..=__ ~ Lynne Cheney- Eminem WASHINGTON—Lynne Cheney is one of the few high- profile people to speak out against the anti-gay rapper Eminem. The wife of the vice presi- dént said before the Grammy Awards that she was “amazed and dismayed” that rock star Elton John performed with Eminem, whose lyrics chroni- cle violence against women and gays. Mrs. Cheney has taken an active role in condemning the music industry for promoting artists with violent lyrics and has been especially critical of Eminem. “This certainly isn’t the first time, but Eminem is certainly, I think, the most extreme exam- ple of rock lyrics used to demean women, advocate vio- lence against women, and vio- lence against gay people,” Mrs. Cheney said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Elton John has been good in the past about speaking out . on issues of equality for gay people, and on issues olfviolent language against gay people,” she said. “I am quite amazed and dismayed that he would choose to perform with Eminem.” Syphilis ATLANTA — A new aiialy- sis froin the federal govern- ment confirms earlier conclu- sions that aii outbreak of syphilis among men who have sex with men in California is another sign that gay and bisexual men are lowering their guard against AIDS. More than half of the syphilis cases in a four-county area during the first half of 2000 were in men who report- ed having had at least one male sex partner, up from 26 percent a year earlier. - Health officials said the numbers are a signal that gay and bisexual men, encouraged by news of powerfully effec- tive drug cocktails and longer lifespans for AIDS patients, are worrying less about HIV. Both HIV and syphilis are‘ sexually transmitted; condoms can pro- tect against their spread. HIV “is no longer perceived to be the threat that it once was,” said Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, deputy director of the National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “These are very serious findings.” The Southern California cases and similar outbreaks in other major cities came after the national syphilis rate dropped in 1999 to its lowest level on record. Just 6,657 cases were reported in 1999, the last year for which national I figures are available, or about one case per 40,000 people. AIDS Housing WASHINGTON— President Bush says he wants to help more people with AIDS obtain housing, and Vermont could be one of the beneficiaries. Bush wants to expand a pro- gram begun in 1992 in the administration of his father in which AIDS patients get gov- ernment help paying for hous- ing. The program is available in many large cities, but not'in smaller ones. The recommendation was viewed by some as a positive gesture to gay rights activists, who have been jittery of the new Republican president. Their pleasure was tempered with concern that the policy change was at odds with what they requested. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is spending about $258 million this year on the AIDS housing subsidies, which help poor people who have had trouble finding a place to live. The president had been asked to increase that to $300 million, with most of the new ‘money going to communities that already have programs. ' Instead, Bush announced ‘that without cutting present programs, HUD should instead add new areas. Thirteen states do not receive money from the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program: Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming. SMU benefits DALLAS—— Same-sex part- ners of Southern Methodist University will be getting health benefits and reduced- cost tuition. The Dallas—based school will become one of a relatively few religious institutions nationwide to extend such ben- efits. Morgan Olsen, SMU vice president for business and finance, said the benefits plan is a good business decision that will allow the university to remain competitive for top teaching talent. “It was becoming clear that many employers nationally are offering this benefit,” he told The Dallas Morning News. “This is necessary to ensure SMU recruits and retains the best people.” The Faculty Senate last month unanimously approved the recommendation by mem- bers of the University Benefits Council. SMU estimates that about 19 of its 1,900 employees will sign up for the benefits at an annual cost of $80,000 to $100,000. About 150 of 3,300 higher education institutions nation- wide have similar policies. Australia Mardi Gras SYDNEY, Australia — Families headed by same-sex parents were the featured cele- bration at gay Mardi Gras cele- brations in Australia. A flock of plastic pink flamingoes carrying babies in their beaks, a-tribute to gay families, led 7,500 colorful marchers through Sydney’s streets for the city’s annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. The event, now in its 24th year, began as a civil rights march and has grown into one of the world’s largest gay pride festivals.‘ An estimated half- million spectators braved cold and wet weather to watch the » parade. ‘ i This year’s event featured 175 floats, several carrying social and political messages. A The event came four days after traditional Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, celebrations world- wide. The lead float, titled “Behind the Pink Picket Fence,” highlighted families with gay and lesbian parents. It also attacked proposed federal legislation that would exclude lesbians from access to certain social programs. Gay in China BEIJING — It’s OK to be gay in China. The 8,000-member Chinese Psychiatric Association has M april 2001 OITM - 3 Our w0"\6 concluded that homosexuality is not a perversion, said Dr. Chen Yanfang, the group’s vice president, and a new diagnostic manual due out next year will delete it from the list of mental illnesses. 4 “Many homosexuals lead perfectly normal lives,” he said. ‘ The step adds to growing tolerance of gays and lesbians in Ch_ina, where an under- ground culture of gay bars, websites- and sports clubs is flourishing. W Gays have benefited from loosening social restrictions over the past two decades. Gay couples live together discreet- ly, and in major cities such as Shanghai, some musicians and artists are openly gay. Still, harassment endures. At least 37 gay men were detained" in the southern province of Guangdong in July, in what police called China’s biggest crackdown to date on homosexuality. Military Harassment WASHINGTON — It may be getting a little bit easier to be gay and serve. in the U.S. military. . A new report says that the incidence of gay harassment declined slightly last year, in part because of improved Army training programs. But the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network says in its seventh annual report on the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” _policy_ that anti-gay behavior remains common in all the services, including among officers. The report issued Thursday says many commanders con- tinue to violate the policy by overzealously investigating the sexual orientation of service members. The policy allows gay men and lesbians to serve as long as they keep their sexu- al orientation private and do not engage in homosexual acts. The report urges Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to develop procedures for dis- ciplining service members who engage in, condone or ignore anti-gay behavior and to strongly state the Pentagon’s opposition to such behavior. “We now stand at a political crossroads and the question is whether the Bush administra- tion will do what the Clinton administration failed to do and enforce ‘don’t ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue, don’t harass’ with fairness and compassion,” the report says. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said officials will study the report. “In the meantime, there — should be no doubt in any serv- ice member’s mind that harass- ment is not tolerated in the mil- itary,” Whitman said. Paris Mayor PARIS — L’Hotel de Ville is looking particularly fabulous these days. Socialist Bertrand Delanoe became the first openly gay person to win election as mayor of a major world city. In a campaign short on sound bites and long on denun- ciations of a corruption—tainted system, the 50-year-old senator turned the political tide with his simple slogan “Let’s change eras.” Delanoe struck a chord with Paris’ 2 million residents by ,focusing his campaign on improving the quality of life, including promises to reduce pollution in the often smoggy city. He also said he would address concerns about the city’s poor, outlying suburbs. Delanoe may also have won favor with voters disillusioned by the whiff of corruption and bitter infighting that has tainted President Jacques Chirac’s conservative Rally for the Republic party in recent months. ' “Today, Parisians freely chose change in the capital,” Delanoe told supporters at his campaign headquarters. “Tonight, hearts are moved among all those who for so long dreamed of putting Paris back on the road of the future, the road of imagination and of hope.” One of a handful of openly gay politicians in still-conser- vative France, Delanoe revealed his homosexuality on a television program in 1999. The unusual revelation did not cause many waves, as he was still a relative unknown, despite a long career in public life, often at the heart of the Socialists’ political machine. The new mayor is a keen supporter of gay issues, taking part in Gay Pride marches and campaigning for a controver- sial law to give some legal rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex couples.