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An Ottawa gay and lesbian film festival was left scrambling after copies of three films were delayed at the border for customs inspections.

“We were risking not having films to show at our festival, so you can imagine my fretting,” said Jason St. Laurent, programming director for the Inside Out LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Film and Video Festival.

The Toronto-based group had scheduled screenings of I Can’t Think Straight, Clapham Junction and Patrik, Age 1.5 for the third annual Ottawa-Gatineau edition of its festival this past weekend.

St. Laurent said he learned Thursday that the films were stuck at the border when he called the courier company to confirm the numbers used to track their delivery.

For two days, he tried unsuccessfully to contact the Canada Border Services Agency by phone.

In the end, the festival managed to get copies of the three films shipped over but decided to make the labelling less specific.

“So we just decided maybe not to make the gay and lesbian film festival part so obvious,” St. Laurent said Monday. The films arrived half an hour before the screening.

St. Laurent would not speculate on why the original copies were flagged for inspection and said it may have been a random check.

To read the complete article at cbc.ca

Watch the CBC video report click here

An Ottawa gay and lesbian film festival was left scrambling after copies of three films were delayed at the border for customs inspections. “We were risking not having films to show at our festival, so you can imagine my fretting,” said Jason St. Laurent, programming director for the Inside Out LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and [...]

CENSORSHIP / Suspends online video account for two weeks

YouTube grounded Xtra’s online video channel on Nov 12 for being too damn sexy in its delivery of gay news.

In October, YouTube took down Xtra’s news report on the 2009 Church St Fetish Fair. On Nov 12, YouTube removed Xtra and Fab’s report on the 2008 Northbound Leather Fetish Party. At the same time, YouTube removed Fab’s 2009 Northbound video.

YouTube did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The notices sent to Xtra and Fab suggest that the “inappropriate” videos were taken down for containing “nudity” and “sexually gratuitous” imagery, but it’s unclear which specific scenes triggered the deletion.

“YouTube is clearly more strict when it comes to fetish or BDSM videos,” says Brent Creelman, Xtra.ca’s managing editor. “The three videos removed from the Xtra and Fab channels are news reports from fetish events. YouTube’s policy states that videos can’t contain graphic or gratuitous violence, so maybe they consider spanking and flogging as acts of violence?”

Creelman says YouTube needs to make it easier for users to appeal its decisions.

“The Church Street Fetish Fair was a public event, and our video was a fun, campy news report,” he says. “YouTube’s own guidelines state that exceptions can be made for videos with a documentary purpose — so why didn’t our video meet that criteria?”

Xtra has since reposted the videos directly on its own website. Fab associate editor Matt Thomas says “switching to other video-sharing platforms is always an option,” but sites like Dailymotion and Vimeo also have guidelines that are open-ended and could be used to delete sexy videos.

To read the complete article , visit xtra.ca

CENSORSHIP / Suspends online video account for two weeks YouTube grounded Xtra’s online video channel on Nov 12 for being too damn sexy in its delivery of gay news. In October, YouTube took down Xtra’s news report on the 2009 Church St Fetish Fair. On Nov 12, YouTube removed Xtra and Fab’s report on the [...]

By SHIRLEY JINKINS

Students at the University of North Texas have voted down a Student Senate referendum that would have allowed same-sex couples to be eligible for the university’s homecoming king and queen titles.

A total of 4,895 students voted, or 13.5 percent of the student body. “No” votes were 2,836, or 58 percent of the ballots, while 2,059 students, or 42 percent, voted yes.

Student leaders say turnout was high.

“I can honestly say that my job is to encourage civil engagement among students, and with 13.5 percent of the student body turning out to vote, I think we’ve achieved that,” said Dakota Carter, president of the UNT Student Government Association.

UNT’s enrollment was 36,206 in September, shortly after the school year began. The highest student turnout was for last year’s stadium vote, at 14 percent, Carter said.

Voting was conducted last week on the Student Government Association Web site and by paper balloting. Unlike most schools, UNT students elect homecoming favorites as a male-female couple instead of individually.

to read the complete article , visit star-telegram.com

By SHIRLEY JINKINS Students at the University of North Texas have voted down a Student Senate referendum that would have allowed same-sex couples to be eligible for the university’s homecoming king and queen titles. A total of 4,895 students voted, or 13.5 percent of the student body. “No” votes were 2,836, or 58 percent of [...]

Adam Lambert’s sexually suggestive choreography — including kissing another male — on the American Music Awards stage Sunday night happened “in the moment,” the singer told CNN.

Lambert, who is openly gay, said it is “a form of discrimination and a double standard” for anyone to object since “women performers have been pushing the envelope” for decades.

As for the awards, it was a big night for country and pop crossover sensation Taylor Swift with five and Michael Jackson with four.

Source: CNN

Adam Lambert’s sexually suggestive choreography — including kissing another male — on the American Music Awards stage Sunday night happened “in the moment,” the singer told CNN. Lambert, who is openly gay, said it is “a form of discrimination and a double standard” for anyone to object since “women performers have been pushing the envelope” [...]

Mainland China’s Lou Ye poses in Hong Kong Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. The prominent Chinese director banned by Beijing on Friday brought his new gay romance to Hong Kong for what is likely the last of a handful of screenings on his home soil. In 2006, Lou Ye was banned from shooting movies for five years after he screened “Summer Palace” at the Cannes Film Festival without government approval. But the 45-year-old director defied the ban, secretly shooting the love story “Spring Fever” with small, digital cameras in the eastern city Nanjing last year. He also entered it at Cannes earlier this year, where it won best screenplay in May. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Mainland China’s Lou Ye poses in Hong Kong Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. The prominent Chinese director banned by Beijing on Friday brought his new gay romance to Hong Kong for what is likely the last of a handful of screenings on his home soil. In 2006, Lou Ye was banned from shooting movies for five [...]

By GayNZ.com Daily News Staff

The proud winner of Brazil’s top drag queen pageant was celebrating her triumphant win when her crown and wig were abruptly torn off by a jealous competitor.

The shocking moment when a runner-up snatched Miss Brazil Gay 2009 Ava Simoes’ headgear was captured on camera.

Watch Miss Brazil Gay 2009 Ava Simoes lose her crown on the video below.

By GayNZ.com Daily News Staff The proud winner of Brazil’s top drag queen pageant was celebrating her triumphant win when her crown and wig were abruptly torn off by a jealous competitor. The shocking moment when a runner-up snatched Miss Brazil Gay 2009 Ava Simoes’ headgear was captured on camera. Watch Miss Brazil Gay 2009 Ava [...]

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I love all of those cards. My favorite card is “Your courage has made me a better straight person… and your example has made the world a better place. Thank you for coming out!“

I love all of those cards. My favorite card is “Your courage has made me a better straight person… and your example has made the world a better place. Thank you for coming out!“

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