A lawmaker in St. Petersburg has a message for Madonna: keep your pants on. Literally. |
A lawmaker in St. Petersburg has a message for Madonna: keep your pants on. Literally. City councilman Vitaly Miranov warned the pop star not to step out of line during her upcoming concert there on Aug.9. “We are warning the organizers of her concert to make it as decent as possible. Otherwise we will use the harsh laws against them. I heard that during the concerts of this tour she has taken off her pants. We do not need that here,” Milanov said, according to Russia’s Interfax news agency. The Material Girl caught Miranov’s ire earlier this year after she vowed to speak out from the stage against a harsh new anti-gay law which would make it a crime to discuss homosexuality around minors. He threatened to fine her if she did and said in March that he would was willing to “personally suffer” through her concert in order “to control its moral content.” The so-called “gay gag rule,” which Miranov proposed, would impose hefty fines up to $16,700 on violators. A similar law was later approved at a national level. The laws’ supporters say it’s meant to protect children from gay “propoganda,” but opponents say it’s just the latest in a string of efforts to discriminate against gay, lesbian, and transgender people. Madonna is not the only famous musician standing up for gay rights in the region. On Saturday Elton John begged Ukrainian authorities to stop a recent pattern of violence against gay activist leaders. “I plead with you. Stop the violence against gay people,” he said during a pause in his act, which headlined a concert ahead of the EuroCup soccer tournament final, which was held in Kiev. Lady Gaga has also repeatedly spoken out against the treatment of homosexuals in Russia. Homosexuality was banned in the Soviet Union and was only decriminalized in 1993, though it was still declared a mental disorder until 1999. It remains highly taboo in Russia. (Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
俄羅斯圣彼得堡的一位官員向麥當(dāng)娜發(fā)出警告:不要在演唱會(huì)當(dāng)眾脫褲子。 麥當(dāng)娜將于8月9日在在俄羅斯演出。圣彼得堡市議員維達(dá)利?米蘭諾夫事先通過(guò)媒體向麥當(dāng)娜發(fā)出警告:不要做出格的舉動(dòng)。 據(jù)俄羅斯國(guó)際文傳電訊社報(bào)道,米蘭諾夫說(shuō):“我們已經(jīng)警告麥當(dāng)娜演唱會(huì)的主辦方,這場(chǎng)演唱會(huì)要辦得盡可能體面。否則我們將用嚴(yán)厲的法律懲罰他們。我聽(tīng)說(shuō)麥當(dāng)娜在此次巡演中曾在現(xiàn)場(chǎng)脫掉褲子,我們這里可不需要這種表演。” 麥當(dāng)娜在今年早些時(shí)候曾經(jīng)激怒過(guò)米蘭諾夫,她打算在演唱會(huì)上公開(kāi)發(fā)表言論,反對(duì)該市通過(guò)的未成年人討論同性戀屬違法行為的法案。米蘭諾夫還威脅說(shuō),如果麥當(dāng)娜這樣做,將對(duì)她進(jìn)行罰款。他在三月表示,愿意“自己受罪”觀看這場(chǎng)演唱會(huì),以“控制不道德內(nèi)容”。 米蘭諾夫提出的這項(xiàng)“同性戀言論限制法規(guī)”將對(duì)違規(guī)者處以最高1.67萬(wàn)美元罰款。隨后,俄羅斯又通過(guò)一條類(lèi)似的反同性戀法規(guī)。這項(xiàng)法規(guī)的支持者稱(chēng),保護(hù)兒童遠(yuǎn)離同性戀者的“鼓吹”非常重要,但反對(duì)者表示,這只是歧視男女同性戀及變性者系列行為的最新舉動(dòng)。 麥當(dāng)娜不是在該地區(qū)支持同性戀權(quán)益的唯一一位著名歌手。 周六,艾爾頓-約翰請(qǐng)求烏克蘭當(dāng)局停止針對(duì)同性戀活躍領(lǐng)袖的最新暴力行為。 他在演出的間隙說(shuō):“我懇求你們,不要再實(shí)施反對(duì)同性戀者的暴力行為了。”這場(chǎng)演唱會(huì)在基輔開(kāi)賽的歐洲杯決賽前舉行,而他的請(qǐng)求也成為全場(chǎng)的亮點(diǎn)。 Lady Gaga也曾多次公開(kāi)抗議俄羅斯同性戀者的待遇。 前蘇聯(lián)曾禁止同性戀行為,1993年俄羅斯才宣布同性戀合法化,但在1999年之前仍被定為精神疾病。在俄羅斯,同性戀仍屬禁忌話題。 相關(guān)閱讀 美《新聞周刊》稱(chēng)奧巴馬首位同性戀總統(tǒng) 加州大學(xué)或要求申請(qǐng)學(xué)生寫(xiě)明性取向 (中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯:陳丹妮) |
Vocabulary: step out of line: 出格,越軌 gag rule: 言論限制法規(guī) |