'Round the world: The same song

*South Korea is thinking of banning you-kn0w-whos from the military, although being 'that way' is not illegal in the country itself (sexuality is actually protected by their constitution), but, "Local military courts dealt with 176 cases of homosexual acts or acts of sexual harassment bewteen 2004 and 2007." I don't know a lot about Korea (except that I like movies that come outta there) but that number seems kinda high, considering only four were reported to be mutually consentual. [AFP]

*Same-sexiness is illegal in India and the UN thinks that that's dumb, but India thinks that when two pee-pees touch, AIDS is created, so their having trouble getting talked out of this. [Kaiser Daily]

*"An Ankeny [Iowa] couple wants a book about two male penguins raising a chick together restricted in an elementary school library, claiming it exposes young children to homosexuality... The couple now is seeking to have it moved to a restriction section so only parents can check it out." Their names are James and Cindy Dacus, and they are closet cases. [Chicago Tribune]

*Plus British religio-folk are trying to figure out their stance on boy/boy buttsecks. Let me know how that works out for you. [full story]

*Deputy Christian Vanneste was convicted in 2006 of "homophobic" speech after stating in 2004 that "homosexuality is inferior to heterosexuality. If it were universalized it would be dangerous for humanity." He also called the behavior of homosexuals "bigoted."...The French Court of Appeals overturned the lower court ruling, remarking that "if the disputed remarks were able to hurt the feelings of certain homosexual people, their contents do not go beyond the limits of freedom of expression." [LifeSiteNews]

In the news: Headway in repealing 'Don't ask, Don't Tell'

Sometimes I feel we dwell too often on the fact that everybody hates gay people, and don't shed light on the fact that not everybody actually hates gay people, because they like themselves, so are willing to like others as well. even if they're different (they might actually like them more because of this). For those thinking recent events are a signal of a dismal future (socially we mean, economically this is for sher), the AP tries to subdue your pot-heightened paranoia with some collection of facts, strung together in a kind of inormo-narrative, also known as a news article:

More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for repeal of the
military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays so they can serve openly,
according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.
The move by the military veterans confronts the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama with a thorny political and cultural issue that dogged former President Bill Clinton early in his administration.

"As is the case with Great Britain, Israel, and other nations that
allow gays and lesbians to serve openly, our service members are professionals
who are able to work together effectively despite differences in race, gender,
religion, and sexuality," the officers wrote.

While Obama has expressed support for repeal, he said during the
presidential campaign that he would not do so on his own — an indication that he
would tread carefully to prevent the issue from becoming a drag on his agenda.
Obama said he would instead work with military leaders to build consensus on
removing the ban on openly gay service members.

"Although I have consistently said I would repeal 'don't ask, don't tell,' I believe that the way to do it is make sure that we are working through a process, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be," Obama said in a
September interview with the Philadelphia Gay News. [ap]

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C'est la vie? And, also big ups to Isreal!