July 28, 2010

Inception hunk Tom Hardy admits: 'I've had sexual relations with men' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1298384/Inception-hunk-Tom-Hardy-admits-Ive-sexual-relations-men.html#ixzz0v2IrgztS

Inception hunk Tom Hardy admits: 'I've had sexual relations with men'

Last updated at 5:25 PM on 28th July 2010

Engaged: Tom Hardy and fiancee Charlotte Riley at the Inception premiere in London earlier this month

Hollywood heart-throb Tom Hardy has revealed he had a string of gay flings as a teenager.

The 32-year-old Inception star, who is engaged to British actress Charlotte Riley, 28, and also has a two-year-old son with a former girlfriend

But asked if he'd ever had any sexual relations with other men, the broody actor said: 'As a boy? Of course I have. I'm an actor for ****'s sake.

'I've played with everything and everyone. I love the form and the physicality, but now that I'm in my thirties, it doesn't do it for me.

More...

Make-up free Megan Fox enjoys romantic lunch with new husband Brian Green

'I'm done experimenting but there's plenty of stuff in a relationship with another man, especially gay men, that I need in my life.

'A lot of gay men get my thing for shoes. I have definite feminine qualities and a lot of gay men are incredibly masculine.'

London-born Tom found big-screen fame with Star Trek Nemesis, and in the 2009 hit Bronson, where he played the notoriously violent criminal Charles Bronson to critical acclaim.

In Guy Ritchie's hit Rock'n'Rolla he starred as gay gangster Handsome Bob, and had a crush on Scottish hearthrob Gerard Butler.

He then starred as Heathcliffe in a BBC remake of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, where he met stunning fiancée Charlotte.

In an interview with Now magazine, the former party-boy who has battled drink, drugs and crime to turn his life around, added: 'A lot of people say I seem masculine, but I don't feel it.

'I feel intrinsically feminine. I'd love to be one of the boys but I always felt a bit on the outside.

'Maybe my masculine qualities come from overcompensating because I'm not one of the boys.'

Universities Can Ban Students Who Refuse To Treat Gay Patients As Normal Human Beings: Judge

Eastern Michigan University can kick out students in its counselor program who refuse to treat gay patients without telling them what they're doing is disgusting, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Julea Ward (pictured) was axed from EMU's graduate counseling program in March 2009 for, according to her attorneys at the Alliance Defense Fund, "not affirming homosexual behavior as morally acceptable." The school requires counselors in training to accept gay clients — but Ward said instead she'd refer those clients to another counselor, because she could not treat them according to her religious beliefs. As Inside Higher Ed points out:

Eastern Michigan's counseling program — like many others — requires its students to practice in ways that are consistent with the counseling association's ethics code, including requirements that bar behavior that reflects an "inability to tolerate different points of view," "imposing values" on clients or discrimination based on a number of factors, including sexual orientation. The counseling association does permit referrals, but they are supposed to be for the good of the client, not for the comfort of the counselor. Typically, a referral that would be seen as legitimate might involve a counselor referring someone to a colleague with expertise on a particular problem.
Ametrano, the Eastern Michigan professor, who was on the review panel that expelled Ward, said that the requirements that counselors work with clients of a range of views and background are essential. She noted that counselors regularly work with clients who make decisions about such matters as birth control, sex, drug use, abortion and many other choices that a counselor may or may not support. And clients come from a variety of backgrounds and sexual orientations. A counselor can't be effective, she said, with litmus tests on who may be helped.

U.S. District Judge George Caram Steeh issued a 48-page summary judgment in favor of EMU in the lawsuit filed in April 2009, saying the school's requirements — and adherence to the American Counseling Association's ethics code — didn't infringe on her right to religious expression, free expression, due process or equal protection. Says EMU in response: "We are pleased that the court has upheld our position in this matter. Julea Ward was not discriminated against because of her religion. To the contrary, Eastern Michigan is deeply committed to the education of our students and welcomes individuals from diverse backgrounds into our community."

Sounds like Jennifer Keeton, the Augusta State University student kicked out of her counseling program for the same reason, and who the Alliance Defense Fund is also representing, was just dealt quite the uphill battle.

Ireland Is Nearly There!

by Jason Shaw

Nearly There! Claims Irish Senator David Norris! The Irish politician is talking about Gay Equality!

Senator David Norris, a human rights campaigner in the Republic of Ireland, who is the first openly gay person to get elected to office in Ireland, spoke out before an Amnesty International Belfast Pride lecture on Monday this week.

“The recent passage of the Civil Partnership Bill by the Oireachtas in Dublin represents a very significant advance. It was a victory, not for gay people, but rather a victory for decency and for this country as a whole” He said, “It is clear that we are very nearly there in terms of the accomplishment of full human and civil rights of gay people in Ireland, both north and south. But we are not there yet”

“Despite such victories, sadly there is still prejudice against the gay community – including among those active in public life in Northern Ireland. We must continue to work to ensure human rights for all people and to educate others that equality is a right not a threat.

“It is crucial that we do not shed our concerns for others throughout the world who live in less favourable circumstances and whose sexual orientation places them every day in danger of being murdered, either by members of the public or by their governments.”

Amnesty International is asking people to support its ‘Love is a Human Right’ campaign during Belfast Pride week that starts this week.

Jason Shaw

GayAgenda.com’s UK Correspondent.

Study Finds Pre-Exposure (PrEP) Is Safe in Gay and Bi Men

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with tenofovir (found in Viread, Truvada and Atripla) is safe for men who have sex with men (MSM), according to a U.S. study presented Friday, July 23, at the XVIII International AIDS Conference (IAC) in Vienna.

PrEP is one of the most promising prevention tools on the immediate horizon. With PrEP, HIV-negative individuals take antiretroviral drugs to prevent becoming infected with the virus. The first PrEP studies are testing tenofovir alone (Viread), while several later studies are testing tenofovir plus emtricitabine (Truvada). Currently, all studies are looking at daily ongoing use of the drugs, but future trials are planned with intermittent dosing. The first efficacy results are expected later this year, but researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta presented findings from a safety study at this year’s IAC.

For that study, CDC-4323, Lisa Grohskopf, MD, from the CDC and her colleagues enrolled 400 HIV-negative MSM. All reported having had anal sex with a man at least once during the previous year. The men were recruited in Atlanta, San Francisco and Boston. The majority were white, while 15 percent were African American, 9 percent were Hispanic and 4 percent were Asian or Pacific Islanders. Ultimately, 373 completed the course of the study.

There were four arms of the study. Half of the men in the study began taking tenofovir or a placebo right away. The second half were followed without study drugs for nine months and then given tenofovir or a placebo. This helped the researchers better understand how a person’s risk behavior might change after beginning to take PrEP. The study was not designed to determine whether tenofovir could prevent HIV transmission, only whether or not it was safe compared with a placebo. All of the men were tested for HIV regularly and received rigorous HIV prevention counseling and condoms throughout the study.

Grohskopf and her colleagues found that men taking tenofovir had no more side effects than men taking a placebo. Two side effects of primary concern have been kidney and bone problems, which has been found in a small number of people with HIV who have taken the drug as treatment. Grohskopf’s team measured the men’s creatinine clearance—a measure of kidney function—and did bone scans to detect any potential problems in that regard. The team found no additional kidney or bone problems in those taking tenofovir, compared with a placebo.

CDC-4323 was also designed to measure how the participants’ HIV risk behavior changed during the study. Though data on this issue is still being analyzed, Grohskopf reported that a preliminary analysis found that taking PrEP did not appear to lead study participants to forgo condoms or take other HIV risks.

“We didn’t find any increased risk of harm in medical terms, and on the behavioral side the preliminary work we’ve done also suggests there is no increased risk,” Grohskopf told Reuters News.

Given the promising results from a large tenofovir microbicide study—with a 39 percent reduction in HIV transmissions in women who used the tenofovir gel—establishing the safety of oral tenofovir provides even more hope that this strategy could be employed if the efficacy studies are successful.

David EvansAIDSMEDS...

http://www.actup.org

July 27, 2010

98% of Rome’s Priests Are Gay

98% of Rome’s Priests Are Gay
by Tommi Avicolli-Mecca‚ Jul. 27‚ 2010

The Pope must be having a lot of sleepless nights these days. Especially now that Panorama, a magazine owned by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, has just published an exposé on the secret lives of

Rome’s gay priests.

They’re not sitting home saying the rosary. Nor are they molesting children, as one might think, given how the Vatican has tried its best to push its ongoing sex with kids scandal onto the backs of gay priests.

Instead, these priests are enjoying the gay night life that the city offers -- visiting bars and having consensual sex with other adults.

The article, which is the cover story, is entitled “Le notti brave dei preti gay” (The good nights of gay priests) and is illustrated by a photo of a man’s praying hands with a rosary slung over them and his fingernails painted pink.

The sensationalistic (think National Enquirer) “inchiesta” (investigation) looks at “priests that attend parties with “escort uomini” (male escorts); that have “rapporti omosessuali” (homosexual relationships) with “partner casuali” (casual partners); and that frequent online chats and gay nightspots. For “venti giorni” (20 days) reporter Carmelo Abbate, accompanied by a gay tour guide, followed the adventures of priests “perfectly integrated in the homosexual atmosphere of the capital.”

Using hidden cameras, the magazine caught a French priest (identified as Father Paul, a name given him to protect his identity) at a party (which featured two “escort uomini”) wearing a dog collar and no pants. He is seen on the publication’s website sans trousers with the reporter’s gay guide. In one photo, their bodies are entwined. Maybe they’re practicing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Other gay priests are also seen locking lips with the tour guide.

Incidentally, Father Paul said Mass the next morning and then took the male escorts to the airport. On the Vatican’s dime, no doubt.

Gay priests are apparently not a rarity in Rome. Father Carlo (another fake name) told the magazine that 98% of the priests in the “Holy City” are queer. He sat with the reporter at a restaurant frequented by gays and pointed out a male couple in which one was a priest. Afterwards, he led the tour guide to his apartment and they had “un rapporto sessuale” (a sexual encounter).

Rome’s diocese immediately denounced the publication, saying that its purpose was “to create scandal (and) defame all priests.” It also said that gay priests should come out of the closet and then exit the priesthood. They “ought not to have become priests,” the diocese proclaimed.

But as gay activist Franco Grillini, a former MP, observed: “If all the gays in the Catholic church were to leave it at once--something we would very much like -- they would cause it serious operational problems.” Especially in Rome.

Maybe Pope Benedict XVI should lighten up and remember the old saying: When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca is co-editor of Avanti Popolo: Italians Sailing Beyond Columbus, and editor of Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation, which has been nominated for both an American Library Association and a Lambda Literary award. His website is www.avicollimecca.com.

Latest: Target CEO defends Minn. donations

(07-27) 09:40 PDT ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) --
Target Corp.'s CEO on Tuesday defended the company's political donations to a Minnesota group helping the state's Republican candidate for governor, telling employees at its Minneapolis headquarters that the company's support of the gay community remains "unwavering."
Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel said gay employees have been raising concerns about the money helping state Rep. Tom Emmer, who opposes gay marriage. Target gave $150,000 to MN Forward, a group staffed by former insiders from outgoing Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration. MN Forward is running TV ads supporting Emmer.
"We rarely endorse all advocated positions of the organizations or candidates we support, and we do not have a political or social agenda," Steinhafel said in an e-mail.
He added: "Let me be very clear, Target's support of the GLBT community is unwavering, and inclusiveness remains a core value of our company."
Emmer is a fiery conservative who lauds Arizona's strict approach to illegal immigration, once advocated chemical castration for sex offenders and wants to lower taxes. His profile contrasts with Target's moderate image in Minnesota, where the company is known for donating to public school programs, food pantries and the annual Twin Cities Gay Pride Festival.
Target donated to MN Forward under new laws allowing corporations to spend company money on election campaigns. Corporate donations have been flowing since the U.S. Supreme Court threw out parts of a 63-year-old law that prohibited companies and unions from donating to campaigns for or against candidates.
The decision, which came earlier this year, changed rules in about half the states. But the change is so new that experts don't have a good handle on the likely impact nationally.
"This is the leading edge," said Ed Bender, who heads the National Institute on Money in State Politics in Montana.
In Minnesota, where Target has its headquarters and opened its first store 48 years ago, Democrats are grumbling about the large donation, and some are talking about striking back at the popular brand.
A few voices have even called for a boycott in the state, one of Target's top three for sales. One Democratic-backed group is reaching out to Target employees through Facebook ads urging them to sign a petition opposing the donations.
"I think Target is making a huge mistake," said Laura Hedlund, a former Democratic campaign worker who picketed outside a suburban Minneapolis Target store on Saturday, urging shoppers to spend their money elsewhere.

By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press Writer

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

1 pic= 1 Guardian Angel

Why Is White Collar's Matthew Bomer's Sexuality Such a Secret?

Why Is White Collar's Matthew Bomer's Sexuality Such a Secret?

The USA Network has a certain prescription for its shows: Psych, Monk, Royal Pains, and Burn Notice all are drama-comedies with romance mixed in. They're com-rom-drams? Rom-dramedies? And for the most part, they all have a gay-ish element: On Psych, the completely hetero friendship between Gus and Sean is mixed in with bromance jokes; Burn Notice's Jeffrey Donovan is like a cable network James Bond (and we all know how gay that makes him). And new this season is White Collar, a show that follows the same USA composite: Cute lead character involved solving problems (crimes, as most of USA's shows do). And White Collar also has the gay-ish element: The leading man, Matthew Bomer's Neal Caffrey, is cute and savvy and sexually confident. But we didn't know just how much White Collar went gay. Just two episodes into the series, and we learn its headlining actor is a 'mo.

Earlier this week, the gossip blogger known for making that "faggot" remark claimed Bomer is openly gay, and in a relationship with Simon Halls (pictured, on right), the chief executive of public relations firm PMK/HBH, one of the largest and most powerful PR firms in all the land. (You might have heard their name back when PMK's then-CEO Pat Kingsley, Tom Cruise's one-time publicist, made a sport out of shooting down gay rumors.) The item was picked up by the blog Boy Culture and the kids on gossip forum Data Lounge.

Bomer, whose past credits include standard soap opera stints and a regular gig on Tru Calling, is not being outed by his own camp; the website AfterElton asked Bomer's publicist about the situation, and she replied, "No comment," and "We don't comment on any of our client's personal lives." (That's a lie. PMK regularly shoots down rumorsabout client Jennifer Aniston's pregnancy, as just one example.)

But then there's the evidence. Namely, photos of Bomer and another gent (not Halls) in major make-out mode. (That's him in the red.)

For his part, Halls is openly gay. He and PMK co-chief Stephen Huvane, who is also gay (and a looker), exercise a level of power that, it would not be an exaggeration to say, can literally make or break someone's Hollywood career. They represent clients like Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Neil Patrick Harris. Stephen's brother, Kevin Huvane, is also in the business: He's the ~~manager~~ agent of folks like — yup! — Jennifer Aniston. There are plentiful stories about Halls and Huvane treating Hollywood as their own fiefdom; more often than not, they are true.

So while it's pretty exciting to see a couple of gay men wielding so much influence in an industry where being gay is still a scarlet letter for actors, it's also a little frightening to see what happens when they try to use that power to shut down reports that impact them personally. Halls's camp wasn't successful in getting the gay celeb blogger to remove the item, but Boy Culture did take down the photos by "kind request." The blog Greg In Hollywood removed the photos, because "the photo is several years old and since the actor is out and in a committed relationship, I’ve decided to take it down. The request was made very politely by Bomer through friends."

But the Internet never deletes anything. The photos of Bomer kissing another fella are regularly available to anyone with a few minutes and interest to find it. And it's ridiculous to think that getting them yanked from a couple gay blogs will delete it from anyone's memory.

We can understand the position Bomer is in: He's been openly gay for much of his career, at least inside the industry, but now he's headlining a nearly-guaranteed-to-be-blockbuster series on USA, in a role that requires (female) viewers to lust after him. We won't jump to conclusions, but if history is any indicator, USA's executives (and those at parent NBC Universal) won't be too thrilled with Bomer's sexuality making headlines.

To which we say: Too late.

Or maybe Halls is just unhappy seeing the Internet flooded with pics of his current beau getting randy with another man?

UPDATE: Sean Akers, Web designer to the gay stars (read: Zachary Quinto), who says he is a friend of Bomer, writes Queerty: "Matt Bomer is an out actor. He is dating Simon Halls. They have kids. And these pics are 9 years old. It is drudging up his past to reveal something that isn't a secret. Posting these pics only serves to hurt Matt's family. He is not hiding, but this kind of post is exactly why so many gay actors do hide. In a world where this shouldn't matter, it still does. As his friend, I am thinking of his kids and his relationship. I am thinking about how people in a community that should respect Matt for being open about his sexuality are being turned against him. He didn't ask you people to take down the pics. Simon Halls and PMK had nothing to do with it. It was me who asked. As Matt's friend. Matt is the kindest person I know. He is genuine and he works very hard on his career and on his relationships. His family is his priority. And the post and the pics sadden me."

It's a nice sentiment, but here's the rub: As a high-profile television actor, Bomer sells his personal life as much as his acting skills. This is the arrangement celebrities agree to when they join the Hollywood elite. Ask George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, and even Jon Gosselin. Or Rosie, Ellen, and Neil. Substantial paydays and the perks of celebrity are joined by prying eyes who want to know about your intimate lives. And especially because Bomer is an out actor, as Akers notes, he should understand his private life carries an asterisk. Our coverage is not the reason actors stay in the closet; they stay in the closet to avoid being labeled gay by the mainstream entertainment press. Us? We want to celebrate famous gay folks (who aren't assholes)! We report on the romances and break-ups of TR Knight and Adam Lambert and Rosie O'Donnell. Welcome to the fold, Bomer. We're happy to add you to the list of out and proud gay men with mainstream acting gigs. Surely you'll be accepting a GLAAD award this time next year then?

Politician Congratulates Germany Gays On Making Homosexuality 'Trendy'

Kai Hahner, a German politician and member of the Christian Democratic Union, emailed organizers of Leipzig's Christopher Street Day festival threatening legal action for their promotion of homosexuality. These guys again!

"You may live as you like in private, but don’t disturb others with your abnormality," Hahner wrote before getting into his rea problem with you queers: "Because of your public displays, homosexuality is now considered ‘trendy’. You entrap young people who are going through a phase where they are unsure of their sexuality."

Who does this guy think he is, Moscow Mayor Yury

Barney Frank's Beach boy

Barney Frank, Beach Boy

Rep. Barney Frank was spotted in the Fire Island Pines over the weekend, having a few drinks at the Blue Whale. Avoiding his constituents, I'm sure.

Canadian Lt. Gov. Reaches Out to LGBT Community

by Gay Agenda News Team

On July 23, 2010 in St. John’s Newfoundland, the provincial Lieutenant Governor John Crosbie hosted a private function at the Government House for 50 members of the local LGBT community to celebrate their achievements. This event is reported to be the first time in Canadian history that a political figure with the ranks of the higher political authorities has publicly recognized members of the LGBT community for their work in the North American country.

How Citizens United Helped Target Make Its Anti-Gay Political Donation

When the Citizens United Supreme Court decision came down earlier this year, holding that corporations could spend an unlimited amount of money in trying to influence elections, it was criticized by scores of people, including President Barack Obama himself, who worried that the decision would lead to a corporate takeover of American elections.

"They can buy millions of dollars worth of TV ads –- and worst of all, they don’t even have to reveal who’s actually paying for the ads," President Obama said in his 2010 State of the Union address. "Instead, a group can hide behind a name like 'Citizens for a Better Future,' even if a more accurate name would be 'Companies for Weaker Oversight.' These shadow groups are already forming and building war chests of tens of millions of dollars to influence the fall elections."

You got that right. And if you needed proof, look no further than retail giant Target Corporation, which has stepped into a mess the size of Lake Superior by being caught giving $150,000 to a political action committee (PAC) in Minnesota known as Minnesota Forward. That PAC, in turn, funneled money to support a conservative candidate for governor, Tom Emmer. And Tom Emmer not only opposes same-sex marriage, but he has financially supported and pals around with a religious ministry that has been quoted as advocating for violence against gays and lesbians, wanting to overturn Minnesota laws in order to criminalize homosexuality, and calling all gay people pedophiles.

Oh, Target. The wicked things your money now touches. Perhaps you were hoping your $150,000 would advance "Minnesota Forward." A more apt name may be Minnesota Backward.

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