A gay bash trial grows in Britain. 20-year old Christopher Sanders is currently on trial for beating Chris Dewhurst last October. The men met at a local pub and apparently hit it off, because Dewhurst brought Sanders home. Sanders, however, had other ideas. Says Prosecutor Steve Harmes:

Mr Dewhurst was in the pub with two female friends and Sanders was chatting to them about holidays in Bulgaria amongst other things.

During the evening, Mr Dewhurst went home for some money and Sanders asked could he go with him and borrow some cash.

At the flat he asked one of the flatmates if Mr Dewhurst was gay and was told as far as that man knew, he was not.

They returned to the pub’s karaoke and for Mr Dewhurst – who later confirmed he is a gay man – that was his last memory.

Some time later they had returned to the flat and at 4am Mr Dewhurst was making his emergency phone call to one of the female friends he had been with earlier. Pictures were later taken of pools of blood she found in his bedroom, of a cut under his eye which needed stitches and of extensive bruising to his face.

Sanders has admitted his guilt in the assault. The judge has, however, requested a psychological examination and a statement from Dewhurst before sentencing. The trial continues next month.

• We can't believe we've never experienced the magic of Scottish noisemakers Orange Juice. This track's called "Rip It Up" and we love it more than we love ourselves, if you can believe that…

• Celebrities keep GOP donations under wraps.

• Gay man's killer takes prison dental technician hostage; said nurse unscathed.

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There may be an international incident brewing over in Ghana.

A 63-year old British photographer named John Ross Macleod has been arrested for "unnatural carnal knowlege" in the anti-gay African nation, where sodomy remains illegal. Macleod had traveled to Ghana to meet a recent college graduate, Emmanuel Adda, whom MacLeod met on the internet.

You're probably wondering how police found out about Macleod and Adda. Did the sky fall after they fucked? No. Did Satan spring forth to let the cat out of the proverbial bag? Nope. It all happened by accident when airport coppers were searching Macleod for drugs and discovered a disk containing photos of him and Adda having sex. Both men pleaded guilty to the "unnatural" charges. Macleod pleaded not guilty of possessing pornographic obscenity.

Speaking to the press after the arrests, police chief Charles Darkwa said, "During his stay in Ghana, Adda traveled round the country with Macleod, who took the opportunity to sodomize him and took pictures as well." Darkwa neglected to mention that Adda consented to the sex.

A British bus driver went on a power trip this weekend after encountering two gay teens on his route. Steven Black and Mark Craig - aged sixteen and nineteen respectively - were riding late night last week when the driver pulled over and ordered them off because Craig had his arm around Black's shoulder. Says Black:

The driver stopped at the side of the road and told us to get off. He told us he would not move the bus unless we got off or sat apart.

The driver said he was 'not putting up with our shit'. He made us feel like complete freaks.

If we had been all over each other, I could understand - because that behavior in public is not appropriate whatever your sexuality. But Mark just had his arm around my shoulder.

I have never been so humiliated in my life. I just can't believe we are still made to feel like second-class citizens.

The boys were forced to comply, for they had no other way to get home. Now that they're safe and sound, however, they're planning legal action. A representative for the Stagecoach bus company claims they're taking the complaint "seriously," but neglected to mention the company's owner previously donated £500,000 in support of Clause 28, which banned "gay promotion" in schools.

Host country Argentina took home the top prize in the gay world cup this weekend.

The two teams were among 28 squads from Europe, the Americas and Australia that participated in the 10th gay football world championship aimed at highlighting the fight against homophobia and discrimination.

With their victory, Los Dogos, named after an Argentine dog breed, automatically qualified for the 2008 tournament hosted by London.

"The people supported us and I hope it's always like this," said Dogos coach Nestor Gammella, 51, after the final held at the Defensores de Belgrano stadium. "We beat the world champions and we are happy."

The final score: 1-0.

A British politico's accused of abandoning gay rights to win the Muslim vote. Gay activist Peter Tatchell claims formerly pro-gay Parlimentarian George Galloway used his opponent's stance on gay rights to seduce Muslim voters in a recently reorganized voting district.

After parliamentary redistricting in August created a new seat contested by Galloway and Labour MP Jim Fitzpatrick, Galloway's Web site listed Fitzpatrick's favorable record on gay rights under reasons not to vote for him.
…
"George appears to be appeasing homophobic sections of the Muslim community by attacking Jim Fitzpatrick over his support for gay rights," [said] Tatchell…

"He's using homophobia to gain political advantage, and he is betraying his own past appeal for gay equality.

If his Web site is a mistake, George should correct it immediately."

The website has since been amended.

• Mormon missionaries are challenging stereotypes: they're not squares, they're sexy! (Except for Mitt Romney). Check out the goods here!

• Mombian gets things done. After seeing Amazon's text book and tuition contest didn't include same-sex partners, this ballsy babe called them out. We won't give away the ending…

• Alleged anti-gay British politico Miranda Grell alleges she's a victim of a conspiracy. Allegedly.

• Gay ban in Lithuania?

• Gay men's HIV+ stats can't be chalked up to whorish behavior:

The HIV epidemic among gay men can't be explained by their number of sexual partners, U.S. researchers report.
…
But the sexual behaviors of gay and heterosexual men in the United States may not be as different as most people think, the researchers said. In fact, two surveys found that most gay men have a similar rate of sex with unprotected partners compared to straight men or women.

Decades of anti-gay myth debunked?

• Demi Moore's looks don't come cheap.

• Clay Cane chops up Evan Ross.

• Chris Crocker explosion!

Looking for something to stick on your bumper this summer? Well look no further because a British bloke wants to sell his rather forthright vanity plate.

As you can see, it's quite a fetching little message: "Yes I Gay". We'd totally snag it, but it just doesn't fit the subway car. Plus, we scream "queen" already. So, why is Peter selling such a memorable plate? To finance an overseas property. Obviously one little license ain't enough to finance anything, so surely there's another reason why he's reaching out in the papers:

I want to reach out to the whole community to ensure the best possible home is found for the plate where it will be cherished and prized.

Alright, the plate's cute, but "cherished"? It's not a puppy.

If only America hadn't revolted against British rule. One month after apologizing for sacking gay soldiers, the Ministry of Defense has settled on a settlement valued at more than £3m.

The MoD lifted its gay ban back in 2000, but has struggled with how to address the injustice. Rather than admitted any illegality, the ministry has opted to play the privacy game, says Pink News UK:

The MoD said that compensation for around 60 former service personnel was being paid because their privacy had been breached, and not because the Armed Forces had acted illegally in dismissing them.

They say "tomato," we say "about bloody time".

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Britain's Transport Police defended 29-year old Chris Dreyfus after conservative curmudgeons blasted the 29-year old's Facebook page as a "security threat".

Dreyfus, who heads Queen Elizabeth's security team, joked that he wanted people to "bite, grope, lick or spank him" and also displayed a conversation in which he cracked to a friend, "Hope the leather shorts didn’t chafe too much on Saturday.”

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The rule of law vanquished a Reverend's rule in England, where John Reaney won his discrimination case against The Anglican Bishop of Hereford, Reverend Anthony Priddis.

Reaney filed the lawsuit after Priddis turned him down for a job for a previous gay relationship. The Colwyn Bay-based queer had applied for a job at the Church and had been previously been lauded for being an ideal candidate.

That all changed when he met with Priddis on July 19, 2006 when Reaney fessed up to having had a long-term gay relationship.

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• Victoria Beckham's self-referential Victoria Beckham: Coming To America airs tonight on NBC. And apparently it's really, really boring. The Spice Girls' feud with Eddie Murphy, however, is not - boring, that is. Okay, it's a little boring.

• Meanwhile, NBC took pity on ABC-lashing Isaiah Washington and offered him a spot on The Bionic Woman. Of the deal, Washington remarks, I am grateful and honored by NBC's belief in me, and I am looking forward to getting back to work." Enjoy your second chance, Washington, and don't fuck it up.

• In somewhat related news, Black Entertainment Television has been getting flack for it's new show, Hot Ghetto Mess. The Viacom-owned network says stereotypical, unflattering images of black people will spur "self-reflection". We can't help but wonder if gays need one, too. Oh, wait, we forgot about William Sledd and his new web show.

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There's always some new report out about anti-gay bullying, but a new UK Stonewall report may provide the most startling numbers yet:

Sixty-five per cent of lesbian and gay school pupils have been bullied because of their sexuality, a survey has found.

Half of teachers ignore homophobic language when they hear it and the 30 per cent of the kids say adults at their school are responsible for the bullying.

Stonewall, which wrote the survey, says this means that of current secondary school pupils, 143,000 children have suffered from anti-gay name-calling, 64,000 have been physically attacked and 26,000 have had death-threats.

Those astonishingly high - and equally unbelievable - numbers are estimates based on a tally of 1,145 students.

Regardless of their accuracy, the news that 30% of the guppies claim teachers bully makes one reconsider home schooling.

Fred Phelps may have himself a British pen pal. Church of England Bishop Graham Dow raised some eyebrows this weekend when he raised the possibility that the ever-rising gays are responsbible for rising flood waters - among other things. Gay equality and other forms of social progress, Dow believes, led to the world's recent Biblically-proportioned disasters:

This is a strong and definite judgment because the world has been arrogant in going its own way.

We are reaping the consequences of our moral degradation, as well as the environmental damage that we have caused.

At least he acknowledges the actual environmental damage.

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America's Department of Defense could learn a thing or two from their British counterparts. The Ministry of Defense has apologized for discriminating against gay soldiers.

Commander Phil Sagar told BBC radio:

Of course we're sorry for anyone who's suffered personal trauma. We can't change the past and what's happened has happened. But if, as I'm sure you have, you've got testimony from people who feel that their lives have been ruined from this, then clearly that is not a good place to be.

Sagar's apology didn't come from left field - fifty former soldiers are looking for financial compensation for their unfair treatment.

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