"Let’s hope his surgeon is a gay Israeli Jew – and that he performs a successful operation, so that Qaradawi is forced to acknowledge that he owes his life to a Jewish sodomite".
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Tatchell on Qaradawi
Peter Tatchell has an excellent opinion piece on the UK government’s decision to ban Muslim extremist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi from entering Britain. Tatchell sees it as "illiberal, unwarranted and unmerciful". I agree. We also both agree that Qaradawi is an intolerant hypocrite, but what better way to show up his true nature than to allow him to enter Britain for needed medical treatment? As Tatchell says, -
Open Mouth…
…Change feet. It appears as though Dr. Williams is on a roll at the moment. I hope he comes to his senses soon.Update: I think Andrew Brown’s comment in The Guardian pretty much nails it:"Only if Islamic law can be reduced to a game played between consenting adults can it be acceptably enforced in this country; and that’s not, I think, how it is understood by its practitioners."Update 2: Yasmin Alibhai-Brown also has her doubts: What he wishes on us is an abomination. I can’t help but feel that she’s right.Leave a comment
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Ballard Interview
Over at Ballardian is a transcription of a recent interview of J. G. Ballard. Excellent stuff, which gives some fresh insights into what makes Ballard tick.Leave a comment
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Space Psychiatry
Vaughan, over at Mind Hacks, has an interesting piece on space psychiatry. The topic dates back to 1959, when a special issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry was devoted to it. Given the time, it was not surprising that one article:…discusses the possibilities of using psychological selection techniques for space crew and notes that it should exclude "the person with a history of constantly fighting and rebelling both against peers and authority figures, as well as those with pressing homosexual or other major neurotic conflicts."Thankfully, times change. Go and read the piece. It contains references to Stanislaw Lem (a favourite author of mine) and to another related piece in Wired.3 responses to “Space Psychiatry”
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You know your trouble? You’re just a bloody neurotic. Want a fight?
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Erm, no. And that’s the point 🙂
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Um, yes. indeed so….
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Offended?
I see that the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advert produced by a Christian group, The Christian Congress for Traditional Values (CCTV). The advert shows a photo of a traditional family – man, woman and two children, with the slogan: "Gay aim: abolish the family".The ASA said that the advert broke advertising rules on social responsibility, decency, matters of opinion and truthfulness, adding that "We concluded that the poster was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and might lead to anti-social behaviour." Oh dear, I’m not sure I want to be lumped in with the ever-growing group of people who take offense at the slightest thing. Frankly, the advert is pathetic, and a clear reflection of the stupidness of the organisation that produced it, but I don’t feel offended by it. I am more struck by the time-warped attitudes of the people who produced it. Clearly a bunch of god-bothering wankers.I note that the group "defended the poster, citing gay organisations’ manifesto documents from the 1970s which described the traditional family unit as working against homosexuality." From the 1970s?! Clearly they are stuck in a time warp. They are getting exercised over the old Gay Liberation Front manifesto produced in 1971, which was indeed a child of its time. But we’ve all grown up since then – or at least, some of us have. Earth to the CCTV: families come in all shapes and sizes. Get over it.2 responses to “Offended?”
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I’ve never been sure exactly how its meant to destroy or threaten ‘traditional’ families anyway, for what surely is a very obvious reason. Or maybe they still think, like the majority of Americans I meet online, that being gay is a choice – rather like taking up scuba diving or voting conservative, and that anyone – once give the option, will suddenly develop a hitherto unnoticed desire for their own sex and a penchant for being slandered and occasionally beaten up on the weekends. They also ignore the massive rate of divorce, domestic violence and single parent families that seem to be on the rise even without help from those not remotely interested in them in the first place.
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Gelert, rational thinking is never a strong point of folks such as the CCTV. I look at a gay male couple, who are friends of Martin, that have recently been awarded a Dutch honour similar to the UK Queen’s OBE for their 25 years of raising seven foster children, and then I look at people such as CCTV, and I think I *know* who is the poorer example of a good human being.
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Count Your Blessings
As I’ve said before, I feel very fortunate to be able to live in a society where I don’t have to live in fear because of who I am. Others are not so lucky. GayUganda has two posts up about a situation that is developing in Senegal. Read his first post, At Home, and then his second. Depressing.Update: 7 Feb 2008: the BBC reports that the Sengalese men have been freed. I hope that this is good news, but I also note the last sentence of the Beeb’s report:Senegal is a predominantly Muslim country and gay men and women remain socially marginalised.Not good.Leave a comment
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The Pearce Sisters
The Pearce sisters live a lonely life by the sea. Strange, scary, and oddly touching.One response to “The Pearce Sisters”
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Yes. Very strange. What a great site for animation films though. excellent.
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Made in Transit
An interesting post over at the Cornell Mushroom blog, which reports on an idea from Agata Jaworska.Leave a comment
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An Embuggerance
The author Terry Pratchett has let it be known that he has early onset Alzheimer’s disease – an embuggerance, as he describes it. He recently gave a radio interview about it, and I must say that he seems to be dealing with the diagnosis remarkably well, all things considered.Leave a comment
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Startling Revelations
Via archaeoastronomy, I’ve only just heard this interview with Sir Arthur Greeb-Streebling concerning the remains of Christ. Brilliant stuff – I must catch the other interviews that he gave Chris Morris back in 1994.Leave a comment
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String Theory
This is the winning video in a competition run by Discover Magazine to explain String Theory in two minutes or less. I give you: String DuckyLeave a comment
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And Now…
…for something completely different. I give you the Trondheim Akkordian Ensemble and their rendition of Widor’s Toccata and Fugue. Deliciously bizarre, and while I can admire their musicianship, I do somewhat miss the sheer in-yer-face presence of the walking, growling bass line of the piece. The accordion just doesn’t have the same oomph of a thumping great organ (as it were).(hat tip to Robert)2 responses to “And Now…”
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Yeeeees. It does lack that certain…….. something……
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I was waiting for the drum kits at the back to burst into life…
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Where On Earth Are They?
Stuart Pinfold got bored during the night shifts at the BBC, and ended up writing a Google Earth mashup that shows where the Beeb’s correspondents are located around the world, and their most recent stories. Fascinating.Leave a comment
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Science and the Pope
I see the Pope’s doing the old bait and switch again. He tells a bunch of academics that science cannot understand the mystery of man, thereby implying that his religion can. And, I note, displays breathtaking ignorance while he’s doing it:Contrary to the Darwinian concept of man, Pope Benedict said that “man is not the result of mere chance, of converging circumstances, of determinism, of chemical inter-reactions.”Ah, the old canard that evolution is simply "mere chance" again. Really, the Pope ought to understand a subject a little better before he pontificates on it. Ophelia has more.One response to “Science and the Pope”
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Yes. The use of emphatic statements as fact, be it ‘Man is not…… ‘ or, ‘evolution is…….’ with no back up of any kind – on any side of a debate – always annoys me, because that ends any sensible discussion.
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I’m Sorry, I’ll Read That Again
Sometimes, I feel that I agree with some of the observations that Rowan Williams makes. But sometimes, I wonder whose side he is on. Cue this speech. And Ophelia, as usual, points out the poison in the guts.Leave a comment
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Such A Sadness
David Lynch has his doubts about watching films on mobile telephones. I concur.(hat tip to Tim Spaulding, over at Thingology, for the link)Leave a comment
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What If…
…the thinking behind homeopathy and other woo were to be applied in the aviation industry? Then we might end up with something like this wry vision of Alternative Flight. Worth reading.Leave a comment
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Synapsis
A game. Try it.14 responses to “Synapsis”
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Don’t get it. How do you play? Feeling a bit thick here…
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Don’t get it. How do you play? Feeling a bit thick here…
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Click on the cube to begin. Then if you are feeling really slow, try http://jayisgames.com/archives/2008/01/synapsis.php#walkthrough
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That was absorbing. I wasn’t keen on the ending though – I just ended up in hospital with some clown laughing at me. figures
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Okay, still feeling thick. What next?
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Okay, still feeling thick. What next?
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Coboró, I have no idea from your post of where you might be in Synapsis. It may well be that, like Gelert, you’re in the hospital ward with clowns laughing at you. If so, then that’s all folks! What… you were expecting life, the universe and everything?
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I don’t need to be in a hospital bed with clowns laughing at me. I work for the US government.
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I don’t need to be in a hospital bed with clowns laughing at me. I work for the US government.
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I don’t need to be in a hospital bed with clowns laughing at me. I work for the US government.
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I don’t need to be in a hospital bed with clowns laughing at me. I work for the US government.
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I don’t need to be in a hospital bed with clowns laughing at me. I work for the US government.
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I don’t need to be in a hospital bed with clowns laughing at me. I work for the US government.
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Coboró, you have my sympathies…
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