[14.02.2004]:Attack against gay senator in Hamburg por LIOWLB/ENKIDU

Hamburg in shock: Escalating violence against politicians: Gay Senator attacked with knife in the street in the middle of the day, another senator got a cream cake in his face during a debate. 

[14.02.2004]: Paternal Love: Ole von Beust talks to the press about his private life por LIOWLB/Enkidu

Hamburg is preparing for its first local election after last year’s scandal. The city’s now openly gay mayor, Ole von Beust has for the first time talked to the press about himself and his private life. Among other things, he thanks his father for having outed him in the media last year... more  

[14.02.2004]: 17 year old Iranian expelled from Sweden por LIOWLB/ENKIDU

A 17 year gay old Iranian boy was denied asylum and will be expelled, a decision which has generated emotional debates in Sweden [Read on]. All over Europe similar cases have been reported recently and the number is steadily growing as a result of stricter policies throughout the continent intended to limit immigration. 

Last year Enkidu wrote about the Lesbian woman Sima, also from Iran who was denied asylum in Norway. This week, the Gay News Magazine Siegessäule in Berlin has written about Sasa Kahrimanovec from Bosnia-Herzegowina, 23 years old  and openly gay and in a similar situation in Germany. He will also within shortly be returned and he expresses to Siegessäule, that returning him equals an execution. Amnesty International in Germany works on the case... more

[14.02.2004]: Teddy 2004

18th TEDDY Awards 2004 Queer Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival

This Year, a French film about a transexual prostitute, "Wild Side" by Sebastien Lifshitz was awarded with Teddy, the prize for the best gay feature movie at the Belinale, the Annual International Film Festival in Berlin.

[09.02.2004]: Denmark prohibits sale and use of poppers por LIOWLB/ENKIDU

The Danish Ministry of Health prohibits all sale and consumption of poppers. Enkidu summarizes the recent Danish debate on poppers. 

Belgium: Gay men allowed to donate blood again in Belgium.

During a debate in the Parliament, the minister of social issues and health, Rudy Demotte, expressed that it is not acceptable to dismiss a person as blood donor only because he belongs to a particular group. Until now, the Red Cross and other organisations have refused to accept blood donations from gay men. This is structural discrimination based in unscientific and irrational arguments and the Red Cross will be charged with discrimination unless this policy is changed.

The Netherlands:  European congress for gay police officers

The National Expertice Center Diversity (Het Landelijk ExpertiseCentrum Diversiteit), a resource center for diversity issues in the Dutch Police together with the network for gay police officers in the region around Amsterdam is organising a large European congress for gay police officers in August. In this week’s Gaykrant, Jan Snijder and Cor Smids, two of the organisers, underline that many European countries have inadequate organisational structures for gay police men.

There is a huge need for exchange of experiences and knowledge between gay police officers on the European level, which has not been sufficiently addressed in the past. The congress will hopefully contribute to improve the situation, which only can be described as dramatic. Some countries lack regional or national organisations and associations for gay police offers altogether. Topics that will be discussed include religion and homosexuality, recent proposals for the organisation of an international European network for gay police officers and the situation for gay police officers in the Eastern European countries that this year join the Union. www.Gaykrant.nl

Italy: Kiss-In in Rome on Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and in Italy, this will be manifested with a massive kiss-in in the center of Rome organised by the Italian gay organisation Arcigay hoping to bring thousands of kissing gay and Lesbian couples together. With this action, which is expected to lead to traffic collapse in Rome on Saturday, they aim to bring attention to the continued discrimination of same sex couples through the Italian legislation. 

Germany: Unisex- Parties for Heterosexual Gays

The hottest trend in Germany this winter, are UNISEX parties, a new phenomenon, which seems to attract more and more people. These parties target everyone with a relaxed relationship with their own sexuality: homo-, bi-, omni-, metro-, poly-, trans- and heterosexuals, men and women get together and sexual orientation does not matter to anyone. The homepage of the Unisex Club in Hamburg invites the partycrowd to enter a new style of gay clubbing where the distinctions between the sexes and the sexual orientations are blurred and irrelevant. One important target group is the recently discovered cultural category heterosexuelle Homos “heterosexual gays”. These men go one step further than last year’s metrosexuals, since the heterosexual homos basically identify as gay in a social and cultural sense, living a gay lifestyle, but still are heterosexual. 

http://www.unisex-club.com/