Reynard Sinaga (mugshot via Greater Manchester Police) Reynard Sinaga, 36, has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of raping 48 men in Manchester, England. The Guardianreports Sinaga may have sexually assaulted at least 190 men during a two-and-a-half-year period. According to police reports, Sinaga would target young men in the early hours of the morning outside nightclubs in Manchester. Pretending to be a ‘Good Samaritan,’ he would offer them more alcohol or a place to charge a phone, wait for a taxi or sleep off their buzz at his home. Once there, he would drug them (police believe he used GHB) and then record himself raping the men as they slept. Most of his victims were white, heterosexual men whose average age was 21. His crimes included 136 counts of rape, eight counts of attempted rape, 134 counts of sexual assaults, and two counts of assault by penetration. Sinaga’s crime spree only became known to the authorities when one of his victims woke up during the assault in June 2017. The young man fought Sinaga off then reported the incident to the police. Authorities say they found video and photographic evidence of at least 136 rapes on two cell phones. From the video recordings, police were able to identify most of the victims. Once contacted, many had no idea they had been violated while under the effects of the drug. Police also found Sinaga would often keep ‘trophies’ from his attacks including watches, IDs and cell phones. Sinaga was sentenced on Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 30 years. But there’s more. Today’s news ends a two-year media blackout during which Sinaga had already been convicted of similar charges in two earlier trials relating to 25 other victims. For those crimes, he is already serving 88 concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for 20 years. Britain’s laws require strict media blackouts in such cases while the trials are ongoing. During his trials, Sinaga claimed all of the assaults were consensual and his victims were ‘acting out a sexual fantasy.’ But prosecutors called the defense “ludicrous.” The Guardian reports many of the men could be heard snoring in the video recordings of their assault shown throughout the trial.
Many of his victims came forward to explain the deep psychological consequences they suffered due to the attacks. The effects ranged from anger and anxiety to thoughts of suicide. “I have never been in such a bad place in my life and I don’t know how to get out of it,” said one victim. “I was diagnosed with severe depression and put on anti-depressants. I also started counseling.” Said another: “The perpetrator has taken a part of me that I will never get back, and deserves the largest sentence possible.” “It changed my life forever,” a third told the court. Juries were shown text messages Sinaga had sent to friends during the crime spree often boasting about his conquests. He wrote of one victim: “He was straight in 2014. 2015 is his breakthrough to the gay world hahaha.” Sinaga was found guilty on every charge brought against him. As Judge Suzanne Goddard QC described him as a “dangerous, deeply disturbed and perverted individual with no sense of reality” during sentencing, Sinaga reportedly yawned and played with his hair. After sentencing, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ian Rushton called Sinaga “the most prolific rapist in British legal history.” Sinaga arrived in Britain in 2007 from his native Indonesia on a student visa. He received two degrees from the University of Manchester and was studying for a Ph.D. at the University of Leeds when police finally arrested him. (source: The Guardian)
The Pet Shop Boys dropped their latest track, “Monkey Business,” from the forthcoming studio album Hotspot. The new collection from the pop music icons is available January 24.
PSB previously dropped two other tracks from the forthcoming LP, “Burning the Heather” and “Dreamland” featuring Years & Years.
My husband Michael and I are devastated by the apocalyptic bushfires spreading across Australia for months now. And they show no signs of slowing down. According to reports, about 12.35 million acres have burned, destroying more than 1,400 homes and killing at least 23 people. It is estimated that more than half a billion wild animals have died in the fires. Entire towns have evacuated to the shores and volunteer firefighters have left their families and careers behind to fight the flames around the clock. If you feel inclined to help, it seems the leading organization to donate to is the Australian Red Cross. Australia’s Red Cross Disaster relief and recovery fund helps support evacuation centers and recovery programs for the affected communities. Additionally, the NSW Rural Fire Service has a donation page to support the firefighting efforts in New South Wales.
Another difficult day for communities around NSW. At midnight, with the threat still not over, there are 7 fires at Emergency Warning and 11 at Watch & Act. A state-wide total fire ban remains in place for Sunday, 5 Jan. #nswrfs#nswfirespic.twitter.com/jopBiTrHZT
The middle of the day at Main Beach, Merimbula. Streaks of black ash brought in with the tide stretchs along the beach. The oval behind is full of evacuees, all some have is their car and a tent #AustraliaBurning#AustraliaOnFirepic.twitter.com/JKKqgx8sOo
Thoughts and prayers with everyone in Australia 🇦🇺🇦🇺
A desperate koala suffering through the soaring temperatures in South Australia approached a group of cyclists to drink from a water bottle. pic.twitter.com/48aIYntQgd
Donald Trump (photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr – CC License) In the aftermath of Donald Trump’s decision to assassinate a top Iranian general, the fallout across the Middle East and beyond continued on Sunday. ICMYI: • Iran on Friday vowed “severe revenge” in response to a U.S. airstrike that killed Tehran’s most powerful military commander, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and dramatically sharpened tensions across the Middle East. • US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the airstrike ordered to kill top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani “saved American lives,” after Pompeo said on Twitter Friday morning that the decision to eliminate Soleimani was in response to “imminent threats to American lives.”
@NYTimes: “Officials presented the president with options. The Pentagon tacked on the choice of targeting Suleimani mainly to make other options seem reasonable. They didn’t think he would take it. When Mr. Trump chose the option, military officials, flabbergasted, were alarmed.”
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the Trump administration to immediately brief lawmakers on the U.S. airstrike and what the White House plans to do next. The strike was carried out without an “authorization for use of military force” against Iran and without the consultation of Congress, the speaker said. Today, Trump tweeted his “official notification to Congress.” I kid you not.
These Media Posts will serve as notification to the United States Congress that should Iran strike any U.S. person or target, the United States will quickly & fully strike back, & perhaps in a disproportionate manner. Such legal notice is not required, but is given nevertheless!
• The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by President Donald Trump. • In his first public address since the airstrike, Trump said the U.S. is “ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary” if Iran threatens American lives. “We took action last night to stop a war. We did not take action to start a war.” But it looks like the guy who wanted to pull U.S. military out of the middle east may have begun sometime far bigger than he dreamed. • On Saturday, the Trump administration warned members of Congress that Iran is expected to retaliate against the US “within weeks” for the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani even as they failed to convince some that the operation was merited due to an imminent threat against American lives. • As hostilities escalate, Trump has ramped up the pressure on Iran – threatening to hit 52 sites ‘very hard and very fast.’ He also boasted about the U.S. military’s ample resources.
….hundreds of Iranian protesters. He was already attacking our Embassy, and preparing for additional hits in other locations. Iran has been nothing but problems for many years. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have…..
The United States just spent Two Trillion Dollars on Military Equipment. We are the biggest and by far the BEST in the World! If Iran attacks an American Base, or any American, we will be sending some of that brand new beautiful equipment their way…and without hesitation!
• Iran’s government said Sunday that it was abandoning its “final limitations in the nuclear deal,” the international agreement intended to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. The decision leaves no restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, the statement said, including on uranium enrichment, production, research and expansion. • Lawmakers in Iraq heeded the demands of angry citizens and voted on Sunday to expel United States troops from the country, as hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into the streets of Iran to pay their respects to the slain leader of the elite Quds Force, Maj. General Qassim Suleimani. • The eulogist at the funeral procession of prominent Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in Iran put an 80-million-dollar prize on US President Donald Trump’s head on live state TV. “We are 80 million Iranians, if each one of us puts aside one American dollar, we will have 80 million American dollars, and we will reward anyone who brings us [Trump]’s head with that amount,” he said, addressing a large crowd in Iran’s north-eastern city of Mashhad. • Having done his tweeting, Trump arrived at his golf course in West Palm Beach today.
Checking in with the men of Insta: Wilson Cruz (above) spent his New Year’s celebration in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and came out the other side as a well-rested human (below). #LoveSomePV
The Institute of Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity released Friday hit its lowest level since the end of the Great Recession in December.
Why it matters: It shows worsening conditions for the U.S. manufacturing sector, which has been in contraction for five straight months and reignites concerns about the trade war’s impact on the economy. Stocks, already in the red after a U.S. airstrike killed a top Iranian general, fell near the lowest levels of the day following the release of the data.
By the numbers: The index came in at 47.2 in December — worse than the 49 economists expected — falling 0.9 points from the prior month’s reading. (Any reading below 50 suggests the manufacturing sector is in contraction.)
Respondents to the survey, which manufacture goods in 18 different industries, noted sluggish demand for products, as well as suppliers passing tariff-related costs on to manufacturers.
Former Vice President Joe Biden leads the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls by double digits a month ahead of the Iowa caucuses, according to a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released exclusively to The Hill.
The poll shows Biden registering 30 percent support among Democrats nationally. In a relatively distant second place is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who notched 17 percent in the survey.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is lingering in the No. 3 spot with 12 percent support. No other candidate registered double-digit support. Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg came in fourth place at 7 percent, while former tech executive Andrew Yang notched 3 percent support.
Still, recent polls in early primary and caucus states show a more fluid race.
An Emerson College survey of likely Iowa Democratic caucusgoers released last month showed Biden and Sanders in a statistical tie for first place, with 23 percent and 22 percent support, respectively.
And a WBUR-MassINC poll of New Hampshire Democrats from December showed Buttigieg and Biden knotted at the top with 18 percent and 17 percent, respectively. Sanders wasn’t far behind in that survey, with 15 percent support.
And here’s some eye-popping news – former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has tied Warren for third place in the latest Hill/HarrisX poll:
The former New York City mayor is now in a dead heat for third place with top-tier candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who also received 11 percent support. Biden, meanwhile, continues to lead the Democratic field with 28 percent followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at 16 percent.
Fitness & nutrition expert Robert Reames I recently did an episode of the American LBS radio/video podcast with Dr. Phil Show head trainer and nutritionist, Robert Reames. The podcast highlights inspirational and motivational stories involving wellness sharing information from some of the best fitness folks in the industry. I’ve known Rob (an awesome source of great fitness info) since the 1990s. He asked me to chat about my cancer journey back in 2009 and how fitness & my dance background played a part in my recovery. While I’ve mentioned my bout with cancer on The Randy Report, this is probably the first time many of you might hear first hand what my little journey was like. Hit play below, and you can find out more info from and about super-smart guy Rob at his official website here.
Via press release: GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, comprised of 260 mainly U.S. journalists covering film and television, has named its nominees for 2019’s finest movies, performances and more across a host of mainstream and LGBTQ-focused categories. Full disclosure – I’m a voting member of GALECA “International” films lead the pack: South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite—the left-field hit satire comparing the lives of the rich and the poor—and the French lesbian romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire each counts 6 nominations, while director Pedro Almodovar’s semi-autobiographical opus Pain and Glory has 5 nods. Those films join Hustlers, Little Women and director Quentin Tarantino’s florid alternate-reality trip Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood on the group’s eclectic, diverse Film of the Year shortlist. “It’s a true testament to the rising impact of global films—and the ability of film to move us in any language—to see films from a variety of countries rank so highly with our Dorian Awards voters,” says GALECA President Diane Anderson-Minshall, Editorial Director of The Advocate. “We’re proud to help remind everyone that the world can connect through cinema.” For Director of the Year, Bong competes with the likes of Sam Mendes, helmer of the stunning World War I epic 1917, and Women director Greta Gerwig, a previous Dorian winner in the category for Lady Bird. Renée Zellweger (Judy), Lupita Nyong’o (Us) and Alfre Woodard (Clemency) add excitement to the award season race with their nominations for Film Performance of the Year—Actress nominations, while fresh faces Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Zhao Shuzen (The Farewell) perk up the respective Supporting category. As for the Actor categories, they’re peppered with notable surnames: Banderas, Driver and Sandler; Pitt, Pesci and Pacino. Among the professional LGBTQ journalists group’s trademark categories, Booksmart and The Last Black Man in San Francisco are among the contenders for Unsung Film of the Year, while Cats and the cheeky, crazy-popular murder mystery Knives Out duke it out for Campy Flick of the Year HBO’s acerbic rich-family soap Succession, Netflix’s searing and female-centric mystery Unbelievable and last year’s multi-winner Pose, all up for TV Drama of the Year, with Hulu’s high-school friendship spoof PEN15 and Comedy Central’s tart The Other Two making nice-surprise showings in the comedy arena. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, star-creator of the also-nominated comedy Fleabag star-creator, is up for three Dorians, including TV Performance of the Year—Actress and Wilde Wit of the Year. All Dorian Award Winners, including the recipient of the Society’s annual Timeless career-achievement award, will be revealed Wednesday, January 8. Olivia Wilde, the first-time director of Booksmart, will be receiving a special honor at the group’s Dorian Awards Winners Toast, which will be held on Sunday, February 2, in Los Angeles, before football fever kicks in. The invitation-only event will include a raise of the glass to Wilde, named GALECA’s Wilde Artist of the Year. It bears noting that the acclaimed Booksmart’s stars, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, each hold a Dorian nomination for GALECA’s “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star award. You can follow the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics on Instagram,Twitter, and Facebook.FULL LIST OF 11TH DORIAN AWARDS NOMINATIONS (Note: Categories with six or more contenders involve a tie) Film of the Year Hustlers Little Women Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood Pain and Glory Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Director of the Year Pedro Almodovar, Pain and Glory Greta Gerwig, Little Women Bong Joon-ho, Parasite Sam Mendes, 1917 Celine Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire Film Performance of the Year — Actress Awkwafina, The Farewell Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story Lupita Nyong’o, Us Alfre Woodard, Clemency Renée Zellweger, Judy Film Performance of the Year — Actor Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory Adam Driver, Marriage Story Adam Sandler, Uncut Gems Joaquin Phoenix, Joker Taron Egerton, Rocketman Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actress Laura Dern, Marriage Story Florence Pugh, Little Women Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers Margot Robbie, Bombshell Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell Film Performance of the Year — Supporting Actor Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood Al Pacino, The Irishman Joe Pesci, The Irishman Brad Pitt, Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood Song Kang-ho, Parasite LGBTQ Film of the Year Booksmart End of the Century Pain and Glory Portrait of a Lady on Fire Rocketman Foreign Language Film of the Year The Atlantics Pain and Glory Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire The Farewell Screenplay of the Year Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won, Parasite Greta Gerwig, Little Women Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire Rian Johnson, Knives Out Documentary of the Year American Factory Apollo 11 For Sama Honeyland One Child Nation LGBTQ Documentary of the Year Circus of Books Gay Chorus Deep South The Gospel of Eureka 5B Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street Visually Striking Film of the Year Midsommar 1917 The Lighthouse Parasite Portrait of a Lady on Fire Unsung Film of the Year Booksmart Her Smell Gloria Bell The Last Black Man in San Francisco Waves Campy Flick of the Year Cats Greta Knives Out Ma Serenity TV Drama of the Year Chernobyl Euphoria Pose Succession Unbelievable TV Comedy of the Year Fleabag The Other Two PEN15 Russian Doll Schitt’s Creek TV Performance of the Year — Actor Bill Hader, Barry Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us Billy Porter, Pose Jeremy Strong, Succession TV Performance of the Year — Actress Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek Mj Rodriguez, Pose Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon LGBTQ TV Show of the Year Euphoria The Other Two Pose Schitt’s Creek Tales of the City Unsung TV Show of the Year Gentleman Jack On Becoming a God in Central Florida The Other Two PEN15 Years and Years TV Current Affairs Show of the Year Full Frontal with Samantha Bee The Rachel Maddow Show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Leaving Neverland TV Musical Performance of the Year Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, “Shallow,” The 91st Academy Awards Lizzo, “Truth Hurts,” VMAs 2019 Megan Mullally, “The Man That Got Way,” Will & Grace Annie Murphy, “A Little Bit Alexis,” Schitt’s Creek Michelle Williams, “Who’s Got the Pain?,” Fosse/Verdon Campy TV Show of the Year American Horror Story 1984 Big Little Lies RuPaul’s Drag Race The Politician Riverdale The “We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award Roman Griffin Davis Kaitlyn Dever Beanie Feldstein Florence Pugh Hunter Schafer Wilde Wit of the Year (Honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse) Dan Levy Billy Porter Randy Rainbow Taika Waititi Phoebe Waller-Bridge Wilde Artist of the Decade (Special Accolade) Lady Gaga Greta Gerwig Ryan Murphy Billy Porter Phoebe Waller-Bridge
From the video recordings, police were able to identify most of the victims. Once contacted, many had no idea they had been violated while under the effects of the drug. Police also found Sinaga would often keep ‘trophies’ from his attacks including watches, IDs and cell phones. Sinaga was sentenced on Monday to life in prison with no chance of parole for at least 30 years. But there’s more. Today’s news ends a two-year media blackout during which Sinaga had already been convicted of similar charges in two earlier trials relating to 25 other victims. For those crimes, he is already serving 88 concurrent life sentences with no chance of parole for 20 years. Britain’s laws require strict media blackouts in such cases while the trials are ongoing. During his trials, Sinaga claimed all of the assaults were consensual and his victims were ‘acting out a sexual fantasy.’ But prosecutors called the defense “ludicrous.” The Guardian reports many of the men could be heard snoring in the video recordings of their assault shown throughout the trial. 
