God Will Not Interveve, Says Friday Fuckwit

Archbishop Rowan Williams tells us that God will not intervene to save the planet. That's a pretty safe prediction, I'd say, as the Divine One has already omitted to intervene to stop famines, tsunamis, hideous diseases, earthquakes and the suchlike. And how about the Holocaust? Now that would have been as good a time as any for some divine intervention.

So let's get this right ... God creates the world, then sits back while a small proportion of its inhabitants form themselves into a ruling class and destroy his creation. And does nothing. Millions suffer in poverty and agony through no fault of their own, but although he is more than capable of intervening, he chooses not to. And we are supposed to worship this geezer?!

In the Gospel of St Luke, the parable of the Good Samaritan denounces those who would pass on the other side and not intervene to help a man lying beaten at the roadside. But it's OK for God to pass on the other side, yes?

Further, despite the fact that God has no intention of intervening to save the planet, the Archbishop would still have us all say our prayers each day. And praying, if I remember rightly, consists primarily of asking God to do stuff ie. to intervene.

So let's follow the Archbishop's (implied) advice. Stop praying and fight capitalism.

In the meantime, what are the chances of our FF realising the real reason why God won't intervene: because he doesn't exist. Pretty slim, I'd say, but the real fuckwittery in Williams' comment is that even if God does exist, he's not much use, is he?

Poofs, perverts and promiscous women , to blame for more or less everything

It seems that the reason religious people get all wound up about women who are no better than they ought to be ,or LGBT people having sex is that they are really concerned at the havoc all this will wreck.

It really is for our own good , rather than some hypocritical do as I say not as I do , especially if you are a right wing US god botherer.

Did you realise gay people cause floods ? They do , really :

One diocesan bishop has even claimed that laws that have undermined marriage, including the introduction of pro-gay legislation, have provoked God to act by sending the storms that have left thousands of people homeless.

While those who have been affected by the storms are innocent victims, the bishops argue controversially that the flooding is a result of Western civilisation's decision to ignore biblical teaching.

The Rt Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle, argued that the floods are not just a result of a lack of respect for the planet, but also a judgment on society's moral decadence.

...

"We are in serious moral trouble because every type of lifestyle is now regarded as legitimate," he said.

"In the Bible, institutional power is referred to as 'the beast', which sets itself up to control people and their morals. Our government has been playing the role of God in saying that people are free to act as they want," he said, adding that the introduction of recent pro-gay laws highlighted its determination to undermine marriage.

"The sexual orientation regulations [which give greater rights to gays] are part of a general scene of permissiveness. We are in a situation where we are liable for God's judgment, which is intended to call us to repentance."

But people 'free to act as they want,' as in having sex outside of marriage with either gender for fun, well it also causes earthquakes and hurricanes .

But there is an easy solution :

An outspoken member of Israel's parliament has said recent earthquakes that have hit the country are a consequence of gay rights laws.

Shlomo Benizri, who is a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was speaking in a Knesset (parliament) debate on earthquake preparedness.

After reading passages from the Old Testament, he said that in his view one cause of earthquakes is that "the Knesset gives legitimacy to sodomy.

"A cost-effective way of averting earthquake damage would be to stop passing legislation on how to encourage homosexual activity in the State of Israel, which anyways causes earthquakes."

And :

In November 2005 a councillor for the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland tried to blame the gay community for Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans.

Maurice Mills said it was a judgement from God:

"The media failed to report that the hurricane occurred just two days prior to the annual homosexual event called the Southern Decadence Festival, which the previous year had attracted an estimated 125,000 people."

Of course if all this were in any way logical , then wouldn't god just zap the pervs and leave the good pure people alone?

Anyway, why am I rehashing old posts , apart perhaps for a bit of bloggers block ?

Well because now women are to blame for earthquakes. Well not just any women, but baaaad ones, floozies and strumpets !

Again, the solution to natural disasters and climate change is ...you're thinking don't throw away plastic bags aren't you ! Nope, its women cover up :

A SENIOR Iranian cleric says women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuously are to blame for earthquakes.
Iran is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, and the cleric's unusual explanation for why the earth shakes follows a prediction by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that a quake is certain to hit Tehran and that many of its 12 million inhabitants should relocate.

"Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes," Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi was quoted as saying by Iranian media

...

"What can we do to avoid being buried under the rubble?'' Sedighi asked during a prayer sermon on Friday.

"There is no other solution but to take refuge in religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes."

Hmmm, following this logic, are abusive priests and nuns to blame for the Icelandic volcano? Yep, blame them for your messed up holidays .

"God hates "lady" GaGa"

I must admit I was disappointed when the good Christian folk of the Westboro Baptist Church were banned from coming over here. I was rather looking forward to counter demonstrating them, nothing I like more than winding up the batshit religious tendency.

To refresh your memories, this group picket funerals of lesbian and gay people and US soldiers(their deaths are revenge for the US tolerance of gay people,not sure of the logic there !). They piss off woolly liberals and war mongers alike ,not being too keen on decadence and all that malarkey. Is Paddy a member ?

They state :

The only lawful sexual connection is the marriage bed. All other sex activity is whoremongery and adultery, which will damn the soul forever in Hell. Heb. 13:4. Decadent, depraved, degenerate and debauched America, having bought the lie that It's OK to be gay, has thereby changed the truth of God into a lie, and now worships and serves the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! Rom. 1:25. But the Word of God abides. Better to be a eunuch if the will of God be so, and make sure of Heaven. Mat. 19:12. Better to be blind or lame, than to be cast into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Mk. 9:43-48. Abstain, you fools.

Seems they are now getting a little agitated by Lady GaGa, planning to picket one of her gigs:

“Art” and “fashion” are the euphemisms, the guise under which

proud whore Lady Gaga teaches rebellion against God (incidentally,

her claim to the title of “Lady” is sound only if she tacks on “of the

night,” thereby alluding to another euphemism for what she is). As

much as she’d like to pretend otherwise, there’s nothing new or

different about this particular hussy’s pretentious prancing. Does the

simple slut truly think that she can change God’s standards by

seducing a generation of rebels into joining her in fist-raised, stiff-

necked, hard-hearted rebellion against Him? Get real!

Even as she gives lip service to “liberating” her young fans, Lady

Gaga brings them into slavery to their own corruption, teaching

them to glory in their shame. She hates you!

They finish with ...YOU’RE GOING TO HELL!

Well it sounds more fun than heaven populated with the Phelps family, and possibly Mr Puritan ,that's for sure.

Hat tip to Dave.

The Phelps family

Tonight on BBC 2 at 9pm there is a programme called Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America .

I'm not a great fan of Theroux , but he does seem to get people to open up . He has spent three weeks with this family. I think three seconds and violence would have erupted on my part.
They make Paddy the Puritan look almost reasonable. Did I just say Paddy and reasonable ,well it is all relative and he is still a fuckwit.
I can see myself getting very abusive towards the TV tonight. I will try to sit through all of it, but seriously these people are fucked up bigots with no humanity.

Why...well here are some quotes from a BBC report :

They call themselves the most hated family in the US and they picket funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq.

(Note to the SWP,StWC, Respect and Paddy ,they are not anti imperialist , do not make alliances with them. I'm waiting for Paddy to comment on this. - SB)

The Phelps family pickets mourners across the country, to mark what it describes as God's revenge on the US for tolerating homosexuality.

Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by "Gramps", preacher Fred Phelps.

Louis Theroux: They're well known because of these pickets which they've been doing for at least 15 years now. The pickets weren't always of soldiers' funerals, but it got more extreme as it went on. Originally it started as pickets of places where gay people congregated - a local park becoming a cruising area which they objected to, and then when Aids came along they said it was punishment for homosexuality and they began picketing Gay Pride parades and marches and also then the funerals of people who died of Aids. And they didn't originally use offensive words like "fag". They would say "homosexuality", but then it just escalated.


I am loathe to link to their homepage , delightfully titled "God hates fags",but do check it out.Here are some quotes:

Welcome to the Westboro Baptist Church homepage. This page is dedicated to preaching the Gospel truth about the soul-damning, nation-destroying notion that "It is OK to be gay.

The only lawful sexual connection is the marriage bed. All other sex activity is whoremongery and adultery, which will damn the soul forever in Hell. Heb. 13:4. Decadent, depraved, degenerate and debauched America, having bought the lie that It's OK to be gay, has thereby changed the truth of God into a lie, and now worships and serves the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! Rom. 1:25. But the Word of God abides. Better to be a eunuch if the will of God be so, and make sure of Heaven. Mat. 19:12. Better to be blind or lame, than to be cast into Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Mk. 9:43-48. Abstain, you fools.

I look forward to meeting my fellow decadent depraved whoremongers .

They have the words up there of one of their catchy little songs . I can't cut and paste as its PDF, but check it out , one for the ipod.


Trust me, it may be April 1st, but this is not made up.

(Some pics from their website from their funeral pickets).

Floods caused by gay people !

More reactionary nonsense from the Church of England. Apparently :

The floods that have devastated swathes of the country are God's judgment on the immorality and greed of modern society, according to senior Church of England bishops.

One diocesan bishop has even claimed that laws that have undermined marriage, including the introduction of pro-gay legislation, have provoked God to act by sending the storms that have left thousands of people homeless.

While those who have been affected by the storms are innocent victims, the bishops argue controversially that the flooding is a result of Western civilisation's decision to ignore biblical teaching.

The Rt Rev Graham Dow, Bishop of Carlisle (pictured), argued that the floods are not just a result of a lack of respect for the planet, but also a judgment on society's moral decadence.

"This is a strong and definite judgment because the world has been arrogant in going its own way," he said. "We are reaping the consequences of our moral degradation, as well as the environmental damage that we have caused."

.....

"We are in serious moral trouble because every type of lifestyle is now regarded as legitimate," he said.

"In the Bible, institutional power is referred to as 'the beast', which sets itself up to control people and their morals. Our government has been playing the role of God in saying that people are free to act as they want," he said, adding that the introduction of recent pro-gay laws highlighted its determination to undermine marriage.

"The sexual orientation regulations [which give greater rights to gays] are part of a general scene of permissiveness. We are in a situation where we are liable for God's judgment, which is intended to call us to repentance."

He expressed his sympathy for those who have been hit by the weather, but said that the problem with "environmental judgment is that it is indiscriminate".


A few thoughts come to mind, why does god choose to punish supposed 'innocent ' people? Why didn't he create some great flood in London during the Gay pride march on Saturday?

Does this mean Ruth Kelly will always have a little ray of sunshine above her head and her home will never be flooded ?

So was the tsunami a few years back caused by gay sex ?

Naughty naughty lesbian and gay people for thinking they can do what they like. Its all your fault and so any attacks on you is surely justified.

Somehow this attitude is not just nonsense but hardly caring. Aren't Christians meant to be full of compassion, not vengeful old men bothered by what others do in the bedroom?

Iris Robinson MP suggests victim of homophobic attack seeks help for being gay !!

I despair sometimes, why can't god bothers stop worrying about what others do in bed. Pink News reports :


The wife of the First Minister of Northern Ireland has caused controversy with her born-again Christian outlook on life.

Iris Robinson is MP for Strangford and chairs the Northern Ireland Assembly's health committee .

Reacting to news that a man was viciously attacked because he is gay, she suggested that he should consider therapy to "cure" him of his homosexuality.

Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster today she condemned the attack on Stephen Smith but added:

"I have a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is that he tries to help homosexuals trying to turn away from what they are engaged in.

"And I have met people who have turned around to become heterosexual."

This pisses me off in so many ways. For many years lesbian and gay people were seen as suffering from a psychiatric disorder and it was only in 1973 that it was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) . Lesbian and gay people were often subjected to 'treatments' such as :

surgical treatments such as hysterectomy, ovariectomy,clitoridectomy,castration,vasectomy,pudic nerve surgery,and lobotomy. Substance-based treatment attempts have included hormone treatment,pharmacologic shock treatment, and treatment with sexual stimulants and sexual depressants. Other attempts include aversion therapy, the attempted reduction of aversion to heterosexuality,electroshock treatment,group therapy, hypnosis, and psychoanalysis.

Lesbian and gay people were made to feel guilty and lets not forget that for gay men having sex together was illegal and of course still is in many parts of the world. There were, and still are, religious , social and family pressures. Lesbian and gay people still face attacks even in gay friendly Brighton .

So this guy gets beaten up by homophobic thugs and Ms Robinson suggests he needs treatment to 'turn' !! No, the vicious bigots should be punished and attitudes that lead to such violence need to be challenged. No matter how much she condemns the attack, her words only add to an attitude that lesbian and gay people are sick and need to be cured. This breeds breed violence and discrimination.

Sadly many people are still pressurised to conform to heterosexual norms , usually through family and religious pressure. Others have residual guilt and if they do try to change only end up unhappy and living a lie, trying to please the religious intolerance of people like Ms Robinson.

What is her problem, why does it matter to her if two men have sex together. No one is asking her to indulge in a little girl on girl action, no one is telling her not to be in a heterosexual marriage and family.

Oh and something I did hear about on the pro choice demo and that Pink News refers to :

Mrs Robinson's view of gay and lesbian people is well-known. Last month she castigated MPs in the House of Commons during debate on fertility treatments.

MPs decided to remove the requirement on doctors to consider the need for a father when assessing women for fertility treatments.

"Envisage, down the road, a child going to primary school and being collected by two females or two males, and the bullying and abuse to which those children will be exposed; or going into their parents’ bedroom, as is natural for a child to do, and finding two women or two men making love?" said Mrs Robinson.

"I stand by my faith and the word of God that man was created in the image of God and that woman was created from the rib of Adam to be his helpmeet and companion. That is the natural progression of procreation.

"The word of God says that procreation is through a man and a woman.

"We are moving mountains to facilitate immorality and to bring the rights of lesbians above all others in this country.

"It is a shame, and honourable Members ought to hang their heads in shame."

Oh for goodness sake what a stupid bigoted woman , no one is saying children should walk in on their parents having sex , whether straight or gay. Is she saying that its OK for kids to see their heterosexual parents having sex ?? I would assume that any parent , whatever their sexuality, would ensure they children did not walk in. Perhaps it is a regular occurrence in Ms Robinson's home for the kids to wander in and catch her and hubby going at it, is that 'natural'?

Oh and if she believe's that being gay is a psychiatric illness it could be argued that religious beliefs are a bit delusional and could do with some treatment. I mean hearing voices, messages from a imaginary god, belief in miracles, woman made from ribs ...sounds a bit psychotic to me, must dig out my DSM and see what it says. Thing is Ms Robinson and her ilk are free to believe such superstitious nonsense and live their lives as they wish. I'm not suggesting they seek a 'cure.' Can't they just leave others to live their lives ?

Pic : last years Pride in Brighton .Another good religious chap bothered about other people's sex lives and trying to save souls :-)

Climate change ...all the fault of the queers

First the Bishop of Carlisle felt last summer's floods were God's punishment for gay sex and generally decadent behaviour (sex outside of straight marriage for the purpose of fun basically).

Now its earthquakes in Israel:

An outspoken member of Israel's parliament has said recent earthquakes that have hit the country are a consequence of gay rights laws.

Shlomo Benizri, who is a member of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, was speaking in a Knesset (parliament) debate on earthquake preparedness.

After reading passages from the Old Testament, he said that in his view one cause of earthquakes is that "the Knesset gives legitimacy to sodomy.

"A cost-effective way of averting earthquake damage would be to stop passing legislation on how to encourage homosexual activity in the State of Israel, which anyways causes earthquakes."


Pink News also mentions :

In November 2005 a councillor for the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland tried to blame the gay community for Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans.

Maurice Mills said it was a judgement from God:

"The media failed to report that the hurricane occurred just two days prior to the annual homosexual event called the Southern Decadence Festival, which the previous year had attracted an estimated 125,000 people."

Of course if all this were in any way logical , then wouldn't god just zap the pervs and leave the good pure people alone?

So while we are in the land of god bothers obsessed by what people do in bed , I'm sure someone somewhere has blamed LBGT people and general decadent sex for climate change.

The solution to the havoc being wrecked on our environment is much simpler. No need to worry about carbon footprints, bottled water and carrier bags . Nope, we all need to just get married (straight of course), have sex to breed and if you are gay become a catholic priest . Climate change sorted.

"Scotland - Land of the Sodomite Damned " - the Westboro Baptist Church have turned their attention to Scotland ...yay !

Oooh the Westboro Baptist Church are heading to Scotland with their own highly creative and disturbed style of protests . I wish I could go along to counter protest and wind them up.Thats my idea of a fun day out !
Anyone going please send me pics . Eddie? Cat? A report would be brilliant.

Details via Facebook :

Louis Theroux' best pals the Westboro Baptist Church are coming to Scotland to tell the Church of Scotland not to appoint any gays as ministers.
___________________________________________
This is their poster advertising the picket:

http://www.godhatesfags.com/written/fliers/20090508_Scotland-UK-Rennie-g.pdf

"Yes, Westboro Baptist Church pastor and members will
fly to Scotland and conduct these religious education,
protest, and warning pickets; to wit: "Be not deceived;
God is not mocked" Gal. 6:7. Scotland once blazed with
Gospel light, in the days of the likes of John Brown and
other able and sanctified Puritans and men of God. It is a
moral and spiritual tragedy that such a matter as the
pervert Scott Rennie should even be entertained. The
curse of God is on Scotland. She is beyond redemption.

God Hates Scotland – Land of the Sodomite Damned."
___________________________________________

Come along, counter-protest, or just watch the freak show with a morbid curiosity. There will be a prize for the best sign.


Protest details :



23 May 2009

17:30 - 19:30

The Mound

Edinburgh


And when you have done Scotland do head south to Brighton, there are lots of us perverts here. WBC versus the the queers of kemptown !! Those drag queens would make short shift of them im sure .Come for Pride , even better.

Pope , not to keen on atheists and secularists

Oh dear, here we go again with attacks on atheism and secularism .

Yep, the Pope has come out on the defensive . Not surprising , given in the last week we have had more scandal involving child abuse by priests and the third world neo atheist (??) jibe by Cardinal Kasper :

He told the magazine: "England today is a secularised, pluralistic country. When you land at Heathrow Airport, you sometimes think you'd landed in a Third World country."

Asked whether Christians were discriminated against in the UK, he said: "Particularly in England, an aggressive neo-atheism is widespread. For example, if you wear a cross with British Airways, you're discriminated against."

What exactly is wrong with a secular plural society ? It means all freedom of religion and freedom not to believe . No one belief has privilege or is at risk of persecution.

And what is with the Third World Country comment ?

Anyway , back to the Pope :

He added: "Today, the United Kingdom strives to be a modern and multicultural society. In this challenging enterprise, may it always maintain its respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate."

The Pope also praised Britain's fight against Hitler's "atheist extremism", saying that "Britain and her leaders stood against a Nazi tyranny that wished to eradicate God from society and denied our common humanity to many, especially the Jews, who were thought unfit to live".

Seems the Pope is not above twisting the meaning of secularism, painting it as a bad thing.

But he then goes on to equate Nazism = extreme atheism .

From my history, I don't recall the Nazis as fighting for an atheist society ,but when have facts got in the way of religious teaching . A church that can state that condoms spread Aids as they have tiny holes in them, can just as easily twist and smear secularism and atheism .

For the record , Hitler stated :

Hitler’s Mein Kampf, volume I, at the end of chapter 2: "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

Many who do not believe in God fought against Nazis, fight today against fascists and war in this world. Religious people do not by any stretch of the imagination have a monopoly on peace and doing good. Examples that immediately spring to mind are Bush and Blair , consulting their God, before going to war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

How much concern for life does the Catholic Church have for women in places such as Nicaragua, where no abortion is allowed , even if their life is at risk. Doctors are too scared often to give treatment for cancer to pregnant women in case it causes the foetus to abort. My concern is with the woman who is a alive , not sacrificing her as some sort of incubator .

I am pretty sick of those of us who argue for a secular society, with freedom of speech and belief , being called extreme and the whole notion being misused. A secular society = freedom of belief and none for all. What is wrong with that ?

Amnesty International , the 'Life League' and deviants !

Amnesty International has upset the old men in the Vatican by saying that woman have a right to control their own bodies. Its not exactly abortion on demand they are asking for ,nope, they say if a woman has been raped (often used in war as a means of terrorising women ) or their life is in danger then they should have access to free safe abortion. Often the anti abortionists try to appear reasonable and argue around time limits,when of course the majority of them want all abortion illegal. Yep, woman can die , that's sanctity of life for you .

Anyway I notice, via Emmazone, that the Life League are up in arms on this. They have published the addresses and phone numbers of Directors of Amnesty International and called on their nice Christian members to harass them.

This group is a particularly unpleasant bunch. Its not just controlling women that occupies them, they also hold forth on a selection of rabid bigoted god bothering views .

For example , contraception:

Contraception is the basis for the degradation of western society as a whole. Once contraception became acceptable in the churches and mainstream society, the link between monogamous sexual relationships within marriage and procreation was broken. From then on, facilitated by contraception, sex primarily became a recreational pursuit.

In addition to promoting abortion - widespread contraception has (in the popular mind) produced ‘sex without consequences, accountability and responsibility’. This in turn has spawned:

(1) The Rise of Feminism: By breaking the central role of motherhood, and thus facilitating non-appropriate economic and social roles.

(2) The Rise of Extra-marital sex: Facilitated by contraception removing any ‘unintended consequences’ from recreational sex.

(3) The Rise of Homosexuality and perverted lifestyles: Once it is accepted that sex is for pleasure, base lusts cannot be refused.

(4) The Rising Divorce Rate: Resultant from the breakdown of the family order and greater potential for promiscuity (see points 1 and 2).

(5) The Decline of the Family: Brought about by points 1, 2, 3 and 4. Once the family goes, society does also.

If you are single, abstinence is always your best and only morally acceptable choice. It is not always easy, but it always works. By abstaining from sex, you eliminate the possibility of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease.

My favourite bits are :

sex primarily became a recreational pursuit. and
The Rise of Homosexuality and perverted lifestyles: Once it is accepted that sex is for pleasure, base lusts cannot be refused.

They say that like its a bad thing!
Lets just say if I was ever listed in 'Who's Who' I would have no problem as listing sex as one of my hobbies. Honestly, what business is it of their's if people do not see sex primarily in terms of having kids. As someone who 1) does not want them and 2) has no intention of getting married, am I supposed to practise abstinence ?? I would be even more Stroppy if that were the case. It is so tempting to say what they all seem to need is a good fuck and perhaps they would have less interest in prying into other people's sex lives!

Look, god botherers, accept it, some of us quite like sex for 'purely recreational purposes'. As the saying goes, get over it !

Oh and more on their views about 'deviant homosexuals':

The Life League has a simple policy regarding homosexuality. We regard it as sexual deviance, and believe that it flies in the face of the natural Order purposed by God for humankind. Homosexuals are not born “gay”, and lead a “gay lifestyle” through choice, not heredity.

Whilst we believe homosexuality to be an anti-life aberration, we do not hate homosexuals. The charge of “homophobia”, in the sense of a vicious hatred targeted at homosexuals, cannot be laid at our door as we feel it is our duty to love those who have been lured into this lifestyle, and to inform them of the folly of their ways. We utterly abhor all anti-homosexual violence, but similarly condemn the tendency of government policy to favour minority rights over the rights of the majority.

We will be including various articles about our stance on homosexuality and it’s anti-life destructiveness in the coming months.

Yep, all that deviant sex and no procreation. Can't be having that.
I'm sure LGBT parents must fuck with their heads .

And finally, they aim to keep young people in ignorance , because of course if you aren't told about sex then surely you won't do it :

It is in the light of these facts, that the Life League opposes sex education in it’s various forms and guises, in the full knowledge that it is amoral, has a destructive effect on society and contributes to the overall problem of sexual promiscuity and perversion in the UK.


As they seem so fond of direct action , perhaps some of us deviants could tell them what we think of them .

Homophobia and the Tories

Seems a rising star Tory has some homophobia in her closet :

A high-flying prospective Conservative MP, credited with shaping many of the party's social policies, founded a church that tried to "cure" homosexuals by driving out their "demons" through prayer.
Philippa Stroud, who is likely to win the Sutton and Cheam seat on Thursday and is head of the Centre for Social Justice, the thinktank set up by the former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, has heavily influenced David Cameron's beliefs on subjects such as the family. A popular and energetic Tory, she is seen as one of the party's rising stars.
The CSJ reportedly claims to have formulated as many as 70 of the party's policies. Stroud has spoken of how her Christian faith has motivated her to help the poor and of her time spent working with the destitute in Hong Kong. On her return to Britain, in 1989, she founded a church and night shelter in Bedford, the King's Arms Project, that helped drug addicts and alcoholics. It also counselled gay, lesbian and transsexual people.
Abi, a teenage girl with transsexual issues, was sent to the church by her parents, who were evangelical Christians. "Convinced I was demonically possessed, my parents made the decision to move to Bedford, because of this woman [Stroud] who had come back from Hong Kong and had the power to set me free," Abi told the Observer.
"She wanted me to know all my thinking was wrong, I was wrong and the so-called demons inside me were wrong. The session ended with her and others praying over me, calling out the demons. She really believed things like homosexuality, transsexualism and addiction could be fixed just by prayer, all in the name of Jesus."
"T" said he moved to Bedford because he believed the church could help him stop having homosexual thoughts. "I was trying to convince myself that a change was possible but, at the same time, a part of me didn't believe it was possible," he said. "The church's approach was not that it was sinful to be homosexual but that it was sinful to act on it. The aim is to get a person to a position where they don't have these sinful emotions and thoughts."
"T" said it was only after he "took a break" from the church that his depression lifted. "It was the church's attitude towards my sexuality that was the issue," he recalled.
"My impression is that she genuinely cares about people," he said of Stroud. "Her personal beliefs may get in the way sometimes, but she is a positive person."
Stroud and her husband, David, a minister in the New Frontiers church, allied to the US evangelical movement, left the project in the late 1990s to establish another church in Birmingham. Angela Paterson, who was an administrator at the Bedford church, said: "With hindsight, the thing that freaks me out was everybody praying that a demon would be cast out of me because I was gay. Anything – drugs, alcohol or homosexuality, they thought you had a demon in you."
Kacey Jones, a hostel resident, said she was told to end her lesbian relationship or leave the church. "Philippa was still around when I first moved in," Jones said. "There was a 'discipleship house' for Christians struggling with issues, including their sexuality. They told me my feelings weren't normal. I didn't want to be gay, I wanted to be like everybody else, get married, have kids and please my parents."
Stroud wrote a book, God's Heart for the Poor, in which she explains how to deal with people showing signs of "demonic activity". Stroud, who declined to talk to the Observer, writes: "I'd say the bottom line is to remember your spiritual authority as a child of God. He is so much more powerful than anything else!"
In the book she discusses the daily struggle of running the hostel. "One girl lived in the hostel for some time, became a Christian, then choked to death on her own vomit after a drinking bout. Her life had changed to some extent, but we wondered whether God knew that she hadn't the will to stick with it and was calling her home."

The God squad are at again....

This made my stomach churn as well as my hackles rising and blood pressure going through the roof.

The God squad are upon us sermonising against the ills of being gay, the necessity of chaste living, abortion being a sin and the evils of condoms. And sex, well sex, is very very very bad. Well, it is ok for procreation purposes but not something to be enjoyed and seen as fun.

Way hey, aren't you just disappointed you didn't book your tickets...now.. for this funtastic jamboree tomorrow? It has been organised by the The Human Life International under the banner of "Ireland must choose".

A day of reactionary, homophobic and moralising carping to the converted. It exposes just how ideologically pernicious religion is. It also reminded me of various God squadders, who descended on Brighton in 1990, for the International Conference on the Family and indeed it had every reactionary on the planet attending.

A gang of lefties (including myself) demonstrated outside the event and we got on the 6pm news as 4 Stop Section 28 activists walked on the stage holding up signs that said, "lesbians are not pretending". It made Princess Di blush (she opened the conference.. one woman who knew all about "family values").

This was 'cos at the time there was all this crap circulating about lesbian and gay families being a "pretence" and this conference was preaching the wonders of the heterosexual nuclear family. Oh, and some of their "members" i.e. Operation Rescue decided to picket a BPAS clinic. Fortunately, there was a counter picket, including Catholics for Choice, which saw off the anti-abortionists.

I hope there are counter demos tomorrow to tell these hypocritical moralists to shove their reactionary religion. What business is it of theirs how people live their lives....


Hat tip: The Cedar Lounge Revolution


Btw: Many thanks to Paddy Garcia for providing the pic.

It kinda sums up and symbolises the week of protests. And Paddy, if you have any more of that day/week then I would appreciate seeing them (may even spot myself in the pics!!!)

Abortion: The Cardinal Speaks

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor and his fellow Cardinal Keith O'Brien have marked the fortieth anniversary of the Abortion Act by writing an open letter to women considering having an abortion urging them to thiink again. Brilliant. You're in perhaps one of the most difficult situations of your life, facing a tough choice, and you get a truckload of god-bothering guilt piled on too. (On the other hand, it might be a simple choice for you, and the god-bothering might not bother you at all - good luck to yer, girl.)

Interviewed on Radio Five Live yesterday, Cardinal O'Connor repeatedly argued that women should have time to think about what to do and don't rush into their decision. I'm guessing he will be oppposing cuts in time limits then - which, after all, would mean you have to make a decision more quickly.

The interviewer then put it to the Cardinal - if, after due time for consideration, she decided to have a termination, would he support her? Well, no. He considers abortion morally wrong, so couldn't ever support it. Great - have all the time you like to consider your decision, but make sure you decide what the Catholic Church wants you to decide.

Of course, I could consider that telling people to believe in oppressive orders from an imaginary god is morally wrong, not to mention intellectually bankrupt and laughably irrational. But I don't advocate that the law ban you from doing it, Cardinal Murphy. I just hope that counter-mobilisation will isolate you and your bigoted views.

Meanwhile, the good news is that a majority - albeit a slender one - believe that it should be easier for women to access abortion.

The filth stays in the picture....

Directors and studios bosses were celebrating last week as Hollywood won an ongoing battle against companies, which sanitise versions of its films on DVD when a US judge ordered those firms to turn over all existing copies to studio lawyers for destruction within five days of his ruling.

Judge Richard Matsch of Colorado ruled that editing movies to delete objectionable language, sex and violence was an “illegitimate business” that hurt Hollywood studios and directors who owned the movie rights.

The order affects the likes of Utah-based CleanFicks, CleanFilms and Play It Clean Video, Arizona Family Flix USA and another CleanFicks based in Colorado. The fight has been ongoing since August 2002 when CleanFicks of Utah filed a suit against the Directors of Guild of America and 16 leading directors, seeking a court ruling clarifying its right to market the videos on First Amendment grounds. The DGA and directors countersued and by December 2002 eight major studios filed suit.

Utah’s CleanFicks, which is the largest distributor, has declared they will continue the fight against the studios and their right to produce edit ed movies.

I had a look at CleanFlicks and what first grabs your attention is the happy shiny glossy photo of the uber white heterosexual nuclear family at the top of the website. And they sure need protecting from those “evil” directors and studios. They also explain what they remove from films, includes profanity (oh my!), nudity (full frontal and from behind), graphic violence (decapitation, impalement, dismemberment, excessive blood… well based on that diddly squat would have remained of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol.1 and Vol.2 )
The same with any David Lynch film, for that matter.

They also remove references to sexual language and anything which refers to the sexual act itself (oh my! I can feel a fainting spell coming on… quick fetch me the smelling salts). And anything, which is “insulting to the deity” (So no taking the lord’s name in vain by screaming, “Oh My God” while fucking thank-you-very-much)

But my favourite has to be FamilyFlix who has “decided to close their doors after 5 years”. This lot regularly hack to pieces films, which show “homosexuality”, “perversion” and “cohabitation”. God (oopps sorry) knows what they did to Brokeback Mountain.

These creepy homophobic sexist God squaders piss the hell out of me. Who are they to decide what people can and can’t watch? They can take their brand of nasty reactionary finger-wagging morality and go shove it somewhere. You can choose whether to watch or not watch a film, it’s up to you. But no way do you impose your own religious morality on everyone else.

Abuse by Catholic Church in Ireland

In light of the at-long-last publication of the damning report into institutional child abuse by the Catholic Church in Ireland, my best comment is to point you to two articles and a poem by Sean Matgamna, who has first-hand experience of the brutality of the Christian Brothers.

=====

Savage Violence in Irish Schools: Why Did They Stand For It?
9 February, 2005

The little boy, Tommy, perhaps eight years old, watched the schoolmaster, Sean Gormley, prepare to flog his brother, Mickey. Mickey was a year or two older than Tommy, but smaller.

The procedure was that the boy due to be flogged would climb up, or be lifted up, on the back of a bigger boy, who would reach over his shoulders and hold on to the smaller boy’s hands. The master would then slash again and again, as his mood dictated, at the victim’s backside.

The boy’s short trousers may have been pulled down first. I don’t know. “Flogging” was what they called it, and flogging is what it was. Tommy had seen it before, as had the whole class - had maybe himself been the victim.

As the master slashed at Mickey, Tommy picked up his slate — they used real slates, and chalk — and, moving towards Gormley, flung it at his head. He missed, and the slate clattered against the wall behind the teacher.

Mickey kicked himself free, and the two boys ran out of the schoolroom, across the narrow concreted yard, down the steps, and off towards home.

I have had to “fill in” some of the details, but in its essentials, it is a true story. I heard both Mickey and Tommy, decades later, tell the story more than once. Tommy was not above a bit of embellishment, but he was a truthful man, with a strong contempt for “liars”.

Continues here.

=====

A horror story to learn from
7 February 2008

An 81 year old retired Irish cardinal, Desmond Connell, has gone to the High Court in Dublin for a writ to stop his successor as Archbishop of Dublin from handing over church files on paedophile priests to a state-organised inquiry into clerical abuse of children.

He has called on the court to prevent the head of the Catholic Church in the Dublin diocese from handing over information about criminal priests to the government-appointed investigation. He has got an interim writ, freezing proceedings until there can be a full court hearing. He claims that some of the files contain solicitors’ advice to him, and therefore that they are privileged, exempt from scrutiny without his say-so.

This strange affair deserves the attention of socialists and secularists in Britain.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, Primate of the Catholic Church here, who plausibly claims that his is now the most numerous Christian denomination in the country, has a lot to say on social and political questions these days.

A lot of it is reactionary — its attitude to lesbians and gays, for instance.

His overriding concern is to have as large a part as he can of the affairs of society — its mores, its morality, what it allows and what it forbids to the citizen — regulated by the “laws of God”, as his church understands them. In Britain now it is an effort to have society ruled according to the teachings of a church which the big majority does not accept.

The attempt by Murphy O’Connor and his bishops to impose the prejudices of their church so that lesbians and gays could not adopt or foster children is only one recent example.

The Catholic people of Ireland are now once again, in the grotesque Cardinal Connell affair, being unpleasantly reminded of what rule by priests, bishops, and cardinals sometimes has meant for them. For many decades, Catholic priests, members of the Christian Brothers (a monk-like teaching order), and nuns, running Irish schools, orphanages, and reformatories, savagely abused children, beating and raping them.

That they subjected them to relentless and merciless violence was known to everyone. What was not widely known — scarcely known at all, except to its small victims and to maimed and troubled adults who had been small victims — and certainly never discussed in public, was that sexual abuse of children in schools, orphanages, and reformatories, was also an everyday thing.

The abuse of children is now understood to be a feature of all institutions where children are helpless at the mercy of adults. In Ireland, within a loose and light framework of state regulation to check such things as the qualifications of teachers, schools (etc.) were an archipelago of hell-holes run or supervised by priests, Christian Brothers, and nuns.

Officially, Catholic Ireland was a desert of lacerating, arid sexual puritanism — a place where for many decades the average age of marriage was 35, and many lay men and women, never marrying, lived entirely celibate lives.

The poet Patrick Kavanagh — he is also the author of the well-known song, “On Raglan Road” — borrowed the common name for the Famine of the 1840s, in which a million starved to death, the Great Hunger, for the title of a long poem about that, Ireland’s other great hunger.

In that Ireland, the priests and nuns were honoured as paragons and models, demigods more closely connected to the Big God than anyone else could be. They were the moral police for a strict and very puritanical morality.

Continues here.

=====

And finally, I'd never usually recommend Sean's poetry, but I'll make an exception in this case ...

MARY PLAYS NUNS' SCHOOL

Now, Mary places papers all along the kitchen,
On table, dresser, chairs: small girls at school;
Herself, the nun, alone with children in her den.

Mary is re-enacting school, convent school,
Where little girls are shaped, chastened, cut
By holy women strung alive to God's tight rule.

So she begins to teach: she stiffens, starts to strut
Facing the girls, like nemesis engaged,
A long thin stick in hand. Slowly she starts to “tut”.

“Tut-tut! Tut-tut! Tut-tut!” Soon anger sparks to rage,
Deep-rooted rage: a wounded eye-less Id
Seething with rancid, poisoned life inside a cage.

Now she begins to shout: she scolds her paper kids,
Upbraiding each as little fool, dunce, dim-wit:
Ne'er-do-well, bad little sinful Patsies, Neaves and Brids.

From shouting soon to action: she starts to hit
The table, the dresser, the unfeeling chairs
With the thin stick, face clenched, caught up, reliving it.

She “slaps” the table, the dresser, slashes at every chair:
Wood rings on nerveless wood, with rapid blows,
In frenzied mimic violence, 'till papers tear.

Mary slashes and beats, her eyes fierce that they glow,
Lost in fevered playing at nuns' school,
At home, in deValera's Ireland long ago;
Lost in that wounded re-enactment long ago.

1991

A scene I witnessed. Mary, who would have been about 9,
was a pupil at the girls National school, run by
the Sisters of Mercy, the only girls primary school in Ennis.
These nuns had a reputation amongst the poor of
the town for being very severe and violent with the
children, but selectively so. They were relentlessly
punitive, physically brutal and persecuting with the “Industrial girls”,
who were in their full-time custody, less severe, though still
very severe , with the children of the poor, and noticably less severe,
or not severe at all, with the children of the well-off.

Carnival of Socialism

I'm a bit sad I suppose, but I do enjoy trawling around the blogs and doing the Carnival is a good excuse. Its a general Carnival this time, but I have some themes within it. I'm not pretending to be balanced here, its what has caught my eye.

Last week was the 25th anniversary of the start of the Miners Strike. Bloody hell that makes me feel old !
I was particularly involved with women's groups and "Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners"and so have added this, an old blog post, as there a film of the activities of LGSM and a little clip of the "Pits and Perverts" benefit .I was there !!

Quite a few bloggers have written about this anniversary and their memories. Will has a post and a YouTube clip and states , in his usual delicate prose:

Meanwhile, Thatcher is dying slowly, and hopefully in pain, while she pisses and shits in her filthy stained Victorian knickers like a rodent does -- not having control over anything in that department like.

Dave reminisces and discusses the tactics at the time :

Back in the day, I was a skinny young student Trot with an exaggerated ‘aircraft carrier’ version of the flat top haircut all the boys then used to sport in honour of Morrisey, and like hundreds of thousands of other people, an ardent supporter of the dispute.

I was frequently to be found shaking a bucket outside Leytonstone tube station to raise cash for the local support group, and was actively engaged in attempting to win miners to my group’s particular brand of far leftism. Mainly this seemed to involve buying them beer and discussing intensely how victory could best be assured.

And whatever quibbles I had, then or now, I remain convinced that strategically speaking, Scargill’s handling of the situation was right. Indeed, he probably had little alternative but to act as he did.

In another post he goes on to look at the continued impact of Thatcherism on the former mining communities, as does Chris Dillow, who highlights the social and economic costs of pit closures .

For more on the Strike check out : Tom Watson MP, Mick Hall, Bob from Brockley, Snowball and HarpyMarx.

Last week was International Women's Day and to mark that here are a collection of posts that highlight the struggles and crap still facing women both here and across the world.

Now regardless where you stand on sex workers, I'd say most would agree that a 14 year old girl should be treated as a victim of rape and not taken to court for 'profiting from criminal earnings' . The school found lubricants and condoms in her bag and called the police not social services. Surely this was a child protection issue ? Check out the F Word for more.

The F Word also has some posts on the worrying attitudes to domestic violence and rape, including:


between 10-20% think domestic violence is acceptable in some way in response to “nagging”, flirting with other men, dressing in ‘sexy’ clothes in public, and not “treating him with respect”.


Another post highlights the rise of domestic violence in London.

Rape is often used during war against women, Feministing reports how it is used in South Africa against lesbians to 'correct' them. Murderers of lesbians also seems to be walking free there.

Caroline critically comments on coverage of a young woman who killed herself, which attributes some responsibility for the bullying that lead to it to her 'slutty' behaviour.

Fighting back, Coatsey reports on Iranian Women activists with links to demos on IWD.

Charlie also has a post for IWD looking at women's role in the context of the wider working class struggle.

Meanwhile a 75-year-old Syrian woman has been sentenced to 40 lashes by a Saudi court, for “mingling” - ie having two men in her house who are not related to her.

Moving on to religion and women, the F Word also highlights the Vatican's contribution to IWD. What's contributed most to women's liberation ? Well of course this is all relative to where you live , but generally most would suggest the pill, access to abortion, right to vote, equal financial rights, work etc.

Wrong, its the washing machine! Of course, because that's women's role isn't it, breeding and housework. Love this quote:

The author writes that "even though early models of the washing machine were expensive and unreliable, the technology had improved to the point that there is now the image of the super woman, smiling, made-up and radiant among the appliances of her house."

Radiant and smiling, hm, think it might be another 'appliance ' they are thinking , though I have heard of 'uses' for the spin cycle.

Yeah, keep women in their place, but even worse is the lack of humanity in this report of the Catholic Church in Brazil towards a pregnant nine year old girl:

In Brazil, there is a horrific story of a 9-year-old girl who was raped and impregnated (h/t Falloch’s comment). It’s believed that the rape was committed by her step-father. The girl was not only pregnant at that young age, but also pregnant with twins. And so, as makes perfect sense, she had an abortion. Because she was raped, because she was much to young to have a child, and because the stress of having twins would of course have been far too much for a 9-year-old’s body to handle. And she could have died.

Now, the Catholic Church has excommunicated both the girl’s mother and the doctors who performed the abortion, which likely saved the girl’s life.

Well then. At least they didn’t excommunicate the girl, right? Maybe they decided that she was much too young to have made the decision to have the abortion on her own, or to understand what was happening. But not too young, apparently, to be forced to give birth to the twins caused by her rapist. Not too young to quite possibly die in the process.

In defending the decision, the Church’s lawyer has said:

“It’s the law of God: Do not kill. We consider this murder,” Miranda said in comments reported by O Globo.

But rape, apparently, is a-okay. After all, I don’t see the step-father, who allegedly admitted to having raped the girl since the age of 6, being excommunicated. Killing a fetus is apparently worthy of such censure and shunning. Horrifically violating a small child, though? Well, we all make mistakes. And this stance is of course nothing new.


How anti abortionists have the nerve to take the moral high ground and express concern for life when that seems, for women, to end when they are born. How could anyone with any compassion make a child, a 9 year old abused child, go through giving birth to twins .

This post by Will highlights the double standards and hypocrisy of the Catholic Church.

A final post on religion, this time from New Humanist highlighting some delightful t-shirts produced by The Passions for Christ movement . These include a series of "Ex-" T-shirts in which members declare that, thanks to Christ, they are now ex-fornicators, ex- masturbators, ex-homosexuals or ex-porn addicts. They even have a link to a blog where :

P4CM member Dameco wrote a blog on her myspace entitled Overcoming Masturbation, which testified to her 7 year battle with masturbation and God's power to deliver her from this sin. Since then, people from all over the world have been writing in saying that they too have battle with this sin and did not know they could be free from it until they read her testimony.

There is a clip where she talks about overcoming her 'appetite for lust'.


MarshaJane has suggested we should bring out some Stroppyblog t-shirts after a recent debate here.
Perhaps 'wanker, you say that like its a bad thing!' or 'I have an appetite for lust'? Suggestions please.

I really don't get what their problem with wanking is. I mean if god bothers want to insist people wait for marriage before sex then surely let them have a wank? Why is it wrong ?

Anyway, enough of that.

Right , a few more posts here, some sent to me, that don't fit into my themes .

Jim is cheered by the news of Bristol Palin not going through with a forced marriage and also posts on what Labour Party members think.

Two posts from Phil .One assessing "History and Class Consciousness" and another on building a campaigning Trades Council.
Phil is also hosting the next Carnival.

"Life is complicated yet beautifully simple" has a post on the 'detention' of Phil Woolas .

And finally a book review from Benjamin Solah .


Phew...done.

Blair's Promoting Faith

Quite extraordinary. Tony Blair is launching a new charity to "enlist religion as a force for economic development and conflict resolution, rather than violence and strife". So, to reverse the role it has played for centuries then, eh?

I'm not quite sure what role god-worship has in economic development, unless Tone wants to teach the clerics to get modern and market their product in a more proft-savvy way.

The Tony Blair Faith Foundation was launched on May 30, 2008, in New York City. Blair's fantasies include ideas such as this: "If you got churches and mosques and those of the Jewish faith working together to provide the bed nets that are necessary to eliminate malaria, what a fantastic thing that would be." Look, I really don't get how the two ideas in this sentence go together. Surely bed nets are necessary to eliminate malaria, whether they are supplied by Jews, Muslims, raving atheists, or bed net suppliers to whom religion is irrelevant.

Apparently, "Mr. Blair said at the launch in New York Friday that people cannot understand the modern world unless they understand the importance of religious faith." And also, "there is nothing more important than getting people of different faiths and cultures to understand each other better and live in peace and mutual respect; and to give faith itself its proper place in the future." Nothing more important? Seriously?! The elimination of poverty, equality, fair distribution of wealth, climate change, rights and freedom ... No, no, no. Getting people to understand each other's superstitions is far more crucial.

As for Mr. Blair's heartfelt desire for peace - it would, surely, carry more credibility if he hadn't pursued those wars.

Mind you, calling his new project the 'Tony Blair Faith Foundation' may suggest the faint possibility on god-like pretensions on Mr Blair's part.

Blessed Are the Cheesemakers. Torquay Finally Gets A Life

Torbay Council has finally seen sense and lifted the God-squad-inspired ban on the 'Life Of Brian'.

Yes, for years the Bible-bashers prevented the residents of Torbay and surrounding areas from watching one of the world's greatest comedy films, with their minority tut-tutting obstructing everyone else's right to sinful pleasure.

Whoever made that decision was not the Messiah. He was a very naughty boy.

So popular as the decision been that an extra screening has been organised.

But lest you think that Torbay was the last bastion of God-bothering narrow-mindedness, spare a thought for the residents of Abersytwyth, still barred from appreciating the antics of Brian and his chums in the People's Front of Judea. Never mind, at least Torbay has taken the secular step: always look on the bright side of life.

Belated Friday Fuckwit(or Sunday Sinner?), Iris Robinson

OK, belated Friday Fuckwit. Been busy, well not really. Couldn't be arsed , hibernating from the snow.

Anyway, Iris Robinson , Friday Fuckwit.

First off can I say that I do take mental health issues seriously. Depression, not just a bit sad or down, is bloody awful. I have worked with people with it, I have had friends who struggle it and I had a father whose life was literally destroyed by it.

OK, just wanted to get that out of the way.

I also don't wish it on Iris. BUT, she is still a nasty hateful reactionary intolerant thoroughly bigoted individual. Just now she is a depressed nasty hateful reactionary intolerant thoroughly bigoted individual. Check out an earlier post where I highlight the role of 'treatments' and intolerance on the lives of LGBT people and the effect people like Iris can have on their lives and mental health.She happily added to an environment that makes LGBT people feel depressed, isolated and wary of living their lives in the open. Yeah, we have civil partnerships, but we still have this crap from Iris and various other hateful people, often justified by religion. What about their depression Iris, did you care ?

Then the news breaks that the woman who once said she was a "simple housewife " is rather more "Desperate Housewife," showing a flair as a budding female Ronnie Wood , though her penchant being cafe owners rather than cocktail waitresses.

Now I really don't care what people do sexually as long as its consensual between adults , they are honest and respectful to each other. What pisses me off is hypocrisy, lecturing others about sin whilst partaking off some forbidden fruit themselves. They must know they will get caught out? Surely if they believe all this stuff, and expect others to live a sin free life, they realise that goes for them as well? Do as I do ?

As well as the double standards in sexual conduct, there appears to have been some questionable practices re setting up the bit on the side in a cafe .

Tut tut tut.

Iris is not the first, and won't be the last, to be shown up as a hypocrite.This is a long and fine upstanding tradition of god bothers.When will they learn...or perhaps when will they learn to be less judgemental and concerned about other peoples sex lives.

So the year has got off to a good start with the downfall of a bigot.I'm hoping now for a few more to get caught out. Wish list , well for a start Sarah Palin found in a lesbian threesome S/M bondage session, wielding a whip shouting hell yeah. Tony Blair found frequenting a fetish website where people share their fantasies of being beaten by Maggie and her handbag, screaming oh yes yes yes. Oh and some Catholic Priests caught fucking the choirboys and girls...oh yeah, that's a bit last year isn't it.

Meanwhile what of the future for Iris? Well she has had to resign her political positions and been expelled from the DUP. Will she use this time on her hands to reflect on the complexity of human nature and sexuality? Will she be more caring and compassionate towards others and less judgemental? Will she reflect on the emotional pain caused to LGBT by bigotry ?

Nah, my bet is that after a suitable interval she will publicly repent, probably via talk shows and newspaper interviews. She will espouse how her faith in God has helped her to be a better person and that she is now a good and faithful wife .

Perhaps the Psychiatrist she knows who 'cures gays' has a sideline in adulterers and she can pop along and turn her faithful.

Let us hope she takes on board he who is without sin cast the first stone, and lay off Lesbian and Gay people.

Or in Stroppy language ...shut the fuck up !