[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/stars.jpg[/img2]We can only guess, but it may be the universe's first gay asteroid.

Yesterday, openly gay Star trek actor George Takei had the asteroid formerly known as 1994 GT9 named after him.

Mr Takei was nominated because of his work with leading gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, where he was spokesman for their Coming Out Project.

"I am now a heavenly body,'' Mr Takei said.

"I found out about it yesterday... I was blown away.

"It came out of the clear blue sky, just like an asteroid.''

Mr Takei is best known for his role as Hikaru Sulu in the original Star Trek series, but he is currently undergoing a revival of popularity due to his appearance in the massively popular Heroes programme as Hiro Nakamura's father.

Unsurprisingly, it is fairly common for astronomers to name asteroids after their favourite sci-fi writers and actors.

Mr Takei joins Michelle Nichols (who played Lt. Uhuru) and Gene Roddenberry, the show's creator, in having an asteroid named after him.

Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinlein, two sci-fi luminaries, both also have their own main-belt asteroid.

The Takei asteroid is located between Mars and Jupiter.

Hey guys, I read this article fully and can't seem to get my mind off of it. I found it very very interesting, and the writer brings up some good points. Right now, I just feel like I've been "put in my place", and although I have some opinions on what I think, I'd like to here what you guys think about it.
Here is the link to the article:

http://www.xtra.ca/public/viewstory.aspx...PLATE_ID=7

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/wentworthmiller.jpg[/img2]Rumours have been flying for months that Prison Break star Wentworth Miller is dating out actor Luke MacFarlane, best known for his stint as actor Matthew Rhys' boyfriend on ABC's Brothers & Sisters.

Now, the first photographs of the alleged couple have surfaced online, with blogger Perez Hilton claiming to have an exclusive that Miller is planning to come out.

But Miller has previously told the press he's not gay when asked, insisting the real reason he doesn't date is that his hectic shooting schedule doesn't allow him any time.

In a recent interview while making the press rounds for Prison Break, co-star Dominic Purcell told reporters that Miller is ready to settle down and start a family when he finds the right woman.

But rumours surrounding Miller's sexuality have been incessant since the hunky actor became an overnight sensation with the premiere of the hit drama.

Prior to the show’s debut, the 35-year-old Princeton University grad uate scored critical praise for his work as a young Anthony Hopkins in The Human Stain.

In the photos published by Perez Hilton, the two are shows sharing a laugh and the walk down the streets of Los Angeles. Photos of them leaving in the same car were also printed.

The producers of Prison Break have yet to make a statement on rumours of Miller’s sexuality.


Wentworth and Luke

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/melb.jpg[/img2]Spice Girl Mel B had a kinky two-year fling with TWO women lovers - who today reveal the singer's bizarre sex life and say they fear for her fragile state of mind.

Melanie Brown started a lesbian affair with mother-of-two Christa Parker after meeting her at the gates of the school in America where their children are pupils.

And after sharing Mel's bed, blonde Christa introduced her to her friend Elizabeth Rodriguez, a sex-toy saleswoman who then joined them for drink-fuelled threesomes.

Christa, 35, continued having sex with Mel until she was eight months pregnant.

Now she and Elizabeth, 26, say they fear for Mel's well-being after her whirlwind marriage to film producer Stephen Belafonte two months ago.

The sudden wedding came after the 32-year-old Spice Girl was dumped by comedian Eddie Murphy, father of her baby daughter Angel.

Mel and the other Spice Girls recently reformed in a blaze of publicity and a world tour beginning in December is set to net them millions. But Christa and Elizabeth are afraid Scary Spice is on the verge of a breakdown.

"Mel is a wonderful person, but she is in a terrible place right now," said Christa. "Everyone is very worried about her - she is very down and very lonely. And we worry about why she had the wedding." Christa said she and Elizabeth were regularly invited to Mel's Los Angeles home for drink and sex sessions.

Christa said: "I think the reason she is so promiscuous is that she craves intimacy. It's like she never gets enough of it and that's why she's craves sex so much.

"She craves intimacy with whoever she can find it. Mel is very clingy. She needs constant attention and companionship. Her lifestyle can be pretty out of control, but she tries to keep it under control because of her daughter Phoenix."

Christa first met Mel when her son Stone, now eight, and Phoenix - Mel's daughter from her failed first marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar - began attending the same Hollywood school in 2003.

The two women hit it off immediately, and Christa was soon attending all-night parties at Mel's home. She said: "No one would go home until the early hours."

Christa says that at the time Mel B was in a long-term lesbian relationship with film producer Christine Crokos, who she was once pictured kissing in the street.

At the time, Mel said: "People call me lesbian, bisexual or heterosexual, but I know who's in my bed and that's it ... I have a huge libido and a great sex life."

Christa's relationship with the Spice Girl first became sexual in August, 2005 after Mel's affair with Christine had fizzled out. By then, Mel was also dating a casting director called Bryan - one of a series of disastrous relationships with men.

Christa says Mel B and Bryan had been arguing. She said: "There was lots of drink but Bryan was still mad with Mel for jumping in a pool naked a few nights earlier, so he left early. She persuaded me to stay over and said I should sleep in her bed. The next thing I know she is naked while I was wearing sweatpants and a top. We lay in bed and talked for a while. Then she said, 'I'm feeling horny.' I answered, 'Oh really? Well, I'm tired.' She's like, 'Do you want to have sex?' And I'm like, 'OK'

"I had only had sex with a woman once before, when I was at high school. But I was so drunk I thought, 'What the hell' and we made love for an hour. Mel was obviously very experienced with women. She is a great kisser."

Christa says that after that encounter, Mel acted like nothing had happened. But a month later she made it clear she wanted sex with her again.

Christa had by then mentioned her friend Elizabeth Rodriguez, who had started a business selling sex toys.

Elizabeth said: "Christa told me she was at Mel B's house and that she wanted me to come over. When I got there, Mel was in her underwear and walking round lighting candles. She and Christa had already drunk a couple of bottles of wine. I had brought a packet of cigarettes for Mel and when I arrived she slipped some money in my handbag as a thank you."

Elizabeth went on: "Mel asked me how I got into the sex-toy business. I told her it was when I discovered a cream called Pure Satisfaction, which you rub on your body.

"Mel asked me to show her how it worked in the bathroom. I was very shy at first, but then she convinced me to give her a demonstration."
Soon Mel began kissing Elizabeth, who says: "I had never been with a girl before and felt awkward. But I didn't stop her." The three women headed to Mel's bedroom, which has a lap-dancing pole installed, and were soon naked in bed together.

"Christa was lying on the floor and Mel got on top of her," said Elizabeth. "I was lying on the bed and couldn't see what was going on. But I could guess from the noises they were making love.

"The next thing I knew Mel and Christa both got on the bed. I was wearing a skirt and Mel came over to me and asked me if I wouldn't feel more comfortable taking it off.

"I said, 'OK'. Then she started rubbing my leg, all the way up and just kept on going." Christa added: "Mel's like that. She's kind of like the man in the bedroom and loves taking control." Elizabeth said: "In no time at all we were all naked. We all ended up having sex together that night."

From then on, they say, the three would routinely end up having sex after drinking sessions. Christa said: "Mel and I were very good friends. We saw each other almost every day and would have sex at least a couple of times a week."

Christa slept with Mel even when she was dating men, but the affair was interrupted in May 2006, when Mel began her passionate romance with Murphy.

Christa said: "When she was seeing Eddie, she stopped calling me so often. But once that ended she was back on the phone to me every day." Christa knew the singer had hit finally rock bottom when in March this year, she called her at 3am and demanded she join her at the Beverly Hills hotel.

The two made love even though Mel B was already eight months pregnant with Angel.

Since her marriage to Belafonte, Christa's contact with Mel has been limited to weekly phone calls which have left her with grave concerns for the singer.

Christa said: "Mel is so vulnerable. I'm very worried about her. I hope she's happy and she made a mistake. I just don't want to see her hurt."

[B]'She wed Steve just to get back at Eddie'

[/B]Christa fears Mel's rejection by superstar Eddie Murphy has sent her into the arms of new husband Stephen Belafonte.

Murphy dumped Mel in October last year following a series of rows after a five-month relationship.

By then the Spice Girl was already pregnant with daughter Angel, now four months old.

But as recently as April, Christa says, Mel was still declaring undying love for Murphy, who is now engaged to film producer Tracey Edmonds.
Then Mel stunned everyone by marrying convicted wife-beater Belafonte in secret in June.

"Mel was still head over heels in love with Eddie Murphy in April, yet she marries Stephen in June. Why?" Christa says. And she added: "Stephen is a pompous jerk. He exudes slime. You think he's the nicest guy, but he's not.

"It's like you've got this girl who is very rich but also very vulnerable and he is preying on that."

Belafonte was convicted of assaulting his common-law wife Nicole Contreras in 2003 in a drunken frenzy.

Christa said: "Mel's marriage was like a big f*** you to Eddie.

"She says he's made mistakes, but they're in the past. But you look at what it says on his police report - 'violence to spouse'.

"I hope he has changed, but I don't think he has.

"She deserves better. But this whole thing is a result of what Eddie did to her."

Elizabeth and Christa

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/darrenhayes.jpg[/img2]Singer Darren Hayes has criticised the attitude of Australian Prime Minister John Howard's towards gay marriage after his British 'husband' was forced to fly to Australia on a tourist visa.

His comments come as the main opposition leader in Australia, Labour's Kevin Rudd, said he also opposes gay marriage.

Brisbane-born Hayes married Briton Richard Cullen in London last year.

"It makes me angry and frustrated," the former Savage Garden frontman told Australian newspaper the Herald Sun .

"I'm Australian and the way the law sits I can't bring my partner home as my partner."

"That to me is an infringement of my civil rights - a very un-Australian thing.

"I would never have voted for John Howard and I encourage people not to.

"I don't think he speaks for this country in the same way I don't think George Bush speaks for the US."

Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal government passed federal legislation in 2004 banning same-sex marriage.

Last week, Howard and the Opposition leader Kevin Rudd made their pitch for the Christian vote, in a webcast streamed live to more than 700 churches across the country.

During the session, which was also broadcast on Australia's ABC Local Radio, Kevin Rudd was asked about his views on gay marriage by a Christian leader.

"The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission have recently made a recommendation that the definition of de facto marriage be extended to include homosexuals," he said.

Asked: "Would your party reject these attempts to undermine marriage?"

Mr Rudd replied: "I have a pretty basic view on this, as reflected in the position adopted by our party, and that is, that marriage is between a man and a woman."

ABC Local Radio reported that Rudd had ruled out recognising same sex marriage or civil unions.

Under a Federal Labour Government, gay couples might be allowed to "register" their relationships.

Hayes is in Melbourne to promote his new single On the Verge of Something Wonderful, which made its debut at No. 29 in Australia this week and is No. 10 on the UK midweek chart.

His double album, This Delicate Thing We've Made, is to be released on August 20th.

"Every time I come home there's this whole kerfuffle," Hayes told the Herald Sun .

"We have to get Richard a visa. He's my partner, I share my life with him.

"I've inherited all the rights that 'normal' couples have.

"That's my right as a human being. It really annoys me."

Hayes said since coming out last year he has become a default spokesman for gay marriage.

"I love my record, I'd much rather be speaking about my record but at the same time I unwittingly become a spokesperson for something I really do believe in," he said.

Hayes also revealed that he plans to be a father in the future.

"Every day the adoption laws seem to be changed or manipulated to block that dream, but obviously I'd adopt and it won't happen for a while but it's totally going to happen."

Last weekend hundreds of people marched on Sydney's Town Hall calling for the Federal Government to legalise same-sex marriages.

Greens senator Kerry Nettle said the rally, which began at Taylor Square in Sydney's east, marked three years since the Howard Government decided against legalising gay marriages

"We saw the ban on same-sex marriage happen just before the federal election, and three years later we hear the Prime Minister talking about trying to impose a ban on same-sex adoptions from overseas, just before a federal election," Senator Nettle told the rally, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP).

"It's a clear pattern of the Prime Minister trying to garner votes from the conservative religious fundamentalists and in doing so seeking to scapegoat a particular section within out community."

Thousands of people also took part in marches in Brisbane and Melbourne.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/testube.jpg[/img2]Scientists investigating a genetic basis for homosexuality will be recruiting more pairs of gay brothers in Chicago this weekend.

The Molecular Genetic Study of Sexual Orientation is the most extensive study of its kind.

It was embarked upon by a team of researchers from Chicago universities four years ago.

Researchers hope that by gathering DNA samples from 1,000 sets of gay brothers they will be able to find genetic linkages smaller studies failed to detect.

The results of the study could lead to massive controversy, both by providing ammunition in the raging cultural war over homosexuality and by raising fears about ethically questionable applications like genetic profiling and prenatal testing.

However, the scientists involved argue that the research is essential to our biological understanding of sexual behaviour.

"If there are genetic contributions to sexual orientation, they will not remain hidden forever. The march of genetic science can't be stopped," Timothy F. Murphy, the bio ethicist adviser to the study, told the Chicago Tribune.

"It's not a question of whether we should or should not do this research, it's that we make sure we're prepared to protect people from insidious uses of this science."

Scientists are largely in agreement that sexual orientation is at least partially determined by biology.

Gregg Mierow, a participant in the study, has two gay brothers and three straight brothers.

"It seems innate to me," Mierow, who works in advertising and as a yoga teacher in Chicago, told the Chicago Tribune.

"It doesn't seem like there's any choice involved, and it seemed very clear even when we were very young."

Twins studies have consistently suggested that there are both genetic and environmental components to homosexuality.

Identical twins, who share 100% of their genes, show a higher chance of both being gay, compared to non-identical twins who only share half their genetic code but the same environment.

Researchers in the early nineties began comparing the genetic codes of gay brothers, who also share 50% of their genes in linkage studies.

A 'linkage study' tries to detect areas that show up in both men at a frequency higher than chance, suggesting one or more genes in that region might be linked to sexual orientation.

In 1993, geneticist Dean Hamer announced his group had found such a region on the X chromosome, which males inherit from their mothers.

But the number of brother pairs used in the study was small and subsequent studies failed to replicate Hamer's findings.

"In complex gene scenarios, people figured out that you need a larger sample size in order to get reasonable statistical power," Dr. Alan Sanders, a psychiatrist at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and the leader of the current study told the Chicago Tribune.

To increase the chances of finding genetic areas associated with homosexuality, Sanders proposed collecting almost 10 times the sibling pairs of previous studies.

The project received funding in 2001 and began recruiting subjects at gay pride festivals, through gay-oriented publications and on the Internet.

So far the Chicago researchers have obtained blood or saliva DNA samples and survey data from more than 600 brother sets, with several hundred other volunteers in the process of submitting one or the other.

Sanders hopes to publish his findings from the first wave of DNA samples in a scientific journal sometime next year.

But he warns that linkage study can single out only regions of the genetic code, not individual genes.

"One of the advantages of linkage studies is that we don't have to know those things ahead of time," Sanders said.

"It's a big advantage here because we don't know about the biology of sexual orientation yet, so we can find the genes first and then study the biology."

"The genes would probably be doing their work by affecting sexual differentiation of the brain during prenatal life," J. Michael Bailey, a Northwestern University psychology professor involved with the project told the Chicago Tribune.

"But what scientists are increasingly appreciating is that genes can affect a trait in ways you could never have guessed."

The project will be searching for gay men with gay brothers at this weekend's Halstead Street festival.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/fibreoptic.jpg[/img2][B]Are you happy with the speed of your broadband? A comparison of fast broadband in London and Paris, shows it is a far, far better thing to head to the French capital if you want to surf at speed.
[/B]
Before leaving for Paris, I checked my own home connection. It offers 2Mbps - pretty typical for London - and was working at a respectable 1.6Mbps when I used an online speed test.

In theory, you can now get up to 24Mbps from a couple of UK providers. In practice, hardly anyone gets that speed and even those on 8Mbps broadband were getting an average of just 2.7Mbps in a recent test carried out by Which?

In Paris, though, there is a bewildering amount of choice if you want fast broadband.

"A few years ago there was virtually nothing," Guillaume Kuch told me when I visited his apartment in the Paris suburb of Neuilly.
"Now all sorts of companies are offering at least 10Mbps."


[B]Sparked investment[/B]

Guillaume is paying 14 Euros a month (around £10) for a 12Mbs connection and free phone calls. That's about half as much as I pay in London for something one sixth as fast.
What has sparked investment in broadband is France is the low take-up of digital television, which makes it more attractive to offer TV over the internet.

Many broadband providers now throw in a set-top box with a package which gives customers television, telephone and internet down a fast broadband line for around 30 Euros (about £20) a month.

But something even faster is on its way. Beneath the streets of Paris two companies, France Telecom's Orange and Free, are laying down fibre-optic cables to bring speeds of up to 100Mbps to homes in parts of the city.
Fibre-to-the-home, as it is known, is viewed as far too expensive a solution in the UK.

But a France Telecom engineer lifts a manhole in the pavement to show me that the fibre is being run through existing pipes.
That, and the fact that many Parisians live in apartment blocks, means that the cost of installing the new network is not quite as high as it would be in London.

So what does 100Mbps actually look like? Orange provides a helpful table showing that it would enable me to download an HD quality film in just 40 minutes, as compared with more than eight hours on an 8Mbps line.
At a shop in a Paris suburb plastered with adverts for "la fibre", the company is demonstrating the new service.

When I try it out with my laptop I find I'm only getting around 22Mbps - but then I am using a wi-fi connection, which would curb the speed, and there is a high-definition television online using some of the bandwidth.
So far just two thousand people have signed up to the fibre service, which costs 45 Euros a month (£30) for the internet connection, a 51 channel television service and unlimited phone calls. But Orange is aiming for up to 200,000 customers by the end of 2008.


[B]Extra bandwidth
[/B]
Why then, should anyone want super-fast broadband? After all, BT says that its Vision internet television service runs perfectly well in the UK on a 2Mbps connection.

But Paris is convinced that extra bandwidth can provide big economic benefits, with the city's Mayor throwing his weight behind fibre-to-the-home as a way of making the French capital Europe's leading digital city.
Rodrigo Sepulveda Schulz believes the strategy is working. He showed me round his internet television business, vpod.tv , run from a small office in central Paris.

He said the availability of fast broadband was one of the reasons he chose to locate his business here.

"The videos start immediately, rather than buffering for ten seconds as happens in the US. So it's a fantastic experience and it means we can sell more technology to our customers."

Back in the UK, it has been estimated that a project to build fibre-to-the-home reaching 90% of customers would cost £10 billion.

Right now, nobody is prepared to risk that kind of money. But the Paris experiment will be watched closely to see if it can prove profitable to deliver lightning fast broadband to homes.

By Rory Cellan-Jones

What are some of the best gay films out there?

I'm not talking about pornography, I'm talking about respectable gay cinema with storylines.

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/court.jpg[/img2]
New proposals from the Law Commission would see gay and lesbian couples who have not formed a civil partnership gain some financial rights similar to those of married couples.

The Commission, who advise parliament on reform to the law, said that many couples of both orientations are missing out because the law at the moment is complicated and unclear.

They propose that any couple who share a child or have been living together for more than two years would be entitled to make a claim over assets on separation.

There would be no principle that assets be divided equally or any ongoing maintenance payments.

Contribution to the relationship would determine if assets should be shared.

Similar measures are already in place in Scotland.

There are over two million cohabiting couples in England and Wales, and an estimated 1.25 million children are being raised in these households.

Stuart Bridge of the Law Commission, said:

"More and more families involve couples who are living together but who are not married.

"The law that currently applies to resolve property disputes between such couples on separation is unclear and complicated, and it can produce unfair outcomes.

"This causes serious hardship not only to the cohabitants themselves, but also to their children."

The proposal is in stark contrast to the recent policy announcement from Tory leader David Cameron.

He advocated changing the tax system to reward marriage and civil partnerships by introducing a married couples tax allowance, worth around £20 a week, aimed at making it easier for one parent to stay at home.

The tax rebate would apply to married couples and civil partners regardless of whether or not the couples have children.

The Law Commission said they were not trying to "undermine" marriage but to protect people of all orientations who were contributing to a relationship that then broke up, or to provide clearer financial remedies for children.

Advocates for marriage said the measures were unnecessary.

Jill Kirby of the Centre for Policy Studies told the BBC:

"If a man and a woman want to create a family together, then the most durable contract available to them is marriage.

"If they decide not to marry, then I think consequences must flow from that, and that if we introduce... a kind of substitute version, as the Law Commission proposes, then it does detract from that institution and I think will lead to more confusion."

The family lawyers' organisation Resolution spokesman David Allison told The Independent:

"We fully support the Law Commission’s proposals … and will be pressing the government to introduce new legislation without delay."

To read the Commission's report into cohabitation click here.

...The Simpsons movie in the big screen i mean! This friday! Is anyone else going to watch the movie?

I am so going to watch this one! I am very excited that i have even Simpsonized last night, looka like a cheesy geek type though !(truth comes out nowDoh':tongue:
Look:


Go here if you want to make your own Simpsons avatar www.simpsonsmovie.com
Even if you are not that excited about it how about change our Avatars to the Simpsionized one for the week just for the fun of it? The GaySpeakfield Week!!