Was It A Homophobic Slur ?

Ever since Aunty- the Australian Broadcasting Corporation came under sustained attack from right wing zealots in the '90s over it's perceived 'left wing' bias , it's bent over backwards to apologise to just about everyone with a gripe while at the same time attempting to emulate the vacuous commercial TV networks.



Christopher Pine MP

Watching the excellent Q &A program on Monday evening the Shuttle noticed one tweet-they run across the bottom of the screen while various politicians and public figures get grilled in front of a studio audience.

The Manager of Opposition Business Christopher Pine MP had responded to a question and the tweet said :

"Does Pyne really light up when he's talking about men in uniform?".

We hadn't really noticed if the rather effete Liberal Party member Pine did 'light up' nor is it of much interest despite the persistent rumours.

Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby co-convener Sarah Rogan has said "It is a cheap shot," and that the ABC should know better and that the comment was "playing on the stereotyping of gay men". Aunty jumped to attention and apologised for running the tweet.



Bear

It's an odd comment coming from an organisation that joined in the Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras just 3 weeks ago where 10,000 participants pretty well ran through the gamut of every 'sterotype' possible from the chubby Harbour City Bears-awash with tattoos, chains and studs, every variant of drag queen the mind can imagine, Thai Lady Boys by the dozen and Bondi lifesavers by the truckload-buffed and bronzed to a ridiculous level not to mention the leaders of the parade-Dykes On Bikes who once went topless much to Reverend Fed Nile's chagrin but since several gay lobby groups have criticised them now wear the most unattractive brassieres



man in uniform

Nor were most of those participating  sterotyping various groups-they were deadly serious. That's what they like and whose business would it be for anyone to imply that if a chap fancied other chaps in fatigues with a chest full of medals, that it's a "stereotypjng gay people" ?. The fact is that the gay world is full of mincers and a lot of other different types.

There are times when Gay lobby groups dictate to the masses just what it's all about. When the closet door was left open, some very boring and pedantic people came out.

If Pine-who the Prime Minster Julia Gillard once called The Mincing Poodle in Parliament was into men in uniform (and we have no idea if he is) why would it be homophobic to point it out ?.

 Lobby groups should remember that achieving equality does not mean conformity.

More worrying was Pine's comment when dishing a former Kevin Rudd staffer that Saddam Hussein had operated 'human shredding machines', a claim since dismissed as a fallacy yet one used to invade Iraq and kill tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens. Including probably many gays and lesbians.

Village People fan

For a reminder of a time when the closet door was still firmly shut and the Gay Fun Police hadn't been invented, and when things weren't so complicated-here is the group that the Shuttle encountered twice-once at the infamous  downtown New York club The Mineshaft and again years later in the Houses of Parliament in London at a party hosted by a British MP Norman St John-Stevas (above)- The Village People and their homage to men in uniforms:

Village People - In the navy (version originale) by scorpiomusic

Clover : Do As I say-Not As I Do

She's been the darling of the Inner City set now for years-Clover Moore, the dog collar wearing Sydney Lord Mayor and Independent State Member of Parliament for Sydney.
Moore wields considerable power occupying the two seats of power but her crown has been slipping of late.

A determination to drive through a plethora of separated bike lanes around  much of Sydney's congested and narrow streets has riled  local businesses and residents who previously supported her. The loss of hundreds of car parking spots and the wishful thinking that Sydney will transform into an Amsterdam style city with thousands of cyclists has gone down like a lead balloon-not unlike Clover herself when she took to a bike to demonstrate the safety of riding and promptly crashed to the ground breaking her wrist.

Her actions over the burgeoning city nightlife  has her constituents fuming.

Moore  pushed through early closing times for licensed premises-2am, away from the 6am closing time. It was a disaster resulting in tens of thousands of revellers surging onto the streets ready to continue partying but no-where to go. The laws were soon repealed.

Everyone is only too well aware of Clover's army of wardens that cruise the city raising millions of dollars in fines for parking and a myriad of other offenses . Patrons of establishments who may wander onto the footpath with drink in hand are soon pounced upon not unlike the frozen yogurt seller at Taylor's Square who received fines for thousands of dollars for allowing customers to linger on stools ten minutes after closing time. 

Fortunately for the esteemed Lord Mayor, her trusty rangers were nowhere to be seen a fortnight ago when she attended as an honoured guest, the Harbour City Bears Mardi Gras art exhibition at the tiny Monstrosity Gallery in Bourke Street where a lavish and little used bike lane forces cars travelling in the opposite direction to slow to a snail's pace.

The stresses of office probably explain why Clover Moore happily chatted away on the footpath to art patrons whilst sipping a glass of excellent chilled ----- perhaps unaware of her own Alcohol Free Zone signs hovering in the background.

editor's note: our source contacts us in a great flurry of regret fearful of recriminations from the city burghers or even worse-the Harbour City Bears will wipe him/her from their guest list. We can never know what liquid was in the glass clutched by the esteemed Lord Mayor.

The ever vigilant city rangers did however strike a blow for law and order at another small art gallery not far from the Monstrocity in previous weeks and papered it with fines for several thousands of dollars for a similar infraction -allowing patrons to spill onto the footpath.

A newspaper of note-City Hub carries a similar tale to ours and says the drink was in fact, Chardonnay ( Hunter Valley we hope).