First Party, we are one;
we have same purpose;
we stand together.

The pioneers always have the toughest way to go…
Here’s our shoulder.
We are your rear support;
We are your intercessors…

(Aleksei Ledyaev {apostolic translation, not mine})

Some of you may have noted the antics of New Generation, a mostly Russophone sect closely tied to Šlesers’ First Party (LPP)—I am choosing to describe it as “a mostly Russophone sect” on purpose, because that’s what it is (Ledyaev, its leader and a self-described “apostle,” was furious when our President described it that way).

Ledyaev, who doesn’t speak Latvian and sees LPP and his sect as having the same goal (including “establishing bilingualism in Latvia”—see an interview with the Apostle here, in Latvian: http://onslovs.blogspot.com/2006/07/kas-sti-ir-jaun-paaudze.html) is one of the major forces behind gay-bashing in Latvia.

The latest ruckus was caused by this caricature—

http://www.vdiena.lv/lat/politics/comblog/ernests/2007-01-16/9188?comm_page=19

...which resulted in the offices of Diena being surrounded by the “Dream Team”—

http://newgeneration.lv/lat/jaunumi/?doc=2186

As to how “bilingual” the sect is, check out their forum—

http://www.newgeneration.lv/forum/index.php

(maybe Šlesers’ dream Latvia will be bilingual in Russian and English?!)

The caricature event was especially amusing because Apostle Ledyaev is also a rabid Islamophobe.

But the reason I am bringing this up now is that a friend of mine in Portland sent me an article entitled “God, Gays & Glasnost: the Oregon Citizens Alliance is back, and banking on Soviet émigrés for its revival.” An extract:

Lively’s reason to believe the OCA could return from dormancy to its glory days of the early 1990s, when it claimed to have more than 3,400 members and earned national notice for getting anti-gay measures on the state ballot, are immigrants from the former Soviet Union who haven’t yet been indoctrinated by American culture.

“There is a fairly sizable Russian population in Portland who is not poisoned to the OCA. That’s a good place to start,” Lively says. “They weren’t poisoned by the sexual revolution.”

Lively, a longtime OCA leader, introduced five members from the group the Watchmen on the Walls—an international network of Christian activists dedicated to fighting what it calls “the homosexual agenda”—to show a video of their movement in parts of the former Soviet Union.

The 45-minute video, which repeatedly refers to homosexuals as “terrorists,” shows how conservative Latvians successfully stopped gays from marching in their capital, Riga. (European news reports show anti-gay demonstrators throwing feces on the gays.)

The video also features Alexei Ledyaev—a Kazakhstan-born Baptist pastor and leader of the New Generation Church, whose satellite broadcasts claim an audience of more than 200 million people—leading large crowds in chants of “In the name of Jesus Christ, we curse the name of homosexuality!”

http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3313/8513/

So this latest “Latvian” export could be coming soon to a theater near you! Nice “bilingualism” in the pastors’ names below, too, eh?

http://newgeneration.lv/lat/jp_pasaule/baznicu_adreses/

The Apostle is a big fan of Dubya also, having attended the National Prayer Breakfast.

Regards,
/P

Living in Seattle, a colleague of mine told me that the pastor of his church was going to Latvia to visit “sister churches”. I was enthusiastic about this and asked him to let me know how the trip went. Imagine my chagrin when I saw the following article in the paper about this pastor Ken Hutcherson, and the slavic churches in the Seattle area.
To top it all off, the reporter conflates slavic churches, Latvia, and Latvians in the poorly written article (”...slavic churches”, “...all in Russian”, what are “top evangelical government officials “?) while making sure that the perspective of the excellent pastor of the Latvian congregation here in Seattle was not included in the article.

http://tinyurl.com/ywc9uk

Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 12:00 AM

Gay-rights foe finds new allies in Slavic churches
By Janet I. Tu
Seattle Times staff reporter

On a recent Sunday morning, at a strip mall in Kent, a few hundred people gathered to worship, rocking out to a band playing contemporary worship songs and cheering on the fiery pastor—all in Russian.

This might seem an unlikely place for Ken Hutcherson—Redmond’s Antioch Bible Church senior pastor, who is known for outspoken views against homosexuality—to look for allies in his effort to overturn a state law banning discrimination against gays and lesbians.

But then Pastor Andrey Shapovalov asked the children to come forward. Bless them, he said. “Pray that none of them become homosexuals or lesbians or have abortions or live a life of crime.”

At Transformation Center Church, a nondenominational, evangelical Slavic church, the theology is “very biblically conservative,” Shapovalov says. “We are on the same page” as Hutcherson.

The unusual alliance began last spring, after a debate on gay rights between Hutcherson and King County Executive Ron Sims. A local man saw it and approached Hutcherson to arrange a meeting with his uncle, an evangelical pastor in Latvia who heads a network of churches in 14 countries, including the U.S.

The nephew “said he didn’t know who I was or how important I was,” Hutcherson says.

The relationship with the Latvian pastor, who is visiting Hutcherson this week, has led to pro-traditional-family, anti-gay-marriage conferences in Bellevue and Sacramento, Calif. And it resulted in a recent trip to Latvia, where Hutcherson says he met with top evangelical government officials to talk about stopping “the homosexual movement saying they’re a minority and that they need their equal rights.”

Quest for signatures

Hutcherson now hopes the alliance will result in signatures for an initiative he filed last week seeking to repeal a state law, passed a year ago, that adds sexual orientation to a state law banning discrimination based on race, gender, religion and other categories.

“We’ve got a lot of churches to reach,” said Hutcherson, who must gather at least 224,800 valid signatures by July 6 to put the initiative on the fall ballot.

“We want to get the Slavic churches, the Russian-speaking churches, the Korean churches, Philippine, Chinese, white, cross-cultural. ... If we’re going to win this fight on protecting traditional marriage, we’re going to need all churches to work together.”

It’s too soon to say whether Hutcherson’s actions will yield the results he wants.

About two-thirds of the estimated 300 people who attend Transformation Center Church are U.S. citizens—and thus eligible to sign the initiative petition. And although Transformation’s involvement may signal the beginning of political action on gay issues by conservative evangelicals from the former Soviet republics, it’s unclear where other such local churches stand.

Other questions include whether Hutcherson can mobilize other evangelical churches at a time when the public debate is centering mainly around domestic partnerships and gay marriage.

Even if his initiative makes it onto the ballot, Hutcherson’s opponents doubt voters will take away a legal protection.

“I just don’t believe the people of this state are going to support discrimination,” said state Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, who championed the gay-rights bill.

That isn’t stopping Hutcherson, who says an earlier effort to repeal the bill failed in part because “we waited too late to get the churches together.”

All of which has local gay-rights activist Bill Dubay musing: “I don’t know why he cares so much that people have legal protections. ... It seems to me he needs a lot of attention, and this gets it for him.”

“Tremendous ego”

Hutcherson, who had a brief National Football League career as a linebacker with the Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers, acknowledges “I have a tremendous ego.”

“That’s why I played pro football,” he said. “I’m taking that same ego and energy that benefited me in football and now putting it in for the glory of God to do his will and his work.”

In that regard, his ambitions are bigger than ever. He talks of organizing an international summit: “I am building a force around the world.”

Back at Transformation Center Church, a guest speaker talked about “divine penicillin.”

“I consider myself more American than those who were born in this country who are destroying it,” said Wade Kusak, host of a Russian-language radio show in Sacramento and publisher of newspapers there and in Seattle.

It’s no coincidence, he said, that states with growing evangelical Slavic communities are the most liberal, full of people “trying to destroy our families.”

That’s why God “made an injection” of Slavic evangelicals. “In those places where the disease is progressing, God made a divine penicillin.”

Shapovalov said Kusak has spoken to his congregants on how to conduct themselves at political demonstrations.

In Kusak’s home base of Sacramento, which has the nation’s larges

What an interesting “cartoon” there, Peteri.

Soros’ minions at Diena are certainly earning their silver coins.  Mocking the Christians with a Cthulhu Christ… I don’t suppose that Diena will reconsider and publish those Mohammed cartoons now, will they?  They don’t seem to have a problem disrespecting religious figures anymore.

/R

Thanks for the link to the other article, Int. Some of the non-traditional denominations/sects seem to do better among Latvia’s Russophones than among Latvians/Lettophones—Mormons, Witnesses, etc. That may get to be less true as Orthodoxy continues to revive. Interestingly, Estonia is the least religious country in Europe—and again, most of the religious in Estonia seem to be Russophones. It’s actually hard to take a measure in Latvia, since none of the statistics are especially believable. We do know, for instance, that Catholics and the Orthodox have grown percentage-wise; i.e., one can no longer describe this as “a Lutheran country except for Latgola.”

Robert, as not a few people have pointed out—the cartoon mocks Ledyaev, not Christ. If I caricature a gentleman like Pat Robertson (or take your pick of America’s televangelists) for collecting money and promising hurricanes whilst praying to Cthulhu, I’m not making fun of Jesus but of Pat’s Jesus, a godling not very different from Cthulhu as far as I’m concerned. As Mencken put it: “We must respect the other fellow’s religion, but only in the sense and to the extent that we respect his theory that his wife is beautiful and his children smart.”

Latvia has a long tradition of picking on the religious—in fact, much of the national movement was anti-clerical from the 19th C, as I’m sure you know… the melnsvārči as popular as the barons. One of the nice things about having a cocktail of denominations and a large population of secular people is that Latvia is not nearly as narrow-minded as Lithuania or Poland.

On the other hand, issues like LGBT rights have the potential to draw disparate elements together in weird ways—just as Muslims and Orthodox Jews find themselves on the same side of the wall in Jerusalem when gays parade, so Russian and Latvian extremists suddenly get along in Latvia. LPP doesn’t confine itself to Ledyaev’s sect—it also campaigns among the Russian Orthodox. Vanags fumes in the background, a reactionary throwback compared to the Lutherans across the water. Pujats and the Roerichist Garda get along fine when it comes to homophobia, and the Grand Mufti in Russia puts in a venomous word, too… hey, even His Excellency Kalyuzhny chimes in, showing that the Soviet is no longer opposed to the Christian. If it ever was, deep down—it’s not at all hard to make the transition from one moralische Überwachungsstaat* to another. More than one ex-Party honcho I know wants to force the kiddies to go to church services in exactly the same way they were forced to go May Day celebrations.

* see http://www.politika.lv/index.php?id=12676

Vysu lobu,
/P

The Good Lord needs all kinds of animals for His zoo!!!

Peteris Cedrins - 14 February 2007 04:59 AM

Robert, as not a few people have pointed out—the cartoon mocks Ledyaev, not Christ. If I caricature a gentleman like Pat Robertson (or take your pick of America’s televangelists) for collecting money and promising hurricanes whilst praying to Cthulhu, I’m not making fun of Jesus but of Pat’s Jesus, a godling not very different from Cthulhu as far as I’m concerned.

Get real, Peteri… the cartoon clearly puts Jesus’ name on a supposed statue of Cthulhu.  By your same argument, then, some of the Danish “Mohammed” cartoons simply mock suicide bombers, by equating Mohammed’s head with a bomb.  Same difference.

/R

Māris Čaklais
Dziesmiņa par Džordāno Bruno

Pakur, pakur uguntiņu
labo vecenīt!
Lai tā āda lobās,
lai tie mati švirkst!

Tie nav mati — dvēselīte
švirkstot taukos tek.
Re, kā sadeg ķeceri!
Re, kā viņi deg!

Pensijā jau garlaicīgi,
zobi ārā slīd —
Piemet, piemet žagariņu,
labo vecenīt!

Piemet, piemet pagalīti,
malku nežēlo!
Gan jau atkal skolas bērni
saskaldīs tev to.

Žagariņu, pagalīti —
tā tā manta put …
Bet tādus vīrus katru dienu
neredzēsi tu.

Griezies nu ap savu asi
un ap sauli vēl!
Varbūt ka pie pašām beigām
kaut kā paliek žēl?

Nepaliek? Tad pagalīti
piesviežu tūlīt!
Lai tā āda lobās,
lai tie mati švirkst.

Viduslaiki — bērnu dienas,
āzītis balts tek.
Re, kā sadeg ķeceri!
Re, kā viņi deg!

But Robert, I think the Danish “cartoon crisis” is an excellent illustration of the need to defend secular values—and in the thick of it I expected Diena to publish them, by the way (do you know why they didn’t? I never encountered a debate about publishing them in a paper here… I probably missed something). At any rate, were I a newspaper editor—I would have reprinted the Danish cartoons. I’m a big supporter of the right to blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege, and other exciting stuff.

There is a difference between the cartoon you mention and Ernests’ though, at least to my eye—the one is about Ledyaev’s Christ not being the Christ, whilst the other seems to say that the Prophet (PBUH) is a suicide bomber—of course, whether Islam is inherently lethal is a good question. Good question with Jesus, too, though…

You get real, Robert—part of the reason we’re not in those charming “bērnu dienas” is that we have separation of church and state (even in Kansas now, Dorothy!). I have the deepest respect for religio and don’t run about making fun of the nuns one now sees in the streets. I have zero respect for Pujats, Vanags, or Ledyaev, however.  To some, depicting Muhammad (PBUH) at all is horrible, and you know that… and then there’s iconoclasm —if you go to Egypt, you will find that probably a third of the faces formerly visible in the temples of Luxor have been defaced, effaced. Which cult’s compulsions shall we cater to? All of them? I heard some Islamists wanted to blow up Dante’s tomb—il miglior fabbro doesn’t say nice things in Inferno.

The Latvian (including Russian/Russophone) religious figures I mention insert themselves into politics, and thus they’re fair game. Ledyaev is essentially urging theocracy and Christian totalitarianism. He may be marginal in essence, but LPP has three ministers in the Cabinet. As you can see, their (re?)imported American polittekhnologiya resonates even in the Pacific Northwest. I find that frightening, and I’m glad that the only halfway decent newspaper in Latvia is on the attack.

Piemet, piemet pagalīti,
malku nežēlo!
Gan jau atkal skolas bērni
saskaldīs tev to.

Vysu lobu,
/P

Pēteri, et.al;
Sakarā ar šo tēmu, gribu atbalstīt demokrātiju Latvijā ar skeojošo:

Lūdzu izlasiet pievienoto vēstuli, un ja nav iebildumi, parakstiet un sūtiet uz “office@mozaika.lv” līdz pirmdienai Latvija laikā.

Mozaika ir nosutijusi vestuli ari
V. Vikei-Freibergai ar lugumu paust savu viedokli, vai Latvijas
Republika ir sekulara valsts, kuras pamata ir Satversme, vai tomer
teokratija, kura tiek parvaldita saskanja ar religisko fundamentalistu
Bibeles interpretaciju.

Ja Jums nav vienaldzigs sis valsts attistibas virziens un tas
iedzivotaju labklajiba un ja Jus nevelaties, lai kadu dienu Garigo lietu
padome noteiktu, ka Jus esat nevelami saja valsti, jo Jums ir strups
deguns, parak isi mati vai Jus valkajat velveta bikses, Mozaikas varda
ludzu Jus atbalstit vestuli A. Kalvitim, atsutot man savu piekrisanu, ka
Jusu vards var tikt pievienots vestulei

E-pasts: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

http://www.mozaika.lv <http://www.mozaika.lv>

2007.gada 21.februārī

A.god. A.Kalvīša kungam
LR Ministru prezidentam

ATKLĀTA VĒSTULE
Latvijas Republikas Ministru prezidentam A.Kalvītim

 

A.god. A.Kalvīša kungs!

Mēs, zemāk parakstījušies, vēlamies paust savu satraukumu par to, ka nepamatoti tika atlikts Rīkojuma projekts „Grozījumi Nacionālajā programmā iecietības veicināšanai” (Projekta Nr. TA-130), ko izstrādāja un iesniedza izskatīšanai LR Īpašo uzdevumu ministra sabiedrības integrācijas lietās O.Kastēna vadītais sekretariāts un kuru vajadzēja izskatīt LR Ministru kabineta 20.02.2007. sēdē.

Vēlamies darīt Jums zināmu sekojošu viedokli:

1)  piedāvātais likumprojekts skar sabiedrībai būtisku cilvēktiesību jomu, tādēļ ceram sagaidīt LR Ministru Kabineta argumentāciju sabiedrībai par to, kādu iemeslu dēļ tika atlikta projekta Nr. TA-130 pieņemšana;

2)  uzskatām, ka gadījumā, ja no radikāli noskaņoto organizāciju morālās un fiziskās varmācības cietīs cilvēki Latvijā, rīcības trūkums iecietības veicināšanas jomā būs arī šīs valdības politiskā atbildība, turklāt šajā gadījumā būs nepieciešami īpaši argumenti, skaidrojot to arī starptautiskai sabiedrībai;

3)  uzskatām, ka LR Ministru Kabineta rīcība, atliekot grozījumu pieņemšanu, ir pretrunā ar ES Amsterdamas līguma 13.pantu, kurā iekļauts diskriminācijas aizliegums uz seksuālās orientācijas pamata. Šāda diskriminācijas veida izskaušana ir viena no Eiropas Savienības prioritātēm vienlīdzības jomā, un tālab arī saistoša norma Latvijai kā ES dalībvalstij;

4)  izsakām cerību, ka Latvija tomēr ir sekulāra valsts un šeit nav iespējama situācija, kad, ieklausoties radikāli noskaņotu organizāciju un reliģisko konfesiju pārstāvju viedokļos, valdība neieklausās pārējo sabiedrības grupu teiktajā. Vēlamies norādīt, ka protesti, kas sasnieguši LR Ministru Kabinetu, ir klasificējami kā homofobijas izpausme, kas tiešā veidā vairo stereotipus un tiem sekojošus aizspriedumus, kas noved pie naida noziegumiem, kādi diemžēl sastopami arī Latvijā. Šie protesti un to forma vēl jo skaidrāk norāda uz Nacionālās Programmas Iecietības veicināšanā grozījumu akūtu nepieciešamību;

5)  vēlamies vērst Jūsu uzmanību uz to, ka paralēli grozījumu atlikšanai Latvijā notiek vērienīga kampaņa par homoseksuāli orientēto cilvēku tiesību ierobežošanu, kuras priekšgalā atrodas laikraksts „Rītdiena” un reliģiskās organizācijas „Jaunā paaudze” līderis A.Ļedjajevs, kā arī organizācijas „Nopride“ un Nacionālā Spēka Savienība. Pateicoties Krimināllikuma neskaidrajām definīcijām, līdz šim nav bijis iespējams sodīt radikāli noskaņotas organizācijas, plašsaziņas līdzekļus un indivīdus, kas klaji un nepārprotami pauduši naidīgo attieksmi pret homoseksuāli orientētiem cilvēkiem un aicinājuši citus uz naida izpausmēm un varmācību.

  Aicinām jau drīzākajā laikā, pildot LR Ministru Kabineta 25.08.2004. rīkojumu Nr. 584 „Par Nacionālo programmu iecietības veicināšanai” un pamatojoties uz LR Ministru kabineta 26.09.2006. sēdes protokola Nr. 49 33.paragrāfa 2.punktu, virzīt Rīkojumu projektu par grozījumu veikšanu Nacionālajā programmā iecietības veicināšanai uz LR Ministru kabineta sēdi un to apstiprināt.
Vilcināšanās to darīt norāda uz politiskās gribas trūkumu risināt neiecietības problēmu pret homoseksuāliem cilvēkiem, kas, kā pierāda naida un nezināšanas pilnie protesti, kas izskanējuši pēdējo pāris dienu laikā, ir īpaši neaizsargāti pret neiecietības izpausmēm. Neviena cita sociālā grupa Latvijā nav pakļauta tik atklātām naida izpausmēm.
Atliekot Nacionālās Programmas Iecietības veicināšanā grozījumu izskatīšanu, valdība radījusi priekšstatu, ka Latvijā iespējams ietekmēt likumdošanas iniciatīvas tāpēc vien, ka kādai reliģiskai konfesijai vai nevalstiskai organizācijai nepatīk kāda cilvēku grupa.

 

Ar cieņu,

LGBT un viņu draugu apvienība „Mozaīka”

...
...
...

Paldies, Int, par papildinājumiem!

I updated my blog with a revised version of this story. I hunted for the video, too, which had been deleted most everywhere—it’s there now.

Vysu lobu,
/P

Holy s**t! Surreal doesn’t do it justice. Parts Benny Hinn and parts Metallica. Was that babbling in between the Russian supposed to be speaking in tongues? Or is it supposed to be some language? Loved the little cough in the middle. You would think the good Lord would provide cough suppresant while speaking in tongues. And what was that shot of Nils Muizneiks in the middle? Is he associated with this in some way?

Andrejs

Cough suppressant is the stuff of the Devil…

Nils was a member of LPP (he needed the backing when he became Min. of Integration). The video has obviously been edited, and I don’t know whether he was actually present at this divine event. As far as I know, he has since left the party and returned to academia.

LPP, in its zest for votes, is now developing a so-called “Krievu centrs”—

Nodaļas mērķis ir veicināt sabiedrības konsolidāciju un aktivizēt sadarbību ar krievu tautības Latvijas iedzīvotājiem. „LPP Krievu centrs” uzsākusi sadarbību ar Latvijas krievu biedrību asociāciju (LKBA) un kultūras centru „Krievu nams”.

LPP valde trešdien, 21.februārī, nolēma par nodaļas „LPP Krievu centrs” vadītāju iecelt LPP biedru izvirzīto Mihailu Gavrilovu.

„Desmitiem gadu Latvijā dzīvojošo krievu tautības cilvēku uzticība tikusi ļaunprātīgi izmantota sabiedrības šķelšanai, nevis vienotībai. Radikālas organizācijas no abām pusēm mērķtiecīgi mūs ir centušās nostādīt vienam pret otru, lai gan daudzi krievi ir šeit gadsimtiem dzīvojošu krievu pēcteči un Latvijas patrioti. Mūsuprāt, ir pienācis laiks latviešiem un krieviem apvienoties vienā spēcīgā partijā, nevis šķelties”, norāda M.Gavrilovs.

LPP biedri uzskata, ka sadarbība ar LKBA un citām krievu kultūras biedrībām dos iespēju skaidrāk un dziļāk izprast Latvijā dzīvojošo krievu problēmas un palīdzēt ar LPP starpniecību tās risināt valsts līmenī.

http://www.lpp.lv/new/?section_id=88&article_id=1183

Next time, don’t go to Phuket—the fatherland is far more entertaining!

Vysu lobu,
/P

Always felt that Latvia’s window exclude the “Russians” from the body politic was limited. Surprised it lasted this long. Figured 10 years roughly. Didn’t see this coming thought. A “Latvian” party pandering to the “Russian” vote, I thought would take at least a few centuries. :)
Still got 4 weeks of PTO left. Maybe will visit the Cirks in May with a layover in Portugal. The logistics seem daunting at the moment. Ryan Air fly Riga-Lisbon?

Andrejs

?

http://web.cvk.lv/pub/public/28745.html

ps Iberia to Dublin, Ryanair to Riga….....one way to go.

IS there any such thing as separation of church and state in the Satversme?

http://www.diena.lv/latvijas_zinas/lasit.php?id=299076

Mozaīka protestē pret Iecietības programmas labojumu skatīšanu Garīgo lietu padomē
Dita Arāja

Tas iespējams tikai Irānā, tomēr nu tas notiek arī Latvijā — Sabiedrības integrācijas sekretariāta iecerēto Iecietības programmas papildinājumu, tajā iekļaujot seksuālās minoritātes, sūtīs saskaņošanai Garīgo lietu padomē, ko vada premjers. Tāds lēmums pieņemts pēc integrācijas ministra Oskara Kastēna (LPP/LC) partijas spiediena, un bažas par notiekošo, aizsūtot atklāto vēstuli premjeram Aigaram Kalvītim (TP), izsaka geju un lesbiešu organizācija Mozaīka.

Pirmdien Diena nesaņēma valdības vadītāja atbildi uz jautājumu, vai viņš pakļausies savu koalīcijas biedru LPP/LC spiedienam un konkrēto mazākumgrupu valdība neiekļaus Iecietības programmā, jo A.Kalvītis bija apslimis. Toties integrācijas ministram nebija laika personīgi atbildēt, kā konkrētajā gadījumā sabalansēs savus tiešos ministra pienākumus ar partijas spiedienu.

“Mums ir lielas bailes, ka grozījumi Iecietības programmā nenotiks. Ja tos sūtīs saskaņošanai Garīgo lietu padomē, tad tos vispār noraks,” satraukumu pauž Mozaīkas pārstāve Linda Freimane, uzskatot, ka minētā veidā lēmumus varētu pieņemt valstī, kur baznīca nav atdalīta no valsts, piemēram, Irānā, taču ne Latvijā, kur tiek pieņemti laicīgi lēmumi. Jāatgādina, ka Latvijas katoļu galva Jānis Pujats jau nosūtījis vēstuli A.Kalvītim, protestējot pret Iecietības programmas papildināšanu. Taču zīmīgi, ka tieši premjers, kurš vada arī Garīgo lietu padomi, pērn pēc uzbrukuma miermīlīgajiem praidam alternatīvā pasākuma dalībniekiem ieteica nodibināt darba grupu, kas izstrādāja priekšlikumu Iecietības programmu papildināt ar seksuālajām minoritātēm. “Mēs ļoti ceram, ka premjers atcerēsies savu pagājušā gada rīkojumu un ļaus grozījumiem notikt,” saka L.Freimane.

Tikmēr LPP valde pieņēmusi lēmumu integrācijas sekretariātam “nekavējoties atsaukt” iecerētos grozījumus, kā arī aicināt koalīcijas partnerus “jebkādus vērtīborientējošus dokumentus” virzīt izskatīšanai valdībā un parlamentā tikai pēc saskaņošanas ar Garīgo lietu padomi, kā arī uzdot O.Kastēnam nodrošināt integrācijas sekretariāta dokumentu atbilstību valdības deklarācijai, LPP programmai un LPP prioritātei — aizsargāt bērnus un ģimeni.
Publicēšanas datums: Otrdiena, 2007. gada 27. februāris.
Rubrika: (4. lpp.)

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As for excrement, the import/export business seems to be a two-way street. Look who the religious leaders have invited to the party!
I often wonder if Latvians are genetically predisposed to let people who make incredibly bad choices assume positions of leadership? Outside of our soon to be stepping down president, it seems to be all the rage and Janis Smits seems to have been appointed by one of these decision makers.

US homophobes support Latvia’s hate campaign
http://tinyurl.com/2gjn2q
An ironic note: I had to change the link to a tinyurl as Latvians online had blacklisted the link to the website the article was posted on!

Thursday 15 March, 2007 10:02 | More from this date | Today’s headlines

While Latvia makes faltering steps into Europe’s economic embrace, there are many who’re determined to shun the equal rights and cultural tolerance that ultimately comes with the package. Latvia joined the EU and NATO in 1994 and has experienced some struggles to balance the coutry’s nationalism with European laws and values.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been the Church that’s resisted the development of a strong, legally protected LGBT community. Cardinal Janis Pujats, head of the Latvian Roman Catholic Church, issued a series of statements on March 13 denouncing a new national program aimed at preventing problems of intolerance of sexual minorities.

The Latvian population is mostly Christian, the largest group being Lutheran with smaller percentages claiming to be Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox.

Not content with a healthy contingent of home-grown homophobes, religious leaders in Latvia have been importing anti-gay firebrands to support their cause.

Last week, ex-NFL player Pastor Ken Hutcherson flew in from Washington to give advice on fighting LGBT rights.

He was joined by another American, Scott Lively, co-author of The Pink Swastika- Homosexuality in the Nazi Party. This disturbing book is an insane diatribe claiming that ‘homosexualism’ not only gave birth to Nazi imperialism but also led to the Holocaust itself.

The scary tome, which happens to be on its 4th edition, also claims that: “homosexuality is primarily a predatory addiction striving to take the weak and unsuspecting down with it”.

Just in case you were wondering, a ‘homosexualist’ is any person, gay or not, who “actively promotes homosexuality as morally and socially equivalent to heterosexuality as a basis for social policy”.

The Latvian anti-gay crisis which hosted these frightening characters, was organised by Janis Vanags, Archbishop of the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church. It was also attended by Janis Pujats, Cardinal of the Latvian Roman Catholics, Peteris Sprogis, Bishops of the Latvian Baptist Union, Aleksejs Ledjajevs, pastor of the ‘New Generation’ church, Vilnis Gleske, pastor of the ‘Joyful News’ church, Viesturs Rekis, Bishop of the Latvian Seventh Day Adventists, Janis Ozolnkevics, leader of the Pentecost church, and Nikolai Tihomirov, representative of the Russian Orthodox church. This cabal of proud homophobes gathering in such a manner should send a shudder down the spines of lesbian and gay men the world over.

Janis Smits, chairman of the Parliamentary Human Rights and Social Affairs Committee, Talivaldis Talbergs, president of Latvian Christian radio, Inta Feldmane, MP, and Aina Krukle, representative of the Riga City Council also participated in this discussion.

US guest Reverend Ken Hutcherson spoke to the eager crowd, pledging his support for the Latvian anti-gay movement. He warned of “homosexual pressure” and the “destructive forces of homosexualism”.

Hutcherson is no stranger to controversy and has no fear of picking fights with adversaries bigger than himself. In 2005, he took on Microsoft, demanding the software maker withdraw its support for a bill making it illegal to fire employees due to sexual orientation.

After initial headway fuelled by his threats of a boycott, Microsoft saw sense, and kicked Hucherson to the kerb.

Most alarming of all, Janis Smits, chairperson of the Latvian Parliamentary Human Rights Committee was also in attendance at this anti-gay conference.

His mere presence shows a defiant disregard for the international concern at his suitability for this post. The fact that he was an enthusiastic speaker at the event shows a worrying disregard for human rights. Showing allegiance with such groups should lead to a call for his resignation.

At the meeting, Smits warned the fervent audience of how LGBT organisations gain strength through international support.

He provided the participants of the meeting with a lengthy document prepared by Mozaika (Latvia’s gay rights group), as evidence of the creeping powers the of country’s gay community.

It seems that this resurgence in anti-gay sentiment has been inspired by the news that Pride London have twinned with Riga Pride, with the support of Mayor Ken Livingstone and the British Embassy in Riga.

Riga Friendship Days 2007 and March for Equality will be held from May 31 – June 3.

Just keeping folks informed on what could be another notch in the pistolgrip for the Bush Administration’s exemplary record in moral relativism and dubious attempts to meddle in the affairs of independent democracy that is a member of the EU. That all depends on just what this homophobic windbag is full of. Hot air, or ?

http://www.thestranger.com/blog/2007/03/notes_on_the_prayer_warrior_1
Life Notes on the Prayer Warrior
Posted by ELI SANDERS on March 19 at 13:30 PM

Close followers of the Prayer Warrior will have noted that he is currently claiming a new title, which he says was given to him by the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The title? Special Envoy for Adoptions, Family Values, Religious Freedom, and Medical Relief.

I have a call in to the White House checking on the Prayer Warrior’s claim, but in the meantime, here’s an article from a gay online publication, based in the UK, which finds that the “Special Envoy,” while on his recent trip to Latvia, was consorting with a man (Scott Lively) who claims homosexuality was responsible for both the Nazis and the Holocaust.

(see previous post)

“I have studied homosexual movement now for 17 years and with all responsibility state that currently Latvia a zone of intense confrontation between Christians and homosexuals,” said Lively.
“This nation will be our main battlefield against this counter Christian culture. God gave Kenneth Hutcherson and me to see that Alexei is the very man God placed to direct this battle, and church should support him in all respects. We are going to help you consistently and effectively to fight those who violate Christ’s rights and target his ministers for their insults.”
I’m not sure who “Alexei” is in the above quote. The piece doesn’t make it clear. But it sure sounds like the new White House “Special Envoy,” if he is indeed a special envoy, was keeping some rather inflammatory company while in Latvia.