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Two Teens Arrested For Allegedly Forcing Victim To “Apologize” For Being Gay

Image via Flickr – Annie Mole

Two sixteen-year-old boys have been arrested in connection with the assault of a 19-year-old man who was attacked and forced to “apologize’ for being gay.

Via NewsTalk:

The victim, a 19-year-old man, was travelling on a westbound London Underground Jubilee line train between West Ham and North Greenwich with his friends.

They were dressed in fancy dress for an event they were going to on October 21st at around 11.10pm.

Two other men boarded the train at West Ham and began verbally abusing the victim and his friends, using homophobic language.

When challenged, police say they became more aggressive.

The first offender then pulled the victim from his seat into a headlock, strangling him.

The second man took the victim’s phone and verbally abused him again, and threatened to stab him.

They demanded the victim apologise for being gay which he eventually did as he was struggling to breathe.

They then let him go and handed back his phone – a fight then broke out between the victim’s friends and the offenders.

One of the victim’s friends, a 25-year-old woman, was punched and pushed to the ground. She sustained bruising.

Police say the original victim did not sustain any injuries.

Officers had launched an appeal to find the people shown in images as they may have information which could help the investigation.

In a statement, British Transport Police say: “Hate crime will not be tolerated… We believe that everyone has the right to travel safety.

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Gay-Themed Animated Short Film “In A Hearbeat” Makes Shortlist For Oscars

Ten films have made the shortlist out of 63 that qualified for this year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

One of those ten is the acclaimed In A Heartbeat chronicling the charming tale of a schoolboy who’s heart leads him to face his same-sex school crush.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will vote to select five nominees in January.

Watch the charming animated short below.

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TIME Magazine Recognizes “The Silence Breakers” Of The #MeToo Movement As “Person Of The Year”

This morning, TIME Magazine announced “The Silence Breakers” of the #MeToo movement as the publication’s “Person of the Year.”

Truly, this is worthy recognition for one of the fastest cultural shifts seen in modern history.

Donald Trump, an accused sexual predator himself, was runner-up. Trump is mentioned in the piece as both a harasser and a motivation to speak out.

From the TIME Magazine article:

We’re still at the bomb-throwing point of this revolution, a reactive stage at which nuance can go into hiding. But while anger can start a revolution, in its most raw and feral form it can’t negotiate the more delicate dance steps needed for true social change. Private conversations, which can’t be legislated or enforced, are essential.

Norms evolve, and it’s long past time for any culture to view harassment as acceptable. But there’s a great deal at stake in how we assess these new boundaries—for women and men together. We can and should police criminal acts and discourage inappropriate, destructive behavior.

At least we’ve started asking the right questions. Ones that seem alarmingly basic in hindsight: “What if we did complain?” proposes Megyn Kelly. “What if we didn’t whine, but we spoke our truth in our strongest voices and insisted that those around us did better? What if that worked to change reality right now?” Kelly acknowledges that this still feels more like a promise than a certainty. But for the moment, the world is listening.

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Pennsylvania: GOP Lawmaker Flips Out Over Being Touched On The Arm By Another Man

Ok. Umm, wow.

Wait until you get a load of Pennsylvania state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe.

Metcalfe, a Republican, felt the urge to confirm for everyone attending a meeting of the Penn State House Government Committee that he is indeed heterosexual.

During the meeting ranking Democrat Matt Bradford touched his arm to underscore a point he was making.

Metcalfe stopped all traffic to admonish Bradford saying, “I’m a heterosexual. I have a wife. I love my wife. I don’t like men as you might so stop touching me all the time. Keep your hands to yourself. If you want to touch somebody, you have people on your side of the aisle that might like it. I don’t.”

Metcalfe has a history of anti-LGBT behavior.

As you can see in the clip below, the touch was very innocent.

(I wonder if Metcalfe feels like he’s now been sexually harassed???)

By the way: Bradford is married. Married to a woman.

Paranoia much, Mr. Metcalfe?

(Check the response by the woman to Bradford’s left).

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Today In Good Christian Love


 “Turn to Leviticus 20:13, because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS.”

 “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”

 “And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS. It was right there in the Bible all along — and they’re out spending billions of dollars in research and testing. It’s curable — right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant.

 “No homos will ever be allowed in this church as long as I am pastor here. Never! Say ‘You’re crazy.’ No, you’re crazy if you think that there’s something wrong with my ‘no homo’ policy.”

– Anti-LGBT Pastor Steve Anderson from the pulpit of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona

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Twitter Announces Top Tweets Of 2017 And Trump Is Nowhere To Be Found

Twitter announced the top “Liked” and “Retweeted” posts of 2017, and the results might be a bit unexpected for some folks.

Considering the turmoil and angst Donald Trump creates with his favorite social media platform, it’s surprising that Trump is nowhere to be found on either list.

From The New Yorker:

The big news is that none of the year’s ten most-retweeted tweets are by Donald Trump. Instead, three are by Barack Obama—and two of the top three most-liked tweets are Obama’s, too. (The second-most-liked tweet is from the singer Ariana Grande, written after the bombing at her Manchester concert, in May.)

In perception, this has been the year of D.J.T. on Twitter, tramping like an angry wildebeest across the civic turf. But, according to the company’s numbers, the largest footprint on the landscape has really been B.H.O.’s.

“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion,” goes Obama’s most-liked post of 2017, with 4.6 million hearts. (It also had 2.7 million retweets, making it No. 2 on that list.) The quote is from Nelson Mandela, and the included photo is of Obama hanging out with toddlers of many skin colors.

Below that, at No. 5, is President Obama’s official valediction (“I’m asking you to believe—not in my ability to create change, but in yours”), and, at No. 8, his final wave goodbye (“It’s been the honor of my life to serve you. You made me a better leader and a better man”). His note to Senator John McCain, after the announcement of his brain cancer (“Give it hell, John”), is the third-most-favorited.

The article goes on to say one reason Obama’s tweets land so much better is they tend to be of a nature that folks are proud to be associated with. In other words, uplifting.

Another thought is that Obama’s supporters make a point to underscore Obama’s tweets as method of poking at Trump’s followers.

(h/t JoeMyGod)

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Russia Banned From 2018 Winter Olympics Over Allegations Of Doping

Amid allegations of state-sponsored doping, the International Olympic Committee has banned Team Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

Those Russian athletes willing and able to prove they are “clean” may be invited to take part on a case by case basis.

From CNN:

Those athletes must meet strict guidelines and will compete under the name “Olympic Athlete from Russia” (OAR). They will wear a uniform with that name on it and the Olympic anthem will be played at any ceremonies.

The invitations will be decided upon by a panel led by the Chair of the Independent Testing Authority (ITA), Velerie Fourneyron, but it will be the IOC who ultimately decides.

Russia’s Olympic Committee has been ordered to reimburse the IOC’s costs of investigating the doping scandal and it must also pay $15 million.

Vitaly Mutko, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and former Minister of Sport, has been barred from attending any future Olympic Games.

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First Impressions From #MasterpieceCakeshop Arguments At SCOTUS

Mark Stern, reporter for Slate, offers his first impressions after attending the SCOTUS arguments today regarding Colorado baker Jack Phillips who refused to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple for their wedding.

According to Stern, things may not look promising for the good guys.

Just got out of arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop. I think the anti-gay baker wins 5-4.

Kennedy doesn’t seem to agree that refusing to serve a same-sex wedding is inherently anti-gay discrimination. And he said Colorado has been “neither tolerant nor respectful” to the baker’s “religious beliefs.”

Kennedy did suggest that a baker who put an anti-gay sign in his window would create “an affront to the gay community.” But then he implied that Colorado is discriminating against Christian bakers.

Roberts, Alito, and Gorsuch all obviously supported the anti-gay baker. Kagan, Sotomayor, Ginsburg, and Breyer were extremely skeptical of his position.

I only see one way progressives win: Kennedy says compelled cake-baking isn’t speech, but religious discrimination may have infected this case. Then remand for further findings on free exercise.

I think there is a decent chance that there are 5 votes for this resolution. But I also think it’s more likely that 5 justices find a reason to rule for the baker.

David Badash, at The New Civil Rights Movement, posted this on Facebook:

It looks possible, even likely, LGBT civil rights will lose in today’s SCOTUS case. The is bad, not only for the LGBT community but for all minorities, and women.

Those who voted for Trump, Stein, Johnson, or wrote in someone other than Clinton, esp. in battleground states, helped put Gorsuch on the Supreme Court. A Clinton win would have put a progressive on the Court, and we would have won this case.

If people who believe in equality lose this case, so many in America will suffer. This is what happens in a deeply divided society where every single vote is critical.
Go ahead, come at me.

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How To Tame Your Beard

(Photo: Pascalpprl)

Totally woofilicious French model Killian, using his killer bod as a backdrop, shares his favorite beard grooming products in this newly-posted video on Instagram.

Now, I may need to go excuse myself for a minute… #Dang

 Watch below.