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         =   INTERNATIONAL NEWS #295 - Dec 20, 1999   =  
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--> BOY GEORGE NEARLY KILLED

Gay singer Boy George was nearly killed Dec. 14 when a huge
mirror-ball fell on him during a concert rehearsal in the 
English coastal town of Bournemouth.

The 62-pound prop hit George on the shoulder and scraped his head
before smashing to bits on the floor.

He was treated for shock and severe bruising but went on with the
show that evening anyway.

"Boy George just crumpled," said a witness. "I thought he must be
dead. I can't believe he got away so lightly. He was very, very,
very lucky indeed."

George told reporters later: "It would have been both ironic and
glamorous to be finished off by a four-foot glitter-ball. But I
have survived and I'm still here, although my back is aching like
anything. It caught my ear, which is really sore as well."


--> AUSSIES FACE BIAS AT WORK

Fifty-two percent of 900 gay, lesbian or transgender Australians
told pollsters they've experienced anti-gay discrimination at
work.

The study, "The Pink Ceiling Is Too Low," was carried out by the
Australian Centre for Lesbian and Gay Research and the New South
Wales Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby.

"This shows that anti-discrimination laws aren't good enough,
said Lobby Co-Convener Kathy Sant. "We need a concerted campaign
from governments, the union movement and employers to stamp out
this sort of behavior."


--> SCOTTISH CHURCHES FAVOR ANTI-GAY LAW

Scotland's Roman Catholic Church, the Church of Scotland and the
Free Church of Scotland joined forces Dec. 13 to urge the
government to abandon plans to scrap the anti-gay law known as
Section 28.

The 11-year-old British statute prohibits cities from
"intentionally promot[ing] homosexuality" and bans teaching "the
acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family
relationship" in schools.

"We are worried that without this law some teachers will put
things to children that we do not consider wholesome," Catholic
spokesman Tom Connelly told Reuters. "We are concerned that the
removal of this clause will undermine family life."

The Scottish School Boards Association also wants the law to
remain on the books.

"What I don't want to see happening is teachers being forced into
having to promote any type of sexual activity, whether homosexual
or otherwise," said SBBA head Ann Hill.


--> COUNSELLING SERVICE THREATENED

Perth, Australia's Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service is broke
and may shut down during the holiday season -- a time when
suicides reportedly increase among gays and lesbians.

John Derry, spokesman for the lobby group Gay and Lesbian
Equality, hopes the Western Australia state government will come
to the rescue.

"The government has to take some responsibility for the high
level of youth suicide in the community," Derry said. "Youth
attracted to the same sex can feel very lonely and often have a
profound fear that the people they most love will reject them if
they find out about their sexuality."

The service is usually funded by donations.


--> INTERNET CENSORSHIP BILL TO TAKE EFFECT

A ban on R- and X-rated content on the Internet takes effect in
Australia Jan. 1.

The Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill was
passed by Parliament June 30.

Internet service providers (ISPs) will be required to stop
prohibited material at the border or face fines of $27,500 per
day.

The International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission
(IGLHRC) fears that gay content -- sexual or otherwise -- will
fall victim to crude blocking software that ISPs likely will
utilize in a futile effort to follow the law.

Stopping entire classes of Internet traffic is, of course, beyond
the ability of even the most dedicated of censors.

The law defines R-rated material as that which "deals with issues
or contains depictions which require an adult perspective [or
which] may be offensive to some sections of the adult community."
X-rated material is that which would offend a reasonable adult or
instruct someone to commit a crime.

"This legislation invites private agencies to suppress the
expression of [cultural] identities with a new system of social
control predicated on a dictionary-based witch hunt: a frantic
hunt for offensive nouns, indifferent to the semantic richness,
social complexities, and living communities and context those
words may represent," said IGLHRC. "In sum, the legislation
abandons democratic process to the whims, prejudices, and profit-
making needs of corporations."

For information on where to send letters of complaint, contact
iglhrc@iglhrc.org or visit www.iglhrc.org.


--> IRISH PREDICT GAY MARRIAGE

Ireland will legalize gay marriage in the 21st Century, according
to half of the people questioned in The Marketing Society's
latest survey of Irish attitudes.

The nation also will elect a woman prime minster, according to 86
percent of respondents, and ban smoking, according to 59 percent
of respondents. Seventy-one percent said AIDS will be cured.

The Lansdowne Market Research survey questioned 1,400 people.

                          -end-

Rex Wockner