Cuddle Up with HIV, Syphilis, and Gonorrhea?

A UK company, Giant Microbes, is offering a wide variety of viruses as plush toys. Above, HIV.

Syphilis and gonorrhea cuddly toys, AFTER THE JUMP...

Also available: "The Common Cold, The Flu, Sore Throat, Stomach Ache, Brain Cell, E. coli, Kissing Disease, Ulcer, Black Death, Ebola, Flesh Eating, Sleeping Sickness, Dust Mite, and Bed Bug.

News: Alex Sink, Kuwait, The Who, Gerard Butler, Sydney, Universe

Paper: Two same-sex marriages have been conducted in Kuwait, under strict security.

OUT100 announced.

Goth strippers: Cast for Adam Lambert's "For Your Entertainment" video revealed.

Wingnut rally today over hate crimes: "The Rally for Religious Freedom is meant to raise alarm over the nation's new Federal 'hate crimes' law just passed by Congress and signed last month by President Obama. The intention of the rally is to assert the freedom of speech of ministers and Christians in general to declare biblical truth in the public square. The Rally will also expose the unconstitutional nature of the hate law. Ministers from various denominations will preach from the Bible, especially those parts that speak to the sin of homosexuality. This will serve to reassure ministers and Christians that they are free to do the same."

Advocates express optimism on New York marriage equality.

Complete unknowns The Who to play Super Bowl.

I See You: Leona Lewis to try and duplicate Celine Dion success by singing James Horner-produced theme song from James Cameron's Avatar.

Gerard Butler is dressed to kilt in Glasgow.

Florida gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink says state's ban on gay adoption must go: "We need a system in which all of our children are assured that they live in a healthy, loving home -- a home that's determined not by any law. The decision has to be made by the judge, in consultation with the experts, to determine what is the best for that individual child.

Virgin Airlines gets behind Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Frank Bruni on Ellen & Portia.

Thinking about changing your name if you get married?: "Since the federal government doesn’t recognize the right to same-sex marriage, even if you get married in a state that allows it, whether you can get the name change processed by Social Security or the passport office merely with the marriage certificate and required forms currently tends 'to be hit and miss,' said Emily Doskow, an attorney in California who specializes in same-sex and transgender family issues..."

Madonna visits slums and billionaires in Rio.

Streaming stars: Scientists find signs of a neighboring universe?

Equality California honors Attorney General Jerry Brown for efforts to overturn Prop 8.

Corpus Christi: Terrence McNally play depicting gay Jesus sparks protest in Orange County.

Former Mr. Gay UK, police officer Mark Carter, says he suffered homophobic abuse after winning competition: "In particular, he detailed how - when attending the scene of a domestic violence incident in 2005 - a gang circled him and began shouting homophobic abuse. 'I could hear shouts of 'queer' and 'faggot',' he said. But despite his instincts, he never called for back-up for fear of retribution. 'I didn't want to call for back-up and put other officers in danger because I didn't like the insults they were throwing at me. But deep down I knew it was wrong,' he said to the BBC."

A $17 million grant has been awarded to Igor Grant, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, and his colleagues by theNational Institute on Drug Abuse to study the epidemic of meth use and HIV.

Male model fix: Arthur Sales.

Gay community in Philippines mulls protest rally following gay party's rejection by the elections commission.

Media Matters has the anti-gay goods on Palin ghostwriter Lynn Vincent: "In her many years writing for World, Vincent has authored several columns on gay rights issues, frequently deriding gay men and lesbians as abnormal and 'devian[t],' often trafficking in hackneyed stereotypes of the gay community. Vincent even went so far as to lament the American Psychiatric Association's decision to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder, and she also wrote that the struggle for gay rights differs from that for African-American civil rights and women's suffrage, in that it will not "benefit society at large."

News: Donnie McClurkin, Purdue, Guidos, Cheesecake Factory

Longtime HIVAIDS activist Howard Jacobs dies in L.A. at 45.

The surface of Mars as revealed by orbiter.

New MTV reality series to feature Jersey shore house "full of the hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos."

Purdue students protest professor Bert Chapman's blog post arguing the "economic case against homosexuality". Chapman: "As a conservative Christian, I firmly believe the homosexual lifestyle is morally wrong, and my blog posting sought to emphasize there are economic and public policy implications to widespread and open acceptance of this lifestyle."

10-year-old refuses to say Pledge of Allegiance until there is liberty and justice for gays.

Marriage equality in Connecticut one year later: "Fully half of the gay and lesbian couples who wed in Connecticut were from other states or other countries. They came from South Dakota, Mississippi, Russia, Hawaii, Costa Rica and Israel, among other far-flung locales. But above all, they came from New York: 455 Empire State couples traveled to Connecticut to marry."

Balloon boy family to plead GUILTY to hoax.

High school band marches in Palm Springs Gay Pride parade.

Human Rights Campaign throws support behind Kirsten Gillibrand: "From her personal lobbying of the New York legislature in support of marriage rights to helping garner support for a Senate hearing on repealing 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,' Gillibrand has time and again stood for fairness for all."

Corpus Christi, the Terrence McNally play featuring a gay Jesus, to be mounted in Orange County, California.

Remember the homoerotic Cheesecake Factory hazings from July 2008? The case has been settled, in the amount of $345,000.

And he only gets better with age.

PREVIEW: Rihanna's Rated R.

Jon Stewart catches Sean Hannity using Glenn Beck's "enhanced crowd" teabagger march footage. Hannity, although it "pained him," admitted Stewart was right.

Kim Kardashian fitted with prosthetic face.

Gore Vidal: a life in pictures.

Reverend Donnie McClurkin goes off on gays: ""God did not call young people to such perversion. Society has failed him, his church has failed him ... I would be homosexual to this day if Jesus hadn't delivered."

Title and summary for Prop 8 repeal ballot language to be released next week: "As soon as the approval is given, the Restore Equality 2010 campaign will have 150 days to collect approximately 700,000 valid pen and ink signatures by voters registered in California. To account for the invalid signatures that are bound to show up on the forms, the Restore Equality 2010 campaign is aiming to collect 1 million signatures within the 150 day timeframe."

News: Venezuela, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Chapel Hill, Mormons

Marriage Equality New York holding rally tonight to protest anti-gay vote in Maine: "Please join us at a rally on Nov 4th in Union Square on 14th Street side at 5:30pm urging the NYS Senate to vote and in response to the votes on marriage equality across the United States."

50 Cent is a power ______.

Venezuelan police harassing and arresting LGBT citizens: "Like most of those arrested, our identity documents and mobile phones were taken away, we were beaten, our sexual orientation was insulted in degrading language, and we were refused permission to speak to the Justice Ministry officials and members of the National Guard who were present."

Mark Kleinschmidt becomes openly gay mayor of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Just Jared interviews Glee's Mark Salling.

Author details how Tom Cruise personally audited him for Scientology: "You tell the ashtray, 'Sit in that chair.' Then you actually go over and put the ashtray on the chair. Then you tell the ashtray, 'Thank you.' Then you do the same thing with the bottle, and the book. And you do this for hours and hours."

Fort Worth, Texas task force makes recommendations on expansion of gay rights in the city: "Jon Nelson, an attorney and chairman of the task force, called the recommendations 'one of the most far-reaching actions this city has taken, in the shortest amount of time.'"

Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell, who refused to marry an interracial couple, has resigned.

Female Spectacled Bears suddenly go bald in Leipzig.

Carrie Prejean - Miss California USA settlement details revealed: "We've learned the Pageant will fork over around $100,000 for Carrie's lawyers and publicists connected with the public battle royale. That money goes directly to her flacks and not into her bank account. We're told Carrie personally gets zilch. What Carrie walks away with: Her book comes out on Monday and we're told the Pageant won't fight her for writing it without its permission."

Sean Penn's son arrested at school.

Blu Dot tracks NYC abandoned chairs in "curb-mining" experiment.

Foundation for Reconciliation to deliver 2,000 signatures to Mormon leaders: "About 50 people are expected to deliver the petition to the offices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Wednesday. Organizer Cheryl Nunn of Santa Cruz, Calif., says the petition is a reaction to the Salt Lake City-based church's support for Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot initiative that banned gay marriage in California."

Brad Pitt dresses up his beard with beads.

Facebook: the movie?

Seattle gay rights pioneer Paul Barwick reflects on applying for a marriage license in King County, Washington in 1971: We knew they weren't going to give us one, but damn it, they were going to have to tell us no to escort us out the door."

Early marriage equality advocates?

Gay Annapolis alderman candidate to file complaint over gay 'child molester' smears.

Dallas Morning News corrects article labeling OUT and The advocate "alternative lifestyle magazines."

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison recommends gay man as U.S. Attorney: "Some Republicans are vehemently and unapologetically not ready for that. That could make it even harder for Hutchison to woo social conservatives in her bid to outflank and oust Gov. Rick Perry in March. "

Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga to hawk MAC lipstick for AIDS fund: "MAC Viva Glam Gaga Lipstick and Viva Glam Cyndi Lipstick, $14 each, will launch in North America on March 18 and globally throughout the month, with 100 percent of the proceeds being donated to the MAC AIDS Fund."

Gay HIV-Positive Detroit-Area Man Ordered to Stand Trial for Biting Neighbor and Using Virus 'As a Weapon'

Daniel Allen (below, right), a gay man from Clinton Township, Michigan, was ordered to stand trial yesterday for "using HIV as a weapon" during a fight with his neighbor Winfred Fernandis, Jr. (above). Allen reportedly bit Fernandis:

"Allen, 44, told reporters last week that he is HIV positive and admitted to biting his neighbor, Winfred Fernandis Jr., after neighborhood kids tossed a football into his yard. Fernandis, 28, was hospitalized after the attack. Police say Allen bit him through the lip, on the ear, nose and neck. It was a matter of self defense, according to Allen, who says Fernandis and his family attacked him because he is gay. 'I am still maintaining my client is the victim of a hate crime,' Allen's attorney said, per the Detroit News. 'He will be exonerated. This is the very first battle in what I think is going to be a long war.'' He (Allen) knew he was HIV-positive, and he bit the guy,' Judge Linda Davis said in her ruling today. 'That on its own shows intent.' Davis also ordered Allen submit to a blood test to verify his HIV status."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Watch: Obama Signs Ryan White Act, Lifts 'Fear'-Based Ban on Travel and Immigration for People with HIV

UPDATED

Earlier today, President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Act and lifted the HIV Travel and Immigration ban.

Said Obama: "Twenty-two years ago, in a decision rooted in fear rather than fact, the United States instituted a travel ban on entry into the country for people living with HIV/AIDS.  Now, we talk about reducing the stigma of this disease -- yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat.  We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic -- yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country. If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it.  And that's why, on Monday my administration will publish a final rule that eliminates the travel ban effective just after the New Year.  Congress and President Bush began this process last year, and they ought to be commended for it.  We are finishing the job.  It's a step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment, it's a step that will keep families together, and it's a step that will save lives. "

A transcript of Obama's remarks and the video, AFTER THE JUMP...