Ban Ki-moon’s Pro-Gay Speech

Mar 242012
 

New York – Gay equality organisation AllOut.org are spreading the word of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon – after the mainstream media largely ignored a pro-gay speech he gave to delegates, earlier this month.

The 67 year-old specifically addressed the issue of homophobia and transphobia in a keynote speech to country representatives in Geneva, but it was overshadowed by the high number of delegates who walked out in protest.

Now, AllOut.org have remixed the content of the message to try and re-focus the attention on his message.

In the two days since it went live, it has amassed almost 40,000 views and more than 1,000 likes on YouTube.

It has also attracted a range of supportive comments from viewers, with one person simply saying about Ki-moon: “What a dude. That is all.”

A statement on the AllOut.org website introduces the video with: “It’s not every day that a major world figure speaks out forcefully in defense of equality. But earlier this month, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon did just that when he made an incredibly powerful speech at the U.N. in Geneva. But most people didn’t even hear about it.

“Why? After the speech, the media focused on a handful of delegates who stormed out of meeting in protest. Their story – that gay people should be denied human rights – is one that dominated the day’s news. But with your help we’re going to change that.

“Our friends at the U.N. let us remix Ban Ki-Moon, so we took his speech and created this video. We hope you like it! After you watch, please share with your friends and family, helping this inspiring message reach the audience it deserves.”

It is not the first time Ki-moon has defended the LGBT community. In January, he urged Africa’s leaders to respect gay rights and equality.

Speaking at an African Union summit in Ethiopia, he declared: “One form of discrimination ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long has been discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

“It prompted governments to treat people as second-class citizens or even criminals.”

Ki-moon, a former career diplomat in South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign affairs, added: “Confronting these discriminations is a challenge, but we must not give up on the ideas of the universal declaration of human rights.”

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The Risks Of Gay Cruising

Mar 232012
 


Roseau – Two California men on a gay cruise of the Caribbean were arrested on Wednesday in Dominica, where sex between two men is illegal.

Police Constable John George said police boarded the cruise ship and arrested the two men on suspicion of indecent exposure and “buggery,” a term equivalent to sodomy on the island. He identified the men as John Robert Hart, 41, and Dennis Jay Mayer, 43, but did not provide their hometowns.

George said the men were seen having sex on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship by someone on the dock.

The two were later charged with indecent exposure and are scheduled to appear before a magistrate Thursday morning. If found guilty, they could be fined $370 each and face up to six months in jail.

The ship carrying about 2,000 passengers departed from Puerto Rico on Saturday and arrived in Dominica on Wednesday. It departed for St. Barts without the men, who are being held in a cell at police headquarters in the capital of Roseau.

The cruise was organized by Atlantis Events, a Southern California company that specializes in gay travel.

President Rich Campbell, who is aboard the cruise, said in a phone interview earlier that he thought the two men would be released. He later said in an email that the company has organized many trips to Dominica and would “happily return.”

“Many countries and municipalities that gay men visit and live in have antiquated laws on their books,” he said. “These statutes don’t pose a concern to us in planning a tourist visit.”

Campbell said he expects the two men to be released on Thursday and that they only face misdemeanor charges.

“The guests’ actions were unfortunate but minor in this case and have no bearing on our overall guest experience,” he said via email.

The pastor of Dominica’s Trinity Baptist Church, Randy Rodney, praised the police for their intervention.

“I am very pleased that the police were called in and have arrested the people in question. I have warned about gay tourism and its implications for Dominica,” said Rodney, who is a vocal critic of GLBTs.

The presence of gay cruises in the Caribbean has riled several conservative islands including Jamaica and Grenada, where anti-sodomy laws are enforced with strong backing from religious groups.

According to Cruisemates.com, no gay cruise lines sail to Jamaica or Barbados for fear of homophobia and possible violence. It said other places like the U.S. Virgin Islands welcome gay cruises.

In 2010, the Cayman Islands rejected the arrival of an Atlantis gay cruise amid protests from religious groups even though homosexuality is legal on the archipelago.

Don Weiner, a spokesman for Atlantic Events, referred all questions to Campbell, including why the company organized a trip to Dominica and whether it knew about the island’s anti-sodomy laws.

Elizabeth Jakeway, a spokeswoman for Celebrity Cruises, referred all questions to Atlantis.

The last time authorities in the Caribbean intervened on a gay cruise was in February 2011, when agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection arrested a California man aboard the Allure of the Seas, which had docked in St. Thomas. The man, Steven Barry Krumholz of West Hollywood, pleaded guilty to selling ecstasy, methamphetamine and ketamine to fellow passengers.

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Aussie Protest Travelling Bigot

Mar 232012
 


Brisbane – About 500 gay rights activists blocked King George Square in the Australian city of Brisbane to protest against the arrival of anti-gay marriage campaigner Peter Madden.

Protesters threw eggs, sounded sirens and chanted at Mr Madden and a small group of his followers who were praying for the Labor Party to be ousted from parliament due to their stance on civil unions.

A heavy police presence guarded the area around Mr Madden, where protesters were sporadically attempting to gain access.

Mr Madden, who plans to run for the New South Wales upper house at the next election, said his group was praying for the election.

“My (tour) bus says ‘the dark side of same-sex marriage’ – we want to replace un-righteous leaders at the upcoming Queensland election,” he said.

“We’re praying civil unions will be repealed. It’s just a progressive step (to gay marriage).

“I had no idea this (protest) was going to be so big. This issue is about our children.”

Rally co-organiser Jess Payne said the rally was organised in response to Peter Madden’s “gay hate truck” coming to Brisbane.

“They were planning to hold a prayer rally – it’s totally disgusting and hypocritical,” she said.

“The party who is going to win this election is probably going to repeal civil unions, we’ve had the Bob Katter ads comparing homosexuality to evil-ness.

“Everybody who is here is very angry about everything they’ve heard and seen this week.”

This bigoted campaigner found himself in deep trouble just a few days ago when his hate-truck was surrounded by protesters in a small town, some who chained themselves to the vehicle, which was liberally defaced to counter the hate messages posted across it.

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Chinese Activists Visit UK

Mar 222012
 


Manchester – Twelve leading figures from the Chinese gay and lesbian community are to speak at The University of Manchester in the first event of its kind in the UK this week.

The activists, academics, and filmmakers will share their experience with European counterparts to correct misconceptions about being lesbian and gay in China.

Europe-China LGBT Exchange is organised by Dr William Schroeder from the University’s Centre for Chinese Studies (CCS).

“This event is about dispelling prejudices about LGBT life in China: it might be surprising to some that activists like these 12 people operate openly and rather effectively there,” he said.

“In fact LGBT communities thrive in many parts of the country, especially urban centres, but also rural areas too.”

The event is funded by the Ford Foundation, the British Inter-university Chinese Centre (BICC) and Manchester’s CCS.

Though homosexuality used to fall under general anti-hooliganism laws in China, it was decriminalised in 1997 and delisted as a mental illness in 2001.

But while Beijing and other big cities are home to an increasingly long list of LGBT organisations and clubs, it is unusual for LGBT people to come out to their parents and employers.

Dr Schroeder, an anthropologist, is currently researching how Chinese LGBT people build their communities through recreational organisations.

He said: “People in China often imagine that places like the United States are gay paradises.

“But LGBT Westerners can suffer the threat of extreme violence as a result of their sexuality and authorities in some communities in the United States continue to actively persecute LGBT citizens.

“People in the West, on the other hand, imagine being gay in China is horribly dangerous or illegal.

“But LGBT people don’t face the kind of targeted moral condemnation that their American counterparts do, for example.”

Most recently, Westerners read about the Chinese government shutting down the Mr Gay China pageant in 2010.

The move reflects officialdom’s laissez-faire attitude to the gay community, as long as it stays broadly out of the public eye, says Dr Schroeder.

He added: “Pageants and parades that attract world attention are one thing. But inside China individuals and groups have long been working to create a vibrant scene and have been challenging conventions in their own way for decades.

“Many ordinary Chinese have an ambiguous attitude to gay people rather than outright hostility – though some still believe being gay is a perversion and a mental illness. But it’s most frequently seen as a social ‘mistake’.”

“Many Chinese lead a relatively open gay life – especially at the weekend when they take part in various clubs and recreational activities.

“But those same people are reticent towards telling their families and workmates: having a family and children is extremely important in Chinese culture, and ever more so as state-sponsored social security networks crumble.”

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Madonna’s Finger To Russia Gay Law

Mar 222012
 


New York – Madonna’s first tour in Russia drew the ire of orthodox Christian activists. Now she vows to defy a new law against promoting homosexuality when she performs in President-elect Vladimir Putin’s hometown in August.

“I will come to St. Petersburg to speak up for the gay community and to give strength and inspiration to anyone who is or feels oppressed,” the pop star said by e-mail To Bloomberg late yesterday. “I’m a freedom fighter.”

The law, signed on March 7 by St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko, a Putin ally and former KGB officer, bans lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered “propaganda” that could give minors “the false perception that traditional and nontraditional relationships are socially equal.”

Homosexuality was outlawed in the Soviet era and wasn’t decriminalized in Russia until 1993. Seventy-six of the 193 members of the United Nations deem homosexuality illegal, according to Human Rights Watch. At least five countries, including Iran, impose the death penalty for consensual same-sex relations, the New York-based advocacy group says.

Madonna, ranked the 8th highest-earning celebrity in Forbes magazine’s 2010 list with estimated earnings of $58 million, plans to return to Russia for the third time with a concert in Moscow on August 7, followed two days later by St. Petersburg. Tickets for both performances range from 1,500 rubles ($51) to 50,000 rubles apiece, according to PMI Corp. and Euro Entertainment, the organizers of the events.

“I don’t run away from adversity,” Madonna, who has used her fame to support gay rights, said in the e-mail. “I will speak during my show about this ridiculous atrocity.”

Madonna’s first show in Russia six years ago was marred by protests of Russian Orthodox activists who objected to her performance of the song “Live to Tell,” which she sang while wearing a crown of thorns and dangling from a cross.

During the singer’s second visit in 2009 on the Sticky and Sweet tour, a Communist group urged her to sing a revolutionary anthem like the Marseillaise as she performed near the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, which was stormed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. The palace now houses the Hermitage Museum.

The American pop star’s financial interests in Russia extend beyond show business. She opened a Hard Candy upscale fitness center in Moscow last year, a 35,000 square-foot (3,250 square-meter) facility less than 650 yards (600 meters) from the Kremlin. This was the second Madonna-themed gym in the world, after Mexico City. She plans to open a third in St. Petersburg, Europe’s fourth-largest city.

The Russian Orthodox Church, the dominant religious body in a country of 143 million people, considers homosexuality a sin. About 69 percent of Russians identify themselves as Orthodox, according to a poll last August by the Moscow-based Levada Center.

“There’s lots of criticism from the media community about this law, but somehow most of the media forget about this crucial word – minors,” said Vladimir Vigilyansky, a spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchy, by phone. “It’s about propaganda among minors, not about banning homosexuality itself.”

Russia, which is preparing to host the Winter Olympics in 2014 and the soccer World Cup in 2018, was chastised for the legislation by Canada, which issued a warning to its citizens who plan to travel to St. Petersburg to avoid “displaying affection in public, as homosexuals can be targets of violence.”

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Qantas CEO Reveals All To Magazine

Mar 222012
 


Sydney – THE CEO of Australian airline Qantas, Alan Joyc,e has opened up on being gay, having cancer and his A$5 million salary, in a revealing interview with a men’s magazine.

Mr Joyce told GQ magazine about revealing to his family he was gay for the first time and being treated for prostate cancer last year, The Australian newspaper revealed today in a preview of the magazine article.

He also defended his A$5 million salary saying pilots are paid more on an hourly basis.

Joyce, who is openly gay, has shared his life with a New Zealand man since 1999. He talks about coming out to his family and the difficulties of growing up gay in Dublin, where his mother was a cleaner and his father worked in a tobacco factory.

In the wide-ranging interview for the April issue of GQ Joyce says he is paid less to run Qantas than he was to run budget airline Jetsar five years ago.

“What Qantas pays me as CEO is actually very conservative compared with other ASX 100 companies, and if you ranked salaries by hours worked I’m not even the highest paid person in Qantas because the pilots and senior captains get paid a lot more,” Mr Joyce says in the GQ article.

In the interview he also admits to making crucial mistakes in his career including setting up Jetstar without assigned seating. He said the only way to deal with a mistake was to admit it and act immediately.

Joyce was appointed CEO of Jetstar in 2003 after working at the now defunct airline Ansett. He became CEO of Qantas in November 2008.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/business/qantas-ceo-alan-joyces-revealing-interview-about-coming-out-and-having-cancer/story-e6frfm1i-1226306141307#ixzz1poSxNHH7

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Nazi Thinking In Malaysia

Mar 222012
 


Kuala Lumpur – Its frightening to think that top level politicians still hold views akin to Nazism within so-called democracies in Asia.

A leading politician speaking on Parliament in Malaysia has mooted the idea of a “Homosexual Rehabilitation Centre” to combat homosexuality in the country.

This moronic idiot, Baharum Mohamed, joins a long list of like minded fascists in this unfortunate country, where gays are routinely harassed and persecuted by a bigoted and homophobic society, encouraged by the government.

The Barasan Nasional MP claimed that a recent study reveled that 30% of Malaysian men are gay, and that it was time to ‘counter’ such activities. The mindless politician naturally neglected to state the source of this amazing statistic – it would mean that Malaysia has the largest GLBT population in the world.

“We have to find a solution to combat these activities from getting rampant just like the efforts we take to combat drugs. A study has found that, right now, three out of 10 men in Malaysia are gay. This is scary.”

What’s really scary is that people like Baharum were elected to rule Malaysia; its scary that he openly quotes an obvious falsehood, its scary that such thinking and attitudes are alive and rampant in a so-called democracy. Its scary that this is how the Jews, gays, socialists, the mentally ill and many other groups, were treated under the early days of Nazi Germany, and everyone knows how that developed.

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US Gay Challenges Power Of Money

Mar 212012
 


Kuching – An American gay man who hopes to tackle two of the largest controversies in American politics today has chosen the federal court on Guam as his battleground.

Philip Maise filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Guam that questions the legality of super political action committees, which allow for unlimited contributions toward campaign spending, and what he says is a political crusade against same-sex marriages.

“Preventing unlimited campaign dollars isn’t about preventing or advancing one political party into office. Rather it is stopping the perversion it causes within candidates that vie for it and the influence it has on those that resist,” Maise wrote in his lawsuit.

Super political action committees, sometimes called super PACs, allow for unlimited, anonymous spending to support or oppose political candidates. Super PACs are allowed by a 2010 Supreme Court ruling which equated money to free speech, and the impact of super PACS is the subject of constant debate in national headlines and political forums.

Maise says super PACs have allowed for millions of dollars in campaign donations to fund an offensive against same-sex marriage legislation, which affects him by limiting profits at a business he owns in Hawaii.

In his lawsuit, Maise states he is a gay man who owns a bed-and-breakfast in Hawaii that caters almost exclusively to the gay niche market. If same-sex marriages were more widespread, more honeymooners would come to his business.

Maise filed his lawsuit from his home on a boat — the SV Hot Buoys — in a marina in Sarawak, Malaysia. Maise had to justify how he was personally affected by super PACs to file his lawsuit and argues that the ramifications of unlimited spending are rampant.

In California and Maine, a few wealthy individuals were able to spend millions to help repeal same-sex marriage laws, the lawsuit argues, and in New York political organizations have pledged cash to combat politicians who support gay marriage.

“The relief sought is to help break this direct link and end the flow of illegal campaign monies that are partially intended to prevent same-sex marriages and inflict further injury,” Maise argues in his lawsuit. “By being allowed to prosecute the proposed defendants to the fullest extent of the law possible, including prison terms, … perhaps then a few may wake up (to) the fact that the United States isn’t based on common law.”
Maise said his lawsuit could be filed in any federal court in the United States, but he chose the District Court of Guam because he lives in Malaysia and it’s the most convenient for him.

Maise states he is suing “on behalf” of the Federal Election Commission. His lawsuit filing involved more than 150 pages.

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Mardi Gras A Knockout

Mar 202012
 


Sydney – Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and strategic partner Destination NSW have announced they are thrilled with the phenomenal success of this year’s Sydney Mardi Gras Festival, Parade and Party, Saturday, March 3rd 2012.

Marriage equality crusader Shelly Argent OAM was this year’s Chief of Parade and there were more than 9100 participants and 134 floats working their way up the parade route to the thunderous applause and cheers of the hundreds of thousands of people lining the streets.

Among the cavalcade of spectacular floats was Sydney Mardi Gras much anticipated entrant, K25, which saw over 130 dancers pay homage to singer Kylie Minogue and her 25 year career in the music industry. The K25 cast wowed audiences as they danced their way up Oxford Street with elements of the fabulous float made up with Swarovski crystals. The float made a pit-stop at Taylor Square to perform for Minogue who was viewing the parade and eagerly awaiting her namesake float from the Club Tropicana party.

“Kylie’s visit is a very special gift to Sydney this year and our K25 float was a way of returning that love back to her,” said SGLMG CEO Michael Rolik. “It was just one of a myriad of amazing entrants that made this year’s parade one of the most exhilarating we’ve ever seen. We are a very proud community this morning.”

The fantastic Parade judges were Brian Thompson, Gary Carsley and Francesca Zambello and Sydney Mardi Gras was honoured to have such creative talents.

After the last piece of sequins hit the street, tens of thousands of people continued to revel in the Mardi Gras spirit at Mardigrasland — the official Mardi Gras Party held at the Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park.

Selling out at 15,300 tickets, Mardigrasland offered party-goers five highly curated dance spaces spilling over with a diverse range of international and local performing and DJ talent including UK dance legend Chicane, drag superstar RuPaul and Australian electro-popsters Sneaky Sound System.

The evening was crowned with the highly anticipated live performance by Kylie Minogue, which saw the starlet captivate a capacity crowd inside the Royal Hall of Industries (and also beamed live to screens around the Mardiglasland precinct) with an exhilarating medley of her greatest hits. In her first performance at a Mardi Gras Party since 1998, Minogue led a troupe of dancers through a sensational twenty minute show that left the insatiable crowd cheering for more, earmarking another unforgettable chapter in Sydney Mardi Gras’ colourful history.

“Over the past three weeks Sydney Mardi Gras has ignited our city with an outstanding array of festival events, a world class Parade and a star-studded Party that is unique to Sydney,” said SGLMG Chair, Peter Urmson. “We continue to show the world the rich and wonderfully diverse LGBTQI culture that exists in Australia while promoting equality, acceptance and love on an international scale. We should all be very proud of how brightly Sydney shines during this magical time of year.”

As the world’s biggest festival of its kind celebrating LGBTQI diversity pulls in record numbers of people to Oxford and Flinders streets to view the parade, including countless international visitors from South America, Europe, USA and UK – to name but a few.

Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase said Sydney Mardi Gras is a perfect platform to showcase Sydney and NSW to the rest of Australia and the world.

“Destination NSW research has found Sydney Mardi Gras attracts more than 20,000 overseas and interstate visitors who come specifically for the event, injecting around $30 million in new money to the State.

“Sydney Mardi Gras also reaches huge media audiences. In previous years it has reached more than 70 million people from interstate and key international tourism markets via press coverage and social media feeds about the event.

“Mardi Gras is a stand out and a unique asset for Sydney and NSW,” she said.

The 35th Mardi Gras Parade will take place on 2nd March 2013 and already has mainstay contributors conjuring up ideas for their festival involvement.

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