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Vietnam Hub



04/19/2007


News: Netflix, Bradley Manning, Vietnam, Sarah Palin

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Netflix's increasingly valuable stock has made the company's CEO, Reed Hastings, a very, very rich man.

Bradley-manning6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d LGBT activist Michael Petrelis is one of those who is calling for a protest in San Francisco tomorrow over the SF Pride/Bradley Manning controversy: "'Our message to SF Pride is that they should make Manning a grand marshal of this year's Pride march and celebration because of his brave act of whistleblowing against the military industrial complex,' said Petrelis. 'We are fed up with marriage and military concerns sucking the oxygen out of what used to be a queer movement and Pride march and celebration about social justice for queers.'"

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Kickstarter pays off for Zack Braff.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Mark Wahlberg's Pain & Gain muscles a box office win.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d First gay wedding fair held in France.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Compelling story about a popular gay ex-mayor of a small Texas town who gave up his rising career for love: "He followed a path blazed by hundreds of gay Americans each year, who have found that U.S. immigration law offers no easy way for them to live legally with foreign-born partners."

Bestf6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Vietnamese series My Best Gay Friends is a big hit. Says creator: "I thought it would only interest Vietnam's gay community -- but we're hearing that parents, grandparents, whole families watch and love the shows and long for new episodes."

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d The Associated Press asks if lesbians are more accepted than gay men.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Unsurprisngly, Sarah Palin finds the time to complain about last night's White House Correspondents' Dinner.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d Ashton Kutcher involved in altercation at the Stagecoach music festival.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d RIP: Alan Wood, the man who owned the U.S. flag in Joe Rosenthal's photo of the famous flag-rising over Iwo Jima.

6a00d8341c730253ef014e86b06427970d  Jake Gyllenhaal and Jude Law hang out together in the East Village.

NEWS: Heightening The Contradictions, A Terrible Day In Wisconsin, The Diving Unicorn

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Towleroad-roadicon Sen. Lindsey Graham urges government contractors to lay people off just before the election:

I’m urging every defense industry that could be affected by sequestration to put your employees on notice before November ... The more it becomes real to us as to what comes the nation’s way, the more likely we are to solve the problem.

Towleroad-roadicon Stop The Deportations responds to the big DHS announcement:

After a two-year campaign urging the Obama administration to stop the deportations of spouses of gay and lesbian Americans, we welcome the announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that it will formally recognize same-sex marriages as part of its year-old ‘prosecutorial discretion’ deportation policy and other related enforcement matters.

... This move is significant beyond the immigration context, as it constitutes the first time any agency of the federal government has created a policy explicitly recognizing same-sex marriages.

Towleroad-roadicon At least six dead in shooting at Sikh temple:

The shootings occurred about 10:30 a.m. at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in the town of Oak Creek, just south of Milwaukee, officials said ...

Towleroad-roadicon The New York Post didn't think much of Friday's Chick-fil-A kiss-in, but did at least offer this hilarious description of a homophobe:

... Nearby, an older gent who refused to give his name was freaking out.

Mitchadorable“That’s disgusting! That’s not why I came here,” he said.

“Why don’t they go to Sbarro and do that? Why don’t they go to Subway?”

Towleroad-roadicon There is such a thing as a "Chick-on-chick" sandwich, and you can get it in Houston.

Towleroad-roadicon A BuzzFeed contributor builds a treacly but compelling case for Matthew Mitcham's adorableness.

Towleroad-roadicon Vietnam's first Pride Parade:

... it was a scene that was unimaginable a few years ago, when Vietnam still labeled homosexuality a "social evil" alongside drug addiction and prostitution. The country's gay community was once so underground that few groups or meeting places existed, and it was taboo to even talk about the issue.

Towleroad-roadicon Sheldon Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corporation is under investigation for money laundering.

Towleroad-roadicon Mass death at the beginning of the last millenium linked to a super volcano:

Scientific evidence – including radiocarbon dating of the bones and geological data from across the globe – shows for the first time that mass fatalities in the 13th century were caused by one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the past 10,000 years.

Such was the size of the eruption that its sulphurous gases would have released a stratospheric aerosol veil or dry fog that blocked out sunlight, altered atmospheric circulation patterns and cooled the Earth’s surface ...

Towleroad-roadicon Dick Cavett: Gore Vidal hates being dead ...

... unless of course we die and go somewhere where you can write, drink, have sex, appear on TV and, above all else, talk.

... he was -- I feel safe in saying -- the best talker since Oscar Wilde ... You felt you had just had a lovely bath in the elegant and witty use of our sadly declining English language. Gore's talk, if transcribed, could be printed without editing. If there seemed to be some preening in his prepared remarks on television -- and he knew a good line was worth repeating -- it was outweighed by the quality of the verbal prose.


Vietnam Considers Same-Sex Marriage

Vietnam's government is considering legalizing same-sex marriage, a move that is shocking everyone, the AP reports:

VietnamEven longtime gay-rights activists are stunned by the Justice Ministry's proposal to include same-sex couples in its overhaul of the country's marriage law. No one knows what form it will take or whether it will survive long enough to be debated before the National Assembly next year, but supporters say the fact that it's even being considered is a victory in a region where simply being gay can result in jail sentences or whippings with a rattan cane.

Map_vietnamMuch of it seems to be a public perception issue driven by the media:

Vietnam seems an unlikely champion of gay-rights issues. It is routinely lambasted by the international community over its dismal human rights record, often locking up political dissidents who call for democracy or religious freedom. Up until just a few years ago, homosexuality was labeled as a "social evil" alongside drug addiction and prostitution.

And Vietnam's gay community itself was once so underground that few groups or meeting places existed. It was taboo to even talk about the issue.

But over the past five years, that's slowly started to change. Vietnam's state-run media, unable to write about politically sensitive topics or openly criticize the one-party government, have embraced the chance to explore gay issues. They have run lengthy newspaper stories and television broadcasts, including one live special that won a top award.

Vietnam would be the first Asian country with marriage equality if it goes through, but several steps remain before that happens:

The Justice Ministry will consider opinions from the public along with government agencies before submitting its draft proposal to the National Assembly next May on whether to recommend same-sex marriage or some other type of legal recognition with rights. Then, it must be approved by a majority of parliament.


Gay Play In Vietnam. They've Come A Long Way

HCMCityPublic perception of LGBT folk in Vietnam is on an encouraging trajectory. Just a decade ago, a poll found that 82% of Vietnamese believed homosexuality was "never acceptable." A year later, the state-run media was calling homosxuality a great "moral evil," and publishing nervous stories about the insidious gay infiltration of the karoake industry. (Seriously!)

But things change quickly. By 2007, 80% of junior- and high-school students said there was nothing wrong with homosexuality, and gay tourists were getting hitched in Hanoi. This week, a play opens at the Youth Theatre in Ho Chi Minh City documenting the trials and travails of Vietnamese gay men. This will be the first such play ever staged in Vietnam.

The play, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Turqoise, and Violet (presumably, that sounds catchier in Vietnamese) is the product of G-Link: "a group offering support for the gay community" in Ho Chi Minh City. From AsiaOne:

The play revolves around the life of a gay man who is forced to marry a girl to maintain his family line.

During his marriage, he maintains a happy relationship with a boyfriend.

It is his family, wife and boyfriend who suffer from the man's double life.

The play depicts the life challenges of gay men who are rejected by their families, isolated by friends and colleagues, and forced to maintain two identities to hide from the curious eyes of society.

The coolest thing about G-Links endeavor is that a lot of it has been filmed. At the end of the month, a G-Links-produced documentary about the challenges facing gays in HCM City will air on VTV2 -- part of the same state-run media that condemned homosexuality ten years ago. In the following weeks, "more than 20 television channels nationwide will air the documentary," according to AsiaOne.


Towleroad Guide to the Tube #990

MARY MCALEESE: Irish president's acceptance speech for winning LGBT Political Figure of the Year at the GALAS (Gay and Lesbian Awards 2011).

VIETNAMESE JAVAN RHINO: On the verge of extinction.

NEST: Tony Fadell, former Apple engineer who helped develop the iPod, is now designing thermostats.

SEAN LENNON AND RUFUS WAINWRIGHT: Cover "Material Girl" at Occupy Wall Street protests.

For recent Guides to the Tube, click HERE.


News: Lost Glambert, Leon Is Getting Larger, Manganiello Meat

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Road Colorado is the skinniest U.S. state—its populace has an obesity rate of only 19%. Most other states are in the 25%-35% range, with eight southern states in the 30%+ obese range. In 1991, not one state was above 20%.

Road Weiner eater dragged from stage in handcuffs.

Road "Like a Prayer" climbs U.S. dance charts 21 years after its initial release sans Madonna. "Feels Like" her, though.

6a00d8341c2ca253ef0134852b4997970c-400wiRoad NEW BLOOD: True Blood's fresh meat Joe Manganiello shirtless in Us.

Road Why Artyom Savelyev, the Siberian orphan adopted by American mom Torry-Ann Hansen then returned by her when she says he showed destructive behavior, is the poster child for a "permanent subset of parentless children" in Russia.

Road Glambert outtakes by Warwick Saint.

Road Invasion of the Pines peopled by shirtless men, drag queens.

Road A who's who of Republicans continues to pile on embattled RNC Chairman Michael Steele for his "uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely" Afghanistan War comments.

070410_kyliemadridprideRoad Kylie Minogue celebrates Madrid Pride performing in the Orgullo Gay Parade.

Road CHANGING THE SUBJECT: U.S. citizens almost weren't.

Road Vietnamese virginity test for men invalid for gays. (As opposed to actually working on straights?)

Road Whomever replaces the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) in the short run and/or the long run, the whole thing's a lot messier than first thought.

Road The jobless betrayed by "a coalition of the heartless, the clueless and the confused."

Road Waiter, there's some jam in my hair. Princess Diana's hair as condiment?

Road Glee's Mark Salling provides a beefcake BBQ over the holiday weekend.

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