Some so-called Christians give Jesus Christ a bad name ..

  A North Carolina pastor has launched a shocking homophobic rant, calling on gays and lesbians to be put in an electrified pen and left to die. The pastor has been identified as Charles L. Worley of the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, North Carolina, with the sermon believed to have been filmed on [...]

2000 “criminals” exonerated in 23 years, including many who faced execution or very long terms of imprisonment.

  Just checkout this story, if you would. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WRONGLY_CONVICTED_CRIMINALS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-05-21-00-10-51 Shocking. OK, let’s be glad these people were freed, but one has to ask. How many more? How many more are killed or incarcerated when they’ve done nothing wrong? The American legal system is a disgrace. Yes, the same is true in many other jurisdictions, including [...]

The Eurozone crisis, explained by Blackadder

Baldrick: “What I want to know, Sir is, before there was a Euro there were lots of different types of money that different people used. And now there’s only one type of money that all the foreign people use. And what I want to know is, how did we get from one state of affairs [...]

If you doubt, for an instant, that America is still a racist society, read this story.

The jury took 12 minutes to convict. 12 MINUTES. No one died. No one was even hurt. A woman defended herself against abusive violence by firing a warning shot, in a state where such action is explicitly permitted by law. Today, she faces 20 years in jail. TWENTY YEARS. Read the story, and weep that [...]

This Mother’s Day – send hope, not flowers.

I reproduce this story verbatim from Julie Ulbricht at mamamia.com because I believe in and profoundly agree with every word. It doesn’t really need any further comment from me, and it deserves to be very widely read and acted upon. I know what my wife – a fantastic, caring, creative and thoughtful mother, I think [...]

Short and sweet – well done, President Obama. Finally. Now if only someone over here could show some leadership, too.

Now President Obama has publicly voiced his support for Marriage Equality for gay people – and good on him, too – let’s hope his much less impressive Australian counterpart can show the same guts. This means you, Ms Gillard. Sadly, once again, the lamentably poor Ms Gillard seems determined to convince us she has zero [...]

Wither the Liberal Democrats?

It certainly seems so. Coming on top of losing the appallingly mis-handled referendum on PR for the UK Parliament, they also recently lost Council seats in the UK by the bucketload, confirming that it is they, rather than the majority partner in the governing Coalition – the Conservative Party – that is wearing the opprobrium [...]

A poem for Anzac Day … Remembrance Day … Memorial Day. All the days. And all the men and women. And those they left behind.

I wrote this poem, remembering attending so many Remembrance Day services with my mother, whose husband, the father who I never knew, died at 46, a cheerful but essentially broken man, after six years of service. I am very proud of this poem, both as a poem, in and of itself, and as an authentic [...]

The Secret Serviceman and the Prostitute – what’s the real scandal?

Does anyone else think the ” scandal” of numerous members of President Obama’s Secret Service detail employing prostitutes while on an away trip to Colombia is really rather silly, and painfully revealing of the double standards in Western society? After all, in many countries prostitution has now been de-criminalised at least, and often made entirely [...]

Police Handcuff, Charge 6-Year-Old Girl For Tantrum

  I reproduce this article in full, without further comment, except to note my utter astonishment. By Paul Joseph Watson. Infowars.com Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Police in Milledgeville, Georgia handcuffed and charged a 6-year-old girl (seen above) with assault for throwing a tantrum in school but instead of apologizing for such unnecessary treatment, the chief [...]

Over-regulated America: long overdue a change

  I often argue with my American friends that their country shows just as many signs of being a nanny state as anywhere else, and that they should push back. But with forelock-tugging regularity they refuse to believe me. Well now this excellent article from the Economist says I’m right – following research, would you [...]

British member of Parliament announces bounty on Obama and George Bush.

It is alleged that British Lord Nazir Ahmed put a £10 million (US$16 million) bounty on both President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush Friday, according to The Express Tribune, an English language Pakistani newspaper. Nazir, who is of Pakistani heritage and a controversial Labour Party member of the British House of Lords, (he [...]

It’s not just me – Turnbull laments state of US politics

I am often criticised (in 99% of cases by ironed-on conservatives or Republicans) for being too critical about the quality of American politics, (which I freely admit fascinates me), and the performance of the right in particular. So I was pleased to see today’s report that the most popular politician (by opinion poll) in Australia [...]

Rush Limbaugh lies? Actually, like, LIES? No, surely not!

On his radio show Rush Limbaugh admitted that he has gotten exactly 7 new advertisers to replace the 160+ who have dropped, or no longer want to be associated with his show. Limbaugh said, “This is the first broadcast week in April. Let’s go back a month. The month of March in the United States [...]

What do you do when the person you’ve loved for a lifetime just isn’t there any more? But they’re still alive …

I was deeply saddened to read news reports of a mercy killing/suicide of a man and his wife: a man who had recently written in The New York Times about his love for his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife, who has killed her and himself in what their family called an act of “deep devotion”. Having nursed my [...]

Bartlett for President!

So long as he’s got Aaron Sorkin to write his speeches for him, I guess. Anyhow, Martin Sheen impresses me. Not only is he a fine actor, but he often speaks out for what he believes in. So it’s great to see him campaigning for something he approves of. Or against something he disapproves of. [...]

Is there anybody out there? (Oh yes, amazingly, apparently there is.)

People sometimes ask me why I spend time most days pottering around on my blog, posting poems or thoughts or funny stuff, or wandering around on the internet hunting for stuff I think should be more widely discussed. Well, this is why … In the seven days ended today, my blog has had over twelve [...]

This is “user pays” Republicanism/Conservatism. This is what it *really* means.

(From WPSD) OBION COUNTY, Tenn. – Imagine your home catches fire but the local fire department won’t respond, then watches it burn. That’s exactly what happened to a local family tonight. A local neighborhood is furious after firefighters watched as an Obion County, Tennessee, home burned to the ground. The homeowner, Gene Cranick, said he offered [...]

What the f*** has Obama done so far?

Brilliant website, and long overdue. Whatever your political point of view, if you value a reasoned debate running up to November, I urge you to have a look. http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/ I am not uncritical of Obama – by no means – I think his recent signing of a bill to restrict the right to demonstrate was [...]

Well, look. It’s like this. ARE Republicans stupid? You tell me.

More than half – you heard that right, more than HALF – of likely Republican voters in Mississippi say they think President Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to a survey conducted by Public Policy Polling. Fifty-two percent said that Obama practiced Islam, while just 12 percent said he was a Christian. Thirty-six percent said [...]