150 Irish artists announce Israel cultural boycott

[Apocalypse]

Too long to list them all.

Please check out for yourself, I'll help you with 2 links

Bieteddine Festival 2010
Baalbeck

Except of Mika I don't see even one remotely interesting artist in that show.

How can you even compare those bunch to Metallica, Depeche Mode, Paul McCartney, Madonna etc. is beyond me.

 

[spud_meister]

So does Metallica :2razz:

:rofl:rofl

if i was water, i wouldn't hang around to listen to them either :2razz:

 

[Apocalypse]

And did Beirut have a Gay Parade?

Tel Aviv had its 12th annual Gay Pride Parade this summer.

Saudi Arabia has its Gay Parades as well.
That's how they call it over there when they lead them into the execution square.

 

[Mira]

And did Beirut have a Gay Parade?

Tel Aviv had its 12th annual Gay Pride Parade this summer.

Guess the Irish artists only see what they want to see.

Beirut has more gay bars per square meter than I've seen anywhere else before. While I was there is June the club of Lebanese gays and transvestides "Helem" were preparing a dance performance.
For a Middle Eastern Arab country, we're not doing that bad and there are plans for a Gay Pride in the coming years.

 

[Mira]

Except of Mika I don't see even one remotely interesting artist in that show.

How can you even compare those bunch to Metallica, Depeche Mode, Paul McCartney, Madonna etc. is beyond me.

I don't think you have looked at the prgramme of this year and previous years at all.
It is soo childish to say "nananananana, we have rock groups and you don't"
By the way, if you consider Madonna an intellectual genius, then I don't think you and I are on the same intellectual or artistic planet.

 

[Tashah]

Beirut has more gay bars per square meter than I've seen anywhere else before. While I was there is June the club of Lebanese gays and transvestides "Helem" were preparing a dance performance.
For a Middle Eastern Arab country, we're not doing that bad and there are plans for a Gay Pride in the coming years.

Bout time. I applaud this development.

 

[Mira]

Bout time. I applaud this development.

It's always been like that Tashah. I remember being aroud gays that were totally accepted by the Lebanese society as far back as I can remember.
There is a law discriminating against gays but Helem is fighting against it and I think they recently won teh case. I'll check.

edit: Helem website
http://www.helem.net/

 

[Tashah]

By the way, if you consider Madonna an intellectual genius, then I don't think you and I are on the same intellectual or artistic planet.

Madonna spends a lot of time in Israel studying Kabballah. Intellectually speaking, it's an extremely difficult endeavor.

 

[Apocalypse]

I don't think you have looked at the prgramme of this year and previous years at all.
It is soo childish to say "nananananana, we have rock groups and you don't"
By the way, if you consider Madonna an intellectual genius, then I don't think you and I are on the same intellectual or artistic planet.

Intellectual genius?
Don't remember calling her that, but she is one of the most popular artists in the world.

 

[Apocalypse]

Beirut has more gay bars per square meter than I've seen anywhere else before. While I was there is June the club of Lebanese gays and transvestides "Helem" were preparing a dance performance.
For a Middle Eastern Arab country, we're not doing that bad and there are plans for a Gay Pride in the coming years.

Yeah it's really weird isn't it?
Especially considering that it is actually illegal for a Lebanese to be homosexual.
I remember hearing about the Lebanese police raiding one of the bigger gay bars in Beirut and sending people to jail.

 

[Mira]

Madonna spends a lot of time in Israel studying Kabballah. Intellectually speaking, it's an extremely difficult endeavor.

Yes, I'm aware of that but artistically speaking, she's not what I'd call a musical genius. With all due respect, she does commercial and sellable pop music.

 

[Mira]

Yeah it's really weird isn't it?
Especially considering that it is actually illegal for a Lebanese to be homosexual.
I remember hearing about the Lebanese police raiding one of the bigger gay bars in Beirut and sending people to jail.

I'm afraid you don't know much about Beirut. The law is against "unusual sex"
I think there was an incident of arrest and that's why a gay rights movement such as Helem exists, but generally speaking, gays and transvestides in Lebanon have no trouble being who they are.

 

[Apocalypse]

I'm afraid you don't know much about Beirut. The law is against "unusual sex"

They include homosexuality in that definition, Mira.

I think there was an incident of arrest and that's why a gay rights movement such as Helem exists, but generally speaking, gays and transvestides in Lebanon have no trouble being who they are.

It's too bad that those raids happen, and hopefully one day Helem will really get an approval by any of the political parties in Lebanon since right now no party is promoting their ideas as far as I know.
I've also heard that many Lebanese homosexuals are fleeing to Europe and North America (mostly the Netherlands and Canada) to seek asylum from their government.

 

[alexa]

Apocalypse if you read the article from the site Mira gave, you sill see that there have been about 5 arrests in the last five years - hardly a reason for a mass exodus as the worse they can get is 1 year imprisonment.

 

[Mira]

They include homosexuality in that definition, Mira.

Did I say the contrary ?

It's too bad that those raids happen, and hopefully one day Helem will really get an approval by any of the political parties in Lebanon since right now no party is promoting their ideas as far as I know.
I've also heard that many Lebanese homosexuals are fleeing to Europe and North America (mostly the Netherlands and Canada) to seek asylum from their government.

I think you're asking too much from Lebanon at once. Lebanon happens to be the most open-minded Arab country and it has always been. I grew up totally accepting gays and that is becuase of the mentality of people surrounding me as I grew up.
Lebanon went through 15 years of civil war which took it decades backwards. There have been hundreds of of solutions to find to hundreds of problems some being more of a priority than the sexuality of the Lebanese.

So considerering all of the conditions and circumstances, Lebanon is not doing that bad at all. You should be doing like Tashah and appreciating the efforts that have been done instead of comparing it to Western countries.

 

[Mira]

Apocalypse if you read the article from the site Mira gave, you sill see that there have been about 5 arrests in the last five years - hardly a reason for a mass exodus as the worse they can get is 1 year imprisonment.

5 arrests too much alexa. Helem is really working on changing all the laws that can by near or by far discriminate against gays.

 

[Apocalypse]

Apocalypse if you read the article from the site Mira gave, you sill see that there have been about 5 arrests in the last five years - hardly a reason for a mass exodus as the worse they can get is 1 year imprisonment.

I wasn't speaking about a massive exodus, but having a law that forbids people from being homosexual is making it kind of hard for the LGBT community in Lebanon to maintain a normal life.
That's why a lot of Lebanese homosexuals choose to flee their country and seek asylum in the Western world.

 

[alexa]

5 arrests too much alexa. Helem is really working on changing all the laws that can by near or by far discriminate against gays.

My point was that this would not account for any mass exodus as Apocalypse was suggesting.

 

[Apocalypse]

Did I say the contrary ?






I think you're asking too much from Lebanon at once. Lebanon happens to be the most open-minded Arab country and it has always been. I grew up totally accepting gays and that is becuase of the mentality of people surrounding me as I grew up.
Lebanon went through 15 years of civil war which took it decades backwards. There have been hundreds of of solutions to find to hundreds of problems some being more of a priority than the sexuality of the Lebanese.

So considerering all of the conditions and circumstances, Lebanon is not doing that bad at all. You should be doing like Tashah and appreciating the efforts that have been done instead of comparing it to Western countries.

I acknowledge Lebanon's higher standards for homosexuality in comparison to the rest of the Arab world, however I do not operate by double standards and I will treat every country the same whether it's an Arab country or an African country or a Western country. Right now the situation for the LGBT community in Lebanon, as is in the majority of the countries of the world, is not good.

 

[Apocalypse]

My point was that this would not account for any mass exodus as Apocalypse was suggesting.

Then you are poorly mistaken, I was not suggesting that there is a massive exodus.
A massive exodus of homosexuals implies on a huge percentage of the LGBT community emigrating out of Lebanon, and I think that while the figures are pretty high, they do not reach the requirement for the definition of "mass exodus".

 

[Mira]

I acknowledge Lebanon's higher standards for homosexuality in comparison to the rest of the Arab world, however I do not operate by double standards and I will treat every country the same whether it's an Arab country or an African country or a Western country. Right now the situation for the LGBT community in Lebanon, as is in the majority of the countries of the world, is not good.

I see, so for you the standard is a Western country and the more a country resembles to a Western country, the more respectable it becomes. No consideration of cultural, political or sociatal differences and circumstances.
That's quite an Imperialist attitude if you asked me .

 

[Mira]

Then you are poorly mistaken, I was not suggesting that there is a massive exodus.
A massive exodus of homosexuals implies on a huge percentage of the LGBT community emigrating out of Lebanon, and I think that while the figures are pretty high, they do not reach the requirement for the definition of "mass exodus".

I'm interseted to see where you got the figures from .

 

[Apocalypse]

I see, so for you the standard is a Western country and the more a country resembles to a Western country, the more respectable it becomes. No consideration of cultural, political or sociatal differences and circumstances.
That's quite an Imperialist attitude if you asked me .

Where did I say that the standard is that of a "Western country"?
The standard is that homosexuals will be treated the best, and that standard is not of a specific country or culture, but merely of the value of equality that should be promoted in all countries.
You connect the term "Western" with higher values merely because Western countries are those who mainly promote such standards, but you cannot argue that those are not the good standards while the Iranian execution of homosexual citizens is not.

 

[Tashah]

Yes, I'm aware of that but artistically speaking, she's not what I'd call a musical genius. With all due respect, she does commercial and sellable pop music.

Be that as it may, she could probably purchase Lebanon :2razz:

 

[Apocalypse]

I'm interseted to see where you got the figures from .

What figures? I didn't post any figures.

I just don't think that the amount of people who are fleeing Lebanon and seeking asylum in the Western world is big enough to be considered a "mass exodus".
I've heard of many cases on that issue, but not enough that would make me claim there is a "mass exodus" of homosexuals from the Lebanese country.