The Beer Bar

BRITAIN has barred entry to two members of a US church for inciting hatred against gays and others, the government said on the eve of a planned protest by the radical group. The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Kansas, has been planning to stage a protest against a play being put on by a gay youth group in southeast England. But the Home Office, Britain's interior ministry, said Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper have been told they cannot travel to Britain because of their views. "The Home Secretary has excluded both Fred Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper from the UK," a spokeswoman told AFP. "These individuals have engaged in unacceptable behaviour by …

Warning: Possible Spoiler Alert I saw this movie and loved it. I didn't get that the opening scene with Ralph Fiennes as a set up for an extended flash back, and midway through the movie I was wondering what all the fuss was about. Then, long after I'd forgotten about him, Ralph Fiennes shows up again and the movie becomes great. It's not Ralph Fiennes that I'm raving about, but the story itself. It's gripping. I really loved how the movie drew me in. Did anyone else like (or even hate) the movie. Any other favorite movies out there?

List of 81st annual Oscar nominations is announced Complete list of 81st annual Academy Award nominations announced Thursday: 1. Best Picture: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,""Frost/Nixon,""Milk,""The Reader,""Slumdog Millionaire." 2. Actor: Richard Jenkins, "The Visitor"; Frank Langella, "Frost/Nixon"; Sean Penn, "Milk"; Brad Pitt, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"; Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler." 3. Actress: Anne Hathaway, "Rachel Getting Married"; Angelina Jolie, "Changeling"; Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"; Meryl Streep, "Doubt"; Kate Winslet, "The Reader." 4. Supporting Actor: Josh Brolin, "Milk"; Robert Downey Jr., "Tropic Thunder"; Philip Seymour Hoffman…

By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer – Thu Feb 19, 2009 ATLANTA – Next time you have a case of diarrhea that lasts a day or more, chances are better than 1 in 3 that it was food poisoning. As many as a quarter of Americans suffer a foodborne illness each year — though only a fraction of those cases get linked to high-profile outbreaks like the recent salmonella-peanut scare, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Outbreaks are dramatic instances," says Dr. Robert Tauxe, a CDC expert on the subject. But they highlight a health threat that many people exaggerate and misunderstand, according to some experts. …

The following appears in the BANGKOK POST: _____ 'Killing Fields' Trial Begins PHNOM PENH (AFP) -- The torturer-in-chief for Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime finally faced trial Tuesday in the first case heard by a UN-backed genocide tribunal into the horrors of the "Killing Fields" 30 years ago. Kaing Guek Eav, better known by the alias Duch, faces charges of crimes against humanity over his iron-fisted rule at Tuol Sleng prison, where he is accused of presiding over the deaths of 15,000 men, women and children. He sat solemnly in the dock as hundreds of people turned up to watch the start of proceedings against a key figure in the ultra-communist regi…

In late December the United Nations General Assembly held a symbolic vote on a statement calling for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality. France spearheaded the resolution, which was a 13 point declaration "to ensure that sexual orientation or gender identity may under no circumstances be the basis for criminal penalties, in particular executions, arrests or detention." The statement received 60 votes in support, mostly from Europe and South America. Opposing the resolution, were the United States, the Holy See, and members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. At the time, the Bush administration couched its objection to the measure in legal technic…

Very cool site for anyone with a hankering to go back to college without leaving the house: http://academicearth.org/ I was put onto it by this review in Slate: http://www.slate.com/id/2211591/

Bravo.Glad someone had the balls to stand up to hate mongers Mr. and Mrs. Phelps http://www.towleroad.com/2009/02/fred-phel...ntering-uk.html

Very funny clip from SNL last Saturday night: http://widgets.nbc.com/o/4727a250e66f9723/...0a95fcc1a0a7b36

What fellas-preferably new hires-are you planning on seeing in 2009? I will start this off Andrew Justice I have lusted after this fella since I met him two years ago in Palm Springs! How about you?

As ACE mentioned in his thread starting tommorow you will be able to vote for your favorite working fella-if he is amongst those nominated. http://partywithbrandon.blogspot.com/2009/...s-official.html So if you see one of your faves-vote for him. Also there is more info about the Hookie award party on Friday the 20th of March-I will be there and I hope MER has a nice representation.

Hey guys...I was curious as to everyones favorite gay porn stars of all time? Put your votes in for who you think had the hottest face, the best body, the best cock, etc. What are your favorite porn movies of all time as well. I am a big Bel Ami fan. I also love a lot of the Falcon movies too. Some of my faves are Ion Davidov (great body) Chance (great body and cock) Josh Elliot (very hot face) Travis Wade of Falcon (nice bod great cock) Lukas Ridgeston (such a hot face) Pierre Delon (super long hot cock) Brent Everett (face, body and cock to die for) Brent Corrigan (see Brent Everett!) There are many more, but that's a start!

ALASKA'S NEWSPAPER EXPENSES: Governor received meal money while living in Wasilla. By LISA DEMER ldemer@adn.com Published: February 17th, 2009 10:20 PM Last Modified: February 17th, 2009 10:21 PM Gov. Sarah Palin must pay income taxes on thousands of dollars in expense money she received while living at her Wasilla home, under a new determination by state officials. The governor's office wouldn't say this week how much she owes in back taxes for meal money, or whether she intends to continue to receive the per diem allowance. As of December, she was still charging the state for meals and incidentals. "The amount of taxes owed is a p…

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The judges in Minnesota's Senate trial on Tuesday ordered that 23 previously rejected absentee ballots be opened and added to the race, setting the stage for counting perhaps thousands more such ballots and giving Republican Norm Coleman a shot at erasing Democrat Al Franken's 225-vote lead. The ballots belong to voters who sued to have them counted. They have been identified as Franken supporters, but Coleman's lawyers were encouraged by the order because they want another 4,700 rejected absentee ballots to be counted. "It's basically what we've been asking for all along," Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg said of the trial's first judicial order …

INTERESTING STUFF In the 1400's a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb' ----------- Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'.. .and thus, the word GOLF entered into the English language. ------------ The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV was Fred and Wilma Flintstone. ------------ Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury. ------------ Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better. ------------ Coca-Cola was origi…

I just saw "Campus Pizza", starring Damien Crosse, Andrew Justice, and Mason Wyler, among others. Does anyone know if Andrew Justice escorts? Thanks...

Today the court ruled that there is no proven link between autism and getting vaccinated. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/12/court.autism.reactions/ I've been following this case because it plays to a particular pet peeve of mine, namely stupid people reaching dumb conclusions, then pretending it's science. Don't get me wrong, Autism sucks. No doubt in the desperate attempt to find an explanation, many parents had decided, with no evidence, that getting vaccinated causes autism. Why? Because these kids got vaccinated and then developed autism! Never mind that autism's onset is typically at the age you vaccinate, clearly there had to be a causal linkage! Quoting …

I had the pleasure of driving Brandon Baker and friends to San Francisco this weekend-in a 12 passenger van This was a lot of fun-mostly fun with only a touch of the drama that is associated with young folks. Went to a cool party at a converted church in the Upper Castro-while our host was as friendly and nice as could be-some of the "proper Gays"needed to take a chill pill or two. We then went out to The Heartbreakers Ball at the Stud.It has been over 20 years since the last time I was at the Stud in SF-and I had a great time(see my post in the Hot Spots forum of this site)and wiish I could have stayed longer-but I was playing chauffer the next day and wanted to be …

HOUSTON -- An accused sexual predator from Harris County led a secret life while avoiding capture for three years. Darren Castleberry, 40, was arrested in Thailand earlier this month. He's now in a California jail and is expected to be brought back to Houston sometime this week. Fox 26 received a rare look at parts of the case file the U.S. Marshal's Office has collected in its investigation. Deputy U.S. Marshal Cameron Welch says Castleberry is an experienced traveler, fluent in Russian, and savvy enough to hide his computer's IP address to avoid being found. Welch showed us a personal photo album that belonged to Castleberry and his new wife. In the pic…

Looks like Washington is not the only place for tax cheats. Here is an article about the owner of the Santika Pub and his tax investigation. BANGKOK: -- The Finance Ministry has launched a probe into taxes paid by bosses of the Santika pub, which was destroyed in a fire on New Year's Day that killed 64 people. The move could lead to legal changes if the government moves to stop people taking advantage of a loophole in current laws and collect more tax. Deputy Finance Minister Pruekthichai Damrongrut set up a committee Thursday to determine if bosses of the notorious nightclub sought to evade paying tax. He said the committee should come up with conclu…

You think corruption is bad in Thailand, the US has it even worse. First, the governor of Illinois selling a senate seat and now Pennsylvania judges making million by sending kids to jail. Here is part of the article: WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses. The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench. Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put ju…

BANGKOK: -- A taxi driver returned gold necklaces and a wad of Bt1,000 notes to a 62-year-old woman at the FM91 police traffic radio station yesterday morning. Cabbie Suchart Thiansomprasong, 42, handed a bag with Bt16,500 in cash and two gold necklaces to Thanom Ditcharoen, who left the items in his taxi on Sunday evening. Thanom said that after a family trip in a blue taxi from Bangkok to their hometown, Saraburi, she realised the bag was lost but had no information on the taxi. She reported the loss to police the next day but later learned that the cabbie had already contacted FM91. "It's great to find out there are still good-hearted people around," said Tha…

This was a top secret meeting in Los Angeles. The recent lunch took place at Numbers which was my choice for security reasons. About an hour before the lunch a "friend" of mine showed up and made certain all was safe. He took a strategic position just outside and waited for Lucky and Jackhammer to arrive. Note Jackhammer left his zip code at home as pre-arranged. Anyway once they were inside and seated my ummm "friend" gave my a call and told me it was on. I slowly made my way toward the door. My "friend" followed me inside taking up position at the bar. I quickly headed over to the table where the two were already in a joval conversation. Hello I heard myself say...…

Wellll Carson really-but close enough. My friend Howard and a friend were driving through Carson(a less than lovely part of LA)the other day. They get pulled over.I won't go into the details but at one point Howard was being patted down and the cop demanded'Spread your legs"Howard retorted with"Buy me Dinner first" Fortunately the cop did have a sense of humor