Eurovision: Oh Those Russians!

Textbook hysterical over-reaction from Pink News.

Been a while since the gay/GBH media has had a chance to return to its favourite licence to write bollocks, Russia.

The sad thing is, I'm not sure Nick Duffy believes a word of this.

Or maybe, like most gay journalists, he's happy to be a handmaiden of power?

Eniarku tub enoyna!

See also: The Eurovision dilemma: What if Russia wins, Gay Star News, If Russia wins, will Eurovision's gay fans boo or cheer, Telegraph.Could Russia actually win the song contest despite its anti-gay law, Independent. Snore!

PS See the hilarious comments section after this gem.

Good to know Pink News readers know more about what Russia's actually like than, erm... a Russian!

See also: Gay clubbing and stoic activism in Russia’s homophobic heartland, Guardian report from the industrial city of Samara, where gay life goes quietly on.

There's an interesting interview with a gay Russian Eurovision fan on GT online, 'Boycotting my country will only make things worse'.

Pope Francis: The Man Who Changed The World

Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope on 13 March 2013 - taking the papal name Francis.

And just four months after his election - at the end of July back in 2013 - he uttered the now infamous words: "Who am I to judge?" when asked about his feelings on Catholic homosexuals.

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from Brazil, he turned around the perception of a church that was out of touch.

Responding to a question asking if there was a "gay lobby" in the Vatican, he said: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" *

This statement has been repeated hundreds of thousands of times around the world - by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Was this the question that changed the world? With 1.2 billion [sic] followers of the religion it was a monumental moment for the history of Catholicism.

Since that fateful moment, Pope Francis has been hailed as a revolutionary leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...

 

Daily Express.

Calm down, dear.

 

As popes go Francis isn't the worst, but that's a bit like saying Albert Speer wasn't the worst Nazi.

PS The Pope's 'gay-friendly' image is a con, and it's time we stopped falling for it, Nick Duffy, Pink News.

 

PPS An interesting history of the Catholic Church's notion of sex as sin, and the sanctity of sperm, by David Morris at AlterNet.

* Frankie later un/clarified this statement.

 

Update: Frankie told US Congress today he still thinks we is children of a lesser god and gay marriage is Satan's spunk.

 

And finally... some got very excited that a couple of god-bothering LGBTers were invited to a White House reception for his holiness. 

 

But I'm not sure if he noticed them among the 11,000 other guests.