Metropolitan Police Appeal For Information After Man Subjected To 50-Hour Kidnap Ordeal
A man was subjected to a 50 hour kidnap ordeal, during which he was physically abused, stripped naked, tied up and threatened with knives and a gun.

The Metropolitan Police are appealing for information following the horrifying ordeal which began at around 2pm on Monday 4 December.

The 24-year-old was approached in South London by two acquaintances, who lured him to a house in in the Thornton Heath area.

There, a group of armed men was waiting and he was taken hostage.

The man subjected to what police described as an “extended bout of physical abuse and humiliation”.

He was forced to call his parents and give them a ransom message, which they said they could not pay. He was then forced to hand over keys to their house in Sydenham, which two suspects proceeded to burgle, taking a large sum of cash, designer handbags, designer sunglasses and Rolex watches.

The man only managed to escape when he was driven to a branch of the Metro bank in North End, Croydon, where some of the group planned to force him to withdraw cash.

He saw his chance to escape and ran, fleeing to a nearby church, Croydon Minster, where the police were called.

Police have named two men they wish to speak to in connection with the incident, brothers Ali Dervish, 28, and Sinan Dervish, 19.

They have also released CCTV stills of two other suspects entering the victim’s parents’ home.

Detective Sergeant Samuel Bennett of Croydon CID said: “This was a vicious and prolonged attack of a nature that thankfully is very rare. It has left the victim utterly distraught and traumatised.

“We are urgently seeking any information on the individuals involved, who we believe could number up to twelve, but particularly those whose images and details we have released.

“Do you recognise either of the two men shown burgling the house in the cctv images – or did you see them in Sydenham on the day in question, Wednesday, 6 December. Do you know the whereabouts of Ali or Sinan Dervish?

“Perhaps you have been offered a Rolex like the one stolen from the victim, or bought a similar model in good faith over the past few days? It is described as a 2007 model with a black face, black bezel, yellow gold body and strap – we have sourced a photo of a similar model for the public to check.

“Any information you have, however small, could prove vital to us as we piece together the events leading up to and following the kidnap. We will treat any information provided in the strictest of confidence.

“These men are dangerous and it is important that we apprehend them before they can target anyone else.”

Anyone with information should call Croydon CID on 101 or tweet @MetCC. The independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kidnap-south-london_uk_5a2c071fe4b073789f6a3f15

GLAAD Rips Megyn Kelly for Dismal Segment Propping Up SCOTUS Anti-Gay Baker and the Hate Group Behind Him: WATCH

Megyn Kelly aired a segment featuring anti-gay baker Jack Phillips and his attorney Kristen Waggoner of Alliance Defending Freedom, a Southern Poverty Law Center designated hate group.

Kelly provided a completely unbalanced perspective on the issue, leaving out key details for viewers that would have illuminated that anti-LGBTQ forces behind Phillips and his case.

Wrote GLAAD:

…it seems Megyn Kelly and her producers didn’t do their homework. Instead, they were complicit in providing an open platform for the ADF to espouse false narratives about the case. Kelly has a history of letting anti-LGBTQ organizations and individuals go unchecked and not informing her viewers of their strongly anti-LGBTQ viewpoints. The ADF aren’t experts on artists or bakers, they are a known anti-LGBTQ organization. It seems that her remedial approach to covering LGBTQ issues has now found its way to her TODAY show episode.

“Today Megyn Kelly allowed her morning show to be nothing more than a Trojan Horse to push the false talking points of a known anti-LGBTQ group, Alliance Defending Freedom, into homes across America,” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “Parents across America tune into talk shows like this for fair and balanced presentations of news stories, and nothing about this egregious segment was fair or balanced. Kelly and her producers failed to fact check blatant false narratives about this case and merely extended her Fox News legacy of sitting idly by as anti-LGBTQ agendas are pushed forward.”

GLAAD says Kelly failed to be fair in 5 ways:

1. The segment includes 20 seconds of recycled interviews of the LGBTQ couple Jack Phillips refused to serve and dedicates over 5 minutes to an interview with an ADF lawyer (again, an anti-LGBTQ hate group) and Jack Phillips. The ADF’s history of pushing anti-LGBTQ cases is ignored. Additionally, Kelly provided absolutely no context about the well-documented and extensive anti-LGBTQ agenda of the ADF.

2. Megyn Kelly opens the segment by falling directly into the ADF’s trap and saying the story is about a cake: “We begin this morning with a cake. That cake makes it all the way up to the US Supreme Court.” THIS. IS. NOT. ABOUT. CAKE. Religious exemptions laws would allow doctors, landlords, adoption agencies, funeral homes, and more to legally deny service to LGBTQ families and other marginalized communities simply by citing religious beliefs.

How did Megyn Kelly’s producers fail to prep her about how that these laws could open floodgates to discrimination not just against same-sex couples, but also against unmarried couples, single parents and others across a wide array of areas and businesses? A bakery could refuse to sell a cake for a Jewish wedding, or for an interfaith couple’s marriage. An indoor playground could refuse to host a child’s birthday party because the child’s mother is unmarried. A pharmacist could refuse to fill a woman’s birth control prescription unless the woman provided proof that she’s married. A hotel could refuse to provide a room to any couple who didn’t show a valid marriage certificate. A pediatrician could refuse to treat the child of a lesbian couple because of a belief that only opposite-sex married couples should be allowed to be parents.

3. Chyron: “Supreme Court case of religious freedom or discrimination.”
Wrong. The case is not about “religious freedom,” it’s about asking for religious exemptions for existing non-discrimination laws like the one on the books in Colorado, that would allow for open discrimination of LGBTQ people. Just last week, more than 40 organizations including GLAAD called on mainstream media to use factually accurate terms about this case, and not fall into ADF talking points about so-called religious freedom.

4. Megyn Kelly: “Hundreds gathered outside the court to protest on both sides.” While true, a critical piece of information here is the rally organized in support of Jack was hosted by Tony Perkins, president of another SPLC designated anti-LGBTQ hate group, Family Research Council. The “other side” is not artists, bakers, or everyday people of faith, but anti-LGBTQ activists. Perkins supports the dangerous and scientifically discredited practice of so-called conversion therapy and has called LGBTQ advocates terrorists. It is also worth noting that Kelly hosted Perkins on her Fox New show over 13 times, despite his extensive and fringe anti-LGBTQ record. Hasn’t the media learned that if you are going to talk about “both sides,” you better talk about who exactly is represented in the crowds.

5. Megyn Kelly: “You can see the artistry of the cakes – they’re beautiful. That’s probably one of the reasons why the couple wanted one.” Kelly is pushing the ADF talking point that these cakes are artistic expression. The facts of this case are not about art. That’s why bakers and other artists are silent on it. It about a business refusing service granted to everyone one else merely because they are LGBTQ.

The post GLAAD Rips Megyn Kelly for Dismal Segment Propping Up SCOTUS Anti-Gay Baker and the Hate Group Behind Him: WATCH appeared first on Towleroad.

GLAAD Rips Megyn Kelly for Dismal Segment Propping Up SCOTUS Anti-Gay Baker and the Hate Group Behind Him: WATCH

Congressman Steve King Condemned For Saying ‘Diversity’ Makes America Worse
An American congressman has has sparked outrage by condemning “diversity”.

Republican Steve King – who has previously lauded white nationalism – tweeted that “diversity is not our strength” on Friday, citing Hungary’s hardline Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who reportedly stated that “mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one.”

Diversity is not our strength. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, “Mixing cultures will not lead to a higher quality of life but a lower one.” t.co/ZlMXzcc87w

December 8, 2017
King, a congressman from Iowa, followed up by saying that “assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength.”
Assimilation has become a dirty word to the multiculturalist Left. Assimilation, not diversity, is our American strength.
Fellow tweeters erupted in anger over the posts.

King came under similar fire in March after he tweeted his support of far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders.

Here’s a sampling of the responses to his latest posts below:

How are you employed, much less as a member of Congress?
Just a reminder that Viktor Orban is, explicitly and in his own words, opposed to liberal democracy t.co/kMUO5TyHMv
Other members of the Republican party have called Orban a “neo-fascist dictator” t.co/5CHKCwtTrr Steve King offers this… t.co/BfaZmuw3Mg
Someone should break it to Steve King that he wouldn’t be around to say this ignorant shit if not for the diversity of America. t.co/6OgaTxPBMB
Congressman Steve King is really on (white supremacist) one this morning pic.twitter.com/BXcDWMzfmJ
David Duke and now Rep. Steve King have tweeted that “diversity is not our strength.” pic.twitter.com/M5i5DWOnyP

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/steve-king-congressman-diversity_uk_5a2beb53e4b069ec48adb7e8

HRC Commemorates Human Rights Day with Advocates & Allies of the Year Awards

Post submitted by Jay Gilliam, HRC Global Senior Global Programs Officer

On December 10, HRC commemorates Human Rights Day, marking the date in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration was the first time the global community spelled out a set of inalienable rights everyone is entitled to have, including LGBTQ people.

In honor of the day, HRC and Human Rights First will present our third annual Advocates & Allies in the Global Equality Movement awards to outstanding LGBTQ advocates and allies from around the world. This year, we recognize an advocate from the Russian LGBT Network, a faith leader from Jamaica and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

2017 Advocate of the Year: Tatiana Vinnichenko, chair of the Russian LGBT Network
Tatiana Vinnichenko is a Russian human rights defender, LGBTQ activist and feminist. This year the Russian LGBT Network played a leading role in helping LGBTQ Chechens flee to countries that could provide safe harbor.

HRC and Human Rights First worked closely with Vinnichenko and her organization to help people escape the violence and to bring more attention to the atrocities in Chechnya through the #EyesOnChechnya campaign. Following reports from the Russian LGBT Network that visas to the U.S. were not being issued, HRC appealed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to welcome gay Chechens to the U.S. through any means possible.

2017 Ally of the Year Award: Father Sean Major-Campbell, Rector of Christ Church in Vineyard Town, Jamaica
Father Sean Major-Campbell has been bravely standing up for for LGBTQ people at his church, in his community and beyond. He formerly served as Rector of the Anglican Church in the Cayman Islands, where he advocated for people living with HIV as a member of the Cayman AIDS Foundation.

Most recently, he organized an international conference Intimate Conviction in October 2017 with prominent church leaders to examine the church and anti-sodomy laws in the British Commonwealth. The conference showed the importance of churches coming together in service of common humanity and broadening religious conversations around the repeal of laws affecting LGBTQ people.

About the conference and his work, Father Sean said, “It is hoped that everyone will hear perspectives that promote respectful dialogue on the rugged landscape of human sexuality and theological discourse.”

Special recognition: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Since 2014, the IACHR has been supporting LGBTQ people in the Western Hemisphere. Particularly, the commission has been monitoring and reporting on LGBTQ human rights violations, taking on LGBTQ cases before the Inter-American Court, and providing technical assistance on LGBTQ issues to members of the Organization of American States. Under the leadership of past Rapporteur Tracy Robinson and current Rapporteur Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli, the IACHR continues to stand up for the human rights of LGBTQ people in the region. Learn more about the IACHR’s LGBTQ work here.

Rapporteur Francisco José Eguiguren Praeli

We look forward to continuing to build relationships with advocates and allies to help expand LGBTQ equality around the world. Learn more about HRC Global here.

HRC and Human Rights First are honored to recognize these outstanding advocates at an awards event on December 11 in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the event here.

www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-commemorates-human-rights-day-with-advocates-allies-of-the-year-awards?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

‘Striclty Come Dancing’: Ore Oduba Blasts ‘Shameful’ Press Treatment Of Alexandra Burke

Reigning ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ champion Ore Oduba has hit out at the press’s “shameful” treatment of Alexandra Burke. 

The BBC sports presenter felt like he “had to say something” in the week that Alexandra admitted the negative press she has received has been affecting her mentally.

Just had to say something about @bbcstrictly … pic.twitter.com/ml9KHgQ041

— Ore Oduba (@OreOduba) December 8, 2017