Al Gore's New Climate Crisis Slideshow

Al Gore premiered a new slideshow on the climate crisis at a TED talk last month in which he talks about the need to solve the democracy crisis so we can solve the environmental one, and says we must create a sense of generational mission to get this done. He also answers some questions at the end about how he feels the current presidential candidates will respond to global warming issues.

The slideshow was posted online today, and you can watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

In the lecture, Gore reference's Jill Taylor, whose TED Talk was the last we featured, and if you haven't seen it, it's fantastic. Check it out here.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #268

CHELSEA CLINTON: Chelsea gets asked about Monica Lewinsky again and the pundits argue about whether or not it's a question she needs to answer.

THE WE CAMPAIGN: New ad from the Alliance for Climate Protection that is part of a $300 million campaign being promoted by Al Gore.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD!: Russian tennis player Mikhail Youzhny was so angry that he dropped a serve in the second set of his match yesterday at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami that he beat himself in the head with his racquet, drawing blood.

IDOL CONTESTANT DANNY NORIEGA: He's back. Was he gone?

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News: Al Gore, Wii Tennis, Tom Cruise, Lost, Chris Dodd

Lambda Legal to file suit in Iowa today on behalf of six same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses.

Tom Cruise appearance sparks rumors of cameo on JJ Abrams' Star Trek set, but he was really there to meet someone special.

Al Gore on global warming skeptics: "You're talking about Dick Cheney. I think that those people are in such a tiny, tiny minority now with their point of view, they’re almost like the ones who still believe that the moon landing was staged in a movie lot in Arizona and those who believe the world is flat. ... That demeans them a little bit, but it's not that far off."

The American Family Association gave up their boycott of Ford Motors, but it looks as though they're trying again with another automaker, GM. Good As You: "What the hell gives these folks the right to go apeshit simply because a company dares to advertise to the LGBT community?! Good God of fringe extremism, why cannot they not at least accept that we are 'sinners' with a degree of disposable income, some of which we like to put towards cars?! We know they think we're barreling down the Highway to Hell. Fine. Let them think that. But can't they at least respect the right of an automaker to try and sell us a car whose climate control features will help us brave the unbearably hot Lake of Fire?"

Saulo Melo: Your hot Brazilian for Friday.

Dennis Miller does not share Bill O'Reilly's rage over San Francisco's Hunky Jesus pageant.

Hate crimes inspiring call to action in South Florida.

Senator Chris Dodd says we must end the Democratic primary: "Look, we've got five more months to go before the Democratic convention at the end of August and, candidly, we cannot go five more months with the kind of daily sniping that's going on and have a candidate emerge in that convention....We have two very strong candidates. So I'm worried about this going on endlessly and to a large extent...the media, a lot of these cable networks, are enjoying this. It's what is keeping them alive financially. The fact that this thing is going on forever, back and forth every day, all night -- I don't think it's really helping the candidates or the political institutions."

The folks who market Basil Hayden's whiskey think we're all a bunch of prancing fashionistas.

The Hills may be turned into a feature film: “I think if they were going to do a film of the hills they would basically film it like we do the show and they would just edit it into a movie. It would be like a really long episode.”

Wii Tennis about to get lifelike versions of Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, James Blake, and Tommy Haas.

Prison Break brings a major character back from the dead.

Exploring the time travel theory on Lost.

UK urges gay men to get tested for HIV: "The Health Protection Agency made the warning after new diagnoses among gay men topped 2,600 for the third year. But the figures do seem to have begun to plateau after a surge at the turn of the century. Overall, the number of new cases hit an estimated 6,840 in 2007 - a fall of 1,400 from the previous year."

An update on that school expulsion case in Kansas I posted about yesterday: "A lawyer representing a gay student charged with harassment said he was 'hopeful that things will work out' for the student after an expulsion hearing Thursday. 'We're all wanting him to get back into school. That's the main thing,' said attorney John McKean. 'We're encouraged and hopeful that it will happen rather quickly.' Jimmy Iniguez, 17, a junior at Metro-Midtown Alternative High School, faces expulsion for allegedly harassing a fellow student in a school bathroom Feb. 28. Iniguez, who has been suspended since the incident, says he is innocent and is being unfairly accused because he is openly gay. No decision was made Thursday. District policy dictates that the decision be sent to the student's family by certified mail."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #262

WII DOG VS WII CAT: The pet playoff.

ELLEN PLAYS HARDBALL: Chris Matthews slamdances and chats with Ellen DeGeneres.

EARTH HOUR: Jeremy Piven and the WWF want you to go dark for one hour one March 29.

KRISTY LEE COOK: She can blow you out of your socks and you know it.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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News: Ben Cohen, Ryerson, Bachelor, Illinois, Arctic Icecap

Bad sign for the future of the Arctic ice cap: thickest, oldest, toughest ice melting...

British rugby stud Ben Cohen releases details on a night with his gay fans: "'Moving away from the more traditional rugby testimonial theme, the Ben Cohen Testimonial Committee is holding a ground breaking event at The Dorchester in London,' his publicist Jill Tipping said. 'BENediction is an exclusive evening of fun, feasting and frivolity aimed primarily at including his legions of fans in the gay community in the testimonial celebrations. Guests are promised a 'whole host of treats and surprises making this event a real one off and not to be missed. Ben Cohen fans need to make sure that they reserve their places quickly as they are expected to snapped up fast,' Tipping said. Of course, we are not sure how far Cohen will take the concept of 'one off,' but he has never been shy about marketing his physical assets."

If you missed the first episode of this season's The Bachelor (and I have a feeling many of you did), you can catch up real quick: this mess was what it was all about.

AfterElton looks at Jimmy Kimmel and the gays.

Beckham power shops and rocks the plain white tee.

Central Illinois' only gay newspaper shuts its doors: "The Flame is out. After 111/2 years of publication, Prairie Flame, central Illinois’ only newspaper that concentrated solely on gay issues and events, has called it a day...Volunteers distributed copies of each edition over much of the state, from Springfield to the Quad Cities, Joliet, Champaign and Effingham. Circulation was more than 8,000, and there were more than 200 places where the free newspaper could be found. But production costs kept rising, and ad revenue could not keep up."

Anderson Cooper underwent surgery for skin cancer: "I’ve been off for the last couple of days. I had minor surgery on Monday. I hadn’t planned on mentioning this, but I still have stitches and you’ll no doubt notice them tonight. Don’t want you to think I got into a fist fight with Charlie Rose."

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo under fire for bullfight commercial: "The advertisement, for Fuji Xerox, shows the Portuguese winger taunting the bull with a football in the manner of a matador with a cape."

Ryerson University in Toronto sees gay bashing spike: "Ryerson's queer student group is scared homophobia is spreading across campus after its door was vandalized and grafitti saying 'gays must be exterminated' was left on a bathroom stall for at least three weeks. 'I have no doubt that we were targeted,' said RyePRIDE member Jesse Trautmann about a series of students' union stickers pasted on the group's door and nearby positive space posters on March 10. The office is located on the second floor of the Student Campus Centre. 'The amount of time it would have taken to cover the entire Rye- PRIDE sign — it was intentional.'"

Group pushes for "gay village" in Ottawa, Canada.

Madonna and Guy Ritchie still together, or just playing for the cameras?

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News: Glaciers, Jared Leto, Gay Nursing Home, Kevin Rudd

NYT: Civil unions not enough. "Though such arrangements were created, often under court mandate, with a promise of treating same-sex couples the same as opposite-sex couples, many gays and lesbians say they have not delivered and can never do so because separate institutions are inherently unequal. Many also resent being denied use of the word marriage, which they say carries intangible benefits, prestige and status."

Becks and teammate clutch the family jewels.

First stills of Britney Spears guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother.

Glaciers melting faster than at any time since records began: "The details are revealed in the latest report from the World Glacier Monitoring Service and will add to growing alarm about the rise in sea levels and increased instances of flooding, avalanches and drought. Based on historical records and other evidence, the rate at which the glaciers are melting is also thought to be faster that at any time in the past 5,000 years, said Professor Wilfried Haeberli, director of the monitoring service. 'There's no absolute proof, but nevertheless the evidence is strong: this is really extraordinary.'"

Inside Berlin's Asta Nielsen Haus, the first nursing home in Europe to cater specifically to gays and lesbians: "We just want people to be able to speak freely of their pasts. They shouldn't have to worry about reactions or prejudices. It's simple really: no one should be shocked to go into a man's room and see a picture of another man. No one should have to explain themselves to others at this stage of life."

Halloween in San Francisco's Castro District canceled forever.

Wentworth Miller goes to Jerusalem.

Nun urges Vatican to drop prejudice against gays and lesbians.

Gay Republican runs for seat on Plano, Texas City Council: "Justin Nichols is charting new territory in more ways than one. Nichols, 23, is already the youngest candidate ever to run for Plano City Council. If Nichols wins his race for the Place 1 seat on May 10, he’ll also become the first openly gay member of the body. 'I don’t know that one is harder than the other,' Nichols told Dallas Voice this week. 'I think that each is solved by letting people get to know you.' Nichols also faces a third challenge when it comes to gaining the support of Plano’s small but growing LGBT community: He’s a Republican."

Obama responds to controversial comments of Reverend Jeremiah Wright: "Let me repeat what I've said earlier. All of the statements that have been the subject of controversy are ones that I vehemently condemn. They in no way reflect my attitudes and directly contradict my profound love for this country."

Jared Leto packed on the pounds for his role as John Lennon's killer Mark David Chapman.

Gay groups picket 'prayer breakfast' hosted by anti-gay Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle: "The featured speaker at the prayer breakfast, Jim Daly, president of the right-wing religious organization Focus on the Family, is among the most aggressive opponents of the gay rights movement. Daly’s organization is one of the primary backers of an anti-gay marriage amendment that goes before voters in November."

Australian PM Kevin Rudd forcing ministerial staff to list history of sexual partners, reveal extra-marital affairs and detail homosexual experiences before gaining security clearance: "More than 300 ministerial and electorate staffers have been ordered to fill in a 25-page form and attend an in-depth interview into their personal finances, drug habits and sexual history before gaining high-level security clearance. Senior staff say they have been told the security form is designed to protect them from blackmail. But several have told The Sunday Telegraph they were affronted at the personal information they had been forced to divulge."

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #250

STEPHANIE TUBBS JONES: Responds to the Obama 'native garb' photo that Drudge posted yesterday and accomplishes several Republican messaging goals.

THE FARRAKHAN CARD: Tim Russert played it in last night's debate in what some are saying is his lowest moment.

A BEAUTIFUL LIE: Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars shot their latest video 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland.

GARY BUSEY: Not only did Busey attack Jennifer Garner at the Oscars, he showed no tact in his interaction with an 11-year-old reporter.

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here.

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Polar Bear Arrested After Cutest Washington, DC Protest Ever

A Greenpeace activist was arrested last week after peacefully protesting the Bush administration's delay in issuing a final Endangered Species Act listing for polar bears due to global warming. He floated around in a rowboat in front of the Department of the Interior for a while before police came and took him away.

Here's the video:

(via BoingBoing, who have some info on the provenance of the white suit)

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News: New Mexico, Tom Cruise, MRSA, Jesus Kidnap, Mariah Carey

Domestic partners bill revived in New Mexico.

Zac Efron treats paparazzi to unique version of 'Blue Moon'.

Anti-gay marriage speakers meet with resistance from Vermont audience after proclaiming "Marriage can be the union between man and woman or it can be the union of any two people. Vermont cannot have both." Audience member: "It's nonsensical that marriage can't have multiple meanings. That's simply scare tactics." Outright Vermont launches statewide outreach effort: "A rainbow-colored bumper sticker, a "queer-mobile" that travels to remote and rural areas, paid spots on the radio, an online resource and a monthly newsletter are all strategies for a queer youth visibility campaign launched Thursday in Burlington. Outright Vermont, the state's largest 'queer' organization in its 20th year that works specifically with youths, wants to make Vermont the most "queer-friendly" state in the country – one person at a time."

Tom Cruise producing partner Paula Wagner speaks out about Scientology video leaks: "I am not a Scientologist, nor are most of the people Tom and I work with, but that doesn't mean I can sit by silently while he is attacked for his religious beliefs. As a film-maker and an American, I feel strongly that an individual's religion should have no bearing on their professional life."

Actress Suzanne Pleshette dies at 70.

Michigan neighborhood kidnaps devout dachshund owner's Jesus statuette: "We are holding Jesus ransom until you clean up the poopie from your wieners and trust us we see you take your wieners for long walks w/out picking up their poopie in our yards. This has upset us dearly so please clean up all the weiner poopie, if you want to see Jesus unharmed."

Gay porn Marine Matt Sanchez paranoid that a "gay jihadist" stalker/crank caller is out to defame him!

NYT on how the MRSA staph 'superbug' story went viral: "On Monday, a team of researchers led by doctors from the University of California at San Francisco announced that gay men were “many times more likely than others” to acquire a new strain of drug-resistant staphylococcus, a nasty, fast-spreading and potential lethal bacteria known as MRSA USA300. And sure enough, the study, published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was quickly picked up by reporters round the world and across the Internet, including a London tabloid which dubbed the disease 'the new H.I.V.' But for gay men in the Castro neighborhood here, which was an early epicenter for the AIDS epidemic and a current hot spot for MRSA, the report also seemed to cast an unfair, and all too familiar, stigma on their sexuality."

High school principal apologizes for inviting anti-gay pastor Ken Hutcherson to give lecture to students on civil rights.

Paula Abdul wants you to dance like there's not tomorrow.

Could volcanoes be facilitating the melt of the Antarctic glaciers? "In an article published Sunday on the Web site of the journal Nature Geoscience, Hugh Corr and David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey report the identification of a layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in western Antarctica. 'This is the first time we have seen a volcano beneath the ice sheet punch a hole through the ice sheet' in Antarctica, Vaughan said."

That chick Mariah Carey dishes out new album cover.

Spencer Livermore: the most powerful gay man in British politics.

LOGO to screen Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin all week.

Indiana wingnuts irate at lawmaker's refusal to hear proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage: "Rep. Scott Pelath, D-Michigan City, who is chairman of the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, said today that the most urgent issue facing the state is property taxes, not same-sex marriage, which already is banned by Indiana law. 'I’m not planning on having a hearing,' Pelath said. 'The short session (of the legislature) was designed to deal with emergencies. We have a very serious problem with the property tax system, and we don’t have any gay marriages in Indiana.' The Senate committee plans to debate the amendment Thursday, but Eric Miller, who has pushed for passage of the amendment as founder of the conservative group Advance America, called that 'disingenuous.' The legislature, he said, is dealing with plenty of issues besides property tax reform and has the time to debate and vote on this amendment before its March 14 deadline."

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News: China, Fabio, Antarctica, Oprah, Dame Edna, Scotland, Britney

Teen gay bashes straight couple after mistaking short-haired girlfriend for a man: "The boy, 16, has been charged in juvenile court with the assault, occurring after asking the man and his girlfriend if they were 'two gay guys.' They then became "f$%^ing gay bastards" as they were thrown to the ground, punched and kicked on a busy Dublin street."

Nightmare Garden: Actor from British children's TV series claims on-set injury and anti-gay harassment: "Isaac Blake claimed he suffered an injured pelvis while wearing the chunky brown and pink costume to entertain millions of viewers as one of the three Tombliboos. The 28-year-old said he had to go to hospital and was forced off work for a week after being made to bend over for long spells for closeup shots while wearing the suit. At an employment tribunal, Mr Blake, a trained dancer, also alleged that he was discriminated against and verbally abused for being homosexual. He claimed a colleague called him a 'bitch' and a 'faggot' but when he made a formal complaint he was told to 'shut up and get on with it'."

OWN: Oprah Winfrey gets her own network! What an appropriate name for it.

Judge orders MSNBC to include Dennis Kucinich in Las Vegas debate today.

Kennith H. Burns, founding member of pioneering L.A. gay rights group Mattachine Society, dies at 81 of lung failure: "In 1953, when McCarthyism was strengthening its grip on the national consciousness, Hay and other Mattachine leaders with communist ties were ousted and Burns assumed a prominent role in the organization. The society moved in a more conservative direction during Burns' tenure as Mattachine president in the mid- to late 1950s. Along with other Mattachine leaders, including Harold Call and Don Lucas, he urged members to temper their public image and assimilate into society. 'We must blame ourselves for much of our plight,' Burns said during this period. 'When will homosexuals ever realize that social reform, in order to be effective, must be preceded by personal reform?'"

Fabio offers up Details on George Clooney West Hollywood catfight: "He laid a hand on me, so it would have been self-defense if I had beaten him down. I could have fucked him up. Oh my god, I could have beaten the shit out of him. I was so pissed off. Right then, I could have knocked him over and beat him. I could have punched him in the face while he was on his back. That's how you really hurt someone—their face can't amortize the punch so it takes, it takes the whole impact."

Dame Edna ill, ordered to rest for six months...

Stuart Ellanson, an inmate serving life sentence for murder of gay man gets 15 additional years for holding a dental technician hostage at the prison: "He held the woman captive in a storage room in the prison's health complex for about five and a half hours before releasing her. He was then arrested. Ellanson is serving a life term for murder as a hate crime in the stabbing death of a man in Superior in 1991. The criminal complaint said Ellanson told investigators he killed the man because he was gay."

MELTING: Antarctic ice loss jumps 75% in a single year.

Britney SNAPS (4:13), and picks up a British accent while doing so.

Outsports looks at the aquatic side of Project Runway's Jack Mackenroth: "'Swimming just came fairly naturally to me, and I really enjoyed it,' said Mackenroth, now 38. And he was very good at it, too. He has three All-American titles and set a national record at the 2006 Gay Games in Chicago in the breaststroke leg of the 4-by-50 meter medley relay. Also in 2006, he finished 12th in the 50-meter breaststroke at the Masters World Championships in Stanford, Calif. 'Swimming has been rewarding,' said Mackenroth, who played soccer and baseball as a youngster and now admits that he, 'was hopeless at all of the other sports.'"

China Daily looks at what gays face in that country: "The more you try to oppress sex, the more resistance will rise up." Time takes a look too.

Scotland's hate crime laws to be widened to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and the disabled: "It aims to strengthen the law to protect disabled people and those from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities by extending statutory aggravations to cover crimes motivated by malice or ill will towards victims."

RESEARCHER: Heterosexual couples have something to learn from same-sex couples: "In a series of studies Green conducted with Michael Bettinger and Ellis Zacks, lesbian couples were found to be emotionally closer than gay male couples who, in turn, were found to be emotionally closer than heterosexual married couples. 'It all comes down to greater equality in the relationship,' Green said in a statement. 'Research shows that lesbian and gay couples have a head start in escaping the traditional gender role divisions that make for power imbalances and dissatisfaction in many heterosexual relationships.' Heterosexual couples could learn from gays couples about sharing housework and childcare, using softer communication in conflict and having more nurturing behaviors toward one another and their children, the researchers conclude."

The Gawker job interview.

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News: Mr. Blackwell, Iran, Jesse Metcalfe, Wii, Dykes on Bikes

Iran claims video of aggressive action toward American ships is U.S. fabrication: "The US has released grainy footage, apparently showing small boats speeding near the American warships. In an audio recording, an Iranian radio operator appears to say 'I am coming at you; you will explode'. The Iranian parliamentary speaker has dismissed the affair as being part of a US propaganda campaign against Tehran."

NSA report confirms Vietnam "Gulf of Tonkin" episode never happened. (via americablog)

Mr. Blackwell releases annual worst-dressed list. The winner? "Forget the fashion spice - wearing a skirt would suffice! In one skinny-mini monstrosity after another, pouty posh can really wreck-em." See who else made it.

Out writer Josh Kilmer-Purcell starts "Phags for Phelps" site after striking up email correspondence with Shirley Phelps-Roper: "I've long believed that the more chances America gets to see blatantly ugly homophobia in action, the better it is for the GLBT community. To quote Supreme Court Justice Brandeis: 'Sunshine is the best disinfectant.' Half humorously, half seriously, (as in everything I do) I suggested in my recent OUT column that gays and lesbians start a 'Phags 4 Phelps Dephense Phund.' Fred Phelps, if you don't know who he is, is the patriarch of a one-family-band of hate called the 'Westboro Baptist Church.'..I honestly think that the more America sees this ugly hatred, the more they shy away from it. So I suggested starting the "Phags 4 Phelps Dephense Phund" to keep them away from bankruptcy and out on the streets where they belong."

Parkinson's Disease linked to exposure to common solvent.

Madonna, Guy tour the slums of Mumbai.

Youths arrested for alleged anti-gay attack on December 5 on the Washington Metro say they targeted victim because he was drunk, not because of his sexuality.

Queen Elizabeth loves Wii bowling: "A Palace source told The People: 'When she saw William playing a game after lunch at Sandringham she thought the Nintendo looked tremendous fun and begged to join in. She played a simple ten-pin bowling game and by all accounts was a natural. It was hilarious. William was in fits of laughter. He was enormously impressed at having such a cool gran. And although she is 81 the Queen's hand-eye co-ordination was as good as somebody half her age.'"

Jesse Metcalfe's Hollywood hair-cut.

Anti-gay Pastor Ken Hutcherson has reportedly initiated the Microsoft stock-buying scheme I posted about in November: "It's unclear what effect, if any, the initiative could have on the stock price. It would be difficult to influence company direction -- just to gain a 1 percent stake in Microsoft, about 31 million people would each have to spend $104 to buy three shares. Microsoft has about 9.36 billion outstanding shares, and its largest holder is Chairman Bill Gates, with 858 million shares, or 9 percent of the total. Capital Research and Management Co. follows with nearly 557 million shares, or 6 percent."

Scientists float new global warming weapon: super-hairy soya plants.

Court rules that "Dykes on Bikes" can keep their name.

Genre takes on the cheekbones of Michael Lucas: "I am very proud that Genre chose me to be on their cover, as national consumer magazines—even if they are gay—tend to shy away from putting members of the adult community front and center."

Wonkette has a chat with former Gawker editor Choire Sicha about the New Hampshire primaries and which Romneys might be worth molesting: "Josh. Josh is the hottest thing since bacon was invented."

Kentucky gay rights groups thumb noses at one another: "The general advisory council of the Kentucky Equality Federation has approved a resolution not to be aligned with the Kentucky Fairness Alliance. Jordan Palmer, president of the federation, released a copy of his group's resolution noting the break. It said the group 'has received many reports from federation management and affiliated organizations about difficulties in working with current leadership of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance and particularly its chief spokeswoman, Christina Gilgor.' It added, 'It is obvious that the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, through its current executive director, is alienating many members of the Kentucky Equality Federation and its affiliated organizations and thus becoming less of an effective force in lobbying and working for improvement of gay rights in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.'"

Simon Cowell sheds some of his moobs.

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News: Whale Sharks, A&F, Nate Berkus, CIA Tapes, Spain

CIA declassifies letter from Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) urging the agency not to destroy interrogation tapes: "You discussed [in a briefing the previous week] the fact that there is videotape of Abu Zubaydah following his capture that will be destroyed after the Inspector General finishes his inquiry. I would urge the Agency to reconsider that plan. Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future. The fact of destruction would reflect badly on the Agency."

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka offer the paps a tanned "aloha" at LAX.

2007: The year in evidence for a Bush/Cheney impeachment.

Jake Gyllenhaal would like to eat his lunch uninterrupted.

Abercrombie & Fitch catalog resurrected: "For its second go-around, however, the magazine-catalog hybrid will debut and be available exclusively in London, where the American fashion brand opened its first international flagship at 7 Burlington Gardens in London last March in what formerly housed Jil Sander, steps from Savile Row. Sam Shahid, who designed the magazine in its six-year run, is back at the helm as creative director."

Canadian students continue to fight gay blood ban.

Inside the listening party for Madonna's forthcoming album.

Spanish PM José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero hits out at the Catholic church and its recent "pro-family" rallies in Madrid: "Zapatero said that his government was carrying out policies which were supported by the ‘immense majority’ of the Spanish people, and Spain would continue to act in that way. Making no effort to mask his anger at the Cardinals and Bishops who led the Catholic Church event in the Plaza de Colón, Zapatero reminded them that the Spanish Constitution ensured that there was room for everybody in Spain, that everybody has the right to have rights, whatever they think, and whether they belong to a religion or not."

The minute-by-minute on Britney's meltdown...

The Big Give: Nate Berkus tapped to host Oprah's new reality show: "The series follows 10 people who 'criss-cross the country, giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to unsuspecting people who are in for the surprise of their lives.' The contestants will be given a challenge in each city, and then the judges (chef Jamie Oliver, NFL player Tony Gonzalez, and Chris Rock’s wife Malaak Compton-Rock.) will eliminate one contestant - ultimately awarding 'the biggest giver' the show’s prize."

Massive whale sharks "thriving" off Australia's west coast.

Little Britain's Matt Lucas hijacks housemates on the new UK season of Big Brother.

British mother awarded compensation from gay nightclub after claiming manager called her derogatory names like "breeder": "The tribunal in Southampton awarded Mrs Legg £3,000 in compensation for being harassed for being 'straight' and a further £3,222 for being unfairly dismissed. However, the tribunal did not find that she was sacked because she was heterosexual."

They're big shoes to fill, but do David Beckham's also leave the largest carbon footprint in human history? In related news, Victoria Beckham has an 'enemies' list and Graham Norton is on it.

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News: Voyager 2, Liza Minnelli, Morocco, Florida Gay Marriage Ban

Group proposing amendment to ban same-sex marriage in Florida reaches necessary 611,009 signature goal: " One of the signatures belongs to Gov. Charlie Crist, although the state's top Republican has not trumpeted the issue during his first year in office." And why is this significant?

Liza Minnelli collapses, tumbles off stage in Sweden...

Human Rights Watch demands Morocco overturn the convictions of six men sentenced to prison for homosexual conduct: "The men have been in jail since they were first arrested by the police between November 23 and 25, 2007, after a video circulated online – including on YouTube – purporting to show a private party, allegedly including the men, taking place in Ksar el-Kbir on November 18. Press reports claimed the party was a 'gay marriage.' Following the arrests, hundreds of men and women marched through the streets of Ksar el-Kbir, denouncing the men’s alleged actions and calling for their punishment."

Shooter at New Life, Ted Haggard's former Mega-church, may be a victim of the church's ex-gay reparative therapy program.

Spice Girls reveal their aircraft: Spice One.

Arctic ice melting at alarming pace: "An already relentless melting of the Arctic greatly accelerated this summer, a warning sign that some scientists worry could mean global warming has passed an ominous tipping point. One even speculated that summer sea ice would be gone in five years...'The Arctic is often cited as the canary in the coal mine for climate warming,' said NASA climate scientist Jay Zwally, who as a teenager hauled coal. 'Now as a sign of climate warming, the canary has died. It is time to start getting out of the coal mines.'"

Plaque to be laid commemorating site of early gay bar, honoring Black Cat Cafe's role in San Francisco's gay rights movement.

Gay cruise plans March takeover of tropical island in Australia.

Ben Cohen gets suddenly modest for Gay Times.

Spain recognizes UK couple's civil partnership after protracted campaign: "Their campaign paid off, as the Spanish government has now agreed to recognise the civil partnerships of UK lesbian and gay couples. 'We visited the British Consul on 29th November to change our status in our passports,' the couple told PinkNews.co.uk. 'We have made a little bit of history by becoming the first UK same-sex couple resident in Spain to have their civil partnership acknowledged in law and in the observations section of our passports.'"

Voyager 2 probe reaches edge of solar system...

Isaiah Washington shows up unannounced to join Grey's Anatomy cast on "diversity day" at the writer's strike: "Asked if Washington was with the Grey's group, Heigl, who had previously publicly criticized Washington told The Daily News, 'He's not with me.' But Washington denied there were problems with his former co-workers. 'They're former castmates. I've been in over 25 movies, I have lots of former castmates.' he said."

Gay Washington D.C. council member calls for transit police probe after recent alleged anti-gay assault on Metro train.

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News: Light Bulb Ban, Shia LeBeouf, Evolution, Torture Orders

CLOSET OF FEAR: Congressional candidate Jared Polis discusses his trip to Iraq and his attempts to meet with gay Iraqis there.

New poll shows Hillary Clinton losing lead in New Hampshire. Final debates before Iowa - Republicans tonight, Democrats tomorrow - will prove critical.

McFly: the Brit boyband we've featured four times already for taking off their clothes in public, have done it ONCE AGAIN. Strangely enough, I don't think I've heard any of their songs.

Gay historian Allan Berube dies at 61: "Berube is best remembered for his groundbreaking work of gay history, Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II, published in 1990. The Lambda Literary Award–winning book was later adapted by Arthur Dong into a Peabody Award–winning documentary and was often cited in 1993 Senate hearings on the military’s ban on gay service members." More from Servicemen's Legal Defense Network...

One hundred million pennies laid out in Rockefeller Center in New York: "The exhibit, 30 feet by 165 feet, as long as a city block, is the culmination of the nonprofit organization Common Cents' 17th annual Penny Harvest, a national educational program designed to teach children about their value as contributors to society."

David Cooley, owner of West Hollywood's The Abbey bar and restaurant, ready to take it national: "Cooley intends to build Abbeys in cities across the country, and has spent much of the past year scouting locations including San Diego, Phoenix, Miami, New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Las Vegas; the plan is for the first new Abbey to open in Chicago within a year."

Scientists discover massive new Antarctic dinosaur: 25 feet long, climbed trees.

Humans evolving rapidly according to researchers: "Many of the recent genetic changes reflect differences in the human diet brought on by agriculture, as well as resistance to epidemic diseases that became mass killers following the growth of human civilizations, the researchers said. For example, Africans have new genes providing resistance to malaria. In Europeans, there is a gene that makes them better able to digest milk as adults. In Asians, there is a gene that makes ear wax more dry. The changes have been driven by the colossal growth in the human population -- from a few million to 6.5 billion in the past 10,000 years -- with people moving into new environments to which they needed to adapt, added Henry Harpending, a University of Utah anthropologist."

Ireland to ban incandescent light bulbs by the year 2009.

Shia LeBeouf gets off.

Sacha Baron Cohen obsessed with big packages: "Of the many surprises in Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton's musical ode to early-Victorian cannibalism, the appearance of Sacha Baron Cohen as barber rival Adolfo Pirelli is one of the most pleasant: The British comedian ably tackles the part's considerable vocal challenges, and cuts a fine figure in a form-fitting, periwinkle dandy suit, beneath which protrudes a bulge even more distractingly prominent than the one poking out of Borat's signature neon nutthong swimwear."

Former CIA interrogator on torture: "This isn’t something done willy nilly. It’s not something that an agency officer just wakes up in the morning and decides he’s going to carry out an enhanced technique on a prisoner. This was a policy made at the White House, with concurrence from the National Security Council and Justice Department."

In honor of the Cycle 9 finale of America's Next Top Model tonight, NewNowNext rounds up the show's most pro-gay and just gay moments. Meanwhile, AfterElton looks at the year in gay television.

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Al Gore Accepts Nobel Prize, Issues Challenge to U.S. and China

Al Gore officially accepted the Nobel Peace Prize today and issued a challenge to our normally-reactionary world and its two largest emitters of greenhouse gases:

"The world needs an alliance – especially of those nations that weigh heaviest in the scales where earth is in the balance. I salute Europe and Japan for the steps they’ve taken in recent years to meet the challenge, and the new government in Australia, which has made solving the climate crisis its first priority. But the outcome will be decisively influenced by two nations that are now failing to do enough: the United States and China. While India is also growing fast in importance, it should be absolutely clear that it is the two largest CO2 emitters — most of all, my own country –– that will need to make the boldest moves, or stand accountable before history for their failure to act. Both countries should stop using the other’s behavior as an excuse for stalemate and instead develop an agenda for mutual survival in a shared global environment. These are the last few years of decision, but they can be the first years of a bright and hopeful future if we do what we must."

Read the entire speech AFTER THE JUMP.

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SPEECH BY AL GORE ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

December 10, 2007

Oslo, Norway

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Honorable members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen.

I have a purpose here today. It is a purpose I have tried to serve for many years. I have prayed that God would show me a way to accomplish it.

Sometimes, without warning, the future knocks on our door with a precious and painful vision of what might be. One hundred and nineteen years ago, a wealthy inventor read his own obituary, mistakenly published years before his death. Wrongly believing the inventor had just died, a newspaper printed a harsh judgment of his life's work, unfairly labeling him "The Merchant of Death" because of his invention - dynamite. Shaken by this condemnation, the inventor made a fateful choice to serve the cause of peace.

Seven years later, Alfred Nobel created this prize and the others that bear his name.

Seven years ago tomorrow, I read my own political obituary in a judgment that seemed to me harsh and mistaken - if not premature. But that unwelcome verdict also brought a precious if painful gift: an opportunity to search for fresh new ways to serve my purpose.

Unexpectedly, that quest has brought me here. Even though I fear my words cannot match this moment, I pray what I am feeling in my heart will be communicated clearly enough that those who hear me will say, "We must act."

The distinguished scientists with whom it is the greatest honor of my life to share this award have laid before us a choice between two different futures - a choice that to my ears echoes the words of an ancient prophet: "Life or death, blessings or curses. Therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."

We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency - a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst - though not all - of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.

However, despite a growing number of honorable exceptions, too many of the world's leaders are still best described in the words Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler's threat: "They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent."

So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun.

As a result, the earth has a fever. And the fever is rising. The experts have told us it is not a passing affliction that will heal by itself. We asked for a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. And the consistent conclusion, restated with increasing alarm, is that something basic is wrong.

We are what is wrong, and we must make it right.

Last September 21, as the Northern Hemisphere tilted away from the sun, scientists reported with unprecedented distress that the North Polar ice cap is "falling off a cliff." One study estimated that it could be completely gone during summer in less than 22 years. Another new study, to be presented by U.S. Navy researchers later this week, warns it could happen in as little as 7 years.

Seven years from now.

In the last few months, it has been harder and harder to misinterpret the signs that our world is spinning out of kilter. Major cities in North and South America, Asia and Australia are nearly out of water due to massive droughts and melting glaciers. Desperate farmers are losing their livelihoods. Peoples in the frozen Arctic and on low-lying Pacific islands are planning evacuations of places they have long called home. Unprecedented wildfires have forced a half million people from their homes in one country and caused a national emergency that almost brought down the government in another. Climate refugees have migrated into areas already inhabited by people with different cultures, religions, and traditions, increasing the potential for conflict. Stronger storms in the Pacific and Atlantic have threatened whole cities. Millions have been displaced by massive flooding in South Asia, Mexico, and 18 countries in Africa. As temperature extremes have increased, tens of thousands have lost their lives. We are recklessly burning and clearing our forests and driving more and more species into extinction. The very web of life on which we depend is being ripped and frayed.

We never intended to cause all this destruction, just as Alfred Nobel never intended that dynamite be used for waging war. He had hoped his invention would promote human progress. We shared that same worthy goal when we began burning massive quantities of coal, then oil and methane.

Even in Nobel's time, there were a few warnings of the likely consequences. One of the very first winners of the Prize in chemistry worried that, "We are evaporating our coal mines into the air." After performing 10,000 equations by hand, Svante Arrhenius calculated that the earth's average temperature would increase by many degrees if we doubled the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Seventy years later, my teacher, Roger Revelle, and his colleague, Dave Keeling, began to precisely document the increasing CO2 levels day by day.

But unlike most other forms of pollution, CO2 is invisible, tasteless, and odorless -- which has helped keep the truth about what it is doing to our climate out of sight and out of mind. Moreover, the catastrophe now threatening us is unprecedented - and we often confuse the unprecedented with the improbable.

We also find it hard to imagine making the massive changes that are now necessary to solve the crisis. And when large truths are genuinely inconvenient, whole societies can, at least for a time, ignore them. Yet as George Orwell reminds us: "Sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield."

In the years since this prize was first awarded, the entire relationship between humankind and the earth has been radically transformed. And still, we have remained largely oblivious to the impact of our cumulative actions.

Indeed, without realizing it, we have begun to wage war on the earth itself. Now, we and the earth's climate are locked in a relationship familiar to war planners: "Mutually assured destruction."

More than two decades ago, scientists calculated that nuclear war could throw so much debris and smoke into the air that it would block life-giving sunlight from our atmosphere, causing a "nuclear winter." Their eloquent warnings here in Oslo helped galvanize the world's resolve to halt the nuclear arms race.

Now science is warning us that if we do not quickly reduce the global warming pollution that is trapping so much of the heat our planet normally radiates back out of the atmosphere, we are in danger of creating a permanent "carbon summer."

As the American poet Robert Frost wrote, "Some say the world will end in fire; some say in ice." Either, he notes, "would suffice."

But neither need be our fate. It is time to make peace with the planet.

We must quickly mobilize our civilization with the urgency and resolve that has previously been seen only when nations mobilized for war. These prior struggles for survival were won when leaders found words at the 11th hour that released a mighty surge of courage, hope and readiness to sacrifice for a protracted and mortal challenge.

These were not comforting and misleading assurances that the threat was not real or imminent; that it would affect others but not ourselves; that ordinary life might be lived even in the presence of extraordinary threat; that Providence could be trusted to do for us what we would not do for ourselves.

No, these were calls to come to the defense of the common future. They were calls upon the courage, generosity and strength of entire peoples, citizens of every class and condition who were ready to stand against the threat once asked to do so. Our enemies in those times calculated that free people would not rise to the challenge; they were, of course, catastrophically wrong.

Now comes the threat of climate crisis - a threat that is real, rising, imminent, and universal. Once again, it is the 11th hour. The penalties for ignoring this challenge are immense and growing, and at some near point would be unsustainable and unrecoverable. For now we still have the power to choose our fate, and the remaining question is only this: Have we the will to act vigorously and in time, or will we remain imprisoned by a dangerous illusion?

Mahatma Gandhi awakened the largest democracy on earth and forged a shared resolve with what he called "Satyagraha" - or "truth force."

In every land, the truth - once known - has the power to set us free.

Truth also has the power to unite us and bridge the distance between "me" and "we," creating the basis for common effort and shared responsibility.

There is an African proverb that says, "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." We need to go far, quickly.

We must abandon the conceit that individual, isolated, private actions are the answer. They can and do help. But they will not take us far enough without collective action. At the same time, we must ensure that in mobilizing globally, we do not invite the establishment of ideological conformity and a new lock-step "ism."

That means adopting principles, values, laws, and treaties that release creativity and initiative at every level of society in multifold responses originating concurrently and spontaneously.

This new consciousness requires expanding the possibilities inherent in all humanity. The innovators who will devise a new way to harness the sun's energy for pennies or invent an engine that's carbon negative may live in Lagos or Mumbai or Montevideo. We must ensure that entrepreneurs and inventors everywhere on the globe have