News: Cambodia, Chris Hughes, Immigration, Janet Jackson

Dubai hotel frees whale shark.

His name was Yvonne: German pole vaulter Balian Buschbaum.

Senator Chuck Schumer signals commitment to inclusion of LGBT provisions in comprehensive immigration reform: "I support [UAFA] and I am working on introducing a comprehensive package that would address this issue along with a host of immigration issues . . . At this time, I believe that the only way to pass meaningful and effective immigration reform is through a comprehensive bill, not through piecemeal legislation."

Janet Jackson announces release date of new single, called "Nothing".

Bo Bice (remember him?) becomes 'Bob' Bice. 

Tom Brady grows it out.

Nice knowing you, Bluefin tuna: "Global talks on the conservation of endangered species have rejected calls to ban international trade in bluefin tuna, raising new fears for the future of dwindling stocks. Countries at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Qatar voted down a proposal from Monaco to grant the fish stronger protection. The plan drew little support, with developing countries joining Japan in opposing a measure they feared would hit fishing economies."

The NYT 'T' magazine pays a visit to the studio of Ryan McGinley.

Chicago Mayor Daley appoints new chair to gay advisory council: "Elizabeth Kelly will serve a three-year term as chairperson of the Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues. Kelly is a professor of women's and gender studies at DePaul University. She was a founding member of DePaul's interdisciplinary program in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender studies."

Gay Facebook founder Chris Hughes starts Jumo.com, a social platform for global volunteerism: "Think of the site as philanthropy, volunteerism and social networking all rolled into one. It's a platform that will connect people and organizations around the world, and Hughes is arguably the most well-known tech entrepreneur to enter the still evolving global space." Site.

The SF Chronicle discovers Grindr.

Killer of gay bar manager up soon for parole.

Vman modeling search winners announced (site possibly nsfw).

Siem Reap, Cambodia's gay haven: "Homosexual acts are not outlawed in Cambodia, as they are in a few Southeast Asian countries, but outward displays of affection and untraditional lifestyles are rare. Yet in Siem Reap, a small town that gets about a million tourists a year, gay visitors and locals are carving out a little haven. In the last few years, a small flurry of gay-friendly bars, restaurants and hotels has opened up in the city’s center and beyond, with wink-wink names like the Golden Banana and Cockatoo."

Facebook deletes Seattle gay youth group.

Atlanta Eagle lawsuit grows: "Thirty-one Atlanta police officers have been added to a federal lawsuit that complains patrons of a gay nightclub were ordered to lie on the Atlanta Eagle Bar floor, on spilled beer and broken glass, while enduring insults about their homosexuality. The suit, originally filed in November, was expanded Wednesday to include six more bar employees and contractors, bringing the total to 28 people who say they were victimized during the highly publicized raid on Sept. 10."

Tom Brady Lends His 'Molten Stare' to Details

From Details September '09 cover story:

"Few would know [how tough modeling is] better than the Patriots star: he of the molten stare in the Stetson ads, he who flirted last year with becoming the new face and bulge of Calvin Klein's underwear ad campaign (but who eventually declined), he who can be seen hobnobbing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's annual Costume Institute Gala, that beehive of fashionistas, with Gisele on his arm. With his cleft-chinned, lantern-jawed, comic-book-hero face and dandyish flair for style, Brady is no stranger to the modeling life, to the tinsel of high fashion. Sure, Peyton Manning gets his picture snapped once in a while, but God forbid anyone ask him to flash his bedroom eyes. No, Tom Brady owns this particular overlap of football and fashion, of athletics and aesthetics (or co-owns it, anyway, with David Beckham). So we trust him. He knows."

More shots, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Frank Kameny, Saturday Night Fever, Frog God, Wales

Re-hearing petition filed in Prop 8 challenge? UPDATE: See, AFTER THE JUMP...

AP: Pioneering activist Frank Kameny talks gays and government.

Simon Cowell to remake Saturday Night Fever with Zac Efron as Tony Manero?

Point Foundation announces 2009 scholars.

Jon Voight slams Obama: False prophet.

Hell's Kitchen host Gordon Ramsey calls Australian TV host Tracy Grimshaw a lesbian pig: "Later he said he was only joking.Grimshaw, though, failed to see the humor and retaliated on her program Monday night, calling Ramsay an 'arrogant narcissist' and a 'bully.'"

Malawian court has Mercy on Madonna: she'll be allowed to adopt.

Tom Brady rescued from overturned kayak in the Charles River in Boston: “He had to be rescued. The launch guy went out and got him and got him back in the kayak. He’s been bragging about it ever since. He’s telling everyone he rescued Tom Brady.”

Joan Garry: Obama lacking 'empathy' on gay rights.

Inside a NYC fundraiser for Gavin Newsom.

Multi-colored frog worshiped as a god in India?

KXRQ-FM Radio hosts who mocked transgender children to do special segment featuring transgender advocates: "Rashad Robinson of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said Monday that the general manager of station KXRQ-FM told him that talk show hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States also plan to apologize during Thursday's show. During their May 28 program, one of the men said he would hit his son with his shoe if he wanted to wear high heels. The other quipped that a boy who asked to wear a dress was 'a little idiot.'  Several companies threatened to pull advertising from the station after GLAAD launched a letter-writing campaign against the comments."

Welsh gay men targeted by rangers with cameras in park raids?

No biting: Adam Lambert licks Twilight director.

Mika debuts new songs in London.

Graffiti art's new respect: "Like a slow-burning fuse, graffiti has smoldered in the contemporary art world for decades: omnipresent in the streets yet not quite hot enough to catch fire in the market. But this year it exploded, with graffiti and “street art” shows in major museums and gallery spaces both sides of the Atlantic — and people have been lining up round the block to get in."

One Life to Live to out two existing male characters played by openly gay  Scott Evans (Chris Evans' brother) and Brett Claywell, and put them in a love affair.

Is Dominic Monaghan joining Grey's Anatomy?

Brooklyn Assemblyman wants all non-Jews out of Holocaust memorial: "Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind doesn't want gays, political prisoners, gypsies, the handicapped — or any other group of people persecuted and killed by the hundreds of thousands during the Holocaust — to be recognized at the city-owned Holocaust Memorial Park in Sheepshead Bay. Even though 5 million non-Jews were killed by the Nazis alongside the 6 million Jews, Hikind says that 'to include these other groups diminishes their memory.'"

UPDATE to first item, AFTER THE JUMP...

News: Frank Kameny, North Dakota, Tom Brady, Playboy, Tony Dungy

In 1971 pioneering gay rights activist received a letter condemning homosexuality as "sexual perversion" from the White House Office of Personnel Management after protesting the firing of a gay employee there. Last week, Kameny was invited to the swearing in of John Berry, the openly gay man recently confirmed to head that office. How times have changed.

Aretha Franklin thought she had the biggest bow hat of the year.

Gay man appointed interim ambassador to India: "Peter Burleigh, a seasoned foreign service officer with deep expertise in South Asian affairs, will serve as America’s top diplomat in India until a permanent ambassador is named."

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom makes swing through South Florida, addresses LGBT community at Miami Beach's Halo Lounge.

In an unusual defeat, Madonna returns to London.

North Dakota House rejects legislation (54-34) banning discrimination in housing, employment and credit based on a person's sexual orientation: "Rep. Corey Mock, D-Grand Forks, one of the six sponsors of the bill, noted that 20 other states already have laws barring discrimination against gays and lesbians. In those places, he said, the laws do not grant special rights, privileges or legal immunity for sexual deviants, as some bill opponents have claimed would happen here. 'There is not a person in this chamber that is not related to or friends with someone that would be affected by Senate Bill 2278,' he said. 'That means people we know and love may be evicted, denied services or terminated because they are gay, straight, bisexual or transgendered with no regard or consideration of merit.'"

Ashton Kutcher spends more time running around shirtless for his new movie.

Here comes the gayborhood: Pizza parlor emerges as gay bar in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.

Help: Censorship in focus in Lebanon as a film is banned just days before scheduled release. "In Lebanon, a censoring body of security officers influenced by the Muslim and Christian clergies continues to review all plays and films before they are shown, cutting all scenes that might 'offend public morals.' Although the contentious sex scenes in 'Help' are far from explicit, the film features a threesome of a woman and two men. That may explain the controversy: Homosexual acts are illegal in Lebanon."

NPR on Tony Dungy's invitation to join Obama's advisory council for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Former Playboy fashion director Joseph DeAcetis sues magazine: "In a $4 million Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, Joseph DeAcetis (pictured), 45, says his boss often 'made fun' of him because he was gay and his hair was gray. The suit says editorial director Christopher Napolitano called him and other gay men 'girls.' A Playboy Enterprises spokeswoman, Elizabeth Austin, said the company 'takes these allegations very seriously' and was conducting its 'own investigation.'"

Shotgun wedding: Paparazzi fired upon at Tom Brady-Gisele Bundchen nuptials in Costa Rica.

Integral ice bridge holding Antarctic shelf in place collapses...

Jimmy Carter's former Secretary of the Army, Clifford Alexander slams "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and Elaine Donnelly's crusade against its repeal: "Alexander called the officers' statement 'nonsense' and said the officers were 'like lemmings to the sea' and "those who would sign a petition like this without evidence are acting without facts."

100 attend same-sex marriage rally at Drew University in New Jersey.

San Francisco activists to protest executions of gay men in Iraq at 5 pm today, Harvey Milk Plaza.

Sportrait: Tom Brady Loses the Shirt

New England Patriot Tom Brady was spotted modeling a pair of sweat pants in California yesterday. Just Jared reports he's in town to shoot an episode of HBO's Entourage. More at Just Jared...

News: Tom Brady, Gay Bashings, Obama Threat, Providence, XBox

Chicago man targeted Obama with letters containing HIV-infected blood?: "In the weeks leading up to Obama's inauguration, Saad Hussein, an Ethiopian refugee in his late 20's, sent an envelope addressed to 'Barack Obama' to offices of the Illinois government in Springfield, Ill., according to court documents. The envelope contained a series of unusual items, including a letter with reddish stains and an admission ticket for Obama's election-night celebration in Chicago's Grant Park."

A wealth of new Wolverine images.

Tom Brady says "I Do".

Skip Bayless stands by Troy Aikman gay rumor.

New York gay group expresses optimism over marriage equality chances this year.

Rihanna photographed in Mexico for first time following Chris Brown attack.

Same-sex marriage arguments heard in Providence, Rhode Island.

Openly gay Liverpool City Councilman Steve Radford speaks out about acquittal verdict in hate crime killing of teen Michael Causer: "The question has to be asked whether the 10-2 jury not-guilty verdict into Gavin Alker means Merseyside society thinks it’s acceptable to beat up gay people? Because, if the evidence was so clear and the people involved acknowledge their part in the attack, we need to ask if the real problem is in Merseyside society. This signals that being gay means you don’t have the right to be free on the street, that’s the sad fact."

Trial to begin for Jonathan Russell Gunter in brutal beating of gay man in Oak Lawn neighborhood of Dallas: "Dean, 43, is awaiting yet another surgery to repair and replace teeth, but perhaps the most devastating  impact of the brutal gay-bashing he suffered seven months ago has been psychological. Once a very active, fun-loving person, according to his friends, Dean said he now has little energy and suffers from depression. 'Anybody who’s been around me before and gets around me now is going to realize that I’m different,' Dean said recently...Jonathan Russell Gunter, 32, is charged with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years in prison." 

Vigil set for Seattle gay bashing victim at 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 28 by the pillars on Boren Avenue and Pike Street.

Rehab for Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

Microsoft stands by as lesbian harassed on XBox 360.

PBDs, McAllen, Texas gay bar, celebrates 25 years: "The bar, located at 2908 N. Ware Rd., has done some re-inventing since owner Drew Clark on February 18, 1984, choosing to brand it with the acronym for his nickname, poor baby Drew."

Fred Phelps and the WBC to be counter-protested at Chicago-area university this Sunday. Incidentally, River Forest is this blogger's home town.

Supreme Court ruling suggests Casper, Wyoming may never have to accept Fred Phelps' hateful Matthew Shepard in hell monument.

Karl Lagerfelt finger puppet does New York Fashion Week.

Pro-gay Catholic Brazilian priest suspended for supporting free distribution of condoms: "The Rev. Luiz Couto has been suspended from his work in the northeastern state of Paraiba. Archdiocese spokesman Eisenhower de Albuquerque says the church took the action because of Couto's public stance 'in favor of the use of condoms, his support of gay marriage and his opposition to priestly celibacy.' Couto spokesman Jose Moreira says the priest is not a gay-marriage advocate but is an opponent of discrimination 'including discrimination against homosexuals.'"

Homophobic workshop held in Uganda: "Stephen Langa, Executive Director of a Ugandan group, Family Life Network, has announced that his group will be holding a workshop from March 5th to 7th to provide insight on the causes and treatment of homosexuality; provide practical tips on how to prevent homosexuality behaviour in youth; expose the homosexual agenda, their tactics, strategy and methods of recruitment; and provide information and guidelines on how to respond to the homosexual agenda in an organization, community or nation."