Grindr Hacked, Info Posted Online

Jan 222012
 


Sydney – The location-aware all-male dating service Grindr has been the target of a major cyber attack, taking advantage of flaws in the mobile app’s security. An as-yet unidentified hacker was able to use these flaws to access the service’s user accounts, and posted account information online. Though the attack primarily targeted the Australian users, it took advantage of flaws which affect all users and users of the heterosexual targeted version of the service called Blendr.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the information posted online was extensive:

“At one point, according to sources who saw the website before it was taken down, it listed users’ Grindr pseudonyms, passwords, their personal favourites (bookmarked friends) and allowed them to be impersonated, and thus have messages sent and received without their knowledge. At one point, the website also allowed users’ profile pictures to be replaced.”

Several Australian users have reported that their user accounts were accessed and profile pictures were changed to obscene images. Despite the intrusion, Grindr says that information such as addresses, chat logs, and credit card information are not retained by the service and therefore not accessible during the attack.

Grindr acknowledged the security issue in a blog post yesterday, but declined to go into detail. “Like other responsible companies,” wrote CEO Joel Simkhai, “we don’t comment on specifics of security enhancements or allegations about network issues.” Simkhai does say that a website that violated the company’s terms of service was taken down through legal action, and that a mandatory security patch is coming soon. Simkhai didn’t mention it, but concerned users can follow these steps to delete their Grindr accounts.

To access accounts, the hacker was able to duplicate the string of numbers — or “hash” — that the service used to identify users. In their reporting, the Sydney Morning Herald contacted a security specialist who was able to duplicate the intrusion. It seems that security was light in the current version of the apps, but the unnamed expert concluded that securing the service should not be difficult.

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Teen Series Up For Gay Award

Jan 202012
 


Toronto – Canada’s groundbreaking high school series “Degrassi” has been nominated for a best-drama prize by the US-based Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

The long-running soap is up for a GLAAD Media Award for various storylines that involve gay, transgender and lesbian characters.

“Degrassi,” which airs on MuchMusic in Canada and TeenNick in the U.S., is up against “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Shameless” and “Torchwood: Miracle Day.”

This is its fourth nomination for a GLAAD Media Award, which celebrates inspiring media images of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Nominees in other categories include the film “Beginners,” featuring Christopher Plummer as a widower who embraces his homosexuality late in life, Lady Gaga’s album “Born This Way” and a TV interview by David Letterman with Chaz Bono.

Awards ceremonies will be held in New York on March 24, in Los Angeles on April 21 and in San Francisco on June 2.

“Degrassi” introduced its first gay storyline back in 1988. It broke new ground in 2010 when it introduced its first transgender character.

“What a great honour this is for the entire ‘Degrassi’ team,” executive producer Linda Schuyler said Thursday in a release.

“This nomination reinforces our continuing dedication to telling relevant stories about the LGBT community.”

Read it on Global News: Global News | ‘Degrassi’ scores GLAAD Media nomination for gay, transgender storylines

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Phuket To Host TSG Again

Jan 182012
 


Phuket – The Straits Games (TSG) will return to Phuket this year, offering a chance for gay groups from around Asia to compete in various sports and social events from October 12 to 14.

The games are an annual event first initiated by the Malaysia’s Leadership Programme for Gays (LPG) and Singapore’s Men-After-Work (MAW).

Over the years is has generated interest from countries around Asia. This year, the 11th anniversary of the TSG, will be hosted by the PLU (People Like Us) Club, and will be organised by volunteers Vickky Sitthiwetch, Daniel See and Voravut Jangjai.

The organisers say it promises to be “a very exciting event with many of our friends from Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, the Philippines and China participating.”

It is the third time Phuket will host the games, having staged it previously in 2006 and 2007.

Participants will compete in a range of sports, including volleyball, bowls, badminton, squash and swimming.

The Games are open to both Thais and foreigners, and anyone interested in competing should contact Vickky on: 084 848 7963, or E: tsg2012pk@gmail.com

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Gay UK Winner Donates To HIV Charity

Jan 182012
 


London – Newly crowned Mr Gay UK, Samuel Kneen, has pledged a portion of his prize money to HIV/AIDS charity the Terence Higgins Trust.

Kneen, 22, is to give a portion of the £2000 prize money to the charity in support of a friend who was diagnosed with HIV.

The Toni and Guy hairdresser said: “I told them when I entered the contest that I know somebody who has got HIV and I want to support him. It is something I feel strongly about.”

A month after his coronation , Kneen also discussed his mission to raise awareness for the charity and around HIV and Aids: “I walked around Cardiff on World AIDS Day last year and the shops didn’t know what I was talking about when I was asking if they had any ribbons for sale. I’d like to make a difference if I can, and help people know more about it.”

The second consecutive Mr Gay UK to hail from Cardiff, Kneen entered the competition impulsively on a night out in Cardiff after splitting up with his boyfriend.

As well as the prize money, a professional photo shoot in Morocco and the prestige of the title, Kneen was also awarded his first modeling contract with underwear brand, Lick.

He also talked about the confidence he got from entering the competition, and that despite what comes next for him, he said that he enjoyed the pride he got from friends and family, and was, “humbled” by his popularity with the voters.

Joshua Hall, Services Manager at THT’s Cardiff office, told PinkNews.co.uk the charity was “very grateful for the donation from Samuel.

“Not only does it help raise funds for people living with HIV locally, it will also help raise awareness around the issues of HIV. One of THT’s aims is to raise awareness to the general public that HIV still exists and that it can be prevented.”

After months of competing for the title, Kneen is currently deciding whether to enter Mr Gay Europe later this year as well as his holiday in Morocco.

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Anwar Still Under Fire

Jan 162012
 


Kuala Lumpur – Days after being acquitted on a sodomy charge, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim continued to come under fire from his detractors, this time for appearing to support gay rights.

Pro-government newspapers slammed Mr Anwar on Sunday for suggesting that Malaysia’s strict laws on sodomy and oral sex be reviewed, saying this could lead to apostasy. But this in turn drew criticism from opposition politicians, who accused the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition of trying to discredit Mr Anwar. The Pakatan Rakyat leader’s acquittal allows him to take part in the next general election, expected to be held soon.

The latest exchange came after an interview with the BBC in Mumbai, in which Mr Anwar said Malaysia needed to review ‘some archaic laws’ which were ‘punitive and not relevant’. ‘We do not promote homosexuality in a public domain. I don’t think we need to make apologies for that. But using these laws to be punitive, punishing innocents, cannot be condoned or tolerated.’

Sodomy and oral sex – whether between same-sex partners or otherwise – are prohibited and punishable with up to 20 years’ jail and caning. Muslims can also be punished under Islamic laws for homosexuality.

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Huge Crowds At Midsumma

Jan 162012
 


Melbourne – An estimated 120,000 people descended on Birrarung Marr yesterday for Midsumma Carnival, the free opening event of Melbourne’s annual queer arts and cultural festival, setting an attendance record.

In addition to the A$16,000 donated by Tourism Victoria last November, Liberal Member for Prahran Clem Newton-Brown announced that the Victorian government would donate an additional A$20,000 to this year’s Midsumma through Arts Victoria. “While it’s a niche event it’s also a massive festival,” he said. “It’s a big deal for Melbourne and it’s appropriate that the government supports it.”

Newton-Brown and Tourism Minister and acting Minister for the Arts Louise Asher were among the officials who gave welcome speeches at Carnival. “It’s a very, very good event for Melbourne obviously,” Asher told The Age newspaper. “I’m delighted to be here to add government support to a major event on the Melbourne calendar.”

Speaking on behalf of the City of Melbourne, Councillor Jennifer Kanis addressed the crowd holding her four-month-old baby. “I hope this little one remembers his first Midsumma for the rest of his life,” she said, praising the festival for representing ‘all that is fantastic about queer culture’.

Apart from yesterday’s opening event, Midsumma CEO Adam Lowe singled out panel discussion After Homosexual: The Legacies of Liberation, as a festival highlight. Hosted by Helen Razer, the panel included Australian writer and academic Dennis Altman and leading UK gay historian Jeffrey Weeks discussing the impact of Altman’s landmark book Homosexual: Oppression and Liberation, 40 years after its publication.

“It’s a great time to look back at how far we’ve come and where we still need to go,” said Lowe. “Midsumma grew out of a need for demonstration. Over 24 years now it’s become an affirmation. Midsumma is a celebration of queer culture, but it’s an affirmation of how much value we as a community contribute to the mainstream community in dollars, in creativity and in human value.”

Two stages at Carnival showcased everything from drag and burlesque performers to the ever-popular Dulcie’s Dog Show, with prizes including cutest bitch, sexiest ‘boy’ dog, best owner and dog combo, and biggest tail. First time Carnival attendee Jonathan Doherty hoped his Jack Russell, Bulley, would take out cutest dog. So did Bulley undergo any extra grooming in preparation? “Oh, god no, I took enough time getting myself ready,” said Doherty. “It’s great that I can wear my makeup here and feel totally normal and accepted,” he said.

Other attractions included stalls hosted by Gay and Lesbian Tourism Australia and Italian Australian LBGTIQ (Lesbian Bisexual Gay Transgender Intersex Questioning) women, among many others, and a youth stage for under-18-year-olds. The annual end-of-carnival dance party, T Dance, kicked off at 5pm and included a performance from Ricki-Lee.

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Gay Film Points To Attitude Change

Jan 152012
 


Hanoi – Vietnam’s first film to openly feature love and intimacy between gay men is helping to change attitudes in a country where homosexuality is often seen either as a disease or a source of ridicule.

Curious filmgoers have streamed into cinemas to catch “Lost in Paradise”, which chronicles the doomed love affair between a gay prostitute and a book seller and provides a rare glimpse into a usually hidden side of Vietnam.

For some, the movie was eye-opening, with one Vietnamese woman saying the bittersweet love story had changed her views about homosexuality.

“Now I think they are just like us,” said the 50-year-old state employee, who did not want to give her name, after watching the film in the capital.

Others, though, seemed uncomfortable, with a group of youths at a recent screening at Hanoi’s Platinum Cinema laughing and a teenage girl covering her eyes during a scene in which the two lead actors kiss tenderly.

Homosexuality remains largely taboo in communist Vietnam, where Confucian social mores, with their emphasis on tradition and family, still dominate.

Gays are routinely portrayed as comical figures or as people suffering from a condition that can be treated — something the makers of “Lost in Paradise” hope to help change.

“We just want to contribute so that gays are better accepted in our society. They don’t need sympathy or understanding. They need equality”, said Luong Manh Hai, who stars in the movie and co-wrote the script.

The film, directed by Vu Ngoc Dang, has been well received by critics at home and abroad, and will be screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in February before a general DVD release in October.

Hai calls the film “a slice of life”, though he admits it was toned down for Vietnam’s audiences when censors removed the more sexually explicit scenes.

In the raciest sequence to survive the cutting room, Hai caresses and kisses his partner’s naked body, filmed from an angle that only reveals bare buttocks and leaves the rest of the couple’s bedroom antics up to the imagination.

The film has so far grossed roughly 20 billion dong ($900,000), “a successful amount for a film of this kind”, a staffer at the film’s BHD Media production company said, asking not to be named.

The film has been warmly received by the small gay community of Ho Chi Minh City, where homosexuals feel life is easier than in other parts of the country, said openly gay student Nguyen Quoc Duy.

“I don’t know if the movie succeeded in telling people that being gay is normal, but for sure it helped them understand who we really are and how wrong the prejudice they have against us is,” the 21-year-old said.

Sociologist Le Quang Binh, who has headed several research projects on lesbian and gay issues, said films like “Lost in Paradise”, as well as a recent photo exhibition about Hanoi’s gay community, were paving the way for more openness about homosexuality.

“The press has become less discriminatory and more objective when covering gay topics,” he said, while social networking sites were also helping to change the perception of homosexuality.

He noted some local media had covered what was billed as Vietnam’s first lesbian wedding in 2010 and the union of two gay men last June, even though the celebrations were only symbolic, with same-sex marriage not legal in Vietnam.

“The younger generation now is also more open,” added Binh, all of which could help make it easier for people to come out of the closet.

But the country still has some way to go. Khoa, a 34-year-old businessman in the Vietnamese capital, said he has yet to reveal his sexuality to his parents who live in the countryside, fearing “unimaginable damage” to his family.

“I’m doubtful that my parents would change their thinking that gays are sick even if they were to watch ‘Lost in Paradise’,” he said.

Still, Khoa said he was encouraged by the slowly changing attitudes around him.

“It’s a long road, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

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Canada Honours Gay Marriages

Jan 152012
 

Ottawa – Canada’s justice minister said that all same-sex marriages performed in Canada are legally recognized and the government is working to ensure foreign couples married in Canada can divorce if they chose to.

“Marriages performed in Canada that aren’t recognized in a couple’s home jurisdiction will be recognized in Canada,” Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said on Friday in Toronto.

“I want to be very clear that our government has no intention of reopening the debate on the definition of marriage,” he added.

The statement comes one day after it was learned Justice Department lawyers were arguing a foreign lesbian couple that married in Canada could not apply for divorce here because their marriage wasn’t valid.

Nicholson said the Divorce Act will be updated so those couples can apply for divorce in Canada if they feel the need to.

“I want to make it clear that in our government’s view, these marriages are valid,” Nicholson said.

The justice minister blamed the former Liberal government that legalized gay marriage for the “legislative gap” that resulted in the confusion.

But Liberal interim leader Bob Rae said the justice department’s legal position on gay marriage makes no sense.

“It would be like saying that an (interracial) South African couple that married in the 1960s, their marriage wouldn’t be valid in Canada because you couldn’t have interracial marriages in South Africa (at the time),” Rae told CTV’s Power Play Friday. “That’s a preposterous conclusion to come to.”

Nicholson said the Civil Marriage Act will be changed so that all marriages performed in Canada that aren’t recognized by the couple’s own jurisdiction will still be recognized in Canada.

“The situation where someone can be validly be married in Canada and then not be able to dissolve their marriage because they cannot meet the residency requirement is something we need to address,” Nicholson said on Power Play Friday.

Political opponents of the Harper government jumped on the opportunity to suggest the Conservatives were reopening the gay marriage debate.

One Canadian legal expert on same-sex marriage said she’s quite concerned that the Conservatives have decided to tinker with the Civil Marriage Act.

“With a majority government in place, I think that’s a risk that Canadian society cannot afford to take,” Queen’s University law professor Kathleen Lahey said in a telephone interview from Kinsgton, Ont.

She argues that re-opening the act in Parliament is a back-door way to introduce other changes to the act.

“The real problem with fixing an alleged legislative gap in the Civil Marriage Act is that there is no legislative gap in that act, and therefore, there is nothing to fix in that act,” Lahey said. “If opening that act up is supposed to introduce a fix, then presumably someone might want to do something else with it while it is open and in front of Parliament.”

She said the government could just simply withdraw its legal case before the courts to resolve the issue.

Critics have questioned why a government lawyer was arguing a marriage was not legal in Canada because the couple’s home jurisdiction did not recognize gay marriage. It’s unclear where the lawyer’s direction was coming from.

When asked by CTV’s Don Martin if the lawyer involved was taking a rogue position and if the Justice Department knew about the case, Nicholson answered the question without addressing the lawyer’s direction.

Lahey said in her experience, it’s unlikely that this specific legal case didn’t draw the attention of senior officials.

“Lawyers who are willing to be aggressive in seeking out virtually any argument to defeat equality claims are allowed to do so,” she said. “I don’t know what level of scrutiny was put in this case, but the fact that both levels of government are in a simple divorce case is an indicator to me that somewhere higher up, someone was watching this.

“I’m not convinced that this is just a fluke or an accident that this argument was raised in this way.”

Egale Canada, a lesbian, gay, bisexual,

and transgender (LGBT) human rights group, said it was pleased with the government’s quick action.

“We see this as a good first step toward opening dialogue between this government and the LGBT community in Canada. We are open and eager to meet with this majority government to build a credible relationship that is not based on fear,” the group’s executive director, Helen Kennedy, said in a statement.

The Harper government went into damage control Thursday and has denied that they were looking into reopening any debate on same-sex marriage.

“We’re not going to reopen that particular issue,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told reporters Thursday.

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James Dean Gay Biopic

Jan 142012
 

Hollywood – There has always been speculation as to the true sexuality of Hollywood legend James Dean and now a film about the star will take a very specific stance on his personal life.

Upcoming biopic Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, includes scenes that depict the actor having sexual encounters with a series of men.

One scene shows the character of Dean making love to his male roommate in a corridor.

He is also seen in the movie indulging in a tryst with another male character, this time on top of a mountain.

Dean is played by relatively unknown actor James Preston, who is most famous for his role as werewolf Lukas Ford in supernatural TV drama The Gates.

Also starring in the movie is Robert Gant of Queer as Folk fame, The L Word star Erin Daniels and Walk The Line actress Clare Grant.

The film, which is due to be released in the summer, claims that it ‘redefines’ James Dean ‘for a new generation’, according to its website. It is not the first tribute to suggest Dean was gay.

Dean’s first biographer and close friend William Bast stated that the pair had a intimate relationship.

He was also described as a homosexual by screenwriter Gavin Lambert and Nicholas Ray, who directed Dean’s most celebrated movie, Rebel Without A Cause.

Dean apparently avoided being drafted into the war by registering as a homosexual, which was at the time classified as a mental disorder by the US government.

However according to the book The Unabridged James Dean: His Life and Legacy from A to Z, he denied being gay.

He allegedly said: ‘No, I am not a homosexual. But, I’m also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back.’

Dean died in a car crash in 1955, aged 24, one month before the release of the classic Rebel Without A Cause.

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Canada Gay Marriages ‘Not Valid’

Jan 132012
 

Ottawa – Lawyers for the Canadian government say that thousands of gay marriages involving foreigners are not valid.

The government is contending in a Toronto court case that non-Canadians gays and lesbians who have been married here since 2004 are only considered married under this country’s laws if gay marriage is also recognized in their home country or state.

This stems from a Toronto test case launched by a lesbian couple seeking a divorce. They were wed in Toronto in 2005, and cannot be identified under a court order.

A Department of Justice lawyer reportedly argued the marriage was not legal in Canada because the couple could not have been legally married in Florida or England, where the two live.

Same-sex marriage in Canada was effectively legalized in 2004, and the next year the Liberal government passed the bill to make it a law.

More than 15,000 same-sex marriages have taken place since thenwith more than 5,000 involving couples from outside Canada.

The Ontario Superior Court is reportedly set to rule on the couple’s divorce application next month.

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