Last Reason To Watch Survivor Is Gone

The remaining reason to watch the latest edition of CBS' Survivor is gone: James Clement, a 30-year old African American gravedigger from Lafayette, LA, was voted out last night, despite possessing not one but two "Immunity idols" at the time. Despite his stunning physique and easy-going personality James was both unable to win individual immunity and prevent his fellow Survivors from voting to kick him on to the jury. I suppose it will be interesting to see what he looks like "all cleaned up." James had previously missed elimination by a single vote two episodes ago and should have realized that even if he didn't think he was a target for elimination he should play an Immunity Idol to negate any votes against him, just in case. Now, he's no longer in the running for the 1 million dollar prize, and the remaining 6 survivors (5 of whom voted against James while lying directly to his face) are a bunch of generally unattractive, relatively uninteresting people, although there is one gay Survivor left, Todd (22-year-old gay Mormon flight attendant from Utah).

See a clip of James in action:

Hillary Clinton Releases Plan to Fight HIV/AIDS

Mad Professah has previously blogged about John Edwards' (here) and Barack Obama's (pdf) release of comprehensive plans to fight HIV/AIDS in response to the call for a National AIDS Strategy issued by over 100 HIV/AIDS public policy organizations earlier in the fall. Hillary Clinton yesterday became the third Presidential contender to release their national AIDS strategy.

However, blogger Sven over at My Silver State and Pam's House Blend has noticed a curious similiarity in all three released plans: none of them include the word condom!

It should be interesting to see what particpants in the National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, Georgia this weekend have to say about that. Although Mad Professah is not going, I have a bunch of friends who are. I' staying in town and going to the Fusion LGBT POC Film Festival!

Heterosexual Supremacists File Federal Lawsuit Against LGBT Student Civil Rights Law

A little-known group called "Advocates for Faith and Freedom" together with the Northern California chapter of the Alliance Defense Fund filed suit in federal district court on Tuesday to overturn SB 777, the Student Civil Rights Act, which was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger October 12, 2007. The law, which would have gone into effect on January 11 if not for a parallel signature gathering effort to place a repeal referendum on the June 2008 primary ballot, "clarifies and reinforces existing protections currently in the state’s education code, including California’s definition of gender, which has been in place since 2000" according to its sponsor Equality California. SB 777 was written by openly gay State Senator Sheila James Kuehl, who also sponsored and wrote the original bill in 1999 which had initially placed protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity in California schools with AB 537, the California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000.

In their lawsuit, the heterosexual supremacists claim (pdf):

The Governor of California recently signed into law Senate Bill 777, which will
take effect on January 11, 2008. Senate Bill 777, in conjunction with the California Penal Code, introduces a new definition of “gender” into the California Education Code and is part of an overall nondiscrimination scheme applicable to schools in California. Senate Bill 777 recklessly abandons the traditional understanding of biological sex in favor of an elusive definition that is unconstitutionally vague. This lawsuit facially challenges the redefinition of the term “gender” as it will be impossible for school administrators and educators to enforce this new definition.
Further, it will be impossible for administrators and educators to know whether they themselves are violating the nondiscrimination provisions of the Education Code or the Penal Code. Additionally, the special treatment intended for a select few students through the enforcement of Senate Bill 777 will result in the violation of the privacy rights of the remainder of students not targeted for special treatment under Senate Bill 777. For these reasons, Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit based upon the prohibition against vague enactments as established in the Federal Constitution and the right to privacy founded in the California Constitution.

Senator Kuehl (who happens to be a 1978 Harvard Law School graduate) responded by saying: "There's no change in the law; it was always the same. All of these truly silly claims that they make about what could happen could have been happening over the last eight years and never did," she said. "I think they know they don't have a case. I think it's purely a fundraising mechanism for them."

Gasquet Denies Being Gay (Again)

Towleroad has a story on World #8 Richard Gasquet of France again denying he's gay. Here's an excerpt from the interview:

Q. Now your matches are finished. Do you still have any plan to go around the city maybe with your uncle or your girlfriend?
RICHARD GASQUET: My uncle? No. My girlfriend, no. I have no girlfriend, so I will try to find one, one Chinese girl. Why not? Why not? I lost 6-1, 6-1. It will be very hard for me tonight. I’m ready to lose, you know.

Q. Who is the girl watching your match with your uncle?
RICHARD GASQUET: Not my girl. I don’t know. Not my girl, for sure. No, no, no, I have just friends. Men friends, but I’m not gay.

Over at Craig Hickman's Tennis Blog Gasquet is always referred to "Richie Red Shoes." Maybe that should be changed to Richie Red Shorts!

Kasparov Arrested In Russia

Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov was arrested in Moscow on Saturday at an anti-government rally for the second time this year. He was sentenced to serve 5 days in jail.

Kasparov has emerged as a leading opposition spokesperson and is the official candidate for President of Russia of the Other Russia political party coalition. He is widely regarded as the best chess player of all time and is well-known to citizens of the former Soviet Republics as a national hero for his chess prowess.

Gore Gets To The White House

*sigh* (Write your own caption!)

FUSION LGBT People of Color Film Festival in L.A. This Friday

Mad Professah is excited about attending the 5th annual Fusion LGBT People of Color film festival and media conference this weekend in Los Angeles. On Friday I want to see, on Saturday Ru Paul's Starrbooty and Queer Women of Color shorts, and on Sunday the DL Chronicles and a number of other Fusion shorts.



Fusion is now in its 5th edition and is widely thought of as the only LGBT People of Color film festival in the world!

Best Women's Tennis Matches of 2007

1. S. Williams USA d. M. Sharapova RUS, 6-1 6-2, Australian Open final, Melbourne.

After a horrible 2006 where her ranking had fallen out of the Top 100, Serena Williams was completely disregarded as a possible factor in the 2007 Australian Open, even moreso after she lost in the quarterfinals of a Tier III tournament in Hobart, Australia to little-known Sybille Bammer less than 2 weeks before the start of the year's first Grand Slam in Melbourne. In the early rounds, she looked scrappy and won easily before running into the #5 seed Nadia Petrova. She was down a 6-1 set and a break before she came back to win the middle set and cruise through the deciding set to win that match. She easily dispatched hard-hitting Jelena Jankovic in the next round and few people were expecting the fierce battle that occurred in the quarterfinal between Serena and Sha'har Peer, who served for the match twice before succumbing 8-6 in the 3rd set. After every hard-fought match Serena's game looked stronger and stronger and her powerfully effective serve never abandoned her. However, the final against Maria Sharapova, the #1 player in the world and winner of the previous Grand Slam was one of the most powerful displays of tennis by Serena Williams ever--and this from a woman who 4 years before had won 4 consecutive Grand Slams! The performance completely stunned the tennis establishment and sent a devastating signal to the woman who had replaced her as the most highly paid female athlete in the world. There was never any doubt who would win the title from the end of the first two games of the match: Serena was hitting winners from every part of the court and serving aces at will. It immediately set the bar for the best match of the year, which was never surpassed.

2. J. Henin BEL d. M. Sharapova RUS, 5-7 7-5 6-3, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Championships final, Madrid.

The last match of the year often ends up on Best Matches of the Year lists because it is still fresh in the memory when the entire year's matches are being re-evaluated and compared. In addition, the final of the year-end championships also provide a $1 million prize to the victor. However, this year, like last year (and the year before that) a match from the tour championships has landed in the Top 5 Matches of the Year. This time it was the 3 hour, 24 minute slugfest between the new #1 Player in the World and reigning 2007 U.S. Open champ, Justine Henin, and last year's U.S. Open champ, Maria Sharapova. Both players wanted desperately to defeat the other and played some of their best tennis of the year in an attempt to blast their opponent off the court. There were incredible rallies and unbelievable shotmaking from both sides of the net. Sharapova was attempting to salvage a horrible 2007 where she had won only one title during the entire year. Henin was trying to put an exclamation point on a year in which she had won two Grand Slam titles and maintained her #1 ranking for the entire year, winning 10 titles in the process. In the end, Henin won the battle, but Sharapova made the statement that the 5-years younger player would be a factor to be dealt with in 2008 and beyond.

3. S. Williams USA d. J. Henin BEL, 0-6 7-5 6-3, Sony Ericsson Open final, Miami.

After skipping the Australian Open to "recover from her collapsed marriage," this was the first opportunity the current #1 player in the world had to play against the resurgent Serena who had early in the tournament again dismantled Maria Sharapova in straight sets to prove her Australian Open beatdown was no fluke. The entire tennis world was curious to see how the two fierce competitors would match up, especially since it had been nearly 4 years since they had played a WTA tour match against each other. Serena started the match atrociously and before long she was not only bagelled (0-6) but was fast approaching elimination as Henin earned two match points in the second set on Serena's serve (3-5). After saving those match points (one with a service winner and the other with a forced error) Serena went on to win a string of 6 consecutive games and easily won the match. However, although Serena was victorious in the first meeting of many these two combatants had in 2007, the 3 others occurred in the quarterfinals of the three remaining Grand Slam tournaments of the year and all went Henin's way, with only the Wimbledon quarterfinal providing a fraction of the drama on display in this Miami final. It will be interesting to see if the two players meet in 2008 and now that Serena's ranking is back in the Top 10, it should occur a bit deeper in the tournament, possibly even on the final Sunday of a Slam.

4. M. Bartoli FRA d. J. Henin BEL, 1-6 7-5 6-1, Wimbledon Championships semifinal, London.

Of course tennis fans were unsurprised to see Henin losing to a French player at Wimbledon, since the defending champion Amelie Mauresmo had beaten the Belgian in the 2006 final. However, the Frecnchwoman the #1 player in the world lost to at Wimbledon in 2007 was Marion Bartoli, a relative unknown more widely recognized for her coach/father's unorthodox training regimens. Mauresmo underwent an appendectomy in early Spring and was never much of a factor on tour for the rest of the year. In this match, Bartoli was down a set and 5-3 against the fearsome Belgian when she stormed back to claim the 2nd set and continued her momentum to take the deciding set easily. The result was easily the most astonishing upset of 2007 and I would argue was the biggest upset of the current decade. Bartoli went on to become firmly ensconced in the Top 10 for the rest of the year to confirm that this result was no fluke. However, Henin got her revenge at the year-end championships in Madrid, refusing to let the Frenchwoman win a single game (double bagel).

5. V. Williams USA d. J. Jankovic SRB, 4-6 6-1 7-6(4), U.S. Open Quarterfinal, New York.

It's not often the Wimbledon final doesn't make into the Top 5 Best Matches of the Year but 2007 was that kinda year. Jelena Jankovic and Venus Williams both played several excellent matches during the year but this showdown at the final Slam was I think the best of their meetings in 2007. Unfortunately for Venus, I think she peaked in this quarterfinal match and thus was not at 100% against Henin in the semifinals. Jankovic also was simply outlasted here but this match could have gone either way, and was Venus' revenge for losing another incredibly tight match to Jankovic earlier in the year at the Charleston semifinals in a 3rd set tiebreak. Venus had demolished the other "Serbian sister" Ana Ivanovic in straight sets the previous round and thus earned the rare distinction of beating both Serbians in the same Grand Slam. However, Henin earned the even rarer distinction of beating both Williams sisters in a tournament and winning it. After this match it was revealed by her mother and coach Oracene Price that Venus had been complaining of tiredness and anemia was suspected. Hopefully the condition will be treated and Venus will be 100% and fully committed to the tour in 2008.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
V. Williams USA d. M. Bartoli, 6-4 6-1, Wimbledon Championships final.
J. Henin BEL d. A. Mauresmo, 7-5 6-7(4) 7-6(2), Eastbourne Open final.
A. Ivanovic SRB d. N. Vaidisova CZE, 4-6 6-2 7-5, Wimbledon Championships quarterfinal.
M. Sharapova RUS d. V. Williams USA, 2-6 6-2 7-5, Sony Ericsson Open 3rd Round.
V. Williams USA d. M. Sharapova RUS, 6-1 6-3, Wimbledon Championships 4th Round.
S. Kuznetsova RUS d. J. Henin BEL, 6-4 5-7 6-4, Qatar Telecom German Open semi-final
A. Chakvetadze RUS d. V. Williams USA, 6-7(5) 7-6(3) 6-2, Acura Classic quarterfinal.
A. Ivanovic SRC d. S. Kuznetsova RUS, 3-6 6-4 7-6(4) , Qatar Telecom German Open final.
J. Jankovic SRB d. M. Sharapova RUS, 4-6 6-3 7-5, Birmingham DFS Classic final.
E. Dementieva RUS d. S. Williams USA 5-7 6-1 6-1, Kremlin Cup fina
A. Mauresmo FRA d. K. Clijsters BEL, 6-4 7-6(4), Diamond Proximus Games final.
K. Clijsters BEL d. J. Jankovic SRB, 4-6 7-6(1) 6-4, Medibank Sydney International final.

Sampras Beats Federer In 3rd Exhibition Match After Losing First Two

36-year-old 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras beat 26-year-old, 12-time Grand Slam champion and current World #1 Roger Federer in their third exhibition match 7-6(8), 6-4 to after two close straight set defeats, 6-4 6-3 and 7-6(6) 7-6(5) in the first two exhibition matches earlier in the week. Sampras said that he had no intention of coming out of retirement and that he expected Federer to beat his record of 14 major titles in 2008 or "soon." MadProfessah has predicted that Federer's 15th major victory will come at Wimbledon 2009.

Mirthala and Mayor Call It Quits

The Los Angeles Times reporter David Zahniser has a story in Saturday's edition which claims that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's affair with former Telemundo television anchor Mirthala Salinas is now over.

Months after revelations about the affair damaged the mayor's political standing and devastated Salinas' broadcasting career, the two sources said the relationship disintegrated weeks ago.

"They broke up earlier in the fall. They've both moved on. And Antonio is focused on his relationships with his kids," said one person who said he learned about the breakup in October.

The other source -- who described himself as a longtime friend of Villaraigosa's -- said the relationship ended two or possibly three months ago.

"I think it was a tough summer. I think it was hard on his family. And I think he's trying hard to get past everything that was that summer," the friend said.

Both sources spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

When told of the news, most people's thoughts were "I wonder what Latino politician she is dating now?" (Salinas has previously been romantically linked to Los Angeles City County president and now State Senator Alex Padilla, current Speaker of the State Assembly Fabian Núñez and of course former Speaker of the Assembly and current Mayor of Los Angeles Villaraigosa.)

In other news, Zahniser's story puts to rest that the Mayor would be changing his surname (back to Villar) in light of his pending divorce from his wife of over 20 years, Corina Villiaraigosa. There have been reports that she would be changing her surname back to Raigosa.

The beauty of mathematics, part 1

The short video (also available on YouTube) demonstrates effects of linear fractional transformations, also known as Möbius transformations, on a square segment of the plane. The subject is a key point in Complex Analysis, one of my favorite classes to teach due to the sheer number of beautiful visuzalizations like this one that are possible. The video was made by Douglas N. Arnold and Jonathan Rogness of the University of Minnesota and has become widely celebrated; it recently was a winner in the 2007 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge.

Slapping Saletan on Racist Theory of Intelligence

Daily Kos front page blogger Miss Laura links to an article called "No, Blacks are Not Dumber than Whites" which refutes Slate's Will Saletan's series called "Created Equal" by answering the following questions:

Are differences in performance on standardized tests indicative of differences in intelligence? Are differences in intelligence, in turn, rooted in genetic difference? Are the genetic determinants of intelligence distributed in predictable patterns along racial lines? Finally, are race-based discrepancies in mean intelligence brute biological facts, impervious to social or technological efforts to alleviate them?

What do you think?

Openly Gay USC Law Pofessor Appointed to Police Commission

The Los Angeles Times reports in a short blurb in today's paper that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has appointed Richard Saltzman, associate dean of the USC Law School, to the Los Angeles Police Commission, becoming the only openly gay member of the civillian oversight body for the Los Angeles Police Department. He will replace Shelley Freeman and "increase ethnic diversity" on the 5-member body.

U.S. Attempting To Make HIV Travel Ban Even More Stringent

Mad Professah is a big supporter of the organization Immigration Equality which keeps a close eye on how U.S. immigration law affects LGBT and HIV+ individuals and immigrants. Just a couple weeks ago I blogged about how China had announced that they were considering changing their ban on travel to that country by HIV+ individuals. At that time I mentioned that this would make China's policy more humane than U.S. immigration policy. I didn't realize then that the U.S. and China are currently on a list of only thirteen countries (Iraq, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Sudan, Qatar, Brunei, Oman, Moldova, Russia, Armenia, and South Korea) that have travel and immigration bans on people living with HIV or AIDS.

Thanks to Towleroad comes the news that the Bush administration is in the process of revising the current travel ban also, but this time they want to make it worse! The always indispensable Gay City News has an article ("A Bush Double-Cross on HIV Travel Ban") about the proposed regulation change which is currently open for public comment until December 6th. The regulation is issued by the Department of Homeland Security entitled "Issuance of a Visa and Authorization for Temporary Admission Into the United States for Certain Nonimmigrant Aliens Infected With HIV" and numbered USCBP-2007-0084-0001.

The Gay City News article (written by activist blogger Doug Ireland) summarizes the issues nicely:

Last year on World AIDS Day, President George W. Bush pledged to issue "streamlined" new regulations with a "categorical waiver" that would make it easier for the HIV-positive to receive exemptions.

"Unfortunately, despite using the terms 'streamlined' and 'categorical,' in reality these regulations are neither," said Victoria Neilson, legal director of Immigration Equality, which works on behalf of LGBT and HIV-positive asylum seekers and immigrants.

Neilson told Gay City News, "This is a big disappointment, given the rhetoric of the Bush administration that the US was making it easier - because the new regs simply add more heavy burdens for the HIV-positive traveler."

Among other provisions, under the new rules proposed by DHS, a visitor would need to travel with all the medication he would need during his stay in the US; prove that he has medical insurance that is accepted in the US and would cover any medical contingency; and prove that he won't engage in behavior that might put the American public at risk. The maximum term for any waiver would be 30 days.

The new regulations purport to speed up the waiver application process because consular officers would be empowered to make decisions without seeking DHS sign-off. However, by using this "streamlined" application process, waiver applicants would have to agree to give up the ability to apply for any change in status while in the US, including applying for legal permanent residence.

The purpose of fast-tracking the new regs and setting a super-tight December 6 deadline for public comment before they take effect was to catch the AIDS community - busy with preparations for World AIDS Day on December 1 - unawares. To a certain extent, the ploy has worked.

Are you going to let them get away with it? Go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and look for USCBP-2007-0084 and submit your comment before December 6. Do it as your way of celebrating World AIDS Day!

Another L.A. Firefighter Sues Over Discrimination

The Los Angeles Times reported last week about another firefighter who is claiming discriminatory practices are prevalent in the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Previously Mad Professah has been blogging about multiple examples of firefighters claiming race, sex, and sexual orientation discrimination by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department for months. This time, it is the County Fire Department which apparently punished a firefighter who tried to stop homophobic comments about another firefighter who was thought to be gay.

Firefighter Gonzalo Salgado is suing the Los Angeles County Fire Department, alleging retaliation and hostile treatment after he told colleagues to stop making derogatory conversation about another firefighter perceived to be gay.

[...]

Salgado was unreasonably punished for allegedly losing equipment, was transferred to four different fire stations in as many months and was passed over for promotion, according to the lawsuit complaint.

[...]

Salgado, 46, had complained to the county Office of Affirmative Action Compliance and to the Fire Department's employee relations officials. Salgado alleges in the complaint that the Fire Department took years to complete its investigation, which he said was sloppily conducted.

Official reviews found no pattern of mistreatment toward Salgado, according to county investigation records, but did conclude that department managers did not appropriately report the conversation about a firefighter's perceived sexual orientation.

The complaint alleges that Salgado's supervisor, Capt. Lee Gregory, "attempted to minimize the inflammatory nature of the discussion by contending that it was a joke." Fire Department employee relations officials recommended discipline for the gossiping firefighters, but none was imposed, according to the complaint.

Venus Williams in L.A. This Weekend!

Jasmyne Cannick's blog alerted me to the fact that Venus Williams will be appearing at a local mall in Los Angeles this weekend promoting her new line of affordable clothing called, Eleven by Venus. Apparently, Venus will be appearing at Beverly Connection (8489 West Third StreetLos Angeles, CA 90048) at 3:30pm on Saturday November 25th.

Federer Wins 4th Masters Cup Final and $10M for 2007

World #1 and future Greatest Of All Time Roger Federer of Switzerland defeated David Ferrer of Spain 6-2 6-3 6-2 to win his 4th year end championship. Yesterday, Federer dismantled his arch nemesis Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-4 6-1 in a semifinal match that was pretty even up until the 9th game but all Federer after that. Federer improved his lifetime head-to-head against Nadal to 6-8 (with Nadal having 6 wins on clay) with 3 wins to 2 losses in 2007. Against Ferrer, he improved his lifetime to 8-0. Federer also won the year end championships in 2003, 2004, and 2006 and lost a close 5-set match against his other arch-nemesis David Nalbandian in 2005. Only Pete Sampras has more, with 6.

By winning the year end championships, Federer won $1.2 million and a $1.5 million year end Masters Series bonus for winning the Hamburg, Cincinnati and Shanghai Masters Series events, the most on tour this year. Federer becomes the first player to win 10 million dollars in a calendar year. However, he doesn't have something that David Ferrer has:


(Hat/tip to Craig Hickman for the picture of David Ferrer's torso, above.)

IGLHRC Applauds Suspension of Execution For Gay Iranian

Joe.My.God has picked up the story about the nullification of the execution of an Iranian gay man. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission had widely publicized the case earlier in the week and joefully reported the news on its website:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has learned that the Iranian Chief Justice, Ayatollah Seyed Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, has nullified the impending death sentence of Mr. Makvan Mouloodzadeh, a 21-year old Iranian citizen found guilty of multiple counts of anal rape (ighab), allegedly committed when he was 13 years old. The Iranian Chief Justice described the death sentence to be in violation of Islamic teachings, the religious decrees of high-ranking Shiite clerics, and the law of the land.

"This is a stunning victory for human rights and a reminder of the power of global protest," said Paula Ettelbrick, IGLHRC's executive director, who on November 5 sent a letter in Persian and English asking that Iranian authorities intervene to halt the execution.

Congratulations to IGLHRC!

New York Governor Spitzer Reaffirms Intent To Legalize Gay Marriage

Towleroad links to an article that appeared in Friday's New York Post which in typical understated style titles its report "SPITZER VOWS TO PUSH FOR GAY MARRIAGES." Apparently New York Governor Eliot Spitzer said at a private fundraiser at gay man's home in Manhattan that if the Democrats were to take over the State Senate, then Spitzer's gay marriage bill (which passed the State Assembly in May but has not been taken up in the Republican-controlled upper house) would be a top priority for the Democratic legislature and governor.

*sigh* If only we could swap our Governator for a real Governor like Spitzer!

Federer To Face Nadal; Roddick Faces Ferrer at Masters Cup

versus

versus

Roger Federer beat Andy Roddick for the 14th time in 15 matches after his qualification for the ATP Masters Cup semifinals in Shanghai was already assured regardless of the outcome of the match-up. He slaughtered Roddick in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 in an encounter lasting 61 minutes in which the result was never in doubt.

Federer will meet Rafael Nadal for the second consecutive year in the Masters Cup semifinal. At Last year's event they played one of the best matches of the year which was won by Federer in two very tight sets of excellent tennis 6-4 7-5. MadProfessah hopes for (and expects to see) a repeat of last year's semifinal, with the same victor.

In the other semifinal, Andy Roddick will meet David Ferrer who has been on fire. Mad Professah believes that Ferrer now believes that he can beat anyone on tour, and he can, so I expect he will outlast Roddick in three sets. If the match is only two sets, I believe Roddick will pull through.