Top German Football Agent Claims There are 'a Bunch of Gays' on the World Cup Team

I recent wrote a blog post about a soap opera in Argentina that involves closeted soccer stars that has prompted some to speculate on how many actual world cup players might be living such lives (I have watched some You Tube clips from the show and it's actually rather good and seems to accurately depict the mental anguish of the closeted and married soccer star). Now, as if intentionally throwing gas on that fire, a top German football agent claims that there are "a bunch of gays' on the World Cup Team shown in the photo above and detailed here. Obviously, we all know that gay soccer players exist - just like we exist in every other profession and field of endeavor. The Guardian has coverage on this new bomb shell. Here are some highlights:
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German football was engulfed in controversy today over remarks by the agent of a top footballer, who allegedly referred to a "bunch of gays" in the national team.
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Michael Becker, who has been the agent of German national football captain Michael Ballack for more than a decade, is reported to have made the comment in the latest edition of the news magazine Der Spiegel.
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In an essay entitled New German Men, Aleksander Osang recounts an interview he had with Becker prior to the World Cup in which the agent allegedly told him which of the players in the team were gay. He later said that a former national player was ready to reveal the "bunch of gays" in the German team, according to Osang. Asked about the sexuality of one of the newer players, Becker, who is a lawyer by profession, referred to him as being "half gay".

Osang went on to say that Becker put the new adroit, lighter and elegant style of play that has become a trademark of trainer Joachim Löw's players down to their homosexuality, . . .
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According to Der Spiegel, when Becker made his remarks about the "bunch of gays" he expected the ears of fellow journalists present to "prick up". "But they only nodded placidly," said Osang. "All sports journalists seemed to already know the alleged homosexual conspiracies enveloping Löw's team. The rumours accompanied our team to South Africa and evidently belong to the team."
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But the comments have raised concerns that homosexuality remains one of the major taboos in the footballing world. The only German footballer to have outed himself as gay is the former regional league player for Erfurt Marcus Urban, and that was only after his professional career was over. Experts estimate that around 10 per cent of all Bundesliga professionals are gay.

A Random Occurence? Or Something More?

What with the recent local media coverage of the HRBOR/City of Hampton meeting concerning revitalization efforts for the Phoebus area of Hampton and articles quoting me in the Daily Press, on a WVEC-TV news clip and Inside Business, among others, It's not exactly a secret that I am gay in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Add to that my writings on this blog, my pieces on The Bilerico Project and occasional post picked up on other blogs, and my being "out" pretty much goes national, if not international. Being out socially and professionally in states like Virginia has its risks. But I generally feel no fear or apprehension. And, fortunately, I am not aware of any clients avoiding or leaving my firm because of my "lifestyle choice" as the gay-haters would describe it.

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As a result of my activism and blogging, I have received occasional death threats and threats of violence in anonymous comments left on this blog (I ceased allowing such anonymous comments some months ago) or in e-mails - all from "Godly Christian" types, of course. I realize that such threats go with the territory of being a sometimes activist and LGBT blogger and that they also demonstrate the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of those who would use physical violence rather than logic and rational thought and debate.

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But this weekend something happened that has touched the vulnerable side of me - at least slightly. Sometime over the past weekend, someone vandalized the outside main electric breaker for my office (the front of the historic building where the office is above). Of the 11 breaker boxes on the rear of the building on a low traffic volume street - all labeled to disclose the corresponding office/retail/restaurant suite - only one had had the padlock cut and the power lever pushed to the off position and the lock repositioned to appear still in the "on" position. The result: no real damage in the office other than a mess in non-frost free refrigerators that defrosted and discarded contents and whatever faxes and telephone calls that were not captured in voicemail.

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Just a coincidence that only one of eleven (11) breaker boxes (all with similar locks) was vandalized? Or was the breaker for my office suite - which also includes the Virginia ELCA Synod's eastern office and an Ameriprise office - located towards the center of the boxes specifically selected from all the others? Neither I nor Dominion Virginia Power can determine when the incident happened. But based on the temperature in the office and the total meltdown of the refrigerator/freezer compartment contents, it likely occurred on Friday night or Saturday.

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If the event wasn't a weird coincidence, I nonetheless have no intention of allowing myself to be intimidated. As long as the Christianists and enemies of LGBT equality disseminate lies about us, I intend to tell the truth - as I see it - about them. If it was a deliberate act against my office, it's yet another example of the cowardice of our enemies. What you do readers think?

Iraq Police Crackdown on Gays Continue

And American citizens are paying for this? That's right, the USA is underwriting religious based bigotry - and in many cases murder - and young Americans are dying to support the persecution and murders of individuals in violation of international law. President Obama, are you listening and paying attention? It is indeed a sad state of affairs that LGBT Iraqis had more tolerance under Saddam Hussein than is the case under the U.S. puppet government in Baghdad. Admittedly, I never supported the invasion of Iraq and felt almost physically sick as I watched the Chrimperator (for newer readers, that's George W. Bush) announce that the invasion had begun. At the time I even commented to several members of the media that I believed that the hubris of Bush and Cheney would only harm the USA long term. It's been a fool's errand based on lies from the outset and this latest persecution of gay Iraqis just further confirms that sad fact. What is unfortunate is that our current president seems to care nothing about the Iraqi government actions. Here are highlights from U.K. Gay News on the latest outrages by Iraq police:
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LONDON, July 13, 2010 – Hard on the heels of an Iraqi police raid on a Kerbala ‘safe house’ for gays, run by the London-based Iraqi LGBT, comes news that there has been another raid – on a Baghdad male beauty parlour, with five men arrested. Iraqi LGBT reported this evening that five gay mean were seized by “Interior Ministry forces” in the raid on June 25. The latest raid was on a house used as a business for services such as waxing and massage in the Baghdad district of Karada.
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Neither waxing nor massage is illegal in Iraq however it is ‘forbidden’ by Shia clerics. Despite claims to the contrary, homosexuality is illegal in Iraq, and it is on this basis that the raid happened and the men were arrested, the London group claims.
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Eyewitnesses who were outside the building say Ministry of Interior forces raided at 3pm. Those on rooftops heard screams for help and saw the men being severely beaten by uniformed men carrying cattle prods. They say one was taken into custody on a stretcher, Iraqi LGBT reports.
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Iraqi LGBT has received no information about where the men were taken. However, previous seizures of gays, lesbians and transgender people have resulted in them being handed to religious militia and their subsequent torture. Often this is followed by the discovery of their mutilated bodies.
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This evening, Iraqi LGBT is calling on the British and American governments to follow the lead of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and investigate – and condemn – the raids.
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However, Iraqi LGBT notes that in her latest speech outlining the American government’s support for oppressed LGBT people throughout the world, made just two days before the latest known raid, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to mention Iraq.
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“What needs to happen – what can we do – before the world pays any attention, and before people start pressing their leaders to tell the Iraqi government to stop? What? We plead for an answer.,” he said in desperation.
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“We know why politicians would rather people forgot about what is happening in Iraq. But Iraqi lesbians, gay men and transgender people particularly feel that they have been forgotten by their fellow LGBT, especially those in power in the West. Why?” Over the past five years, Iraqi LGBT has documented 738 deaths of LGBT persons.
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738 deaths. Would Obama be so indifferent if the dead were 738 blacks and youths? Somehow, I suspect not.

HRBOR July Third Thursday

This month's HRBOR Third Thursday business networking event is on July 15, 2010, and will be hosted by Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group. Loan officers with Atlantic Bay - some of whom make up HRBOR's straight ally members - have been members of HRBOR from nearly its inception and I hope readers will make an effort to attend. As I have noted before, for readers who do not have their own businesses to market through HRBOR membership, consider an associate membership for 1/2 the price that entitles associate membership holders to attendance at all HRBOR events free to members. Over the course of a year, it's a tremendous money saver. Here are the details on Thursday's event:

Date: July 15, 2010

Time: 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Cost: Free to Members, Guest fee $15

Location: Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group,

638 Independence Parkway, Suite 250, Chesapeake, VA 23320
Parking: Plenty of FREE parking

Hosts: Dennis Brinck, Senior Mortgage Banker; dennisbrinck@atlanticbay.com / 757-819-0275
Bar Sponsors: Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group

Featured Non-Profit: Beyond Boobs, Inc

Please Note: In an effort to go Green, we have member information on our slide presentation loop. Members and Guests are encouraged to bring any marketing materials you wish to distribute (ie: business cards, brochures and flyers) but please be prepared to take them with you when you leave.

P.S. Beyond Boobs is a non-profit that aids women who have need of reconstructive surgery following breast cancer surgery. It is a wonderful cause

Tuesday Male Beauty

Prostitute Loving U. S. Senator Supports "Birther" Lawsuit

One has to wonder what is in the water in Louisiana - I don't mean now, since we know BP oil is seeping in everywhere along the coast and into Lake Pontchartrain - but rather when David Vitter was elected to the United States Senate . The guy is an admitted adulterer and frequenter of prostitutes both in his home state and in Washington, D.C., yet continues to be embraced as a "family values" Republican. The guy takes hypocrisy to a new level as do his political supporters. Now, Vitter is demonstrating just what a loon and political whore he is with his statements that he supports "birther" lawsuits questioning Barack Obama's citizenship. There are many reasons to not support Obama - as LGBT Americans are sadly discovering - but the lunatic claim that he's not a U.S. citizen is not one of them. Those that believe that Obama's not an American probably also believe that they have been abducted by little green men in spaceships. Indeed, they probably could use a stay in a mental institution. Yet, Vitter is out there pandering to them and in the process making prostitutes look down right virtuous. Here are highlights from a Time article that looks at Vitter's latest prostituting of himself:
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Republican Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana says he supports conservative organizations challenging President Barack Obama's citizenship in court. Vitter, who is running for re-election, made the comments at a town hall-style event in Metairie, La., on Sunday when a constituent asked what he would do about what the questioner said was Obama's "refusal to produce a valid birth certificate."
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With the crowd applauding the question, Vitter responded that he doesn't personally have standing to bring litigation. "But I support conservative legal organizations and others who would bring that to court," he said, according to a video of the event. "I think that is the valid and most possibly effective grounds to do it."
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So-called birthers have challenged Obama's standing as president by arguing that he was not born in the United States. Hawaii officials have repeatedly confirmed the president's citizenship, and his Hawaiian birth certificate has been made public, along with newspaper birth notices published when he was born in 1961.
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His spokesman did not immediately respond to a question about whether the senator doubts Obama's citizenship.

Time Magazine: Why Are Troops Even Being Surveyed on DADT?

Time Magazine ask a question that more in the mainstream media ought to be asking; While is the Pentagon surveying troops on repealing DADT when not such polls were done when the army was integrated and other major changes implemented. The defenders of the controversial survey claim that it is so that the military can have a sense of "buy in." Personally, I think the senior military brass is challenging civilian control - something for which they should be terminated (remember Douglas MacArthur) - and, worse yet, I fear setting the stage to kill repeal. And I believe Obama's involved in the whole orchestrated dog and pony show to appear to mollify gays even thorough he's going to show he's spineless again and going to allow DADT repeal to be killed. Here are some column highlights:
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When Harry Truman wanted to integrate blacks into the U.S. military in 1948, he simply ordered it done. When the Navy wanted women on ships beginning in 1978, it commanded its admirals to do so. When the Clinton Pentagon decided women should become fighter pilots, it issued orders telling the military to make it happen. For generations, the military mind-set has been, If we want you to have an opinion, we'll issue you one. So why is the Pentagon asking troops how they'll feel if forced to serve alongside openly gay comrades?
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"This is a very dangerous precedent," says Lawrence Korb, who ran the Pentagon's personnel office during the Reagan Administration. "It gives the troops the feeling that they have a veto over what the top people want."
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But even a top officer acknowledges some unease. "We've never done this," Admiral Gary Roughead, the chief of naval operations, said in February after Pentagon leaders endorsed ending "Don't ask, don't tell" and said they would survey the troops about it. "We've never assessed the force because it is not our practice to go within our military and poll our force to determine if they like the laws of the land or not.
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So why is it being done? Perhaps I am a pessimist, but I feel in my gut that it's part of cynical plan to kill repeal while certain politicians - think Obama - get away pretending to have supported repeal. I hope I'm wrong, but will not be at all surprised if I am not.

More Monday Male Beauty

Gay Georgia Teen Launches Project to Assist Abused, Rejected and Abandoned LGBTQ Teens

I have commented many times on my inability to understand the (in my view) warped and perverted religiosity of parents who disown and abandoned their gay children. Perhaps I should consider myself fortunate that I don't understand such a mental/psychological mindset. No matter what they might ever do, I would never, ever cease loving and accepting my children. In any event, I previously wrote about Derrick Martin (above right), a gay teenager in Georgia who prevailed in bringing his boyfriend to his senior prom. Unfortunately, Martin's "good Christian" parents threw him out because of the publicity and his sexual orientation. Now, Derrick has launched a project called "Project Life Vest" which will help other teens going through what he experienced or worse simply because they are gay. The Project's website describes its mission as follows:
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Our mission is simple: "To be a helping hand, a life vest, to as many LGBTQ teens and adults as possible. We will carry out this mission through the establishment of safe places in as many cities as possible; through opening a call center with a qualified and well-educated and experienced team of counselors who can give advice and guidance where needed; through finding qualified and screened families who can, if the need arises, host rejected teens while they finish schooling or find a new place."
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Here is how Derrick Martin describes his own unfortunate experience:
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When I first decided to go to prom with my boyfriend, I had no idea concerning the turmoil that would engulf in my life. One day I was living with my parents; the next I had no home. I found myself without much in terms of material possessions and comfort. I had a car; a low paying job with the school; and a few trash bags filled with my clothes and scarce belongings. Luckily for me, a good friend took me into her home. I stayed with her family during the last few months of my senior year in high school. These were very tough times for me. With the exception of my best friend and her family, my boyfriend, and a few other friends, I was alone.
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I have a very unique opportunity that I feel I cannot pass up. I have the spotlight needed to establish a name in activism. I possess a unique viewpoint from which I can help others in the LGBT Community; people like myself who are disadvantaged because of discrimination, hate, or ignorance. That is why I have decided to form an organization dedicated to helping people like me, who are going through hard times because of discrimination. . . . I only want others who are like me to know that they are not alone, for everyone has the right to love regardless of sexual orientation.
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For those withholding money from the Democrats, Derrick's Project - which has partnered with existing and experienced organizations - looks like a worthy place to make a donation. You can make a donation here.

Hawaii Twice Divorced Governor Compares Gay Marriage to Incest

Seemingly trying to further destroy her state as a tourist destination, hypocite Linda Lindle - who applies Bible passages to gays but not herself - has now publicly stated that gay marriage is the same as incest. Or at least that's how she is trying to justify her veto of civil union legislation for same sex couples in Hawaii. The irony is that meanwhile, Hawaii allows first cousins to marry - something backward Virginia allows as well. Too bad Ms. Lindle doesn't even know the laws of her own state. It kills me that the world will purportedly end if gays marry but it's fine to marry that first cousin you grew up with and celebrated with at family gatherings. First cousins marrying? Sure sounds pretty much like incest to me. In fact, half of the states ban such marriages. Think Progress has coverage on this bitch, I mean bigot's latest blather. Here are highlights:
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In her first radio appearance after her veto, Good As You noted that Lingle continued to pretend that the legislation would undermine traditional marriage. She also claimed that if people believe marriage equality for same-sex couples is a “civil rights issue,” they should also be concerned that close relatives can’t marry either:
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LINGLE: For those people who want to makes this into a civil rights issue, and of course those in favor of the bill, they see it as a civil rights issue. And I understand them drawing that conclusion. But people on the other side would point out, well, we don’t allow other people to marry even — it’s not a civil right for them. First cousins couldn’t marry, or a brother and a sister and that sort of thing. So there are restrictions, not to put it in the exact same category. But the bottom line is, it really can’t be a civil right if we are restricting it in other cases, and it’s been found to be legal in those other cases, that the restrictions
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Lingle’s argument is popular with conservatives. Recently, former Arkansas governor and current Fox News personality Mike Huckabee said that legalizing marriage equality would “be like saying, well, there are a lot of people who like to use drugs, so let’s go ahead and accommodate those who want who use drugs. There are some people who believe in incest, so we should accommodate them.