Senate Passes AIDS Bill, Provision Lifting HIV Travel-Immigration Ban

In an 80-16 vote, the Senate today approved the Lantos/Hyde U.S. Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act (S 2731) which reauthorizes the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and along with it, an amendment secured by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) that lifts a ban on travel and immigration to the U.S. by those who are HIV-positive. Under the current plan, HIV-positive people can be considered "inadmissible." Permanent entry and short term visits can be denied by border agents under this policy. The bill now goes to conference committee before heading on to the president.

This morning I posted that North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole attempted to change the name of the bill, adding the name of homophobic AIDS-enabler and former Senator Jesse Helms.

Previously
Elizabeth Dole Wants to Improve Jesse Helms' AIDS Record Posthumously [tr]

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News: Syrian, Luke Macfarlane, Batman, Seattle Opera, Outfest,

Killer of Daytona Beach cross-dresser sentenced to life in prison.

Becks is a Sharpie in new print campaign.

Gay Syrian Jojo Jako Yakob to be deported from Scotland: "It has now emerged that an immigration tribunal has turned down his request to stay in the UK, despite accepting that Yakob is gay and that Syria criminalises and represses homo– sexuality."

He came out shirtless: Matthew McConaughey has a child.

Kenyan bishop threatens to quit over gay marriages: "The Reverend Thomas Kogo, a bishop at the Eldoret ACK Diocese, has issued the quit notice, saying he could not support a church that condones homosexuality. Kogo, who has just returned from a pilgrimage in Israel, said the faithful must uphold the sanctity of the Anglican family. He said those advocating for gay marriages were driven by desire for money and wealth. 'God recognises marriage between man and woman, and there is no way we will accept homosexuality and gay marriages. The Bible is very clear on the matter,' he said."

Boy George speaks to Newsweek about denial of visa: "I am hardly a threat to national security. I am just a performer trying to do his job. I have called America home at different times in my life. I love America, and the American people have always treated me with love and kindness since I went there as a 19-year-old boy with my band Culture Club."

Turkish oil wrestling!

SAS Scandinavian Airlines launches dedicated gay website: "The website is unique in its personalised aspect, providing a ‘gay’ counterpart to the popular SAS crew tips, offering tips from SAS’ own gay crew members on the best offerings in Stockholm and Copenhagen."

Gay and lesbian Christians to protest Pope Benedict's arrival in Sydney: "The protest, calling for equality for gay and lesbian followers, will take place at the Pitt Street Uniting Church this Sunday, coinciding with Pope Benedict XVI's arrival in Sydney. Catholic writer and educator Michael Kelly said gay and lesbian people had been marginalised and condemned by mainstream churches, particularly the Catholic Church. He labelled the 'version of Christianity that is coming to Sydney' as propaganda. 'We call on gay and lesbian Christians ... to join us in standing up for the goodness of being gay, and not allow right-wing religious propaganda to silence our faith, hope and love,' he said."

Batman refuses to work with Robin.

Brothers and Sisters' Luke MacFarlane interviewed at the Rome Fiction Festival.

L.A.'s Outfest film festival begins tomorrow. Here's the official site. It's opening with the gay hockey film Breakfast with Scot. Also, here's a new piece from indieWire on the state of queer cinema...

Indian actor walks off talk show after being asked about sexual orientation: "What sort of a question is that Sajid? First you call me for your chat show, and then ask me such stuff!"

American Idol's 'gay stripper' David Hernandez spotted sucking female face in San Diego.

Seattle Opera announces three LGBT nights for upcoming season: "At these designated performances, patrons may pay $100 for discounted main-floor orchestra seating, private intermission receptions (with wine, hors d'oeuvres and desserts) and admission to preshow lectures. The inaugural event — an Aug. 22 presentation of 'Aida' — will be hosted by Seattle Opera trustee JJ McKay and Washington state Sen. Ed Murray. Tickets for the evening are on sale now." (site)

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UK Offers Gay Syrian £46 to Get Lost, Go Home

The UK Border Agency has reportedly offered a gay teen Syrian seeking asylum in Scotland less than $100 (£46) to get him to accept deportation and return to Syria, the Scotsman reports:

"Jojo Jako Yakob, 19, fled his homeland two years ago after being arrested, shot and beaten before being tortured in a Syrian jail when he was caught distributing anti-government leaflets. Once prison guards discovered that Yakob, a Christian member of the repressed Kurdish minority in the Arab state, was homosexual, he suffered horrific beatings and was assaulted so badly that he slipped into a coma. He fled to Scotland but his application seeking asylum was rejected and the Home Office has ordered his return to Syria, where homosexuality has been banned. Last night, 'Save Jojo' campaigners criticised the UK Border Agency for sending Yakob, who is currently being detained at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in Falkirk, a 'weekly' letter, asking his permission to be 'repatriated' back to Syria. A spokesman for the campaign said the agency has offered Jojo £46 'in cash' on leaving the United Kingdom 'to assist you in reintegrating into your home country. This could be used for example to set up a business, further your education or assist with housing'. Leading gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell labelled the UK Border Agency as 'immoral' in its attempt to get Jojo into accepting deportation. He said: 'This insulting offer shows the scurrilous, immoral nature of the UK Border Agency. The sum of £46 would barely pay one week's rent, never mind help Jojo start a new life. The idea that he should risk his life and go back to Syria for £46 is an absolute disgrace. It shows the depth to which the Labour Government is sinking in its desperate bid to pander to racist and xenophobic opinion.'"

Yakob's case is similar to that of Iranian teen Mehdi Kazemi, who was granted a temporary reprieve from deportation when public outcry in late March brought attention to his case.

Government offers Jojo £46 to go home [scotsman]

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Bahrain Targets Children in Bid to Rid Country of Gays

In February I posted about a crackdown in the Persian Gulf Kingdom of Bahrain intended to rid the country of gay people. Authorities proposed surveillance of hairdressing salons and beauty and massage spas (you know, all the places where gays hang out in huge numbers) as well as stricter surveillance at the nation's customs points ("homosexuals pretend not to be gay by posing 'manly' until they make it past immigration" according to committee secretary Jalal Fairooz).

Now it appears authorities are taking their surveillance one step further, targeting children who display homosexual tendencies, according to Gulf Daily News:

"The committee is also demanding that the Education Ministry carefully monitor students and punishes those veering towards homosexuality. MPs urged the ministry to raise awareness amongst students, possibly through lectures given by visiting health specialists, psychiatrists, or sociologists."

Gays and human rights groups in the region are understandably furious.

Previously
Crackdown on 'Dangerous' Gays Proposed in Bahrain [tr]

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Morrissey Wins Apology in Court for Damaging Article

Music magazine The Word apologized in court to Morrissey for publishing a damaging article following last December's profile of the singer in the New Music Express. As you may remember, Morrissey sued the NME after what he said was a failure to classify his remarks on immigration, in an article which he said amounted to "character assassination."

The Word's piece was a review of Morrissey's album, which said: "For his waving of the flag (for publicity too, it would seem), for his ingrained habit of paying lip service to anti-racism while talking like an old Tory immigration spokesman, and for his abandonment of everything that made The Smiths a band for outsiders, Morrissey should be ashamed of himself."

According to The Guardian, "[Morrissey's] solicitor, John Reid, told Mr Justice Eady that the closing paragraph could have been construed to suggest that he was a racist, held racist opinions or that - as the child of migrant parents - he was a hypocrite. Reid said that The Word's publisher, Development Hell, in which MediaGuardian.co.uk owner Guardian Media Group has a minority stake, and editor Mark Ellen did not intend the article to have the suggested meanings. Reid added that the firm wished to make it 'absolutely clear' that it dissociated itself entirely from any such inferences. Development Hell's solicitor, Caroline Kean, offered the firm's 'sincere apologies' to Morrissey. Morrissey welcomed the news and vowed to continue his libel complaint against the NME."

Said Morrissey: "I am obviously delighted with this victory and the clearing of my name in public, where it is loud and clear for all to hear. The NME have calculatedly tried to damage my integrity and to label me as a racist in order to boost their diminishing circulation. Word magazine made the mistake of repeating those allegations, which they now accept are false and, as a result, have apologised in open court. I will now continue to pursue my legal action against the NME and its editor until they do the same."

Morrissey accepts 'racism' apology [guardian]

Previously
Morrissey to Sue NME for Failing to Clarify Immigration Remarks [tr]

AFTER THE JUMP, the video for "Stop Me".

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Family Research Council's Sprigg Apologizes for Anti-Gay Remarks

Last week I posted an item about the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg, who was interviewed by the Medill Reports about the Uniting America Families Act, which would eliminate discrimination with regard to foreign partners of gay and lesbian citizens, allowing them to obtain permanent resident status in the same way that spouses do.

Sprigg told Medill Reports: "I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society."

In a statement on the group's blog yesterday, Sprigg apologized for his statement, but not for his support of current immigration policy:

Said Sprigg: "In an interview with Medill News Service that was posted on the Internet last week, I discussed FRC’s opposition to an immigration bill that would allow foreign nationals who are the same-sex partners of American citizens to immigrate to the United States on the same basis as foreign spouses of American citizens. FRC does not believe that homosexual relationships are the equivalent of marriage, and we therefore oppose any legislation that would treat such relationships as the equivalent of marriage. In response to a question regarding bi-national same-sex couples who are separated by an international border, I used language that trivialized the seriousness of the issue and did not communicate respect for the essential dignity of every human being as a person created in the image of God. I apologize for speaking in a way that did not reflect the standards which the Family Research Council and I embrace."

I've posted the original interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Family Research Council's Sprigg: I'd Prefer to Export Homosexuals

The Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg spoke to the Medill Reports about the Uniting America Families Act, which would eliminate discrimination with regard to foreign partners of gay and lesbian citizens, allowing them to obtain permanent resident status in the same way that spouses do.

Not surprisingly, Sprigg had some unenlightened things to say about how he feels gays and lesbians should be treated with regard to immigration.

Said Sprigg: "I would much prefer to export homosexuals from the United States than to import them into the United States because we believe homosexuality is destructive to society."

And no doubt he would if he could.

Watch the video here (top of page).

Gays Seek Immigration Reform [medill reports]
(via citizen crain via daily dish)

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Romney Opens Fire on Huckabee with First GOP Attack Ad

The GOP race is beginnning to get more contentious. Mitt Romney's campaign began running the first GOP attack ad (above, right) in Iowa today, challenging Mike Huckabee's record on illegal immigration. Huckabee began running the ad on the left on Monday.

Talking Points Memo notes: "Such elevated rhetoric — including the Romney campaign's mass e-mailing Monday of an anti-Huckabee Web column — reflects a growing sense of urgency at Romney headquarters, where the game plan all year has been predicated on bowling over rivals with victories in lead-voting Iowa and New Hampshire. With Huckabee taking the lead in polls in Iowa, which votes Jan. 3, and Sen. John McCain of Arizona coming on in New Hampshire, which votes Jan. 8, campaign officials have been debating whether to hit harder or simply take shots only as they present themselves...Romney officials are divided over how serious the threat is, noting that Huckabee is just beginning to face the same media scrutiny Romney has already encountered but also operating under the assumption that 'Huckabee is for real.'"

Wait till the gloves come off on who's more "pro-family."

Recently
Mike Huckabee Stands By 1992 AIDS Quarantine Remarks [tr]
Mike Huckabee: God and Prayer Responsible for His Recent "Surge" [tr]
Mitt Romney to Deliver Speech on Religion and the Presidency [tr]

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Morrissey Defends Himself, Explains How NME Manipulated Story

Morrissey defends himself from racism charges brought on by remarks about immigration from what he says was an NME story that "bears no relation in print to the fleshly conversation that took place." Here's an excerpt from a lengthy, interesting blog post in the Guardian today:

"When my comments are printed in the 'new' NME they are butchered, redesigned, reordered, chopped, snipped and split in order to make me seem racist and unreasonable. [Writer] Tim [Jonze] had told me about his friend who did not like the 1987 song Bengali in Platforms because the friend had thought the song attacked him on a personal level. I explained to Tim that the song was not about his friend. In print, the 'new' NME do not explain this, but attempt to multiply the horror of Tim's friend by attributing "these people" and "those people" quotes to me - terms I would never use, but are useful to the 'new' NME in their Morrissey-is-racist campaign because these terms are only used by people who are cold and indifferent and Thatcherite. All of the people I spoke to Tim about in the interview who are heroes to me and who are Middle Eastern or of other ethnic back grounds were of no interest to either Tim or Conor. Clearly, Tim had been briefed and his agenda was to cook up a sensational story that would give life to the 'new' NME as a must-read national if not global shock-horror story. Recalling how Tim asked me to sign some CD covers, I do not blame him entirely...

...My heart sank as Tim Jonze let slip the tell-all editorial directive behind this interview: "it's Conor's view that Morrissey thinks black people are OK ... but he wouldn't want one living next door to him." It was then that I realized the full extent of the setup, and I felt like Bob Hoskins in the final frame of The Long Good Friday as he sits in the back of the wrong getaway car realizing the extent of the conspiratorial slime that now trapped him."

Morrissey has taken legal action against the publication.

I abhor racism, and apologise - for speaking to NME [morrissey in the guardian]

Recently
Morrissey to Sue NME for Failing to Clarify Immigration Remarks [tr]
Morrissey Shuns England Over "Immigration Explosion" [tr]

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Morrissey to Sue NME for Failing to Clarify Immigration Remarks

Comments by Morrissey on immigration in the most recent issue of NME amount to "character assassination" according to the singer's lawyers, who are reportedly threatening to sue the publication. Additional details of the legal action have not been revealed.

Morrissey's comments, some of which I posted yesterday, read: "With the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because, although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears. If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won't hear an English accent. You'll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent."

Morrissey "expressed concern at how his previous comments could be interpreted" according to the Guardian, and conducted a follow-up interview, in which he said: "I just think that it would be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that's not true at all."

The controversy has sparked a war of words between the former Smiths frontman and the publication, while the article's author Tim Jonze has requested that his byline be removed from everything but the Q&A, claiming dissatisfaction over the magazine's final edit.

Morrissey demands apology from NME [guardian]

Recently
Morrissey Shuns England Over "Immigration Explosion" [tr]

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Morrissey Shuns England Over "Immigration Explosion"

In a new, controversial interview with NME, Morrissey says he shuns England now because of the "immigration explosion" that has happened there, according to the Daily Mail:

"Other countries have held on to their basic identity yet it seems to me that England was thrown away. The change in England is so rapid compared to the change in any other country. If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won't hear an English accent. You'll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent. The British identity is very attractive, I grew up into it and I find it quaint and very amusing."

He now considers Rome his home.

NME also reports today that the singer has signed a solo record deal with Polydor/Decca and has no plans to go the internet route in marketing it (ala Radiohead):

"If they (Radiohead) think that can work that that's a wonderful world. And yes, you can look at record companies and you can easily assess that they've been ripping people off for years and years and years. The whole process is a gigantic rip off. But then there are people like me who need to be institutionalised... and I don't mean in an asylum! Believing that several thousand people are working to get your music heard is more inspiring to me than anything else."

Of the new record, he boasts: "I'm extremely happy about it. I love my band at the moment, and the songs are great, of course. I don't think there's ever been a theme to any of my records. I don't need the chameleon element of trying to entice people with new costumes. I like to think I'm complicated and interesting enough as a human being."

You may have missed...
Morrissey Turns Down $75 Million Offer to Reunite The Smiths [tr]
Morrissey Has it Out for Madonna [tr]

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Bill O'Reilly: Gays, Immigration, and Fraud

Bill O'Reilly has a conversation with at Rachel B. Tiven, Executive Director of Immigration Equality, regarding the struggle to pass the Uniting American Families Act.

Incidentally, if you have the chance to see Sebastian Cordoba's illuminating film Through Thick and Thin which features the stories of several committed gay and lesbian couples struggling with the immigration issue, take the opportunity. It just screened at L.A.'s Outfest, but there will surely be more screenings coming up.

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Gay Immigrant Satendar Singh Killed in Holiday Hate Crime

A few days before the 4th of July holiday, 26-year-old Satendar Singh, a Fijian national who India-West says "won a visa to the U.S. through the immigration lottery" was targeted and killed by attackers at Lake Natoma, California while picnicking allegedly because of his race and sexuality.

Friends say "an ugly attack laced with racist and homophobic slurs" led up to a group of Russian men attacking Singh with their fists, and some say, brass knuckles.

The attack was unprovoked, say friends: "The group had arrived at the lake at approximately 2 that afternoon. According to various accounts later recounted in the Sacramento Bee, a group of Russian men nearby began directing their comments toward Singh, an employee with a local AT&T call center who had been in this country for seven years. Despite his last name, Singh wore neither a turban nor a beard, aside from a small goatee. As he and his friends settled in to enjoy an early Fourth of July celebration, the Russian men began making several racial and homophobic remarks to Singh. 'I'm not pretty sure, but I think (Singh) responded by saying he wasn't a gay,' one of Singh's friends who witnessed the incident and who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of retribution, told India-West. 'I told them we had come to enjoy the day and that we didn't want to get into a fight or something, and I thought it was all over.'"

But it wasn't over.

"'They were targeting him because Satendar was dancing to Indian music throughout the rest of the day, like the rest of us...I don't know what (the Russians) were saying or if Satendar said something back, but then it happened,' the witness said. One of the men from the Russian group came over and hit Singh in the face. Some witnesses claim that Singh's attacker had assaulted him with a 'knuckle duster' or pair of brass knuckles, but the witness could not confirm that any such weapon was used. The blow caused Singh to fall and hit his head on the concrete pavement. Almost immediately, he began bleeding from the head. After handing his phone to a woman standing next to him, 'I ran after the guy and he threw a bottle at me, but I couldn't catch him,' he told India-West."

Singh, who had been living in America for seven years, died four days later of head trauma sustained in the attack. Police are investigating the attack as a homicide while trying to gather evidence on its status as a hate crime.

Equality California has jumped on the case. Said Executive Director Geoff Kors: "First and foremost our thoughts go out to Mr. Singh, his family and his friends. If the attack on Mr. Singh turns out to be motivated by hate against any particular group, California's hate crimes law can and should be applied. This potential hate crime reminds us that it is time for the federal hate crimes statute to catch up to be similarly inclusive. We need to embrace policies that encourage people to respect our diverse society. If the Sacramento Sheriff's Department asked for help from the federal government in this case, federal law enforcement officials could get involved if the crime turns out to be motivated by racial bias, but not if it was prompted only by anti-LGBT bias. That gross inconsistency needs to change."

Young Fiji Indian Killed in Alleged Hate Crime Incident [india west]
Legislation Follows Brutal Racist/Homophobic Attack [san francisco bay times]

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