As we near the end of the year, it's a good time to look back at what caught our readers' attention over the last 12(ish) months. So here are — according to Google Analytics — the 20 most read stories on xtra.ca in 2010 (we made it a top 20 list so we could squeeze in another John Baird story — hope he appreciates the effort).

 

 

20. Criminalization of herpes signals a turn for the worse

18. Gay couple burned from PEI home

17. Pride Toronto plans to censor the term Israeli apartheid

16. So much for John Baird’s reputation as a gutsy brawler

15. Pride Toronto in hiding after spirited denunciation from queer leaders

14. Zellers pulls ‘egg these transvestites’ shirt from stores

13. Lesbians kicked out of Waterloo café for kissing

12. Grindr tightens restrictions: no underwear, no cock size

11. He has a chauffeur! Rick Mercer’s epic John Baird smackdown

10. Exploring Amman’s gay spaces

9. Facebook reevaluates decision to censor trans man’s post-op chest pics

8. Another bloodbath as Toronto’s Proud FM fires four hosts

7. How the second world war changed gay life

6. Pride Toronto reverses ban on 'Israeli apartheid'

5. Trans guy banned from Facebook after uploading post-op chest pic

4. Fred Phelps’s son gets job promoting atheism, battling homophobia

3. Two lesbian youth found dead in Orangeville

2. Sex TV axed after decade-long shuffle between broadcasters

1. Open secret: John Baird outed

^{Source: Google Analytics, Jan 1-Nov 30, 2010}

If you didn't watch CBC's The National on Thursday night, you missed comedian Rick Mercer's amazing rant about government House leader John Baird.

Yesterday, Baird dismissed Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff and NDP leader Jack Layton as "Toronto elites" because of their support for the federal long-gun registry. (You may recall that in 2009, Baird told Toronto to "fuck off.")

The National ran a cheeky news report on the whole "Toronto elites" incident and brilliantly asked Mercer for comment.

Unfortunately, it's not possible to embed CBC news videos, so here's what Mercer had to say about Baird:

"He has a chauffeur! He's beating people up for being elite?"

and:

"You wanna know what elite is? It's John Baird in a tuxedo, going to the National Arts Centre with the prime minister's wife on his arm, complaining that the food is not good enough. That's John Baird right there in a nutshell." 

>> Watch the segment at cbc.ca (fast forward to 2:10 min).

And with that, I leave you with this Rick Mercer Report classic, the "John Baird Home Alarm System":

Are you turned on by body scanners and double standards? Well, look no further:

 

(from the latest issue of Xtra Vancouver, check out the PDF here)

Read more:

• Open secret: Conservative cabinet minister John Baird outed
• So much for John Baird's reputation as a gutsy brawler
• Cheeky bugger: Performer Glenn Nuotio remixes the Baird tape 

 

 

The stock market took a big hit yesterday after the US Congress failed to pass the controversial Wall Street bailout. Democrats largely went along with Bush's plan but Republicans surprisingly shot it down in flames and then not so surprisingly blamed it on the Democrats. Openly gay congressman Barney Frank responded amusingly but right-wing pundits are saying it was his fault, him and all the gays. They're suggesting a link between banks' failures and their diversity policies and insisting that the whole financial mess can only be fixed by ending gay marriage: "The nation will right itself if it fixes sex." Now I'm confused: America should focus less on its financial problems and obsess more on gays? Isn't that what they've been doing for eight years?

A 19-year-old in Florida on trial for murder insists that being the subject of gay rumours forced him to kill. Please. If that were the case, John Baird would be a mass-murderer by now.

Heather Locklear was arrested for "erratic driving while on prescription pills." Oh Heather, you don't need this -- after starring in "Dynasty" and "Melrose Place," you're already a gay icon!

I know, I know -- still more Sarah Palin! But dammit, she's funnier than ever! Once you're done playing with The Sarah Palin Interview Generator, check out her latest interview: after embarrassing herself on the Pakistan issue, Daddy had to come in and help. The results are hilarious:

We often have to hear the lame complaint that the visibility of gay marriage will be "confusing" to children (ie. make them gay) so, by that logic, this week's nuclear-fusion wedding between Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson will end homosexuality forever!

And finally, a little something for the pervs out there. Have you been yearning to watch hardcore porn at work? Well, the fine folks at Diesel have come to your rescue with their "Safe For Work XXX" video: