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» Immigrants Commit 2 Out of Every 3 Gay Bashings in Amsterdam
A study by the University of Amsterdam has found that ethnic Netherlanders are commit more hate crimes against gay and lesbians than other groups. Home Affairs Minister Guusje ter Horst said "It is a serious problem and more extensive than we had thought…Homophobic violence is very serious and must be completely eradicated." [NIS News] |
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Organisers of Amsterdam's 13th annual Gay Pride festival which ended on Sunday said the annual canal parade on Saturday drew a record crowd of more than 500,000… According to the paper, "80 boats full of partying homosexuals" took part, including a police boat and a government boat… Uniformed seamen also took part, a first. [Image] |
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Why should we try to impose something that is actually impossible to impose, which also causes little bother for others and for a certain group actually means much pleasure? Some Amsterdam residents are infuriated not necessarily because of the new leniency, but because the city's council will now impose stricter regulations on unleashed dogs. This is a very interesting ruling for multiple reasons. First, it's realistic, which is rare when it comes to sexual policing. More importantly, however, van Grieken's measure grants a certain legitimacy to cruising, which may help eradicate taboos and their resulting unsafe practices. It will be intriguing to find whether this legitimacy, however, will hamper some of the public sex excitement. |
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Good, Bad Or Dangerous?
Mayor Job Cohen commissioned the University of Amsterdam to conduct a study on the motives behind the hate crimes. Half of the crimes were committed by men of Moroccan origin and researchers believe they felt stigmatized by society and responded by attacking people they felt were lower on the social ladder. Another working theory is that the attackers may be struggling with their own sexual identity. While we're all about Amsterdam trying to curb anti-queer attacks, this study seems a bit short sighted. Wouldn't it be better to educate people, rather than rationalize their actions into objectivity? |
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Off To Jail!
Eric Wright was sentenced to five months in jail and ordered to pay 6,000 euros ($8,500) in damages and Ryan Dowie was given 45 days in jail, a court spokesman told AFP. Well, at least they asked before making an ass out of you and me. They did, however, make an ass out of themselves, their army and basic human values. |
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Press Picks Up On Amsterdam Attack
We've previously reported on two Canadian soldiers accused of anti-gay attacks in Amsterdam. Canada's National Post provides more details:
Rather than give them the boot, the Canadian military simply reassigned them to a base in The Netherlands. |
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Two Twenty-Somethings May Be Jailed For Attacks
The public prosecution department has asked the courts to jail a 22-year-old Canadian soldier for eight months for beating up a homosexual man in Amsterdam this spring. A second soldier, also 22, faces a six-week sentence. The attack sent out alarm signals about increasing violence against gay people. We guess not all of Amsterdam's anti-gay attacks are instigated by Muslim immigrants, as some would like to believe. (PS: Are we the only ones who thinks eight and six month sentences are a bit lenient?) |
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The kid-initiated initiative came around after this year's gay pride, when the Tiger Beat crowd joined the fun with a float of their own, reports NIS. Since then, COC and a group of go-getter guppies have been collaborating on the new networking site, Jung & Out. |
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"Queer" Coppers May Curb Anti-Gay Attacks
The Amsterdam police are considering sending undercover officers posing as homosexual men onto the streets of the capital in an effort to combat increasing aggression against gays. The chief of Amsterdam police Bernard Welten said this in an interview that appears in the Gay Krant on Friday. There have been 21 reported attacks this year alone, higher than all of last year's incidents. Does this mean there are more anti-gay attacks? Not necessarily. It does mean, however, that more people are coming forward. It also means more arrests: coppers have nabbed a dozen alleged bashers. Not a perfect record, no, but a step in the right direction. |
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Homophobic Violence Hangs Dark Cloud
The flotilla and party afterward is one of the biggest of the year in Amsterdam, and one in which the city upholds its reputation as one of Europe's gayest capitals. DJs pump music from ships packed with dancing partygoers, vying for who can put on the best show or provide the most outrageous theme. In addition to drag queens and would-be divas, Amsterdam's pride also saw its first straight float, created in solidarity with The Netherland's nancies, a particularly powerful message considering Amsterdam's recent spate of anti-gay hate crimes, including a trio of actions over the weekend. |
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The man - known only as Alexander - had been walking back from his boyfriend's mother's house when three teenagers - who he identified as Moroccan - pushed him into the water at Rembrandt Park. The youths then spent three hours throwing sticks, stones and words as they forced Alexander to do laps. Alexander's boyfriend recalls: He was scared to death, he heard the three talking to each other in Arabic and thought they planned to do the worst to him. Alexander feels he must have been swimming around in the pond for about two hours before a car with bright headlights arrived at the scene. The boys got scared and ran off. Police are looking into the matter, but are unsure whether the boys targeted Alexander because he's gay or just because they're wet noodles. |
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As we're sure many of you know, HIV acts by attaching itself to human dendritic cells, disguising itself and wreaking havoc on the immune system before it's even detectable. Lactoferrin, it seems, also attaches to dendritic receptors, thus blocking HIV's nefarious grip. 365 Gay elaborates:
Of course, this doesn't mean that your daily glass of the white stuff (milk, you pervs) will protect you from HIV. The scientists are quick to point out that stomach acid will render the lactroferrin…well, dead. If, however, pharmaceutical companies can harness the bovine protein's potential, they may be able to make cheaper, more effective and widely available drugs. And, you know, the pharmies are all about making things cheap and widely available. (Also, can we just say how wonderful would be if milk held the key to stopping HIV? Aside from all the lives that would be saved, there's a message in there somewhere, it's just too early for us to work it out…) |
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• A Nobel Prize-nominated South African AIDS advocacy organization was first not invited, then invited, now refuses to attend the United Nations Special Session on AIDS as an act of protest. [365 Gay]
• At least one elected official is looking out for the gays, even if he is in The Netherlands. Mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam sent out a written slap on the wrist to the heads of several homophobic European governments telling them to uphold the universal declaration of human rights. [Pink News] • 72 percent of Americans would hypothetically vote for hypothetical gay candidates as long as they hypothetically agreed on the hypothetical issues. Gay activists are hypothetically excited. [Washington Blade] • Supporters of the anti-gay-marriage amendment in Minnesota refuse to disclose all the money pouring into their campaign. Could this be because their sources are pure evil? That is just one idea. [Star Tribune] |