[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/gaypenguins.jpg[/img2]A children's book about two male penguins who adopt a baby chick is the book most Americans want banned, according to the American Library Association (ALA).

And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell has been slammed as anti-family, anti-religion and pro-gay.

The top ten list features the most challenged titles of 2008 and has been running for 20 years.

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of the ALA's office for intellectual freedom, told the Guardian: "Books that address same-sex parenting, or same-sex relationships, are particularly prone to challenges in the US.

"In the case of And Tango Makes Three, there are many parents who believe it inappropriate to teach children anything at all about homosexual relationships, even in the form of a picture book about a true story."

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy rose to second place over its violent scenes and religious viewpoint, while The Kite Runner, by Khaleed Hosseini, which features a 12-year-old boy being raped entered the list for the first time after being removed from some library shelves.

The books dropping out of this year's list included Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (criticised for racism), Alice Walker's The Color Purple (challenged for sexual content, homosexual content and offensive language) and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (sexual content).

Ms Caldwell-Stone said: "While not every book is right for each reader, every reader has the right to choose reading materials for themselves and their families and should be able to find those materials in libraries, classrooms, and bookstores.

"Our goal is to protect one of our most precious fundamental rights - our freedom to read."

The ALA celebrates Banned Books Week every year in the last week of September.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/matthewmitcham2009.jpg[/img2]Matthew Mitcham, the Australian diver who won the ten-metre platform gold medal at the Beijing Olympics, has said he believes he lost sponsorship deals due to being openly gay.

According to the Daily Telegraph, he said: "I haven't experienced any homophobia in sport but I'm hoping I'm not experiencing any in the corporate world because I haven't had any companies rushing to sponsor me," he said.

"It took me a very long time to secure any form of sponsorship after the Olympics, and that's still my only sponsorship."

Mitcham, 20, beat 14-year-old Brit Tom Daley to make history by receiving the highest mark for an individual dive at an Olympic Games.

He came out in a newspaper interview shortly before the Games began and has since become something of a gay role model.

When asked how he felt on the responsibility, he said: "As soon as anybody looks up to you, you automatically become a role model whether you choose to be or not, and you can either embrace it or not.

"I choose to embrace it and try to be the best role model I can be."

Mitcham was previously a trampolining champion before being spotted by a coach at a pool who thought he had potential to succeed at diving.

He battled depression and anxiety, taking a year-long break before returning to the sport to claim gold.

In February, he was named as one of three new ambassadors for the Australian government’s men’s health policy.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/gaymilitary.jpg[/img2]US defence secretary Robert Gates has suggested that repealing the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military could take years - and implied it might not happen at all.

Speaking at the Army War College yesterday, he urged a cautious approach over the issue, saying: ""If we do it, it’s important that we do it right, and very carefully.’’

When asked by an officer about the policy, he said it was a "complex and difficult problem".

Gates also cited the example of racial integration in the 1940s, saying that it took five years for be completed.

He said that gauging opinion on the issue was a particular problem: "To get people’s real feelings about it, you have to have almost a one-on-one private conversation.

"I think it’s very difficult for people to speak in front of their peers about this issue.’’

Gates reiterated President Barack Obama's support for changing the law, saying: "The president has made it clear where he wants to go."

The 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy was introduced in 1994 and allows gay men and women to serve in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation secret and do not engage in any homosexual acts.

President Clinton found himself embroiled in a fight with Congress over gays in the military soon after he moved into the White House in 1993.

As a Presidential candidate he had promised to allow gays to serve, but when he took office he was forced to accept the present policy in the face of military and Congressional opposition.

Many military officials, including General John Shalikashvili, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Clinton, now believe that gays should be allowed to serve openly.

The current chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, said an interview after his December meeting with Barack Obama in Chicago:

"He's been pretty clear that he wants to address this issue.

"I am certainly mindful that at some point in time it could come."

According to the Servicemembers Legal Defence Network, nearly 12,500 servicemen and women have been discharged under it since its implementation.

It is estimated that up to 45,000 Americans have been discouraged from joining or remaining in the armed forces.

"The Pope and the Vatican have an "entrenched attitude" towards homosexuality which is less tolerant than the views of ordinary Catholics, Tony Blair says in comments" published in The Independent on 8th April. The story concerns an interview with Tony Blair for Attitude magazine by Johann Hari.

The Indendent story is reported here You can see the whole text of the interview if you go to the Attitude website but you have to register first.

As you can imagine, Mr Blair has attracted a lot of criticism for daring to suggest the RC Church could do with moderating some of its intolerant, ill-informed, homophobic views. He may have made some appalling errors of judgement whilst in office, but he presided over the government that did more than any other to encourage equality for lgbt people in the UK and I shall always want to acknowledge that. He is exactly the kind of person who will make people take notice, when he makes such a pronouncement. Having now read the whole interview I commend it to you

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/gayelephant.jpg[/img2]A Polish politician has criticised his local zoo for acquiring a "gay" elephant named Ninio who prefers male companions and will probably not procreate, local media reported on Friday.

"We didn't pay 37 million zlotys (7.6 million pounds) for the largest elephant house in Europe to have a gay elephant live there," Michal Grzes, a conservative councillor in the city of Poznan in western Poland, was quoted as saying.

"We were supposed to have a herd, but as Ninio prefers male friends over females how will he produce offspring?" said Grzes, who is from the right-wing opposition Law and Justice party.

The head of the Poznan zoo said 10-year-old Ninio may be too young to decide whether he prefers males or females as elephants only reach sexual maturity at 14.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/conservativelogo.jpg[/img2]Gay and lesbian voters are now more likely to vote Tory rather than Labour, a poll has suggested.

The survey of 1,800 gay men and women found 30 per cent said they intend to vote Conservative at the next general election.

It was conducted by the Gaydar consumer panel for the Outright Consortium last month.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats each took 18 per cent of the vote, while 17 per cent said they will not vote and nine per cent were undecided.

At the last general election in 2005, 33 per cent voted Labour compared to 21 per cent who voted Conservative.

Unsurprisingly, 73 per cent said the next election will be fought on the state of the economy. Ten per cent said unemployment would be a key issue and five per cent cited immigration.

Fifty-nine per cent of respondents felt Gordon Brown was not doing a good job as prime minister.

In terms of finance, 24 per cent of those questioned were most worried about losing their job in the recession, compared with 20 per cent who were concerned about paying their mortgages.

However, 22 per cent said they were not worried at all.

Although 71 per cent blamed the banks for the recession, 72 per cent said they were not planning to change financial services providers in the near future.

Just over half (51 per cent) said the recession had impacted on their spending, with 35 per cent admitting to making the biggest cutbacks in their social lives.

The notorious US military policy of "don't ask, don't tell" is one of those items that President Obama has said will be up for review. Two retired generals, proving that there's plenty of life in the old guard, have said that to have gay and lesbian people serving openly in the military would "undermine recruitment and retention of staff, impact on leadership, dissuade parents from allowing their sons and daughters to sign up and ultimately be a danger to national security".

A spokesman for the president's office says that such a decision is low down on the list of priorities at the moment.

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Don't know how many have heard the news that the Swedish parliament has voted 7-6 parties in favour of marriage rights for all. The one dissenting party is, of course, the Christian Democrats.

The new legislation comes into effect on 1st May and couples already in registered partnerships (similar to UK civil partnerships) will be offered the opportunity of staying as they are or of applying to the authorities to have their status amended.

More info here

After enjoying the relative emptiness and quiet of the "Watchmen" theatre,we found ourselves crowded by trumpeting bloodthirsty tweens and their maniac mothers.The children in this movie however were a joy,great performers and the Rock?Well put him in a tight tee and I could very well give him an Oscar.This one is an adaptation of a much older (and more eerie) movie and I believe the diff is the extraterrestial element in this one.In fact,the extraterrestial part plays a very significant role in the storyline.Dwayne Johnson plays a taxi driver who tasks himself with job of protecting siblings from a really dangerous threat and in doing so save humanity,how original.Like I said,the plot might not been original and Dakota Fanning already has the t-shirt for the "adolescent in alien invasion" experience but theres something diff about this one,it must be the performances from the kids.Don't go to see this if you're on a serious date or dating Anderson Cooper for that matter but if you were feeling just like I was today (silly,quirky & a bit hungry),please do!

This is the 1st movie I've seen this year at the cinema and we couldn't have chosen a better movie...a tad long but worth it.Its a an adaptation of the "graphic novel" (comic book!) of the same name which is apparently has a huge following.The movie is unlike any other superhero movie that I've seen,its violent,very violent but the visual style numbs that to a certain extent.Like Batman,many of the superheroes have no real powers except Dr Manhattan and they are very much real characters,except Dr Manhattan again.Dr M is NAKED throughout the whole movie which kinda shocked me,does the fact that its CGI make it okay to shove a big dick in the audience's faces?Like I said,I loved this movie,its not your usual superhero movie storyline wise and the ending is awesome as well!