Friday 23 January 2015

GAY BUSINESS Soho's The Yard bar is fighting development plans
	The Yard bar and restaurant in Rupert Street has been given just a week's notice that Westminster City Council intends to give the plans approval at a committee meeting on Tuesday, 27 January. The Yard needs your support to help stop this development yardbar.co.uk  23 Jan 15 savesoho.com
GAY MARRIAGE MP Mike Freer converts civil partnership to gay marriage
	Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer has converted his civil partnership with Angelo Crolla into marriage. Mr Freer won awards for his moving speech in support of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill in parliament in 2013 hamhigh.co.uk  23 Jan 15 Obama hopes high court legalizes gay marriage thehill.com  23 Jan 15
SHOW BIZ Cucumber, Banana and Tofu review
	'Gloriously, triumphantly, explicitly gay and the television event of the week' ... three interconnected shows from Russell T Davies that are dead funny and very, very human theguardian.com  23 Jan 15
O-M-G Love Letters to Richard Dawkins
	Dr. Richard Dawkins - Author, Professor and Evolutionary Biologist - reads "fan mail" he has received from some of his not-so-great admirers, most of whom seem to think he is gay youtube.com  23 Jan 15
GAY RESEARCH US Government spent $432,000 studying gay hookup Apps
	NIH project studied 'arousal' of gay men when using Grindr. Columbia University interviewed gay men who use GPS dating apps to determine whether it increases their likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behavior freebeacon.com  23 Jan 15
GAY BOOKS To find yourself, sometimes you must lose everything
	Patrick Gale's latest book is the portrait of a gay man's journey from the comfortable hypocrisies of pre-War England to the harsh purity of farming in Canada Buy Book  23 Jan 15

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Saturday 20 December 2014

UK Government confirms it will not cut HIV prevention budget The UK Government has refuted claims that it was to halve its HIV prevention budget for 2015, reiterating support for the strategy and saying "It will continue" pinknews.co.uk 20 Dec 14 UK will not deport Uganda lesbian, victim of torture and exorcism, for now
	Judith Twikirize, 23, is walking free after a sudden decision to release her from Yarl's Wood detention centre gaystarnews.com  20 Dec 14
Nicola Sturgeon in row over first gay wedding
	Scotlands' First Minister has accepted an invitation to be a witness at the December 31 wedding ceremony of Gerrie and Susan Douglas-Scott, but the Humanist Society Scotland were planning a "first" gay wedding for another gay couple from Clackmannanshire scotsman.com  20 Dec 14
WORLD Egypt's gays go deeper underground, fearing crackdown
	After a raid on a Cairo sauna last week activists say 2014 is the worst year in a decade for Egypt's gay community. There to film it all was an Egyptian television presenter, who claims she actually triggered the raid by tipping off police about alleged homosexual activity in the bathhouse yahoo.com 20 Dec 14

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Friday 7 March 2014

UK Soccer Rumour:  First openly gay Premier League and England star to come out on Sunday? caughtoffside.com 7 Mar 14 Sexual Orientation Strategy consultation to begin A public consultation on a long-delayed strategy to underpin the rights of gay people in Northern Ireland is set to begin next week bbc.co.uk 7 Mar 14 Lesbian & Gay Foundation awarded £30,000  The LGF was selected from over four hundred charities nationwide as one of this year's winners of a GSK IMPACT Award, for helping to improve the health of LGB&T people by successfully campaigning for NHS England to monitor the sexual orientation of staff and patients lgf.org.uk 7 Mar 14 Two men ordered out of Belfast taxi after gay kiss Mark McLoughlin, who describes himself as bisexual, said the driver objected and swore at them when his male friend kissed him on the cheek and neck bbc.co.uk 7 Mar 14
	'Queer' name row Nigel Martin-Smith, whose company owned Canal Street nightspot Bar Queer, has lost a court claim that a venue set up in Birmingham called Queer Street was an infringement of its trademark manchestereveningnews.co.uk 7 Mar 14
	Pixie Lott Nasty singer rocks rainbow jacket at London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard party at The Waldorf celebrating 40 years of answering calls reveal.co.uk 7 Mar 14
GAY PARENTS Men more sceptical about two-dad families 47% of UK men disagree that a gay male couple can do as good a job bringing up children as a man and a woman, in contrast to 30% of women natcen.ac.uk 7 Mar 14 GAY PRIDE Gay Pride Calendar 2014
	The World's A Disco Pride Brighton & Hove returns with extended opening times from 12 midday until 10pm and the return of the acclaimed main stage - Sat 2 Aug brighton-pride.org 7 Mar 14
	Dyke March London The third Dyke March will start in Shepherd Market, W1J 7QU, where the speakers will kick off the event at 2pm for the march (start at 3pm) down Piccadilly, through central London to Soho Square - Sat 21 Jun dykemarchlondon.org.uk 7 Mar 14 Dyke Marches Worldwide
	Norwich Pride open meeting Help us turn Norwich into a rainbow for the 6th Norwich Pride - at Lollards Pit, 69-71 Riverside, NR1 1SR - Tue 11 Mar 7pm norwichpride.org.uk 7 Mar 14
SHOW BIZ
	Let's All Be Free film festival The Ritzy, Brixton is screening 25 short films from around the world that celebrate and explore what it means to be 'free' in todays' world - 8-10 Apr picturehouses.co.uk 7 Mar 14
	SJ Berwin to host AKT fundraiser Enjoy dinner and sample some wine before taking part in a special auction to raise funds to help the Albert Kennedy Trust continue their work with young LGBT people in need. London - Thu 27 Mar akt.org.uk 7 Mar 14
	My Body My Rights Amnesty International launches global campaign for sexual and reproductive rights, with a series of unique body paintings by Hikaru Cho flickr.com 7 Mar 14
AFRICA Global Day of Action against Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill People around the world, including civil society groups in Europe and the United States, will show their solidarity through protests, petitions and action on social media demanding that Uganda's President Museveni vetoes the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in its entirety amnesty.org | Sign Petition 7 Mar 14 'Not appropriate' to cut Irish aid to Uganda Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general David Cooney said that while Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore had been very clear in condemning recently-passed anti-gay laws, the government believes that cutting aid will only add to the detriment of the Ugandan people thejournal.ie 7 Mar 14 Nigerian gays get 20 lashes for 'homosexual offences' Four Nigerian men have received 20 lashes each after an Islamic court in the northern city of Bauchi convicted them of gay sex, officials say bbc.co.uk 7 Mar 14 O-M-G Dalai Lama supports gay marriage The celibate Dalai Lama has thrown his considerable moral weight behind gay marriage, condemning homophobia and saying sex was fine as long as it was consensual telegraph.co.uk 7 Mar 14
	Doreen Potts (Mrs) How a Kent-based Baptist Evangelist - Bob Hutton, an ardent believer in "praying away the gay" - got duped into publishing spoof comments from a supporter, "Doreen Potts (Mrs)", from Ireland pink_humanist 7 Mar 14

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Friday 6 December 2013

NELSON MANDELA
	Nelson Mandela supported LGBT rights but failed on HIV, poverty and Mugabe "Mandela's shortcomings do not, however, detract from the fact that, for the most part, he was a truly remarkable, honourable man" says Peter Tatchell petertatchellfoundation.org
One of the few world leaders who stood shoulder to shoulder with people with HIV "Nelson Mandela's inspirational leadership has been as important in the fight against HIV as anti-HIV treatments. Whenever he addressed a World AIDS Conference, no one could fail to be moved to action. The ideals he stood for - freedom, compassion, and the universal human right to love, life and happiness - struck a chord at a time when people with HIV, myself included, were facing unacceptable levels of prejudice and discrimination. Nelson Mandela was one of the few world leaders who stood shoulder to shoulder with people with HIV, and the legacy of that will continue to be felt not only in South Africa, but in countries and communities worldwide." - Paul Ward, Acting Chief Executive at Terrence Higgins Trust The rainbow nation South Africa in 1994 became the first country in the world to add a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation into its constitution Mandela in 1994 nominated Edwin Cameron, a gay man with HIV, alongside four others to sit on South Africa's highest court Mandela was also a supporter of marriage equality, and, in 2006, South Africa became the first country in Africa and fifth in the world to legalise same-sex marriage washingtonblade.com | metroweekly.com 6 Dec 13
UK
	Liverpool's Gay Quarter gets new community interest group A community interest company (CIC) is being set up to help draw investment and generate income from grant funding, not currently available bbc.co.uk 6 Dec 13
	Graeme Obree's story gay cycling icon seeks funds for a film that covers two years in the life of twice world record holder and twice world champion kickstarter.com 6 Dec 13
	Pink Humanist December's issue features: Nigerian humanist and human rights campaigner Leo Igwe; cruelty meted out by the Catholic Church in Ireland; and ultra-conservative Hungary thepinkhumanist.com 6 Dec 13
GAY PRIDE Pride in London announce 2014 theme and date The theme is 'Freedom to...' be whatever the Freedom is that you cherish - Festival: 22-29 Jun 2014 - Parade: Sat 28 Jun 2014 londoncommunitypride.org 6 Dec 13 RUSSIA Elton John to raise Russia's gay rights crackdown on stage he has vowed to raise the issue of gay rights, braving a controversial new law banning the promotion of homosexuality dawn.com 6 Dec 13 UGANDA MPs urged to pass the long-delayed anti-homosexuality bill Former Ethics and Integrity Minister says David Bahati, who drafted the 2009 Anti-homosexuality Bill, had been pressured to keep quiet about it allafrica.com 6 Dec 13 SHOW BIZ
	Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho is a tongue in cheek musical satire based on Thatcher's relationship with the infamous Section 28 - Latchmere Pub, Battersea, 10 Dec - 4 Jan theatre503.com 6 Dec 13

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Monday 7 January 2013

	LGBT January sales New newsletter sets out money-saving deals from gay and gay-friendly businesses gaytoz Offers & Discounts 1 Jan 13

GAY MARRIAGE Simon Hughes wavering on equal marriage? - MP urges religious agreement before proceeding petertatchellfoundation.org 7 Jan 13 Scottish Catholics letter: Gay relationships are "morally defective" equalmarriage.org.uk 7 Jan 13 France's Hollande escalates row with Catholics over gay marriage reuters.com 7 Jan 13 UK Key 103 in Ofcom breach - DJ suggested The Wanted were gay and scared of polka dots! radiotoday.co.uk 7 Jan 13 Big Society 'going nowhere' David Cameron told by charities bbc.co.uk | London LGBT Almanac | LGBT Charities 7 Jan 13
	Gaydio Manchester-besed LGBT radio takes over two digital radio licences in London and Sussex Coast gaydio.co.uk 7 Jan 13
	Male only sexual exploitation The BLAST Project offers national training days - 'Not Just Our Daughters' mesmac.co.uk 7 Jan 13
HIV AIDS Life plus - New APP helps people with HIV access health information on the go - download from App Store myhiv.org.uk 7 Jan 13 O-M-G Britain's first atheist Church The Sunday Assembly meets in North London timeout.com | independent.co.uk 7 Jan 13 Primate of Kenya condemns the Church of England for "compromising with the secular preoccupations of the West" independent.co.uk 7 Jan 13 GAY SPORTS
	Steve Gray I slept with All Black, but rugby culture in this country is such, it would maybe not be a place a gay man would want to be. What NZ journalist actually said therealstevegray.com 7 Jan 13
USA Gay auditor charges Air Transport Association paid him lower salary because of his sexual orientation washingtonblade.com 7 Jan 13 WORLD Kenya's Education Minister seeks school book ban -The Whale Rider may contain same-sex nuances nation.co.ke 7 Jan 13 Kenya Police launch investigations into notorious gay blackmailing gang identitykenya.com 7 Jan 13 SHOW BIZ Azealia Banks says sorry for 'faggot' Tweet mtv.co.uk 7 Jan 13

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