The Gillard government’s anti-gay marriage policy goes global
by gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome
As well as not allowing same-sex couples to marry in Australia, the Gillard government does its best to block Australians from entering same-sex marriages overseas.
It does this by refusing to issue same-sex partners with the key document they need to marry in another country.
That document, known as a Certificate of No-Impediment to Marriage or CNI, confirms to a foreign government that the Australian who wants to marry under its laws is not already married in Australia.
The Australian government routinely issues this document to heterosexual Australians marrying overseas, but it has an explicit policy of refusing them to same-sex partners.
This causes an array of problems for Australians entering legal same-sex marriages in other countries. Many same-sex partners only find out about the CNI problem at the last minute and either have to call off their wedding or go through with the kind of unofficial commitment ceremony they wanted to avoid.
In many of the countries that allow same-sex marriages, marriage brings rights and entitlements not available to cohabiting couples. This leaves Australians whose same-sex marriages the Gillard government has blocked without recognition or protection in health care, pensions and immigration.
Then there’s the pain of being denied the same rights other Australians take for granted. According to Chris Murray, whose legal marriage to his Portuguese partner, Victor, could not take place because the government would not give him a CNI, “As much as I appreciated the support of friends and family, no amount of ‘don’t worry – it’s only a piece of paper’ or ‘but it’s your love that counts’ made up for the fact that my country was saying that my relationship was not only not worthy of recognition, but I had to be prohibited from having this relationship recognised elsewhere in the world.”
Because of these problems the Netherlands gives Australians an exemption from its CNI requirement (along with Zimbabweans). Meanwhile, the Norwegians are so angry that the Gillard government is pushing its prejudices down their throats, they attacked Australia’s same-s-x marriage ban at a recent UN human rights review.
But for the most part there’s nothing that countries who allow same-sex marriages can do about Australia’s CNI policy, and as their number increases so does the number of Australians who face the inconvenience, insecurity and indignity this policy creates.
The Australian government says it refuses to issue CNIs to same-sex couples because same-sex marriages aren’t recognised in Australia. But no-one is swallowing this.
According to Senior Lecturer in Law at the ANU, Wayne Morgan, “There is nothing in Australian law that would prevent a Certificate of No Impediment to Marriage (being issued) to a same-sex couple marrying under the laws of another country. This is an internationally accepted document that has nothing to do with the validity of the marriage back in the couple’s own country.”
A 2009 Senate Committee inquiry into same-sex marriage agreed. It found that, “A decision by a sovereign nation to allow marriage between a couple of the same sex should be a matter for that nation, and not a matter against which Australia should throw up bureaucratic barriers.”
Since then the Government’s discriminatory policy has suffered another blow.
In 2010 Tasmania became the first Australian state or territory to acknowledge overseas same-sex marriages as state civil partnerships, giving them all the same rights as married couples in state AND federal law.
This creates an absurd situation where the Australian government is giving full marriage entitlements to legal unions it has tried to block on the basis that they are not recognised in Australia.
So why does the Gillard government maintain such a ridiculous, harmful and discriminatory policy?
It’s hard to see the current bureaucratic block to overseas same-sex marriages as anything but another mean-spirited attempt by the government to convince right-wing Christian lobbyists it despises same-sex marriages as much as they do.
Yet again loving, committed same-sex partners have been sacrificed on the altar of political expediency.
I’m confident this won’t last much longer.
With Galaxy Research finding that 75% of Australians believe same-sex marriages are inevitable, history is clearly on the side of equality.
If the Labor Party doesn’t reverse its discriminatory stance on same-sex marriages at its National Conference in December, the next generation of Australians will condemn it in the same way we now condemn those Labor governments that upheld the White Australia Policy.
*Rodney Croome is the Campaign Director of Australian Marriage Equality and the co-author of Why v Why: gay marriage.
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9 Comments
JOHN
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 1:22 pm | Permalink
Julia Gillard appears to be the most homophobic prime minister in Australia’s history. The absurd aspect is that people on the other side of politics, such as those who criticised her for being “deliberately barren”, have been conducting a whispering campaign that she is a closet lesbian and that her hairdresser consort is just a handbag.
9302202E5A6ABD06A6B4260EAD62EE10
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 1:30 pm | Permalink
well really after getting the farmers off side, the miners off side, the refugee advocates off side,the clubs offside,kevin rudd offside,she really doesnt want another enemy like the churches offside does she?
ALLISON
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 1:43 pm | Permalink
the law is an ass (or arse)
JOHN
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 2:49 pm | Permalink
Hooray for Andrew Wilkie in QT this afternoon.
LADYSTARDUST64
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 3:15 pm | Permalink
PM Gillard is really making it difficult to raise empathetic, morally conscious teenagers.
Grow some Julia and stop toppling towards the right wing nutbags. Enough is enough, beyond a joke, blah blah blah. This issue is not going to go away because as it currently stands it is wrong. Everything about it is wrong. Fix it and your legacy will be long and fondly remembered. What if your Tim was a Tammy and you loved her just the same. She might even have a shed too. Would you want anyone else telling you what to feel - how to be you?
I don’t think so.
CHARLES RICHARDSON
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 3:27 pm | Permalink
To be fair, it should be pointed out that this isn’t something the Gillard govt introduced: it’s a Howard govt policy and dates to at least 2005, as this _Age_ article documents: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/gays-hit-in-overseas-nuptial-bid/2006/01/13/1137118970292.html . That’s no excuse for Gillard, but she shouldn’t cop all the blame.
SUSIEQ
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 3:30 pm | Permalink
I never knew this happened (CNI’s) and its appalling, but hardly suprising, especially when you have people like the right wing faction of the ALP doing its Chicken Little routine at the mere mention of gay marriage. This issue is such an easy fix for the government- much less complicated than carbon taxes and mining taxes - surely it would pass through parliament easily enough? We may not have many pleasant memories of the Rudd govt, but everyone remembers the apology to the stolen generation don’t they?
Who cares what the Christian Lobby thinks - why should they have everything their way all the time?
F531F3B28AE6B07F01AD44BF62360840
Posted Tuesday, 14 June 2011 at 4:27 pm | Permalink
Interesting article.
I did have a question regarding the whole same sex marriage debate.
If we did get same sex marriage into law, as per many other countries,
would be willing to discriminate against groups who are calling for FULL marriage equality, as per the definition below:
“Advocating for the right of consenting adults to enjoy love, sex, and marriage without limits on the gender, number, or relation of participants. Full marriage equality is a basic human right”
(Source: marriage-equality.blogspot.com).
If we are willing to discriminate against, and exclude such groups, from the institution of marriage, on what grounds would we exclude them?
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
twitter for tv
Marketing Pilgrim's Social Channel is available for sponsorship. If you are interested in sponsoring this channel, please contact us here.
« OLDER ENTRY
BY CYNTHIA BORIS ON JUNE 13, 2011
Fans Find TV Tweets Very Engaging
1
Ten days ago, Jared Padalecki, one of the stars of the CW series Supernatural got a Twitter account. He started it after years of saying he never would and couldn’t even get his own name because of there are so many imposters on Twitter. He settled on @jarpad, announced it at a fan convention, then took a photo of his co-star at the convention as proof that it was really him.
As of this morning, Jarpad has 94,132 followers and they aren’t just sitting idle. Many of them complied with Jared’s wishes to vote for a band he produces in a House of Blues contest, shooting them up to number one.
Then there’s Jared’s co-star Misha Collins. He has 219,000 followers and parlayed his Twitter fame into a charity that raised around $100,000 last year for an orphanage in Haiti.
Oh yes, and The CW is reaping the rewards, too. Their audience is young, mobile and active in social media, so they’ve made it extremely easy to follow any of their celebrity tweeters. They have a full page of one click links to the Twitter accounts of more than 75 of their stars. That’s massive for such a small network. They also have a clever iPhone app that allows you to follow the Tweets of the stars or the fans of a given show so you can Tweet while you watch.
TV and Twitter isn’t just for the young. CBS, which has the oldest demographic of big five networks, has been using Twitter chats to spur on their audience.
George Schweitzer, president of the network’s CBS Marketing Group, told eMarketer;
“Social media has allowed us to have a voice in interactivity, in that we can be part of the conversation while it’s all happening. It’s really shown, yet again, another thing that was supposed to be a negative for our industry has become a huge positive. More people are watching television than ever before, and they’re enjoying and talking about it.”
Schweitzer goes on to say that CBS was very happy with the response to their recent Tweet Week where stars of their shows Tweeted while watching. The “however” is that they can’t directly correlate the success of that event with a rise in ratings. But as we’re always saying here, measuring social media isn’t about the numbers, it’s about brand recognition and buzz.
On June 4, “jarpad” was a trending term on Twitter. You can bet that thousands of people who weren’t Supernatural fans clicked through to see what all the fuss was about. That’s the kind of publicity that the CW can’t afford to buy and they got it totally free thanks to their newly Twitter-obsessed TV star.
SIMILAR STORIES IN: SOCIAL | FORWARD: EMAIL THIS POST
Share this post
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1 comment on “Fans Find TV Tweets Very Engaging”
Frank Reed Says:
June 13th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Young, mobile and active in social media. With the CW being a bit player in the TV wars if they can corral this group they might have something even more valuable than the 4 major networks do: a passionate (albeit smaller) group that hangs on every word of their favorite stars.
It’s really what social media is truly about. Forget the big numbers. Find those that are passionate and play to their interests then don’t get greedy!
Looking forward to seeing what happens (or has happened) six months from now due to this type of interaction.
[Reply]
« OLDER ENTRY
BY CYNTHIA BORIS ON JUNE 13, 2011
Fans Find TV Tweets Very Engaging
1
Ten days ago, Jared Padalecki, one of the stars of the CW series Supernatural got a Twitter account. He started it after years of saying he never would and couldn’t even get his own name because of there are so many imposters on Twitter. He settled on @jarpad, announced it at a fan convention, then took a photo of his co-star at the convention as proof that it was really him.
As of this morning, Jarpad has 94,132 followers and they aren’t just sitting idle. Many of them complied with Jared’s wishes to vote for a band he produces in a House of Blues contest, shooting them up to number one.
Then there’s Jared’s co-star Misha Collins. He has 219,000 followers and parlayed his Twitter fame into a charity that raised around $100,000 last year for an orphanage in Haiti.
Oh yes, and The CW is reaping the rewards, too. Their audience is young, mobile and active in social media, so they’ve made it extremely easy to follow any of their celebrity tweeters. They have a full page of one click links to the Twitter accounts of more than 75 of their stars. That’s massive for such a small network. They also have a clever iPhone app that allows you to follow the Tweets of the stars or the fans of a given show so you can Tweet while you watch.
TV and Twitter isn’t just for the young. CBS, which has the oldest demographic of big five networks, has been using Twitter chats to spur on their audience.
George Schweitzer, president of the network’s CBS Marketing Group, told eMarketer;
“Social media has allowed us to have a voice in interactivity, in that we can be part of the conversation while it’s all happening. It’s really shown, yet again, another thing that was supposed to be a negative for our industry has become a huge positive. More people are watching television than ever before, and they’re enjoying and talking about it.”
Schweitzer goes on to say that CBS was very happy with the response to their recent Tweet Week where stars of their shows Tweeted while watching. The “however” is that they can’t directly correlate the success of that event with a rise in ratings. But as we’re always saying here, measuring social media isn’t about the numbers, it’s about brand recognition and buzz.
On June 4, “jarpad” was a trending term on Twitter. You can bet that thousands of people who weren’t Supernatural fans clicked through to see what all the fuss was about. That’s the kind of publicity that the CW can’t afford to buy and they got it totally free thanks to their newly Twitter-obsessed TV star.
SIMILAR STORIES IN: SOCIAL | FORWARD: EMAIL THIS POST
Share this post
Similar posts you may like...
Twitter’s Promoted Tweets: 300% More Engaging Than Normal Tweets
Become a Fan of Fanpop
50 Million Tweets Per Day? We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat!
Twitter Spam Declines…Or Does It?
Your Vote for Best Tweets of the Year
1 comment on “Fans Find TV Tweets Very Engaging”
Frank Reed Says:
June 13th, 2011 at 3:26 pm
Young, mobile and active in social media. With the CW being a bit player in the TV wars if they can corral this group they might have something even more valuable than the 4 major networks do: a passionate (albeit smaller) group that hangs on every word of their favorite stars.
It’s really what social media is truly about. Forget the big numbers. Find those that are passionate and play to their interests then don’t get greedy!
Looking forward to seeing what happens (or has happened) six months from now due to this type of interaction.
[Reply]
Sunday, June 12, 2011
girl exposed
Gay Girl in Damascus is a man called Tom
Asher Moses
June 13, 2011 - 9:07AM
Comments 2
Tom Macmaster ... wrote under the pseudonym Amina Arraf.
Amina Arraf, the "Gay Girl in Damascus" who sent the world into a frenzy after she was reportedly kidnapped by Syrian security forces, has been outed as a 40-year-old American man.
A new entry on Sunday in the blog, which for months has claimed to be written by a lesbian Syrian-American living in Damascus, asserted that the entire saga was a hoax.
The post, which came days after an entry saying the blogger had been arrested, was signed by "Tom MacMaster" in Istanbul, Turkey.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Jelena Lecic ... the Croat living in London said the Gay Girl in Damascus blog was carrying a picture of her.
In it, the author says the narrative was fictional but insists it "created an important voice for issues I feel strongly about."
It says the author never expected so much attention.
It is not the first time a a blog has been exposed as an elaborate fiction. In 2004, the Plain Layne blog, purportedly the diary of a bisexual young woman, was revealed to be written by a man, Odin Soli.
A grab from Gay Girl in Damascus.
Additionally, from 1999 to 2001, Debbie Swanson convinced the world that she was a terminally ill teenager, Kaycee Nicole, who was stricken with leukemia. It was one of the most high profile cases of Munchausen by Internet, a disease where people feign serious illnesses online.
On Tuesday, a blog post on the Gay Girl in Damascus site, supposedly written by Amina Arraf's cousin, said she had been detained in Damascus after weeks on the run. The story unraveled quickly after a woman in Britain said the photos on the Facebook account of the blogger known as Amina were actually of her.
The author of the blog post on Sunday titled it Apology to readers but wrote "I do not believe that I have harmed anyone". There was no listing for MacMaster in Istanbul.
Stolen identity ... a grab from Jelena Lecic's Facebook page.
MacMaster, a 40-year-old American from Georgia, is a Middle East peace activist who has been studying for a masters degree at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is reportedly on vacation in Turkey with his girlfriend.
The Washington Post was able to track MacMaster down before he outed himself on the blog but he initially denied any connection to Arraf, saying if he were the "genius" who pulled it off he would write a book.
MacMaster when posing as Amina had given people postal addresses for Christmas cards which were registered in his name. He and Amina were on the same Yahoo message group about "alternate history" and frequently engaged each other in discussions about the Middle East.
Many biographical details about Amina that were published online also matched MacMaster's own life story. These are detailed in an extensive Washington Post article, which highlights MacMaster's deep knowledge of Syria and long affinity with the Middle East.
In the blog post purportedly by Arraf's cousin, Rania Ismail, it said Arraf was last seen on Monday being bundled into a car by three men in civilian clothes as she was on her way to meet someone at the activist Local Coordination Committees. Ismail said a friend accompanying her was nearby and saw what happened.
A reporter for The Associated Press, who maintained a month-long email correspondence with someone claiming to be Arraf, found the writer seemed very much like a woman in the midst of the violent change gripping Syria. The writer spoke about friends in Damascus, and outlined worries about her father and hopes for the future of her country.
In the emails, the person acknowledged fudging some details of escaping from Syrian security officials to protect herself and her family, and painted a harrowing picture of fleeing her home.
Jelena Lecic, the woman whose photos were linked to Arraf's Facebook profile, said the London woman first learned her likeness was being used when it was linked to an article about Arraf in the Guardian newspaper, her spokesman has said.
The spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lecic, a Croatian woman working as an administrator at the Royal College of Physicians in London, reportedly had her identity stolen about a year ago. MacMaster had been circulating photographs of her to people asking for pictures of Arraf.
On the blog, Arraf was known for frank posts about her sexuality and open criticism of President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic rule.
In February, an American blogger named Paula Brooks began communicating with Arraf via email but became suspicious when her IP address was traced back to Edinburgh in Scotland.
Arraf sent Brooks a photo of herself that matches the photos Lecic claims were taken from her Facebook page.
She told Brooks that her IP traced back to Scotland because she used a proxy to hide her identity. However, an email Arraf sent to Brooks discussing plans to study in Britain led her to suspect Arraf might have been blogging from the University of Edinburgh all along.
Media scoured records for confirmation that Arraf existed and also attempted to confirm biographical information found in her blog, but came up empty. No one, including the US State Department, was able to confirm her arrest.
NPR reporter Andy Carvin said he had spoken to a number of people who claimed to have met or interviewed Arraf but found that nobody had even met her in person or spoken to her on the phone. Even a purported girlfriend in Canada said she had only had a text-based relationship with Arraf.
Arraf's Canadian friend, Sandra Bagaria, who started a campaign to have Arraf released, was last week dismayed at suggestions she may have been deceived or that her Syrian friend might have been using a false identity.
''I don't know. I really can't tell. I would love to tell you I know," she said.
"I just want it to be clarified, and then I will deal with what I should and should not feel. But for now I just want it to be a little more clear."
- with AP
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Comments
2 comments so far
See how the media jumps onto unverified, made up rubbish posing as news? The days of "journalists" actually researching stories are long gone, Signed by Berkel, a bisexual, pot smoking parrot in detention on Xmas island
Shemp | melbourne - June 13, 2011, 9:20AM
This man, Tom, claims he hasn't hurt anyone and says he created this blog for Syria. What a crock, why then did he have dating site profiles up with the photos of jelena? Why did he create a relationship with a woman in Montreal? He wasn't blogging for Syria, he was blogging to live out a lesbian fantasy. He'll be doing an interview soon and I hope the interviewer asks the hard questions and doesn't let him get away with saying "I did it all for Syria".
Juno. - June 13, 2011, 9:30AM
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/gay-girl-in-damascus-is-a-man-called-tom-20110613-1fzmw.html#ixzz1P6nNjDJz
Asher Moses
June 13, 2011 - 9:07AM
Comments 2
Tom Macmaster ... wrote under the pseudonym Amina Arraf.
Amina Arraf, the "Gay Girl in Damascus" who sent the world into a frenzy after she was reportedly kidnapped by Syrian security forces, has been outed as a 40-year-old American man.
A new entry on Sunday in the blog, which for months has claimed to be written by a lesbian Syrian-American living in Damascus, asserted that the entire saga was a hoax.
The post, which came days after an entry saying the blogger had been arrested, was signed by "Tom MacMaster" in Istanbul, Turkey.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Jelena Lecic ... the Croat living in London said the Gay Girl in Damascus blog was carrying a picture of her.
In it, the author says the narrative was fictional but insists it "created an important voice for issues I feel strongly about."
It says the author never expected so much attention.
It is not the first time a a blog has been exposed as an elaborate fiction. In 2004, the Plain Layne blog, purportedly the diary of a bisexual young woman, was revealed to be written by a man, Odin Soli.
A grab from Gay Girl in Damascus.
Additionally, from 1999 to 2001, Debbie Swanson convinced the world that she was a terminally ill teenager, Kaycee Nicole, who was stricken with leukemia. It was one of the most high profile cases of Munchausen by Internet, a disease where people feign serious illnesses online.
On Tuesday, a blog post on the Gay Girl in Damascus site, supposedly written by Amina Arraf's cousin, said she had been detained in Damascus after weeks on the run. The story unraveled quickly after a woman in Britain said the photos on the Facebook account of the blogger known as Amina were actually of her.
The author of the blog post on Sunday titled it Apology to readers but wrote "I do not believe that I have harmed anyone". There was no listing for MacMaster in Istanbul.
Stolen identity ... a grab from Jelena Lecic's Facebook page.
MacMaster, a 40-year-old American from Georgia, is a Middle East peace activist who has been studying for a masters degree at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is reportedly on vacation in Turkey with his girlfriend.
The Washington Post was able to track MacMaster down before he outed himself on the blog but he initially denied any connection to Arraf, saying if he were the "genius" who pulled it off he would write a book.
MacMaster when posing as Amina had given people postal addresses for Christmas cards which were registered in his name. He and Amina were on the same Yahoo message group about "alternate history" and frequently engaged each other in discussions about the Middle East.
Many biographical details about Amina that were published online also matched MacMaster's own life story. These are detailed in an extensive Washington Post article, which highlights MacMaster's deep knowledge of Syria and long affinity with the Middle East.
In the blog post purportedly by Arraf's cousin, Rania Ismail, it said Arraf was last seen on Monday being bundled into a car by three men in civilian clothes as she was on her way to meet someone at the activist Local Coordination Committees. Ismail said a friend accompanying her was nearby and saw what happened.
A reporter for The Associated Press, who maintained a month-long email correspondence with someone claiming to be Arraf, found the writer seemed very much like a woman in the midst of the violent change gripping Syria. The writer spoke about friends in Damascus, and outlined worries about her father and hopes for the future of her country.
In the emails, the person acknowledged fudging some details of escaping from Syrian security officials to protect herself and her family, and painted a harrowing picture of fleeing her home.
Jelena Lecic, the woman whose photos were linked to Arraf's Facebook profile, said the London woman first learned her likeness was being used when it was linked to an article about Arraf in the Guardian newspaper, her spokesman has said.
The spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lecic, a Croatian woman working as an administrator at the Royal College of Physicians in London, reportedly had her identity stolen about a year ago. MacMaster had been circulating photographs of her to people asking for pictures of Arraf.
On the blog, Arraf was known for frank posts about her sexuality and open criticism of President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic rule.
In February, an American blogger named Paula Brooks began communicating with Arraf via email but became suspicious when her IP address was traced back to Edinburgh in Scotland.
Arraf sent Brooks a photo of herself that matches the photos Lecic claims were taken from her Facebook page.
She told Brooks that her IP traced back to Scotland because she used a proxy to hide her identity. However, an email Arraf sent to Brooks discussing plans to study in Britain led her to suspect Arraf might have been blogging from the University of Edinburgh all along.
Media scoured records for confirmation that Arraf existed and also attempted to confirm biographical information found in her blog, but came up empty. No one, including the US State Department, was able to confirm her arrest.
NPR reporter Andy Carvin said he had spoken to a number of people who claimed to have met or interviewed Arraf but found that nobody had even met her in person or spoken to her on the phone. Even a purported girlfriend in Canada said she had only had a text-based relationship with Arraf.
Arraf's Canadian friend, Sandra Bagaria, who started a campaign to have Arraf released, was last week dismayed at suggestions she may have been deceived or that her Syrian friend might have been using a false identity.
''I don't know. I really can't tell. I would love to tell you I know," she said.
"I just want it to be clarified, and then I will deal with what I should and should not feel. But for now I just want it to be a little more clear."
- with AP
Ads by Google
Learn to Trade CFDswww.GFT.com.au
5 Easy Steps to CFD Trading. Free Practice Account Included. GFT
Tours of KenyaBenchInternational.com.au
Exclusive Kenya adventure tours. Travel with the Kenya experts
Start Repairing Your BodyQuitnow.info.au
The day you stop smoking your body starts to repair itself
Comments
2 comments so far
See how the media jumps onto unverified, made up rubbish posing as news? The days of "journalists" actually researching stories are long gone, Signed by Berkel, a bisexual, pot smoking parrot in detention on Xmas island
Shemp | melbourne - June 13, 2011, 9:20AM
This man, Tom, claims he hasn't hurt anyone and says he created this blog for Syria. What a crock, why then did he have dating site profiles up with the photos of jelena? Why did he create a relationship with a woman in Montreal? He wasn't blogging for Syria, he was blogging to live out a lesbian fantasy. He'll be doing an interview soon and I hope the interviewer asks the hard questions and doesn't let him get away with saying "I did it all for Syria".
Juno. - June 13, 2011, 9:30AM
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/gay-girl-in-damascus-is-a-man-called-tom-20110613-1fzmw.html#ixzz1P6nNjDJz
Saturday, June 11, 2011
twitter info
Twitter forced to identify user who tweeted about council
Nigel Green, Josh Halliday
May 31, 2011
Ryan Giggs ... the Manchester United footballer named as the plaintiff in a gagging order. Photo: Reuters
THE online battle over freedom of speech has taken a dramatic turn with the revelation that a British local authority had forced Twitter to hand over the details of a user the council had accused of defamation.
Twitter, based in San Francisco, was ordered by a Californian court to disclose to South Tyneside Council in northern England the name, email address and phone number of a councillor it accused of libelling the council with a string of anonymous postings.
Last year both Google and the blogging platform WordPress were similarly forced to hand over to the council the IP address of an online whistleblower.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Lawyers acting for the council went to California in April to order Twitter to hand over the details, which could set a precedent in the spiralling row over privacy and free speech online.
Ryan Giggs, the Manchester United footballer named as the plaintiff in a gagging order preventing reporting of an alleged affair with a reality TV model, is separately attempting to unmask Twitter users accused of revealing details of the privacy injunction. Giggs brought his lawsuit at the High Court in London. Use of a California court is likely to be seen as a landmark in the internet privacy battle.
Twitter is a microblogging service enabling its users under their pseudonyms to send and read messages, known as tweets, of up to 140 characters.
Ahmed Khan, the South Tyneside councillor accused of the Twitter postings, described the council's move as ''Orwellian''. He received an email from Twitter earlier this month to say it had handed over his information. He denies being the author of the allegedly defamatory material. ''It is like something out of Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' Mr Khan said. ''If a council can take this kind of action against one of its own councillors, simply because they don't like what I say, what hope is there for freedom of speech or privacy?''
Guardian News & Media
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/twitter-forced-to-identify-user-who-tweeted-about-council-20110530-1fcz9.html#ixzz1P2ctF6Sp
Nigel Green, Josh Halliday
May 31, 2011
Ryan Giggs ... the Manchester United footballer named as the plaintiff in a gagging order. Photo: Reuters
THE online battle over freedom of speech has taken a dramatic turn with the revelation that a British local authority had forced Twitter to hand over the details of a user the council had accused of defamation.
Twitter, based in San Francisco, was ordered by a Californian court to disclose to South Tyneside Council in northern England the name, email address and phone number of a councillor it accused of libelling the council with a string of anonymous postings.
Last year both Google and the blogging platform WordPress were similarly forced to hand over to the council the IP address of an online whistleblower.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Lawyers acting for the council went to California in April to order Twitter to hand over the details, which could set a precedent in the spiralling row over privacy and free speech online.
Ryan Giggs, the Manchester United footballer named as the plaintiff in a gagging order preventing reporting of an alleged affair with a reality TV model, is separately attempting to unmask Twitter users accused of revealing details of the privacy injunction. Giggs brought his lawsuit at the High Court in London. Use of a California court is likely to be seen as a landmark in the internet privacy battle.
Twitter is a microblogging service enabling its users under their pseudonyms to send and read messages, known as tweets, of up to 140 characters.
Ahmed Khan, the South Tyneside councillor accused of the Twitter postings, described the council's move as ''Orwellian''. He received an email from Twitter earlier this month to say it had handed over his information. He denies being the author of the allegedly defamatory material. ''It is like something out of Nineteen Eighty-Four,'' Mr Khan said. ''If a council can take this kind of action against one of its own councillors, simply because they don't like what I say, what hope is there for freedom of speech or privacy?''
Guardian News & Media
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/twitter-forced-to-identify-user-who-tweeted-about-council-20110530-1fcz9.html#ixzz1P2ctF6Sp
Thursday, June 9, 2011
ricki martin
Ricky took his message directly to his fans.
(Anonymous)
2010-04-03 06:38 am UTC (link)
LAST week the Latin pop star Ricky Martin — to the surprise of perhaps almost no one — came out of the closet. Did he give the exclusive to People? Nope. Whisper it to Page Six? Nuh-uh. Submit to a tearful interview with Barbara Walters? Not a chance.
Instead Mr. Martin posted a statement on his fan Web site, rickymartinmusic.com. “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man,” he wrote.
It was a departure from the typical celebrity coming-out, which goes something like this: find a sympathetic publication, say, The Advocate (Sean Hayes), Time (Ellen DeGeneres) or People (Lance Bass, Clay Aiken and Neil Patrick Harris); give a soul-baring interview; and watch the story land at the same time you are promoting a new show, album or book.
Mr. Martin is one of a growing number of celebrities who, fed up with being hounded by tabloids and Internet gossip, want to control their public personas by addressing personal issues directly with their fans.
Members of a new generation of actors and musicians have embraced Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare to promote themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/fashion/04ricky.html
(Anonymous)
2010-04-03 06:38 am UTC (link)
LAST week the Latin pop star Ricky Martin — to the surprise of perhaps almost no one — came out of the closet. Did he give the exclusive to People? Nope. Whisper it to Page Six? Nuh-uh. Submit to a tearful interview with Barbara Walters? Not a chance.
Instead Mr. Martin posted a statement on his fan Web site, rickymartinmusic.com. “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man,” he wrote.
It was a departure from the typical celebrity coming-out, which goes something like this: find a sympathetic publication, say, The Advocate (Sean Hayes), Time (Ellen DeGeneres) or People (Lance Bass, Clay Aiken and Neil Patrick Harris); give a soul-baring interview; and watch the story land at the same time you are promoting a new show, album or book.
Mr. Martin is one of a growing number of celebrities who, fed up with being hounded by tabloids and Internet gossip, want to control their public personas by addressing personal issues directly with their fans.
Members of a new generation of actors and musicians have embraced Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare to promote themselves.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/fashion/04ricky.html
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Summonsed by Facebook
June 7, 2011 - 4:55PM
Two years after an Australian lawyer caused a stir by sending a foreclosure notice via Facebook, the practice of online legal service is spreading as a means for courts to keep their dockets moving.
Courts in New Zealand, Canada and the UK have adopted the Australian example to avoid having cases stall when people can't be located and served in person. Lawyers said the US may not be far behind in using the world's most popular social- networking service.
“There are people who exist only online,” said Joseph DeMarco, co-chair of the American Bar Association's criminal justice cyber crime committee, and a lawyer at New York-based DeVore & DeMarco LLP. Being able to serve documents by social-media networks would be a useful tool, he said.
Advertisement: Story continues below
While Facebook is under regulatory and legal scrutiny in countries including the US, South Korea and Germany for failing to protect user data, privacy advocates said that serving court notices by mail or in person often already provokes privacy complaints. Therefore using Facebook doesn't raise any new issues.
“There are going to be privacy concerns, but in some respects they're almost inescapable,” said Mark Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington. Someone “is going to be subject to legal service, even though they may not be happy about it. But if they are properly notified the law's primary concern is addressed,” whether the notice arrived via Facebook or not.
Reliable, secure
California-based Facebookmay find legal papers served via its system a welcome recognition of the security of its internal messaging function.
Following the 2008 foreclosure case, spokesman Barry Schnitt said the company was pleased to see the Australian court validate Facebook as a reliable, secure and private communication medium, the Associated Press reported. Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, declined to comment on its recent use as an alternative means of delivering court documents.
“It seems only logical now that tools like Facebook or Twitter be used” to contact people who can't be traced using traditional means, said Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch in London, noting such efforts don't violate personal privacy. “Now is it desirable? No.”
The judge in the Canberra case required lawyers to serve a foreclosure notice on the couple at their home address and a secondary address, as well as via Facebook, said Archie Tsirimokos, a managing partner at Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers who represented creditor MKM Capital.
Calls, faxes
Since then, courts have grown more lenient in approving the use of Facebook. In March, Hilary Thorpe, a lawyer in East Sussex, England, persuaded a British court to allow her to serve a woman solely through her Facebook account, after showing that calls, faxes and visits had failed to track her down.
The people in both the UK and Australian cases were successfully notified in the eyes of the court, the lawyers said. Tsirimokos said that “within a day” of sending the notice, the recipient's privacy settings in the Australian case were tightened, showing the debtors got the notice. MKM won a court order and then seized and sold the house.
Thorpe, who sent the notice via Facebook's private message system, said “it was a matter of minutes for the debtor to respond to the e-mail,” allowing the case to move ahead.
US lawyers say it would be helpful if their courts allowed the practice, and privacy experts don't see it as concern because US court documents are already public.
Unethical friending
The challenge would be to collect enough proof to convince a court the accountholder is the right person and the page is checked often enough to ensure it's a fair path of notification, DeMarco said. This would need to be done without violating ethics codes that would prevent lawyers from “friending” the target under false pretenses to get past security settings.
“Nothing on its face in New York state or federal law precludes it,” DeMarco said.
There are countries, like France and Germany, where electronic delivery isn't allowed in any form. French law requires delivery in person.
“It wouldn't be admissible procedurally to send a message by Facebook,” said Matthieu Bonduelle, head of France's Magistrates' Union.
English court rules permit electronic document service, said Danvers Baillieu, a technology-law specialist in London.
“As far as the law is concerned, it's just a method of delivery,” he said. “The precise form of technology is neither here nor there.”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/summonsed-by-facebook-20110607-1fqnr.html#ixzz1Oa6Kauzh
June 7, 2011 - 4:55PM
Two years after an Australian lawyer caused a stir by sending a foreclosure notice via Facebook, the practice of online legal service is spreading as a means for courts to keep their dockets moving.
Courts in New Zealand, Canada and the UK have adopted the Australian example to avoid having cases stall when people can't be located and served in person. Lawyers said the US may not be far behind in using the world's most popular social- networking service.
“There are people who exist only online,” said Joseph DeMarco, co-chair of the American Bar Association's criminal justice cyber crime committee, and a lawyer at New York-based DeVore & DeMarco LLP. Being able to serve documents by social-media networks would be a useful tool, he said.
Advertisement: Story continues below
While Facebook is under regulatory and legal scrutiny in countries including the US, South Korea and Germany for failing to protect user data, privacy advocates said that serving court notices by mail or in person often already provokes privacy complaints. Therefore using Facebook doesn't raise any new issues.
“There are going to be privacy concerns, but in some respects they're almost inescapable,” said Mark Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington. Someone “is going to be subject to legal service, even though they may not be happy about it. But if they are properly notified the law's primary concern is addressed,” whether the notice arrived via Facebook or not.
Reliable, secure
California-based Facebookmay find legal papers served via its system a welcome recognition of the security of its internal messaging function.
Following the 2008 foreclosure case, spokesman Barry Schnitt said the company was pleased to see the Australian court validate Facebook as a reliable, secure and private communication medium, the Associated Press reported. Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, declined to comment on its recent use as an alternative means of delivering court documents.
“It seems only logical now that tools like Facebook or Twitter be used” to contact people who can't be traced using traditional means, said Daniel Hamilton, director of Big Brother Watch in London, noting such efforts don't violate personal privacy. “Now is it desirable? No.”
The judge in the Canberra case required lawyers to serve a foreclosure notice on the couple at their home address and a secondary address, as well as via Facebook, said Archie Tsirimokos, a managing partner at Meyer Vandenberg Lawyers who represented creditor MKM Capital.
Calls, faxes
Since then, courts have grown more lenient in approving the use of Facebook. In March, Hilary Thorpe, a lawyer in East Sussex, England, persuaded a British court to allow her to serve a woman solely through her Facebook account, after showing that calls, faxes and visits had failed to track her down.
The people in both the UK and Australian cases were successfully notified in the eyes of the court, the lawyers said. Tsirimokos said that “within a day” of sending the notice, the recipient's privacy settings in the Australian case were tightened, showing the debtors got the notice. MKM won a court order and then seized and sold the house.
Thorpe, who sent the notice via Facebook's private message system, said “it was a matter of minutes for the debtor to respond to the e-mail,” allowing the case to move ahead.
US lawyers say it would be helpful if their courts allowed the practice, and privacy experts don't see it as concern because US court documents are already public.
Unethical friending
The challenge would be to collect enough proof to convince a court the accountholder is the right person and the page is checked often enough to ensure it's a fair path of notification, DeMarco said. This would need to be done without violating ethics codes that would prevent lawyers from “friending” the target under false pretenses to get past security settings.
“Nothing on its face in New York state or federal law precludes it,” DeMarco said.
There are countries, like France and Germany, where electronic delivery isn't allowed in any form. French law requires delivery in person.
“It wouldn't be admissible procedurally to send a message by Facebook,” said Matthieu Bonduelle, head of France's Magistrates' Union.
English court rules permit electronic document service, said Danvers Baillieu, a technology-law specialist in London.
“As far as the law is concerned, it's just a method of delivery,” he said. “The precise form of technology is neither here nor there.”
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/summonsed-by-facebook-20110607-1fqnr.html#ixzz1Oa6Kauzh
twitter info
'They Hate Niggas Out Here': US hip hop star labels Brisbane racist
Georgia Waters
June 7, 2011 - 8:53AM
Comments 185
Click to play video
Tyler unleashes on Brisbane
Odd Future singer, Tyler Okonma launched a Twitter tirade against Brisbane, saying it was a city of racists.
Video feedbackVideo settings
A US hip hop frontman has called Brisbane a city of racists after performing to a sold-out show in West End on Sunday night.
Tyler Okonma, of Los Angeles group Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (otherwise known as Odd Future), posted a series of comments on Twitter over the weekend and yesterday.
Okonma, 20, who's also known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, has nearly a quarter of a million followers on Twitter.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Tyler Okonma on stage in Brisbane. Photo Justin Edwards
He told them people in Brisbane were "racist as f---" and he was "uncomfortable" and wanted to go home.
"I get this weird vibe," he wrote.
Later, he added "Im in Brisbane Right Now....They hate Niggas Out Here...." but added that MLBRN (Melbourne) "was cool".
'Weird vibe' in Brisbane ... Tyler Okonma said he had a run in with a 'racist' at KFC. Photo: Facebook
Okonma later told the crowd at his sold-out show at West End's The Hi-Fi on Sunday night that he'd had a run-in with a ''racist asshole'' at a KFC in Brisbane.
Do you know more? Email us
He told the crowd he wouldn't judge Brisbane on one person's behaviour, however his earlier tweets remain in his stream.
Regardless, Okonma seemed to enjoy the show: "F---ing Brisbane Show Was F---ing SICK!", he tweeted later.
"So F---king Happy. Australia Was F---king Fun Over All. Thanks To The White People Down Under (Except For Them Hating Racist From Earlier)."
Okonma, who is now happily back in the US ("Its Been A Week Since I Had My Phone, So Happy To Be Home"), later wrote that he was taking the popular Australian pastime of "planking" back with him.
He's a prolific tweeter, constantly sharing his thoughts with his nearly 250,000 followers on everything from his taste in women - "I Am On The Search For A Freckled Girl My Age" - to his conversations with other musicians "I Asked Chris Brown If He Liked Soup".
At the time of writing, his most recent tweet was that he had just taken a nap.
Ads by Google
Fr
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/they-hate-niggas-out-here-us-hip-hop-star-labels-brisbane-racist-20110607-1fpt9.html#ixzz1Oa4qMTx4
Georgia Waters
June 7, 2011 - 8:53AM
Comments 185
Click to play video
Tyler unleashes on Brisbane
Odd Future singer, Tyler Okonma launched a Twitter tirade against Brisbane, saying it was a city of racists.
Video feedbackVideo settings
A US hip hop frontman has called Brisbane a city of racists after performing to a sold-out show in West End on Sunday night.
Tyler Okonma, of Los Angeles group Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (otherwise known as Odd Future), posted a series of comments on Twitter over the weekend and yesterday.
Okonma, 20, who's also known by his stage name Tyler, The Creator, has nearly a quarter of a million followers on Twitter.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Tyler Okonma on stage in Brisbane. Photo Justin Edwards
He told them people in Brisbane were "racist as f---" and he was "uncomfortable" and wanted to go home.
"I get this weird vibe," he wrote.
Later, he added "Im in Brisbane Right Now....They hate Niggas Out Here...." but added that MLBRN (Melbourne) "was cool".
'Weird vibe' in Brisbane ... Tyler Okonma said he had a run in with a 'racist' at KFC. Photo: Facebook
Okonma later told the crowd at his sold-out show at West End's The Hi-Fi on Sunday night that he'd had a run-in with a ''racist asshole'' at a KFC in Brisbane.
Do you know more? Email us
He told the crowd he wouldn't judge Brisbane on one person's behaviour, however his earlier tweets remain in his stream.
Regardless, Okonma seemed to enjoy the show: "F---ing Brisbane Show Was F---ing SICK!", he tweeted later.
"So F---king Happy. Australia Was F---king Fun Over All. Thanks To The White People Down Under (Except For Them Hating Racist From Earlier)."
Okonma, who is now happily back in the US ("Its Been A Week Since I Had My Phone, So Happy To Be Home"), later wrote that he was taking the popular Australian pastime of "planking" back with him.
He's a prolific tweeter, constantly sharing his thoughts with his nearly 250,000 followers on everything from his taste in women - "I Am On The Search For A Freckled Girl My Age" - to his conversations with other musicians "I Asked Chris Brown If He Liked Soup".
At the time of writing, his most recent tweet was that he had just taken a nap.
Ads by Google
Fr
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/they-hate-niggas-out-here-us-hip-hop-star-labels-brisbane-racist-20110607-1fpt9.html#ixzz1Oa4qMTx4
Monday, June 6, 2011
rooney hair transplant story thru twitter
http://www.smh.com.au/sport/football/wayne-rooney-reveals-new-look-after-hair-transplant-20110607-1fpsf.html
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Safe sex ads to be reinstated
Safe sex ads to be reinstated
Staff reporters
June 1, 2011 - 4:33PM
Comments 484 Vote
Click to play video
Billboard star 'fuming' over pulled ads
The star of a billboard campaign promoting safe gay sex is demanding an apology and for the ads to be reinstated after they were withdrawn due to complaints.
Video feedbackVideo settings
An outdoor advertising company has reversed its controversial decision to pull down safe-sex awareness signs featuring a hugging, gay couple.
Adshel, which copped widespread criticism over the removal of the signs from Brisbane bus shelters, announced this afternoon the signs would be reinstated after accepting complaints had been “orchestrated” by the Australian Christian Lobby.
'Why the fuss?' asks poster star
“Adshel earlier responded to a series of complaints by removing the campaign from its media panels yesterday,” the company said in a statement on its website this afternoon.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Protesters gather outside Adshel’s Fortitude Valley headquarters. Photo: Katherine Feeney
“None of the complaints indicated any liaison with the ACL, so Adshel was made to believe that they originated from individual members of the public.”
Adshel chief executive Steve McCarthy said it was now clear that Adshel had been the target of a co-ordinated ACL campaign against the “Rip and Roll” advertisements designed by the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities.
“This has led us to review our decision to remove the campaign and we will therefore reinstate the campaign with immediate effect,” he said.
This safe sex advertisement has been pulled from Brisbane bus shelters after the Australian Christian Lobby complained it was offensive.
ACL Queensland director Wendy Francis, who earlier said there had been a co-ordinated attempt to have the ads removed, condemned the decision to reinstate the ads.
Ms Francis denied she led an orchestrated ACL campaign against the billboards, saying she had personally raised concern about the ads on her Facebook page promoting G-rated outdoor advertising and contacted her friends about the issue.
She blasted the decision to reinstate the ads as a “loss for our children” but said it reflected people power.
Michael O'Brien, right, and his partner star in the ad.
“I really think people power is what is winning in this particular case and it’s who’s got the most people complaining about it,” she told this website.
“I think people would be supportive of the message it [the advertisement] is promoting but I don’t think ... people want safe-sex messaging placed on bus shelters where schoolchildren wait for the bus.
“The message is OK, the placement of the message is not OK.”
Ms Francis was last year forced to apologise publicly after a Tweet likening gay marriage to legalising child abuse. Then a Family First candidate for the Senate, she claimed the tweet was sent from her office, but not by her.
Earlier today, about 30 people attended a protest, organised on Twitter and Facebook in a matter of hours, to condemn the company’s decision to pull down posters from the Rip and Roll anti-HIV campaign.
Led by Queensland Association for Healthy Communities general manager Paul Martin, the group appealed to executives inside the Adshel office to come forward and apologise, replace the posters and offer some compensation.
Mr Martin said the total spend for the campaign, which included billboards on Goa sites as well as the contested AdShel bus shelter locations, was about $60,000.
About $45,000 of that budget went to the Adshel campaign, which was due to end in a matter of days.
“We actually only booked the campaign for two weeks, that’s all the time we had money for,” Mr Martin said.
The adverts feature a black and white image of a gay couple embracing, holding an unopened red condom packet.
It includes the website address and hotline for Healthy Communities, which has been receiving state government funding for sexual health promotion since 1988.
Earlier, an Adshel spokeswoman defended its decision to remove the posters and denied it had been lobbied by the Australian Christian Lobby, saying it responded to a “series of individual complaints”.
“The decision to remove the posters was made on the basis of the large number of complaints received,” she said in a statement.
“Adshel does not take a position regarding the views or position of various community groups.”
Treasurer Andrew Fraser said ACL needed to get with the times.
‘‘Check the calendar, it’s 2011,’’ he said. ‘‘I think we should call it for what it is and this is basic homophobia.
‘‘These ads have been a part of public programs for a long time, they serve a public interest.
‘‘Anyone who suggests that these are explicit I think is not telling the truth.’’
Earlier, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh leant her support to the Rip and Roll campaign on Twitter by retweeting a comment from a Gold Coast resident who stated: “Dear #adshel, thousands of united Australians are stronger than a handful of homophobes. RT [retweet] if you agree #ripnroll.”
Advertising Standards Bureau chief executive Fiona Jolly said the organisation had no part in the removal of the advertisements, saying it had so far acted only as “conduit” for complaints.
Ms Jolly said complaints received by the bureau were passed on to the advertiser, but not the owner of the advertising space, in this case Adshel.
“We made the advertiser aware of complaints as they come in, but the advertiser isn’t obliged to remove an ad unless the board decides that the ad breaches community standards,” she said.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he personally had no issue with the campaign, which took place on Brisbane City Council-owned infrastructure.
"It is my job to represent the whole of this city. It’s a broad city, and I think the message of health is an important message," Cr Quirk said.
“Was the advertising provocative? Well some might suggest that it was but the message is the important thing and I think that the message is very important.”
Queensland Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman was reluctant to weigh into the ad controversy, saying he had not yet seen the signs.
However, Mr Newman reminded reporters that he supported legalising gay marriage and called on the community to show tolerance.
“I have a very open mind about these things and I urge other people to be tolerant and open-minded as well,” he said.
Australian Sex Party Queensland Coordinator Rory Killen said homophobia, rather than concern for children, had driven the removal of the advertisements.
Healthy Communities said 2010 saw a higher number of people diagnosed with HIV than at any time since testing began in the mid-1980s.
With 65 per cent of those diagnoses among gay men, it was more important than ever to talk openly about safe sex, it said.
Brisbane City Council, which owns the bus stop panels, declined to comment on the removal of the advertisements, saying “the council had no involvement in this matter”.
- with Marissa Calligeros, Katherine Feeney, Rachel Batzloff, Daniel Hurst and AAP
Poll: What do you think of the Rip and Roll ad?
It's very offensive
7%
It's somewhat inappropriate for public spaces
7%
I don't feel strongly either way
5%
It's a great ad and should have been kept
81%
Total votes: 17538.Poll closes in 3 days.
Disclaimer: These polls are not scientific and reflect the opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/safe-sex-ads-to-be-reinstated-20110601-1ff7u.html#ixzz1O1UNp4Kg
Staff reporters
June 1, 2011 - 4:33PM
Comments 484 Vote
Click to play video
Billboard star 'fuming' over pulled ads
The star of a billboard campaign promoting safe gay sex is demanding an apology and for the ads to be reinstated after they were withdrawn due to complaints.
Video feedbackVideo settings
An outdoor advertising company has reversed its controversial decision to pull down safe-sex awareness signs featuring a hugging, gay couple.
Adshel, which copped widespread criticism over the removal of the signs from Brisbane bus shelters, announced this afternoon the signs would be reinstated after accepting complaints had been “orchestrated” by the Australian Christian Lobby.
'Why the fuss?' asks poster star
“Adshel earlier responded to a series of complaints by removing the campaign from its media panels yesterday,” the company said in a statement on its website this afternoon.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Protesters gather outside Adshel’s Fortitude Valley headquarters. Photo: Katherine Feeney
“None of the complaints indicated any liaison with the ACL, so Adshel was made to believe that they originated from individual members of the public.”
Adshel chief executive Steve McCarthy said it was now clear that Adshel had been the target of a co-ordinated ACL campaign against the “Rip and Roll” advertisements designed by the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities.
“This has led us to review our decision to remove the campaign and we will therefore reinstate the campaign with immediate effect,” he said.
This safe sex advertisement has been pulled from Brisbane bus shelters after the Australian Christian Lobby complained it was offensive.
ACL Queensland director Wendy Francis, who earlier said there had been a co-ordinated attempt to have the ads removed, condemned the decision to reinstate the ads.
Ms Francis denied she led an orchestrated ACL campaign against the billboards, saying she had personally raised concern about the ads on her Facebook page promoting G-rated outdoor advertising and contacted her friends about the issue.
She blasted the decision to reinstate the ads as a “loss for our children” but said it reflected people power.
Michael O'Brien, right, and his partner star in the ad.
“I really think people power is what is winning in this particular case and it’s who’s got the most people complaining about it,” she told this website.
“I think people would be supportive of the message it [the advertisement] is promoting but I don’t think ... people want safe-sex messaging placed on bus shelters where schoolchildren wait for the bus.
“The message is OK, the placement of the message is not OK.”
Ms Francis was last year forced to apologise publicly after a Tweet likening gay marriage to legalising child abuse. Then a Family First candidate for the Senate, she claimed the tweet was sent from her office, but not by her.
Earlier today, about 30 people attended a protest, organised on Twitter and Facebook in a matter of hours, to condemn the company’s decision to pull down posters from the Rip and Roll anti-HIV campaign.
Led by Queensland Association for Healthy Communities general manager Paul Martin, the group appealed to executives inside the Adshel office to come forward and apologise, replace the posters and offer some compensation.
Mr Martin said the total spend for the campaign, which included billboards on Goa sites as well as the contested AdShel bus shelter locations, was about $60,000.
About $45,000 of that budget went to the Adshel campaign, which was due to end in a matter of days.
“We actually only booked the campaign for two weeks, that’s all the time we had money for,” Mr Martin said.
The adverts feature a black and white image of a gay couple embracing, holding an unopened red condom packet.
It includes the website address and hotline for Healthy Communities, which has been receiving state government funding for sexual health promotion since 1988.
Earlier, an Adshel spokeswoman defended its decision to remove the posters and denied it had been lobbied by the Australian Christian Lobby, saying it responded to a “series of individual complaints”.
“The decision to remove the posters was made on the basis of the large number of complaints received,” she said in a statement.
“Adshel does not take a position regarding the views or position of various community groups.”
Treasurer Andrew Fraser said ACL needed to get with the times.
‘‘Check the calendar, it’s 2011,’’ he said. ‘‘I think we should call it for what it is and this is basic homophobia.
‘‘These ads have been a part of public programs for a long time, they serve a public interest.
‘‘Anyone who suggests that these are explicit I think is not telling the truth.’’
Earlier, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh leant her support to the Rip and Roll campaign on Twitter by retweeting a comment from a Gold Coast resident who stated: “Dear #adshel, thousands of united Australians are stronger than a handful of homophobes. RT [retweet] if you agree #ripnroll.”
Advertising Standards Bureau chief executive Fiona Jolly said the organisation had no part in the removal of the advertisements, saying it had so far acted only as “conduit” for complaints.
Ms Jolly said complaints received by the bureau were passed on to the advertiser, but not the owner of the advertising space, in this case Adshel.
“We made the advertiser aware of complaints as they come in, but the advertiser isn’t obliged to remove an ad unless the board decides that the ad breaches community standards,” she said.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said he personally had no issue with the campaign, which took place on Brisbane City Council-owned infrastructure.
"It is my job to represent the whole of this city. It’s a broad city, and I think the message of health is an important message," Cr Quirk said.
“Was the advertising provocative? Well some might suggest that it was but the message is the important thing and I think that the message is very important.”
Queensland Liberal National Party leader Campbell Newman was reluctant to weigh into the ad controversy, saying he had not yet seen the signs.
However, Mr Newman reminded reporters that he supported legalising gay marriage and called on the community to show tolerance.
“I have a very open mind about these things and I urge other people to be tolerant and open-minded as well,” he said.
Australian Sex Party Queensland Coordinator Rory Killen said homophobia, rather than concern for children, had driven the removal of the advertisements.
Healthy Communities said 2010 saw a higher number of people diagnosed with HIV than at any time since testing began in the mid-1980s.
With 65 per cent of those diagnoses among gay men, it was more important than ever to talk openly about safe sex, it said.
Brisbane City Council, which owns the bus stop panels, declined to comment on the removal of the advertisements, saying “the council had no involvement in this matter”.
- with Marissa Calligeros, Katherine Feeney, Rachel Batzloff, Daniel Hurst and AAP
Poll: What do you think of the Rip and Roll ad?
It's very offensive
7%
It's somewhat inappropriate for public spaces
7%
I don't feel strongly either way
5%
It's a great ad and should have been kept
81%
Total votes: 17538.Poll closes in 3 days.
Disclaimer: These polls are not scientific and reflect the opinion only of visitors who have chosen to participate.
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/safe-sex-ads-to-be-reinstated-20110601-1ff7u.html#ixzz1O1UNp4Kg
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