Poland elects Ultra-homophobe. 65 arreseted for equality protest

[punkrockfaggot]

Cheers Isambaard.. now all i need is a stable job for a few months...

 

[Isambard]

Relevancy to the majority of UK domestic news readers and viewers being?

Largest (size and population) new member of the EU and already flexing its political muscles in a club the UK, like or not, is a member of.

Significant number of Poles living in some major cities of the UK.

The fairly unique situation where 2 brothers are effectively controlling the government and the state apparatus in a modern European democracy and currently sidelining "traditional" political divide of social democracy / christian democrats / liberals.

Poland a key player in the whole argument about gas supplies.

State sanctioned (or at best tolerated) physical attacks on LGBT events in 2 major cities in modern Europe is news in itself too surely?


--------------

PRF, also consider flying to Berlin if you can get a cheap flight.
An hour-ish is the border with Poland. On the fastest trains its, top of me head, about 4 hours to Warsaw (???)

Poland's not so cheap that you can light your smokes with the money but significantly cheaper than western Europe let alone the UK.

 

[oi2002]

I'm confused by EU politics. Are EU countries really going to take issue with Poland over "gay rights"? And yet this same EU is considering Turkey for admission? Are the Turks going to be held to different standards than the Poles?

Interesting point. The Poles are already in the EU of course and I doubt that Turkey will face a problem over gay rights with the EU. The growing unpopularity of the recent EU expansion in the core continental EU countries makes Turkey's entry unlikely, it's supported mainly by peripheral member states like Britain. Turks tell me they're cooling on the idea as anti-westernism grows in the ME.

I did some research on the topic link.

Rest of Europe

Portugal, France, Norway, Sweden, Slovenia, Finland, Hungary, Croatia and Denmark recognize same-sex civil unions. Germany recognizes same-sex civil unions, which confers rights to joint adoption. The Netherlands, Spain and Belgium recognize same-sex marriages, including the right to joint adoption.

Most east European countries have laws banning discrimination against gay people; however, few of them recognise same-sex civil unions (with the exception of Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia). The mayor of Warsaw who has since elected President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, twice banned Pride marches in recent years. They went ahead against his wishes, but marchers were harassed and assaulted.

The Middle East
Turkey, Cyprus and Israel are of the few countries in the Middle East where Homosexuality is not illegal or persecuted by the authorities. In Israel, same sex marriage is not officially recognized, but common-law marriage status (gay) has been established after numerous high court appeals. Israel has an active gay community, with annual gay pride festivals held in Tel-Aviv since 1998. The World Pride Festival in Jerusalem, originally planned for 2005, was postponed until 2006. An attempt by Jerusalem's mayor to thwart Jerusalem pride in June 2005 was challenged in the courts. The mayor lost and was ordered to contribute funds to the event.

In most other Middle Eastern countries homosexuality is illegal, often punishable by flogging and even hanging.

The Irish republic only decriminalized homosexuality in 93, I recall Ian Paisley saying there could never be a united Ireland, it was still illegal at the time in the North. The RoI despite it recent progress is culturally rather similar to Poland. Both are very Catholic and naturally reactionary. Eire scores very badly on all the metrics of social progression in the last survey I read, being only just ahead of Japan on womans rights.

On the subject of gay pride marches, Turkey seems similar to Poland according to this:

The age of consent in Turkey is 18. There are no articles on homosexuality in the law but vague references to public morals and public order. The police has the legal right to take anyone who looks suspicious to the police station for interrogation. The general crime level in big cities is among the lowest in Europe. Nine milliion tourists are expected to visit the country in 1996.

Turkey is geographically, politically, economically in Europe. More than 90% of its population is muslim. The police has wide powers, and some fractions in the police force has close ties with the radical nationalist right-wing groups. Despite the lack of any organized gay bashing, gays have not been allowed to come out and get organized in an open fashion. gay movements so far have been underground movements. "International Christopher Street day" (gay pride) festivities planned to take place in Istanbul in July 1993 was first allowed, and then banned by the local government officials before taking place. A similar attempt to organize a cultural week in September 1995 by Lambda Istanbul was not allowed on the grounds "of public morals".

 

[Isambard]

Thanks for the research oi2002

I had a look and Pride in Warsaw is on June 11th (Sunday).

 

[punkrockfaggot]

– In the Spring of 2005, Law and Justice politician Kazimierz Michal Ujazdowski is reported as stating during an election meeting in Torun : “Let's not mistake the brutal propaganda of homosexual attitudes for calls for tolerance. For them our rule will indeed mean a dark night”.
Mr Ujazdowski is now the Minister of Culture.

 

[Roadkill]

Well, I mentioned Turkey because I expect that their policies on "gay rights" are even less liberal than those of Poland.

One can't help wondering why rogue yam uses quotation marks around the phrase "gay rights" ...

 

[kyser_soze]

Largest (size and population) new member of the EU and already flexing its political muscles in a club the UK, like or not, is a member of.

Significant number of Poles living in some major cities of the UK.

The fairly unique situation where 2 brothers are effectively controlling the government and the state apparatus in a modern European democracy and currently sidelining "traditional" political divide of social democracy / christian democrats / liberals.

Poland a key player in the whole argument about gas supplies.

State sanctioned (or at best tolerated) physical attacks on LGBT events in 2 major cities in modern Europe is news in itself too surely?
.

The Conseil D'Europe report on institutional racism in France's judicial system garnered the same number of CCs in the UK national press as this story - France is one of the founder members of both the Council and EU; it is governed by a politician who would most likely be in jail for embezzlement in the UK.

And yet none of it makes the news headlines on a daily basis.

I don't want to belabour the point nor give the impression that it's not 'news', but on balance if I were a news ed of a newspaper or TV station as a story that is going to keep people reading/watching/listening outside of two minority groups (both of whom have extensive internal press and internet news presence) I wouldn't be running minutes/devoting CCs to it on a long term basis.

 

[Streathamite]

Well, I mentioned Turkey because I expect that their policies on "gay rights" are even less liberal than those of Poland.

err....I'd hate to think you were a homophobe as well as a racist - it really, really would crucify me, so would you mind awfully explaining why the twin inverted commas round the phrase 'gay rights'?
(and don't try ask the same back. mine is grammatical correctness necessitated by the word 'phrase'. trying to be smart would not suit, as e'er).

 

[Nine Bob Note]

Has anyone noticed the lack of notice that the British Media is taking of the shituation?

Well, rife as homophobia still is in this country (read the 'unique' reviews of Brokeback Mountain in today's Scum, for example), I do believe that a lot of people would be rather pleased to see the EU taking action against homophobic regimes - but that ain't a picture of the EU that large swathes of the British press are interested in painting. Far better to have stories about how the EU bans bendy bananas and holds British 'culture' in contempt.

Also, don't forget that Britain, itself, has been hauled over the coals by the EU on numerous occassions on the issue of gay equality - age of consent, gays in the military and employment discrimination. The Blair government even contested the latter.

 

[Streathamite]

err....I'd hate to think you were a homophobe as well as a racist - it really, really would crucify me, so would you mind awfully explaining why the twin inverted commas round the phrase 'gay rights'?
(and don't try ask the same back. mine is grammatical correctness necessitated by the word 'phrase'. trying to be smart would not suit, as e'er).

well, yammie? running away from the question, are we?

 

[Roadkill]

well, yammie? running away from the question, are we?

It does look that way, doesn't it?

 

[Streathamite]

your diagnosis is correct, Dr Roadie!
(you do realise we're gonna rib you about the doctor thang till t'cows come home, don'tcha mate? )

 

[Roadkill]

your diagnosis is correct, Dr Roadie!
(you do realise we're gonna rib you about the doctor thang till t'cows come home, don'tcha mate? )

Of course my diagnosis is correct!

Trust me, I'm a doctor...

 

[Roadkill]

Nope, still nothing from the selectively deaf rogue yam.

One might almost think he's afraid to give an answer...

 

[nino_savatte]

Nope, still nothing from the selectively deaf rogue yam.

One might almost think he's afraid to give an answer...

He's waiting for his daily data input from freepercentral before he returns to give us the benefit of his 'wisdom'.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

He's waiting for his daily data input from freepercentral before he returns to give us the benefit of his 'wisdom'.

And he still didn't give me a satisfactory list of 'liberated' nations. RY the lobotomised liberator.

 

[nino_savatte]

And he still didn't give me a satisfactory list of 'liberated' nations. RY the lobotomised liberator.

He claimed that the left always gives money to murderers on another thread. I gave him a short list of murderers that the US has provided money, arms and training to.

He hasn't gotten back to me.

 

[sihhi]

Significant number of Poles living in some major cities of the UK...

Poles are actually Britain's largest growing ethnic minority-
I think it does merit airtime if only to analyse the thoughts of Poles here.