There is an interesting case brewing in Israel right now.  A local couple — Itay Pinkus and his partner Yoav Arad Pinkus — are petitioning Israel’s High Court to allow them to become parents via a surrogate mother.

At the moment, Israel only allows mixed-gender couples to become parents via surrogacy; same-sex couples who want to use a surrogate are forced to leave the country and do so abroad.

Considering that he was once a Tel Aviv City Councilman, Pinkus is no stranger to politics — so it’s hardly surprising he’s taking his case to court.

What’s more, the couple — who were married in Canada — won a previous High Court case in late 2006 demanding that their marriage be recognized in Israel just like a heterosexual couple.

Now back before their judges, their tactics this time are interesting: According to the couple’s lawyer Dori Spivak, the case hinges on the economic inequality inherent to the current system. Because Gay couples can only use surrogates abroad, it places an unfair economic burden on such couples. The costly system renders Gay couples with less economic means unable to become parents.

According to their claim:

“this is a track riddled with hardships that is possible only for those with significant resources while depriving a couple from a low socio-economic level.”

The couple have turned to surrogacy after years of attempting to have a child via other methods — all of which were unsuccessful.

Interestingly, the couple are requesting the High Court move quickly with their petition — which local law folks say is unlikely — because any delay will cause them suffering due to their advanced age.

Both are 37!

(clearly these two do not live in NYC!)

Good luck to the couple.

New York’s Parsons School of Design is — like London’s Central St. Martin’s — one of the top fashion school on the planet. It’s churned out a stellar crowd of industry alums — including one of its most appreciative, Donna Karan.

Now Karan is giving back — sponsoring a new MFA program in Fashion Design and Society, which gets its official kick off tonight!

The program has been in development for the past year or so and is quite unique.

Launching next fall, Parsons’ MFA in Fashion Design and Society (FDS) will be the most ambitious program of its kind to pair both the practical and theoretical components of clothing design. Over the course of two years, FDS students will utilize the entire academic oeuvre of Parsons — and its parent institute, The New School — to further their mastery of fashion as it relates to business, technology, history, media and other artistic realms. Simultaneously, FDS students will pursue individual projects in dedicated studio spaces much as photographers, sculptors or painters develop their craft in more established MFA programs for traditional visual arts.

In essence, the Parsons program is the first of its kind to treat fashion as one would treat any other creative field in the MFA arena (such as visual arts, sculpture, video art, etc).

Students both work in class, but then will also devote ample time to their own “studio” projects at specially built studio spaces on west 40th street.  It’s a bit like Project Runway mixed with hard-core academic studies — all under the sponsorship of Donna Karan and under the watchful eye of Shelly Fox, the Donna Karan Professor of Fashion at Parsons.

Sounds pretty cool.

Finally some good news for the economically-challenged folks over in Palestine. Word is coming that a Dubai-based private equity firm Arbaaj Capital in conjunction with the semi-official Palestine Investment Fund are launching a new $15 million private equity fund to support development in the Palestinian Authority.

The fund is the first step, sponsors say, towards creating a fully self-sufficient Palestinian economy — one that has been battered by decades of war and military occupation. It is also an important first step towards weaning the Palestinian economy off of foreign aid — which accounts for some 40 percent of its total.

The Palestine Investment Fund focuses on investments in the Palestinian territories. Dubai-based Abraaj Capital, which will manage the fund, works throughout the Middle East and North Africa, with offices in six countries.

We hope the fund is a bit success — inshallah!

There’s been a lot of Victoria Beckham news going on this week. First we learn that the stick-thin former Spice Girl has been tapped to co-host The View – yes, The View — for a special show on February 17th.

Now we learn that Dubai has — or apparently has not – offered to pay the soccer wife a whopping $40 million to design a new hotel.

The story unfolded like this: Last week there was a report that Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Maktoum, was ponying up some $40 million for Posh to design a new property on a still-in-development new fake island called Isla Moda.  In case you weren’t paying attention, this is the new fashion-themed island where Karl Lagerfeld is designing his own stylish get-away.

Then, just as we were still digesting the concept of a Victoria-themed resort (image the dining options — or lack thereof), we got word that Dubai’s royal Sheikhness has denied the whole thing.

NO! — Vicky P has not received an invite to design a Dubai hotel and NO! they are certainly not paying her $40 million to do so.

Or, so says Dubai media.

Indeed, so NO is that “no” message, that Dubai’s own palace-run Media Office took the unusual step of not just officially denying the Beckham plan — but scolding global and local media for sloppy reporting.

According to reports:

Ahmad Abdullah Al Shaikh, director general of the Media Office, urged media outlets to seek accuracy in conveying news and verify sources before publication.

Harsh!

We say Vicky B should not take it personally. After all, Dubai is kind of broke. And being Posh…well…ain’t cheap!

Many of you have probably been too busy with real news such as the Haiti quake, The State of the Union address and the Grammys to pay attention to the beef brewing between CBS and the Gay dating site ManCrunch.  But I suspect lots of you out there know exactly what were talking about.

You know the story: Gay dating site ManTech produces the Super Bowl ad above; CBS says no-way and bans it from showing on air — yet at the same time accepts an ad from the pro-life/anti-gay group Focus on the Family touting the decision by pro-baller Tim Tebow’s mother not to have an abortion.

Frankly folks — we’d grown a bit tired of this whole affair. What with the endless and breathless reporting by all of the major Gay and mainstream sites.

The Gays lamented the double-standard of it all — denouncing CBS for running one ad by homo-phobes, yet banning another ad that shows two dudes kissing.

Well, it appears as if this story is about to get — finally! — a whole lot more interesting. Our smart friend Lyndon Evans clearly had a light work load this week because he did some serious digging about the ManCrunch people.  Turns out the site — if you can call it that — is really a sham-tastic hype machine for none other than one Simone Dadoun-Cohen (we’ll call her SDC).

So who is SDC? She’s the skanky Canadian former stripper and the brains behind trashy hetero dating sites such as ArrangementSeekers, Cougarife and Established Men.

Indeed, as Evans confirmed via a quick flick through the site’s “press contact” info, Mancrunch has the exact same media contact details as all of those others hetero sites.

Same Toronto area code — same Toronto number.

While were not sure if Mancrunch is a pure Gay dating site “front” — we suspect very few dudes have actually hooked up using it!

Indeed, it seems fair to say that while all of the sucker Gay bloggers have been whining about this evilness of CBS denying the spot — while Queerty even goes as far as to use the case as an example of the sadness of the Gay community starved for media attention — it appears as if the ad was not even made by a Gay company.  And that the site kinda/maybe does not even exist.

As Evans notes, the entire affair was just another ploy by the sexy SDC to get attention for her naughty media efforts — and manipulate gay anger in the process.  She appears to have succeeded.

I am sure we’ll be hearing lots more about SDC!

I want your names and I want your addresses!

No, not because I’m a stalker; unless you count Barack Obama — who I’ll be stalking relentlessly
for the rest of this year to ensure he makes good on his word to repeal Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell in 2010.

But neither Barack — nor myself — can do it alone, which is why I am appealing to you, dear readers.

My appeal is fairly straightforward. A few weeks back I went to a meeting at New York City’s  venerable Gay and Lesbian center. It was attended by some of the very same folks inhabiting that ultra-exclusive power-Gays summit you may have read about last week. But this meeting was in Greenwich Village not Tennessee — and the message was clear: How to get the American power structure to take LGBT issues seriously.

About 25 people showed up to the meeting including one political insider who let us know loud and clear that if we want our politicians to respect our voices — then those voices must be heard loudly and clearly.

Politicians, he said, only care about one thing: Staying in power. Which means incumbents want to be reelected, while challengers are battling to take their places.

This all translates into one key thing: Politicians listen to voters and if their constituents want the President to repeal DADT, they’ll want the President to repeal DADT.

Although the military operates on a national scale, this debate is very much local. Because in order for Pres. Obama to enact a comprehensive, nationwide, fully-enforceable and completely-lasting DADT repeal, he’ll need Congress and the Senate to approve it.

Yes, Pres. Obama could issue an executive order to end soldier discharges right now. But it could be overturned by his successor — whether in three or eight years.

In order for DADT to become law, it must be passed by both the Senate and the House — and this is where you come in.

YOUR Senators and Congressmen need to know that YOU want DADT repealed and that you demand they take a similar position.

To do this, they must hear from you — either via email or phone. And they need to hear from you now. Earlier this week I sent emails to my representatives — Congressman Charlie Rangel of New York’s 15th District and State Senator Kirstin Gillibrand urging them to demand Pres. Obama end DADT.

Imagine if thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of other American did so, too.  Simply called or emailed their Congressmen/women and Senators to say we want DADT repealed and we want you to help make it happen.

Many LGBTs out there feel Pres. Obama’s DADT promise is too little/too late.  That a year of false-starts renders the man un-trustable.

So be it.

I, however, take a very different view: That the President’s promise is an opportunity we cannot ignore.  That LGBTs finally have an identifiable, actionable, deadline-promised goal that we must make happen.  From Maine to New Jersey, the past year has seen a slew of LGBT defeats and we must not miss-out on this chance for an LGBT success.

I say the Obama promise gives us a core issue to rally around and secure the success we need as a community to confirm our clout and move forward in 2011 to achieve additional wins — most notably the enactment of ENDA and repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

So this week I’ve launched a new program — The December Project.  My goal is to get 1 million people to contact their representatives by December and let them know they want DADT to end.

At the end of this piece, I will list the contact info for senators and congressmen/women nationwide.  Just scroll through the list and you’ll find your own representatives.

As for those who feel Obama has let them down — that they no longer have faith in his promises.

Fine: I’ll contact your congressman/senators for you!  Send me your name and your zip code and I will do the rest. I’ll even email you a confirmation email letting you know it’s been done.  Contact: prjctdcmbr@gmail.com

Again, the goal is 1 million representative shout-outs — by any means necessary. And while we’re at it, I’ve opened a PayPal account — the goal, once again, is to support politicians who will vocally declare their opposition to DADT and commit to working/voting toward its repeal.

We want as many elected officials officially on our side — and one of the best ways to get them there is by supporting their candidacies financially,  particularly in an election year.

So there you have it — The December Project.  Get 1 million Americans to contact their elected officials to demand they help Pres. Obama repeal DADT.

Don’t wanna do it? Fine — I’ll contact them for you. Just send me your details and let’s make it happen!

Contact your US SENATOR and/or US CONGRESS-PERSON

We just stumbled across this interesting tid-bit from the folks over at Ha’Aretz, who report on an interesting — and eye-opening — media campaign from the Russian English-language network Russia Today.

In an effort to get its viewers to think deeper about long-held geopolitical views, Russia Today created the above ad which asks “Who is More Dangerous?” — accompanied by the photo above — which super-imposes Pres. Obama’s face over Ahmadinejad.

The campaign — which was censored here in the USA and rejected by airports nationwide — comes at a time when Pres. Obama is both trying to warm up to his colleagues at the Kremlin as well as end the risk of nuclear war.

The campaign — which also included an ad featuring a British soccer fan and a Nazi, among others  — failed to garner much attention here in the USA. But did set blogs abuzzing over in Russia.

ABC’s new evening savior Diane Sawyer is looking for babies — transracially adopted babies.

Indeed, THIS new posting on her website announces her search for White families that have adopted black kids.

Apparently, ABC wants to find out what happens to Black kids adopted by White families and they’re looking to make a news segment about that very topic.

Sawyer’s site asks:

“What really are the effects on black children who are being raised by white adoptive parents? ABC World News With Diane Sawyer” is looking for a family who has a newly adopted African American child. What are your hopes and how do you plan on dealing with the child’s racial identity? Participants who live in major metropolitan areas are preferred from a logistics standpoint. If you’d like to share your story, please fill out the form below and a “World News” producer may contact you.”

Maybe Diane has been inspired by all of those Haitian orphans. Or maybe she and Mike Nichols are looking to adopt a kid themselves.

Either way, should make for an interesting segment.

This is the original version of my most recent HuffPost posting and the actual message I intended to convey.

The schadenfreude surrounding Scott Brown’s Massachusetts Senate win is the final confirmation of the current LGBT leadership’s betrayal of 50 years of progressive politics. It began within minutes of Coakley’s concession speech: A volley of “I told you sos” by her haughty Carolina highness, Pam Spaulding. Mock-shock and caustic concern from the dirt-dishers over at Queerty. Dispassionate dispatches from those “just-the-facters” Towleroad, Joe.My.God and the AMERICAblog. And finally — a muddled, misanthropic, self-serving and — obvi! — Obama-bashing brief from that grand wizard of the GayKKers David Mixner.

That Brown won should have come of little surprise to these LGBT “leaders” or their devoted fan base. After all, Spaulding, Queerty, Mixner and Co. practically cheer-led the former Cosmo-hunk to this critical triumph. Having officially turned on their president, these netrooters have conceded the greater good for their own shortsighted image-inflating. Well aware of the monumental consequences of a Republican win, Gay-stream media nevertheless continued their Dem-dissing and Obama-bashing with little concern for its election-day implications.

Now those implications are quickly becoming clear: Health care is at risk following the loss of the Democratic Senate majority. Additional Democratic senate seats are vulnerable to attack by an emboldened Republican party. Progressive White House initiatives may now be scaled back as Obama is forced to downsize his populist platforms. And — most crucially — the very LGBT issues these leaders triumph have never been more threatened by political rollbacks and the potential for voter-led regressive propositions. Our very economic, civil and physical liberties are imperiled — and all Spaulding can dish up is an “I told you so”. All Mixner can muster is yet another MLK-mooching missive on HuffPost.

Shame!

The real “I told you so” actually began back in November, when John Corzine lost the New Jersey governorship to that right-winger known as Chris Christie. Corzine’s defeat ended New Jersey’s quest for same-sex marriage — all but guaranteed by the ex-governor and a supportive legislature before the election. Corzine knew this, Christie knew this and so did the Gays. Yet rather than rallying behind Corzine, the Gay-stream endlessly bashed his greatest supporter — Pres. Obama, who made numerous Jersey visits stumping for the ex-Goldman Sachser.

Two months later, a near repeat: Critical election, crucial causes — but LGBT cynicism instead of support at the appointed hour. Arabs may be fond of saying “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” but the Gay voices must clearly believe that “the friend of my enemy is my enemy”.

The sobering truth is that the real enemies of LGBT Americans is actually their useless leadership — if they may be called that. Their uselessness is as vast as it is dangerous: Devoid of any real and realistic political platform. Corrupted by an unfortunate (and unprecedented) conflation of technology and ideology. Desperate in their embrace of short-term allies with little concern for long-term benefit (Cindy McCain, Ted Olsen — come on!). Unrepentantly racist and race-bating on the White side; complicit, silent and homo Tom-like on the Black. Steeped in anger whilst mired by impotence. And shamelessly borrowing from earlier civil rights movements with zero respect or understanding of what they were truly about.

In fact, it’s time to stop with the niceties and simply tell it like it is: Enough with the Loving v. Virginia references and its “Blacks got their rights too” reductivism. End the Mixner-styled “Gay Apartheid” hysterics and endless take-downs of the Black church. It’s boring, it’s tired, it’s obnoxious and it’s offensive.

Most crucially, same-sex marriage advocates must finally understand they cannot equate their struggle with the African-American battle for Civil Rights or South African movement to end Apartheid. Not because Marriage Equality is not a noble goal, but because they are simply not the same thing.

And — yes, I’ll dare say it — because they simply have not earned it!

A century passed between the end of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement’s first major successes. The anti-Apartheid movement took at least half that time. I only hope Gay folks won’t have to wait so long.

Along with all that bigotry, the greatest offense of the past Gay 12 months has not been the sheer self-induced defeat. Rather, it’s been the complete and total intolerance for any sort of critical or original thinking by Gay leaders. Coming from a tradition of Wilde and Stein, Baldwin, Bowles, Kramer and Foucault, this is a truly 21st century state of affairs. Gays and Lesbians have an honorable history of liberation literature and intellect which seems, sadly, to have died during the AIDS years. Today, Gay media — both big and small — have become a marriage-focused monolith for whom nuance and subtlety are simply nonexistent.

It’s an “us-or-them” mentality leaving little room for the actual complexities of real LGBT life — which is often messy, scary and especially for young people and urbanites very, very lonely. Marriage is a goal — and a beautiful one. But I can’t help but think that for many homo-singletons, a simple Gay second-date — and not Gay-marriage — is a far more immediate concern.

Just ask them.

As the White House and Pres. Obama enter this much-needed period of introspection, it’s time the Gay-stream did so as well. Although the Prop. 8 trial trudges on in California, the harsh reality is that the marriage equality movement is slowly dying in the rest of the nation. Along the way, its mean-spirited mantras are beginning to wreck potentially irreparable damage on America’s Left leaving the nation — OUR NATION! — truly vulnerable to Right Wing take-over.

The bitterness and vitriol filling LGBT attacks on the Dems must come to an end, replaced by a respectful and actionable solutions-based agenda. Most crucially, major LGBT institutions must learn from their previous mistakes and work to rectify them, rather than settling for sloppy repeats. Case in point: The glaring omission of a single Black Gay leader on the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) advisory board. Yes, Julian Bond is the head of the NAACP and it’s lovely to see him there. But considering California is the state where the whole “Blacks vs. Gays” debate had its sorry start, the inclusion of a Gay-Black voice would have gone far towards much-needed reconciliation.

Also needed: A drop of critical thinking from folks like Spaulding — who blindly pimped the AFER line-up without once critiquing the exclusion of minority Gay voices like her own!

I’ve long since given up expecting intelligent critiques from white-hooded White guys like Mixner and the Queerty boys, but what’s your excuse Pam?

I am American, mixed-race, Jewish and Gay. I am, you could say, an ultimate minority. Because of this I do not take my liberties for granted — and I will fight relentlessly against anyone who imperils them. This includes reckless LGBT leaders concerned more for their own bloated public images than the greater public good. Leaders like Mixner and AMERICAblog who would seem to truly want this White House to fail — yet fail themselves to offer any sort of realistic back-up plan. Or even explain why.

Nonetheless, I believe equally as strongly in the rights of all citizens and I, like my LGBT brethren, expect those rights to be honored at the highest levels of government. LGBT Americans are certainly fighting a battle for civil liberties and I stand ready to form that first phalanx. With the future of our nation now literally at stake, however, it’s high time our LGBT leaders began showing this monumental campaign the intelligence and gravitas it deserves.

Only in New York would two local Gay nightlife scene-makers find a way to battle against each other in — of all places — The Holy Land. But it looks as if porn king Michael Lucas will take on club king Josh Wood (the man who’s brought the likes of Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga and Pet Shop Boys to NYC) this spring and summer as both launch luxe-Gay tours of Israel.

As we’ve widely reported, Lucas (above) — the Jewish, Russian-born Zionist who loves Israel and hates Arabs — was in the Holy Land last year where he produced the first-ever Gay Israeli porno, Men of Israel.

Now fans of the film can meet Lucas’ discoveries on the first-ever Travel with Michael event — a Lucas-planned and guided visit to the Holy Land taking place in May. The trip — from May 26th to June 8th — will make the most of all the insider knowledge Lucas gleaned while making his Israeli porn, as well as from earlier visits, including a trip to cheer up battle-weary soldiers during 2006’s Lebanon War.

Meanwhile, event producer and club king Wood is partnering with Steele Luxury Travel — a big-time Gay travel specialist — on a similar trip taking place a few days later.  Coinciding with Tel Aviv’s annual Gay Parade extravaganza, the Wood/Steele event will show Gay travelers the best of what they’re branding as “the new Ibiza”, and includes a major nightlife component with local club titan Shirazi.

Both trips will include the usual Israeli suspects — Jerusalem, Dead Sea and the best of Tel Aviv.  Lucas’ excursion, however, promises to have a little something extra.

“I’ll also be sure to take you to one of my favorite beaches, hidden far away from the overcrowded coastal scene: Gaash Beach. This is the premiere clothing-optional beach in Tel-Aviv known only to insiders,” he enthuses. “You can feel free to lie in the sun as nude as you’d like, enjoy the ocean, or feel free to watch any number of hot guys have sex up and down the shore! I have traveled all around the world and never encountered a beach like this one.”

Doesn’t sound too Kosher to me!

While sex is certainly not guaranteed, Wood’s itinerary does feature insider nightclub access and tours of Tel Aviv’s historic Bauhaus architecture. It’s all part of what makes Israel, Wood says, the destination of the moment — despite lingering security fears.

“Israel is safer than ever, the Gay community of Tel Aviv is thriving and the land is extreme and versatile,” Wood notes. “The nightlife is simply outrageous, and makes for a perfect destination!”

Both trips are not cheap: Wood’s tour is roughly $3,000 (w/o airfare); Lucas has a pair of price structures; A 9 day tour for $2755 and also a 12 day tour for $3790.

But, hey — it’s certainly less expensive (and far more interesting) that a boring old Fire Island share.