WORLD OUTSIDE MY WINDOW

THE WEEK
ACCORDING TO
GARÇON STUPIDE

• It rained throughout Rio de Janeiro's 14th Annual Gay Pride Parade, but an estimated 1 million people still turned out. Imagine. One million Brazilians. Sigh.

• Made in Brazil has pictures and video.

• Taipei's annual Gay Pride Parade (left and right) attracted some 25,000 supporters last Saturday. Taipei Times report here. Photo set by Flickr user David Reid here; YouTube.

• On the same day, nearly 2,00 marched in the 2009 Hong Kong Pride parade. Fridae has an extensive gallery of the event.

• What happened before Taipei's Pride parade? Catholic priest Father Daniel J. Bauer SVD writes for The China Post, Jesus would not want gay-bashing.

• Maine: What they give with one hand, they take away with another. Voters take marriage away from gays by a margin of 52.82 percent to 47.18 percent.

• Maine: Blag Hag points out that God hates shellfish too, according to that ever-reliable resource, the Bible, and expects a ban on Maine's lobster industry ASAP. Blag Hag writes, "So, get cracking on that next referendum. I mean, you don't want to be hypocrites, do you?"

• Maine: What does Maine’s rejection of gay marriage mean for California?

• Conservative U.S. states like Utah and Wyoming have most "married" gay couples.

• David Mixner talks about Gay Apartheid in the U.S.: "call this campaign against us what it is - Gay Apartheid".

• But Transracial thinks Mixner is The Man who Cried Apartheid. "The comparison is understandable in its use of metaphor, but simply incorrect, unconstructive and lazy!"

• In fact, we're living in an age of Homo-Hysteria.

• Speaking of homo-hysteria... Is this the face of the American gay rights struggle? It's Queer LiberAction vs the National Equality March. Where's Irene Monroe and Peter Tatchell when you need them?

• Thank God for straight people. From the mouths of babes...

• Sticking with the homo-hysteria theme, was GLAAD right to get its knickers in a twist over painted people saying "fag" in South Park? Sense of humour fail?

• Atlanta Pride Parade 2009, left and right (54 pictures).

• The God squad try a different tactic at the Atlanta Pride Festival.

• Unlike Pastor Joel Osteen on The View: "Homosexuality is Not God's Best."

• Or Kimberly Daniels of, er, Kimberly Daniels Ministries International, who wants to warn us of the dangers of Halloween candy (and sex with demons).

• A petition has been delivered to the HQ of the Church of Latter Day Saints Gay by gay Mormon group Foundation for Reconciliation. "It's way past time to send out the rescue committee," said Reconciliation member Gary Watts. Towleroad has video.

• A gay Harvard law graduate was last week arrested for starting a fire at the NYC 9/11 Memorial Chapel. "An unfortunate and "contemptible" incident from every angle," Andy Towle writes.

• Can Detroit's first openly gay politician save the city?

• The Remains of Detroit.

• More LGBT asylum seekers are "using U.S. immigration courts to argue that their sexual orientation makes it too dangerous for them to return home".

• Buju Banton's performance at the Cuban Club in a "gay-popular neighborhood" in Tampa, Florida was subject to a contractual requirement forbidding him "from singing lyrics inciting violence against gays".

• Now Banton's promoter is claiming a $US100,000 loss on the Miami concerts.

• From the horse's mouth: A Letter From Here Media's CEO on the future of The Advocate.

• So it would appear that rumour's of The Advocate's death have been greatly exaggerated. But Judy Wieder, former Editor in Chief of the magazine, isn't impressed. And she ain't holding back.

• Just in case you don't feel secure in your manhood... Masculinity: Because a Man Should Smell Like a Man.

• The Kansas City Chiefs, apparently fearful of losing in arbitration, agreed Monday to cut Larry Johnson's (left) suspension in half for making gay slurs.

• The Kansas City Chiefs have halved Larry Johnson's suspension. That's okay by me. He was completely innocent - how could he possibly have known faggot was offensive?

• Kansas City Chief fans have started a petition - which by Friday had nearly 11,000 signatures - to oust Johnson. Rod McCullom writes at Rod 2.0:Beta, "Since being drafted by the Chiefs in 2003, Johnson has been arrested at least four times for violent episodes against women, including spitting in the face of one woman at a Kansas City nightclub. Classy guy."

• And the fun never ends: Dallas Mavericks' star Drew Gooden (right) is accused of calling a Los Angeles Clippers fan a "faggot". Rod 2.0 covers this too.

• In other sports news, Danish football club Midtjylland have sacked Polish goalkeeper Arek Onyszko (left) for airing his thoughts on gays: "I hate gays, I really do. I think it's f**king disgusting to hear them talk to each other as if they are girls. I can't be in the same room as someone who’s gay. Look at them kissing each other – it's sickening." Onyszko (who looks like a Raging Stallion model - just an idea for alternative employment) was previously sacked for assaulting his wife. Seems like beating women and homophobia go hand-in-hand.

• It's time to end the use of gay slurs in hockey. (Don't ask me - apparently the Canadians play it.)

• Is it wrong to refuse to have sex with HIV-positive men? I'm going to say no - but don't be surprised when people start to lie about their status.

• West Hollywood reaches out to gay and lesbian tourists. The City wants your pink pounds, yens and pesos. (Pictured above right, boys at West Hollywood Gay Pride Parade 2009.)

• Gay couple kicked out of cab by (surprise surprise) Muslim cab driver in New York City. Their lust was distracting him, apparently.

• And I'm not the only one who noticed the delightful comments left by New York Post readers. "Walk next time, future aids victims," is my personal favourite. Hallmark's recruitment team needs to look these guys up!

• New York's Gotham Knights releases its first calendar (above left). The gay rugby team was cofounded by September 11th victim Mark Bingham. Video.

• Last week we heard how The Golden Girl's Bea Arthur left the Ali Fornay Center a sizeable gift. Gay blogger Eliot Glazer has honoured her with this masterpiece (right).

• Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir wins Stonewall Bigot of the Year award.

• Stephen Gately's widower (left) accepts an award on behalf of his deceased husband's band at the same awards.

• "I'm a gay teenager in turmoil over my failure to make friends or start a relationship." (If the twink they used to illustrate this article was the author of the above statement, he wouldn't have any problems.)

• One 17-year-old boy's harrowing coming out tale.

• Police constable Mark Carter (left and right) - a former Mr Gay UK - talks about the attack on fellow openly gay PC, James Parkes, and his own experiences of homophobia.

• Thousands turned out to support Parkes in Liverpool; Towleroad has a guide to YouTube clips of the speeches made.

• Standing strong against hate: an account of last week's vigil in Trafalgar Square.

• Is gay bashing on the rise?

• The British Museum is hosting a pre-launch event for teachers and youth workers in advance of February's LGBT History Month.

• The government has announced that sex education will be compulsory for all schools - except faith schools, who can adjust the facts according to religious beliefs - and will include education on LGBT relationships.

• Just when we thought we'd seen the back of tiresome bigot Lillian Ladele (right) - the Islington registrar who thinks conducting gay civil partnership ceremonies is an infringement of her Christian rights - she's back. Peter Tatchell says of the never-ending story, "This case is part of a homophobic fight-back by Christian fundamentalists who resent the removal in law of their right to discriminate against lesbian and gay people." Expect to hear a judgement by Christmas.

• The gay community should challenge offensive critics - not silence them, writes Adrian Tippetts.

• Sour grapes: the "academics" out to get our Peter.

• The transexual spared jail for having had a "rotten life".

• 44 percent of Finns believe the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church should perform religious ceremonies for gay couples.

• Homosexuality is not a human right. There, you've been told. That's the gospel according to Ugandan MP David Bahati.

• Both the United Kingdom and France express concern at Uganda's plans to introduce a new offense: aggravated homosexuality.

• Don't use government money to count gays - they don't exist. That's what the Council of Imams and preachers in Kenya say. Idiots.

• On the other hand, Kenyan Peter Mwaura writes, Let's leave gay couples alone, it's none of our business...

• ...and Makau Mutua writes for the same paper, It is nonsense to assert that being gay is un-African. "Most Kenyans are today indoctrinated by religious institutions, cultural guardians, and the moral police to be anti-gay. Rather than find someone to love, anti-gay crusaders find it convenient to find someone innocent to hate. Why has such a hatefully primitive and backward cosmology gone unchallenged?"

• Finally, Rasna Warah writes of Charles Ngengi and Daniel Chege Gichia (the gay Kenyan men married in the UK, above left), This gay couple deserves our support, not condemnation.

• Cape Town: Cape of fear and gay loathing.

• In Karachi, Pakistan, a mob beat a 60-year-old man to death.

• Gay rights in India are back in the news as Manvendra Singh Gohil (right) - crown prince of Rajpipla in Gujarat - considers marrying his boyfriend Prajwal Miskin.

• "Buju Banton is... being victimised because of a single song recorded more than two decades ago," Carolyn Cooper writes for The Gleaner. Yes love, that's all he did. You're right. (Rolls eyes.)

• In the same paper, Ian Boyne seems to be concerned that Jamaicans will be psycologically damaged by their "cult-like adoration of Obama and an even more vehement aversion to homosexuals", and the Christian right's ability to voice opposition to gays.

• What's happening in Venezuela?

• Online public voting has opened for Cybersockets 10th Annual Web Awards. You can help determine the best of the best on the LGBT web.

• This is what happens when you pop children out and don't stick around to look after them yourself: a wealthy Indian family has discovered their nanny was renting out their child to beggars.

• The Big Picture: Pushkar Mela, above and below (30 pictures).

• Acn uoy eard htsi?

• The USS New York - the battleship built out of steel from World Trade Center 1 and 2, docks in New York.

• Meanwhile The Oasis of the Seas - a cruise ship five times bigger than Titanic - has set sail. Apparently it's got "seven neighbourhoods", whatever the hell that means.

• The 11-year-old Boston schoolboy who's now a Buddhist high priest.

• Is nothing private anymore? (And anyone got a closer picture of 25-year-old Sun Meng?)

• Chinese government makes it snow in Beijing in order to fight drought.

• WOOP! Here's an excuse to use pictures of sexy French rugby players: "Rugby coach Ewen McKenzie, recently sacked by French rugby club Stade Français, has slammed his former employers and accused them of prioritising the recruitment of good-looking players for the annual club calendar." What's wrong with that?

• Infamous heckles...and some ruffled responses.

• Why Paris has become the city of the dead.

• The Big Picture: Days of the dead, above and below (37 pictures).

• No crucifixes in class: European Court of Human Rights bans the cross.

• Non-evaporating Jesus!

• When I saw what this teacher looked like, my first thought was, "Well, his lucky students." But that's probably not an appropriate response. Bad teacher!

• No respect, no morals, no trust - welcome to modern Britain.

• Tesco for the A-rabs - and Clubcard points too!

• Some people just love to play the race card. And some people would class this incident as an overreaction. But if you're not black, and you're reading this, imagine the bill you got read "Upstairs Gay couple" instead of "Upstairs Blk couple". You'd be pissed off. Idiotic, and casually racist, as it gets.

• The death of the pub.

• Is the revolving restaurant in the Post Office tower about to reopen?

• Important things to do list: renew website. Fail.

• Britain's most popular toys over the past 100 years.

• Mattel will produce a range of black and mixed-race Barbie Dolls with "fuller lips, a wider nose, more distinctive cheek bones and curlier hair" for the first time in 30 years.

• Hot on the heels of the closure of thelondonpaper, London Lite will also fold, the last issue going out, appropriately enough, on Friday 13th November.

• London Underground broadcasts the sound of a couple having sex. Beats Mind the Gap anyday, I say.

• What's the latest plan for saving the planet? Forests in the desert.

• Boffins have invented a fear detector.

• YouTube's 10 most boring videos (I quite like number 10, below, myself).

• Web addresses could run out next year.

• "I can't imagine anything more banal. I would rather have a root canal than go on Twitter and can barely work a computer anyway." That's Emma Thompson talking about Twitter. We're firmly anti-Twitter here at ka-ostheory (except when it gives us a good story) so three cheers for Emma Thompson!

• You can't commit digital suicide, so don't even try it.

• Aggressive? You probably have a wide face.

• Annoyed? What about?

• And all that negativity is a good thing: it improves judgement, boosts memory and makes people less gullible.

• Give up all hope. You'll be happier.

• The sacked head of the Home Office's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs claims "alcohol is more dangerous than ecstasy, cannabis and LSD."

• And this is his dangerous drugs list (in descending order from the most harmful).

• Eating food quickly makes you fat...

• ...but tomatoes make you thin!

• World's sexiest accent? Irish. (Mind you, the rest of this list is highly questionable - Australian in fifth place?! And where's all the Carribbean accents? - so I wouldn't pay much heed to it.)

• Animal pictures of the week, above and below (30 pictures).

• This isn't a Gremlin, it's a moth.

• Top ten sea monsters.

• You know where all that plastic you throw away ends up? In the bellies of albatross chicks (left). Very sad.

• Killed by a dog bite.

• The Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare has recommended that puppies only be sold with a full family medical history. This follows on from the Crufts controversy we heard about last year.

• Pet Shop Boys for Christmas!

• The second coming of Brit pop: N-Dubz, JLS, Dizzee Rascal and Leona Lewis.

• JLS's Marvin "touched inappropriately".

• And is it any wonder?

• The Amazing Popjustice Joke Of The Week: How many residents of Leicestershire's second-biggest town will be purchasing the new JLS single? Everybody in Loughborough. (Yeah, it took me a while to get it. Shame.)

• Guess who the man in the cologne advert is. Go on, guess.

• Finally, Rihanna gives her side of the story. And there's no arguing with what she's got to say.

• Illegal downloaders actually spend the most on music.

• Oh, Lord... The man behind The Matrix is producing a big-screen biopic of the prophet Muhammad. "The film will educate people about the true meaning of Islam," he says.

• And if that isn't grim enough for you, how about Facebook: The Movie?

• 2012: Does This Mean No Olympics In 2016?

• Why does Hollywood keep making the same films?

• The Royal Institute of British Architects is holding a season of films in which buildings – fantastical or factual – take a starring role. In pictures.

• What are the top 100 movie masterpieces of the last ten years? (Brokeback Mountain is number 2 on the list.)

• First full trailer for L.A. Zombie, starring Francois Sagat.

• See if you can spot Matthew Rush in these pictures, from new CR1 release Playing With Fire. (Yeah, I struggled too.)

• Controversial Eastern European Bel Ami twins Milo and Elijah Peters will be in Florida in December.

• NOOOOOO! Bad enough that Barbara Windsor is leaving EastEnders - now Tupele Dorgu (right) is quitting Coronation Street.

• This week's Gays of our Lives, with Anthony D. Langford. (Left, Oliver and kyle on One Life To Live.

• Towleroad has more on that couple, plus video.

• Heather Locklear is back on Melrose Place...

• As the end draws closer, David Tennant talks about next week's Doctor Who, and his replacement.

• Sci-fi thriller V is a "compelling remake of the 1980s mini-series", writes Rachel Ray.

• Why did Britain fall out of love with Sesame St?

• What do Dracula, Frankenstein and zombies have in common? This chart will help you understand...

• The 50 best board games.

• And finally, some Lego sculpture (above) and a word from Timaya...

This edition of
World Outside My Window
(The Week According To Garçon Stupide)
was built from articles collated during the week
31st October-6th November 2009.

Cover: Aaron Wright, by Joseph Bleu.

POSTSCRIPT
"You know, we might just as well not have bothered to come.
The whole thing's been ridiculous."