Stories of being gay in Russia

[bi_janus]

The NYT has published eight stories of gay folk living in a variety of places in Russia under Putin and the State Church.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/world/europe/stories-of-being-gay-in-russia.html?hp

[Jeff Ellis]

I just switched from VISA to Mastercard... Mastercard aren't sponsoring Putin's Olympics

[Nigel Gordon]

Well it seems things are about to get worse for gays in Russia, if that is possible. The Kremlin has just announced that the Official News Agency RIA Novosti is being closed with immediate effect and it is being replaced by a new agency called Russia Today. The new agency is to be headed by Kislev, a strong ultra-conservative who has stated that the hearts of gay men should be burnt rather than used in transplants. RIA Novosti whilst an official body of the Russian Government had a reputation for being rather outspoken on some subjects including gay rights, which no doubt upset Putin. For more details have a look at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25299116

[Cole Parker]

Perhaps we now know where to send all these haters who live here, like Fred Phelps and all the others who find gays the worst menace they know. They could be collected, tied in a bow, and shipped off to Russia where they'll be happy to be with their own kind.

C

[Jeff Ellis]

I so hope Tom Daley does well in Brazil... you were all too polite to point out that Moscow was the wrong Olympics :-) Still it would have been nice to have seen Vlad having to be polite to him. Senior moment!

[Cole Parker]

Racism was deeply embedded in the American culture in the first half of the 20th century. It's one of the remarkable aspects of our history that such a dramatic change occurred in the second half. The same thing is happening now in the fight for nonstandard sexuality acceptance. The moral underpinnings of this country are astounding. Perhaps the fact we have the liberty to speak our minds without fear of reprisal is one reason for this.

C

[Nigel Gordon]

I understand from some of my friends who are into winter sports that a number of them intend to wear the rainbow badge on their uniforms at the Winter Olympics. It would be nice if some of them could get on the podium, though no doubt the TV people would use the ad blocker software that was used at the London Olympics to remove the badge from the images.