Eurovision: Portugal's Homens La Luta

I suppose it's slightly interesting that they aren't really professional singers, but an improv comedy troupe that specializes in parodies of the songs of Portugal's 1974 Carnation Revolution. Normally I'd award extra points for non-English songs, but this is wretched. Of the dozen or so entries I've posted so far, I'm still liking Belarus purely for its cheesetasticness.

Killer Model Confesses: I Murdered Him To Get Rid Of His Homosexual Demons

Portuguese model Renato Seabra has confessed to the grisly murder of gay activist and fashion journalist Carlos Castro, whose mutilated body was found in a posh midtown NYC hotel over the weekend. Seabra told police that he used a corkscrew to sever Castro's testicles in order to free the older man of his "homosexual demons." Seabra added that he himself was "not gay anymore."

Seabra was charged with second-degree murder, police said Monday. Seabra and Castro came to New York from their native Portugal and by all accounts were a couple - but Seabra appears unable to admit that, police sources said. "He said he did it to get rid of [Castro's] homosexual demons," one of the police sources said. Police believe the two men had dated for several months, even though Seabra's family insisted the tanned hunk is straight. "My son was not Carlos Castro's lover," Seabra's mother, Odília Pereirinha, told a Portuguese TV station. "From the beginning, he never hid his sexuality, which is heterosexual." Castro was a high-profile gay activist and society columnist in his home country. Seabra's claim to fame was as a pretty boy contestant on a top model reality show.

Seabra remains in a psychiatric ward in Bellevue Hospital where he was treated for self-inflicted cuts to his wrists.

NEW YORK CITY: Portuguese Gay Activist Found Slain, Male Model In Custody

Noted Portuguese gay activist and fashion journalist Carlos Castro, 65, has been found dead and gruesomely mutilated in a midtown New York City hotel. Castro's traveling companion, a young model, is in police custody.

The naked body of Carlos Castro, 65, was found lying face-up in a pool of blood inside his 34th-floor room at the InterContinental New York Times Square on W. 44th St. about 7p.m., the sources said. The prominent gay activist had been bludgeoned in the head and his scrotum cut off, sources said. Several hours prior to the grisly find, Castro had a heated argument with his companion - Renato Seabra, a twentysomething Portuguese male model - sources and witnesses said. The two checked in together on Dec. 29. A female friend of the writer and producer grew concerned after she heard of the dispute and went to the swanky hotel to check on Castro, sources said. Not knowing what room her pal was in, the New Jersey woman went to the front desk. Suddenly, the tall, chiseled Seabra came through the lobby, recognized the worried woman and told her Castro "was not coming out of his room," a source said.

Guests at the hotel report having heard the pair arguing loudly earlier in the day. Police found Seabra at Bellevue Hospital, where he'd checked himself in for undisclosed reasons. Below is a Portuguese news report on the murder, followed by a clip of the suspect appearing on a Portuguese modeling competition show.

Mister Pink

A Quentin Tarantino parody to promote Lisbon's gay film festival. Language very NSFW.

(Via - Copyranter)

Gay Weddings Begin In Portugal

Same-sex marriage became legal is Portugal today and the weddings have already started.

A lesbian couple wed Monday in Portugal's first same-sex ceremony since the predominantly Catholic country introduced a law allowing gay marriage last month. Teresa Pires and Helena Paixao, divorced Portuguese mothers in their 30s who have been together since 2003, married in a 15-minute ceremony at a Lisbon registry office. "This is a great victory, a dream come true," Pires said as the couple kissed and hugged. "Now we're a family, that's the important thing," Pires said, adding they would continue to fight for equal rights for homosexuals, including adoption. The ceremony came less than a month after Portugal's conservative president ratified a gay marriage law passed by Parliament in January.

PORTUGAL: Soccer Star Cristiano Ronaldo Endorses Same-Sex Marriage

Portuguese soccer hero Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most beloved athletes in the world, has endorsed same-sex marriage. Via Blabbeando's Andres Duque, who translates Ronaldo as saying: "The Portuguese man that I am, I try to keep informed about what is happening in my country. I know the law was passed and the comment it deserves is that we must respect the choices made by anyone, because, after all, all citizens should have the exact same rights and responsibilities." Last month Portugal legalized gay marriage.

Portugal's President To Sign Marriage Equality Law

All that pressure from the Vatican was useless. Today Portugal's President Anibal Cavaco Silva announced that he WILL ratify his nation's marriage equality law, which was bound for approval whether he vetoed it or not. Interestingly, Silva's decision comes on the International Day Against Homophobia.

The head of state's decision to permit the enactment of a bill passed by Parliament in January makes Portugal the sixth European country allowing same-sex couples to wed. President Anibal Cavaco Silva said in a nationally televised address he regretted that the country's political parties had failed to reach a compromise during days of heated debate in Parliament four months ago. Vetoing the bill would only send it back to Parliament where lawmakers would overturn his decision, he said, adding that the country needed to focus on overcoming an economic crisis that has increased unemployment and deepened poverty. The Socialist government's bill was backed by all of Portugal's left-of-center parties, who together have a majority in Parliament. Right-of-center parties opposed the measure and demanded a national referendum. "Given that fact, I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us," Cavaco Silva said. He said that, in ratifying the law, he was setting aside "personal convictions."

Parabéns, Portugal! Eight nations now allow same-sex marriage: Canada, Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Belgium, Sweden, and Portugal. Who will be next?

PORTUGAL: Pope Warns Against "Insidious Threat" Of Gay Marriage

Today Emperor Palpatine urged the Portuguese people to oppose the marriage equality bill recently approved by the nation's legislature, calling it an "insidious" threat to society.

The pope, wrapping up his trip to this country where more than 90 percent of the population is officially Catholic, made his appeal in the shrine city of Fatima on a day that started with a Mass attended by up to half a million people. In his afternoon address to Catholic charity and social workers, the 83-year-old German pope said he "deeply appreciated" initiatives aimed at defending what he said were "essential and primary values of life." Among these values, he said, was "the family, founded on indissoluble marriage between a man and a woman," which is Vatican-speak for its opposition to gay marriage. The audience applauded when the pope said abortion -- which has been legal in Portugal since 2007 -- and threats to heterosexual marriage were "among some of the most insidious and dangerous challenges facing the common good today."

Portugal's president is being pressured by the Vatican to veto the marriage equality bill, although it's widely expected that his veto will be overridden by the parliament.

Green Light For Gay Marriage In Portugal

Portugal's Constitutional Court has approved a marriage equality bill recently passed by the nation's legislature. The bill only needs the signature of the president to become law.

Portugal's Socialist-controlled Parliament, led by Prime Minister Jose Socrates, approved the gay marriage bill on February 11. The president still has the option of vetoing the legislation, but Socrates has said he is prepared to overturn the veto. The Vatican has vociferously opposed laws that grant gay couples the right to marry. Pope Benedict has called for the ouster of Socialists in Spain who approved a gay marriage law in 2005, but the church's opposition in the Catholic stronghold of Portugal has been muted. However, Benedict is widely expected to criticize the bill when he visits Portugal next month.

President Silva opposes marriage equality, but his expected veto will likely be overridden.