Eleven Gay Bars in Seattle Threatened with Ricin Attacks

Eleven gay bars in Seattle received this letter, according to Dan Savage at SLOG, threatening to target at least five of their customers with Ricin:

Savage reports: "According to the CDC's website, someone who has ingested 'a significant amount' will develop vomiting and diarrhea within the first 6-12 hours; other symptoms of ricin poisoning include hallucinations, seizures, and blood in the urine. There is no antidote for ricin but ricin exposure is not invariably fatal."

Police have reportedly picked up all the letters from the various establishments and are investigating. The Seattle Times reports: "In a statement, the Seattle Police Department said it takes the threat seriously. It has seized the letters and is processing them and is coordinating efforts with the FBI and other federal agencies."

In addition, the offices of The Stranger, from which SLOG's group blog is written, received an additional letter:

"A letter also arrived in The Stranger's offices, addressed to the attention of 'Obituaries.' The letter's author said the paper should 'be prepared to announce the deaths of approximately 55 individuals all of whom were patrons of the following establishments on a Saturday in January.' The listed bars are: the Elite, Neighbours, Wild Rose, the Cuff, Purr, the Eagle, R Place, Re-bar, CC's, Madison Pub, and the Crescent. 'I could take this moment to launch into a diatribe about my indignation towards the gay community,' the letter concludes, 'however, I think the deaths will speak for themselves.'"

Bar owners and customers are responding to the threat with solidarity and some have posted signs to customers to not leave drinks unattended. More at SLOG.

Seattle Gay Bars Receive Threatening Letters [slog - the stranger]
11 gay bars get letters threatening ricin attacks [seattle times]

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Video Reveals Chaotic Arrest of Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright

Charges against Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright over a bar fight in Shreveport, Louisiana in Julywill be dropped providing the actors pay their court costs of $130 each, following a court hearing today:

"The actors were with crew members from the Oliver Stone movie 'W.' about President George W. Bush. Police arrived after one crew member caused a fracas and was asked to leave. Police pepper-sprayed both Brolin and Wright, while Wright was also hit with an electric shock from a Taser weapon, Berk said. Prosecutors were not immediately available to comment."

A video also emerged today shot by a bystander outside the Stray Cat bar where the altercation took place showing Brolin reacting to pepper spray before being arrested, and Wright tasered while held down by officers in the street.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

Previously
George W. Bush and Colin Powell Actors Arrested in Bar Fight [tr]

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Animal Rights Activist Nathan Runkle in Brutal Anti-Gay Assault

Nathan Runkle, the 24-year-old founder of Mercy for Animals, a nationally recognized activist group whose work helped pass Proposition 2 recently in California, was assaulted on December 27th outside a gay nightclub in Dayton, Ohio. Runkle's attacker fled the scene.

From Mercy for Animals' press release: "The attacker, believed to be a heterosexual white male with no previous relationship to the victim, has not yet been identified or apprehended. Runkle was briefly hospitalized after sustaining two facial fractures, a broken nose, deviated septum, and severe facial bruising. The incident has been labeled a felonious assault and is currently under investigation by the Dayton Police Department. Runkle believes the assault was motivated by hatred toward gays and was intended to send a fearful message to the local gay community."

Runkle started Mercy for Animals when he was 15. Today the group is a national organization with 25,000 members: "MFA has long worked to bridge the gap between the common prejudices which lead to oppression and abuses faced by both animals and minorities. In recent years MFA has joined gay advocates in gay pride marches by forming human rainbows preceded by banners declaring, 'No one is free when others are oppressed.'"

A Hate Crime You Won't See in Statistics [mikko alanne - huffington post]
Gay Animal Rights Activist Attacked [queering animal liberation]

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Towleroad Guide to the Tube #407

DR. SANJAY GUPTA: The new surgeon general?

ROOSTER: Forget the snooze alarm.

STATIC: Andy Warhol, Steven Spielberg, and Bianca Jagger contemplate the mysteries of TV and radio.

2008: The year in movies.

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News: Mario Cantone, Vail, Formula One, Sam Adams, RuPaul

Saudi Arabia beheads two men after they are convicted of raping another.

It's on again but has the message been lost? Join the Impact notes that the focus of the nationwide protests happening this weekend is DOMA but nowhere is it mentioned in this report on the upcoming Saturday protest in Pasadena.

Humiliation on the slopes in Vail...

DOMA author Bob Barr: Repeal it.

Spain is "key front" in Vatican's church-state battle: " In a recent interview in Madrid, the secretary general of the Spanish Bishops Conference, Msgr. Juan Antonio Martínez Camino, said it was important for the church 'to use all the means at its disposal to promote and defend its fundamental rights.' He called the 2005 law legalizing gay marriage and adoption 'very strange and very irrational and very unjust.' The implications are broader, since Spain, with its 42 million Catholics, remains a touchstone for Latin America. South America alone has 324 million Catholics, the world’s largest concentration."

Great White Shark autopsy to be conducted in front of 1,000 people, streamed live online: "We’re interested in the gut content to see what the shark has eaten – it could be anything from seals, penguins, fish or even whale blubber. We’re certainly hoping not to find any human bits inside, but you never know."

"Marriage Equality Rights for LGBT couples nationwide" is among the top 10 ideas voted up by visitors to the Change.org website. You can vote it up HERE.

Cristiano Ronaldo takes his final bake of '08.

Mario Cantone's Superstar musical headed to Broadway? "Superstar is the ultimate interactive theatrical experience. Capitalizing on the cultural phenomenon of reality television talent contests, Superstar brings to life the story of six finalists in a heated talent competition. With its radio-ready, contemporary score and lyrics, Superstar artfully blends the on-stage reality show with all the backstage drama. Incorporating romance, conflict, plot-twists and foul play - everything they don't show you on TV - Superstar captivates audiences of all ages - entertaining traditional and non-traditional theater-goers alike. Driving the competition is the audience - an integral part of the show itself, in that, EVERY NIGHT THE AUDIENCE VOTES - live during the show - and on any given night, ANYONE can win!"

Cover Girl: RuPaul releases new video to coincide with premiere of Drag Race show.

Ordinance barring discrimination against gays and lesbians challenged in Kalamazoo, Michigan; likely to go before voters.

One if by land: Family Research Council warns of gay marriage invasion.

Conservative gay SoCal blogger Boi from Troy calls it a day.

NYT on Arkansas foster care - adoption law not in the child's best interest: "The new law is undeniably discriminatory. Under Arkansas law, people convicted of major crimes, including contributing to the delinquency of a minor, remain eligible to adopt children or become foster parents. Single people who have no partner — or who have a large number of casual sex partners — are also eligible. Anyone who is in a committed relationship, gay or straight, but is not married is automatically barred."

AfterElton has a crush on Portland's new gay mayor Sam Adams.

Head of Formula One racing accused of homophobia and racism in UK lawsuit.

Palin family embroiled in suspicions of nepotism, abuse of power once again: "Levi Johnston this fall began working at the Milne Point oil field through the ASRC Energy Services apprenticeship program. However, radio talk show commentator Dan Fagan, in a column published Sunday in the Anchorage Daily News, questioned how Johnston could take part in the apprenticeship program without the required high school education. Johnston's father, Keith Johnston, said in a telephone interview that his son decided to resign and return home to work on his education."

Bush cat dies, had nine lives and three names: "'Willie' apparently couldn't bear life after the White House. The Bushes' 18-year-old female black American Shorthair died Sunday at home in the Executive Mansion. Named by a then-9-year-old Barbara Bush, the cat, who was also called 'Kitty' by the family, was given the name 'India' after the former Texas Ranger baseball player, Ruben Sierra, who was called El Indio."

Lindsay Lohan has not had her Anne Heche moment yet.

Lone hacker responsible for infiltrating celebrity Twitter accounts, says Twitter: "The issue with these 33 accounts is different from the Phishing scam aimed at Twitter users this weekend. These accounts were compromised by an individual who hacked into some of the tools our support team uses to help people do things like edit the email address associated with their Twitter account when they can't remember or get stuck."

Oprah gets depressed too.

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Chris Evans on His Shirtless Photo Ban, and His Gay Brother

Chris Evans talks to Brandon Voss at the Advocate about male objectification, particularly the amount that occurred after a much passed-around shirtless photo spread appeared in Flaunt magazine. The shoot lead to a ban by his publicist on photo shoots of that nature, so as to protect his chances at becoming a "serious" actor.

Said Evans of the shoot: "I really didn’t think twice about taking my shirt off at the time, but my current publicist would pull her hair out if I did that photo shoot today. If I got to a photo shoot and they said, 'OK, we’re going to do some shirtless shots,' I’d say, 'Fine. No big deal.' It never really occurred to me that that could be misinterpreted as a bad thing or as selling out. I couldn’t care less, and I don’t think it makes one lick of difference. But I hired my publicist for her professional opinion, and she seems to think it’s a mistake. I have no problem taking my shirt off for a role if the part calls for it, but my publicist says, 'When you’re promoting yourself, being you, there’s a way to keep it as classy as possible. Greasing yourself up and stripping down may not be the best way to do it.' To some degree, she may have a point. But at the end of the day, it didn’t bother me then and it doesn’t bother me now."

Evans also confirms his brother is gay:

"Yes, I do have a gay brother. I’m down with the gays. Mostly I’m hanging out with him and his gay buddies, who are fucking hilarious. They’re the funniest people I know. They’ve invited me out to gay bars before, and I said, 'Look, guys, I’ve got to draw the line there.' That’s where a photo will get taken, it will run in magazines, and before you know it, I’ll be living down the gay rumor for the rest of my life. [My brother looks like me], but he’s about an inch taller and about four shades tanner than I am. He’s a very fit young man. Believe me, he does quite well for himself."

One more shot from the old Flaunt shoot, AFTER THE JUMP...

A List: Chris Evans [the advocate]

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