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Call for gay sex education in SA

High schools should teach pupils about homosexual sex.

That’s the view of the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce’s (Sweat) psycho-social manager, Dr Gordon Isaacs .

Isaacs told the Cape Argus that far too little is being done to educate schoolchildren about other forms of sex that are prevalent in society, aside from the traditional “when a boy loves a girl” narrative that is taught across the country.

“It is a critical area that should not be ignored. It is linked to relationships, intimacy, desire and certainly linked to HIV,” Isaacs said. South Africa was the first African country and the fifth in the world to legalise gay marriage in 2006.

But nearly 10 years later, the national sex education curriculum still shies away from teaching pupils about homosexual intimacy.

According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), the current Life Orientation curriculum deals with sex and sexuality at appropriate levels for different ages. From Grades R to 3, the focus is mainly on personal safety, while Grades 4 to 6 are taught respect for one’s own body and those of others, also covering puberty and HIV/Aids.

From Grades 7 to 9, the content becomes more personal, discussing feelings, community norms, values and social pressures associated with sexuality.

In Grade 7, pupils are taught sexuality education, while in Grade 9 pupils learn about sex education – which only covers heterosexual sex.

Source: IOL

Over 80% of Russians Against Same-Sex ‘Marriages’

The percentage of Russians who are positive about the law banning the propaganda of homosexuality is increasing and is now 77% against 67% in 2013, Levada Center told Interfax.

Fifteen percent of the respondents do not support this law and 7% said they are not interested, a poll surveying 800 people conducted in 46 regions of Russia shows.

Over half of the respondents said they see this law aims to protect morals (67% against 60% in 2013), while 14% believe it aims to distract public attention from other problems and 7% believe it is aimed at fanning feud.

Seven percent of the respondents said they support the idea to allow same-sex “marriage” in Russia and 84% said they are negative towards it.

Twenty-nine percent of the respondents believe homosexuals are subjected to physical violence in Russia, while 32% believe they are discriminated against (psychological pressure, encroachments on rights, etc.). Thirty-seven percent of the respondents and 33% of the respondents respectively, have the opposite opinion.

A little more than one-third of the respondents (37%) believe homosexuality is a disease that needs to be treated (against 34% in 2013). One-fourth of the respondents (26% against 17% in 2013) see homosexuality as a result of bad upbringing, promiscuity and a bad habit.

The percentage of respondents who see homosexuality as a result of seduction has decreased from 23% to 13% in the past two years. One out of every ten respondents believe homosexuality is innate (11% against 16% in 2013).

Two-thirds of Russians said their feelings about homosexuals are manly negative: fear and loathing (24%), irritation (22%), and tension (19%). One out of every four respondents (26%) reacts to homosexuals and lesbians “calmly, without any special emotion.” Only 3% are friendly to homosexuals or interested in them.

Source: Interfax

‘God is angry with Liberia, corruption, homosexuals’

More than 100 Bishops, Pastors, General Overseers, Prophets, Evangelists and other Ministers of the Gospel, under the auspices of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), converged Wednesday at the edifice of the St. Stephen Episcopal Church in Monrovia, Liberia to deliberate on the Church’s role in and response to the Ebola epidemic.

The meeting was called by Archbishop Jonathan B.B. Hart, President of the LCC, who was also recently elected and enthroned Archbishop of the Internal Province of West Africa.

The men of God, mainstream Episcopalians and non-denominational evangelicals alike, unanimously endorsed the following resolution:

That God is angry with Liberia, and that Ebola is a plague. Liberians have to pray and seek God’s forgiveness over the corruption and immoral acts (such as homosexualism, etc.) that continue to penetrate our society. As Christians, we must repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

That a three-day indoor fast and prayer across the nation be observed, commencing next Wednesday, August 6th, and concluding Friday, August 8th.

That an inter-denominational committee be constituted to present said resolution to government.
That if government is in agreement, the Republic of Liberia be locked up for three days of fast and prayer. All movement should be restricted during those three days. People should stay at home for three days of silence, fasting and prayer.

Beverly Hills Hotel boycotted over ‘human rights’

The Beverly Hills Hotel is part of the Dorchester Collection, a luxury chain owned by the Sultan of Brunei. This week, the tiny, oil-rich southeast Asian country set off a storm of celebrity protests and boycotts by introducing Islamic laws that include death by stoning for homosexuals and adulterers.

Over the past several days, 20 events have been canceled at the Beverly Hills property–a loss of about $2 million in revenue for the hotel, according to Dorchester. Local politicians and celebrities are also boycotting the nearby Hotel Bel Air in Los Angeles, the hotel’s more subdued sister property.

British billionaire Richard Branson took to Twitter over the weekend to declare that no Virgin employee or Branson family member will stay at Dorchester hotel “until the Sultan abides by basic human rights.”

Big names like Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres are urging boycotts, and the Beverly Hills mayor and council are calling for Dorchester to sell the famed hotel.

Dorchester, which runs 10 hotels world-wide, is looking to expand globally and has said it is seeking to acquire a luxury property in New York. Hotel analysts say the publicity surrounding protests against the company could complicate efforts to operate a Manhattan hotel, where there is also opposition to the new law.

The participation of Hollywood’s A-list in the boycott has been painful because the hotel has long been a see-and-be-seen spot to eat, sleep and fundraise. The hotel’s Polo Lounge restaurant is one of this city’s prime power-lunch spots. One event earlier this year attracted stars including Will Smith and Sandra Bullock.

Coming events like a “Women in Entertainment” breakfast thrown by the Hollywood Reporter in December, and a “Night Before the Oscars” fundraiser held by the Motion Picture & Television Fund, have been moved from the hotel.

Dorchester’s London-based chief executive, Christopher Cowdray–who has been in Los Angeles this week to speak to hotel employees and customers and to try to quell the political backlash–said that Dorchester hotels is a big employer, pays taxes and “abides by the laws of the countries in which we operate.” He added that the Brunei Investment Agency, the government investment vehicle that owns Dorchester, is a “long-term investor” and that a sale of the Los Angeles-area properties was “unlikely.”

On Tuesday night, the Beverly Hills city council unanimously approved a resolution condemning Brunei for its new laws, and urging Brunei to sell its Beverly Hills property.

Source: WSJ

Protest at G20 in Russia about ‘gay discrimination’

Spaced out along St. Petersburg’s main thoroughfare, about a dozen human rights activists staged individual protests to attract the attention of leaders of the world’s biggest economies to human rights violations in Russia.

Activist Iosiph Skakovsky said they held individual protests because mass protests are often banned or disrupted by police.

Activist Natalya Tsymbalova was protesting “discrimination of sexual minorities, falsification of elections, pressure on NGOs, violation of the freedom of public assembly.”

Her handmade poster said that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that gays are not discriminated against was a lie. “There is discrimination. Speak out for Russia!”

A new Russian law banning gay propaganda aimed at minors has drawn international criticism.

Police checked the documents of individual protesters but did not interfere in their actions. – AP