Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Stormy Daniels (screen capture)Some news items you might have missed:
• Huffington Post: In a new interview, porn star Stormy Daniels called Donald Trump’s indictment “vindication.” “I am fully aware of the insanity of it being a porn star. But it’s also poetic; this pussy grabbed back,” she said. Continue reading “News: Stormy Daniels On Trump Indictment + ‘Survivor’ Breakout Star + More”
(image via Depositphotos)Russian President Vladimir Putin has made clear in failed negotiations with leaders in Ukraine he did not want Ukraine to join NATO. According to reports, he didn’t want the military alliance that includes the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Poland and more, to get closer to Russian borders.
But now, it seems Putin is going to get exactly what he didn’t want. Continue reading “Finland Announces Plan To Join NATO, Sweden Expected To Follow”
Burger King lays a whopper on Ronald McDonald in new Helsinki Pride ad (image via MediaPost)In an effort to show support for Helsinki’s Pride week in Finland, fast-food chain Burger King is running a new ad campaign featuring the King himself laying a whopper on burger competitor Ronald McDonald.
The usual Pride celebration has been canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis, but there are smaller events being held live as well as online streams for folks to join.
The ads feature a painting of the king tenderly kissing McDonald (who we see from behind) with a tagline, “Love Conquers All.”
Kaisa Kasila, Burger King’s Brand Manager for Finland, said in a statement, “We thought, what a better way to convey our values than by portraying an all-encompassing kiss between Burger King and McDonald. We wanted to show that in the end, love always wins.”
“Burger King has always stood for equality, love and everyone’s right to be just the way they are,” added Kasila. “The only instance where it might not seem so, is when we’re bantering with our competitor.”
Proud to see Burger King Finland as the official partner of The Helsinki Pride. Even more proud of our 100% Corporate Equality Index. Congrats to Kaisa from the BK Finland team for such a beautiful execution. @HRC #helsinkipride2020 #helsinkipride #loveconquersall pic.twitter.com/lmQD4Waepz
— Fer Machado (@fer_machado123) September 10, 2020
No word yet on how McDonald’s feels about the ad spots, but Kasila underscored the message that “we want to be clear – it all stems from the respect we have for them. And we know McDonald’s stands for the values we stand for, too.”
Burger King hasn’t been shy about jumping in with gusto when it comes to support for LGBTQ Pride.
Earlier this year, the fast-food king served up ads changing the name of the restaurant to ‘Burger Queer’ on the King’s crown.
Burger Queer! 🏳️🌈🍔 El combo del que estamos orgullosos de llevar con orgullo 🧡 celebremos juntos el amor con @BurgerKingMX 🙌🏼 Pide tu combo ahora y recibirás una corona edición especial y una sorpresa más 😉 ¡Pide ya! 📱#ATuManera #BurgerQueer #SiTienesRappiTienesTodo pic.twitter.com/lSAaMxsuGS
— Rappi México (@RappiMexico) June 27, 2020
While the debate rages on over socialism, some countries with the highest tax rates come out on top
The Nordic nation of Finland ranks number one in global happiness for the second year in a row.
Via Bloomberg:
It beat Nordic peers Denmark, Norway and Iceland in a ranking of 156 countries by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The ranking saw the U.S. drop one place, to 19th, while people in South Sudan were the least happy.
The results are based on an average of three years of surveys taken by Gallup between 2016 and 2018 and include factors such as gross domestic product, social support from friends and family, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perceived corruption and recent emotions — both happy and sad.
According to the report published on Wednesday, Finland has witnessed modest but steady gains since 2014, and the country is now “significantly ahead” of other countries in the top 10, the researchers said.
Click play below as I recap this week’s top headlines from politics, pop culture and entertainment of interest to the LGBT community:
• Anti-LGBT florist Barronelle Stutzman loses again – this time in the Washington state supreme court over refusing to sell flowers for a same-sex wedding
• Texas gets pushback from the NBA and major stars on it’s proposed anti-transgender “bathroom bill”
• North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper shares his plan to repeal his state’s anti-LGBT law, HB2
• Finland’s Parliament kills a last ditch attempt to block same-sex marriage
• Out singer/songwriter Jeb Havens dropped his uber-romantical, world-traveler music video just in time for Valentine’s Day – “Pushy Little Compass Heart” from his album, Home Base
Hit play below – and share the link to share The Randy Report podcast!
Some news items you may have missed:
• This 22 year St. Louis police veteran (above) was told to “tone down” his “gayness” if he ever wanted to get promoted, despite placing 3rd out of 26 in promotion tests.
• Lady Gaga joined over 140 celebrities in denouncing Texas’ anti-transgender “bathroom bill.”
• Donald Trump’s second pick for National Security Adviser (now that Michael Flynn has resigned) has said “no, thank you” to the offer. According to reports, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward turned down the chance citing “chaos” in the White House, labeling the offer as a “shit sandwich.”
• Finland’s Parliament rejects a citizen’s initiative to repeal marriage equality by a vote of 120 to 48. Hurray for the good guys!
• Donald Trump heads to Mar-a-Lago again this weekend. His three trips to his southern home have thus far cost the American people almost $10 million. Guarding Trump Tower in NYC could cost $183 million a year.
• Spend a few minutes inside the trials and tribulations of transgender folks in this short film, “Headspace,” by Jake Graf. Watch below:
Finnish children spend very little time at school, don’t get homework and yet get one of the best educations in the world. How? Watch this.
The Washington Blade reports that last Friday saw Finland’s President Sauli Niinistö sign recent legislation into law that legalizes same-sex marriage for the Scandinavian country.
Niinistö signed the measure roughly four months after lawmakers in the Scandinavian country narrowly approved the measure. They considered the bill after supporters of marriage rights for same-sex couples collected more than 166,000 signatures to bring it before the Finnish Parliament.
Finland’s same-sex marriage law is scheduled to take effect on March 1, 2017.
In other international news, Ireland will be voting on marriage equality on May 22nd. Polls show over 60% of voters support the measure.
By a vote of 101-90, Finland’s Parliament passed legislation that will legalize same-sex marriage.
Due to extensive changes in other legislation, the law will not take effect until 2016.
Opponents of the bill hope to undo the law before it can take effect.
Read more here.
By a vote of 105-93, Finland’s Parliament approved same-sex marriage – the last country in the Nordic region to do so.
Since 2002 gay and lesbian couples have been able to enter into civil partnerships, but those legal unions had limits. With marriage, same-sex couples will also be able to adopt children and share the same surname.
Finland becomes the 12th European country to adopt marriage equality.
Due to changes in other legislation, the new law will not take effect until 2016.
Congratulations Finland!