Articles by Asavin Wattanajantra

12 October 2007
Lesbian prison officer wins compensation case + An American lesbian prison guard who suffered mental and physical abuse from a fellow male co-worker for over a year has been awarded $850,000 (£425,000) damages.The New York State Division of Human Rights ruled in favour of 55-year-old Alicia S. Humig after it was decided that the city's prison department ignored the abuse she was suffering from Jim Wright, a fellow officer at Wende prison in Alden, New York.It was revealed that Humig twice filed written complaints which were generally ignored by prison bosses.
12 October 2007
Russian minister censors kissing policemen picture 1 A photo of two policemen kissing, inspired by British graffiti artist Banksy, has been banned by Russia's culture minister from an exhibition of contemporary Russian art.Alexander Sokolov announced on Monday that the photo, Kissing Policemen (An Epoch of Clemency) by Russian art collective Blue Noses, would no longer be part of next week's show at the Maison Rouge exhibition hall in Paris.Alexander Shaburov, one of the Blue Noses, said the picture was homage to Banky's famous stencil of two policemen kissing.
12 October 2007
18,000 tie the knot in first year of civil partnerships 1 Ten of thousands of lesbian and gay couples tied the knot during the first twelve months since civil partnerships were legalised.Detailed information from National Statistics said that 18,059 civil partnerships were formed between when the act came into force on 5th December 2005 until the end of 2006.There were 1,953 civil partnerships formed in the UK in December 2005 and 16,106 in 2006.
12 October 2007
Gay man in train crash death “not suicidal” 1 An inquest into a fatal collision heard how a closeted gay man killed when his car hit a passenger train was "tormented" by his sexuality, but not suicidal.Bryan Drysdale, a 48 year old year chef, was driving a Mazda which hit the Paddington to Plymouth train at 100mph near Ufton Nervet in November 2004.It resulted in seven deaths and 138 injuries, 18 seriously, when the impact turned the carriages of the train and made it slide down an embankment.
11 October 2007
Animation will help parents with LGBT teens 2 An animated DVD aimed at aimed at parents with LGBT teenagers will be made by a Leeds studio with lottery funding.Leeds Animation Network will produce and distribute Out to the Family, designed for individuals, families and groups to watch so that they can discuss, communicate and be aware of the issues related to teenagers who are LGBT or questioning their sexuality.The Network will distribute 4000 copies of the 12-minute DVD free of charge to audiences throughout the country, including organisations who work with teenagers and families.
11 October 2007
Hate preacher inspires lesbian songwriter + Fred Phelps, the preacher and activist known for his anti-gay sentiments and the campaign "God Hates Fags," has inspired a song on openly gay singer/ songwriter Melissa Etheridge's new album, The Awakening. The song Kingdom of Heaven is a response to the hatred expressed "in the name of God" by Phelps and other religious fundamentalists.She sings: "A suffering soul on the way to the kingdom of heaven, held up a sign saying 'God Hates America.'"
10 October 2007
Suspended sentence for man spying on lesbian couple + A peeping Tom from Stoke has been found guilty of spying on a lesbian couple having sex in their bedroom, and put on the sex offenders register.Dean Burton, 36, was also given a 51-week suspended jail sentence. He had his previous community order for indecent exposure extended for peering through a window and watching the couple naked.Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Burton had known the couple previously.
10 October 2007
Canadian soldiers face “gay bashing” charges + Two Canadian soldiers on leave from Afghanistan have been arrested and charged with beating up a gay man in Amsterdam.The men, both 22, were confirmed by Dutch police to have been arrested on May 26th and charged with attempted manslaughter, attempted criminal negligence causing bodily harm and public violence.Dutch media report that prosecutors have pushed for an eight-month jail term for one of the offenders, while the other soldier faces six weeks in prison.
10 October 2007
Birmingham club stays open as noise allegations rejected + A gay nightclub in Birmingham has escaped closure as allegations of noise pollution by local developers were proved to be false.A licensing committee decided that the Nightingale could stay open after consulting the council's own surveys which were based on just two complaints in two years and were found to be well within legal limits.PinkNews.co.uk had reported that the local council received complaints from developer Crosby House.
10 October 2007
G-A-Y awards to be televised + London club promoter Jeremy Joseph has revealed that the inaugural G-A-Y awards will be televised on Sky One on Saturday 1st December to coincide with the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.The awards will be held at the London Astoria on the 29th and 30th November, where it will be filmed by Double Jab Productions.The G-A-Y awards aim to play tribute to the stars that have played at the Saturday night club night, including some of the biggest names of pop, such as Kylie Minogue, The Spice Girls and Madonna.
10 October 2007
G.I. Jonny declares war on Captain Bareback 3 A toy doll fights HIV and AIDS, as G.I. Jonny leads the fight against Captain Bareback's crotch cannon, armed only with his protector shield and powerful fisting action.It's all part of a series of comedy sketches specially commissioned by the BBC for an information campaign which attempts to raise awareness of HIV and AIDS among 16- 34 year olds.The BBC's HIV awareness campaign started running on October 1st.
9 October 2007
China gets to grips with gay marriage debate + Chinese academics are calling for the country's estimated 40 million homosexuals to be given the right to marry.Professor Li Yinhe, a sociologist and campaigner for LGBT rights, and Zhang Beichuan, a leading scholar of homosexuality, have been at the forefront of a campaign to allow same-sex marriage in China.Although the world's most populous country has a conservative culture, partly due to Communist repression.
9 October 2007
LGBT youth on course for leadership training + Young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people have been given the chance to participate in a free London project which aims to turn them into future leaders for the youth and voluntary community.The Consortium of LGBT Voluntary and Community Organisations is holding the Step-up programme, a three day residential event in the centre of London from the 22nd to 24th October which will teach the skills they say are needed for people to lead organisations at the highest level.
8 October 2007
Top prize for lesbian coming of age film + A drama about a teenage African-American lesbian has won a £25,000 award.Pariah was directed by Dee Rees, an American director who originally wrote it as a semi-autobiographical feature-length piece.The movie already made a stir on the American short film circuit as well as winning the best narrative short award at the Newfest film festival in New York.

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