NewsWrap for the week ending August 3, 2013

SUMMARY

Gamesmanship - The Russian government ignores global protests and vows no exceptions in enforcement of the recently passed "no promo homo" law at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, but then maybe relents …

Dry Politics - debate among LGBT activists and their allies continues around the world about how to best respond to Russia's escalating war on sexual minorities, but there's a push to "Dump Stoli" (arguably the most popular Russian vodka in the West) that’s growing around the world …

Vodka Veritas - Latvia's leading LGBT rights group Mozaika asks activists to stop their vodka protest actions, claiming that Stoli is made in their country, but the U.S. based Queer Nation disputes that claim with facts …

Judge Not - Pope Francis makes headlines with seemingly positive comments about gay priests, but critics remind LGBT Catholics that the Church still condemns homosexual *acts* as mortal sin …

Truth's Consequences - military court convicts U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, described as either gay or transgendered, of all but the most serious charge – aiding the enemy – for releasing reams of classified documents to Wikileaks in what's been called the largest breach of national security in American history …

Welcome Home - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry confirms (post-DOMA) that visa applications of the married foreign same-gender spouses of U.S. citizens will be treated the same as those from heterosexual spouses …

Wedding Cake-Bakers' Dozen - joining 11 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Minnesota and Rhode Island officially begin marrying lesbian and gay couples ….

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