FOF #1338 – We Are All Bi-Winners
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Singer Nelly Furtado apologized over Twitter yesterday for performing for dictator Qadaffi for a million dollars & now she’s promised to donate that money to charity. On today’s show we talk about how artists can impact political change and how the song “Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa.
On today’s show we talk about how artists can impact political change and how the song “Ain’t Gonna Play Sun City” helped bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. CHarlie Sheen is a bi-winner and Lady Gaga’s performance art roots.
FOF #1812 – My Heart Belongs to Daddy – 06.17.13
FOF #1337 – The Battle for Gay Rights in Russia – 03.01.11
FOF #2997 – Hot News: Remembering Stephen Sondheim
FOF #2996 – All the Hot News: Adele, Britney, Sesame Street Banned and the RENT is Too Damn High
Comments
OMG, Fausto! You are cracking me up with the “Bi-Winnah! Not a Bi-Losah!” thing. Literally laughed until I cried. I know I’m gonna be using this phrase for at least the next week.
I loved, “Honey Badger DOES care!” Thought I still like saying as a non sequitur, “AND they’re made of corn?” Additionally, my best friend has grown attached to saying, “Lady Bunny can’t read!” after listening to archive eps. We will be unintelligible if we get any more FOF in-jokes.
No kidding! Honey Badger and many others have also become a part of my lexicon.
This episode had it all–Fausto doing his Cyndi Lauper impersonation, the promise of more Honey Badger to come; and of course, the aforementioned Bi-Winnah thing.
Nikolai Alekseev Responds To Charges Of Anti-Semitism
Sorry I have contradict him on one point: the issue about Switzerland’s attitude throughout WWII has been raced and discussed in the 1990s. Late Yes, forced by Jewish’s organizations and the US YES. But we have done it.
No one’s attitude was black or white, every one was guilty of something. Switzerland have received gold from the nazi in exchange of money and other things, and according to studies allegedly helped making the war’s duration longer of several months then it could have been. And the “J” the Swiss government accepted to stamp in Jews citizens’ passport for recognizing them… Just a shameful act.
In the same time we do not have to forget that LOT of Jews have found a safe place in Switzerland (though much more could have been received). Switzerland managed to remain the only safe and free place in Europe during WWII and therefore lot of lives have been saved.
I am proud of my country for not being part of that war as a fighter. I am not proud for how the Swiss government dealt with the nazis and for how Swiss’s banks denied to the survivors to give back their money, asking for documents and proved destroyed during the war.
But let’s be fair, if Switzerland hadn’t been the country it is, the nazis would have occupied it in some days (though the Swiss thought for years their defensive strategy had scared Germany – Germany who by the way knew all about the Swiss plan) and much more Jews, Homos, prostitutes, ect would have died.
All I am saying is the result of studies about Switzerland’s attitude during WWII, one asked by the Swiss government called “Berger Study” (from the name of the Director of that study).
All I can say about Switzerland, if you are in the middle of Europe you cannot be neutral, especially when there is a war going on the whole continent. Also different subsidiaries of Swiss companies employed several thousand forced labours in Germany. Switzerland should also have given the survivors their money back and also dealt in a different way with the Nazi gold. Anyway, I just hope one day Switzerland is not so damn conservative and more open towards Europe and foreigners.
Glad Nikolai made clear what he really meant. It should be possible to criticize Israel’s foreign policy without being called antisemitic.
I can’t judge as I was not living in that period. Decisions have been taken that are shameful, but when you are the last free land in the middle of a hateful war, you have to deal with the enemy or you wouldn’t last a single second.
I am sorry but, for my biggest disappointment I have to say: Swiss are conservative. Not much more then our neighbors though Swiss can express it as they vote every 3 months on several topics, whilst you, in Germany, can’t as you don’t have the opportunity to challenge any laws your parliament approves. Not always good thing, but in the end of the day we can stop them when they go too far cutting in social security for example.
Andy you have a misconception about Switzerland though. With 7.7 Million inhabitant 1.4 million are foreigners. Switzerland is open to foreigners.
Applause. It’s great to see this moving forward. FYI that isn’t one of the critics in the video, that’s Adjunct Assistant Professor Tanya Domi, of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, appearing. She moderated the discussion.
It’s the same thing Republicans unsuccessfully tried to do here in the U.S. as other politicians try to do anywhere in the world- a criticism against us is an attack on our nation as a whole. Ridiculous!
Not a fan of the Israeli government, I have friends and family who live/lived there and some of them are their biggest critics. Does that make them self-hating Jews? If I criticize the leadership of LGBT politicians does that make me anti-gay? Of course not. It’s important to make your country, your group your people better, a vital discussion of ideas is necessary for a healthy community. This is why we do this podcast even.
It’s hard to a LGBT person in the Middle East or in Russia, and they all deserve our support and love.
wow that was a really long show!!! lots to comment on…
saw the Born This Way video…since I don’ like Lady Gaga to begin with, I wasn’t really into it.. and the kaleidoscope vaginal birth stuff just grossed me out, but that’s more of a person thing, vaginas grossin me out even tho I have one…
but uh, she can do whatever the hell she wants, really, I don’t like her actual music at all, just sounds like generic pop music, but I can admire her for all her fucked up freakiness…i guess…
and it is unfortunate what has happened with Nikolai…it seems ppl were out to get him from the get go, just because of their own personal vendetta like Fausto said which is stupid and frustrates me to see happen to someone who just wants to help the LGBT community, and has been through s much harships..it just ugh….
also, on the Daily Show tonight John Stewart covered the same bit about big-named celebrities performing for evil dictators…but then it turned into a skit of him pretending to have done his own show for a dictator in the future but uh yeah.
I have not seen the Russian text, but there are two aspects of the quoted passage from Alexei’s blog that may have contributed to the misunderstanding. First, in Slavic languages (I don’t know if it is a post-communist thing or just a general language thing), there is a tendency to speak in nations=governments way. So “Americans invaded Iraq”, “Germans started WW2” etc. And then, in many languages of the region (I know for a fact that it is the case in Polish), there are no separate words for “Jews” and “Israelis”.
I am not trying to put words in Alexei’s mouth, but in Polish if someone said “Jews did X”, this could, based on context, very well mean “The Israeli government did X”.
And two more 80s films come to mind because they feature unicorns (not including The Last Unicorn, which I loved, just ones featuring white horses with horns pasted on): Legend and Blade Runner. Not much gay subtext in either, except maybe Tom Cruise.
I don’t support anyone with two very distinct faces… And whiney Jews are most definitely in that category…In this country they got together with catholics and muslims to reinforce their hatred and condemnation toward homosexuality…But you have your lips planted firmly on their jewish ass right F.O.F…And you get very little correct about my country…After all how could you see our country clearly all poised to kiss that Jewish butt as well as the arrogant contempt that americans show the rest of the world…After all americans “invented gays” right?…We live just above you and we are saturated with your arrogance…We can expect you will attempt to take credit for Nikolai’s bravery and self sacrifice…Like Al Gore invented the internet “the green movement” all by his american-self…Really?…But what pisses me off the most WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO CHOOSE WHICH DAY WILL BE EARTH DAY!!!
The Mighty Ardech