Gay marriage has some linguistic side effects over in the Netherlands:

The Dutch Language Union has invented a new word that translates to "birthname" to accommodate married gay men who feel awkward listing their "maiden" names.

The word, geboortenaam, was invented by the union after a civil servant approached the group and explained that it could be "embarrassing" for married gay men to have to list a maiden name on forms, Radio Netherlands reported Wednesday.

"The word was needed because men who entered into a gay marriage had to fill in their 'maiden name' on official forms when they wanted to take on their spouse's surname," the language union said in its announcement.

How do you say "fucking radical" in Dutch?

Iranian gay Mehdi Kazemi made a last ditch effort to save his hide yesterday.

The 19-year old remains in The Netherlands after delaying his deportation to Britain, which will likely send him back to Iran. Kazemi moved to England in 2004 for university and claims he intended to leave, but stayed after the Iranian government executed his boyfriend.

The British government planned to kick Kazemi out, but the teen hopped off to The Netherlands, which has a moratorium on deporting endangered gays.

Kazemi's case gets a bit complicated, however, when you consider Europe's Dublin Treaty. That measure stipulates that asylum cases must be tried in the nation where the subject applied, which would be England for Kazemi.

He's hoping, however, that British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will take pity on him. In a letter sent yesterday, Kazemi again reiterates that he fears for his life and that he should be punished for his natural attractions.

The British government won't comment on specific cases, but insists they "will not remove anyone who we believe is at risk on their return."

The Netherlands' Princess Máxima will take a four city tour to spread the gay love:

The 36-year-old royal will go to the gathering of the Netherlands' four major cities - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht - to discuss how best to solve the problem of exclusion of homosexuals in the nation.

Frank Van Dalen of the Dutch Gay federation COC said: "This will be a historically significant royal presence. This is what we have been hoping for a very, very long time. It is the first time a member of the royal family has attended a meeting with such significance for gays."

A palace spokesman added: "The Princess is in favour of equal rights of all groups in the Netherlands."

The major challenge of the meeting is set to be how to encourage school students to accept the existence of homosexuality, and to learn not to discriminate against it.

No, no - people learn to discriminate, so you have to unlearn them good.

• We don't think Chace Crawford and JC Chasez are fucking, but we bet at least one of them comes out next year.

• Mike Huckabee's a manipulative bitch:

Mike Huckabee is holding a press conference right now in which he was supposed to unveil a new negative ad against arch rival Mitt Romney.

But Mr. Huckabee came to the press conference and announced he’d had a change of heart and would not be broadcasting the ad after all.
…
He then broadcast it for a room crammed with reporters, photographers and television cameras.

Way to take the high ground, Huck.

• Today's Choire Sicha's last day at Gawker. Good luck on everything, Mr. S! The Metro Section will miss your peepers.

• Ladies love man-on-man action, says Mark Simpson.

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An Iranian teen didn't have a merry Christmas.

As we mentioned last week, 19-year old Mehdi has been waiting for asylum in The Netherlands, which has a policy against deporting queers back to Iran.

Unfortunately, immigration officials refused to grant Mehdi's wish because the decision would violate the Dublin Treaty, which prevents asylum seekers from applying in multiple EU nations. Mehdi had previously applied for asylum in England, which is where he's most likely headed this week. Mehdi's lawyers plan one final appeal.

The 19-year old fears the Brits will send him back to Iran without giving him a fair shot at freedom. Sending him back may result in his execution, so, if you ask us, they have no choice but to welcome him into their national fold.

Iranian-born artist Sooreh Hera caused a stir in The Netherlands last month.

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Dutch politico Bert Koenders launched a homophobic smoke-out. The Development Minister has challenged his nation's anti-gay aid recipients to change their ways.

A government survey showed homosexuality is illegal in 18 out of the 36 countries the Netherlands gives regular aid to, Development Minister Bert Koenders said in a statement, with punishment ranging from prison sentences to the death penalty.

"The Netherlands will promote as much equal treatment of homosexuals as possible. We will not avoid awkward discussions about this," he said in a letter to parliament.

Koenders has asked Dutch ambassadors in developing countries to push for gay rights unless local human rights organizations object on grounds it would be counter-productive.

You know what would be even better? Sanctions. Take away people's money and they really start to listen. Okay, not always, but we're not sure "awkward discussions" will scare people straight.

We've previously reported on two Canadian soldiers accused of anti-gay attacks in Amsterdam. Canada's National Post provides more details:

The two soldiers, on leave from the mission in Afghanistan, were arrested on May 26 by Dutch police after an altercation in Amsterdam, a Canadian Defense department official confirmed.

The men were originally charged with attempted manslaughter, attempted criminal negligence causing bodily harm and public violence but there have been ongoing discussions to reduce those charges. The charges are under the Dutch criminal code and do not have an equivalent under the Canadian legal system, military officials said.

Rather than give them the boot, the Canadian military simply reassigned them to a base in The Netherlands.

Dutch news sources say public prosecutors have their eyes on two allegedly violent Canadian soldiers:

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?)

The Netherlands' faglings just got a new playground. Amsterdam-based activist group COC just launched an under-16 website to help the young pups come up in the gay world.

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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