Russia passes law banning gay 'propaganda'

[garbon]

I think the issue for me personally, Mer, is that in this case it means that their rules align perfectly with what is causing the controversy in the first place, Russia's laws. In then gives the appearance of happy collaboration.

Also I wonder what actions they will take as examples of protesting. Would it cover everything that makes you fall afoul of Russia's laws?

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Is there a sizable adulterer lobby?

[Tamas]

I think the issue for me personally, Mer, is that in this case it means that their rules align perfectly with what is causing the controversy in the first place, Russia's laws. In then gives the appearance of happy collaboration.

Also I wonder what actions they will take as examples of protesting. Would it cover everything that makes you fall afoul of Russia's laws?

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Is there a sizable adulterer lobby?

Ah, so it is not about defending people!s liberties in general, just about protecting stuff you actually like to do. Okay.

[garbon]

I think the issue for me personally, Mer, is that in this case it means that their rules align perfectly with what is causing the controversy in the first place, Russia's laws. In then gives the appearance of happy collaboration.

Also I wonder what actions they will take as examples of protesting. Would it cover everything that makes you fall afoul of Russia's laws?

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Is there a sizable adulterer lobby?

Ah, so it is not about defending people!s liberties in general, just about protecting stuff you actually like to do. Okay.

Does it look like I work for the ACLU?

Besides, T, what exactly do you do to help people that cheat on their spouses in Arab countries?

[Tamas]

  All I did was hinting at the fact that as atrocious as it is, Russia`s new law is far from being the harshest treatment of gays in the world, or harshest restriction of personal liberty. Yet those are not treated as actual global issues.

[Maximus]

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Perhaps someone should. However I see a fundamental difference between banning an action, however wrong we may see that, and banning expression.

[Tamas]

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Perhaps someone should. However I see a fundamental difference between banning an action, however wrong we may see that, and banning expression.

In Russia you go to prison if the court thinks you did "gay propaganda". In Iran, you die if the court thinks you are gay.
Which is worse? Hard to decide, but there is global outrage over only one of them.

And that is of course because Russia until now managed to foul the world into thinking they are a first world country.

[garbon]

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Perhaps someone should.

Indeed. And actually, there is a lot of outrage that goes on regarding the treatment of women in the Middle East.

[Tamas]

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Perhaps someone should.

Indeed. And actually, there is a lot of outrage that goes on regarding the treatment of women in the Middle East.

fair enough

[Eddie Teach]

And that is of course because Russia until now managed to foul the world into thinking they are a first world country.

I don't know personally anyone who was fooled. Do you?

[Neil]

Russia is the very definition of a second-world country.

[Syt]

http://english.pravda.ru/russia/politics/22-08-2013/125473-west_russia-0/

Western criticism of Russia getting more and more ridiculous

Curiously, the reward for the victory in the Cold War, appeared in 2007, when the crisis of American foreign policy doctrines was already evident.

Nowadays, America's claims to our country focus on several key topics - the topics that are convenient for America in terms of propaganda.

Russia does not let start a war in Syria

Washington accuses Russia in the sequential blocking of UN Security Council measures that aim to investigate the use of chemical weapons in Syria. This was stated by U.S. State Department spokesman Jennifer Psaki.

If the use of chemical weapons had been proved, the United States would have been able to launch a full-scale military campaign in Syria "in good conscience". This was stated by President Barack Obama.

Previously, there were allegations heard that U.S. Air Force was fully prepared to start bombing the country. This statement was made by chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Martin Dempsey. According to him, the committee has developed a special plan focusing on the direct intervention of the United States in the Syrian conflict.

Respect for human rights

Respect for human rights in Russia - the US authorities are obsessed with this issue. Although after the revelations from Edward Snowden it appears that US officials do not see a beam in their own eyes. One feels awkward now when American authorities raise this issue, which, of course, is unlikely to relieve us of yet another human rights report from the State Department.

Most recent claims to Russia are primarily related to alleged restrictions of civil liberties. U.S. reports cite laws about the restricted activities of NGOs and the laws that allow enforcement agencies block websites without a court order.

However, the tarnished reputation of the United States in the field of human rights has stripped the country of moral, legal or political grounds to act as a 'tribunal on human rights." "Occupy Wall Street" demonstrations have said a lot about it.

As for freedom of information on the Internet in the United States, the situation leaves much to be desired. The government and law enforcement authorities can block online content that they deem "dangerous to national security" at any moment.

Russia was accused of taking advantage of the Arab revolutions

The West accuses Russia of benefiting from revolutions in Africa and even the natural disaster in Japan. Western officials said that Russia managed to strengthen its position as an fuel supplier.

Europe earlier planned to reduce its dependence on the Russian gas and oil, but most recent events in the Arab world made the country change its mind. Against the background of the continuing unrest in the Middle East, the Russian Gazprom is now the most reliable partner.

However, it should be recalled that the Arab revolutions were organized and supervised by U.S. intelligence agencies. All that was planned to topple local regimes and have pro-American puppets established there. However, the long-term effects have not been calculated, as it appears.

However, chaos in the Middle East, as an option, is quite acceptable, and arguments about "Russia's profit" are nothing more than red herring.

Of course, the West is not interested in the internal affairs of Russia; they do not care about Russian problems. The USA is poisoned with its position of the only superpower, so America wants to impose its will on everyone. Washington has quite an experience when it comes to interference in the affairs of other states.

Basically, it doesn't answer any of the criticisms but instead goes to say, "You of all people shouldn't be talking."

[Jacob]

All I did was hinting at the fact that as atrocious as it is, Russia`s new law is far from being the harshest treatment of gays in the world, or harshest restriction of personal liberty. Yet those are not treated as actual global issues.

So?

[Barrister]

Basically, it doesn't answer any of the criticisms but instead goes to say, "You of all people shouldn't be talking."

But of course - it's the age-old method to defend the indefensible.  Attack the messenger.

[crazy canuck]

I agree. HOWEVER, there are arab countries participating in the Olympics who stone adulterers. Nobody protests.

Perhaps someone should.

Indeed. And actually, there is a lot of outrage that goes on regarding the treatment of women in the Middle East.

fair enough

Tamas, think back to the Olympics in London and the pressure that was put in Saudi Arabia to allow women to compete.

[Savonarola]

Parody Painting of Putin in Women's Underwear Seized in Russian Raid


The off-beat gallery, known as the Museum of Authority, opened on August 15 with an inaugural exhibit called "The Rulers" that featured paintings by artist Konstantin Altunin of public figures such as President Barack Obama, former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and Mr. Putin. The idea of the museum had been to put on exhibits relating to various authorities, said founder Alexander Donskoi.

Much of the inaugural exhibit was raunchy or politically-charged. One painting depicted St. Petersburg politician Vitaly Milonov – who spearheaded a local "gay propaganda" law that became inspiration for similar national legislation – against a rainbow background. The law bans people from expressing support for "non-traditional" lifestyles in front of minors. A national version of it was signed into law in June.

Mr. Milonov accompanied police at the gallery, according to Mr. Donskoi. The officers confiscated the portrait of Mr. Milonov – which was hanging on the wall between two sexually-explicit paintings, according to photos – as well as the painting depicting Messrs. Putin and Medvedev in women's underwear.


Authorities also took two other works of art. One was a painting of Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill with criminal-style tattoos mixing Soviet and religious iconography. The other was one of Yelena Mizulina, the Kremlin-allied Duma deputy and morality crusader who led the drive to pass Russia's "gay propaganda" law nationally. That painting was entitled "The Erotic Dreams of Deputy Mizulina."

Mr. Milonov couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

In a statement on its website, the St. Petersburg branch of Russia's Interior Ministry said it had dispatched officers to the museum on Monday after someone complained that the gallery's contents may be illegal. "Following an initial inspection, police seized four paintings that have been sent off for analysis, on the basis of which a procedural decision will be made," the statement said.

The Interior Ministry statement did not say anything about closing the museum, but Mr. Donskoi says it has been closed down and won't reopen. A video on the museum's Russian social-networking page shows a police officer sealing shut the door to the gallery.

Last weekend, the museum offered free entry "in solidarity with Russia's LGBT community." The "password" to gain free admission was for people to say they were gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered at the door. The issue has come to the fore amid calls by some Western activists for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi due to the new "gay propaganda" law.

Mr. Donskoi said there were warnings on the exhibition so that minors wouldn't enter. He also said there were messages warning people whose religious beliefs might be offended not to come inside. In addition to passing the gay-propaganda law earlier this year, Russia's parliament also passed a law criminalizing public actions that "insult the religious feelings of the faithful."

Mr. Donskoi isn't new to controversy. He was the mayor of Russia's northern city of Arkhangelsk from 2005 to 2007 but faced criminal charges after announcing plans to run in the 2008 presidential election. He was found guilty of abuse of office and given a suspended sentence. He says the charges were a trumped-up attempt to remove him from politics.

The former politician then went on to open a so-called museum of erotica in Moscow, as well as a USSR Museum with a fake corpse of Vladimir Lenin that looks like it is breathing. The Museum of Authority was his newest project—but he fears it may have gone too far.

Under new laws authorities could convict a person even for what he or she writes on a social networking website, Mr. Donskoi said.  "I'm very afraid in this situation," he said. "Because today the authorities can do whatever they want."