Yes! And some of us have been saying that for years.
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
How murder exposed Saudi prince's homosexual life
A Saudi prince has been convicted of murdering his manservant, who was found beaten to death in bed at a plush London hotel. The defendant spent most of the trial trying to prove he was not gay. Why?
Before his trial began at the Old Bailey, Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud made strenuous efforts to keep the question of his homosexuality secret.
The 34-year-old prince admitted he had assaulted his manservant, Bandar Abdulaziz, but denied murder.
His barrister, John Kelsey-Fry QC, argued the question of sexuality was irrelevant to the case and pointed out homosexual acts were a "mortal sin" under Islamic sharia law.
Mr Kelsey-Fry said if the prince was outed as a homosexual he could face execution in his native Saudi Arabia.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, argued that if he was convicted and recommended for deportation after serving his sentence he would be able to claim asylum in Britain by arguing that his life was in danger, whether or not he actually was gay.
He said it was not for a defendant "to edit the prosecution evidence".
Christoph Wilcke, a Saudi Arabia expert with Human Rights Watch, said homosexuals had in the past been executed but it was usually for rape and he said a prince would be immune from court action.
When the trial began Mr Kelsey-Fry went to great lengths to stress his client denied he was gay.
But a string of witnesses suggested otherwise.
Two male escorts, Pablo Silva and Louis Szikora, also gave evidence they had performed sex acts on the prince.
Although the prince never gave evidence, during police interviews he insisted he was heterosexual and had a girlfriend in Saudi Arabia.
But Mr Laidlaw said this was a lie: "The defendant's keeping back of his homosexuality might in other circumstances, because of the cultural background perhaps, be explained away by embarrassment, or indeed, fear.
"But the defendant's concealing of the sexual aspect to his abuse of the victim was, we will argue, for altogether more sinister reasons."
When he was found in the bed in Room 312 of the Landmark Hotel in central London the victim had bite marks on his cheeks. The police also found naked photographs of him on the prince's mobile
All this, suggested Mr Laidlaw, suggested a "sexual element" to the abuse which led to the victim's death.
His royal heritage could not save the sick, sodomite, perverted prince from British justice
The prince, whose mother was one of 50 children of the late King Saud, paid for his 32-year-old manservant to fly around the world and stay in the best hotels. Together in London they went shopping, dined in the best restaurants and drank champagne and cocktails in swanky nightclubs.
They shared a bed but the prince frequently subjected his manservant to violent attacks, such as the beating which was captured on the CCTV camera in a hotel lift three weeks before Bandar Abdulaziz's death.
In the footage the victim makes no attempt to fight back and afterwards walks meekly after his master like a scolded dog.
Professor Gregory Gause, a Saudi Arabia expert, said: "Homosexuality is considered extremely shameful in Saudi Arabia and there is not a publicly acknowledged homosexual community.
"It's still closeted. But, for young Saudi men, contact with the opposite sex is extremely difficult so there might be a temptation to experiment before marriage," said Prof Gause, from the University of Vermont.
He said about 5,000 Saudi princes get a yearly stipend of about $200,000 (£126,000), but some were "fabulously wealthy".
An insight into the prince's bashfulness about his homosexuality was given by one of the escorts, Mr Szikora, who described visiting the prince for a two-hour "erotic" session three days before the murder.
He said: "The man I met ultimately did want sexual massage but it is like mixing an upper class, well-speaking man with Omar Sharif. You have to build some rapport.
"Middle Eastern gentlemen, they are not as open about what they want as people in the West."
The prince's father, Prince Abdulaziz, attended his son's trial at the Old Bailey He claimed his manservant had been beaten up and robbed of 3,000 euros in Edgware Road three weeks before, and suggested those injuries must have led to his death.
His lies were exposed by the post mortem, which showed the injuries were fresh, and by CCTV footage in the lift, which showed it was the prince who inflicted those earlier injuries.
He later admitted causing the injuries which led to his death.
Now he faces a long spell in a British jail before being deported back to Saudi Arabia.
But Mr Wilcke said: "Irrespective of the court verdict his humiliation has already taken place. A family council will have been held and he will probably have his money cut off."
Saudi prince found guilty of murdering servant in hotel
A Saudi prince has been found guilty of murdering his servant at a hotel in central London.
Bandera Abdulaziz, 32, was found beaten and strangled in the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone, on 15 February 2010.
The Old Bailey was told the assault by Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud had a "sexual element" and he had attacked Mr Abdulaziz many times before.
Al Saud, 34, had admitted manslaughter but denied murdering Mr Abdulaziz. He will be sentenced on Wednesday.
The Saudi prince was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to an earlier attack in a hotel lift, a charge which he had denied.
The murder of Mr Abdulaziz was the final act in a "deeply abusive" master-servant relationship in which Al Saud carried out frequent attacks on his aide "for his own personal gratification".
The 34-year-old was fuelled by champagne and cocktails when he bit his servant hard on both cheeks during the attack on 15 February, the court heard.
The pair had just returned from a Valentine's Day night out when Al Saud launched the ferocious assault.
Jurors heard that Mr Abdulaziz was left so worn down and injured - having suffered a "cauliflower" ear and a swollen eye from previous assaults - that he let Al Saud kill him without a fight.
The pair had just returned from a Valentine's Day night out when Al Saud launched the assault Al Saud then spent hours on the phone to a contact in Saudi Arabia trying to work out how to cover up what he had done.
The prince claimed he had woken in the afternoon to find he could not revive Mr Abdulaziz.
He said his servant's injuries were inflicted when he was attacked and robbed in Edgware Road, central London, a few weeks before.
But when police reviewed CCTV at the hotel, they found footage of Al Saud attacking his aide in a hotel lift.
Two assaults, on 22 January and 5 February, were captured on CCTV.
In the first of them, the Saudi royal could be seen beating Mr Abdulaziz with his fists and elbows as he cowered in the corner.
Det Ch Insp John McFarlane: "No-one, regardless of their position, is above the law in this country"
In court the prince's lawyers tried to cover up evidence of Al Saud's homosexuality.
If he ever returns to his home country he faces the possibility of execution - not because of the murder, but because being gay is a capital offence in Saudi Arabia.
The verdict means a long jail term for the prince, who is a member of one of the world's richest and most powerful dynasties.
Al Saud, who lived in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, told police his father was a nephew of the Saudi king and his mother was a daughter of the monarch.
Outside court, Det Ch Insp John McFarlane said: "The defendant used his position of power, money and authority over his victim Bandar to abuse him over an extended period of time."
"This verdict clearly shows no-one, regardless of their position, is above the law," he added
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Woman convicted of ROCHDALE child sex offences
Tracy Dawber, born 13/6/66, of, Bedford Road, Southport, was today, Monday 18 October 2010, convicted after an eight-day trial of sexual assault, arrangement or commission of a child sex offence and five offences of permitting an indecent image to be taken.
On Friday 18 June 2010 Colin Blanchard, born 5/10/70, of Yea Fold, Rochdale, pleaded guilty to taking indecent photographs of children, distribution of an indecent image and sexual assault of a child under the age of 13. Blanchard had previously pleaded guilty to 19 other charges on 1 October 2009.
On 5 March 2010 Tracy Lyons, born 8/1/70, had earlier pleaded guilty to assault of a child by penetration, sexual assault of a child under 13, causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and three offences of distributing indecent photographs of a child.
A sentencing date for Dawber, Blanchard and Lyons is to be confirmed.
Following Blanchard's arrest in June 2009, officers from Greater Manchester Police's Sexual Crime Unit and High Tec Crime Unit found a short video showing a woman abusing a boy on his computer.
Officers also found Blanchard had sent indecent images taken from the internet to an e-mail address.
The address appeared to belong to a Tracy Lyons in Portsmouth.
Officers moved quickly to send a package of evidence to Hampshire Police who arrested Lyons. She admitted she was the person in the video.
Meanwhile officers examined a mobile phone found in the door compartment of Blanchard's Volvo car. They found a series of images of a woman abusing a baby.
Some of the images also showed a man's hand with a very distinctive watchstrap. Other photos on the phone showed Blanchard wearing a watch with the same strap. One of the indecent images was sent to Vanessa George.
On 13 November 2009, officers visited Blanchard in prison and showed him the new images. He told officers the woman involved was Tracy Dawber, from Southport.
He said he met her on a dating website and he said they had a sexual relationship. This is believed to be the only time Blanchard physically met one of his women co-defendants before coming face-to-face with them in the dock.
Blanchard described Dawber's house and officers passed the information to Merseyside Police who arrested her.
Detective Constable Andy Pilling, of Greater Manchester Police's Sexual Crimes Unit, said: "Blanchard's involvement with Lyons and Dawber shows his willingness to entice like-minded people into his world.
"Blanchard is the common link between all these women. However, no-one should be under the misapprehension that they were somehow forced into abusing children - they willingly took part.
"This brings to an end a nine-month investigation. We could never have guessed when we received that first concerned phone call from his business partner in June 2009 that it would have led to us uncovering such a wide-ranging network.
"Blanchard's offending has affected a lot of people, all over the UK.
"In particular, the impact on the families affected by the Vanessa George case can never be over-estimated.
"This investigation demonstrates that police forces across the UK and the CPS will work together to pursue these criminals and put them before the courts.
"Regardless of force boundaries, we will hunt you down if you abuse children. The internet is no hiding place for you."
Detective Inspector Lee Schofield, of Merseyside Police, said: "Although today's verdict cannot undo the hurt that Tracey Dawber has caused, we hope that it goes some way to bringing some closure to the victim's family.
"This investigation illustrates Merseyside Police and other Forces' commitment to the pursuit of those responsible for child abuse. We will continue to work with our partners and make the best use of legislation to protect young people from harm."
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Two men convicted of sperm donor racket
Nigel Woodforth, 43, ran the operation from the basement of his home in Reading, Berkshire, with 49-year-old Ricky Gage.
A jury at Southwark Crown Court, south London, convicted both men of three counts each of providing sperm without a licence or third party agreement.
The pair, who earned £250,000 from the enterprise, will be sentenced next Friday.
Judge Deborah Taylor told the men: "The court is considering a custodial sentence and/or a fine in relation to these matters."
Nearly 800 women signed up to use the online service provided by the company, operating under various names including Sperm Direct Limited and First4Fertility.
Their website introduced would-be donors to women trying to conceive.
It is the first time anyone has been prosecuted under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.
The men were reported to the HFEA after one woman who used their service complained about their unprofessional standards.
Melissa Bhalla-Pentley was hoping to have a baby with her partner when she ordered the sperm through the Fertility First website set up by Gage and Woodforth.
She paid the men an £80 joining fee and a further £300, the cost of using the service for each menstrual cycle. She then had to pay a courier company £150 for each delivery of sperm, £50 of which would be given to the sperm donor.
A box, wrapped in grey polythene and containing a pot of sperm and a 10ml syringe, was delivered to her home late one night, the court was told.
Ms Bhalla-Pentley used the sperm for self-insemination but failed to get pregnant. She paid the company another £300 and arranged for another donation from the man the following month.
However, she contacted the company when a copy of the donor's medical tests was sent to her with his name visible. She asked for a refund, but she was told she could not have one.
Under the HFEA's Act, the company should have had a licence. The law was brought in to ensure that both donors and women wanting to conceive had access to information and counselling, and to help protect against the risks of diseases including HIV.
The defendants claimed they did not need one as they acted only as an introduction database, however.
The website run by Gage and Woodforth promised women a "life-changing opportunity towards motherhood". They were given the chance to choose the ethnicity, height, hair colour, education and hobbies of the sperm donor they wished to use. They boasted of having more than 300 donors nationwide and a 37% success rate.
The HFEA welcomed the jury's verdict today, saying it protected vulnerable women against exploitation.
Professor Lisa Jardine, chair of the HFEA, said: "We understand why women may use these sites.
"Getting access to fertility services can be difficult and there can be some very strong emotional pressures when trying to start a family.
"But unlicensed internet sites like these are exploiting women.
"This is a victory for those women. We will continue to work with the police to prevent more women from being exploited by those who choose to break the law."
The HFEA said it would be writing to similar websites to remind them to apply for a licence if they wish to provide sperm.
There is no guarantee that sperm from unlicensed sites is safe and there are also issues over the fatherhood of any child conceived, the HFEA said.
A sperm donor using a licensed clinic is not the legal father of any child conceived, but he is classed as the parent if the centre has no licence, however.
Without licensed treatment, a child does not have the legal guarantee that they would be able to find out who their father is later in life, if they choose to do so. They cannot access his genetic history either, the HFEA said.
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Man Convicted Of Transsexual Prostitute's Murder
Destiny Lauren, 29, was found dead in her Leighton Crescent home in Kentish Town, north London, last November. She had been strangled.
Leon Fyle, 21, of Lewisham, had visited the transsexual prostitute "for the purposes of a sexual encounter", but fatally attacked her, the court heard.
Ms Lauren, who was born Justin Samuels, died shortly after being taken to hospital on 5 November 2009.
After the verdict Det Insp Liz Baker said: "The murder of Destiny Lauren was brutal and pre-meditated.
"She had a troubled history and had suffered depression following the death of her mother but was trying to turn her life around.
"Her life was abruptly ended when she met Leon Fyle, a young man she had never met before, who murdered and robbed her in her own home."
The officer added: "Fyle has not shown one shred of remorse for this callous act nor for the suffering he has inflicted on Destiny's family and friends."
Leon Fyle, 21, of Lewisham, had visited the transsexual prostitute "for the purposes of a sexual encounter", but fatally attacked her, the court heard.
Ms Lauren, who was born Justin Samuels, died shortly after being taken to hospital on 5 November 2009.
After the verdict Det Insp Liz Baker said: "The murder of Destiny Lauren was brutal and pre-meditated.
"She had a troubled history and had suffered depression following the death of her mother but was trying to turn her life around.
"Her life was abruptly ended when she met Leon Fyle, a young man she had never met before, who murdered and robbed her in her own home."
The officer added: "Fyle has not shown one shred of remorse for this callous act nor for the suffering he has inflicted on Destiny's family and friends."
Monday, 7 June 2010
Cross-dressing day sparks school exodus
Iowa parents pull students from district, citing conflicts with biblical rules
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
A public school's "gender-bender" cross-dressing event, where boys were supposed to dress as girls and girls as boys, has prompted at least dozens, perhaps hundreds, of students to flee the tax-supported institutions in Iowa.
Many of the parents apparently are members of the Christ Apostolic Temple in Des Moines, which teaches a biblically based doctrine of rejecting the world's values.
"Christ Apostolic Temple Inc. Fellowship ... is a Bible-based organization that believes one must 'come out from among them and be ye separate.' (2 Cor. 6:14-17)," the organization's website says.
That apparently includes cross-dressing, an event which has found sponsorship in other arenas from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which has promoted a school lesson plan for teaching boys and girls to cross-dress.
State officials in Des Moines confirmed to WND that at least 80 children whose parents were alarmed by the "Gender-Bender Day" during homecoming week at the city's East High School have moved their children from the various districts in the area into homeschooling plans. Several parents told WND that the number could be in the hundreds.
One parent, writing on a blog shortly after the cross-dressing promotion, hardly could contain the outrage.
In bold red type, the parent wrote, "TUESDAY AT ONE OF OUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS THEY HAD WHAT IS CALLED 'GENDER BENDER DAY!' IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT IS THEN LET ME EDUCATE YOU REAL QUICK … IT IS WHERE THE BOYS DRESS LIKE GIRLS AND VICE VERSA!!"
The author continued, "THIS WAS ALLOWED AND CARRIED OUT AT OUR SCHOOLS!!! … I IMMEDIATELY PULLED MY CHILD OUT OF THE DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOL! WE ARE NOW HOMESCHOOLING ALONG WITH SEVERAL HUNDRED OTHER PARENTS!"
"I AM GETTING MAD WHILE I TYPE THIS … SO I NEED TO SHUT IT DOWN…"
Barb Heki is a board member for the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators, and was ecstatic about the parental response.
"I'm just praising God there is a church with so many families that would take a biblical stand and decide that we're not going to put our children under anti-Christian indoctrination any longer. That's refreshing and encouraging," she told WND.
By Bob Unruh
© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
A public school's "gender-bender" cross-dressing event, where boys were supposed to dress as girls and girls as boys, has prompted at least dozens, perhaps hundreds, of students to flee the tax-supported institutions in Iowa.
Many of the parents apparently are members of the Christ Apostolic Temple in Des Moines, which teaches a biblically based doctrine of rejecting the world's values.
"Christ Apostolic Temple Inc. Fellowship ... is a Bible-based organization that believes one must 'come out from among them and be ye separate.' (2 Cor. 6:14-17)," the organization's website says.
That apparently includes cross-dressing, an event which has found sponsorship in other arenas from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, which has promoted a school lesson plan for teaching boys and girls to cross-dress.
State officials in Des Moines confirmed to WND that at least 80 children whose parents were alarmed by the "Gender-Bender Day" during homecoming week at the city's East High School have moved their children from the various districts in the area into homeschooling plans. Several parents told WND that the number could be in the hundreds.
One parent, writing on a blog shortly after the cross-dressing promotion, hardly could contain the outrage.
In bold red type, the parent wrote, "TUESDAY AT ONE OF OUR LOCAL HIGH SCHOOLS THEY HAD WHAT IS CALLED 'GENDER BENDER DAY!' IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT IS THEN LET ME EDUCATE YOU REAL QUICK … IT IS WHERE THE BOYS DRESS LIKE GIRLS AND VICE VERSA!!"
The author continued, "THIS WAS ALLOWED AND CARRIED OUT AT OUR SCHOOLS!!! … I IMMEDIATELY PULLED MY CHILD OUT OF THE DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOL! WE ARE NOW HOMESCHOOLING ALONG WITH SEVERAL HUNDRED OTHER PARENTS!"
"I AM GETTING MAD WHILE I TYPE THIS … SO I NEED TO SHUT IT DOWN…"
Barb Heki is a board member for the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators, and was ecstatic about the parental response.
"I'm just praising God there is a church with so many families that would take a biblical stand and decide that we're not going to put our children under anti-Christian indoctrination any longer. That's refreshing and encouraging," she told WND.
Friday, 23 April 2010
Thursday, 4 February 2010
'Gay Rights' Leader Leaves Homosexual Deathstyle
He was a rising star in the "gay rights" movement, but Michael Glatze now declares not only has he given up activism – he's no longer a homosexual.
Glatze – who had become a frequent media source as founding editor of Young Gay America magazine – tells the story of his transformation in an exclusive column published today by WND.
Although Glatze cut himself off from the homosexual community about a year and a half ago, he says the column likely will surprise some people.
"This will actually be news to anybody I used to relate to," he told WND.
The radical change in his life, Glatze recalls, began with inner "promptings" he now attributes to God.
"I hope I can share my story," he said. "I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason. Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things – when I felt like, 'Why am I here, what am I doing?' – there was always a voice there.
"I didn't know what to call it, or if I could trust it, but it said 'hold on.'"
me aware of homosexual feelings at about the age of 14 and publicly declared himself "gay" at age 20. Finally, after a decade in which his leadership role in the homosexual activist world grew – but alongside it, a mysterious inner conflict – he says he finally was "liberated."
In fact, he writes in his WND column today, "'coming out' from under the influence of the homosexual mindset was the most liberating, beautiful and astonishing thing I've ever experienced in my entire life."
Before "coming out" in his column today, Glatze contacted WND Managing Editor David Kupelian after reading his book, "The Marketing of Evil, which Glatze said "has given me so much help in my process of healing from the profound influences of evil in our current society."
"There is nothing that would give me more pleasure," he wrote to Kupelian, "than to say the Truth about 'homosexuality' and atone for my sins in that regard."
Glatze's transformation calls to mind that of another prominent "gay" magazine publisher who also has renounced her former lifestyle. Lesbian activist Charlene Cothran, longtime publisher of Venus magazine, became a Christian and gave her magazine a new mission "to encourage, educate and assist those who desire to leave a life of homosexuality." She adds: "Our ultimate mission is to win souls for Christ, and to do so by showing love to all God's people."
In his column, Glatze doesn't mince words, calling homosexual sex purely "lust-based," meaning it can never fully satisfy.
"It's a neurotic process rather than a natural, normal one," he writes. "Normal is normal – and has been called normal for a reason."
After becoming editor of Young Gay America magazine at age 22, Glatze received numerous awards and recognition, including the National Role Model Award from the major homosexual-rights organization on Equality Forum. Media gravitated toward him, leading to appearances on PBS television and MSNBC and quotes in a cover story in Time magazine called "The Battle Over Gay Teens."
He produced, with the help of PBS affiliates and Equality Forum, the first major documentary film to address homosexual teen suicide, "Jim In Bold," which toured the world and received numerous "best in festival" awards. Young Gay America's photo exhibit, telling the story of young people across North America, toured Europe, Canada and parts of the U.S.
In 2004, Glatze moved from San Francisco to Halifax in eastern Canada where his partner, Young Gay America magazine's publisher, had family. The magazine, he said, sought to provide a "virtuous counterpart" to the other newsstand media aimed at homosexual youth.
But Glatze contends "the truth was, YGA was as damaging as anything else out there, just not overtly pornographic, so more 'respected.'"
In 2005, Glatze was featured in a panel with Judy Shepard, mother of slain homosexual Matthew Shepard, at the prestigious JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
"It was after viewing my words on a videotape of that 'performance,'" he writes, "that I began to seriously doubt what I was doing with my life and influence."
"Knowing no one who I could approach with my questions and my doubts, I turned to God," he says. "I'd developed a growing relationship with God, thanks to a debilitating bout with intestinal cramps caused by the upset stomach-inducing behaviors I'd been engaged in."
Toward the end of his time with Young Gay America, Glatze said, colleagues began to notice he was going through some kind of religious experience.
Just before leaving, not fully realizing what he was doing, he wrote on his office computer his thoughts, ending with the declaration: "Homosexuality is death, and I choose life."
"I was so nervous, it was like I wasn't even writing it myself," he said.
Inexplicably, he told WND, he left the words on the screen for others to see.
"People who looked at it were stunned; they thought it was crazy," he said.
But he left his co-workers wondering about where he stood, never having fully explained his decision to step down.
Looking back on his old lifestyle, Glatze told WND whenever he had a sense that he was doing something wrong, "I would I just attribute it to, 'that's just the way life is.'"
"If ever I were to question anything, [my colleagues] would say, 'You're such an idealist.'"
Glatze said he thought opponents of homosexual activism were "mean and crazy, and they wanted to hurt me."
"I thought they were out to get me," he said. "They made me really, really mad – and scared, I think. I wanted them to go away."
Glatze said he couldn't allow himself to think they were sincere in their beliefs.
But he now has deep respect for a Christian aunt who disapproved of his lifestyle.
She "was never judgmental, but always firm," he said.
Glatze – who had become a frequent media source as founding editor of Young Gay America magazine – tells the story of his transformation in an exclusive column published today by WND.
Although Glatze cut himself off from the homosexual community about a year and a half ago, he says the column likely will surprise some people.
"This will actually be news to anybody I used to relate to," he told WND.
The radical change in his life, Glatze recalls, began with inner "promptings" he now attributes to God.
"I hope I can share my story," he said. "I feel strongly God has put me here for a reason. Even in the darkest days of late-night parties, substance abuse and all kinds of things – when I felt like, 'Why am I here, what am I doing?' – there was always a voice there.
"I didn't know what to call it, or if I could trust it, but it said 'hold on.'"
me aware of homosexual feelings at about the age of 14 and publicly declared himself "gay" at age 20. Finally, after a decade in which his leadership role in the homosexual activist world grew – but alongside it, a mysterious inner conflict – he says he finally was "liberated."
In fact, he writes in his WND column today, "'coming out' from under the influence of the homosexual mindset was the most liberating, beautiful and astonishing thing I've ever experienced in my entire life."
Before "coming out" in his column today, Glatze contacted WND Managing Editor David Kupelian after reading his book, "The Marketing of Evil, which Glatze said "has given me so much help in my process of healing from the profound influences of evil in our current society."
"There is nothing that would give me more pleasure," he wrote to Kupelian, "than to say the Truth about 'homosexuality' and atone for my sins in that regard."
Glatze's transformation calls to mind that of another prominent "gay" magazine publisher who also has renounced her former lifestyle. Lesbian activist Charlene Cothran, longtime publisher of Venus magazine, became a Christian and gave her magazine a new mission "to encourage, educate and assist those who desire to leave a life of homosexuality." She adds: "Our ultimate mission is to win souls for Christ, and to do so by showing love to all God's people."
In his column, Glatze doesn't mince words, calling homosexual sex purely "lust-based," meaning it can never fully satisfy.
"It's a neurotic process rather than a natural, normal one," he writes. "Normal is normal – and has been called normal for a reason."
 |
After becoming editor of Young Gay America magazine at age 22, Glatze received numerous awards and recognition, including the National Role Model Award from the major homosexual-rights organization on Equality Forum. Media gravitated toward him, leading to appearances on PBS television and MSNBC and quotes in a cover story in Time magazine called "The Battle Over Gay Teens."
He produced, with the help of PBS affiliates and Equality Forum, the first major documentary film to address homosexual teen suicide, "Jim In Bold," which toured the world and received numerous "best in festival" awards. Young Gay America's photo exhibit, telling the story of young people across North America, toured Europe, Canada and parts of the U.S.
 Time, Oct. 10, 2006, quotes Glatze as expert |
In 2004, Glatze moved from San Francisco to Halifax in eastern Canada where his partner, Young Gay America magazine's publisher, had family. The magazine, he said, sought to provide a "virtuous counterpart" to the other newsstand media aimed at homosexual youth.
But Glatze contends "the truth was, YGA was as damaging as anything else out there, just not overtly pornographic, so more 'respected.'"
In 2005, Glatze was featured in a panel with Judy Shepard, mother of slain homosexual Matthew Shepard, at the prestigious JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
"It was after viewing my words on a videotape of that 'performance,'" he writes, "that I began to seriously doubt what I was doing with my life and influence."
"Knowing no one who I could approach with my questions and my doubts, I turned to God," he says. "I'd developed a growing relationship with God, thanks to a debilitating bout with intestinal cramps caused by the upset stomach-inducing behaviors I'd been engaged in."
Toward the end of his time with Young Gay America, Glatze said, colleagues began to notice he was going through some kind of religious experience.
Just before leaving, not fully realizing what he was doing, he wrote on his office computer his thoughts, ending with the declaration: "Homosexuality is death, and I choose life."
"I was so nervous, it was like I wasn't even writing it myself," he said.
Inexplicably, he told WND, he left the words on the screen for others to see.
"People who looked at it were stunned; they thought it was crazy," he said.
But he left his co-workers wondering about where he stood, never having fully explained his decision to step down.
Looking back on his old lifestyle, Glatze told WND whenever he had a sense that he was doing something wrong, "I would I just attribute it to, 'that's just the way life is.'"
"If ever I were to question anything, [my colleagues] would say, 'You're such an idealist.'"
Glatze said he thought opponents of homosexual activism were "mean and crazy, and they wanted to hurt me."
"I thought they were out to get me," he said. "They made me really, really mad – and scared, I think. I wanted them to go away."
Glatze said he couldn't allow himself to think they were sincere in their beliefs.
But he now has deep respect for a Christian aunt who disapproved of his lifestyle.
She "was never judgmental, but always firm," he said.
Saturday, 2 January 2010
Gay Rights Leader Becomes Straight!
Editor's note: See the news story about Michael Glatze in today's WND, titled "'Gay'-rights leader quits homosexuality."
Homosexuality came easy to me, because I was already weak.
My mom died when I was 19. My father had died when I was 13. At an early age, I was already confused about who I was and how I felt about others.
My confusion about "desire" and the fact that I noticed I was "attracted" to guys made me put myself into the "gay" category at age 14. At age 20, I came out as gay to everybody else around me.
At age 22, I became an editor of the first magazine aimed at a young, gay male audience. It bordered on pornography in its photographic content, but I figured I could use it as a platform to bigger and better things.
Sure enough, Young Gay America came around. It was meant to fill the void that the other magazine I'd worked for had created – namely, anything not-so-pornographic, aimed at the population of young, gay Americans. Young Gay America took off.
Gay people responded happily to Young Gay America. It received awards, recognition, respectability and great honors, including the National Role Model Award from major gay organization Equality Forum – which was given to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chr?tien a year later – and a whole host of appearances in the media, from PBS to the Seattle Times, from MSNBC to the cover story in Time magazine.
I produced, with the help of PBS-affiliates and Equality Forum, the first major documentary film to tackle gay teen suicide, "Jim In Bold," which toured the world and received numerous "best in festival" awards.
Young Gay America created a photo exhibit, full of photographs and stories of gay youth all across the North American continent, which toured Europe, Canada and parts of the United States.
Young Gay America launched YGA Magazine in 2004, to pretend to provide a "virtuous counterpart" to the other newsstand media aimed at gay youth. I say "pretend" because the truth was, YGA was as damaging as anything else out there, just not overtly pornographic, so it was more "respected."
It took me almost 16 years to discover that homosexuality itself is not exactly "virtuous." It was difficult for me to clarify my feelings on the issue, given that my life was so caught up in it.
Homosexuality, delivered to young minds, is by its very nature pornographic. It destroys impressionable minds and confuses their developing sexuality; I did not realize this, however, until I was 30 years old.
YGA Magazine sold out of its first issue in several North American cities. There was extreme support, by all sides, for YGA Magazine; schools, parent groups, libraries, governmental associations, everyone seemed to want it. It tapped right into the zeitgeist of "accepting and promoting" homosexuality, and I was considered a leader. I was asked to speak on the prestigious JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2005.
It was, after viewing my words on a videotape of that "performance," that I began to seriously doubt what I was doing with my life and influence.
Homosexuality came easy to me, because I was already weak.
My mom died when I was 19. My father had died when I was 13. At an early age, I was already confused about who I was and how I felt about others.
My confusion about "desire" and the fact that I noticed I was "attracted" to guys made me put myself into the "gay" category at age 14. At age 20, I came out as gay to everybody else around me.
At age 22, I became an editor of the first magazine aimed at a young, gay male audience. It bordered on pornography in its photographic content, but I figured I could use it as a platform to bigger and better things.
Sure enough, Young Gay America came around. It was meant to fill the void that the other magazine I'd worked for had created – namely, anything not-so-pornographic, aimed at the population of young, gay Americans. Young Gay America took off.
Gay people responded happily to Young Gay America. It received awards, recognition, respectability and great honors, including the National Role Model Award from major gay organization Equality Forum – which was given to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chr?tien a year later – and a whole host of appearances in the media, from PBS to the Seattle Times, from MSNBC to the cover story in Time magazine.
I produced, with the help of PBS-affiliates and Equality Forum, the first major documentary film to tackle gay teen suicide, "Jim In Bold," which toured the world and received numerous "best in festival" awards.
Young Gay America created a photo exhibit, full of photographs and stories of gay youth all across the North American continent, which toured Europe, Canada and parts of the United States.
Young Gay America launched YGA Magazine in 2004, to pretend to provide a "virtuous counterpart" to the other newsstand media aimed at gay youth. I say "pretend" because the truth was, YGA was as damaging as anything else out there, just not overtly pornographic, so it was more "respected."
It took me almost 16 years to discover that homosexuality itself is not exactly "virtuous." It was difficult for me to clarify my feelings on the issue, given that my life was so caught up in it.
Homosexuality, delivered to young minds, is by its very nature pornographic. It destroys impressionable minds and confuses their developing sexuality; I did not realize this, however, until I was 30 years old.
YGA Magazine sold out of its first issue in several North American cities. There was extreme support, by all sides, for YGA Magazine; schools, parent groups, libraries, governmental associations, everyone seemed to want it. It tapped right into the zeitgeist of "accepting and promoting" homosexuality, and I was considered a leader. I was asked to speak on the prestigious JFK Jr. Forum at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 2005.
It was, after viewing my words on a videotape of that "performance," that I began to seriously doubt what I was doing with my life and influence.
Friday, 1 January 2010
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