Bisexuality Day, September 23

Happy BI-PRIDE to all my Bisexual readers, supporters and their friends

Celebrate Bisexuality Day is observed on September 23 by members of the bisexual community and their supporters originally in the United States but has been extended worldwide.

This day is a call for bisexual, pansexual, friends and supporters to recognize and celebrate bisexuality, bisexual history, bisexual community and culture, and the bi/pansexual people in their lives.

First observed in 1999, Celebrate Bisexuality Day is the brainchild of three United Statesbisexual rights activists: Wendy Curry of Maine, Michael Page of Florida, and Gigi Raven Wilburof Texas.

Wilbur said,

“

Ever since the Stonewall rebellion, the gay and lesbian community has grown in strength and visibility. The bisexual community also has grown in strength but in many ways we are still invisible. I too have been conditioned by society to automatically label a couple walking hand in hand as either straight or gay, depending upon the perceived gender of each person.

”

This celebration of bisexuality in particular, as opposed to general LGBT events, was conceived as a response to the prejudice and marginalization of the bisexual persons by some in both thestraight and greater LGBT communities.

In its first year, an observance was held during the International Lesbian and Gay Association, which occurred during the week of the 23rd. While at first it only took hold in areas with an extremely strong bisexual presence, it is now celebrated worldwide.

It features event such as discussions, dinner parties and dances in Toronto and a large masquerade ball in Queensland, Australia. At Texas A&M University, the week featured discussion panels and question-and-answer sessions. Princeton University celebrates this day each year by throwing a party at its LGBT Center.

It has also been celebrated in Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Unfortunately in Jamaica either our advocates haven't matured to the recognition of bisexuals as a part of our struggle or we can't be bothered as "batty business" is more important when some of the very issues of homophobia as we call it are not really so but bi-phobia if one were to closely examine the details at times.

JFLAG has Allsexuals included in their acronym I suppose to cover all other orientations and variants outside of the original LGBT population but I never heard of any direct meetings, interventions or strategies to engage this section of the population.

I would hate to think that our advocacy representatives are themselves guilty of bi-phobia in the form of bisexual erasure (the tendency to ignore, remove, falsify, or reexplain evidence of bisexuality in history, academia, the news media, and other primary sources.

In its most extreme form, bisexual erasure can include denying that bisexuality exists). Inclusiveness is the name of the game now if we are to get anywhere but with the elitist position taken by the group one wonders when will we begin to move on anything?

It is refreshing to see other individual voices saying their piece and going out on their own, I would love to see an all out Jamaican bisexual website or at the very least a couple of blogs

Let us hope in the near future something can be done about that either by them despite the insulation or some other group, organization or individuals.

Celebrate yourselves anyway my BI-FRIENDS.

Peace and tolerance

H

Fans appeared deflated as damning tape with Buju is played in court

Damning tapes stun Buju Banton's supporters
BY PAUL HENRY

Jamaica Observer reporter in Florida

See also: Dancehall community mum from Buju’s woes began .................... from Gay Jamaica Watch.

Alexander Johnson, discussing drug deals and even diamond smuggling from Africa to Europe.
Banton's fans, who had turned out in their numbers for the trial that started on Monday, were also stung by the recordings which were made between July and December 10, 2009 when Banton and two other men were arrested in Florida and slapped with cocaine-related charges.

The fans appeared deflated, coming off a high on Monday when the chief investigator in the matter said he had no evidence that Banton was a cocaine trafficker.
Yesterday, as the tapes were being played, one woman could be seen clutching her head and covering her ears. Others sat attentively, captivated by the conversations between the four-time Grammy nominee and Johnson, a convicted drug trafficker who has been working with the US Government since 1996 to sink other narco dealers.
Also played for the court was the video recording of December 8, 2009 in which Banton was seen tasting cocaine from a knife given to him by his long-time friend Ian Thomas after he used it to cut open a package containing five kilogrammes of cocaine during an undercover operation by the Sarasota Police Department at a warehouse.
Thomas was heard on the video saying that the cocaine was fish scale. Johnson later told the court that the term meant that the drug was of a high quality.

The mood, however, changed somewhat in the late afternoon when Banton's lawyer started his examination of Johnson, who agreed that the singer did not finance the drug deal for which he, along with Thomas and James Mack from Georgia was arrested and charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilogrammes of cocaine.
Thomas and Mack have since pleaded guilty and have agreed to give evidence against the singer. The prosecution had on Monday indicated to the court that it would not call Thomas as a witness.

If found guilty, Banton could be sentenced to life imprisonment or slapped with millions of US dollars in fines.
Before the recordings were played yesterday, Johnson testified that he met Banton on a flight from Madrid, Spain, to Miami, Florida in July 2009. The flight lasted eight hours, Johnson said, and a conversation about drug dealing came up within an hour.
He said it was the singer who raised the issue. Johnson, who avoided looking at Banton during his evidence-in-chief, said immediately after landing he informed the police about his conversation with Banton which jump-started the investigation that included the recordings.

Johnson told the court that he met with Banton the following day, July 27, to further discuss the drug-trafficking venture, which he said the artiste was interested in starting.
The prosecution then played the expletive-laced recordings, which were made between July and December and in which the 37-year-old Banton was heard telling Johnson, "I am about making money, straight up".
Banton was also heard asking Johnson if he had any contacts to acquire cocaine as he was willing to finance a deal. He also told Johnson that he did not have contacts in Venezuela and Panama, but that he was involved in smuggling diamonds from Africa to Europe.

He was also heard telling Johnson that: "It would be good to have our own contacts," and that he would like to start small, as "I don't want to take any risks".
The artiste also warned the informant that he should stay away from a man known as Lloyd Evans as he was a snitch.
"There are a lot of snitches in the game," Banton warned Johnson at one point, saying that it was hard for him to find anyone to trust.
Banton, dressed in a grey sports coat, shook his head while the recordings were being played and at some points appeared tense.
As the recordings kept rolling, some people in the courtroom chuckled in disbelief. Others seemed captivated.

In one conversation Banton was heard cursing and complaining to Johnson that the gay community, particularly the gay rights group GLAD (Gays and Lesbians Advocates and Defenders), was trying to ruin his career.
Banton had been at odds with the gay community since the 1990s following the release of his anti-gay monster hit Boom
Bye Bye.
He was also heard complaining of being stressed out and said that he had 15 kids whose school fees needed to be paid.
With the case appearing to swing in favour of the prosecution, supporters who had earlier that morning held hands and prayed inside the 13A courtroom for an acquittal -- as has been their routine since the trial started -- expressed hope that the pendulum would again swing in their favour as it approached time for Johnson to be placed under the spotlight of cross-examination from lead defence attorney Markus.
Markus stood, took to the podium with his papers. Banton's supporters held their breath. He politely greeted the 14 jurors -- two of whom are African-Americans, the others white -- then Johnson, and proceeded to whip out a card on which he had key parts of Johnson's evidence typed. On one side of the card, displayed for jurors to see, were a set of check boxes in which he ticked when Johnson answered a question posed.
"Mr Myrie did not invest any money in any drug deal?"
Markus asked.
"With me? No," the reply came.
Johnson, a Colombian who had served three years for drug-trafficking and was spared deportation in order to work with the US Government as an informant, said the artiste never sold or bought drugs and had never wired any money to him to invest in the illicit trade.
Johnson also admitted that Banton had never purchased any cocaine in Panama or Colombia and that their dealings never went beyond talk.
He, however, said that Banton had changed his mind from the initial talks of wanting to traffic drugs to making quick cash. Johnson said that was how the eight kilogrammes of cocaine came into play.
The informant did not readily answer when Markus asked if Myrie had stopped taking his calls following the warehouse meeting of December 8.
"Didn't Ian Thomas tell you, 'He [Myrie] does not want to do anything man? Talk to me. That's not him. He is about music, he eats and sleeps the music'?" Markus asked, to which Johnson replied 'yes'.

Markus is contending that his client had got cold feet and backed out of any previous talks to finance any drug venture and had stopped taking Johnson's calls, and that Thomas took over the deal.
But Johnson stuck to his guns, saying that it was Banton and Thomas who approved the deal, even though the US$130,000 may have come from two men in Georgia called Ike and Tyke.
Johnson also told the court that he had no knowledge that Myrie had financed the deal in the police-controlled warehouse that led to Thomas and Mack's arrest while attempting to purchase cocaine from US Drug Enforcement Agency agents.

A Jamaican Lesbian's take from the Gay Games 2010

(identities of the entrants warped in the photo to protect them)

Jamaica had a small team at the gay games recently in July of this year, the two man, two woman team traveled all the way to Cologne to appear in the opening ceremony where one female member appeared in the combined choir. A male representative appeared in a track and field event while the other female member played in a football match as well.

Here is a first hand take in great colourful Jamaican colloquial terms on one of the participants experience at the Gay Games Cologne 2010 (photos taken in and around Cologne)

"My journey started on Wednesday July 28^th with my 6:10am flight from Jamaica to New York. (Dem seh mi haffi reach a di airport by 3:00am! Dem head tek dem?!?!?!? Mi neva reach ‘til 4:15am. Mid did waan sleep yah) Anyway, from New York the next leg of the journey was to Frankfurt which and then from Frankfurt via train to Cologne. (di train fast yuh si! 250+

kilometers per hour dem seh.)

Of interest though was the fact that my luggage mysteriously disappeared on route, so I left Frankfurt with only stuff in my carry-on bag. I was told that someone would pick me up at the train station and then I was to go directly to the accreditation center.

Unfortunately, di people dem neva memba mi at all! Bwoy, soh life guh. Anyhow, when I eventually got to the accreditation center they weren’t ready for anyone as I arrived at 9:30 and they weren’t scheduled to be opened before midday at the earliest. (So weh di heck dem tell mi fig oh deh fah so early den eeh? SMDH!) After a long wait and getting bored, I decided to assist them in getting the place ready. At the appointed time I was registered etc and then I bummed a lift from one of the volunteers to take me to the place that I was supposed to be staying at.

Went inside the ceramics store downstairs as instructed in the email, got the keys and then proceeded to climb the umpteen stairs up to the fifth floor where I was staying. (wid mi totally rotten knee dem)

After settling in, I proceeded to take a nap and then was awoken by our hosts as they weren’t there when I first arrived. They introduced themselves then invited me downstairs to the living room to hang out with them, awaiting my friends arrival. (By this time mi did fid eh a di people dem choir practice but mi did tiad yah man. Plus mi luggage neva reach yet and mi did waan bathe etc) During this time we were also awaiting my luggage as the airline promised to get it to me asap. Fortunately it arrived at about 9:30pm that night. After this, both ladies asked me to go with them to find my friend as she hadn’t yet arrived and they were worried that she may have been lost. (Mi knee dem di a kill mi but dem bad mi up so mi goh wid dem.) Truth be told it made

sense for me to go as they didn’t have any idea what she looked like. We walked to the under ground train station and waited for about 40 – 45 minutes before she eventually arrived.

The following day (Thursday) I went to choir practice for most of the day. Actually it started at

9:00am but I didn’t get there until about midday and it continued until 10:30pm. My sojourn into being lost in around the various train stations began that night. (Memba mi tell yuh, if there was a way for me to get lost, I DID! SMDH!). From the train station at Rudolphplatz to the home should take about 3 – 5 minutes. That night it took me 45 minutes! Mi seh, mi lost ‘til it look a way. Mi walk inna circles ‘til mi get frustrated. The road that I was staying on was Erenstrasse, but there was another close by named Ebenstrasse. I couldn’t remember which was which, so I walked in circles for a while, doing all over the place. Eventually I got home at about 11:30pm, bex out hell! LOL! Fool mi fool.

For the remainder of the week, I had choir practice until the day of the opening ceremony which was Saturday August 1 at FC Cologne Stadium. I participated in the parade of countries with my friend, and then after walking in with our Jamaica sign, I left her to join up with the choir to perform.

I felt proud that out small nation was represented despite the problems of homophobia.

After the performance, I left as my knees were in pretty bad shape and I ended up having to elevate and ice them for a few hours. I didn’t leave the house the following day, but on the Monday I went to Neumarkt where I purchased a knee brace and then went walk-about and train hopping for a few hours. Daily, I would routinely go out to explore the sites and sounds of each train stop along the way from the Junkersdorf in the east to Rheinenergie Stadion, Universitatstrasse all the way to Messe Deutz to the north west and Zulpicher to South. I indulged at a couple of the ice-cream stores, had brunch at the 4 Cani della Città

café, lunch a few times at McDonalds and dinner at the Pizzeria down the road. Additionally I visited the gay villages at both

Rudolphplatz and Neumarkt. There was a women’s place at Neumarkt, where I hung out as well and had cappuccinos and flirted or just read. I walked on the “Walk of Fame” (with a red carpet and hugelounging cushions no less) which was close to where we stayed and was mainly for the gay boys but was still an option for a few of the ladies. (I basically used it as a short cut to get to the Supermarket)

This was the pattern for the remainder of my time there apart from two occasions. The first was when my colleague and I attended a special meeting for all scholarship recipients on Saturday August 7 and the second was when one of our hostesses took us on a tour of Heumarkt. While there we went walk-about and saw several historical sites as well as visited the Ludwig museum, which was showing many different pieces of expressionist art.

Exhibitions included pieces by Picasso, Roy Lichtenstein and paintings of Australian Aborigines among many others.

(Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures inside but I was able to snap two on the outside). We visited the Hohe Domkirche St. Peter and Mary Gothic Cathedral (known to the layman as the Dom Cathedral) for which construction began in 1248 and finished in 1880.

An interesting point is that it is actually a working cathedral which hosts masses on a weekly

basis. I had the opportunity to take the attached photos of some of its contents as well as outside shots.

The following day was Monday August 9 and my train left Cologne at 6:00am for Frankfurt, from there I flew to Miami (backside 9½ hour flight!) and then next here to Jamaica."

It was a wonderful experience for us as we really felt good representing our island there and the reception was wonderful towards us being there.

Blessings

Mandria Mercury

Gays set up Buju, say Jamaicans in Florida

THE BUJU BANTON TRIAL
BY PAUL HENRY Sunday Observer staff reporter
henryp@jamaicaobserver.com

TAMPA, Florida — Jamaicans in Florida have consistently poured out their support for jailed international Reggae star Buju Banton. His songs get good rotation here and there was even a short-lived 'Free Buju' movement.
As the entertainer's Monday trial date looms, supporters living here have expressed their desire to see the four-time Grammy nominee freed of the drug-related charges against him.

Some supporters here believe that the artiste is innocent and that he had been set up. They are, however, split on just who set up the Banton, whose given name is Mark Myrie.

On one hand there are those who believe, as Banton's legal team is contending, that the Government had set up the artiste. But there are those who believe that he was set up by the "powerful and influential" gay community.
One of those who believes that the gay community is behind the arrest of the artiste — whose anti-homosexual lyrics have earned their wrath -- is Kenyo Rose, 33, of Tampa.

"I believe the gay community is behind the arrest because of the fight they always give him," Rose, himself a Reggae artiste who goes by the name J Rose, formerly Wicked, told the Sunday Observer yesterday.

"In the US the gay community has a lot of power and money too. When somebody wants you they are going to find a way to get you," said Rose.
Banton and the gay community have been at odds since the 1990s when he made the monster hit single Boom Bye Bye, which advocates death for homosexuals. The gay community's protests have led to several of the artiste's shows in the United States being cancelled.

The years of acrimony between Banton and the gay community and the financial toll it has taken on the artiste forced Banton last year October to meet with members of the gay community in Los Angeles.
Though Rose feels that Banton may be innocent, he said the only way the artiste could walk was if he cuts a deal with prosecutors.

Another Jamaican, who gave her name as Kizzy, did not want to ascribe innocence or guilt to the artiste but said that Banton deserved a second chance, in that he should be acquitted.
"I think he deserves a second chance," Kizzy, 33, told the Sunday Observer. "But if he did what they say he did, that's wrong.

Another Jamaican, who gave his name only as Donovan and who is a soldier in the US army, said Banton deserved prison if he is found guilty as charged. Donovan, who was visiting family in this city, bemoaned what he said was a great deal of drug-related crimes being committed in Jamaica.

The trial against Banton is expected to start tomorrow at the Middle District Court in this Florida city.

Banton and two other men — James Mack and Ian Thomas — were arrested last year in south Florida and charged with conspiracy to possess more than five kilogrammes of cocaine with intent to distribute. Mack was also charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offence.

However, Banton's two co-accused recently copped plea deals with prosecutors, agreeing to testify against the artiste in return for light sentences.
Banton's legal team said it was not perturbed by the development, and expressed confidence that a jury would return a not guilty verdict.