There are many different ways you can save up for a Nissan. I've been saving $50 out of every paycheck in order to afford a used one in shorter time. I think that the Car Dealership In Palm Springs is one of the best Nissan models available on the market today. I first discovered the Rogue when I realized that I would be needing a much bigger car than I had (which was a two door coup). I had recently had children and so of course, a bigger car seemed like it would be appropriate. I had seen an awesome ad on Nissan Dealer Riverside for the Rogue, as well as a beautiful 2011 Xterra In Redlands. The Rogue is both stylish and completely efficient, and to top it off it really wasn't all that expensive either. I recently bought a new home in California and had to do a bit of research on dealerships available after visiting most of them in person, two that stood out included Puente Hills and Nissan Los Angeles. I have heard about both of these before from friends I made after moving, and both came strongly recommended. Although I have heard a lot more great things about Puente Hills, I suppose that either of them could have done the job right. I did end up purchasing my car from the Los Angeles dealership, but appreciated the inventory and specials that were offered at the Puente Hills dealership. At the dealership in Los Angeles, the staff was extremely friendly and welcoming and made sure that I was completely comfortable with my purchase before going forward. Of course I strongly appreciated this approach rather than the rush to get your signature and your money policy some dealerships operated on. The sales-people really seemed interested in learning what exactly I was looking for and always kept my price range in mind. This was also important considering how often I have had to deal with dealership people pushing higher priced cars on me and trying to negotiate for half an hour just to get the same answer everytime. I decided to purchase the car that looked right for me, and that was a brand new 2012 Nissan Rogue. I think that in the long run it will be a very smart choice. The Nissan Rogue is for sure one of the best cars you can drive on the market today. Go with whatever your heart tells you is right - and as long as it is a Nissan, you can't go wrong.
Janis Hetherington sits with her back erect on a pink chaise, in a pink room. We are in the understated grandeur of her 17th-century longhouse in a sleepy town in Oxfordshire, which she shares with her long-term partner, Barbara. Her grey hair is wound in a tight plait and pinned to her head. With wide trousers, waistcoat, jaunty cravat and a hanky in her pocket she resembles a country gent about to go hunting.
More than 40 years ago, Janis was the first lesbian in the UK to undergo artificial insemination. For anyone else that might have been a daunting decision, fraught with fear of the potential repercussions and prejudice, but for Janis it was only one of several controversial decisions that have characterised her life.
Age hasn't calmed her wild ways; at 66, she's still a massive flirt. "If I were 20 years younger!" she cackles, patting my knee, with a Cheshire cat grin and saucer-wide eyes. To say Janis has a high sex drive is an understatement. In her youth, she was, "totally addicted to, if you like, sex. It was bliss." She says it with a Miranda-style primness, all Patricia Hodge plummy tones – but there's a Carry On whimsy to her saucy life story.
As a teenager, Janis was determined to explore her sexuality and she took a 25-year-old lover when she was just 15. "A lot of people would say she should be arrested," she says. "That's absolute rubbish. I mean, I was the one seducing her!"
At 16, she travelled to France, where she was recruited into a brothel and at just 18 moved back to London to start up a sex business of her own. During that time she was raped and became pregnant, but at seven months, she miscarried. By the age of 25, Janis felt she had "done everything" and the lifestyle had begun to wear her down; "it wasn't all a bed of roses" she says despondently. She began to long for stability, a partner – and a baby.
The Queen's signing of Commonwealth anti-discrimination charter 'is not a fight for gay rights, it's a vague whisper'. Photograph: Pool/Reuters
Queen fights for gay rights, declared the Mail on Sunday's front page yesterday – a headline so jarring and implausible as to provoke a number of grave questions for middle England. Chiefly: whatever next? Queen stands as Labour councillor? Queen does the Harlem Shake?
My heart quickened somewhat, enlivened by the prospect of a glorious future for human rights. We extremists, who believe gay people should not be tortured or persecuted, shall be granted a new comrade: the supreme governor of the Church of England, the head of the Commonwealth, the Queen of more than a dozen countries. And then I read the detail.
Her "historic pledge to promote gay rights" as the paper put it (or "historic step forward" as Stonewall's Ben Summerskill had it), will comprise her signing a new Commonwealth charter, which states:
"We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds."
Fighting for gay rights? The Queen won't even mention them. She dare not speak our name – that is, if you believe she is even referring to gay people; if you buy the newspaper's inference that "other grounds" denotes an "implicit support of gay rights".
Let us assume it does mean that, and that Stonewall's assumption is correct. How does keeping ma'am about a minority help? Jesus never mentioned homosexuality – has that dissuaded many of his followers that "love thy neighbour" does not in fact mean: "as long as his partner's not called Steve"?
No, to refrain from specification is to collude with silence, the Grand Pause that keeps lesbians and gay men invisible, suffocating in marriages of inconvenience or trapped in police cells. The hush of polite conversation is the rusty mattock of a millennium's oppression. By contrast, in the west, the one tool that started prising open the chamber of horrors in which LGBT people lived, was the simple self-expression of coming out, of specifying, of stating our innate being aloud.
And according to a Palace spokesman, the charter's words are not even the monarch's: "In this charter, the Queen is endorsing a decision taken by the Commonwealth… The Queen does not take a personal view on these issues. The Queen's position is apolitical."
Are you nervous about stripping off? I'm more nervous about how I'm going to look in the drawings. End of the day, in track and field, you have to get your kit off nearly all the time. I jump in a vest and a pair of lycra shorts and at times you can have thousands upon thousands of people staring at you. You block it out, so I'm doing exactly the same thing here. I just hope it's not cold up there [in the studio]. Will you be completely starkers or are you wearing pants? I'm wearing trunks rather than pants. I've got too bigger quads and bum so we're going with trunks over pants. Don't want anything popping out. We can’t draw and are slightly worried about offending you… If in doubt go big. That’s the motto for today! [Greg laughs before Tweeting: #ifindoubtgobig] We always do! So, how important was it for you to get involved with the Male Cancer Awareness Campaign? Very important for me because I've got a very close friend who's in remission now from testicular cancer, so it's hugely important. Detecting the signs early enough is the key message in making people more aware. Often with blokes they're not particularly keen to, first of all, talk about their bits and bobs, and secondly, go and have someone inspect them. So if guys can figure out the early signs themselves then… it can save your life.
Gay weddings in the Churches of England and Wales will be explicitly banned under new laws on same-sex marriage, the Government has announced.
Culture Secretary Maria Miller said other religious organisations would be able to "opt in" and offer weddings to homosexual couples.
David Cameron has backed the idea of gay marriage in church but Mrs Miller said there was too much opposition.
Unveiling the Government's plans in the Commons, she promised that religious freedom would be protected via a "quadruple lock".
As well as the ban for the established churches, it will be illegal to force a religious organisation or individual to conduct a gay wedding or allow it to happen on their premises.
You may not know his name, at least not yet, but Brandon Anderson is on the cusp of great things, this handsome young man is already an award winning singer/songwriter who hails from Wisconsin, USA. He creatively blends folk with piano rock with a pinch of other alternative influences to create a delightful sound that he terms ‘edgy folk rock’. It is a sound when combined with his provoking lyrics is already garnering many fans all over America and further afield around the world.
He was born and raised in a Mormon family from Kenosha, a medium sized city on the western shores of Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, USA. Music was a key background ingredient to life in Brandon’s home during his early years, yet there was always something creative hiding under the surface and Brandon got involved with school plays and school musicals as a kid. It was during his early teenage years when his family situation changed that Brandon began to have questions not only about his own Mormon faith but also about his sexuality. There were questions he needed answers to, but at the time answers seemed few and far between. However it wasn’t long before the young adolescent found the perfect outlet for his creative desires and ideas which was putting pen to paper and writing songs.
Brandon is now a resident of New York and regularly plays gigs at many of the Big Apples premier singer/songwriter hotspots as well as touring across America. It is along these travels that he picks up stories, ideas and inspirations that form the basis for many of his songs. Indeed his latest album, Guitars and Grievances, is largely inspired by the stories of hardship, human spirit and grievances he picked up along the way.
His latest single is a perfect example of just that, taken from Guitars and Grievances, I’ll Keep Driving is a moving, evolving story inspired by a young gay fan’s sense of despondency, isolation and the desire of seeking out a better place to be. Brandon’s effervescent voice delicately conveys the emotion with surprising depth echoing feelings that we can all identify with at some stage during our lives, at least to some degree.
Listening to this single and the Guitars and Grievances album you quickly realise that there is far more to this young singer songwriter from the US Midwest than meets the eye. With that in mind, I caught up with him to find out more about his music, his influences and his life, including what it was like to grow up in a Mormon family in Wisconsin.
“It's weird to look back on, because when I was living it, it was all I knew. There didn't seem to be anything strange about the church or their beliefs and I truly believed everything that they taught.”
“It wasn't till my parents got a divorced and my mom left the church that I started having questions about my faith. That was quickly followed by my own questions about my sexuality, which really brought me to a crisis of conscious. I remember when I was about 13, my dad lived on a horse farm in the county and I was kind of at a breaking point.”
“I ran out into a field that night and kind of had an argument with God, asking him to prove that he existed. I stayed out in the corn field for a long time thinking I never got an answer, but the next morning I was looking through my song book and realized that music was my connection. I had just recently started writing, and the realization that writing was my connection to something bigger really helped me let go of having to have some formalized relationship with a higher power that was dictated by rules and dogma.”
So, would you consider yourself to be religious, spiritual or atheist these days?
“Definitely spiritual.”
Can you pinpoint a time when you first started getting into music?
“Music has really always been a part of my life. My parents always had music playing in the house and when I was a kid I got involved in musicals and played musical instruments in school. From there it grew to writing when I met my friend Carmel Mikol, who became one of my biggest influences and the person who started me writing. I first saw her perform a song she wrote in a middle school talent show and I knew immediately that that was what I wanted to do. We became friends and started a kind of music workshop where we would play songs for each other and bounce ideas back and forth. She in now an award winning artist in Canada and you should definitely check her out.”
Ok, other than Carmel Mikol, who were other early influences on you?
“My first influences definitely came from what my parents were listening to while I was growing up. My mom listened to a lot of singer songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Carol King, and Carly Simon, but also rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and Heart.”
“On my dads side, it was all country and folk music, which I also loved. I grew up with a pretty wide appreciation, but when I started writing it was definitely Tori Amos and Ben Folds. Piano was my first writing instrument so I was really drawn to their sounds and lyrics.”
How about now, what artists influence you these days?
“As I have grown in my writing, I have become really influenced by artists who are storytellers and have strong social commentary in their work. My go to's these days are Tracy Chapman, Joni Mitchell, Patty Griffin, Ray Lamontagne, and Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails.”
I’m going to put you on the spot here, if you could only take one album with you to a deserted desert island, which one would it be?
“Blue by Joni Mitchell.”
An excellent choice and I can definitely hear some Joni Mitchell echo’s in your work and I wonder what the mechanics of creating a song are for you, I mean what comes first - the music or the lyrics?
“It happens a lot of ways, but the best songs usually come out in one burst with music and lyrics at the same time. When that happens it feels more like channeling and less like writing. However, most of the time it's just hard work and craft.”
“With my more political songs, the lyric usually comes first and then the music fits on top. I also am really drawn to rhythm and I sometimes start with a rhythmic idea that informs the lyrical form and then the music after that. It all really depends on the song.”
How would you classify your sound?
“Edgy Folk Rock.”
Your latest single, I'll Keep Driving, which is out now, please tell me a little about it?
“I'll Keep Driving is really the heart of my album Guitars & Grievances if I had to boil it down to one song. I actually was inspired to write it by a young fan who is growing up gay in a small town in Pennsylvania. One day I saw he had posted on his Facebook that he wanted to "steal a car and drive far away, maybe California."
"I was really struck by the sentiment and how I think we all have those moments of just wanting to start over again, hit the reset button. I had just been touring across the country and was fascinated by how there really isn't any unexplored land left to run to. You used to be able to head to the frontier or wild west if you wanted to break from the life you had. We don't really have that anymore. This idea really connected with the protest album feel I was writing and helped to ground the whole thing in a very personal place. Of all my songs, I would have to say it is one of my favourites.”
Brandon is an intelligent engaging and enthusiastic man with an effervescent voice that is as warming as a hot blanket on a coldest winters night, whilst his poignant lyrics attach themselves to your consciousness with delicate ease. His latest single I’ll Keep Driving is available to download now from iTunes and Bandcamp or you can watch the video on YouTube. The track is taken from his album Guitars and Grievances, which is also available to download on iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.
My thanks to Brandon for taking so much time out for this interview, it really is appreciated and was a joy to get to know in more depth the person behind the music.
Google AdSense is little more than a unregulated con.
They will keep you in the programme, until you reach enough to be paid, then they will suspend your account with no reason and no real right to appeal or have the decision overturned. They paticially attack gay or gay themed sites and blogs.
Hello XXXXX, While going through our records recently, we found that your AdSense account has posed a significant risk to our AdWords advertisers. Since keeping your account in our publisher network may financially damage our advertisers in the future, we have decided to disable your account. Please understand that we consider this a necessary step to protect the interests of both our advertisers and our other AdSense publishers. We realise the inconvenience that this may cause you and we thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
Paris Hilton has issued a lengthy public apology after she was secretly recorded making homophobic comments to a gay friend in a taxi.
During the conversation, in which a man is heard logging on to gay dating app Grindr, Hilton says:
“Ewwww…gay guys are the horniest people in the world…they’re disgusting. Dude, most of them probably have AIDS…I would be so scared if I was a gay guy…you’ll like, die of AIDS.”
San Francisco police department have arrested a veteran gay rights campaigner in connection with child pornography allegations. The SF Police say Larry Brinkin faces felony charges of child pornography possession and distribution.
A film highlighting the struggle for equal rights by India’s ‘untouchables’ has been banned by film censors for insulting Mahatma Gandhi by calling him gay. A feature film about the plight of India’s dalits, or ‘untouchable’ caste, has been banned by the country’s Central Board of Film Certification for portraying the country’s independence campaigner Mahatma Ghandi in a bad light, including calling him gay.
The veteran blind singer Stevie Wonder had to issue a rapid apology this week after saying he thought gays were confused! The star made the derogatory remarks in a deep and wide ranging interview with the UK’s Guardian newspaper in which he was asked for his views on rapper Frank Ocean's supposed coming out in July on his tumblr blog.
“I think honestly, some people who think they're gay, they're confused. People can misconstrue closeness for love. People can feel connected, they bond. I'm not saying all [gay people are confused]. Some people have a desire to be with the same sex. But that's them.” Wonder said, which has caused much consternation the media and anger especially from numerous gay media sites and equality activists.
The letter from Ocean that he published back in July on his Tumblr blog didn’t seem very confused to me, romantic and beautiful yet, confused, err nope!
“4 summers ago, I met somebody. I was 19 years old. He was too. We spent that summer, and the summer after, together. Everyday almost. And on the days we were together, time would glide. Most of the day I’d see him, and his smile. I’d hear his conversation and his silence…until it was time to sleep. Sleep I would often share with him. By the time I realized I was in love, it was malignant. It was hopeless. There was no escaping, no negotiating with the feeling. No choice. It was my first love, it changed my life.”
Wonder issued a hasty apology to anyone who might have misunderstood his comments “I’m sorry that my words about anyone feeling confused about their love were misunderstood. No one has been a greater advocate for the power of love in this world than I; both in my life and in my music.
“Clearly, love is love, between a man and a woman, a woman and a man, a woman and a woman and a man and a man. What I’m not confused about is the world needing much more love, no hate, no prejudice, no bigotry and more unity, peace and understanding. Period.”
Poland’s ruling centre right party, Platforma Obywatelska (PO), is planning to introduce a law of registered civil partnerships that will be include same-sex couples. The proposed bill, however, is being met with fierce opposition within and outside the party.
After several months of discussion, the PO decided last week to put to the vote a draft bill in both chambers of the Polish parliament, the Sejm and Senate.
The gay teenager from Indianapolis who had been expelled from school for taking a stun-gun to school for protection from the homophobic bullies that had plagued his school days, is now suing the public school system for failing to protect him from bullying.
Darnell Young, 17, and his mother Chelisa Grimes, filed the lawsuit on Friday in Indianapolis, seeking unspecified damages over several recent incidents of bullying. These incidents all lead Darnell Young to fire the stun-gun in school which then resulted in his expulsion from the Tech High School.
Legal representatives working for the family said that Indianapolis Public Schools had failed to protect Darnell Young from homophobic bullying, and that they had discriminated against him for his sexuality. Christopher F. Stoll, from the National Centre for Lesbian Rights, who is working on the case said, “All students should be able to get an education without fearing for their physical safety, and they should be able to rely on school administrators to protect them when abuse does occur.”
There are many different ways you can save up for a Nissan. I've been saving $50 out of every paycheck in order to afford a used one in shorter time. I think that the Car Dealership In Palm Springs is one of the best Nissan models available on the market today. I first discovered the Rogue when I realized that I would be needing a much bigger car than I had (which was a two door coup). I had recently had children and so of course, a bigger car seemed like it would be appropriate. I had seen an awesome ad on Nissan Dealer Riverside for the Rogue, as well as a beautiful 2011 Xterra In Redlands. The Rogue is both stylish and completely efficient, and to top it off it really wasn't all that expensive either. I recently bought a new home in California and had to do a bit of research on dealerships available after visiting most of them in person, two that stood out included Puente Hills and Nissan Los Angeles. I have heard about both of these before from friends I made after moving, and both came strongly recommended. Although I have heard a lot more great things about Puente Hills, I suppose that either of them could have done the job right. I did end up purchasing my car from the Los Angeles dealership, but appreciated the inventory and specials that were offered at the Puente Hills dealership. At the dealership in Los Angeles, the staff was extremely friendly and welcoming and made sure that I was completely comfortable with my purchase before going forward. Of course I strongly appreciated this approach rather than the rush to get your signature and your money policy some dealerships operated on. The sales-people really seemed interested in learning what exactly I was looking for and always kept my price range in mind. This was also important considering how often I have had to deal with dealership people pushing higher priced cars on me and trying to negotiate for half an hour just to get the same answer everytime. I decided to purchase the car that looked right for me, and that was a brand new 2012 Nissan Rogue. I think that in the long run it will be a very smart choice. The Nissan Rogue is for sure one of the best cars you can drive on the market today. Go with whatever your heart tells you is right - and as long as it is a Nissan, you can't go wrong. 
