2Cellos - They Don't Care About Us

From the rather bombastic press release:

2CELLOS, music's most electric and dynamic instrumental duo, release a captivating new music video for "They Don't Care About Us" by Michael Jackson. In the manner of such dystopian sci-fi films as The Hunger Games and Divergent, Luka and Stjepan have created an evocative, cinematic video filled with destruction, fire, and striking imagery to convey a powerful message: pointless war leads to devastation. The video opens with Luka and Stjepan dressed as opposing soldiers who not only represent pawns in a chess game, but pawns in war as well. The pieces symbolize individuals who are helpless against government rule and the influential elite.

700K views already.

2Cellos & Lang Lang - Live And Let Die

I first posted about these guys last year. Their new album, Celloverse, was released in the US this week.

Liberty Counsel: We Had A Hand In Stopping Same-Sex Marriage In Croatia

And yet Croatia approved civil unions two weeks ago.

Croatia Approves Civil Unions

Croatia's parliament today approved civil unions by a vote of 89-16. JMG reader Andrea provides us with a translation of the linked article:

According to the Italian news agency ANSA the Croatia legislature approved in the third reading (89-16 vote) the Registered Partnership bill. This bill will recognize gay and lesbian couples as "form of family life" and they will grant the same rights and duties of marriage. Marko Jurcic, leader of a Croatian LGBT group, said to ANSA "This long-awaited legal recognition of our unions means that all family forms are equal, that they deserve to live in a safe, happy environment and that the dignity of every person, regardless of his sexual orientation is inalienable". Gay and lesbian couples will have the opportunity to wed as straight couple do in town halls. The act will not grant adoption rights, but if one the partner dies and had a child the other partner will have guardianship rights. If the two partners are alive and one of them has a child the other will be recognized as step-parent. The act received negative comments from ultraconservative groups that promoted a constitutional amendment that ban same-sex marriage.

2Cellos - Thunderstruck

Via Good Morning America:

Croatian cellists Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, who perform under the name 2CELLOS, are known for their inventive covers of songs such as Guns N' Roses's "Welcome To The Jungle" and Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal." The pair's latest cover, a classical version of "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, could be the best one yet. “We always try to put our own spin on it, do something different with the song and present it to the people in a new and fresh way,” 2CELLOS wrote to GoodMorningAmerica.com. “We try to add an extra classical dimension to those well-known evergreens through our cellos.”

1.5M views already.

CROATIA: Lesbian And Feminist Choir Sings For Russian LGBT Rights

Clip description:

On the occasion of the opening of Olympic games in Sochi, Le Zbor, the first lesbian and feminist choir in southeastern Europe, published a video for the song Katjusha, expressing its solidarity with the LGBT citizens of Russia and worldwide. The video for Katjusha, directed by Tomislav Fiket, recorded by Jovan Kliska and edited by Fran Sokolić, most probably would be prohibited in Russia as "gay propaganda". Thus, at the beginning of 2014, Katjusha is again a Russian rousing song!

(Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

Brian Brown Cheers Croatia

"Kudos to Croatia! The people of Croatia also did something remarkable to preserve marriage. A group called 'In the Name of the Family' led an initiative to place a pro-marriage ballot measure before the voters of the small Balkan nation. Croats went to the polls on Sunday and voted overwhelmingly in favor of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, with the measure gaining 66% of the popular vote! Joe, be encouraged by this news and remember that the redefinition of marriage and family to become genderless institutions is not at all inevitable, and it certainly hasn't carried public opinion away in any kind of landside." - Hate group leader Brian Brown, via email.

CROATIA: Government To Pursue Civil Unions After Voters Banned Gay Marriage

On Sunday the voters of Croatia approved a ban on same-sex marriage in a Catholic Church-sponsored national referendum that was strongly opposed by both the president and the prime minister. In a revenge move, yesterday the government declared that it will put forward a civil unions bill.

The outcome was a major victory for the Roman Catholic Church, and a blow to gay rights advocates. “This referendum was a pre-emptive strike against the possibility of introducing gay marriage in Croatia,” said Franko Dota, a political analyst and gay rights activist. “This was a referendum to humiliate the gay population, and to strike against the progress of the past decades.” Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic’s center-left government said on Monday that it would move ahead with a proposed bill to afford same-sex couples many of the legal rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples, including hospital visitation and inheritance rights, though the bill does not include the right to adopt children. Mr. Milanovic said he regretted that the referendum had even been held. “I think it did not make us any better, smarter or prettier,” he said.

Only 38% of registered voters turned out for the referendum, which passed by a 66% majority. (Tipped by JMG reader Evan)

FRANCE: Bob Dylan Investigated For Inciting Racial Hatred In Interview

Paris prosecutors are considering charging Bob Dylan with inciting racial hatred for comments he made in a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone.

In the interview, published in the magazine's September 27, 2012 edition, the singer said racism was holding America back. "If you got a slave master or (Ku Klux) Klan in your blood, blacks can sense that," he was quoted as saying. "That stuff lingers to this day. Just like Jews can sense Nazi blood and the Serbs can sense Croatian blood." The formal investigation followed a legal complaint from the organization, CRICCF, which is based in France, alleging that the comments as carried in the French version of the magazine violated French racial hatred laws. In France, racism complaints automatically trigger formal investigations, irrespective of the merits of the case.

Rolling Stone and Dylan have declined to comment.

Croatian Catholics Celebrate Marriage Ban

CROATIA: Voters Ban Same-Sex Marriage

In what is being hailed as a "major victory" for the Catholic Church, Croatians voted to place a ban on same-sex marriage into the national constitution in a referendum held today.

The state electoral commission, citing initial results, said 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?" About 34 percent voted against. The result meant that Croatia's constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage. The vote has deeply divided Croatia. Liberal groups have said the referendum's question infringes on basic human rights. The Church-backed groups have gathered 750,000 signatures in its support. The country of 4.4 million, which became EU's 28th member in July, has taken steps to improve gay rights, but issues such as same-sex marriage remain highly sensitive in the staunchly Catholic nation.

Croatia is the newest member of the European Union and the nation's president and prime minister both opposed the referendum. Gay rights activists protested in Zagreb under heavy security in advance of the vote.

CROATIA: British Pop Band To Sue After Music Used In Anti-Gay Marriage Ad

British pop group The XX says it will sue after its music was used without permission in an ad promoting Crotia's coming national referendum on same-sex marriage. Gay Star News reports:

In The Name Of The Family, a Christian anti-gay group, decided to release the commercial calling for a ban on gay marriage. A referendum on banning marriage equality will take place on 1 December. The Christian group chose to use The XX’s ‘Intro’, a track that has been the score of many TV shows and films, for their anti-gay campaign. But what In The Name Of The Family did not realise was two out of the three members of the indie pop band are gay. And The XX are not pleased the group used their song without permission. The British indie group is quite big in Croatia, having performed at Terraneo festival last year. It is believed In The Name of The Family spent 48 million Croatian Kuna ($8.5 million, €6.2 million) on their campaign to get equal marriage banned. Over 700,000 people, nearly a quarter of all people in Croatia, have signed their name to a petition calling for the ban.

I'm not finding the clip on the group's official YouTube channel, but below is an example of their other clips. And here's their Facebook page.

RELATED: Croatia was admitted to the European Union in July.

CROATIA: Parliament Approves Public Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Croatia's parliament has approved a public referendum on a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.  The vote will take place on December 1st. Via Buzzfeed:

The commission voted 10-3 to hold a referendum on whether to constitutionally define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Croatia currently has minimal partnership protections in the form of “cohabitation agreements.” The decision comes at an awkward moment for the Balkan country. Croatia officially joined the European Union on July 1, and its LGBTI rights record came under close scrutiny in the lead-up. It was required to adopt a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as a condition of EU membership.

Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Uzra Zeya reacted: "As a matter of policy, the U.S. government does not advocate for or against same-sex marriage in other countries." The public vote, which is being sponsored by a group called In the Name of the Family, is not binding on the Croatian parliament, who has the power to veto the amendment.

Civil Unions Are Coming To Croatia

Croatian Public Administration Minister Arsen Bauk has announced that the government will draw up a law recognizing civil unions for same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples will enjoy all the rights and responsibilities of any other married couple, such as inheritance from a deceased partner, social security benefits and tax deductions, but their union will ''not be called 'marriage," but "life partnership," said the minister. He went on to say that the ceremonies would be held in town councils, as is the case with marriages. The centre-left government has repeatedly said that adoptions will not be allowed, although it is weighing whether to bring in the right 'of one member of the couple to adopt the biological child of the other, if the natural parent is unknown or no longer alive." Many lesbian couples live in Croatia, one of which has conceived through artificial insemination by an unknown donor, and ''it is now important that the State recognise this reality and gives guarantees even to the other mother."

According to the above-linked article, civil unions will go into effect by the end of this year.

Gay Marriage For Croatia?

Conflicting reports say that Croatia either plans on "recognizing" gay marriages or allowing them itself. From a Yahoo! News report:

Croatia plans to recognise same-sex marriages, Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic says, thereby increasing legal protection for homosexual couples. "We are talking about registered partnerships, which is a somewhat higher standard than what we have now," Milanovic told reporters. Improving the legal position of homosexual couples was one of the promises made by his Social Democratic Party during its campaign for December parliamentary elections. "That was our program. I hope that the people of Croatia accept it, it's simply a form of social empathy and decency and expanding freedom," Milanovic said.

Croatia's Democratic Union Party says it will block Milanovic's plan.

EU Warns Croatia On LGBT Rights

Croatia is scheduled to join the European Union in 2013, but the EU has just adopted a resolution warning them that membership requires abiding by LGBT rights laws. Croatian pride parades have been plagued by anti-gay violence that was quietly allowed (if not overtly sanctioned) by the government.

The resolution adopted by the Parliament says in part that it is “deeply concerned by the violence against participants in the LGBT pride march in Split on 11 June 2011 and the inability of the Croatian authorities to protect the participants”. Croatian authorities are urged to “investigate and prosecute the crimes committed and to develop strategies for preventing similar incidents in the future”. The text also calls for them to “quickly adopt and implement an action plan against homophobia”.

CROATIA: Violence At Gay Pride

The Associated Press reports:

Stone-throwing extremists have disrupted a gay pride march in Croatia, a day after the Balkan country was given the green light to join the European Union. State television has reported that dozens have been detained and several were injured Saturday in the conservative coastal town of Split. Croatia has pledged to protect human rights as part of efforts at EU membership. EU officials said Friday that Croatia could join in 2013. State TV said around 200 people participated in the pride march, while thousands of opponents lined the streets in protest. The report says riot police prevented direct clashes. Extremists threw rocks, bottles and firecrackers at the participants.

EU Warns Applicants: Support For LGBT Rights Is Mandatory For Membership

The European Parliament has reaffirmed its policy that EU member states must support LGBT rights. Turkey, Macedonia, and Croatia are moving closer to admission, but all three continue to violate the EU's requirements.

The three candidate countries were reminded that the protection of all minorities is a non-negotiable condition to access the European Union. “I am happy that our amendments in favour of LGBT rights in the progress reports for Macedonia and Croatia were adopted by the European Parliament,” Ulrike Lunacek MEP, co-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights, said this evening. “We have reaffirmed that anti-discrimination standards must apply in candidate countries, and Štefan Füle, Commissioner for Enlargement, has assured us of his support on this issue. We count on the Commission’s work in this area to make sure fundamental rights are respected in the European region.” The other co-president, Michael Cashman, said that accession critera are “crystal clear”. ”Minorities must be protected from discrimination as laid out in Article 19 of the Treaty—and that includes sexual orientation,” he said. “This is not an à la carte menu: it is at the core of the European Union, and we will be rigorous in its application.”

(Via - Lez Get Real)

Prison For Would-Be Pride Bomber

A tiny bit of light in today's parade of horrors:

(Zagreb) A 25-year old man convicted of plotting to throw Molotov cocktails into a gay pride march last July in the Croatian capital has been sentenced to 14 months behind bars.

Josip Situm was convicted of endangering lives and property. He was arrested last summer as he prepared to hurl the first of several incendiaries into the parade. Police said that Situm had several bottles containing gasoline, rags as fuses, and matches. Extreme right wing militants had threatened to disrupt the parade. There were a number of skirmishes and several people were injured, none seriously.

Situm could have been sentenced up to eight years in prison. The judge ordered the young man to undergo at psychiatric examination during his time in prison. During the trial Situm said that he was a devout Catholic and had been taught that homosexuality is dangerous. He denied, however that he intended to throw the bombs. Situm admitted that he brought the bombs to the parade but changed his mind about throwing them.