In a decision sure to rile the Christian right, the Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts has granted priests permission to solemnize same-sex weddings. The decision by Bishop M. Thomas Shaw III was immediately welcomed by advocates of gay rights in the Episcopal Church, who have chafed at local rules that allowed priests to bless same-sex couples, but not sign the documents that would solemnize their marriages. The decision is likely to exacerbate tensions[...]

Last month we learned that Uganda, where being gay can already bring a life sentence, was considering a death penalty for homosexual acts in certain situations. The proposed new law is now before Uganda’s parliament. Life imprisonment is the minimum punishment for anyone convicted of having gay sex, under an anti-homosexuality bill currently before Uganda’s parliament. If the accused person is HIV positive or a serial offender, or a “person[...]

The Chinese government is opening a gay bar in the Yunnan province in order to help stem the country’s rising incidence of HIV/AIDS. The bar for gays will open tomorrow, World AIDS Day, financed by public funds to the tune of 120,000 yuan ($17, 576), the Beijing News said, offered by Dali Prefecture government, and is to be run by The Good Friend Center, a non-governmental organization for gay men. Yunnan has the highest number of HIV/AIDS[...]

Earlier this month, Oxford American Dictionary declared “unfriend” to be the word of 2009. Now some outfit called the Global Language Monitor has named Twitter as the most popular English-language word of the year. The Global Language Monitor has announced that Twitter is the Top Word of 2009 in its annual global survey of the English language. Twittered was followed by Obama, H1N1, Stimulus, and Vampire. The near-ubiquitous suffix,[...]

Dubya, 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan, Katrina, Wall Street. TIME Magazine gets it right when they call the aughties “the decade from hell.” Bookended by 9/11 at the start and a financial wipeout at the end, the first 10 years of this century will very likely go down as the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post–World War II era. We’re still weeks away from the end of ‘09, but it’s[...]

In his confession to the decapitation murder of gay teen Jorge Mercado, Juan Martinez Matos (left) claimed that Mercado had been dressed as a woman in an area known for prostitution, driving him, he claimed, to murder Mercado in “gay panic” once he discovered Mercado’s true gender. But according to Puerto Rican activist Pedro Julio Serrano, those close to Mercado are calling bullshit on that claim. Via Doug Ireland at Gay City News: “None[...]

Students at a culinary school in Colombia have created a Viagra-laced parfait called “the love dessert.” But it can’t actually be sold because of prescription drug laws. Points for passion fruit as an ingredient, though. (Tipped by JMG reader Richard in Vancouver) Subscribe to Joe.My.God. Social Bookmarking

A columnist in the Boston Globe notes the problem some folks have with “no problem.” As “no problem” has caught on and spread, replacing “you’re welcome” in situations ranging from casual personal encounters to business deals, the number, vigor, and shrillness of the complaints in etiquette columns and Internet forums has spread along with it. The reasons given – or unstated – are varied. Many especially dislike[...]

BBC radio host and newspaper columnist Father Brian D’Arcy says that the blame for the Catholic Church’s unfolding child molestation cover-up scandal in Dublin goes all the way to Rome. One of Ireland’s best-loved priests, Father Brian D’Arcy, has called for the resignation of clergy who knowingly covered up for child sex-abuse priests. Five bishops who once served in the Dublin Archdiocese when the abuse was taking place[...]

Gizmodo notes that the Burj Dubai, “the world’s tallest, most absurdly ostentatious building,” has become the literal lightening rod of the Middle East. That lightning seeks out the Burj Dubai isn’t particularly surprising; the Empire State Building gets hit all the time. But given the relative infrequency of electrical storms in that region of the world, folks are starting to wonder what’s going on. Gizmodo has lots more[...]