NewsWrap
for the week ending August 12, 2000
(As broadcast on This Way Out program #646, distributed 08-14-00)
[Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Susan Gage, Graham Underhill, 
Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, Matt Alsdorf, 
Greg Gordon & Lucia  Chappelle]

Anchored by Cindy Friedman and Chase Schulte

  The long-running sodomy trial of Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister 
Anwar Ibrahim came to an end this week, with a guilty verdict and a sentence 
of nine years in prison.  Anwar has always maintained that the charges 
against him are fabrications of a high-level political conspiracy.  Once the 
popular heir-apparent to aging Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, it's now 
impossible for Anwar to return to politics before the year 2014.  Yet for 
many Malaysians, he continues to be a symbol for reform of corruption and 
cronyism in government.  Despite police warnings and heavy police presence, 
several hundred of his supporters rallied first outside the courthouse and 
twice more later in the week.  They plan a national tour to tell the public 
about problems in the government and to organize more demonstrations.  Human 
rights and jurists groups both in Malaysia and internationally have objected 
that his trial was not a fair one.  Amnesty International has named him a 
"prisoner of conscience."  A number of governments have also expressed 
concern, including the European Union, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.  
Australia's Prime Minister John Howard, long a critic of Mahathir's use of 
authority and police to crush political opposition, said Malaysia's judiciary 
now seemed less independent than in the past.  He said the trial "does seem 
to be part of a series of events that represents some kind of political 
campaign against Anwar, and that is a matter of very great concern."

  In Australia's own courts, Mark Valera was found guilty this week of the 
murders and mutilations of two gay men in Woolongong, one the city's former 
Mayor Frank Arkell.  Before Valera's apprehension, the gruesome killings 
terrorized the city, as Arkell and shopkeeper David O'Hearn were mysteriously 
attacked in their own homes in the space of two weeks in June 1998.  Valera 
confessed in detail to both murders and had made a long list of future 
victims that included his own father, who he said had molested him.  
Chillingly, Valera smiled when the jury's verdict was read.  His own sister 
said afterwards that she hadn't believed in the death penalty, but she did 
now.

  In the Australian state of Victoria, a case of job discrimination against a 
transsexual was heard for the first time this week.  
The case was of particular interest because Victoria's Government this year 
introduced a bill to prohibit discrimination against transgenders, as all the 
other Australian states and territories except Queensland do.  But although 
the bill had strong support, it was withdrawn when two legislators offered 
amendments.  It's expected to be reintroduced later this year.  
Lacking that law, transwoman Sharon Menzies' case was argued on grounds of 
discrimination based on sex, physical attributes and disability -- gender 
identity disorder.  She was represented by transsexual barrister Martin 
Willoughby-Thomas.
When Menzies sold her business to AstroVac and joined the company in 1996, 
she told the managing director that she planned to undergo sex reassignment, 
but he warned her she could lose her job.  That warning was renewed in 1997, 
but she went ahead with the surgery in 1998.  On her return, she says she was 
shunned, verbally humiliated, and just weeks later, fired.  Her barrister 
said that as many as 95% of transsexuals lose their jobs following sex 
reassignment.
AstroVac said her firing had been the result of poor performance, 
particularly on a large contract whose loss could have damaged the small 
company.  But Menzies said she was known as a "guru" in her field of 
designing and marketing industrial vacuum systems.

  Australian Medical Association president Kerryn Phelps resigned this week 
from her other post as chair of the Satellite Group.  Satellite last year 
became the world's first gay-identified company to go public, and Phelps was 
believed to be the world's first openly lesbian chair of a publicly-traded 
corporation.  Originally a property development company, Satellite gained 
attention when it acquired control of 80% of Australia's gay and lesbian 
publications.  But Satellite shares were never a success on the market and 
now the company has other problems as well.  Its founder Greg Fisher was 
fired as managing director last month and is under investigation by the 
Australian Securities and Investment Commission, along with its former 
largest stockholder Jon Broster.  Two other investigations are also underway 
and numerous lawsuits are in the works by creditors.  Phelps had called for 
appointing an administrator, and when the board narrowly rejected the idea, 
she felt she had to step down.  Fisher, still the second-largest stockholder, 
had already requested a shareholders meeting that he hoped would vote her 
out.  He still maintains that the company is in a strong position and he 
hopes to regain control of it.  

  In infighting of a different kind, a Florida gay who had been assaulted by 
his partner was denied a domestic violence restraining order, in a case which 
has caught the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union.  Susan Gage 
reports reports from Tallahassee... [1:05 sound story includes comments by 
the ACLU's Matt Coles].

  The U.S. Reform Party has completely split in two, carrying out two 
simultaneous conventions this week, with one faction led by homophobic former 
Republican Pat Buchanan and the other by open gay Jim Mangia.  Mangia's group 
includes many who have been with the party since its founding in 1992 by Ross 
Perot.  The party was designed to stand aside on social issues.  Its 
constitution calls diversity one of its greatest strengths and says that 
members "will foster tolerance of the customs, beliefs and private actions of 
all persons which do not infringe upon the rights of others."  But social 
issues made Buchanan famous as a representative of the extreme religious 
right.  When he moved into the small Reform Party this year , he brought 
along his former Republican supporters, whose numbers were large enough to 
take over the party in most states and to make him its Presidential nominee.  
Mangia's group believes Buchanan’s forces filled out a half-million of the 
party's mail-in ballots with the names of his donors without their knowledge; 
Mangia’s group has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission.  
They hope to prevent Buchanan from accessing more than $12-million in federal 
funds the party earned with its votes in the 1996 elections.  Despite the 
party's tolerant platform, Buchanan this week distributed his own manifesto 
naming "rampant homosexuality" as a sign of the nation's "moral decline" and 
"cultural decadence."  He promised that as president he would oppose civil 
rights protections and legal unions for gays and lesbians and once again bar 
them from military service.  He did include a statement that even homosexuals 
have constitutional rights and that violence against them should be condemned 
and punished.

  Democratic Presidential hopeful Vice President Al Gore's choice of Senator 
Joseph Lieberman as his running mate this week was generally welcomed by his 
gay and lesbian supporters.  Although Lieberman voted for an anti-gay measure 
in 1994, he has since called that vote a mistake, and his vote in support of 
the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 is no different than Gore's 
position.  But in the most recent Congressional session he scored 100% in the 
Human Rights Campaign's rating.  In key pending legislation, he supports the 
Employment Non-Discrimination Act and is a co-sponsor of the Hate Crimes 
Prevention Act.  He also now supports gays and lesbians serving openly in the 
military.

  AIDS pioneer Dr. Mathilde Krim was one of 15 people to receive the Medal of 
Freedom from President Clinton this week.  It's the highest civilian honor in 
the U.S.  Krim was recognized as one of the first to see AIDS for the threat 
it was and to speak out about it.  In 1983 she founded what is now the 
American Foundation for AIDS Research, which she chairs.  The official 
citation said, "An extraordinary example of compassion and commitment, 
Mathilde Krim has given comfort and hope to and preserved the dignity of 
thousands of people living with AIDS."

  And finally... All but one of the contestants on the British "reality" TV 
show "Big Brother" can look forward to a drink with openly gay pop star 
George Michael.  In this week's edition, their conversation turned to 
Michael's "outing" last year.  When contestant Nick equated homosexuality 
with pedophilia, all the others shouted him down.  Michael sent a message to 
them saying, "Hi Guys -- just wanted to tell you all I saw Thursday's show 
and that it was great to see such a diverse group of people making it clear 
that they know the difference between a gay person and a pedophile.  I hope 
you all realize that viewers all over the country have related to one or 
several of you on a personal level for the last few weeks.  Whether you know 
it or not, your opinions have become important.  It's a good thing that 
Channel 4 chose some really good people to take part.  To say thank you for 
your kind words last night, please let me buy you all a drink when they let 
you out on parole but preferably on a night when Nick is completely 
unavailable."