Mar 17, 2006   | COMMENTS     

"Rumour has it that Lions Gate inundated the Academy voters with DVD copies of ‘Trash’ —excuse me—‘Crash’ a few weeks before the ballot deadline."
"Brokeback Mountain" author Annie Proulx in a stinging essay responding to the upset win of "Crash" over "Brokeback" for the Best Picture Oscar (Guardian, March 11)

"[Ang Lee] is the pride of the Chinese people all over the world [and] the glory of Chinese cinematic talent."
Praise for Oscar winner for Best Director in Shanghai’s government-controlled, English language newspaper, even though the movie is banned and Lee’s references to gays and Taiwan were censored from his acceptance speech (New York Times, March 12)

"They’re so panicked at the thought that somebody accidentally might treat gay people like people. They run around Chicken Little-like, screaming, ‘Th’ homosex’shals is comin’! Th’ homosex’shals is comin’!’ Meantime, people are ignorant in Appalachia, strung out in Miami, starving in Niger, sex slaves in India, mass-murdered in Darfur. Where is the Christian outrage about that? "
Syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. in an open letter to Donna Reddick, a Miami-area high school teacher who said in an announcement televised school wide that homosexuality was ‘’wrong according to the Bible’’ because God ordered humanity to multiply (Miami Herald, March 10)

"I’m not one of those people who are that patriotic when it comes to the England team. … At times the England players seem to play like women. Beckham and others, they’re gay boys."
Liam Gallagher, front man for the rock group Oasis, on the England soccer team and David Beckham, its most famous player (The Sun, March 10)

"Ignorance and lack of understanding about these issues sometimes breed uncertainty, even fear and the inclination to turn from those who are unwell."
Queen Elizabeth II, speaking in Sydney on Commonwealth Day about the plight of those with HIV/AIDS (March 14)

"Lesbians ah run tings, who nuh like it tek a hike."
Graffiti allegedly on the wall of a high school bathroom in Kingston, Jamaica, part of an inflammatory report, "High school girls gone gay!" (Sunday Gleaner, March 12)

"The recruitment is heavy. Every time we get rid of a big batch we have to deal with the recruited ones."
An official at Queens High School in Kingston, Jamaica, on how "homosexual behavior among the girls is spreading like a fungus" (Sunday Gleaner, March 12)

"I’m proud of it. Better to be a fascist than a faggot."
Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of Benito Mussolini, the fascist dictator of Italy during World War II, responding to criticism from Vladimir Luxuria, with Italy’s Communist Refoundation Party, who hopes to be Europe’s first transgender member of parliament (Reuters, March 9)

"It really is a provocation aimed to limit immigration. It has nothing to do with the rights of homosexuals. Even Dutch people don’t want to see that."
Abdou Menebhi, the Moroccan-born director of an organization for Muslim immigrants, on a film that features two men kissing that is now part of the citizenship test for immigrants to Holland (Times of London, March 12)

"Having a great comic actress like Kim [Cattrall] is so exciting. I’m a huge fan of hers."
Sir Elton John, on news that the "Sex & The City" vixen will be starring in his ABC comedy pilot "Him & Us" about a gay British rock star (Reuters, March 10)