Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 2003)
PTTTïïFl news LOCALLY OWNED A OPERATED 1 M c m e ‘D e liv e re d . the festival program.” T he tribunal also recently allowed men-only sessions at a swimming pool after Muslim men claimed the presence of women violated their religious beliefs. FRANCE isneyland Paris will see its first “Gay Day" Oct. 4. Disney is not involved in organiz ing the influx of homosexuals, who will wear white T-shirts to enhance their gaydar. “It’s a day like any other,” a park spokesman told Reuters. “There is no discrimination at Dis ney either on the grounds of politics, religion or indeed sexual orientation.” In the U nited States, Christian political groups routinely fume about unofficial Gay Days at Disneyland and Disney World. D B U L G A R IA I ' ) arliament banned bias based on sexual orien tation and a number of other factors Sept. 16. A nine-member commission will hear discrim ination cases, will require the accused to prove the discrimination did not occur and will mete out penalties when appropriate. All nations planning to join the European Union are required to pro tect gays and lesbiaas from discrimination. “Now I am afraid of my own shadow and the noise of the opening of the cell’s doors, because I am waiting the next round of torture at the hands of the officers of the Mirzo-Ulugbek Dis trict Department of Internal Affairs and other structures of the system.... Soon, I will be sent to a prison colony to serve my sentence, where [I have been told that] some people are already waiting for me and I will have to answer for the ‘damage’ caused to independent Uzbekistan." INDIA awyers for the national government Sept. 8 told the Delhi High Q u irt that gay sex must remain banned because of societal disapproval. “Indian society by and large disapproves of homosexuality, and disapproval was strong enough to justify it being treated as a criminal offense even where the adults indulge in it in private," they wrote. T he AIDS organization Naz Foundation sued to overturn Penal Code Section 377, which punishes gay sex, lesbian sex and bestial ity with up to life in prison. It says the law inter feres with its HIV prevention efforts. But the government argued, “Deletion of the said section can well open the floodgates of delin quent behavior and be construed as providing unbridled license for the same.” It also charged that Naz had no standing to bring the lawsuit because it has not been prosecuted under Section 377. T he court will consider the matter further , Dec. 10. L FRESH LOCAL J\fem Jßecation 2 0 1 9 SE B elm o n t ORGANIC PRODUCE WITH RETAIL SPACE Organics to You ( 503 ) 236-6496 HOME 'HI i \ I RY O f ORGANIC CtK)i>S www. organicstoyou. org Know Someone With a Drug or Alcohol Problem? Free, confidential, statewide telephone assistance and crisis intervention lor alcohol and drug problems Call the HelpLine nssHas www orpartnership org 800-923-HELP A ^ A -' A / vX m ■ *— » Retail Nursery - Landscape Services toi m. »07:41 End of Season Sales: O ctober 2-8 - Dry Border Sale— Includes Lavenders and P en stem on s 30% o ff O ctober 9-16 - M ixed Border Sale— Includes A n em o n es and Cam panulas 30% o ff For Inform ation Call: 503 / 543-7474 O pen daily 9am -5pm 20300 NE Watson Rd Scappoose, OR 97056 N a tio n a l C a ta lo g u e S ales - w w w .j o y c r e e k .c o m U .N . Secretary General Kofi A nnan has been asked to help imprisoned Uzbek gay journalist Ruslan Sharipov UZBEKISTAN mprisoned Uzbek gay journalist Ruslan Sharipov sent a letter Sept. 5 begging for help to U.N. Secretary General Kofi A nnan. According to human rights activists, Sharipov was av rced into pleading guilty to charges of stxlomy, sex with minors and running a brothel after authorities tortured him and threatened to harm his mother. They say the government target ed him to silence his journalistic criticism of human rights abuses and police corruption. Sharipov received a 5 1/2-year sentence in August. In the letter to A nnan, Sharipov wrote: “Before I ‘confessed’ and ‘plead guilty’ at the trial...I was forced to write a ‘death note,’ in which I wrote, as dictated, a gixxlbye letter and declared that I committed suicide of my own volition. 1 was clearly told that if I would write any further appeals or complaints, I would com mit suicide, that is, I would ‘kill myself.’ “I was tortured and pressured in ways I cannot describe with the aim of forcing me to confess and plead guilty at trial for a crime that I hadn’t com m itted.... They put a gas mask on my head and sprayed an unknown substance into my throat, after which 1 could hardly breathe. They also injected an unknown substance into my veins and warned me that if I did not follow their instmc- tions they would give me an injection of the AIDS virus. I could not withstand cuch excesses, and now I am writing only a small part of what 1 faced.... To be honest, 1 was hombly afraid after what they had done with me and...I was also afraid that they could do all this to my mother and ytxinger brother, as well as to my lawyers.... Prime M inister M ahathir Mohamad blamed homosexuality for the “ frenzy to fulfill all lusts” in Malaysia M ALAY S IA I rime M inister M ahathir M ohamad denounced homosexuality during his National Day speech Aug. 31. “Crimes like rape, incest and horrific murder are happening every day in our country when they previously did not,” he said. "This is because the culture of violence and sex is being spread via the television and videos from the West. There is a degradation of moral values due to pornographic videos, so much so that locals are also willing to act in pornographic films. Western films adulate sex, violence, mur der and war. Homosexuality is allowed; even religious leaders are openly gay. They are incensed, especially their journalists, many of whom are gay, when the practice is punished under our laws. “This degradation of morals and frenzy to ful fill all lusts will weaken our spirit to fight and bring ill to stKiety,” M ahathir said. “O ur ability to distinguish the gixxl from the bad is dim in ishing. This, together with other things that dis turb our thoughts, like the ideology of liberal detruxrracy and human rights, means the colo nization of our minds is complete.” J H Compiled by REX W(X:KNER, who has reported for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelor's degree m journalism from Drake University and started his career as a radio reporter. LAURELHURST DENTISTRY Experienced Reliable C larice J ohnston d m . d . & ASSOCIATES • Treatm ent explained and discussed • Teeth whitening • New patients welcome 503 / 233-3622 2520 East Burnside ZACH NEWMAN Trusted R eal E sta te B rok er IVIultl-IVlillion Dollar Producer Down-to-earth style, no sales pressure, just the best advice and representation you can get. When buying or selling a home, call Zaeh for a fret», private, no obligation consultation. 5 0 3 - 2 8 2 -5 1 6 4 Z achN ew m an@ aoL com R&fldHC equity group, Inc. ^ 2100 NE Broadway, Portland
