Hello again ,it’s been another busy week in gay Leeds and as pride approaches the venues are gearing up for what will be a fantastic weekend and not just a Sunday event spare a thought for those who will be clearing up the venues after the party !!

The T-girls will have their own float at Leeds pride and hopefully this will be supported by the 3 venues that support L.F.F.  Also evolve is taking shape and that should be a new aspect to pride weekend.

Alex from the bridge is having his head shaved for pride and please support his fundraising efforts by dropping a donation in to the Bridge

News from India about head shaving of a different nature!!

PESHAWAR: 

The City police took seven persons into custody after transvestites complained of being sexually harassed and physically tortured by them, police said.

SHO Khazana Police Station Raz Mohammad Khan told The Express Tribune that they took seven persons into custody after transvestites approached the police with a written complaint detailing their ordeal, saying that they shaved the heads of five transvestites and subjected them to physical abuse.

Raz Mohammad said that the issue was settled as another application of reconciliation was submitted to the police station after the initial application.

However, he added that the accused were still in police custody.

Transvestites have traditionally been paid to help celebrate the birth of a son or to dance at weddings, but today, many end up living on the streets, begging or prostituting themselves. Additionally, in a country where sexual relations outside marriage are taboo and homosexuality is illegal, transvestites are also treated as sex objects and often become the victims of violent assault.

Earlier in the day, transvestites from around the city protested outside Peshawar Press Club (PPC) to call attention to the abuse.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Shemale Association President Farzana told the Express Tribune that such incidents have been taking place over the last few months and the same group of people is responsible for shaving the heads of transvestites and subjecting them to other forms of physical and mental abuse.

Earlier, five transvestites approached with a complaint that they were taken to a party in the Bakhshi Pul area on Charsadda Road, where a group of men shaved their heads and then began torturing them.

She identified the transvestites as Marghay, Lambay, Nazoo, Guria and Saeeda, adding that the same kind of treatment has been meted out to at least 20 transvestites during the past few months, with some of them leaving the city in fear.

Farzana claimed that the same group had previously sexually abused some transvestites and filmed the incident, which was later uploaded to the internet. She claimed that she was also being threatened for speaking out.

Another transvestite who was subjected to physical abuse some 20 days back corroborated Farzana’s story, telling The Express Tribune that a group of 15-20 men subjected them to physical abuse and that the attackers filmed part of the incident. She felt sure that the attackers were from the same group that shaved the heads of transvestites last night.

Do you want to crack the music industry?

there are several ways to crack the music industry and a great many artistes use prides as a stepping stone in their career launch you can play to a large audience and get your message out a good example was The Wanted who played Leeds pride last year and their single gold forever did exceptionally well The killers had a different approach which made me chuckle

Before The Killers performance at T in the Park, frontman Brandon Flowers revealed that the band wasn't always playing headlining gigs, revealing to NME that they used to play in 'transvestite' bars.

"In the early days [of the band] it was notorious that the Killers played at transvestite bars," he said.

Emails from bands wanting to perform are welcome lol

Ken Morley a.k.a Reg Holdsworth has now been removed from my Xmas cards list after his recent comments he is obviously out of touch with reality

Ken Morley wants to return to 'Coronation Street'.

The 68-year-old actor - who played supermarket boss Reg Holdsworth until 1995 - has hit out at the ITV1 soap, saying it needs to bring back humour.

He said: "What they need to do is bring back comedy and topics that the viewers can relate to. It's lost the comedy, its lost plot, but let's not kick it while it's down - let's try to fix it. They need a character like Reg again. A Holdsworth in the Rovers Return would get people tuning in.

"There is nothing he couldn't do - a character like that could save 'Corrie' single-handedly by ranting about Real Issues in the Rovers. The executive producer Kieran Roberts asked me, 'Would you ever consider coming back?' I told him I'd come back as a scourge questioning the morals, the views and the thinking of younger people.

"They really need to get to grips with 'Corrie' or the nation is going to lose an institution."

Ken also hit out at the recent storyline involving Audrey Roberts' transvestite boyfriend Marc and criticised the number of gay characters who have been brought to the forefront of the show.

He added to The Sun newspaper: "It's not traditional 'Coronation Street'. It's just another far-fetched step away from the real world. How many blokes do you know who dress up as women then go out with women?

"The Street has gone too far with gay problems, gay shoes, and gay fish and chips. They need to get back to square one and deal with people's everyday problems in a humorous way."

Hope he comes to his senses soon!!

Katie Price    YET AGAIN!!!!

Hopefully I’m going to have words with her this week whether or not she will listen to me I don’t know but she’s up to her old tricks

FURIOUS Katie Price has threatened to release X-rated sex videos of Alex Reid dressed up as his female alter ego Roxanne.

The blonde blasted her ex-husband after he claimed she dumped him because she “couldn’t keep up with him in bed”.

Katie, 33, and Alex, 35, recorded a string of raunchy tapes with the fighter starring as a woman.

The glamour model, who revealed yesterday that she is launching her own beauty salon, has got pictures of him in wigs, make-up and high heels.

Now she has warned him that if he doesn’t shut up permanently she will ruin his career by revealing the footage of him as a transvestite.

She hit the roof after Alex said in an interview yesterday: “The problem for Katie was the sex was too good, I was too hot to handle.”

After reading the article, Katie tweeted: “Wish Alex Reid would stop selling stories about me!

“I’m sure if people saw pic and vid clips of him as Roxanne it’s enough to turn anyone off.”

The cage-fighter, who was pictured with a beard as he emerged from a London club looking worse for wear at the weekend, said he created Roxanne to spice up his sex life.

Alex has even admitted to donning suspenders and high heels.

And Katie has defended his kinky side, confessing: “I’ve dressed him up myself. I’ve had sex with Roxanne!”

But a pal said: “She has all the tapes and she is not afraid to use them.

“Alex isn’t ashamed of Roxanne but he would rather not have the world seeing what he gets up to in the sack.

“It could be very damaging for his career.”

Let’s see what she thinks of Susan!!

GAY PERSECUTION STILL EXISTS IN MANY PLACES!!

Religion is not an Excuse for Incompetence: Homosexuality (Di wo fie asem)!!

I read with titillating horror, the directive by the Western Region Minister, ordering the roundup of all gays in the region. My initial reaction was that of fury. First, the order centres on delusion. No one can arrest all the homosexuals anywhere. It is impossible and surely a waste of precious little time. Secondly, it is obvious that the minister has nothing better to do. If he did, he will be worrying about creating jobs and building infrastructure for the great people of a region that is endowed with so much resource but often neglected by the powers that be in Ghana. Third, this gassy effusion, tantamount to blatant abuse of power and I am wondering if the minister should not be arrested instead. As the good people of Ghana continue to suffer under the tyranny of armed robbery and other troubling societal vices, our police is being deployed to arrest innocent citizens because of their sexual orientation? This minister ought to be condemned in the strongest terms and his ignorance exposed for what it is. Shame on you! Di wo fie asem!!

The gay persecution agenda by the religious right and their political minions must be halted immediately. This is a human rights issue! No Ghanaian must be arrested in his country of birth because of his sexual orientation. None! Let me say unequivocally that I don’t condone homosexuality nor do I make any excuses for it. However, I don’t in any way, shape or form, condone a government that is obsessed with regulating morality. For once, I have flashes of the morality police in Iran whipping women in the streets. I also envisage nightmares of the Taliban, gleefully shooting a woman at a stadium as the so called righteous men watched on. Are we getting ready to stone our women for adultery or chop off the hand of men who steal? All this nonsense is being done in the name of morality? Is this what we want in Ghana? If our sexual freedom is taken away, what next will we lose? Where are those who vociferously opposed the PDA? Why are they not marching for the rights of gay people to be free? Should the fact that we hate or dislike something be a motivation good enough to persecute innocent citizens? What really is the crime in homosexuality? Where do we get off ignorantly linking homosexuality to demonic inducement? Can we link the evil deeds of these churches to demonic inducements too? Who is really robbing the people, gay folks or pastors?

I believe with every sinew of my soul that we a treading a very treacherous slope. It appears as if religion is now an excuse for incompetence. Our politicians promise a lot and deliver very little. To close the gap between lofty promises and zero deliverables, morality and religion are being used as red meat for the unsuspecting and often misinformed public. We ought to follow the money in this trail as usual. Why is homosexuality all of a sudden a huge problem that is going to drive us off the cliff?

Ghana has so many pressing problems. I just don’t see how homosexuality can catapult to the top of our priority list. A sample of our pressing needs include an address system, sewer system, waste (solid and liquid) disposal system, a computerize motor vehicle system, credit system, modernized police and military, patient focused healthcare system, realigned education system and property registration system. The latter are where our priorities should be. This is where we need to hold our politicians responsible. We need to stop this distraction and keep our eyes on the prize.

The causes of homosexuality are open to debate. No one at this moment has the corner on the root causes of homosexuality. Out of ignorance, some are fingering causes that are speculative at best. How speculations become prescriptive beats me. Some claim they are born that way and others perhaps acquire it. We don’t know or understand enough about nature to make some of the rush and irresponsible judgments that we continue to make. Do any of these do nothing proselytizing and consistently pontificating politicians know for sure what causes homosexuality? And while they are at it, why don’t they explain the natural phenomenon of being a transvestite. When people are born transvestite, can we link it to demonic inducements? Who is in charge of nature? Is it the demons or God? Are these misinformed pranksters Christians? If so, are we not supposed to leave judgment to God almighty? How long should we tolerate ignorant men playing God? How long?

Even if people choose homosexuality deliberately, we still don’t have a right to arrest and jail them. Is it not true that we will each be held accountable before God? As adults, are we not responsible for our own actions? Why should what people do in their bedroom be a source of worry for our inept and feckless politicians? When the last time morality was put food on the table? The most we can do is to advise, counsel and convince. We go too far when we start rounding people up because of their sexual orientation. After all, homosexuality has been with us since day one and occurs among royalty just as it does among lay people. Homosexuality is not going anywhere! Is homosexuality all of a sudden such a grave issue because the right wing nuts from the west have found clever ways to introduce it into our politics? They are trying to do in Africa, what they can’t do in their own countries. As usual, the bought and paid for elite and politicians in Africa are swallowing the bait, hook, line and sinker. What a stinking shame!! Perhaps, the more repugnant part of this is the push by some these corrupt and holier than thou church leaders. I hope they cast the beam in their eye first.

The greatest danger to our democracy is the virulent upswing of religion. In the midst of poverty, despair and hopelessness, we’ve resorted to religion as the answer. The latter syndrome has led to the insurrection of false prophets, emasculated politicians, a fairly ignorant public and re-colonization. We are selling our souls to wolves in sheep clothing. Some are exploiting the vulnerability of the people and pushing toxic agendas that eat at the rights of our people and create an incendiary landscape that can only breed crippling conflicts. The appalling nature of this confusion is seen in the fact that the real business of the people remains unattended even as we are distracted by the ignorance of these religious zealots, sometimes referred to as right wing nuts in the west.

If we are really serious about sexual deviancy, why do we have the Catholic Church operating in Ghana? Just today on the BBC website, the Irish premier said the following in condemning the sexual deviancy and crimes of the Catholic Church. He said, “the report exposed the elitism, dysfunction, disconnection, and narcissism that dominated the Vatican”. And this is coming from a predominantly Catholic nation? The deviancy of the Catholic Church is common knowledge. We all know of the gay imbeds in the Catholic Church and some of their nefarious activities in our secondary schools and other institutions. Why are we not rounding the Catholic Church up? Oh what blasphemy!

I think we should do all we can to stop this insidious courtship of church and state. We should do all we can to strengthen the separation of church and state. Religion ought to be a personal thing. Making religion a national agenda risks marginalization and domination. The government has enough to worry about and should not be assuming the role of the morality police. If we don’t speak up, we will have our rights taken one at a time. Gay folks are just as Ghanaian as any other and have something to contribute. Enough of the distractions and hate mongering! Your religion ends at my nose and it is time to take a stand against this regime of hate, engendered by the Churches and our misguided politicians. Whatever happened to “di wo fie asem”? Enough already! Stop it!!

HIGH HEEL-A-THON 2011

last year gay Leeds took the heel-a-thon by storm and I’m hoping this year that even more of you will turn out and celebrities are welcome hint hint T.G!

On Sunday 25th September men and women from across Yorkshire are invited to step into their stilettos for the High Heel-a-thon 2011. The charity walk covers a one mile route around Leeds city centre, taking in some of the city’s main shopping streets, bars, restaurants and cultural attractions.

The High Heel-a-thon will begin at 12pm outside the Gateway in Leeds which houses The Yorkshire Haven. The walk will be followed by an afternoon filled with food, drink, live music and therapies laid on by The Haven.  Participants will receive a goody bag with lots of fantastic treats and the opportunity to win some amazing prizes. We hope to see a host of celebs attending the event, so entrants will have the chance to rub shoulders with the 2011 High Heel-a- thon special celebrity guests.

The individual entrance fee for 2011 will be just £15 (£10 for concessions), which covers entrance administration and the cost of the fabulous High Heel-a-thon t-shirt.  Of course, we are also asking participants to raise as much sponsorship money as possible as we aim to beat £12,000 this year!

To enter into this year’s High Heel-a-thon please visit the fabulous High Heel-a-thon site www.highheelathon.co.uk

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

 right that's my lot for another week

love and kisses

SUSAN PLATT