More on Russia...

[bcohen7719]

"Pavel Lebedev was held and questioned by police after law enforcement officers and security men wearing official Olympic uniforms wrestled him to the ground. “Hosting the games here contradicts the basic principles of the Olympics, which is to cultivate tolerance,” Lebedev told the Associated Press.

 

[video=youtube;iIwvdulPG-8]

[bigvalboy]

Brilliant BC....Such incredibly brave young people to stand up for gay rights, knowing full well that they might be arrested. I was thinking about myself at that age, and I wondered if I would have taken a stand on gay rights like these Russian kids do, knowing that I might be arrested. Sadly, most likely not....my heart goes out to all those young people all over the world that struggle daily just for the right to be themselves. As always, thanks for posting BC.

[MalcomXpark]

Brilliant BC....Such incredibly brave young people to stand up for gay rights, knowing full well that they might be arrested. I was thinking about myself at that age, and I wondered if I would have taken a stand on gay rights like these Russian kids do, knowing that I might be arrested. Sadly, most likely not....my heart goes out to all those young people all over the world that struggle daily just for the right to be themselves. As always, thanks for posting BC.

 

I did take a stand on civil rights, and I'm surprised about so many African-Americans not noticing the similarity between both issues: marriage, adoption, rights, etc.

[bigvalboy]

"Pavel Lebedev was held and questioned by police after law enforcement officers and security men wearing official Olympic uniforms wrestled him to the ground. “Hosting the games here contradicts the basic principles of the Olympics, which is to cultivate tolerance,” Lebedev told the Associated Press.

 

 

 

And another one.....I can't help but wonder, what would really happen to these kids if the cameras and the world wasn't watching right now.

 

[video=youtube;F25Fzotpvs0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F25Fzotpvs0

[Epigonos]

In considering the Winter Olympic the first thing one has to understand is that Putin’s Russia is a bully dictatorship. That is a universally known fact and absolutely nothing new. The wh—es on the International Olympic Committee were fully aware of these facts when they selected Sochi for these games. They have had more than ample time, considering the country’s human rights record and the terrorist problems, to change the venue but have chosen not to do so. If human rights are violated at these games and people are killed because of terrorist attacks the primary responsibility MUST rest with the International Olympic for selecting Sochi for the Winter Games. The selection of Sochi was a political decision that was based on a total disregard for the consequences of that decision.

[Steven_Draker]

PlanetRomeo INSIDE

 

 

The Russian government adopted an Anti-Gay Propaganda Law on the 9th of June, 2013. This caused enormous outrage in the LGBT-community. Even a boycott of the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi was up for discussion.

 

It was with deepening concern that we at PlanetRomeo witnessed these events. Here in our office in Amsterdam it’s not easy to see what exactly is going on, but we do have the means to give our Russian Romeos a voice to the rest of the world. That’s why we crafted a short survey in which we asked our Russian Romeos about their current situation, their living conditions and their views on this. Who else can give us better insight than the gay community IN Russia, right?

 

The response exceeded our expectations: within 2 weeks we received 1,526 completed surveys. We hope the results will give you some insight in how the Russian gay community really feels.

 

ARE YOU OUT?

First of all, we wanted to know how ‘out’ our Russian Romeos actually are about their sexuality:

 

 

"ANTI GAY PROPAGANDA LAW"

On June 9th, 2013, changes were made in law #135 regarding “…The protection of children from information harmful to their health and development…” in particular the inclusion of a supplementary item 6.21 “…Promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors…”.

 

Of course we asked our participants to give their opinion on this.

 

A slight majority of 53% doesn’t support this law at all. In addition, 34% think this law should be revised. It’s not surprising that only 8% support the law as it is.

 

A lot of comments were made about the fact that the law doesn’t distinguish between homosexuality and pedophilia:

 

Now in mass-media and on TV there is a lot of incorrect information, namely substitution of concepts: homosexuality is characterized as pedophilia, the fight against homosexuality is explained as a fight against pedophilia, but they are absolutely different things. Anonymous

Many of our users have another remarkable view on this: the law might just serve as a distraction from other problems Russia is currently facing:

 

I want to say that the discussion about gays in Russia is caused by the desire of authorities to hide real problems like corruption, poverty, differences in salaries, and absence of justice. Anonymous

 

DAILY LIFE

 

A lot of our Russian users told us that they want to leave their country as a result of the implementation of these laws.

 

Unfortunately, due to the new Russian laws I started to think about emigration… I have spent many years on education and career building and if I’m leaving my country I’m not sure about my future at all… But, being free is much more important I think. Leonid, Moscow

 

We asked them to give their view on the overall situation in Russia:

 

 

Every day mass-media mentions that LGBT-people destroy our society and traditions. We can’t feel free anymore. Dima, Sochi

 

People try to kill your personality and refuse to accept you for who you are, just because of stupid backward stereotypes and narrow mindedness. Alex, Moscow

 

We also wanted to know if these laws caused any change in their daily life compared to two years ago. Here’s what they answered:

 

Almost 60% say these laws create an anti-gay atmosphere that affects them personally;

30% say that these laws put them at legal risk;

15% say these laws affect them directly as a gay person;

Almost 10% are affected by this law in their daily life;

Roughly 16% are not affected personally;

22% feel these laws have no effect on them compared to 2 years ago.

(respondents could choose multiple answers)

source: PlanetRomeo

 

The situation for gays in Russia worsens every day. After acceptance of the anti-LGBT law people were up in arms against gays and often attacks began to happen. I was discharged once from office because I’m gay. I have to hide my sexual orientation from friends and family. A few years ago I was attacked and beaten by a group of guys. Now on governmental TV channels many TV shows say that gays are sick people and they need to be treated, or killed at once. I’m afraid to live in Russia… Anonymous

 

Another user expressed a different view on this topic:

 

I’m a Russian living in Berlin. I would like to say that European people do not really understand the situation in Russia, because the culture and values are so different. Obviously, the situation with gay rights and acceptance of gay people in Russia is getting worse and worse. I’m quite sure, that after the Olympic Games, the situation will be even more disgusting. But please mind that the situation inside Russia is not so bad as it is presented and understood by other Europeans. Mark, Berlin

 

We received horrible news about anti-gay violence and abuse. Therefore, we wanted to find out to what extent our Russian users experienced acts of anti-gay discrimination, violence or abuse, and asked:

 

HAVE YOU BEEN THE VICTIM OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING?

 

 

 

THE SOCHI WINTER OLYMPICS

 

What effects do these current laws have on the Winter Olympics? A lot of human rights and LGBT pressure groups have urged their governments to boycott the Games, but opinions on this remain very divided.

 

Does a boycott really help in achieving specific objectives? Should sport and politics be separated?

 

Political action has nothing to do with the Olympic Games; this is sport! With the same principles we could also boycott the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Rustam, Moscow

What did our Russian Romeos say when we asked them:

 

Some people have decided to boycott the Winter Olympics at Sochi. Do you support a boycott?

 

more: http://planetromeoinside.tumblr.com/post/73947549741/our-russian-romeos-speak-out

[bigvalboy]

In considering the Winter Olympic the first thing one has to understand is that Putin’s Russia is a bully dictatorship. That is a universally known fact and absolutely nothing new. The wh—es on the International Olympic Committee were fully aware of these facts when they selected Sochi for these games. They have had more than ample time, considering the country’s human rights record and the terrorist problems, to change the venue but have chosen not to do so. If human rights are violated at these games and people are killed because of terrorist attacks the primary responsibility MUST rest with the International Olympic for selecting Sochi for the Winter Games. The selection of Sochi was a political decision that was based on a total disregard for the consequences of that decision.

 

Precisely.....

[adriano46]

Precisely.....

 

++1 - Entire choosing of Olympic cities comes across as rife with graft and corruption. By choosing Sochi they get what they deserve (sadly, some of the best, most sensual and handsome escorts come from Russia.... )

[+ purplekow]

I believe one can make the argument that by selecting Sochi, a light is being shone on a dark spot of human rights. The presence of the world at this city, forces the restrictive and cruel government of Russia to bend a bit to outside opinion. Money will be lost if the Olympics are not well received and so the Russian government has to capitulate to certain dissention in order not to jeopardize the success of the Games.

One could as easily blame NBC for televising the Games as the Olympic Committee for selecting a site in a country with a repressive government.

[marylander1940]

http://rt.com/news/berlusconi-gay-rights-putin-123/

 

"If Berlusconi was gay he wouldn't have any problems".

Vladimir Putin

 

[video=youtube;vhu10U_ACZ0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhu10U_ACZ0