SGL Café

Thank-You, Mr. Lopez [ and Argentina ]

If this doesn't warm the cockles of your heart, they're broken. And if this doesn't prove that the USA is damn near 3rd world when it comes to equality, nothing will. Because here in America, this type of love and Christian concern for our fellow man in a television ad would cause a riot.

Israel vs World Opinion

My ex had a way with words. He summed up the centuries old mid-east conflict as "those countries where they're always throwing rocks at each other." This picture recalled that. As demonstrators around the globe protest Israel's crushing actions in Gaza, are we missing another side of the story? As a member a two oppressed minorities, I've always been quick to condemn Israel for its apatheid system and disproportional military responses to attack, however, after watching this Hal Lindsey commentary, I'm not so sure. And after all -- how do we know which propaganda to believe?

In a New York Minute ...

Got this Thanksgiving message from a cyber friend. Play the song below as you read it. My heart goes out to those in Mumbai, and everywhere else this holiday where people are in pain. They're calling it India's 9/11. From one who had a front row seat for that dreadful event, I'm counting my blessings today. ~~ taylor S. "New York Minute" is a spooky song, and since it was written years ago, I guess it's quite prophetic in it's nature. But today, listening closely to the lyrics, I really felt it... Lying here in the darkness I hear the sirens wail Somebody going to emergency Somebody's going to jail If you find somebody to love in this world You better hang on tooth and nail The wolf is always at the door Like the song implies, life is tough. Life brings unexpected changes that could wreck your world/wrack your brains, and it all occurs in a New York Minute. You could be visiting India on a trip you planned for years, and suddenly find your life in the hands of angry militants. In talking with my sister today, who just got out of the hospital, she said she has lost almost $30K from her 401(k) account since the stock market tanked, and now she's worried about paying her bills. Nothing is guaranteed, so being cognizant and appreciative of the good things in life, every moment, is important. I don't care if you believe in God or not-- it's not a requirement. But I believe there is something, perhaps not a conscious entity, but something that has brought all these circumstances, knit all these intricate things together to form this universe. I don't know why, I don't understand the mystery, but it's here, and it's ours to work with and work through. People come and go, and the tapestry of existence is woven by interactions on a scale no one can comprehend, but I believe in treating it all as a gift, something that I am not in total control of. If I accept the gift with humility and appreciation, I find the result can be a zen-like state of heightened awareness. This is often spontaneous, and startlingly beautiful. The truth is, that even in what many would consider calamity, when we maintain a clarity of mind, we can witnesses the awesome unveiling of the warp and weave of existence in ways that we often fail to recognize. And when we know that, we know that life is good. Sorry to sound all 'new age' in my expression, but this is my experience. I hope that all can benefit from it. I wish you all many blessings, and joy in the journeys to come. ~~ Rolf

FOX sprucing-up IRAQ for McCain?

As Barack Obama prepares to head off to tend to his ailing grandmother, John (I hate the Gooks) McCain and Sarah Barracuda prove their honorable soldier mettle by lobbing mudballs at him over something Joe Biden said. Way to go Mavericks! Kick a man while his nanna's dying. That's character. But -- Have you noticed lately that on FOX news, the streets of Iraq are now flowing with milk and honey and butterflies? Everything is just going so beautifully over there -- God bless America. Any day now we're gonna see cheerful tourist ads -- Come Back to Baghdad, what's old is what's new! Okay, so even when viewed through my FOX bullshit goggles, the other networks aren't really reporting the whole truth either. The Bush administration has always sanitized the war, but now it seems they are prettying up the peace for McCain's benefit -- BIG TIME. Oh, and of course, all the troops want McCain to win. [yeah, right, FOX] Does anyone else smell some major propaganda bullshit going on? How can we get the real story, when it seems the number of journalists in Iraq has plummeted? And the ones who are there, aren't allowed near any action. Hmmm .... The Washington Post: "...U.S. military officials say they remain eager to embed journalists with U.S. troops, but many journalists in Baghdad say the military has grown reluctant to take journalists to the front lines. Coverage of recent military operations in Basra, Sadr City, Mosul and Diyala province, for example, relied heavily on phone reporting and information from Iraqis working as stringers for Western news organizations..." Things are not as they seem. And its not just the conspiracy theorist in me. The ploy is obvious. The constant drum-beat from FOX news is: Iraq is doing wonderfully, Obama is scary, John McCain is a great man, Obama is BLACK, Veeps don't have to be smart when their Mavericks, Obama supporters are scary, oh, and their reverse-racists! That last one always gets me. Almost makes me wanna act like a stereotype. But because of Obama, I've learned to be a better man.

Who will help Iraq's Gays?

With the sectarian violence down in Iraq, now it's a free-for-all on sexual minorities. This Newsweek piece says No one wants to talk about gays in Iraq, much less who's killing them - Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Do Kill In this article, Sexual Cleansing in Iraq, Peter Tatchell introduces us to this short film, Queer Fear – Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq, produced by David Grey for Village Film, documents the tragic fates of a several individual gay Iraqis. You can view it below. Watch and weep. It is a truly poignant and moving documentary about the terrorisation and murder of Iraqi lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Since this film was made, the killings have continued and, many say, got worse. For gay Iraqis there is little evidence of the transition to democracy. They don't experience any newfound respect for human rights. Life for them is even worse than under the tyrant Saddam Hussein.