Torn between religious tradition and political modernity, Turkey's a queer case study of gay rights. Situated on the cusp of both Europe and the Middle East, the secular nation has made many a liberal stride in recent years. In an effort to align with European Union norms, Turkish officials legalized homosexuality, thus allowing thousands of queers to come out without fear of government-endorsed punishment.

Despite these official moves, activists say there's still more work to be done.

[Read On ...]

• The Fag Rag Wars continue. Genre editor Chris Ciompi sent us this link to his rag's interview with Rose McGowan. He also sent us a link to Out's so-called "exclusive" with the same actress. Oh, yeah, and he wanted us to remind you about that whole Johnny Knoxville scandal. Stir that shit, child, stir that shit.

• But, let's not forget Michael Musto ripping Ciompi a new one on BBC. Ooo, girl, those claws are sharp!

• Speaking of reaming - The Independent thinks American attitudes about outing are childish. In our defense, we are only 231 years old.

• Turkish gays, meanwhile, are coming into their own.

• Wikipedia's WikiProject LGBT Studies, on the other hand, needs a little help from you. Head on over and tell them what you'd like to know more about. Everyone wins!

• And, on the subject of winning... Okay, well, not really, but there are more American gay teams than ever before. Three cheers for the queers!

• Does CNN have a monopoly on all the hot journos? Weatherman Rob Marciano's heating things up. Seriously, he's on fire. And now so are we...

• Thats right folks! You can own a piece of history - hooker-turned-activist Mike Jones is auctioning off his old massage table. And, no, he's not keeping the money - it's going to charity. The current asking price's $500. Someone out there must be willing to top that...get it? [eBay]

• We wanted to post the music video for M's New Wave classic, "Pop Muzik", but some schmuck disabled its embedding code. So you're just going to have to watch it the new fashioned way. [YouTube]

• Speaking of YouTube - Turkey lifted its silly ban. [The Age]

• GLAAD has officially entered the war against Ann Coulter, but have the tides already turned? [San Francisco Chronicle]

• Patrick Letellier may not like running, but that didn't stop him from trotting along to fight AIDS. [MSNBC]

• Anglican priest Shawn Sanford Beck may have lost his job for supporting gay-marriage, but he's not about to change his mind. Well, done, Beck. Sorry about the job thing, though. Think about it this way - you're a total martyr. [Winnipeg Sun]

• Fuck! We totally missed trans activist and professor Jenny Boylan's appearance on All My Children! [TMZ]

• Egads! A British man lost sight in one eye after a gay attack. [Gay UK]

• Down-low: the myth that would not die... [Slate]

Boy, those Turkish do take their history seriously. They've banned YouTube after some Greek jokesters made a video implying Turkey's founding president, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, likes boys. Making fun of Ataturk's strictly forbidden in Turkey. Refusing to rise above, a Turkish citizen suggested that homosexuality started in Greek - a somewhat valid point, actually.

A Turkish spokesperson at the London Embassy said the government has nothing to say about the matter:

The videos included parts which insulted Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, our founding father. There is no explanation from the Turkish government, it was a court verdict. English profanities were placed on top of the Turkish flag and pictures of Ataturk.

This story got us to thinking - we wonder if we're banned in Turkey. We have a feeling we probably are...hey, any Turks out there??

• Some queer Star Trek super fans are looking to recreate a gay episode barred by producers. They're so deep in this shit, they even got the original writer to direct their younger, twinkier remake. Wow. [AfterElton]

• The death of a local fag rag: Sonoma's We The People shutters after 18 years. [The Bay Area Reporter]

• One a related note: Turkish fag-rag editor Umut Guner has been acquitted on charges of "peddling pornography". His fag-rag? Totally deemed obscene. Sentence: delivery in brown envelope. Tough break. [Pink News UK]

• Is this video of Nina Simone's "My Baby Just Cares For Me" racist? We can't tell. [YouTube]

• Christ-loving Pepperdine University won't recognize a gay club. Now the club's being forced to associate with those heathens at Malibu chapter. Jesus just rolled over in his grave. [The Graphic]

&bull: Here's another question: will the CIA let Warner Brothers make a movie about former CIA operative Valerie Plame and former ambassador hubby, Joseph Wilson? Our answer: only if it's fiction. [Eat The Press]

In sort-of-related, a gay man by the name of Mohamed Essam Ghoneim el-Attar has been under lock and key over in Egypt. The government insists el-Attar admitted to spying for an Israeli Mossad-backed espionage group in both Canada and Turkey. Israel, of course, denies the charges.

Fearing his faggot life in Egypt, el-Attar fled to Canada back in 2002, where he took a job as a bank teller. On the 1st of this year, el-Attar flew back to Cairo, where police arrested him and threw him in detention. His family insists he's not a spy and has been calling on the Canadian government to help rescue him. The government, however, has not acknowledge el-Attar's citizenship and therefore hasn't made a pledge to negotiate for his safe return. Globe and Mail elaborates:

While in custody, prosecutors say, [el-Attar] admitted that he worked for Israel, at the behest of a Mossad-backed espionage network operating in both Canada and Turkey.
...
Egypt has alleged that he has revealed the identities of Mossad handlers living in Turkey and Canada, and is urging that they be arrested and sent to Egypt for trial.

Canada, which has no extradition treaty with Egypt, has not said whether it would oblige the request. In the past, human-rights concerns have scuttled attempts to deport fugitive Egyptians from Canada.

Turkey's gay magazine Kaos GL has been continually published since 1994, but the government has recently shut them down in the name of "general morality" after they included an article entitled "Visuality of Sexuality, Sexuality of Visuality: Pornography" in the latest issue.

The article discusses the relationship between homosexuality and pornography, and such a topic has apparently offended those in the Turkish government. Three quarters of all Turks disapprove of homos, so it's not surprising those same bigots are very well-represented in the capital.

Turkey is applying to join the European Union, which has a more progressive stance on civil rights for gays as well as freedom of the press, so it will be interesting to see if anyone in Brussels has a problem with this most recent act of censorship.

Turkey bans gay magazine [PinkNews]
Kaos GL [Official Site, English]

• Christians in Maine aren't happy with Brokeback Mountain. We never would have guessed. [WMTW]

• Turkey is showing Brokeback but not to those under 18 because it violates "public morals." At least it hasn't been banned. [NY Blade]

• David Beckham lookalike hooker (click for his profile) costs £500 UK a pop; gives fans a chance to Bend Him Like Beckham. [The Sun UK]

• Now that she's beaten off that super-bitch cancer, our fave lesbian rocker, Melissa Etheridge, will be recording new music and touring this summer. [Post Chronicle]

• Convicted criminal gets off with permanent erection. [Oh La La Paris]

• Iraqi leader wants the gays dead. Still. [365gay]