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Toronto’s gay serial killer pleads guilty to eight murders

Bruce McArthur has pleaded guilty to the murder of eight men in the city of Toronto.

Bruce McArthur pleaded guilty on Tuesday (January 29) to the first-degree murders of eight men between 2010 and 2017. McArthur appeared at the Superior Court of Justice, in Toronto where he entered guilty pleas for the killings of Kirushna Kumar Kanagaratnam, Majeed Kayhan, Skandaraj (Skanda) Navaratnam and Abdulbasir Faizi, Selim Esen, Soroush Mahmudi, Dean Lisowick and Andrew Kinsman.

Despite pleading his crime he did not answer as to why he had killed the men.

During their investigations, detectives found dismembered human remains in some 20 planters at a property which was used by McArthur. Detectives on the case made an extensive search of more than 30 other properties that are linked to McArthur.

Seven of McArthur’s victims were known to Toronto’s gay community, and some of them were also immigrants from South Asia or the Middle East.

During the trial, the court heard how many of his victims were dismembered and buried in planters. McArthur was a self-employed landscape gardener.

Toronto Police detective David Dickinson said, “We are pleased that McArthur has pleaded guilty, sparing the communities and families a lengthy trial.

“This is the best outcome… I hope we can start bringing some closure to the families and the communities.”

The police have not yet finished investigating cold cases with Dickinson adding, “It’s not ending any time soon.”

When asked why McArthur committed the murders, the Detective added, “I don’t know if we will ever know why.”

Arthur will be sentenced in early February.

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29th January 2019
Zoe Ball’s son just came out as bisexual

Woody Cook has come out as bisexual

The 18-year-old son of broadcaster, Zoe Ball has come out as bisexual in an interview with US Magazine, Boys By Girls. Speaking to the magazine, he said that at first, his mum, didn’t believe that he could be bisexual, revealing that she said, “You can’t be, you like girls?”.
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29th January 2019
Celebs who came out as LGBT in 2019

Here are all the LGBT stars who came out in 2019.

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29th January 2019
Why are so many sites now banning adult content?

With the announcement of Facebook’s new sexual content policy, we look at other internet platforms that have banned adult content.

It was revealed last month that Facebook’s new sexual solicitation policy was hitting right at the heart of sexual interactions between people. Many critics believe that the move will hurt the LGBT+ community the most with the shocking revelation that people will no longer be able to discuss their preferred sexual roles, such as whether they are tops or bottoms.
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But Facebook isn’t the first.

Scruff, the gay dating app has had to ban various photos from being shown as profile pictures, including any pictures of guys in jockstraps, pictures with pubic hair on show or pictures which are sexual in nature.

Grindr, also operates a similar photo policy.

Instagram Users have long blasted the service for deleting their content. In 2018 gay pin-up magazine Meat‘s account was deleted twice, various celebs have hit out saying that the Facebook-owned entity had banned or blocked content.

Tumblr Earlier in December blogging site, Tumblr announced that it was going to remove all adult content. It is believed that Apple forced the company to make the policy when it temporarily kicked the blogging site from its app store.

Starbucks Also in December coffeeshop chain, Starbucks said that it had “identified a solution to prevent” porn from being viewed on its WIFI systems. It said would start blocking all sites from 2019.

Craigslist shut down its personals listings, 2018 after US Congress passed a Sex Trafficking Bill. The personals had run since 1995. The Bill could subject websites found to be unknowingly hosting ads for sex trafficking to criminal and civil liabilities. As a result, Craigslist made the decision to remove all the personals from its site, saying, “Any tool or service can be misused. We can’t take such risk without jeopardizing all our other services, so we are regretfully taking craigslist personals offline”.

Google Drive Sex workers have allegedly seen files deleted or removed from their Google Drives. Numerous adult performers and sex workers have found that content hosted on Google Drive was no longer accessible. The service does have a policy which bans the hosting of “sexually explicit or pornographic images or videos”.

Patreon, a payment collection site for content creators starting banning adult performers because its payment partners, Stripe and PayPal were refusing service.

Reddit has banned all sex-work groups and in 2007 LiveJournal made headlines after removing a picture of a mother breastfeeding saying it went against their content policy.

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29th January 2019
CAR REVIEW | The 2019 Skoda Fabia

★★★★☆ | 2019 Skoda Fabia

What Have We Got
The Fabia has been a mainstay of the ŠKODA range for nearly 20 years. It’s a very important model for the brand. We were lucky enough to get our mucky hands on a facelifted Fabia recently. The car comes in five trim grades & three engine options with hatch and estate variants. Interestingly, to push them along there is an all petrol, three- cylinder 1.0L engine range with outputs from 75PS to 110PS. No diesel for the new fabia. Our test car was one up from mid range, the SE L 5dr hatch with the 110PS engine, matched with a seven-speed DSG gearbox. No flappy paddles, just push the gear lever forward or backwards or better still, leave it in auto.

Driving

The Skoda Fabia looks subtle but classy. Outside it’s handsome but not eye catching. It’s very well built as you would expect and has that odd quality where you feel immediately at home, like it’s been yours for ages, familiar. The engine and gearbox are great. It’s hard to believe it’s only a 1.0L engine, it goes really well with plenty of torque, not laggy like you would expect from a small capacity turbocharged engine. Suspension is compliant but not soft. It rides very well and is way more fun than I expected.

The gearbox is very good, smooth and better than most and you can change gear by pushing the lever forward or backwards if you prefer but i didn’t feel like i gained anything so left it in auto.

Inside

It’s a classy affair in here. If your familiar with any other modern Skoda’s such as Kodiaq or Superb, you’ll feel at home with the Fabia. The dash is straight from its bigger siblings, and very nice. Fabia has plenty of kit too; Multifunction trip computer, Radio Swing Plus touchscreen infotainment unit with SmartLink+ and lots more.

You also have LED headlights, blind spot detection with Rear traffic alert, LED daytime running lights, rear parking sensors, alloy wheels, Amundsen satellite navigation, Cruise control, tyre pressure monitor and the list goes on. It’s a very well engineered and well appointed car.

Living with it

With 20 years of development under its belt, the Fabia was always going to be good. For those of us who mourn the passing of the Fabia vRS, there is no vRS in the new lineup. Saying that, it’s still loads of fun! The engine is surprisingly torquey and very tractable. The gearbox is very slick and the interior is in a different league from its competitors.

The Fabia is so easy to drive. From the first drive, it felt like we’d been together for ages, very familiar. It’s fun but not unnecessarily sporty, maintaining a nice comfortable ride. There’s plenty of room for 4 or even 5, with plenty of boot space… to boot.

The Verdict
Skoda know their market and their customers very well and they build excellent cars. The Fabia isn’t trying to be a hot hatch or hipster, retro styled lifestyle accessory. It’s a well engineered, safe, pretty & fun car that’s packed with equipment. Our choice would be the 110ps with the DSG gearbox. It’s so smooth and drives very well, particularly around town. They offer something for everyone, funky Colour edition, sporty Monte Carlo edition the elegant SE L model plus S and SE.

Love
Engine – Torquey, responsive, smooth.
DSG gearbox – Very smooth
Styling – Elegant

Loathe
Economy – Couldn’t get anywhere near the recommended.
No Diesel – I’d like a 1.2 diesel
No vRS – I’d like a firebreathing version

Lowdown
Car – Skoda Fabia Hatch SE-L
Price – £18,155 (ours with options £19,120)
MPG – 60.1 mpg (combined)
0-62 – 10.1 seconds
Power – 110ps and 200nm torque
Top Speed – 120 mph
Co2 – 106 (g/km)

29th January 2019
Tickets for Everybody’s Talking About Jamie are just £24, here’s where to get them from

It’s the show that Everybody is talking about – and now the tickets are as low as £24, find out where and how you can get them from.

Jamie’s fans can now get their hands on some really affordable tickets and those tickets are available to performances right away. The show, which has been running in London since 2018 has now lowered some of its prices to just £24 – even on a Saturday night. The show is just about to be refreshed as it welcomes new cast members including Layton Williams as Jamie New, Shane Richie as Hugo/Loco Channelle, Hayley Tamaddon as Miss Hedge, Sejal Keshwala as Ray and Sabrina Sandhu as Pritti Pasha.

The show has just celebrated its 500th show in London.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is a coming of age story which is more reflective of today’s society than most of the genre. Gone is the stigma of sexuality, and gone is the major struggle for acceptance by his peers. Jamie is embraced by his supportive mother and loved by his friends at school. The story is more about Jamie’s internal struggle and his relationships with family, rather than it being “him against the world”.

This refreshing approach makes for a more intimate and focussed narrative and one which genuinely pulls you in. It has been a while since audiences get so much behind a show, with cheers of support echoing around the theatre at key points in the story, which can only be a testament to the quality of the production.

There’s also a tour

It was also announced that the show is about to embark on a UK wide tour from 2020. Look out for dates which will be announced shortly.

Find out more and browse tickets by clicking here

This article contains one or more affiliate links. This means we may receive a commission on any sales of products or services we write about. This article was written completely independently but about a subject that we think you, as a reader of THEGAYUK will enjoy, see more details here

29th January 2019
Check out Courtney Act’s Eurovision entry, Fight For Love

RuPaul’s Drag Race finalist and 2018 Celebrity Big Brother champion Courtney Act today premieres the music video for her brand new single Fight For Love, out now on iTunes and Spotify.

Courtney is bidding for this instantly memorable dance-pop smash to be Australia’s entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. She will compete on Australia’s national selection TV show ‘Eurovision – Australia Decides’ on SBS on Saturday 9 February 2019.

Directed by Femme.TV, the high-impact, sultry music video from Courtney gives a taste into what can be expected from her live performance on ‘Australia Decides,’ featuring striking fast-paced choreography and a range of ultra-modern, high fashion looks.

Courtney Act said of Fight For Love, “A sweet 16 years after Australian Idol, I have the chance to show Australia how I have grown as an artist and performer and I am so excited! To compete to represent Oz in Eurovision is second only to being on that stage in Tel Aviv and singing my lungs out for my country. Fight For Love is a dancefloor banger all about coming together and fighting for the things we believe in. I think it’s so important to think about the basic human rights of others and to use our collective voices, minds and bodies to lift those people up and bring about change.”

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28th January 2019
This small biz in the US, really doesn’t want your $$$

So should we oblige them?

mcmike / Pixabay

Christian business owners Joanna Duka and Breanna Koski in the US are even going to court to fight for the right to ensure they are not forced to provide services to gay people getting married. The duo makes and sell wedding invitations and say that their Christian beliefs are so strong that they shouldn’t be forced to make products for LGBT+ people getting hitched. They also believe that their freedom of speech is being curtailed.

They had their legal counsel, Kate Anderson from ADF Legal, speak to the rather silent media pool about their decision to take their case to the Arizona Supreme Court.

It all boils down to the fact that Joanna and Breanna feel that making gay marriage invitations would go against their religious beliefs and should be able to do this without being punished. This is despite the fact that they’ve never been actually undertaken a job to make invitations for any same-sex couples before they brought the case.

Duka and Koski’s business is called Brush & Nib Studios and is based out of Arizona, and Arizona state law forbids companies from discriminating against the LGBT+ community.

H/t Towleroad

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28th January 2019
New LGBTQ film ‘WRETCHED THINGS’ World Premiere in Londons’ Leicester Square

Wretched Things – a hedonistic, seductive and sexy gay film – had its film premiere in Leicester Square last week – an achievement for its cast and crew.

Written and Directed by Gage Oxley, and made by 16-25 year olds and inspired by the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, Wretched Things deals with sexual exploitation, toxic masculinity and abuse of power. In it, a first-time model, a webcam sex worker, and a power-hungry homophobe journey through their insecurities and vulnerabilities. This hedonistic and seductive 80-minute film challenges toxic hyper-masculinity and the abuse of power through three vignettes.

“Wretched Things challenges our thoughts about some of the insecurities and vulnerabilities we face through sexual exploitation, as well as highlighting the aggressors in our every day lives.” says Oxley.

The film was shot entirely in Leeds, working with young professional filmmakers and artists based in Leeds. All cast and crew worked completely voluntarily, and made the feature-length film on a self-funded low budget. But it doesn’t look low budget at all. It has three throbbing storylines, and actors who will make you throb in other ways.

The film, told in three chapters, stars popular talent such as Bruce Herbelin-Earle who appears in Netflixs’ Free Rein. For a taste of the film, check out the clip below

Oxley, and his company Oxygen Films, hopes the film will make the gay film festival circuit and will open the doors for him, the actors and cast and crew, and Oxygen, for future projects. By the looks of this film, Oxley and his team are on the road to success.

YOUR SUPPORT MEANS EVERYTHING

Help us deliver unique, usable and reliable journalism that supports the gay, bisexual and curious community of the United Kingdom. Can you help protect LGBT+ media? Publishers like us have come under severe threat by the likes of Google and Facebook. The problem is that advertisers are choosing to put their money with them, rather than with niche publishers like us. Our goal is to eliminate banner ads altogether on site and we can do that if you could pledge us a tiny amount each month.

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28th January 2019
Katie Hopkins just dropped the T word

Katie Hopkins has stooped to a new low

Yes even for Katie Hopkins and her rabid anti–trans tweeting has stooped to a new low after she published a limerick which included a transphobic slur aimed at Humberside police, after the force revealed that they would always investigate reports of potential hate crime, which includes transphobia.
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28th January 2019
Milo’s $1000 shirts look like they have something disgusting smeared on them

The controversial journalist, Milo Yiannopoulos has shared pictures of his dress shirts he says were destroyed by airport security.

(C) Milo Yiannopoulos / Instagram

Milo Yiannopoulos has ranted on Instagram that the TSA in the US has “destroyed” two of his $1000 dress shirts and “stolen” a third. Publishing to the platform, Milo revealed that when he received his luggage back after a flight that two of his $1000 shirts had been smeared with a brown substance. Some users had even though that the stain looked as though it could be faeces or urine.
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28th January 2019