News: Winnipeg, Brenda Dickson, Nepal, Sam Adams, Stephen Harper

Gambino mob hitman didn't mean to tell everyone he was gay: “'He didn’t want to make an announcement to the world,' said one person with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the dangers facing Mr. Mormando. 'He wanted the judge to know what risks he took — why he wasn’t just your average cooperator, someone who had simply broken the code.'"

Sam Taylor-Wood's sleeping Beckham image to appear on condoms in Spain.

Why Hello There: 'Welcome to My Home' star Brenda Dickson wrongly imprisoned for four months!

Rep. Alan Grayson launches website to document those who have died because they had no health care.

James Franco makes silent appearance on SNL.

Boston DJ Barry Scott denied new trial against Provincetown police.

Nepal to seek status as LGBT tourist destination: "Nepal government has held a series of meetings with well-known international tour operators and non-profit organisations to promote Nepal as a potential destination for LGBTs, the Kantipur online said on Thursday. Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) officials hope that LGBT arrivals will give a boost to the number of visitors to the country as the government mulls new way to bring in a million foreign tourists in the Nepal Tourism Year 2011."

WATCH: John Mayer's music video for "Heartbreak Warfare".

McCain supporters' testosterone dropped on election night.

Ethiopia pleas with international community for food aid.

Pee Wee Herman plans comeback: "I don't want anyone for one second to think that I am titillated by images of children."

Philadelphia Gay News serves as test run for U.S. Census ad.

LAPD cuts ties with the Boy Scouts.

Uganda bill that would penalizes gays with death put off until 2010: "Parliament was too busy, just now, to handle the important matter of the Anti- Homosexuality bill. Apparently it is very, very far ahead in the future, but that gives you time to check in with your MP and tell them how much you support the Bahati Bill." American Evangelicals are playing role in efforts there to exterminate gays...

Fatal men's bathhouse fire now a homicide investigation in Winnipeg: "The bathhouse's owner, Somchai Pengpharsuks, told the Free Press last week he believed the blaze was set by two men on the building's second floor. He said the incident was potentially hate-motivated, according to information he received, because the bathhouse is frequented predominantly by gay men. Both men died of smoke inhalation in a fire that police believe was "deliberately set," said a police spokesman.

Glee planning "all Madonna" episode.

Former Oregon senator to lead new recall effort against Portland Mayor Sam Adams: "The PAC's treasurer, Teresa McGuire said this time around opponents will use paid signature collectors, much the same as other nonprofit campaigns."

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper hires homophobe speechwriter: "Referring to former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's 1969 decision to decriminalize homosexuality, Hannaford wrote in 2005, 'Fine, said lots of people. Leave gays alone? Fair enough. But, let 'em be Boy Scout leaders? Have each other's benefits? Adopt kids? Marry each other? Ridiculous. Anybody seeking political office who suggested it would have been laughed off the hustings. Yet, the Liberals are ready to legalize gay marriage. How did we get to this point?'"

Transgender Models Posing as Virgin Mary Raise Eyebrows in Spain

An AIDS prevention calendar that features transgender models dressed as the Virgin Mary is getting some atttention in Spain.

Writes Andres Duques at Blabbeando: "Of course, the predominant factor that sets these images apart is the use of transgender models posing as the Virgin. The include Carla Antonelli, a leading Spanish transgender rights activist, who said she certainly considered the potential controversy that the calendar might elicit before she agreed to pose for it.' I posed myself the following scenario: Why is it that a transsexual woman can't represent a religious icon given life by so many other actors and actresses throughout history? To not do it would be akin to internalizing the same discriminatory principles that people want to throw against us', she said. The project's authors say that there is a definite intent to make transgender women more visible to society."

News: Spain, Ryan Reynolds, Google Wave, Fort Worth, Bangladesh

Richard Hatch freed from prison.

Why is the investigation of the police raid on Fort Worth's Rainbow Lounge taking so long?

Marc Jacobs glams it up for Nars.

Get ready to see Ryan Reynolds in drag.

Pew poll on civil unions and same-sex marriage shows uptick in support for the former, but numbers virtually unchanged for the latter.

NYT hetero-normalizes David Hockney.

Senator Udall wants Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal plan from Pentagon within 30 days. Lieberman "committed".

Spanish court orders new trial in brutal murder of gay couple following protests and outrage over acquittal: "Yesterday, mincing no words, the Tribunal called the lower court ruling "defective, absurd, illogical and arbitrary"and ordered a new trial, according to El Pais. The Tribunal also dismissed petitions to reduce the sentence for setting the apartment on fire. The verdict is a win for efforts by Triviño's mother, Marta Pérez Triviño, to bring her son to justice. She will still have to withstand what must be the unbearable pain of seeing her son's murder go to trial a second time."

John Mayer on online outreach: "I would rather tell the world to eat my a**hole before I would delete my Twitter account."

Police: Attack on Jake Raynard not a hate crime.

Queer as Folk's Randy Harrison set to play Andy Warhol in Pop at Yale Repertory Theater.

Two gay Bangladesh refugees say they'll have sex to prove they are gay on their fourth attempt to get protection Visas in Australia: "A Federal Court judge recently criticised the Refugee Review Tribunal for its treatment of the pair, who first applied for asylum in 1999, finding it was deliberately biased against them. In a scathing summation, Justice Spender found three previous tribunals had unreasonably twisted facts to deny the men were homosexual, using unsubstantiated claims they were brothers who had been married to women."

Gallup: Hillary Clinton now more popular than Obama.

Kris Allen wants to hit you baby, one more time.

Ryan Gosling had a yummy show in NY last night.

Butt Magazine to publish 54-week 2010 pin-up calendar.

George Michael and Kenny Goss step out in London.

Arjan presents a guilt-free download of the Magistrates remix of Mika's new single "Rain".

Coalition of 17 international human rights groups strike out at Uganda: "Over the course of the last year, there’s been an increasing pattern of homophobic discourse at play in Uganda, including a conference that occurred several months ago, in which a number of US evangelical leaders came to Uganda to promote reparative therapy and other types of human rights violations against Ugandan LGBT people…and our feeling is that the bill is targeting not just LGBT people, but freedom of expression and a broad level of political discourse in general."

Google Wave acts out Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg again changes promises on what votes he can provide from  Senate Republicans on marriage equality: "Less than a month after defending his support for Republican state senators, saying he could get their votes for gay marriage, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said conservatives in that body will not support what the mayor termed 'our number one priority' at a recent campaign event with gay supporters. 'Those will not be the Republican votes that I will get, but they will be there for other things that are important to the city,' Bloomberg said in an hour-long interview with Gay City News and its sister papers, The Villager, Downtown Express, and Chelsea Now.

Spanish Matador Prepares to 'Gay Up' Bullfighting

So wrong, in so many ways. Spanish matador Joselito Ortega is about to "gay up" bullfighting, literally.

The AP reports: "Matador Joselito Ortega will be plugging a club-scene energy beverage called Gay Up and have those words embroidered into his cape in large, red cursive letters. In Spain, matadors are seen by many as the pinnacle of macho, and Ortega's agreeing to endorse a product geared toward gay men is raising eyebrows. But Ortega sees no incompatibility. 'I am a bullfighter. That is not going to change. I am going to go out into the ring as I have done until now, to risk my life, and the seven goring wounds on my body prove that,' he told The AP Wednesday. 'If the gay community welcomes me as an image or a symbol, that is fine.' Topflight Spanish bullfighters are celebrities, just like football or movie stars, and it is common for them to have commercial endorsement gigs for everything from wine to cars to fancy clothes. But it is almost unprecedented for them to advertise something while in the arena."

"It is like prostituting the cape," according to bullfighting critic Juan Belmonte.

Sergio Lara of Spain is Crowned Mr. Gay Europe 2009: Video

Sergio Lara of Barcelona took home the Mr. Gay Europe 2009 crown in Oslo, Norway Saturday night, according to organizers:

"This is the second year in a row that Spain wins the title of Mr. Gay Europe.Sergio is 26 years old, he is a psychology graduate, and he also has a music middle degree...Belgium, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain and Switzerland came to the semi-final, and Spain, Iceland and Ireland met again in the super final. At the end of the night Spain was standing alone as the new Mr. Gay Europe – the second time in the five years long Mr. Gay Europe history. Netherland’s Jeffrey Zevenbergen (27) won the People’s Choice award with 15.7 percent of all the votes. The televote received 9329 genuine votes. Estonia’s Madis Räästas won the Challenge at the Tusenfryd Viking village, and Russia’s David Baramija won Nr. 1 Talent competition. Sergio Lara did not only win the Mr. Gay Europe title, he also grabbed the Mr. Gay Swim Wear 2009 title."

Watch a clip of Mr. Spain getting his crown, a clip of the swimsuit competition, and a clip of the entrants with the Mayor of Oslo, AFTER THE JUMP...

Check out what Russian contestant David Baramija did to win the talent competition (you won't see Carrie Prejean doing this!):

Watch a clip of Mr. Spain getting his crown, a clip of the swimsuit competition, a clip of the entrants with the Mayor of Oslo, and another shot of Russian Jesus, AFTER THE JUMP...

Cristiano Ronaldo's Legs Insured for $144 Million

Cristiano Ronaldo's thighs and calves have been insured by Real Madrid for $144 million:

"Real Madrid is attempting to protect themselves in case Cristiano, 24, ever gets seriously injured during a soccer match, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo. While the sum may sound extravagant, the amount realistically quantifies Cristiano's dollar value to Real Madrid in terms of market and monetary income. In June, Real Madrid shelled out a stunning $131 million transfer fee to acquire the Portuguese international winger from Manchester United. That amount (which was only the transfer fee) does not include Cristiano's lofty salary of over $18.7 million a year. The insuring of Ronaldo's legendary pins comes shortly after Czech footballer Zdenek Grygera delivered a vicious kick to Cristiano's leg near the knee during a recent friendly."