Sydney, Australia Richard Ammon, GlobalGayz November 21, 2009 Saying good-by to this remarkably intelligent city is tinged with sadness for me. For a gay person to live or visit, it doesn’t get much better than here. The LGBT community is vitally alive in virtually every fabric of daily life, from the highest reaches of government (gay deputy mayor) to the frenetic dance clubs on Oxford Street to the highly visible HIV-prevention campaign of ACON to the presence of former high court justice Micheal Kirby launching a country-wide outreach program for LGBT Alzheimer’s patients. A recent guest in town, hosted by ACON, was the ‘gay prince’ Manvendra from India who held various forums in several cities including Sydney to present his work at home on behalf of his fellow LGBT citizens in Gujurat state. There are organizations for religious, sports, political, artistic and countless other lifestyle interests. Sex is an undercurrent

From: Examiner.com October 31, 2009 Sonoma County (California) Civil Rights Examiner By Megan Cofey The expanded federal Hate Crime Prevention Act, named for 1998 victims Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. and signed into law by President Obama on October 28, may end up being much more significant than its scope would suggest. Although the Department of Justice avers that hate crime statutes deter bias-motivated attacks, it offers no statistics to substantiate that claim. Certainly the original 1969 federal law—which covered hate crimes based on the victims’ race, color, religion or national origin—was not sufficient to save the life of the new law’s less famous namesake, James Byrd, Jr., who was killed because he was black. And even if the new measure had been in effect when its other namesake, Matthew Shepard, was killed for being gay, it is unlikely that his crystal-meth-bingeing attackers would have been rational enough to

(Humaneness: marked by compassion, sympathy, or consideration for humans or animals) Well, isn’t this a sweet headline from a government official: Ugandan Ethics Minister James Nsaba Buturo spoke with journalists today. While acknowledging the great numbers of “foreigners” who express grave concern over the possibility of such a [proposed anti-gay] bill becoming law, he made it clear that he is not paying attention to them. Buturo balked at the notion that the proposed bill — which, among other things, would criminalise any public discussion of homosexuality and could penalise an individual who knowingly rented property to a homosexual — constituted a human rights violation. “We are really getting tired of this phrase human rights. It is being abused. Anything goes, and if you are challenged? ‘Oh, it’s my right’,” the minister snapped. Read more: African Veil, Asylum Law, Behind the Mask And then there’s Dr. Rick Scarborough of Vision America

  Laguna Beach, CA – October 28, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com   Last night on PBS a drama titled ‘Endgame’ was broadcast nationwide that focused on the intense and delicate negotiations in South Africa in the late 1980’s that brought down apartheid and brought a new dawn of democracy in that tormented country.   It was a gripping drama of real life brought close up with cameras, script and fine acting by players who had not previously been privy to the dangers and risks of the political and murderous chess match. At any one time, any one of the historical figures could have been assassinated, including Nelson Mandela whose release from 27 years in prison was the keystone to the new order of life in South Africa.   I couldn’t help thinking of the poignant parallel between the South African apartheid mentality that justified so much killing and violence,

Westhampton, MA – October 18, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com According to a new UN report presented in Tunis, Tunisia, on October 20th, Tunisia, Libya and United Arab Emirates are the only 3 Arab nations where famine has been eradicated. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations conducted the survey of 17 Arab states ahead of a global summit on hunger, malnutrition and food security, set for November 16th-18th in Rome. (There are a total of 25 Arab nations, ranging from Morocco in the west to Iraq in the east. Iran is considered Persian not Arabic.) Certainly this is good news for a few but overall for the majority of the 325 million people in that swath of earth, it’s not. Poverty and hunger are ills that should be resolved by good governance and grass roots organizations to relieve the problems. But these two ‘plagues’ persist in the

  Westhampton, MA – October 15, 2009 Richard Ammon -GlobalGayz.com   Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG) Condemn the Proposed Anti-homosexuality Bill Last year GlobalGayz visited Uganda and met several of the LGBT activists involved in SMUG and other rights organizations. Their story is one of persecution, clandestine living, arrests and police abuse. Just before and after my visit members were harassed by authorities and roughed up for their non-violent activity–including unfurling a banner at an HIV conference where there was no mention of MSM as a high-risk group. (Read the story here.) This highly discriminatory bill, described here, was at that time being rumored about but had not yet been fully composed. Now it is here in its pernicious violating form and is being urged upon Parliament by right-wing religiously-fed legislators who simply hate any idea about about homosexuality–never mind how much it violates the country’s constitutional guarantees of expression,

Westhampton, MA – October 13, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Yesterday I received the very sad news about the death of LGBT leader Keith Goddard, director of GALZ (Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe). GlobalGayz was privileged to meet and interview with Keith in the spring of 2009. He was comfortable to be with, witty and thoughtful–and he was a force for change and human rights. We spent much of the day together including a ‘deluxe’ lunch at the nearby 40 Cork Road Cafe where we reminisced about our youthful coming out days (before Mugabe) and compared them to today’s society. Keith was given a frail body but a strong mind and was unruffled about the oppression from the corrupt Zimbabwe government, having eluded serious persecution for nearly 20 years. He knew well how to steer GALZ out of harm’s way and still get the job done of health education all

Westhampton, MA – October 11, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Last night President Obama gave a speech at a Human Rights Campaign fund-raising dinner in DC. This is remarkable in itself since no other president has ever given specific attention to a gay organization in a public forum. The press were there and captured his speech on paper and tape and video and YouTube. (Also see the controversial graffiti incident that followed.) His attendance at this event, the night before a mass LGBT-rights rally in the city on National Coming Out Day, was partly motivated by the disgruntled noise LGBT leaders have made over the past few months in response to DADT, DOMA and gay marriage issues. His speech was an effort to assuage the aggravation felt in our community, by some, that he was not moving fast enough to rid these discriminatory statutes from our country. The arguments against

Westhampton, MA – October 11, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Marine from Amherst, MA loses leg following Humvee explosion in Afghanistan Read story here This evening I went to a benefit banquet for a 26 year-old war-maimed marine, a local resident here in the Northampton area of western Massachusetts–on the same day Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Both of these serve as bookends to America’s dilemma in the world today. The personal carnage and loss of limbs at one end and the grand scheme to use war to bring peace to the world, to Afghanistan, to Iraq. What is the sacrifice our young men and women soldiers pay in the abstract name of ‘freedom’, especially in countries that have never known it? Those “thousands of troops’ needed to defeat the enemy consist of young guys and gals like Joshua Bouchard of western MA, many armed in the

Human Rights Watch New York October 7, 2009 Olympic Congress Should Adopt a Plan to Oversee Human Rights Environment for the Olympic Games The Copenhagen Olympic Congress should create a permanent mechanism to monitor human rights in host countries before, during and after Olympic Games. Human Rights Watch, which has submitted a proposal to the Congress (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=hsJNK3ORIiLPJeJ&s=fjKSJ5MOKoK3LeNNLpF&m=ifLPK2MGIeIRG), is particularly concerned about potential abuses in Russia, host for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The world watched as China trampled on human rights — including throwing people in jail — in the name of preparing for the Beijing Games. That should never happen again, and the Olympic Congress should act now to make sure it doesn’t. Read more, (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=klLTLcM3LlKWLoI&s=fjKSJ5MOKoK3LeNNLpF&m=ifLPK2MGIeIRG) Take Action >> (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=deJFIRNBJeJJJ4K&s=fjKSJ5MOKoK3LeNNLpF&m=ifLPK2MGIeIRG)Posted Laguna Niguel, California, United States.

Westhampton, MA – September 30, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com The September 27, 2009 New York Times Magazine cover story of a 13 year-old boy who has come out at school is notable in many ways: -it was published by America’s premier newspaper -it was made a daring headline story with photos -it’s about homosexual youth in school -it is set in conservative Oklahoma -it includes gay boys and lesbian girls under the age of consent -it portrays very courageous individuals who risk homophobic behavior -it also portrays supportive parents, as well as schools and teachers -it acknowledges that youth well under 18 have romantic and sexual lives Some readers will say it’s been said before others will think it’s too aggressive, part of the homosexual agenda some will not let their children read it others will gather around it at a parents’ meeting for validation But one thing the

Westhampton, MA – September 27, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com This is a very sad story of world-class Nobel recipient gay man whose decades-long research made significant discoveries into a degenerative brain disease that struck particularly at children known as kuru–now known as the deadly Mad Cow Disease. For his work on kuru, Dr. Daniel Carleton Gajdusek (Sept. 9, 1923 – Dec. 12, 2008)shared the 1976 Nobel Prize for physiology and medicine. He used the $80,000 Prize money to set up a trust for the education of the Fore tribes in Papua New Guinea where he did much of his research. For over 30 years, he also adopted more than 50 boys and one girl from his expeditions to the Pacific and brought them up in America and supported their education. During his decades in the South Pacific cultures, Gajdusek’s homosexuality was encouraged by local traditions of sexual contact between

Westhampton, MA – September 24, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com This is a story from Magharebia News by Hayam El Hadi published yesterday about the ritual of male circumcision in Algeria. The action taken is a surgical removal of the penis foreskin, essentially a mutilation of the body. And for this pain and humiliation the boy is surrounded by dancing and singing and partying adults who are so tightly indoctrinated with ‘tradition’ that they have forgotten the original meaning of the act (as if there was a valid one) and are blind to the modern barbarity of the procedure. What is it the about the male genitalia that it cannot be left alone? Why this obsession with cutting off the ‘sleeve’ of pre-pubescent boys that produces blood and pain and serves no physical advantage or increased value? (Some modernists arguably think it lowers HIV infection possibility.) In a culture where

Westhampton, MA – September 24, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com The National Equality March (NEM) is being organized by Equality Across America (EAA) with one simple demand: full equality for all GLBT people in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Now. Events are now taking place in every state as a national call to action to support full equality for GLBT people in all matters governed by civil law in the United States. Whether you plan to travel to the March or not, San Diego activists can participate in other meaningful ways. The following are ten things that anyone can do in advance of the NEM: 1) Banners and flyers – The National Equality March has promotional materials for downloading and distributing to encourage people to come to Washington, D.C. and support the March. (http://equalityacrossamerica.org/blog/?page_id=1867) 2) Friends and word of mouth – Sunday, Oct. 11 is

Westhampton, MA – September 19, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Ever wonder where the sexually abusive Catholic priests might have gotten the idea that sexual activity with children is acceptable–even legal? Look at this: There is an equal age of consent set at 12 years of age (Article 331 (1) of the Vatican laws). When there is a relationship of dependence (like teacher/priest/student, etc.) the age of consent is 15 years (Article 331 (2)). (See source) The age of consent in the Codice Penale in Italy was changed in 1930 to 14 years, but this had no effect on Vatican City. I happened across this information while researching gay rights in tiny countries around the world, such as San Marino. Monaco, Malta, Tonga, Kiribati and others. Separately, other inquirers have asked what is the lowest age of consent in the world. Responses are South Korea 13, Japan 13 (for males),

Westhampton, MA – September 14, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Don’t you just love the values and justice of our modern political world: Bush started a war on false pretenses resulting in the deaths of thousands of innocent people and got to retire in luxury, and a protesting journalist who opposed the war got thrown in jail. It should have been the other way around! Read this report about Muntadar al-Zaidi who threw his shoes at Bush last December to protest the war and was rewarded with incarceration. Such is the Iraqi justice system–and it only cost us a trillion dollars to set it up after we destroyed the government of another deceptive leader. Finally Mr. al-Zaidiis being released after 10 months confinement. During the incident while pinned on the ground by security personnel, al-Zaidiscreamed: “You killed the Iraqis” as he was dragged away. Hurling shoes at someone, or sitting

Westhampton, MA – September 14, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Quoted here are excerpts from the Associated Press of September 14, 2009 and published by the New York Times. It is easy to be cynical and exaggerate the extent of abuse by clergy against children but that serves no purpose other than creating more abuse, in this case against innocent clergy who do not violate their vows or their students. That said, I choked on the comment below about an accused child-molester being considered for sainthood since he was cleared of wrong-doing by an investigation that did not interview any victims. Incredible. Read these excerpts or the full report yourself. “The Associated Press has documented 73 cases with allegations of sexual abuse by priests against minors over the past decade in Italy, with more than 235 victims…” “…Italian prelates often preyed on poor, physically or mentally disabled, or drug-addicted youths

Westhampton, MA – September 11, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com On September 10, 2009, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown officially apologized to Alan Turing for the UK Government’s persecution of this WWII hero because of his homosexuality. Turing brilliantly invented his ‘Turing Bombe’ that crucially helped crack the German Enigma coded messages (sometimes thousands per day) during the war that ultimately helped the Allies win the war. But Turing, recognized today as the founder of modern computing, tragically killed himself in 1954 aged only 41 after being convicted of having a sexual relationship with another man. The Prime Minister said (in part): “Alan Turing deserves recognition for his contribution to humankind. For those of us born after 1945, into a Europe which is united, democratic and at peace, it is hard to imagine that our continent was once the theatre of mankind’s darkest hour. It is difficult to believe

Westhampton, MA – September 11, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com (See the recent, 2011, film about Ahmet’s murder: Zenne Dancer; also, website for the film) This is a very sad story, about a father and a son, a family and a culture torn by blind hatred. Last year during a visit to Istanbul, Turkey my partner and I stayed with a Turkish couple in the city. Nicely furnished and designed with all the mod-cons of civilized life, their spacious apartment in the Uskadar district on the Asian side of the city was not just the tasteful home of our gay hosts. It was a regular informal social gathering place for friends with similar interests, ideas and food favorites. One evening during our stay several of these like-minded friends gathered to discuss an upcoming conference and how they would prepare for it. My partner and I don’t speak Turkish so after

Westhampton, MA – September 5, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Let the Taliban have Afghanistan! They want a place to rule with primitive Sharia law so let them have that poor wretched patch so they can suppress people and move back in time—and in the process destroy the poppy crops and stop the warlords from seducing young trophy boys. It is not America’s job to interfere with a foreign country’s own internal fate, for better or worse. (Afghanistan is a lot closer to Russia, China, India with their huge armies. Let them keep an eye on the Taliban.) Let the Taliban rule there. Just as we have let the lunacy happen in North Koreaand Iran and Zimbabwe and Gabon and Kenya and Kazakhstan and Burma… If Karzai can’t win honestly we should not support him. If we are looking to revenge 9-11 we have failed: more American’s have been killed

Westhampton, MA – September 4, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com The Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand (ABAT) has discriminated against a straight boxer for posing suggestively for the cover of a gay magazine. This is a new take on homophobic discrimination: instead of acting prejudicially against a gay person, the ABAT has discriminated against a non-gay star boxer for posing for the cover of a magazine. How do we know it’s homophobic? The magazine he posed for is a gay magazine, Stage, and for that non-obscene photo the boxing leaders have banned Olympic silver medalist Worapoj Petchkhoon for three months from athletic competition. (See story below and here.) Appearing in a gay publication does not “present a good image” said boxing officials obviously suggesting the photo is disreputable. What is not clear is what the officials think is good or bad about the photo. If this same photo had appeared

Westhampton, MA – September 4, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Given the current swirl of science, medicine, folk opinions and religious attitudes about male circumcision and its correlation (or not) with HIV infection in Africa and the West, it should not come as a surprise to see a zany book come out of left field regarding circumcision of the Savior Himself. Can we not be spared the most private details of the most unusual holy relic – Jesus’ foreskin (aka the Holy Prepuce) !? (Yes, Wikipedia has an entry about this item.) Apparently not: (From Publishers Weekly (July) . Copyright © Reed Business Information.) “Until one mysterious day in 1983, the foreskin of Jesus—once one of the Catholic Church‘s holiest of relics—lay nestled in a box in a small church in Calcata, a village in the hills of northern Italy. On that fateful day in December, however, priest Don Dario

Westhampton, MA – September 2, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com In loving memory of Zambian lesbian activist Buumba Sikumba (BMJ) who was interviewed by me for the GlobalGayz story on gay life in Zambia in 2008. She passed away in September 2009 after an illness. She was a full spirit with a passion for life and for human rights. A bigger-than-life figure she was also a freelance journalist, radio producer and “one of the best DJs in Lusaka” said one admirer. Her energy and intelligence helped start the current LGBT organization Rainka. Her absence will be felt for a long time.Posted Copperbelt, Zambia.

Westhampton, MA – September 1, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com For fifteen years attempts to conduct a peaceful pride parade in Budapest, Hungary have resulted in violence and arrests of right-wing groups who are fiercely homophobic. Next up is the 2009 parade on September 5 when both sides of the battle will gear up for another confrontation. Since 1995 LGBT citizens have mounted festivals escorted by police troops. (A history of Budapest Pride can be read in the news reports on GlobalGayz.) To support this year’s Pride event, Whoopi Goldberg has recorded a short human rights video (click here) urging tolerance and open-mindedness toward LGBT people in Hungary. We hope some small measure of improvement may result from her words. In addition to Whoopi’s video, thirteen foreign embassies in Budapest have issued a joint statement to the government of Hungary urging tolerance and acceptance of sexual minorities in that country

Westhampton, MA – August 30, 2009 Richard Ammon – GlobalGayz.com Can there be any stronger sacrifice to the cause of truth or principle than the death of a person? The truth is that Matthew Shepard was gay. His murderers killed him for the vague principle that killing or maiming gays is okay. Sanctioned homophobia comes from churches, schools, workplaces, homes, publications and the Internet. Gay, lesbian and transsexual people are targeted for discrimination and damage every American day from coast to coast. The principle is that homosexuality is not okay and the truth is that queer people less famous than Matthew are regularly attacked by self-appointed vigilantes of one or more angry straight people acting on behalf of this deadly principle. Matthew was killed on October 6, 1998 and it took eleven years, until 2009, to get hate crime legislation passed that includes sexual orientation. Such a change in the