The Knucklehead of the Day award

Today's winner is Singapore's Media Development Authority. They get the award for the following.

SINGAPORE - Singapore's censors have banned an exhibition of photographs depicting gay men and women kissing, a gay rights activist said, calling the move "absurd."

The city-state's Media Development Authority denied organizers a license because the photographs "promote a homosexual lifestyle," Alex Au, founder of a Singapore gay rights group, People Like Us, told The Associated Press Wednesday.

The exhibition, entitled "Kissing," is a selection of 80 posed shots of same-sex kissing between fully clothed models, said Au, who shot the photographs.

"Kissing" was canceled after organizers received a letter from the Media Development Authority on Monday saying it was rejecting their application for a license to hold the exhibition, Au said. The media regulator confirmed in an e-mail that it rejected Au's application for a license to hold the exhibition.

"Presently, homosexual content is allowed in the appropriate context but it should not be of a promotional or exploitative nature," Amy Tsang, deputy director of media content, said in the statement. "The proposed exhibition ... which focuses mainly on homosexual kissing is deemed to promote a homosexual lifestyle, and cannot be allowed."

Tsang said, however, that authorities have previously allowed "brief same-sex kissing" in stage plays and adult-rated films.

The exhibition was part of "Indignation," a two-week gay pride series of forums, film screenings, lectures and other events that was scheduled to start later Wednesday.

The Gay rights forum was subsequently called off on Friday.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Authorities in Singapore on Friday banned a gay rights forum at which a retired Canadian law professor was to speak, the second time in a week the city-state has forbidden an event that touches on gay issues.

The forum was to feature Douglas Sanders, a professor emeritus in law at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and Thailand's Chulalongkorn University, the event's organizer, Alex Au, told the Associated Press.

But because the Aug. 7 forum, titled "Sexual Orientation in International Law: The Case of Asia," was deemed contrary to public interest, police canceled the event's license Friday and immigration authorities rejected Sander's visa application, Singapore's Home Affairs Ministry said.

"Our laws are an expression and reflection of the values of our society; the discourse over a domestic issue such as the laws that govern homosexuality in Singapore must be reserved for Singaporeans ... foreigners should refrain from interfering," the statement said.

But Au, the forum's organizer, said Sanders had no such intention.

"He was going to do a lecture in Singapore about international trends. He is not an expert on Singapore and had no intention of talking about Singapore," Au said.

TFM believes in freedom of expression for everyone, including people who he disagrees with. The gay rights forum and photos pose no threat to Singapore's culture or people, and its just further proof how idiotic the authoritarian mindset in that country is. This most recent stand is hypocritical in addition, just last month the same agency allowed a play with gay themes to show in the city state.

Singapore's Media Development Authority is today's Knucklehead of the Day.

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