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LYC
NEWS JULY/AUGUST 2005- UPDATED!
AGM at ifCON 2009 was very productive
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, USA: The 2009 ifCON in Atlanta was a huge success!
We also had a very productive Annual General Meeting (AGM), where
we committed to a closer working relationship with the International
Friendship Alliance (IFA) and announced the hosts of the next three
conferences.
Read the 2009 LYCI AGM Minutes.
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iCON
2005:Toronto Exceeds 135 Registrants
TORONTO,
CANADA: iCON-IFW, the joint convention between LYC's International
Convention and IFA's International Friendship Weekend,
has exceeded 135 registrants. Although the seats on the
coach tour to Niagara Falls are now sold out, there are
still places for late comers to attend the main iCON IFW
2005 event. Terry McCullum, chief organizer of the event
and Chairman of LYC Toronto, the host group, has expressed
being pleased with the numbers. The event will take place
from Sept. 2nd-5th, 2005. In addition to the program of
events and tours, the LYCI Annual General Meeting will
also take place in Toronto on Sat., Sept 3rd, 2005.
Click here for the
iCON-IFW 2005 website
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San
Francisco Selected to Host iCON 2006
SAN
FRANCISCO , USA : Every iCON event is unique and has its
own character. The annual LYC International Convention
has taken place in exotic cities like London, Paris, Montreal,
Toronto , Bangkok, and in 2006, it will be beautiful,
beautiful San Francisco!
San
Francisco replaces Adelaide which was supposed to be the
iCON 2006 venue but due to unforeseen circumstances, this
was cancelled. The new host group for iCON 2006 is Long
Yang Club-Pacific Friends. The event will be hosted in
conjunction with IFW, a similar event which is held in
North America. According to Flo Diaz, the LYC Pacific
Friends organizer of iCON IFW 2006, as the joint event
will be called, there will be a packed program.
According
to Flo: "We have planned for a whole week of free
and optional tours instead of just the weekend to allow
our national and international guests to experience the
Gay Mecca and the surrounding environments that is the
San Francisco Bay Area. A bay dinner/cruise, bus tour
of San Francisco, a swimming pool party in South Bay,
cultural, shopping and educational venues will all be
available to all delegates. Yosemite or Lake Tahoe, anyone?
Only a beach party is not planned due to the always cold
weather in the Bay Area. The registration cost will be
$225 for the first registrants in 2005 and then it will
be $250 for those registering in 2006. "
The
pending hotel venue will be the Cathedral Hill Hotel on
Van Ness Ave in the Polk St. gay area (three blocks from
our host bar, N'Touch and our API Wellness Center). A
standard room with 2 single beds or Queen/King bed is
starting at around $88 a night to $115 for a standard
suite.
The
Long Yang Club Pacific Friends website is at www.pacificfriends.org.
The new name will appear in due course on the website.
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LYC
Chapters Celebrated Gay Pride 2005
PARIS,
FRANCE: Every year, LYC Paris parades its Asian-inspired
float during Paris Pride. LYC London has taken Paris'
cue and has its own float for the first time for London
Gay Pride in June. The theme for the London float was
"Garden of Eaden". Other chapters also took
part in the pride celebrations. LYC Pacific Friends of
San Francisco and LYC Minnesota in Minneapolis/StPaul,
for example, had a party and a booth at Pride park in
each of those cities. LYC Boston , LYC San Diego and LYC
Denver also took part. Downunder in Auckland, New Zealand,
LYC Auckland's own boot in the gay park was so popular
that even the Mayor of Auckland came over to meet with
the organizers!
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LYC Sydney : A Possible Venue for iCON ?
SYDNEY,
AUSTRALIA : LYC Sydney is considering the idea of hosting
an iCON in the future, possibly around the time of the
Lesbian and Gay Mardi Gras. Aroudn this period, there
are also other cultural events happening so people coming
to Mardi Gras may also be able to take advantages of enjoying
these other cultural activities. It is early days yet.
The chapter needs to ask its members to see how much suppor
they have. In addition, this September, they will be going
to Canberra for Floriat, a flower exhibition event, and
they will meet up with LYC Canberra if they might consider
co-hosting the event. They will also try to find out the
amount of support it has from other LYC chapters around
the world to assess the level of attendance to this event,
should it take place in Sydney..
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East-West Gay Couple in Civil Partnership in NZ, and in
Marriage in Belgium.
BRUSSELS,
BELGIUM: LYC members are getting married or into civil
partnerships around the world. In Belgium, LYC Brussels
reported that two of their members married in the port
city of Antwerp with a special celebration.
In Auckland, New Zealand, LYC Auckland members Bruce and
Ken got married in April (?) and their pictures are taken
and available at: http://roseken0.tripod.com/civilunion
. When the civil union bill takes effect in England and
Wales, we may probably see some LYC London members saying
their vows too, and friends may shed a few tears of joy!
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LYC
London becomes more Committed to LYC's Global Family
LONDON,
UNITED KINGDOM: LYC London had its AGM and election in
June. The Chairman (Choc), Treasurer (Simon T) and Secretary
(James J) has been reelected but there were some new people
to the Committee. The London chapter also added in its
constitution : "The club shall support the promotion
of Long YAng Clubs worldwide and will be a member of such
international organization , which ascribes to the ehtos
of Long Yang Clubs".
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Aussies
Warned: "No Gay Sex Please in Singapore"
SINGAPORE
: Australians have been warned by their country's Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade that Singapore's harsh sex
laws include harsh penalties. They were reminded that
they could go to jail if they were caught having gay sex,
according to the report in the Herald Sun. Singapore authorities
has always raised its "ugly head" of homophobia
whenever there are signs from other parts of the society
of being more liberal and accepting in line with the parts
of the civilised world.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16133177%255E662,00.html
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Singapore
Celebrates Gay Pride with IndigNation
SINGAPORE:
August is Singapore Pride Month! Following rejection of
the police for gays to host the Nation party, Singaporean
gays announced a month-long series of gay parties in August
to express their pride in their sexuality.IndigNation
is a gay community response to this unreasonable ban,
as well as to heavy censorship of publications ... serving
this community," organisers of the celebration said
in a statement.
"Gays
and lesbians are indignant over what these say about their
equal rights and their place in this nation," the
statement added.
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Beijing
Opens Gay Play
BEIJING,
CHINA: French director Xavier Froment staged what was
probably the first gay play in China
There were not without problems. The play is based on
the film, "East Palace, West Palace" where the
screenplay is by Zhang Yuan and Wang Xiabo. Zhang withdrew
permission to use the story but Wang's widow allowed it.
In the end the show was staged free of charge, which meant
it would not infringe copyright rules and does not require
permission from the screenwriters. Anotehr problem was
100 people walked out during each of the first several
days of the play.
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Thai
Gay Hotel Chain Closes- Tsunami Blamed.
PATTAYA
& PHUKET, THAILAND: The charming iCON hotels in Pattaya
and Phuket have closed. It was thought this was due to
the fall in numbers of visitors following the Tsunami
in December. LYC Thailand had recently made a trip to
Pattaya and stayed at the hotel. Hotels in Phuket, including
gay ones, have been badly hit by the significantly reduced
numbers of foreigners visiting the island.
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Tokyo
Gets it Gay Pride Again
TOKYO,
JAPAN: According to Japan
Today , gays, lesbians and their friends in Japan
will hold a gay pride parade on Saturday, 13th August,
in Tokyo after a lapse of three yeas. The parade had been
held a few times since 1994, but a "heavy logistical
burden" forced the organizers to suspend the event
after 2002, organizers said.
According
to Hideki Sunagawa, a member of the committee in charge
of public relations, "...(we) are expecting thousands
of participants united in their common cause as sexual
minorities and their supporters," said Hideki Sunagawa,
38, a committee member in charge of publicity. "We
want the public to know that there is a diverse group
of sexual minorities around them," he said. The parade
will start from Yoyogi Park in Shibuya Ward
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Thai
Army Says It's OK for Transgender Recruits
BANGKOK,
THAILAND: According to UK.Gay.Com, the Thai army has lifted
its ban on accepting trangender recruits. In the past,
transgender recruits were turned away and given certificates
that it was "due to mental disorder" . A celebrated
Thai boxer who became a film star after he underwent surgery
to become a woman said: "The words 'mental disorder'
marked on the certificate seriously affects our lives."
So, you may now not just find the Lady Boys of Bangkok,
but also Lady Soldier Boys of B
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