Sir Alan Bates may have been married to Victoria Ward, but a new biography reveals the British actor had a thing for men.

Otherwise Engaged: The Life Of Alan Bates by Donald Spoto offers new details suggesting the strapping sex idol - known for his roles in Women In Love, The Fixer and The Entertainer, among others - got down with the boys. And one of his male mates came in the form of Olympic figure skater, John Curry (pictured after the jump). Daily Mail paraphrases the Olympic-sized details:

While he liked to appear publicly with women, and to cuddle with them privately, his deepest romances and his most passionate sexual life occurred with men.

CONTINUED »

Bill Maher's a fucking genius. Not only does his eulogy of Reverend Jerry Falwell expose the new cultural rule, "Death isn't always sad", but the outspoken social commentator also offers the gay rights movement a revolutionary suggestion: become a religion. "Forget civil rights, just make gayness a religion. I mean, you're kneeling anyway." Why didn't we think of that?

From this day forward, you queer couples are no longer "life partners". You are "a nunnery of two". Bill Maher has spoken...

AIDS is the great equalizer. Young, old, black, white, gay, straight, transgendered, Christian, Muslim – you name a social group, most likely a member has HIV/AIDS.

Not since the Black Plague has a disease so dramatically altered the course of history. We’re all touched by HIV/AIDS, even if we don’t realize it. Thus, it’s imperative that we all play a role in the protracted nightmare – a message the AIDS Walk embraces in its new social realism-inspired poster campaign...

CONTINUED »

Theater titans Jane Krakowski and Taye Diggs joined forces today to announce The American Theatre Wing's 61st annual Tony Awards' Nominations, thus ushering in the gayest time of the year.

What's so gay about it? Well, the Duncan Sheik scored, sexually-charged, morally-loose Spring Awakening raked in the most nominations. The musical walked away with eleven, including best musical male lead for Jonathan Groff and featured male lead for John Gallagher, Jr..

Mr. Sheik and lyricist Steven Slater were also nominated for best original score. Michael Korie and Scott Frankel, the music men behind gay favorite, Grey Gardens, were nominated in the same category. But, wait, it gets even more gay - if you can believe that...

CONTINUED »

Australian Prime Minister John Howard's not known for his progressive politics and certainly not when it comes to HIV positive persons. The curmudgeonly politico told a radio audience that he'd like to bar such people from immigrating to his former penal colony of a country:

My initial reaction is no [they should not be allowed in]. There may be some humanitarian considerations that could temper that in certain cases but prima facie – no.

Current law requires all immigrants to get the potentially life saving test, although their status does not hinder their visa status. If Howard gets his way, however, the country will legally prohibit their entry. Perhaps he feels that have their hands full - there are two cases in which HIV positive men are accused of knowingly infecting others with the nasty retrovirus: Stuart McDonald and Michael John Neal.

John Howard: HIV Not Welcome in Australia [Same Same]

Spring's about shedding winter coats and winter blues. It's a time when the world wakes from slumber and gets a little bit wild. Thus, we present to you The Wild Issue.

Over the next few weeks we'll take a look at some pretty wild people, places and things. We're not talking about drunken revelry here, we're talking about the primal, the adventurous, the outlandish, the untamed and the ferocius. Who better to start with, then, than German artist Matthias Herrmann?

Herrmann sheds more than just the winter coat - he sheds it all to offer the viewer an unadulterated view of the gay male body, the humor in morality and the risky business of exhibitionism.

This isn't the first time we've mentioned Mr. Herrmann here. The celebrated photographer first came up way back in September when we featured his "cum shot" shots. This is, however, the first time we've interviewed the former head of Vienna's Secession and we couldn't be more pleased with the results.

See what Herrmann has to say about changing the face of gay art, why HIV positive men are still sexy and the difference between taboo and a secret, after the jump. And when you're done with that, be sure to head on over to his website to see more of Herrmann's - er - body of work.

CONTINUED »

Gay men have long been at the forefront of the HIV battle. Thus, one would assume that health services would be well equipped to help HIV positive men. It has, after all, been twenty-five years. Not so in England. A new report shows that even though health officials pat themselves on the back, gay men aren't feeling so congratulatory. Gay UK reports:

A surprising finding from the report was that commissioners felt that the needs of gay men living with HIV were generally well-met by current HIV services. This view is not shared by many gay men living with the virus, as Dr Chris Taylor, Consultant in HIV Medicine at King’s College Hospital, comments:

“In my own practice, people with HIV, including gay men, comment that social care and support services are not available or accessible at their times of greatest need. This needs to be taken on board by commissioners and providers of services to people with HIV."

The report also claims health officials have not adequately adapted to the changing face of HIV treatment - new drugs and methods have not been employed, nor are funds being channeled to the appropriate social services. For example, while money's spent treating the most far gone patients, not enough's spent on preventative measures. What's this all mean? Britain needs new tactics lest they lose a significant part of their gay population to a disease that's already claimed too many lives.

Germany's seen a stunning rise in new HIV infections. According to Deutsche Welle, there has been a 7.4% increase in new cases from 2005-2006. In an effort to curb the shocking rates, Wimbledon tennis pro Michael Stich has teamed up with advertising agency Jung von Matt to shock people out of their complacency.

Above you see a woman sucking a man's pistol dick. The accompanying caption reads: "Only 0.003 mm Latex lie between life and death." Another ad shows an appropriately aryan looking baby with this message: "The chin is from granddad. The eyes are from dad. The HIV is from mom." And yet another of the seven image series depicts a mother pushing a casket stroller and reads: "Just Like Its Mother. HIV positive".

The female-heavy adverts have caused a justifiable stir in Germany. While some people have lauded Stich's untraditional tactics, other people worry it singles out women as the cause of HIV. One Spiegel reader wrote: "Why is it the mother's fault that the child has AIDS?" Because of transmission through embryonic fluid, of course.

Despite the criticism, Stich and company insist they're hoping to everyone's eyes to the increasingly pressing problem. And they certainly have...

Wimbledon Star's AIDS Prevention Campaign Provokes [Spiegel]
New German HIV/AIDS Campaign Pushes the Envelope [Deutsche Welle]

The blame game continues down in Australia, where 48-year old Michael John Neal stands accused of intentionally infecting sex partners with HIV. Sixteen men testified to having unprotected anal sex with Neal after his infection, implying that he knew what he was doing. For his part, Neal claims a doctor told him his contagion levels were low risk.

Now, a number of the men involved are pointing their fingers not at Neal, nor themselves, but at health officials. They claim authorities knew of Neal's plans at least four years ago and yet did nothing to stop him. Attorney Bernard Murphy insists:

Our clients consider that the inaction of the Department of Human Services was negligent.

The Health Act charges the Department of Human Services with important public health responsibilities and I am not persuaded that they have got the balance right between protecting the individual and protecting public health.

We are closely reviewing section 121 of the Health Act and various authorities to ascertain whether any litigation on behalf of our clients is possible.

Now, there are two issues to consider here. First, a patients right to privacy. Do health officials have the right to tip off police for potentially reckless behavior? From what we understand of Australian law - which isn't really that much - an individual must be informed before private details are disclosed. This leads to the second question: if officials think an infected person will put others at risk, how can they stop him or her without their consent to release the information. If taken to the extreme - a big if, mind you - it could lead to scapegoating and a general climate of fear. Take that to the extreme and you have a big old, unjust mess.

Health officials may face HIV suit [The Australian]

The United States may have dragged the UK into the Iraq War (and, in turn, the Brits may drag the US into a war with Iran), but not all the nations' team-ups end up so deadly. In fact, their newest cooperative effort may end up saving some. An American and British joint study has found evidence suggestion that green tea may help thwart the world's least favorite retrovirus: HIV. Medical News Today reports:

The research team did test tube experiments on a green tea flavonoid called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and showed that it binds with CD4 immune system T-cell receptors and stops HIV from doing the same.

One of the researchers, Professor Mike Williamson of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Sheffield said, ""Our research shows that drinking green tea could reduce the risk of becoming infected by HIV, and could also slow down the spread of HIV."

Of course, these findings are hardly conclusive. As we learned with that African microbicide debacle, breakthroughs can often break down. Still, coupled with the news that human produce a protein that can disintegrate the virus, as well as the discovery of the bug's Achilles Heel, things are looking up in this war. We're still a long way off, but it's always good to stay positive.

Sexual predator or innocent victim? Those are just two of the labels an Australian jury will have to pin on 48-year old Michael John Neal: the man accused of intentionally infecting at least two sexual partners with HIV.

One of Neal's former lovers claims the idea that Neal went out of his way to spread the virus amounts to nothing but "malicious gossip". Another, however, insists Neal knew what he was doing. The witness, however, did nothing to stop it. Certainly a tough case. One thing's for sure - everyone involved needs to get their heads checked.

CONTINUED »

Your dreams of owning a piece of Ted Haggard may be over. Mike Jones put the massage table where he worked over the disgraced Evangelical minister up for auction to raise money Project Angel Heart - an organization that brings food to people with HIV/AIDS.

To make sure the site had no problems with his actions, Jones had a pre-posting conversation with a representative, got the go ahead and put it up for auction. Then, nine days later, eBay's pulled the infamous table.

A company representative claims they pulled it because it violated eBay's fund raising regulations, but Jones thinks there are more insidious powers at work.

CONTINUED »