Photo Of The Day

At the Vancouver hockey riots.

Vancouver Riots Over Hockey Loss

VANCOUVER: Comedian Fined $15K For Anti-Lesbian Insults

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ordered a comedian to pay $15,000 in compensation for anti-gay insults he directed towards a lesbian couple during a 2007 show at a Vancouver comedy club.

Stand-up comedian Guy Earl was ordered to pay the money to Lorna Pardy, 32, while the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal also ordered the Vancouver restaurant owner, Salam Ishmail, to pay her $7,500. Pardy said Earle directed homophobic and sexist insults at her when she was a patron, and he was the master of ceremonies at an open mic comedy show at the restaurant in 2007. Earle said he will appeal the ruling and that all he did was insult audience members who insulted him first. He also denied that he said some of the things he has been accused of, said Pardy threw a drink in his face and argued that the tribunal had no jurisdiction to hear the case.

The comedian, who has since apologized to the patrons, intends to appeal the decision, claiming his act is protected under freedom of speech laws. News of the judgment has rocketed around anti-gay and Christianist sites, with American Family Association spokesman Bryan Fischer declaring on Twitter: "Canadian comic pays fine of $15,000 for making fun of lesbians. But if he makes fun of Christians, gets a paycheck."

Vancouver Men's Chorus - It Gets Better

Lovely!

Does This Mean The TSA Is Going To Start Asking Us To Remove Our Faces?

CNN reports that a passenger boarded a Hong Kong flight bound for Canada looking like an elderly white man, but after take-off he returned from the plane's restroom as himself, a young Asian man. It's all very Mission: Impossible.

The incident occurred on October 29 on Air Canada flight AC018 to Vancouver originating in Hong Kong. An intelligence alert from the Canada Border Services Agency describes the incident as an "unbelievable case of concealment." "Information was received from Air Canada Corporate Security regarding a possible impostor on a flight originating from Hong Kong," the alert says. "The passenger in question was observed at the beginning of the flight to be an elderly Caucasian male who appeared to have young looking hands. During the flight the subject attended the washroom and emerged an Asian looking male that appeared to be in his early 20s." After landing in Canada, Border Services Officers (BSOs) escorted the man off the plane where he "proceeded to make a claim for refugee protection," the alert says.

Reportedly the impostor got on the plane with the boarding pass of another booked passenger, an American who is only 55 years old.

Cool Art Watch

The above sculpture titled Non-Sign has been erected at the American-Canadian border near Vancouver. I invite your art-fag interpretation as to its meaning.

PhoboQuotable - Quinton Jackson

"Acting is kind of gay. It makes you soft. You got all these people combing your hair and putting a coat over your shoulders when you're cold. I don't want a coat over my shoulders! I'm a tough-ass [individual]! Vancouver strikes me as a San Francisco-kind of place. And I don't want [individuals] getting ideas about me. I feel in my heart I'm the toughest [individual] on the planet. And I don't want nothing changing my train of thought. If you don't believe that when we step inside the octagon, it shows." - UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who is playing the role created by Mr. T. in the movie remake of The A Team. The movie was filmed in Vancouver.

VANCOUVER: Lesbian Teacher Fired From Catholic School After Partner Has Baby

A Vancouver music teacher says she was fired after co-workers at her Catholic school learned that she and her lesbian partner had just had a baby.

Lisa Reimer said Wednesday her music classes were cancelled and she was told to work from home marking papers until her one-year temporary employment contract with Little Flower Academy expires in June. She said the effect of the orders, which came after the school apparently received complaints from parents who didn't like a homosexual instructor teaching their children, amounts to dismissal. "I feel like I've been fired with a payout," she told reporters at a news conference. "All the families have been told I am on a personal leave, which I am not." She said the school took the action just as she was preparing to return to work after a three-week leave following the birth of her son. But in a statement issued late Wednesday, Celso Boscariol, the chairman of the school's board of directors, said Reimer "has not been fired, and she remains in the services of LFA until June 30 and will continue to be paid accordingly."

Upon her employment Reimer signed an agreement that as a non-Catholic, she would not speak against the Catholic faith or attempt to influence students with "non-Catholic values," something she says she has not done.

VANCOUVER: 54 Year Old Man Busted For Grindr Hook-Up With Teen

A 54 year-old Vancouver man has been arrested after the mother of a 15 year-old boy called police to report that he and her son had hooked up for sex via Grindr.

Bren Tynan, 54, from Vancouver was charged with sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. Police said the suspect met the victim through geo-social networking app Grindr which allows app users to detect other users who are in proximity and converse with them. “The victim told police he met the suspect through a geo-social networking application called “GRINDR.” which is a social networking tool that targets gay and bisexual men,” said Cpl. Marlene Morton. Its basic concept is to connect the user to other gay and bisexual men who are nearby,” she said. “The application works on mobile devices that have a built-in GPS function,” she added. RCMP’s sex crimes unit Sgt. Jeanette Thiesen cautioned parents to be aware of what their children are doing.

Apple's rules stipulate that Grindr users must be 17 years old.