RGU LGBT Society Aberdeen

What's happening?

For general news, check out

The Scotsman - Stonewall - The Equality Network - Gay.com - ANANOVA

E! Online Gossip! - The Aberdeen Press and Journal - Outrage

BBC News Online - Peter Tatchell's Website - GayWired.com

Romanian Pride in Bukarest goes ahead!
Romania, the country that legalised homosexuality in the far back ages of 2001, has decided to allow the Pride festival and parade. This had previously been declined on grounds of security and safety by the mayor of the capital, but the prime minister interfered and was sensible enough to officially state that if the mayor didn't allow the festivities to take place it would be taking the country back at least 20 years. How right he is.

Now recruiting members for next year's committee!!
You know you want to...you always have. You've been sitting at home dreaming about it for ages! Well now's your chance! Over the summer the society is forming a brand new committee for next year. You will have everything the current society has at your disposal as well as the support of the Student Association and the rest of the committee. From which you can do whatever you want. You control the direction of the society. Future events. Everything! You can shape it in your form like the child you never wanted. It's a great opportunity to turn things round and it'll be great fun as well. Show your interest through our contact email address rgulgbclub@yahoo.co.uk or to Audrey Bainbridge at the Union.

Aberdeen Pride coming up!
Aberdeen Pride will be taking place in Duthie Park on Saturday the 4th of June. I have heard quite a few voices surprised and slightly annoyed that it is taking place on the Saturday as a lot of people will be working and won't be able to make it. Previously it has always been on a Sunday. The best I can gather from my minimal enquiries is that it had to do with some people wanting to go out clubbing afterwards - which is sadly the minority that manages to make the scene more monotone by the minute (compared to the past when we had NELF which actually wanted to make gaylife in Aberdeen both better and more interesting as opposed to catering to a small minority of frequent clubbers, the same minority that is already quite well catered for - but hey, who am I to complain :). The other set of voices say it has to do with Indigo wanting it on a Saturday as they can sell more booze in their stall on a Saturday than a Sunday and they can then get everyone to go to theirs afterwards. This of course makes perfect financial sense for Indigo, but I'm not sure if it serves best the interests of the gay community...which is really what Pride should be focusing more on. But like I said, NELF turned from a good thing into a 'party planning service' which I'm sure is lots of fun for those taking part. Hey, in the future they could even learn something from us - merge party planning with fighting for social rights, keeping up with and taking part in whatever is happening in the community, trying to come up with new ways of having fun, helping people when needed and hoping to one day have a sort of neutral (non-commercial, non-clubby) venue for us lot.
( I love coming across grumpy ;)

New Club Night in Aberdeen!
Nope, its not the rumoured new place on Bridge Street that will be owned by the people behind Indigo. It's a club night taking place in the Pelican, below the Hotel Metro on Market Street. Not the most appealing of places, but it'll do. The event is called XENOPHON and starts on Friday the 27th of May. It's not strictly gay or straight but lies somewhere in the middle with a main focus on flamboyance. More info by clicking the link above.

Brad and Jen, Brad and Angelina, Brad the builder; it's all about Brad!
So Brad and Jen were the happiest couple in Hollywood-ville. Then Friends stopped and Jen didn't have her old excuses and more and Brad gave up. Then Brad went over to Mrs. Smith..I beg your pardon, Angelina Jolie. Or did he? "News" reports suggest he did but neither of them have admitted to this and quite the opposite actually. I mean, how many times have we heard this story anyway, of the two lead actors falling in love during the movie...usually made up by some desperate tabloid writer hoping to make a few quid or having fallen for their convincing acting (or movie marketing). So who knows. What we do know is that Jennifer has declared she would do anything to get him back and is currently in London with her Friend David Schwimmer. That story here.
Now to Brad the builder. Well, actually that's not true. More like an architect or designer really. His friend Frank Gehry is planning to revitalise a British seaside town and Brad's taking an active part. Read for yourselves

Ah, those art students...
We've seen quite a bit from them haven't we. Including the girl and boy who sold their virginity and their half of a relationship (respectively) to the highest bidder. But this time its a nude sculpture.

Fantastic London Flat only £135 a Week!!
Check it out for yourselves!

Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat, Fat
Let's be reasonable here. There's fat, there's obese and then there is actually being unable to move due to being the size of a hippo. I'm not being insensitive here. I'm just saying, yes people are fat so what, but if you've let it slip to this state you cannot really care too much about your body, can you? Even those people who say it's glandular and they were born with it etc. Well, I happen to know one of those and whilst he is quite a big man he manages to keep it from getting worse by regular exercise and healthy eating. Whilst the efforts he goes to would leave the rest of us probably fitter and more muscular than we can imagine, he needs to do this just so he doesn't get bigger. But he does it. That's the point. Because he cares about his health and his body and his life. So if you happen to - for whatever reason - weigh 29 stone and cannot move from your bed because of it, stop complaining. It's not discrimination against you. The world isn't against you. Just live with it, it was your choice to give up and "enjoy" all those sweets and large portions of McDonalds Super Meals.

Disturbing things in USA, who would have thunk it??
In the large country that is USA, in the state known as Florida, in the City known as Tampa it seems things haven't really been the way the should. In fact, far from it. Two guys have been - it seems for ages - acting out their various fantasies on unsuspecting gay men. Normally this wouldn't be cause for concern, if it didn't usually involve killing and even dismembering the unsuspecting party either during or after the sexual act.
Read the story here..

Gay Star Trek?
Well, apparently not...
See here...

So much for Alexander being gay/bi/whatever...
Well, for those of us who liked the fact that Alexander was truthfully portrayed as dabbling in a bit of his own kind in Oliver Stone's recent film, the fun is over. Turns out that despite how well the European audience took to this portrayal (well, apart from the Greeks of course) the Director's Cut will not contain any such scenes. In fact, pretty much all that is different, is that there are no scenes of bisexuality and related matters in there at all. Apparently this is to appeal to a wider audience. Fair enough, but then I want to see the Director's Cut of Passion of the Christ which puts in the scenes of the same nature that were cut from the original. No? Oh well... Full story here.

It's great to be gay in Saudi!
Well, my friends and your's (and "close personal" of George Bush incidentally) the Saudis are at it again. More people have now been killed and arrested due to their anti-gay legislation. Oh and of course this is one of those things where if someone has said you're a witch, that means you must be and you will be burned. Did I say witch? sorry..gay.
Wow. What a great place. This summer...I really can't decide if I'm gonna holiday in Egypt or Saudi... (to be fair, a few parts of the U.S. are almost as bad)
News from gay.com

The fight goes on...
The fight for civil rights always goes on of course and in America the main focus is still gay marriage. Laws are being set back and forth and fights are likely to keep on for quite a while. Here's the latest update..
US Gay Marriage
UK Gay Marriage
Same sex couples both recognised as parents

Elton John's wedding.
Yawn. If you're interested: ananova.com

Annie, the musical, now showing at Kelsey Grammar School
Sorry, too much little britain. In actual fact its Keith Grammar School and will be shown in Banff as well. It's a performance by members of the Keith Stage School. Could be worth a glance if you're in the neighbourhood. More info here.

Sunbathing in Ukraine
Well, apparently there's a lack of places to lie in the sun in Ukraine so I wouldn't go there this summer for your holidays. Well, unless you're prepared to take of your clothes and lie down in the street... (ananova.com)

"I was horny" is now officially an acceptable defence!
If you ever break into a house (better not be mine!) and you get caught, just make sure you grab your partner and start having sex right then and there. Apparently that makes it all OK. Although...I can't help bu wonder if it had been the same reaction if these were 2 guys, one desperate to "enter" the other (pardon the graphics).

Sharon Stone being a bit of a Diva? Never...
Well, she's done it again the dear. To be fair, it's not one of her worst at all, really just a bit of a mess (even though they use the word "trashed"). Well, judge for yourselves.

Penis Attachment
Well turns out the poor guy wanted his penis for some reason and was desperate to have it put back on. And so they did, successfully and all. But to be fair...we all got a bit bored of these things after John Wayne Bobbitt's novelty had worn off, didn't we..? Yawn, yawn, yawn...

The grannies are at it again!
This time an 86 year old in USA got arrested for calling 911 - well, for calling 911 20 times demanding that the proprietors of a pizza place be arrested as they wouldn't deliver a pizza to her... Is too much freedom a bad thing?

Robbie's up for grabs!
No, really. Just head down to Madame Tussaud's and he's all yours!

The pleasure of being in class...
So apparently teachers in Brazil are slightly different than the ones over here, I'm guessing its just a case of the schools not having enough funding, but masturbation on the curriculum..

then theres the american schools - A college in N-Carolina apparently promotes stripping in your class...see how much fun class could be !?
:)

Madonna's wooden boobs
So apparently wood's the new trend - Elijah Wood? I wish, nope..some stone age wooden rack is good for toning muscles and getting bigger boobs.
check it out.

Ooh...those darned bankrobbing grannies!
So apparently the most succesful robbers in Peru are the grannies!
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1066540.html?menu=news.quirkies

Pamela Anderson Lee's kids named after Beverly Hills 90210?
Well...it was a good show after all...
Read it here.

Join the RAF at your local Gay Pride!
Apparenly the RAF had a recruiting event at Manchester's Gay Pride this year.
Only a year after being disallowed to deny access to the RAF on grounds of sexuality, they now seem desperate to get more of us..!!
(I wonder if its a new sort of "cannon fodder" strategy to get rid of us..?? ;)
Full story here.

Thought you were sexy but got a name like "Norman" (and I dont mean 'Bates') ?
Well according to the eternal truth of the BBC, a new study shows that some names are sexier than other. Not just that, but a name can determine whether you are at all perceived as sexy or not!
All a bunch of hogwash to me I have to say..but then...with a name like Kris..I really needn't worry now do I..
;)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3558224.stm

A popular Nigerian Transvestite, the "talk of the town".
Apparently no-one knew nor suspected that he wasnt a girl, but now apparently they have found out, and everyones real upset that he's broken the law, simply by dressing in women's clothing.
Hmm...doesn't sound like a nice place to me, but then I've never been there so I wouldnt know I suppose.
Judge for yourselves

One Free Malaysian, coming up.
In case anyone was following the story of Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia, he has now been set free.
In case you werent following the story, Anwar Ibrahim is the former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia.
He was jailed on charges of sodomy (that which we all do so well) although in his case they seem to have been made up, or at least those particular charges appear not to have been fully true.
Whether he's gay or not is another story, one that would cost him at least another 6 years in prison if not more were he to publicly reveal the truth in the matter.
Therefore, one which we're not likely to find out for good.
But find out more here if you are interested.

"Wow! How come you're so big?!?"
"Well, steroids of course. Yeah, I figured that since I didnt have much in the brain department, the best thing to do was to try and focus solely on the looks department, to such an extreme that I will die decades before you, my testicles will shrivel away and die and despite a heightened sex drive, I may actually get female-ish breasts"
(the above comment of course refers to a man, not a woman).

Unfortunately - admittedly mostly men - gay people are increasingly turning to steroids for more sex, well, you know, indirectly.
Not that its anything knew, nor anything that should surprise anyone who's been around the scene in a few different places.
You always get these really big and bulky guys...all just from jogging and a little bit of weightlifting of course..
well, enough of my gibberish, BBC's text is of a much higher quality so you should read that instead.
Thankfully this only refers to a small subset of gay people, most likely a small subset of the already small subset that is lacking in brain functionality (cos you'd have to be real stupid to do something like this).

Ps. other stupid things include: irresponsible sex (barebacking etc.), drug use (yes - I know alot of people "even" in aberdeen do all kinds of drugs, alot of people in aberdeen and other places also die from drugs each year, stupidity or peer pressure is no excuse) oh and by the way, poppers may not generally be considered drugs and vastly used, but please bare in mind they do cause longterm damage.
Safetyboy over and out.

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RGU LGBT library started!
We have just started our own collection/library of LGBT media!
If you have anything at all that you could be persuaded to donate to this library, not only would that be great and we would be very thankful, but you would also be helping out (and being very nice to) all kinds of other people.
We are creating a collection of books, magazines (nope! not that kind -mostly Gay Times, Diva and Scotsgay-and will try always to have the latest ones for your perusal), videos and DVD's. These will be 'borrowable' in case you were wondering, but will also be available for browsing during our office times (see the current list of items here).

Hindu Goddess Turner.
Tina Turner is set to play in a new musical, being filmed in India and in London. The film is expected to be completed early in 2005, will go by the name "the Goddess", be directed and produced by "Merchant-Ivory" and in it Turner will play the leading role of the goddess "Shakti", also known as "Kali".
Get the full story on ananova.com here http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868790.html
(The name "Kali" may ring a bell for some movie buffs as the plot of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom revolves greatly around "Kali" and the god also gets a mention in the fairly recent Sean Connery film "the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", to name a few.)

Should Gay people be terminated?
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, doesn't seem to like us lgbt people too much, as he is putting a halt to all same-sex marriages.
His main comments: "Our civilised society and legal system is based upon a respect for and adherence to the rule of law…" and apparently "The City and County of San Francisco's unfortunate choice to disregard state law and grant marriage certificates to gay couples directly undermines this fundamental guarantee." not to mention that he "…feels that we've come to a point where we're starting down a dangerous path and it leads to anarchy at some point." and same-sex marriages pose "an imminent risk to civil order".
Oh well, at least the San Francisco Mayor is still on our side…
Just to remind everyone, there was also some talk before Schwarzenegger won the elections, what his stand would be on LGBT issues. Some were worried as his transition team is lead by a man with a history of being negative towards gay people. Others listened to his support towards LGBT people during his election campaign, some of us may even remember the words: "I am for equal rights for all. ... I do believe that gay couples are entitled to full protection under the law and should not be discriminated against based on their relationship."
Anyone spotting anything wrong here..?
The stories on ananova.com at http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_868740.html?menu=news.latestheadlines
BBC News at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3508969.stm
Gay.com at
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2003/10/08/1
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2003/10/06/2
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2004/02/20/1
http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5837

Same-sex marriages galore!
USA is now under attack, it seems, by same-sex marriages.
To provide a brief summary, the Massachusetts' Supreme court decided (5 against 4) that homosexual people should have the same rights as heterosexuals and should therefore be allowed to wed. This is based on the fact that the State of Massachussetts has no laws which specifically ban same-sex marriages, hence they are not illegal.
They also said that same-sex civil unions, do not provide the same rights as marriage does.
The response to this from the Massachussetts parliament, seems to be an intention to enstate laws which will specifically ban same-sex marriages, BUT greatly increase the rights of same-sex couples. Most likely thereby hoping to appease the biggest group possible and still get re-elected...
The response from our favourite friend, your uncle and mine...George W. Bush, was that if this decision by the Supreme court will be upheld, then he intends to change the U.S. constitution, no less (ooh, I feel so important right now...), to make sure that same-sex marriages are explicitly made illegal throughout the U.S.A.!
This is of course to do with the fact that marriage is sacred, it only takes place between a man and a woman and that he will take whatever action necessary to protect legally the sanctity of marriage.
If you need a bit of a revision on where he stands...here's one from last year for you http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2003/10/06/1

At the moment, Massachussetts still remains likely to be the first U.S. state to introduce legal same-sex marriages later this year.
This is important as other states will be forced to recognise those marriage licences in their cities as well.
However, adding to this is the fact that most states are now being forced to make a stand either for or against same-sex marriages with Chicago probably being for it (http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5843), Utah - not surprisingly - being against it (http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5847) and California looking split as state-wide law, conservative groups and the governor himself oppose it, but the recent wave of marriages in San Francisco may prove the end result to be otherwise.
The Mayor of the City of San Francisco, a city long considered a gay-rights pioneer, decided in early February that he was going to allow same-sex marriages, on the grounds that an existing state-wide ban on them was discrimination and unconstitutional.
So the ban was lifted and thousands of gay couples flocked to San Francisco to get married. Around 900 people used the opportunity just in the first few days.
Despite conservative groups desperately trying to block this decision, it still stood, until Governor of California, Arnold "B-movie top-man" Schwarzenegger (who denied Nazi roots in his election campaign...) wrote a letter to the Attorney General, stating that these actions should take place no more (in much worse words than this).
Although, it now seems that might even be disregarded as the Attorney General loudly declared that Schwarzenegger had no authority over him...
See our summary of that here.
Also a good summary and commentary on the current same-sex marriage issue can be found on tolerance.org here and if you are interested in UK Civil Partnership Registration, you can see analysis of a consultation done by the Scottish Executive at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/cprar-00.asp

The OAP Hollywood meal
Jamie Oliver, Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt all met recently. The occasion? The Aniston-Pitts flew Oliver over, first-class of course, to cook them dinner.
It's nice to be rich, isn't it..?
Full story on ananova.com http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868190.html?menu

Charlotte Church coming of age
Ms. Church is having her 18th birthday these days. If you're not sure what to get her, don't worry she's got enough money and doesn't need much..well..apart from maybe a ruby-studded bra...but we all have one of those anyway, don't we..?
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868185.html
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868226.html?menu

No fake penises..??
Channel 4 is airing a documentary on the German cannibal, Armin Meiwes, titled "Bodyshock: The Man Who Ate His Lover" (although this is the first I've heard of them having been lovers - quite the contrary, going by previous news they didn't even know each other that well beforehand…) on Monday the 1st of March.
Those of you who followed the story may remember that "the Lover's" penis got cut off and cooked before being eaten by both of them. (hint: if you're interested in that kinda stuff, a much less painful method is to skip the cooking altogether and take up yoga…)
Channel 4 has, however, informed us all that there will be no graphic scenes in the documentary, containing fake penises (I couldn't find anything on whether that means they'll be using real ones…).
See the full story on ananova.com here:
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868230.html?menu

UK Film productions in trouble.
Johnny Depp, Jude Law, John Malkovich, Samantha Morton and Jim Broadbent are just some of the people whose current film productions are being jeopardized by the UK Inland Revenue.
Full story on ananova.com: http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868265.html?menu

Hollywood parents and hot homes.
The parents of Catherine Zeta Jones get a nice little gift from her and Michael Douglas...
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_868516.html?menu

How to cure your gayness!
Sorry, I've been sitting on this for a while but have decided now to post it here.
The BBC has a bit of a coverage on gay cures here
And inspired by that I decided to share with you some thoughts on this infuriating issue.
Few things irritate me as much as the concept of "curing gayness". The whole thing never accomplishes anything but perhaps to ruin your life, not least by provoking endless self hatred in yourself.
By going through one of these "treatments", you will still be gay, but you will hate yourself for it. Because of this you may try to marry a woman, potentially ruin her life as well and end up becoming mentally unstable.
But you will never be anything else than gay, and you will hate yourself your whole life

How about taking the opposite approach?
How about allowing us to live our lives, and to encourage us to do so, make us feel good, happy, even special (in a good way)?

And as an additional point,
I also feel a bit ill when I get reminded that only 35 years ago, being gay was illegal!!
Bear that in mind next time you meet a gay man or woman in their fifties or older…
When they were your age,
society told them that it was wrong, that they should hate themselves and they helped along the way by hating them as well, shouting, assaulting, turning them over to the police to get locked up, abused, assaulted in every way possible and humiliated no matter what they did or where they did it.
They were treated like they were mentally ill, disgusting, degenerate people. People acted around them like they had the plague or leprosy or something similar to that if not worse.
Let's try and remember that - please - and be thankful for what we have, understanding to those who may need a bit of time still to get completely to terms with the fact that there's nothing wrong with us, and at the same time be aware that in many places in the world, this is still the case.
Egypt, to name only one, will do all the above to you even today. Even if you go there as a tourist, if you are caught in a gay group, admit to someone that you are gay, kiss (or do something more intimate with) your partner, even in your own flat or hotel room…
If they find out or suspect it somehow, they will not show much mercy.
Bear that in mind next time you see one of those ads of Egypt as a good tourist destination… - btw. I'm not saying all Egyptians are bad in any way but when the masses and the government act like that…

And don't get me started on 'gay-rights' in Zimbabwe, or even some of the most liberal African countries, actually…

It's the sad and unfortunate truth
It's what we're born into and hopefully will change during our lifetime.
We were lucky enough to be born in tolerant countries and at a time when - at least in our countries - most persecutions have stopped.

It may seem shit at times - and sometimes and in some ways it is
But it's so much better than it was
We get so much good things instead
We get to live our lives the way we want them and be happy

Sorry to go all dramatic and corny on you, but please bear all this in mind.
Don't ever treat anyone like this, no matter what.

And as a last point…

What do you do,
What do you think,
How do you behave,
…when you pass someone who you believe may have, talk to someone who has or find out that someone does indeed have HIV/AIDS….?

http://www.tolerance.org

The Aids fight continues
Health authorities in Uganda recently received 37 million dollars from the U.S. government to help them fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is half of the total sum U.S.A. intends to give them this year. The money will mostly be used for medical treatments for 60,000 people in Uganda which have been infected by the virus as well as care and support for 300,000 of the citisens which suffer from AIDS.
In all, an estimated 1.2million people in Uganda are infected by the HIV virus and around 2 million Ugandan children are estimated to be orphaned from having their parents die of AIDS.
Currently, the UK might be heading for a lack of funding for tackling HIV/AIDS, read the story here
Read the views of current U.S. presidential candidates on HIV/AIDS and where they stand, here
Recently there was an issue regarding pricing of HIV drugs in U.S.A., see the story here

Too many people in the USA still have unprotected sex, despite having HIV/AIDS infections, http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5840
The Brazilian approach to the AIDS battle is discussed here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3306345.stm
See the BBC News HIV/AIDS special page here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/special/aids/
See the Gay.com UK page for HIV here
And the Terrence Higgins Trust here

Stripping Marks
In the U.S. a college student stripped off all his clothing in class, in front of all the other students and the professor, in hope of getting an 'A'.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_868281.html?menu=news.quirkies

A brief reminder of Transgender issues
Transgender marriages are a key part of parliament's recent Gender Recognition Bill. Here's a BBC story on transsexual marriages and various views on them as well as mentioning that the Bill will allow people who go through sex change operations to obtain new birth certificates in their 'new' gender after the operation (note this was written before it was approved - which it now has been, but we have yet to see whether the Bill will become law, in which case it will come in to action in 2005 most likely).
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3331245.stm

Interestingly, the Bishop of Winchester is quoted as saying "If this bill is passed into law as it stands, the words 'woman' and 'man' will no longer mean what everyone including the law has always thought that they meant. "
And here was silly little me thinking that, precisely, those words don't mean exactly what they used to and so what? They shouldn't. Things change.

There's also a news story on BBC, which covers the Merseyside police recent decision that transgender issues should not be covered by the LGB support, but be a completely separate issue. This applies to all complaints and issues that might arise and will also include additional training for all Merseyside police.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/3432145.stm

Then there's the Sky TV show "There's Something About Miriam", where 6 guys are attempting to woo the transgender Miriam, without knowing she was transgender. Apparently the guys weren't too happy about this…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3463877.stm

"Gays are perverts with reprobate minds"
According to a Northern Ireland Councillor, in a letter to Prime Minister Tony Blair, regarding the Gender Recognition Bill, we are apparently also on the way to usher in "debauchery" and to mention my favourite comments "I don't think God made a mistake when he made us male and female and these people who call themselves gays and the like are essentially perverts," "I believe their problems exist only in their minds. It is not a biological or medical condition they suffer from. It is related - and I refer to Romans Chapter I - to the fact that the people who are most often this way inclined are mostly Godless people with reprobate minds"
So the "condition" we "suffer from" is not "a biological or medical" one - phew - but to do with religion and faith (or the lack of it). I'm glad we cleared that up…
Oh and if anyone's thinking why the Bill is bad, apparently "…it is a retrograde move to put our beloved United Kingdom back into the dark ages of debauchery and it smacks of the creature's law rather than of the Creator."

Other councillors have also made similar comments:
"Last December Trowbridge Lib Dem councillor Ben Biddulph was forced to resign, after he told a newspaper that "gays are paedophiles", while Whitton councillor Hilary dance was forced to apologise, after she told a local newspaper that "God did not originally make two men to love and complement each other, neither did he create two women to love and complement each other.""

Full story on Gay.com here

A teacher tricked into pretending to be gay by 'MI5' agent.
Having lost a lot of money for himself and his family, the teacher is now in court because of this matter. Full story on thescotsman.com

American driver arrested for watching (gay?) porn
Not much about it, just an enjoyable read really... :-)
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_868248.html?menu=news.quirkies

Bristol Lesbian auctioning off virginity
University student Rosie Reid, undergraduate student in Social Policy, is offering her virginity for sale on the internet to pay off debts. Like many of us, she currently has to work long hours to pay her way through Uni, resulting in missing lectures and being tired all the time. Also, as mentioned on thisisbristol.com - "all this is before top-up fees have even been introduced".
She seems to be pulling on all the heterosexual mens fantasies of "converting" a lesbian, not to mention just having sex with one. Why this is so interesting I am not sure but then again, some gay men have the fantasy of "the straight man" so...dunno. But I doubt she'll win a lesbian popularity contest anytime soon for the stunt.

See the story on:
thisisbristol.com
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/3429769.stm
as well as her related website at
http://www.rosieharmen.co.uk/about.html

Gay Rugby cup in London and homophobia in sport.
The Bingham cup this year will be competed for in London's Esher Rugby Football Club. It's supported by amongst others, Mayor Ken Livingstone, takes place in late May and will have players from all over the world.
(hm...maybe time for a London visit..?;)
Full story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3502187.stm
One of the main reasons for the cup is that often gay and lesbian sports people will get fed up with the homophobia that apparently fills todays sports scene and so this way they still have a chance of competing in the sport they love without worrying about bigotry and homophobia.
http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5841

100's of HIV patients immune to HIV drugs!
According to a BBC news report, HIV drugs aren't working as well as we'd hoped. Generally you're stuck with a horrible coctail of drugs that may or may not make your life a bit better or even hold off the actual deterioration that takes place while you're on the drugs, but now there's a new strain of the virus, for which no drugs work.
Read it here.

Monica Pregnant!
Courteney Cox is pregnant with David Arquette's (her husband) baby according to his bisexual brother Alexis Arquette. This was revealed on Sharon Osbourne's show in America, to be aired in November.
Ananova.com had the story.
In other news, she is also producing a house makeover TV show on the American Womens Entertainment channel .

American Coming Out Day!
(U.S. of) America apparently has their "National Coming Out Day" (NCOD) today, 11th of October, so in light of that I figured I'd give you some random links to gay.com
We'll start with the "pride" one which also has info on this NCOD.
http://www.gay.com/pride/
And some aphrodesiac recipes can be found here, for that weekend orgy..

But that won't be enough, you'll also need to know what Johnny Depp drinks, and at the same page you can also look up any cocktail you can think of...

Now what you need is to brush up on some party etiquette..

...and no month is complete without its' Alcohoroscope

gay.com also has all kinds of tips and advice on dating, sex and more...

Not to mention that It has news such as that of American Gay High School Students fighting back when a homophobe harasses them,
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2003/10/10/4
or the news of a battle between WHO (not the band the Who) and the Vatican, as priests and other religious beings keep telling people with HIV not to use condoms!!
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2003/10/09/4

Then of course there is the oral sex answers

And who doesn't enjoy reading about troubled people and their love and sex problems (who knows, they might have the same issue you do...)
Check this, this, this, this, this or this one
or get the whole thing here as "Savage Love".

Oh and I should also tell you that they do have a UK version of their site at http://uk.gay.com/

The little loud racist girl
Cheryl Tweedy of the "band" Girls Aloud apparently "...punched a toilet attendant over a handful of lollipops and called her a black bitch..."
See the full story here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3177496.stm
Update: This has since been added: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3180932.stm

New HIV Report out...
According to a new report from the U.N. on HIV/AIDS "Around 6,000 people between the ages of 15 and 24 catch the disease every day."
That is quite a lot and I think I'll also mention the fact that in our contact section we have the number for the G.U.M. clinic (maybe time for a check up?) as well as the URL for the "get rubbered" scheme (for free condoms).
Read the BBC summary of the report here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3170908.stm
Also, it is getting closer to world aids day - 1st of December - and we will be doing something along with the Students Union for Red Ribbon Week so if you have any ideas, by all means let us know :)

The Terminator Governs, what does that mean for Gay California?
So the results of the elections for the U.S.A. Governor of California are in.
Gray Davis is out and Arnold Schwarzenegger takes his place.
Apparently he declared many times during his campaign that he was for LGBT people and their rights, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Here's a bit on that from gay.com
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2003/10/08/1

Gay Church-goers may not be going?
Continuing the eternal "gay-battle" within the "wonderful" Church of England (can you tell I'm not a member..?) the pope gets involved again and on the other side some gay anglicans look like they may go on a diet to protest...
BBC News : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3165110.stm

Bright Young Things
New film by Stephen Fry - went to see it in the Belmont Cinema. Not bad, a fantastic cast and quite amusing if you're into Stephen Fry and his work (and I don't mean in the sense of a bit of Fry and Laurie etc.) it's a bit gay as well (not surprising as he is very much so himself). Just thought I'd mention it :)
A bit more on the film here
Also, if you do like Stephen Fry and a good bit of nonsense, he's got a show on BBC2 called QI, which used to be on Wednesday nights at 10pm but seems to have been moved to Saturday nights at 10pm...head to head with Parkinson.
Give it a go if you're not out somewhere drunk. :)

Finally! What we have all been waiting for...
Two German brothers have just saved every gay man's life...
;) they have invented "...the world's first internal handbag light."
See the full story on Ananova here (apparently originating from The Times)

Scottish people not really listening without prejudice...
A study by the Scottish Executive has revealed that "...26 per cent of Scots agreed that sometimes there was "good reason" for people to be prejudiced."!!
In addition to this, 56% of Scots asked feel there is a "great deal" of prejudice in Scotland and "More than 10 per cent said they would prefer a white MSP and 18 per cent wanted an MSP who was not gay or lesbian. Nearly 30 per cent said a gay or lesbian primary teacher would be unsuitable, while 12 per cent said it would be unsuitable for a primary teacher to be disabled. "
In the midst of all this madness, however, this also appeared: "...68 per cent of Scots agreed the country should do all it could to get rid of prejudice. "
Have a read for yourselves here at the Scotsman.

MTV in Edinburgh
In case you didn't already know it, MTV chose Edinburgh as the site for their European Video Music awards this year. The Scotsman has an article on this including an interview with the MTV head honcho that made the decision.
Read it here.

The RGU LGBT society is coming back to life as students are flocking back, with the first meeting planned for Wednesday the 8th of October at 9pm.
This year we will have more resources, attempt to cover more sides of LGBT life (including fun, support and even politics - all depending on interest) and have more people working on events - such as trips out of Aberdeen and more - than ever before.

For more info email us at rgulgbclub@yahoo.co.uk

Outrage (incl.Peter Tatchell) demand prosecution of reggae musicians Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Bounty Killer for homophobic lyrics, as their MOBO nominations became clear.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,2-523-824675,00.html

Sweden supports HIV/AIDS fight!
The Government of the fabulous country Sweden has decided to create a new government post dedicated to fighting HIV/AIDS both in Sweden and worldwide.
They have also decided to close to double their annual contributions to the UN on these issues to almost £8million as well as donating around £25million to an International fund which helps tackle HIV/AIDS amongst other things.
I always knew they were good for more than just ABBA and Ace of Base...

Gay muslim refugee in Ireland attacked!
In Dublin, Ireland, a 23 year old gay man from Pakistan, who had been granted asylum (on grounds of his sexuality) was attacked by muslim women.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-1507-824668,00.html

North East LGBT Forum changes Format
The North-East LGBT Forum (NELF) has now become a limited company. In order to be able to take part and be a full member, you have to fill in a new form, which you can get from the forum, PHACE or us.
http://uk.geocities.com/equalityforum/

Gay partnership rights in Scotland "...not a priority for the executive."
The Scottish Executive, earlier in September, chickened out of giving couples (gay and straight) a chance for partnership rights equal to married couples.
They also added that this was not as important as tackling "anti-social behaviour".
I have to say...in my opinion the first step towards that, would in fact have been to tackle this issue, rather than ignoring it.
(But obviously that's just my opinion...)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/3097442.stm

Barbra Streisand also gets bored by her own music.
Thank god its not just me then... ;)
http://www.ananova.com/entertainment/story/sm_822564.html

Australia the gayest, Vietnam the straightest...
According to a new survey by Durex (yes - the condom makers) "more than 17% of Australians and Americans are involved in gay relationships".
(Although apparently about half of the Australians fake their sexual pleasures.)
The people of Hungary, however "...have the most voracious sexual appetites..." (did I mention I'm half Hungarian?) and only 44% of you British lot have used sex toys!
see more here and here
Also, British women are experimenting more in bed (no, I don't mean sleeping on the other side of the bed...)
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_819686.html?menu=news.weirdworld.sexlife and men in their early twenties (yum!) are more likely to sleep around!
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_820229.html?menu=news.weirdworld.sexlife

Will&Grace wins EMMY awards!
They were all nominated, but of the main cast, only actress Debra Messing (Grace) won an Emmy on Sunday 21st of September.
In addition to this the award for best guest actor in comedy went to W&G as well, as actor Gene Wilder got it.
http://www.gaywired.com/article.cfm?section=9&id=1068

Unions want improved working laws
In December 2003 new equality laws come into effect in the UK. These laws will effectively ban any discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, but unfortunately there are some gaps to be found.
Gay pensions will not work the same way as for straight married couples, in that if a gay person dies, his/hers lifetime partner will not keep on receiving benefits.
Also, religious organisations will still be able to sack workers on grounds of being gay.
The debate currently focuses mainly on whether this is a breach of the Human Rights Act and also potentially not following the original European Union directive to this effect.
BBC news has an article on it here

Kylie gets more threats
Apparently a police investigation is underway, regarding hundreds of letters sent both to Kylie's home as well as the offices of her record company.
Full story on BBC news here

Celebrity demands.
BBC News has a bit on the both normal and abnormal demands that various celebrities tend to make, including everything from trimmed celery to Flintstones suites.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3133444.stm

For more news, check out some of the following:

The Scotsman - Stonewall - The Equality Network - Gay.com - ANANOVA

E! Online Gossip! - The Aberdeen Press and Journal - Outrage

BBC News Online - Peter Tatchell's Website - GayWired.com