Trump doesn’t really get the difference between rights and wrongs; Washington Post, July 27, 2017

Tom Toles, Washington Post; Trump doesn’t really get the difference between rights and wrongs

"I needed to throw somebody under the bus."

Ramzan Kadyrov says there are no gay men in Chechnya — and if there are any, they should move to Canada; Washington Post, July 15, 2017

Adam Taylor, Washington Post; Ramzan Kadyrov says there are no gay men in Chechnya — and if there are any, they should move to Canada

[Kip Currier: Kudos to brave and principled journalists around the world for raising awareness of untold examples of barbarism and ignorance, giving voice to those who suffer and are often silenced and unrecognized. Humankind is indebted to you for your important work.]

"“This is nonsense,” Kadyrov said when asked about the allegations. “We don't have those kinds of people here. We don't have any gays. If there are any, take them to Canada.”

“Praise be to god,” the Chechen leader adds. “Take them far from us so we don't have them at home. To purify our blood, if there are any here, take them.”

Kadyrov's comments came during an interview with HBO reporter David Scott for the show “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.” The interview is just one part of a broader package that will air at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday about how Kadyrov is using mixed martial arts (MMA) to spread a political message overseas...

In his interview with Scott, Kadyrov initially laughs dismissively at questions about the allegations. “Why did he come here?” he says to someone off camera. “What's the point of these questions?” But as Scott presses him, Kadyrov talks angrily about the reporters and activists who write about LGBT rights in Chechnya.

“They are devils. They are for sale. They are not people,” he says. “God damn them for what they are accusing us of. They will have to answer to the almighty for this.”

Elena Milashina, one of the two Novaya Gazeta reporters who broke the story, told WorldViews in April that she had gone into hiding after threats against her newspaper's staff from religious leaders in Chechnya. “It reminds us of the situation with Charlie Hebdo,” Milashina said, referring to the satirical French newspaper that was attacked by Islamist militant gunmen in 2015, resulting in the deaths of 12."

'No room' in Indonesia for gay rights, says president's spokesman; Agence France-Press via Guardian, 8/11/16

Agence France-Press via Guardian; 'No room' in Indonesia for gay rights, says president's spokesman:

"There is “no room” for the gay community in Indonesia, the president’s spokesman has said, as a new report criticised officials for an unprecedented series of LGBT attacks.

“Rights of citizens like going to school and getting an ID card are protected, but there is no room in Indonesia for the proliferation of the LGBT movement,” presidential spokesman Johan Budi said.

Indonesia’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens have long been targeted by vigilante Islamist groups.

But the community experienced an “immediate deterioration” in their rights following a sustained assault by ministers, religious hardliners and influential Islamic organisations in the space of two months this year, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on Thursday."

Prince William Appears on the Cover of Attitude, a Gay Magazine; New York Times, 6/15/16

Katie Williams, New York Times; Prince William Appears on the Cover of Attitude, a Gay Magazine:

"After meeting with a group of gay people who said they had been bullied, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, appeared on the cover of Attitude, a gay magazine, and urged young people to report instances of abuse to an adult.

“No one should be bullied for their sexuality or any other reason, and no one should have to put up with the kind of hate that these young people have endured in their lives,” Prince William said in an accompanying statement. “You should be proud of the person you are, and you have nothing to be ashamed of.”

The cover was planned weeks before a shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., killed 49 people, but the magazine said in a statement that the type of hatred exhibited by the gunman, Omar Mateen, begins at an early age.

“Such violence does not exist in a vacuum but snowballs from intolerance and bullying that begins in classrooms, too often comes from politicians, religious leaders and is often not treated with respect by the media,” the statement read.

For Prince William, the decision to meet with members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community appears to be a further venture into gay rights issues and an extension of a broader effort to combat bullying."

80 Big-Name Business Leaders Just Took A Stand Against North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Law; Huffington Post, 3/29/16

Elise Foley, Huffington Post; 80 Big-Name Business Leaders Just Took A Stand Against North Carolina’s Anti-LGBT Law:

"The fight against North Carolina’s new anti-LGBT law gained some high-profile support on Tuesday, when more than 80 prominent business leaders signed a letter calling for a full repeal.

“Discrimination is wrong, and we believe it has no place in North Carolina or anywhere in our country,” reads the letter to North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R), released by LGBT civil rights groups Human Rights Campaign and Equality NC. “As companies that pride ourselves on being inclusive and welcoming to all, we strongly urge you and the leadership of North Carolina’s legislature to repeal this law in the upcoming legislative session.”

The legislation, which McCrory signed into law last week, prevents local governments from creating their own rules and ordinances to protect LGBT rights. The governor on Monday dismissed backlash against the legislation as “well-coordinated and more political theater than reality.”

Pressure from corporations has worked before in other states, and the letter made the same arguments that discrimination is bad for business.

Most of the signatories lead companies that aren’t headquartered in North Carolina, but it’s a high-profile list, including the heads of Apple, Facebook, Airbnb, Yahoo, Twitter, Salesforce, Marriott, Pfizer and Levi Strauss. Bank of America, the largest corporation in the state by revenue, was left out of the original letter, but announced later on Tuesday that it had signed the letter."

Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens; Huffington Post, 1/20/16

Alana Horowitz Satlin, Huffington Post; Biden Is Sick Of LGBT People Getting Treated Like Second-Class Citizens:

"Vice President Joe Biden got visibly heated while discussing the importance of LGBT rights on Wednesday.

Speaking at an LGBT rights roundtable at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Veep lamented that openly gay and transgender people are still treated like second class citizens around the world.

"LGBT people face violence, harassment, unequal treatment, mistreatment by cops, denial of health care, isolation -- always in the name of culture. I've had it up to here with culture. I really mean it," he said, striking the table with his palms. "Culture never justifies rank, raw, discrimination or violation of human rights. There is no cultural justification. None. None. None."

Biden said that he has confronted at least four heads of state from countries where people face persecution over their sexuality. He didn't say which leaders he spoke to, but at least 75 countries represented in Davos outlaw homosexuality."