Euro Gays - The Europe Gay Society The site that features Europe Gays Lifestyle and Environment. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 12 0 14 725

Articles from Euro Gays - The Europe Gay Society

Three Iraq Safe Houses for Gays Forced To Close 2007-11-10 08:36:00 “We Feel Deserted By the International Gay Community” – Gay Iraqis“Few People Seem to Care About Our Fate” LONDON and BAGHDAD, November 6, 2007 – Three out of the five gay safe houses for gay people in Iraq are being forced to close down, due to a lack of funds to pay their rent and utility bills, the London-based Iraqi LGBT revealed this afternoon. The refuges were set up two years ago, to provide a place of safety for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Iraqis who have fled homophobic threats and attempts to kill them by religious fundamentalists and death squads. “Iraqi LGBT has made a huge effort to keep all of its five safe houses running, to provide refuge for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Iraqis who have fled homophobic violence and threats to kill them,” said Ali Hili, founder and coordinator of the human rights group, Iraqi LGBT. “Many of the people we helped have been targeted by the Iraqi police and by Shia militia and ...

UK foster parents lose child over anti-gay views 2007-10-25 11:34:00 A Christian couple in the United Kingdom who have taken in 28 children were forced to give up foster parenting after they refused to show support of homosexuality, the Daily Telegraph of London reported. Social services officials told Vincent Matherick, 65, and his wife, Pauline, 61, that they had to abide by new laws requiring them to treat homosexuality and heterosexuality equally, which could include taking children to gay support groups if they inquired about homosexuality. The Mathericks said they would neither support nor criticize homosexuality, but that they would not actively promote it because it conflicted with their religious beliefs. Their decision prompted officials to move their 11-year-old foster child to a new location. "We have never discriminated against anybody, but I cannot promote homosexuality when I believe it is against the word of God," Vincent Matherick, a minister and elementary school administrator, told the Telegraph. "It's terrible that we've been forc ...

A lot of homophobe violence during Gay Pride Weekend 2007-10-08 14:26:00 At a gay meeting spot at the Haarlemse Staten Bolwerk a 45-year old man was beaten and robbed last Friday night. The police think the man from Haarlem was assaulted because he is gay. He sustained injuries in his face, his back and one knee. The man was cruising at the city park Staten Bolwerk, said the police. He met a young man who asked him what he was doing in the park. Even before he could answer the guy hit him in the face. He kept punching and the victim lost consciousness for a short while.The police think that the guy has kicked and punched his victim while he was already down. He also robbed him from his wallet. During our busy Pride festival several gays have been assaulted. A gay Irishman got seriously hurt on Saturday night after he and his Spanish friend were attacked with ‘a solid instrument’ on the Nassaukade near the Kinkerstraat. The perpetrators, who got away, were a Dutch man in his early twenties and an Arabic / Moroccan looking man in his late twenties. They w ...

I am an HIV positive gay doctor 2007-10-06 11:02:00 In 2002, when I was in my mid-20s, I went down with a severe cold and was in bed for a couple of days. I was feeling lousy, with a headache and stiff neck, so a GP friend looked in on me to check that I was OK. Neither of us recognised my symptoms as anything more than a bad bout of flu.Eight weeks later, at a routine check-up, I was diagnosed as HIV positive. I felt shocked, although the result wasn't a complete surprise. As a gay man there was a chance that I'd be exposed to the virus, and might acquire it.My first thought was how the diagnosis would affect my job. I'd been a doctor for only four years. This was something for which I had worked very hard, something I desperately wanted to do. I was terrified I would be told I could not practise any more.The next day, I arranged to meet an occupational health consultant. It was my responsibility to inform my employers, but I was fearful of their reaction. I hadn't sustained a needle-stick injury while working in the developing wor ...

Gay film festival's £25,000 prize 2007-10-05 15:00:00 The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror has its European premiere A film festival featuring what the organisers claim is largest ever prize for a gay and lesbian short film is opening in Cardiff. The inaugural Iris Prize Festival will screen the 30 films shortlisted for the prize, worth £25,000, and host premieres for feature-length films. Talks, debates, workshops and parties will also be held at Chapter Arts Centre and Cineworld. The prize winner will be announced on the festival's last day, on Saturday. The prize will allow the winner to make their next short film in the UK. A jury, including Daily Telegraph assistant editor Andrew Pierce and designer Angela Gidden as well as film-makers from the UK and abroad, will chose the successful entrant. Iris Prize patron and Cardiff-born actor Matthew Rhys, who stars in American TV drama Brothers and Sisters, praised those shortlisted and added: "I'm confident the international jury will find it difficult choosing an overa ... Film

HIV-positive gay men in Western Europe disproportionately affected by STIs 2007-10-04 14:54:00 Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) – including syphilis, gonorrhoea, LGV and hepatitis C – are disproportionately affecting HIV-positive gay men, according to a review of STIs amongst gay men in Western Europe published in the October 2007 edition of the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases. The authors conclude that this not only highlights the need to routinely test HIV-positive gay men for STIs and hepatitis C, but also suggests that changes in STI incidence may no longer reflect corresponding changes in HIV incidence amongst gay men as a whole. Since 1996, when the era of effective antiretroviral therapy began, the number of diagnosed HIV-positive gay men who are well and sexually active has increased substantially. In order to understand trends in HIV prevalence and STIs amongst HIV-positive gay men in Western Europe, researchers from London undertook a review of published reports between 1996 and 2006. They focused on twelve countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Ger ...

First Gay Asteroid Named 2007-10-03 12:51:00 The Takei asteroid is located between Mars and Jupiter.We can only guess, but it may be the universe's first gay asteroid.Yesterday, openly gay Star trek actor George Takei had the asteroid formerly known as 1994 GT9 named after him.Mr Takei was nominated because of his work with leading gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, where he was spokesman for their Coming Out Project."I am now a heavenly body,'' Mr Takei said."I found out about it yesterday... I was blown away."It came out of the clear blue sky, just like an asteroid.''Mr Takei is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, but he is currently undergoing a revival of popularity due to his appearance in the massively popular Heroes programme as Hiro Nakamura's father.Unsurprisingly, it is fairly common for astronomers to name asteroids after their favourite sci-fi writers and actors.Mr Takei joins Michelle Nichols (who played Lt. Uhuru) and Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator, in having a ...

Celebrities Join London Protest Against Iran Gay Executions and Torture 2007-10-02 10:01:00 Petition rejected by Iran Embassy LONDON, October 4 – TV soap and film actor Jeremy Sheffield, gay rap star Q Boy, comedian Scott Cappurro, Big Brother contestant Josh Rafter, out gay Labour MP Chris Bryant and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell today joined a 50-strong protest outside the Iranian Embassy in London. The protest – organised by the gay magazine axm and gay human rights group OutRage! – was part of an on-going series of global demonstrations against the Iranian government’s arrest, imprisonment, whipping and execution of gay men. “We are here to condemn Iran’s execution and torture of gay men, and to demand international action against the tyrannical Iranian regime” said protest co-organiser Peter Tatchell of the LGBT human rights group OutRage!. “The international community should issue ... Celebrities

Gay World Cup Football in Europe 2007-10-01 14:46:00 England defeated in Gay World Cup final Britain's dreams of retaining their Gay World Cup trophy were in tatters yesterday as the Argentinean team Los Dogos beat the reigning champions 1-0 Buenos Aires' Defensores de Belgrano stadium.London's Stonewall squad fought valiantly against the team, who were participating for the first time in the event."The people supported us and I hope it's always like this," said Dogos coach Nestor Gammella."We beat the world champions and we are happy."The new champions now enjoy automatic qualification for the 2008 tournament in London.Latino teams entered the tournament for the first time this year, with squads from Uruguay, Chile, Mexico and, of course, Argentina competing.The International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) president said the organisation chose Buenos Aires because of its "respect and social acceptance of the gay community."In the spirit of a Latin revival, the Mexican team's slogan has come to sum up the sp ...

Struggling for Gay Rights In a More Diverse Europe 2007-09-29 12:38:00 Conservative attitudes in newer EU member states threaten to roll back a generation of gains in gay marriage, adoption, even equal access to work.The European Union’s recent growth spurt to 27 member states has meant an increase in tensions, clearly visible this year from Amsterdam to Nicosia to Warsaw over the issue of gay rights. Across the EU, the disparities in national policy and attitude toward homosexuality have never been more pronounced. Some member states – notably the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Spain – favor far-reaching rights for gay people, including same-sex marriage. Others, including former Eastern bloc nations Poland and Romania, openly and unapologetically discriminate against gays, barring them from jobs and denying them other rights afforded to heterosexuals. “It’s not in the interest of any society to increase the number of homosexuals—that’s obvious,” Poland’s conservative Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski told reporters last spring, in ...

Cashman Welcomes Euro Court Ruling on Gay Rights in Poland 2007-09-28 11:12:00 Poland has failed to meet its human rights obligations for gay men...STRASBOURG – Euro MP Michael Cashman has welcomed the decision of the European Court of Human Rights to uphold its previous verdict against the Polish Government and the ban by the Warsaw city authorities of the city’s Gay Pride in 2005. The ban came while Lech Kaczynski was mayor of Warsaw. Later that year, he was elected President of Poland. “This ruling can now be added to a growing list of actions being undertaken by the European institutions to defend the fundamental freedoms of not just Polish LGBT individuals, but of all European individuals,” Mr. Cashman, president of the Parliament’s gay and lesbian rights ‘Intergroup’, said this afternoon. “The ruling highlights the importance of continued Britis ...

The Gay Nature 2007-09-27 10:53:00 Is It Natural To Be Gay? I love ambiguous questions, and this is one of my favorites. To ask the question is a natural to be gay or to make the simplistic statement that is unnatural to be gay is to assume we have absolute certitude about what is natural. We don’t. The argument is posed that you don’t find any instances of homosexual activity in the animal world. That is not true. I understand that many species of animals have same-sex relations. Not being a biologist I bow to those with more expertise than I have. However, homosexual activity has occurred among the human species for as long a sexual activity has been recorded. It stands to reason if this were an unnatural process that gays would have become extinct a long time ago. If it is indeed natural for members of a species to be same sex orientated then it must serve a purpose, especially if the process of natural selection continues to perpetuate this sexual orientation. There is some scientific investigation to subs ...

Europe Gay Marriage History 2007-09-26 13:11:00 Gay Marriages 400 Years Ago in Europe! - A lighter "Dark Age" By: Stefan Anitei, Science Editor Homosexuality was a frequent reality for the ancient Greeks and Romans, who left many writings, paintings, mosaics representing homosexual men and lesbian women. The very term "homosexual" comes from Ancient Greek, meaning "same sex" and "lesbian" comes from the island of Lesbos (Greece) where Moon Goddess' priestesses practiced lesbianism. In ancient Sparta, homosexuality was seen as a virtue. Many religions are tolerant to homosexuality; Christianity has been always seen as highly intolerant to this. And this shaped the attitude of the European and Western civilization towards this phenomenon. Still, a new investigation shows that civil unions between male couples existed six centuries ago in medieval Europe. Moreover, gay marriages were not taboo in a "Dark Age" Europe. "Historical evidence, including legal documents and gravesites, can be interpreted as supporting the ... History

European pop star reveals he's gay 2007-09-25 15:05:00 Gay.com U.K. published Friday, August 19, 2005 Westlife singer Mark Feehily has announced he is gay, and that he is in a relationship with a former boy band member. Feehily, who is one of the chart-topping act's founding members, made the announcement today, saying he is happy with his sexuality. He added that he is not looking to act as a role model for other gay men. "I am gay, and I'm very proud of who I am," he said. "I'm not asking for any sympathy or to be a role model to anyone else." Irish-born Feehily, 25, says his friends and family are supportive of his sexuality and that he is in a long-term relationship. He has been seeing singer Kevin McDaid, 21, from now-defunct boy band V, according to press reports. "My close friends and family, the people I love, have been incredibly supportive to me and that's what really matters," Feehily said. Westlife is currently the biggest boy band in Europe, repeat ...

Gay Europride 2010 2007-09-24 13:22:00 Gay Europride 2010 Awarded to Warsaw STOCKHOLM, September 24, 2007 – Europride 2010 has been awarded to Warsaw. The bold – and unanimous – decision was taken at the European Pride Organisers Association at their weekend meeting in Stockholm.Two year ago, Warsaw Gay Pride, known locally as The Equality Parade, was banned by city authorities, led by the homophobic Mayor Lech Kaczynski who later that year became President of Poland.But organisers ignored the ban and around 2,500 marched in the parade and were greeted by some 300 counter demonstrators from Polish far right groups who threw eggs, stones and bottles at the gays in the parade.The ban was the subject of a successful application to the European Court of Human Rights which found against Poland. Earlier this month, the Polish government appealed the decision which is now being considered by the court as to whether the appeal will be allowed.Subsequent “Prides” in Warsaw have been more peaceful affairs.? Europride ...