6 T fobruary 16, 1996 ▼ just out
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Summer/Fall Publication Date: June, 1996
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world briefs
ARGENTINA
Argentina’s under secretary for penal policy,
Julio Aparicio, estimates that one-third of the nation’s
prisoners are HIV positive, the state Telam news
agency reported.
At Buenos Aires’ large Caseros prison, half of
all inmates have tested positive, Aparicio said.
BRITAIN
In a British legal first, a lesbian who murdered
a man with whom her female lover was having an
affair received a reduced sentence Jan. 5 because of
the “provocation” caused by the relationship, re­
ported The Scotsman.
The marital-cheating “provocation” defense
previously
has applied
only to het­
erosexual
killers.
The High
C o u rt
in
Glasgow sen­
tenced Vicki
McKean, 28,
to only eight years for the murder o f Stephen
Blackwell, 40, saying his fling with Connie An­
drew, 27, mitigated the crime. McKean stabbed
Blackwell 11 times as he sat in her living room.
“Normally [the provocation defense] is only
open in cases where a man has found his wife in the
act of adultery and kills her lover on the spot,” The
Scotsman said.
T
T
▼
London’s famed Royal Ballet will tackle AIDS
in mid-February, with a one-act ballet featuring
prima ballerina Darcey Bussell as the virus and the
corps de ballet as white blood cells, reported the
as 15,000.” Seventy percent of AIDS cases are
among gay men, the group said.
Contact Triangulo Rosa at Apartado 1619-4050,
Alajuela, Costa Rica; phone/fax: 011-506-234-2411;
Internet: rastem @ sol.racsa.co.cr.
CYBERSPACE
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest les­
bian and gay political organization in the United
States, has an Internet World Wide Web site up and
running that allows you to plug in your ZIP code and
retrieve the voting records of your members of
Congress on gay and AIDS issues.
The site then lets you send a pre-scripted mes­
sage (which you can edit) to your senator or repre­
sentative, urging that he or she vote in accord with
your wishes.
“It’s an innovative action center,” says HRC
electronic media manager Phil Attey. The Web
address is http://www.hrcusa.org.
So far, most lesbian and gay Web sites merely
disseminate information without giving visitors an
on-line option to do anything with the data.
▼ ▼ T
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is now on
the Internet W o rld Wi d e We b at ht t p: / /
www.geko.com.au/~mardigras. The site was cre­
ated by Digital Queers Australia and receives free
access and disk space from the Geko Internet service
provider.
DQA plans to put other Australian queer organi­
zations on the Web also.
NETHERLANDS
According to the International Lesbian and Gay
Association, Netherlands has extended full equality
to same-sex couples in the area o f state pensions for
widowed persons.
Evening Standard.
The score will be a composition by the late
Benjamin Britten.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
Be a part of a rapidly growing foundation that helps people with AIDS.
T h e F rie n d s o f P e op le W ith AIDS F o u n d a tio n is a not-for-profit o rg a n iza ­
tio n that e xists to m e e t the n e e d s o f p e o p le w ith AIDS, n e ed s that o th e r­
w is e g o u n m e t. We’re a g ro u p o f vo lu n te e rs, not a g o v e rn m e n t o r ch u rc h
agency. T hat m e a n s w e are free to m ee t th o se n e e d s in the w a y that is
b e st fo r o u r frie n d s w ith AIDS.
S in ce w e s ta rte d the fo u n d a tio n in 1990, the b o a rd m e m b e rs & v o lu n ­
teers h a ve p ro v id e d m o re s e rv ic e s e v e ry year, w e ’re still g ro w in g , an d
n o w w e n e e d m o re m e m b e rs .
A ll p o s itio n s are no n-paid. T h a t’s b e ca u se all o f o u r d e d ica te d fu n d s
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o u r h o m e s u sin g te le p h o n e , p a g e r a n d ce llu la r p h o n e to m ee t the
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S o m e o f th e s e r v i c e s p r o v i d e d b y th e f o u n d a t io n a r e :
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• E m e rg e n c y trave l a n d lo d g in g
• E m e rg e n c y fo o d b a ske ts
• E n te rta in m e n t
• P h on e s e rv ic e fo r th o se in
lo ng -te rm ca re fa cilitie s
•
•
•
•
•
C re m a tio n s
Pet-related e xp e n se s
S e rvice s for th o se in p riso n
L a tin o o u tre a ch p ro g ra m
C h ristm a s a n d Easter gifts
fo r the c h ild re n o f PWAs
‘ p lu s m a n y o t h e r s e r v i c e s p a i d f o r b y o u r g e n e r a l f u n d
Wc have volunteer positions open at all levels o f commitment; from the most casu­
al to the most dedicated.
If you are interested in joining our family and really making a difference in the lives
o f people with HIV, send us a résumé or a letter o f interest.
F riends
of
PWA s F oundation
PO Box 69553
Portland, OR 97201
Attn: Corey Baker
T
▼ ▼
Tests are underway in Britain on “chemical
condoms” that may allow HIV-positive men to
impregnate women without passing on the vims,
the New Scientist reported on Jan. 4.
Following a number o f additional tests on the
safety, comfort and convenience of the virucidal
compounds, researchers hope to test the substances
in certain Third W orld countries with a high inci­
dence o f HIV infection and a high incidence of men
who refuse to wear condoms.
The virucides would probably be marketed as
gels, creams or foams, the New Scientist said.
CANADA
Canada Post will issue an AIDS stamp just prior
to the 11th International Conference on AIDS,
which takes place in Vancouver, B.C., in July.
The design will be based on the conference
poster, created by Vancouver artist Joe Average,
which has been described as a Picasso-like collage
of faces.
COSTA RICA
The Costa Rican Movement Against AIDS is a
new organization that provides food, toiletries and
hospital equipment to people with AIDS and coun­
sels their families and friends, reported the new
Costa Rican gay newspaper YKE.
So far, 14 people have utilized the group’s
services.
Volunteers meet Tuesdays at 8 pm at the San
José gay club Déjà Vu. For more information, call
011-506-285-5368 or 011-506-223-3758.
▼ ▼ ▼
The Costa Rican gay group Triangulo Rosa says
it will use a new AIDS grant from the Dutch
government to rent and equip a community center
and expand its work to the provinces.
Costa Rica has 1,000“diagnosed cases of A IDS,”
according to Triangulo Rosa, “but estimates as to
the number of HIV-positive people here run as high
POLAND
Poland’s new constitution that will ban discrimi­
nation based on sexual orientation faces a final vote
in Parliament in the next few months.
Gay men and lesbians are encouraged by the fact
that Poland’s new president, Aleksander Kwasnieski,
previously headed up the committee that drafted the
document. But they remain worried about opposi­
tion from the powerful Roman Catholic Church.
The only other country to protect gay men and
lesbians constitutionally— via an interim constitu­
tion that is awaiting final approval— is South Af­
rica.
SOUTH AFRICA
Gay men and lesbians here are mobilizing for the
final months of their battle to keep a ban on sexual-
orientation-based discrimination in the nation’s post­
apartheid constitution.
The protections are in the interim constitution,
but activists remain concerned about opposition
from the African Christian Democratic Party.
“Until the clause is in the final constitution, the
gay and lesbian community must remain united and
mobilized,” said Karin Burger of the National C oa­
lition for Gay and Lesbian Equality.
The coalition has launched a letter-writing cam­
paign to the Constitutional Assembly, printed 25,000
postcards that will be sent to the body, and declared
Jan. 27 “A National Day of Action,” during which
activists in each province will collect signatures on
petitions and conduct other public activities.
The final vote on the constitution is expected in
May.
VIETNAM
Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s clear AIDS
capital, the Lao Dong newspaper reported on Jan. 7.
According to the National AIDS Protection
Committee, two-thirds of Vietnam’s 293 AIDS
cases are in the city, along with 1,598 of the country’s
3,375 HIV carriers.
One hundred thirty-four Vietnamese have died
o f the disease.
Compiled by Rex Wockner