No doubt Elton John's European fans are shaking their faggy fists today. The gay singer's management has regrettably announced that John will not be performing in Venice, Paris, Seville, Berlin or Moscow for his "Red Piano Tour". An Elton flack released the following statement:

We regret to announce that Elton John's European 'Red Piano' shows have been canceled. The promoter has been unable to guarantee to put on the shows, resulting in us having to take this very difficult decision.

We do of course appreciate that Elton's fans will be disappointed at this news, and we are already looking into the possibility of returning to the affected cities in the very near future.

Don't worry, though: the UK shows will go on.

Elton John pulls European tour [NME]

Angelic tampons are fun and all, but let's check in on the real world, shall we?

Conservative Member of the EU Parliament John Bowis delivered the keynote address for the 20th annual International Gay and Lesbian Youth Organisation conference, stressing the dangers LGBT discrimination pose to European cohesion.

Speaking to an intimate group in Riga, Latvia, Bowis declared:

Stigmas like the ones an LGBT person faces are prejudice; prejudice may be the origin of numerous mental health problems in the LGBT community...

In many parts of the European Union, LGBT people are not included completely, this is anti-Christian, this is anti-European.

Sexual preference and gender identity should be discussed on the same level as other differences, such as ethnicity and religion.

The ‘Church’, in a broader sense, questions absolute equality of LGBT people, yet they need to go back to the Bible and follow Jesus’ call to love the sinners.

We're totally down with Bowis' message, but we take issue with a few aspects of his speech. First and foremost, Europe owes much of its history to discrimination. Hello, colonialism? Further, we're not sure applying the Church to the whole of the EU's the best way to make that point if trying to bring people together. But that's just us.

Also, are they being ironic by holding the conference in Latvia, where homophobe Janis Smits recently took over the country's human rights commission?

Oh well, it's the thought that counts.

Sure, the wide-world of sports doesn't have the best pro-homo history, but European footballers and fans alike are joining forces to become more inclusive of their cock-sucking peers. Pink News UK reports:

LGBT supporters in Germany and Poland are participating in the Football Against Racism in Europe Action Week, which will see a series of events throughout the continent dedicated to promoting equality including anti-homophobia schemes.

A commendable gesture, yes, but we can't help but wonder: since when does faggotry count as a race? Not to seem like we're not down with greater struggles, but it seems a bit...off the mark. (But, in all seriousness, we think any movement against oppression's pretty excellent.)

Ever since creepy, gay-obsessed twin brothers Lech and Jaroslaw Kaczynski took over the Polish government (as Prime Minister and President respectively), Poland has not been a very friendly place for the gays, with gay organizations and Pride parades being banned, along with officials in government freely insulting the LGBT community. Prime Minister Lech himself called us "perverts" when he refused to meet with parade organizers during his tenure as mayor of Warsaw.

Now Prime Minister Lech is going to talk to the EU leadership, considering that yes, Poland is in fact a member of the EU and subject to its bylaws, including those that protect gays. We wonder if the talks will go well or if it will all be too much for the Prime Minister, who will then have to return home to his mother's house, where he lives as a "confirmed bachelor."

What is it about a single, middle-aged guy who lives with his mom, and is aggressively venomous towards the gay community that sets off our gaydar?

Gay bashing Polish PM in talks with EU [Pink News]

We're starting to think that the European Union's much-touted Charter of Fundamental Human Rights is a bunch of unenforceable bunk after what happened in Latvia's capital city over the weekend. First Poland elects a couple of twin fascists that are openly disdainful of gay rights, and now police in Riga, Latvia allow neo-Nazis to trap a group of gay activists inside a church on Saturday and do nothing to get them safely out.

The gay group, who was recently barred from holding a Pride parade by Riga's mayor, were having an LGBT rights prayer service (that's a new one for us) when the church was surrounded by neo-Nazis. Rather than disperse, the fascist group grew larger and the gays inside were forced to exit through the protesting mob, dodging bags of poo and having insults screamed in their faces.

The President of Latvia has denounced the incident as "unacceptable," but those words mean little when skinheads are so blatantly allowed to rule the streets. We will wait and see if the EU issues any sanctioned before pronouncing them utterly gutless and ineffectual.

Mob Attacks Gays As Police Look On [365 Gay]

Yesterday Jaroslaw Kaczynski became the new Prime Minister of Poland and in true gay-obsessed fashion, made sure to note that marriage rights would not be extended to homos under his watch. This stays true to the message that his twin brother, President Lech Kaczynski, has been sending since taking office himself. As Mayor of Warsaw, President Kaczynski refused to even speak to gay people, saying, "“I am not willing to meet perverts.”

Now with the two brothers in office and with the ruling Law and Justice party holding sway over Parliament, Poland has re-entered the Dark Ages, and we will have to wait and see if Europe will step up and make them toe the line on social issues.

Polish Prime Minister rules out gay marriage [PinkNews]

• A Nobel Prize-nominated South African AIDS advocacy organization was first not invited, then invited, now refuses to attend the United Nations Special Session on AIDS as an act of protest. [365 Gay]

• At least one elected official is looking out for the gays, even if he is in The Netherlands. Mayor Job Cohen of Amsterdam sent out a written slap on the wrist to the heads of several homophobic European governments telling them to uphold the universal declaration of human rights. [Pink News]

• 72 percent of Americans would hypothetically vote for hypothetical gay candidates as long as they hypothetically agreed on the hypothetical issues. Gay activists are hypothetically excited. [Washington Blade]

• Supporters of the anti-gay-marriage amendment in Minnesota refuse to disclose all the money pouring into their campaign. Could this be because their sources are pure evil? That is just one idea. [Star Tribune]

The Czech parliament has just voted to grant some rights to same-sex couples. It isn’t full marriage yet, but it’s a start for the generally liberal Eastern European country known mainly to Americans as “the place you go after college.”

If approved also by President Vaclav Klaus, the legislation will allow couples who register their partnership with authorities to have inheritance and health care rights similar to those granted now to heterosexual married couples.

The law, however, does not allow marriage or adoption of children by same-sex partners.

We’re booking our trip to Prague as we speak. Oh, and notice how we refrained from any use of the horrid pun “Czech-Mate?” You won’t get that kind of restraint from the AP. Well, at least in the copy.

Czech parliament approves gay partnership rights [Washington Blade]