THIS WAY OUT RUNDOWN for Program #670, distributed 01/29/01 (produced and hosted by Greg Gordon) One of the world's top gay politicians resigns in a cloud of controversy, gays and lesbians challenge U.S. Attorney General nominee John Ashcroft, a British judge denies "family" status to a bi-national couple, rights seem won but are threatened with reversal in Guyana, and other global GLBT news; An interview with freed U.S. lesbian political prisoner Susan Rosenberg; And the words and music of diva-on-the-cusp-of-stardom Varla Jean Merman "TWO" FEEDS via the PRSS EACH MONDAY @ 14:30 ET on A72.3*, EACH TUESDAY @ 16:00 ET on Pacifica`s KU band, and is mailed on cassette to non-satellite-equipped stations and to individual subscribers *==> Weekly feeds now scheduled by PRSS on A72.3 through June 2001 <== -------- AIR THE ENTIRE HALF-HOUR AND/OR USE SELECTED SEGMENTS ------ ALWAYS FREE OF CHARGE! USAGE LIMITED ONLY BY TIMELINESS OF NEWS CONTENT! => RUNDOWN <= Opening Theme Music/Intro Continuity. . [no teases this week] . . . :40 SEGMENT #1 – "NewsWrap": Peter Mandelson, Blair confidante and British Secretary for Northern Ireland, resigns from the Cabinet for the second time in his career in a cloud of controversy, while progressive activists, including former Ashcroft job applicant Paul Offner and openly-gay ambassador to Luxembourg James Hormel, challenge the veracity of Bush Attorney General nominee Christian conservative John Ashcroft; Democrats introduce bills in the U.S. Congress to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination and include them in federal hate crimes laws, and openly-gay Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank introduces a measure – and challenges Vice President Dick Cheney to support it – to repeal part of 1996's infamous DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act; a British judge denies "family" status to Irish-born Londoner Nigel McCollum and his Brazilian partner Renato Lozano; a queer-inclusive anti-discrimination measure unanimously passes the Guyana Assembly, only to be rejected by the country's president following pressure from Christian conservatives, which sends the bill back to the Assembly for possible amendment; Melbourne, Australia's 13th annual Midsumma Festival winds up 3 weeks of events-packed activities, including a huge Pride "walk"; and one of the huge underwear-clad-lesbian-smooching "Thank God for Women" billboards promoting Queercompany.com that caused such a stir in London is going on the auction block, with proceeds benefiting the GLBT lobby group Stonewall and lesbigay arts projects [written by CINDY FRIEDMAN, with thanks to GRAHAM UNDERHILL, JASON LIN, BRIAN NUNES, CHRIS AMBIDGE, REX WOCKNER, MATT ALSDORF, GREG GORDON and LUCIA CHAPPELLE, and anchored by CHASE SCHULTE and CINDY FRIEDMAN] . . . . . . . . . . . 10:20 SEGMENT #2 – Varla Jean Merman billboard [:10] + SUSAN ROSENBERG was one of 2 lesbian political activists to have their prison sentences commuted by outgoing U.S. President Bill Clinton on his last day in office. Rosenberg had served 16 years of a 58-year sentence for possession of 740 pounds of explosives, a submachine gun and false identification – all of which, she admitted, were to have been used in politically motivated bombings. Under normal circumstances, say Rosenberg’s lawyers, her crime would have drawn a five year term, but it was a crime that Rosenberg contends she did not commit, and for which she was never tried, that caused the New York media to vilify her, and city officials to mount strong opposition to her release: a 1981 botched Brinks armored car robbery in Nanuet, New York, during which a guard and two police officers were shot to death. Just a few days after her release, reporter AMY GOODMAN (on Pacifica Radio’s "Democracy Now") talked with the now 45-year-old Rosenberg and her attorney MARY O'MELVENEY about her prison experiences, the case that kept her incarcerated without "due process", and how she monitored and reacted to queer and AIDS news from behind bars [7:55] . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:05 SEGMENT #3 - "TWO" I.D. by openly-gay comic TERRY SWEENEY (as "Nancy Reagan") [:20] + VARLA JEAN MERMAN (aka JEFFERY ROBERSON) has been described as a cross between Ann-Margaret on steroids and a butch John Lithgow. Much like a tornado looking for a trailer park, this diva on the cus p of superstardom has sold out cabarets from Los Angeles to New York, with mainstream critics calling her "hysterically funny", "tumultuously talented" and simply "awesome". This Way Out’s STEVE PRIDE gets up close and personal with both the lady and the legend (with several excerpts from Ms. Merman’s musical repertoire, including "The Windmills of My Mind", "Crying", "Dream a Little Dream of Cheese", "Hardknock Life", "Those Were the Happy Days" and "Sunday Morning Sidewalk") [8:20] . . . . . . . 8:40 [for more info, check out VarlaOnline.com] Closing Continuity/Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:10 TOTAL PROGRAM TIME. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28:55 ----------------------------Please note-------------------------------- Anyone with questions, suggestions, or *news stories* is encouraged to email Coordinating Producer Greg Gordon at TWOradio@aol.co ----------------------------- thanks! --------------------------------- STATION PROMO COPY: ANNCR: NEXT TIME ON "THIS WAY OUT", ONE OF THE WORLD’S TOP GAY POLITICIANS RESIGNS IN A CLOUD OF CONTROVERSY, GLBT ACTIVISTS CHALLENGE THE VERACITY OF U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL NOMINEE JOHN ASHCROFT, A BRITISH JUDGE DENIES "FAMILY" STATUS TO A BI-NATIONAL COUPLE, AND GUYANA PASSES, THEN RECONSIDERS A GAY-INCLUSIVE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW ... YOU’LL ALSO HEAR AN INTERVIEW WITH CLINTON-COMMUTED U.S. LESBIAN POLITICAL PRISONER SUSAN ROSENBERG, AND THE WORDS AND MUSIC OF CABARET-DIVA-ON-THE-CUSP-OF-STARDOM VARLA JEAN MERMAN. ALL THAT AND MORE THIS WEEK ON "THIS WAY OUT: THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY RADIO MAGAZINE", ______________________________________ [DAY and TIME] HERE ON __________________________. [STATION] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> STATIONS: MISSED THE SATELLITE FEED? <~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLEASE CONTACT THE PACIFICA RADIO ARCHIVES TO ORDER A COPY OF THE PROGRAM, WHICH THEY CAN SEND YOU VIA U.P.S.; PHONE 818/506-1077 AND ASK FOR MARK OR EDGAR. ******************************************************** On the air since April 1988, "This Way Out" is the multi-award-winning internationally-distributed weekly gay and lesbian radio newsmagazine. It currently airs on over 125 community radio stations around the world, who receive it via satellite in the U.S. on the Public Radio Satellite System and Pacifica's KU band, in Australia via the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia's ComRadSat, across Europe on World Radio Network's WRN1, worldwide via the A-INFOS Project Internet service at www.radio4all.org, and on tape from the producers. Listeners can also hear "This Way Out" online on PlanetOut at www.planetout.com, on shortwave via Costa Rica-based global station RFPI (Radio For Peace International) and on cassette by individual subscription. ======================================== To listen to the most recent "This Way Out" program online in RealAudio (usually available by Tuesday evenings each week), go to http://www.planetout.com, click on "Multimedia" on the lefthand side of the front page, then on "Radio". ======================================== Hungry for more frequent queer news? 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