Is this altruistic activism or a clever marketing ploy? You be the judge…

Online gay "television channel" Village TV announced today that they will hold an eBay auction for one of their affiliate stations to benefit Amnesty International. From the press release:

The auction will take place on Sunday, May 4 (8:00 PM Central) and is being featured as part of the company's current expansion which will culminate in a massive re-launch by November of this year.
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The idea for this one-of-a-kind auction is the brainchild of Village TV Founder and President, Corey Chambers, who, upon hearing about the state-sanctioned massacre of what leaders throughout the Islamic world… "I don't believe my own struggles with being gay in this country can even compare with those of anyone facing death for their sexuality, as is happening throughout Iran, Iraq and beyond," Chambers pronounces, adding "As someone involved in the gay media, we need to recognize our obligation to fight for this cause–it really is an overwhelming matter of life and death for far too many on this planet!"

The press release also points out that Chambers and the Village TV crew are looking to expand their operation to forty major cities.

Morocco came under activist fire again today. The government got some flack last month for that whole anti-gay arrest thing, which led Amnesty International's UK-branch to wag its non-profit finger at the North African nation. Those men remain in custody.

Human Rights Watch joins the din today, saying that the the primarily Muslim nation best get with the liberal program.

The Moroccan government should protect the rights to privacy and a fair trial, Human Rights Watch and the Moroccan Human Rights Association said today. Human Rights Watch and the Moroccan Human Rights Association called on the government to repeal a law that provides prison terms for consensual homosexual acts, and launched a petition demanding that the government repeal article 489 of the penal code. They also demanded the release of the six men currently imprisoned under this article.

PM Abbas El Fassi is reportedly shaking in his boots.

Morocco's dispensing some queer justice. Authorities arrested six allegedly gay men last month and tried them for "lewd or unnatural acts." Following a brief and flawed trial, the men have been found guilty. Now Amnesty International's UK-branch is asking its allies to rally for their freedom:

Amnesty International UK is calling on its 2.2 million members worldwide to write to the Moroccan authorities demanding the release of six men who are facing jail because of their presumed sexuality.
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“The fact that the six men were convicted purely on rumour shows how prevalent homophobia is in Morocco,” said Tim Hancock, campaigns director at Amnesty International UK.
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“Amnesty has called for their sentences to be overturned and is calling on its members across the world to email or fax the Moroccan embassy demanding their immediate release.”

Click here for a complete list of Morocco's international embassies.

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