Putin Wants to Extinguish Gays to Have More Births- Also meet his Twin
kremlin.ru / obozrezatel.com
Putin’s official Kremlin photo, right, and the dog that some say resembles Putin
The Moscow Times
Putin has come up with an excuse to try to extinguish the gay population. He wants more births. Ok stop laughing so you can read!
That doesn’t bother me as much as him comparing gays to pedophiles and I ask, from all the heads of states he meets, isn’t there one than can educate him on that point at least. What nobody has the courage? Obama? Somebody, anybody?
- Russian president: Country needs to "cleanse" itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase birth rate
Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered new assurances to gay athletes and fans attending the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics next month. Yet he defended Russia's anti-gay law by equating gays with pedophiles and said Russia needs to "cleanse" itself of homosexuality if it wants to increase its birth rate.
Putin's comments in an interview broadcast Sunday with Russian and foreign television stations showed the wide gulf between the perception of homosexuality in Russia versus the West.
A Russian law passed last year banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" among minors has caused an international outcry.
Putin refused to answer a question from the BBC on whether he believes that people are born gay or become gay. The Russian law, however, suggests that information about homosexuality can influence a child's sexual orientation.
The law has contributed to growing animosity toward gays in Russian society, with rights activists reporting a rise in harassment and abuse.
International worries about how gays will be treated in Sochi have been met with assurances from Russian officials and Olympics organizers that there will be no discrimination, and Putin reiterated that stance.
"There are no fears for people with this nontraditional orientation who plan to come to Sochi as guests or participants," Putin declared in the TV interview.
He said the law was aimed at banning propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia, suggesting that gays are more likely to abuse children.
Making another favorite argument against homosexuality, Putin noted with pride that Russia saw more births than deaths last year for the first time in two decades. Population growth is vital for Russia's development and "anything that gets in the way of that we should clean up," he said, using a word usually reserved for military operations.
The law on propaganda has been used to justify barring gay pride rallies on the grounds that children might see them. This has raised the question of how athletes and fans would be treated for any gay-rights protests during the Olympics.
When asked about this by the ABC TV channel, Putin said protests against the law itself would not be considered propaganda.
Putin then hit back, accusing the United States of double standards in its criticism of Russia, pointing to laws that remain on the books in some U.S. states classifying gay sex as a crime. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, ruled in 2003 that such laws were unconstitutional.
Homosexuality was a crime in the entire former Soviet Union, which collapsed in 1991. It was decriminalized in Russia in 1993.
A man in Ukraine has found a canine whose piercing gaze is strangely reminiscent of President Vladimir Putin's.
The dog, found in central Kiev and first reported by the website Obozrevatel.com, is thought to be a mix between a Staffordshire terrier and a German shepherd.
The canine even appears dressed to be a head of state, with white markings on its chest seemingly forming a furry tie.
Further details about the dog — and the man who found it — were not immediately available.
Internet commentators were quick to joke about the dog, saying that Putin looks more like the dog than the dog looks like Putin and making references to Mikhail Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog," in which a dog turns into a man.
Putin, whose press service had no immediate comment about the photo, would perhaps like meeting his doppelganger dog, as the president is an avid dog-lover and owns several of his own.
Little is known about this dog, whose photo was first published by the website oborezatel.com.
The dog, found in central Kiev and first reported by the website Obozrevatel.com, is thought to be a mix between a Staffordshire terrier and a German shepherd.
The canine even appears dressed to be a head of state, with white markings on its chest seemingly forming a furry tie.
Further details about the dog — and the man who found it — were not immediately available.
Internet commentators were quick to joke about the dog, saying that Putin looks more like the dog than the dog looks like Putin and making references to Mikhail Bulgakov's "Heart of a Dog," in which a dog turns into a man.
Popular Irish comic presenter Graham Norton asked wryly on Twitter: "Geeeeeenius! I wonder if it bites the gays?"
Putin has come under harsh international criticism for an anti-gay law passed in June. Supporters of the vaguely worded law say it aims to protect society by making it a crime to "promote" homosexuality among minors. But gay rights defenders say the law has fueled homophobia and led to a surge in attacks, sometimes violent, against gays.
Other Internet users were also amused by the dog photo. A Russian blogger on LiveJournal cautioned, "Just don't make this dog angry," while other people expressed fears — albeit half-jokingly — that the dog's owner might have already been arrested.
One Twitter user wrote simply, "Vladimir Poochin."
Putin, whose press service had no immediate comment about the photo, would perhaps like meeting his doppelganger dog, as the president is an avid dog-lover and owns several of his own.
Little is known about this dog, whose photo was first published by the website oborezatel.com.
The Moscow Times
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