Close this WindowBookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser FavoritesAskbackflipblinklistBlogBookmarkBloglinesBlogMarksBlogsvineBUMPzee!CiteULikeco mmentsConnoteadel icio usDotNetKicksDiggdiigodropjack comdzoneFacebookFarkFavesFeed Me LinksFriendsitefolkd comFurlGoogleHuggJeqqKaboodlekirtsylinkaGoGoLinksMarkerMa gnoliaMister WongMixxMySpaceMyWebNetvouzNewsvinePlugIMpopcurrentPropellerRedditRojoSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSphereSphinnSpurl netSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a FriendCopy HTML: If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed. Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »A national chain of booksellers is under fire for bowing to threats from a notorious homophobic preacher. Stephen Green of fundamentalist group Christian Voice said the decision by Waterstones to cancel an event at a Cardiff store featruring a gay Welsh poet was a triumph for "the Lord."Mr Green is a regular protester at Pride events in the UK. However his latest stunt marks a new avenue for him - threatening to disrupt poetry readings. Patrick Jones was due to launch his new collection of poems. Darkness is Where the Stars Are and sign copies at Waterstone's in Cardiff. Some of them explore issues of faith though Christianity is not singled out. Christian Voice claim the poems are blasphemous. When it emerged that Mr Green was to protest the shop decided to cancel the event. The company denies they have been censored - Mr Green was jubilant."The Lord had not even showed me what we should do at Waterstone's only that it should be Christlike," he told the BBC."Just the knowledge that we were on our way has put the fear of God into the opposition."A spokesman for Waterstone's said:"The book remains available through Waterstone's and we are very happy for that to be the case."However we have a duty to our customers and booksellers regarding events that we organise and we felt it prudent in this case."Yesterday Mr Green also made some contentious comments about the Crown Prosecution Service's decision that the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead has "no case to answer" after it exhibited a 1ft high statue of Jesus with an erection. He now advocates destroying art works he dislikes."This decision urges Christians to create public disorder if we want a similar case to proceed in future," he said."We are naturally reluctant to do that and it puts us in new territory."On the other hand there were those at the Baltic Centre who wanted to take matters into their own hands and I have warned Anita Zabludowicz that her statue will not survive being put on public display again."If the CPS wanted to give the green light to blasphemous art their decision may paradoxically have the opposite effect. With the threat of destruction hanging over it the Zabludowicz statue is now locked away by its wealthy owners and is unlikely to see the light of day again."The same will go for any other blasphemous works of so-called art. Put simply. Christians won't tolerate insults to Jesus Christ."Mr Green faces bankruptcy after he was ordered to pay £90,000 in court fees when his attempt to bring a private prosecution against Jonathan Thoday of production company Avalon and the BBC's Mark Thompson for screening the acclaimed Jerry Springer: The Opera failed last December. The preacher claimed the musical was blasphemous. Terry Sanderson president of the National Secular Society said:“Stephen Green is becoming a real threat to artistic freedom. It seems a mere phone call from him threatening some kind of demonstration can cause a bookshop to capitulate to his demands and cancel an artistic event."His increasingly bullying behaviour needs to be challenged by the police. We simply cannot allow this man to dictate what can and cannot be said by artists. It is really up to the authorities to protect artists and their promoters from such intimidation.”Mr Sanderson said that Stephen Green had published the addresses of several BBC executives at the height of the Jerry Springer controversy causing distress and fear to some of the families.“Freedom of expression is too precious to be sacrificed to the whim of a zealot. The authorities must step in and protect artists who are acting within the law from the religious bullying practised by Mr Green.”
Close this WindowBookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser FavoritesAskbackflipblinklistBlogBookmarkBloglinesBlogMarksBlogsvineBUMPzee!CiteULikeco mmentsConnoteadel icio usDotNetKicksDiggdiigodropjack comdzoneFacebookFarkFavesFeed Me LinksFriendsitefolkd comFurlGoogleHuggJeqqKaboodlekirtsylinkaGoGoLinksMarkerMa gnoliaMister WongMixxMySpaceMyWebNetvouzNewsvinePlugIMpopcurrentPropellerRedditRojoSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSphereSphinnSpurl netSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a FriendCopy HTML: If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed. Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »The popular Brighton gay newspaper one80news is coming to London. From Monday November 17th. Londoners will be offered the same twice-monthly mix of news entertainment and information. Publishers City Pride Publications the brains behind 3Sixty magazine will now produce two versions of one80news one for London and one for Brighton although both cities will have stories and information about each other."It’s been successful because it offers something different," said editor Niall McMurray."It’s a title which goes beyond the traditional gay lifestyle magazine offering and prides itself on dealing with issues of substance like politics and traditional news."It's mixed readership also likes the fact that it has no sexual content at all."one80news will be available from 40 bars across London from Monday.
Close this WindowBookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser FavoritesAskbackflipblinklistBlogBookmarkBloglinesBlogMarksBlogsvineBUMPzee!CiteULikeco mmentsConnoteadel icio usDotNetKicksDiggdiigodropjack comdzoneFacebookFarkFavesFeed Me LinksFriendsitefolkd comFurlGoogleHuggJeqqKaboodlekirtsylinkaGoGoLinksMarkerMa gnoliaMister WongMixxMySpaceMyWebNetvouzNewsvinePlugIMpopcurrentPropellerRedditRojoSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSphereSphinnSpurl netSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a FriendCopy HTML: If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed. Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »A leading bookseller has said that it was "unwise" to go ahead with the launch of a gay poet's new book at a Cardiff store because of the threat of disruption from fundamentalist Christians. A spokesperson for Waterstone's told PinkNews co uk that Patrick Jones' new collection of poems. Darkness is Where the Stars Are is still on sale in the Cardiff store despite hundreds of demands that it be withdrawn. Some of the poems explore issues of faith though Christianity is not singled out. Fundamentalist group Christian Voice claim the poems are blasphemous. Their concerted campaign against Waterstone's led to the cancellation of yesterday's launch as "it was unwise to go ahead with a potentially disruptive event."Stephen Green the leader of Christian Voice who is notorious for his homophobic views was triumphant."The Lord had not even showed me what we should do at Waterstone's only that it should be Christlike," he told the BBC."Just the knowledge that we were on our way has put the fear of God into the opposition."A Waterstone's spokesperson said:"We faced a demand from many people shortly before the event to remove the book from sale."It is not unusual to get a request to remove a book and our answer always is that we do not act as a censor."We only remove a book on the advice of the publisher. Darkness is Where the Stars Are remains on sale in our Cardiff store."We deemed it unwise to go ahead with a potentially disruptive event - it looked like this was going to turn into something else."We look at each event individually and this one was going to cause disruption to the store."The spokesperson said that Waterstone's do not generally have security guards in their shops as "there are not usually public order issues" and confirmed they had received complaints from members of the public about the decision to cancel the event. Undeterred poet Patrick Jones signed copies outside the store. Mr Green recently hinted that the controversial movement that encourages people to "pray away the gay" and become straight could be established in Wales. While being interviewed by H from Steps also known as Ian Watkins for BBC Wales current affairs programme. Week In. Week Out he told the gay former pop star that he could "walk away" from homosexuality. Mr Green owes £90,000 in court fees after he was ordered to pay after his attempt to bring a prosecution against Jonathan Thoday of production company Avalon and the BBC's Mark Thompson for screening the acclaimed Jerry Springer: The Opera failed last December. In June Mark Thompson and Jonathan Thoday were awarded costs totalling £90,000 against Green. National Director of Christian Voice. The BBC's solicitors were awarded £55,000 and Mr Thoday's £35,000. Mr Green protested at both London and Brighton Pride last year. In August he questioned the presence of racist group the National Front at Pride events on the basis that "homosexuals are not black or Asian as a rule."The controversial preacher made his observation as part of his report on the group's website about his Brighton protest where he had to be given police protection as he and a handful of his followers displayed homophobic posters at the entrance to Preston Park. He also complained that the NF are "copying" his idea of protesting at gay events."Christian Voice is a prophetic ministry in the sense that we attempt with God's grace to analyse current events in the light of scripture proclaim God's word to those in public life and provide the information which Christians need in order to pray with the mind of God in these dark days," the group states on its website.
Close this WindowBookmark and Share This Page Save to Browser FavoritesAskbackflipblinklistBlogBookmarkBloglinesBlogMarksBlogsvineBUMPzee!CiteULikeco mmentsConnoteadel icio usDotNetKicksDiggdiigodropjack comdzoneFacebookFarkFavesFeed Me LinksFriendsitefolkd comFurlGoogleHuggJeqqKaboodlekirtsylinkaGoGoLinksMarkerMa gnoliaMister WongMixxMySpaceMyWebNetvouzNewsvinePlugIMpopcurrentPropellerRedditRojoSegnaloShoutwireSimpySlashdotSphereSphinnSpurl netSquidooStumbleUponTechnoratiThisNextWebrideWindows LiveYahoo!Email This to a FriendCopy HTML: If you like this then please subscribe to the RSS Feed. Powered by Bookmarkify™ More »After a meeting with President Bush in the White House earlier this week. Barack Obama has turned his attention to the changes he wants to make to US policy. The President-elect who will take office on January 20th is rumoured to be considering up to 200 executive orders to overturn those issued by his predecessor on everything from the use of torture to stem-cell research and carbon emissions. There will also be change in current policy that bars the US from funding organisations that offer or advise about abortion or offer sex education. Susan Wood. Obama's co-chair for women's health advisement told Bloomberg News."We have been going in the wrong direction and we need to turn it around and be promoting prevention and family planning services and strengthening public health."In February President Bush said that Congress should "stop the squabbling" over the requirement for no sex before marriage in some AIDS programmes in Africa. The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was created in 2003 and has increased the number of Africans receiving anti-retroviral treatment from 50,000 to 1.2 million. However by law one-third of that prevention funding must teach exclusively abstinence until marriage programmes. PEPFAR funding supports various HIV/AIDS programmes antiretroviral drugs treatment and prevention in fifteen focus countries in addition to many other countries hard hit by the AIDS pandemic. Congressional Democrats want to remove the abstinence requirement. The PEPFAR programme disbursed $15bn (£7.68bn) over five years and this year Congress approved a further $50 billion over the next five years. A 2006 report from the US General Accountability Office (GAO) found that seventeen of the twenty countries surveyed reported that the abstinence earmark "challenges their ability to develop interventions that are responsive to local epidemiology and social norms."Furthermore the GAO reported that in order to comply with the abstinence earmark many countries were forced to significantly cut funding for prevention efforts to reach those most at risk including programmes designed to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the HIV virus. In 2007 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) likewise criticised the abstinence earmark as well as the programme's ban on funding needle exchange programs as obstacles to the programme's effectiveness.
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