HOT ON THE PRESS: LESBIAN COUPLE CREDITED WITH FEDERAL LAW LEAVES US

Via Bay Area Reporter weblogs, filed by Matthew S. Bajko

A South Bay lesbian couple credited for convincing Congressman Mike Honda (D-Campbell) to add rights for binational same-sex couples to his comprehensive immigration reform bill has left the country.

San Jose resident Judy Rickard, on the right in the photo, and her European-born partner, Karin Bogliolo, will board the Queen Mary II Thursday, November 5 and set sail for England. Bogliolo’s six-month tourist visa expired this month and was forced to jump the pond again until she can re-apply for entry to the United States.

..."No law allows me to sponsor her” for American citizenship, said Rickard, who found a housemate to take care of her home and cat while she is away. “I did apply to sponsor her through Mike Honda’s office, of course it was denied when it went to the next step." (Read more)

US AND UNDER: WORK FOR FLAVORPILL IN AUSTRALIA

Thanks to an exciting travel visa program and some great deals available on Australia.com/workandplay, Flavorpill is getting ready to launch Flavorpill Melbourne. They just need one thing: an editor.

Flavorpill is one of my favorite ways to find out about events here in my home base of San Francisco. They put out a weekly listing of a handful of music, movies, art and eats every Tuesday and hit you up with a daily digest that picks the "best of" from the many other cities they cover. I can really see Flavorpill taking off Down Under, and Melbourne's a perfect fit. In fact, I was ready to apply for this year-long stint as the Flavorpill Managing Editor, Melbourne until I read the fine print. You must be between 18 and 30 years of age to qualify for the visa. Dang! Just missed that age cutoff by a year or so : - )

If you do meet the age requirements, have a sense of trend and style and a bit of a background in online media publications, click here to apply.

CLIENTS, COLLABORATORS & ASSOCIATES: LUCIA READ OF THE THIRD EYE ON SHARDS OF YOUR SOUL RADIO TONIGHT

Psychic reader and teacher Lucia Read, of The Third Eye will appear on Shards of Your Soul radio tonight with host Sandy Harrick, 8 pm (EST).

Lucia will discuss her work in paranormal investigations and soul releasing. Those who have situations where lost souls interact in your life or home, are encouraged to call in for support and suggestions that will bring you and spirit a peaceful existence or a gentle release. Click here to listen or bookmark this online radio station.

HOT ON THE PRESS: MAINE MARRIAGE SETBACK A CALL TO ACTION FOR FEDERAL LGBT RIGHTS

Subjecting Minority Rights to Majority Vote Repeatedly Denies Equality to LGBT Families

San Francisco, CA - November 4, 2009 — The State of Maine’s rejection of marriage equality at the ballot box yesterday is being heeded as a call for federal LGBT rights by activists and organizations around the US, including Out4Immigration.

The Maine vote was 53% in support of taking away civil marriage rights granted to gays and lesbians by approval of the state legislature and signed into law by the state’s governor 6 months ago. 47% of voters supported marriage equality.

"Subjecting minority rights to majority vote repeatedly denies equality to LGBT families," said Mickey Lim, vice president and co-founder of Out4Immigration, a grassroots organization that works closely with same-sex marriage groups for recognition of same-sex binational couple rights tied to federal immigration policies.

Out4Immigation advocates for same-sex binational couples, relationships in which one partner is American and the other is from another country and supports the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA). (Read more)

CLIENTS, COLLABORATORS & ASSOCIATES: ANZA TECHNET GATEWAY TO CHINA: CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Australian entrepreneurs looking make inroads into the China marketplace in 2010, need to look no further than ANZA Technology Network's Gateway to China.

A call to register your expression of interest is now open (until November 9). Click on this link for full details and to register a short description of your company. Serious applicants will be contacted shortly and will be informed of the pending plans for a FREE workshop in Australian cities in February 2010, followed by a week in Shanghai in March 2010. Five (5) companies will be chosen to go to Shanghai to work with mentors who are based there and have successfully navigated the complex China cultural and business landscapes.

US AND UNDER: AUSSIES MAKING MUSIC TO CONSUMER WEB AND DIGITAL MEDIA EARS

The music industry is being revolutionized from the outside in. You certainly don't need to travel all the way to Australia to find this out, but if you were there anyway, like I was earlier this week, then two companies that presented at the Tech23 show in Sydney, a showcase for what's new in Australian technology, drove this home.

While we've been able to follow our favorite bands online for awhile now and forge fan relationships with band members that go well beyond that of old school fan club presidents, Posse.com, now lets you promote your favorite bands when they come through your city, get free tickets, win prizes and make a few bucks, too by pushing tickets through your social networks. How cool is that? Can you imagine being 14 again (or maybe even 41) and taking a handful of tickets to school and dealing them to all the cool kids? Well, that's what being a Posse Agent is all about. You must be 14 years or older to be a Posse Agent and live in the US, UK or Australia (where the service is currently up and running). Click here for the full list of requirements and to get started -- it's FREE (of course).

Remember the days of music countdowns, so-called Number One hits and Casey Kasem? Well, forget about them (although, surely you have already) and check out We Are Hunted. This groovy little site uses an algorithm that crawls blog posts, Tweets and other places where people are writing about and posting the music they like and creates a list of the "99 most popular emerging songs in the world". Updated weekly, it is the easiest way to keep up with all that great new music out there and download it on demand (a "buy" button is at your fingertips and links to Amazon.com, iTunes and InSound). Eight genres to currently choose from including Rock, Pop, Punk, Rap and more, you can create your own chart -- and listen to complete songs before buying. Click here to start playing now.

US AND UNDER: TWO GREAT CULTURES IN ONE PIE

Now, for a limited time only, homesick Yanks yearning for a burrito Down Under can get their kicks with this Mrs. Mac's Tex Mex meat pie. Combining a staple of Australian cuisine (the pie) with an American taste favorite (Tex Mex) was an idea I jokingly toyed with from time to time as a combination of flavors and sensations that would bring our two cultures even closer together. Apparently Mrs. Mac's kitchen beat me to it. Guess the joke's on me...or maybe not since I didn't have time to scarf one of these down on my trip to Sydney and can't report on whether the Tex Mex pie works or will need tons of hot sauce to make it palatable. I snapped this photo of an ad for this new product on the back of a taxi at the Sydney airport.