TRAILER: To Russia With Love

From the press materials:

To Russia With Love, an EPIX Original Documentary about two generations of Olympic LGBT athletes, will make its world premiere on Wednesday, October 29 at 8PM ET. To Russia With Love examines human rights through the lens of LGBT athletes, with iconoclastic athlete and commentator Johnny Weir serving as the viewers’ guide into this world. The documentary examines the experiences of Olympic legends Billie Jean King and Greg Louganis as well as the next generation of LGBT athletes who participated in the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. Shooting worldwide in locations as diverse as Sochi, New York City, Calgary, Toronto, St. Petersburg and Moscow, the film follows these athletes from the ice to the slopes as they bear the brunt of constant media questioning about Russia’s anti-gay laws.

IOC: All Future Olympics Host Cities Must Agree To LGBT Discrimination Protections

The International Olympic Committee today announced that future Olympics host cities must sign a contract with an added clause vowing to protect LGBT participants and attendees from discrimination. Via press release from All Out:

“This is a significant step in ensuring the protection of both citizens and athletes around the world and sends a clear message to future host cities that human rights violations, including those against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, will not be tolerated,” said Andre Banks, co-founder and executive director of All Out, the global movement for love and equality. “This is a particularly important moment for the world’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens who face discrimination and persecution not only in Russia but in countries all over the world. We will continue working to make sure this change is powerfully enforced - these new rules must prevent a replay of Sochi.”

According to IOC Sports Director, Christopher Dubi, the new clause will include “the prohibition of any form of discrimination, using the wording of Fundamental Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter." This clause will ensure that future host cities must abide by international human rights standards in order to host the games, including the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens and athletes. “By adopting a non-discrimination clause into its host city contracts, the IOC is showcasing its own realization that we must protect the rights of every athlete to live free and openly,” said Hudson Taylor, Executive Director of Athlete Ally. “The Principle 6 campaign sought to shed light on the responsibility of host countries to uphold the olympic values, and this action validates all of the hard work by organizations and individuals across the world who’ve engaged in the fight for LGBT equality.”

RELATED: The 2016 Summer Games will be held in Rio De Janeiro, where robust LGBT protections already exist. The 2018 Winter Games will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where homosexuality is legal, but anti-discrimination laws do not exist.

Beck: We Should Have Boycotted Sochi

NOW he says this.

Jim Parsons Plays Johnny Weir On SNL

Queer Nation Disrupts Final Sochi Promotion At Grand Central Terminal

Via press release:

Nearly three dozen members of Queer Nation held a raucous protest at the United States Olympic Committee's final "Road to Sochi Tour" event at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan on February 23. The action began just as the event began in historic Vanderbilt Hall, inside the terminal, with protesters chanting "Don't Buy Putin's Lies" and unfurling two banners, one reading "Don't Buy Putin's Lies" and the other reading "Boycott Homophobia." Some members also carried signs that read "Gay Bashing Is Not An Olympic Sport." The banners were hand-sewn by Gilbert Baker, the designer of the original rainbow flag. Queer Nation was then forced out of the terminal by officers in the Metropolitan Transit Authority Police Department. The group briefly protested in front of a Road to Sochi tour truck on East 42nd Street and then marched to the west entrance of Grand Central Terminal, where the protest continued for over an hour. There were no arrests.

Video by ACT UP New York.

About The Owner Of The Brooklyn Nets

The owner of the Brooklyn Nets is Russian banking and mining billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov. In 2012 he ran for the Russian presidency against Vladimir Putin and won 8% of the vote. When he announced his candidacy in 2011, the NBA ruled that he could be president of Russia and still own an NBA team, citing the precedent of then-sitting US Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), who owns the Milwaukee Bucks. Prokhorov, 49, is also the head of the Russian Biathlon Union and yesterday he guided Russia's team to a gold medal. Prokhorov has campaigned for LGBT rights in Russia and last year declared, "It is a personal affair who has sex with whom." Some are speculating that the hiring of Jason Collins is a middle finger from Prokhorov to Putin.

RELATED: Tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers will not be televised nationally, but you can listen to the play-by-play online via the website of NYC sports radio station WFAN.  The game starts at 9PM Eastern.

Canadian Athletes Wear Rainbow Patches At Sochi Olympics Closing Ceremonies

JMG reader Scott just tweeted me the above photo. I'll update this post if I find a news report on this. You remember these guys, right?

UPDATE: A commenter below points out that the patches are a version of the logo of the company that made Canada's uniforms.

Most Medalled Athlete Of Sochi Olympics: Bisexual Dutch Speedskater Ireen Wust

Outsports reports:

The news hasn't exactly made global headlines, but on Saturday, out bisexual Netherlands speedskater Ireen Wüst became the most medalled competitor at the Sochi Games. Her clanking haul is five medals overall -- two gold and three silver. The second gold came Saturday as she led her team to victory in the women's team pursuit. ESPN commented: "Ireen Wust, Jorien ter Mors and Marrit Leenstra were like a runaway train, leading by more than a second and a half after the first half-lap and steadily building the advantage from there, winning by more than 7 seconds in 2:58.05." The time was a new Olympic record for that event. "It still hasn't sunk in," Wüst told ABC News.

All but one of the Netherlands' 24 Sochi medals came in speedskating.

RELATED: Some activists, including Queer Nation, criticized Wust two weeks ago for celebrating one of her gold medals by "cuddling" with Vladimir Putin.

Final Sochi Medal Count

Russia added two more gold medals during today's final events at Sochi.

Purists will say the Olympics is really all about individual sporting achievement, but for the national Olympic committees, medal counts do matter. And for Russia, this haul has to be a point of pride — even if the men's hockey team failed to make it to the medal round. This is the fourth time the host nation of an Olympics has emerged victorious in the medal count, making a strong case for the idea of home field advantage (U.S. in 1932; Norway in 1952 and Canada in 2010). Athletes in Sochi couldn't help but be motivated by the deafening chants of "Russ-ee-ahhh" in every arena and mountain venue. Team USA ended up with 28 medals (9 gold, 7 silver and 12 bronze), including a bronze secured Sunday by Steve Holcomb and his four-man bobsled team. The team just barely beat out Russia's second bobsled team by .03 seconds. Holcomb also won bronze earlier in the games in two-man bobsled.

At least Canada took the gold in Putin's favorite event today.

Russia Leads Sochi Medal Count

Expect a lot of chest-thumping from Putin if Russia remains at the top after tomorrow's final events.

Pussy Riot - Putin Will Teach You

This is the video being made when they were beaten by Cossacks on Thursday.

With the song and video, Pussy Riot is asking for a boycott of the games, claiming that Putin is restricting human rights. The tune touches on Russia's new federal law prohibiting "gay propaganda" ("50 billion and a gay-driven rainbow/ Rodnina and Kabaeva will pass you those flames/ In prison they will teach you how to obey") as well as the state of Russia during the Olympics ("Sochi is blocked - Olympic surveillance/ Special forces, weapons, crowds of cops"). "The Olympics has turned the police state into a total police state and the authoritarian regime into a totalitarian regime with preventive arrests," collective member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said at the press conference, according to the Post. "The Olympics has created an environment of sweeping violations of human rights in Russia. We are banned from speaking out here."

Queer Nation Protests At Today Show

Yesterday several of you emailed me to wonder what they'd just seen over the shoulders of Today Show hosts Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. Queer Nation activist Duncan Osborne explains:

"We walked in from 49th and 6th because they had the small crowd on the little plaza and the 49th St. side of the plate glass windows was unobstructed. As we whipped open... the Boycott Homophobia banner and pulled out Gay-Bashing is not an Olympic Sport signs, the cops tried to grab us and hustle us across the street. We insisted on holding our ground (Get your hands off me! This is a public sidewalk!) and succeeded in staying there, evidently quite visible over Hoda's shoulder. After 5-10 minutes, they went to commercial, and got up from the anchor desk. Kathie Lee gave a smile and wave to the plaza crowd, then turned and looked at us, glared at me, and refused to return the smile and wave I was giving her. About 15 minutes later, they came back to the anchor desk for a segment. This time Kathie Lee looked at me, still stony, but felt forced to return my wave a little. Then they lowered the curtains around the whole studio. We packed up and left. A good time was had by all. All except for Kathie Lee, apparently."

That's famed activist and Gay USA host Ann Northrop behind the letter "B". Photo by Donna Aceto.

Your Russian Disco Needs You

(Via Towleroad)

Billboard Of The Day

President Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper are betting cases of beer on Olympic hockey, but the above Chicago billboard offers much more satisfying stakes. (Tipped by JMG reader John)

Obama Bets Canadian PM On Hockey

Harper is already owed one case of beer as moments ago the Canadian women took the gold. The men's teams meet tomorrow for the semi-finals.

RUSSIA: Cossacks Whip Members Of Pussy Riot At Sochi Demonstration

NBC News reports:

Russian Cossacks used whips and pepper spray Wednesday to attack members of Pussy Riot, the protest punk band opposed to President Vladimir Putin, a filmmaker traveling with the band said. The filmmaker, Simon Ostrovsky, said on Twitter that members of the band were putting on their trademark colorful balaclavas, getting ready to do a song in downtown Sochi, when they were jumped. The Associated Press reported that police arrived and questioned witnesses but made no arrests. One male member of the band was left bloodied after the attack by the Cossacks, militia sometimes used by Russian authorities to patrol streets, the AP said. On Tuesday, police in Sochi detained two members of Pussy Riot for several hours to question them about a theft at their hotel. They were released and left a police station singing and raising their fists.

Russians and ugly Americans are cheering the attack at the below YouTube clip.

UPDATE: The original clip by Russia Today has been yanked, doubtlessly at the demand of the government. Here's the same video from Britain's Telegraph.


UPDATE II: The IOC doesn't seem very bothered.

Billie Jean King To Attend Sochi Closing

Billie Jean King was unable to be part of the US delegation to opening ceremonies at Sochi due to to the death of her mother. But yesterday President Obama named her as part of the closing ceremonies delegation.

"I will use this trip to honor the memory of my mother and to further my mission of equality," King said in a statement to The Associated Press. "I am thankful to President Obama for including me and I look forward to supporting the men and women of Team USA in Sochi." Russia has been widely criticized for passing a national law last year that banned gay "propaganda" to minors. King and two other openly gay athletes — Brian Boitano and Caitlin Cahow — were selected for the delegation at the opening ceremony. Obama said it showed the U.S. doesn't make distinctions based on sexual orientation.

Also on the closing delegation are gold medalists Bonnie Blair and Eric Heiden.

Don Lemon Defends Johnny Weir

Yesterday Bilerico editor John Becker and CNN anchor Don Lemon tangled over whether Johnny Weir has a responsibility to denounce Russia's treatment of LGBT people.

Lemon stood up for Weir and argued that just because he’s gay doesn’t automatically mean he has to be vocal about gay rights all the time. John Becker took a decidedly different position, saying that just because someone is gay “doesn’t automatically make you an expert on LGBT rights,” and slammed Weir’s “ludicrously offensive” downplaying of just how bad the situation is for gays in Russia. Nicholas Benton, a friend of Weir’s, defended him and said he’s making an “important statement” not by speaking out, but through his behavior and his flamboyant attire. Lemon said Weir shouldn’t have to speak out. He argued, “It doesn’t make him a gay activist, nor should he have to be a gay activist because he’s gay.” That being said, Lemon did opine a bit about the idea of a “gay minstrel show” that doesn’t exactly help the cause either.

Becker: "Silence in the face of that law is tacit agreement with that law." Exactly. Watch the clip.

Vladimir Putin: Mo Sochi, Mo Problems

Scandinavian Airport Love

Clip description:

Our new commercial "Airport Love" was created for the sports and outdoor market in Norway, Sweden and Finland. The film's message is that sport is for everyone, no matter what team you play for. The film premiered at the same time as the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi. Of many talented athletes in the film, there are also three Norwegians: Former world champion Anders Solum (freestyle football), Edward Strand (alpine) and Sune Wentzel (frisbee) all impress with spectacular stunts.

The spot ends with the well-worn "shocker" - OMG, the hot girl is into chicks. The most-liked comment on YouTube nails it: "The trouble with this ad is that the male-dominated Russian elite don't have as much problem with girl on girl as they do with guy on guy. Which by the way is hardly different from the situation today in the uber-progressive US of A. So you can have Britney make out with Madonna, but you can't have Timberlake make out with Clay Aiken."  The stunts are pretty cool.

(Tipped by JMG reader Bernie)