
   The music of Leonard Bernstein filled a Pacific Symphony program conducted by his student protégé Carl St Clair on Jan 30 in the Segerstrom Concert Hall in Costa Mesa (LAT Jan 31 D1). The works included Arias and Barcarolles (the final work), excerpts from Candide, West Side Story, and Wonderful Town,   2^nd Symphony (The Age of Anxiety) , and the Slava! A Political Overture and the Candide Overture.
  
LGBT PASSINGS
  Journalist and LGBT activist Leland Nichols, 85, died in San Pablo on Dec 14 from congestive heart failure.  He had a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1952, and Master’s degree in Journalism in 1956, both from UCLA. He was openly bisexual, taught in the Army, and lectured for 20 years at California State University, Sacramento as a communication studies professor.  He came out in 1984 and was active thereafter in the Democratic Party. His major journalism was in the form of radio interviews but he also did TV interviews too.

   Errol Jacobs, 77, died on Dec 30 2014 of Parkinson’s Disease in Los Angeles, leaving his long time companion, Gerard Perreau.  He completed his MA degree and an Education degree at UCLA. He taught for 40 years at Audubon Junior High School, and then at Taft High School from which he retired.

   Gay shaman and visual artist Steven Solberg, 68, died of cancer on Jan 29, leaving his soulmate Kohl Miner of 20 years . He co-taught Seeing In The Dark: An Introduction To Gay Shamanism with Don Kilhefner for a decade. He founded the Gay Men’s Medicine Circle in Los Angeles.

   Song writer, singer and poet  Rod McKuen, 81, died of pneumonia on Jan 29 in Beverly Hills, leaving his producer and lover of over 45 years, Jim Pierson.  He was abused by his father, became a disk jockey at 15 in Oakland, and sang at a San Francisco nightclub when 17.  He produced his 1^st album Beatsville in 1959. Frank Sinatra packed his songs into one album in 1959, A Man Alone: The Words and Music of McKuen.  He was twice nominated for an Oscar in 1970 and 1971. His song Seasons in the Sun reached number 1 on the hit parade of 1974. His poetry books included Stanyan Street and Other Sorrows (1966), Listen To the Warm (1967), Lonesome Cities (1968), Caught in The Quiet (1970).  He appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson many times. He retired in 1981, and attempted a comeback in the early 2000s that fizzled. He 1999 poem Age is Better showed wonder that he had become “old”.

    Yazmin Vash Payne, 33, known at birth as Michael, was found with multiple stab wounds on Jan 31 when fire crews responded to a report of a fire at her apartment in Van Nuys. Her boyfriend Ezekiel Dear, 25, turned himself in to the LAPD.  In January, three young black trans women were murdered: on Jan. 9, Ms. Edwards was killed  in Louisville, Kentucky; on Jan. 23, Lamia Beard was killed in Norfolk, Virginia; and on Jan. 23, Ty Underwood was offed in Tyler, Texas.


GREEN PARTY NEWS
 INTERNATIONAL
   The US-Cuba thaw continued (Time Feb 2 p13;  The Week Dec 26 p2;  LAT Jan 16 A1;Jan 18 A7;Jan 21 A3;Jan 22 A3;Jan 23 A3;Jan 31 A2;Feb 1A14;  Daily Bruin Jan 16 p2).
   Not much has occurred after the Lima summit on Climate Change but the news that 2014 was the warmest on average in recorded history shook things up (Time Feb 2 p16;  The Week  Dec 26 p6; LAT Jan 17 A1;Jan 18 A1;Jan 26 A1;Jan 26 A1;Jan 29 A2).
   The US is viewed as hypocritical over human rights (The Week  Dec 26 p15,20 (2 cartoons)).
   Venezuela is wanting to have financial aid (LAT Jan 6 A3;Jan 25 A7).
   More bodies and severed heads have been found in Guerrero Mexico, site of the disappearance of 43 students (LAT Jan 8 A7;Jan 13 A4).
  More political and economic unrest arose in Europe as the anti-austerity party in Greece gained power  (Time Jan 26 p13;Feb 9 p8,18;  LAT Jan 20 C2;Jan 22 A15;Jan 26 A4;Jan 27 A1,A10;Feb 1 A5;  Daily Bruin Jan 30 p2).
   The Ebola epidemic appears to be waning as testing commenced on a new drug to eliminate it (LAT Jan 23 A2;Jan 24 A3).
   The TransPacific Partnership was criticized in LAT Jan 23 A19.

NATIONAL
   The Republicans assumed majorities in both Houses of Congress as December unemployment was 5.6% as Obama unveiled his State of the Union address on Jan 20 (The Week Dec 26 p2;  LAT Jan 5 A1;Jan 6 A1;Jan 8 A10;Jan 11 A20;Jan 13 A1; Jan 14 A1,A11,A12;Jan 20 A1,A10; Jan 21 A1(2),A10,A14,A15(2);Jan 22 A6; Jan 23 A10,A19 plus cartoon;Jan 25 C1;Jan 27 A11; Jan 28 A15;Jan 30 A1;Jan 31 A8;   Daily Bruin Jan 21 p1).
   Unrest related to the deaths of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Edsell Ford and others (Time Jan 19 p13;   The Week  Dec 26 p5;   LAT Jan 5 AA1;Jan 6 A6;A7; Jan 11 A17;Jan 13 A10;Jan 20 A9; Jan 21 A2,B3;Jan 30 A7,A19;Jan 31 A9; LA Weekly Jan 9 p46 (Henry Rollins column);The Advocate Feb/Mar p23; ) and the retaliatory shootings of NYPD police (LAT Jan 5 A5,A13; Jan 7 A6)  and at LAPD car cops continued.
   Gun control efforts are stagnating  (The Week  Dec 26 p17; LAT Jan 18 A23).
   Obama met with Mexico president Pena Nieto in Washington DC on Jan 6 (LAT Jan 7 A3).
   ObamaCare is still under threat (LAT Jan 9 A13;Jan 10 B1;Jan 15 C2; Jan 16 A21;Jan 18 A22,F10;Jan 27 A9,C2;Jan 29 C1;Feb 1 A1).
   The Supreme Court’s deference to wealth in their allowing unlimited campaign funding was discussed in LAT Jan 9 A17.
    Immigration reform appeared to be stopped (LAT Jan 9 A17(cartoon);Jan 11 AA4;Jan 13 B2;    Jan 15 A9;Jan 16 A21;Jan 21 B3;Jan 23 A10;Jan 24 A1;Jan 28 B4;Feb 1A9,B3;Feb 2 B1;    Daily Bruin Jan 16 p2).
   Pot still ruffled feathers (LAT Jan 9 B1;Jan 11 AA1;Jan 14 B1;Jan 18 A14;Jan 21 A14;Jan 24 A10;Jan 25 A14;Jan 29 A10).
   The Republicans still want the Keystone Pipeline (LAT Jan 10 A8;Jan 14 A11;Jan 21 A8;Jan 25 A23;Jan 27 A7;Jan 30 A6;  Daily Bruin Jan 30 p2).
   Obama wants free education for community college & technical school students (LAT Jan 10 A9;Jan 14 A10,B2;Jan 18 A22;Jan 20 A11) and tax the rich (LAT Jan 18 A9,A22;Jan 20 A10).
    The announcement that Sen. Barbara Boxer will not stand for election in 2016 caused California Sec State Kamala Harris to announce she would run and former LA Mayor and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa to mull it over (LAT Jan 10 AA1;Jan 11 AA1;Jan 13 B1;Jan 14 B4;Jan 15 B1;Jan 18 B2;Jan 23 B1;Jan 26 B1;Jan 27 B4;Jan 30 A23(cartoon);Feb 1 B2;  FILA Jan 22 p13).
    Net neutrality is still a hot topic (LAT Jan 17 C1;Jan 22 C3).
    Corruption was uncovered in the Navy (LAT Jan 19 B4).
    GMOs are being researched to control GMOs (LAT Jan 26 A8).

CALIFORNIA
  The GPCA general Assembly in Monterey on Jan 24/25 featured a welcome form Marina mayor Bruce Delgado, reports from the Nov election, the progress of the Top Two legal case, GPCA’s strategic plan, GPCA platform future, closing the Prop 13 commercial property loophole, hosting the GPUS 2017 annual meeting in California,  breakout sessions for GPCA Committees and working groups, the suggestion of San Jose as the next General Assembly site, the passage of 2 revised platform planks on International Trade and Native Americans, and the 2016 Presidential election and GPCA delegates.
  Gov Brown’s historic 4^th term brought cheers and jeers and he unveiled a $165 billion budget and as December unemployment was 7.0% (LAT Jan 5 Al3(2);Jan 6 A1,A11(plus cartoon);Jan 7 A1;Jan 8 AA1;Jan 9 A1;Jan 10 A1, B1;Jan 11 A19;Jan 13 A1;Jan 14 B4;Jan 16 A21;Jan 18 B4; Jan 21 A15,B1;Jan 24 C1).
 Undocumented immigrants lined up for drivers’ licenses at DMV offices (Daily Bruin Jan 5 p1).
 Ground was broken for the bullet train tracks in Fresno as protests occurred on the route through the Los Angeles National Forest (LAT Jan 5 A1;Jan 9 AA2;Jan 13 A15(cartoon);Jan 18 B3).
 Corruption continued to be uncovered to the tune of 1,005 proven cases in 2014 (LAT Jan 6 AA4;Jan 15 C1;Jan 21 B1).
   Drought still dogged California (LAT Jan 20 B1;Jan 30 B1).
   Assisted suicide was a hot item (LAT Jan 22 B1).
   The homeless in San Francisco are privy to more help (LAT Jan 27 B1).
   The state has cited Exide secondary lead smelter in Vernon for toxic emissions (LAT Jan 29 B7).  The facility has been idle since last March and the company is in bankrupcy proceedings.
   Prisons were discussed as Prop 47’s effects surfaced (LAT Jan 30 B4;Jan 31 B1).
   Toxic releases surged 50% in 2013 relative to 2012 because of waste disposal at the Buttonwillow  Kern County waste site operated by Clean harbors Inc (LAT Jan 31 B4).

LOS ANGELES
   Transit problems were still hot news for example, the effect of GPS apps on traffic flow, and progress on the light rail system (LAT Jan 6 AA2;Jan 27 B1;Feb 2 B3;  LA Weekly Jan 30 p11).
   Corruption continued to come to light (LAT Jan 6 AA3;Jan 8 AA3;Jan 13 B3;Jan 15 A1).
   Protests continued about police shootings and in particular the shooting death of Edzell Ford (LAT Jan 7 AA3; Daily Bruin Jan 8 p1). Protestors packed the hearing room of the civil oversight board of the LAPD on Jan 6 (LAT Jan 7 AA3). Black Lives Matter continued its protests and vowed to camp out outside LAPD Headquarters until the 2 officers involved in the death of Ezell Ford who was shot on Aug 11 2014 were fired (LAT Jan 10 AA3; Jan 13 B1;Jan 17 B3;Jan 23 B3;Jan 25 A3;Jan 26 A13;Jan 28 B4(2)).
   Port of Long Beach and of Los Angeles unrest continued (LAT Jan 7 B2;Jan 27 C2).
   The homeless continued to elicit much handwringing (LAT Jan 10 A15;Jan 14 B1;Jan 25 A1; Jan 27 B1;Feb 2 B1; Daily Bruin Jan 27 p1).
   The County Sheriff’s office continued to have its past examined (LAT Jan 11 A1;Jan 17 B1).
   The minimum wage issue struck a nerve (LAT Jan 11 A19; Jan 13 A14;Jan 15 B3;Jan 25 B3).
   The drive to retrofit buildings for earthquakes gained support (LAT Jan 13 B1;Jan 15 B3).
   Violent crime in 2014 rose 14.3% relative to 2013 in Los Angeles with aggravated assaults the main culprit, increasing by 28.3% (LAT Jan 13 B6) but homicides continued to decline with 551 in 2014, the lowest since 2000, 87% being male and 6.7% being police officer involved, and 96% being under 65 (LAT Jan 17 B2;Jan 27 B2).
   The low price of oil has made drilling unprofitable, especially in South Los Angeles where fracking has been a flash point (LAT Jan 19 B3).
   The Martin Luther King Jr Parade on Jan 19 brought out protestors concerned with the police killing of Black men like Black Lives Matter and the MLK Jr Coalition (LAT Jan 20 B3;   LA Weekly Jan 30 p44 (Henry Rollins column)).
 
OUT AGAINST WAR
    Out Against War has decided to organize a anti-corporate solidarity rally in front of Raytheon Corporation, 299 N Euclid in Pasadena on Sat Feb 14 12 noon-2p on the theme Make Love Not War-Protest the Merchants of Death.  We ask for endorsements at oa...@hotmail.com for this protest against the 7^th  largest supplier of death weapons to the US government.  Please come and join us with your friends, noise makers, and energy.

    Out Against War cosponsored the annual Close Guantanamo Protest just atop the Santa Monica Pier near the cannon on Sun Jan 11.  The rain stopped some 3 hours before and the sun poked through the clouds during the rally. John O’Brien, Bill Kaiser and Shane Que Hee were there.  The orange-clad ‘prisoners’ caused many passers-by to get a photo-op. The speakers were Soraya Deen (Muslimahs for Peace and Justice); Michael Rapkin – (Attorney for detainees); Kathleen Hernandez (Veterans for Peace); Shane Que Hee (Out Against War); Haroon Manjlai (Public Affairs Coordinator, CAIR); Sophia Armen (CODE PINK); David Clennon; Stephen Fiske (musician- who sang Close Guantanamo to the tune Guantalamera).  There were some 50 protestors. Shane’s speech is reprinted below:

Hi everyone.   I speak to represent Out Against War, a Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) antiwar group in Los Angeles.  We support all prisoners who are being unjustly held, and oppose all anti-LGBT actions.  This makes for interesting contrasts.  Thus we believe all Guantanamo prisoners who are non-US citizens or  permanent residents need to have a speedy civilian non-US Government  trial  (for example at the World Court in The Hague) and not be just released.   Those found to be innocent should receive reparations from the US government.   Those who are guilty should be penalized. We also believe that the US naval base in Cuba should be shut down. It’s time the Monroe Doctrine was interred.  While we applaud the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay prison so that only 127 still remain out of the original 774, we hope that that Pres Obama will keep his promise to shut down Guantanamo prison before he leaves office.  All of you listening should write to the President to demand this­and to close down the naval base too. Many Muslims and Muslim governments are anti-LGBT rights. We cannot in good conscience support laws that would either kill or imprison us for what we are--- or vice versa.  An affront to one is an affront to all. Homophobia occurs everywhere as does heterosexism.  We oppose them too.  We applaud the resolve of LGBT Chelsea Manning without  whose  whistleblowing we would know very little about Guantanamo and its prisoners and the tortures they have endured.  Nor would the recent Senate Report have been released without the prior activities of our whistleblower. We know that corporate greed is behind most of our troubles. Thus please join us in our action at Raytheon Corporation in Pasadena, 299 North Euclid on Sat Feb 14 12 noon-2p.  Our organizational meeting is on Sat Jan 17 2015  2p at the Bomb Shelter on the UCLA campus (aptly named!) that is between the Chemistry, Engineering, Life Sciences, and Nanotechnology Buildings. So when do we want Guantanamo Bay prison closed?  NOW!  What do we want the Guantanamo Bay naval base closed?  NOW!





 
 
 

 
WAR NEWS
INTERNATIONAL
   Al Qaeda continued to rear its head in Yemen (Time Feb 2 p12;  LAT Jan 5 A4;Jan 8 A3;Jan 15 A1; Jan 21 A1, A6;Jan 22 A2,A3;Jan 23 A6;Jan 24 A3;Jan 25 A9;Jan 27 A3;Jan 30 A5), Qatar (LAT Jan 25 A4), Australia (The Week  Dec 26 p7,16,17); Nigeria (LAT Feb 1 A18); and  Paris where 17 were killed including at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and afterwards (Time Jan 19 p13;Jan 26 p9,29, pp30-37;Feb 2 p9,12;  LAT Jan 8 A1(2),A7, A14,A15 (cartoon),D1, Jan 9 A1,A2,A6; Jan 10 A1,A7,A15 (cartoon),B3;Jan 11 A1,A4,A6,A8; Jan 13 A3;Jan 14 A1,A2, A4,A11;Jan 15 A1,A4,A7;Jan 16 A3;Jan 17 A1,A3;Jan 18 A1,A3,A5,A22,F1,F7(2),F9;Jan 20 A1,A11; Jan 21 C7;Jan 24 A4;Jan 25 A5;  Daily Bruin Jan 9 p4;Jan 14p4;Jan 16 p2;Jan 21 p4;   LA Weekly Jan 23 p47 (Henry Rollins column))
   Killing continued in Iraq with more hostage beheadings (Time Jan 19 p44;   LAT Jan 7 A5;Jan 8 A3,A7;Jan 11 A20;Jan 14 A3;Jan 21 A5;Jan 25 A3;Jan 25 A1,A2;Jan 26 A3;Jan 27 A5;Jan 28 A3; Jan 29 A4;Jan 30 A5(2);Jan 31 A3;Feb 1 A1,A3,A6;Feb 2 A3;   Daily Bruin Jan 29 p3).
  The Afghanistan War has cost the US $1 trillion and owes $125 billion in interest on the debt (The Week  Dec 26 p5;  LAT Jan 6 A5;Jan 7 A3;Jan 8 A3,A17;Jan 11 A2; Jan 30 A4;Feb 1 A4).
  Killing continued in Pakistan (The Week Dec 26 p3; LAT Jan 5 A4;Jan 7 A3;Jan 9 A3;Jan 13 A4;Jan 28 A5;Jan 31 A7).
  The Syrian civil war continued with some killed by Israeli air strikes on Jan 18 (Time Jan 26 p10;Feb 9 p9;  LAT Jan 6 A3;Jan 7 A5;Jan 9 A3;Jan 11 A3,A9;Jan 13 A2;Jan 16 A3;Jan 20 A3;Jan 25 A26;Jan 29 A3;Feb 2 A4).
   Unrest appeared in Lebanon as Hezbollah attacked Israel (LAT Jan 25 A3;Jan 29 A1).
  The death of King Abdullah, 90,  of Saudi Arabia on Jan 23 has thrown some instability into the Middle East (Time Feb  9 p8,pp22-27;  LAT Jan 23 A1;Jan  24 A1,A2;Jan 28 A7;Feb 2 A13).  He was King since 2005 but ran the country at least a decade before accession. His half-brother, Prince Salman, 79, succeeded and named his heir, Prince Muqgin,69, the last of the dynasty founder’s 45 sons, and Prince Mohammed ibn Nayif, 45, as deputy Crown Prince. .
  Egypt widened its buffer zone with Gaza as the sons of former President Mubarak were released (Time Feb  9 p9;  LAT Jan 9 A3;Jan 14 A3;Jan 18 A3;Jan 24 A4;Jan 26 A3;Feb 2 A3).
  Violence continued in Libya (LAT Jan 6 A4;Jan 28 A4).
  The Iranian President Hassan  Rouhani stated that Iran needed to end its political isolation with dual purpose uranium enrichment approved (LAT Jan 5 A1,A11;Jan 8 A15;Jan 11 A3;Jan 15 A7;       Jan 17 A3;Jan 20 A3;Jan 22 A1;Jan 27 A10;Jan 28 A3;Feb 1 A18)
   Israel was miffed with the Palestinian Authority’s request in the UN Security Council (unsuccessful by 1 vote!) for Israel to vacate the West Bank and Gaza, and its subsequent move to join the International Court of Justice at The Hague to bring charges on terrorism against Israel, and also the renewed “attacks from Lebanon” by Hezbollah  (Time Jan 19 p44; Feb 9 p5;  LAT Jan 7 A5,A12; Jan 15 A2,A21;Jan 16 A1;Jan 22 A1,A3;Jan 23 A7Jan 29 A1;Jan 30 A1, A23;Jan 31 A7;  Daily Bruin Jan 30 p2).
  The war in east Ukraine has stagnated but flared up in the 3^rd week of Jan with ther successful retention by the rebels of the Donetsk airport (Time Feb 2 p9;  LAT Jan 10 A3;Jan 14 A3;Jan 22 A4;Jan 23 A3;Jan 25 A8;Jan 28 A1;Jan 29 A19;Jan 30 A3;Feb 1 A3) 
  The new Cold War against Russia continued (Time Feb  9 p8;  The Week  Dec 26 p16;  LAT Jan 27 A11).
  An Guantanamo prison inmate has published a 466 page long Guantanamo Diary after a 7-year legal battle (LAT Jan 20 A5). Torture and sexual humiliation are detailed.  Obama still wants to continue his efforts to close the prison now with 122 about half of that when Obama acceded to the Presidency (LAT Jan  24 A1).  Some 33 are still slated for “indefinite detention.”
   A Swiss national, a former private banker, has been found guilty of passing secrets to WikiLeaks in 2007 (LAT Jan 20 C3).
   Obama’s foreign policy was termed “thin” (LAT Jan 29 A19).
US WAR NEWS:
  Fallout continued from the Senate CIA torture report (The Week  Dec 26 p12,16,17;  LAT Jan 15 A17;Jan 16 A12(3);   LA Weekly Jan 9 p46 (Henry Rollins column))
  Controllers in the US direct foreign war deployment of drones but drones for border surveillance were decried (LAT Jan 5 A1;Jan 7 A6).
  Cybernet hacking allegations continued (Time Jan 19 p30;Jan 26 p20;   The Week  Dec 26 p4;  LAT Jan 13 A8,C1;    LA Weekly Jan 9 p46 (Henry Rollins column)).
  Enrolling jurors for the Boston Marathon bombing trial began on Jan 5 (LAT Jan 6 A6;Jan 15 A11;Jan 16 A12;Jan 23 A10).
   Arrests and sentencings still continued for suspected terrorism and leaking (LAT Jan 15 A11;Jan 25 A11; Jan 27 A8).
   Drones were still in the news (LAT Jan 16 A12;Jan 24 A7;Jan 29 A11).
   The Israel divestment movement continued to prosper (LAT Jan 21 B2).
 
 
OCCUPY
INTERNATIONAL. 
  Hong Kong police have arrested some of the Occupy students (LAT Jan 17 A7).
  The hold of the 1% globally was discussed in LAT  Jan 20 A2;Jan 21 C1;.

NATIONAL.
  During and after the last recession, a white household earned $13 relative to $1 by an African American family (The Week Dec 26 p5).

LOCAL  
  The cast of the local movement against police brutality a la Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, and Edsell Ford has taken the shape of the occupy-like tactics of Black Lives Matter on LAPD administrative offices, culminating in the arrests of 2 women who were trying to transfer a letter of protest to LAPD Chief Beck (LAT Jan 6 AA2).  The group had occupied space on the footpath outside the LAPD head office on 1^st Street downtown LA since Dec 30 before the arrests on Jan 5, after which the group was forced to vacate (LAT Jan 6 AA3).

LAVENDER GREENS MISSION STATEMENT(June 24 2003): 
The National Lavender Green Caucus (NLGC) is the Green Party's advocacy group on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (GLBTIQ) issues. NLGC works for the elimination of heterosexism and all its manifestations such as homophobia, violence, prejudice, and injustice against GLBTIQ communities. NLGC also works for the elimination of racism and sexism and all their manifestations in GLBTIQ communities and in society as a whole, and our work is centered in ten key values and four pillars of the Green Party of the United States. The caucus recognizes that freedom and social justice for GLBTIQ individuals will only come with the liberation of all people, and we actively view ourselves as a part of a broader movement for social justice.

EVENTS:
ANTIWAR VIGILS: Fridays 5-7p at Vista Theater at Sunset Blvd./Hollywood Bl./Hillhurst Av./Virgil Av. junction; Echo Park, intersection of Glendale/Alvarado, S of the #2 freeway entrance; 5-6p at Pico/La Cienega; 6.30-7.30p at Mar Vista Park at Palms/McLaughlin; Topanga Fri 4:30-5:30p Pine Tree Center,120 S Topanga Canyon Blvd;Costa Mesa Fri 5-7p Bristol/ Anton
ARLINGTON WEST MEMORIAL AT SANTA MONICA PIER BEACH: Sundays until Troops Come Home, 7:30-9:30a to 6:00-7:00 p at Santa Monica Pier (North Side)
OCCUPY LOS ANGELES GENERAL ASSEMBLIES, Have shut down. https://www.facebook.com/occupyLA; Occupy Fights Foreclosures meets Sun 2-6p Dennys,
530 Ramirez St, behind Union Station  occupyfightsforeclosures.org 
OCCUPY VENICE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES, Still meeting, 681 Venice Blvd, Mon 8p  https://www.facebook.com/OccupyVeniceCA
HELP CHELSEA MANNING: Sign the Chelsea Manning Presidential pardon at http://pardon.privatemanning.org
Write a letter for clemency for Chelsea Manning. Directions and information are at  
http://www.privatemanning.org/featured/write-a-letter-supporting-pvt-mannings-request-for-clemency . 
 
We recommend general support of Black Lives Matter; actions aimed at excessive police force such as at Ferguson, New York, and Los Angeles and of anti-Syria and -Iraq War related actions.
 

Sat Feb14 12 noon-2p Make Love Not War: Protest the Merchants of Death:  Raytheon Corporation, 299 N Euclid, Pasadena.    Readily accessible from the 210 Freeway East (take Fairoaks exit to Euclid), the Gold Line (Memorial Park Station), and with street parking on Euclid, and metered parking at the nearby Pasadena Public Library. Spread the word.  Bring yourselves, friends, banners, flyers, noisemakers, energy.