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."

Oliver Stone's Bush Flick: Fade in on Turdblossom, Frat Hazing

The Hollywood Reporter has published the opening scenes to Oliver Stone's W flick which you can read above, and AFTER THE JUMP.

As we fade in, a couple of speechwriters as well as Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rice's assistant Stephen Hadley, and Karl Rove attempt to come up with the "Axis of Evil" moniker. The scene then shifts to Bush at a drunken frat party at Yale.

Says the Reporter: "According to four Bush scholars who read a draft of the script, the tale has elements that are unquestionably accurate (like when George Jr. comes home drunk and nearly gets into a fistfight with his father) and elements that are just plain made-up (like when the president and his advisers discuss high-level policy in a casual, even frat-house, sort of manner)."

No doubt. But with lines like "Don't get cute, Turdblossom," I can't wait to see it.

Josh Brolin as Elizabeth Banks have been cast as the first couple. Check out pages two and three of the script, AFTER THE JUMP...

Man Who Faked His Way into Yale Outed by Gay Lover

Akash Maharaj, a Trinidad and Tobago native who last spring transferred to Yale's Morse College Class of 2008, reportedly duped his way into Yale University after forging a Columbia transcript and then scammed the university out of thousands of dollars in financial aid. The ruse was discovered after his boyfriend, another Yale student whom he had threatened, reported him.

The New York Post reports: "Maharaj, 26, had been enjoying spring semester 2007 at Yale - even copping a prestigious literature prize there - after lying on his admissions application, according to the Yale Daily News and the school. Maharaj allegedly told of being a straight-A student from Columbia and waved a bogus letter of recommendation from one of Yale's own profs. But the alleged scheme came tumbling down last June, when his Yalie lover filed a harassment complaint against him. The beau said Maharaj had threatened to kill him when he tried to get the unstable student admitted into a Manhattan psych ward."

The boyfriend has not been named.

The Yale Daily News reports: "After allegedly defrauding Yale’s admissions office, the student received $46,789 — by the Yale General Counsel Office’s calculation — in scholarships that he would not have obtained 'had it been known that he provided false and misleading information during the admission application process,' according to an affidavit signed by Yale Police Department Detective Thomas Mullen, who declined to comment for this article, in the Connecticut Superior Court in New Haven. That figure includes $31,750 in Yale financial aid, as well as $7,400 in federal scholarships, $6,739 in federal loans and $900 from a federal work-study program."

According to the YDN, "Last June, according to the document, the YPD was called to the Asian American Cultural Center, where the suspect’s ex-boyfriend told officers that the suspect had threatened to kill him. The ex-boyfriend, who still attends Yale, had broken up with the suspect after discovering that he had lied to him about his age 'and other issues relating to his identity,' the affidavit says. The suspect allegedly responded by threatening to kill himself, and the boyfriend took him to a New York City hospital. The suspect then allegedly threatened his ex-boyfriend, who filed a complaint with the YPD. He was then admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital for psychiatric evaluation at the YPD’s request, according to the affidavit. The ex-boyfriend, who did not respond to numerous messages left on his cell phone seeking comment, tipped off Associate Dean of Yale College Rosalinda Garcia, the director of the Latino Cultural Center, about apparent inconsistencies related to the suspect’s identity, the affidavit says. That prompted an internal investigation that uncovered extensive discrepancies in his application to Yale."

Maharaj is reportedly living in Brooklyn and is expected at a court date next month in New Haven. According to affadavits he has applied for "accelerated rehabilitation," a program which allows first time offenders to have the charges dismissed if it's determined that the offense isn't serious or likely to be repeated. If that motion is rejected, the case would go to trial.

Student arrested for defrauding Yale [yale daily news]
Ex-Student Duped Yale [hartford courant]
SKEEVY IVY 'SCAMMER' [ny post]

News: John Krasinski, Lobsters, Bavarian King, John Barrowman

Former employee of Goodyear wins $4.4 million in sexual orientation harassment lawsuit: "According to the suit, Sheffield neither hid nor flaunted her sexual orientation until her former manager encouraged her to bring her partner to an annual company dinner, where she received an 'adverse reaction' from another store manager, In 2003, her former boss was replaced by a new district manager, defendant Randy Reich, and a new service manager, David Johnson, was assigned to the store, the suit claims. Johnson 'immediately let it be known ... that he knew Sheffield was gay and did not like gays,' the suit claims. When Sheffield learned that Johnson carried a gun to work she confronted him about it and he confirmed it and threatened to pull it out and to urinate on her, she claimed in the suit."

Iggy, the dog Ellen DeGeneres cast off to much publicity, is about to bark off in a new PSA to bring awareness to the importance of pet adoption.

Yale University Dramatic Association targeted by homophobic graffiti: "At approximately 1:30 a.m. last Wednesday morning, a group of undergraduates involved in the Yale Dramatic Association found the words “drama fags” on the wall, located near the York Street side of the theater. 'It’s unacceptable,' Drama School Dean James Bundy said. 'It is deeply disturbing. I hope we find out who did it and I hope we can do everything in our power to make sure it never happens again.' Bundy said he was unaware of the incident before he was informed by the News on Sunday. Although most of the spray paint has been removed from the building, traces of the words are still visible five days later."

Next time you decide to broil that crustacean alive, you might want to think about whether or not you're causing it pain. The debate continues...

Australian gay activist dumped from Labor Party after physically intimidating the wife of the Environment Minister: "Mr Burns later described Mrs Turnbull in an email to Mr Turnbull as a 'fag hag impersonator of a wife' and condemning the minister as 'a weak and pathetic excuse for a human being'. The tirade came as the battle for the gay vote heats up in Mr Turnbull's Sydney seat of Wentworth, where Labor's candidate George Newhouse is polling strongly."

North Carolina Baptists set to expel church that welcomes gay people: "If all goes as expected, the 4,000-plus attendees at the Baptist State Convention will vote Tuesday morning to cast out Myers Park Baptist -- but only after short speeches from two of the church's leaders. One -- Nancy Walker, secretary to the church's board of deacons -- is a lesbian."

Some NSFW preview news on the upcoming season of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency.

John Krasinski shoots some retro hoops for Men's Health.

New evidence surfaces suggesting "gay, wildly eccentric" King Ludwig II of Bavaria was murdered: "The real cause of King Ludwig's death has been a mystery ever since his body, together with that of his psychiatrist, was dragged from Lake Starnberg on 13 June, 1886. But the official version, which holds that he committed suicide by drowning, has never been completely refuted. Now, 111 years after the king's death, new evidence has surfaced which suggests that the builder of Neuschwanstein castle and many other bizarrely romantic architectural follies was murdered. The details are convincing enough to increase calls for the House of Wittelsbach, King Ludwig's family, to allow his body to be exhumed from its tomb in St Michael's Church in Munich to enable a new and conclusive post-mortem examination to be conducted."

Congratulations to Joe.My.God for winning the Best LGBT Blog at the 2007 Weblog Awards.

Queerty pays a video visit to the OUT 100 celebration.

POETRY: Is Pakistan's educational curriculum the target of a plant by the Bush administration? "In December 2005, a Pakistani youth discovered that the first letter of each line of a poem in his English primer spelled out the name of "P-R-E-S-I-D-E-N-T G-E-O-R-G-E B-U-S-H." The anonymous poem -- called "The Leader" -- listed the qualities of a great statesman in a series of painfully stiff rhyming couplets."

AfterElton takes a critical listen of a new musical offering from openly gay actor John Barrowman: "...most fans of the openly gay Torchwood and Doctor Who actor are likely to be aware that he has a background in musical theater, having appeared in shows from Anything Goes to Sunset Boulevard in London’s West End. The new album, a set of covers which put an easy-listening spin on classic pop, soft rock, and yes, musical theater numbers might therefore seem to be displaying a fairly recognizable side of Barrowman, as opposed to, say, an album full of heavy-metal music.

News: Britney Spears, Yale, Plaza Hotel, Lou Pearlman, Lost

High school student paper editorial "characterizing homosexuals as victims of reproductive error or an unwanted upbringing" causes firestorm in Georgia: "Principal Trudie Donovan said Monday that she had reviewed the article before it was published last Friday, but said she had no authority to censor it. 'My job is the safety and security of the school, not censorship,' she said. Cobb County schools spokesman Jay Dillon said principals have no legal standing to say articles of student opinion can't be printed. Under court rulings and school district policy, students can express their opinions and ideas publicly, privately, orally and in writing. 'There may be no interference with that, even if a student's opinion is unpopular,' he said."

New York's Plaza Hotel celebrates 100 years: "After the park-facing façade of the Plaza Hotel had glowed with the number '100,' after white and gold jets of light had been launched from the roof into the dark October sky, and after a pigeon and a heart-shaped balloon had flown past the 12th floor, suddenly flashes of white light, syncopated to the strains of 'One' from the Broadway hit 'A Chorus Line,'burst from the windows of the venerable hostelry-turned-hotel-and-condominium."

Sexual orientation hate crimes bill launched in Scotland.

Britney Spears has what some might call her darkest day yet but goes out partying anyway.

Queer Eye stages "Straight Guy Pageant" to kick off new season.

Elton John asks gallery to shutter exhibition that showcased the Nan Goldin portrait seized in a child pornography probe.

Lost writers/producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof give up some tidbits about the show's upcoming season.

After appeals court ruling, Yale to allow military recruiters on campus: "At question is a statute called the Solomon Amendment, which allows the federal government to withhold funds from universities that do not extend the same welcome to military recruiters as they do to other recruiters. Since 1978, Yale Law School has required recruiters to sign a pledge of nondiscrimination. Military recruiters would not do that because of the Defense Department’s 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy, which permits homosexuals to serve in the armed forces as long as they keep their sexual orientation private."

Vanity Fair to tell the completely unsavory and unsurprising tales of boyband manufacturer Lou Pearlman.

The next 25 years of video games.

Chris Crocker speaks out about nude pictures circulating on the net: "I obviously did this behind my parents backs and I am truly embarressed for myself and my family at this time, but I just wanted to clear the air and let anyone and everyone know, that has saved these pictures that it is illegal seeing as though I was 17 at the time, so when you brag that you 'saw Chris Crocker naked!!!'..what you're really bragging that you saw a 17 year old me naked."

Arrest Warrants Issued in Yale Baker's Dozen Assault Case

Warrants have been issued for the arrest of 19-year-olds Richard Aicardi (left) and Brian Dwyer for felony assault and battery in the New Year's Eve Baker's Dozen case that we've been following. The SF Chronicle reports: "Dwyer's bail was set at $80,000 and Aicardi's at $120,000. If convicted, the accused face as much as four years in prison on the assault and three more for inflicting great bodily injury in the attack. The battery charges carry a four-year maximum term."

Though the Chronicle continues to report that "the alleged attack drew wide attention in part because the singers reportedly were set upon after being heckled during a rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' and after homophobic slurs were hurled at them," there has been no mention so far of hate crime charges.

The charges come after a two month investigation. Aicardi and Dwyer are expected to turn themselves in today.

Video report at ABC. [abc]

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