August 2006

Aug 31:  Poland:  Kaczinsky’s Brussels ‘Gay Spin’ Does Not Wash in Warsaw.  News travel fast.  And following the homophobic Polish Prime Minister’s pronouncement yesterday in Brussels in front of European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that Poland was not a homophobic country, gay men and women in Poland were last night at best bemused and at worst concerned.  
Aug 28:  UK:   Archbishop’s Latest Move “Spineless”, Say Gay Humanists.  The Archbishop of Canterbury’s latest pronouncement in which he tells gays that they are not welcome in his Church unless they “change their ways”, was condemned today as “spineless” by the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA).
Aug 26:  Nepal:   Gay Nuptials in Nepal Stuns the Media.  In a colourful ceremony, two gay were married today, watched by the media, community activists and a few family members. It was the first public “same-sex marriage” in Nepal and challenges the culture, tradition, family values and constitution of the country.
Aug 26:  UK:  Lib Dems Launch North West ‘Stop Homophobic Bullying’ Campaign at Manchester Pride.  Parade has new and longer route.  John Leech, Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Manchester Withington, will launch the ‘Stop Homophobic Bullying’ petition in the North West, this afternoon, (Saturday 26th August 2006) at 4.15pm at the Lib Dem Stall in the Lifestyle Expo area at Manchester LGBT Pride.
Aug 24:  UK:  Over Hundred British MPs Condemn Iran’s Execution of Gays and Minors.  British MPs from all parties have now signed an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons condemning Iran’s execution of gay people and children. 
Aug 24:  UK:  Ruth Badger Sees LGF’s Potential at Manchester Pride 2006.  Ruth Badger, a finalist from BBC TV’s ‘The Apprentice’, has been enlisted by The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (LGF), the UK’s largest lesbian, gay and bisexual health and community charity, to help people reach their potential at this years Manchester Pride 2006.
Aug 24:  Nepal:  First Ever Public Gay Wedding in Nepal.  Two gay men are challenging the culture, tradition, family values and constitution of Nepal for the sake of their love.
Aug 22:  USA/Belarus:  Belarusian Gay Activist Joins Protest Outside Washington Embassy.  Belarusian gay activist Viachaslau Bortnik joined about twenty people at a protest organized by Poglyad (“Vision”) in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Washington, DC, last week.
Aug 22:  The World:  Tatchell Calls For Rich North to Twin With Poor South in HIV Fight.  Western HIV organisations should twin with their counterparts in developing countries to help overcome the huge global disparities in the resources available for the fight against HIV, British gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said in a keynote address to the recent International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada.
Aug 22:  UK:  Get Involved Says Croydon Gay and Lesbian Group.  Aurora, Croydon’s only Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) police consultative group, is looking LGBT people to get involved in its activities.
Aug 16:  UK:  Ladyfest Newcastle:  Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves…  Women’s music, art and performance will take centre stage in Newcastle in September, with ‘DIY’ festival’ Ladyfest Newcastle.
Aug 14:  UK:  Rainbow Project Urges Public To Support Gay Adoption Rights.  The Rainbow Project is urging everyone in Northern Ireland who is taking part in the consultation to support gay and heterosexual cohabiting couples being afforded the same rights when applying to foster or adopt. 
Aug 9:  UK:  Gay Iraqis Set to Take Part in UK Pride.  Three gay Iraqis are set to join the Gloucestershire Rainbow Day march through Gloucester city centre on Saturday (August 12) days after More4 Television News and the Observer reported on gays were the “new target” for death squads in Iraq. 
Aug 8:  The Philippines:  Congress Should Stand Up for Basic Fairness.  The Philippine Congress should move quickly to enact a landmark bill to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to members of the legislature. 
Aug 6:  Iran:    The Need for Continued International Solidarity With Iranian Gays.  By the Editors of the Iranian LGBT E-magazine MAHA.  We note some differences of opinion in the international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movement about how to best support LGBT people in Iran.  We would like to express our view, and we believe that a great number of our readers share our opinion.
Aug 5:  UK:  Barbara Windsor at Brighton Gay Pride.  Call it camp if you must, but the Terrence Higgins Trust’s (THT) float at Brighton Pride had a “Carry-On” theme.  And to “launch” the float, which had as a theme a saucy campsite shower block straight out of the “Carry On Camping” movie, was Barbara Windsor MBE ...
Aug 3:  Iran:  Call For ‘Gay Solidarity’ As Ten Arabs Face Execution.  By Peter Tatchell.  The Iranian regime is planning the imminent execution of ten Arab human rights activists from Khuzestan province in the south-west of Iran.  They were sentenced to death after secret trials in June.  The Iranian supreme court upheld their death sentences on July 25.
Aug 2:  Canada:  Groundbreaking Gay Sports Author at Outgames.  Acclaimed lesbian author, Patricia Nell Warren, will be at the 1st World Outgames today and Thursday, August 2 and 3.  Ms. Warren broke literary ground when The Front Runner, the first novel about gays and sports was published in 1974. 
Aug 2:  UK:  Government ‘Choosing Health’ Funding Not Reaching Sexual Health Services.  A substantial portion of the £300 million funding earmarked for sexual health that accompanied the Choosing Health White Paper is not reaching front-line sexual health services, even though the Government has identified sexual health and GUM as a top six priority for the NHS in the current year, a survey published today (August 2) has found.
Aug 1:  Belarus:  Government-Controlled TV Openly Shows Gay Sex Act Involving Foreign Diplomat.  Belarusian national television screened on Sunday footage described “a dirty homosexual orgy” involving a diplomat at the Latvian embassy and another man.