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Last month, we learned of very disturbing news from Ghana. The diverse west-African nation of 24-million people had plunged head-on into the murky waters of extreme homophobia, quickly closing the gap with Uganda and Nigeria, where ever-escalating oppression of LGBT has become vogue.

Thankfully, nations like Rwanda and South Africa continue to advance equality and justice, but the momentum in other countries —such as Ghana— seems to be quickly treading in a dangerous direction.

What is so scary about this situation is not necessarily the cultural tensions by those who are confused by or afraid of homosexuality; rather, it is the increasing politicization of homophobia, and the culturally and politically influential leaders of the country wielding fear and hate as a weapon.

Not unlike other countries around the world, Ghana has on its books loosely-worded laws prohibiting homosexual sex, but it was not until this past decade —after a surge of evangelicalism and fundamentalism— that the scapegoating of LGBT Ghanaians really began to rise.

Compounding the issue is a justifiable strengthening of a post-colonial Pan-African identity, one that seeks to establish social and economic practices based upon the countless cultural and ethnic histories and values shared by Ghanaians and other African peoples. This shift from Western influence is not a bad thing; I speak more to the point that the very history and perception of Western colonial and economic oppression is used as an excuse to subjugate LGBT (or perceived) community members, while shedding cultural or constitutional values of human rights and dignities.

Say there's a person who believes that LGBT people deserve no legal protections from discrimination, who believes that LGBT people don't deserve basic civil rights, and who advocates "ex-gay" therapy -- the dangerous practice of trying to "cure" people of their sexual orientation. Would you expect the government to reward this person with a cushy job, where they would be tasked with making significant decisions about hiring?

That's what is happening in Jackson, Michigan, where county administrators have appointed a woman named Crystal Dixon as Director of Human Resources. Dixon has a past that is particularly controversial. In 2008, she was fired from the University of Toledo, after publishing a letter where she wrote that LGBT people were against God, that they should try to "cure" themselves of their sexual orientation, and that they deserved no legal protections from discrimination since their homosexuality was merely "a lifestyle choice."

The appointment has drawn the ire of many equal rights activists in the state of Michigan, given that Dixon's new appointment puts her directly in charge of overseeing human resources -- a department that is supposed to be seen as an outlet for all city and county employees, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. But with a woman like Dixon at the helm, can LGBT employees in Jackson really feel trusted and safe?

As we noted last week, Harvard University is set to play host to a conference, "Social Transformation By the Power of God," featuring some of the most radical and fringe elements within the religious right.

The event, to take place April 1-2, is sponsored by the Harvard University Extension Service and Leadership Society, and will feature controversial speakers who blame LGBT people for the downfall of the United States, who consider Muslims a threat to the United States, who believe LGBT people should be executed, who believe witchcraft is a pressing problem that the United States must address, and who think that homosexuality is akin to incest or sex with animals. What a nice reputation the Harvard University Extension Service and Leadership Society is building for itself, eh?

More than 1,400 people have already signed a petition here on Change.org, calling on Harvard to address this conference and not give a pedestal to people who believe gays should be executed and that Muslims and women are bringing down the reputation of the United States. Now, the Harvard Crimson, the school's leading student newspaper, has issued an editorial addressing the conference. To say that they're questioning the conference is an understatement. Indeed, the Crimson editorial suggests that the Harvard University Extension Service and Leadership Society is threatening the intellectual integrity of the entire Harvard institution.

Apple has been under pressure for more than a week to drop an app from iTunes, created by “ex-gay” ministry Exodus International, that promotes “curing” LGBT people and tells gay youth that they can be “freed from homosexuality.”

After 152,000 emails to the company protesting the app, Apple has finally listened. The app has been pulled from iTunes. Searches for the Exodus app now turn up this message: “The item you've requested is not currently available in the US store.”

And a spokesperson for Apple told Fox News today: "We removed the Exodus International app from the App Store because it violates the developer guidelines by being offensive to large groups of people." Yeah, not hard to see how an app suggesting people can be "freed" from homosexuality is offensive to large groups of Apple customers.

Late last night we reported that a heavily criticized "gay cure" iPhone app had been removed from iTunes by Apple, after an online petition on Change.org gathered more than 146,000 signatures. The offending app -- the creation of Exodus International -- was an effort to reach tech-savvy LGBT young adults, with a message that they could "change" their sexual orientation and be "freed from homosexuality."

Apple has yet to release a statement on the matter, but major international media outlets have covered the story of the app being pulled from iTunes. Fox News was among the first with an article, and they spoke to a staff member at Exodus International who confirmed that their app developer was told that the app was pulled.

"We received notification from our developer that Apple has indeed pulled the app from the store," said Exodus' Jeff Buchanan.

UPDATE: The President of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, tweets that their "gay cure" app has been removed from the App Store.

Apple has been under fire for more than a week now for carrying a "gay cure" app on its platform from Exodus International. But if you try to access the controversial app this evening, this is the message you'll get: "The item you've requested is not currently available in the U.S. store." (See picture at left.)

Does that mean Apple has pulled the app, like more than 140,000 customers have asked? It's hard to tell; Apple hasn't issued an official statement yet. Until they do, it's important that we keep up the pressure, so that Apple hears loud and clear that "ex-gay" therapy deserve no place in the App Store.

Truth Wins Out, the group that started the petition here on Change.org, noted in a press release this afternoon that if Apple adheres to its own editorial standards, there's no way this "gay cure" app should be welcome on iTunes.

Apple continues to face heat from consumers around the world, over the company's decision to host a "gay cure" app on the iTunes platform. More than 140,000 people have signed a petition urging Apple to drop this app, garnering press coverage all over the place, from Fox News to ABC, to the Wall Street Journal and the Guardian. Celebrities like George Takei and Nathan Fillion have asked Apple to drop the app. And now a prominent religious leader, Rabbi David Horowitz, has sent a letter to Apple, letting the company know that they have the moral responsibility to pull this "gay cure" app before it fosters any further violence toward the LGBT community.

Rabbi Horowitz, who is president of the group PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), wrote in his letter that Apple has previously removed content that is inappropriate or violent in nature. This "gay cure" app from Exodus International falls into the same category.

"I am in full support of free speech – as a rabbi, much of my work depended on my ability to speak out from my heart. However, the right to express an opinion is sometimes rightly limited by the moral responsibility to do no harm," Rabbi Horowitz wrote. He then goes on to note how the practice and promotion of "ex-gay therapy" -- "treatment" meant to "cure" gay people of their sexual orientation -- is indeed morally reprehensible.

Close to 100,000 people have contacted Apple, urging the company to remove an app from its iTunes store from Exodus International that peddles "ex-gay therapy" and promotes the idea that homosexuality can be "cured." Now another voice is joining the effort: a leading scientist from the University of Minnesota whose own research has been manipulated and misquoted by Exodus International in order to promote the concept of "conversion therapy" for LGBT people.

That scientist would be Dr. Gary Remafedi, who wrote a letter to Apple founder Steve Jobs and interim CEO Tim Cook letting them know that Exodus International's "ex-gay" app flies in the face of science, and violates the ethical codes and positions of virtually every major medical and mental health organization.

"Various professional organizations, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have taken the position that homosexuality is not a mental or physical condition. Programs which aim to change sexual orientation have been opposed because they are unwarranted, ineffective, unethical, and harmful," Dr. Remafedi writes.

Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) have been a hot topic in Ontario ever since news came out that the Halton District Catholic School Board bans the groups in their schools. It was later discovered that the same was true of all Catholic boards in Ontario, and since then, numerous news outlets have picked up both the Halton story, as well as the larger issue. Because Catholic schools receive funding from taxpayers in Ontario, the idea that these boards have policies that go against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- as well as the Ontario Human Rights Code -- is especially appalling.

Rather than back down in the face of intolerance, some brave students have rallied in support of the cause. In particular, Xtra.ca reports that 32 students are trying to start a GSA at St. Joseph's Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario (which, coincidentally, neighbors the Halton Region). When 16-year-old Leanne Iskander asked her principal, Frances Jacques, to recognize the GSA as an official group, her request was firmly denied. And just like that, the fight was on.

“We’re not going to give up,” Iskander said to Xtra. “We’re going to keep trying to get a GSA. This is very important. Gay kids feel alienated and need a place with a sense of community.”