WOCKNER/INT'L NEWS #124
Rex Wockner
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= INTERNATIONAL NEWS #124 - Sep 11, 1996 =
= Rex Wockner =
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Do not publish, broadcast or post without permission.
<< ARGENTINE GAYS KEEP WINNING >> ***
The Statutory Convention that is drafting a new legal code
for Buenos Aires, Argentina, voted unanimously Aug. 30 to ban
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Buenos Aires will be the only Latin American city outside
Brazil with such a law.
"Lesbians, gays, transvestites and pansexuals made ourselves
visible at the convention site," said correspondent Alejandra
Sarda. "The rainbow-colored triangle and the banners with the
names of intellectuals, artists and politicians who supported our
claim were placed very early in the morning at the convention
entrance. As soon as the doors were opened to the public, we went
in, filling a whole sector of the available seats. We were not
allowed to bring our banners in, but we did it anyway, by hiding
them in our bags."
A few days earlier, the convention eradicated the infamous
Police Edicts that have been used extensively against gays and
transvestites. The edicts allow police to circumvent the regular
justice system and detain people more or less at whim.
<< LLOYDS INSURES RENT BOYS >> *
Lloyds of London now insures British rent boys (male
prostitutes) against accident and sickness, reported The Pink
Paper.
"Sex Workers' Occupational Policy" holders who claim loss of
earnings due to a sexually transmitted disease will be classified
as having an "industrial illness."
<< GAY SWEDES GET FREE TRIP >> ***
Thirty-five members of Sweden's national gay group, RFSL,
will travel free to the European Parliament in Strasbourg,
France, Oct. 21-26 as guests of Swedish Euro MP Joern Svensson.
Previously a member of Sweden's parliament, Svensson has
supported gay causes since the early 1970s. In 1995, he
officiated at Sweden's first "registered-partnership" gay
weddings.
(RFSL stands for Riksforbundet for Sexuellt
Likaberattigande.)
<< SITGES DESTROYS LIST OF CRUISERS >> ***
A list of gay cruisers has been destroyed in Sitges, Spain,
a popular gay resort.
Local police had begun asking for identification from people
hanging out at night in the cruisy Maritime Pass area and were
keeping records of their findings.
The list was destroyed after the activist group Coordinadora
Gai-Lesbiana met with Mayor Pere Junyent on Aug. 20.
In other news, Sitges has cancelled fines and called off the
police after gay and straight nudists cried foul when officers
started arresting them for being naked at a downtown beach that
has long been listed in "naturist" guidebooks.
An earlier report that the crackdown occurred at one of
Sitges' remote gay-only beaches was inaccurate.
<< SOMERVILLE LOSES LABEL >> *
Gay pop singer Jimmy Somerville has been dumped by his
record label, London, reported London's The Pink Paper.
The newspaper said Somerville is "hardly in the slipstream
of a recent chart assault" and has been drawing "thin" audiences
at club performances.
"Now sans label, Somerville has effectively been reduced to
the status of a novelty act," The Pink Paper said.
But Somerville's manager, Carol Crabtree, said the former
Communard will release a new album "hopefully before Christmas."
<< TUBE BANS GAY AD >> *
London Underground, which operates London's subway system,
has rejected a condom-advertising poster that shows two men in
bed but has accepted one that shows a man and a woman embracing
in what looks like a pool of semen, reported London's The Pink
Paper.
Bob Harrison, spokesman for Safeguard Forte, the gay condom
promoter, called the straight poster, produced by the Durex
company, "far more provocative and tactless than ours. We're
talking about a non-confrontational picture of two guys who are
quite clearly in love," he said.
But the Underground responded: "We may be in the mid-90s,
but things haven't come far enough for there not to be outrage
over an advertisement showing a gay couple. Basically, there is
still a lot of prejudice out there."
<< CARIBBEAN GAYS GATHER IN JAMAICA >> ***
Gays and lesbians from 14 Caribbean nations gathered in
Jamaica in August for the region's first-ever gay conference.
Funding and other assistance was provided by the government
of The Netherlands.
Attendees formed a steering committee to advance projects
hatched at the conference, and a follow-up meeting will be held
next year in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.
The Curacao gay group Orguyo is handling public-relations
for the committee. Their address is Montanja de Rei 447, Curacao,
Netherlands Antilles. Phone: 011-599-9-678543 or 472273. Fax:
011-599-9-650585 (Attn: M. Kleinmoedig). E-mail:
cura...@ibm.net.
<< NEW ANTI-AIDS MOVES IN CHINA >> *
China will stage a national conference on AIDS prevention in
October and will make HIV testing available nationwide, China
Daily reported Sept. 4. HIV tests are available in only about
half of the country now.
Officially, China has 3,341 HIV-positive citizens, 117 of
whom have developed AIDS -- but no one believes those numbers are
accurate.
<< U.S. FUNDS SAFE SEX IN NEPAL >> *
The United States announced Sept. 5 that it will give $30
million to the nation of Nepal to improve health-care facilities
and fund programs promoting safe sex, contraception and family
planning.
Around 10,000 Nepalis are HIV-positive, officials estimate.
Without intervention, the number is expected to hit 100,000 in
five years.
<< VIETNAM INCREASES AIDS EFFORTS >> *
Vietnam has begun promoting AIDS awareness and safer-sex via
radio, TV, movies, art performances, cultural activities and
family-planning clinics, officials said Sept. 4.
There have been 4,200 reported cases of HIV infection; 353
people have died and 184 are living with full-blown AIDS.
<< GAY JEWS TO MEET IN BARCELONA >> ***
The Sixth Europe/Israel Regional Conference of the World
Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations is set for Oct.
31-Nov. 3 in Barcelona, Spain.
The program includes workshops, speakers, religious
services, socials and sight-seeing. The cost is $150-$250
depending on lodging selected.
For more information, e-mail 10073...@compuserve.com or
phone or fax 011-44-181-809-0877.
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