It sounds like it was lifted from the plot of a crime thriller. But what the police in the US revealed last week was for real. Authorities said a man and his nephew were arrested last month for allegedly plotting to kill pop idol Justin Bieber and then castrate him!
The story becomes more bizarre: The two men were planning to use pruning shears to make the cut, and then sell their “trophies” for $2,500 each.
Police said Mark Staake and his nephew Tanner Ruane were actually recruited by a convicted killer who is serving a life term in prison. The convict, Dana Martin, and Staake were jail mates in New Mexico some years back.
Martin, described as someone who was obsessed with the 19-year-old Canadian singer and had a tattoo of Bieber on his leg, asked Staake to do the job. Staake recruited Ruane.
Staake and his nephew were arrested in Vermont last month, where they arrived to carry out their plot.
Scary and grisly, isn’t it.
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Even before the castration story broke, Bieber was already in the center of another controversy swirling in the social media.
He reaped the ire of netizens, mostly Filipinos, after he made unsavory remarks and memes about People’s Champ Manny Pacquiao on Instagram.
Bieber said Floyd Mayweather Jr. “has nothing to gain” from fighting Pacquiao. “Floyd has never in his professional career lost a fight and Pacquiao lost his last two fights. If Floyd wins its not that big of a deal 'cuz it would be his (Pacquiao’s) third loss in a row, and if he loses he's gonna ruin his legacy either way there's no big win for Mayweather... Mayweather is boxing."
The singer posted his remark a day before Manny lost by knockout to his longtime rival, Juan Manuel Marquez.
Bieber doesn’t hide the fact that he is a big fan of Mayweather’s.
Naturally, Pacquiao fans reacted fiercely and showered Bieber with hate Instagrams.
Many said they’ve stopped being “beliebers, as the singer’s followers are called.
But Bieber is unfazed. "If they were 'beliebers' I know they wouldn't leave my side over [the] boxing opinion I have," he said.
Manny, however, did not want to be drawn into any confrontation, and said he has forgiven Bieber. “The Lord said, ‘Pray for those who persecute you.” So we will pray for them,” Pacman said.
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Shamcey Supsup will be back in the Miss Universe pageant, but not as a contestant.
The Miss Universe 2011 third runner-up has received an invitation from the pageant’s organizers to host its online coverage.
Shamcey, who is now an architect, told ABS-CBN that she received the invitation by e-mail. "The exact message they sent was that they were discussing with the digital media group, and my name came up, and they all agreed that I would be a good fit for the role," she said.
The General Santos beauty said the Philippines’ passion for beauty pageants could have been a big factor in her being handpicked as the online host. "Filipinos are really fanatics when it comes to pageants. And we're always known to be active in voting on the Internet. So maybe (the organizers) thought it's a good thing to put a Filipina on a website segment."
Janine Tugonon is the Philippines’ representative in this year’s Miss Universe competition. The winner will be crowned on December 20.
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Bianca King has kept mum about her reported break-up with Dennis Trillo. But if and when she does open up, she could divulge enough details to fill a book.
“I will talk when I’m ready... I will talk when I’m ready to write a book about my life,” Bianca said recently.
Do I detect a trace of bitterness in her statement? And wouldn’t that make Dennis uneasy?