Canadian immigration officials denied asylum for Malaysian national Kulenthiran Amirthalingam last week. They didn’t buy his claim that he’s a queer. Couldn’t they conduct a simple cocksucker quiz? [Vancouver Sun]

21-year old Adamo Ruggiero first became a gay icon at age 16. Too bad the Degrassi: The Next Generation actor hadn’t yet come to terms with his own homosexuality. In fact, it wouldn’t be until this year that Ruggiero - who has a long history of extracurricular activism - would come out to the public.

The part-time film student and full-time artist recently gabbed with our editor about the pros and cons of playing Marco Del Rossi, why Canadians don’t care about celebrity and how his acting experience gave him a new view of the U.S.
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A 60-year old Christian counselor has been found guilty of sexually abusing a man who came to him for guidance. The 29-year old hoped to repress his sexuality, but the counselor preferred fondling and bizarre role playing, like pretending to be Jesus and getting beaten if the patient masturbated too much. Totally queer. [Winnipeg Sun]

Mohamed el-Attar may get a sequel to last year’s Spy Gaymes!. The Egyptian Canadian has been held in Egypt since last February, when the nation accused him of spying for Israel. Mr. el-Attar denied the claims and his lawyer now says the 32-year old could be saved from the torturous prison if someone would just pay for his appeal. The lawyer, Ibrahim Basyouni, also wagged a finger at the Canadian government, who “abandoned the case”. Basyouni has apparently never heard of pro-bono. [Globe & Mail]

38-year old Ivan Mendez-Romero murdered his wealthy lover because their ten-year relationship had fallen apart and he didn’t want to abandon his “lavish lifestyle,” said a Canadian prosecutor yesterday. Mendez-Romero also allegedly went wild when Janko Naglic told him to leave their shared home: “No, you get out of the house. I am going to kill you, you Slavic bastard.” [National Post]

Canadian fag rag Fab just found a new sugar daddy: “Xtra publisher Pink Triangle Press has signed a deal to buy Fab, Toronto’s bi-weekly gay lifestyle and entertainment mag.” The sale will be final on February 25th. [MIC]

Canadian Neil Smith never imagined he’d become a professional writer. Sure, he liked writing and all, but dismissed it as a hobby - until his marvelous short stories started getting published.

It wasn’t long until an agent contacted Smith and persuaded him to publish a collection of nine thoughtful, profound tales, Bang Crunch, which Vintage Contemporaries recently republished in paperback form.

Our editor chatted with Smith this morning and got the scoop on his literary process, the inevitability of melancholy and how he discovered his own imagination. Read all about it, after the jump.
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Canadian queers are fuming over a recent decision to regulate Pictou County’s flag poles. The County’s council voted 7-6 Monday to only allow official, state-recognized flag to adorn its shiny staffs, a move that many gay activists consider homophobic, while others say it helps contain haters: Ramona Westgate, an activist with the Pictou County Pride Group, said officials did not speak with other community groups before voting on the policy. “They didn’t reach out to any of the community organizations, including the Pride of Pictou County, and ask them how they feel or what they thought the effects of this policy would be,” she told CTV Atlantic.

Warden Allister MacDonald dismissed any notion the … Continued…

A Canadian judge used very poor judgment while dealing with an HIV positive witness.

Canadian Auto Workers Union gave PFLAG Canada $25,000. Conservatives make this into a bad thing.

• From this week’s In Touch. That’s all you need to know…

• Washington tops California for [second] most gay politicians. New Hampshire wins with seven.

• Gaydar exists.

• Ontario’s out Health Minister George Smitherman comes out against gay organ donor ban.

• Porn producer Bryan Kocis‘ father files lawsuit against son’s alleged killers, Harlow Cuadra and Joseph Kerekes.
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Newly out actor Adamo Ruggiero appears on Canadian fag rag Fab’s February issue. We totally want to smooch the dashing 21-year old, but we’ve watched him grow up on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Is that wrong?

Canada’s former Designer Guys hosts Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman (ha!) are getting their own daytime “lifestyle” talk show. It’s called Steven and Chris - wait, we thought queers were supposed to be creative!

Canadian students are crying “bloody murder” over their government’s tenacious ban on gay blood donations. The blood agency’s questionnaire screens out any man who has had sex with another man at least once since 1977.
The national student group decided to press the issue in 2006 and the cause has been taken up by universities across the country, most notably at University of Toronto and McGill University, said activist Andrew Brett.

Brett, advocacy and outreach coordinator for the student union at the University of Toronto’s Mississauga campus, said posters against the policy began popping up in December and students will be deciding on the shape of their campaign against the policy in the … Continued…

Some crazy Canadian women dropped some ink to rain on gay prides parades. The Right wing “Real Women of Canada” took to their Reality magazine to offer us this: “Gay Pride Parades are Past Their Prime”. It’s Grade-A!

Note that the gals adhere to American presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s queer chronology. A taste: Homosexual activists have played it both ways. On the one hand, they argue they are just like everyone else. They love deeply and permanently and want to marry and be parents, living out their lives just like heterosexuals do…Yet, on the other hand, they are “proud” of their subculture, which was established in the 1970’s … Continued…