BIG CHANGES...

Hey Gang-

Queer Cities has morphed into ZestyPress.com !

The mechanics of it all are still being worked on, but soon my children, soon......(add maniacal laughter here...)

Anyhoo, don't worry, it will be the same guy (yours truly) reporting the same type of news; I'm just doing it under a fresh new moniker.

Thanks for hanging in during this wee transition-

-dave

TUCKER CARLSON BOASTS ABOUT ASSAULTING GAY-MAN: MSNBC COVERS IT UP

During "Live with Dan Abrams", Tucker Carlson proudly boasted that he and and a friend assaulted a gay-man after the aforementioned fellow propositioned Carlson in a men's room. MSNBC subsequently omitted the segment (above) in a rebroadcasting of the show.

According to Media Matters:

On August 29, MSNBC twice re-aired a segment from the August 28 edition of Live with Dan Abrams, in which MSNBC host Tucker Carlson asserted, "Having sex in a public men's room is outrageous. It's also really common. I've been bothered in men's rooms." Carlson continued, "I got bothered in Georgetown Park," in Washington, D.C., "when I was in high school." As Media Matters for America noted, when Abrams asked how Carlson responded to being "bothered," Carlson said: "I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy by the -- you know, and grabbed him, and ... hit him against the stall with his head, actually." However, while both August 29 re-airings did include Carlson's claim that he had been "bothered in men's rooms," neither broadcast aired the portion in which Carlson claimed that he "went back with someone" and "hit him against the stall with his head." Both re-airings did include a portion of the segment in which Carlson asserted, "I'm not anti-gay in the slightest."

During the 9 a.m. ET hour of MSNBC Live, anchor Amy Robach introduced the Abrams/Carlson clip -- which did not include Carlson's claim to have assaulted the person who "bothered" him -- as follows: "Prominent Republicans have been quick to distance themselves from Idaho Senator Larry Craig following his arrest for lewd behavior in a men's bathroom. ... More than ever, the party of traditional values has to worry about hypocrisy. Dan Abrams talked about it with Tucker Carlson and [MSNBC's Morning Joe host] Joe Scarborough last night on MSNBC." After the clip ended, Robach plugged Abrams' show: "Well, you can catch Live with Dan Abrams weeknights at 9 p.m. Eastern here on MSNBC."

During the subsequent re-airing of the clip on MSNBC Live, anchor Monica Novotny introduced the video clip by asserting, "Craig's denials are drawing some comparisons to another famous D.C. sex scandal -- the Clinton-Lewinsky affair. Sen. Craig had quite a bit to say about that back in the '90s." Novotny added, "Just a word of warning here, you may find out a little more about Tucker, well, than you ever wanted to know," apparently referring to Carlson's assertion that he'd "been bothered in men's rooms." However, despite that reference, the 4-minute and 35-second clip Novotny aired ended before Carlson claimed to have assaulted the person who "bothered" him. Novotny also ended the segment by plugging Abrams' show, asserting, "And you can catch Dan tonight at 9 on Live with Dan Abrams right here on MSNBC."

As Media Matters noted, Carlson issued the following statement through an MSNBC spokeswoman:

"Let me be clear about an incident I referred to on MSNBC last night: In the mid-1980s, while I was a high school student, a man physically grabbed me in a men's room in Washington, DC. I yelled, pulled away from him and ran out of the room. Twenty-five minutes later, a friend of mine and I returned to the men's room. The man was still there, presumably waiting to do to someone else what he had done to me. My friend and I seized the man and held him until a security guard arrived.

Several bloggers have characterized this is a sort of gay bashing. That's absurd, and an insult to anybody who has fought back against an unsolicited sexual attack. I wasn't angry with the man because he was gay. I was angry because he assaulted me."

It's important to note, that despite Carlson's claims the assault was his defending against an "unsolicited sexual attack", he clearly states via the live broadcast, the he retrieved his friend and CAME BACK to the restroom 25 MINUTES LATER to engage in the assault. A big difference from defending yourself DURING an attack.

Carlson also back-peddles in his later statement saying he and his friend came back and simply "seized the man and held him until a security guard arrived" a far less violent scenario than his earlier statement that he and his pal "grabbed him, and ... hit him against the stall with his head, actually..."

SENATOR LARRY CRAIG MAKES "I'M NOT GAY" PRESS STATEMENT

Here is Idaho Senator Larry Craig, who pleaded guilty to lewd behavior with another man in a Minneapolis airport bathroom, saying he is not gay, and is now retracting the aforementioned plea.

BLOGGER GETS FLACK FOR QUEER-COMMENTS

Hey Gang.

Yours truly was just featured in the Minneapolis Star and Tribune. They wanted my take on male friendships. Specifically my male friendships. I gave an honest reply, and have since received supportive emails, people pleased I'm representing the oft forgot non-mainstream gays, as well as derision from the aforementioned mainstream-queers angry that I live both in and outside the gay-community, and calling me a 'self-loathing gay' because I have a good number of straight friends.

Yikes, can't we all just get along?

Here is what the lovely and talented Gail Rosenblum wrote:

Lots of men had opinions about guy friends. Here are two samples:

Dave Veeser, 40, Minneapolis

"I've never fit into the mainstream gay community. Most of my male friends are straight. And they are, indeed, close, deep friendships. I enjoy those friendships because they're much less complicated. It's like having a lot of extra brothers, with no competition and no fear of any sort of romantic entanglement. My straight male friends say my friendship with them is the best of both worlds. They can hang out and do guy things with me, and also talk with me about the sensitive or emotional stuff they don't feel comfortable discussing with their beer buddies or girlfriends."

I'm still puzzled as to what made my fellow queers so mad? I didn't say anything derogatory about my fellow homos. I love gay men, it's why I date them!

I just never felt a part of the main steam gay community. I never fit in. Ive always just been very independent and never felt the need to conform to any standard other than my own. Hence, I am a social-satellite. I visit different cultures and social sects. I don't belong exclusively to the gay community or straight community; just the "Dave Community".

And really, isn't celebrating and protecting individuality what the gay-rights movement is all about? Celebrating and accepting diversity? So, it's rather ironic that I should be criticized for being different from members of a community that has struggled for acceptance of it's own individuality so long.

And, it also surprises me that so much energy should be expended on such a thing when there are so many larger issues to be outraged about. Did you read yesterdays QueerCities entry about the Aids Patients being buried alive ? BURIED ALIVE!

I only ask that if you get cranky about this gay-blogger having straight-friends, and talking about it, sure, feel free to write me, I welcome all feed back, but do save a wee bit of that energy and write to your Senator or Congressman and tell them how outraged you are about HIV-positive people having dirt shoveled down on top of them as they cry out for help, only to eventually suffer a dark, cold, terrifying death by suffocation.

Thats all I ask.

AIDS PATIENTS DELIBERATELY BURIED ALIVE IN NEW GUINEA

Fearful of contracting HIV, citizens of Papua New Guinea are burying those afflicted with AIDS while they are still alive, often even as they cry for help. According to News.com:

SOME AIDS victims were being buried alive in Papua New Guinea by relatives who could look after them and fear becoming infected themselves, a health worker said today.

Margaret Marabe, who spent five months carrying out an AIDS awareness campaign in the remote Southern Highlands of the South Pacific nation, said she had seen five people buried alive.

One was calling out "Mama, Mama'' as the soil was shovelled over his head, said Ms Marabe, who works for a volunteer organisation called Igat Hope, Pidgin English for I've Got Hope.

"One of them was my cousin, who was buried alive,'' she said.

"I said, 'Why are they doing that?' And they said, 'If we let them live, stay in the same house, eat together and use or share utensils, we will contract the disease and we too might die'.''

Villagers had told her it was common for people to bury AIDS victims alive.

Ms Marabe appealed to the Government and aid agencies to ensure the HIV/AIDS awareness program in cities and towns was extended to the rural areas, where ignorance about the disease was widespread.

Women accused of being witches have been tortured and murdered by mobs holding them responsible for the apparently inexplicable deaths of young people stricken by the epidemic, officials and researchers say.

A recent United Nations report said PNG was facing an AIDS catastrophe, accounting for 90 per cent of HIV infections in the Oceania region.

HIV diagnoses had risen by around 30 per cent a year since 1997, leaving an estimated 60,000 people living with the disease in 2005.

IDAHO SENATOR LARRY CRAIG ARRESTED IN MINNEAPOLIS AIRPORT RESTROOM FOR LEWD BEHAVIOR

It's more Hypocritical Political Hi-jinx!

According to CNN, Senator Larry Craig, a Married Conservative Republican Senator, who voted for (6/06) a constitutional ban of same-sex marriage, voted against (6/02) adding sexual orientation to definition of hate crimes, voted against (6/00) expanding hate crimes to include sexual orientation, voted for (9/96) prohibiting same-sex marriage, and voted against (9/96) prohibiting job discrimination by sexual orientation, has been arrested for lewd behavior with another man in a Minneapolis Airport Restroom:

Roll Call newspaper reported Monday that Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was apprehended June 11 by a plainclothes police officer investigating complaints of lewd behavior in an airport men's room.

Craig denied any inappropriate conduct in a prepared statement, and said he now regrets his guilty plea.

"At the time of this incident, I complained to the police that they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct," he said. "I should have had the advice of counsel in resolving this matter. In hindsight, I should not have pled guilty. I was trying to handle this matter myself quickly and expeditiously."

Congress is currently in recess, and Craig's office said he was on vacation in Idaho with his family, with no public appearances scheduled.

Craig, 62, paid a $500 fine when he entered his guilty plea on August 8 in Hennepin County Municipal Court in Bloomington, Minnesota, according to state criminal records.

CNN confirmed that Craig was sentenced to 10 days in jail but that sentence was stayed.

Minnesota law defines disorderly conduct as brawling, disturbing a meeting or engaging in "offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous or noisy conduct."

According to Roll Call, the arresting officer alleged that Craig lingered outside a rest room stall where the officer was sitting, then entered the stall next door and blocked the door with his luggage.

According to the arrest report cited by Roll Call, Craig tapped his right foot, which the officer said he recognized "as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct."

The report alleges Craig then touched the officer's foot with his foot and the senator "proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times," according to Roll Call.

At that point, the officer said he put his police identification down by the floor so Craig could see it and informed the senator that he was under arrest, before any sexual contact took place.

Idaho's senior senator is married with three grown children and nine grandchildren. A former rancher, Craig was first elected to the Senate in 1990, after serving a decade in the House. His seat is up for re-election in 2008.

Last fall, Craig's office publicly denied assertions by Internet blogger Mike Rogers that the senator is gay. Craig's office dismissed speculation about the senator's sexuality as "completely ridiculous."

In 1982, Craig denied rumors that he was under investigation as part of a federal probe into allegations that lawmakers on Capitol Hill had sexual relationships with congressional pages, saying the "false allegations" made him "mad as hell."

He was never implicated in that investigation, which eventually led to ethics charges against two other congressmen.

In recent years, Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council.

He has supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, telling his colleagues that it was "important for us to stand up now and protect traditional marriage, which is under attack by a few unelected judges and litigious activists."

In 1996, Craig also voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states.

Craig has also opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias and, in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate.

Craig has endorsed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential race. The senator was named in February, along with Sen. Robert Bennett of Utah, as Romney's liaison to build support among GOP senators.

Monday night, Romney's presidential campaign announced Craig was stepping down.

"He didn't want to be a distraction, and we accept his decision," the Romney campaign said in a statement. Access to a YouTube video in which Craig praised Romney was also blocked.

DON'T ASK, DON'T TOUCH: MARINE SGT. CONVICTED OF FONDLING HIS TROOPS

Yikes, it's our second Gay-Porn cliche' come-to-life in a week!

According to Stars and Stripes, a 24 year-old Marine Sargent has been convicted of groping his subordinates:

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — A Marine sergeant was found guilty Wednesday of improperly touching four junior Marines during a night of drinking March 1 at the enlisted club on White Beach.

Sgt. Tony Agosto, 24, now assigned to the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, was sentenced to 45 days in the brig, reduced to E-1 and handed a bad-conduct discharge. The special court-martial lasted two days.

He also was found guilty of being drunk and disorderly.

According to testimony by the four male corporals during the trial, Agosto was part of a Port Operations Group loading ships for deployment and went to the club in uniform with other Marines.

The club was crowded that night, and the four Marines — who then were lance corporals — said at first they thought Agosto was joking when he sidled up to them throughout the night and placed his hand on their thighs as they stood together.

But they said he repeated his advances, convincing them he was making homosexual overtures. One said Agosto leaned over and whispered in his ear: “You know you want to.”

“It made me feel awkward,” the Marine said.

The four said they did not know Agosto well, but they were afraid to do anything about his advances, other than to walk away or tell him to stop, because he was a noncommissioned officer.

The next morning, after discussing what had happened, they said they followed a corporal’s advice and reported Agosto’s actions.

Agosto’s defense attorney, Capt. Kristy Milton, argued that the young Marines had been mistaken concerning Agosto’s intent and that Marines play “gay jokes” on each other all the time. She compared what had occurred to football players who smack each other on the rump after a good play.

Agosto did not testify or make a statement during the sentencing phase of the trial. Milton asked the court-martial panel of two warrant officers and a major — one of them a woman — to sentence Agosto to no more than 45 days confinement and reduction to E-1.

“If nothing else happens, Sgt. Agosto, for the rest of his life, will have to register as a sexual offender,” Milton said.

She noted that Agosto would face an administrative discharge if a bad-conduct discharge was not awarded. The conviction would be enough to discharge him under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for homosexuals in the military.

Capt. Robert Eckert, the prosecutor, said Agosto’s statement to a Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent showed Agosto’s homosexual intent.

“He admitted culpability,” Eckert said. Agosto signed the statement, admitting he did not remember the events of the night of March 1 but not denying they happened.

“It was not my intention to make any Marine uncomfortable,” Agosto said in his statement. “If they were standing in front of me right now, I’d apologize.”

“Basically he’s telling you, ‘Yes I did it; I groped some junior Marines,’ ” Eckert argued.

ACTOR OWEN WILSON ATTEMPTS SUICIDE

Sorry to start your day in such a sad way folks, but according to Star Magazine, and the National Enquirer, Actor Owen Wilson has been hospitalized for a suicide attempt:

Actor Owen Wilson was hospitalized after attempting suicide, sources tell the NATIONAL ENQUIRER and Star magazine exclusively.

Wilson was transported to St. John’s hospital in Santa Monica , Calif. on Sunday, August 26, by ambulance. Sources tell the ENQUIRER and Star that he sliced his left wrists and took an indeterminate amount of pills.

He was discovered by a family member who summoned help.

Police and an ambulance responded to a 911 call from Owen’s house around noon on Sunday.

His wrist was sutured and bandaged at the hospital.

The ENQUIRER and Star broke the story of Owen’s hospitalization earlier Sunday and revealed that he was being transferred from St. John’s after being stabilized. The publications learned that he was going to be detoxed.

Owen was brought in to St. John’s in very serious condition. Police were on the scene immediately as was a criminal defense attorney, believed to be working for Wilson. Some of Owen’s family was with him.

Wilson was stabilized at St. John’s.

More on this story as it develops…

MINNESOTA STUDENT FACES PROTESTS AND DEPORTATION FOR WRITING ABOUT GAY-RIGHTS

According to WCCO News, 22 year-old Minnetonka student faces deportation, as well as crowds of angry protesters for writing articles about gay-rights:

(AP) Kampala, Uganda: Hundreds of people held an anti-gay protest in Uganda's capital Tuesday, denouncing what they called an "immoral" lifestyle and demanding the deportation of an American journalist from Minnesota writing about gay rights in the deeply conservative country.

Homosexuality is illegal in Uganda, like in most African states, and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Tuesday's demonstration was the latest in a series of showdowns between religious conservatives and a small, but growing gay rights movement across the continent.

The protesters gathered at a Kampala sports ground holding banners with anti-gay messages and posters demanding the deportation of 22-year-old Katherine Roubos.

Roubos, from Minnetonka, Minn., was assigned to cover gay issues in Uganda as part of a three-month internship with the Daily Monitor newspaper, which is owned by the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of 20 million Ismaili Muslims. The Ismailis are a part of the Shiite community.

Last week, Roubos covered a news conference in Kampala where Uganda's gay community spoke out publicly for the first time. The participants wore masks to hide their identities for fear of recrimination, but asked for Ugandans to respect their rights and allow them to live in dignity.

Demonstrators at Tuesday's event, organized by a coalition of Christian, Muslim and Bahai groups, accused Roubos of advocating for gay rights in the country. The coalition said it was writing a protest letter to the Aga Khan.

The Ugandan Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Nsaba Buturo, also attended the protest and said the government supported the enforcement of existing anti-gay laws.

"We people of Uganda have values. If this lady cannot respect them then she had better be deported," said Eddie Semakula, a member of the coalition. "She is advocating for the rights of homosexuals in a paper that is read by children even. We must protect our children."

The Monitor defended Roubos' "reliable and enterprising" reporting. Her editor, Moses Sserwanga, said the issue of gay rights was tied in with larger debates over traditional culture, individual freedoms and human rights in Uganda.

"On the one hand the constitution forbids homosexual behavior and yet on the other it promotes individual freedoms," he said. "Our society is very conservative so we knew this reaction would come out. I wanted the story to address the contradictions in our constitution."

Roubos said she has been impartial in her reporting, although she has worked with numerous advocacy groups in the U.S., including on gay rights issues. She declined to give details.

"I was given this assignment by my editor, I didn't ask for it," the Stanford university student told the Associated Press. "I just present facts. None of my personal opinions are in the stories."

Gay rights activists are becoming slightly more visible in some parts of Africa. In Nigeria, activists are quietly trying to mobilize against a law that would jail two gay people for five years for even talking to each other. In South Africa last year, gays won the right to have civil unions recognized as marriages, although priests may also opt out of performing such ceremonies.

POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED FOR BEING A MALE-PROSTITUTE

It's a gay-porn cliche' come to life: a Philadelphia cop was arrested for being a male-prostitute during an unrelated sting-operation.

According to 365gay.com:

(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) When police began a sting operation to catch suspected prostitutes they had no idea they would be arresting one of their own.

Levi Gibbon Jr, a part-time police officer with Newport Township in northeastern Pennsylvania, has been charged with prostitution.

An informant told the state police Organized Crime Unit about a man working as a hustler and an undercover officer set up a date to meet the man at a local motel.

The criminal complaint against Gibbon, 40, says that he discussed various sex acts with the undercover officer and the fees involved.

The officer allegedly accepted $200 and began to undress.

The money was in marked bills and the officer sent a signal to waiting troopers who arrested Gibbon.

Police say that after his arrest Gibbon gave a written statement saying he had been working as an escort and had expected to be paid for sex.

The was charged by the Organized Crime Unit with a single count of prostitution and released on bail.

Gibbon has been suspended without pay until the case is heard.

18 NIGERIANS CONVICTED OF HOMOSEXUALITY SPARED USUAL DEATH SENTENCE: STILL FACE LIKELY PRISON TERMS

According to 365gay.com, 18 Nigerians have literally dodged a bullet (well, a stone actually) when they were spared a death-sentence, typical of a conviction of homosexuality. The 18 currently await sentencing:

(Lagos) An Islamic court judge in Northern Nigeria has put off sentencing until next month for 18 men convicted of homosexuality in the Muslim state of Bauchi.

A prosecutor told the court on Tuesday that the government will not seek the death penalty.

Bauchi is one of a number of northern states which recognizes Sharia law. Elsewhere in the country gay sex carries sentences up to 14 years behind bars.

The 18 were convicted earlier this month.

They were arrested wearing women's clothing at a hotel where police say they had gathered for the wedding "of two men". An attorney for the men said they were at the hotel for a "graduation party".

Whether the men are gay or transsexual has not been fully explained by authorities. They were charged and convicted of sodomy but that was later reduced to a conviction of violating Islamic law by dressing in female garb when it could not be proved any sex had occurred.

On Tuesday police brought suitcases into court containing handbags, high-heel shoes and women's clothing.

The government frequently alleges that men arrested for being gay were dressed as women and were attending or preparing to attend gay weddings.

More than a dozen men have been sentenced to death in recent years for alleged homosexuality. In most cases their fate is unknown. Officially the government denies there have been any executions.

Meanwhile, the government is moving ahead with legislation that would strip gays and lesbians of all civil rights.

The bill started out as a ban on same-sex marriage and has been revised to make it a crime for more than two gay people to be in the same venue at the same time.

It prohibits LGBT social or civil rights groups from forming. It would be illegal to sell or rent property to same-sex couples, watch a gay film or video, visit an LGBT web site, or express same-sex love in a letter to one's partner.

The legislation goes so far as to make it a criminal offense to impart information of HIV/AIDS to gays or for non-gays to meet with any group of gays for any purpose.

The penalty would be five years in prison with hard labor.

The most recent arrests have sparked outrage in Britain and is likely to scuttle Nigeria's bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

The southern half of Nigeria is predominantly Anglican. The primate of the Nigerian Church is Archbishop Peter Akinola who has been at the forefront of opposing gay clergy in the denomination. Conservative Anglican churches in the US have aligned themselves with Akinola.

PICTURE OF THE DAY

photo courtesy: CollegeHumor.com

ST. PAUL'S MACALESTER COLLEGE DECLAIRED MOST GAY-FRIENDLY IN U.S

In a new survey that asked 120,000 students at 366 colleges to rate their schools in numerous categories, St. Paul Minnesota's Macalester came in #1 as " Gay community most accepted".

You can read the full report at Earthtimes...enjoy!

ITALIAN MAYOR ADVOCATES "ETHNIC CLEANSING" OF ALL HOMOSEXUALS FROM HIS CITY

Treviso Italy's Deputy Mayor, Giancarlo Gentilini is threatening to order-up the 'ethnic cleansing" of all homosexuals in his city.

Routers reports:

Hundreds of Italians protested in the northern Italian city of Treviso on Saturday after the city's deputy mayor called for the "ethnic cleansing" of homosexuals from the area.

The protesters gathered outside city hall to demand Giancarlo Gentilini's resignation, some wearing pink triangles like the ones homosexual men had to wear in Nazi concentration camps.

Prosecutors were also looking into the deputy mayor's comments to see whether they might warrant a criminal investigation, Italian media reported on Saturday.

"Today's protest, which is joined by hundreds of people, will not be the last. It will be the first in a long series," said Aurelio Mancuso, the head of gay rights group Arcigay.

A member of the right-wing Northern League party, Gentilini said on Wednesday he was so fed up with gays having sex in a car park that he was going to order police to carry out "ethnic cleansing" of homosexuals.

"I will immediately give orders to my forces so that they can carry out an ethnic cleansing of f------," Gentilini told a local television station, in comments later posted on Web site YouTube (above-will also post English translation when available)

"The f----- must go to other (cities) where they are welcome. Here in Treviso there is no chance for f------ or the like."

His comments were roundly condemned, with some members of his own far-right party siding with angry ministers in centre-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

Some lawmakers accused Gentilini of breaking Italian law by inciting hatred, violence and discrimination against homosexuals.

"The term 'ethnic cleansing' evokes tragic chapters of history which have brought death and suffering to millions of people," Family Minister Rosy Bindi was quoted as saying by Italy's ANSA news agency.

"Nobody, and certainly not somebody with public responsibility, is authorised to use such language."

Prosecutors obtained a recorded copy of Gentilini's remarks on Friday to see whether they broke the law, but no criminal probe was under way, Italian media reported.

SCANDAL, CENSORSHIP, AND THREATS OF LITIGATION FOLLOW "OUTING" OF MERV GRIFFIN

Yikes!

As the faithful reader knows, I am not in the business of outing anyone, unless of course you're a politician who has an anti-gay agenda and you are caught in a men's room offering an undercover cop sex (you know who you are..plural). Hypocrisy, and or death (my reasoning the subject would be beyond caring) overrides my privacy policy. So, imagine my surprise when there was a hue and cry over the revelation of Hollywood's worst kept secret: that Media legend Merv Griffin was gay.

The Hollywood Reporter received quite a combustible response to its article pertaining to Merv Griffin's sexuality. A firestorm of legal threats and subsequent deletion and ultimate censoring of the original article followed.

Here is the mess as best I can decipher from Towleroad:

Friday's rather stunning pronouncement by the Hollywood Reporter that "Merv Griffin was gay" sent enough shock waves through old Hollywood that Reuters, who syndicated the story internationally, was pressured to pull the story, which it did, in what Michelangelo Signorile calls "the most bizarre case of attempted censorship we've seen in years."

Here's the timeline, via Editor & Publisher...

--Hollywood Reporter publishes story "Merv Griffin was Gay"
--Reporter pulls the story, republishes it titled "Griffin never revealed man behind the curtain."
--Reuters picks up story in its news feed, syndicates it internationally.
--Reuters pulls story, with this explanation: "This was a story from The Hollywood Reporter that ran as part of a Reuters news feed. We have dropped the story from our entertainment news feed as it did not meet our standards for news. GBU Editor."

Signorile reports that Elizabeth Guider, who has been editor of the Reporter for less than a month, pulled the story after pressure from "various Hollywood titans, advertisers and lawyers for one of Griffin's companies."

Writes Signorile: "Specifically, she'd received a legal threat from one of Griffin's companies, but any editor worth his or her salt would know there was no case here: a dead man cannot be libeled, and there was no libel here anyway. Merv Griffin was gay, and many people could attest to that. Apparently some advertisers, specifically one with an ad buy that was a tribute to Griffin, were threatening ads would be pulled. Conceiveably, studios, production companies and others could bear pressure down, pressed by still others."

Ray Richmond, the article's writer, said in an interview over the weekend: "Sure. I’m sure it was taken down because there was fear of litigation, and that the post was libelous and/or defamatory. And I certainly don’t believe that to be the case. I will have discussions with [my bosses at the Reporter, and I will hope at some point we can have it restored online. It seems that scotching the post gives the appearance of liability when there isn’t any. It was simply a factual, very informed discussion of the larger issue of the media’s difficulty in allowing someone to be labeled as gay in the mainstream, as if that is somehow a huge shame. My whole reason for doing the piece for the Reporter was to shine a light on that fact. Unfortunately that appears to be the case...even internally."

The story, as of this morning, was live on the Hollywood Reporter website, with revisions. A detailed analysis of the revisions can be found over at Queer two Cents.

John Aravosis at AmericaBlog sums the situation up nicely: "You'd think the matter of an obit about or reminiscence of a public figure wouldn't generate all this brouhaha, but that's what happens when the world outside of the closet is so frightening to people in Hollywood that all sorts of insane measures are taken to reinforce the message is that there is something inherently wrong with being gay."

MASS ARRESTS AND EXECUTIONS CONTINUE FOR GAYS AND OTHER "MORAL VIOLATORS" IN IRAN

In case you havent heard (there has been precious little press), it's tough being gay in Iran. The government has been arresting gays and other morally challenged types en masse'; over 1000 last May alone.

Direland Reports:

Iranian authorities staged a brutal and violent May 10 raid on a birthday party in Esfahan which they suspected was a gay party, beating the guests and arresting 87 people, including four women, one of whom had a child with her. Some 80 of those arrested made bail or were released immediately but face possible prosecution in the future; while 17 of those arrested were imprisoned awaiting trial, and a judge told their families that they would be charged with “homosexual conduct” (hamjensgarai in Persian) and the consumption of alcohol.

Police and members of the Basiji -- the thuggish parapolice attached to the Revolutionary Guards, who are used to enforce morality -- severely beat the Esfahan party guests, both inside the house where the party was held and in the street outside it, resulting in broken bones for some of the partyers, according to these accounts by eyewitnesses and guests at the party.

A voice-mail left on the office telephone of the IRQO by one of those arrested said, “The police beat us so hard that one of us threw himself out of the third-floor window and broke his legs; he is now in hospital. When we were arrested, we were forced to sleep on the floor, and the police were walking on us. We don’t have any voice here and you are our voice, please tell the world about our horrible situation in Iran, it is our daily life.”

Further evidence of the brutality of Iran’s heavy-handed theocracy towards homosexuals came with the release by the IRQO of horrific photos of the wounds of a gay couple who had been subjected to 80 lashes in April “just for being gay,” . The gay couple -- Farhad, 26, and Farnam, 23 (pictured above) -- escaped from Iran to Turkey. They were arrested when police broke into their home in Tehran. According to an Iranian Ministry of Justice document furnished to this reporter by the IRQO, Farhad and Farnam were charged with both “organizing immoral parties” and with the crime of “tafhkiz” , which can be translated as intercrural sex or interfemural sex.

...and according to the International Herald and Tribune:

TEHRAN: The Iranian government confirmed Tuesday that a man was executed by stoning last week for committing adultery, and said that 20 more men would be executed in the coming days on morality violations.

A judiciary spokesman, Alireza Jamshidi, told reporters on Tuesday that a death sentence by stoning had been carried out last week near the city of Takestan, west of Tehran, despite an order by the chief of the judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Shahroudi, not to permit such executions.

"The verdict was final, and so it was carried out for the man but not for the woman," the ISNA news agency quoted Jamshidi as saying.

He said the 20 additional executions were for such things as "rape, insulting religious sanctities and laws, and homosexuality." Most executions in Iran are hangings, often in public and at the scenes of the alleged crimes.

The police arrested about 1,000 people in May during a so-called morality crackdown. Jamshidi said 15 more men were being tried on similar charges and could receive death sentences.

The daily newspaper Etemad Melli reported Monday that Jaffar Kiani, 47, who had been convicted of adultery, was executed by stoning on Thursday in the cemetery of a small village near Takestan. "Villagers said the sentence was carried out by the local judge and authorities," the newspaper reported.

Kiani and his partner, Mokarameh Ebrahimi, 43, who has two children, were scheduled to die on June 21, but the execution was put off by Ayatollah Shahroudi.

WHY MERV GRIFFIN NEVER CAME OUT OF THE CLOSET

Not only was the late Merv Griffin a media and investment mogul, but by all accounts, was beloved by family, friends, and professional associates as well.

So, why would a man with so much power and influence feel the need to stay in the closet and hide his homosexuality? Ray Richmond of the Hollywood Reporter thinks he knows why...


Merv Griffin was gay.

Why should that be so uncomfortable to read? Why is it so difficult to write? Why are we still so jittery even about raising the issue in purportedly liberal-minded Hollywood in 2007? We can refer to it casually in conversation, but the mainstream media somehow remains trapped in the Dark Ages when it comes to labeling a person as gay.

Maybe that helps explain why Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82, stayed in the closet throughout his life. Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as "one of them." But how tremendously sad it is that a man of Merv's renown, of his gregarious nature and social dexterity, would feel compelled to endure such a stealthy double life even as the gay community's clout, and its levels of acceptance and equality, rose steadily from the ashes of ignorance.

I'm not at all insinuating that Griffin had a responsibility to come out. That was up to him.

But what a powerful message Griffin might have sent had he squired his male companions around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good friend and platonic public pal. Imagine the amount of good Merv could have done as a well-respected, hugely successful, beloved and uncloseted gay man in embodying a positive image.

As it was, I loved the guy, finding him charismatic and charming. And I had more than a passing acquaintance with him, having worked on "The Merv Griffin Show" as a talent coordinator/segment producer in 1985-86 as the show was winding down. Around the office, Merv's being gay was understood but rarely discussed. We knew nothing of his relationships because he guarded his privacy fiercely, and we didn't pry.

Merv's secret gay life was widely known throughout showbiz culture, if not the wider America. It gained traction in 1991 when he was targeted in a pair of lawsuits: by "Dance Fever" host Denny Terrio, alleging sexual harassment; and by assistant Brent Plott, seeking $200 million in palimony. Both ultimately were dismissed.

Over the past 16 years of his life, however, Griffin deflected the sexuality questions with a quip, determining that his private life remained nobody's business. He certainly didn't owe us an explanation, but maybe he owed it to himself to remove the suffocating veil he'd been forced to hide behind throughout his adult life. Then again, Merv carved his niche in the entertainment world at a time when being gay wasn't OK, when disclosure was unthinkable and the allegation alone could deep-six one's career.

If you're Griffin, why would you think a judgmental culture would be any more tolerant as you grew into middle and old age? Even in the capital of entertainment -- in a business where homosexuality isn't exactly a rare phenomenon -- it's still spoken of in hushed tones or, more often, not at all. And Merv's brush with tabloid scandal no doubt only drove him further into the closet.

While it would seem everything has changed today, little actually has. You can count on the fingers of one hand, or at most two, the number of high-powered stars and public figures who have come out. Those who don't can't really be faulted, as rarely do honesty and full disclosure prove a boon to one's showbiz livelihood.

Nonetheless, the elephant that was his sexual orientation never really stopped following Griffin from room to room. He could duck it for a while, but it would always find him. It's disheartening that Merv had to die to shake it for good.

MYSTERY SURROUNDS LATEST WRESTLING DEATH: WWE'S BRIAN "CRUSH" ADAMS

Another sudden, and so far unexplained death in the world of professional wrestling.

Former World Wrestling Entertainment star Brian "Crush" Adams was found dead Monday in his Tampa Home according to E! News:

Adams' wife called 911 after discovering her husband in bed unconscious and not breathing, but paramedics were unable to revive the 43-year-old World Tag Team champ, who retired from competitive wrestling in 2003 after suffering a spinal injury.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday to determine the cause of death and authorities and an investigation is underway. The police's incident report states that there were no visible injuries on Adams' body.

"I’m still in a state of shock right now," Ron Simmons, a retired pro and current WWE Raw personality, said in a posting on WWE.com. "He and I go way back and have worked together for years. He was a very good friend of mine. I still don’t want to believe it. I’m just saddened by it and I just want to wish his family well."

Adams, who rose to fame in the early 1990s as a member of the famed Demolition trio, left the WWE in 2001 to try his fists at boxing, but returned to wrestling after a shoulder injury forced him out of the ring before his first professional fight.

The WrestleMania vet's death comes barely a month and a half after WWE superstar Chris Benoit murdered his wife and child in their Georgia home and then hanged himself.

A subsequent autopsy showed an elevated level of testosterone in Benoit's body, which indicated he had been injecting steroids before his death, but there was no sign that he had been abusing them to the extent that would have caused so-called 'roid rage.

Meanwhile, Benoit's personal doctor has asked a judge to throw out evidence taken from his office after the wrestler died, saying that investigators overstepped their boundaries by seizing a handful of patients' medical records, three years of bank records and two computers.

Dr. Phil Astin, who said that he prescribed testosterone for Benoit in the past, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs to two patients other than Benoit, and his attorney said that he expects more charges to be filed soon.

GAY-MAN BURNED ALIVE BY BIKERS

A Gay Brazilian man was doused with gas, and set afire by two bikers according to Gay News Watch:

A man was burned alive by two people late at night in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte. Witnesses said Luiz Rocha, 40, was drinking at a gas station when two men on a motorcycle approached. One of the suspects spilled gasoline on the victim, and the other then set the fire. An employee at the station helped put out the fire. Police are investigating whether the attempted homicide was provoked by homophobia because the victim is gay. The suspects have not been identified, and no arrests have been made. According to the hospital, Roche is suffering from burns on 18 percent of his body with second degree burns on his arms and right leg. His condition is considered stable.

BUSH'S ANTI-GAY SENIOR ADVISOR KARL ROVE RESIGNS

Here's some good-news to start your week off right-

This just in from 365gay.com:

(Washington) Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political strategist and the man regarded as the architect of the use of LGBT civil rights as a wedge issue in campaigns, plans to leave the White House at the end of August.

Rove is a person friend of Bush's and has been at his side for most of the president's political life.

He is said to have been a master of political intrigue and dirty tricks.

A criminal investigation put Rove under scrutiny for months during the investigation into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name. But he was never charged with any crime.

He is reported to have first begun running anti-gay attacks for the Bush gubernatorial campaign in Texas during the mid-1990s.

During the 2004 presidential campaign, it was Rove who closely coordinated White House meetings with two leading anti-gay advocates - the Family Research Council and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family on issues including a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

In the summer of 2004, Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, told reporters that the White House was encouraging Republicans in the state to support an anti-marriage amendment to the Ohio state constitution.

According to Blackwell, White House political aides, including Rove, argued that supporting such amendments would benefit turnout for the Republican ticket.

Shortly after the 2004 elections, Rove appeared on the television program "Fox News Sunday" to discuss White House plans to push for a federal anti-marriage amendment.

Appearing on the program on November 07, 2004, Rove enthusiastically backed the measure, promising that the President would "absolutely" push for it. Rove also noted that President Bush was committed to nominating individuals to the federal judiciary that held similar views on the matter.

Rove joins a growing list of close aides leaving the White House as the bush Administration slides into its final year-and-a-half.

"He's a great colleague, a good friend, and a brilliant mind," said White House deputy press secretary Dana Perino. "He will be greatly missed."