[s]Yeah, and how about banning any representative of the Vatican from Canada? I'd support that in a heartbeat. And I'm just talking about homophobia here. You know, a state whose law bans homosexuality altogether (except when it involves priests raping children, of course)? Isn't that a tad more onerous than the Russian law?[/s]
[s]I'm having trouble figuring out how and when we got holier than Russia, but no one else. What's this about?[/s]
[EDITED: I'd like to retract this post - see below.]
IOC decides not to fight Russian anti-gay law before Winter Games.
IOC officials told a news conference in Sochi, where they were making their final inspection tour before the Games begin Feb. 7, that they were “fully satisfied" that a Russian law banning gay propaganda does not violate the Olympic charter’s anti-discrimination guarantee, the Associated Press reported.
Isn't it remarkable how life-like these marionettes look? I wonder who is pulling the strings, Vladimir or Coke?
[ETA]
More coverage on the IOC remarks here.
"If this law doesn't violate the IOC's charter, then the charter is completely meaningless," HRC president Chad Griffin said in a statement. "The safety of millions of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Russians and international travelers is at risk, and by all accounts the IOC has completed neglected its responsibility to Olympic athletes, sponsors and fans from around the world."
He noted that Killy spoke a day after gay rights activists were arrested outside the Moscow headquarters of the Sochi Olympics organizing committee for protesting the law.
Any chance of organizing a boycott of Coca-Cola (and its products, like Minute Maid, Dasani bottled water and Vitamin Water)?
Even a small-scale boycott, if well organized, would hurt their bottom line.
Here's a recent idiocy from Coke to enrage the disability community:
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/coke-retard-appeared-bottle-cap-article-1.1462368
Here's a recent idiocy from Coke to enrage the disability community:
http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/coke-retard-appeared-bottle-cap-article-1.1462368
This is old news (I first saw it a few days ago).
The problem is simple - whenever you start studying a new language you will be greeted with "false friends". That is, words that look exactly like words you know in English but that mean something entirely different. Regardless of which languages you're comparing, it's a given that there are harmless words in that language that [b]look like[/b] offensive words in another language. So where do you start/finish?
For the record do we only worry about French/English words? Or do we worry about the thousands of other languages in the world?
After all, Burger King recalled ice cream cones because the lid offended some (one?) Muslims.
German Olympic Team: "This is just a fashionable jacket."
"http://rt.com/politics/olympics-sochi-boycott-outrage-210/
"The Republican senator from South Carolina told The Hill newspaper that President Barack Obama should consider boycotting the 2014 Olympic Games."
Just because some phobic republican fuckwad is hypocriticaly using this law as a stick to beat russia with, it does not mean that russia should not be beaten
The Russian government is anti american, but that does not automatically mean it's a good government with good policies.
While the reality is that Olympic boycotts only harm the athletes that are denied the opportunity to compete, I love this one.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/10/with-openly-gay-correspondent-nbc-sticks-thumb-in-175430.html
NBC has decided to send correspondent Thomas Roberts to Moscow this November to co-host the network's coverage of the Miss Universe pageant -- an asignment Roberts, who is openly gay, says he took "because it is a huge, visible opportunity for LGBT people."[i]etc ...[/i]
German President to boycott Sochi.
(President Gauck, not Chancellor Merkel)
The German president has become the first major political figure to boycott the Sochi Winter Olympics in February. According to German weekly Der Spiegel, Joachim Gauck last week informed the Kremlin of his decision, which is understood to be a response to the Russian government's violations of human rights and harassment of the opposition.
The amount of BS in regard to Russia is really remarkable, and not just in relation to this story.
On the one hand, we have the following...
Anti-gay laws bar Selena Gomez from performing in Russia
and, on the other hand, we have ...
Elton John will perform in Russia despite homophobic protests
How can both of these "stories" be true at the same time? lol.
Canadian Patrick Armstrong, a retired diplomat, has another point of view (see link below). He's worth looking at for some balance in the otherwise stupidly lopsided corporate/Western media coverage of that country.
Armstrong does his homework and provides links to all of his claims. The links I provided above were from one of his recent blog entries.
@ikosmos
With all appropriate respect, I think your observations in post #59 are a rather pathetic attempt to divert attention for the reasons behind the calls for the boycott. The boycott is NOT being called for to protect the interests of celebrity entertainers nor those of the elite athletes who will be attending the Sochi Games. The calls for a boycott are NOT being made because some of us have decided to participate in some ongoing US/Russia pissing contest (which seems to be the preoccupation of this Patrick Armstrong that you have linked to).
The calls for the boycott are based on the deeply offensive legislation from the Duma that came into force earlier this year infringing on the basic rights of the LGBT communities in Russia (speech and association in particular), laws which are incubating homophobic attitudes and actions within Russia against members of the LGBT communities. These ranges from attempts to deprive people of their livelihoods (see the recent report from Queer Russia regarding an on-line campaign to identify and remove LGBT teachers) to the viciously homophobic luring, entrapment and assaults by "Occupy Pedophilyaj" and "Occupy Gerontilyaj" directed primarily against teenage males -- although they don't seem to be averse to assaulting local celebrities.
Rather than rely on the [s]analysis[/s] commentary offered by a site that prides itself on having provided "the first-ever business management program for Soviet entrepreneurs", I prefer to draw attention to the ILGA's analysis of the situation -- of course it may just be that I take the mandate of this particular form somewhat serious.... you know, to "Discuss all issues LGBTQ from an LGBTQ-positive perspective".
With all appropriate respect, I think your observations in post #59 are a rather pathetic attempt to divert attention for the reasons behind the calls for the boycott. The boycott is NOT being called for to protect the interests of celebrity entertainers nor those of the elite athletes who will be attending the Sochi Games.
I have less and less interest in the IOC and the Olympics as it has become a big, greasy corporate cheeseburger that I want no part of. I'm a little surprised, however, that you would brush off the athletes so easily. They would suffer from a boycott, despite having dedicated years of their lives to preparing for such an event. The million dollar hockey players? Not so much. But representing your country is still a big deal.
The other question that seems very glaring is that such boycotts should be reserved for the most extreme situations , eg, apartheid South Africa. Anthing less and, frankly, the IOC and the Games would come to an end. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, but then say so directly. Of course, there would be less support for that goal.
The calls for a boycott are NOT being made because some of us have decided to participate in some ongoing US/Russia pissing contest (which seems to be the preoccupation of this Patrick Armstrong that you have linked to).
With respect, Armstrong provides a small antidote to the stream of pathological Russophobic propaganda emanating from corporate media in the Anglosphere (US, UK, Canada, etc.) I would have more confidence in your links from NGOs (not subsidized by government) than the MSM.
Incidently, it looks like President Putin is on the verge of carrying out an enormous amnesty. See
Leaked: Pussy Riot, Greenpeace activists will be freed under amnesty
Those evil Rooskies! What are they up to? [/end sarcasm]
I can quote you queer-friendly sources in Russia who say that a boycott would not be helpful and explain why. Why should your links be more compelling than theirs?
Don't be so quick to jump on a corporate-sponsored, cold-war nostalgia campaign. It could very well be that they simply want to make even more money in Sochi, and the Russians aren't playing along with their plan$$. Why help them?
This could be bad news for LGBT-friendly media coverage in Russia.
The Kremlin announced Monday the dissolution of RIA Novosti, the country’s major state-run news agency, amid a significant reorganization of state-owned media assets.News agency RIA Novosti and the state-owned Voice of Russia radio will be scrapped and absorbed into a new media conglomerate called Rossiya Segodnya, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin....
In a separate decree published Monday, the Kremlin appointed Dmitry Kiselyov, a prominent Russian television presenter and media manager recently embroiled in a scandal over anti-gay remarks, to head Rossiya Segodnya.
