Friday, October 7, 2011

Video: US student tells of ‘gay cure’ torture at hands of father


An American student has described how he was tortured for a month by his father in an effort to turn him heterosexual.

Samuel Brinton, a student at Kansas State University, said his Southern Baptist missionary father beat him, burned him and shocked him with electric currents.

He said his family, who lived on a missionary base in Iowa, first realised he was gay at the age of 12, when he told his father that he felt more strongly about his male best friend than models in Playboy magazine.

His father responded by knocking him out so brutally, he needed hospital treatment.

Samuel was interviewed as part of a project by a group called I’m From Driftwood, which travelled across the US to find untold LGBT stories.

He described how his father told him he was the only gay person left in the country and the government would soon find him and kill him.

He said he was beaten badly by his father to the point of being hospitalised six times, although doctors were told that he had fallen down the stairs.

Samuel was also burned or forced to hold ice cubes while looking at pictures of men embracing to make him associate male intimacy with pain.

The worst came in the form of the “month of hell”, in which needles were stuck in his fingers to administer electric shocks while he was shown gay porn.

Samuel says he considered suicide, even climbing on to the roof of a three-storey building. His mother, he says, told him she would love him again if he became straight.

The student said he then decided to pretend to be straight, which his parents accepted.

But when he came to leave home for university, he told them the truth and was warned by his father that he would be killed if he ever returned.

He said: “I’ve tried to call them multiple times. ‘I try to keep calling. I want contact.

“The last time [my dad told me] he would shoot me if I ever tried to walk in the door again.”

But he added he would still give his parents “the chance” to accept him in future.

Tory MP says gay marriage is ‘a step too far’


Conservative MPs have spoken out against prime minister David Cameron’s support for gay marriage.

On Wednesday, Mr Cameron urged the party to back the move because of its Conservatism, not in spite of it.

Gerald Howarth, a junior defence minister, told The Daily Telegraph that gay unions could not be considered marriage.

He said: “Some of my best friends are in civil partnerships, which is fine, but I think it would be a step too far to suggest that this is marriage. I take the view that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. That is what Christian marriage is about.”

The Tory MP for Wellingborough, Peter Bone, said the prime minister’s remarks were “political correctness”.

Catholic Church leaders have also challenged Mr Cameron’s support for the issue.

The Most Rev Peter Smith, the Archbishop of Southwark, welcomed the support for marriage but accused the prime minister of trying to “redefine” the institution.

The Catholic Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, the Rt Rev Kieran Conry, said the church would “have to do something” to protect marriage.

A government consultation on “how” to legalise gay marriage will begin in spring 2012.

Cameron appoints gay man as chief speechwriter


David Cameron has appointed Guardian leader writer Julian Glover as his chief speechwriter.

Mr Glover, who is the civil partner of Times writer Matthew Parris, will replace Ameet Gill, who has become Number 10′s new head of strategic comms.

According to Paul Waugh of PoliticsHome.com, Mr Glover is a “modernising Tory” who has impressed Downing Street over the last year with his enthusiasm for the coalition.

This week, the prime minister urged his party to back same-sex marriage.

Speaking at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, he said Tories should back the move because of their Conservatism, not in spite of it.

Evan Rachel Wood: ‘My bisexuality is real’


Evan Rachel Wood says her bisexuality is “for real”.

The True Blood actress, who has dealt firmly with suggestions that her orientation is a phase, told GQ she had been attracted to men and women since she could remember.

Interview Mickey Rapkin asked: “You broke off your engagement to Manson in August of 2010, and then earlier this year you came out as a bisexual. Was that a one-girl thing?”

Wood replied: “No, that’s for real. I’ve been that way since I can remember.

“I remember growing up and loving when I knew there was a girl like me who I looked up to. I figured I should return the favor. You don’t have to be ashamed.”

The star, 24, recently described her first relationship with a woman as “wonderful” but admitted she was “intimidated” at first.

She told Marie Claire: “I mean, it was terrifying at first. Not because I thought it was wrong but just because I was intimidated by women. It’s a totally different arena!”

Ugandan campaigner says gay bar was shut down


A Ugandan LGBT campaigner says that her gay bar was forcibly shut down.

Jacqueline Kasha said that her bar Sapphos Island, in Kampala, was padlocked shut on Sunday by the landlord.

According to Associated Press, the landlord complained of noise and “strange” patrons.

Ms Kasha is the founder and executive director of Freedom and Roam Uganda.

Earlier this year, her colleague David Kato was murdered after the Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone published a list of names, photos and addresses of gay people, calling for them to be hanged.

Ms Kasha, who has been honoured for her campaigning work, was also on the list.

She has vowed to open another LGBT venue.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Bieber impersonator makes $300 per hour

A 17-year-old Ohio boy says he has been raking in $300 to $600 per hour at his part-time job -- impersonating Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber.
Anthony de la Torre of Bowling Green, who said his first acting job was a voice role on "Dora the Explorer," said he signed on with two agencies seeking Bieber impersonators after he was frequently mistaken for the teenage singer while on a Caribbean cruise with his family during the past summer, The (Toledo) Blade reported Monday.
"Honestly, this isn't my dream job, but it's still fun because I do have a blast at the parties I go to pretending to be him," de la Torre said. "It's just a lot of fun making little kids freak out."
De la Torre said his job takes him all over the country, including Boston, New York and Kentucky.
The teenager's mother, Esther Garcia-Tio, said she supports her son's acting dreams.
"For anyone we love in our life, I think our job is to try to help make their dreams come true, and I think that's why I did this, because I want his dreams to come true and I would do it for any one of my kids," she said.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Ο Κρητικός που διεκδικεί τον τίτλο του ωραιότερου άντρα


Για την Σεούλ και τα καλλιστεία... «Manhunt International» αναχώρησε ο Γιάννης Παντελακάκης, ο 30χρονος γυμναστής από τα Χανιά...