News: Chile, Gavin Newsom, Connecticut, Marcia Brady, Sharks

Majority in Connecticut support same-sex marriage ruling: "Fifty-three percent of Connecticut residents support Friday's historic ruling by the state Supreme Court that legalizes gay marriage, while 42 percent of residents polled said they do not."

ONE Archives to open first museum dedicated to LGBT history in West Hollywood: "The museum -- really a micro-museum at 600 square feet -- has set a macro goal for itself: to bring little-known aspects of gay history out of the library closet and into the public sphere. The museum is an offshoot of the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, which is affiliated with USC. The old magazine covers dedicated to gay marriage come from ONE magazine, the first gay publication in the country."

Marcia Brady's tell-all confession: I was addicted to coke and quaaludes, had sex for drugs, dated Michael Jackson, had two abortions, bulimia, and almost lost my virginity to Greg Brady.

Karl Lagerfeld just bought a six-bedroom, 1840 landmark house on an island on Lake Champlain, Vermont.

Bush supporter Dennis Hopper: I pray Obama wins.

MEAT: Gerard Butler opens BBQ in Hollywood.

Damien Hirst tops list of powerful people in the art world: "Hirst is also a good example of how contemporary art reflects modern life. Like our shopping centres, our art world is dominated by superbrands: Hirst in Europe, Jeff Koons in America and the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami (whose recent American retrospective included a Louis Vuitton boutique selling Murakami-designed fashionwear)." [LIST]

Shark blood offers hope for cancer.

Kenya's elephants now text message conservationists before raiding villages: "Kenya is the first country to try elephant texting as a way to protect both a growing human population and the wild animals that now have less room to roam. Elephants are ranked as 'near threatened' in the Red List, an index of vulnerable species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature."

Australia debates the merits of mantyhose.

SF Mayor Gavin Newsom has become the single-best tool for same-sex marriage ban backers: "His pictures have become the rallying cry for Prop. 8. It's unfortunate for him, and it's unfortunate for the anti-Prop. 8 campaign. I don't know that I would change his behavior, because he's representing his constituency, and he's been totally consistent in his position. But he's become everyone's worst nightmare."

L.A.: Stars come out to Skybar to defeat Prop 8. "Chad Allen, Eric McCormack, Dana Delaney, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Thomas Roberts, Katherine Joosten, Loni Anderson, Heather Tom, and Eduardo Xol who were among the celebrities there to raise money for 'No on 8 - Equality California.'"

TOUR: Britney Spears will take her show on the road this spring.

Chilean gay rights group steps up against Catholic bishop and Evangelicals: "MOVILH strongly criticized Bishop Juan Ignacio González Errázuriz, whose San Bernardo Diocese is located just south of Santiago, for writing a public letter urging Chileans not to vote in this month's city elections for candidates who support granting certain rights to gay and lesbian couples...MOVILH also is up in arms about a Saturday conference held by the Isacar Movement, a network of Evangelical professionals. Isacar called the conference to address the so-called Anti-Discrimination Law currently under consideration in Chile's congress."

The least attractive photo of The O.C.'s Benjamin McKenzie you'll likely ever see.

SPOILER: Meet Mad Men's new gay character.

Producing duo acquire rights to French-Canadian comedy Taxi 0-22: "The two will be shopping an American version of the series, which centers on Rogatien Dubois, an outspoken and politically incorrect taxi driver. A modern-day Archie Bunker type, Dubois wrestles with his many prejudices and the fact that his 20-year-old son is gay."

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News: Asteroid, Dennis Quaid, Bullying, Oprah, Chile, Pope

Pope's New York itinerary released.

Remember the sculptor who created the Dead Prince Harry? Behold his latest work, the Oprah Sarcophagus.

Nearly 500 same-sex couples in the Czech Republic have registered their partnerships since it became legal in July 2006: "... legal registered partnerships were concluded by 353 homosexual male and 134 female couples. In 43 cases, one of the partners was a foreigner, especially from Slovakia, but also Azerbaijan, Taiwan, Israel, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Armenia, the Netherlands, the USA and Canada. Homosexual couples were prosecuted in the former Czechoslovakia until 1961. The law on registered partnership of same sex couples was passed by the Czech Chamber of Deputies in March 2006 when the Chamber overrode President Vaclav Klaus's veto by a narrow majority."

Bello men's fashion magazine to launch online tomorrow.

Australian chicken restaurant entrepreneur pleads 'not guilty' to murdering his gay partner: "Gerurdas Gerrit Heijne, 44, appeared in Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court via videolink from Hakea Prison. His partner of more than 20 years, Frank Cianciosi, was found dead in the apartment on January 4, but police have not revealed how he died. Mr Heijne did not apply for bail."

The Brady Bunch: Results of a Patriots QB look-alike contest.

Obama's rebuttal to Bush's State of the Union address breaks YouTube records: "By Tuesday afternoon, 'Barack Obama's response to Bush's final State of the Union' was the most watched clip in the world, drawing a over 300,000 views in under 20 hours. The public has shown overwhelming and sustained interest in hearing from Obama directly. This is the third Obama video to shoot into YouTube's top three in the past 10 days -- past clips of naked celebrities and Scientology rants -- and the first video that was shot specifically for web viewers, rather than broadcasting documentary footage of a speech."

Inside the sex diaries of John Maynard Keynes.

Madonna becoming workout cyborg.

Anti-homophobia campaign launched in Australia: "Sergeant Scott Davis from the Police Gay and Lesbian Advisory Unit says police want people to speak up, and send a message to perpetrators that their actions will not be tolerated. The posters will be displayed throughout metropolitan Victoria and in all Victorian police stations."

T-shirt companies refuse to munch on Gay Bigfoot's banana.

Transgender student denied dorm room because he has not yet undergone sexual reassignment surgery: "Osborn was denied a male dorm room because, while his driver's license shows him as male and he is undergoing hormone treatment, he has not had gender reassignment surgery to complete the transition. Osborn and Walton contend that it should not be a requirement to undergo costly medical procedures if one is unable or unwilling to do so in order for the university to recognize Osborn as a "real" transgender person."

Dennis Quaid joins cast of GI Joe.

Gay Chilean website is actually aligned with homophobic Evangelical fundamentalists?

Asteroid coasts by Earth, just outside the orbit of the Moon: "Were TU24 to have struck land, it might have caused a magnitude seven earthquake and left a city-sized crater."

Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in Britain to launch new guidance on homophobic bullying: "The new guidance recommends that if a pupil makes persistent remarks, they should be removed from the classroom and staff should talk in detail about why such language is unacceptable. Similarly, in severe circumstances, schools should consider permanent exclusion for physical bullying. Much more needs to be done to prevent such bullying in the first place. Stonewall and Each advise encouraging positive role models. But Sue Sanders, co-chair of Schools Out, which campaigns against homophobia in education, says a big problem is that teachers find it hard to be out themselves. 'The government and local authorities need to celebrate the existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers,' she says. 'If teachers don't feel safe to be out, how the hell will our kids?'"

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News: Hurricane Dean, Keith Olbermann, Survivor, Faye Dunaway

Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota named most gay-friendly school.

Hurricane Dean makes landfall on Mexican coast as Category 5 monster storm: "The U.S. National Hurricane Center said it was the first Category 5 storm to make landfall in the Atlantic Basin since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Dean was still packing sustained winds of 165 miles per hour (268 kph), with gust of up to 200 mph when it came ashore, but was expected to weaken as it passed over the Yucatan Peninsula."

Cast of Survivor: China includes 22-year-old gay Mormon Todd Herzog who says he is prepared to "gather wood and sh*t."

Faye Dunaway orders poultry by the pound at Koo Koo Roo: "She ordered chicken and broccoli to go, and then she sat at a table with her food container. She pulled a tiny scale out of her purse and . . . proceeded to pull the chicken meat off the bones and weigh it. She piled the bones and skin on a napkin. She carefully weighed the chicken meat and broccoli, and the broccoli was a little short, so she went to the counter and asked for more."

Despite "huge" LGBT population, teens in the Bronx live on the down low or face harassment: "LGBT youth say that Bronx schools are particularly tough environments. 'I'm considered, like, a dyke in my school,' said 15-year old Angel S., who has knife scars on her right knee from a fight. A boy 'pushed me down a flight of stairs because I liked his girlfriend.'"

Officials knew Minneapolis bridge was in danger of collapse: "Internal MnDOT documents reviewed by the Star Tribune reveal that last year bridge officials talked openly about the possibility of the bridge collapsing -- and worried that it might have to be condemned. The documents provide the first look inside MnDOT's decision-making process as engineers weighed benefits and risks, wrestling with options to prevent what they believed was a remote but real possibility of the eight-lane freeway bridge failing."

Arjan interviews Danish dance duo Junior Senior.

Testing the water: Countdown with Keith Olbermann to get tryout on NBC prior to this Sunday's Eagles/Steelers game.

It's Corny Collins time!

Gary Steinsmith, gay activist in South Florida, dies at 50.

Amy Winehouse leaves rehab again.

Chilean gay activists cry foul over sodomy conviction: "On Aug. 10, a panel of judges in Antofagasta, Region II, found a 47-year-old laborer guilty of sodomizing a 17-year-old male. Because the accused had no previous criminal record, the court sentenced him to 41 days in jail – far less than the 541-day jail term prosecutors had recommended. The case began when police discovered the two having sex in a pickup truck. Although the young man in question – just 12 days shy of his 18th birthday at the time of the incident – testified that the sex was consensual, prosecutors nevertheless pursued the case, arguing that the accused 'corrupted the child’s sexual morality.' The ruling – the first sodomy conviction to be issued in Region II since the country’s criminal law procedures were overhauled in 2001 – was not well received by the Movement for Homosexual Integration and Freedom (MOVILH), Chile’s leading gay rights organization...Chile’s Criminal Code is biased against homosexuals, MOVILH claims. One problem is a major discrepancy regarding the legal age of sexual consent: 14, for heterosexuals, 18 for homosexuals. MOVILH describes the difference as 'arbitrary, unjust and hypocritical.'"

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News: Stare Decisis, Jake and Reese, Chile Lake, The View

The bus driver who threw two teenage lesbians off the bus for kissing in Portland will be disciplined, the transit authority announced. TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen: "Removing the girls from the bus was not consistent with our policy. I want to reiterate that we welcome all riders on our system. TriMet sincerely apologizes to the girls and their families for this incident."

Who's got a hankering for flesh and coffee table books?

"Stare decisis" promises laid aside as Roberts' Supreme Court begins overturning precedents: "It was the second time the Roberts court had overturned a precedent, and the first in a decision with a divided vote. It surely will not be the last."

Report: Mario Cantone and Ross Matthews (Ross the intern) under consideration to fill Rosie O'Donnell's spot on The View.

Shameful: Missing soldier's wife faces deportation. (via americablog)

The imaginary relationship between Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon has come to a close.

Glacial lake in Chile disappears suddenly: " Park rangers at Bernardo O'Higgins National Park said they found a 100-feet-deep crater in late May were the lake had been in March. Several large pieces of ice that used to float atop the water also were spotted...One theory is the water disappeared through cracks in the lake bottom into underground fissures. But experts do not know why the cracks would have appeared because there have been no earthquakes reported in the area recently, Romero said. A river that flowed out of the lake was reduced to a trickle."

Bush vetoes stem cell measure...again: "'Destroying human life in the hopes of saving human life is not ethical,' Mr. Bush said in a brief ceremony in the East Room of the White House. He called the United States 'a nation founded on the principle that all human life is sacred.'" Meanwhile, 14 U.S. troops have been killed overseas in the last 48 hours in Bush's illegitimate war. How's that for sacred?

"Gay Life" celebrates composer David Del Tredici's identity as a gay man.

Homophobic Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov looks set to be reappointed for a fifth term.

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News: Milo Ventimiglia, Sim City, Chile, Kodak, Mars Oceans

Police pursue leads in murder of New Orleans gay activist Robin Malta: " Malta was beaten to death Monday morning, between about 5 a.m. and noon, said John Gagliano, chief investigator for the Orleans Parish coroner. Malta's body had begun to decompose because of the intense heat inside the apartment. Investigators found him inside the apartment lying face-down, shirtless, with a "sexual object" in his mouth, said two officers familiar with the investigation. Several kitchen stove burners were on, said the police sources. Malta had been beaten severely, apparently struck in the head "more than 15 times" with the metal leg of an ironing board, said the two officers. Malta's home showed no signs of forced entry and was not ransacked, said NOPD spokesman Lt. Bruce Adams."

Vast oceans on Mars, gone for more than 2 billion years, revealed: "Two major shorelines exist on Mars, each thousands of miles long — one remaining from the older Arabia Ocean, and another from the younger Deuteronilus Ocean."

2007 is the hottest year recorded thus far.

Batman's new outfit is missing the package and the nipples.

Bear Grylls' survival series Man vs. Wild returns tonight.

Skinheads in Chile in campaign of cyber-attacks against leading gay rights organization Movement for Homosexual Integration and Freedom (MOVILH) accompanied by threatening emails to the Santiago Times: "First and last warning. We fight against dangerous scum: MOVILH. First the hacking, next the theft of (MOVILH’s) database. Now comes the best part. We’re going to turn everything on its head in the Plaza de Armas. Faggots dressed as women dancing in front of children are dangerous. They can kiss and fuck if they want to, but they shouldn’t confuse men for women."

Marlon Brando, Christopher Plummer top Best Week Ever's list of the 12 manliest musical performances ever.

Sim City societies are on their way: "While building your potential hub of the next global superpower, you'll have the new factor of "social energies" to consider, and how you set up your city to manipulate these will dictate the sort of place it is to live in. Depending on how you juggle social factors such as industry, wealth, obediance, knowledge, devotion and creativity within your building schemes, you will have the ability to generate or consume social energy as you see fit, ensuring that your citizens either skip merrily along with the sparkly-eyed, optimistic gait of 1950s sitcom characters, or trudge meaninglessly through a miserable Orwellian nightmare, existing only to serve the state."

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers back again for another season of The Tudors.

Israeli gay activist Sa'ar Netanel receives dozens of death threats after Jerusalem police give ok for gay pride parade: "Netanel said in an interview to Israel Radio that the expressions callers used were 'not Jewish,' and included direct threats to kill him as well as other things he 'preferred not to repeat.' When asked if he had faced these kinds of threats in the past, Netanel replied that while he has been sent threatening letters and even been targeted by phone, this was the first time his number had been posted on the Internet. He said he believed the police were looking into his complaint."

Milo Ventimiglia offers up a few 'come hither' looks.

New York: New viral fan spot for the iPhone.

Birth grandmother of Australia's first gay adoption speaks out: "We just made the choice and I'm glad we made that choice and I don't care what anyone out there says. You know, it's not a matter of being gay or not. It's a matter of being in the best place and the best parents. And that's what these guys are."

Brooklyn teenager indicted for fatally stabbing man because he was gay: "Omar Willock, 17, was charged with murder in the second degree as a hate crime, said Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney. Mr. Hynes said Mr. Willock is charged with stabbing Roberto Duncanson, 20, after shouting antigay remarks. Mr. Hynes said Mr. Duncanson tried to walk away, but Mr. Willock stabbed him four times."

Meet the body behind Fantastic Four's Silver Surfer. I wonder if he gave them permission to use his nuts?

Kodak said to be developing camera that nearly eliminates the need for flash photography: "The world's biggest maker of photographic film says its proprietary sensor technology significantly increases sensitivity to light. Image sensors act as a digital camera's eyes by converting light into an electric charge to begin the capture process."

The website has been launched for Adam Sandler and Kevin James' comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry in which they play firemen who pretend to be gay in order to receive domestic partner benefits.

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News: Sun Flares, Lukas Rossi, Gay Chile, Ryan Seacrest

Two Chicago students file lawsuit so they can wear anti-gay T-shirt that says "Be Happy, Not Gay": "According to the suit, one school administrator ordered Zamecnik to remove the T-shirt and another official ordered her to cross out 'NOT GAY' with a marker. The suit alleges Zamecnik suffered unlawful discrimination and humiliation because school officials didn't agree with her viewpoint. Nuxoll did not attend the school at the time of the incident." It's Tyler Chase Harper all over again.

REPORT: Beckhams sick of Tom Cruise trying to convert them to Scientology. "Victoria is tired of Tom being on her back about Scientology. Victoria is an old-fashioned British woman who believes in God. She finds it quite annoying that Tom is bugging her so much. Not too long ago, Tom left 18 messages in one hour to get them to join the church. But when Victoria says no, she means no."

The Ted Haggard massage table, crucified by fundamentalists who had it pulled from eBay, has a second coming.

Sanitation worker disciplined for attempting to get glamour shots of Naomi Campbell's floor-scrubbing fashion show.

Ryan Seacrest is neither gay nor bisexual, according to an old flame.

We've already seen him lock lips with his lead singer Lukas Rossi, but now we learn that Tommy Lee is also an equal opportunity toe sucker.

You know you are a weather geek when...

Hot: Space probe reveals "impossible" images from our sun. "Hinode has sent back startling images of the Sun's outer limb. Where astronomers expected to see a calm region called the chromosphere, they saw a seething mass of swaying spikes...Another surprise sighting is that of giant magnetic field loops crashing down onto the Sun's surface as if they were collapsing from exhaustion, a finding that Golub describes as 'impossible'. Previously, scientists thought they should emerge from the Sun and continue blowing out into space. 'Almost every day, we look at the data and we say – what the heck was that?' says Golub, a member of the XRT science team."

The National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA) has posted a gallery of shots from their recent New York benefit at ABC studios in Times Square.

Chile's first gay football team prepares to head to IGLF World Cup in Buenos Aires. Player: "There are a lot of spaces for the development of sports for heterosexuals, but we gays don’t have that. This is our space, and when we play, there’s nobody shouting abuse at us from the sidelines."

Here's the full article at The Stranger about anti-gay pastor Ken Hutcherson's alleged trip to Latvia at the behest of the White House.

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News: Antarctic Fish, Tasmania, Austin, Polish Monks

Moscow gay pride organizers sue Mayor Yuri Luzhkov for branding the event "satanic": "The Moscow mayor insulted me not only as a co-organizer of the gay pride parade he illegally banned, but also as a citizen and a believer. The term 'satanic' is insulting and negative both in the secular and religious meaning."

Hate campaign targets gay couple planning $50 million real estate development in Tasmania. Pamphlets warn townspeople of "influx of Sydney gay men" and urge them to "think of your children".

Yes, more Pete Wentz: naked more often than not.

Seattle Storm owners have donated over $1 million to gay hate group: "Sonics/Storm co-owner Tom Ward has contributed $475,000 to Gary L. Bauer’s Americans United to Preserve Marriage. And another Sonics/Storm co-owner, Aubrey McClendon, contributed $625,000. Both men made their first contributions to the group, $250,000 a piece, on September 8, 2004—the day after the group was formed."

Gay couples make pilgrimage to Austin, Texas to request marriage licenses. Requests denied.

Hunting down the men on Oscar's Red Carpet.

Polish monks performing "YMCA" outrages monastery officials: "Starting with Gregorian chant, the video explodes into “YMCA” as the monks discard their traditional brown hooded cloaks. 'I know who did this clip,' the ‘Przeor’ of the Dominican monastery in Krakow Adam Sulikowski told the daily newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza. 'It was very wrong.' However, many Polish people are reported to have thought the video to be very funny. But some Polish politicians from the League of Polish Family Party have said the film is 'scandalous and promotes homosexuality inside the Catholic Church'." (video)

Basic Instinct 2 sweeps the Razzie Awards...

As global warming thaws the Antarctic ice pack, vast underwater habitats and new species are being revealed for the first time. "Among the most mysterious places on Earth..."

Faced with a growing number of homophobic threats as well as vandalism, British pub owners bring in the police to show their patrons they can go to them in confidence.

Testimony ends in "That's so gay" trial...

Homophobia in general appears to have taken a downturn in Chile, while violent anti-gay attacks are on the rise, according to new statistics.

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Kerry Pacer's drama over. White County High School in Georgia wins judgment: Gay-Straight Alliance can meet. ACLU: "This is a great victory for the lesbian and gay students and their friends at White County High School who will finally be allowed to meet and can begin to address the violence and harassment against gay students at the school."

Supertan? Brandon Routh has darker foundation airlifted to him in London after seeing photographs of himself next to his wax figure his co-star Kate Bosworth. Aide: "To say that Brandon was livid with his make-up is an understatement."

Hilton Hotels unveils new LGBT campaign: "Come as You Are...Fabulous." Yikes.

Russia caves to activists, now allows gays to donate blood: "The General Prosecutor recognised that there is nothing in the law which prevent gays to donate their blood. As a result, his office has asked the Ministry of Heath to cancel its instruction made in 2001 which forbid gays to give their blood."

Chilean gay activists optimistic about country's new attitude toward gays: "There are few people or institutions who would dare to say that homosexuality is perverse, pathological, and that we need to round up the homosexuals and take them to an island. They said these things easily five or 10 years ago. Chile is in the process of a profound transition in terms of ethics and values."

STUDY: Nearly 50% of gay men in Ireland have unprotected sex.

Australian man charged with intentionally infecting gay men with AIDS...47 times!

Gay bathhouse opening in Cleveland has local AIDS director worried: "I think it's going to be a big mess in the not-too-distant future."

Ten year Naval Veteran discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" for appearing at a same-sex marriage rally in Brooklyn: "I am a proud, patriotic American who happens to be gay. My sexual orientation has never stood in the way of getting my job done, and I was looking forward to continuing my Navy career. Unfortunately, federal law places discrimination ahead of national security and gay service members are caught in the crossfire."

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