A new edition of a Chinese dictionary omits the definition of a word that is commonly used to describe homosexuals, reports China’s state-run news agency Xinhua. The sixth edition of the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary does not define the word tongzhi (‘comrade’ in English), which is the colloquial term widely used in China to refer to gay men and women. Their move angered gay rights activists in China, where being homosexual still carries stigma.
Members of the committee that revised and updated the authoritative dictionary skipped the definition because they did not want to encourage that use of the word, the director of the committee Jiang Langsheng told Chengdu Business Daily. “It’s quite normal that the Chinese government doesn’t want to take this new meaning into the dictionary,” Ding Xuelieng, a social sciences professor from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology told the BBC. ”The use of  tongzhi to describe homosexuality started in Hong Kong and Taiwan to make fun of the mainland’s communist terminology because Chinese leaders address each other using ‘tongzhi’.”
Although the colloquial meaning of ‘tongzhi’ didn’t make the cut, notes Shanghaiist, new buzzwords like geili (awesome), leiren (shocking), and weibo (microblog) were added to the dictionary’s new edition.
from Time Magazine

Congressional Republicans challenged Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday to explain why the Defense Department allowed active-duty troops to wear their uniforms while marching in San Diego’s gay pride parade last weekend.
In a letter to Panetta, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma said department rules bar service members from participating in political activities while in uniform and pressed Panetta on why a waiver was granted, who requested it and why it was considered over others.
Inhofe, who serves on the Armed Services Committee, also pointed out that administrative action has been taken against service members who have violated the rule.
“If the Navy can punish a chaplain for participating in a pro-life event or a Marine participating in a political rally, it stands to reason that the Defense Department should maintain the same standard and preclude service members in uniform from marching in a gay pride parade,” Inhofe wrote.
In a statement accompanying the letter, Inhofe said he was concerned that the Obama administration “continues to force its liberal social agenda on the military by promoting the homosexual agenda, mandating the use of high-cost green energy initiatives, pursuing abortion rights and suppressing the free exercise of religious liberties.”
On Saturday, dozens of soldiers, sailors and Marines in uniform marched alongside an old Army truck with a “Freedom to Serve” banner and a rainbow flag. Dozens of military personnel in civilian clothes joined them.
The Pentagon had advised all its branches that it was making an exception for the San Diego parade even though its policy prohibits service members from marching in uniform in political parades. The department said it made the exception because organizers had encouraged military personnel to march in their uniform and the event was getting national attention.
The waiver only applied to this year’s parade in San Diego.
Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., a member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued a statement condemning the waiver.
“I am calling on the Defense Department to halt these dangerous exceptions to policy for political purposes,” Forbes said. “This decision was an outrageous and blatantly political determination issued solely to advance this administration’s social agenda.”
The administration, with the backing of Congress, ended the policy barring gays to serve openly in the military. Nevertheless, several Republicans in Congress have been critical of the change in policy and have pushed legislation to limit the new policy.
from The Associated Press
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Elton John

Elton John says he should be dead because of his self-destructive lifestyle decades ago.
“By all rights, I shouldn’t be here today,” he told the International AIDS conference on Monday.
But, he said, people including strangers showed him compassion as he battled drug addiction and came to terms with his sexuality. He said he’s been sober for 22 years and has a loving partner and son.
John said he believes people with AIDS deserve the same love, compassion, respect and understanding he received when he “hit rock bottom.”
“We have to replace the shame with love,” he told the audience. “We have to replace the stigma with compassion. No one should be left behind.”
He also urged the crowd to end hate, indifference, homophobia and the stigma against people with AIDS and HIV.
John, who set up a foundation to fight the disease, said prevention, treatment, clinical research and a vaccine also are needed to end the epidemic.
“All it takes is a bit more funding and a bit more understanding,” he said. “All it takes is dialogue and the power of words to change actions.”
John said the way to move forward is by combining talents, knowledge and technical abilities to get the message out about AIDS, such as communicating through social media, though he acknowledged not knowing how to use Twitter.
“I have no idea how to tweet,” he said, as the crowd laughed. “I can sing, but I can’t tweet.”
John also noted what he said was an incredible change in attitudes towards gay marriage in the last few months.
He saluted several public figures for standing up in support of same-sex marriage including Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Colin Powell.
He also said viewpoints on same-sex relationships have especially changed in the African-American community thanks to comments by rapper Jay-Z, singer-songwriter Frank Ocean and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
John said there hasn’t been a notable role model for the AIDS and HIV community since Magic Johnson.
“We need people to say it’s OK to be HIV positive,” he said. “We need to move forward in that respect. We need to embrace each other.”
from The Associated Press

The New Normal / NBC

NBC’s The New Normal is getting self-referential far ahead of its Sept. 11 series premiere.
Co-creator Ryan Murphy told reporters at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that One Million Moms, the conservative activist group that’s called for a boycott of the series over its depiction of a gay couple having a child, has already been written into the series.
“I think it’s interesting for people to take that position before they’ve seen it,” said Murphy. “I think if they would have watched the show, they would love it, because they’re represented. Ellen Barkin’s character is one of them.”
Barkin, who plays the caustic grandmother who reacts poorly to her granddaughter’s decision to surrogate the child of a gay couple, is not identified as a member of the group in the pilot — but it will apparently come up eventually.
“She will protest people and events, [but] I wouldn’t say that’s the thing I would lead with [about her character," he continued. "I think the show is about tolerance and a discussion of tolerance. Their points of view are delivered with sensitiveness and a certain amount of veracity."
As far as the Moms' call for action against the show, Murphy seemed nonplussed. "I have obviously been through this before," said Murphy. "I wasn't surprised when i read [about the boycott]. Every person or group has that right.”
The rest of the panel focused a great deal on Murphy’s affections for Norman Lear and his All in the Family inspirations and the rigors of juggling three series (with Glee and American Horror Story), but he did offer one little anecdote about his relationship with NBC that the room ate up.
“Before I was a writer, I was a garden designer,” said Murphy, “and I designed Jennifer [Salke's] garden.”
The NBC Entertainment president concluded the panel by getting a laugh from the typically somber crowd by saying buses for the “Ryan Murphy Garden Tour” would be departing in 15 minutes.
from The Hollywood Reporter
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