September 16. 2005
IWTTTïl news
office Aug. 26 protesting the Iranian govern
ment’s executions of gay men, the death penal
ty and sodomy laws. The action was organized
by the groups Rosa Lila Villa and Homosexual
Initiative Vienna.
Iran recently executed two gay teen-agers.
The government said they raped another hoy,
but some activist groups claim that the rape
charge was bogus and that the two were hanged
solely for being gay.
The Iranian exile gay group Homan
reportedly claims that 4,000 homosexuals
have been executed in Iran since the 1979
Islamic revolution.
R omanian P olitician W arned
A bout H ateful R hetoric
Romania’s National Council for Combating
Discrimination issued a disciplinary warning
Aug. 25 against ultranationalist party leader
Vadim Tudor for defaming gays—and threat
ened to fine him if he does it again.
“Homosexuals are an aberration of nature,”
Tudor said on television in May. “They shouldn’t
mess with me because I’m going to impale them
on wcxxlen stakes and they might like it.”
The council said the remarks “violate gay
minority rights to dignity, freedom from dis
crimination and equal treatment.”
Tudor responded with a threat to sue the
council, according to Reuters. “I am the one
who is discriminated against because they don’t
allow me to express my constitutional right to
free speech,” he said.
I sle of M an to E qualize S ex L aws
The Isle of Man, a British crown dependen
cy, is planning to equalize the age of consent for
gay and straight sex, Isle of Man Today reported.
The island off the west coast of Britain
allows heterosexual sex at age 16 but prohibits
gay sex until age 18. The government said it
wants to make the change t6 stay in line with
the European Convention on Human Rights.
ASI A/PACIFIC
F iji G ay S ex C onvictions O verturned
The convictions of an Australian tourist and
a Fijian man for having sex in private in Fiji last
April were overturned Aug. 26.
Lautoka High Gxirt Justice Gerard Winter
struck down the convictions on constitutional
grounds, citing rights to privacy and equality. State
prosecutors said they may appeal the decision.
Thomas McCosker, 55, and Dhirendra
Nandan, 23, had been convicted of “unnatural
offense” and “indecent practice between males”
by a judge who called their crimes “something
so disgusting that it would make any person
vomit.” They were sentenced to two years in
prison, spent a week in jail and then were bailed
out pending appeal.
Officials became aware of the men’s activities
after McCosker reported a theft and police dis
covered incriminating images on his digital cam
era. The photos were used as evidence in court.
Real Estate Broker
(503) 286-9739
A ussie B roadcaster E scapes C ensure
D utch G et G ay M en ’ s E ncyclopedia
In what may be a world first, an encyclope
dia of gay men has been published in rhe
Netherlands, Expatica.com reports.
Published by Ambo/Anthos, rhe bxx>k con
tains 1,300 entries written by 25 gay male
authors covering such issues as history, culture,
politics, the law, philosophy and media.
A spokesman for the publishing house said the
Kxik is written in accessible language and con
tains many things “that outsiders would not
know about.”
Two foundations, Hartenfonds and VSN
Fonds, provided subsidies to help get the b<x>k
printed. A copy from the initial print run of
3,000 was presented Aug. 25 to Amsterdam
Mayor Geert Dales, Expatjca said.
P. Scott Tucker
McCosker, a retired university teacher from
the state of Victoria, has now returned to
Australia.
.
|
i
1
Veteran Sydney, Australia, radio broadcaster
John Laws will not be censured by the
Australian Media and Communications
Authority for calling Queer Eye for the Straight
Guy star Carson Kressley a “pompous little
pansy prig” and a “pillow-biter.” The outburst
aired last November on Laws’ program on radio
station 2UE.
The media watchdog agency called the
comments offensive and tasteless but said they
were unlikely to incite or perpetuate hatred or
vilification of gays. The station itself was rapped
for failing to respond to complaints within 30
days, a breach of broadcasting codes.
Laws later apologized for the slurs in the gay
weekly Sydney Star Observer.
“My intentions were humorous and satirical,
and this is how I believe people who heard my
show that morning would have reacted,” he
wrote. “I do apologize to you for any distress my
words might have caused, especially if you
might have come to believe I was condoning or
supporting any form of verbal or physical vio
lence directed at gay men and lesbians.”
L iverpool S eeks to C reate
G ay V illage
•
The City Council in Liverpool, England,
voted unanimously Sept. 7 to support the idea
of creating a gay commercial district, The
Liverpool Daily Post reported.
“We hope to get moving on it very quickly,
and we want to talk to businesses who are
already gay-friendly and also the gay communi
ty to get their ideas and suggestions about the
way forward," said Councilor Peter Millea.
“Liveqxxil has always had gay-friendly hars, but
they have never worked together as part of a
strategy.”
Councilors said the district could make gays
and lesbians feel safer and more welcome, stem
the routine flow of gay partiers to Manchester’s
Canal Street and lead to gentrification of the
city center. They envision a neighborhixxl of
gay bars, clubs, health services, clothing stores,
barbers and residential buildings, said
Councilor Paul Brant.
G ay R ugby P layers P roduce
S exy C alendar
Wales’ gay rugby team, the Cardiff Lions,
has released a sexy calendar in hopes of rais
ing money to
send itself to
New York for
next
year’s
Bingham Cup
tournament.
“We
are
over the nux>n
with the fin
ished
pnxl-
uct—it’s bril
liant,” team
spokesman
Stuart Savage
told the Wales
on
Sunday
newspaper.
“We were all nervous at the start of the shoot,
but as scxin as one person did it, we all relaxed. It
was in a good cause!”
The calendar sells for about $16.57. It is
available at the team’s Web site,
www.cardifflions.co.uk/calendar.htm . JF1
Compiled by R ex W oc XNER, who has reported
for the gay press since 1985. He has a bachelirr's
degree in journalism from Drake University and
started his career as a radio reporter.
» just out 23
vvwwJohnLSeottæom/PScottTucker
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