Brits on top in casual sex league | Mail Online

Quote: British men and women are among the most promiscuous in the world , researchers have found.

In an international index measuring one-night stands, total numbers of partners and attitudes to casual sex, Britain comes out ahead of America, Australia, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.

The result has been linked to the decline of religious scruples, the growth of equal rights for women and a highly sexualised popular culture...

Britain scored 40, placing it 11th overall, behind countries such as Latvia, Croatia and Slovenia - but it was highest among the major western industrial nation...

The country with the highest rating was Finland, with an average of 51. Taiwan came lowest, with 19.

From : Boy George 'handcuffed escort for hacking computer' | Music | guardian.co.uk

Boy George outside Snaresbrook crown court where he is standing trial accused of assaulting and falsely imprisoning a male escort. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

The singer Boy George handcuffed a male escort to the wall by his bed after accusing him of breaking into his computer system, a court heard today.
Boy George, 48, whose real name is George O'Dowd, agreed to pay £400 to Audun Carlsen, a Norwegian working as a male escort, in April last year, prosecutors allege.

A jury at Snaresbrook crown court heard O'Dowd used a "heavy" - a burly assistant - to grab Carlsen and handcuff him to a fixture in his bedroom after a pornographic photo shoot.
The two men met after the singer contacted Carlsen in January last year to take the photographs. They took cocaine and O'Dowd performed a sex act on the escort, the court heard.

Carlsen said Boy George had appeared "wired" from taking cocaine and had left with only £300 after becoming uncomfortable. Later, O'Dowd accused Carsen of tampering with his computer.

Carlsen told the court that over the next two months he received a number of "bizarre" and accusatory emails, which he began to ignore. Some of the exchanges between the two were read out in court. Carlsen said the singer later apologised saying he'd accused the wrong person and agreed to the second meeting in April.

When they met again at O'Dowd's place, Carlsen was ambushed by the singer and another man, said the prosecutor, Heather Norton.
"Two men grabbed Carlsen and forced him to the floor. O'Dowd produced a set of handcuffs. They placed one end on Carlsen's right wrist and the other end to a hook that was screwed to a fixture near the bed.
"O'Dowd told the unidentified man to leave, which he did, then O'Dowd too left the room, leaving Carlsen alone, chained up. While he was unable to get loose, he managed to wrench the hook free."

The court was told that Carlsen was left "shaking and frightened".
"His fear was increased when O'Dowd returned to the room with a box ... inside were chains and leather straps. O'Dowd said: 'Now you're going to get it.'"

The court was told Carlsen broke free early the next morning and ran to a newsagent dressed in his boxer shorts and the handcuffs.
"O'Dowd tried to grab him and swung a chain at him, which hit him on the back. Carlsen, perhaps younger and fitter, was able to escape," said Norton.

O'Dowd told police he believed Carlsen had tampered with his computer and removed material. "He believed three or four people had accessed his computer and Carlsen was one of them," Norton said.

She said O'Dowd admitted to police that he knew Carlsen was "really scared" and that he had been "angry". Norton said O'Dowd had told police they were some "serious handcuffs" and that "you can't get out of them".
"Indeed, Carlsen had to be cut out by the fire brigade," Norton told the court.

She said O'Dowd had told police: "I will absolutely own up to handcuffing him. I wanted to find out if he was the person (who tampered with the computer)."
Norton said the jury would have to decide whether the singer really meant to hurt Carlsen and why he locked him up. O'Dowd denies a charge of false imprisonment.

Horror as teenager commits suicide live online - Times Online

A 19-year-old man has committed suicide live on the internet encouraged by others who were watching, according to reports.
The teenager, named as Abraham K Biggs, from Broward County, Florida, took an overdose of pills while broadcasting himself on Justin.tv, a live video streaming website.
On a chat forum he told others he was going to commit suicide and posted a suicide note on another forum before taking the pills and turning on his webcam.
The 19-year-old lay on his bed and only after several hours of no movement did others begin to take him seriously. With the video still running, forum members managed to contact the local police who eventually broke down the door, found the body and switched off the camera. Up to 1,500 people were viewing the feed, according to one report.
A video clip posted on the net shows a police officer entering the room, his handgun drawn, as he checks for any sign of life. Local police said they were investigating a suspected suicide and the death was confirmed by the Broward County medical examiner.



Mr Biggs was a member of the bodybuilding.com forum under the name CandyJunkie and was known as Feels Like Ecstasy on justin.tv. He apparently had threatened before to commit suicide.
On Wednesday he went to the bodybuilding.com forum and detailed the amount of drugs he was going to take. The moderators of the forum reportedly did not take him seriously because of his past threats and other forum members encouraged him to carry out his threat.
Mr Biggs then posted his suicide note, where he said he had hurt other people and hated himself for being a failure. "I am an a@#hole. I have let everyone down and I feel as though I will never change or never improve. I am in love with a girl and I know that I am not good enough for her," he wrote,
Mr Biggs then posted his suicide note, where he said he had hurt other people and hated himself for being a failure. As he lay motionless on the bed after taking the pills, many forum members continued to insult him, believing that it was staged.
One forum member pleaded with other forum members to contact the police and tried to e-mail the Miami-Dade police. He borrowed his father's mobile and spoke to police who directed him to the Broward County Sheriff's Department. About an hour later, the authorities arrived at the teenager's house.
Justin.tv is an open network of thousands of live streaming channels.
It is based in San Francisco and is named after Justin Kan, its first star.
"We regret that this has occurred and respect the privacy of the broadcaster and his family during this time. We have policies in place to discourage the distribution of distressing content and our community monitors the site accordingly. This content was flagged by our community, reviewed, and removed according to our terms of service," Justin.tv CEO Michael Seibel said in an e-mail.
The video feed has been taken down but video clips have been posted elsewhere on the net and copies of the suicide note can also be found.
Many of the forum posts have been deleted by those who made them.
There have been growing concerns that internet forums encourage people to take their lives. Last year a British man hung himself witnessed by about 100 internet chatroom users. Kevin Whitrick, 42, from Telford, Shropshire, killed himself after being goaded in an "insult" chatroom at the Paltalk website. One of the users is claimed to have told him:
"F***ing do it. Get on with it."

According to one charity which works to prevent suicide, there have been at least 17 deaths in the UK since 2001 which involved chatrooms or sites which give advice on suicide methods. Campaigners want the police to investigate and prosecute those involved in encouraging online suicides.

You all know of Calvin and Hobbes, I presume. This little six-year old lad is bullied at school by a classmate called Moe.

We recently studied one of the strip cartoons by Sam Watterson but this is what one of my Turkish students wrote... I guess he hasn't got full mastery of English yet.

"Calvin and Moe is in the corridor" he writes (actually they are in the locker room for secrecy, I guess)
"Moe has lifting Calvin on the floor and he getting ready to FIST Calvin in the nose or the stomach." (ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Naturally I can't actually tell him what's wrong with this sentence :redface: )
"Calvin is looking down because this terriying is threatening to kill him."

Given that they only had to write in a few words and work out what would be meaningful (we've already done all this in class and consigned it to their exercise books), I wonder what can possess a young man to write such atrocious things... lol. I guess someone didn't learn their lesson. :mad:

This thread is NOT about the best gay films we've all seen (there's already a thread about that). I'm interested in discovering gay films that are in one way or another a bit different and are not just your usual run-of-the-mill boy meets boy (or girl meets girl). They don't have to be great films (although obviously that's a bonus).

So I thought I would create a thread and see what happens...

To get the ball rolling I will suggest 'A Man of No Importance', starring Albert Finney. Set in 1960s Dublin, Finney plays a bus conductor with a passion for the plays of Oscar Wilde but is secretly gay (what a surprise!) What I like about the film is the fact that the guy does not get the guy and, ultimately, not much actually happens. Its just a nice observational film about the characters involved.

In the euphoria over yesterday's election has anyone noticed that California has pushed through "Proposition 8", which once more makes it illegal for same-sex couples to marry?

There is something wrong with a system that declares that the will of a bigoted majority can can have such a devastating effect on an effectively disenfranchised minority.

Whether same-sex couples choose to marry or not has no effect whatsoever on the lives of straight people. Since it's nothing to do with them the decision should not be theirs to make. I guess Californian couples will have their marriages annulled ... again! Bad show :frown:

California votes to ban gay marriage - Times Online

Hi All,
Cast your mind back to 1992 did any of you watch that halloween special with whats his name parkinson..? I watched it on dvd last night and i thought it was real and CHRIST DID I SHIT MYSELF when the camera moved to the curtains u saw something and then it moved back and it was gone i was absolutely petrified and couldnt sleep hehe

Kindest regards

zeon x

Hi All,
Has anyone seen the new SAW film in the cinema yet??? I havent seen it and have no intention as i cant handle a horror mild or gorey... My boyfriend saw it online and said his overall review of the film was that despite it going over the past films they made it wasnt one he felt was the most successful.. Just wondering if others agreed or disagreed if you have seen it?

I watched snaps of this one and its not for the faint hearted but me being a big butch gay man i sat there and watched the swinging axe moment whilst eating my dinner and was determined that id not only spent hours cooking it BUT no film was putting me off it and i was gonna not hide my eyes

Kindest regards

zeon x

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/gaysaints.jpg[/img2]The Feast of All Saints will be marked in an unusual way by London's LGBT Catholics next month.

At a Mass to celebrate the feast day, organised by Soho Masses Pastoral Council, prayers will be said to mark "those Saints in the Catholic Church calendar who have a special place in LGBT history."

They will also remember the 'unknown saints' who have died of AIDS and whose names are recorded in the Catholic AIDS Memorial Book.

Masses are regularly held at a Soho Catholic church, specifically to welcome LGBT people.

Among the "Queer Saints" that will be remembered at the Mass are:

Saints Sergius and Bacchus, Roman soldiers who enjoyed a close relationship, and Saints Felicity and Perpetua - two closely united women saints - all from the early days of the Church.

According to the website of the Catholic Apostolic Church of Antioch in Richmond, Virginia:

"Recent attention to early Greek manuscripts has revealed that Sergius and Bacchus were openly gay men and that they were erastai, or lovers.

"After their arrest, the two saints were paraded through city streets in women's clothing, treatment that was meant to humiliate them as officers in the Roman army. They were then separated and each was tortured.

"Bacchus died first and appeared that night to Sergius, who was beginning to lose heart. According to the early manuscripts, Bacchus told Sergius to persevere, that the delights of heaven were greater than any suffering, and that part of their reward would be to be re-united in heaven as lovers."

John Henry Newman, the 19th century Cardinal buried with his close friend, Father Ambrose St. John, and the medieval Yorkshire monk, St. Aelred of Rievaulx, who wrote profoundly about friendship and relationships, will also be remembered.

The Mass will take place at 17.00 in the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption & St. Gregory, Warwick Street, Soho, W1B 5NB.

The Soho Masses Schola will sing the Missa O quam gloriosum by the Spanish renaissance composer, Luis de Victoria.

All are welcome to attend the Mass for LGBT Catholics, parents, families and friends.

The Soho Masses Pastoral Council is an elected group of Catholics responsible for organising masses in the Soho area.

In February 2007 it gained permission from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, to hold Masses and give pastoral care to LGBT Catholics.

The diocese of Westminster pointed out in a statement that the decision did not contradict Church teaching which argues that homosexual practice is a sin.

"This full and active participation takes place within the context of the wider Church and specifically within existing parish structures and pastoral services, always of course in accordance with the Church's teaching and liturgical norms.

"In seeking to meet these pastoral needs there would be no attempt to create separate congregations and exclusive services out of step with the Church's teaching."

[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/will-smith-tom-cruise.jpg[/img2]According to a notorious Hollywood Madame, Smith was a client of hers for years before she packed up shop and moved her operation to Manhattan earlier this year. She remembers the first time she ever spoke with Smith.

“I had to reassure him over and over that I could guarantee discretion,” she said. “Once I convinced him I could, he placed his order. It was for a man. I had 14 women working for me and two guys. You’d be surprised at how many Hollywood stars requested the services of the guys.”

Could Smith’s proclivities account for his recent apparent conversion to Scientology, a religion that’s chief appeal in Hollywood appears to be its promise to turn gay people straight. At least according to long-time Scientologist Michael Pattinson, who sued the Church for failing to keep that promise after he shelled out $500,000 in auditing fees over a 25-year period but was never “cured” of his homosexuality as promised.

Smith has been palling around with Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes for over a year, although his publicist has denied that he has converted to the religion whose most famous adherent is his friend Cruise. But, according to the New York Daily News, Smith attended the wrap party for his recent film, Hancock, and handed out gifts to the crew members that consisted of a free personality test at their local Scientology center. Last December, in an interview with Access Hollywood, Smith addressed his apparent infatuation with Scientology. “I was introduced to it by Tom, and I’m a student of world religion. I was raised in a Baptist household. I went to a Catholic school, but the ideas of the Bible are 98% the same ideas of Scientology, 98% the same ideas of Hinduism and Buddhism.”

We know that Scientology has at least one thing in common with most of the world’s major religions - rabid homophobia. The religion’s founder, L. Ron Hubbard, believed homosexuals should be quarantined from society because he considered gays to be “quite ill physically” and homosexuality a “mental aberration.”