She told us so!

The Bernie Sanders Campaign Faced A Fake News Tsunami. Where Did It Come From?

WASHINGTON ― Last June, John Mattes started noticing something coursing like a virus through the Facebook page he helped administer for Bernie Sanders fans in San Diego. People with no apparent ties to California were friending the page and sharing links from unfamiliar sites full of anti-Hillary Clinton propaganda.

The stories they posted weren’t the normal complaints he was used to seeing as the Vermont senator and the former secretary of state fought out the Democratic presidential primary. These stories alleged that Clinton had murdered her political opponents and used body doubles.

Mattes, 66, had been a television reporter and Senate investigator in previous lives. He put his expertise in unmasking fraudsters to work. At first, he suspected that the sites were created by the old Clinton haters from the ‘90s ― what Hillary Clinton had dubbed “the vast right-wing conspiracy.”

But when Mattes started tracking down the sites’ domain registrations, the trail led to Macedonia and Albania. In mid-September, he emailed a few of his private investigator friends with a list of the sites. “Very creepy and i do not think Koch brothers,” he wrote.

Mattes and his friends didn’t know what to make of his findings. He couldn’t get his mind around the possibility that trolls overseas might be trying to sway a bunch of Southern Californians who supported Sanders’ run for president. “I may be a dark cynic and I may have been an investigative reporter for a long time, but this was too dark ― and too unbelievable and most upsetting,” he said. “What was I to do with this?”

By late October, Mattes said he’d traced 40 percent of the domain registrations for the fake news sites he saw popping up on pro-Sanders pages back to Eastern Europe. Others appeared to be based in Panama and the U.S., or were untraceable. He wondered, “Am I the only person that sees all this crap floating through these Bernie pages?”

He wasn’t. Bernie supporters across the country had been noticing dubious websites and posters linked back to Eastern Europe long before Mattes did ― and even before The Washington Post reported in mid-June that Russian government hackers had stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee. They had been warning each other that something weird was going on, posting troll alerts and compiling lists of fake news sites.

There is enough real news to fight over, they thought, without arguing over anti-Hillary conspiracy theories from Macedonia.

Sometimes it was hard to tell who was doing the trolling and for what purposes. Aleta Pearce, 54, who lives in Malibu, California, was an administrator of half a dozen pro-Sanders Facebook groups and a member of many others. In May 2016, she posted a memo to various Facebook groups about the fake news issue, warning of bogus sites.

“The pattern I’m seeing is if a member is repeatedly posting articles that are only from one URL that person is just there to push advertising,” Pearce wrote. “They probably have a sock account with little to no content. They are often from Russia or Macedonia.” (A “sock” or “sock puppet” account uses a false identity to deceive.)

Pearce added, “Please share this with other Bernie groups so we can put an end to this spam bombing that’s filling up our pages and groups. It’s time to chase the mice out of the hen house and send them a message. They don’t know who they are messing with.”

The first tidal wave of spam was mostly anti-Bernie, Pearce recalled, posted by Clinton backers. (David Brock’s Clinton-backing super PAC had likely paid for some portion of those.) But after Clinton became the Democratic nominee in July, Pearce noticed a switch to anti-Hillary messages with links to fake news and to real news with obnoxious pop-up ads.

“Every site publishing those ― you clicked on the article, you would be slammed with ads and strange articles,” Pearce told HuffPost. “It was overwhelming. It was 24/7.”

She kept a list of fake news sites to watch for ― it grew into dozens. There were posts on the Clinton-has-Parkinson’s conspiracy and the Clinton-is-running-a-pedophilia-ring-out-of-a-pizza-shop conspiracy.

On the Sanders campaign, it was Hector Sigala’s job to connect with all the organic Facebook groups. He recalled seeing “a lot of trolls” try to convince people of something “that was obviously fake.”

Many of the interlopers, Sigala said, claimed to be Sanders fans who had decided to vote for GOP nominee Donald Trump or Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the general election and tried to convince others to do likewise. “It made it seem like the community as a whole was supporting that, but that wasn’t the case,” he said.

Sigala thinks most of them were just your average internet trolls. He said he found many were members of 4chan, a gathering place for the alt-right, white nationalists and plain old nihilists from which has sprung all manner of mischief.

The Sanders campaign had begun seeing this particular brand of fake news starting in early 2016. “The first time that we kind of fell for it, for like two minutes, was this link from what seemed to be ABC News,” Sigala said. It turned out to be ABC.com.co, a fake site that has no affiliation with the real news network. It had “reported” that the pope himself had endorsed Sanders.

In trying to wade through the flood of fake news, Sanders supporters had some serious trust issues. There was good reason to be skeptical of Clinton and the WikiLeaks dump of DNC emails was real, after all. But a steady diet of stories fabricated out of thin air can also feed into paranoia and flame wars.

Bev Cowling, 64, saw a sudden deluge of requests to join the Sanders Facebook groups she administered from her home in Toney, Alabama. All of a sudden, they were getting 80 to 100 requests to join each day. She and the other administrators couldn’t vet everyone, and the posts started getting bizarre. “It came in like a wave, like a tsunami,” she said. “It was like a flood of misinformation.”

Cowling, a retired postal worker, said some of her Facebook group members were ready to believe the bogus news links. “People were so anti-Hillary that no matter what you said, they were willing to share it and spread it,” she said. “At first I would just laugh about it. I would say, ‘C’mon, this is beyond ridiculous.’ I created a word called ‘ridiculosity.’ I would say, ‘This reeks of ridiculosity.’”

But Cowling got pushback. She was called a “Hillbot” and a Trump supporter. She ended up removing dozens of members who refused to stop pushing conspiracy theories. “I lost quite a few friends,” she said.

Matthew Smollon, a 34-year-old copy editor and page designer based in Knoxville, Tennessee, noticed an influx of posts linking to fake news as early as January 2016. So much of it, Smollon noticed, came from the same accounts. Almost all the sites he traced went back to Veles, Macedonia, which Wired magazine has since dubbed the “Fake News Factory to the World.” There wasn’t a single link he found that went to a pro-Clinton fake news story.

None of the fake stories stood out to Smollon. He described the Facebook groups as “being in a room filled with blasting televisions.” It was hard to pick out the loudest noises. “The ultimate goal of this wasn’t so much misinformation as distraction from valid info,” he concluded.

But Smollon had a hard time convincing other Bernie supporters that they were being played. “No one cared,” Smollon said. “At that point, you were a Hillary shill. It was like an echo chamber of anger.”

Even when pointing out that something like NBCPolitics.org was a fake site ― the real site is NBCNews.com/politics ― he drew criticism. He was eventually removed as a moderator from one of the pro-Sanders Facebook groups. “It’s the closest I’ve been to being gaslit in my life,” he said.

In June, Smollon posted a piece on Medium with the headline, “Dear Bernie Supporters: Stop sharing posts from dumpster fire websites.” He urged his fellow Sanders fans to wake up:

Guys, I sincerely love you. I love your passion. I love your fire. I love all of that. But when 400 people are circle-jerking clickbait links in between wondering how Hillary Clinton is behind the FEMA Earthquake drill that happens on several days with one of them being primary day?

Holy shit.

You are allowing yourselves to be manipulated. Through the practice of taking anything that agrees with your opinion at face value, actively refusing to believe anything but what agrees with your narrative and following that up with blatant disregard for doing two minutes of searching to verify the information: you become the myopic Trump supporter that you so vocally loathe.

Some people “liked” his Medium piece on Facebook and posted it on their walls, he said. Others did not. Smollon later updated his article to say he’d been banned from the group “Bernie Believers” because of it.

“This is a pretty solid case for admins/mods being part of the spam,” he wrote. “Not all of them obviously, but it only takes one person running with an ulterior motive to ensure the whole thing goes to shit.”

LGBT Russians Seeking Asylum in U.S. Face Significant Economic Hurdles

There has been a steady uptick of gay Russians seeking asylum here in the U.S. in light of increasing anti LGBT-sentiment in Russia. Facing extreme persecution and harassment in their home country, many queer Russians are faced with a difficult choice living under constant threat of physical harm or relocating to a country with which they have little to no relationship. While the U.S. can act as a pseudo-safe haven, those Russians that do decide to flee to the U.S. are often presented with a new set of economic problems.

Andrew Nasonov, a former journalist, fled to the U.S. with his now husband Igor Bazilevsky earlier this summer. Though the couple was able to legally marry after moving to Washington, D.C., staying financially stable and independent has proven to be difficult.

"It was hard to leave our relatives, friends, and parents behind in Russia,” Nasonov explained to the Associated Press. “We have nothing here, and in many ways are completely dependent on the assistance of the people who surround us."

While the United States will offer LGBT-identified individuals asylum, the government will not yet classify those granted asylum refugee status, which makes the official immigration process tough to navigate.

"There's no worse way to immigrate to the U.S. than the way these people are doing it," said Russian-American journalist and LGBT activist Masha Gessen. "You have nothing, and you have no right to work or public assistance. We've seen people end up on the streets."

Since 2012 the number of applications for asylum from queer Russians has increased by 34 percent according to the Department of Defense. While the U.S. is one of the more receptive western nations when it comes to granting asylum to endangered populations, each applicant is required to document and prove their circumstance on a case by case basis.

"It makes no sense because most of our arrivals have advanced degrees and speak good English," said Russian asylum advocate Larry Poltavtsev. "They're capable of being productive, paying taxes, but we are not letting them do those things while they're waiting."

MATTHEW SHEPARD'S PARENTS HEAD TO RUSSIA TO FIGHT ANTI-LGBT INTOLERANCE

The parents of Matthew Shepard are heading to hostile territory in hopes of bringing a message of tolerance to Russia. Dennis and Judy depart for St. Petersburg to attend the screening of a movie about their slain son and then move on to Moscow, where they hope to meet with parents of LGBT youth. In a country where gays are consistently harassed for spreading so-called "propaganda", the Shepards hope to bring a message of tolerance on their five-day trip. But given how entrenched anti-LGBT attitudes have become under the rule of Vladimir Putin, they know it won't be easy.

“Putin has made it so unhealthy to be LGBT or an ally,” Dennis Shepard told the AP in an interview about their trip. “It will take at least a generation to clean up the mess he’s made and get some acceptance.”

Their first stop will be a screening of Matthew Shepard is a Friend of Mine at the Side by Side Film Festival in St. Petersburg, an annual event since 2008 which has been promoting LGBT tolerance while drawing criticism from government officials there. But filmmaker Michele Josue, who was a close friend of Matthew's in high school, feels strongly about screening her film in a hostile environment.

"We've been preaching to the choir," she said of previous screenings in the U.S. "It's important to get our film seen by a community that didn't have access to it."

The film, which has been on the festival circuit this year, makes its NYC premiere tonight at the Doc NYC Festival. You can watch the moving trailer

ELTON JOHN LAMBASTS RUSSIA'S ANTI-GAY 'PROPAGANDA' BAN DURING ST. PETERSBURG CONCERT

In the middle of his St. Petersburg performance last weekend, the ever vocal Elton John took the opportunity to take potshots at Russia's anti-gay policies and agenda again reports The Moscow Times. While performing a song, John addressed the crowd asking, "Is Tchaikovsky's beautiful music 'sexually perverting?" bringing up the famous Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky who is widely believed to be gay.

John also criticized the removal of a statue erected to honor Apple founder Steve Jobs from outside of a St. Petersburg technical college after Jobs successor, Tim Cook, disclosed to the public that he is gay. It's assumed that Russia still sells Apple products, which John recognized and called out the hypocrisy behind the statue's removal.

Said John:

"Can this be true? Steve's memory is rewritten because his successor at Apple, Tim Cook, is gay? Does that also make iPads 'gay propaganda'?"

This isn't the first time the singer spoke out during a concert in Russia; he dedicated a 2013 Moscow concert to 23-year-old Vladislav Tornovi who was raped and murdered after revealing he was gay. Fans and civils rights groups asked John not to perform in Russia, but John told the Moscow crowd why he continues to perform in the country.

Said John:

"You took me to your hearts all these years ago, and you've always welcomed me with warmth and open arms any time I've visited. You have always embraced me and you have never judged me. So I am deeply saddened and shocked over the current legislation that is now in place against the LGBT community here in Russia." 

"In my opinion, it is inhumane and it is isolating. People have demanded that because of this legislation, I must not come here to Russia. But many, many more people asked me to come and I listened to them. I love coming here."

John invited Vladimir Putin to meet the country's LGBT youth to listen to their experiences, however the disillusioned leader has yet to respond to the singer's request. St. Petersburg is the epicenter of the nationwide ban on "gay propaganda," as it was the first city to pass an ordinance banning the so-called "propaganda." The nationwide federal legislation version is modeled after St. Petersburg's ordinance.

Advocate Names Putin Person Of The Year

From their cover story:

As the Olympic Winter Games headed to Sochi in 2014, so did a spotlight on the violations against the Russian LGBT community. Those violations are coming directly from the top of the Russian government, with President Vladimir Putin leading the charge. His crusade against LGBT Russians and the outrage and protests his actions sparked have earned him the title of The Advocate’s 2014 “Person of the Year.” 

Since winning his third term in 2012, Putin has become ever more autocratic, and his antigay ideology ever more extreme. In June 2013, he signed the infamous antigay propaganda bill that criminalizes the “distribution of information…aimed at the formation among minor of nontraditional sexual attitudes,” with nontraditional meaning anything other than heterosexual. Individual violators are fined anywhere between $120 and $150, while NGOs and corporations can incur fines as high as $30,000. 

International outrage flared in the months before the Sochi Olympics, in response to which Putin reassured the gay and lesbian community they had nothing to fear as long as they left Russia’s children in peace. Such incendiary rhetoric is a staple of Putin’s political playbook. And in Russia, where the majority of media are state-owned, there’s little public pushback. 

Putin continually preaches Russian nationalism and purity, telling reporters in January that anything that gets in the way of Russia’s population growth should be “cleaned up.” The message is clear: Putin’s Russia, in grand Soviet tradition, is a country of the masses, not the individual. Yet it’s the masses that must safeguard individual liberties.

Cher Sends Prayers to Russia's LGBT Community

While promoting a new HBO documentary that details the hardships gay men and women face in Russia, Cher took to Twitter this week to show solidarity with Russia's LGBT community, specifically those who have been kidnapped and tortured.

"Sending Love 2 Our Gay Brothers & Sisters, Being Held Hostage in Russia.Their ONLY Crime is Being True 2 Themselves! They R Brave Warriors," the 68-year-old singer wrote.

She then added the hashtag "#HuntedTheWarAgainstGaysinRussia," in a separate tweet, referencing an HBO documentary called "Hunted: The War against Gays in Russia," narrated by out actor Matt Bomer.

According to HBO's website, the film, "the documentary reveals how a recent anti-gay amendment to a Russian 'propaganda' law has encouraged growing outbreaks of violent hostility, including homophobic Russians who beat and torment gays and post graphic videos of their acts online with little or no legal repercussions."

You can read more about "Hunted" over at HBO's website.

This isn't the first time Cher showed solidarity for Russia's LGBT community. Last year, the gay icon said she turned down the opportunity to perform at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi over Russia's highly controversial, vaguely worded, anti-gay "propaganda" law, which aims to silence LGBT Russians by punishing them for spreading "non-traditional" relationships to minors.

"I can't name names, but my friend called who is a big oligarch over there, and asked me if I'd like to be an ambassador for the Olympics and open the show," Cher told Canadian news magazine Maclean's. "I immediately said no. I want to know why all of this gay hate just exploded over there."

Russian Exchange Student 'Afraid to Go Home' Over Fears of Russia's Persecution of Gays

The lawyer for the Russian gay teenager at the center of Russia's decision to end its student exchange program with the U.S. says her client is seeking political asylum in America due to fears of Russia's crackdown on its LGBT community, Radio Free Europe reports:

“Our client is afraid of returning to Russia because Russia persecutes gay people. That’s what this is about,” Susan Reed, an attorney with the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, told RFE/RL on October 7.

The boy lived with an American family and attended a U.S. high school in 2012-13 as part of the decades-old Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX). 

But he did not return to his home country at the conclusion of the exchange as required by the program. His decision to remain in the United States emerged last week when Russia cited the case in its decision to suspend its participation in FLEX.

Announcing the end of the country’s participation in FLEX, Russia’s children’s rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov [pictured right] said the student was "seduced" to stay in the U.S. by a Michigan gay couple.

Reed told RFE/RL that the statements and reports from Russian officials seem to suggest “that there’s some person or some people whose sexual orientation is relevant. And that’s just not the case.” 

“There’s no adoption, there’s no untoward behavior,” she said. “He met many caring adults, both gay and straight in the U.S., and he decided to stay here because he was afraid to go home.”

Check Out This Irish Senator's Awesome Smack Down of Russia's Anti-gay Propaganda Ban

Senator David Norris, Ireland's first openly gay person elected to public office, appeared on RT's Worlds Apart program this week to dissect Russia's ever-increasing crackdown on LGBT citizens and their rights.

Explaining that Russia's attitudes towards gay rights are "30 years behind" Western sensibilities, Norris wasted no time in bringing up the "dishonest" campaign that the Russian Orthodox Church and lawmakers have led in trying to "protect children" with the country's anti-gay 'propaganda' ban. 

When host Oksana Boyko explained that perhaps Russia's anti-gay efforts were related more to protecting its cultural "heteronormativity" rather than criminalizing homosexuality or perpetuating discrimination, Norris fired back:

"What about parades, marches banned by the mayor of Moscow? Why was that? What about the people being beaten up, being dragged out of their homes, being tortured, being subject to vicious, brutal attacks by thugs in Moscow with the police standing by. That's hardly equality...what we should be doing is making sure that our family structures are more rational and they reflect the views of everyone in society and that we protect everyone in society. We don't just do lip service for the individual's rights and say "Oh you can be homosexual in a hole in the ground somewhere as long as nobody knows about it, but we're perfectly alright with you being clobbered and battered to death on the streets of Moscow with the police turning the other way'"

It's a 30 minutes segment, but well worth a full watch - especially towards the end when Boyko gets all flustered after being asked about Vladimir Putin's own sexuality in light of his fondness for "galloping around with little small beady eyes, half-naked on a horse."

Film exposes how gay teens are lured, kidnapped, tortured in Russia

A film exposing how gay teens are lured, kidnapped and tortured in Russia received its US TV premiere on HBO last night (6 October).

Hunted: The War Against Gays In Russia aired to critical acclaim following its showing on UK television earlier this year.

They create profiles on social media, seduce young men into meeting them for a 'date', before they would be capture the victim and torture them on video.

The vigilante groups posted the horrific clips on the social networking site VK. Because of this, many of the men featured in the video were outed, forced to leave their jobs, and some committed suicide.

The group claimed they were targeting pedophiles, not gay people.

'The vigilante groups are proud of what they do,' Hunted director Ben Steele said on The Daily Show.

'They believe that they are carrying out good acts, and they believe that they're acting in the name of the majority of Russian people, and they believe they have the tacit support of the Russian authorities.'

When host Jon Stewart asked how he was able to film the acts, Steele described it as a 'long negotiation process over several months'.

'I can speak Russian so I was able to build more of a dialogue with them and explain I was there not to pass judgement. I'm there to film what's happening so that I can show it to the rest of the world. It's up for the viewer to judge the rights and wrongs and the merits of what they're doing.'

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PBR Sold To Russian Company

Iconic Milwaukee-based blue collar and hipster favorite Pabst Blue Ribbon has been sold for $700M to a company based in Russia. 

The buyer is Oasis Beverages, a Russian brewer and beverages distributor. Backing Oasis is TSG Consumer Partners, an American private equity firm focused on consumer goods, which will take a minority stake. “Pabst Blue Ribbon is the quintessential American brand – it represents individualism, egalitarianism and freedom of expression – all the things that make this country great,” Eugene Kashper, the chairman of Oasis Beverages, said in a statement. Pabst has been owned by Dean Metropoulos, the consumer products magnate who recently took over the Twinkie line of products from Hostess Brands with private equity firm Apollo. Mr. Metropoulos acquired Pabst in 2010 for about $250 million, and the sale to Oasis and TSG will be a healthy return on his investment.

Pabst Brewing was founded 170 years ago. Included in the sale are its brands Lone Star, Stroh's, Old Milwaukee, Schlitz, and Colt 45.

Gays gassed at event in Russia

Renowned Russian homophobe and St. Petersburg lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, reportedly showed up with Russian Orthodox activists at a gay rights event in St. Petersburg, Russia, yesterday, doused the attendees with a green antisceptic liquid, and then gassed the room.

Several attendees fell ill from the gas, according to a report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Milonov is the author of the local St. Petersburg version of a series of draconian “gay propaganda” laws that have caused quite a stir in the past two years.

Milonov is no stranger to controversy, and has disrupted gay events before. Among other things, Milonov has claimed that homosexuality can be cured through fasting and prayer.

Milonov also suggested that gay athletes attending the Sochi Olympics should be arrested.

Milonov is also facing charges of anti-Semitism:

According to the svodka.net news website, Milonov stated that Jews “vilify any saint, it is in their tradition of 2,000 years, beginning with the appeals to crucify the Savior, ending with accusations of anti-Semitism against St. John of Kronstadt.”

International 'Pro-Family' Conference Ends With Call for Worldwide Gay Propaganda Ban

An international 'pro-family' conference in Moscow featuring a number of prominent anti-gay figureheads including NOM's Brian Brown and author of Russia's anti-gay propaganda law Yelena Mizulina (pictured below) concluded yesterday with delegates issuing a proclamation calling for similar 'propaganda bans' to be implemented throughout the world, Right Wing Watch reports:

According to a rough Google translation of the resolution — which was posted on the website of a foundation chaired by Putin ally Vladimir Yakunin, which also helped fund the event — the delegates expressed their “extreme concern [that] currently being implemented in some states of the world is extremely biased policies and unprecedented propaganda campaign, leading to the final undermining of the Institute of the natural family, which in a civilized society has always been considered as the basis for prosperity [of the] state.”

In the resolution, delegates vow “to uphold the interests of children and to work for the adoption of legislative bans on all types of propaganda concerning homosexual relationships in the environment of children and juveniles” as well as to support research on “the negative social and psychological effects and the consequences of raising children in same-sex couple.”

The 'pro-family' conference, originally organized under the name of the Illinois-based World Congress of Families before the organization "suspended" its planning following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, had a number of scheduled American speakers. This included representatives from Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, the Christian Broadcasting Network, Personhood USA, and Family Watch International.

In related news, the Human Rights Campaign has asked the U.S. Treasury Department to investigate whether World Congress of Families officials improperly collaborated with sanctioned Russian lawmakers (such as Yelena Mizulina) in the planning of the hate-filled forum.

St. Petersburg Pride Rally Denied Permission Takes Place Without Violence

A Gay Pride event took place without any violence in St. Petersburg, Russia, last Saturday, reports The Moscow Times.

Last week, event organisers Ravnopraviye said that they intended to hold the rally despite officials denying a request for permission.

The rally happened on the Field of Mars square, a newly created free-speech zone in the city. While The Moscow Times said that 24 people took part, Queer Russia estimated the number to be around 150.

Police accompanied activists both to and from the rally.

During the rally, activists talked about the need to respect civil rights and thanked the police for their protection.

According to Pink News, some attendees were detained for carrying placards depicting images and sayings which fell under Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law.

The law, signed by Vladimir Putin last June, bans the “promotion of non-traditional sexual relations” to minors.

At least six people were arrested at two gay pride rallies in Moscow last May.

Homophobia in Russia Is Taking a Kafkaesque Turn

LGBT organizations declared foreign agents in one fell swoop, gays being blacklisted by banks, employers, and landlords—welcome to the new reality of being LGBT under Putin.

We all know things are bad for LGBT people in Russia, right?

In fact, we have no idea. In an exclusive interview with The Daily Beast, Tatiana Vinnichenko, director of the Russian LGBT organization Rakurs, revealed how much most of us in the West don’t know about Russia’s anti-gay crackdown. And all of it is bad news.

First, official state prosecutions and persecution of LGBT organizations has morphed and intensified. Previously, LGBT organizations were pressured to register as “foreign agents”—spies, basically—but those registrations were subject to judicial review. The results were uneven: Some courts rubber-stamped the government’s positions, but others found a lack of evidence and ruled for the LGBT organizations.

Earlier this year, says Vinnichenko, the law was quietly changed. Now the government has the power to declare an organization a foreign agent as an administrative matter. In other words, what was once a matter of law, however imperfect, is now a matter of bureaucracy. With one fell swoop—and one that can come at any moment, without warning—a gay community center, or film festival, or support group can be branded a spy.

The St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization Coming Out has been immersed in Russia’s Kafkaesque bureaucracy for months, having endured four hearings to ascertain whether it is a foreign agent. But it has endured, thanks to the rule of law. Without that protection, Coming Out would have no recourse. And once one is labeled a foreign agent, even routine administrative errors can result in criminal prosecution.

“We are being boiled in a pot,” Vinnichenko said.

The foreign agents law and the “anti-propaganda law” are really just the tip of the anti-gay iceberg, however. The newest phase of Putin’s campaign has been, ironically, privatization.

According to Vinnichenko, Russian authorities are putting pressure on all kinds of institutions—banks, landlords, employers—not to do business with LGBT people and LGBT organizations. Because licenses are required for just about everything in Russia, this “pressure” is existential. Banks are being told, “Dump your LGBT customers, or we’ll shut you down,” she said.

Banks are being told, “Dump your LGBT customers, or we’ll shut you down,” she said.

In Vinnichenko’s case, the threat is immediate and personal. A mother of two, she works for the Northern Federal University. Her employers have been pressured from above and have in turn demanded that she stop her advocacy work. “I am going on leave, because you cannot be fired while on leave, but as soon as I return, I expect to be fired,” she said. How she will replace her lost income, especially as she is publicly blacklisted, she has no idea.

Rakurs’s bank and landlord have come under similar pressure. Vinnichenko says all banks have been told that if they have any LGBT organizations as clients, they will lose their licenses; it’s just a matter of time until all of the organizations’ accounts are closed. And the local LGBT community center she runs, she says, is in danger of losing its lease and will have nowhere else to go. No one will rent to her.

This subcontracted homophobia has largely escaped the notice of the Western media so far. It is off the books, so to speak, propelled by threats and extortion rather than overt acts like legislation or prosecution. And it has plausible deniability. “Putin is asked about LGBT people whenever he goes abroad, and he just lies or says he doesn’t know,” said Vinnichenko. “But he knows the situation—he’s the homophobe in chief.”

Surprisingly, Vinnichenko—like other Russian LGBT activists I’ve spoken to—insists that Western pressure would be helpful, despite the obvious potential for backlash. “We’re going to lose anyway,” she said, with typically Russian fatalism. “The only question is whether anyone will know about it.”

What she has in mind is for the Russian businesses participating in the privatization of homophobia to be confronted overseas. She points to her own university, which frequently partners with other European and American universities. “The president should be picketed everywhere she goes,” Vinnichenko said. So, too, should the leaders of banks and other businesses.

And Vinnichenko is calling for the United States to follow Canada in providing expedited and “favored” review to LGBT applicants for asylum.

Including herself? I asked Vinnichenko what’s keeping her in Russia, and she replied: “Everyone I know. Not everyone can leave—there are people without enough money, without specialized skills, women with children. How can I leave them?”

But her altruism does have limits. The Duma is considering a law that would strip children from LGBT families like Vinnichenko’s. “This bill is in committee and could be voted on at any time,” she said. “They could do it tomorrow.” If the bill were to become law, Vinnichenko predicts “a mass exodus” of LGBT families, including her own.

For the moment, she is staying. But even her resilient stance carries a strong sense of hopelessness. “So far,” she said, “I have not been physically threatened. No one writes anti-gay graffiti on my door—they write it on the organization’s office door. If nothing changes, I think I could stay another two years.”

Thugs Attempt to Stop Anti-Homophobia Rainbow Flashmobs Held Across Russia

To commemorate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Russian LGBT people across the country held “rainbow flash” flashmobs where they released multi-colored balloons into the sky.

Reportedly, rainbow flashes occurred in Archangelsk, Murmansk, Nahodka, Perm, St. Petersburg, Samara, Syktyvkar, Voronezh, Tolyatti, Tyumen and Yekaterinburg with organizational support provided by the Russian LGBT-Network. Similar events were also held throughout Europe and the world.

Nontheless, Queer Russia reported the following disturbances thanks to anti-gay forces:

The balloon event in the city Khabarovsk was interrupted by anti-gay thugs who did their best to seize and pop the balloons.

Around 200 people attended the St. Petersburg Rainbow flashmob even though groups of anti-gay thugs tried to stop them in the metro stations.

One of the orgainzers of the Murmansk flash mob was detained and accused under Russia’s “propaganda of homosexuality” law because eight minors were attending her group’s event, but the balloon release happened nevertheless.

Three participants in Parm were detained by police, though a second balloon release happened in the city without incident. Some participants in the city of Nizhniy Novgorod were attacked after the event, though no one was seriously injured.

The other cities also reportedly released their balloons without much interference.

Russian Bill to Require Fingerprinting of All HIV-infected People for National Database

A bill recently introduced in Russia seeks to create a national fingerprint database of all people with dangerous diseases, including HIV, stoking fears of further government crackdowns on the country’s gay community.

RT reports:

[State Duma deputy Roman Khudyakov] explained he came up with the idea because sometimes infected people change their names and disappear from the state system. Khudyakov says fingerprinting would make it impossible. In addition, universal fingerprinting would make it easier to fight crime, reduce the amount of bureaucratic red tape, and solve many social problems where quick identification is often required.

The bill on universal fingerprinting was drafted by the Liberal Democratic party in August last year. It orders every Russian resident, regardless of citizenship, to register at their place of permanent residence and undergo fingerprinting. The current bill suggests those who refuse can be punished with 50,000 ruble fines (about $1400) and non-citizens could be deported, and banned from entering Russia for 15-years. The bill has been supported by the government but there have been no parliamentary debates on it yet.

HIV Plus Mag adds:

While the bill has drawn some opposition, it appears as though it's likely it is to pass, in a country where there's been an alarming stigmatization of — and a wave of government sanctioned violence against — of gay, bisexual, and transgender men and women. This kind of move will likely further persecute those groups and all people with HIV regardless of gender or orientation.

Kremlin posts White House Web site petition demanding Alaska back

The Kremlin apparently thought it would be cute to post a petition on the White House Web site calling for Alaska to be returned to Russia, so they had one of their online propaganda outfits do it.

In true Soviet form, the Russian government thought it would be sending a message about how “dangerous” the White House Web site is because it permits anyone to petition the government for redress.

Yes, what a dangerous concept, that citizens can petition their government for anything.

Apparently, the Russian government can’t afford hiring anyone who speaks actual English.

The “pro-Kremlin communications platform” that posted the petition claims that their intent wasn’t to get Alaska back – because who doesn’t enjoy a good joke about annexing your neighbor two weeks after annexing your neighbor – no, the intent was to highlight how “dangerous” the petition is.

“The objective of the petition is not to bring Alaska back to Russia,” Alexander Zhukov, an assistant to the organization’s director, told the Moscow Times.

“We understand that this is not plausible. Our goal is to show the White House that its petition system is aflawed democratic tool that allows anybody to ask for anything. We are trying to protect the citizens of the U.S. by drawing attention to a tool that is said to be democratic but could be used by terrorists or other people with evil objectives.”

Seriously, think about that for a second.  These are people who think it’s dangerous for Al Qaeda to use the White House Web site to post a petition.  (Hell, these are people who think it’s dangerous for Jews and gays to post a petition.) That gives you a window in to the Russia body politic, and their concept of the role of government.

I remember when I visited the Russian Far East city of Petropavlovsk in the early 1990s. I was leading an Alaskan business delegation while I was working for the Senator from Alaska.  I met with a top local Russian official, and the man couldn't believe my description of what a congressional aide does on Capitol Hill.

Most of our work, It old him, was constituent services – making government agencies more responsible to the concerns of the state of Alaska, but also the concerns of the individual people. In Alaska’s case, I told him, I did a lot of work on behalf of small pilots and airlines, most with the FAA and the Department of Transportation, but also with the State Department and other agencies.

My friend Marian was translating for us. All of a sudden Marian turned to me and kind of whispered, “he doesn’t believe you.”

I said, what do you mean?

Marian continued, “well, he thinks you must accept bribes or something, or you wouldn’t be doing this kind of work. He says no one in government would just try to help people without being paid off.”

He laughed in my face when I responded that, no, congressional staffers don’t general take bribes to do their jobs on behalf of constituents.  He simply refused to believe me.

This notion of petitioning your government for redress is uniquely American. I’m not saying it’s exclusively American, but I've never found a country in which legislative officials at the federal level provide the kind of constituent services that we do in this country.

So, I’m not surprised that the Russians think the White House petition site is “dangerous.”  Free speech usually is, to dictators.

European soccer chief “fed up” with calls to boycott World Cup 2018 in Russia

Michel Platini, the head of the European soccer organization UEFA (Union of European Football Associations), said yesterday he was “fed up” with civil and human rights advocates who think it’s a mistake to hold the World Cup in Russia in 2018.

You know who else is fed up? Russia’s victims.

You know who else is fed up?

These Russian high school kids were beaten up by a mob of thugs the other day simply because they were celebrating St. Patrick’s Day and some of them were wearing kilts, so the thugs assumed they were gay, and needed to be bashed. They’re fed up.

This Ukrainian TV star, who was brutally kidnapped and mentally tortured on camera by a Russian neo-Nazi gangthat has the tacit, and now public, approval of the Putin regime – abducted because he’s presumed gay. He’s fed up.

Ukrainian TV star abducted and tortured by Russian neo-Nazi Maxim Martsinkevich. Photos then posted on VK.com.

This trans woman, who was brutally kicked and thrown around a public park in Russia simply because she’s different – she’s fed up.

Trans woman brutally beaten by Russian vigilantes, who filmed the attack and then posted it online.

This young South African student, studying in Russia, who was brutally abducted, beaten, and then had a watermelon shoved in his face because he’s black – he’s fed up.

A young gay South African is attacked by Russian vigilantes, who filmed it and posted the video online.

This 15-year-old boy, kidnapped, interrogated on camera, and outed to the world, after having urine poured on his head, simply because his attackers assumed he was gay. He’s fed up.

15 year old gay Russian boy kidnapped, and tortured, by anti-gay vigilantes that the Russian government refused to arrest. His captors later attempted to make him drink urine to “cure” him from being gay.

This boy, named Dima, who lost an eye to anti-gay thugs who barged into a community center in St. Petersburg, beat people, and then shot him in the eye – an eye he may very likely now lose. He’s fed up.

“First they shut us up with their laws so we cannot say anything in our defense, and then they say we are similar to murderers and perverts. If it’s constantly drilled into people that we are murderers, scum and perverts, I understand why these guys shot at me.”

Dima.

And finally, you know who else is fed up?

46 million Ukrainians who are about to be invaded by Russia.

They’re fed up too.

Harry Reid Blasts GOP for ‘Obstruction’ That Helped Russia Annex Crimea

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had a few choice words for Republican legislators. He is blaming the now-routine GOP obstruction for making it possible for Vladimir Putin to overtake the Ukrainian region. His comments preceded a Monday evening Senate procedural vote to send $1 billion in aid to the Ukrainian government. The vote was 78 to 17 to proceed with debate on the package. Republicans, most notably sore loser Mitt Romney have been quick to blame the crisis on President Obama, but Reid says not so fast:

“Since a few Republicans blocked these important sanctions last work period, Russian lawmakers voted to annex Crimea and Russian forces have taken over Ukrainian military bases. It’s impossible to know whether events would have unfolded differently if the United States had responded to Russian aggression with a strong, unified voice.”

Many on the left have been unhappy with what they perceive as the Majority Leader’s milquetoast style, but he has been pragmatic enough to get things done, and tough enough to be an effective counter-balance to the constant Republican misinformation campaign.