Ukraine Chooses Homophobia Over Europe

On Nov. 10 the Verkhovna Rada refused to pass a law that would have allowed Ukrainian citizens to have the long-awaited privilege of visa-free travel in the European Union. The reason behind the legislation’s resounding defeat? A provision preventing discrimination against gays in the workplace. This provision, which is a precondition for visa-free travel set by the EU, ignited a vociferous outcry, and ultimately turned into a red line which the Rada refused to cross.

“As a country with a thousand-year-old Christian history, we simply cannot allow this,” is how Rada deputy Pavlo Unguryan, a member of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s own party, explained it after a previous attempt to pass the legislation on Nov. 5 failed.

This isn’t the first homophobic news to come out of Ukraine this year: On June 6, members of the ultranationalist group Right Sector attacked Kiev’s gay pride parade, brutally injuring numerous marchers as well as police. In July, when a pair of gay activists decided to test the extent of Ukraine’s new Western values by holding hands in the middle of Kiev, they were quickly assaulted by thugs. On Nov. 2, the Kyiv Post profiled Mykola Dulskiy, the founder of a vigilante group called Fashion Verdict, whose mission, according to the article, is to “sweep promiscuity, gambling, sexual offenders and homosexuality from the streets of Ukraine’s cities.” The “verdict” is delivered in a rather straightforward manner: Members of the organization track down and beat anyone they deem degenerate.

More at Foreign Policy and Kyiv Post

It Gets Better

New York City Fire Department (FDNY)

US Woman Files Lawsuit Against Gay People…ALL OF THEM

“An overachieving bigot in Nebraska reached an impressive new level of intolerance this week, filing a lawsuit against “Homosexuals”—as in all of them, everywhere—in a U.S. District Court. In the handwritten petition, 66-year-old Sylvia Driskell claims to be acting as ambassador for the plaintiffs, “God, and His, Son, Jesus Christ.” Appropriately titled Driskell v. Homosexuals, it asks U.S. District Judge John M. Gerrard to rule whether homosexuality “is a sin, or not a sin.”
Despite the suit naming hundreds of millions of defendants, however, the court’s docket notes no summons were issued.”
Read more at gawker.com

Was Alan Turing murdered?

Code-breaking genius Alan Turing was murdered, a new book claims. The brilliant mathematician who cracked Hitler's Engima wartime code machines was found dead in 1954 at the age of 41. Author Roger Bristow claims a note from the pathologist casts doubt over the official conclusion of suicide. The post mortem report said he died from cyanide poisoning, but the note adds that: 'Death appears to be due to violence.'

Mr. Bristow, a former mayor who has spent almost 30 years researching Turing and his work at Bletchley Park, said he was carrying out secret work before his death. He believes the code-cracker was killed by the FBI because he had information that would be 'extremely damaging or embarrassing.' Mr Bristow adds that Turing had been working on the top secret operation Verona, deciphering wartime radio signals to identify Russian agents in the United States. He describes how some of the agents managed to get themselves into highly prominent positions, with one even becoming a personal assistant to President Roosevelt.

Turing, who was prosecuted for being gay, was found dead in his bedroom in Wilmslow, Cheshire in June 1954. Two years earlier he had been convicted of gross indecency and sentenced to chemical castration. A post mortem found traces of potassium cyanide in his body - a substance he used for his chemical experiments.

'My theory is that he had stumbled upon some information that could be extremely damaging or embarrassing to certain people in America. 'His body was found on the Tuesday morning and he was buried by Wednesday afternoon. How could proper tests have been conducted in that time? 'Also there is no evidence he was depressed before his death. In fact there are reports from neighbours that he seemed cheerful. 'But the final sentence on the pathologist report says it all: 'Death appears to be due to violence.'

Daily Mail Online

God Loves Uganda

A group of white bread, fundamentalist Christian missionaries go from America to Uganda to spread the word of God and preach the gospel.

America Celebrates Gay Pride at Home and Exports Anti-Gay Hatred Abroad

Uganda has one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world (81 countries have laws against homosexuality, fyi. That's Oliver; always instructing as he entertains—and rants.) And while the African country was already good at hating and persecuting homosexuality, it was the influence of American evangelicals, and insanely homophobic preacher Scott Lively who amped up the hatred, and the law, to new, murderous heights.

Alternet

First Gay Hug (A Homophobic Experiment)

Defending Uganda's Anti-Gay Laws

"The right-wing women's group Concerned Women for America (CWFA) expressed outrage on Sunday that President Barack Obama condemned a Ugandan anti-LGBT bill that would punish homosexual behavior with lifetime imprisonment.
According to the Joe My God blog, CWFA spokesperson Janice Shaw Crouse said that the president's "arrogance is breathtaking" for saying that Ugandan government should stop imprisoning and torturing men it suspects of being gay.
On Sunday, Obama released an official White House statement condemning Uganda's proposed law outlawing same sex marriages and imposing lifetime prison sentences for repeated homosexual acts."

The Young Turks - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signs anti-gay bill (BBC)

US State Senates Approves Bill to Allow Businesses to Refuse to Serve Gays and Lesbians

The Arizona Senate this week passed a Republican-backed bill that would allow people and businesses to refuse to serve homosexuals, for religious reasons.

Democrats and civil rights groups, including the ACLU, said Senate Bill 1062 would hurt Arizona's economy by, for instance, causing groups to cancel conventions and hold them elsewhere. Sponsor Steve Yarbrough of Chandler told the Arizona Republic, "This bill is about preventing discrimination against people who are clearly living out their faith." The people living out their faith, presumably, would be the businessmen and -women who disapprove of the way other people have sex.

More on Alternet – Arizona Daily Star

We are Most Amused

Elena Klimova, the journalist and creator of the " Children 404", is prosecuted under Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code

Elena Klimova, the journalist and creator of the "Children 404", is prosecuted under Article 6.21 of the Administrative Code ("Promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors") by the Russian Interior Ministry in Nizhny Tagil.

Elena is blamed for "the creation of the group in social Russian internet network VK , which promotes non-traditional sexual relations." In March 2013 she published a series of articles on the situation of adolescents who aware of their homosexuality. After this publication she began to receive a large number of responses from these adolescents. They talked about their experiences and the challenges they faced. Elena launched the project "Children 404", where these letters were published, and it eventually became the meeting place for LGBT teens. "If it is closed, LGBT teens lose the only place where they can talk openly about themselves and get advice to help them live. It would be a disaster," - says Elena Klimova.

Elena had her first questioning on January 17 this year. Then "propaganda" had not been seen in the Klimova’s project. What was the reason for the change of the decision remains a mystery. Last report doesnt specified, on what basis made officers decided that she had created the group "promoting unconventional sexual relationship."

Российская ЛГБТ-сеть - Olympic protests of Russian anti-gay laws (Wikipedia)

Russia Arrests Gay Rights Activists on Opening Day of Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony

"One of Russia's leading gay activists was arrested on Friday while taking part in a protest shortly before the opening ceremony of the £30bn Winter Olympics. Anastasia Smirnova was one of four activists detained in St Petersburg on the opening day of the Sochi Games as the group photographed a banner citing the Olympic Charter's words against discrimination. Further arrests were later made in Moscow where 10 people were arrested, two of them believed to be Swedish. The arrests came amid international concern at Russia's treatment of gays, especially newly enacted laws which make gay "propaganda" among minors and offence. Calls to boycott the Games have largely been ignored but some athletes are understood to be planning to hold up six fingers when the cameras are on them to bring attention to the Olympic Charter's Principle 6...".* Cenk Uygur, Dave Rubin (host, The Rubin Report), Ben Mankiewicz (co-host of What The Flick?! and TYT Sports) and comedian Jimmy Dore break it down on The Young Turks.
Read more here from Lewis Smith / The Independent:

The Young Turks

Channel 4 Goes Rainbow For The Day To Wish Good Luck To Everyone At Sochi Winter Olympics

British TV station Channel 4 has made a proud statement in time for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, beginning today.

With the world debating the rights and wrongs of the Olympics taking place in a country where a law banning gay education was recently passed, and activists opposing the ban are treated harshly by the state, the UK television station has made its feelings known.

In addition, they've produced this striking new trailer - 'Gay Mountain' - to wish good luck to ALL athletes competing at the Games – gay or straight – with the message “good luck to everyone out in Sochi”. Bravo!

Huff. Post

UN Report Denounces Vatican For Sex Abuse And Stands On Contraception, Abortion And Homosexuality

A U.N. human rights committee denounced the Vatican on Wednesday for adopting policies that allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades, and urged it to open its files on the pedophiles and the churchmen who concealed their crimes.

In a devastating report, the U.N. committee also severely criticized the Holy See for its attitudes toward homosexuality, contraception and abortion and said it should review its policies to ensure children's rights and their access to health care are guaranteed.

On sex abuse, "the committee is gravely concerned that the Holy See has not acknowledged the extent of the crimes committed, has not taken the necessary measures to address cases of child sexual abuse and to protect children, and has adopted policies and practices which have led to the continuation of the abuse by, and the impunity of, the perpetrators," the report said.

It called for the sex abuse commission that Pope Francis announced in December to conduct an independent investigation of all cases of priestly abuse and the way the Catholic hierarchy has responded over time, and urged the Holy See establish clear rules for the mandatory reporting of abuse to police.

See Huff. Post

Young and Gay in Putin's Russia

Other parts of this series on YouTube

Pope Francis 'Shocked' By Gay Adoption Bill

Pope Francis reportedly was "shocked" by a bill that would allow gay couples to adopt children in Malta. Maltese Bishop Charles Scicluna told the Times Of Malta that he spoke with Pope Francis about the bill and the pope encouraged him to speak out against it.

The Holy See's reaction may come as a surprise to those who have viewed him as progressive on gay rights. LGBT magazine "The Advocate" even named him their person of the year, citing his comments about homosexuals. "Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" he told reporters in Italian in July.

Despite his July comments, the pope has a long history of being against gay rights. He has come out strongly opposed to same-sex marriage and called it "a destructive attack" on God's plan.

Huff. Post

Breaking the Code: Biography of Alan Turing

A biography of the English mathematician Alan Turing, who was one of the inventors of the digital computer and one of the key figures in the breaking of the Enigma code, used by the Germans to send secret orders to their U-boats in World War II. Turing was also a homosexual in Britain at a time when this was illegal, besides being a security risk.

Code-Breaker Alan Turing Granted Posthumous Royal Pardon For 'Homosexual Activity' - Huff. Post

Ugandan anti-gay bill includes life imprisonment for certain acts

Ugandan lawmakers Friday passed an anti-gay bill that calls for life imprisonment for certain homosexual acts, drawing criticism from rights campaigners who called it the worst such legislation in the world. When the bill was first introduced in 2009, it was widely condemned for including the death penalty, but that was removed from the revised version passed by parliament.

Instead it sets life imprisonment as the penalty for a homosexual act in which one of the partners is infected with HIV, for sex with minors and the disabled, and for repeated sexual offenses among consenting adults, according to the office of a spokeswoman for Uganda’s parliament. The bill also prescribes a seven-year jail term for a person who “conducts a marriage ceremony” for same-sex couples.

Lawmakers passed the bill unanimously, with no one voicing an objection. President Yoweri Museveni must sign the bill within 30 days for it to become law. Although in the past he spoke disparagingly of gays, in recent times Museveni has softened his position on the matter, saying he is only opposed to gays who appear to “promote” themselves.

The Washington Post

Gay Reporter Kicked Off RT After Protesting Anti-Gay Law

Reporter James Kirchick was kicked off the air of Russian TV Wednesday after he refused to talk about Bradley Manning and instead spoke about the Russian government's anti-gay laws.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury tells ‘persecuted’ western Christians to grow up

Christians in Britain and the US who claim that they are persecuted should “grow up” and not exaggerate what amounts to feeling “mildly uncomfortable”, according to Rowan Williams, who last year stepped down as archbishop of Canterbury after an often turbulent decade. “When you’ve had any contact with real persecuted minorities you learn to use the word very chastely,” he said. “Persecution is not being made to feel mildly uncomfortable. ‘For goodness sake, grow up,’ I want to say.”

True persecution was “systematic brutality and often murderous hostility that means that every morning you wonder if you and your children are going to live through the day”. He cited the experience of a woman he met in India “who had seen her husband butchered by a mob”. Lord Williams’s years as archbishop of Canterbury were marked by turbulence over the church’s stance on the role of gay priests and bishops; gay marriage; and homophobia in the wider Anglican communion – with many members of the church expressing disappointment at a perceived hardening in its position on homosexuality.

Asked if he had let down gay and lesbian people, he said after a pause: “I know that a very great many of my gay and lesbian friends would say that I did. The best thing I can say is that is a question that I ask myself really rather a lot and I don’t quite know the answer.”

More on The Raw Story