News: Polo, Jeff Gannon, Jerusalem, Sacha Baron-Cohen, Banksy

With Gay Pride parade in Jerusalem set for Thursday, Haredim choose this year to avoid public protest.

Mario Lopez attempts to recreate a classic.

VV: Why isn't anyone fucking anymore? "The city has shut down all but two bathhouses and every known sex club in Manhattan, as well as citing bars, clubs, and private parties where inspectors find any men-on-men action. The few entrepreneurs still out there complain about apathy and different priorities among younger gay men."

Nomination of homophobic surgeon general James Holsinger may be dead: "Sen. Jim Bunning (R., Ky.), a staunch supporter of surgeon general nominee James W. Holsinger Jr., suggested yesterday that the doctor’s quest for the top U.S. medical post is at an end. During a telephone news conference, Bunning said he doubted the nomination would move forward. He cited the Democratic leadership’s blockage of several Bush administration-backed judicial appointments. 'They are not moving any positions of consequence,' he said."

May 15: Universal sets release date for Sacha Baron-Cohen comedy about gay Austrian journalist Bruno.

Banksy works exceed expectations at London urban art auctions.

Washington Times columnist >Wes Pruden cavalier over millions of AIDS deaths: "We were all supposed to be dead now, done in by AIDS, the gift of the gays. After that it was SARS, bequeathed to the world by China. Then it was avian flu, which, to be fair to the alarmists, did in fact result in the deaths of millions. The millions were all chickens, true, but chickens have feelings, too. You could ask the folks at PETA."

Rex Wockner chronicles the same-sex marriages in San Diego in photos.

Prince Harry gets in uniform to honor Britain's fallen.

Gay Polo League plays in first tournament ever.

Slate: Gay culture war about to turn chemical. "If the idea of chemically suppressing homosexuality in the womb horrifies you, I have bad news: You won't be in the room when it happens. Parents control medical decisions, and surveys indicate that the vast majority of them would be upset to learn that their child was gay. Already, millions are screening embryos and fetuses to eliminate those of the "wrong" sex. Do you think they won't screen for the 'wrong' sexual orientation, too?"

Cristiano Ronaldo and the sweet taste of success.

Keanu Reeves frolics in the surf.

LETTER: The full letter from The Rt Rev Richard Chartres to Rev Martin Dudley following Dudley's marriage of two gay priests.

Jeff Gannon now blogging at the National Press Club.

Germany divided over prospect of gay Lutheran bishop: " Horst Gorski, a senior cleric from Hamburg, is standing for the post of bishop of Schleswig in northern Germany against Gerhard Ulrich, a senior cleric from the Schleswig area. The incumbent bishop is retiring in September. Gorski is a widely respected theologian and he helped set up a centre for gay and lesbian Lutheran pastors. His open homosexuality angers some Lutheran conservatives who argue his election as bishop would leave many Christians with no spiritual home."

Pittsburgh paper: Rural gays isolated, but still stigmatized.

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Jeff Gannon Discusses McClellan Book, Potential GOP Smears

Michelangelo Signorile talked to fake news reporter/escort Jeff Gannon on his radio show yesterday about the GOP smear machine coming after Scott McClellan over his tell-all memoir and the possibility of attacking McClellan on gay rumors that have surfaced in the past.

Gannon said yesterday that he "knew Scott [McClellan]better than any other White House correspondent or Washington reporter." He didn't elaborate to Signorile on the context of that relationship, but suggested that attacks were coming and are fair play.

Writes Signorile: "I found this odd, considering that Gannon has been outraged in the past at even the speculation about his own past, calling it horrible prying, and McClellan did get married in 2003, and Gannon, as reported back during his debacle, had sent McClellan a wedding card! You'd think he'd adamantly deny it -- as someone who claims to know McClellan -- and vehemently attack the speculation."

Listen to it here.

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White House Hustler Jeff Gannon Fired from Washington Blade

The Washington Blade named Kevin Naff as its editor this week following Executive Editor Chris Crain's departure, and one of the first things on Naff's agenda was to clean out some old dross, namely former White House hooker/fake news correspondent Jeff Gannon.

Naff told Fishbowl DC that it wasn't Gannon's conservative ideology that got him fired:

"I made the decision...Basically, my concern is that he has a huge credibility problem, for obvious reasons, and if a member of my staff lied about their identity, lied about their name, lied to their editors, lied to their sources, I would fire them. I wouldn't publish them.

And this has nothing to do with his political beliefs. Our op-ed pages will always be open to members of the community of all political stripes. I will be reaching out to different conservative voices to get those folks inside the paper...Their views will be reflected in our pages, but I just think we can find better people to represent those views."

Former editor Crain had been criticized for what was seen as right-wing bias at the paper after he allegedly killed a story outing RNC chair Ken Mehlman and turned down an opportunity to hear evidence of anti-gay Congressman Ed Schrock's public messages on a gay sex personals phone site because he didn't believe in invading someone's privacy. His hiring of Gannon didn't do much to stem the criticism. Crain also made headlines when he and his boyfriend were the victims of a gay bashing in Amsterdam in 2005.

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Video: Jeff Gannon Visits the Log Cabin Republicans

Jeff Gannon attempted to make a few funnies for the Log Cabin Republicans in NYC last night. Here's a preview. If you're a masochist, you can download the rest of it.

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