PLANETOUT GOING BELLY-UP?
PlanetOut Inc. has recently announced they will close their international offices in London and Buenos Aires. "While we plan to continue serving our global audience, we made this decision to streamline our business operations and reduce expenses," said Karen Magee, chief executive officer, PlanetOut Inc. PlanetOut was saved from bankruptcy by the Microsoft Mogul, Bill Gates, when his company, Cascade Investment LLC, invested $26.2 million in the struggling company. PlanetOut also owns The Advocate, Out, and Gay.com - among others.

MILWAUKEE BLACK GAY PRIDE
The organizers of Milwaukee's Black Gay Pride recently announced that Jennifer Holiday will be their national entertainer. The festival is put on by Charles "D" Productions and will run from August 12-19, 2007.

MINNEAPOLIS TO GET LGBT CENTER?
OutFront Minnesota is currently in discussions with Minneapolis City Council Member Lisa Goodman about the possibility of developing a LGBT community center on property known as the "meter farm" at 15th and Nicollet Avenue South. OutFront Minnesota is the state-wide LGBT equality organization but does not have a "community center" location in Minnesota.

"WE'VE COME A LONG WAY BABY": GAY PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
On August 9th the U.S. Presidential candidates will face-off in the first-ever Gay Presidential Debate. The debate will take place in Los Angeles and is being organized by LOGO and the Human Rights Campaign. The debate originally excluded Sen. Mike Gravel because he hadn't raised enough money but now Sen. Gravel will be included - among Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Chris Dodd, Dennis Kucinich and Bill Richardson - and the debate will be expanded to 90 minutes.

MARITAL STRAIN?: Is there tension in the Edwards household these days? Presidential candidate John Edwards recently had to read in a newspaper his wife's position on same-sex marriage.

"It's not the only thing we disagree about," the Democratic presidential candidate quipped Monday on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

"A lot of people I love and care about feel the same way Elizabeth does," Edwards said. "I'm very strong about ending discrimination against gay and lesbian couples."

Their difference of opinion? Elizabeth is in full support of same-sex marriage. Mr. Edwards only supports domestic partnership/civil unions.

FAREWELL CRUISING! AT LEAST IN RUSSIA...
I've said it before and I'll likely say it again. If you think you've had a bad day consider being queer in Russia. "Orthodox Christian" Russians recently hired a cruise ship to cleanse the Moscow River after a gay cruise ship sailed down the same river days earlier. This same group has organized nightly patrols of the city's "cruising" parks to get rid of the gays.

POSH SPICE is a grade A bitch WINS LIBEL CASE
Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice, aaka Ex-Posh Spice, recently won a libel case against Star magazine for undisclosed damages by a London court.

The magazine alleged that the crew from her new US television show "can't stand her" and saw her as "very picky, demanding and rude". Despite the possibity that all claims are based in reality the article was printed before the show was set and crew hired - meaning it was made up.

Check out Victoria's new US show: Victoria Beckham: Coming To America sometime later this year.