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 …

Broadway Speaks OUT’s holiday concert to benefit the Ali Forney Center is tomorrow (Monday). Get tickets here.

In an editorial published yesterday, the Los Angeles Times strongly condemned the anti-gay Manhattan Declaration, calling it “irresponsible and dangerous” and warning that the document may embolden anti-abortion terrorists. The impression left is that the legal environment in which churches must operate is reminiscent of the Roman Empire that threw Christians to the lions. Never mind that advocates of same-sex …

The Catholic priests of New Jersey have been instructed by their bishops to ask their congregations to pray against the passage of same-sex marriage today. The bishops’ letter restates Catholic teachings that marriage should be allowed only between a man and a woman. It says prayer is timely “because marriage faces challenges from a society more focused on individual satisfaction …

This has been a brutal year for LGBT youth. From the vicious murder last week of Jorge Mercado, to the deadly attack on the LGBT Youth Center in Tel Aviv, to the two thirteen year old boys who committed suicide in the spring because of anti-gay bullying in their schools, we see that youth are increasingly under attack by the …

Get your minds out of the gutter, you dirty birds. Analemma is the tracking of the positions of the sun in the sky. The above photograph was taken in Crimea at same time, every ten days, for twelve months. (A couple days were missed due to bad weather.)

In 2007 Los Angeles Times sports writer Mike Penner announced in his column that after a vacation, he would be returning to work as Christine Daniels, a transition that was met with surprising support from the sports world and Penner’s colleagues. But in a decision commonly called “transgender regret,” Penner revealed in February of this year that he was now …

In the clip on the left, Glenn Beck says about a Palin/Beck ticket: “Beck-Palin, I’ll consider. But Palin-Beck — can you imagine, can you imagine what an administration with the two of us would be like? What? Come on! She’d be yapping or something, and I’d say, ‘I’m sorry, why am I hearing your voice? I’m not in the kitchen.'”

President Obama will make a speech about Afghanistan from West Point. Rush Limbaugh wants the cadets to “detain him,” presumably for crimes against America. (Via – Media Matters)

The general manager and news director of an Alabama TV station were suspended for a week after their project to Tweet their news items directly to a roadside billboard resulted in the above image.

The so-called future of the GOP came from a “morning zoo” format radio show with a chimpanzee as a co-host. This is not surprising.

The Family Policy Council of Washington state, stinging from their R-71 defeat, says that any legal basis for separation of church and state is a myth. And it’s perfectly fine to make laws based on the Bible. Transcript via Lurleen: No, the phrase “separation of church and state” does not appear anywhere in the United States or Washington State constitutions. …

Golf legend Tiger Woods was seriously injured early this morning in a single-car accident near Orlando. The Florida Highway Patrol said the PGA star hit a fire hydrant and tree as he pulled out of his driveway in his 2009 Cadillac sport utility vehicle. Woods was taken to Health Central Hospital. Officials there did not have record of him as …

Posing as a reporter from a Canadian television station, comedian Mary Walsh punked Sarah Palin during a book signing, getting Palin to tell her that Canada needs to return to a U.S.-style system of health care. Walsh is the co-creator and star of This Hour Has 22 Minutes — a nightly news parody show in the same vein as The …

The Singing Nun, Dominique (Disco Version), 1982. In 1963 Belgian nun Sister Luc-Gabrielle (real name: Jeanine Deckers) became a worldwide sensation as The Singing Nun when her album of original songs (recorded to be souvenirs for visitors to her convent) topped the charts across Europe. In the U.S. Dominique topped the pop charts for four weeks in December 1963, partially …

The two aspiring cast members of The Real Housewives Of Washington DC who crashed the White House state dinner may face criminal charges. Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the couple who crashed the White House state dinner, may face criminal charges, the Secret Service announced today. Jim Mackin, the agency’s spokesman, said this is one reason the Secret Service has kept …

Adam Lambert appeared on Larry Flick’s Morning Jolt show on Sirius OutQ to discuss the AMA controversy, male sexuality, his new album, and life as an overweight teenager.

A new study that measures the amount of the American food supply and what is actually eaten claims that we throw out 40% of the food we purchase. U.S. residents are wasting food like never before. While many Americans feast on turkey and all the fixings today, a new study finds food waste per person has shot up 50 percent …

For the second time in a year, evidence has emerged of a massive child molestation cover-up in Ireland’s Catholic Church. Ireland’s Catholic Church apologised Thursday after a damning new report showed it covered up child sex abuse over more than three decades. The Irish government also said sorry for failing to protect children in the wake of the latest report, …

The glittering city-state of Dubai, home to uncountable brand new skyscrapers and whimsical artificial islands, has asked for a six month reprieve on its $60B debt, sending the world’s markets into something of a tumble. Wall Street turned sharply lower at the open on Friday, as traders scrambled to play catch-up after sharp downturns in Asian and European markets over …