Winnipeg Free Press

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T ORONTO - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said in a YouTube video released Tuesday he's offended by claims he's homophobic, while his city councillor brother suggested people in the gay community are " bullies." The brothers made the comments in the second instalment of their online Ford Nation show, consisting of a series of clips of varying lengths in which they slag fellow councillors and take one question. The query appears to have come via email from " Mary from Scarborough," who is identified as the mother of a gay son. She referenced Ford's stance against a rainbow flag at city hall and recent comments about not attending the annual pride parade. Ford read the question, in which " Mary" suggested Ford is homophobic and asked why people should vote for him if he doesn't support all citizens. " I am not homophobic," Ford said. " I'll go to anyone's house, anyone's place to help them out. I take offence when people say that to me." A rainbow flag - a long- standing symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights and pride - was raised at city hall earlier this month as the Sochi Winter Olympics began. Ford said he wanted it taken down. He was told the flag was flown as a gesture to protest anti- gay laws in Russia, but Ford said the Olympics are about patriotism, not " sexual preference." " Our Canadian flag should be up there, not the pride flag," Ford said in his YouTube show. But the rainbow flag did not replace a Canadian flag. It was put up on a " courtesy" flag pole that otherwise flies the City of Toronto flag. Multiple flag poles around city hall fly the Canadian flag and the city flags at all times. Rob Ford then turned it over to his brother, Coun. Doug Ford, who suggested the gay community and its supporters are " bullies" to people who don't attend the annual pride parade. The mayor had said in the past he didn't attend the annual pride parade because of a family tradition of spending the Canada Day long weekend at the cottage. But when asked earlier this month if he was planning to attend this year's World Pride parade hosted by Toronto, Ford said: " I've never been to a pride parade. So I'm not going to change the way I am." Doug Ford has said he went to the parade once with his children, though he wouldn't again, as he described it as an event where " middle- aged men with pot bellies" ran down the street " buck naked." " I think it's good for tourism," Doug Ford said on the YouTube show. " But don't try to put a gun to anyone's head that disagrees with you. It doesn't mean that they hate gays. " It's just a bunch of bullying, a bunch of bullies coming after you," Doug Ford said. " The gay community feels like they've been bullied and rightfully so because a lot of times they have, Rob. But don't come back and try to bully the people that don't show up and call them homophobic." Doug Ford also asked rhetorically, " Do you know how many gay friends that we have?" Rob Ford, who lost most of his mayoral powers late last year after admitting he'd smoked crack cocaine while in office, and his brother used most of the other videos in Tuesday's series to go after city councillors and other opponents. Doug Ford referred to all but a handful of councillors as " a bunch of yahoos." - The Canadian Press KYIV, Ukraine - Amid cries of " Glory to Ukraine!" and with flaming tires lighting up the night sky, thousands of riot police armed with stun grenades and water cannons attacked the sprawling protest camp in the centre of Kyiv on Tuesday, following a day of street battles that left 18 people dead and hundreds injured. The violence was the deadliest in nearly three months of anti- government protests that have paralyzed Ukraine's capital in a struggle over the nation's identity. With the boom of exploding stun grenades and fireworks nearly drowning out his words at times, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged the 20,000 protesters to defend the camp on Independence Square that has been the heart of the protests. " We will not go anywhere from here," Klitschko told the crowd, speaking from a stage in the square as tents and tires burned around him, releasing huge plumes of smoke. " This is an island of freedom and we will defend it," he said. Many heeded his call. " This looks like a war against one's own people," said Dmytro Shulko, 35, who was heading toward the camp armed with a fire bomb. " But we will defend ourselves." As police dismantled some of the barricades on the perimeter of the square and tried to push away the protesters, they fought back with rocks, bats and fire bombs. Against the backdrop of a soaring monument to Ukraine's independence, protesters fed the burning flames with tires, creating walls of fire to prevent police from advancing. A large building the protesters had used as a headquarters caught fire and many struggled to get out. Speaking over loudspeakers, police urged women and children to leave the square because an " anti- terrorist" operation was underway. The protesters appeared to sense Ukraine's political standoff was reaching a critical turning point. As the tents and also some tires went up in flames, defiant protesters shouted " Glory to Ukraine!" and sang the Ukrainian national anthem. Shortly before midnight, Klitschko headed to President Viktor Yanukovych's office to try to resolve the crisis, his spokeswoman said. Earlier in the day, protesters attacked police lines and set fires outside parliament, accusing Yanukovych of once again ignoring their demands and dragging his feet on a constitutional reform to limit presidential powers. Tensions had soared after Russia said Monday it was ready to resume providing the loans Yanukovych's government needs to keep Ukraine's ailing economy afloat. This raised fears among the opposition Yanukovych had made a deal with Moscow to stand firm against the protesters and would choose a Russian- leaning loyalist to be his new prime minister. The protests began in late November after Yanukovych turned away from a long- anticipated deal with the European Union in exchange for a $ 15 billion bailout from Russia. The political manoeuvring continued, however, with both Moscow and the West eager to gain influence over this former Soviet republic. Until Monday, the government and the opposition had appeared to be making some progress toward resolving the political crisis peacefully. In exchange for the release of scores of jailed activists, protesters on Sunday vacated a government building that they had occupied since Dec. 1. Russia also may have wanted to see Kyiv remain calm through the Winter Olympics in Sochi, so as not to distract from President Vladimir Putin's Games. But after the outburst of violence against riot police, Yanukovych's government may have felt it had no choice but to try to restore order. - The Associated Press SCAN TO SEE THE VIDEO ' I am not homophobic,' says Ford Brother calls gays ' bullies,' attacks councillors in video By Allison Jones MARK BLINCH / THE CANADIAN PRESS Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said the Canadian flag - not the rainbow pride flag - should be hanging. EFREM LUKATSKY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An anti- government protester is engulfed in flames while running from the scene. Violence escalates in Ukraine; 18 dead By Maria Danilova A_ 08_ Feb- 19- 14_ FP_ 01. indd A8 2/ 18/ 14 10: 04: 06 PM ;