News: DC Madam, HRC, Naomi Campbell, Sally Kern, Singapore

D.C. Madam commits suicide in Florida...Whitney Houston's daughter attempts...

HRC's VP of Programs, David Smith, talked to Michelangelo Signorile about why the Human Rights Campaign is not endorsing anyone in the Oregon Senate race, why they support Susan Collins, the Maine Republican who backed various antigay judges and Supreme Court justices, and why they're not endorsing Jim Neal of North Carolina. Audio here.

Batter Up: Who is Naomi Campbell gonna lay into next?

Scientists report success in blocking HIV infection in lab by inactivating protein expressed in key immune cells.

Misconception that AIDS is a gay disease fueling infection rate in Singapore.

Read John McCain's 2003 speech he delivered on the Senate floor on the occasion of "Mission Accomplished": "Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom demonstrated to the world what we saw just 12 years ago. We went to war as the most combat-ready force in the world. The value of that readiness is clear. We won a massive victory in a few weeks, and we did so with very limited loss of American and allied lives. We were able to end aggression with minimum overall loss of life, and we were even able to greatly reduce the civilian casualties of Afghani and Iraqi citizens."

AfterElton is casting about for the world's 100 hottest men.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore slams Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell over attitude toward gays: “Christ was a radical. He despised the Establishment and the Pharisees. He threw the money-changers out of the temple. I liken certain church officials today to the Pharisees that Christ took exception to."

Focus on the Family's new logo interpreted.

Vanderbilt University makes strides in reaching out to LGBT students: "There will be 'five immediate key action steps,' Dean of Students Mark Bandas wrote in a press release: opening an Office for GLBT Life; hiring a director of GLBT life; working with various campus groups, especially admissions offices and The Commons, to 'ensure that members of the GLBT community understand that they are welcomed and valued members of our community'; moving to amend the non-discrimination policy to include gender identity and expression; and continuing to investigate additional recommendations made by the GLBTQI Student Issues Committee."

Reichen recants rant: "Sorry everyone for being childish. We all experience pain, but venting on MySpace isn't right. I'm sorry and I regret it. I was emotional and I don't feel any of the things I've said. And whoever I've dated that it could have been directed toward is and was never the way I may have described. I was venting on life and frustration and I apologize for offending anyone or for making myself look childish."

Carrie Underwood gets liquored up in Vegas for new video...

Jason Lewis doesn't understand the haters: "In the world we're living in, gay people are still horribly discriminated against. Why does anybody need to be so affected by someone else's happiness? Some of these people show up 20 years in a row at the county clerk's office [to get married] knowing they're going to be turned down. That's dedication and love...These are decent people."

Sally Kern's rival in the upcoming election amassing a major war chest.

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News: Tim Gill, Penis Thieves, Singapore, Anti-Gay T-shirt

Gay activist and philanthropist Tim Gill scaring the crap out of the religious right. Pat Robertson: "What are the Christians doing about this? The answer is 'absolutely zip'. There was an organization that I founded but it's not there anymore. To my knowledge, there is no other Christian grassroots organization that is even coming CLOSE to what Tim Gill is doing on the left for homosexuals."

Brazilian gay magazine DOM launches online.

Police arrest 13 men in the Congo for stealing and shrinking penises.

Toby Maguire gets his bear on.

Singapore's state-owned television station was fined $11,040 for broadcasting a program that featured a gay couple and their adopted child: " The Straits Times reported that Singapore's Media Development Authority said the episode of home and decor series Find and Design, in which the host helped the couple decorate a nursery, 'normalizes and promotes a gay lifestyle.' The pro-government newspaper said the censor had also objected to scenes of the couple and their baby as well as the host's acknowledgement of them as a family, because it broke a rule 'which disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamorize gay lifestyles.'"

Pittsburgh gay rights advocate Randal G. "Randy" Forrester dies of cancer at 60.

UK mother jailed for anti-gay abuse, daughter given supervision: "Canterbury magistrates heard the pair, both of The Halt, Whitstable, carried out a campaign of hate between 13 March and 17 May 2007. They called the men names and Reeves drove her car at one of them. The court was told that the pair began abusing Michael Harris and Shires Crichton, of Kingston, Kent, when both men sided with another neighbour in an ongoing dispute. During the sentencing, the chairman of the magistrates told Reeves: 'Although there was no evidence of violence, the psychological affect on the victims has been far reaching. In your case there are strong aggravating factors. Those factors are that you made homophobic gestures and remarks over an extended period and you showed no remorse.'"

Neil Patrick Harris opens up to Howard Stern about his sexuality.

Lipstick Jungle hottie Robert Buckley may want to use some sunscreen.

Cynthia Nixon making plans to marry.

Is Chace Crawford being gay framed on Craigslist?

Now that's a chest.

Greg Siff talks about his new play The Nothing Boys opening on May 3 in L.A.

Court rules that teen can wear "Be Happy, Not Gay" T-shirt, reversing two earlier rulings: "In issuing this reversal, though, the court basically upheld the validity of the Naperville school's rule forbidding derogatory comments, oral or written, that refer to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. 'High school students are not adults, schools are not public meeting halls, children are in school to be taught by adults rather than to practice attacking each other with wounding words, and school authorities have a protective relationship and responsibility to all the students,' says the court's opinion, written by Judge Richard Posner."

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News: Raymond Burr, Flowers, Mychal Judge, Ross Bleckner

Vigil held for Father Mychal Judge on eve of Pope's Ground Zero visit: "He had a heart as big as New York. There was room for everybody. We wish that our church had room for everybody, and that was one of our prayers tonight, that our church would be welcoming, especially those who feel excluded, especially gays and lesbians."

Jesse Metcalfe shows off new tuff n hairy shots.

Enrique Iglesias says people are pleasantly surprised when they pull down his pants.

David Zippel (lyricist and co-librettist), Joe Leonardo (co-librettist) and Jonathan Sheffer (composer) team up for musical version of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1930 Broadway comedy, Once in a Lifetime to star Christine Ebersole. The show, which is having a reading next month, is to be directed by Jerry Mitchell.

Singapore restricts videogames with gay themes: "People Like Us considers this new rule unjustifiably strict. Children should not have to be kept ignorant about the presence of gay people in society anymore than they should be shielded from people of other faiths and ethnicities. The path to acceptance of gay people is through teaching children about diversity from a young age. It is pejorative to lump gay sexual orientation with crime and drug use as the MDA’s new guidelines do, as if gay orientation is some kind of social threat."

Hillary Clinton slams MoveOn.org at private fundraiser. Clinton strategist Geoff Garin responds...

Gay men being "liberated from a narrow place" at New York Jewish seminary.

Dead or Alive's Pete Burns has reportedly leaked his own sex tape.

BOOK: Perry Mason's Raymond Burr led a secret gay life.

Britney Spears to return to How I Met your Mother because "she had so much fun the first time around."

Gay bookstore in Vancouver that challenged Canadian Customs is up for sale: "Only two years after the store opened in 1983, the owners took on a fight that bolstered and exhausted them, lasting until just last year and challenging Canada's censorship laws. After 23 years of fighting Canada Customs' seizures of books bound for the gay and lesbian bookshop, the partners have put Little Sister's up for sale. It's time to do something else, Deva says as he plans to get a choir booked for the store's 25th anniversary celebrations. 'It's probably time to pass on the torch hopefully to some younger, energetic people who are willing to work with our store,' he says. 'I'm not in a rush. We're going to take our time.' The fight against Customs put the store at the forefront of the battle against censorship in Canada. Among books seized were Jean Genet's Querelle, Quentin Crisp's The Naked Civil Servant, Joe Orton's Prick Up Your Ears, The Joy of Gay Sex and The Joy of Lesbian Sex."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the tarot cards!

You're Going to be Gay: New book looks at childhood pictures that foretell a gay future.

Gay UK airport security guard could be awarded up to £30,000 in sexual harassment claim over female co-worker who came on to him.

Artist Ross Bleckner penning a memoir: "'It's based on the journals he has kept for years,' says a pal. 'And he is writing it as if he is giving advice to his younger self.' The New York painter is expected to include recollections about famous friends including Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg and former Mrs. Ron Perelman, Claudia Cohen."

Flowers appear to be losing their scent and experts are worried: "The potentially hugely significant research – funded by the blue-chip US National Science Foundation – has found that gases mainly formed from the emissions of car exhausts prevent flowers from attracting bees and other insects in order to pollinate them. And the scientists who have conducted the study fear that insects' ability to repel enemies and attract mates may also be impeded."

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News: Courtney Love, Provincetown, Mario Lopez, Woodpecker

Archbishop Desmond Tutu honored by International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in San Francisco. Tutu: "How sad, how tragic, that the Church be so concerned with this issue when God’s children all the world over are suffering. I ask for your forgiveness for the way the Church has ostracized you."

Sotheby's photography auction off to strong start.

Is Courtney Love rehearsing for a Valley of the Dolls remake?

The artist known as Prince has joined the line-up for this year's Coachella Music Festival.

More on the gay Yale impostor!

Anti-gay Christian group in Maine launches referendum aimed at banning same-sex marriage and gay adoption: "The referendum also would eliminate sexual orientation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and would take away funding that supports civil rights teams affiliated with the state Attorney General’s Office. Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, said that if the Secretary of State’s Office approves his petition, he’ll begin recruiting organizers to gather signatures. Putting a referendum on the state ballot requires about 55,000 signatures, or 10 percent of the turnout for the last gubernatorial election."

First gay bar outside of Ireland's major cities opens in Strabane, Northern Ireland. Rainbow Project leader: "What the opening of this bar is saying is that, yes, our small towns have a gay community too and they are welcome and they are valued. I have been a gay rights activist for 25 years and when I started out, gay people were moving away in their droves because they were deemed socially unacceptable. But now we have this development and it is one of the biggest steps I've seen for the gay community. What it is saying to us is stay, there is something here for you."

Hey bird lovers: woodpecker with freakishly large beak photographed.

Rosie O'Donnell fighting tabloid claim that she abuses her kids.

Gay domestic abuse survivor Pedro Velazquez Fernandez to speak at rally in Des Moines, Iowa: "I feel like when I'm getting to know somebody, I can't trust him. I hate to say it, but I think ... love doesn't exist."

New York magazine has 21 questions for Simon Doonan.

Singapore cable operator fined for showing lesbian kiss: "Singapore's Media Development Authority, which regulates and censors media and the arts, said on Wednesday it fined StarHub S$10,000 ($7,246) for airing a commercial for a song that featured 'romanticised scenes' of lesbians kissing and portrayed the relationship as 'acceptable'. The music video of the song, titled 'Silly Child' by Mandarin singer Olivia Yan, shows an intimate kissing scene before one of the women rejects her boyfriend at the end of the clip. 'This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality,' the media authority said."

New ferry route launches between Gloucester, Massachusetts and Provincetown.

Mario Lopez about to hit the Broadway stage in A Chorus Line.

Gavin Newsom punks protestors with seismic bait-and-switch at San Francisco Olympic torch procession: "'I am very upset,' said Rosie Salis, 51, who came in from Foster City to see the relay. 'There were lots of people here with their kids. They had to wait for four or five hours, and it's very disappointing.' Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, a vocal critic of Newsom's administration, was equally unhappy, as was the local ACLU chapter. 'Gavin Newsom runs San Francisco the way the premier of China runs his country - secrecy, lies, misinformation, lack of transparency and manipulating the populace,' Peskin said. 'He did it so China can report they had a great torch run.' Newsom emphatically denied those accusations. 'We felt it was in everyone's best interest that we augment the route,' Newsom said. 'I believe people were afforded the right to protest and support the torch. You saw that in the streets. They were not denied the ability to protest.'"

Was the universe that came before our own its identical twin?

Parents in Eau Claire, Wisconsin upset that a teacher told five health classes that she's gay: "At least one parent said Rowe had no business talking about her sexual preference. The parent agreed that Rowe is an outstanding teacher, but she should stick to the curriculum."

Poll shows Clinton-Obama "dream ticket" beaten by McCain-Rice ticket in New York state: "According to the poll, McCain/Condi would earn the votes of 49% of registered voters in New York State compared with 46% for a Clinton/Obama ticket, and the same 49% against an underwhelming 44% for an Obama/Clinton ticket."

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News: Charlton Heston, Rickroll, Woody Harrelson, Singapore

Canadian PM Stephen Harper urged to repudiate gay slur by Saskatchewan MP Thomas Lukiwski: "The prime minister needs to deal with this issue directly and try to put it behind him as soon as possible. I think the prime minister has to personally say, 'I don't accept these comments, I repudiate them and it's not part of the party or the government or where its mind is at on a lot of these issues right now."

New book Uncle Bobby's Wedding teaches children about same-sex marriage: "Cute guinea pigs stand in for humans in this sensitive story in which Chloe is not concerned that her favorite uncle is marrying another male, only about how it will affect her close relationship with Uncle Bobby. When he assures her that they can still have fun together, she relaxes and gets into her role as flower girl. Sarah S. Brannen takes a calm, straightforward approach to this hot-button issue, as when Chloe asks her mother, 'How can Uncle Bobby get married?' Mama answers, 'When grown-up people love each other that much, they want to be married.'"

Woody Harrelson goes skinnydipping with Owen Wilson.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in slush fund scandal: "Chris Quinn could well become the first lesbian mayor of the largest city in the United States, but she could just as well end up indicted in a fiscal scandal that threatens to unravel what has been a political career marked by political savvy and unbounded ambition."

Charlton Heston dies at 83: "Although Heston talked about and praised the "brilliantly talented homosexuals" he worked with during his career, he was often accused of being homophobic, especially later in his life. In a 1997 speech at the Free Congress Foundation's 20th Anniversary Gala, Heston was criticized by gay rights groups, including GLAAD, for derogatory remarks made toward the gay community. In the speech, Heston demonstrated both tolerance and discrimination against gays in almost equal measure. 'Many homosexuals are hugely talented artists and executives... also dear friends. I don't despise their lifestyle, though I don't share it,' Heston stated. 'As long as gay and lesbian Americans are as productive, law-abiding and private as the rest of us, I think America owes them absolute tolerance. It's the right thing to do. But on the other hand,' Heston continued. 'I find my blood pressure rising when Clinton's cultural shock troops participate in homosexual-rights fund-raisers but boycott gun-rights fund-raisers... and then claim it's time to place homosexual men in tents with Boy Scouts, and suggest that sperm donor babies born into lesbian relationships are somehow better served and more loved.'"

Censor board bans four films at Singapore Film Festival: "It said the films 'exceed the Film Classification Guidelines'. Board of Film Censors chairman Amy Chua said 'Arabs and Terrorism' and another film, 'David the Tolhildan', were "disallowed on account of their sympathetic portrayal of organisations deemed terrorist organisations by many countries...Another rejected film, 'A Jihad for Love' by gay Muslim film-maker Parvez Sharma, is about homosexual people living within Muslim communities, the festival said. In a statement, Chua said the film was disallowed because of 'the sensitive nature of the subject'."

JC ya later: Chace Crawford and Carrie Underwood broke up via text message.

The ugly homophobic truth about the RickRoll.

Protest as "ex-gay" group Exodus International holds convention in Fresno, California: "The opposing viewpoints echoed a debate that has played out across the country. The Orlando-based Exodus and a handful of other groups have sought to present what they describe as a Christian alternative to a gay lifestyle. But their efforts have inspired a backlash from people who say such an approach can lead to self-loathing. Saturday's protest was cordial. The protesters -- about a dozen -- kept their distance, and at one point, Exodus president Alan Chambers offered to bring them coffee. It was the last day of a three-day conference. About 150 people from all over California attended. It included talks by the mother of actress Anne Heche, who had a relationship with openly gay Ellen Degeneres, and Chambers, a formerly gay man who has since married a Fresno woman. They have two children."

Death by blogging: Can't say I don't relate.

Head of security for Siegfried and Roy details Roy Horn's instructions for him to cut up their deceased tiger Sahara and cremate it.

Moment of truth: Perez Hilton takes lie detector test over John Mayer make-out session.

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Previously Banned Gay Christian Duo Given OK for Singapore Show

Gay Christian singing duo Jason and deMarco have been given approval to perform a December show in Singapore as part of an AIDS awareness benefit concert. Two years ago, the duo was stopped from performing in Singapore.

According to Agence France Presse: "...the Media Development Authority (MDA) said it had approved a concert this time because organisers had given assurances that they aimed to highlight the HIV/AIDS issue. 'In 2005, a similar concert featuring the pop duo was disallowed because the concert was open to general members of the public,' the MDA's deputy director for arts and licensing, Amy Tsang, said in a statement Thursday. She said concert organisers have 'given the assurance to MDA that the concert is targeted at the high risk groups. The organiser has also assured MDA that the aim of the concert is AIDS education and HIV prevention,' she said."

Singapore recently voted to uphold a ban on gay sex in the country, which remains punishable by two years in prison.

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News: Heidi Fleiss, 50 Cent, Georgetown University, Banksy

Crimes: The cost of being LGBT in today's world.

REPORT: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi ready to split.

Entertainment Weekly: Why didn't Brokeback Mountain change anything? "According to almost every person interviewed for this story, there just aren't any high-quality gay scripts in circulation. 'I swear to you, if there were projects that were visible and good, people would make them,' says Hairspray producer Craig Zadan, who, with Neil Meron, makes up one of the most successful gay producing teams in town. 'No one's brought them to us.' It doesn't help that the scripts that are out there can't seem to get off the ground. The Front Runner, about a cross-country coach who falls in love with one of his runners, and The Dreyfus Affair, about a romance between two major-league ballplayers, have been in development hell for years. And Zadan and Meron themselves have spent 16 years trying to get The Mayor of Castro Street, about slain gay civil rights icon Harvey Milk, on the screen. So gay film is caught in a bitter catch-22. Because studios don't greenlight gay movies, great writers don't bother crafting them — so there's nothing for the studios to produce."

British rugby player de-planed and de-pantsed.

Following hate crime, Georgetown University finally makes commitment to LGBT community: "At an open forum last night, President John DeGioia commendably announced that Georgetown will have a fully-staffed, fully-funded LGBTQ resource center by next fall. Three working groups will be created to address the creation of the resource center, the development of a better bias-reporting system and plans for LGBTQ diversity training during New Student Orientation."

What happens if you stay awake for eleven days straight?

Singapore's gay rights debate got ugly: "There were threatening, expletive-laced emails. One parliamentarian had his sexuality questioned. Another academic was flamed in blogs and had her phone number circulated. And the employer of one gay professional was questioned about their hiring him. The ugly turn of events, some may say, is only to be expected given the emotional nature of the subject matter — one that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had warned on Tuesday could polarise society."

Heidi Fleiss seeking studs for stud farm.

50 Cent and Lance Bass do book battle.

While Morrissey does NYC, Reichen Lehmkuhl does drag.

New study on the effects of chewing gum on weight loss: "A research study presented at the 2007 Annual Scientific Meeting of The Obesity Society, found that chewing gum before an afternoon snack helped reduce hunger, diminish cravings and promote fullness among individuals who limit their overall calorie intake. Calorie intake from snacks was significantly reduced by 25 calories. Overall, this study demonstrates the benefits of chewing gum and highlights the potential role of chewing gum in appetite control and weight management. Nutritionists say that even small changes in calories can have an impact in the long term."

Desperate Housewives to get gayer as Estimates eclipsed at Banksy auction. Bonham's specialist: "Today's results demonstrate that prices for Banksy's work continue to go from strength to strength. Perhaps the most incredible aspect of the Banksy phenomenon ...(is) that as a self-confessed guerilla artist, he has been so wholeheartedly embraced by the very establishment he satirizes. We are sure that this irony is not lost on today's buyers."

San Francisco Episcopal diocese okays blessings for same-sex couples.

David Beckham voted "manliest" in poll.

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Singapore Retains Sodomy Ban for Gays, Lifts it for Straights

The debate is over (for now) in Singapore, where the nation's Parliament just decriminalized oral and anal sex for consenting heterosexual adults but refused to do the same for gays. Gay sex remains punishable by two years in prison there.

Australia's Daily Telegraph reports:

"Member of Parliament Siew Kum Hong, who supported the petition, said legalising sexual acts between two consenting heterosexual adults, while refusing to decriminalise the same acts between homosexual men, was discriminatory. But Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong weighed in for the retention of the law, saying that Singapore remains a conservative society - with the traditional family as its main building bloc - and homosexuals cannot set the tone for the mainstream. Abolishing the law could 'send the wrong signal' and push gay activists to ask for more concessions, such as same-sex marriage and parenting, Mr Lee said. Gays 'are free to lead their lives and pursue their social activities,' the Prime Minister said, citing the existence of gay websites and gay bars. 'But there are restraints, and we do not approve of them setting the tone of mainstream society,' he said. 'They live their lives, that's their personal space. But the tone of the overall society, I think, it remains conventional, it remains straight and we want it to remain so.' Lee said keeping the statute unchanged, while not aggressively enforcing it, remained the best option."

Sure, give 'em their websites and bars, but the right to love one another as human beings? Forget it. Reminds me a bit of this moment from John McCain.

The largest review of the nation's Penal Code in 22 years had been marked by vigorous debate over the issue, including an online petition signed by over 8,000 people.

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Debate Underway in Singapore Over Gay Sex Ban

Debate is underway in Singapore regarding Section 377a of the Penal Code, which criminalizes gay sex. Parliament is making the most extensive changes to the Code in over two decades and activists see a window of opportunity to have the discriminatory law changed.

Conservatives don't seem to be swayed by their arguments, however. Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs, Ho Peng Kee, said that repealing Section 377a is not a message that the government wants to send: "While homosexuals have a place in society... repealing section 377A will be contentious and may send a wrong signal that the government is encouraging and endorsing the homosexual lifestyle as part of our mainstream way of life."

Organizers of a petition to repeal the ban were optimistic about comments made earlier this year by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who suggested that the government should rake a new look at its approach to homosexuality given compounding evidence that it's genetic and not a choice.

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #185

REPEAL 377a: Singaporeans rap to get folks energized about repealing the section of the nation's penal code that criminalizes gay sex.

ANN COULTER: Her recent appearance on Donny Deutsch's "The Big Idea", in which she says "We just want the Jews to be perfected. That’s what Christianity is. We believe the Old Testament but ours is more like Federal Express. You have to obey laws. We know that we’re all sinners." (source: media matters)

STACY HEDGER: Get in the way back machine and watch this pageant contestant toot out a thrilling trumpet solo to the theme from Star Wars! (source: dlisted)

THE KILLERS: Teaming up with Lou Reed on new track "Tranquilize". (source: arjan writes)

Check out our previous guides to the Tube here!

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Singaporeans Call for Decriminalization of Gay Sex

Eyeing a "window of opportunity" to have the nation's ban on gay sex repealed, activists in Singapore have launched an online petition that, as of this posting, had collected nearly 3,000 signatures.

The petition call for the government to repeal Section 377a ahead of a proposed debate on what the AP calls "the most extensive revision of the penal code in 23 years.":

"Under the proposed changes to be debated October 22, oral and anal sex between consenting heterosexual adults will no longer be considered an offense. But Section 377A, which deals with the same acts between men, will remain in force with a maximum penalty of two years in jail."

Petition organizers are optimistic about comments made earlier this year by Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who suggested that the government should rake a new look at its approach to homosexuality given compounding evidence that it's genetic and not a choice.

Repeal 377a [petition site]

Previously
Former Singapore Prime Minister Questions Criminality of Gay Sex [tr]

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News: Great White, Uganda, Matthew McConaughey, Singapore

Singapore bans gay picnic, saying politics not welcome in public parks: "It was never meant to be political, and this testifies to the paranoia of the government. They automatically assume that anything gay is a political challenge to them. It speaks volumes about the political climate in Singapore."

Beckham pays a visit to the Yankees and Blue Jays' clubhouses to see what American sports are all about.

British Great White Shark photo exposed as a fake: "The man who took the picture, which was featured prominently in the Sun, admitted he had snapped the creature during a fishing trip in South Africa rather than off Newquay, northern Cornwall. 'I took the picture while I was on a fishing trip in Cape Town and just sent it in as a joke,' Kevin Keeble told the Newquay Voice newspaper. 'I didn't expect anyone to take be daft enough to take it seriously.'"

Five continents to see lunar eclipse on August 28th: "The event begins 54 minutes past midnight PDT (0754 UT) on August 28th when the Moon enters Earth's shadow. At first, there's little change. The outskirts of Earth's shadow are as pale as the Moon itself; an onlooker might not even realize anything is happening. But as the Moon penetrates deeper, a startling metamorphosis occurs. Around 2:52 am PDT (0952 UT), the color of the Moon changes from moondust-gray to sunset-red. This is totality, and it lasts for 90 minutes."

Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church to picket funerals of Minneapolis bridge collapse victims.

A look at Matthew McConaughey's pocket rocket?

Retired bishop who supported gay rights causes reaction after he is identified attending Catholic mass in Uganda: "The Rt. Rev. John Baptist Kaggwa mentioned Ssenyonjo among the important guests in the congregation, drawing mixed reactions from Catholics who also condemn homosexuality. One of the celebrants said Ssenyonjo should not have been recognised during the mass because the public could think that the Catholic Church sympathises with gay activists."

What's next for Apple TV?

Broward County Commission blasts Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle over homophobic comments, but stops short of censure: "Using words such as bigoted and despicable, commissioners united in chastising Naugle, then signed letters that will be sent to gay news Web sites and convention planners reaffirming their commitment to diversity. The symbolic reproach individually by the nine commissioners, though, stops shy of them formally voting to censure him, which is what some gay political activists want. The county's tourism czar, Nicki Grossman, said Tuesday's actions were vital in light of the growing national tumult over Naugle's views. She and other tourism executives had hoped the area's long-standing reputation as a gay-friendly destination would avert any negative effect."

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News: Michael Bloomberg, B52s, Siskel & Ebert & Roeper, Hairspray

The New York Times does a "sting" job on Mayor Michael Bloomberg's claims that he takes the subway to work "virtually every day" and finds that while Bloomberg is telling the truth, he may not be telling all of it: "On mornings that he takes the subway from home, Mr. Bloomberg is picked up at his Upper East Side town house by a pair of king-size Chevrolet Suburbans. The mayor is driven 22 blocks to the subway station at 59th Street and Lexington Avenue, where he can board an express train to City Hall. His drivers zip past his neighborhood station, a local subway stop a five-minute walk away." The mayor's response to the brouhaha: "Some people focus on important things, some people don't."

Bass boytoy Pedro Andrade shows what he's got.

Are the Democratic contenders for president in 2008 feeling more liberated about their relationship with the gay voting base? "The Democrats' apparent newfound confidence on gay issues -- a confidence, to be fair, that hasn't yet been tested by general election pressures -- has two sources. There's a broad cultural shift, indicated by polling, toward public support for gay rights. And the shift comes as Democrats feel confident that Republicans -- weakened and tied to an unpopular war in Iraq -- will be unable to turn gay rights into the high-profile wedge issue it was in 2004."

Singapore on gay rights: one step forward, two steps back.

Online archive of Siskel & Ebert & Roeper is created, showcasing more than 1,000 shows and reviews of over 5,000 movies. Ebert: "Gene and I knew those old shows would be worth saving, but for a long time nobody agreed with us. In the years before home video, it seemed like a waste of expensive video tape to preserve hundreds of episodes of our earlier incarnations on “Opening Soon at a Theater Near You,” “Sneak Previews” or “At the Movies.” After all, the movies we were reviewing weren’t going to be opening again, and who’d want to watch a show of old movie reviews? Right?"

Cindy Wilson on the new B-52s album: "It's the best thing we've ever done. This is the worst time in the world to put out a record. We should have our heads examined for even trying to do something new the way things are now, but that's just the way it's happened. We'd recorded in the Bahamas but never in Athens. There's an 'Athens vibe,' even though it's changed so much over there. I think it's the magical kiss we needed. We're bringing everything that's happened to us in 30 years to this record. There's a maturity to it, but we're not about to grow up. It's still us, you know."

Hairspray: Sing-along Edition coming to a city near you.

Rosie O'Donnell turned down $2 million to appear on The Apprentice.

PlanetOut reports second quarter 2007 results. CEO Magee: "During the second quarter we made significant progress in our efforts to solidify PlanetOut's balance sheet and position the company for future growth. During the quarter, we signed an agreement to raise $26.2 million through an equity financing transaction, which closed in early July 2007; and we examined every aspect of our business to identify ways to simplify and focus the company, and reduce expenses. Our recent announcement to close PlanetOut's international offices was a direct result of this effort. We are making strategic changes to enable us to increase focus throughout the organization on the most critical issues and opportunities in front of us during an important time of transition and rebuilding for the company." (LGBT)

Jealous of the Beckhams, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes want to do a W naked photoshoot of their own: "A friend of the couple told Australia's 'New Weekly' magazine: 'They have already started planning some of the photos. One suggestion they were keen on was a shot of them posing together in the shower, dripping wet and covered by nothing but steam.'"

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Ian McKellen Creates Video Message to Gays in Singapore

Indignation, Singapore's LGBT Pride festival, has begun (not without controversy, as noted below) and has received words of support (above) from Sir Ian McKellen, who has been in the country performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company's world tour of Shakespeare's "King Lear" and Chekhov's "The Seagull". Since arriving in Singapore, McKellen has been vocal about the country's repressive laws criminalizing homosexuality.

On their website, organizers note that McKellen also got the taste of gay culture and nightlife he was looking for while visiting: "In his free time, he popped into Mox, a gay bar, and spent an evening at Powerhouse on its regular Sunday gay night. He also caught a matinee performance of Alfian Sa’at’s play “Asian Boys Vol 3 - Happy Endings”, staged by Wild Rice Theatre. Before he left, he took up People Like Us’ request to make a short video."

McKellen's message: "Hello, this is Ian McKellen. I’m speaking to you from Singapore where I’ve had the most wonderful time with the Royal Shakespeare Company working at the Esplanade Theatre for the Singapore Repertory Theatre. I knew very little about Singapore until I came here and I was immediately encaptured by the beauty of the place, the old buildings as well as the new, the old culture and the new, and the people, who were unfailingly friendly and helpful at every turn. And of course, being openly gay, I managed to meet a lot of gay people...

...And then we come to the one thing I don’t like about Singapore, which is 377A. You know that law. It’s a British law, and why the hell you’ve not got rid of it, I’m not quite sure. Well, I am sure, because it’s taken us a long time in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world to deal with these old problems, these ancient attitudes which need to be removed if we’re going to be part of the 21st Century. So it’s very important that gay people, wherever they are, should identify themselves, stick up for themselves, represent themselves, modestly and positively, so the rest of the world knows that we’re here and we’re not going to go away. And we’re happy to be here...

...And that’s why Indignation is so important. Have a wonderful time. I congratulate the organisers and I hope it’s a step, certainly in the right direction, but a positive step towards one day getting rid of 377A. And you know I’m on your side, and I send you all my love. Bye Bye."

In mid-July he spoke out on a radio show: "Just treat us with respect like we treat everybody else and the world will be a better place, I think. Coming to Singapore where unfortunately you've still got those dreadful laws that we British left behind... it's about time Singapore grew up, I think, and realised that gay people are here to stay."

Ian McKellen Takes Activism, with Theatre, to Singapore [tr]
Repressed Singapore Tells Ian McKellen: Don't Get Naked [tr]

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Gay Kissing Exhibit Banned by Singapore Censors

Singapore's Media Development Authority have denied organizers of Singapore's LGBT "Indignation" Pride festival a license to show a photo exhibition of gay men and lesbians kissing, according to the festival's founder Alex Au, who also shot the photographs. They were told of the denial two days before the exhibition was to begin.

The West Australian reports that the show reportedly consists of 80 shots of fully-clothed models kissing. The license was denied becuase the board said the photos "promote a homosexual lifestyle."

Said Au: "It's absurd to think that gay people do not also kiss, and that representation of such a reality would be subversive. There is a very stereotypical representation of gays and lesbians as deviants and I think it is important to correct the stereotype."

Instead of the planned exhibition, a "Kiss and Tell" slideshow of the photos and talk will take place on nine evenings prior to the evening's scheduled events. This type of presentation does not require a permit.

In addition to the talk, participants will also be allowed to have their photos taken...kissing, of course.

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Repressed Singapore Tells Ian McKellen: Don't Get Naked

Ian McKellen, who has fully disrobed during performances of King Lear in Britain, has been asked to avoid the display while performing in Singapore.

McKellen told the Associated Foreign Press: "It is King Lear doing it, not Ian McKellen doing it, so I don't take particular offence if I'm told 'would you mind not doing it?' But what would happen, I wonder, if I did take all my clothes off and instead of my genitalia, I was wearing a pair of false genitalia. Would that be thought inappropriate? Call it censorship, call it advice, it gets in the way a little bit. I think it's a little bit silly. I'd say, on the whole, people who come to the theatre to see Shakespeare expect to have the whole of life revealed to them -- and if that means a glimpse of an actor's naked body, so be it."

McKellen quipped that he had a remedy for the situation: "I got a rather fetching pair of underpants ... they say on the back, 'Hello Singapore.'"

The actor also spoke out on a local radio show, urging the government to drop its laws against homosexuality before giving a more significant interview to Reuters on the issue.

Said McKellen: It would be impertinent of me to comment on Singapore society but this happens to be a law that I find personally offensive and I don't think it should be on the statute books because it inhibits my free behavior as an openly gay man. I feel free to comment on behalf of people who do have to suffer laws which the British empire invented and left behind...The press like to talk to actors. They mustn't be surprised when actors talk back to them. We are privileged that we have access to the media and our opinions sometimes are reported and I appreciate that. But I only speak on things that I am an expert on...You won't hear me talk about my politics, you won't hear me talk about my vegetarianism, you won't hear me comment on the Iraq war. You'll only hear me talk about being gay and being an actor. I am just public on those two issues."

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Ian McKellen Takes Activism, with Theatre, to Singapore

Ian McKellen, visiting Singapore with the Royal Shakespeare Company's world tour of Shakespeare's "King Lear" and Chekhov's "The Seagull", told a radio station there that Singapore should drop its laws against homosexuality.

McKellen told the Class 95 radio station: "Just treat us with respect like we treat everybody else and the world will be a better place, I think. Coming to Singapore where unfortunately you've still got those dreadful laws that we British left behind... it's about time Singapore grew up, I think, and realised that gay people are here to stay."

He also told Channel NewsAsia: "I have been looking for a gay bar (in Singapore) if there is such a thing... so that's what I have been looking for."

Over the weekend, hundreds attended an unprecedented forum in Singapore to debate the decriminalization of homosexual acts. According to Channel NewsAsia, "Most put up their hands in agreement when asked by the moderator of the forum, organised by theatre group W!ld Rice, if section 377A of the penal code which criminalises homosexual acts ought to be repealed."

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News: Impeach Cheney, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Iowa, Shia LaBeouf

Presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich said he'll hold a news conference Wednesday where he plans to introduce articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney. Kucinich: ''So I'm asking you, what do you think? Do you think it's time?''

Cristiano Ronaldo is not only the "Player of the Year," he's also the "Young Player of the Year". More on Ronaldo here...

Still a long way to go in this election, but the latest national poll has Barack Obama even with Hillary Clinton: "Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, has steadily gained on Clinton, a veteran on the national political scene, over the last month and each now polled 32 percent among likely Democratic voters, the survey by Rasmussen Reports found. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina was third in the poll with 17 percent."

The gay film Solos has been pulled from the Singapore Film Festival over graphic sex: "The board said in a statement that the film contained "prolonged and explicit homosexual lovemaking scenes including scenes of oral sex and threesome sex" which had to be removed. The cuts make up about five minutes of the 77-minute film, Ang said. She said the filmmakers had not expected the censors to demand the cuts, as the 20-year-old festival, which is seen as catering to a niche and relatively limited audience, has previously screened movies she said were more graphic. 'I was actually prepared that we may have had cuts if we wanted to organize a commercial screening, but I didn't expect that for the festival itself,' Ang said."

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers checks himself into rehab: After a non-stop succession of filming, Jonathan Rhys Meyers has entered an alcohol-treatment program. He felt a break was needed to maintain his recovery."

Facing a debt of $102,000, organizers of Seattle's Gay Pride are reportedly "scrambling" to salvage the event and may cancel it altogether. Organizer: "People can still be proud; ... it just means we're tired."

Gay civil rights bill in Iowa may be getting a second chance: "The deciding factor could be a provision that allows employers to maintain dress codes as they see appropriate, [House Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy said. That change could help some Republicans support the idea, which would create enough support for the proposal to pass. 'If that's something that folks need on their side of the aisle in order for them to unlock their people, then that's something we're willing to accept,' McCarthy said."

Shia LaBeouf working toward becoming Shia LaBuff: "The Disturbia actor is beefing up to star in the new Indiana Jones movie alongside Harrison Ford. 'The guy is still in premium shape,' LaBeouf tells PEOPLE. 'You don't want to be standing next to Harrison Ford and not be jacked also.'"

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Former Singapore Prime Minister Questions Criminality of Gay Sex

Gay sex in ultra-conservative Singapore is classified as "an act of gross indecency" and is punishable by up to two years in prison, according to the Associated Press.

But attitudes appear to be shifting from the top. Over the weekend, Singapore's former Prime Minister and founding leader Lee Kuan Yew commented that the nation should take a new look at its approach to homosexuality given compounding evidence that it's genetic and not a choice.

Said Lee Kuan Yew: "This business of homosexuality...it raises tempers all over the world. And even in America! If in fact it is true, and I have asked doctors this, that you are genetically born a homosexual — because that's the nature of the genetic random transmission of genes — you can't help it. So why should we criminalize it? But there is such a strong inhibition, in all societies - Christianity, Islam, even the Hindu Chinese societies. And we are now confronted with a persisting aberration. But is it an aberration? It's a genetic variation."

Amendments to decriminalize gay sex are currently pending in Singapore's Parliament, so Kuan Yew's statements are important. He added: "So what do we do? I think we pragmatically adjust, carry our people ... don't upset them and suddenly upset their sense of propriety and right and wrong. But at the same time let's not go around like this moral police ... barging into people's rooms. That's not our business. You have to take a practical, pragmatic approach to what I see is an inevitable force of time and circumstance."

Now that's refreshing.

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