Your towns: readers respond (blogs.montrealgazette.com {Canada})

*more above*

Commonwealth urged to decriminalise homosexuality (www.scoop.co.nz {New Zealand})

*more above*

School filtering gay, transgender sites goes to court (www.cbsnews.com)

*more above*

Howard County: council aims to make gender identity a protected class (www.baltimoresun.com)

*more above*

Nielsen: advertisers 'flocking' to LGBT inclusive shows (www.washingtonpost.com)

*more above*

Peace

The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life.

Jane Addams

Turkey jails trans activists for 'insulting police' (www.care2.com)

*more above*

'I was called a basketball, a penguin,and an Ewok': Chaz Bono blasts 'disrespectful' Dancing With The Stars judges for bullying him over his weight (www.dailymail.co.uk)

*more above*

Black transgender face startling levels of discrimination, report finds (sdgln.com)

*more above*

Transgender children welcomed by the Girl Scouts of America (www.imperfectparent.com)

*more above*

ezs note:  just a question... why do the Girl Scouts seem so welcoming, but the Boy Scouts seem so... well...

Boy wanting to be Girl Scout told 'no' (www.9news.com)

*more above*

Sexual minorities persecuted in Iran (www.voanews.com)

*more above*

Cher furious over 'Dancing With The Stars' judge's comments (blog.sfgate.com)

*more above*

Out & Equal: welcome to Dallas (www.dallasvoice.com)

*more above*

Cyndi Lauper plans all-star benefit concert (www.showbiz411.com)

*more above*

Children of gay families more likely to be poor (www.reuters.com)

*more above*

Safe Zone training open to all students (www.ndsuspectrum.com)

*more above*

A world of rainbows (www.quadnews.net)

*more above*

American Airlines offering more benefits to gay employees (www.passportmagazine.com)

*more above*

Peace

If someone thinks that love and peace is a cliche that must have been left behind in the Sixties, that’s his problem. Love and peace are eternal. –John Lennon

Homophobia exacts a chilling price as hate crimes climb (www.independent.co.uk)

*more above*

ezs note:  If you are transgender, gay, lesbian, or bisexual and are being harassed, please turn them in!  It's time for you to stop worrying, and let the trolls do it for a change!

New plays, new views (www.citizen.co.za)

*more above*

Tennessee resident inspires General Mills to abandon transphobic ad (www.outandaboutnewspaper.com)

*more above*

Cookeville, Tennessee

credit: Chuck Sutherland

Hello!

Yep, the chill is definitely in the air... here's what happened... Cookeville, Tennessee... Woodland Hills, California... London, England, UK... Council Bluffs, Iowa... El Cerrito, California... Swansboro, North Carolina... Concord, North Carolina... Guildford, Surrey, England, UK... Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium... Arlington Heights, Illinois... Tamuning, Guam... Groningen, Netherlands... Bangor, Maine... Santa Cruz, California... Taipei, Taiwan... Medan, Sumatera Utara... Plattsburgh, New York... Athens, Attiki, Greece... Salt Lake City, Utah... Mountain View, California... Atlanta, Georgia... Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania... Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada... Mount Horeb, Washington... Tulsa, Oklahoma... Forfar, Angus, Scotland... Jiddah, Makkah, Saudi Arabia... Denver, Colorado... Kings Park, New York... Santa Monica, California... Saint Charles, Illinois...

US residents: If you want to vote, please remember to register!

Today's topper: FDNY welcomes first transgender firefighter

I know, the holidays are upon us, but please don't forget those less fortunate.  Here's a few:

American Red Cross
www.redcross.org

International Red Cross/Red Crescent
www.ifrc.org

Doctors Without Borders
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Rainbow Fund
www.rainbowfund.org

Thank you!

Karger making history and proud of it (www.fosters.com)

*more above*

More schools take action to stem anti-gay bullying (www.sfgate.com)

*more above*

LGBT history month: Victoria Kolakowski, first openly transgender US trial judge (www.lgbtqnation.com)

*more above*

Transgender woman Asia Santana sentenced to prison for 2010 fatal stabbing of boyfriend Eric Nevith in Norristown (timesherald.com)

*more above*

Transgender 101 is the featured topic of week 4 of the 2011 Oak Park GLBT documentary film series (triblocal.com) (

*more above*

Presbyterian church's ordination of gays is bittersweet (sdgln.com)

*more above*

Gay friendly schools: Alliance school (lightbox.time.com)

*more above*

Bono extends family values on 'Dancing With The Stars' (www.hanfordsentinel.com)

*more above*

October 20 is Spirit Day (www.allmediany.com)

*more above*

The real modern family (www.huffingtonpost.com)

*more above*

Hinsdale group rallying support for young homeless (hinsdale.patch.com)

*more above*

ezs note:  The Unitarian Universalist churches are good ones. See how your local congregation is doing, or send a check to Hinsdale UU, specifying aid for homeless transgender youth. The address is:

Unitarian church of Hinsdale
17 W. Maple St.
Hinsdale, IL 60521

Coverage denied: trans Utahn fights SelectHealth (www.cityweekly.net)

*more above*

Marsha Aizumi: ally week: a grateful mother celebrates (www.huffingtonpost.com)

*more above*

New Jersey teacher's anti-gay comments on Facebook spark world outrage; pastor defends her (www.goddiscussion.com

*moreJ above*

LGBT patients search for healing (articles.boston.com)

*more above*

Poland's first transgender MP will fight for equal rights (www.pinknews.co.uk {UK})

*more above*

Yk group tells youth 'It Gets Better' (hqyellowknife.com {Canada/territories})

*more above*

On transgender suicide prevention (gaynewsnetwork.com.au {Australia})

*more above*

Peace

Then all that has divided us will merge
And then compassion will be wedded to power
And then softness will come to a world that is harsh and unkind
And then both men and women will be gentle
And then both women and men will be strong
And then no person will be subject to another's will
And then all will be rich and free and varied
And then the greed of some will give way to the needs of many
And then all will share equally in the earth's abundance
And then all will care for the sick and the weak and the old
And then all will nourish the young
And then all will cherish life's creatures
And then all will live in harmony with each other and with the earth
And everywhere will be called Eden, once again.
-- Judy Chicago

Law for welfare of transgender under way (www.asiantribune.com {India})

*more above*

California schools scrambling to add lessons on LGBT Americans (www.latimes.com)

*more above*

Indonesia's transgender couples surrounded by fear and persecution (www.guardian.co.uk {UK/Indonesia})

*more above*

University students push for gender-neutral washrooms (winnipeg.ctv.ca {Canada})

*more above*

Council Bluffs, Iowa

credit:  The Lincoln Highway National Museum & Archives

Hello!

Yep, the chill's in the air... here's what's happening... Council Bluffs, Iowa... Groningen, Netherlands... Spring, Texas... Rosrath, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany... Marysville, Washington... Jersey City, New Jersey... Taipei, Taiwan... Kings Park, New York... Brussels, Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Belgium... Dublin, California... Fukuoka, Japan... Phoenix, Arizona... Laurel, Mississippi... Madras, Tamil Nadu, India... Erlanger, Kentucky... Berlin, Germany... Minden, Nordrhein-Westfalen... Canton, Ohio... Mountain View, California... Nuremberg, Bayern, Germany... Sydney, New South Wales, Australia... Atlanta, Georgia... Kollam, Kerala, India... Chicago, Illinois... Alicante, Comunidad Valenciana, Spain... Klang, Selangor, Malaysia... Rome, Lazio, Italy... Charleston, South Carolina... Santiago, Region Metropolitana, Chile...

U.S. citizens:  DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

This month's topper: FDNY welcomes first transgender firefighter

Please help!

American Red Cross
www.redcross.org

International Red Cross/Red Crescent
www.ifrc.org

Doctors Without Borders
www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Rainbow Fund
www.rainbowfund.org

Thank you!