Read it and weep, fundies!

Of course, this only applies to the UK.  For now.  But if it breaks the stranglehold in one country, the meme will spread.

Judge rejects ‘irrational’ idea that Christianity deserves special protection from law

Christianity deserves no protection in law above other faiths and to do so would be “irrational, divisive, capricious and arbitrary”, a senior judge said yesterday.

In the latest clash between the judiciary and Christian believers Lord Justice Laws said that laws could not be used to protect one religion above another.

He also delivered a robust dismissal to Lord Carey of Clifton, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who had warned that a series of recent court rulings against Christians could lead to civil unrest. He called his idea for a specialist panel of judges to hear cases involving the practice of religious beliefs “deeply inimical to the public interest”.

To give one religion legal protection over any other, “however long its tradition, however rich its culture, is deeply unprincipled”, the judge said. It would give legal force to a subjective opinion and would lead to a “theocracy”.

Lord Justice Laws’s comments came in the High Court as he rejected a marriage guidance counsellor’s attempt to challenge his sacking for refusing to provide sex therapy to gay couples.

Lord Carey had given a witness statement in support of Gary McFarlane, 48, from Bristol, a member of a Pentecostal church. Mr McFarlane was seeking permission to appeal against an Employment Appeal Tribunal ruling that supported his dismissal by Relate Avon in 2008.

Rejecting Mr McFarlane’s application, Lord Justice Laws said: “We do not live in a society where all the people share uniform religious beliefs. The precepts of any one religion — any belief system — cannot, by force of their religious origins, sound any louder in the general law than the precepts of any other. If they did, those out in the cold would be less than citizens and our constitution would be on the way to a theocracy, which is of necessity autocratic.”

The judge said it was right that he should address what the former Archbishop had said because of his seniority in the Church “and the extent to which others may agree with his views, and because of the misunderstanding of the law which his statement reveals”.

Lord Carey and other Christian leaders had expressed concerns after Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury and two other appeal judges ruled last December that Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar, was breaking discrimination laws by refusing to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

In his witness statement Lord Carey said: “It is, of course, but a short step from the dismissal of a sincere Christian from employment to a religious bar to any employment by Christians. I believe that further judicial decisions are likely to end up at this point and this is why I believe it is necessary to intervene now.”

The fact that senior clerics of the Church of England and other religions felt compelled to intervene directly in judicial decisions was “illuminative of a future civil unrest”.

Lord Justice Laws said that Lord Carey appeared to be arguing that the courts ought to be ready to uphold and defend Christian beliefs. But the judge drew a distinction “between the law’s protection of the right to hold and express a belief and the law’s protection of that belief’s substance or content”.

The Judaeo-Christian tradition had exerted a profound influence on the judgment of legislators but to confer on it preferential legal protection was deeply unprincipled, he said. It would mean laws being imposed “not to advance the general good on objective grounds, but to give effect to the force of subjective opinion since faith, other than to the believer, was subjective”.

Andrea Williams, the director of the Christian Legal Centre, warned that the judgment would deny Christians a range of jobs because of their beliefs.

“The judge’s comments could lead in effect to a religious bar to employment, in which Christians could be prevented from being registrars, counsellors, teachers, social workers or work on adoption panels,” she said.

“We never attempted to argue that we could impose a Christian law, which the judge seems to suggest. We are simply talking about the principle of marriage, between a man and a woman, which has undergirded society for hundreds of years.”

England, having survived the turmoil of “state-sponsored religion” knows all too well that that road leads to disaster.  The populace, over 150 years, changed back and forth between the old church (Catholic) and the new church (Anglican).  They even had Cromwell’s Protectorate, a puritanical nightmare.

Cooler heads are in charge now, thank FSM!

Until we develop a vaccine for b’leeevers, we’ll have to depend on the rational thinkers to build the wall around them.  Or, as I said before, as thes regress further back into our “bad old days, when they get to 1555, we’ll just cut them loose.

This story, brought to my attention by my friend Andrea, is by far one of the most horrible stories I have heard in awhile.

Five Hours of Trying to Rape a Lesbian Straight

Millicent Gaika’s story is heart-breaking. As is Eudy Simelane’s, Anelisa Mfo’s and the countless others who have been swept up in South Africa’s culture of rape. The crimes committed against them are horrible. Let’s make sure that their pain and suffering didn’t happen in vain.

And check out the video in the story link above for even more information on the phenomenon of corrective rape.

Here is another video I found on YouTube.

While attitudes towards homosexuality in the U.S. stem from Christian beliefs and teachings, machoism is the cause of the attitudes against homosexuality in South Africa, which causes violent attacks most often against lesbians.

INTERVIEW-SAfrica rapes linked to macho culture-study author

“Fundamentally, rape is a problem that stems from ideas of manhood in South Africa,” said Jewkes.

“The position of men is superior to women in a patriarchal society and legitimates men’s behaviours towards women, predicated on ideas of sexual entitlement and behaviours that demonstrate men being in control over women.”

South African President Jacob Zuma has promised to end abuses against women. A polygamist who has angered women’s rights groups, Zuma was acquitted in a rape trial in 2006, when he justified having unprotected sex with an HIV-positive woman by saying he had taken a shower afterwards.

The study, of men in all racial groups and from different socio-economic backgrounds, showed half of those interviewed were under 25 years of age and 70 percent were under 30.

Nearly 10 percent said they had raped a woman or girl for the first time when they were under 10 years old. The HIV prevalence among those who raped was 19.6 percent.

Appalling.

Address South Africa’s Culture of Rape
Please sign the petition today.

The whole world is watching South Africa. Will it be a country that is viewed as a success story, and a country that values human rights? Or will it be a country that proudly boasts the reputation of the rape capital of the world?

Thanks to ChuckA for sending us this link to Austin Cline’s article about a 12-year-old Yemeni child bride who died of internal bleeding days after being married to a man more than twice her age.

Like a couple of other Middle Eastern Muslim nations, Yemen has a problem with little girls being married off to older men — and it’s a problem that just keeps getting worse. The latest incident involves a 12-year-old girl married to a man at least twice as old as her. Just three days after the wedding, she died of internal bleeding caused by intercourse with her “husband” (that should probably read “legally and religiously sanctioned rapist”).

While we would like to think that most Muslims do not condone this practice, we have to consider the fact that the Muslims’ main prophet Muhammed married and had sex with a girl just as young.

Cline writes:

Muhammad is supposed to have lived an exemplarily life — a life that all Muslims should strive to emulate if they can. Well, the men of Yemen are doing just that by having multiple wives and at least one child bride.

Like the Christians’ Bible, the Koran can be used to justify the most horrific of acts from blowing up skyscrapers, to raping young children. It’s all a matter of interpretation and what a person chooses to believe in accordance with his or her own desires.

What do officials in Yemen have to say about this tragic incident?

It’s not clear to what degree Yemeni officials are truly outraged over this and to what degree they are only outraged because of the international attention they are getting. Even if they were genuinely outraged, though, how easy would it be for them to change the religious culture of the people in their nation? A third of all girls in Yemen are married before they are 18 and most of them are married off to men who already have multiple wives. The parents are no help because they are happy to be rid of girls in a religious culture where females just aren’t valued — except perhaps for child-bearing and sex.

As we see from our own radical Christian groups here in this country, to rid a culture of dangerous superstition is extremely difficult, if not nearly impossible. However, we have laws in this country which protect the innocent from these sorts of horrendous acts and the perpetrators brought to justice if they are found out (except for the Catholic church however, who have the ridiculous power to protect pedophile priests.)

While some may argue that this is a cultural thing and we should not interfere, Sigrid Kaag, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa believes otherwise:

Her death is “a painful reminder of the risks girls face when they are married too soon,” Kaag said Thursday.

Amal Basha, chairwoman of the Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights, a Yemeni human rights group, identified the girl Friday as Elham Mahdi.

“Elham was married on March 29th and died three days later” and lived in Yemen’s Hajjah province, Basha said.

This isn’t the only story that has surfaced in Yemen the past couple of years:

In September, a 12-year-old Yemeni girl forced into marriage died during childbirth. Her baby also died, according to the Seyaj Organization for the Protection of Children.

Fawziya Ammodi was in labor for three days before she died of severe bleeding, said Ahmed al-Qureshi, president of the organization.

While these things can happen to a fully-developed woman, what makes this different with these young brides is that they were forced into these marriages and pregnancies. It’s not their choice and they are the victims of their parents’ religious beliefs.

Suffer the little children . . . too often.

And of course, with the latest spate of child abuse scandals rocking the Catholic Church, who you gonna blame?

That’s right – the devil:

Holy See’s chief exorcist about abuse charges in Catholic Church: Satan is at work inside Vatican

Did the devil make them do it?

I think the answer should be obvious on this one.

The recent spate of sexual abuse allegations rocking the Catholic Church show that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican," Father Gabriele Amorth, the chief exorcist of the Holy See, told the Times of London.

An exorcist? You mean the poor man’s version of a psychotherapist – somebody who has absolutely no clue about how reality works?

"When one speaks of ‘the smoke of Satan’ in the holy rooms, it is all true – including these latest stories of violence and pedophilia," Amorth told the newspaper.

That’s probably somebody just taking hits off their bong – come to think about it, it would explain a lot.

Amorth, who told the paper, that he knows a thing or two about exorcisms having handled 70,000 cases of demonic possession, said the Holy See was infested with "cardinals who do not believe in Jesus, and bishops who are linked to the demon."

So, there’s about 70,000 people out there who were psychologically traumatized by this fake shaman? The head shudders.

Amorth’s accusations come at a time when the Vatican is facing scrutiny on a number of fronts:

Doesn’t matter – a Catholic priest AND an exorcist? Talk about the medium of irrelevance.

* One of Pope Benedict’s ceremonial ushers was among those implicated in a gay prostitution ring – after being caught on a police wiretap.

* Catholic authorities in Germany on Wednesday announced a probe into allegations the Regensburger Domspatzen Boys Choir – once led by the Pope’s older brother.

* Major pedophilia cases involving priests have also surfaced in Ireland and the United States.

"Cardinals might be better or worse, but all have upright intentions and seek the glory of God," Father José Antonio Fortea Cucurull, another exorcist, told the Times of London. "To affirm that some cardinals are members of satanic sects is an unacceptable distance."

Well folks, the jig is up. There’s no one up in the clouds, or beneath us in the dirt. So there’s no more hiding behind vestments and imaginary people.

The days of blaming deities for one’s problems are over. Finito. Ended. No more. No ghosts, goblins, angels, devils, fucking phantasms to blame for your spasms (or illegal orgasms).

It’s time humanity came fully into the 21st century. Kicking and screaming or weeping and the rending of ash cloth, it doesn’t matter.

Live in the real world, with the rest of us.

Till the next post, then.

Most of you probably have read about this girl. She claims to represent Beverly Hills in the Miss California Beauty Pagaent. Beverly Hills officials have spoken up about it and say that NO there is no such affiliation with their city. Yet according to the Pagaent officials a contestant can choose the city they represent even if they do not live in that city.

Where she really shines though is in her “beliefs”. She is a fan of Leviticus and states what it says about homosexuals.

“The Bible says that marriage is between a man and a woman,” Ashley told Fox News pop tarts gossip column. “In Leviticus it says, ‘If man lies with mankind as he would lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death and their blood shall be upon them.’ The Bible is pretty black and white.”

She claims this is because god loves us and knows whats best for us. In one of the interviews she says she has friends that are homosexual but they just disagree about it and are still friends. You can read more here:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272630583.shtml

So what I am curious about is how many other sins are worthy of death/stoning? And how could you be friends with someone who would kill you if given the chance?

When it comes right down to it. I am happy that the christers have in fact stopped killing people. Progress is slow but I’m hopeful that soon they may abandon their delusions altogether. Note the outrage over Miss Ashley’s comments.

I’ll work on getting pics next time. Also the link function is not working on my end.

We all know how fucked up the state of Utah is on many things:

Utah is not a state known for its legislative sanity. This, after all, is a state that recently made headlines for proposing to honor gun manufacturers on Martin Luther King Day and for considering the elimination of 12th grade to cut back on education spending.

Well, things just keep on getting worse:

In Utah, Miscarriage = Criminal Homicide

Utah just became the first state in the U.S. to criminalize miscarriage and punish women for having or seeking an illegal abortion. Utah’s “Criminal Miscarriage” law:

* expands the definition of illegal abortion to include miscarriages
* removes immunity protections for women who have or seek illegal abortions
* treats women as presumptive criminals and leaves them open to criminal prosecution

But even among states that punish illegal abortions, this “Criminal Miscarriage” law is unique. It not only punishes individuals who perform illegal procedures; it punishes women.

How Utah defined miscarriage as criminal homicide?

Utah’s “Criminal Miscarriage” law (H.B.12) makes simple changes to the state’s definition of “abortion” and the section of the Utah Criminal Code governing “criminal homicide.”

This law:

* defines legal abortion as a procedure “carried out by a physician or through a substance used under the direction of a physician.” Anything else that terminates a pregnancy is now defined as illegal abortion – including miscarriages.

* states that “The killing or attempted killing of a live unborn child in a manner that is not abortion shall be punished as…criminal homicide.” (emphasis mine)

* removes existing immunity from criminal prosecution for women “who seek to have or obtain an abortion” or “upon whom a partial birth abortion is performed.”

* applies the legal standard of an “intentional, knowing or reckless act of the woman” as punishable as criminal homicide.

Translation: If a woman has a miscarriage but didn’t know that she was pregnant, she cannot be charged with criminal homicide. So while this law does not criminalize all miscarriages, anything that could be defined as “knowing” or “reckless” would leave a woman at risk for criminal prosecution.

Could it really be that bad?

Yes, it could. . . It’s Utah!

Practically speaking however, this bill changes the presumption that abortions obtained in this state are legal. If this bill is signed into law, women in this state will essentially be in the uncomfortable and unfortunate position of having to prove that abortions they obtain (or miscarriages that they suffer) are not unlawful.

*snip*

A woman who fails to wear a seatbelt and is in a car accident could be charged with reckless homicide, should she miscarry. Likewise, a woman who has a substance abuse problem is likely to forego necessary prenatal care out of fear that she could be prosecuted for “knowing” or “reckless” homicide by continuing to use illegal substances while pregnant.

What can we do about it?

It’s time for everyone to hear about Utah’s “Criminal Miscarriage” law. The media must to cover it. We must to start conversations all across the country about what this means for women and girls in Utah – and what this precedent means if (or, more likely, when) other states follow suit. (A similar case in Iowa should be all the warning we need.)

So post this on Facebook. Tweet it. Forward it to five friends. And ask them all to do the same.

This is just the latest in the long line of nonsense we hear from one of the monolithic Big Three: Malaysia canes three women over extramarital sex

Three Malaysian women have been caned by the authorities for having extra-marital sex, say officials.

They are the first women to receive such a sentence under Islamic law in the country.

The punishments come as another Malaysian woman waits to hear whether her caning – for drinking beer – is carried out.

Yes, because women are cattle, dontcha know, how dare they even consider doing anything without consulting the menfolk first? (That is, of course, sarcasm.)

Malaysia’s majority Malays are subject to Islamic laws, while the large Chinese and Indian minorities are not.

Like we don’t have enough divisions in any society, again, religion creates even more.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the punishments had been carried out in a prison outside the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on 9 February.

The women were each hit up to six times. One is reported to have since been released from prison.

Prison? Really? Really. Seriously.

Officials did not say how the canings were carried out, but analysts said such punishments were usually light for women, intended to be largely symbolic.

Regardless of whether it was ‘light’ or not, it shouldn’t have happened at all. Also, note the conspicuous absence of the men who had sex with them. More unnecessary divisions, only this time it’s about gender discrimination.

"Even though the caning did not injure them, they said it caused pain within them," the Reuters news agency quoted Mr Hishammuddin as saying.

He told state media he hoped the punishments would not be "misunderstood so much that it defiles the purity of Islam".

An irrational religion pushing an unrealistic standard? Forcing people to live by an anachronistic code that originated only from men? Obeisance to a Bronze Age standard that’s laughable by today’s views and knowledge? Would that this were a surprise. Sadly, it’s not.

This is something I know I’ve said before: the true yardstick by which we measure civilization, is how a society (any society) treats its women and children.  Sharia law is a throwback, which modern peoples should throw away.

Till the next post, then.

Damn, Hitchens is really dead-on is this clip (his part ends at around 5:10). Good form, Hitch.

(Granted, I’m not exactly a fan of the times when he’s drunk off his ass — but, to be fair, I’m guessing that daily death threats to one and one’s family might cause one to be slightly anxious.)

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