Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login
 
The Rainbow Reporters new show, Freshly Doug, broadcasts live every Thursday 9-noon AEST in Melbourne Australia on 94.9 FM, streaming via the web at joy.org.au.

world politics - Rainbow Reporter

The HomoMenu Saturday 26 June

June 25th 2010 22:08

An occasional collation of GLBTI themed stories from around the world.

Red Turns Greens to Labor
julia gillard prime minister australia


Gillard puts Labor back in front Really Long Link - and the Greens vote collapses back to normal levels.

Hard to see why, since she said in her acceptance speech only that she would seek to build community consensus on establishing a price on carbon if she was elected PM, as economic conditions improve, blah, blah, delay, delay – which is no change from the Rudd position.

Bulgarian Pride Wins US Endorsement
Aziz

It’s Pride season in the northern hemisphere, and unlike Australia, where we regularly debate if there’s really any point to Pride Marches any more, Eastern Europeans battle to hold these marches at all, often in the face of considerable personal danger, sometimes from their own governments. But not without support from some other countries (sadly, not including Australia), as the US and other foreign ambassadors offer public support to the GLBTI community of Bulgaria. Really Long Link


Everything Old is New Again

Gay Liberation was our watchword in the 1970’s – not Gay Marriage or Gay Military Service (except in the porn mags). Most of us have moved from there into the mainstream – but not all. Radicalism still lives – in San Francisco. Maybe they could run coach tours? Really Long Link

Don’t Panic! Gay Adoption Arrives in NSW
gay babies

Some people get a fit of the vapours when the subject of gay adoption comes up. If you’re one such, take a deep breath and read this fine piece by Lisa Prior in the National Times. Really Long Link

Doug Pollard - The Rainbow Reporter
80
Vote
Comments (1)Comments (1) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Doing my Vatican Rag

March 21st 2010 04:37
Pope Palpatine


I had one of those moments this week, where I quite literally could not believe my ears.

At the end of yet another news report of child abuse by Roman Catholic priests, Anton Enus added, in an almost throwaway fashion, “Victim advocates estimate that up to half a million children have been abused at the hands of the Catholic Church over the last fifty years.”

Pope Benedict, in his former role as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly called The Inquisition), banned anyone from speaking about the abuse outside the church. The criminals were protected and the victims silenced in order to safeguard the church’s image.

In a letter to Irish victims he now says ‘serious mistakes’ were made by the local Bishops, but still does not confess his own complicity.

The Holy See has ‘permanent observer’ status at the United Nations. It can’t vote in the General Assembly, but has the same status as a member state at most UN conferences.

It has used that status to obstruct: the provision of emergency contraception; the promotion of condoms as protection against HIV/AIDS; sexuality education in school curricula; and the training and equipping of health care workers to ensure safe and accessible abortion.

In short, the church works strenuously to ensure an early death from AIDS for millions, and orphans millions more. It ensures death for unknown numbers of women from botched illegal abortions.

The 2004 Jay Report on child sexual abuse in the US Catholic Church found that from 1950 to 2002, 10,667 people made allegations of child sexual abuse. 81% of them were male, 78% between the ages of 11 and 17.

The Vatican tries to say it’s a gay issue, not a paedophile one. Monsignor Charles Scicluna, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said that of the 3,000 cases referred to his office over nine years, 60% involved adolescents of the same sex, 30% involved heterosexual relations, and only the remaining 10% were paedophilia ‘in the truest sense’.

Here in Australia, Rome wields massive influence in both major parties.

Let’s remind ourselves of that news bulletin again. “Victim advocates estimate that up to half a million children have been abused at the hands of the Catholic Church over the last fifty years.”

Every hour of every day for the last fifty years, at least one child has been physically and/or sexually abused by this organisation. And our politicians go to them for moral guidance?
50
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Africa's Deadly Prejudice

January 24th 2010 03:52
Lion

In Africa, gays and lesbians are running for their lives
.

SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa’s Western Cape, one gay rights organisation deals with up to 10 new cases of "corrective rape" – pack-raping and beating a woman to ‘cure’ her homosexuality – every week. Some die.

MALAWI 1

In Malawi, two men face up to 14 years jail for having a relationship. They have suffered abuse, humiliation and violence while on remand, but were refused bail ‘for their own safety’.

After local minority rights group The Centre For The Development of People (CEDEP) Malawi came to their assistance, a staff member was arrested on charges labelling CEDEP's HIV education materials pornographic.

MALAWI 2

Again in Malawi, a woman accused of being a lesbian was driven out of her home by her member of Parliament.

Nellie Somanje was cleared of sexually assaulting and abusing her maids, aged 14 and 18, due to lack of evidence. Nevertheless local MP and Minister for Women Patricia Kaliati declared Somaje "persona non grata" in her constituency, and will appeal the acquittal.

UGANDA

In Uganda, a bill currently before the Parliament redefines homosexual activity – punishable by life imprisonment - as ”touch(ing) another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality.” Touching “(a) with any part of the body; (b) with anything else; (c) through anything.”

It creates the crime of “aggravated homosexuality” - punishable by death - for having sex with someone under 18, for HIV-positive people who have sex, for anyone having sex with a disabled person (consensual or not), and “repeat offenders” (anyone who has had a relationship with more than one person, or who has had sex with the same person more than once).

Offering medical treatment to gay people brings 7 years jail. Renting homes to LGBT people nets 5-7 years for running a brothel. Friends or family face up to 3 years jail for not reporting LGBT persons to police within 24-hours.

THE WORLD

The Bill has been publicly condemned by British PM Gordon Brown, Canadian PM Stephen Harper, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, 12 US Senators, and 90 US Representatives.

In response Uganda has said it might drop the death penalty in favour of life imprisonment.

AUSTRALIA

Our Senate, however, refused Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s motion calling on the Government to actively encourage the Ugandan Government to withdraw the Bill.

Australia’s High Commissioner in Kenya made personal representations to the Ugandan Government over the bill and wrote to the Speaker of Uganda’s Parliament. And that’s it.

Meanwhile 33 British MPs have signed a motion in support of the two men on trial in Malawi.

Hope you had a Happy Australia Day.

This is by no means a complete list of the deadly regimes currently persecuting GLBTI people in Africa: Tanzania, Burundi, Senegal, Gambia, Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria are all actively persecuting gays and lesbians Really Long Link .

ACTION - CONTACT IMMIGRATION & FOREIGN MINISTERS

Contact Immigration Minister Chris Evans to ask what Australia is doing to provide a safe haven for GLBTI African refugees fleeing to Australia.

Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Telephone: 02 6277 7860
Fax: 02 6273 4144
Email: minister@immi.gov.au

Senator Chris Evans
PO Box 1322
West Perth WA 6872

Telephone: 08 9481 4844/ 1300 655 388 (WA Country Only)
Fax: 08 9481 4244
Email: senator.evans@aph.gov.au

Contact Foreign Minister Stephen Smith to protest the feeble Australian response to these murderous governments.

PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tel: (02) 6277 7500
Fax: (02) 6273 4112

Email: Stephen.Smith.MP@aph.gov.au

953A Beaufort Street
Inglewood WA 6932

Postal Address:
PO Box 901
Inglewood WA 6932

Tel: (08) 9272 3411
Fax: (08) 9272 3477
42
Vote
Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Moscow gay rights violently supressed - video

May 16th 2009 21:30
UPDATE

Moscow police violently prevented the gay pride demonstration


[ Click here to read more ]
50
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Praise the Lord and pass the waterboard

April 24th 2009 06:33
rove cheney bush
Pic by washblog

Torture didn’t save diddly! Well waddya know? Torture didn’t save nobody from nothin’! Really Long Link Jeez, who’da b’lieved it? Wastin’ all that goddam water fer nothin’! Goddam CIA bastards oughta be prostituted er somethin’.

[ Click here to read more ]
41
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Torture & Death in Iraq

April 21st 2009 01:00
Murdered gay men in Iraq
Murdered Iraqi gay men
WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF TORTURE

Iraq: Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment of LGBT People - news from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
[ Click here to read more ]
54
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (3)Comments (3) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


The word is Refugee!

April 19th 2009 00:37
Burning boat
The word you’re looking for is ‘refugee’. Let’s stop using this awful weasel term ‘asylum-seeker’ as if it was some kind of insult. In fact, let’s stop using it altogether. The word we want is refugee – people seeking refuge.

Refuge from living in poverty, starving, ailing with little hope of doctoring let alone cure, dying more or less at random in the course of war, ‘insurgency’, ‘civil unrest’ (more weasel-words we should get rid of pronto) or other forms of violence


[ Click here to read more ]
48
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (2)Comments (2) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


In love with a flaming woman

March 22nd 2009 00:13
red head


Yes, I have to confess my guilty secret. Despite my lifelong passions for the male of the species, I’m falling in love with a red-headed woman. So far she shows little interest in the things I care about, but nevertheless, I’m captivated


[ Click here to read more ]
51
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (1)Comments (1) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Rainbow Report Jan 15

January 15th 2009 00:46
Gay in the Country @ ChillOut Festival


As we have reported before, some people will lose out badly when Centrelink starts treating same sex couples the same as de facto couples Really Long Link – that comes in on July 1, but pressure is mounting on the government to think again. Corey Irlam has the story


[ Click here to read more ]
39
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Long Live Israelstine

January 13th 2009 23:26
Israel Palestine Map
Israelstine

I know I should be writing about Israelstine, and I know the arguments I should be marshalling, but I’m tired of saying over and over again (to borrow from Shakespeare) “A plague on both your houses!”. And hearing back a million variations on, “But…..”

[ Click here to read more ]
44
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (4)Comments (4) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Pope on the ropes

December 28th 2008 03:18
Pope or Emperor

The Pope has once again spoken without regard for the consequences of his words.

[ Click here to read more ]
88
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


How the Jews learned to stop worrying and love the Palestinians

December 28th 2008 01:11
Israel Palestine

First, they apologised for taking away the homes and livelihoods of the people who had been living in the land for generations.

[ Click here to read more ]
93
Vote
Read MoreRead More Comments (14)Comments (14) Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
Posted By: Doug Pollard - Category: world politics
   


Criminalising HIV/AIDS

November 18th 2008 20:24
Justice Michael Kirby
Justice Michael Kirby gave the 2008 Burnet Institute Oration Monday


Monday night I had the privilege of meeting Justice Michael Kirby, and hearing him speak at the Burnet Institute on the nexus between human rights and combating HIV/AIDS


[ Click here to read more ]
53
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Bring back the deficit, it's nothing to fear

November 9th 2008 22:18
Debt Monster
NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF
It's time to rehabilitate public entreprises, government deficits and nationalisation and reverse the failed Americanisation of the Australian economy.

Cutting interest rates will not stave off recession. When banks are afraid to lend, businesses afraid to borrow, and consumers pay down debt and start saving because they fear losing their jobs, the answer is for the government to step in and create businesses and jobs


[ Click here to read more ]
53
Vote
Read MoreRead More Add CommentsAdd Comments
[ Link ]
   


Next Page (15-28)



[ Rainbow Reporter Home ] [ Create A New Post ]

Doug Pollard's Blogs

9576 Vote(s)
115 Comment(s)
139 Post(s)
Moderated by Doug Pollard
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]