Saturday 27th September 2008

Are the relentless bouts of rain causing your mind to wander afar to far-off destinations? But, hold up—are you caught between the temptation to experience a completely unknown culture, and the reticence of rambling anywhere that would require ‘playing it straight’ for the duration? Well, the Irish Times has piqued our interest in an unexpected and extraordinary place: Tel Aviv, Israel. It seems the Gaze LGBT Film Festival 2007’s festival favourite, The Bubble (Ha Buah), has given rise to a gaggle of gay globetrotters shoring up in Tel Aviv. And what’s more, 2009 sees the centennial of Tel Aviv’s founding which will see oodles of cultural events celebrating the anniversary across the city. What better time to be tempted by Tel Aviv!

Sunday 28th September 2008

Professional soccer has never been known for being accepting of its gay participants, which is probably why there are no out footballers in the English Premier League at present. And when the notion of ‘gay’ and ‘soccer’ do coincide, they connote the tragic story of Justin Fashanu. On Sunday, this issue came to the fore once more when former Spurs captain, Sol Campbell, was subjected to a torrent of abuse from the Tottenham terraces, which made cruel references to his mental state and HIV status. The upshot of this incident is that the event may trigger an official FA probe into the incident, and it gave a platform to the Gay Football Supporters’ Network.

Monday 29th September 2008

Hundereds of gays and lesbians voiced their disgust on the steps of parliament in the Greek capital, Athens. The protest was in response to the government petitioning a Greek court to declare the nation’s first same-sex marriages invalid.

Tuesday 30th September 2008

Beefcake turned Burgermeister, Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a proposal which would have made slain gay politician, Harvey Milk’s birthday a day of statewide significance. It appears Shcwarzennegger succumbed to pressure from conservative groups who urged him to veto the initiative brought forward by San Francisco Assemblyman, Mark Leno.

Wednesday 1st October 2008

A survey of Bulgarian people found that 80% have negative attitudes towards gay and bisexual people. The survey also found that 70% would not allow their child to be taught by a gay teacher and 50% would not work with a gay person. The findings were presented at a roundtable in Sofia which examined sexuality issues, particularly AIDS and HIV prevention. Overall, 59% were found to be “extremely homophobic”. I think I’ll strike Sofia off my holiday destination wishlist.

Thursday 2nd October 2008

Melissa Etherdige and Tammy Lynn Michaels announced they are to marry. Or more accurately, they are getting remarried. The lesbian poster couple first tied-the-knot on September 22^nd 2003. The marriage was not legally recognisable at the time but California Governor, Gray Davis, opened the doors to the registry office to gay couples the following year. Unfortunately, the state Supreme Court later annulled thousands of same-sex nuptials. However, in May of this year the Supreme Court held that there was nothing in California state law which prohibited same-sex marriage. Here’s hoping the November 4th vote on Proposition 8 doesn’t get in the way Melissa and Tammy’s “happily ever after” this time. Congratulations, ladies!

A Canadian political hopeful in Ontario won a term in jail instead of in parliament after telling a high school of voters, “A young man asked me what I think of homosexual marriages and I said I think homosexuals should be executed…My whole reason for running is the Bible, and the Bible couldn’t be more clear on that point.” Meanwhile, In Pennsylvania, Rev. Janet Edwards was found not guilty of violating the constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Rev. Edwards was facing the charges for performing a wedding ceremony for two women, Nancy McConn and Brenda Cole, in 2005.

The folks at Diva magazine took a shot at answering the burning question among ladies-seeking-ladies, “where are all the girls?”. On Thursday, Diva published the most comprehensive study to date which identified where in the British isles the estimated 2.4 million UK lesbians were most commonly located. The top 10 lesbian hotspots are: 1.London, 2.Glasgow, 3.Redhill, 4.Manchester, 5.Birmingham, 6.Northern Ireland, 7.Gloucester, 8.Cardiff, 9.Newcastle, 10.Chelmsford. Another Diva-related update is that the lesbian glossy published its 150th issue this month—that amounts to 15 years of producing the periodical. Congratulations, Diva!

Friday 3^rd October 2008

British PM, Gordan Brown’s cabinet reshuffle saw not one but two gay appointees to the cabinet. Nick Brown has been tasked with the position of Chief Whip and Peter Mandelson returns from exile in the EU Commission to take the post of Business Secretary and takes a seat in the House of Lords. I guess that makes him a ‘gay-lord’. F’narr!

Thursday saw President McAleese sign emergency legislation guaranteeing Irish bank accounts up to €420 billion. Then on Friday, the US Congress finally got around to allocating 800 jillion trillion dollars to save the global economy (Cheers, America, we owe you a pint!). Now while this news it relevant, how is it relevant to all of us good folks in gay-land? Oh, well the global economic recession is all our fault, dear! Or hadn’t you heard? That’s right, the right-wing anti-gay, anti-woman, anti-evolution, anti-pasto fanaticists issued yet another baseless bigoted generalization of gargantuan proportions: Apparently, the economy being in the toilet is nothing to do with careless credit approval and the naughty lending and investment practices of powerful financial institutions over the past few years. No, no, it’s the gays. It’s the gay’s being accepted into western societies, to be more precise. So when ailing bank, Washington Mutual, got bought out by JP Morgan Chase in a rescue bid last week, WaMu’s predicament was less to do with its unfortunate reliance on the souring US housing market as much as it was its accepting diversity programme among employees. Hmm, flawless logic, I’m sure.

To these propagandists of gratuitous lies and hatred, I say ‘Feck them, and the ape they descended from!’

As always, all images are used in good faith and without any implying any infringement. if they need to be removed, just let me know and it’ll be done.