places to go, people to meet

July 2010 Blog Posts (54)

Peru:- Civil Partnership Bill may be an attempt to stop gay marriage

When Peruvian parliamentarian José Vargas announced this week that he plans to introduce a bill to legalize civil partnerships, it took gay rights groups in the country by surprise.

On the face of it, it looks laudable enough. But activists believe that electoral manoeuvring may have something to do with it, and are concerned that this may also be an attempt to head off any campaign for full gay marriage. More en español… Continue

Added by Tim on July 31, 2010 at 16:30 — No Comments

Germany:- Gay theologian barred from teaching at Catholic academy

David Berg is a leading Catholic theologian, and an acknowledged expert on mediaeval philosopher Thomas Aquinas. He came out in April this year, and has now been fired from his teaching job at the Vatican-based Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Apparently, the head of the Academy (who's a member of Opus Dei) wasn't too pleased when Berg said the Catholic Church had a… Continue

Added by Tim on July 31, 2010 at 16:00 — No Comments

Visiting Aruba in November

Hi All,

Partner and I are visiting Aruba on the 27th of November 2010, we will be staying at the Marriott in Palm Beach area for two weeks. (leaving on the 11th of Dec.) always looking for new friends in new places. If interested in meeting drop us a line at "rontoall@aol.com" Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Ron and Walt…

Continue

Added by Ron Pittenger on July 31, 2010 at 15:06 — No Comments

Switzerland:- Zurich welcomes gay travellers!

Whilst London, Amsterdam and Berlin may hog all the gay press coverage, Zurich, Switzerland must be one of the most underrated gay friendly destinations in Europe! Only very recently, as has been reported here in GTN, Swiss International Airways has opened up direct flights between San Francisco and Zurich, making it a much more accessible vacation destination for our American cousins.

Zurich, coincidentally one of San Francisco's 17… Continue

Added by Mark Palmer on July 29, 2010 at 19:47 — No Comments

Spain:- Putting anti-discrimination laws into practice

It's one thing passing laws which outlaw homophobia and discrimination against the LGBT community, and another making the principles behind them a reality. Spain's government seems to be doing just that, although - unsurprisingly - those sanctioned are claiming that it's just another case of political bias.

Intereconomia is a national TV network which may not be as "fair and balanced" as Fox News. And last month, it was fined 100,000€ (around… Continue

Added by Tim on July 29, 2010 at 9:00 — No Comments

Montegro bans discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity

By a big majority (67 votes for, 6 votes against and 4 abstentions), Montenegro's parliament has passed a new law discrimination on a wide range of grounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ironically, one of the most vocal opponents of the new law is the country's Minister for Human and Minority Rights, who has repeatedly opposed protecting the LGBT community from discrimination on the basis of the ’moral code of the… Continue

Added by Tim on July 28, 2010 at 11:17 — No Comments

Nigeria:- Country is at risk from homosexual invasion, says Archbishop

It would be nice to be able to simply dismiss Nicholas Okoh as an irrelevant bigot, but he also heads the Anglican Church in Nigeria, and as such is also a senior figure in the Anglican communion worldwide. Sadly, he's a prime example of the kind of barking fundamentalism which so many religious leaders across the continent seem to be embracing and selling as somehow African. Earlier this month he told a press… Continue

Added by Tim on July 27, 2010 at 16:30 — 1 Comment

USA:-National Organisation for Marriage supporters call for gays to be lynched

Apparently the simple way to stop gay marriage is to lynch us. The National Organisation For Marrriage (hint; only if you're heterosexual) is whizzing round bits of the USA to campaign any way it can against letting gay couples having the right to get wed, and blogs like The Bilerico… Continue

Added by Tim on July 27, 2010 at 16:00 — No Comments

USA:- Alleged anti-gay incidents at a W hotel in Dallas

Shakespeare talked of reputation as being no more than a "bubble", and W Hotels are more than concerned about the fall-out from alleged incidents at the W Dallas - Victory over the weekend, following a concert by Lady Gaga. And it couldn't be worse, as those alleging rough and offensive behaviour by a security guard include the chair… Continue

Added by Tim on July 27, 2010 at 10:00 — No Comments

Istanbul Spring 2010

Find more photos like this on… Continue

Added by fitOlderMen on July 27, 2010 at 0:29 — No Comments

UK: "Katie Price offered to be surrogate mother for gay couple"

While it will mean little to those outside the UK who don't follow the careers of former glamour models, the News Of The World has a story about a gay couple who nearly ended up with Katie aka Jordan acting as a surrogate mother for them.

It's a headline which is bound to draw attention away from the...er....shocking announcement earlier… Continue

Added by Tim on July 25, 2010 at 19:30 — No Comments

Condoms remain the best protection against HIV infection for gay men

Delegates to the International AIDS Conference in Vienna are returning home this weekend, after an intense few days looking at the latest research into HIV/AIDS, and the results of various prevention and treatment initiatives from around the world. The main conclusion as far as gay men are concerned is that following safer sex advice and using condoms remain the best way for us to protect ourselves and others. It's advice we're not taking seriously enough: new systems of detecting… Continue

Added by Tim on July 25, 2010 at 0:00 — No Comments

Argentina:- The first gay wedding takes place on July 31st

They met 23 years ago in a disco in Santiago de Chile, and now - all those years later - Giorgio Nocentino and Jaime Zapata are getting married on the 31st of July. They're the first couple to take advantage of Argentina's new laws allowing gay couples to wed. More en español at… Continue

Added by Tim on July 24, 2010 at 23:03 — No Comments

USA:- Dan Choi finally discharged from military for being gay

The military career of Lieutenant Dan Choi came to an end yesterday after he was formally discharged from the army, under the controversial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. He was given an honourable discharge, but that didn't make up for the loss of his profession.

It's unlikely that Dan's return to civilian life will make him any the less of a thorn in the side of America's military establishment. So far, press reaction and comment has been muted -… Continue

Added by Tim on July 23, 2010 at 16:30 — No Comments

Italy:- Priests caught having a wild gay time by undercover reporters

Wild nights out in gay clubs and steamy bedroom scenes featuring gay priests are the focus of an undercover report by Italy's Panorama magazine this week. It's backed up with plenty of photos and video, and you'll get the gist even if the only word of Italian you know is "pizza".

One of those captured on camera was… Continue

Added by Tim on July 23, 2010 at 16:25 — No Comments

Tournament Of Flower - Tomohon International Flower Festival

Tournament of Flower is a part of Tomohon International Flower Festival.

A brief description, Tomohon is located in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It's a city on the highland south straight of the capital, Manado. Tomohon is a new city, this year Tomohon will celebrate its 6th year anniversary, on August 4th.

The background of this Tournament is Tomohon is famous with flowers. The temperature is cooler in Tomohon and… Continue

Added by Mario Ben Gavriel on July 23, 2010 at 10:11 — No Comments

USA:- Gay bar told it can't have shirtless bartenders

In yet another example of the ridiculous puritanism which afflicts large parts of America, a gay bar in Maine has been told that shirtless bartenders are a "health hazard" and must cover up (along with whiskey bottles apparently visible from the street). The Mainestreet bar in Ogunquit was visited by police following a barrage of complaints from a local resident called Harriet… Continue

Added by Tim on July 22, 2010 at 22:30 — 1 Comment

Syrian police release men arrested at gay parties

Three months ago, in a series of raids, Syrian police arrested 25 men for organising or attending private gay parties. Their ordeal has been made all the worse because the mere fact of being accused by the secret police of being homosexual has put them at risk from anti-gay zealots in their local community and families.

According to Gay Middle East, the men have been… Continue

Added by Tim on July 22, 2010 at 22:30 — No Comments

Ireland:- Government wants to ease isolation of gay men in rural areas

"Young LGBT people who felt isolated in rural communities, and unable to be true to themselves, have often felt forced to move away to cities." The words of Ireland's Equality Minister Pat Carey, launching an ambitious new scheme with a mission "to promote an Ireland that celebrates diversity, where LGBT people are an integral part of society - at all levels - and are afforded all the rights and responsibilities enjoyed by Irish… Continue

Added by Tim on July 21, 2010 at 18:30 — 1 Comment

Austria:- Internet's key role in fighting HIV amongst men who have sex with men

In countries where gay sex is still a taboo topic, there's more and more evidence that the internet has a powerful role to play in getting information to the men who need it most. Delegates attending the Be Heard! pre-conference in the run-up to the AIDS 2010 congress in Vienna have been hearing how in countries like Cameroon and Romania, the internet has been used… Continue

Added by Tim on July 21, 2010 at 18:30 — No Comments