US backs UN declaration on gay rights

The Obama administration has formally endorsed the UN declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalisation of homosexuality, a measure George W. Bush had refused to sign.

The move is the administration’s latest in reversing Bush-era decisions that were heavily criticised by human rights and other groups. The United States was the only western nation not to sign onto the declaration when it came up at the UN General Assembly last December.

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/us-backs-un-declaration-on-gay-rights-20090319-92c0.html

Run for your life

A new GLBT running club on the Gold Coast will have you fit in no time – and you’ll meet new friends along the way, reports Andrew Scott.
With the current economic climate, and debts on people’s minds, more Australians are getting out of the gym and returning to the humble outdoor exercise regime that has become a rare sight in our society.
Joining a fitness group is a great way to lose weight, get fit, meet new people and save approximately $600 a year on gym costs! All for the cost of a pair of runners (which is a fraction of the price of gym membership) you can get out and about with likeminded people who all want to achieve the same goal: having a fun time in a non-threatening environment while improving or maintaining their fitness level.
A new group based on the Gold and Tweed coasts has just started, coining itself ‘Rainbow Runners’.



http://qlp.e-p.net.au/feature/run-for-your-life-2553.html

Government internet censorship: could you be saying goodbye to your favorite sites?

The Australian communications regulator says it will fine people who hyperlink to sites on its blacklist, which has been further expanded to include several pages on the anonymous whistleblower site Wikileaks.

Wikileaks was added to the blacklist for publishing a leaked document containing Denmark's list of banned websites.

The move by the Australian Communications and Media Authority comes after it threatened the host of online broadband discussion forum Whirlpool last week with a $11,000-a-day fine over a link published in its forum to another page blacklisted by ACMA - an anti-abortion website.

ACMA's blacklist does not have a significant impact on web browsing by Australians today but sites contained on it will be blocked for everyone if the Federal Government implements its mandatory internet filtering censorship scheme.

But even without the mandatory censorship scheme, as is evident in the Whirlpool case, ACMA can force sites hosted in Australia to remove "prohibited" pages and even links to prohibited pages.

Online civil liberties campaigners have seized on the move by ACMA as evidence of how casually the regulator adds to its list of blacklisted sites. It also confirmed fears that the scope of the Government's censorship plan could easily be expanded to encompass sites that are not illegal.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/technology/banned-hyperlinks-could-cost-you-11000-a-day/2009/03/17/1237054787635.html?page=fullpage

Vatican: no to legal gays

A United Nations proposal to decriminalise homosexuality worldwide will be opposed by the Vatican.

The Church’s UN observer Celestino Migliore said the Vatican opposed the resolution because it would "add new categories of those protected from discrimination".
"If adopted, they would create new and implacable discriminations," Migliore said.
"For example, states which do not recognise same-sex unions as 'matrimony' will be pilloried and made an object of pressure," Migliore told a French Catholic news agency.
However, the Vatican’s announcement has not been well received in Italy.
Italy’s La Stampa newspaper described the Vatican’s decision as “grotesque” and pointed out that homosexuality is punishable by death in more than 85 countries.
What the Vatican really feared, La Stampa said, was a "chain reaction in favor of legally recognised homosexual unions in countries, like Italy, where there is currently no legislation."
Italian gay rights group Arcigay said the Vatican decision was "total idiocy and madness."

http://axnational.e-p.net.au/newsflash/vatican-says-no-to-legal-gays.html

Brasil's Gay Pride Parade

Gay Pride in South America, swing to that Latin beat!

South America has some of the best Gay Pride Parades in the world and you should plan to attend one to see how Brazilians turn these events into a mini Carnival.
São Paulo, in Brazil, has today the world´s largest Pride Parade, and it takes place in the Winter when people from all over the world flock to São Paulo to see this exciting Pride Parade!
Aside from São Paulo, many other cities such as Rio, Florianópolis, Belo Horizonte, Buenos Aires and Búzios also have their special dates for the Gay Pride.
GTB can take you anywhere in Brazil and South America to have fun at the Pride Parades.

gaytravelbrasil.com