EDGE on the Net

The Czech president lashed out Monday at 13 ambassadors for their petition in support of a gay pride festival in the Czech capital, and refused to distance himself from a deputy who linked homosexuality to sexual deviation.

The Czech city of Prague is set to host its first gay Pride events later this month, but the historic occasion has already been marred by anti-gay trash talk from the top levels of the country’s government.

Some asylum seekers claiming anti-gay persecution who turn to the Czech Republic are faced with a requirement to prove their claim--by viewing heterosexual pornography while a device monitors their state of arousal.

Derogatory comments by the Czech Republic’s former prime minister about Jews, gays and the Catholic Church led Thursday to his resignation as chairman of his conservative political party.