Yelp Users Review Anti-Gay Texas Restaurant As A Cruisey Gay Club

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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.

Man Plants Gay Pride Flag Atop Uganda's Highest Peak, Challenges Museveni to Take It Down

Neal Gottlieb, the owner of Three Twins Ice Cream and an activist who lives in Sausalito, California, climbed to the top of Uganda's highest mountain, Margherita Peak, and planted a Gay Pride flag there "in protest of Uganda's recent criminalization of homosexuality," he wrote on Facebook.

Wrote Gottlieb in an open letter to President Museveni, in part:

On April 16, 2014, after a 6-day climb, I summited your country’s tallest peak, Mount Stanley’s 16,753 foot tall Margherita Peak, and mounted a gay pride flag at its summit in protest of your country’s criminalization of homosexuality. Your country’s highest point is no longer its soil, its snow or a summit marker, but rather a gay pride flag waving brilliantly, shining down from above as a sign of protest and hope behalf of the many thousands of Ugandans that you seek to repress and the many more that understand the hideous nature of your repressive legislation...

...As the president of a nation you have the opportunity to be a great man and lead your country forward. Instead, you choose to hold your people back like the imperialists, the dictators and the warlords that have held Africa back generation after generation. The people that you wish to imprison are the same people who can help Uganda grow into a great nation.

...If you don’t like said flag on your highest peak, I urge you to climb up and take it down. However, you are an old man and surely the 6-day climb through the steep muddy bogs and up the mountain’s glaciers is well beyond your physical ability. Your days are more limited than most. Do you want your remaining days to be yet another blight on the history of your nation or will you find the strength to reverse your actions and allow all Ugandans to be free?

Watch This High School Principal Have A Kid Arrested For Saying He Is ‘Disappointed’ In Him

Students at an Indiana high school were upset that their school refused to allow them to have a moment of silence for a former student who had committed suicide, so they staged a sit-in to request one.

More than 200 students gathered at around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 2 in the Wedge and Main Street to protest the school’s refusal to allow the loss of one of their own to be recognized. Tenth Grader Natalia Kuzbel told Lake Central News, “I went not to rebel or get out of class…I went for Mike. No, I didn’t know him. [I’ve] seen him a few times, but he is one of us and to not stand up for one just like myself would be cowardly of me.”

What should have been a simple matter of the school listening to the assembled students’ voices and recognizing the person that they cared about, it turned out, was not that simple. After Principal Robin Tobias and other administrators arrived on the scene, the school called in the local police to help supervise the students–because it was absolutely necessary to handle a crowd of peaceful students standing up for what they believed…by sitting.

When Tobias entered, he was greeted with “oh’s.” Students, who only wanted the school to recognize the death of someone they felt deserved recognition, were threatened with consequences, including suspensions. One student stood up and declared, “One moment of silence…is all we are asking for from the school!”

The Principal responded, unconcerned, “OK, can we sit down now? You’re not in charge here. I am, number one. Number two: everybody get your IDs out. right now.” His lack of concern was met with an angry response from the students, who remained peacefully sitting. He demanded students’ attention, but received none until a student asked everyone to “shut up.” Tobias then told the students, “Alright I’m disappointed.”

One student bravely voiced the overall feelings of the assembled crowd: “We’re disappointed in you too,” earning raucous cheers from the crowd and greatly irritating the principal. Tobias expressed his disapproval with students having a voice by asking a police officer to remove the student who spoke up.

As an officer obediently physically removed the still-peaceful student, Tobias continued, “I understand you’re sitting here for what you think is a good cause. I think a lot of you are here because it’s a joke in your own head. I understand a lot of you think this is not a joke. I understand that,” before he was interrupted by supportive cheers as the police officer dragged the student who had the audacity to express disapproval with the school’s–and its principal’s–uncaring attitude and lack of concern for how they felt away and turned him over to cuff him.

Tobias went on to explain that, if necessary, he would have police remove the students “one by one if that’s what it took” or that students could go to the LGI room to reflect. He did not agree to recognizing their lost friend over the intercom, but did mention that a signature banner had been approved in the Guidance office.

Whether the principal was right or wrong, what sort of person refers to a young person’s death, or students standing up for something in which they believe, as a “joke?”

Putin used Olympics to get Ukrainian president to attack Kiev protesters

Russian President Vladimir Putin appears to have used the occasion of the 2014 Winter Olympics to convince Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych to use lethal force against mostly-peaceful protesters in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

As a result, Kiev is now in flames, and many are talking about the prospect of a civil war.

Heckuva job, IOC.

Here’s a snippet buried in the NYT’s report last night on the carnage in Ukraine:

Mr. Yanukovych had repeatedly pledged not to use force to disperse protesters, but after meeting President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, he had clearly changed his mind.

Keep in mind that this all began when Ukraine’s president backed out of establishing closer ties with the EU, due to pressure from Moscow.  Everyday Ukrainians, who have no desire to re-join the Soviet Union, were ticked, and took to the streets in protest.

More from Joerg Forbrig of the German Marshall Fund:

Many in Ukraine feel today that they have reached a final junction. They do not want to miss what may be the last opportunity in many years to come for a principal, some even say civilizational, choice between Europe and Russia, democracy and dictatorship, sovereignty and subordination, prosperity and poverty, modernity and mayhem. Indeed, the contrast between what Ukraine can expect from her Western and Eastern neighbors could not be starker.

On the other hand, as Forbrig points out, the EU trade agreement was a pretty sweet deal for Ukraine, including visa-free travel for Ukrainians visiting Europe, and opening the common market to Ukrainian businesses.  But, the EU wasn’t offering much in the way of economic support, while the Russians offered $15 billion.

Russian President Putin wanted the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Russia so that he could re-introduce Russia to the world as a 21st-century modern power.  And he failed miserably.

From rampant human rights abuses, to not even knowing how to build a toilet, Putin showed the world that Russia hadn’t modernized nearly enough since the Soviet days.  Its standard of living, respect for its citizenry and the rule of law all seemed awfully pathetic.  As does the lack of respect basic business ethics on the part of some of the country’s largest brands.  To a lot of us, Russia looked more like Albania and Nigeria than it did France or Italy.

And don’t think the Ukrainians haven’t noticed too.  According to several reports, including Forbrig at the Marshall Fund, we’re witnessing Putin’s effort to reconstruct a mini-me of the Soviet Union. Of course, it’s a rather pathetic mini-me, made up of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It’s a veritable Axis of Ennui.  Given the choice between visa-free travel to Paris or Belarus, no wonder Ukrainians are standing up and saying nyet.

Stephen Marche at Esquire wrote yesterday about Putin’s odd re-arrest of the punk activist band Pussy Riot. Marche’s thesis is that “Putin’s plan with the Sochi Olympics was to mock democratic values, to show that everyone in the West can be played for suckers, and to demonstrate our hypocrisy to the rest of the world, he has completely succeeded.”

Maybe, maybe not.

First a bit more from Marche:

If Putin simply wanted to rearrest Pussy Riot, he could have waited until fifteen minutes after the men’s hockey finals. But he chose to rearrest them in the middle of the Games. Putin’s “foreign policy” — such as it is — mainly acts as an embarrassment to Western values. This reasserts Russia’s sense of its own power, even though it is merely the power to disrupt, but it also offers a kind of backhanded justification for his own methods of ruling. Look at these democracies! What a joke they are! Do you think we are any worse than them? The mockery of others fits neatly into the sentimental and religious nationalism he indulges as well–at least mother Russia believes what it believes, unlike America or Europe.

Yeah, Putin is a tough guy.  And he mocks us and our democracy.  Okay.   But our TV sets never exploded, American journalists aren’t shot and killed for writing the wrong story, rock band aren’t thrown in jail for two years simply because they ticked off the president, and Americans don’t need to worry about a nationwide network of neo-Nazis kidnapping our kids with the federal government’s tacit consent.

Russia greatest export is its ability to bully its own people and the world.  And that’s certainly a good reason to fear the country, but it’s doesn’t breed a lot of respect.

Gay Rights Activist Detained at Olympic Park

An Italian activist shouting "It’s OK to be gay" and dressed in a rainbow-colored outfit and large headdress was detained Monday as she entered an arena to watch an Olympic hockey game.

Vladimir Luxuria, a former Communist lawmaker in the Italian parliament who has become a prominent transgender rights crusader and television personality, was stopped by four men and then driven away by police in a car with Olympic markings.

It was not known where she was taken.

Luxuria had been walking around the Olympic Park in Sochi for about two hours. She was shouting "Gay is OK" and "It’s OK to be gay" in both English and Russian.

As she was being led away from Shayba Arena, she was shouting "I have a ticket."

Luxuria earlier said she was detained on Sunday evening by Russian police who told her she should not wear clothes with slogans supporting gay rights. Police denied detaining her. Full story here!

Lesbian Snowboarder Becomes First Openly-Gay Athlete To Protest In Sochi

A lesbian snowboarder from the Netherlands became the first Olympic athlete to protest at the Games in Sochi. Yesterday, after a failed attempt to qualify for the slope style event, Dutch snowboarder Cheryl Maas looked into the camera then held her glove up to the camera’s lens.

The glove was covered with a rainbow and unicorn, two distinct icons associated with the LGBT community.

Maas, who is 29, is married to Norwegian former snowboarder Stine Brun Kjeldaas.

As Towleroad notes, she is also one of just six openly-gay athletes in the Sochi Olympics. 

Watch. The protest comes after the two-minute mark:

Arrested LGBT Activists In Russia: ‘Cops Beat Us, Said We Have To Suck Their Cocks’

The day of the opening of the Olympic Games, police in Russia arrested about 14 LGBT activists in two separate incidents. Ten of the activists were arrested in Moscow’s Red Square (video here) for singing the national anthem while holding a rainbow flag. They were taken to a local police station, where, they say, some were beaten and threatened with both sexual assault and acts of physical violence.

Buzzfeed is reporting that “Ulrika Westerlund of the LGBT organization RFSL, emailed to BuzzFeed a transcript of a text message exchange she had with Russian activists still in detention that reported at least two of the group had been beaten and threatened with sexual abuse.”

Here is a portion of the transcript, via Buzzfeed’s J. Lester Feder. The “Me” is Ulrika Westerlund:

From them: Yes, in cage. They beated [sic] two of us
Me: oh no, who? What can we do? Can you keep reporting? Are all of you in the same cage?
Them: Two queers. Before that they took us upstairs and said that we have to “suck their cocks” and that we have to be burned. When we said that we gonna complain. So they bring us back to cage. So we don't let them close it without paper, pen and their names. So they beat two of us and then used cuffs

Buzzfeed adds that one of the arrested protest organizers reported that “police officers almost broke two of the protestors’ arms by closing the door of the cage, some were kicked by police officers while handcuffed to the cage, and one protestor was momentarily choked by a police officer placing his arm across his throat.”

Most or all of the arrested are believed to have been released.

Queer Nation Splashes Olympic Flag with Blood Outside Russian Consulate in NYC

More than 100 members of LGBT activist group Queer Nation demonstrated in front of the Russian consulate in New York City at noon yesterday, including three people wearing Putin masks who dumped fake blood on the Olympic flag to underscore the IOC's complicity with the Russian government.

The group reports, via press release:

"We've focused on the IOC and how holding the Olympics in Sochi goes against everything in its charter," said Queer Nation member Ken Kidd, referring to past Queer Nation protests. "We've focused on NBC and major Olympic sponsors like Coke and McDonalds, who pay lip service to equality while profiting from inequality and ignoring Putin's human rights atrocities. Now we're once again laying our message right on Putin's doorstep. The whole world is watching -- literally. Putin can't hide his pogrom behind the sports page."

Among the protesters were gay Russians who have fled Russia and are seeking asylum in the U.S., members of RUSA LGBT, an organization of gay and lesbian Russian expatriates, students from Queens College, and members of Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village. They chanted "Queer rights are human rights!" and "Gay bashing is not an Olympic sport!"; held "Putin heads" on sticks; and carried anti-Putin signs in both English and Russian.

The protest is the latest in a series of high-profile protests launched by Queer Nation dating to July 2013. They include December 12 actions at two NBC employee Christmas parties and earlier confrontations with Moscow government officials at meetings promoting U.S. investment in Russia. The group has also targeted supporters of Putin performing at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall as well as "Russia Day" at the New York Stock Exchange.

Queer Nation has also targeted corporate sponsors of the Olympics, most notably Coca-Cola and McDonalds, through pointed, successful social media campaigns, including appropriating McDonalds' #CheersToSochi Twitter hash tag.

"The Russian government is on notice that the start of the Olympics is not the end of this fight," said Scott Wooledge, another Queer Nation member. "Overturning these laws and ensuring the rights of LGBT Russians is the only way for Putin to begin to repair that damage to his reputation on the world stage the passage of these laws has done."

Queer Nation To Protest Outside New York Russian Consulate During Opening Ceremonies

Queer Nation has issued a press release calling for a protest outside the Russian consulate in New York City to take place at noon this Friday, timed to line up with the opening ceremonies for the Sochi Olympics.

"'Vladimir Putin,' Russia’s president, will appear at the protest outside the Russian consulate at 9 E. 91st in Manhattan, where he is expected to desecrate an Olympic flag," the group writes.

From Queer Nation:New York, NY (January 30, 2014) —

Members of the gay activist group Queer Nation and others who oppose the Russian government’s continued attacks on human rights, including the rights of LGBT Russians, will mark the start of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games with a protest outside the Russian consulate in New York City at noon on February 6.

“Gay bashing is not an Olympic sport,” said Scott Wooledge, a member of Queer Nation. “The International Olympic Committee, the Olympic sponsors, including Coke, P&G, and McDonald’s, and the athletes who are competing in Russia have refused to support human rights -- so we will. The Russian government is on notice that the start of the Olympics is not the end of this fight."

"Vladimir Putin," Russia’s president, will appear at the protest outside the Russian consulate at 9 E. 91st in Manhattan, where he is expected to desecrate an Olympic flag.

Last June, the Russian government enacted legislation that effectively bans any pro-LGBT statement in public or private and on the Internet. In July, a law banning adoptions of Russian children by people from any jurisdiction that allows same sex marriage took effect. Last year, the Russian parliament considered legislation that would allow the government to remove children from a household headed by a gay or lesbian parent. While that legislation has been withdrawn ahead of the Olympics, activists believe the parliament will reintroduce it after the Games are over.

That legislation’s passage has been followed by unprecedented, effectively state-sanctioned violence against LGBT people, who have been harassed, arrested, beaten, raped, tortured, and killed. Activists had called for a boycott of Sochi and for the Games to be moved from Russia, citing its abysmal human rights record, including its attacks on LGBT Russians.

The protest is the latest in a series of high-profile protests launched by Queer Nation dating to July 2013. They include December 12 actions at two NBC employee Christmas parties and earlier confrontations with Moscow government officials at meetings promoting US investment in Russia. The group has also targeted supporters of Putin performing at the Metropolitan Opera and Carnegie Hall as well as “Russia Day” at the New York Stock Exchange.

Queer Nation has also targeted corporate sponsors of the Olympics, most notably Coca-Cola and McDonalds, through pointed, successful social media campaigns.

"Putin's anti-gay campaign has made him an international pariah," continued Wooledge. "Overturning these laws and ensuring the rights of LGBT Russians is the only way for him to begin to repair that damage to his reputation on the world stage."

Queer Nation is a direct action group dedicated to ending discrimination, violence and repression against the LGBT community.

Ireland's Trinity College to Ban Coca-Cola, P&G Products During Sochi Games

Citing Coca-Cola's refusal to denounce Russia’s anti-gay propaganda laws, Ireland’s Trinity College has announced that products by the Olympic sponsor will be banned from the campus during the upcoming Sochi Games. Products made by Proctor & Gamble, also a sponsor, will be banned as well.

 

TheJournal.ie reports that LGBTQ Rights Officer for Trinity College Dublin Students' Union, Stephen Hatton wrote a letter to Coca-Cola announcing their school's intent to boycott the company:

"Your company had an unparalleled opportunity to denounce the vulgar and inhumane Anti-Gay Laws of Russia on a worldwide stage, an action which, if made, would have undoubtedly sparked global awareness and positive change for the LGBTQ community in Russia and beyond."

Leanna Byrne, Communications Officer with TCDSU, says the ban “sends our a strong message”

“We’ve been mandated by the students to do this,” she said. “I think it’s very important that we stand by our minority groups. People might think it is not a student issue, but it it certainly is for a lot of  the people in college.”

She added: “There seems to be a lot of positive reaction from LGBT societies and organisations throughout the country.

TCDSU has also written to Coca-Cola about the company’s recent removal of a gay marriage scene from an Irish TV advertisement, saying that the omission is “an open insult to the LGBTQ community in Ireland and

Spaniards Hold Kiss-In to Protest Cardinal's Remarks That Homosexuality is a 'Defect'

Earlier this week, Spain's new Cardinal Fernando Sebastian Aguilar made international headlines when he told a newspaper in Malaga that homosexuality is a "defect" which can be corrected.

Said Aguilar:

"A lot of people complain and don't tolerate it but with all respect I say that homosexuality is a defective way of manifesting sexuality, because that has a structure and a purpose, which is procreation...We have a lot of defects in our bodies. I have high blood pressure. Am I going to get angry because they tell me that? It is a defect I have that I have to correct as far as I can...Pointing out a defect to a homosexual is not an offence, it is a help because many cases of homosexuality can be recovered and normalised with adequate treatment. It is not an offence, it is esteem. When someone has a defect, the good friend is the one who tells him."

On Thursday, approximately 30 people gathered at the gates of Malaga Cathedral to protest the newly-chosen Cardinal's remarks with a same-sex kiss-in.

Thousands Protests India Anti-Gay Supreme Court Decision

Earlier today, thousands of protesters took to the streets of New Delhi, Mumbai and other cities to protest the high court's decision Wednesday to uphold a law that criminalizes same-sex relations. Al Jazeera reports that many protesters wore black arm bands and carried rainbow-colored flags and banners that read "No going back!"

"It's my fundamental right to decide who I should love," said Rohan Mehta, a New Delhi-based businessman who was among the demonstrators on Sunday. "I will not let the court deprive me of my rights."

Activists on Sunday said the ruling had evoked anger and dismay across the country, and said they were in the process of taking legal steps to undo the court's decision.

India's federal government is also reportedly considering passing quick legislation to overturn the Supreme Court verdict.

Top ministers of India's Congress-led Progressive Alliance (UPA) indicated on Friday that the government may negate the court's judgement through an ordinance, a shortcut way to pass a law without parliamentary discussion.

Walmart Protestors Arrested in Alexandria, Virginia for freedom of speeching on a road

In Alexandria, Virginia, several people were arrested on Black Friday during a protest demanding better working conditions outside of a Walmart, according to police.

About 45 minutes into their protest, nine demonstrators were arrested for blocking traffic outside the Walmart on Richmond Highway in Alexandria. Only one person arrested was an employee at that Walmart location,  according to NBC Washington.

Around the country over 1,000 protests were planned at Walmart locations.

Supporters and workers are demanding full-time work with a minimum salary of $25,000 per year and the end of alleged retaliation against workers who speak out.

Walmart has 1.4 million employees, averaging $8.81 per hour.

A previous demonstration was also a part of a series of protests nationwide, and one of people arrested told News4 she was fired from a Walmart in Laurel because she was trying to organize.

The chief executive of giant US retailer Walmart recently stepped down while the company battles with a series of clashes with workers.

Mike Duke stepping down comes amidst the recent news that the campaign group Making Change at Walmart, the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) was to issue a decision to prosecute Walmart for “widespread violations of its workers’ rights”.

LGBT Activists Target NYSE's 'Russia Day'

Advocates for LGBT rights don't seem to be showing any signs of of slowing down in their efforts to highlight Russia's disturbing recent turn towards homophobia.  In fact, if anything, they're getting more creative.  RIA Novosti reports on the latest:

An already besieged set of events intended to promote investment in the Russian economy has come under further pressure, as a US gay rights activist has launched a petition asking the New York Stock Exchange to cancel its upcoming Russia Day.

The NYSE describes Russia Day, due to take place Monday, as an opportunity for “executives to engage in strategic discussions with business peers, asset allocators and investors, and Russian government officials about the opportunities in doing business and investing in Russia today.”

But the petition posted to Change.org describes investment opportunities as less important than human rights and accuses the Russian government of “banning any gay-positive speech and tacitly encouraging violence against LGBT Russians.”
“American money should not be supporting a country that is terrorizing its gay community,” the petition states.

As The New Civil Rights Movement pointed out, activists have already scored three big wins around the NYSE's Russia Day.  First, James Silkenat, President of the American Bar Association, cancelled a keynote he had planned to give at the Russia Forum NY investors' conference.  In addition, Goodwin Procter LLC, a major law firm which had planned to host Russian officials at its New York City office, pulled out of the conference.  Finally, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office explicitly disavowed any connection to the event after a claim that Bloomberg had sponsored it.

On Monday, Sergey Belyakov, Russia's deputy minister of economic development, is scheduled to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.  We'll have to wait and see if the NYSE pulls out of Russia Day, although it seems unlikely it will do so at this late hour.

“American money should not be supporting a country that is terrorizing its gay community,” the petition stated.  On Monday, Sergey Belyakov, Russia's deputy minister of economic development, is scheduled to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Today, however, the NYSE responded to the petition, and it's message was simple: we love gays, but we're not cancelling 'Russia Day.'  In a letter to Bert Leatherman, who started the Change.org petition, New York Stock Exchange Chairman Duncan Niederauer explained the organization's rationale for hosting the Russian event:

Events like “Russia Day” provide an opportunity to foster dialogue on a number of topics. In fact, it would not surprise me in the slightest if an attendee or potential investor were to express concerns over the issues raised in your petition. What we plan to do on Monday is to convene a forum for business leaders and other interested parties from across the globe to meet and discuss economic policies promoting entrepreneurship, financial market development and job creation.  In no way should this event be viewed as an implicit or explicit validation of any Russian government or social policies.

Queer Nation Protests U.S. Olympic Team Event in Times Square

As we reported yesterday, the activist group Queer Nation was on hand today at the U.S. Olympic Team's promotional "Road to Sochi Tour" which kicked off today in NYC's Times Square. These shots were posted to the Queer Nation FB page and feature a 50-foot-long 'Don't Believe Putin's Lies' rainbow banner designed by Pride flag creator Gilbert Baker.

USA Today reported on the protest:

Yelling "Homophobia's gotta go" the protesters unfurled banners that said "don't buy Putin's lies " and "boycott homophobia" while Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls spoke to a crowd of bystanders, news media and sponsors....

...Though the group's chants occurred during opening remarks from several Olympians during a media session, it wasn't disruptive.

"We made our point," Osbourne said as the group began to dissolve after 30 minutes. "The public is being allowed in shortly and we don't want to scare any little kids with loud chants."

Queer Nation to Protest U.S. Olympic Team 'Road to Sochi Tour' in Times Square on Tuesday

Activists from Queer Nation will be on hand when the U.S. Olympic Team kicks off its "Road to Sochi Tour" in NYC's Times Square on today at noon.

Writes the USOC in a press release about the event:

The 100 Day Countdown event has become a celebrated commemoration prior to each Olympic Games. In 2013, the event will include athlete demonstrations on a towering ski and snowboard ramp; an ice rink for curling, figure skating, speedskating and hockey demonstrations; and the Flying Ace All-Stars performing ski and snowboard tricks on trampolines – all in the heart of Times Square. The event will also include 12 interactive sport elements for fans to try, and more than 40 athletes are expected to participate in autograph sessions, demos and on-stage interviews, including the following Sochi 2014 hopefuls: Kelly Clark – snowboarding (halfpipe) · Sarah Hendrickson – ski jumping · Steve Holcomb – bobsled · Hannah Kearney – freestyle skiing (moguls) · Ted Ligety – alpine skiing · Taylor Lipsett – sled hockey · Evan Lysacek – figure skating · Elana Meyers – bobsled · Tom Wallisch – freestyle skiing (slopestyle) · Torin Yater-Wallace – freestyle skiing (halfpipe).

Writes Queer Nation on a Facebook page for its protest:

Join Queer Nation NY and the US Olympic Committee in Times Square at noon to "celebrate" 100 days until the start of the Winter Games at Sochi, Russia. Help Queer Nation NY s make a statement that "The Road to Sochi" is paved with the blood of LGBT people. Representatives of International and United States Olympic Committee will be on hand. Presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, there will also be a reception for Olympic Sponsors and VIPs at 1:30 pm.

The USOC has spoken out about Russia's anti-gay law:

In a show of its disapproval for Russia's anti-gay laws, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) decided yesterday to add sexual orientation to its non-discrimination policy, the AP reports. Though unwilling to go further and insist upon a change to the anti-gay laws currently in effect in Russia, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun added "The fact that we do not think it is our role to advocate for a change in the Russian law does not mean that we support the law, and we do not."

Queer Nation Disrupts Carnegie Hall Performance In Protest Against Anti-Gay Russia

As planned, activists from Queer Nation NY protested a performance at Carnegie Hall Thursday night led by Russian conductor, Valery Gergiev, who The New York Times calls, "one of Russia’s most important cultural exports these days." The furor was over Russia's recently enacted anti-gay law that makes it a crime to disseminate propaganda promoting "non-traditional" sexual orientations. Gergiev has been a vocal supporter of President Vladimir Putin, a key proponent of the of anti-gay measures in Russia, even receiving the recently resurrected Soviet-era honor "Hero of Labor" from Putin. Last month also saw Queer Nation NY show up to protest Gergiev and Russia's anti-gay policies at the opening night of New York's Metropolitan Opera.

From Queer Nation, via press release:

"Valery Gergiev should not be able to perform without being called out for his vocal support of Russia’s anti-gay president," said John Weir, one of the protesters. “Gergiev’s silence about Putin’s anti-gay laws is killing lesbian and gay Russians. We’re here to break that silence."

Earlier in the evening, Queer Nation protested in front of Carnegie Hall. Demonstrators, including several Russian gay men and women, carried a 60-foot rainbow flag that read “Support Russian Gays” and held placards. Protestors also handed out informational flyers to arriving audience members and passersby.

On October 4, Queer Nation wrote to Clive Gillinson, Carnegie Hall’s executive and artistic director, asking that Carnegie Hall condemn the Russian government’s attacks on LGBT Russians. He declined, adding that “musical events are not the appropriate setting for political statements.”

The NYT reports:

Gergiev, your silence is killing Russian gays!” several protesters shouted, as Mr. Gergiev, in tails, kept his back to the audience. Some members of the audience booed the protesters; others applauded. One woman yelled, “This is an artistic event!”

The protesters were removed from the auditorium, and the concert proceeded.

[...]

Both of the Gergiev performances delayed by protests had an added resonance for gay rights supporters. The Met opened its season with “Eugene Onegin” by Tchaikovsky, whom Peter Gelb, the Met’s general manager, described as “Russia’s great gay composer.” And the Carnegie Hall concert featured three Stravinsky ballets — “The Firebird,” “Pétrouchka,” and “The Rite of Spring” — that were commissioned by the great impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who was also gay, for his storied dance troupe, the Ballets Russes

Thousands Counterprotest Westboro Baptist Church in Montana

Shirley Phelps, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps, went to Bozeman, Montana with a few of her family members last week to protest at Montana State University and at a local Bozeman high school. What the “God Hates Fags” group got in return was a well-organized cold shoulder from an estimated 1000 protestors, aided by 1500 scoops of free ice cream.

Instead of attracting a crowd, the Westboro clan’s presence motivated Bozeman’s residents to gather in a local park to celebrate diversity and equality.

“This event really celebrates diversity and one of the core values of MSU which is inclusiveness. I’m really pleased with the turnout as well as the leadership we’ve seen from our students to pull this together,” MSU’s Dean, Matthew Caires, told local news station KBZK:

A rabbi was among those who cheered. “I scream, you scream we all scream for equality!”
Protesters were so engrossed in their cheering that even though Westboro members were protesting just around the corner, no one at this location considered paying them a visit.
A retired MSU professor, Alanna Brown said, “It’s a very corrupt protest and it’s so shocking that I – I loved that all the students – my son says thank god for our loving youth. I love that they organized this for the community!”
So when it was time for Westboro to move on to Bozeman High, this is what many counter-protesters did:
“We’re going to have ice cream for equality at Cooper Park! Join us now it’s free ice cream!”
Nova and Wild Joes Coffee were giving away free ice cream in an effort to keep thousands of people from showing up at Bozeman High – an effort that seemed to be working.
Megan Ulrich is a parent of a child who goes to Bozeman High School. She chose to come here instead.
“I told them that they were going to be protesting homosexuality at the high school and maybe not feed into it as much and come on over to Cooper Park and be with those who are with equality,” she said.
Hundreds of people followed her lead.
Brandon Clements, another counter-protestor against Westboro, was also at Cooper Park. “Ice cream is better than hanging out with warrior hate mongers,” he said.

Montana Human Rights Network, ACLU of Montana, Fair is Fair Montana,Montana Organizing Project, and Forward Montana: Bozeman all worked together to stage the peaceful counter rally.

Workers Rights Flash Mob breaks out at Walmart

Someone call Wade Robson, because in today's world, if you are making minimum wage, feel like you're being mistreated, and want to stand up for workers rights, you better be willing to serve up some complex choreography! 

That's what happened at a Raleigh, NC Walmart this week when a Workers Rights group asked the store to honour a petition and reinstate mistreated workers. The managers weren't having any of it, so it left the workers no choice but to serve them with some hot choreography, and make the managers shit their pants. 

Check out the video: