Leopard vs. Crocodile

At a South African game reserve, photographer Hal Brindley captures a rare bloody battle between a leopard and a crocodile. Can you guess who won?

More AFTER THE JUMP...

"The giant cat raced out of cover provided by scrub and bushes to surprise the crocodile, which was swimming nearby. A terrible and bloody struggle ensued. Eventually, onlookers were amazed to see the leopard drag the crocodile from the water as the reptile fought back. With the crocodile snapping its powerful jaws furiously, the two animals somersaulted and grappled. Despite the crocodile's huge weight and strength, the leopard had the upper hand catching its prey by the throat. Eventually the big cat was able to sit on top of the reptile and suffocate it. In the past, there have been reports of crocodiles killing leopards, but this is believed to the first time that the reverse scenario has been observed."

See a series of stills here.

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Human Rights Group Urges Gambian Leader to End Anti-Gay Threats

New York-based Human Rights Watch has sent a letter to Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who recently announced plans to rid his country of homosexuals and threatened to behead any gays that were discovered there, to drop those threats and speak out against homophobia:

Wrote Scott Long, director of HRW's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program: "We urge you to publicly disavow threats and vilification directed against gays and lesbian people in Gambia. We ask you to affirm publicly and without equivocation that all people should enjoy their rights regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity."

Good luck with that.

The Gambia recently released two Spanish nationals who were arrested in the country after allegedly making sexual proposals to taxi drivers.

In related news, New York-based Brazilian sculptor Fernando Carpaneda, who last December showed off a doll modeled after Russian artist/photographer Slava Mogutin that he had created as a response to international homophobes, is showing off a new doll based on Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

Check it out, AFTER THE JUMP (warning NSFW)...

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Ugandan Gay Activists Charged with Criminal Trespass

Three activists who were arrested last week after evading security to protest the lack of efforts toward gays at an HIV/AIDS conference at Imperial Royale Hotel in Uganda, have been charged with criminal trespass:

"The prosecutor, Emmanuel Ojambo, said the three sneaked into hotel room number 10 with intention to annoy and insult over 2,000 delegates conducting attending an HIV/AIDS conference at the hotel. The pro-gay activists carried placards emblazoned with, 'Gay Ugandans are also Ugandans', 'Gay Ugandans also need HIV prevention and care', 'Health is a fundamental human right, gay inclusive', 'Since 1983 to 2008 zero shillings for HIV prevention for Gays'. Ojambo said the suspects disrupted the meeting yet they had not been invited to attend it. The suspects called upon the participants to consider the plight of the gays in matters pertaining to HIV/AIDS. Their colleagues, David Kisule, Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera and Brian Kezera stood surety for them. Kanyange released them on court bond and ordered them to report to Buganda Road Court on June 20 for the hearing of their case."

Amnesty International has condemned the arrests and demanded their immediate release.

The criminal trespass charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison.

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Amnesty Demands Release of Gay Activists Arrested in Uganda

Three gay activists were arrested at a global HIV/AIDS meeting at the Imperial Royale Hotel in Uganda on Tuesday. They were part of a larger group but happened to make their way past security and into the meeting:

"A woman and two men beat the security detail and sneaked with placards and a 67-page document soliciting for funding of their activities in Uganda. The activists, now detained at Jinja Road Police Station, were identified as Pepe Juliana Onzema, a freelance journalist, Usaam Mukwaaya and Valantini Katende. Police spokesperson Simeo Nsubuga described them as intruders. 'We are looking at a case of criminal trespass against them. They are not delegates and were not invited. They did not have accreditation cards.' The suspects, he said, had placards calling on the participants to consider gays in the planning and prevention of HIV/AIDS. 'Gay Ugandans also need HIV prevention', read one placard. Another said: 'Since 1983 up to 2008 zero shillings to HIV prevention for gay Ugandans'."

Amnesty International has condemned the arrests and demanded that the activists be released:

"Amnesty said it was concerned for the safety of those arrested because of a 'history of harassment and degrading treatment' of gays by the police. The three got past security outside the conference and started distributing leaflets to delegates. A police spokesman said they could face charges of criminal trespass. But Amnesty UK director Kate Allen called for their immediate release. 'We consider these three to be prisoners of conscience, detained for their peaceful activism,' she said."

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News: Universal Fire, Clay Aiken, Uganda, Avenue Q, Greece

Gays disposable: Uganda says it will ignore gays in its HIV/AIDS prevention efforts because homosexuality is illegal. Instead, they'll focus on "other high risk groups such as sex workers, truck drivers, remote fishing communities and members of the armed forces."

A mother always knows...

Libertarian candidate Bob Barr's flip-flop on DOMA.

Utah parents seek criminal penalties against teacher who they say went too far in sex ed class: "The Jordan School District is investigating allegations that a seventh- and eighth-grade health teacher violated the sex education statute by responding to questions from students about topics beyond the core curriculum, including homosexual sex, oral sex and masturbation."

Colorado enacts non-discrimination law: "Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed legislation today prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, public accommodations, credit transactions, juror service, and other areas. The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Jennifer Veiga and state Rep. Joel Judd, expands existing laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, religion, disability, and other characteristics."

Anna Quindlen on same-sex marriage: love won.

Sex and the City rocks the box office with $55 million haul, sequel in the works. Writer Michael Patrick King signs first look deal wtih DreamWorks.

AfterElton announces its Hot 100.

Fire burns Universal Studios taking King Kong, Back to the Future, 40,000 film reels with it...

The L.A. Times takes a close look at the failed Harvey Milk film: "It will be a bittersweet time for Zadan and Meron. 'We recognize that, at the end of the day, it's business -- people make movies for a living,' says Zadan. "And when you work on a passion project, there's always the chance that you'll get your heart broken. I told Michael London, 'The only way I'll hate you is if you [mess] the movie up. It's Harvey's story and all we want is for someone to tell it well.'"

MTV Movie Awards: one feature-length movie trailer.

Tom Cruise has a housewarming party.

California clerk hopes to be first same-sex marriage: "For 18 years, Stephen Weir has been in charge of the office that hands out marriage licenses in California's ninth-largest county. And for just as long, Weir has been unable to get a license himself because the love of his life is a man...He and his partner, John Hemm, want to be first at the counter that day. They want to be the first to exchange vows and kisses in the conference room Weir converted into a wedding chapel that hosts 1,200 couples a year, but that he could never use."

Avenue Q to have 2000th performance on Broadway.

NYT publishes letters regarding Governor David Paterson's same-sex marriage decision: "When our oldest son, Benjamin, got married, he asked Jacob to be his best man. Then our son Joshua got married and again Jacob was his best man. When our daughter, Britta, married her dear Matthew, she didn’t have a maid of honor. She had a man of honor, and it was her brother Jacob. At each wedding, as Jacob stood by his siblings and signed the papers to make it legal, he did it knowing he did not have the right to marriage himself. As a mom, I find that hard to understand and heartbreaking to know it is true. How can this country treat people in such a way that something as basic as finding love and being married can be denied to a whole segment of society?"

Gays in Greece vow to wed despite threats of prosecution: Said Greece's supreme court attorney George Sanidas: "Neither civil law nor the country's constitution refer to gay marriages. If the Tilos mayor proceeds, he will have committed the criminal act of breach of duty."

Peter LaBarbera of "pro-family" group Americans for Truth made his annual visit to the International Mr. Leather weekend in Chicago. He just can't stay away!

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Two Men Suspected of Being Gay Arrested in Gambia

This isn't the country you want to be arrested in on suspicion of being gay, considering that two weeks ago Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced that he planned to "cut off the head" of any gay person.

The Point reports: "The police last Friday arrested two men believed to be homosexuals, this paper has been reliably informed. The two are reported to be Spanish nationals. Pere Joan, 56, and Juan Monpserratrusau, 54, held at Kotu police station, allegedly approached two taxi drivers (names withheld) and made proposals to them. Our sources said the drivers acted quickly but secretly by immediately alerting the police, while putting up a show of interest in the advances of the culprits who were lured to a rendezvous in Manjai, where they were subsequently arrested."

International gay rights groups last week condemned Jammeh's remarks.

In February, it was reported that gays were fleeing to The Gambia from surrounding Senegal, to avoid persecution from that government.

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Gambian President Announces Plans to Behead All Gays

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh yesterday issued a stern warning to gays and those who befriend them:

"Gambian President Yahya Jammeh says he will 'cut off the head' of any homosexual caught in his country. Addressing supporters at the end of his meet the farmers tour Sunday, Jammeh also ordered any hotel or motel housing homosexuals to close down, adding that owners of such facilities would also be in trouble. He said the Gambia was a country of believers, indicating that no sinful and immoral act as homosexual would be tolerated in the country. He warned all homosexuals in the country to leave, noting that a legislation 'stricter than those in Iran' concerning the vice would be introduced soon."

In February, it was reported that gays were fleeing to The Gambia from surrounding Senegal, to avoid persecution from that government.

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News: Tim Gill, Penis Thieves, Singapore, Anti-Gay T-shirt

Gay activist and philanthropist Tim Gill scaring the crap out of the religious right. Pat Robertson: "What are the Christians doing about this? The answer is 'absolutely zip'. There was an organization that I founded but it's not there anymore. To my knowledge, there is no other Christian grassroots organization that is even coming CLOSE to what Tim Gill is doing on the left for homosexuals."

Brazilian gay magazine DOM launches online.

Police arrest 13 men in the Congo for stealing and shrinking penises.

Toby Maguire gets his bear on.

Singapore's state-owned television station was fined $11,040 for broadcasting a program that featured a gay couple and their adopted child: " The Straits Times reported that Singapore's Media Development Authority said the episode of home and decor series Find and Design, in which the host helped the couple decorate a nursery, 'normalizes and promotes a gay lifestyle.' The pro-government newspaper said the censor had also objected to scenes of the couple and their baby as well as the host's acknowledgement of them as a family, because it broke a rule 'which disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamorize gay lifestyles.'"

Pittsburgh gay rights advocate Randal G. "Randy" Forrester dies of cancer at 60.

UK mother jailed for anti-gay abuse, daughter given supervision: "Canterbury magistrates heard the pair, both of The Halt, Whitstable, carried out a campaign of hate between 13 March and 17 May 2007. They called the men names and Reeves drove her car at one of them. The court was told that the pair began abusing Michael Harris and Shires Crichton, of Kingston, Kent, when both men sided with another neighbour in an ongoing dispute. During the sentencing, the chairman of the magistrates told Reeves: 'Although there was no evidence of violence, the psychological affect on the victims has been far reaching. In your case there are strong aggravating factors. Those factors are that you made homophobic gestures and remarks over an extended period and you showed no remorse.'"

Neil Patrick Harris opens up to Howard Stern about his sexuality.

Lipstick Jungle hottie Robert Buckley may want to use some sunscreen.

Cynthia Nixon making plans to marry.

Is Chace Crawford being gay framed on Craigslist?

Now that's a chest.

Greg Siff talks about his new play The Nothing Boys opening on May 3 in L.A.

Court rules that teen can wear "Be Happy, Not Gay" T-shirt, reversing two earlier rulings: "In issuing this reversal, though, the court basically upheld the validity of the Naperville school's rule forbidding derogatory comments, oral or written, that refer to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. 'High school students are not adults, schools are not public meeting halls, children are in school to be taught by adults rather than to practice attacking each other with wounding words, and school authorities have a protective relationship and responsibility to all the students,' says the court's opinion, written by Judge Richard Posner."

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Vanity Fair's 'Green Issue' Madonna Globe is Up for Auction

Anybody need the largest paperweight ever, or maybe that Atlas costume for next Halloween?

The globe, which took 10 days to complete, is made of plaster and marble dust with a recyclable polystyrene core, according to the magazine. It's going up for auction today with proceeds to benefit Madonna's Raising Malawi Charity. Madonna signed the globe as well and drew a heart over Africa.

And if you missed that video the other day, it's AFTER THE JUMP...

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Gay Nigerian Christian Leader Escapes Angry Death Mob

A gay Nigerian Christian leader was brutally beaten by an angry mob outside a funeral ceremony last week. He suspects that anti-gay efforts within the Anglican church were behind the attack.

Says the unnamed leader: "I am in total shock and living in fear while feeling the pains. I suffered in the hands of a mob group that attacked me at the Service of Songs for Davis’s late sister. While hymn singing was going on a muscular man walked up to me and asked me for a word outside the compound. The next thing I saw was a mob group who were there to attack me. They started slapping and punching me, kicked me on the ground and spat on me. I have never known fear like I knew when they were brutalizing me. I thought they were going to kill me there and then. While beating me they were shouting: ‘You notorious homosexual, you think can run away from us for your notorious group to cause more abomination in our land?’ Those who attacked me were well informed about us so I suspect an insider or one of the leaders of our Anglican church have hands in this attack."

According to Changing Attitude Nigeria, the thugs told him, "We will not rest until we silence you and any who join you to pollute the land with the abominable act of homosexuality. You are perverts who go around corrupting and inducting young people into our evil society. We will kill you and it will be a favour to the country."

According to the group, Archbishop Peter Akinola and the leaders of the Church of Nigeria have encouraged violence against LGBT people in the nation.

Gay Nigeria Christian Leader Narrowly Escapes Death in Brutal Attack [uk gay news]

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Arrests in Senegal over 'Gay Wedding', Publication of Photos

News coming out of Senegal on this is fairly sketchy but it seems several men were arrested following the publication of photos of an alleged 'gay wedding' ceremony in a local magazine.

The BBC reports: "The pictures were published in Icone magazine, whose editor, Mansour Dieng, has since received death threats. Mr Dieng has also been questioned by police over the issue...The BBC's Tidiane Sy in Senegal said that at least five of the men arrested appeared in the photographs. According to pro-government newspaper Le Soleil, the arrested men were all seized in 'a meeting house which could act as a brothel'. Police have not commented on the case but an official at the Department of Criminal Investigations told AFP news agency that an investigation was under way. The ceremony is believed to have involved a Senegalese man and another from Ghana or the Ivory Coast, who has not yet been found."

According to the BBC the editor published the photos to lend credibility to a prior article on homosexuality in the west African, predominantly Muslim country.

UPDATE: According to a notice issued by the The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) "At least 7 and perhaps as many as 20 gay men have been arrested in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, since the morning of Sunday 3 February after a popular local magazine, Icones, published photographs of a marriage ceremony between two Senegalese men. The wedding is believed to have taken place in a discrete location in Dakar more than a year-and-a-half ago. Sources report that the photographs were sold to the sensationalist magazine by the photographer for 1,500,000 ($3000) CFA francs. The arrests were reportedly undertaken upon the orders of Mr. Asane Ndoye, head of the Senegalese Police's Division of Criminal Investigation. It is unclear where the men and women are being held."

Arrests for Senegal 'gay wedding' [bbc]

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UN to Cut Scope of AIDS Epidemic by 6.3 Million Cases

UNAIDS, the agency of the United Nations which tracks HIV and AIDS worldwide, will issue a report today cutting "the number of people it believes are infected worldwide, to 33.2 million from the 39.5 million it estimated late last year," according to the New York Times:

"The statistical changes reflect more accurate surveys, particularly in India and some populous African countries. Some epidemiologists have criticized for years the way estimates were made, and new surveys of thousands of households in several countries have borne them out...Despite the revised estimates, the epidemic remains one of the great scourges of mankind. This week’s analysis predicts that 2.1 million people died of AIDS in the last year, and 2.5 million were newly infected — or about 6,800 every day."

As medicine improves, the number of people living with HIV is growing, although new infections are dropping and probably peaked around the turn of the millenium, experts say.

Said Daniel Halperin, an expert on H.I.V. infection rates at the Harvard School of Public Health: "...this doesn’t mean the epidemic is going away, everything is fine and now forget about it — not at all. There are still about 10 countries in southern Africa that are real nightmares."

U.N. to Say It Overstated H.I.V. Cases by Millions [nyt]

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Scientists: AIDS Came to U.S. from Haiti in 1969

A genetic analysis of stored blood samples has led scientists to conclude that the AIDS Virus was carried to Haiti from Africa in 1966, and then to America in 1969, most likely by a single infected person.

University of Arizona evolutionary biologist Michael Worobey told Reuters: "That one infection would have become two, and then it doubles again and the two becomes four. So you have a period -- probably a fair number of years -- where you're dealing with probably fewer than a hundred people who are infected. And then, as with epidemic expansion, at some point the hundred becomes 200, you start getting into thousands, tens of thousands. And then quite rapidly you can be up into the hundreds of thousands of infections that were probably already there before AIDS was recognized in the early 1980s."

The scientists studied samples from five early Haitian immigrants and international data on 117 early AIDS patients to make their determination.

Reuters reports: "The researchers virtually ruled out the possibility that HIV had come directly to the United States from Africa, setting a 99.8 percent probability that Haiti was the steppingstone...Studies suggest the virus first entered the human population in about 1930 in central Africa, probably when people slaughtered infected chimpanzees for meat. AIDS has killed more than 25 million people and about 40 million others are infected with HIV."

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News: Doris Lessing, Young Frankenstein, Madonna, Golden Compass

POLL: More than half of straight Americans want gays treated equally.

Major sex exhibit opens in London: "The first item on display is a 50 centimetre (20 inch) plaster fig leaf which was used to hide the private parts of Michelangelo's "David" from Queen Victoria in the 19th century."

Florida's Okeechobee County School Board bans "sex-based clubs" to halt formation of gay-straight alliance: "In a unanimous vote Tuesday, school board members adopted the policy that bans any club that is 'sex-based or based upon any sexual grouping, orientation or activity of any kind.' District officials have said the new policy, which takes effect immediately, aims to ban clubs that challenge the district's abstinence-only education."

National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Matt Foreman posts new op-ed on ENDA.

Madonna cuts $100 million+ deal with Live Nation. NYT: "The deal, which was first reported yesterday on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site, is the latest example of how tough times for record labels and concert promoters have set off a free-for-all over the rights to the various revenue streams created when a musician becomes a star. Instead of sharing in only one piece of the income — say, CD sales — companies are angling to share in all of an artist’s business lines, like publishing, merchandise sales and endorsement fees."

Young Frankenstein's Broadway transition experiences pre-opening controversy: "The latest members of the Down-on-Mel Club are some members of the Dramatists Guild - furious at him for not paying his dues - and a small but vocal group of gay people who work backstage and bristle at what they believe are some insensitive jokes in the show."

Bloggers in the backseat: David and Trent test drive Manhattan's newest cinematic experience.

REPORT: U.S. funding anti-gay groups in Africa.

Ricky Martin still fabulous.

Into the great wide open: three visitors have had to be rescued after falling into Doris Salcedo's gigantic crack at the Tate Modern. More on the vast crack that is "Shibboleth".

Doris Lessing wins 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Final trailer for The Golden Compass arrives.

Michelle Rodriguez sentenced to six months in prison.

Jeffrey Montgomery, director of Michigan's Triangle foundation, steps down after 16 years: "Spurred to bring awareness to anti-gay violence, he and two friends founded the advocacy group the Triangle Foundation in 1991, and Montgomery was suddenly a point person for the area's gay community. 'We were making enough noise to get noticed,' said Montgomery, who remembers living off his savings when the organization got started. Today, the Triangle Foundation is one of the state's leading gay rights and advocacy organizations with a $1 million budget and programming that ranges from victim services to camps for gay, lesbian and transgender youth."

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's aide says the translator at Columbia misquoted his remarks about gays: "'What Ahmadinejad said was not a political answer. He said that, compared to American society, we don’t have many homosexuals,' presidential media adviser Mohammad Kalhor said."

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News: Mr. Wizard, Diana, Katie Couric, Tom Wolfe, Mass Migration

"Mr. Wizard" dies at 89.

Princes Harry and William give U.S. interview about Diana. Harry: “I mean – so after it happened we were always, you know, always thinking about it. And there’s not a day goes by I don’t think, you know, that I don’t think about it once in the day. And so for us is a very slow and it’s a lot – it has been a long time. Over the last 10 years I personally feel as though she has been... she’s always there...She’s always being a constant reminder to both of us and everybody else. And therefore I think when you’re being reminded about it, it does take a lot longer and it’s a lot slower. It’s weird because I think when she passed away there was never that time, there was never that sort of lull. There was never that sort of peace and quiet for any of us – the fact that her face was always splattered on the paper the whole time.”

Provincetown begins archival undertaking to preserve its history.

Geri Halliwell trains with a beast.

CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves says sexism to blame for Katie Couric's low ratings on the CBS Evening News: "I’m sort of surprised by the vitriol against her. The number of people who don’t want news from a woman was startling...Some of our changes didn’t work. If TV news doesn’t want to go the way of the newspapers, which are declining rapidly, then we have to try change."

"Ex-gays" pissed that Montgomery County, Maryland is teaching kids that homosexuality is genetic: "According to the American Psychiatric Association, there are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific biological cause for homosexuality. But now the Montgomery County Board of Education has done what science and medicine could not do by declaring in its newly approved curriculum that homosexuality is "innate" or inborn. The board could not produce any factual evidence for what it will now teach students -- only political "pledges" and payoffs for last year's school board elections as claimed by gay rights activists."

Reichen flaunts the family jewels for gay jewelry line.

John Travolta's entire family stays up all night and sleeps during the day to avoid paparazzi, the actor says: "We're like the Addams family or the Munsters, living sort of an odd, nocturnal life. My kids probably stay up too late. My wife goes to bed around three, and I follow around seven. Right now, there's just you and me, and no one interfering in our space."

Horse drowns during county "dunking" tradition: "The animals are ridden bareback into the water. When their feet come off the ground, they begin to swim. Tradition dictates that the horse's head should be dunked beneath the surface before it is ridden on to dry land again. But this distressed animal is thought to have pulled away from its owner in a panic, lost its footing and possibly broken a leg. It sank beneath the water and re-emerged but its rider continued the ritual, dunking the horse's head under the water. Again, the animal disappeared, but did not surface again. Worried onlookers began a human chain to pull the horse to shore. But by the time it was brought to the bank, it was dead. The rider fled."

Massive wildlife migration discovered in Sudan: "More than a million animals, including elephants, buffaloes, ostriches, lions, giraffes and a rare type of stork, have been unexpectedly seen living and migrating across Southern Sudan, where no surveys of wildlife had been conducted for the past 25 years due to civil war in the region."

Tom Wolfe surprised to learn that Gus van Sant was directing an adaptation of his Ken Kesey chronicle The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Said Wolfe: "I'm really interested to see what they do," he said. "The biggest problem will be the LSD trips that can be done so much better in print than on film."

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Students Want Degree Back from Zimbabwean Leader Mugabe

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will have his honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts revoked if students have their way. The Undergraduate Student Senate plans to present a request to trustees of the university at their June board meeting.

Mugabe is "far from a person students should emulate" student senator Alex Kulenovic told the Boston Globe. In 1986, when the school awarded him the degree, Mugabe was outspoken against apartheid, but has since "turned his back" on that racial harmony and committed a string of human rights abuses in addition to spearheading the economic corruption that has left Zimbabwe with the highest inflation rate in the world.

The African leader is also well-known for his anti-gay activites and rhetoric. Last year, Mugabe threatened to arrest any clergy caught performing gay marriages in that country, saying "Leave whites to do that."

Said Michael Thelwell, a professor in the UMass Afro-American studies department who pushed for Mugabe's honorary degree in '86: He has degenerated as a political leader and as a human being. They gave it to the Robert Mugabe of the past, who was an inspiring and hopeful figure and a humane political leader at the time. The university has nothing to apologize for in giving a degree to the Robert Mugabe of 20 years ago. And they wouldn't imagine giving an honorary degree to the Robert Mugabe of today."

Still, the revocation of the degree could be a challenge as the university has no policy in place to do so.

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Ethiopian Church in AIDS Holy Water Brainwash

An Ethiopian Orthodox church just outside Addis Adaba claims its "holy water" has the power to cure AIDS. A British reporter says it's a scene which makes him think of the Holocaust:

"Naked men, women and children, some of them in chains to prevent them escaping, cower in front of the men in charge in a dimly-lit room in the church of St Mary on Mount Entoto....These people fear death, but they believe that coming here will prolong their lives. It is more likely to have the opposite effect...Every day, thousands of people with the virus come here to be 'baptised', though the act is performed without ceremony and in a way which seems brutal to outsiders. Plastic jerry cans are filled with water from a pool, and passed along a human chain to priests dressed like deep sea fishermen. The bright yellow waterproofs protect them from the drenching they administer to their congregation. They hurl the water over the mass of people kneeling in front of them who shriek and scream, either through devotion or the simple shock of the cold water hitting their naked flesh...Some cried out for the demons to leave their body, while priests hit them with wooden crosses. Many of them clutched their babies while the water was is shaken from the plastic containers. It is an extraordinary sight."

The brainwashing power of Orthodox religion at its worst.

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News: iPod Ban, Copenhagen, Royal Meeting, Kylie Minogue

A 38-year-old anti-gay French blogger who advocated the killing of "media personalities" and "government officials" whom he alleged were gay has been apprehended by authorities in Martinique. Officials did not name the man, who said he created the blog while on vacation in Atlanta. The blog called for "death to (homosexuals) . . . death without exception". There is no further information at this time except that he has been charged with "incitement of murder" and faces up to five years in prison and a $58,200 fine if convicted.

Amanda Lepore sparkles down the runway as Glinda the Good Witch.

Guy Ritchie, Madonna, and Prince Harry reportedly swapped African baby tales at Mayfair's Mahiki Club in London recently: "The unlikely threesome discussed Madonna and Guy’s adoption of African baby David Banda last October while knocking back £100-a-pop champagne Treasure Chest cocktails. The 21-year-old prince reportedly had tears in his eyes as he spoke to Ritchie at length about the orphans he has befriended in Africa."

Now hear this: New York Senator Carl Kruger introduces bill to ban iPods, cell phones, and other electronic devices in city crosswalks.

Surf's up again for Matthew McConaughey.

Drag queen to herald Copenhagen, Denmark as a "gay utopia".

Blogger Tricky reports from opening night at the Kylie Minogue exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Sexing up the male athlete: "One reason behind the apparent ease with which athletes abroad show off for their gay fans may be that they don't perceive their behavior to be particularly gay-oriented in the first place."

Priest in Victoria, British Columbia accuses Bishop of lying about dismissal of church employee based on his sexual orientation: "The church has been in an uproar over the resignation of parish administrator John Oetter on Dec. 29 and the loss of the well-liked Favero three weeks later. Hundreds of parishioners have attended meetings and sent letters to the bishop asking for an apology and for the reinstatement of Favero and Oetter. Some church members are so upset they are threatening to withhold their financial contributions to the church. Yesterday, Favero said the problem began in May when a handful of influential people complained to Gagnon, the bishop of Victoria and the Island, that Oetter was gay."

Report: Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg to perform "Dick in a Box" together at Madison Square Garden.

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News: Gaysted, McFly, Grace Kelly, Molly Ivins, Al Franken

Columnist Molly Ivins has died of cancer at 62: Tribute: "But there was more to Molly Ivins than insightful political commentary packaged in an aw-shucks Southern charm. In the coming days, much will be made of Molly's contributions to the liberal cause, how important she was as an authentic female voice on opinion pages across the country, her passionate and eloquent defense of the poorest and the weakest among us against the corruption of the most powerful, and the joy she took in celebrating the uniqueness of American culture -- and all of this is true. But more than that, Molly Ivins was a woman who loved and cared deeply for the world around her. And her warm and generous spirit was apparent in all her words and deeds."

Princess Stephanie of Monaco says her late mother Grace Kelly would have approved of pop star Mika's chart-topping song referencing her: "He is very talented and handsome and I'm sure my mother would have liked the song very much." Said Mika of the icon: "The song is all about identity and what people expect of me and how I'm perceived. I think Grace Kelly was a rebel and I liked that about her, rather than actresses like Audrey Hepburn or Sophia Loren." (more on Mika...)

Aussie Olympian Ian Thorpe and Lachlan Murdoch team up to fight AIDS in Papua New Guinea: "Thorpe says the disease threatens to wipe out up to 30 per cent of PNG's future workforce. 'We've listened to what the local interests are, to what's required here,' he said. 'It's wonderful to be able to see Australian businesses and PNG businesses coming together.' The business coalition launch raised close to $1 million in pledges."

African LGBT leaders angry that British activist Peter Tatchell and his group Outrage! are getting into their business.

Brit boyband McFly takes it off in the new Attitude.

Gaysted: "Heterosexual people getting so wasted, they slip into seemingly gay acts. The loose definition: It is when you are soooo drunk (wasted) and dudes start dancing with you and you just sort of go along with it and then they start putting their arms around you and you just kind of keep rolling with it because you're drunk and you sort of think the dude is being your dancefloor bro, but then when you sober up you realize that the situash is sort of weird. when this happens, you tell your friends, 'dude, i got so gaysted last night.'"

Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley gets ready to offer fashion commentary on Oscar's red carpet.

High school wrestler from Valentine, Nebraska who spread Herpes to 24 guys on 10 different teams at a wrestling meet in late December not likely to have a valentine this year. (via deadspin)

Al Franken to run for U.S. Senate from Minnesota: "In a statement, Minnesota Republican Party Chairman Ron Carey said he was confident Minnesotans 'will reject Franken's divisive, scorched-earth attacks.' The state Democratic Party declined to comment. Should he win the Democratic primary in Minnesota, Franken would take on Republican Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record), a first-term senator who is among the Democrats' top targets. Coleman declined to comment Wednesday."

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Archbishop Desmond Tutu Blasts Anglican Church Over Gay Rift

Archbishop Desmond Tutu blasted the African Anglican Church on Friday over its rift with the Episcopal branch and its positions on gay clergy. The African Anglicans are reportedly refusing to sit at a table with Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori at a global Anglican meeting in Tanzania next month.

Said Tutu: "I am deeply disturbed that in the face of some of the most horrendous problems facing Africa, we concentrate on 'what do I do in bed with whom'. For one to penalise someone for their sexual orientation is the same as penalising someone for something they can do nothing about, like ethnicity or race. I cannot imagine persecuting a minority group which is already being persecuted. The God I worship would not consider that [gay clergy] to be a priority concern."

Tutu added that "churches should instead be thinking about poverty, HIV/AIDS and conflict resolution."

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