Replace bisexual with Bi+ to ‘include’ people who aren’t sexually attracted to men and women

The debate of sorts on effectively ditching Bi from the LGBT call letters to Bi+ or so on is on in earnest and now has reached the UK.

LGBT students have voted to replace the word bisexual with ‘Bi+’ and redefined bisexuality to be inclusive of people who aren’t sexually attracted to both men and women.

The news comes from the National Union of Students’ LGBT Conference, which took place earlier this month.

The conference passed a motion to rename its Bi caucus and Bi students’ rep and rewrite all documentation about bisexual people to instead refer to ‘Bi+’.

The motion explains that “if a person experiences any form of attraction to more than one gender identity, they fall under the Bi+ umbrella”.

Controversially, the new definition of ‘Bi+’ includes people who are not sexually attracted to both men and women – for instance, people who are attracted to women as well as non-binary people.

It specifies: “If a person experiences any form of attraction to more than one gender identity, they fall under the Bi+ umbrella.

“A person does not have to experience all forms of attraction (sexual Romantic, sensual, aesthetic or platonic) towards multiple gender identities to still fall under the Bi+ umbrella.”

On its Twitter account, the NUS LGBT+ Campaign – which doesn’t seem in a hurry to rename itself the NUS LGB+T+ campaign – confirmed: “Motion 406: Bye Bi, Welcome Bi+ has passed.”

As Heat Street notes, students at the LGBT conference also tabled a motion to rename the black students’ caucus to the QTIPOC caucus, because “the current definition of Black [is not] inclusive”. The new acronym apparently stands for “Queer Trans Intersex People of Colour”.

Students claimed that “the use of the term ‘black’ as an umbrella can present itself as a barrier and a silencing mechanism, to the voices of ethnically black individuals within the student movement.”

The motion was “sent to Black caucus following a procedural motion”, but the national students’ body has already started using the new acronym.

Elsewhere, students accepted a motion to ban the word ‘Poly’ as an abbreviation for Polyamory, because it apparently “erases the identities and struggles of Polynesians”. Students will use ‘Ply’ instead.

Changes are a coming folks so we better get ready for identities as we know it. The upcoming Bisexual US conference I am sure will also be looking at this more inclusion matter as some activists and allies are tired of just being relegated to being just allies and want more visibility. 

The bisexual umbrella may have to be changed I guess, let us see.

Peace & tolerance

H

UK Sports store suspends staff after gay couple branded ‘battymen’

So Jamaican parlance has made it to merry old UK and manifests its ugly self in an incident reported in the UK press and LGBT platforms. Thanks to Dennis Carney from Black Gay and Proud UK for alerting me to this via Twitter.

Thanks to the steady stream of vitriolic and homophobic murder music as 'art' imitates life and always changing names now internalized and cemented in the national psyche of not only Jamaicans here and abroad but now as this case shows other races who are also anti gay.

We have been called in Jamaica a list of ever changing stigmatizing terms and names such as:

Fish (Here fishy fishy ..... 2010)

Faggots

He-man

He-she

Chi chi man (TOK popularised) 

Shi-fu man (very old term mostly used in rural areas)

Battyman widely used and as popularised by Beenieman's All Battyman fi Dead and Capleton's Battyman fi get Boom or Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye to name a few.

Number 2 (back in the early days when the previous terms were not popularised yet), also see: Popular Jamaican homophobic words a post I did 2009.

Gavin Matthews with boyfriend Craig Hards

Sporting goods chain JD Sports has suspended a number of staff members – after a gay couple were allegedly referred to as “battymen”.

Gavin Matthews, and his partner Craig Hards say they encountered the homophobic language from staff members at JD Sports on Eltham High Street.

Mr Matthews said in a statement to PinkNews: “As I took a couple of steps in I heard from the rep behind me ‘Der battys in’it’.

“I quickly spun on my heels and stared straight at the individual who was just laughing whilst his colleague, who was no more than one foot from my side, just moved away quickly further into the store.

“My partner returned to my side and I told him in high tones ‘we’re leaving’.

“This is an outrageous homophobic hate crime and I immediately contacted JD sports customer services by email and received two days later a generic apology with a comment that they haven’t experienced this before.”

A spokesman for JD Sports has today confirmed that two members of staff have been suspended over the incident, and that one external member of staff was no longer employed by the company.

A statement to the Standard said: “Mr Matthews informed JD Sports of his complaint via the online customer service centre following the incident on Sunday 5 April.

“A new member of agency staff, who was working on a trial period at the time, unfortunately failed to properly escalate the complaint to the senior management team, who became aware of this incident on Friday 17 April. This individual is no longer working on behalf of JD Sports.

“We deplore discrimination of any kind and take this matter very seriously and took action as soon as this mistake was realised.

“Two employees from our Eltham store were suspended on Saturday 18 April pending a disciplinary hearing which is scheduled to take place later this week. The head of our customer service team spoke with Mr Matthews yesterday and he is aware of the action we are taking and will be informed of the outcome of the disciplinary process.”

ENDS

also see:

JD Sports suspends two staff members after store assistant 'called gay couple battymen'

songs such as Bounty Killa's 'Dat a True' speak to it loudly or Batty Man Dem Flex Like A Sissy ('2009') – Assassin feat. Elephant Man and Bounty Killer:

Dat A True – Bounty Killer

Intro:
They get me cross, angry, miserable/
They're liable and eligible.../
Wha happen to dem faggot?! Maggot!/
He dat plan to a next man shall put to death!/
Quote it from da bible biblically/
It's warlord, I'm killin dem spiritually/
Wha happen to my pride, wha happen to my dignity, wha happen to my liberty, wha happen to my culture, what about morality/
Man to man UNJUST!/
Wha happen to dem faggot?! Maggot?! Cross, fungus!

Chorus:
Batty nuh fi fuck an' dat a tru/
Apologize to who/
Yuh must lose a screw or few/
Yard man nuh play numba 2/
Yuh already knew/
Watch what yuh say or do/
Batty nuh fi fuck, an haffi real, man a killa weh yuh feel, fuck wha yuh believe, if dat will mek wi eat, then wi nuh wan no meal, wi rather sell copper an' no man see

Verse 1:
Man ah artist weh dem use it, mi nuh paint like da vinci/
Cocky mi gi gal so nuh bwoy cyaan pinch me/
Jackie inna mi mind, why dem wan hitch me/
Memba when ku klux klan dem a lynch wi/
Ah coulda weh dem really wan teach di pickney lunch time/
Weh dem bwoy yah livin sickly/
Stand up fi mi culture, dem can not trick me/
Ah coulda ass or mule, dem cyaan kick me/
Man ah nuh slave, so no bwoy cyaan whip me/
Through mi have mi morals, dem wan rubber grip me/
Fi no visa, me nuh mek no bwoy strip me/
Yuh mad!/
Tek back green card an hit me

Chorus

Verse 2:
Cancel two concert an still survivin/
Pat a still put on land cruiser drivin/
Fat pussy gal deh yah undo my zip/
An ah batty some bwoy come eyes 'im/
Battyman inna di church it's not surprisin/
How much yutes yuh see di priest victimizin/
Not realizin jah gon chastize em/
Evil is deep, dem ah di pope idolizin/
Dem see di judgement an' run go knife it/
Clear di way mi hot gal dem a wifey/
Gi gal dem cocky, some bwoy deprivin/
Dat bwoy conniving, mek ah man ah prize him/
Battyman get so old 'im stop hidin/
Mi nuh go a track, mi nuh support nor strike 'im/
God by mi side, inna mi heart mi abide in/
Jah 10 Commandments will forever hide 'im/

Chorus

Cross, angry, maggot, faggot, fungus, germs, baby sperms, wha happen to dem earthworms!/
You kno it's Warlord, it's a holy war, it's a spiritual war, you kno it's warlord!/
It's my culture, it's my nature, it's my experiences, it's nothin I'm fightin against, dat's how I see it, dat's how I live it, dat's how I kno it, dat's how I tell it, dat's how I show it...

Chorus:
Batty nuh fi fuck an' dat a tru/
Apologize to who/
Yuh must lose a screw or few/
Warlord nuh play numba 2/
Yuh already knew/
Watch what yuh say or do/
Batty nuh fi fuck, an haffi real man a killa weh yuh feel, fuck wha yuh believe, if dat will mek wi eat, then wi nuh wan no meal, wi rather sell copper an' no man see

Batty nuh fi fuck an' dat a tru/
Apologize to who/
Yuh must lose a screw or few/
Yard man nuh play numba 2/
Yuh already knew/
Watch what yuh say or do/
Batty nuh fi fuck, an haffi real man a killa weh yuh feel, fuck wha yuh believe, if dat will mek wi eat, then wi nuh wan no meal, wi rather sell copper an' no man see

Closing:
Cross, angry, man to man, UNJUST!/
What happen to dem faggot?! Wha happen to dem fungus?! Yow, go to hell out...

NOTE: these lyrics were found on the internet. They might differ from the song.

plus songs that call for the execution of gay men by others as 'art' imitates the old generational perceptions.

Also see:
Lyrics, not gays, tearing down reggae or dancehall

Street Dance DJs Clash over Playing of Sam Smith song

Dancehall Acts with Anti Gay Legacy Feud

Buju Banton's Boom Bye Bye still available on Itunes?

Should we care about dancehall acts & rumours of gaydom?

Not Impressed!!!! Beenieman ..........

Elephant Man's "A Nuh Fi Wi Fault" lyrics

Out a Road: DJs who "hit out" hiding something? ......

Dub Poet DYCR Reiterates his anti gay themed piece

Capleton's "Shot him up" .......

Sizzla Locked Up After 'Cussing' Cops

Deejays seek Obama's help for visa ...

Insensitive parents & Displaced MSMs part 2

Elephant Man's "Wi nuh like gays" lyrics

"Gay Look" for Kartel?

Bounty Killer and his B****man comments at Shaggy's fundraiser 2010

Evidence of our worst export it seems.

Peace & tolerance

H

Denmark, Netherlands cut aid to Uganda over anti-gay bill .............. others pending

first remarks in 2012

Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway have become the first countries to cut aid to Uganda following the signing of their controversial anti-gay bill.

Yesterday (February 24), President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill, which could see gay people facing life imprisonment, with those who assist gays also facing custodial sentences.

The Netherlands have frozen approximately $9.6 million (£5.8m) in aid to Uganda’s legal system, saying that they did not want to assist the African nation in the criminalisation of homosexuality.

Denmark and Norway have both announced that they plan to redirect aid away from the government in Uganda. Instead, they will provide aid totalling $17 million (£10m) to human rights groups and other organisations in the country.

Meanwhile, both the US and Canada have stated that their relationships with Uganda would have to be reviewed following the introduction of new anti-gay laws.

President Museveni described gay people as “disgusting” shortly after signing the bill on live television.

The former Archbishop of Cape Town, Desmond Tutu, has condemned Uganda’s anti-gay law, saying that it is as evil as Nazism and Apartheid.

The law calls for first-time offenders to be sentenced to 14 years in prison and makes it a criminal offence not to report someone for being gay.

Lesbians are covered by the bill for the first time.

On signing the bill, the president questioned why gay men “failed” to be attracted to women, described them as “mercenaries” who have sex for money, expressed displeasure at the idea of oral sex and claimed that he had “listened to scientists” as a basis for his claims.

Going on, he also said that there was something “really wrong” with gay people, and that he is “prepared” to be on a collision course with the west over the law.

He said: ”I have failed to understand that you can fail to be attracted to all these beautiful women and be attracted to a man.”

“That is a really serious matter. There is something really wrong with you,” he said.

“Homosexuals are actually mercenaries. They are heterosexual people but because of money they say they are homosexuals. These are prostitutes because of money,” he said, asserting that he had taken the time to get scientific advice before signing off on the law.

“No study has shown you can be homosexual by nature. That man can choose to love a man… is a matter of choice. After listening to the scientists, I got the facts. Can somebody be homosexual simply by nature? The answer is no.”

Describing oral sex as a “culture”, and the mouth as an “address”, he went on to say that it was “engineered for kissing”, and that the mouth was not meant for oral sex.

He said: “One of the cultures that we detest is oral sex. The mouth is for picking food, not for sex. We know the address for sex. That address is not for sex,” he said. “The mouth is for eating not for sex. The mouth is engineered for kissing.

“It is not healthy. You can contract STDs. You push the mouth there, you can come back with worms and they enter your stomach because that is a wrong address. You can also contract Hepatitis B.”

Blaming the West for the presence of gay people in Uganda, he said “arrogant and careless Western groups” had been “coming in our schools and recruiting homosexuals into homosexuality and lesbianism”.

“Initially I have not paid attention to it because I was busy with the immediate issues of defence, security, electricity, the roads.”

“When finally, when I concentrated my mind on it, I distilled three problems: number one, those who are promoting homosexuality and recruiting normal people to it. Secondly, as a consequence of number one, many of those recruited, are doing so for mercenary reasons. To get money. In effect, homosexual prostitutes. These mercenary homosexual prostitutes have to be punished. Just like those who are recruiting them.”

“Number three, homosexuals exhibiting themselves. Exhibition of homosexuals, advertising yourself that you are homosexual.”

Concluding, he addressed criticism from the West for the law. Critics include Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Foreign Secretary William Hague, EU foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton and US President Barack Obama.

“I advise friends from the West not to make this an issue because if they make it an issue the more they will lose,” he said. “This is social imperialism. To impose social values of one group on our society.

“I would advise Western countries, this is a no-go area… I don’t mind being in a collision course with the West. I am prepared.”

Bisexual man facing deportation to Jamaica has flight cancelled

A bisexual man due to be deported to Jamaica today has had his flight cancelled after a protest was held in Leeds.

Supporters of Orashia Edwards, 32, say he is at risk of persecution if returned to the country, due to his sexuality.

Leeds No Borders, who campaign on behalf of LGBT asylum seekers, staged a protest in support of the 32-year-old outside Waterside immigration court on Friday afternoon.

Mr Edwards was due to be deported on Monday 13 January – but his flight has now been cancelled – although he is still at risk of being deported.

His mother says Mr Edwards has been living in Britain for the past 14 years and should not be returned to Jamaica.

He has a five-month-old daughter living in the UK, along with the rest of his family.

Campaigners have frequently documented alleged cases of officials deporting LGBT asylum seekers back to countries where they face homophobic persecution.

The claims have always been denied by the Home Office.

Violent homophobia and transphobia remains a key problem in Jamaican society.

Transgender teenager Dwayne Jones was murdered in the Jamaican suburban parish of St James last July.

previously:

Photo owned by Yorkshire's Evening Post

A protest has taken place outside an immigration court in Leeds over the plight of a bisexual man who faces deportation to Jamaica.

Supporters of the man, named only as Orashia, say he is at risk of persecution if returned to the country, due to his sexuality.

Leeds No Borders, who campaign on behalf of LGBT asylum seekers, staged a protest in support of the 32-year-old outside Waterside Court on Friday afternoon.

The group said: “Orashia is bisexual and fled Jamaica, a country notorious for its homophobic attacks, to seek safety in the UK. Amnesty’s latest human rights report states that ‘attacks and harassment of LGBTI people were reported to be increasing’ in Jamaica.”

Leeds No Borders added: “As a result of years of trauma and also his treatment by immigration, he suffers from depression and panic attacks. However thanks to the amazing support of Leeds gay support groups such as MESMAC and ReachOUT, Orashia was able to tell his family about his sexuality, be open about having male partners and undergo counselling.

“He was finally starting to get his life back together but everything changed when he was detained at UKBA Waterside Court in early December.”

According to the group, Orashia is due to be deported on Monday 13 January. He has a five-month-old daughter living in the UK, along with the rest of his family.

Campaigners have frequently documented alleged cases of officials deporting LGBT asylum seekers back to countries where they face homophobic persecution.

The claims have always been denied by the Home Office.

Violent homophobia and transphobia remains a key problem in Jamaican society.

Transgender teenager Dwayne Jones was murdered in the Jamaican suburban parish of St James last July.

Vatican embarrassed as €23 million property investment includes Europe’s biggest gay sauna

by Joseph Patrick McCormick of the Pink News wrote the following piece and I find it funny but given how much land the church also holds in Jamaica as was revealed in recent times since the call of churches to start paying property taxes one wonders why these holier than though institutions find themselves owning so much assets yet the poor need assistance. 

Makes us wonder what the church is really all about as an absolute monarchy?

Following several recent scandals, it has now emerged that the Catholic church has bought a €23 million (£21 million) share of an apartment block in Rome which houses the biggest gay sauna in Europe.

Just a day ahead of the papal conclave to elect the next Pope, this latest development has caused embarrassment to senior Vatican figure Cardinal Ivan Dias, who stays in a 12-room apartment on the first floor of the building, just above the ground-floor entrance to the sauna.

The 76-year-old is due to take part in the election at the Sistine Chapel tomorrow, but has been left red-faced following the revelation that the entrance to his apartment is just yards from the entrance to Europe’s biggest gay sauna, Europa Multiclub.

As well as Dias, who is widely considered particularly conservative, there are 18 other apartments in the block, many of which house priests.

An Independent report questioned whether the former archbishop of Bombay may have offered spiritual guidance to attendees of the sauna, given that in the past he has said that gay and lesbian people can be “cured” of their “unnatural tendencies” through the “sacrament of penance”.

Since resigning on 28 February, Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica published an article claiming that Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to quit was in part finalised by a Vatican report showing that the Holy See was affected by outside influences, including a “gay lobby”.

La Repubblica newspaper has now noted that the presence of “Italy’s best known gay sauna in the premises [as] an embarrassment”.

In other embarrassment for the church, in a statement issued by the Catholic church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien addressed allegations made against him by five priests within the church, and admitted that his “sexual conduct” has been “below the standards expected” of him.

The sauna’s website promotes a bear night, with a video in which a man strips down before changing into a priest’s outfit. It says Bruno, “a hairy, overweight pastor of souls, is free to the music of his clergyman, remaining in a thong, because he wants to expose body and soul”.

Readers on Italian gay websites made jokes at the cardinal’s expense. One person said: “’Oops, I took the wrong door, I thought it was the chapel.’…If you can’t go to the gay sauna for fear of being seen what do you do if you have millions of Euros stolen from Italians? You buy the apartment block with the sauna inside.”

The purchase of 2 Via Carduccio reportedly went through in 2008.

Bahamas: Chief Justice predicts that equal marriage will be addressed in court soon

The Bahamian Chief Justice has said that he believes that courts will address the issue of equal marriage soon in the country.

In an optimistic address, Sir Michael Barnett predicted that the issue would come to the courts in the Bahamas, and said that he would be looking to other countries for reference when considering the issue.

“I have no doubt that it is only a matter of time when the courts of The Bahamas will address the issue of same sex marriage,” he said on Friday

“I also have no doubt that in deciding the issue we will have respect for the decisions that emanate not only from the Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia, but also from decisions of the courts of the Unites States of America.

“But our references to the views of justices of the United States are not limited to referring to those decisions in our own judgments.”

He went on to say that similarities with the US due to its close proximity to the Bahamas would play a role in how possible legislation would take shape.

“Based on its proximity to the United States, commerce, trade and tourism link our respective economies,” he said.

“More and more citizens of both our countries are finding it necessary to resort to the courts of our countries to resolve the disputes that inevitably arise.

“Ours is an ever shrinking global village. The problems that affect the lives of our citizens and the residents of our respective countries have more in common than there are differences.

“Our respective countries both have written constitutions that protect our human rights. Our citizens and visitors look to us, the justices of court, to protect these rights. Little justice is served by reinventing the wheel.

“Our task as justices is helped by looking to our colleagues of different countries to see how they have considered and dealt with the problems.”

He went on to say that the internet made it easier to research similar cases around the globe.

Two weeks ago in the Bahamas, Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd recommended that the constitution be amended to rule out the possibility of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Boyd presented his recommendations to the Constitutional Commission on 1 February, and did go on to say, however, that he did not support equal marriage.

While civil unions and equal marriage both remain illegal in the country, some same-sex Bahamian couples have travelled abroad to marry.

British Medical Association Doctors declare 'gay cure' therapies harmful

The annual meeting of the British Medical Association has declared that therapies to 'cure' gay people of homosexuality are harmful.

The body met in Brighton yesterday and more than two-thirds of doctors present backed a call for the Royal College of Psychiatrists and other mental health standard-setting bodies to reject the treatments and ban their use in codes of practice.

Health departments should also investigate alleged cases of conversion therapy being funded by the NHS, the meeting agreed.

Research published last year found that a sixth of registered British therapist and psychiatrists have attempted to "cure" patients of homosexuality.

Tom Dolphin, the proposer of the motion and the vice-chair of the BMA's junior doctors committee, said: "Sexuality is such a fundamental part of who a person is that attempts to change it just result in significant confusion, depression and even suicide.

"You can’t just wish away same-sex attraction no matter how inconvenient it might be."

But Cardiff consultant neurophysiologist Gareth Payne said there was no "gold standard" evidence that conversion therapy did not work and was harmful.

He added that it was important to respect the wishes of patients who asked for the therapy.

Earlier this year, gay journalist Patrick Strudwick published an expose of 'ex-gay' therapists and began a campaign group to persuade medical bodies to condemn the treatments.

He went undercover for the article, telling two therapists he was struggling to cope with attraction to men and wanted to be straight.

One therapist, named only as Linda, tried to convince him he must have been sexually abused as a child by a member of his family.

The other, who PinkNews.co.uk later revealed was homophobic former Northern Ireland MP Iris Robinson's advisor, tried to make Mr Strudwick sexually aroused during his therapy.

Mr Strudwick told the Independent that the BMA's declaration was a "watershed moment in the struggle for gay equality".

Brussels festival cancels Beenie Man's appearance

By Christopher Brocklebank

Organisers of the Belgian Couleur Cafe Festival, held annually in Brussels, have cancelled their invitation to openly homophobic Jamaican Dancehall singer Beenie Man.

According to a Flemish gay rights group, their efforts to have the controversial singer removed from the bill were supported by Amnesty International. Initially, gay website LaLucarne and the Brussels region secretary for equal opportunities, Bruno Delille, protested to the Belgian senate to no avial. But following a letter from Amnesty and a Facebook protest group which swiftly attracted 1,600 members, the campaign gathered speed.

In a meeting last night, the festival sponsors made the decision to cancel Beenie Man's appearance. According to Flemish gay rights group WISH, following the decision a press release was issued by the festival organisers "blaming gay rights groups and casting themselves in the role of the victim."

Beenie Man, whose real name is Anthony Moses Davis, has become notorious for his songs which advocate violence and hatred towards gay men and lesbians.

Some of his better-known lyrics include the line "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays." Another of his songs suggests lesbians should be hanged.

This latest cancellation comes hours after the Dutch Parkpop music festival removed Beenie Man from their line up.

Diane Abbott on the UK's Labour leadership ballot with 79% gay voting record

By Jessica Green

Left-wing Labour backbencher Diane Abbott of Jamaican parentage squeezed onto the starting line for the Labour leadership this afternoon just before nominations closed.

She will contest four shadow cabinet members for the post – Ed Miliband, David Miliband, Ed Balls and Andy Burnham.

A sixth hopeful, the left-winger John McDonnell, stood aside yesterday in order to allow Ms Abbott to become the only woman and left-winger in the race.

She won the 33 nominations required shortly before 12.30pm.

The party's new leader will be announced on September 25th after Labour members, MPs, MEPs and trade unionists are balloted.

Ms Abbott, who was the first female black MP, said she decided to join the contest to improve its diversity. Her four rivals are all Cambridge or Oxford-educated white men in their forties.

Acting Labour leader Harriet Harman said “Over the next few months over four million people will have the chance to help shape Britain’s progressive future by choosing the next leader of the Labour Party.

“This will be the biggest and most widespread election of any political party or any organisation in this country. The contest will be open engaging and energising. It will be a chance to invite supporters to join the party to have a vote."

In the run-up to the close of nominations, gay charity Stonewall ranked each candidate on their gay voting record in the last five years.

Mr Balls, the former education secretary, has the strongest record with a rating of 93 per cent. Both Milibands are on 86 per cent.

Ms Abbott has a rating of 79 per cent.

Although she has spoken in favour of gay rights and been a judge in the Stonewall awards, she has missed more than half of the gay rights votes she could have attended since 1998.

She has never voted against gay rights measures, but was absent for important votes on gay couples adopting, civil partnerships and equalising the age of consent.

Former health secretary Mr Burnham comes last with 71 per cent.

In 2008 he twice voted in favour of amendments that sought to discriminate against lesbian couple's rights to access IVF treatment. He abstained on three votes relating to the rights of gay couples jointing adopting children.

Early life and Career
Ms Abbott was born to Jamaican immigrants, her father a welder and her mother a nurse. She went to Harrow County Grammar School for Girls and then to Newnham College, Cambridge, where she read history. At Cambridge, she was tutored by historian Simon Schama.

After university she became an administration trainee at the Home Office (1976 to 1978), and then a Race Relations Officer at the National Council for Civil Liberties (1978 to 1980).

Gay asylum seekers challenge UK's policy in court, implications for other cases

Two gay men are appealing against the UK's policy on returning gay and lesbian asylum seekers to their home countries.

The cases are being heard this week in the Supreme Court, with the men, one from Cameroon and the other from Iran, appealing against previous court decisions barring them from gaining asylum.

Gay asylum campaigners argue that the UK frequently tells gay asylum seekers that they can return to homophobic countries if they are "discreet" or relocate.

The two cases will be heard separately over three days.

The Cameroonian man is appealing against a tribunal decision which could he could be sent home despite being attacked after he was seen kissing his partner.

The Iranian man was told by a tribunal that he must expect persecution for his homosexuality and could avoid it by being discreet.

Angela Mason, the patron of the UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group, told the Guardian: "It seems that the Home Office are routinely refusing applications on the grounds that lesbians and gay men can go back and be 'discreet' or 'relocate'.

"Decisions are being made by Home Office case owners who lack essential training on dealing with such claims … The result is that lesbian and gay asylum seekers who are already experiencing persecution may also face discrimination in our own country."

Last month, an Amnesty International report claimed that the UK and several other European countries were breaching international law on returning vulnerable Iraqi asylum seekers.

According to the report, women, ethnic minorities and gays, or those perceived to be gay, are most likely to be at risk of violence and persecution in the country.

Amnesty accused the UK, along with several other countries, of forcibly returning "scores" of Iraqis to dangerous areas in the country, breaking international rules.

Gonorrhoea 'may become untreatable', health experts warn

Jessica Green (PN)

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea may become untreatable due to the improper use of antibiotics.
The disease, which increases the chances of gay men catching HIV, is usually treated with a course of antibiotics but doctors say that they are seeing increasing resistance to drugs in the eastern hemisphere.

According to WHO, cheaper, first-line antibiotics are losing their effectiveness and it will be a "matter of time" before gonorrhoea develops resistance to third-generation cephalosporin, which is usually the last drug used to treat infections.
Australia, Hong Kong and Japan have reported treatment failures with oral cephalosporin, the agency said.

Studies show that the overuse of antibiotics can render bacteria immune to them.
"We are dealing with a serious issue with the implication that gonorrhoea may become untreatable," said Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific.
"This will have a major impact on our efforts to control the disease and will result in an increase in serious health-related complications."

If left untreated, gonorrhoea can result in infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancy, infections in newborn children, urethral strictures and scrotal swelling.
It also increases the likelihood of acquiring and transmitting HIV infection, which disproportionately affects gay men.

Matthew Hodson, head of programmes at GMFA, the gay men’s health charity, said: “Hearing this report is a major concern. Not only can gonorrhoea have major health consequences, such as inflammation of the joints and septicaemia, but also it can considerably increase the likelihood of HIV being transmitted.

"HIV positive men with gonorrhoea will be more infectious. HIV negative men with gonorrhoea will be more vulnerable to HIV infection."

more from Bloomberg

UK 'breaching UN rules' on returning gay Iraqi asylum seekers

An Amnesty International report claims that the UK and several other European countries are breaching United Nations rules on returning vulnerable Iraqi asylum seekers.
According to the report, women, ethnic minorities and gays, or those perceived to be gay, are most likely to be at risk of violence and persecution in the country.

More than 100 civilians died in the first week of April.

Amnesty accused the UK, along with several other countries, of forcibly returning "scores" of Iraqis to dangerous areas in the country, breaking international rules.

The report said: "Despite the ongoing violence in Iraq, several European governments continue to forcibly return rejected Iraqi asylum-seekers to Iraq.

"In 2009, the authorities in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK forcibly returned scores of Iraqis to unsafe parts of Iraq, such as central Iraq, in breach of UNHCR guidelines."

It recommended that all forcible returns should cease and resume only when the security situation in the country has stabilised.

Amnesty said that gay people in Iraq were living under a "constant threat" and that Muslim clerics were making frequent public statements condemning homosexuality.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Iraq but it is frowned upon.

In the first few months of 2009, an estimated 25 men and boys were killed in Baghdad because they were thought to be gay. The killings are thought to have been carried out by militia groups.

In some cases, the report said, there was evidence that members of the security forces and other authorities were encouraging the targeting of people suspected to be gay.

The report added that killers of gay men could find protection under the law, as it offers lenient sentences for those committing crimes with an “honourable motive”.

It said that Iraqi courts were continuing to interpret provisions of Article 128 of the Penal Code as justification for giving "drastically reduced" sentences to defendants who have attacked or killed gay men they are related to if they say that they acted to “wash off the shame”.

UK campaigners have complained in recent years that gay asylum seekers from around the world are being deported by UK authorities on the grounds that they will be safe in their home countries if they are "discreet".

Ali Hili, the head of London-based Iraqi LGBT, told PinkNews.co.uk that the British government was "failing Iraqi lesbians and gays".

He said: "We welcome the report. We continue to receive reports of killings and now have over 738 documented.

"Within the last fortnight two young gay men were taken by men in police uniforms and their graffitied bodies displayed in one of Baghdad's main squares.

"We have and will continue to try to get people to safety but the British government must do more. It is wrong to tell Iraqi asylum seekers that it is safe to return if only they are 'discreet', which they have done."

Amnesty International Middle East director Malcolm Smart said: “Iraqis are still living in a climate of fear, seven years after the US-led invasion. The Iraqi authorities could do much more to keep them safe, but over and over they are failing to help the most vulnerable in society.

“The continuing uncertainty as to when a new government will be formed following last month’s election could well contribute to a further increase of violent incidents of which civilians are the main victims.

“The uncertainty is threatening to make a bad situation even worse. Both the Iraqi authorities and the international community must act now to prevent more unnecessary deaths.”

Catholic Church in England and Wales criticises Vatican over homosexuality comments

Jesse Green

The Catholic Church in England and Wales has rebutted comments made by the Pope's second in command on child abuse and homosexuality.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican's secretary of state and effectively the deputy to Pope Benedict, said this week that research showed gays were to blame for paedophilia.

He told journalists in Chile: "Many psychologists and psychiatrists have shown that there is no link between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have shown, I have recently been told, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia."

Following his remarks, the Vatican tried to clarify them.

Spokesman Father Frederico Lombardi said: “General assertions of a specifically psychological or medical nature are not the responsibility of church officials.”

But the Catholic Church in England and Wales went further, issuing a rare rebuttal of Cardinal Bertone's comments.

Father Marcus Stock, general secretary of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said: "There is no empirical data which concludes that sexual orientation is connected to child sexual abuse.

"The consensus among researchers is that the sexual abuse of children is not a question of sexual 'orientation', whether heterosexual or homosexual, but of a disordered attraction or 'fixation'.

"Many abusers of children have never developed the capacity for mature adult relationships.

"Instead, their sexual attractions focus on children – boys, girls, or both.

"In the sexual abuse of children the issue is the sexual fixation of the abusers, and not their sexual orientation."

The French foreign ministry also condemned Cardinal Bertone's comments, saying they were “unacceptable”.

Last week, Vatican officials refuted claims that the Pope was involved in a cover-up of the child abuse scandal, saying that the allegations were part of a "hate campaign" against him.

Two senior cardinals suggested last Tuesday that the claims were revenge for Pope Benedict's opposition to gay marriage and abortion.

Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, head of the disciplinary commission for Holy See officials, said on Vatican Radio: "The pope defends life and the family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, in a world in which powerful lobbies would like to impose a completely different [agenda]."

Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of allegations that Pope Benedict was aware of paedophiles continuing to work as priests and allowed them to do so.

He was Archbishop of Munich and Freising from 1977 to 1982 and it was alleged earlier this month that he sent one paedophile priest to therapy in 1980. The priest re offended and was convicted, although he continues to work as a priest to this day.

Abuse victims have said that they were forced to sign confidentially agreements about their experiences under the threat of excommunication. Campaigners have called for an apology from the Pope and compensation.

HIV infections in gay men 'increasing in homophobic countries'

Rates of HIV infections in gay men are increasing in countries which have homophobic attitudes, the chief of the UN AIDS agency has said.

Michel Sidibe told journalists at a lunch yesterday that rates of infection among gay men were rising in areas such as Africa, where many countries have laws against homosexuality.

He said that in Africa and China, around 33 per cent of new HIV infections were being found in gay men, which he said was a significant increase.

AP reports that on new laws being introduced in countries such as Uganda, he said: "You have also a growing conservatism which is making me very scared.

"We must insist that the rights of the minorities are upheld. If we don't do that … I think the epidemic will grow again. We cannot accept the tyranny of the majority."

Mr Sidibe said that, in contrast, between six and nine per cent of new infections are found in gay men in the Caribbean, which has fewer laws against homosexuality.

He blamed the rising infection rates on infected people being too scared to seek help and fearing they will be punished.

He also cited rising infection rates in drug users and prostitutes in countries which have stringent laws against drug use and prostitution.

Uganda's proposed anti-homosexuality law will impose the death penalty on those caught having gay sex while infected with HIV.

The bill's sponsor, David Bahati MP, claims it will reduce HIV infections in the country, although health experts say it will have the opposite effect.

Mr Sidibe also mentioned HIV infections in the US, saying it was "shocking" that more than 50 per cent of new infections in 2009 occurred in gay men.

He said: "It seems like we have come full circle. After almost no cases a few years ago we are seeing again this new peak among people who are not having access to all the information, the protection that is needed."

Gay sex scandal at the Vatican

Jessica Green

The Vatican has been hit by a gay sex scandal after allegations that a chorister had procured male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.

The chorister, 29-year-old Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, was sacked after police heard him talking on a wiretap to Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness.

Papal gentlemen-in-waiting are called upon to act as ushers at the Vatican for major occasions.

Balducci, who was also a construction consultant to the Vatican, as well as being a senior government employee, is said to given Ehiem a description of the men he wanted and it has been reported that Ehiem may have procured a number of male prostitutes for him.

Balducci was being investigated by police over allegations of corruption when the claims of gay sex were revealed. He is alleged to have steered government contracts towards preferred bidders.

Excerpts of the wiretaps and police documents were published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

They showed that the pair had been in regular contact before Balducci was arrested last month and that they had discussed gay sex.

According to the newspaper, police said they were part of an organised male prostitution network and one of the men referred to was a student for the priesthood.

Baldacci remains in custody after being arrested last month. His lawyer has refused to comment and the Vatican has not released any statement on the claims.

A news magazine called Panoramas is due to publish an interview with Ehiem tomorrow. According to the Guardian, Ehiem will say: “”He [Baldacci] asked me if I could procure other men for him. He told me he was married and that I had to do it in great secrecy.”

The Catholic Church sees homosexuality as a sin and “intrinsically disordered”, while the Pope has spoken out against it a number of times.

The scandal is the latest to rock the Vatican, after investigations found endemic abuse of children in church-run institutions.

450,000-signature petition against anti-gay bill delivered to Uganda’s parliament

PINK NEWS

Civil rights activists delivered a petition containing almost half a million signatures to Uganda’s parliament today in protest over the country’s anti-homosexuality bill.

The online petition was organised by campaign group Avaaz, which hopes to eventually garner one million signatures.

It was delivered to Uganda’s parliament in Kampala this morning by a delegation led by Anglican priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha.

The petition was accompanied by a letter asking parliament to reject the controversial bill and instead pass legislation to protect gay people.

The Daily Monitor reports that the Speaker of Parliament Edward Sekandi promised the delegation he would refer the petition to a committee for scrutiny.

If passed, the legislation will impose the death penalty on those who have homosexual sex with a minor, disabled person, while infected with AIDS.

The death penalty would also be imposed on repeat offenders, while others convicted for having gay sex would be jailed for life, instead of the current 14-year term.

Those who fail to report homosexual activity, such as relatives, teachers, landlords or health workers, would also face prison sentences.

The bill is now before parliament and awaiting debate.

Pressure has been building on Uganda to reject it in the past few months and world leaders such as US president Barack Obama and UK prime minister Gordon Brown have urged Ugandan leaders to withdraw it.

First Case of Gay UK man jailed for 'reckless' HIV transmission

A gay man who absconded to France after being convicted for recklessly infecting his former boyfriend with HIV was arrested when he returned to the UK for cancer treatment.

Mark James, 50, was on the run from police for three-and-a-half years after becoming the first gay man in the UK to be accused of "recklessly" passing on the virus.

Hounslow police arrested him in a hospital bed in Brighton last Wednesday, where he had gone to receive treatment for an aggressive form of lymphoma.

James, who lived with the victim in Brentford, was sentenced last Friday at Isleworth Crown Court to four years and two months behind bars.

He had pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm before he fled the country.

Judge Jonathan Lowen said: “During the three-and-a-half years while you roamed out and about, you represented a substantial risk of serious harm to members of the public were you again minded to commit the shocking crime to which I sentenced you in your absence on August 4th, 2006.

“The victim of your offence has suffered a great deal of extra anxiety and stress, and I have been told it has affected his health, all while you enjoyed your undeserved freedom.”

The court heard that James spent nearly all the time he was at large in Narbonne, south-west France.

James, who lived in Park Road, Burgess Hill, before his conviction, was diagnosed with lymphoma in December last year.

He received two courses of chemotherapy in France, and contacted the British Embassy and Foreign Commonwealth Office before flying to Gatwick on January 18th.

Daniel Robinson, defending, said: “He made no secret of his status to the immigration authorities on my instructions, and was allowed through immigration control because, I’m told, his treatment was viewed as a priority.

“He suffers from the cancer in an obvious way, he has a large tumour to the right hand side of his neck which has caused some facial paralysis.”

Detective Inspector Mike Sunman, who led the investigation, said: “It is obviously quite sad to see the condition he is in, but it was appropriate that the sentence be served.”

Uganda 'to remove death penalty from anti-gay bill'

Uganda will reportedly drop plans for the execution and life imprisonment of gays.

An 'anti-homosexuality' bill has been passing through the country's parliament but according to news agency Bloomberg, some of the most drastic measures will be removed.

The bill provoked worldwide outrage when it was first tabled. America, the UK and France all expressed concern, as did countless human rights and gay organisations.

Gay rights groups have urged Commonwealth leaders to throw Uganda out of the Commonwealth unless it drops the proposed law.

The minister for ethics and integrity, James Nsaba Buturo, reportedly said a more "refined" set of punishments would be favoured instead of execution.

Although it is not clear what this means, he pointed to so-called 'gay cure' therapies, saying the bill would promote counselling for gay people.

Buturo said the modified draft bill would come before parliament within two weeks.

If the provisions for execution and life imprisonment are dropped, the bill still places severe penalties on gay people, their families and those who work for gay organisations.

Other offences include promoting homosexuality, aiding and abetting homosexuality and keeping a house "for purposes of homosexuality".

Some have suggested the bill is so badly written, it could threaten two men who hug with jail terms.

The MP who tabled the bill, David Bahati, has argued his bill will protect children, youths and the "traditional family".

The reported concessions come days after a Swedish minister suggested that aid funds to Uganda could be cut if it persevered with the proposed laws.

Buturo retorted: "It is revealing that support to Uganda literally translated means that it is on condition that Uganda should do the bidding of givers of such support regardless of what Ugandans themselves think."

Celebrate Bisexuality Day 10 years old

Sorry if I missed out on this, so many things happening here but yesterday September 23 was Bisexuality Day's 10th Anniversary. Here is a piece from Pink News on it.

People around the world have marked the tenth anniversary of the Celebrate Bisexuality Day, an annual event intended to demarginalise the bisexual community.
Launched by American bisexual rights activists Wendy Curry, Michael Page and Gigi Raven Wilbour, the campaign sought to draw the community out alongside the rest of the LGBT concepts after fears of its greater marginalisation.

One of the original activists said: "Ever since the Stonewall rebellion, the gay and lesbian community has grown in strength and visibility. The bisexual community also has grown in strength but in many ways we are still invisible.

"I too have been conditioned by society to automatically label a couple walking hand in hand as either straight or gay, depending upon the perceived gender of each person."
Events in aid of Celebrate Bisexuality Day have taken place in America, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom displaying the Bi Pride flag designed by Page.

We need to speak up against homophobia in music

By V King Macdona

Several concerts by reggae artist Buju Banton were recently cancelled in America, amid controversy over notoriously homophobic lyrics which incite the murder of gay people. The cancellation was brought about following a campaign organised via website change.org. Six hundred and fifty people complained to Live Nation, who own the House of Blues venues where Banton was scheduled to perform next week, and his planned shows were scrapped as a result.

But the fight against anti-gay lyrics in rap and reggae music has been going on for some time and this is simply the latest chapter in a tale involving the blurred boundaries around notions of freedom of expression, the right to express personal opinion through music, and what counts as homophobic hate crime with the potential to influence listeners towards a homophobic set of beliefs. While some lyricists argue that their words have been misconstrued and defend their music, there is no doubt that some artists are effectively committing criminal offences with the abusive content of their songs.




The recent pressure for the cancellation of Buju Banton's shows was not the first time that action has been taken against performers who use music as a weapon. In 2003, reggae star Bounty Killer was forced to cancel concerts in Birmingham and London after OutRage! gay rights group spoke out in opposition. They wrote a no-holds-barred letter to the Metropolitan police, urging them to arrest Bounty Killer on charges of inciting violence with his lyrics, which advocate the burning, drowning and stoning of gay men. Police then warned the concert venues' owners that they may be aiding and abetting a criminal offence if the reggae star performed his homophobic lyrics on their premises, and his gigs were duly abandoned. Peter Tatchell, who helped bring about the cancellations said at the time: "Our aim is to make Britain a no-go area for singers who incite violence against gay people and other minorities. We hope this victory will encourage people in other countries to campaign for the cancellation of these singer’s concerts. Hit them in the pocket where it hurts financially. Once they start losing money they’ll soon drop their homophobic lyrics."

Another successful reggae artist, Beenie Man, who has duetted with Janet Jackson amongst others,has also been accused of verbally abusing gay people with his choice of lyrics. Via his music, he has not only expressed his wish to cut the throats of all gay men, but also suggested hanging lesbians with a piece of rope. A planned UK performance in 2004 was cancelled directly due to his lyrics, after he was prevented from entering the country by police. Beenie Man had also been expected to perform at the MTV Music Video Awards the same year, but was dropped from the line-up of possible acts after protests from anti-homophobia campaigners. Fearing that more cancellations might follow, he issued an apology, which was subsequently dismissed by gay groups as insincere. The Stop Murder Music campaign organised a petition entitled the Reggae Compassionate Act, which Beenie Man allegedly signed, and by doing so agreed to stop writing and performing songs with homophobic content. He was praised for this new stance, but later went back on his word by denying that he had ever made the agreement.

Perhaps the most mainstream rapper in the world, Eminem, has also been criticised in the past for his homophobic lyrics. In a song entitled Criminal on his second album, The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem's lyrics include: “My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/ That'll stab you in the head, whether you're a fag or lez/ Or the homosex, hermaph or a trans-a-vest/ Pants or dress? Hate fags? The answer's yes”. The fact that much of Eminem's audience is under the age of 18 has called into question how much influence his words could be having on young people. However the rapper has since appeared on stage with Elton John, apparently to dispel rumours of his homophobia.

Censoring artists is always a controversial act, but campaigns like Stop Murder Music and change.org are crucial in helping to police the actions of lyricists whose words have the potiential to wield a great deal of influence amongst listeners. If a person who homophobically abuses or threatens a gay person in the street can be arrested for it, then it is only right to confront musicians whose homophobic abuse reaches hundreds of thousands of people every day.