End How? By Sukh Sandhu

Amitabh Bachchan’s Involvement In “1984' Sikh Genocide”

2010-12-30T16:20:00.000+11:00

Amitabh Bachchan – Bollywood Star

During “84' Sikh Genocide”, Amitabh Bachchan was shown on television inciting
people to kill Sikhs after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
He said, “Sikhs had not only assassinated Indira Gandhi, they had killed the mother of the nation.”
He raised the slogan ‘Khoon ke chheente Indira ko marne walon ke gharon tak pahunchne chahiye (The bloodstains must reach the houses of those who killed Indira)’

2007 Nov 24, 2007

2007 Nov 24, 2007 - Chandigarh

Film star Amitabh Bachchan, senior Congress leaders and police officials figure in a list of 200 persons against whom Sikh organizations will file a fresh petition in the Supreme Court, seeking action against them for their role in anti-Sikh riots in Delhi in 1984.

The All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) and New York-based 'Sikhs for Justice' Friday announced that fresh individual petitions would be filed against each of these 200 persons in the apex court to bring them to justice.

The list includes names of Bachchan, Congress leader Jagdish Tytler, Bhajan Lal, Sajjan Kumar and several others, including police officers, for being directly and indirectly involved in rioting against Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere in the aftermath of the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards.

"We want all these persons to be brought before law and be punished for what they did to innocent Sikhs," AISSF president Karnail Singh told reporters here.

"The petition against Bachchan will be based on testimonies of riot victims and the actor's highly provocative statements following Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984," Karnail Singh said.

AISSF and the US-based organization SIKHS FOR JUSTICE will bring witnesses, including one Jasbir Singh, from other countries to testify before the Supreme Court against the people behind the riots.

2007 Nov 24, Section:North

Charges against Big B

Perhaps for the first time in the last 23 years, superstar Amitabh Bachchan has been named as one to instigate the anti- Sikh violence in 1984. In the documentary produced by Peer Mohammad himself, a victim has alleged that Bachchan had repeatedly made public assertions that the Sikhs have killed Indira Gandhi and had called for “khoon ka badla khoon” at the funeral pyre of Indira Gandhi. Peer Mohammad said this documentary would be screened at various schools and colleges too to educate the young of the tragedy of 1984.

2007 Nov 23, Chandigarh

AISSF to protest outside Parliament

The All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) has decided to hold a demonstration and observe a hunger strike outside Parliament on November 27 and 28 to protest government’s failure to punish the guilty responsible for 1984 anti-Sikh riots. They would also march to the Delhi district court on November 29 to protest CBI’s proposed clean chit given to MP Jagdish Tytler in riots in which many Sikhs lost their lives despite many eye-witnesses still being available to testify against him. Releasing a list of nearly 200 people involved in the mayhem that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from October 31 to November 7, 1984 in which thousands of Sikhs lost their lives in Delhi alone, the AISSF president said the protest outside Parliament aimed at pressing upon the government to suspend MPs Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath and Sajjan Kumar for their role in "1984 state-sponsored Sikh massacre" as the AISSF puts the anti-Sikh riots.

Amitabh’s role under scanner

The AISSF on Friday demanded a probe into the role of film star Amitabh Bachchan for inciting violence against Sikhs following the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In a documentary released here today, Babu Singh Dukhia, a resident of Tirlok Puri in Delhi, claimed there were eyewitnesses that saw Amitabh Bachchan inciting mobs to avenge the death of Indira Gandhi. The documentary says Amitabh Bachchan was clearly involved in inciting mobs and was heard saying "khoon ka badla khoon” at the funeral of late Indira Gandhi.

According to Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, president of the AISSF, there are 177 people apart from 17 senior Congress leaders and 13 police officials against whom clear evidence of involvement in riots was still available in the form of eyewitnesses. “None of the Congress leaders and policemen who led the mobs in November, 1984 in broad day light that killed thousands and displaced more than 60,000 Sikhs are charged with or given any punishment under Indian legal system,” he said.

He said there were many eyewitnesses who had given affidavits to different commissions constituted by different Union Governments at the Centre and were still available to testify that Kamal Nath led mobs that attacked historic Gurdwara Rakabganj Sahib that killed many Sikhs. The AISSF proposes to give memorandums to presidents of major political partys and to the members of Parliament asking them to force Congress MPs Jagdish Tytler, Kamal Nath and Sajjan Kumar to resign

The AISSF has also demanded that the role of former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal, film star Amitabh Bachchan and Congress minister Arjun Singh be investigated by an independent agency.

Peer Mohammad said while these people were never investigated, there were many instances where police cases were registered against the Sikhs, who were being killed, and not against those who were killing them.

He further disclosed that the US-based Human Rights Advocacy Group, supported by many Sikh organisations have jointly decided to file a writ petition before the Supreme Court demanding suo motto action on the matter of genocide of Sikhs in November, 1984.

References:

http://www.sikhsforjustice.org/?q=content/amitabh-bachchan

Hindustan Times

The Times of India

Tribune India

Indian student goes missing in Sydney

2010-10-05T19:06:00.000+11:00

Sydney: A 20-year-old Indian student, who arrived in Australia just months back with his family, has gone missing in Sydney, prompting a hunt by the police.

Abhijeet Swami, the young engineering student left his Sydney home on Friday on a bicycle but did not return, police said.

Swami came to Australia with his family some months back and was staying with them in a northwest suburb.

The Sydney Police issued an appeal seeking information about the boy after they recovered his bicycle and found no trace of him.

He was last seen after 10 am on Friday when he left his Seven Hills home on a bicycle, police said.

His family raised an alarm the next day when he did not return home as expected, the Sydney Morning Herald said.

The police, which launched an investigation found the engineering student's bike at the Blacktown railway station yesterday.

Police said there were concerns about his welfare as he has been in Australia only for a few months and it is believed he does not know many people other than his immediate family.

Press trust of India Reports

Buddy, are you Indian?

2010-10-03T13:34:00.000+11:00

After a long lull in the racial attacks in Victoria, a 21-year-old man was reportedly bashed and bruised after being asked if he was an Indian.

According to a local newspaper Dandenong Leader, police said the man was walking to Sandown Park rail station about 6.40 am when four teenage males on bikes approached him, three with baseball bats.

One asked him "Buddy, are you Indian?" police official Jo Hayden said the man was hit from behind, fell and was kicked while lying on the ground.

Two passers-by took the man home, she said.

He was bruised and had a large cut on his nose.

He told police his attackers looked about 15 16 years old.

Federation of Indian Association of Victoria (FIAV) president Vasan Srinivasan said he was surprised about the attack which took place in eastern suburb which is considered to be multicultural.

"My only request to youngsters is, let's learn to respect each other, live with harmony and peace. What else we can say?", Srinivasan was quoted as saying by the paper.

The newspaper quoted Hayden as saying that another Indian was attacked last Tuesday night, but refused to comment if it was racially motivated.

The 39-year-old was walking home about 6pm along Moncur Ave in Springvale.

Police said he was punched to the ground from behind and kicked while on the ground.

Police said there were witnesses, but no clear description of the attacker.

Since 2006, the Indian population of Greater Dandenong has risen by 1200, with 3 per cent of Greater Dandenong residents from India.

Calls for watchdog for foreign students: Sarah Hanson-Young

2010-09-25T23:14:00.000+10:00

The federal government vows it won't tolerate abuses of the system governing the education of foreign students in Australia.

Concerns about Australia's third-biggest export industry have reignited after an investigation by the ABC's Four Corners program claimed some colleges and migration agents are ripping off students who come here to study.

The claims follow recent fiery debate sparked by violence against international students, especially Indians.

Federal police and immigration officials on Monday raided the offices of a Sydney migration agent allegedly involved in a scam to exploit students.

Police and the government declined to comment on the investigation on Tuesday.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith insisted the government was taking action to stamp out abuses of the system.

"We want Australia to continue to be a good place for students to come," he told ABC Television.

"Any of these abuses we of course won't tolerate and don't tolerate.

"The cracking down so far as the migration agents' regulatory arrangements are concerned will assist in that process, just as the efforts that we've been making together with the Indian government."

Mr Smith said that since its time in opposition, Labor had been pushing for better regulation of migration agents.

"As a consequence of that we've recently seen a migration regulatory authority come into existence to regulate that industry better," he said.

But the Migration Institute of Australia believes a lack of policing of the industry is the issue, not regulation.

"The big issue, I think, facing us at the moment isn't so much the people that are currently regulated, but what we haven't got is any real action when someone steps outside of the regulatory framework and is acting illegally," the institute's chief executive Maureen Horder told ABC Radio.

"I think successive governments have been tardy in policing the lack of compliance in the migration advice field."

The Australian Greens believe an independent regulator is the answer.

"It has been an issue for quite some time and one of the biggest problems in the system is the lack of regulation," Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

Senator Hanson-Young said an independent regulatory body was required to restore the integrity of the booming international education sector.

"We need an independent body to oversee and do things and if there is a complaint. They actually need some authority to step in and do something," she said.

"It's not just about migration agents, it's also about education agents. These are the individuals and organisations that the government has thus far said 'we can't control any of that, that is all done by the education institution'."

By Sandra O'Malley for http://news.ninemsn.com.au

Another Indian in Australia claims racial abuse, police smiled on abuse

2010-08-13T18:32:00.000+10:00

MELBOURNE: An Indian cabbie has claimed that Australian police just "smiled" when a group of passengers racially abused him outside a police station, where he had gone for support after they refused to pay the fare.

Gurpreet Singh Ashreja (29) said he was stunned that police did nothing as they listened to passengers racially abuse him outside Chelsea police station.

He said he drove to the police station for support when his passengers refused to pay $47 in fares. "Instead, he alleges he received a loud dressing down and a lecture about use of the 'f-word'," The Age reported.

"I have no doubt that I was discriminated against because of my race," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

He took the six passengers to the station on the advice of the cab company, hoping to get the rest of his fare.

Police had been alerted and were waiting for him outside, but one told him it was a civil matter and police only dealt with criminal matters, the paper said.

Ashreja claimed that he was also ridiculed for not wearing the proper taxi uniform outside the cab, which the fare evaders thought was funny.

He said one officer then shouted at him about the way he had parked his cab.

Ashreja said the passengers got out of the cab and started shouting: "You...Indian b......., go back to your own country," he claimed.

The policeman was "watching this and I could see a smile on his face".

Police are investigating the incident.

Read more: Indian cabbie in Australia claims racial abuse - Indians Abroad - World - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/indians-abroad/Indian-cabbie-in-Australia-claims-racial-abuse/articleshow/6304444.cms#ixzz0wTNmyi4s

Russian revolution: black man elected to office

2010-07-26T18:45:00.000+10:00

Novozavidovo, Russia: People in this Russian town used to stare at Jean Gregoire Sagbo because they had never seen a black man. Now they say they see in him something equally rare -- an honest politician.

Sagbo last month became the first black to be elected to office in Russia.
In a country where racism is entrenched and often violent, Sagbo's election as one of Novozavidovo's 10 municipal councilors is a milestone. But among the town's 10,000 people, the 48-year-old from the West African country of Benin is viewed simply a Russian who cares about his hometown.

He promises to revive the impoverished, garbage-strewn town where he has lived for 21 years and raised a family. His plans include reducing rampant drug addiction, cleaning up a polluted lake and delivering heating to homes.

"Novozavidovo is dying," Sagbo said in an interview in the ramshackle municipal building. "This is my home, my town. We can't live like this."

"His skin is black but he is Russian inside," said Vyacheslav Arakelov, the mayor. "The way he cares about this place, only a Russian can care."

Sagbo isn't the first black in Russian politics. Another West African, Joaquin Crima of Guinea-Bissau, ran for head of a southern Russian district a year ago but was heavily defeated.
Crima was dubbed by the media "Russia's Obama." Now they've shifted the title to Sagbo, much to his annoyance.

"My name is not Obama. It's sensationalism," he said. "He is black and I am black, but it's a totally different situation."

Inspired by communist ideology, Sagbo came to Soviet Russia in 1982 to study economics in Moscow. There he met his wife, a Novozavidovo native. He moved to the town about 100 kilometers (65 miles) north of Moscow in 1989 to be close to his in-laws.

Today he is a father of two, and negotiates real estate sales for a Moscow conglomerate. His council job is unpaid.

Sagbo says neither he nor his wife wanted him to get into politics, viewing it as a dirty, dangerous business, but the town council and residents persuaded him to run for office.
They already knew him as a man of strong civic impulse. He had cleaned the entrance to his apartment building, planted flowers and spent his own money on street improvements. Ten years ago he organized volunteers and started what became an annual day of collecting garbage.
He said he feels no racism in the town. "I am one of them. I am home here," Sagbo said.
He felt that during his first year in the town, when his 4-year-old son Maxim came home in tears, saying a teenage boy spat at him. Sagbo ran outside in a rage, demanding that the spitter explain himself. Women sitting nearby also berated the teenager. Then the whole street joined in.

Russia's black population hasn't been officially counted but some studies estimate about 40,000 "Afro-Russians." Many are attracted by universities that are less costly than in the West. Scores of them suffer racially motivated attacks every year — 49 in Moscow alone in 2009, according to the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy Task Force on Racial Violence and Harassment, an advocacy group.

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Novozavidovo's industries were rapidly privatized, leaving it in financial ruin.

High unemployment, corruption, alcoholism and pollution blight what was once an idyllic town, just a short distance from the Zavidovo National Park, where Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev take nature retreats.

Denis Voronin, a 33-year-old engineer in Novozavidovo, said Sagbo was the town's first politician to get elected fairly, without resorting to buying votes
"Previous politicians were all criminals," he said.

A former administration head — the equivalent of mayor in rural Russia — was shot to death by unknown assailants two years ago.

The post is now held by Arakelov, a veteran of the Soviet war in Afghanistan who says he also wants to clean up corruption. He says money used to constantly disappear from the town budget and is being investigated by tax police.

Residents say they pay providers for heat and hot water, but because of ineffective monitoring by the municipality they don't get much of either. The toilet in the municipal building is a room with a hole in the floor.

As a councilor, Sagbo has already scored some successes. He mobilized residents to collect money and turn dilapidated lots between buildings into colorful playgrounds with new swings and painted fences.

As he strolled around his neighborhood everyone greeted him and he responded in his fluent, French-African-accented Russian. Boys waved to Sagbo, who had promised them a soccer field.
Sitting in the newly painted playground with her son, Irina Danilenko said it was the only improvement she has seen in the five years she has lived here.

"We don't care about his race," said Danilenko, 31. "We consider him one of us."

Associated Press (AP)

Attacks on Indians still continue in Melbourne- Police, politicians in covering up!

2010-07-23T07:27:00.002+10:00

Melbourne: An Indian student, who was hospitalised with multiple jaw fractures after being brutally beaten up by a group of six youths here, will not be able to eat for up to five weeks and also cannot talk properly, according to one of his friends.

24-year-old Bharat Thapar, who was assaulted on Monday night in South Oakleigh, is recuperating in a hospital with plates in his jaws and "bruises all over his body".

Quoting Thapar's friend Sumeet Khanna, 'The Age' reported today that the victim was unable to talk properly after a brutal confrontation with six youths that left him with four fractures in his lower jaw. Meanwhile, police said they were investigating a number of conflicting reports about the incident as to who started the argument that led to the brawl.

Khanna had earlier said that two of his friends, including Thapar, had been driving through the Oakleigh area when they saw another Indian man being abused by a group of youths. "Bharat went to his aid and he said that up to six of them had turned on him, beating him and abusing him, telling him to 'leave this place'," according to Khanna. "He's still in a bad way and will not be able to eat for up to five weeks," Khanna said, adding police had failed to interview the witnesses.

According to a Victoria Police spokesman, the initial incident appeared to have been sparked when somebody parked a car in front of a mechanic's workshop and refused to move it. A group of men then physically moved the car and a scuffle is believed to have developed, he said. Thapar arrived with his friend in a car and the confrontation escalated.

Press trust of India
The Age
NDTv

Honour killing: Girl, lover hanged in Haryana village

2010-07-05T00:03:00.000+10:00

BHIWANI/CHANDIGARH: Even as rural Haryana remains in the stranglehold of the defiant caste panchayats, honour killings continue in their most horrible form: On Sunday, the family members of a girl allegedly killed her and her teenaged lover and hanged them as exhibits in their house for the village to see their "fate."

According to police, Monika (18) and her lover Rinku (19), both from Jat families, were brutally killed for honour at Nimriwali village, near Bhiwani. The father of the girl, her brother, uncle and cousins are suspected to be behind the crime and are absconding.

"We’ve registered a case of murder and wrongful confinement on the basis of a complaint by Rinku’s uncle, Krishan Kumar. Police teams have been deputed to arrest the suspects named in the case. We are waiting for the post-mortem report. However, circumstances clearly suggest it to be an honour killing," said inspector Prem Singh, the investigating officer. Singh avoided enquiries as to who had informed the police and who first came to know about the incident.

According to preliminary investigations, the injury marks on the bodies of Monika and Rinku suggest that they were tortured by their killers.

Sources said Monika was a dropout and Rinku, who belonged to the neighbouring Manherhu village, was living with his maternal uncle, a trader. The two had been going around for over two years despite objections from their families. According to sources, the two were caught by their relatives at Monika’s uncle’s house.

TNN

Another case of shameful "honour killing" of Haryana, India

2010-07-04T23:50:00.000+10:00

A teenaged boy and a girl were found dead under mysterious circumstances at Smain village of Haryana's Fathehabad district on Sunday morning, police said, suspecting it to be an another case of "honour killing".

"Shyam Mohammed and Reena, around 17 to 18 years of age, were found dead in the open fields. Poison tablets were found near their bodies. There were no injury marks. It will be too early to say whether it was a suicide or a murder," Station House Officer Madan Lal told IANS.
"We are also considering the angle of honour killing in the case," he said.

According to police, Shyam and Reena wanted to marry each other but their families were against the alliance.

"We have started our investigation and police are recording the statements of the family members. Also, the bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination," Madan Lal said.
Haryana is notorious for honour killings, with two cases being reported last month.
Two teenaged girls were murdered for having a romantic relationship with their cousin in Sonepat town. Three people, including a woman, were arrested.

In another case, a teenaged couple was murdered in a village in Bhiwani district by the girl's family as the boy and girl were from different gotra (sub-caste) and were planning to marry.
In March this year, a court in Karnal sentenced five people to death for killing a young couple who married in 2007 against the wishes of their community.

Some comments by community leaders:

“Only whores choose their own partners.... Recently an educated couple married against the samaj’s (community’s) wishes in Jhajjar. We hail the panchayat’s decision to execute them...The government cannot protect this atyachar (immoral behaviour).... (The law of the land) is the root of all problems... That’s your Constitution, ours is different.’’

–Mahendra Singh Tikait, farmers’ leader of Western UP

“Yahan izzatdar woh hain jo ladki ko marte hain (Those who kill their girls are respected here)” – a teacher in rural Haryana

‘‘Khap leaders are keepers of Jat tradition” - Justice (retd) Devi Singh Teotia, a former judge of the Punjab & Haryana HC, active member of the Sarv Khap Panchayat, demanding legalising of the khaap panchayats

Mahendra Singh Tikait’s outrageous and offensive remarks once again raise the question: why do the khaap panchayats of Haryana and Western UP which open issue ‘death sentences’ for couples who defy their caste-diktats on love and marriage, enjoy impunity?

In the context of such executions, Congress MP from Rohtak Deepender Hooda (whom the Congress proudly counts among its contingent of ‘young MPs’) had expressed sympathy for the “sentiments and local customs of khaap panchayats.” Will the Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh tell us why leaders of their party endorse such “sentiments” that mock the constitution and openly call for lynching?

Tikait says women who choose their own partners are ‘whores’. The ‘dishonour’ of ‘whoring’, in his eyes, does not lie, it seems, in the act of buying sexual services. After all, men in the same region openly buy their wives (as reproductive machines) from other states, because women are in short supply due to female foeticide. The ‘dishonour’ according to him lies primarily in women choosing their own partners. This choice threatens the structures of property and land, and with it, the very edifice of the feudal order.

Tikait’s words are all the more unfortunate coming from a representative of the farmers’ movement. One caution, however. The Times of India story that carried Tikait's statements, described the farmers’ leader in stereotypical terms as “squatting on his haunches...dhoti-clad...bare-chested...". The suggestion seems to be that it is only in the “backward” rural, lower-class hinterland that such views on women exist. The question is: isn't Ashok Todi prosperous, ‘modern’ and upper class? What about US-educated Deepender Hooda? And are not men who are dhoti-class, bare-chested and squat on haunches capable of being progressive? The likes of Tikait may offer the more juicy sound-bytes and makes an easier target for the corporate media. We in the women’s movement, however, can’t lose sight of the fact that educated and well off fathers and brothers are quite as culpable in policing their daughters’ and sisters’ sexuality. Murders in the name of 'honour' have land and property as a sub-text, and they do not happen only in 'uncivilised' hinterlands but often enough in elite sections of cities.

Home Minister P Chidambaram has rejected the need for a special law to deal with the Haryana killings, saying they should be dealt with as murders.

The killings and lynchings themselves may be murders. The question is: is it legal to justify and call for such killings, as the khaap panchayats do, as Tikait does? Does our existing law permit any individual or institution to issue diktats on adults’ choice of marriage partners, and declare ‘death sentences’ for those who defy these caste-imposed diktats? If it is indeed illegal to issue such diktats and death sentences, why does neither Home Ministry nor the State Government of Haryana take any action against those who issue them?

Sati and dowry killings are also murders, but we have specific laws to recognise them. Can murders which are openly justified – even by leaders from Chidambaram’s own party, as well as their allies like Tikait – in the name of social tradition be dealt with in the same way as ordinary murders?

If the Central Government and State Governments refuse to invoke existing laws to punish those who openly flout the Constitution and call for such killings; if the existing laws do not even allow the National Crime Records Bureau to document or assess the actual numbers of such killings (since they’re all lumped together as murders), then surely we need a specific law that
• declares it illegal for any group or individual, be they khaap panchayats or Sangh outfits or parents like D P Yadav or Ashok Todi to coerce adults in matters of marriage;
• spells out punishments for diktats and death sentences issued by khaap panchayats, and also for Tikait-type justifications of such ‘executions’;
• that spells out punishments for concerned police and administration authorities who fail to protect couples and take preventive action against those who issue death sentences
• that spells out punishments for parents who falsely accuse women of being ‘minors’ so as to separate them from husbands and have them locked up in Nari Niketans

Kavita Krishnan is the Secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA),
kavitakrish73@gmail.com

Australian PM against gay marriage

2010-06-30T19:57:00.000+10:00

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she does not support legalising gay marriage in Australia.

Labor policy on gay marriage will remain the same under her prime ministership, Ms Gillard told Austereo show today.

"We believe the marriage act is appropriate in its current form, that is recognising that marriage is between a man and a woman, but we have as a government taken steps to equalise treatment for gay couples," Ms Gillard said.

Asked if that was also her personal view, Ms Gillard said it was.

The new prime minister was left waiting on air while Kyle and Jackie played a song - Gettin' Over You by David Guetta featuring Fergie.

"I can listen to a song," Ms Gillard said, when Kyle expressed concern it might be inappropriate to leave her waiting.

The choice of song wasn't quite to her taste, however.

"I'm a really kind of an eighties dag," she said.

Ms Gillard said she would do her best to be frank with the Australian public in her new role.

"I think when you're doing something as complicated as being prime minister, there are days when people are going to look at what you're doing and go, 'That's fantastic,' and there are going to be other days when they look at what you're doing and say, 'Why on earth did she do that?'," Ms Gillard said.

"So I'm not going to try and promise people everything's going to be smooth sailing and they're going to be applauding at the end of each day because the job's too tough for that, but I'll be trying my best to be as frank as I can with the Australian people about the challenges we face."

Asked if she would be outlawing redheaded jokes now that she was prime minister, Ms Gillard laughed and said she would still allow them.

"But expect to get a response when you do," she said.

AAP

Sikhs protest Kamal Nath's presence in US

2010-04-10T18:55:00.000+10:00

New York: A group of about 100 Sikhs protested the presence of Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Kamal Nath, who they alleged had instigated a mob in the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The group under the banner of Sikhs For Justice, a US-based community advocacy group, held a "Justice Rally" Thursday outside McGraw-Hill's headquarters in Manhattan where Nath was addressing the Global Construction Summit.

"We want to put him behind bars. Anyone guilty should be behind bars," said Avtar Singh Pannu of Queens, the group's coordinator.

Sikhs For Justice legal adviser Gurpatwant S. Pannun said Kamal Nath "a violator of human rights who led the mobs that torched Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib and in which many Sikhs were burnt alive," shouldn't be in the US.

A government commission set up to investigate the riots sparked by the assassination of then Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi by his Sikh bodyguards has in its 2005 report said there was no evidence to suggest that Nath had instigated a mob to violence.

Protesters at the rally held up signs reading "Stand for Justice" and "Demanding Justice" and black inner tubes symbolising the tires that were burned during the riots.

"We want to create awareness within ourselves and the international community and embarrass Kamal Nath and the people who invited him here," said Ranjit Singh, former president of Sikh Youth of America.

Sikhs for Justice filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court this week against Nath on behalf of the deceased and injured riot victims and their families. Jasbir Singh, 44, and Mohinder Singh, 27, of Hayward, California, also are plaintiffs.

Jasbir Singh, a truck driver, said he witnessed 26 of his family members burned alive and saw others cut to pieces on the streets in Delhi. He said killers would kill anyone with a beard and a turban.

"Three days, day and night, killings, houses burned, people burned," said Jasbir Singh who came to the US in 2002. "Twenty-five years, I waited for justice."

Mohinder Singh, also a truck driver, was two years old at the time of the riots. He said he lost his father, two uncles and his grandfather's brother. He said he was told the mobs killed his father in front of his mother and hacked his relatives to pieces. "He's guilty. The Indian government hasn't given us any justice," Mohinder Singh said.

Kamal Nath told reporters he was "surprised, shocked and appalled because I have never been charged" noting, "I've come to the United States god knows how many times. ... It's never been an issue. This is the first time."

Yadwinder Singh, president American Gurudwara Prabandhik Committee (AGPC) said the group had never protested a visit before because they wanted to exhaust all possible remedies in India. He said Nath should not be invited to speak in a country that stands for human rights.

IANS

'Honour' killing again in HARYANA: Teen lovers perish

2010-04-09T19:53:00.000+10:00

SONEPAT: Honour killings in Haryana claimed two more lives as the brother of a 16-year-old girl strangled her to death for being involved with a boy of the same village, on Thursday. A day after the girl was killed, the boy committed suicide in school.

Rakesh Kashyap, 18, was found hanging from a tree in his school in Bhainswal village of Sonepat district.

On Thursday, police said they arrested Ravi Kashyap for killing his younger sister Usha and produced him before a judge who sent him to judicial custody. Ravi confessed to the crime, saying he flew into a rage on seeing his sister and Rakesh in a compromising position, a police officer said.

The girl's father, Subhash Kashyap, told cops that on Wednesday, he found his daughter's room bolted from the inside when he came back from the fields. He broke open the door to find his son standing next to the girl's body.

Whether it's the khaps or feudal patriarchy, Haryana's violent social order claims scores of lives every year.

Earlier this month, a Karnal court gave the death sentence to five members of a khap panchayat for killing a couple --Manoj and Babli-- who were accused of transgressing norms by marrying within the gotra or lineage.

TNN

Philippine Supreme Court allows gay party in polls

2010-04-08T20:16:00.000+10:00

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Supreme Court overturned a decision Thursday barring a gay rights group from contesting national elections in May and recognized it as a legitimate political party for the first time.

In a unanimous ruling, the 15-member court threw out decisions by the Elections Commission denying accreditation to Ang Ladlad (Out of the Closet) on grounds that it tolerates immorality and offends both Christians and Muslims.

The justices said the party had complied with all legal requirements, and that there is no law against homosexuality.

"I felt vindicated," said the group's leader, Danton Remoto, an English professor at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University. He said that Ang Ladlad had struggled for recognition and accreditation for the past seven years.

The Elections Commission caused outrage among gays and liberals in November by saying the group cannot run as a political party because it "tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs." Three of the commissioners cited passages from the Bible and the Quran to justify their ruling, claiming that Ang Ladlad exposes young people to "an environment that does not conform to the teachings of our faith."

Homosexuals are generally accepted in the Philippines and many prominent Filipinos are openly gay, despite the dominant Roman Catholic religion's rejection of same-sex relations.

The group has received support from Leila de Lima, head of the independent Commission on Human Rights, who denounced the November ruling as "retrogressive" and smacking of "discrimination and prejudice."

The group filed a case in January in the Supreme Court, which said that government is neutral and no legal impediment should be imposed on groups on religious grounds.

"The denial of Ang Ladlad's registration on purely moral grounds amounts more to a statement of dislike and disapproval of homosexuals, rather than a tool to further any substantial public interest," the court said.

Ang Ladlad is one of more than 100 parties seeking to win 50 of the 286 seats in House of Representatives allocated for marginalized sectors.

Pakistan edges closer to banning domestic violence

2010-04-08T20:13:00.000+10:00

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — For seven years, her husband taunted, threatened and thrashed her, she says. After she filed for divorce, he struck again, throwing enough acid on her face to destroy her left eye.

Why didn't she leave sooner? Or turn to the police for help? Zakia Perveen's scarred lips are quick to explain: She would have become a pariah in her conservative Pakistani town of Jhelum.

"People don't appreciate women who go to police stations," the 38-year-old says. "I just thought it was my destiny, my fate."

Rights advocates hope a proposed law banning domestic violence will chip away at such attitudes, giving women a more even playing field and bringing Pakistan in line with a growing number of developing nations that have outlawed spousal abuse.

But Islamist lawmakers in Parliament are objecting, claiming the law could tear apart the social fabric by undermining families.

Violence against women is a widespread phenomenon in Pakistan, a Muslim-majority nation of 175 million where most people are poor, only half the adults can read and extremist ideologies, including the Taliban's, are gaining traction.

In 2008, there were at least 7,571 incidents of acid attacks, rapes, spousal beatings and other violence against women, according to The Aurat Foundation, a women's rights group. Because the group relied mostly on media reports, the figure is likely a vast undercount.

Other surveys have shown up to 80 percent of wives in rural parts of Pakistan fear physical violence from their husbands, while 50 percent of women in urban areas admit their husbands beat them, according to a 2009 U.S. State Department report on Pakistan.

"It happens even in good families — wealthier families," says Yasmeen Rehman, the sponsor of the bill now stuck in a committee in Parliament. "In the rural areas, it's almost like a habit for the men."

The bill lays out a broad definition of domestic violence beyond assault, including emotional abuse, stalking and wrongful confinement. Depriving a spouse of money or other resources needed to survive is also considered a violation.

The bill strives to cover everyone in a household, including elderly parents, children and husbands. It also sets up local "protection committees," which are required to include women and empowered to file complaints on behalf of victims.

Abusers can face months or years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines if they violate court protection orders, the bill says.

Under current Pakistani law, women could turn to anti-assault statutes, but unless they are severely beaten, such claims are hard to prove, activists say. Police are rarely willing to interfere in domestic matters and often don't take women seriously.

Most women are unwilling to report on a family member, especially if he's the breadwinner, and they give in to societal pressure to just put up with the abuse.

It's one of the many paradoxes in a country that has tried to blend Islamic strictures with more secular legal tradition inherited by the British, a place where a woman has served as prime minister and yet militants regularly torch girls' schools.

"Laws are very good, but unless and until you change the mindset of the people, things won't change," said Nayyar Shabana Kiyani, who has worked on the legislation as part of the The Aurat Foundation.

One person these women are working hard to persuade is a leading Islamist lawmaker, Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani.

In a lengthy interview with The Associated Press, Sherani insisted domestic violence was not a big problem in Pakistan until advocacy groups appeared and created the "issue" of women's rights.

Because of this, he explained, women became "contenders" to men in the public realm, and were no longer content in the home. The new law led to more divorce and disrupted family life by allowing police and other authorities to interfere, he said.

"We oppose this law because it is not the solution — rather it is a possible cause of more chaos in society," he said. The solution, he suggested, was striving for a truer Islamic society.

Pakistan is behind many other countries when it comes to banning domestic violence.

Among the growing number of developing nations that have passed laws against domestic violence are Bangladesh, Indonesia and India, all of which have majority or substantial Muslim populations.

Zakia Perveen is supportive of the bill, even though no law will restore her face to what it once was. With her husband on trial following the acid attack last year, Perveen says she's focusing on her children.

"I will teach my son to look after his wife when he gets married," she said. "God forbid if something happens to my daughters. I will tell them not to conceal the facts."

AP

Report questions excluding gays from some medical studies

2010-03-23T21:30:00.001+11:00

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A small but significant portion of medical studies exclude gays from participating, sometimes without an apparent scientific reason, several cancer researchers say.

In a letter in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, three scientists from the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia cite several dozen studies requiring a participant to be "in a reciprocal relationship with a person of the opposite sex."

There are legitimate scientific reasons for excluding gays from certain studies. Scientists would want only heterosexuals if they were studying how HIV spreads during male-female sex, for example.

But the Fox Chase folks found cases where the reason for excluding gays is not clear: tests of a drug for attention-deficit disorder, a treatment for erection problems after prostate cancer surgery, and studies on sexual function related to diabetes, depression and benign enlargement of the prostate as men age.

Brian Egleston, a biostatistician at Fox Chase, made the observation while overseeing enrollment of patients into clinical trials at the cancer center.

"When I first saw this, I thought it was a fluke. The second time, I thought I'd dig deeper," he said.

Egleston and Roland Dunbrack Jr., a biologist, and Dr. Michael J. Hall, a medical oncologist, did a spot check of a government database of thousands of studies and turned up more examples, most of them private-industry trials.

Researchers seeking federal money for their work must explain why a study excludes a group based on gender, race or ethnicity, but no explanation is needed for exclusion based on sexual orientation, Egleston said.

Exclusion can become self-perpetuating: Researchers designing a study often "cut and paste" participation criteria from earlier trials on a similar subject.

"It becomes the way it's done," and any bias gets repeated, Egleston said.

Estimates of how much of the U.S. population is gay or bisexual vary widely; some polls have put it around 4%.

The China Dog Massacres of 2009

2010-03-23T20:36:00.000+11:00

Facts: The China Dog Massacres of 2009:

Many people locked their dogs inside the house for days fearful that they would never return, say animal activist groups in China.
As part of HSI efforts to prevent future dog massacres, HSI is reaching out to government officials responsible for the pet and homeless animal management in the country.
HSI is offering its experience and expertise to develop a humane management program in China for companion animals. HSI is also helping to empower and educate the many local animal welfare organizations on the ground in China dealing with these issues first hand.
HSI co-sponsored companion animal symposiums in China in 2007 and 2009. The symposiums have been used to assist capacity building of China's growing animal protection groups and to facilitate positive policy change in urban animal management.
In December 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao ordered an immediate halt to the dog culls taking place at that time. Since then, dog culls have not been adopted in China's major cities. The current Yangxian killings are a reminder that dog culls are yet to be ended elsewhere in China.

May 31^st, 2009 began like any other normal day in Yangxian County, Shaanxi Province, China. Countless stray pups aimlessly wandered the streets, picking through garbage and carefully avoiding the city’s frustrated populace. It was typical for Yangxian, a city plagued by an overpopulation of dogs—especially street dogs.

But what happened soon after still haunts the dreams of dog lovers worldwide.

The city officials initiated a ‘dog cull’ order wherein every single dog in Yangxian was to be executed—whether by being beaten to death, sliced open, or just shot. And it mattered naught whether the pooch roamed the streets or resided with a master, for even dog owners were forced to kill, lest they be fined 100 yuan for a more formal execution by the military police.

Behind the widespread execution was an alleged claim by government officials that stray rabies-infected dogs had recently bitten over 300 people. Many dog lovers believe that the order was in fact a cleverly planned attempt to turn Yangxian into a dogless city much like Heihe, Heilogjiang Province, where only a few days earlier, over 30,000 dogs had been ruthlessly killed to combat a few rare instances of rabies. It makes sense too, especially considering that even vaccinated dogs were targeted for extermination.

Since the horrendous dog massacres of 2009—which also occurred in several other unmentioned cities—there have been massive outcries all across the globe, from chat-rooms, the press, and countless international animal advocacy groups such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and the Humane Society International (HSI). As of February 2010, no more dog culling orders have been filed, but the aftermath still stings strongly for many.

An unidentified animal activist stated, “My husband could not sleep for several nights. What he had in his mind were the blood trails on the ground, dying dogs taking a last look at this not-so-friendly world, and the wailing howls of the dogs pinned down by the police.”

The biggest question on people’s mind is whether or not these executions were necessary. Xing Tianhu, the deputy mayor of Hanzhong, defended the massacres: “Our data showed us that the number of dogs carrying the rabies virus has increased and we needed to urgently control this epidemic.”

Ingrid E. Newkirk of the American Chronicle noted, however, that “virtually every emerging nation in the world has dealt effectively with rabies without slaughtering dogs.” In fact, most nations already mandate rabies vaccinations for owned animals; plus, they utilize spaying & neutering to ensure overpopulation doesn’t occur. “Such a program could be established in China as it has been in so many other countries,” she said.

Professor Zu, an epidemiologist, further clarifies the issue by pointing out the importance of proper public education on rabies. Most of China’ rural inhabitants are unaware that there are treatments for people who have been bitten by a dog infected with rabies. It’s up to the Chinese government to invest in proper education, though.

For more images from the dog massacres, please view the footage below. Do keep in mind, however, that it contains graphic footage that some viewers may find offensive.

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2009/06/hsi_condemns_government_ordered_dog_killing_in_china_060809.html

http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_european_union/media_center/press_releases/12_21_2006_42562.php

http://www.hsus.org/hsi/dogs_and_cats/street_animal_welfare/china_culls/dog-killing-has-no-place-in-a-modernizing-china.html

Victorian police watchdog shelved racist complaints : The Australian Report

2010-03-18T17:35:00.001+11:00

MORE than 20 complaints of racism by Victorian police, including allegations of criminal behaviour, were made to the Office of Police Integrity by lawyers acting for young African Australians between 2006 and 2009.

Only one has been investigated by the OPI and several resulted in charges being laid by police against those who made the complaints in what lawyers describe as "cover charges".

No police officers have been sacked for race-related incidents, despite Chief Commissioner Simon Overland admitting he was aware of several "substantiated cases".

Asked yesterday whether police had investigated and found substantiated cases of racist behaviour, Mr Overland, who has been embroiled in race rows, replied: "Yes."

Asked whether these cases were recent, he replied: "Yes."

Asked what happened to the police officers concerned, he replied: "Some of those matters are still continuing. They are not yet finalised."

Mr Overland said it was disappointing that claims by a young Sudanese man, Emmanuel Makoi, in The Australian yesterday, had not so far been raised with the Ethical Standards Department for investigation.
Mr Makoi, 18, told The Australian he was beaten by police, called a "black c . . .", taken to an isolated location on the Maribyrnong River and beaten again.

Mr Overland's comments, sparked by a report on police racism in three Melbourne areas - Greater Dandenong, Flemington and Braybook - came as the issue deepened, with detailed reports of police racism in the Flemington and Kensington area.

In a 160-page report for the Victoria Law Foundation late last year, Tamar Hopkins, principal solicitor at the Flemington and Kensington Community Legal Centre, chronicled a litany of abuse by police, ranging from calling out "Get back to Africa" while covering their badges to serious assaults.

Claims against police included beating and kicking a young African who was handcuffed on the ground, threatening sexual violence, threatening to kill, excessive batoning, punching a person during an interview until he lost consciousness, using capsicum spray as punishment, desecrating a copy of the Koran during a raid by throwing it on the ground and calling it "shit", and punching a person in the eye with a torch, causing permanent eye damage.

Ms Hopkins told The Australian more than 20 complaints of racist behaviour by Victorian police involving young Africans, including allegations of criminal behaviour by police, were made to the Office of Police Integrity between 2006 and 2009. Only one has been investigated by the OPI, and it is still unresolved.
During the period of the complaints, the OPI's highest-profile investigations were led by the watchdog's deputy director, Graham Ashton. Mr Ashton quit the OPI last year to join Victoria Police as Mr Overland's unsworn director of strategy and corporate governance.

Police yesterday denied reports that a 22-year-old Somalian man, Ahmed Dini, last month received more than $70,000 in an out-of-court settlement, saying the case was ongoing. Mr Dini has claimed police hit him in the mouth with a torch while he was handcuffed, smashing some of his teeth, and then launched a malicious prosecution against him.

In another civil action, eight police officers based at Moonee Ponds are facing assault and false imprisonment claims, in which it is alleged a 19-year-old youth lost part of the sight in one eye.
Police said last night that matter remained "subject to investigation".

Ms Hopkins said complaints to the OPI were invariably referred down to the police Ethical Standards Department and then referred down again to regional police stations.
In this "utterly inappropriate" system, which was "infected" by police investigating allegations against police, most complaints were dismissed.

In several cases, "cover charges" were then brought against those who made complaints, for resisting arrest and assaulting or hindering police.

Ms Hopkins said one of these charges was so weak that police withdrew it before trial, while the others were dismissed in the magistrates courts.

In her report for the Victoria Law Foundation late last year, Ms Hopkins compared Victoria's complaints systems unfavourably with systems in Britain and Northern Ireland and called for a new independent civilian agency to investigate complaints against police.

She concluded: "The pattern and scale of reports of abuses indicated `dangerous, institutional and systemic failures', while the failure of the complaint system to result in the discipline or punishment of any police called for `a total overhaul of the complaint systems in Victoria'."

• Cameron Stewart reports that on a visit to Melbourne yesterday, South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Sue van der Merwe said the lessons learned by South Africa in the post-apartheid era was that police chiefs needed to act early and aggressively to tackle racism in their ranks.

Here are four case studies of police violence as detailed by African youths.

Case 1:

One young African said he feared he was going to die when police kicked him on the ground, threw him into a van and bashed him on a riverbank.

"I thought I was gonna die or pass out. Just after that, I thought they were taking me to the police station. Put me in the divvy van, they drove me all the way to back of (deleted).

"Then they all bashed me, they chucked my wallet out. `Come out, you black c . . . They hit me straight away, aiming at my leg here with the torch." The youth said he would rather plead guilty to "cover" charges than spend extra time in remand.

Case 2:

Two African youths told of a summer night at a suburban park. A group of youths were approached by police, who told them to leave the park. When they refused, they were approached by two police, one of whom ran at them with a baton.

The youths ran towards another group of men in the park. That group were police who had stripped down to their singlets. The youths scattered, but not before a 14-year-old had been "dropped" by an out of uniform police.

"Cops do try to intimidate you and try to get you pissed off, try to make you do something, you know, so they could charge you," said one of the youths. "Like, they'll bash the crap out of you and if you throw a punch back you know you're gone, there's an assault of a police officer, you know?"

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland's response: "If that has happened, it is criminal. If we find evidence of that, I would expect that officer or those officers to be charged."

Case 3:

One youth detailed how he was bashed by police and how his complaint was handled.

"Just slapping me in the head, calling me `black c . . .' -- one of them spat on me. And then they picked me up and one of the coppers goes to me: `What are you gonna do, what are you gonna do, what are you gonna do?' He just started pushing me around and the other guys were holding me back and then anyways, they beat me up for about 10 minutes. They kept me in there . . . and then they let me out at the end, they let me out of the back door.

"So I went to the front door and I said, "I wanna make a complaint', and the one that was at the reception goes to me, `What happened?' I'm like, `I was just at the back and the coppers were beating me up for no reason.' He went inside, he called one of the coppers that were beating me up. Another copper came in and he goes to me: `If you don't get out of here now I'll pull you back in.' And I left."

Case 4:

One youth worker spoke of police trying to convince an African youth not to make a formal complaint. "I know the kids have been threatened. I know one boy who came to me saying, `I just spent 24 hours in a cell'. He was told that if he made a complaint, his life would not be worth it. He was prepared to say guilty to all the charges, based on the fear he had coming out of that interview and custody."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/tales-of-intimidation-and-brutish-violence-by-police/story-e6frg6nf-1225842064399

Nepal wants to paint Mount Everest pink, All gay!

2010-03-16T20:19:00.001+11:00

It wants gay honeymooners trekking through the Himalayas. It wants to host the world's highest same-sex wedding at Everest base camp. But mainly, the conservative Hindu nation wants a chunk of the multibillion dollar gay tourist market to help pull it out of poverty.

That quest - brushing aside historical biases in pursuit of economic opportunity - is symbolic of one of the gay rights movement's most stunning successes.

Just five years ago, police were beating gays and transsexuals in the streets. Now, the issue of gay rights is almost passe here.

Nepal has an openly gay parliamentarian, it is issuing "third gender" identity cards and it appears set to enshrine gay rights - and possibly even same-sex marriage - in a new constitution.

"(It) is not an issue anymore, for anybody," said Vishnu Adhikari, a 21-year-old lesbian. "Society has basically accepted us."

That acceptance has become a major marketing opportunity for a country cursed by desperate poverty, but blessed with majestic beauty.

Tourism is one of the main drivers of Nepal's economy, worth about $350 million last year, and government officials are determined to double tourism to 1 million visitors next year.

They hope gay tourists will be far more lucrative than the backpackers who stay in cheap hotels here and travel on shoestring budgets.

"They do have a lot of income ... they are high-spending consumers," said Aditya Baral, spokesman for the Nepal Tourism Board. "If they behave well, if they have money, we don't discriminate."

The driving force is Sunil Pant, a member of parliament, the nation's most prominent gay activist and founder of the new Pink Mountain tour company.

The nation's mountains, food and culture are a natural tourist magnet, he said. Additionally, gay tourists could get married at Everest base camp and honeymoon on an elephant safari - though since Nepal doesn't marry foreigners, such weddings would have no legal status, he said.

"With that, money will come here and jobs will be created," he said.

A growing segment of the gay tourism market - worth $63 billion in the U.S. alone - craves adventure travel and exotic locations, especially if they are seen as hospitable to gay travelers, said John Tanzella, president of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association.

As for an Everest wedding, "I think there would certainly be a niche within our community that would be very excited for this type of memorable experience," he said.

Pant says Nepal also has a huge advantage in appealing to this niche because its neighbors in South Asia - some of them with laws outlawing homosexual sex - are not seen as gay-friendly destinations.

"There is virtually no competition," he said.

Nepal's own journey into gay acceptance has been a near-revolution, born out of chaos and conflict that decimated the nation's traditional political and social systems.

A few years ago, the kingdom was torn by a civil war between the government and Maoist insurgents, and fighters on both sides preyed on marginalized communities and outcasts.

Transgender men, known as metis or eunuchs, were often robbed, beaten and sometimes raped at Maoist checkpoints, and again at government checkpoints, said Pant, head of the Blue Diamond Society, a gay rights group. Other than the metis, homosexuality was almost never discussed in the rural areas, where tradition pushed people into arranged marriages at a young age, he said.

Then, in 2006, the government signed a peace accord with the Maoists. Street protests forced the king to end his brief grab for absolute power and the centuries old monarchy was abolished.

In 2007, the Supreme Court ordered the government to draw up new laws to protect gay rights.

Now, the gay community stands to win big as the country writes a new constitution aimed at remaking the entire government, turning the nation into a republic and cementing peace.

The government has issued a handful of third gender identity cards. The next census is expected to allow respondents to choose between male, female or third gender.

Parliament is working on a same-sex marriage law even as the constitution drafters are incorporating gay rights into the document expected to be ratified later this year, said Pant.

"It's a land of minorities and we support each other," Pant said. "We all have been marginalized so long and it makes sense that we extend solidarity to each other's rights and issues."

In a sign of how much the nation of 30 million has changed, the gay community faces no real opposition in its fight for expanded rights, said Ameet Dhakal, editor in chief of the Republica daily.

The major parties, battling for votes, see no benefit to alienating a community that Pant says numbers at least 2,00,000, and religious leaders here generally stay out of politics.

Dev Gurung, a senior Maoist party leader who was once viewed as a strong opponent of gay rights, now publicly supports legal protections for the community.

"People, including lawmakers and government officials, were not aware that people like them even existed in the past," he said.

Homosexuality has now entered the cultural lexicon. There is a weekly TV show called "Third Gender" and writers and filmmakers have begun exploring society's treatment of homosexuals.

Poet Usha Sherchan published a short story last year in a literary magazine about a closeted gay man struggling with the pressure to get married. She thought broaching the subject was a risky move. Instead, she was inundated with praise.

"I was shocked," she said.

Despite the rapid gains, Pant recognizes the nation's sensitivities, and wants to ensure that an influx of gay tourists doesn't turn Nepal into a sex tourism destination.

"They should come for the trekking, mountaineering, the culture, food ... and for weddings, of course," he said.

References: Associated Press

Anti-gay pastor shows porn in church

2010-02-19T12:37:00.000+11:00

A Ugandan pastor who screened same-sex pornography in a church to try to bolster support for proposed anti-homosexuality legislation has been condemned by gay rights groups.

Martin Ssempa, one of the main backers of a bill that would impose the death penalty for some offenders, aired the explicit slideshow to several hundred people during a church service in Kampala yesterday. Explaining his decision to display the images, the evangelical preacher said it was necessary to educate people "about what homosexuals do".

He told the BBC's Network Africa programme: "In Africa, what you do in your bedroom affects our clan, it affects our tribe, it affects our nation."

While Ssempa represents the extreme end of widely held homophobic views in Uganda, he does carry strong influence. On his website he describes himself as "consultant to the government of Uganda", and his congregants yesterday included David Bahati, the MP who submitted the private member's bill to parliament last year.

The porn stunt caused anger among gay activists. South African-based gay rights group Behind the Mask described it as "twisted homophobic propaganda".

Frank Mugisha, the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda, said Ssempa should be arrested for promoting pornography – and questioned his religious values. "He is showing these images in a church. What does he stand for?"

In neighbouring Kenya, where anti-gay sentiment is also strong, Peter Njane of gay support group Ishtar said that by showing pornography Ssempa was trying to imply that being gay was "just about sex".

In fact, that is one of the main arguments of the pastor and politicians such as Bahati, who argue that homosexuality is a lifestyle choice. Although gay sex is already illegal in Uganda under colonial-era laws, they have whipped up public sentiment by insisting that tougher measures are needed to punish homosexuals who they say are "recruiting" children at schools.

The legislation calls for life imprisonment for anyone caught having gay sex, with the death penalty for repeat offenders or those with HIV. But the proposals have generated much opposition abroad, with the governments of Britain, the US and Canada, all significant donors to Uganda, leading the condemnation.

The pressure appears to have worked. Last month President Yoweri Museveni broke his silence on the bill, saying it did not necessarily reflect government policy and "foreign policy interests" would be considered before it was put to a vote.

Reference: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/18/uganda-gay-porn

The Victorian government isolated in its approach to attacks on Indian students

2010-02-14T22:20:00.000+11:00

WHEN Kevin Rudd was asked by a student audience on the ABC's Q&A program this week about racism in Australia, he replied: "It's a really good question and it's really topical because of the problems in and around Melbourne."

When Foreign Minister Stephen Smith made a parliamentary statement about the relationship with India, he acknowledged that some of the attacks in Melbourne had racial motivation, and said: "We have most recently set up a new high-level consultative mechanism between the commonwealth and Victoria governments."

In fact the Rudd government has designated its national security adviser Duncan Lewis and the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Dennis Richardson, to represent it on that body.

The Rudd government has not set up any similar body with NSW or any other state, even though fewer than half the Indian students in Australia are in Victoria.

In other words, the Rudd government, unlike Victorian Premier John Brumby, recognises there is a serious problem of anti-Indian racist violence in Melbourne. It won't say so publicly, but the Rudd government also recognises just what a colossal mess Brumby has made of this situation. The Rudd government does not have to set up special bodies to try to get the other states to carry out effective law enforcement.

The Rudd government has been intensely frustrated by the completely indecipherable and meaningless nature of Victorian crime statistics, the undisciplined and profoundly counterproductive public statements of Brumby and the Victorian Chief Commissioner of police, Simon Overland, and the general failure of the Victorian authorities to produce an effective police response.

Indian high commissioner Sujatha Singh, in her polite but sustained effort to wake up the Victorian government, this week wrote an opinion piece in which she said: "[Indian] students in other cities [than Melbourne] do not seem to be facing these incidents on the same scale, or even on a scale proportionate to their lower numbers in other cities."

None of this is a criticism of Victoria. It is, however, a devastating criticism of Brumby's wildly overrated government. Brumby seems to have developed a very peculiar version of Louis XIV's governing doctrine: L'etat, c'est moi -- the state, it is me. For he deliberately misconstrues any criticism of his wretched policing policies as a criticism of the Victorian people. Thus, Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu made a speech that was both true and courageous, saying that many of these attacks were racially motivated and the Brumby government's response had been woefully ineffective.

Brumby had a slew of ministers the next day dishonestly attacking Baillieu and saying that Baillieu had branded Victorians as racists. This has got to be, surely, a new low in the practice of dismal bunyip provincial patriotism. You might as well say anyone who draws attention to the problem of child rape is accusing the whole community of being child rapists.

It is understandable that Brumby's government should indulge in this dishonest tactic. It suits it to delegitimise all criticism. It is astounding that The Age's state political editor Paul Austin would carry Brumby's line so faithfully by claiming that Baillieu's speech would transform the next election into a referendum on what kind of community Victoria is, and make race a central element.

This is profoundly to misrepresent Baillieu, who deserves considerable praise over this issue. Baillieu drew attention to increasing violence against Indian students long before anyone else did. And given that no Indian students get to vote, Baillieu's action was not only truthful but politically brave.

What Baillieu said was that Victoria is not a racist society but the minority of violent racist thugs is not being policed effectively.

Bryan Hayes, the chairman of the Australia India Business Council, told me last week: "There are so many incidents in Victoria and so few in South Australia or Queensland." He further said that he endorsed the view of the Indian high commission that the Victorian government was in denial.

Yet Brumby has claimed, on the basis of confidential statistics that Victoria Police won't release, that Indian students were actually under-represented as assault victims.

So isn't that strange? The Rudd government, the Indian government, the Indian victims of crime themselves, the business community, educational authorities without number -- these all think Melbourne has a big problem with racial violence directed at Indians, but they are apparently all wrong, and only Brumby knows the true, secret truth: that in fact, statistically, there is no problem.

But if there is statistically no problem, why is Brumby taking all the measures he alleges he is taking to solve this non-existent problem?

The answer may be very prosaic. Victorians, I am sure, are generally no more racist than other Australians, who are generally not racist.

But Victoria has by far the lowest number of police per capita of any Australian state.

According to a Productivity Commission report, Victoria in 2002-03 had 212 police per 100,000 population. By 2008-09 this had actually fallen to 206. That is at a time when violent crime in Victoria has soared.

According to polls the Victorian public is also deeply dissatisfied with the Brumby government's performance in relation to violent crime. But like the Rudd government, the Indian government and everyone else, the Victorian public must be wrong.

Only Brumby knows the truth. In fact, perhaps he will be tempted, like the old East German commissar, to declare that the government has lost faith in the public and intends to dissolve it and form a new one.

Even NSW in 2008-09 had 237 police per 100,000 people, much more than Victoria, while SA had a positively luxurious 303 police per 100,000 population. Victoria is the only state to have gone backwards in per capita police in this decade.

And there's your explanation for the violence.

A final thought.

There is something quite creepy, and seriously undemocratic, about the way Brumby uses Overland as a virtual uniformed cabinet minister, a kind of unelected deputy premier. Hardly a Victorian has heard of the Police Minister or Attorney-General, but Overland is everywhere in the media extolling the virtues of Victoria's police policies -- a very dysfunctional element of a very dysfunctional government.

Report published in The Australian by "Greg Sheridan"

John Brumby is taking Australia's relations with India from bad to worse.

2010-02-14T21:56:00.000+11:00

Tom Hyland's report published in The Sunday Age.

WHEN the Australian colonies federated in 1901, they adopted a constitution giving federal parliament the power ''to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Commonwealth'' with respect to external affairs. It was a wise move. Without it, Victoria would have its own department of foreign affairs and John Brumby would be in charge of it.

Whatever qualities Brumby has, diplomacy is not one of them. His ham-fisted handling of violence against Indians has shown him to be a parochial politician with a small-town world view.

His fellow Labor politician Stephen Smith, on the other hand, knows a bit about diplomacy, having learnt to choose his words carefully since becoming foreign minister.

Last week, he made an important statement to Parliament on the Australia-Indian relationship. He didn't mention Brumby, but his speech was an indictment of the Premier's bungling, which has caused real damage to Australia's relations with India, which Australia wants to place in the front rank of its international partnerships.

The damage went beyond India, Smith said, and had been widely noticed internationally. The attacks were contemptible and inexcusable. He expressed deep sympathy and condolences to families of victims. Some of the attacks clearly were racist, Smith said. Indian students in Melbourne were at higher risk of being victims of crime. All of this was having a negative impact on Australia's image, reputation and standing.

In a swipe at Brumby, Smith said there was no point chastising the media for sometimes misreporting the issue.

While Brumby has been keen to shoot the messenger, Smith said the media had ''thrown a spotlight on the importance of responding quickly and effectively to these attacks''.

Smith's clear statement of what's at stake is in sharp contrast to Brumby's clumsy evasiveness. When retired general Peter Cosgrove last month urged Australians to confront the racial element in the ''cowardly and sly'' attacks on Indians, Brumby repudiated his comments, describing them as ''just plain wrong''.

Cosgrove did not say Australians were predominantly racist, but he did say we had a ''major problem'' with attacks on Indians. By any reading, Cosgrove's speech was a considered statement of reality, while Brumby's response was the statement of a man in denial.

When opposition leader Ted Baillieu says Victoria has a serious problem with racial violence - while at the same time saying, ''We are not a racist country'' - Brumby's cabinet chorus sings a song from John Howard's repertoire, accusing Baillieu of rubbishing Victoria and of labelling ''mums and dads'' as racist.

Brumby can insist he's never denied some attacks are racially motivated. But he muddies the water by playing down the problem, with defensive boasting about Melbourne being the safest city in Australia. In diplomacy, words and the tone in which they are delivered count. But Brumby, his hand on the parish pump, ignores the bigger picture.

When Nitin Garg was murdered on January 2, Brumby was silent, despite the inevitable response the killing would trigger in India, and the unease it would cause among Indians here. Instead, ''Melbourne the safe city'' was repeated like a mantra.

Brumby selectively quotes police statistics saying Indians are less likely to be assaulted, but won't release the statistics. Nor will the police, on the grounds the figures are unreliable.

None of Brumby's comments address the fear many Indians living here feel. Instead, he blames the Indian media. On February 3, with crude insensitivity, he responded to a reporter who asked him about criminal charges laid against an Indian man whose injuries, allegedly self-inflicted, had been reported in India as the result of a race crime.

Given that, once a person is charged with an offence, politicians usually keep silent, the reporter said, ''I don't expect you to comment on the case''. Brumby, however, couldn't miss a chance to point out that, yes, Indians had been charged with offences, and to appeal for ''some balance'' in the Indian media reporting.

His remarks were school playground stuff, sending a clear message - see, Indians commit crimes, too. And they backfired - the more sententious sections of the Indian media saw it as another example of an Australian politician ignoring the issue. He gave oxygen to the media fire he sought to extinguish. While Brumby's staff try hard to bully and domesticate the domestic press, there is no way he can muzzle the Indian media.

If Brumby is genuine in his appeal for media ''balance'' he might let us know what he thinks of some of the Australian media commentary, where murder has been described as a ''notable Indian export''; where India's police minister is told to get on his ''bullock cart'' and track down his own criminals; where Indians are described as a people with a propensity to kill.

Victoria Police haven't helped, compounding matters with contradictory and ill-considered statements that are played straight back to India.

Chief Commissioner Simon Overland says he's known ''from day one'' that some of attacks on Indians are racially motivated, and that police have known this for two years. Last June, he admitted the race factor. But this was only after the stabbing of an Indian the previous month prompted protests here and in India. In the days after that assault, police flatly declared Indians were not being targeted because of their race.

Similarly, a couple of days after Nitin Garg's murder, and after police prudently refused to speculate on the motive for the killing, Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said: ''I don't believe that there has been any detailed, racist motives around assaults on Indian people in the past.'' If Overland has known from ''day one'' that some attacks are racially motivated, he should share this intelligence with his deputy.

Before he does any more damage to Australia's foreign relations, Brumby might want to have another look at Peter Cosgrove's speech. Cosgrove recalled how he'd spent a year in India and loved the place, despite its flaws. Having listed some of those flaws, he said: ''But if you are inclined … to think in relation to recent events about 'stones and glass houses', don't. This issue must be about us, not the messenger.''

Making Multicultural Australia List of anti-racist groups

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Making Multicultural Australia List of anti-racist groups

“List of anti-racist groups” from Anti-Racism Resources Home Page: http://www.efn.org/~dennis_w/race.html

Anti-Racist Groups

AFRANet, the Anti Fascist and Anti Racist Network is a publisher of information, news and forthcoming events which relate to the struggle against racism and fascism.

Amherst Educational Publishing provides multicultural and anti-racist materials for educators.

Amnesty International web site at Georgia Tech. Want to be active? Here's how. Amnesty International - ways to get involved.

An Anti-Racist Charter for the New Millennium, from AFRANet.

Anti-Racism Coalition is dedicated to the goal of eradicating racism through activities requiring racial interaction. We intend to use all mediums in this effort, with the hope of enlightening the world with the concept of racial harmony.

Anti-Racist Action Home Page , an anti-racist group with chapters across the United States and Canada, emphasizing confrontation and education. A top-notch site with lots of info and inspiration!

Anti-Racist Action, ARA (Toronto Chapter) came into being in September 1992 to bring people together to show the strength of opposition to fascism, as well as a commitment to a multi-racial, multi-cultural, sexually diverse, liberated and fun society.

Anti-Racist Web will keep you informed about the latest Antifascist actions throughout the world, the history of fascism and the Antifascist struggle.

Artists Against Racism's Resource Page of Anti-Racism Sites.

Artists Against Racism , a non-profit Canadian organization geared toward youth.

Before Columbus Foundation is a tax exempt, non-profit, public foundation established to promote American multicultural literature.

Beyond Prejudice, a multimedia project with "tools for reducing prejudicial behavior," from

Dr. Jim Cole.

Black, Hispanic and Anti-Racist Socialists' Home Page, administered by the Democratic Socialists of America, featuring Cornel West.

Britain's Trade Unions' Congress is holding the RESPECT Festival to celebrate Britain's cultural and racial diversity.

Bruce Neal Simon's Homepage has info on race issues, definitions and politics.

C.A.R.E., Computer-users Against Racist Expressions fight against racism on the net. You can download their logo to add to your own page, showing that you oppose net racism.

Center for the Study of Ethnic and Racial Violence was established in 1990 and incorporated in April 1993 as a non-profit organization. Mission of the Center includes research, educational activities, and services related to intergroup conflict, conflict resolution, and prejudice reduction.

Center for the Study of White American Culture. Not an organization for white people, as some people might infer, we are instead a multiracial organization that looks at whiteness and white American culture.

Crossing Lines , A First International Internet Multi-Media Arts Exhibition on Racism and Discrimination.

Cyberwatch at the Wiesenthal Center is dedicated to tracking hate groups and hate speech on the Web and elsewhere. It will send you information on fighting racism in your community.

David Emory is a radio broadcaster with an interest in combating fascism and racism.

Diane Kale's Homepages have a lot of information on preventing discrimination, including info on workshops, racial incident forms, multicultural resources, and responses to racism.

Discrimination Law: Racism and the Internet, a series of articles taken from the PhD. work of Peter Jepson LL.M, LL.B (Hons) Lond.

Diversity Digest offers weekly news summaries on social issues dealing with difference, diversity, and multiculture; a message board; and short essays on how language and thoughts can

contribute to oppression.

Equality Homepage has been published in an effort to help educate the masses about social diseases such as prejudice, racism, sexism, antisemitism, sexual harassment, and racist and militia groups. Lots of good info, facts, definitions of terms, etc.

ERaM (Ethnicity, Racism and the Media) Programme utilises the new information technology of Email and the World Wide Web to provide a global forum and focus for discussion, Information dissemination and research collaboration on issues of racism, ethnicity and the media.

Euro-American Students ' Union, not to be confused with the racist White Students' Union, is an anti-racist group seeking to explore the significance of European heritage.

Fighting Racism: A Key Struggle tells how fighting racism is central to fighting capitalism.

Harvard Law Librar y has a A Guide to Hate Groups on the Internet.

Healing Racism , a Chicago-based organization that stages workshops.

Heartsong Books trusts that their books will help young people - all people - understand and respect the interconnectedness of all life and inspire them to act on that understanding in compassionate, powerful and celebratory ways - for the good of Earth and for the good of generations to come.

Human rights links at the D'Angelo Law

Library's Foreign and International Law Page . IDEA is a journal of articles, stories and reviews dedicated to discussion and exploration of psychosocial aspects of cults, totalism, autocracy, war, genocide and holocaust.

InterAction is a coalition of more than 150 non-profit organizations working to advocate assistance for people in need worldwide. Site has info on how to get active, volunteer positions,

info on current events, etc.

Interrace Haven , a resource site for people in bi- or multiracial relationships and multiracial

individuals. Same author writes an on-line antiracist comic book, AR-Men!

INTERracial is a site devoted to exploring the meaning of multiracial/multicultural relationships. Pages With More Anti-Racism Links

Interracial Voice, "Voice of the Mixed-Race Interracial Movement".

JustCause Online! dedicated to the many good people working to make this a more just, more

tolerant world.

Korrupt's C rib has listings of minority and antiracism links and an Anti-Racism Webboard where you can discuss issues and leave comments, as well as some really GREAT graphics and hints on JAVA programming.

Long Haul Infoshop is an activist center and reading room located in Berkeley California.

Love Sees No Color will show web sites from all nations, all colors, all peoples joining together

on the World Wide Web in support of improving race relations.

Maples Collegiate Unity G roup is a group of students and teachers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada who are devoted to the anti-racism multicultural world battle.

Métisse Magazine Online is America's first magazine dedicated to serving multicultural and multiracial women in cyberspace. The word Métisse is a French adjective that describes a woman who is multicultural or multiracial.

Militia Watchdog by Mark Pitcavage.

Milton John Kleim Jr . used to be known as one of USENET's most active and outspoken white

supremacists. Now he has left the "movement," and his homepages give us valuable insight into

his new fight against white supremacy.

Minority Affairs Forum , minority related issues including immigration, affirmative action,

bilingual education and race relations.

Minority On-line Information Service from the Federal Information Exchange, Inc.

Multicultural Book Review Home Page , read or submit your own book reviews.

Multicultural Pavillion at the University of Virginia. Good site for educators!

National Center for Research on Cultural

Diversity and Second Language Learning , just what it says it is.

National Civil Rights Museum : a great on-line tour.

National Rainbow Coalition is a multi-racial, multi-issue national organization, founded by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson. Our mission is to move our nation and the world towards social, racial, and economic justice.

Nazism Exposed Home Page , devoted to fighting the Nazi Menace.

One World, One People discusses the validity of concepts such as race and ethnicity in a spirit of anti-racism and multiculturalism.

Osgoode Web Press' Report on Systemic Racism, a long and detailed in-depth study, published on the WWW by Osgoode Hall Law School.

Peace Page is dedicated to reducing racism of all kinds. Not just the black/white racism that you

are used to hearing about, but racism against different religions, homosexuality, and different

Cultures.

Promise 6 Home Page , the Promise Keepers' view of racial reconciliation.

Propaganda on the Web, Protest against intolerant, fascist, anti-semitic, anti-gay, antiequal

rights propaganda on the web.

Race and Class Overview: Parallels in Racism and Class P rejudice, an academic article by

Anthony S. Wohl, Professor of History, Vassar College.

Race and Ethnicity Gopher at Texas A&M. Race and Ethnicity Resources from Yale's

American Studies Ser ver.

Race and Racism Gopher at UC Berkeley.

Race and Reconciliation Online , the online presence of THE RECONCILER Magazine.

THE RECONCILER is one of several resources provided by Urban Family, Inc. in Jackson,

Mississippi.

Race Galler y explores how science deals with race, and how ideas about race circulate between

science and society as a whole.

Race Unity focuses on bringing people of the various races together in a new system of amity

and friendship. Links to organizations, as well as info on upcoming gatherings and events.

RASH, the home of Red and Anarchist Skinheads on the Web. Lots of info on the

history and politics of the ANTI-racist and ANTI-homophobic skinhead movement.

Recovering Racists Networ k is a project founded by John McKenzie as a step to help in

ending racism.

Red Blooded Society of Earth seeks something called "total non-discrimination".

Refuse and Resist , Become a card-carrying Resister, Troublemaker, Rabble Rouser, Outside

Agitator, or Unindicted Co-conspirator.

Resources for Diversity , a list of links on, you guessed it, promoting diversity.

Resources for Research on Ethnic Studies at USC.

Roy Wilkins Center for Human Relations and Social Justice is a research, teaching, and

community outreach arm of the Humphrey Institute. Open discourse on issues of race and

justice are promoted through the Wilkins Dialogue Series for Minnesota communities of

color.

Social Justice Connections , a business serving social justice activists, includes commentary

from a grassroots social justice perspective. The complete text of the United Nations'

Convention on the P revention and Punishment of the C rime of Genocide .

Toronto Coalition Against Racism , a coalition of groups in Toronto, Canada. A model of good

community activism.

Toward a Socialist theory of Racism , an article by Cornel West.

University of Maryland Diversity Database , focuses on age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, national origin, race religion and sexual orientation.

University of Minnesota Human Rights Library has many of the most important human

rights documents on-line.

Urban Alliance on Race Relations , formed in 1975 by a group of concerned Toronto citizens.

Its primary goal is to "promote a stable and healthy multiracial/multicultural environment

in the community."

Virtual Library of Migration and Ethnic Relations is a collection of links to major Internet resources in the field of migration and ethnic relations.

Women teachers' conference on anti-racism , a news release from Canada News Wire.

Yahoo's Minority Listing , links to sites from the Yahoo server.

How do people become racist?

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A child is not born as racist. If the child is not exposed to racism in its environment, there is no reasons for it to become racist. If however, the child has been brought up to look at people as belonging to a group, such as blacks or whites, instead of individuals, it will begin to compare the groups, and draw conclusions depending on the group that they belong to, instead of the way they are as individuals. This way of thinking will always lead to prejudices, because a person cannot be characterized just by skin color or cultural background.

No matter what, But the racist people are their own worst enemy and are so depressed within them that they actually get some disgusting pleasure on humiliating others; So when we tried to understand “Racism, Its causes”, we found these main reasons with reference to why people become racist:

Influence of Family & Friends: Some people become racist because their family and friends from a young age teach them that it is right to discriminate among people and cultures. “If your parents brought you up to hate a specific race, then you will most likely hate them.”

Afraid of Different: People are afraid of different. Do you notice that? It could be a shoe, and they are afraid to try it because it is not what they're used to so they automatically say they don't like it.

Personal Experiences: Some people become racist if something happened to them by someone of a different race, like a fight or stealing. These people are main cause of racism in the society because they just not pass the wrong message to their friends and family but also to coming generations. These people need to deal with their problems in a healthy manner rather than finding fault in all people who are believed to belong to the same genetic stock.

Media’s Role: Some people listen to the media and take the attitude they see on T.V. and radio and think that all of a particular race is a certain way... that is stereotyping to its fullest.

Ignorance: Some people are completely ignorant and believe they are the best race and culture of the world. It's easier to single out people who just look different.

To be a Racist is the hardest job on earth. You have to be evil, hateful, and plain cold-hearted dumb. It gives you wrinkles, black circles around your eyes, heart palpitations, restlessness, worrying and it even prevents you from living your life to the fullest, which causes you to miss out on the good things in life.

One suggestion to everyone: See people, As good and bad not their colors or creed.

How To Fight Racism in the LGBT Community

2008-04-24T10:09:00.000+10:00

You would think that because gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people experience discrimination that racism would not exist within the community. Unfortunately, this is not so. Racism exists in the LGBT community just as it does in other parts of American and European culture. These tips will help you understand and fight racism in the LGBT community.

Difficulty: Hard

Time Required: A lifetime

Here's How:

Understand what Racism is. Webster's defines Racism as: A belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race. Racism is also defined as the mistreatment of a group of people on the basis of race, color, national origin or ancestry. Racism can be intentional or unintentional.
Think before you speak. Words can hurt, whether you mean them to or not. When describing a person, think if mentioning their race is important to the story. Everyone has an ethnicity, not just people of color. Don't call someone 'exotic'. It is demeaning.
Use correct language. Do your refer to everyone from South or Central America as Mexican? If you don't know someone's country of origin, don't assume. Some people prefer Black, while others like African American. Some prefer Latino/a, others like Hispanic. If you're unsure which to use, ask.
Don't Assume. Do you assume that Blacks or Latinas are more homophobic than White people? That all black lesbians like Hip-Hop or that Asians are good at math. Stereotypes hurt everyone. Examine what your prejudices are.

Support Women of Color Space. Just like lesbians like time away from straight people, where we can dance and be ourselves without fear of harassment of homophobia, people of color need time away from white people where they can feel free to act like themselves, without fear of hearing an inadvertently racist comment. If you're white, try and understand it's not personal. If an event is advertised for "People of Color Only" only attend if your heritage is other than white.
Interrupt racist jokes or assumptions. You can do so with out being rude. Don't let your silence speak for you. Simply say, "I don't find that funny," or "I don't appreciate jokes like that."
Donate time or money to Women of Color organizations.Places like Zuna, LLEGO, The Audre Lorde Project or other non-profit organizations are working to eliminate racism and homophobia.

Join in an activity to commemorate Martin Luther King Day. Join in a March for Justice or Day of Community Service to honor the slain civil rights hero.
Make a friend. From Pam Spauling of Pam's House Blend "One suggestion that I'd add to the About.com list of remedies and ways to combat racism is a difficult one for many people, and one I believe is the most effective way to bridge the gap -- get to know, as a close friend -- someone of a different race or culture. Not a work colleague or a neighbor you share casual conversations with, but to push past your comfort zone -- make friends you can be close enough to that you can ask and be asked those direct questions about race in an environment of trust.
Learn about Queers of Color in history. Audre Lorde, Barbara Jordan, James Baldwin and Ma Rainey are a few. Do you know of others?
Join or start an organization dealing with racism or human rights. Many groups are also fighting discrimination of any kind, including homophobia and sexism.
Write a letter to the editor of a gay paper. Encourage them to cover more events and stories about people of color in your community or to give them praise if they have done a particularly good job.
Reach out beyond your community. If you belong to a LGBT group, think about joining forces with other human rights groups in your community around issues such as police brutality, profiling, job discrimination, unequal education or any other human rights issue.
Volunteer. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans youth and seniors are vulnerable members of our community. LGBT youth of color are especially at-risk of becoming homeless or dropping out of school. Find an organization in your town that works with this population and spend some time giving back.
Organize. Plan a multi-cultural LGBT film festival, concert or community dialogue.
Expose Yourself. Try to learn about a culture other than your own. Attend a concert, dance or film about another culture. Read a book about fighting racism or connections between racism, sexism and homophobia.

Tips:

Keep an open mind. You might learn something.
Everyone is different. What I say here may not apply to every situation.
Know that racism is part of our culture. Don't be ashamed if you mess up. Everyone makes mistakes. That's how we learn.

References:
From Kathy Belge,

How To Fight Racism As An Individual

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"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten we belong to each other."
Mother Teresa

Interrupting racism can be done with good manners. The fear of being thought rude
should not be used as an excuse for silence. To express your feelings about a
racist remark or joke is not rude. Attacks upon the dignity of other human beings
is rude.

Some guidelines may be helpful to keep in mind when telling a person that his or her
remarks are unacceptable.

1. Believe in your right to express your feelings. Take a deep breath and try to relax your muscles.
... Expect to succeed!

2. Look directly at the person. If you look down or away, you appear to lack confidence.

3. An erect posture facing the person lends strength to your message.

4. Let your facial expression match the message. A serious commitment should be delivered seriously.

5. A level, firm conversational tone is convincing and conveys the idea that you mean business.

6. Hesitation or postponement of speaking may diminish the effectiveness of the message.
....However, if the right moment slips by, it is appropriate and important that it be brought up later.

7. Practice, practice, practice! Although spontaneity is recommended, practice is necessary until
....spontaneity can be achieved. Give yourself some phrases in your own words such as;
...."I find that offensive."
... "We do not talk that way here."
...."This is a Racism Free zone and your remark is unacceptable."
...." In our family (club, office, school, etc.) we are working to eliminate racism.
...."We don't appreciate jokes like that."

8. To disown or deny a racist comment is a natural human response. The speaker may try to cover up,
,,,,put you down, or trivialize what you are doing. Even though they don't accept it graciously, you did the
,,,,right thing.

9. Don't buy into trivialization. Nothing about racism is trivial. Be firm. You have the right to your own
,,,,feelings and the right to express them. When faced with racist comments, silence is approval.

10. It is less intimidating to interrupt racism expressed by children; however, we should not concentrate
,,,,,,on kids because of our own inability to cope with adults. Children who express bigotry have learned it
,,,,, from adults and must be taught tolerance. Adults who express bigotry must be interrupted because the
..... are the ones who are teaching the children by their actions and examples.

Silence in the face of bigotry and racism means acceptance.
By not speaking out against it, you are speaking for it.

Top Ten Things YOU Can Do To Eliminate Racism

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Top Ten Things YOU Can Do To Eliminate Racism

AT HOME

Action
1. Read - and encourage your children to read - books that promote understanding of different cultures, as well as those that are written by authors of diverse backgrounds. Discuss as a family the impact of prejudicial attitudes and behavior.

Output
One becomes knowledgeable and able to provide as much accurate information as possible to reject harmful myths and stereotypes.

Action
2. Learn more about what racism means- read a book, participate in a discussion group, take a training course, and talk with your friends/colleagues.

Output
Establish a Racial Justice Library of books and videos for others to use and to enrich their cultural experience.

IN SCHOOL

Action
3. Organize a contest (essay, t-shirt logo or anti-hate poster campaign) that encourages people to intervene when confronted with instances of prejudice.

Output
Winning entries could be published in the school or local community newspaper or broadcast on cable program bulletin boards.
IN THE WORKPLACE

Action
4. Sponsor a lunchtime “brown-bag” series that features speakers on diversity topics. Research, distribute, and discuss weekly updates on racially motivated news items.

Output
Integration of regular and consistent meeting times to discuss racism at your place of employment.

Action
5. Participate in local events, cultural or museum presentations, outside your comfort zone (Diversity Dinner, Congo Theater performance, etc.)

Output
Create a display area where employees can post notices of event and activities happening in their communities.

IN YOUR HOUSE OF WORSHIP

Action
6. Coordinate anti-racism training at your church.

Output
Church leaders could use the pulpit to condemn all forms of bigotry.

Action
7. Organize an interfaith retreat for young people to increase understanding of each other’s beliefs and build lasting friendships.

Output
Reach out to diverse religious communities to co-sponsor festivals and holiday observances that highlight and celebrate our common humanity.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Action
8. Conduct a community wide “Walk/Run Against Hate” event, “Hoops for Harmony” basketball tournament, or “Rock Against Racism” concert or dance-a-thon.

Output
Sponsored participants will donate all monies pledged to an anti-bias or other human rights organization.

Action
9. Research your community’s involvement in struggles for civil and human rights throughout history (e.g., abolition, the civil rights movement, etc.)

Output
Create an exhibit for the local library/town hall.

Action
10. The media is often racist in their portraying of news events.

Output
When you see this happening, call, email or write to the news media and point out their racist slant.

Top 10 Things YOU Can Do to Eliminate Racism…

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1. Select a minority vendor for your next personal or business purchase.
2. Examine individuals applying for positions, or who are currently employed, who have credentials from other countries. Are they being considered and compensated in the same way that those who are American born and educated are?
3. Confront those telling racial jokes or using negative stereotypes about the insensitivity and inappropriateness of such remarks. Call people out!
4. If it looks and smells like privilege/racism, it is! Be on the look out for racism because unfortunately, there are hints everywhere.
5. Participate in local events, cultural or museum presentations, outside of your comfort zone (Diversity Dinner, Congo Theater performance, etc.)
6. Refuse to tolerate racism in any setting (business, social, etc.); speak up against racist comments or actions.
7. Look people in the eye when you speak to them.
8. Do not let racist remarks or actions go unchallenged even if they are uttered or done by a friend, relative or total stranger. Point out that their remark/action is racist and ask them to stop.
9. Have your child invite a student of a different background over for a play date.
10. Acknowledge that racism still exists.

References: YWCA Metropolitan Chicago

A Sample of Groups Fighting Prejudice and Discrimination

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Many of these groups have local chapters or can point you to local groups. Listing below is not an endorsement: Do your own research, find other groups.

American Disability Association
www.adanet.org
205-323-0088
Addresses issues important to persons with disabilities.

Anti-Defamation League
www.adl.org
202-452-8320
Fights discrimination toward Jewish people as well as all minority groups. Offers an Internet filter that blocks Websites of hate groups.

National Association for Advancement of Colored People
www.naacp.org
410-521-4939
Supports civil rights of African Americans and minority group members.

National Coalition Building Institute
ncbiinc@aol.com
202-785-9400
Trains leaders and offers prejudice reduction workshops in community, university, and workplace settings.

National Organization for Women
www.now.org
202-331-0066
Organizes, protests, lobbies, and files legal actions to support equality for women.

Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104
www.splcenter.org
Tracks hate groups in the United States, puts out newsletters, files lawsuits against hate groups. Also publishes Teaching Tolerance magazine and offers free resources to teachers.

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
www.adc.org
202-244-2990
Defends the rights of people of Arab descent and promotes their rich cultural heritage.

The Human Rights Campaign
www.hrc.org
202-628-4160
Political action group fighting for rights of gay and lesbian individuals.

The National Council of La Raza
www.nclr.org
202-785-1670
National organization with local efforts to reduce poverty and discrimination and improve life opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

The National Urban League
www.nul.org
212-558-5300

One America: The President's Initiative on Race
The New Executive Office Building
Washington, DC 20503
www.whitehouse.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica
202-395-1010

The National Conference on Community and Justice (NCCJ)
www.nccj.org
212-545-1300
Conducts ongoing community awareness programs aimed at eradicating bias, bigotry, and racism.

Ten Things You Can Do To Fight Prejudice and Racism

2008-04-24T09:48:00.000+10:00

Be honest: Recognize your own biases and biases through open discussion with others. Examine your own prejudices, biases, and values. Discuss your own experiences of being hurt by prejudice as well as the ways you have benefitted from discrimination.

Be secure: Explore and find realistic pride in your own group identity. Having a sense of your own background and group identity will help reduce anxiety and defensiveness in relation to others. Knowing your own strengths will also help you to see strengths in others.

Be a partner: Work on projects with members of groups different from your own. Working as an equal alongside others from different groups on a common project is one of the best ways to undo prejudice and increase familiarity with others.

Be an anti-racist parent: Expose your children to diversity at a young age. Children can benefit from knowing other children from different groups at very early ages, before prejudices and biases get in the way of their making contact.

Be a role model: Be vocal in opposing racist views and practices. And don't just criticize, but help educate others about issues and about your own experiences.

Be an ally: Support victims of discrimination and prejudice. Offer support on whatever level you can. For example, offer yourself as a mentor for someone in your field of work.

Be an activist: Challenge "top-down" or institutional racism. Work to reduce institutional discrimination and prejudice in government, corporations, the media, and other institutions.

Be a member: Support anti-prejudice and anti-racist organizations. Following is a partial list of a some organizations or find one that addresses an issue particularly important to you.

Be a teacher: Teach tolerance. Fight prejudice and racism by proactively teaching understanding, openness, and conflict resolution skills. (The Teaching Tolerance magazine is one resource for teachers and others to get ideas and resourcesÐit is put out by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Be a student: Educate yourself and others. Reading books, seeing movies, going to hear speakers about the experiences of other groups is an enjoyable way to increase understanding and empathy.

References: American Psychological Association

THE HETEROSEXUAL QUESTIONNAIRE........U will LOVE THIS...........

2007-11-06T18:53:00.000+11:00

THE HETEROSEXUAL QUESTIONNAIRE:

This questionnaire is for self-avowed heterosexuals only. If you are not openly heterosexual, pass it on to a friend who is. Please try to answer the questions as candidly as possible. Your responses will be held in strict confidence and your anonymity fully protected.

1. What do you think caused your heterosexuality?

2. When and how did you first decide you were a heterosexual?

3. Is it possible your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?

4. Could it be that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?

5. If you've never slept with a person of the same sex, how can you be sure you wouldn't prefer that?

6. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexual tendencies? How did they react?

7. Why do heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into their lifestyle?

8. Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be what you are and keep it quiet?

9. Would you want your children to be heterosexual, knowing the problems they'd face?

10. A disproportionate majority of child molesters are heterosexual men. Do you consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual male teachers, pediatricians, priests, or scoutmasters?

11. With all the societal support for marriage, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships among heterosexuals?

12. Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?

13. Considering the menace of overpopulation, how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual?

14. Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don't you fear s/he might be inclined to influence you in the direction of her/his own leanings?

15. Heterosexuals are notorious for assigning themselves and one another rigid, stereotyped sex roles. Why must you cling to such unhealthy role-playing?

16. With the sexually segregated living conditions of military life, isn't heterosexuality incompatible with military service?

17. How can you enjoy an emotionally fulfilling experience with a person of the other sex when there are such vast differences between you? How can a man know what pleases a woman sexually or vice-versa?

18. Shouldn't you ask your far-out straight cohorts, like skinheads and born-agains, to keep quiet? Wouldn't that improve your image?

19. Why are heterosexuals so promiscuous?

20. Why do you attribute heterosexuality to so many famous lesbian and gay people? Is it to justify your own heterosexuality?

21. How can you hope to actualize your God-given homosexual potential if you limit yourself to exclusive, compulsive heterosexuality?

22. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you to change if you really want to. After all, you never deliberately chose to be a heterosexual, did you? Have you considered aversion therapy or Heterosexuals Anonymous?

The Scientific Origins of Sexuality

2007-11-06T13:46:00.000+11:00

The Scientific Origins of Sexuality
By Jon Dean January 2005

The origins of Sexuality are largely unknown, and anti-gay organisations use the argument that sexuality is a choice. Dean has explored the science behing sexuality and provides and insight into the debate.

All too often in our lives as gay men and women, we are confronted by people who claim that our lives are unnatural, a result of "choice." We know that they are incorrect, but until recently it has been hard to fight back. Recent scientific discoveries, however, may allow us to debunk some of the lies that others use against us. While the origin of our sexuality may not be terribly relevant to our everyday life, the only way we can stop these lies is with truth. I have assembled the scientific truth about homosexuality to the best of my ability, so that others may use it to defend themselves against the false science of the opposition.

Common consensus among the gay community places the onset of homosexuality in the womb. This is not to say that all people agree on when the homosexual mind actually develops.

When a child is developing, the fetus is bathed in washes of hormones that "etch" the brain and body like a computer chip. Some believe homosexuality to be the result of an anomalous hormonal release by the mother during this phase of development. This is supported by studies which have shown that mother mice under stress during pregnancy have a much higher percentage of homosexual offspring. The stress is thought to have triggered extraneous hormone production. A similar phenomenon was observed by sociologists upon analysis of the distribution of sexuality in the general populace during wartime (a high-stress situation). There are far more gay babies born during times of war, researchers discovered, than in peacetime. Another supporting study concluded that men with multiple brothers are more likely to be born homosexual, because the mother is used to producing testosterone and does so in higher quantity with each subsequent son. Ironically, testosterone is thought to be the hormone that, in excess during development, most contributes to male homosexuality.

Other theories state that homosexuality is a solely genetic trait. Our genes, they say, tell our minds to develop in a "gay" way. There are a few studies that support this, but they aren't nearly as convincing as the hormone studies. The "twin studies," which found that if one twin (identical) was gay, the likelihood of the other twin being gay was MUCH higher than a mere brother or fraternal male twin, are the most compelling bit of evidence toward a theory of genetic predisposition. The only issue with this study was that both babies were exposed to the same hormonal treatment in utero. Actually, same-gender fraternal male twins did experience a slight boost in likelihood of being homosexual, landing somewhere between the 10% of regular brothers and the 50-60% of identical twins. This lends support to both theories.

Support for both theories can be derived from an interesting look at the interstitial nuclei of the anterior hypothalamus, specifically INAH-3. The hypothalamus controls human desire for such things as water, food, sleep, sex, etc. You know, basic needs. In gay men, INAH-3 was found to be uniformly smaller than those in straight men, but a bit larger than the INAH-3 of heterosexual women. A similar study has not been conducted on lesbians, nor has the study been repeated to validate the results. This, class, is what we refer to as "scientific repression." It means that scientists work too hard to discredit the study in theory, instead of actually attempting to replicate it. Why? They either (a) don't care, (b) are afraid of the results, or (c) are not being provided with the necessary materials. Another observed difference is that the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the brain, which helps control body cycles, is about twice as big in gay men as in heterosexual men. What this means is unclear, but it could cause some hormonal cycle anomalies.

If the studies are accurate, however, they could lend support to either theory. Further testing is required to prove the effect of hormones or genetics on the structure of INAH-3 and the suprachiasmatic nucleus.

It has also been said that homosexuality is an entirely human behavior. This is inaccurate. Homosexual behaviors have been observed in a multitude of animal species, including penguins, mice, and apes. This is also interesting, as many species that have been observed practicing homosexuality do not jointly raise their young. This debunks the theory that homosexuality is caused by imbalanced parenting, as all the young of an animal species are typically raised in the same way.

Personally, I believe that homosexuality is determined by a combination of genetic predisposition and hormone anomaly. It seems the most likely explanation for the study results.

The "nurture" theory put forth by many anti-gay groups, however, is a crock of shit. No "good" scientific study has supported this theory. The theory itself is ludicrous. Gendered behavior has been proven time and time again to be a congenital trait by many cases of "accidental transsexualisim." Upon birth, a small percentage (about 1 in 30,000 or so) of infants are born with ambiguous or "deformed" genitalia. Until recently, it was common procedure to "gender correct" these infants without their knowledge or consent. Young boys with a penis measuring less than 1" in length at birth are often surgically reassigned as female, complete with hormones. Most of these "lost boys" come back eventually, demanding their bodies be corrected to their true gender. These same boys are raised as girls their whole childhood, yet they still know that they are, in fact, male. This knowing occurs regardless of whether or not the child is actually informed that the procedure was performed. Gender, then, is biological in nature. That is not to say that gender is binary and determined by sex chromosomes, but rather that once we are born, our gender is fixed, not by our physical genitalia or our everyday hormonal chemistry, but by our pre-birth development.

It is often thought in uneducated circles that gay men wish to be women. Science refutes this. The Bed nucleus of the Stria Terminalis (BSTc) has been found in FTF transsexuals to be identical in size to the BSTcs of regular (both lesbian and straight) females. This both lends credibility to the claims of so-called "MTF" (I call them FTF transsexuals, because they were always women) transsexuals AND distinguishes gay men from transsexuals. Our BSTcs are the same size as those of straight men. This yanks the rug out from under the common misconception that gay men want to be women, and that all FTF transsexuals are gay men. Anecdotal experience also supports this. I have a friend who is a post-op FTF transsexual, and she is a lesbian.

Besides, who would "choose" to be gay? I sure as hell didn't. Fuck, I chose NOT to be gay. Every goddamn day of middle school, and my whole sophomore year of high school, I prayed and studied and psychoanalyzed myself away from my true homosexual nature. Now I'm the GSA president at my high school, gay as a picnic in springtime, and actively looking for a nice boyfriend. So much for choice. Read Mel White's Stranger At The Gate for another attempted convert's experience. This guy tried everything, including Prayer groups, isolation, electroshock, reflection, Jesus, introspection, aversion therapy, and 30 years of committed heterosexual marriage. He currently lives with his partner, and is minister of a (Texan at the end of his autobiography) Metropolitan Community Church. Once again: So much for choice.

So next time someone attempts to use science (or lack thereof) to explain why we are "sick," consider yourself armed. We all must fight misinformation if we ever want to be truly free.

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~ Beauty of Life ~

2007-11-06T13:14:00.001+11:00

It’s predominant to most people belief that the ‘Beauty of Life’ lies with the Money, Power & Sex and losing the core vibrant of life. People with these attributes consider themselves enjoying the life to the maximum and live in the utopia of having a beautiful life. Where as some people recognize this at some or later stage of life while others don’t. History reveals that the most powerful, richest and sexiest people didn’t lead their lives with beauty & happiness but people seem to forget this.

‘Beauty of Life’ in simple according to me is living with Love, Romance, Harmony, and Affection. These are intangibles but are generic and make life happy.

Core ‘Essence of life’-

Love all with affection and harmony
Love unconditionally – don’t expect something in return
Love yourself
Romance with the nature – sense all the climate & situations
Meditate yourself
Listen to your heart
Spend some time alone
Make your senses touch the heart and nature with hope of fulfillment
Money, power and sex are highly insecure tangibles were not constant at all through out the life. These may come and go and can’t be shared, but we spend our lives for securing these and not enjoying live to the fullest that Mother Nature has given to us. These are the tiny particles we need to make our life beautiful but we made these into major elements leaving the core essence of life.

We make ourselves feel happy by creating these limitations, though they actually don’t exist and leaving the reality and virtue of life.

Arguments Used by Anti Gay People!

2007-11-06T13:13:00.000+11:00

The Arguments

Homosexuality is against nature
The Bible Condemns Homosexuality
Homosexuality is a choice (nature vs nurture)
Homosexuals can change their sexual orientation
Homosexuals are Pedophiles
Only Homosexuals practice sodomy
Homosexuals convert people and prey on children
Homosexuality is a disease
Arguments used to stop the recognition of same sex relationships

Gay Relationships will devalue heterosexual marriage
Marriage is only for procreating
Gays want to encourage polygamy
Will encourage Incest
Same Sex Relationships will break down society
Gays and Lesbians already have equality
Two Men or two women cannot be "in love"
Homosexuality is against nature
By far the most common argument used by anti-gay organisations is that Homosexuality is not natural and it doesn't occur anywhere else in the animal kingdom. The organisations suggest that in the animal kingdom there is no such thing as homosexuality which is factually incorrect. There are countless studies that demonstrate homosexual behavior in the animal kingdom including:

Sources:

Homosexual Activity Among Animals Stirs Debate
Penguins Find Gay Love
F. B. M. De Waal, Frans Lanting, Frans De Waal, 1995, Bonobo The Forgotten Ape.
Bruce Bagemihl, 2000, Biological Exuberance : Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity (Stonewall Inn Editions)
The Bible condemns homosexuality
The religious argument is a difficult argument to counter, not because the passages are necessarily correct, due to the almost myopic nature of the people or organisation using the argument.

The most common Bible passage used to the denigrate homosexuality is Leviticus 18:22

King James Version
You shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

Revised Standard Version
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

The most common counter argument for debunking this and other passages from Leviticus is the inability to translate the true meaning of the passages. The word "abomination" translates in Hebrew "to become unclean" and does not refer to sexual relations. The context of this passage refers to fertility rituals and social health practices that were commonly practiced by the Canaanites.

The second argument is that the passages of Leviticus relate to purity laws of cleanliness including identifying animals that can and cannot be eaten (such as shellfish which were unclean due to the pollutants from sewerage in the water where they lived). Other "unclean" practices include sex with a women during her menstrual cycle and wearing cloth of two fibers.

Leviticus is part of the Mosaic Laws in the Bible which are all but ignored in modern society and according to the Bible itself were rescinded by Jesus himself. Anyone familiar with the famous Dr Laura Letter will know many of these laws:

Planting Two Crops in the same field (Leviticus 19:19)
Wearing Garments made of two different fibers (Leviticus 19:19)
Contact with a female during her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Leviticus 15:19-24)
Touching the Skin of a Dead Pig (Leviticus 11:6-8)
Male having a haircut - especially having the hair around the temples cut (Leviticus 19:27)
Wearing glasses or afflicted with pimples, acne or excema etc. (Leviticus 21:20)
Being a Homosexual (Leviticus 18:22)
Curse, Blaspheme or otherwise take the lords name in vain (Leviticus 24:10-16)
Eat Shellfish (inclusive of prawns, crabs, lobster etc) (Leviticus 11:10)
The third argument for debunking the anti gay Bible is the context in which the modern versions have been written and the use of language and meaning. The two most common versions of the Bible in current circulation are the King James Version and the Revised Standard Version.

Anyone who has studied language understands that there is an inability to translate directly from one language to another. Idiomatic expressions (an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up) are contextual and make no sense from one language to another but they make perfect sense in their original language.

Each version of the Bible uses the contextual language of the day to "interpret" the meaning of the Bible, and as shown above there is much confusion on just what the actual meaning of a word or passage actually is.

Just like the language of Shakespeare is difficult to contextually translate in today's language, without actually understanding the contextual meaning of the writing the meaning cannot be understood.

Homosexuality is a choice (nature vs nurture)
At the core belief of many anti gay organisations and people is that Homosexuality is choice and therefore is wrong. The argument of nature versus nurture in homosexuality has no clear answer.

Ask a heterosexual whether or not they had to "choose" their sexuality and you will most likely get laughed at. Ask a homosexual whether they chose their sexuality and they will ask you whether they "chose" a life of discrimination.

This argument is an extension of the argument that Homosexuality is not natural and not found in nature which is examined above.

Homosexuals can change their sexual orientation
At the basis of the "ex gay" organisation's belief is that sexual orientation can be changed. Ex Gay organisations such as Exodus have had some rather public failures with one of the original board members of Exodus (Wayne Besen) leaving Exodus and having a commitment ceremony to his gay lover. More embarrassing failures of the ability for gays to be converted by these groups was the 1999 advertising campaign fiasco, where three of the "ex gays" used in the campaign have gone back to their true homosexuality and are now staunchly against the ex gay groups.

There are two main "therapies" that have been used to "correct" homosexual behavior, it is important to note that both of these therapies are behavioral changes rather than cures.

The shock or aversion therapy was (and still is in many private "clinics") practiced for many years under the auspices of mainstream psychology until the American Psychological Association removed homosexuality as a disease in 1973 with the rest of the world's similar bodies following suit over the next several years.

Shock therapy involves the use of electric shock therapy and aversion therapy (involving showing subjects homoerotic material whilst inducing nausea and vomiting through drugs).

Psychologists agree that aversion and electric shock therapy is both dangerous and is more likely to lead to serious mental health issues.

Religious groups favor intense one on one, or group "prayer" and counseling sessions. Whilst the groups themselves admit that a person is never cured of their same sex attraction, these groups claim that through prayer a person can lead either an asexual life or one away from "sin".

Sources:

http://www.narth.com/docs/criticignores. html
http://www.anythingbutstraight.com/autho r/oped4.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reparative_ therapy
Homosexuals are pedophiles
By far the most insidious argument used by anti-gay organisations and people is that Homosexuals are Pedophiles, an argument which has no basis in reality. The flawed argument used by organisation such as NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) is that if a man molests a male child then he must be gay. This is factually incorrect as pedophilia by its very nature is an attraction to children.

There are no large scale studies on the sexual identity of pedophiles, although some smaller studies have concluded that pedophiles are more likely to be married men. NARTH uses the 1984 and 1992 studies by Kurt Freund to suggested 35% of sexual abuse is perpetrated by homosexuals. However what Freund actually said was that male pedophiles are more likely to molest male children and made no discussion on the actual sexual orientation of the pedophile.

According to actual real research, most Pedophiles often have no sexual interest in adults same sex or otherwise, their sexual interest is in children, and the most common abuser of children is someone within the family who is married.

NARTH themselves says that pedophiles "are married men homosexually seducing boys", but this does not then mean that they are homosexual, doesn't by the fact that they are married suggest that they either identify as heterosexual or bisexual?

Sources:

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3439.h tm
http://www.glaad.org/publications/resour ce_doc_detail.php?id=2888
http://www.narth.com
Only Homosexuals practice sodomy
This is truly a ridiculous suggestion as multiple large scale studies have proven that heterosexuals have anal sex.

Edward O. Laumann's The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States found that about 20% of heterosexuals have engaged in anal sex, and sex researcher Alfred Kinsey found that number to be closer to 40%. In several cultures (such as the Mediterranean area and Latin America) and countries (such as Brazil, where almost 50% of the population practices anal sex [1] ( Source )), female receptive anal intercourse is widely accepted amongst heterosexuals, not only for the pleasures involved, but also as a method of contraception and as a way of preserving female virginity (or at least preserving an intact hymen until marriage).
( Source )

Homosexuals convert people and prey on children
This argument again is based on the belief that homosexuality is chosen (see nature vs nature) and the argument that there is a Homosexual Agenda. The so called homosexual agenda states:

Assume complete control of the US Federal, State and local Governments as well as all other national governments
Recruit all straight youngsters to our debauched lifestyle
Destroy all healthy heterosexual marriages
Replace all school counselors in grades K-12 with agents of Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels
Establish planetary chain of "homo breeding gulags" where over -medicated imprisoned straight women are turned into artificially impregnated baby factories to produce prepubescent love slaves for our devotedly pederastic gay leadership
Bulldoze all houses of worship
Secure total control of the INTERNET and all mass media for the exclusive use of child pornographers.
Source
As ridiculous as most of these assumptions are, many anti-gay organisations actually believe that by introducing a neutral acceptance policy towards homosexuality it will encourage people to be homosexual.

Homosexuals do not prey on children or convert people, you are either sexually attracted to people of the same sex or you are not. When was the last time you heard someone say "OK well I have had enough of women so I'm going to be homosexual".
Homosexuality is a disease

The American Psychological Association removed homosexuality as a disease in 1973 with the rest of the world's similar bodies following suit over the next several years. This was due to years of research about sexuality and the recognition of their being more than one (heterosexuality) sexuality.

Arguments used to stop the recognition of same sex relationships
The arguments used to stop the recognition of same sex relationships carry on in the same general approach as anti gay rhetoric. The push for Gay Marriage is fraught with serious issues as Marriage is in my view the wrong word for what should be sought. Marriage is a religious institution that is backed up by a legal recognition of the relationship between two people. What should be sought is the legal recognition of same sex relationships without the need for a religious connotation.

That aside the following arguments are well worth reading and understanding.

Gay relationships will devalue heterosexual marriage
This argument is my favorite by the anti-gay organisations, because it is so illogical that it is stupid. Same sex relationships have very little to do with the value of a heterosexual marriage or relationship, a same sex couple cannot make a straight couple not marry or divorce. With somewhere between 43 - 50% of first marriages failing in the United States, marriage already seems to have been significantly devalued by heterosexuals.

http://www.divorcereform.org/rates.html
http://missourifamilies.org/features/div orcearticles/divorcefeature17.htm
Marriage is only for procreating
The argument that marriage is only for procreating seriously devalues all relationships. By believing that recognizing a relationship is only for couples to have children is seriously warped. It would invalidate any heterosexual relationship between couples where they cannot have children due to physical impairments, such as an inability for the female to conceive of the couple being too old etc.

Many straight couples get married later in life after a women's child bearing ability is truly passed, or when the male or female is incapable of producing children together.

Gays want to encourage polygamy
The argument that gays want recognition of their relationships and want to marry multiple partners is just illogical. By virtue of what is being sought, I.E. the ability for two people to have their relationship recognized, they are specifically denying polygamy.

This argument and the following two arguments are little more than scare tactics and have no real basis in reality. There argument goes that if same sex relationships are recognized then polygamy, incest and bestiality will be sought for next. In all my years I have never heard such a stupid argument that is both illogical and downright stupid. Because there are no real logical arguments for banning the recognition of same sex relationships hysteria is a tactic employed.

Will encourage Incest
This is a similar argument to gays wanting polygamy, and is illogical to say the extreme.

Same sex relationships will break down society
I have never been able to understand how recognizing same sex relationships will break down society. There are millions of same sex couples throughout the world already, and many countries such as Finland, France Germany etc. None of these countries have seen a breakdown in society so I'm not really sure what this argument means!

Gays and Lesbians already have equality
Let's just be really clear here, many very well meaning people believe that Gays and Lesbians already have equality and it's not just the anti-gay zealots. Equality by definition means:

The condition or quality of being equal; agreement in quantity or degree as compared; likeness in bulk, value, rank, properties, etc.; as, the equality of two bodies in length or thickness; an equality of rights.
Source

There is still significant discrimination in all areas of society for gays and lesbians not just in the legal recognition of their relationships, but in terms of equal legal status. This all adds up to the inequality of Gays and Lesbians in modern society.

Two men or two women cannot be "in love"
This argument is far more philosophical than factual. Doing a web search for the definition of love there are literally millions of different interpretations of the term ( Source )

The Webster's dictionary defines love as:

A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; pre["e]minent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness; as, the love of brothers and sisters.
(Source)

Love is not something that can be measured by empirical study. Love is a feeling between two people that is emotional, spiritual and often sexual.

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for complete article please go to given below link...

http://www.superdrewby.com/column/antiga yarguments.shtml

Thanks!

Parents Of Gay Children

2007-11-06T13:07:00.001+11:00

Parents Of Gay Children
You're Not Alone

Welcome To Gay Family Support - Jan 15 2007

Hi, my name is Debbie and my husband and I are parents of gay children.

If you are a parent that has just found out your son or daughter is gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and are now feeling shocked, unsure, isolated or many of the other emotions we parents feel when we first discover our childs sexual orientation or gender identity, (that is different to ours) then this site will be invaluable to you.

We as parents who are hetrosexual and have been brought up in a society with a low level of understanding of homosexuality (whether because of society in general or perhaps of our religious upbringing) often have a very hard time in coming to terms with news that our very couragous and honest children have given us.

Most of our children whether they are younger or older when they have come out to us have usually taken years to try and come to terms with their sexuality or gender. Some have a very hard time with this process and some never really come to terms with it themselves. Some find it easier not for you to know at all. But they all have seriously thought it through and have finally wanted to be honest to themselves and their loved ones by coming out.

This Is Not Something They Choose To Be.
Unfortunatly when they come out to us (intentionally or other wise) we tend to go straight into that same closet they came out of. Now We have to come to terms with our childs sexuality or change of gender.

Just remember we cannot change them, they are who they are as we are who we are and no one can change us or would we want them to.

The first thing we, parents of gay children, have to do is acknowledge their sexuality and let them know that no matter what, that we love them. Then we find support for ourselves, and in this I mean several things, it could be in reading material. Read as much as you can because for most of us this is the first real interaction we have knowingly had with a gay or transgender person. There are many, many good books.

Talk to your child about their life and what it means to be gay or transgender. This is such a good way to really know your child and we all would want that as parents. It is also a good way of finding out if your child is coping with life. This is where our unconditional love and support comes in to play. This can be hard for some parents of gay children but it is neccessary so we can keep the lines of communication open.

Find out where the gay communities are, read their papers, go to restaurants etc in the gay community. This will make you realize that gay people are normal people like the rest of us. You are amongst gay people all the time but you just don’t know because they are just like us.

Find a support group like PFLAG (parents and friends of lesbians and gays)and speak to other parents of gay children who are going through the same feelings as you. I found this to be a wonderful source of help. Remember you are not alone. You will not only be helped but you will in turn help other parents of gay children along the way.

As a mother of 2 sons whom has had to come to terms with both my boys coming out at different stages I would like to share some informative material that will hopefully help you and other parents of gay children survive and enjoy the journey that you are now on.

It Isn’t The End Of The World
It Is Just The Beginning !

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References:

this article is taken from :
http://www.gayfamilysupport.com/

Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good ????

2007-11-06T12:16:00.001+11:00

Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America
by Jonathan Rauch

A leading Washington journalist argues that gay marriage is the best way to preserve and protect society's most essential institution

Two people meet and fall in love. They get married, they become upstanding members of their community, they care for each other when one falls ill, they grow old together. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, says Jonathan Rauch, and that's the point. If the two people are of the same sex, why should this chain of events be any less desirable? Marriage is more than a bond between individuals; it also links them to the community at large. Excluding some people from the prospect of marriage not only is harmful to them, but is also corrosive of the institution itself.

The controversy over gay marriage has reached a critical point in American political life as liberals and conservatives have begun to mobilize around this issue, pro and con. But no one has come forward with a compelling, comprehensive, and readable case for gay marriage-until now.

Jonathan Rauch, one of our most original and incisive social commentators, has written a clear and honest manifesto explaining why gay marriage is important-even crucial-to the health of marriage in America today. Rauch grounds his argument in commonsense, mainstream values and confronting the social conservatives on their own turf. Gay marriage, he shows, is a "win-win-win" for strengthening the bonds that tie us together and for remaining true to our national heritage of fairness and humaneness toward all.
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You can purchase the book of the writer also from:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0 805076336/qid=1113085533/sr=2-1/ref=pd_b bs_b_2_1?tag2=gayrightswatc-20

Thoughts!!!

2007-10-23T19:25:00.000+10:00

"Even a person who doesnot believe in god may go to heaven, but a person who doesnot believe in himself, there is no place for him even in hell."-Swami Vivekananda.

Religious Discrimination

2007-10-13T19:30:00.000+10:00

Does not matter, what one has to say but reality is that people discriminate each-other on the basis of religion and if you have experienced the In like or similar manner you are most welcome to write your story here through comments section or just send your story to me at sukhssandhu81@yahoo.com so that i ca post your story here, If you are not comfertable i will not disclose your name or you can send me a story with changed names and addresses

homosexualism and Testosterone

2007-10-13T18:58:00.000+10:00

Researches have shown that homosexuality does not depends upon the willingness of an individual, it completeky depends upon the genes. Some reports have recently mentioned clearly like Fred Delcomyn (please read Delcomyn, Fred. Foundations of Neurobiology. New York: W.H. Freeman & Co. 1998) that "mammals naturally develop as females "in the absence of sex hormones", Without the intervention of androgens (testicular hormones, specifically testosterone), all mammals develop in utero as female. Not only are the genitals identical in early fetal development, but the hypothalami are the same size. According to New England Journal of Medicine 1996, In humans, the influx of testosterone occurs between the second and fifth month of pregnancy. Prenatal hormonal exposure in rats (the major subjects of sex studies both because they are readily available and because their brains remain in a sex-neutral stage for a few days after their birth) occurs a few days before birth. Some researches have also proved that homosexuality runs in families. They've found if you have a gay sibling, you are much more likely to be gay yourself. Really good stuff there. Anyway, there is definitely rampant discrimination against anyone who isn't straight.

I think gays should have all the rights straights have like marriage, adoption of children, social security, etc.... Obviously, there are still lots of cases of hate crimes against gays, and that just needs to stop is the biggest need of the time. To be frank, I think people need to grow up and should realize not everyone subscribes to their thinking and belief system. whatever the religion says but noone is more than human and homosexual people are nothing but human not animals that we discriminate between them on the basis of sexuality.

Colour Discrimination

2007-10-13T18:46:00.000+10:00

Discrimination based upon skin colour is completely foolishness because skin colour is based upon Insoluble pigments that account for the colour of skin and scales and feathers known as melanin.

Wright, Adams, and Bernat Homophobia Scale

2007-09-29T19:16:00.000+10:00

FRONTLINE has reproduced this "Wright, Adams, and Bernat Homophobia Scale." It is not a perfect measure of anti-gay feelings or ideas, and is not a predictor of potential for anti-gay violence. [Though this scale was used in a research project designed to test the theory that homophobia is a manifestation of repressed homosexual desire, the scale is not a measure of homosexuality.]

This questionnaire is designed to measure your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with regards to homosexuality. It is not a test, so there are no right or wrong answers. Answer each item by checking the number after each question as follows:

1 = Strongly agree
2 = Agree
3 = Neither agree nor disagree
4 = Disagree
5 = Strongly disagree

VISIT http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/assault/etc/quiz.html/
and see your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors with regards to homosexuality...