The Canadians won’t let Michael Lucas’ fetish flick Piss! cross its border. So what is Belarus keeping out of its country?
The magazine Pride. The one with Rachel Maddow on the cover. And the one put together by Joe My God‘s Joe Jervis. (The publication is distributed across the U.S. It’s published by InterPride.)
Customs officials seized some 25 copies addressed to Sergey Androsenko, the 20-year-old head of the Gay Youth Association in Minsk, claiming all those issues weren’t for his personal use. Now the group Project GayBelarus is involved, but they aren’t have much luck down at the post office.
So what’s so harmful about Pride? Well there are pictures of men dressed as women, for one. SCARY!
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Luckily, the whole issue is already online, because who needs to get their fingers dirty with newsprint and fight customs officials just to get a little Maddow loving?
ioni
Excuse me, but this is getting way too far!
Come on. Are 25 issues for personal use – or for distribution? And if they are for distribution, there are certain rules for that.
the group could just have paid the customs fee – but choose not to, to promote itslef.
Let me repeat it once again, just in case you missed something: Pride is perfectly leagl in Belarus. However bringing into the country something with the intention of distribution would involve certain rules and laws – just like in any other country.
So?! what news are we talking about?
petted
@ioni: 25 barely qualifies as distribution what your suggesting is akin to saying that elementary school kids should be required to collect sales tax at there lemonade stand.
ioni
Petted, all due respect, but we are talking different legal systems here. Unless you suggest that the law should be disobeyed, it stipulates clearly that all items brought into Belarus for *other then personal consumption and use* (and it is highly doubtful that you could use just by yourself 25 copies of a printed material) shall not be exempted from taxes and duties.
Which brings us back to my argument: they could just have paid the duty and be done with that. Instead they insinuate that the duty was imposed because of the essence and nature of the print material in question, which is foolish and silly to the top.
Just to give an example – even if I would send myself being in Belarus 25 copies of National Geographic, it would be subject to customs duties and fees.
Do you see my point now?
And just FYI, back in Belarus kids do not sell lemonade – for pretty much the reason you gave. No shit, man.
Philip Wester
Are you saying that it’s against Belorussian law to import items for gifts without paying extra fees? Are you only allowed to import things for strictly personal use?
It’s 25 copies. What the heck were they going to do with them? Run to the streets and sell them to 25 people in some kind of underground gay magazine shop?
I mean, if I want to import 25 DVD movies to give to my friends and family, do I have to pay special customs fees for that?
ioni
Philip, I am not saying that bringing gifts is against the law in Belarus.
However currently the Customs see plenty of copies of the same kid as potential merchandise (not necessarily actual merchandise, but definitely as potential) – thus subjecting it to the taxes.
And further your quesion – in case that be the exact same DVD – it woulod be subjected to taxes just as well.
DeAnimator
Oh now queer people have something to say about Belarus. Nice. Too bad they didn’t care when the guy in charge of it was massacring people and saying he wanted to be the next Hitler.
Don’t expect the world to care about you if you don’t care about the world.
TANK
@DeAnimator:
we are evolved to make generalizations.
ioni
@DeAnimator: still does!…
rick
YOU STUPID FUCKERS. YOU MANAGED TO BASH RACHEL WITH THIS STORY WHEN SHE ISN’T EVEN A PART OF IT. THEY WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE MAGAZINES NO MATTER WHO WAS ON THE COVER YOU FUCKHEADS!
FIRE THE PERSON WRITING THESE STUPID HEADLINES!
ioni
rick, for the love of heavens…
It is just a catchy headline – no need to get all ana over that!
rick
@ioni: it was an insult to maddows not a catchy headline.
galefan2004
@rick: You are wrong. This is bashing Maddow: The “lesbian” (it remains to be seen if she is a real lesbian or a lesbian for ratings in my book) news anchor woman is living proof that affirmative action truly does work. She has about as much business being on the news as Barack Hussein Obama. If I wanted to watch her talk over her guests for an hour I’d ask her to be on The View. I don’t really give a fuck what she has to say to that extreme, so I think she should become an actual news woman instead of a leftist extremist bitch that has no concept of what actually makes a good news show.
There, now next time you want to nurse from Maddow’s teats and attack people for hating her and calling her what she is maybe you will have an actual place to direct that anger.