Chechen Authorities Arresting and Killing Gay Men

[Defiant]

While abuses by security services in the region, where Russia fought a two-decade war against Islamic insurgents, have long been a stain on President Vladimir V. Putin’s human rights record, gay people had not previously been targeted on a wide scale.

The men were detained “in connection with their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such,” the newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, reported, citing Russian federal law enforcement officials, who blamed the local authorities.

By Saturday, the paper reported, and an analyst of the region with her own sources confirmed, that more than 100 gay men had been detained. The newspaper had the names of three murder victims, and suspected many others had died in extrajudicial killings.

link

[Fireball]

Man, does Mike Pence wish he could be a Chechen leader today.

[Moliere]

Man, does Mike Pence wish he could be a Chechen leader today.

Is he on record for wanting gay people to be arrested and murdered?

[Enough]

Man, does Mike Pence wish he could be a Chechen leader today.

Is he on record for wanting gay people to be arrested and murdered?

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

[Moliere]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

[Enough]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

Not so sure you do. Taking money meant for AIDs research/treatment and redirecting it to suicide-inducing ex-gay conversion camps is pretty fucking evil. At least good enough for an out gay person who has been friends with us on OO for years to make a throwaway jokey comment without the concern trolling you applied. Pence richly deserves being made fun of by Fireball betting Pence wishes he could be a Chechnya politico. The whole Godwin argument comparing is really only yours at this point and is overwrought.

[Moliere]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

Not so sure you do. Taking money meant for AIDs research/treatment and redirecting it to suicide-inducing ex-gay conversion camps is pretty fucking evil. At least good enough for an out gay person who has been friends with us on OO for years to make a throwaway jokey comment without the concern trolling you applied. Pence richly deserves being made fun of by Fireball betting Pence wishes he could be a Chechnya politico. The whole Godwin argument comparing is really only yours at this point and is overwrought.

I know. I get it. You don't have to keep repeating yourself. I will tow the company OO line and only critique anything Rip and em2nought post. Otherwise I will be designated with a nickname by hepcat like Rip Jr. or Mini Rip.

[Enough]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

Not so sure you do. Taking money meant for AIDs research/treatment and redirecting it to suicide-inducing ex-gay conversion camps is pretty fucking evil. At least good enough for an out gay person who has been friends with us on OO for years to make a throwaway jokey comment without the concern trolling you applied. Pence richly deserves being made fun of by Fireball betting Pence wishes he could be a Chechnya politico. The whole Godwin argument comparing is really only yours at this point and is overwrought.

I know. I get it. You don't have to keep repeating yourself. I will tow the company OO line and only critique anything Rip and em2nought post. Otherwise I will be designated with a nickname by hepcat like Rip Jr. or Mini Rip.

Mcseriously? Come on man, we're all buddies here. Your critiques are most welcome and so are my rejoinders. Plus, I am pretty sure Hep will or has given us all nicks at some point.

[Max Peck]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

Not so sure you do. Taking money meant for AIDs research/treatment and redirecting it to suicide-inducing ex-gay conversion camps is pretty fucking evil. At least good enough for an out gay person who has been friends with us on OO for years to make a throwaway jokey comment without the concern trolling you applied. Pence richly deserves being made fun of by Fireball betting Pence wishes he could be a Chechnya politico. The whole Godwin argument comparing is really only yours at this point and is overwrought.

I know. I get it. You don't have to keep repeating yourself. I will tow the company OO line and only critique anything Rip and em2nought post. Otherwise I will be designated with a nickname by hepcat like Rip Jr. or Mini Rip.

Toe the line.

Well, unless you're going with some sort of tugboat metaphor, in which case carry on as you were.

[Rip]

[Zarathud]

Plus, I am pretty sure Hep will or has given us all nicks at some point.

Don't encourage hepcat. At least he doesn't have film footage of you.....
....and it puts the lotion on its skin.

Ran into a friend who started the transgender op at the friendly local game store today. He is definitely a much happier person after the change. Pence would call them an abomination, but I see a person who was unhappy and has found their way. Whatever dissonance I feel is nothing compared to living it everyday, let alone being punished by the Republicans over using the bathroom.

I don't see Pence crying any tears over the Chechens. And I certainly don't see a Trump-Pence administration doing anything about it, even an ambassador's protest. Particularly after Trump endorsed similar extrajudicial attacks in the Philippines.

[hepcat]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

Not so sure you do. Taking money meant for AIDs research/treatment and redirecting it to suicide-inducing ex-gay conversion camps is pretty fucking evil. At least good enough for an out gay person who has been friends with us on OO for years to make a throwaway jokey comment without the concern trolling you applied. Pence richly deserves being made fun of by Fireball betting Pence wishes he could be a Chechnya politico. The whole Godwin argument comparing is really only yours at this point and is overwrought.

I know. I get it. You don't have to keep repeating yourself. I will tow the company OO line and only critique anything Rip and em2nought post. Otherwise I will be designated with a nickname by hepcat like Rip Jr. or Mini Rip.

You're safe. I seldom pay any attention to you.

[Moliere]

You're safe. I seldom pay any attention to you.

You're a fan of The Magicians, right?

Spoiler:

[hepcat]

...and now everyone else understands why.

[LawBeefaroni]

So, back to that whole Chechen thing. It never happened because it can't happen. You can't detain or murder individuals whose very existence is an impossibility.

Spokesman for Chechnya’s leader Ramzan Kadyrov, Alvi Karimov, said the report was “absolute lies and disinformation” and claimed gay people did not exist in the state.

“You cannot detain and persecute people who simply do not exist in the republic,” he told Interfax news agency.

“If there were such people in Chechnya, the law-enforcement organs wouldn’t need to have anything to do with them because their relatives would send them somewhere from which there is no returning.”

Now that reminds me of Pence.

[Freyland]

The irony of the above picture is that by quick glance it looks like the "C" of "dick" nailed it's namesake to the board.

Irony board? I need

[Defiant]

Chechnya opens world's first concentration camp for homosexuals since Hitler's in the 1930s where campaigners say gay men are being tortured with electric shocks and beaten to death

[hepcat]

Christ, this world makes me sick to my stomach some days.

[em2nought]

Is he on record saying horrid things about gay rights like that gay marriage signals societal collapse? For an obvious throwaway comment said in spite, I think that linkage would be plenty, no? Or are you working the Godwin angle here? If so, would him wanting to divert federal AIDs money to ex-gay conversion camps at least sort of past muster?

He doesn't like gay people and withholding federal money for AIDS programs is the same as murdering gay people. Got it.

Not so sure you do. Taking money meant for AIDs research/treatment and redirecting it to suicide-inducing ex-gay conversion camps is pretty fucking evil. At least good enough for an out gay person who has been friends with us on OO for years to make a throwaway jokey comment without the concern trolling you applied. Pence richly deserves being made fun of by Fireball betting Pence wishes he could be a Chechnya politico. The whole Godwin argument comparing is really only yours at this point and is overwrought.

I know. I get it. You don't have to keep repeating yourself. I will tow the company OO line and only critique anything Rip and em2nought post. Otherwise I will be designated with a nickname by hepcat like Rip Jr. or Mini Rip.

Hepcat's just sweet on me. If only I rolled that way as I'm a pretty lonely guy, but alas it is not to be.

[Remus West]

You've clearly never seen the Hair. Yes, it deserves a capital H.

[hepcat]

Sadly, it's thinning on top these days. But I plan on freezing it and putting it in storage for future generations to enjoy before it gets worse.

[Defiant]

A few politicians have condemned what has been happening including Biden, Clinton, Pelosi and Haley, one of the few people in the administration I actually admire.

[AWS260]

Further reporting on the pogrom. I have great admiration for the Russian volunteers who are helping gay men flee Chechnya.

[Defiant]

But shockingly, one survivor reveals: ‘They tell the parents to kill their children.
‘They say “Either you do it, or we will.”
‘They tortured a man for two weeks [then] they summoned his parents and brothers who all came.
‘[The authorities] said to them: “Your son is a homosexual – sort it out or we’ll do it ourselves.”‘
According to the eye witness, the family took him to a forest and killed him.
They buried him there ‘but didn’t even give him a funeral,’ he said.

Just today, Russian police rounded up LGBTI activists protesting the persecution of gay men in Chechnya.
A group of ten protestors were arrested near the Anichkov Palace in St Petersburg.

link

[Alefroth]

At least one world leader is giving it notice.

[hepcat]

Merkel is rapidly becoming one of my favorite world leaders. I think I'll write "Mr. Hepcat Merkel" in all my notebooks now.

[Alefroth]

I'd support her as president of the New World Order.

[Pyperkub]

Not a peep from Trump about Chechnya in his talk with Putin?

Searched the whole article for it.

[Freyland]

Maybe it's time to invite the leader of Chechnya to the White House, too.

[hepcat]

Our Russian accountant actually became somewhat upset when someone brought up Putin's name in conjunction with this. She is adamant that Putin has no pull whatsoever in Chechnya and that people trying to drag him into this are just trying to smear his name. It was an odd and uncomfortable few minutes.

[Rip]

If people want to blame someone I would suggest they start with this guy.

[Fireball]

But shockingly, one survivor reveals: ‘They tell the parents to kill their children.
‘They say “Either you do it, or we will.”
‘They tortured a man for two weeks [then] they summoned his parents and brothers who all came.
‘[The authorities] said to them: “Your son is a homosexual – sort it out or we’ll do it ourselves.”‘
According to the eye witness, the family took him to a forest and killed him.
They buried him there ‘but didn’t even give him a funeral,’ he said.

Just today, Russian police rounded up LGBTI activists protesting the persecution of gay men in Chechnya.
A group of ten protestors were arrested near the Anichkov Palace in St Petersburg.

link

Crickets from the White House. No reason to think Donald Trump cares, or that Mike Pence disapproves.

[hepcat]

If people want to blame someone I would suggest they start with this guy.

History lesson time.

Ramzan Kadyrov, whom Vladimir Putin chose to govern Chechnya...

In 2011, Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who rules the republic as his own private fiefdom but remains unquestionably loyal to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, showed off the Grozny-City complex at his extravagant thirty-fifth-birthday party. Hilary Swank and Jean-Claude Van Damme appeared onstage—for unspecified fees—to watch an acrobatics show and a concert. Asked where the money for the celebration came from, Kadyrov told reporters, “Allah gives it to us.”

“Putin thought of Kadyrov the father as a person with whom he reached a particular political agreement—their relations were honest and businesslike but ultimately political,” Chesnakov said. “But he relates to the son with a certain warmth.” With Putin’s blessing, Kadyrov claimed the throne that had been granted to his father.

No one is saying Putin directly ordered this. They're saying Putin should be telling them to cut it out since he has a considerable amount of blame in the lunatic's ascension to power.

[Defiant]

Gay Russians Are Trying To Flee Kidnapping And Torture. The US Has Denied Them Visas.

[Defiant]

Activists Say Chechnya Has Restarted Its Crackdown Against LGBT People