AKA William

CNN: Many cities celebrating July Fourth without a bang. Because it’s too expensive in this economy.

Matt Taibbi on how Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression.

Uganda May Ban All LGBT Advocacy.

Mennonites protest church exclusion of gays.

Uruguayan Bishop Resigns over gay sex scandal.

Subtle racism may out put black gay men at increased HIV risk

And I leave you all on this July 4 holiday weekend with . . . “The Star-Mangled Banner.”

This afternoon, CNN covered the murder of August Provost, the gay sailor who was murdered at Camp Pendleton in San Diego.

Yesterday, in the LA Times, Rep. Bob Filner (D), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he wanted a complete investigation of circumstances surrounding the murder.

Today, on CNN, Filner called in to CNN and said that was at Camp Pendleton six hours after Seaman August Provost was murdered, but no mention was made to him of the crime. As chair of the HVAC, he finds that suspicious. Filner said that there are “indications” Provost was killed for being gay, despite a Navy spokesman earlier denying that it was a hate crime.

Filner also said that there is a culture of anti-gay behavior in the military that he attributes, at least in part, to DADT. And tragically, Filner points out that because of DADT, when Provost’s murder became known, Provost’s boyfriend was not recognized as family by the military and so was not notified of the death — he found out from a newspaper reporter.

That just breaks my heart.

Watch the CNN video. After the jump.

Fantasticsmag has a new editorial, photographed by Sylvain Norget and featuring Sylvain Norget, called “Cwazy Rabbit.” I’m not sure I fully understand it.

I mean, every time I see a creepy rabbit mask I think immediately of Donnie Darko. How could I not, right? But, then, I think of Jake Gyllenhaal. And, then, in this editorial, the creepy rabbit mask guy shows his sexy nekkid butt. So my thinking goes like this — “creepy rabbit mask, Donnie Darko, Jake Gyllenhaal, naked butt . . . wha?”

Maybe you can make more sense of it. Check out the shots (on three pages), including some NSFW ones. After the jump.

Yesterday, it looked like the ruling that came from a New Delhi court that legalized homosexuality was valid only within New Delhi. But after some legal wrangling, it looks like the ruling applies to all of India:

Although legal pundits are divided on this, the law laid down by a 2004 SC judgment implies that homosexuals across the country may rest assured that they too are entitled to the benefits of the historic Delhi high court decision on Section 377 IPC.

. . . There is another reason why homosexuals outside Delhi can derive strength from the 2004 SC ruling on territorial jurisdiction: This is the first ever pronouncement on the constitutionality of Section 377. As a result, there is no question of any existing judgment conflicting with it. [Times of India]

Sarah Palin turned in her notice as governor of Alaska.

In a press conference call this morning she announced that will be stepping down in a few weeks and will not running for re-election. No one really knows why, and her brief statement didn’t reveal any reason other than that she can “effect positive change outside of government.”

She plans to hand over the state government to Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell, who will be sworn in at the governor’s picnic in Fairbanks on July 25.

This, of course, frees her up for a 2012 presidential bid. And also sinks her political career. This could be the weirdest news of the week.

UPDATE: Video of her press conference. After the jump.

The Onion unveils a new and easier way for Americans to eat.

Shia spreads it for Italian Vanity Fair.

Condoleezza Rice: Why I Love Wimbledon. Yes, Condi.

Beau Breedlove is back! And he’s kinda pissed.

Zac Efron cuts his hair. Or combs it.

The future of human health: the salamander.

The new website Not Always Right proves that the customer is very rarely correct.

At the launch of the second leg of her “Sticky and Sweet” tour in London tomorrow night, Madonna will includea tribute to Michael Jackson.

Triple Fossil Find Puts Australia Back On The Dinosaur Map: Scientists have discovered three new species of Australian dinosaur discovered in a prehistoric billabong in Western Queensland.