News: Spencer Tunick, Bijou, Michelle Bachmann, Bullying, Otters

Washington Post calls for protection of Washington Blade's historic archives: "Every effort should be made to keep the archive accessible to researchers and historians." Closure raises questions...More from Gay City News...

Photographer Spencer Tunick seeks gays and lesbians for mass Sydney Mardi Gras nude shoot: “I want someone who is straight to lie peacefully naked next to someone who is gay. I think the act, not only making the work, but the act itself is a calming of the senses.”

If a gay man calls you an otter, is this what he's referring to?

Sirdeaner Walker and two other mothers urge Massachusetts lawmakers to pass anti-bullying bill.

Charges dropped in Perez Hilton assault case: "Black Eyed Peas manager Liborio Molina apologized to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton as part of an agreement allowing assault charges against him to be dropped, lawyers said Wednesday. 'I apologize for what I did on June 22 of 2009, even though you engaged in highly offensive comments ... I acknowledge that these kinds of issues should not be resolved through a physical response,' the apology read. Hilton told The Associated Press in an e-mail he was happy Molina had accepted responsibility for his actions."

The Insider goes on Levi Johnston's photo shoot.

Man found dead in Bijou theater in Chicago.

CREW: Michelle Bachmann's teabagger rally may have violated House rules. "Bachmann's site urged people to come to the Capitol rally 'and tell their Representatives to vote no' on the health-care reform bill. House rules prohibit members from using their sites -- which are funded by taxpayers -- to conduct 'grassroots lobbying or solicit support for a Member's position.' CREW also alleges that Bachmann and her allies may have violated other House rules by holding a rally without a permit. News reports suggest the event's organizer's made an effort to call it a press conference, for which a permit wouldn't be needed. But no questions were asked at the event, and in a TV interview beforehand, Bachmann urged supporters 'to come to Washington, D.C. by the car load.'"

Beyond Gay: Lesbian and gay man attempt to get it on in sequel to Humpday.

ChurchOuting: Site outs closeted Catholic priests.

The spy who loved him: Trial of gay spy and Macedonian interpreter/lover, to whom he leaked classified secrets, grips Germany. "Spiegel magazine reported that this included information obtained by British agents, and that K. revealed it 'in the bedroom' or by allowing his lover access to his laptop computer. The latter 'then intended to pass this information on either to people in the area of organised crime in Macedonia or to foreign intelligence agencies,' federal prosecutors said. For the defence, however, the two men are victims of a homophobic witch-hunt within the BND, which since the affair broke has reportedly been forced to sever contacts with at least 19 information sources in the Balkans."

Vman celebrates legendary male models.

Rosie O'Donnell: Partner Kelli Carpenter moved out two years ago.

Seven tips for dissolving gay unions.

Gay Philippine party Ladlad appeals to elections board for reconsideration.

Police use taser on 10-year-old girl: "According to a report filed by Bradshaw on Thursday, the officer found the girl on the floor of the house screaming and crying. She refused to follow her mother's instructions and the mother told Bradshaw to use his Taser. Bradshaw carried the girl to the living room and told her she was going to jail, according to the report. The girl was violently kicking, the report said, and struck Bradshaw in the groin with her legs and feet. The report said Bradshaw administered a 'very, very brief' stun with the Taser, put the girl in handcuffs and carried her to his patrol car. She was taken to the Western Arkansas Youth Shelter in Cecil."

News: Germany, Belmont Rocks, Rent, Dot Gay, Uganda, Polar Bears

Website devoted to raid on Atlanta Eagle bar launches.

Health care: Pelosi publicly whipping on robust public option?

SPACE: A giant hole found in the Moon, the youngest and most distant galaxy cluster ever recorded, and a stunning map of exploration of our solar system.

News anchor finds himself in a remake of The Birds.

Boston gays to protest Obama this weekend.

PFOX urges libraries to carry books about the "ex-gay" movement.

Jack Mackenroth slams Oprah over HIV show.

Utah Catholic high school defends production of Rent: "Sister Catherine Kamphaus, superintendent of schools in the Salt Lake City diocese, said she read the script at the request of Bishop John Wester, and she watched a dress rehearsal Tuesday. 'There is absolutely nothing that would be offensive,' Kamphaus said Thursday. 'It wasn't condoning the gay and lesbian lifestyle.' Rather, she said, the play shows friends forming a loving and caring community while facing AIDS and other challenges."

Homophobic Daily Mail writer Jan Moir was thrilled to be in spotlight over Gately death.

San Diego gay man says attack in Hillcrest area was hate crime.

Producers shaft the hot dude on Melrose Place.

Time capsule: Chicago's Belmont Rocks.

Tom Cruise: American Psycho.

Report: International transgender community at higher risk in counterterrorism operations. "The report, by noted International Law Professor Martin Sheinin, concludes that because security personnel regularly seek out men 'dressed as women' as potential terrorists, soldiers often target all men in female clothing — including those who do so as part of their gender identity. This is particularly the case in Middle Eastern/Islamic nations — or against Middle Eastern/Islamic people.' Enhanced immigration controls that focus attention on male bombers who may be dressing as females to avoid scrutiny make transgender persons susceptible to increased harassment and suspicion,' the report says."

Coalition releases statement condemning anti-gay bill in Uganda.

UK's first gay tourism office opens in London's Soho district.

Obama administration sets aside 200,000 acres in Alaska for Polar Bears.

Model Paul Sculfor shoots gay scene in Madrid.

The Dot Gay Alliance has competition from a straight German man in Riga, Latvia: "While both groups have left open the possibility of cooperating, they haven’t yet joined forces. Both groups say they plan on starting the application process with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or Icann, to create top-level domains, akin to .com, .edu, .org and .net."

German high court backs pensions for gay married couples: "A failure to give gay partners the same benefits infringes the basic right to equal treatment, the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said. The decision nullified an earlier ruling from the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) regarding a Hamburg man who has been a public servant since 1991 with a supplementary pension. The public-sector pension company VBL – the largest such company in the nation – refused to give the man married status, despite the fact that he’d been living in a registered civil union for eight years. This meant that his retirement benefits would be €74 less each month, and his partner would receive no surviving dependants’ pension in the event of his death."

News: Irving Penn, Blood Donation, Jesus Luz, Moon Impact, Poe

Impact of Moon by probe to be broadcast live on NASA TV tomorrow morning.

Photographer Irving Penn dies at 92.

Madonna buying posh Upper East Side apartment for Jesus Luz.

Gay travel agents converge on Tel Aviv.

Tracklist for Susan Boyle album includes Madonna and The Monkees.

Teen talk: My parents don't know my boyfriend's parents are gay. "My mom is asking to meet Robby's 'mom and dad.' She has spoken with one of Robby's dads on the phone but she doesn't know another dad exists. I don't want this to come between my parents and Robby. Should I just break up with him now and avoid doing this or lie and tell my mom that his parents don't want to meet?"

WATCH: OneRepublic's video for "All the Right Moves".

Levi Johnston workout photos.

Self-assessment, right of gays to donate blood at issue in Canadian court case: "Kyle Freeman, 36, relied on his own self-assessment that he wasn't infected with any sexually transmitted diseases when he lied about having sex with men on a donor-screening questionnaire...Freeman is suing the agency, claiming he didn't answer the question truthfully because Canadian Blood Services violated his Charter right to equality regardless of his sexual orientation when it asked him whether he had ever had sex with other men, even once, since 1977. The discovery Freeman had syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease that can damage the heart, brain and eyes if left untreated, was made only after Canadian Blood Services screened his donated blood."

Mika plays with puppets on Spanish TV.

Dozens join lawsuit against Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito.

15 gay TV characters who never came out of the closet but should have.

Edgar Allen Poe to get funeral he never had: "On Sunday, Poe's funeral will get an elaborate do-over, with two services expected to draw about 350 people each - the most a former church next to his grave can hold. Actors portraying Poe's contemporaries and other long-dead writers and artists will pay their respects, reading eulogies adapted from their writings about Poe."

The superheroes of your dreams.

Several prominent Twin Cities religious leaders speak out for marriage equality: "Retired Bishop Lowell Erdahl of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Rabbi Jared Saks of Temple Israel in Minneapolis are among those speaking at a Capitol news conference."

Poll: "Whatever" is most annoying conversational word.

Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins Nobel Prize for Literature: "Announcing the award in Stockholm, the Swedish Academy described Ms. Müller, 'who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed.' Her award comes on the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Europe."

News: Honduras, Tom DeLay, Chicago, R-71, Jude Law, Saturn

Anti-gay right now targeting Chai Feldblum, President Obama's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) nominee.

Anti-gay Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito (accused in 21 federal suits of trumping up bogus charges against gay and lesbian motorists) busted by dash cam: "In dash cam video from Fiorito's squad car, he is shown conducting field sobriety tests against a driver, Michael Vaughn. In each of the tests, Vaughn performed 'perfectly...yet Fiorito noted in the official report that Vaughn had failed them."

WATCH: Tom DeLay performs the Samba with stress fractures on both feet (he says).

The Advocate talks to Rep. Patrick Murphy about gays in the military.

The fashion police are watching Jake Gyllenhaal's every move.

Jude Law takes New York stage in Hamlet. Review.

Disney gone beefcake.

Boston DJ Barry Scott wants new trial in unnecessary force case against Provincetown police.

Poll: R-71 has narrow lead in Washington state: "Among men, the measure is rejected by a 4-point margin; among women, it is approved by 12 points — a 16-point gender gap. 72% of Republicans say they will vote to reject; 72% of Democrats say they will vote to approve; independents reject by a 13-point margin. In Metro Seattle, the measure is approved by 18 points; in Eastern Washington, it is rejected by 18 points. Western Washington voters outside of Metro Seattle are more divided, with an 8-point margin voting against the referendum."

Welsh-based Muslim actor takes on gay role in new film, Colonial Gods: "I am a Muslim but I approached the project in a professional manner, as I hope most actors would."

Mad Men's Bryan Batt denies he's getting married.

More sickening speech from Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), this time on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".

Elizabeth Taylor to undergo heart surgery.

UK conservative Tory party throws gay club night: "Protesters gathered outside with placards reading 'Queers against Tories', outraged that the party had crashed Manchester’s gay scene. Inside, hundreds packed two dancefloors and a roof terrace."

Turkey shuts down gay and lesbian internet communities: "The Web sites have more than 200,000 members combined. According to its administrators and members, the sites do not contain any pornographic or criminal content. The directorate blocked the sites without providing any information to the owners or issuing a demand to take down certain content, site mangers said, calling the action unlawful and arbitrary."

Massive ring discovered around Saturn.

LGBT people at greater risk in Honduras following coup: "Groups that were vulnerable to human rights abuses before the coup face even more risk now. Since the coup, for example, there have been six murders of gay men or transvestites, according to gay rights groups. Until 2008, the average number of such killings each year was three to six."

T.R. Knight receives standing O at Parade opening.

Volunteers hit Maine to campaign for marriage equality: "A No on 1 coordinator Darlene Huntress says the campaign initially was asking Mainers to take time off from their jobs to volunteer. 'Then we started getting you know hundreds of calls and e-mails from folks around the country who  also feel invested in this and we sort of folded our Maine volunteer vacation program and kind of extended it out to other folks in the country that wanted to come and help.' Huntress says that out-of-staters make up just a tiny fraction of the 1,000-plus volunteers on the ground, but that the campaign can use all the help it can."

News: George Michael, Moon, Sonia Sotomayor, Iraq, Dinosaurs

George Michael denies split with partner Kenny Goss.

NASA probe takes aim at Moon.

D.C. police investigating man's death at "JO party": "The organizer of the men's parties, who asked that he be identified only as David, said the victim appears to have fallen on a cement floor in the basement of the house about 5 a.m. and possibly hit his head on a metal pipe or a brick wall. He said he does not believe the victim fell down a flight of stairs, as some have speculated in postings on Craigslist."

Gossip Girl ménage à trois in the works.

Chicago police officer Richard Fiorito trumped up charges against gays and lesbians, video shows.

Shepard Fairey and the art of the election to be featured in new book, Manifest Hope.

WATCH: Joe the Plumber's stand-up comedy routine.

Florida student teased for being gay breaks, assaults another student: "He said he had been teased for two days and that he was upset and lost control. He said he was sorry if he hurt anybody, but when he gets angry he cannot control himself and that it runs in the family, according to his Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office report."

David Beckham hangs out with his in-laws.

Spice Girls plotting reunion?

New York magazine takes a lengthy look at the danger faced by gays in Iraq.

Gavin Newsom struggling with fundraising in California gubernatorial bid?

Former Boston City Councillor sues police department, alleging gay bashing following sting over liaison with teen.

Sharon Lettman named Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition.

Largest ever dinosaur footprints found in France: "Imprints measuring up to 2 metres (6ft 6in) in diameter and stretching over a vast area of land have been uncovered near the village of Plagne, 30 miles west of Geneva, according to the National Centre of Scientific Research. In a statement, the centre said the significance of the prints could not be overestimated. 'According to the researchers' initial work, these tracks are the biggest ever seen,' it said."

Sonia Sotomayor begins work as SCOTUS justice: "in the two cases on the docket, she asked as many questions and made as many comments as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. The only sign of her newness was that she at times forgot to turn on her microphone before posing a question."

Backstage with Rufus Wainwright at last night's benefit for New York's Ali Forney Center.

David Letterman apologizes on air to wife and staff.

Tasmania to allow same-sex couples to register relationship.

Whitney Houston to join Desperate Housewives?

Dr. Erik Steele on marriage equality in Maine: "In the end, though, gay marriage is not about marriage or teenagers, and it is not even about gays as much as it is about us. Over the last 250 years, Americans have slowly chipped away the bias and ignorance used to deprive almost every American except wealthy, white men of equal standing before the law. The right of civil marriage for gays is about continuing that same march toward 'one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.' You cannot oppose it without betraying American values and the rights hard won for you by those victims of prejudice in almost every family tree who fought in their time for the rights we have in ours."

Wingnut: Chicago Lost Olympics Because of 'Demonic Gay Agenda'

Here's another big bag of crazy.

"Ex-gay" "Christian" activist James Hartline lays out the real reasons Chicago failed to get the 2016 Olympics. Chicago failed because Mayor Daley approved the Gay Games in 2006, which was a staging gesture for the Olympics. Chicago also failed because Hartline and homophobic wingnut Matt Barber were "attacked" while preaching hate at the 2006 Gay Games in the Windy City, causing God to unleash a force upon the city's "demonic gay agenda":

"Because former homosexual James Hartline and the other Christians were willing to risk their lives for the Gospel while the world was glorifying homosexuality in Chicago, the Spirit of the Lord was released upon Chicago's demonic gay agenda in 2006. The Spirit of the Lord began contending with the anti-christ spirit inside the City of Chicago from that day forward. Thus, when President Barack Obama, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and their armies of gay activist supporters in Boys Town attempt to square the reasons for their failure to garner an Olympic Bid for the Windy City, they had better recount the day that the Wind of the Holy Spirit was emparted into Chicago in 2006."