Anglican leader Rowan Williams has a message for America's Episcopal branch: toss the gays.

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• Larry Craig cruises back into Senate.

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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.
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"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.

Dozens of New York gay activists spent their Saturday protesting on Randall Island, where internationally-renowned reggae artists came together for the Carifest festival.

The gays, however, weren't feeling so gay as they derided some of the singers' anti-gay stances. GLAAD's Rashad Robinson showed up at Randall Island hoping to spread the love and told NY 1:

The lyrics of Buju Banton and Bounty Killer are both lyrics that have supported shooting gay men, hanging lesbians. These are horrible lyrics under any context.

Buju Banton only fanned the flamer's flames.

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Garry Bushell must be a Mugabe loyalist. The outspoken British radio and music personality spouted some particularly backward hate speech yesterday earlier this year while discussing Russian coppers smacking down Peter Tatchell.

In that article, Tatchell discusses the threats against his life and, more importantly, the physical attacks he's endured, including being beaten during Moscow Pride. Bushell apparently has no sympathy:

Commenting on Peter Tatchell, the gay rights activist, being attacked by anti-gay protestors, Bushell said: “I think there are a lot of things to put right in this country before you go around preaching the gospel of perversion.”

And obviously there are a lot of things to put right when a shit talker like Bushell gains access to radio, television or any other form of mass media…

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Peter Tatchell won't be inviting Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe anytime soon. Unless the tea's poisoned.

The Australian-born human rights activist understands assassination ain't the way to go, but he's waffling when it comes to Mugabe, whose "liberatory" regime effectively destroyed Zimbabwe's economy, land and hope. And that says nothing about Mugabe's stance on queens - he's not a fan.

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Anti-gay reggae gets some mainstream play over at Time, where journo Christopher Thompson takes a look at the so-called Reggae Compassion Act: an alliance of rasta men and women dedicated to eradicating homophobic lyrics in the historically sunny genre.

Beenie Man and Buju Banton have reportedly signed - and denied signing - the act, but some of Jamaica's music makers ain't about to join the Stop Murder Campaign, which spear headed the act. Britain-based songster Vincent Nap tells Thompson:

In Jamaica we grew up in a homophobic society and the Bible is what we go by. You can't expect us to turn around like our religion doesn't matter.

British activist Peter Tatchell counteracts Nap's assertion, reminding readers - and listeners - "The struggle for lesbian and gay human rights. is a universal one." If only people would pay attention, they could get a good thing going on.

Beenie Man and Buju Banton are living in a state of denial, says Peter Tatchell.

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Ghana overthrew the British colonials in 1957. As one of the African continent's most powerful political symbols, one would hope the Ghanaian government would take a stand against homophobia. Unfortunately, they have not.

As the 50th anniversary of Ghanaian independence looms large, British activist/politico Peter Tatchell penned a letter President John Kufuor, which reads, "As Ghana celebrates 50 years of independence, it is time to repeal the anti-gay laws." No word on whether Kufuor wrote a response - or even read Tatchell's note.

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Iraq's anti-gay activists sure are crafty. And fast learners.
According to two gay college students, Ahmed, 23, and 24-year old Zaid, the fundamentalist Mahdi Army uses the internet to lure, capture, torture and sometimes kill queers.

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• Elton John reportedly had a royal breakdown after Prince Harry and Prince William's Concert for Diana. The singer got into with a police officer who ordered him to walk to the VIP area, rather than drive. John allegedly screamed,

Get out of my fucking way. Don't you know who I am? I've been working all fucking day and I need to get to my fucking dressing room.

Obviously Sir Elton is no lady. Nor does he get special privilege: he eventually walked.

• Is Tori Spelling a heinous bitch?

• Anti-gay Movement for a Better Hungary plans on protesting this weekend's gay pride. Whee!

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In a matter of hours, Tony Blair will officially step down as Britain's Prime Minister, leaving the tony seat for fellow Labour-ite Gordon Brown.

Britain made great gay strides under Blair's rule, including the abolishment of Section 28, which forbade "promotion" of homosexuality. Will Brown continue Blair's pro-gay tradition? If his voting record - or lack thereof - provides any indication: no.

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• Love him or hate him, you can't piss on Michael Lucas' new mission:

In the past few months I have run into about four acquaintances who have been brutally beaten recently in Chelsea, either during a mugging or for being gay. Interestingly, all of those attacks have occurred on the east side of 8th Avenue, around 22nd street, but I've also heard of other similar attacks in Chelsea and in Hell's Kitchen.

I am going to be writing a story about this in the New York Blade and interviewing people for it, including members of the New York Police Department, which has been almost completely unresponsive despite the fact that all four of the people I spoke to had filed reports.

If you or anyone you know has experienced such an attack in or around these areas in Manhattan please contact me directly at michael@lucasentertainment.com.

• Susan Stanton - the pre-op trannie formerly known as Largo, Florida, city manager, Steve Stanton - has lost her bid for Sarasota's city manager position.

• Andy Warhol's Interview for sale.

• Iowan Governor Chet Culver signed the state's anti-discrimination bill, thus ensuring that gays will be treated with the respect, dignity and nonchalance they deserve. Starting on July 1st, that is - until then, it's totally open season.

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Things turned ugly this weekend at Moscow's contentious gay pride when a group of anti-gay nationalists and conservatives took matters into their own fisted hands, beating down the prideful paraders, including British gay activist, Peter Tatchell. City police stepped in to break-up the riotous situation and took Tatchell and a number of other queers into custody, including German MP Volker Beck, Italian MEP Marco Cappato and Russian activist, Nikolai Alexeyev. The protesters, meanwhile, slipped through the cracks of "justice" and were not detained.

Tatchell used his arrest to take on the Russian government as a whole, chiding their undemocratic ways:

Today's protest was about much more than gay rights. We were defending the right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest for all Russians, gay and straight.

The ban on Moscow Gay Pride is one aspect of a much wider attack on civil society and human rights. It is evidence of a failed transition from communism to democracy and of a rising trend towards autocracy and authoritarianism.

A number of European politicians also took the opportunity to criticize Russia's man-handling of the homos.

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There's been no shortage of reaction over Lord John Browne's gay affair-induced resignation from British Petroleum. While some people have expressed muted outrage over his so-called "deceit", a number of journos have come out in support of Browne, insisting he's a victim. By threatening to publish an interview with Browne's former love, The Mail on Sunday ventured into uncharted, unjust territory.

Never one to miss a good scandal, gay activist and potential politician Peter Tatchell has penned a Guardian editorial on the matter. Though Tatchell doesn't approve of Browne's decision to stay in the closet - "Staying forever in the closet is not a morally clean decision" - he derides The Mail's nefarious approach to Browne's personal life:

Having said all this, there was no demonstrable public interest grounds for the Mail on Sunday - or any other media - outing Lord Browne. He wasn't being hypocritical or homophobic. If he was denouncing gay people or advocating anti-gay laws - or if he had authorised the hounding of BPs' gay employees - that would be a justifiable reason to expose his double standards.
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He may have shown moral weakness by not coming out, but hiding in the closet - however lamentable - is not ethically of the same order as endorsing homophobic prejudice and discrimination.

Quite right. Tatchell's also correct when he points out that Browne true "crime" isn't keeping a boy toy, but that he lied about how the two met - a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. A minor detail, yes, but a major part of Browne's sexual psychology.

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