News: Georgia, Rauschenberg, Jamaica, John Mayer, Sonoma

First batch of NewNowNext Award winners revealed!

John Mayer gives up on Kristy McNichol haircut, charges fan $10 for photo-op.

Send a personal message of support to Senator Ted Kennedy.

Con man Sonoma County, California attempts to stake claim as same-sex marriage destination.

Who won Dancing with the Stars?

Prayers for Bobby: Sigourney Weaver to play conservative religious mother in Lifetime telepic about gay son's suicide. "In her first telepic role, Weaver will star as Mary Griffith, a devout Christian who winds up becoming an advocate for gay and lesbian youths after her son is driven into a deep depression by his family's disapproval and attempts to 'cure' him of his sexual orientation."

Jamaican prime minister stands behind nation's homophobia: "Jamaica is not going allow values to be imposed on it from outside. We're going to have to determine that ourselves and we're going to have to determine to what extent those values will adapt over time to change, change in perception, change in understanding as to how people live."

Tyler Green on the hetero-normalizing of the late Robert Rauschenberg: "Critics at America's largest publications, including Michael Kimmelman, Alan Artner, Blake Gopnik, Richard Lacayo, and Peter Plagens, mostly avoid the topic. Kimmelman's queasy reference to Jasper Johns, Rauschenberg, and "the intimacy of their relationship" was the closest the Times came to acknowledging that Rauschenberg was gay. The Boston Globe's Mark Feeney, Obit magazine's Phyllis Tuchman and Newsweek's Plagens and others also took the Johns route. The two major papers in Rauschenberg's home state were even more timid."

Court in Malta rules that calling someone "gay" is not defamatory: "Magistrate Michael Mallia ruled that a person’s sexual orientation in the current society was not of social interest bar that of assuring that no discrimination is made. The fact that homosexuality was a criminal offence until 1973, said the magistrate, does not reflect the situation in the 21st century."

Jason Statham has been flogged.

Eric Dane took a few inches off the top.

EU debates sexual preference anti-discrimination guidelines.

Georgia congressman announces plan to introduce federal amendment banning same-sex marriage: "Georgia Congressman Paul Broun announced Tuesday that he will be introducing a constitutional amendment to prevent same-sex marriage in response to a recent decision by the California Supreme Court that recognizes same-sex marriages...'Marriage as an institution exists solely between one man and one woman. Americans have traditionally recognized this definition as being the most beneficial arrangement for the creation of stable family structures and for the upbringing of children. In fact, Americans have repeatedly shown their preference for the traditional definition of one-man, one-woman marriage by passing state and federal laws or by amending state constitutions to preserve the traditional definition,' Broun said."

Hillary Clinton ready for her close-up?

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News: Oscar Wilde, Tasmania, Project Runway, Erotic Jesus

Gay property developers driven from Tasmania by homophobic locals after dead kangaroo is found nailed to door. Stephen Roche: "It's been an interesting ride. But I don't feel as though I've been pushed out at all. It's a very small minority that have had any sort of homophobic prejudice. Tassie's probably got a way to go with acceptance of gay people."

Shopping with Milo Ventimiglia.

Lifetime poaches Project Runway from Bravo and NBC is MAD AS HELL.

Joe.My.God reports on the National Gay & LEsbian Task Force's New York Leadership Awards which said good-bye to Executive Director Matt Foreman.

Over 100 "pro-family" leaders applaud Romania's bigotry.

iTunes Canada removes Jamaican dancehall "Murder music": "This action followed a campaign led by the Canadian LGBT rights group Egale and Stop Murder Music. The songs include advocating or approval of killing gays: 'iTunes is exercising its corporate responsibility by pulling this murder music and raising the bar for other retailers and distributors to do the same,' says Akim Larcher, founder of SMM. He calls iTune’s decision a victory for the gay community in Canada and in the Caribbean."

Oscar Wilde brand alive and well and living in Paris: "In his day, Wilde - iconoclastic, bisexual, Irish - found fame and, briefly, fortune by dint of genius, charm and application. In his own time, he was an outsider and an exotic. Now he’s one of us. We understand his craving for celebrity. We share his obsession with youth. ('Youth is the one thing worth having,' he wrote in The Picture of Dorian Gray.) Gay or straight, we are easy with his sexuality. Indeed, so prejudiced are we in his favour, we tend to overlook the fact that most of the young men in whom he took an interest were little more than boys."

Christian radio station miffed over Wisconsin school district's dress-up day: "Students at Pineview Elementary in Reedsburg had been dressing in costume all last week as part of an annual school tradition called Wacky Week. On Friday, students were encouraged to dress either as senior citizens or as members of the opposite sex. A local resident informed the Voice of Christian Youth America on Friday. The Milwaukee-based radio network responded by interrupting its morning programming for a special broadcast that aired on nine radio stations throughout Wisconsin. The broadcast criticized the dress-up day and accused the district of promoting alternative lifestyles."

Will you make it to third base with Neil Patrick Harris. These bitches did.

UC-Berkeley blood drive encourages gay men to find donors to take their place.

Sex and the City girls the star attraction at a benefit for The Point Foundation.

Erotic Jesus exhibit sparks outrage in Austria: "The source of the dispute, which Austrian media has dubbed Vienna's version of the Mohammad caricature row, is a retrospective honoring Austria's cherished artist Alfred Hrdlicka, who turned 80 earlier this year...The Church hastily removed the main picture, 'a homosexual orgy' of the Apostles as Hrdlicka describes it. But the protest has continued, much to the surprise of the small Cathedral Museum which is nestled down a narrow street in Vienna's historic Gothic quarter. The museum's director defends both Hrdlicka's work and his decision to host the artist's controversial versions of biblical imagery in a museum tied to the Catholic Church. 'We think Hrdlicka is entitled to represent people in this carnal, drastic way,' Bernhard Boehler said in his small museum office, across the street from Vienna's imposing St. Stephan's Cathedral. He said the museum never intended to offend people but that art should be allowed to provoke a debate."

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News: Eric Bana, Puddle, Steve-O, 90210, John Gibson, Jamaica

International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association condemns Jamaica: “We call immediately on Jamaica’s community leaders to cease their oppression. We will continue to speak up and to spotlight these cruel and bigoted actions before tourism and business leaders everywhere. IGLTA is in complete solidarity with Jamaica’s own LGBT leadership, J-FLAG. Therefore, like J-flag, it is not our intention to provoke reprisals or political condemnation in Jamaica by supporting a global tourism boycott. We understand this step could be counter-productive to making true progress in that Caribbean nation, and instead we will focus on education, publicity and market competition to highlight and help curb these terrible abuses."

A sweet little blog about a puddle.

Steve-O from Jackass has really gone off the deep end.

John Gibson, the FOX radio host who mocked Heath Ledger following the actor's death, has lost his TV spot: "The network confirmed this week that 'America’s Election HQ,' a program that displaced 'The Big Story' temporarily last month, would continue indefinitely. The program’s hosts, Bill Hemmer and Megyn Kelly, also anchor the network’s mid-morning newscast and are seen as rising stars on the channel. The change was first reported by the blog TVNewser.com. John Gibson, the longtime host of 'The Big Story,' will continue to have a role on television, the network said, although it appears that his future for now lies mostly on radio. For two years Mr. Gibson, a conservative commentator, has been the host of a three-hour program for Fox News Radio immediately following his television show."

The case for another Earth-sized planet in our solar system, beyond the orbit of Neptune: "A newly released paper shows that may very well be the case. A team of scientists ran a whole mess of simulations, and found that a small planet (in this case, around half the size of the Earth) could have formed inside Neptune’s orbit (where there was plenty of material in the early solar system), gotten tossed into a bigger orbit by Neptune, and then knocked around the orbits of the iceballs, distorting their orbits and creating the Kuiper Cliff."

Noosa mayor rejects claims that his town is the "gay capital" of Australia: "Let me answer the question Joe, let me answer the question, I am not the champion of the gay capital of Australia. Noosa is not the gay capital of Australia. Noosa gets many gay visitors after the mardi gras, they are welcome like every other Australian, Joe. I am not a bigot and I am not closed of mind."

Tom Brady and Eli Manning: no hard feelings.

Obama oral sex and drugs accuser Larry Sinclair files $3 million defamation lawsuit against TubeSockTedD, mzmolly and OWNINGLIARS for calling him a liar.

Spin off of Beverly Hills 90210 in development.

A whole bunch of photography firsts.

MoveOn.org has launched Obama in 30 Seconds, a contest for supporters interested in producing their own ads for the candidate: "We're counting on you to make amazing ads in the next three weeks. Then, MoveOn members and the public will rate the ads, and a panel of top artists, netroots heroes, and filmmaking professionals will pick the winner from among top ads. We'll air the winning ad nationally, and the winner will receive a gift certificate for $20,000 in video equipment." MoveOn has collected a gaggle of celebrities to judge the spots, including Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, John Legend, Moby, James Schamus, Rory Kennedy, and Michael Franti.

Eric Bana is the king of codpieces.

The tale of Spitzer's call girl Kristen.

Northern Irish councillor calls opening of gay bar 'foolish': "A veteran Strabane councillor has said he believes there is 'not a need' for a gay bar in the town. James O'Kane, an Independent member of Strabane District Council, claimed it would be 'very foolish.' The North West gay community has widely welcomed the annoucement of Strabane's first gay bar. However, speaking to the 'Journal,' Councillor O'Kane said: 'My own assumption is that it would be very very foolish to open it, it wouldn't be welcome. I'm a pioneer myself so I would not be frequenting these places anyway but I couldn't see it operating in the town. In this day and age we are all liberal but I can't see a need for it, I suppose only time will tell,' Colr. O'Kane said."

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Gareth Henry, Jamaican Gay Activist, Seeks Refugee Status in Canada

Gareth Henry, one of three gay men who were surrounded by an angry mob outside a pharmacy one year ago today in St. Andrew, Jamaica, is seeking refugee status in Canada.

CBC reports: "Henry says 13 of his friends have been killed in Jamaica since 2004. One 22-year-old friend who was suspected of being gay was chased by a mob, Henry told CBC News. The only place he could run to was the harbour. He couldn't swim. 'Everyone,' said Henry, 'stood and watched him drown.' Henry, who was vocal activist with the country's pioneering gay-rights organization J-FLAG, Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, has had his own troubling experiences. On Valentine's Day last year, he was caught in a pharmacy and surrounded by an angry mob, he said. There was no protection from the police or state. 'When you find police officers who are leading mob attacks, turning up at people's home like myself, pointing guns at my window, with civilians with them, and saying that I need to leave or they're going to kill me, it reinforces homophobia.'"

Henry, a leading activist in Jamaica, says it is a place to which he can no longer return.

Jamaican gay activist seeks refugee status in Canada [tr]

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News: Beatles, MRSA, Vanessa Williams, Jamaica, Maria Shriver

Mob of 20 attacks two gay men in Jamaica: "After days of harassment and threats, a Jamaican mob attacked two gay men, putting one in the hospital with serious injuries, while the other is missing...The group broke into the home of the men and attacked them, authorities told The Associated Press. One man had his left ear severed, his arm broken in two places and his spine possibly damaged; the other man, who was chased from their home, has not been found, according to the report."

Welcome to the just-opened Hard Day's Night Hotel in Liverpool: "The four-star, 110 room Beatle themed hotel opens its doors to the public... and is only a stone's throw away from the site of the famous Cavern Club."

Gay rights activist and psychotherapist Myra Riddell dies at 81.

This is why the Spice Girls tour is ending.

Anti-gay graffiti found in DC police station men's restroom: "'It's extremely offensive, so we're taking it very seriously,' [Police Chief Cathy] Lanier said. Lanier sent an e-mail to police department personnel Thursday night that said, 'All members of this department put their lives on the line every day, and I will not tolerate any member treating another police professional with disrespect.' Lanier said she will 'impose the most serious penalty' if the perpetrator is found to be a member of the department. The graffiti was found in an area that is accessible to both officers and civilians, Lanier said, so it is not clear who may have left the message."

New Chicago Episcopal bishop Jeffrey Lee shows support for gay clergy: "'That's one of the tragedies afflicting the church right now,' he said. 'So many of us seem to think that salvation depends on our theological correctness.'"

Gay Republicans flocking to McCain?

First lady of California Maria Shriver joins Kennedys in 'surprise' Obama endorsement.

SF health officials apologize to gay community for MRSA scare: "We regret that our recent news report (1-14-08) about an important population-based study on MRSA USA300 with public health implications contained some information that could be interpreted as misleading. We deplore negative targeting of specific populations in association with MRSA infections or other public health concerns, and we will be working to ensure that accurate information about the research is disseminated to the health community and the general public."

San Francisco-based music journalist Adam Block dies.

Police break up suspected 'gay' party in India: " A team, led by deputy police commissioner Bhujangrao Shinde, raided the Agrawal bungalow at Yeoor and detained six persons, including the main organiser, Sahil Bhoricha (24). Liquor bottles and condoms were seized from the bungalow. Entry to Yeoor Hills was restricted during the operation. Ashok Row Kavi of Humsafar Trust, a gay rights group, condemned the action as unfair, given that all the men detained were adults and were not found violating any law. A magistrate denied the police custody of those arrested."

Robbie Williams becomes a bear.

Britney Spears' family finally takes control of the situation.

Western Montana Gay and Lesbian Community Center hold "skate against hate" in Missoula to raise awareness about anti-gay violence there.

Gerard Butler and Jonathan Rhys Meyers party it up in L.A.

Ohio health officials to study smoking habits of gay teens: "Health officials are allocating $60,000 to identify the smoking habits of those teens and develop a tobacco-prevention campaign for them. Ohio Department of Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss says gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community has a smoking rate at about 40 to 60 percent. As part of the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay and Transgender Community Youth and Young Adults Anti-Tobacco Social Marketing Project, officials will form focus groups among youths ages 12 through 20 at an LBGT center in Columbus."

Melbourne, Australia holds gay pride march...

Vanessa Williams to be honored as "Ally for Equality" by the Human Rights Campaign. More...

Second memorial service for Heath Ledger held in L.A.: "Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Sienna Miller, Lindsay Lohan, Ellen Degeneres and other celebrities gathered at the Sony Pictures lot on Saturday to remember Heath Ledger. This service comes a week after a smaller gathering that included ex-girlfriend Naomi Watts was held in Beverly Hills. Other mourners included Heath's father Kim, representatives from CAA (the agency that represented Heath), director Todd Haynes, and actress Shannyn Sossamon who was Heath's co-star in "A Knight's Tale". "I'm Not There" director Haynes spoke at the service."

Police raid gay bar in Philippines, arrest 10 for alleged prostitution: "The men were nabbed inside the Male Bucks Hosto Bar in Angeles City around 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Members of the raiding team used a female informer who posed as a customer. The informer told authorities that the "entertainers" were dancing on stage clad only in their underwear."

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News: Heath Ledger Hoax, Italy, Matt Damon, Mexico, Diana Ross,

Time magazine looks at the 15th anniversary of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell": "The issue exploded during Clinton's first week as President, triggered by those in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill opposed to his campaign pledge to reverse an executive order barring gays and lesbians from serving. 'The issue is whether men and women who can and have served with real distinction should be excluded from military service solely on the basis of their status,' Clinton said at the time. 'And I believe they should not.' While the phrase 'don't ask, don't tell' wasn't used at that January 29, 1993, press conference, that's what everyone soon began calling the policy."

Not that Oz: Matt Damon in the Emerald City.

Diana Ross BOOED in Jamaica: Not ready for her close-up.

200 Mexican youths and parents march to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS: "Participants marched through the city's main streets chanting slogans, such as 'Not One More Infected Person' and 'Equal Rights for Young Homosexuals.' Some of the participants also dressed in costumes and distributed condoms. Josue Quino, head of the CAIPAJ gay adolescent and youth center, said the march was necessary to warn youth that a 'single unprotected [sexual] encounter is enough to' contract HIV. Members from the Group of Mothers and Fathers for Diversity also marched in the demonstration, carrying signs that said 'We're Proud of Our Children' and 'Our Children Have United Our Families.'"

Manchester UK police investigate rape at gay sauna.

Clay Aiken: no love.

Which one's Twiggy, which one's Keira Knightley?

Barbara Walters bans Kathy Griffin from The View...again. Griffin: "I was supposed to be on 'The View' [today]. But then I get a call from [producer] Bill Geddie and he says, 'You were too mean to Barbara [Walters] on your last special, so you can't come on.' Can you believe it? I've been banned before, but never re-banned!"

Scammer, posing as Heath Ledger's father, takes advantage of doctor, funeral home, Tom Cruise, and John Travolta: " Cops want to arrest the con man on fraud and larceny charges, and sent detectives to Ledger's wake at the funeral home Friday in hopes of catching him, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. But police do not know the identity of the impostor - who also tried to finagle from one unidentified Hollywood star the numbers of actors Mel Gibson and Christian Bale, who have co-starred in movies with Ledger."

Michael Jackson to get additional reconstructive surgery — this time to his album Thriller.

Method Acting: Sean Penn and James Franco, playing Harvey Milk and his lover Scott Smith, respectively, in the Gus van Sant biopic Milk, reportedly wanted to shack up together for a while before filming started to get to know one another, but due to scheduling difficulties, those plans fell through.

Study finds middle age is truly depressing: "For men and women the probability of depression slowly builds and then peaks when people are in their forties -- a similar pattern found in 72 countries ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe, the researchers said. About eight nations -- mostly in the developing world -- did not follow the U-shaped pattern for happiness levels, Oswald and his colleague David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College in the United States wrote. 'It happens to men and women, to single and married people, to rich and poor, and to those with and without children,' Oswald said. 'Nobody knows why we see this consistency.' One possibility may be that people realize they won't achieve many of their aspirations at middle age, the researchers said. Another reason could be that after seeing their fellow middle-aged peers begin to die, people begin to value their own remaining years and embrace life once more. But the good news is that if people make it to aged 70 and are still physically fit, they are on average as happy and mentally healthy as a 20-year old."

German airline to offer nudist flight.

Italian MP called 'faggot, fairy' and 'traitor' for voting against party lines in order to defend Italian Premier Romano Prodi: "The name-calling erupted on the floor of the Italian Senate on Jan. 24 as Sen. Stefano 'Nuccio' Cusumano shocked fellow members of the tiny Udeur Party by declaring his support for Prodi. The party decided a week earlier to withdraw from Prodi’s fragile ruling coalition, forcing a 'confidence' vote under Italy’s parliamentary system. The Senate voted 161 to 156 to defeat a resolution of confidence for Prodi, forcing him to resign immediately. Although the Udeur Party had helped Prodi form his center-left government in 2006, the party strongly opposed legislation backed by Prodi to provide legal rights and benefits for same-sex couples."

Gay Fort Worth city councilman Joel Burns talks to the Victory Fund, calls anti-gay attack a galvanizing moment: “That morning was an awful, terrible, not good morning. I thought of my mother and father, the little rural town that they live in, and waking up and reading the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and seeing my name on the front page. No parent ever wants to see their child attacked, even if they’re an adult.”

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Buju Banton: Gay Protestors Ignorant, Stupid

Buju Banton may have signed the "Reggae Compassionate Act" but that doesn't equate to much compassion for protestors at the recent Reggae Carifest in New York.

GLAAD protested Carifest because of its inclusion of anti-gay musicians, causing Power 105 (a station owned by Clear Channel) to pull its sponsorship of the fest.

NY1, who claims Banton didn't sign the "Reggae Compassionate Act", asked the singer what he had to say to people who say he's promoting hatred. Said Banton: “I would say to them they are ignorant, they are stupid, even though they proclaim to be intelligent."

Gay Rights Activists Protest Lyrics Outside Reggae Festival [ny1]

Recently
As Buju Banton Signs Gay Reggae Act, Beenie Man Tosses it Off [tr]

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As Buju Banton Signs Gay Reggae Act, Beenie Man Tosses it Off

Reggae star Buju Banton has reportedly agreed to sign the "reggae compassionate act" created by UK gay activist group Outrage!, which declares that musicians "respect and uphold the rights of all individuals to live without fear of hatred and violence due to their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or gender," says that "there’s no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia" and promises that the musician "not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community."

The Guardian reports: "Banton has been a focus for gay activists since the release of 'Boom Bye Bye', in which he sings about shooting gay men in the head, pouring acid on them and burning them alive. He has previously said he wrote 'Boom Bye Bye' as a teenager and is not homophobic, but he was filmed performing 'Boom Bye Bye' at a concert in Miami last year."

The agreement, part of the Stop Murder Music campaign spearheaded by activist Peter Tatchell, is the result of years of work trying to stop dancehall singers from using lyrics that promote violence against gays. In June, it was reported that Sizzla, Capleton, and Beenie Man, three of reggae's biggest players, had signed the agreement.

However, on Friday, while declaring that violence against gays is wrong, Beenie Man denied he ever signed the deal, according to the Jamaica Observer.

Said Beenie Man: "We don't need it," he told reporters shortly after closing Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest's Dancehall Night at approximately 7:15 Friday morning. "We don't need to kill dem. We just need fi tell the people dem the right ting because I not supporting a gay lifestyle because it's not wholesome to me...It's a ting from the promoters of Europe. They are getting so much fight from the Christian and "g" organisation and everything...I do music. Dancehall mi do, I can't promise nuh man dat. And mi neva sign it, yuh hear sah." (sic)

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Reggae Stars Renounce Homophobia, Condemn Anti-gay Violence [tr]

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Reggae Stars Renounce Homophobia, Condemn Anti-gay Violence

Beenie Man, Sizzla, and Capleton, three of Reggae's biggest stars who in the past have been criticized and banned for using homophobic lyrics that contribute to an atmosphere that permits violence against gays and lesbians, have signed the Reggae Compassionate Act, an agreement put together by Stop Murder Music activists and music promoters.

Those artists signed up for the act have made a pledge to “respect and uphold the rights of all individuals to live without fear of hatred and violence due to their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or gender, say that "there’s no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia" and "agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community."

Said activist Peter Tatchell, who helped broker the deal for Stop Murder Music:

"The Reggae Compassionate Act is a big breakthrough. The singers’ rejection of homophobia and sexism is an important milestone. We rejoice at their new commitment to music without prejudice. This deal will have a huge, positive impact in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The media coverage will generate public awareness and debate, breaking down ignorance and undermining homophobia. Having these major reggae stars renounce homophobia will influence their fans and the wider public to rethink bigoted attitudes. The beneficial effect on young black straight men will be immense."

In return for their agreement, activists have agreed to suspend a campaign against the singers. Five other performers — Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton — have not signed the agreement and campaigns against them will continue.

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News: The Joker, Liz Taylor, Presbyterians, David LaChapelle

CIA: Iraq a "big moneymaker" for al Qaeda.

Tim Gunn and Heatherette toss a few salads at the Wish-Bone fashion show.

L.A. Galaxy owner: Beckham investment will be more than recouped by the time he arrives in July. Tim Leiweke: "David Beckham will do more for US soccer than any other activity in the young history of North America's top league. With David coming to play for our team soccer has made a quantum leap in terms of public awareness. His signing created such a huge interest that we should be able to make good on our investment before he even arrives in California in July."

Courtney Love and David LaChappelle hit Mr. Chow. Love jokes: "This is David LaChapelle ... and he is not a homosexual."

Gay man details persecution in Jamaica, failed attempt to seek asylum in the UK: "People [always] tell me that I walk like a girl. What happened is that a group of men drew me into St Michael's Church, and they used a stone and started knocking me in the head...Then, one of them told his friend to go for his gun to shoot me and throw me in a pit. I was begging for my life and telling them that I was not that (homosexual) and that I was coming from Bellevue. Then they buck up on (found) a letter that the doctor gave me from Bellevue, and they read through it and decided that I was a 'mad bwoy' and decided to let me go."

Cannes Water Lilies director Céline Sciamma comes out of the closet: "Hey, I'm gay. I don't know if I should say this. I always...resent the people who are gay, who could say it, and they don't. So I'm not going to do that. I have to be logical.”

Verdict: Liz Taylor can keep Van Gogh looted by the Nazis. "Dame Elizabeth, 75, bought the 1889 work, View Of The Asylum And Chapel At Saint-Remy, at Sotheby's in 1963 for £92,000. She keeps it in her Los Angeles home. The painting, completed by Van Gogh near the end of his life, is estimated to now be worth up to £8 million. The Orkin family sued Taylor for return of the painting in 2004. They are South African and Canadian descendants of Margarete Mauthner, a Jewish woman whose possessions were seized by the Nazis when she fled Germany in 1939. The Orkins claimed the work was among the items confiscated and that it should be returned to them under the U.S. Holocaust Victims Redress Act."

Meth addict or Heath Ledger?

George Michael explains car troubles: "It involves prescribed drugs and it involves a dependency on them and the tendency to chase one drug with another because of side effects."

Presbyterian court upholds anti-gay policies: "The court ruled 8-3 that the presbytery could not call the ordination standards 'an essential of Reformed polity,' but while candidates could disagree with them, they still must adhere to them. The court also voted 11-0 that presbytery could prevent clergy from conducting same-sex marriages as long as they were able to bless same-sex unions, which the church's high court has upheld."

Choose Hillary Clinton's campaign song!

Gay Welsh referee selected for Rugby World Cup: "It's such a big taboo to be gay in my line of work, I had to think very hard about it because I didn't want to jeopardise my career. Coming out was very difficult and I tried to live with who I really was for years. I knew I was 'different' from my late teens, but I was just living a lie."

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News: Tobey Maguire, Darth Vader, Cayman Islands, Jamaica

Extremely disturbing images of another brutal anti-gay mob attack in Jamaica. Sick.

Tobey Maguire's mom on her son's friendship with Leonardo DiCaprio: "I figured this subject would come up sooner or later . . . Those two are just free-spirited guys. Most of the friends they hang around with are gay. They're comfortable with that. But I think Leo and Tobey are the crossover between men and women. They have feminine traits they are willing to accept. They aren't ashamed to have any sort of title, even if that means someone calling them gay."

Jason West, who performed public ceremonies for two dozen same-sex marriages in 2004, lost his re-election bid yesterday: "Mr. West was defeated by a village trustee, Terry Dungan, in a 514-to-379 vote, according to unofficial results announced shortly after the polls closed. Mr. West had been charged with 24 misdemeanor counts of violating the state’s domestic relations law when he performed public marriage ceremonies for two dozen gay and lesbian couples in February 2004. The Ulster County district attorney later dropped the charges, saying that a trial would be needless and divisive."

Barbra Streisand to charge $1,000 per ticket in UK show.

Bush warns that Democrats could turn Iraq into terrorist breeding ground.

Philippe Starck lays his hands on a New York luxury condominium: Gramercy by Starck. "As we gazed at Philippe Starck's head emerging from the top of the building on a plasma screen, we wondered if the people who desire to buy into Starck's rich boy minimalism really want to live on a nothing-special stretch of East 23rd Street?"

The incredible, edible....anus?

Lifted by the Force of nature: Darth Vader hot air balloon.

Micron Technology Inc., whom I posted about last week, has added sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policies: "The move comes after The Advocate revealed last week that the Boise, Idaho, company’s board of directors had ignored an unprecedented 55 percent shareholder vote in favor of adding both sexual orientation and gender identity to its nondiscrimination policies."

The Netherlands' recent court order that its territory Aruba recognize same-sex marriages has rekindled a gay rights debate in the Cayman Islands: "'We either fight the FCO, UK for self-determination on this issue of homosexual marriage or in short order we will face the same situation here in the Cayman Islands,' the People for Referendum said in a press release. 'Either we exercise our UN mandated inalienable self-determination rights to ensure the Constitution does not allow homosexual marriage or acknowledge and let our people know the fact that it’s not a matter of if homosexual marriage will become legal in our Cayman Islands by the UK’s Order in Council.'"

Ricky Martin shows footage of himself nude at concert.

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News Report from Jamaica Reveals Homophobic Mob

Two weeks ago I posted about an ugly situation in Jamaica where three gay men had been cornered in a St. Andrew pharmacy by an angry homophobic mob. When the men were led to the safety of patrol cars by police, they were stoned.

Here's a fuzzy news report which reveals the extent of the sick frenzy surrounding the incident.

I pulled the video from a hateful Jamaican blog which advocated, among other things, that homosexuals should die. The blog, Killbattyman.blogspot.com had been tagged with a warning page and was apparently pulled offline by Google, which owns the Blogger hosting service, this morning. I was able to grab the address for this video before it went dark. The illustration here was the lovely logo of the site.

Before it was pulled, Google had placed an interstitial page in front of the site which read: "Some readers of this blog have contacted Google because they believe this blog's content is hateful. In general, Google does not review nor do we endorse the content of this or any blog."

UK news outlet Pink News brought the site to the attention of the British Association of Chief Police Officers who immediately condemned the site, saying "ACPO condemn this completely. This is not the sort of thing we want anyone reading on the internet."

The site called for the death of high-profile gay men including designers Dolce & Gabbana and Outrage! UK activist Peter Tatchell. It also mocked the recent stoning of three Jamaican gay men by a homophobic mob outside a pharmacy in St. Andrew, as seen in the video above and in my recent post.

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Angry Homophobic Mob of 2,000 Attacks, Stones Gays in Jamaica [tr]

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Angry Homophobic Mob of 2,000 Attacks, Stones Gays in Jamaica

A terrifying scene from Jamaica yesterday.

Jamaican police had to fire tear gas into a crowd of 2,000 people in St. Andrew after they had gathered around a pharmacy because three men whom they had branded as homosexual were hiding inside.

The police were reportedly taunted as they ushered the three "visibly terrified" men out of the pharmacy and into police vehicles. One of the men was hit with a stone as he was escorted to a waiting van (above).

According to the Jamaica Observer, "One man in the crowd was determined to get a chance to beat them and hurled insults at the police when they drove out of the premises. 'Unu can come save them nasty boy yah? Them boy yah fi go down,' the man bellowed."

Another woman told the paper: "Jamaica has lost its way if men think they can openly flaunt being gay without any consequences. We don't want that kind of open gay life in this country."

In Jamaica, homosexuality is punishable by up to nine years in prison.

Cops save three alleged homosexuals from angry crowd [jamaica observer]

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