Moral Fiber

UN Lebanon Force - Unfriendly to Israel?

2006-08-18T18:21:00.000+02:00

In an amusing move, Indonesia and Malaysia have both pledged troops to form part of the United Nations peacekeeping force being set up in Southern Lebanon. Link.

The problem is that Indonesia and Malaysia are countries which do not recognize Israel or Israel's right to exist.

It would be an ironic twist if Israel were to have disabled a terrorist organization but gained an unfriendly army at their northern border.

Surely if an international force is going to keep the peace between nations, it actually has to recognize the existence of those nations? Don't they teach this in UN school?

Govt's Garlic Stand Under Attack

2006-08-17T17:51:00.000+02:00

The South African Health Department's exhibit at the World AIDS Conference in Toronto was apparently vandalized by Treatment Action Campaign members who intended to show the world that South Africans aren't buying the crap the government is trying to tell us about AIDS. Link.

This probably isn't a very prudent move by TAC members. The government has been very reluctant to let the TAC take part in international discussion about AIDS, and perhaps now the TAC has just given the government the justification it needs to further stifle their, and perhaps other non-governmental, voices in the international arena.

Make it clear just how bullshit our government's stance on HIV/AIDS is, but don't resort to violence and public disturbance... It's the fastest way to discredit yourself and give the government the power to say, "I told you so! They're nutty as fruitcakes!"

South Africa and the Death of Patriotism

2006-08-12T21:43:00.000+02:00

As anyone who reads this stuff would know, I've been on a blogging hiatus recently. I haven't been anywhere, been involved with anyone or even been particularly busy. I haven't died either. I've just haven't written anything - It happens.

I wonder how many South Africans are patriots. Being a patriot means that you're proud of your country - you're proud of being South African and you're proud of what South Africans do.

I had the misfortune of stumbling across this blog, the URL of which was proudly posted in someone's MSN Messenger signature along with the words "The TRUTH!" It bears an unfortunate similarity to the infamous crimexposouthafrica.co.za, which has garnered much more notoriety. For more of the same, look at its linked sites.

It and its kin do absolutely nothing for South Africa. They do not help prevent the problems they "report". What they do is cherry picking... or eyeball-plucking, if it creates a more effective image. They put every tragic story they can possibly find into one place and then "report" on it by charging the story with racist and chronically defeatist overtones. If one were to cut one's self, rub excrement into the wound, take a greatly magnified photograph of it and then label the photograph "myself", it would be analogous to what these shock sites do - only without the hints that Apartheid was better.

I was not impressed by Charles Nqakula's "whingers can go" remarks, but I wonder now if I didn't take them out of context. These "whingers" do not offer any solutions to the problems South Africa faces - they do not make proposals or criticize government policies. What they do is most accurately described as "whinging" - a spoilt child sitting in the corner and throwing a tantrum because things aren't going their way. No attempts at assistance, no ideas, no challenges to current methods - just completely negative and useless moaning.

One could dismiss these websites as mere trolls or quirks of the internet, but talk to just a few white South Africans about the possibility of emigration and you'll see that they're representative of what, tragically, seems to be a very prevalent view.

"This country is going down"

It doesn't even matter whether its true or not. What matters is the default response to such a perception - move. Go to another country as one might go to another restaurant if one became displeased with the service. Leave the country in mass exodus until the only ones left are those without the means to go somewhere else.

So, my country "is crap". What am I doing wrong, and what can I do to fix it?

Maybe when more South Africans have the courage and responsibility to ask themselves that question, our country will begin to overcome its challenges instead of languishing in self-hate and self-pity.

Less Than Pigs And Dogs

2006-07-18T11:35:00.000+02:00

The gross disregard for human rights in neighboring Zimbabwe continues unhindered.

The ZANU-PF-controlled Zimbabwean parliament passed a set of laws last week which make it illegal for members of the same sex to hold hands, hug, kiss or show any commonly recognized form of physical affection. Link.

Like many other African countries, sexual intercourse between members of the same sex has long been punishable in Zimbabwe - since colonial days, I believe - but this latest strike has to be a relatively unique development in legislated homophobia.

"Leave whites to do that."

Apparently Mugabe is of the school that regards homosexuality as a "Western decadency" - a pox to be avoided, as it does not - or should not - exist in African society. This is very similar to those in the Middle-East who claim that homosexuality is a "problem" that simply does not exist in Arab society. A very dangerous belief, to be sure; mixing misguided nationalism or tribalism with racism, homophobia or xenophobia has very often been the ideological pretext for the most horrific events in human history.

Though he often uses religious rhetoric himself, Mugabe has also lashed out at Christian churches which accept gay people and bless same-sex unions - such as they can exist in Zimbabwe. Mugabe apparently thinks he has a firmer grip on theology than Christian clergy - threatening to jail them if they do not condemn homosexuality. One wonders if Mugabe's incredible egomania has any bounds.

Zimbabwe has just passed a law more petty and insidious than Apartheid South Africa's infamous Morality Act. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984, but is no fiction to Zimbabwe's gay populace.

I wonder if that farce - the United Nations Human Rights Council - could find the time to bother themselves with Zimbabwe when most of their members have similar laws on the books. I wonder even if South Africa, as a member, would vote against Zimbabwe if the opportunity ever arose.

World Pride Jerusalem

2006-07-03T23:23:00.000+02:00

World Pride, the largest international LGBT pride event, is scheduled to take place in the city of Jerusalem next month. Link.

Needless to say, there has been much weeping and gnashing of teeth from many religious sects - Christian, Jewish, Muslim... Virtually anyone you can shake an Old Testament at.

The center of both the Jewish and Christian faiths, and important to Muslims too, many members of these religions apparently see it simply as that - a city written about in their holy book.

"To hold [World Pride] in Jerusalem is a provocation and a declared mockery of all that is precious and sacred in the Holy city of Jerusalem in the eyes of the entire world." - City of Jerusalem Council Member

Much of the most vehement opposition to World Pride 2006 doesn't even come from the citizens of Jerusalem itself, but rather from international individuals and groups.

'New York Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Orthodox Rabbinical Alliance of America and the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the US and Canada is currently on his sixth visit to Jerusalem in recent months to oppose World Pride.

At a weekend news conference he called the gay parade the "spiritual rape of Jerusalem."

"This is not the homo-land, this is the Holy Land," he declared.'

Jerusalem is a city with a population of over 700 000. Muslims, Jews, Christians and others call it home - just like any other city on Earth. Its population is made up of heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals - just like any other city on Earth.

It is truly sad that so many religious figures and organizations see Jerusalem as some kind of mythical Emerald City - the ancient sites and artifacts apparently blinding them to the fact that it's full of real people with their real-world concerns and problems. People in Jerusalem are no "holier" or "less gay" then people in New York, Tehran, Beijing or Johannesburg.

It's almost as though some people walk into Jerusalem with a religious text in one hand and a tourist map in the other - feeling as though they are on a trip to some sort of religious theme park catered especially for their beliefs. Gay people... People who don't share their beliefs... These people must simply crawl into the woodwork and disappear - they clearly have no place in the Christian's holy city, or the Muslim's holy city, or the Orthodox Jew's holy city. Gay people don't exist in God's holy city.

Israel, as one of the few Middle-Eastern countries which doesn't persecute gays, is a necessary location for a gay pride event. There are only so many struggles left to fight in places like New York, Berlin or San Francisco. On the other hand, gays are still viciously persecuted in much of the Middle-East, executed in many places. This is the way it would be in Jerusalem too, if Hamas and their ilk had their way.

Gays get killed for how they are in the "holy" parts of the world, and yet so many religious people would chose to ignore this and pretend that gays don't exist at all in Jerusalem, or the "Holy Land". There is open season on gays wherever their god or their ancient mythology is concerned.

I wonder if they are simply extremely selfish, deluded or if they would happily join those who execute people for how they are.

Marriage and Semantics

2006-07-02T01:48:00.000+02:00

When Parliament gets around to it, or before December 2006 (whichever comes first), South Africa will join the small group of countries which provide equal “marriage” rights to same-sex and opposite-sex couples. (The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada.)

In the government’s view, “marriage” is a contract between two people who love each other, and are committed to each other, very much– therefore; they feel they should receive additional practical and economic rights as well as additional responsibilities, especially for each other.

With that view in mind, it’s difficult to see how one can justify providing marriage only to different-sex couples. One has to perform a genital check to confirm that these people really love each other… rather primitive. Evidently the twelve Constitutional Court judges who presided over the deciding South African case felt the same way.

The ANC supported the Court’s decision, as did the DA. Actually, one gets the impression than neither party really cares – it doesn’t amount to too many votes either side of the issue. These are things Americans bother themselves with when they don’t want to think about the war.

The only (vaguely important) ones who did object (publicly, at least) were those stalwarts of progressive human rights development in sub-Saharan Africa – the African Christian Democratic Party and the Freedom Front Plus.

The VF+ had this to say:

”It is shocking that in a country where more than 70% of the population is Christian, the highest court in this country legalized gay-marriages. The view of the FF Plus is that a marriage is an institution of God solemnized between a man and a woman. The other religions in South Africa also reject the concept of gay-marriages.

Christians should take note that the highest norm of the current political order is the constitution with its core values and not the Bible as the Word of God. It should be realized that this decision of the Court of Appeal, according to which gay-marriages are now legal in South Africa, is a logical outcome of the ANC constitution with its gender-equality principle, which was amongst others, supported by the DA. This pronouncement has far-reaching consequences for South African law, as well as for communities.

This judgment was delivered by Judge of Appeal Edwin Cameron, a gay-rights activist, who has already admitted that he is HIV-positive.

An attempt to tar all Christian denominations with the VF’s brush, nay… ALL South African religions, an attempt to afford an ancient Jewish mythological text greater importance than our Constitution in our modern democracy, the use of “gender-equality” as if it were a bad thing, and an implied slur against HIV+ people. Wow. *Freedom* Front.

And the ACDP:

“The ACDP is in agreement with the views of the Marriage Alliance, consisting of some 70 denominations representing some 18 million people, that ‘no State or Court should seek to alter the traditional, and, from time immemorial, universal understanding of God-given marriage as heterosexual, and of course in terms of Christian understanding, also monogamous. We affirm that the traditional understanding of marriage is correct, that it is the God-given context for male/female bonding, mutual care, sexual intimacy and inter-dependent support. Then it is the God-given place for the procreation of children and the production of the next generation in the world...it is the proper, best, safest and most wonderful context and shelter for the nurturing and raising of children. Because marriage and the family antedates and precedes the state and its various organs, the state cannot change marriage but only recognise it.”

The common factor here is that “God” thing. These people don’t actually have a logical reason for opposing same-sex marriage – they do have a common imaginary “friend” (I use the term “friend” loosely), though. Somewhere along the bumpy ride South Africa has taken, these kids were sleeping at the back of the bus and dreaming about ghosts and people coming back from the dead.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Dream away. Just don’t come and try to tell me how to live my life according to your pre-1st Century CE diet, sexual health and fantasy books.

Something some significantly more astute Christians have hit upon is this: Why don’t we stop calling civil marriage “marriage”? Yes, let’s call it something else – like civil unions. “Marriage” would no longer be an official government term. It wouldn’t matter – everyone would still call each other husband and wife… or husband and husband… or wife and wife… or whatever. Link.

I’m inclined to think that it’s a damn good idea. Among other nations, the UK government has allowed gays to enter into civil partnerships, which have exactly the same rights as marriages – they just have a different name. Great… only why are you still calling the heterosexual version “marriage”?

Everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, religion is further amputated from government and everyone wins. Now if only all Christians (and their imaginary friends) thought that way…

Seeing Things in Black and White...

2006-06-14T21:37:00.000+02:00

"Nkosinathi Biko, son of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, said whites should take responsibility for the sins of apartheid." Link.

Yeah, because the TRC has made it impossible to charge those who were *actually* responsible.

"The uprising is being celebrated in the wake of a firestorm touched off by Archbishop Desmond Tutu who remarked that whites had not shown enough gratitude for the magnanimity shown by blacks.?

Thanks for not being genocidal maniacs. Honestly, I mean, we know that all black people are really murderous thugs. When they aren't out slaughtering people, they have to be thanked for rendering a special favour...

The above is sarcasm.

It's sad when you have to repeatedly thank someone for not murdering you.

"Biko, who was six years old when his father died in detention in 1977 after being tortured by security police, said the new generation of black South Africans might not be as gracious as their contemporaries."

Was that a racially-motivated threat of violence? Nah, couldn't have been.

"Niehaus said whites had failed to recognise that they were the "benefactors of apartheid" and "continue to benefit to this day".

It's getting a bit cliche and bleeding-heart to say, but no one of generation Y asked for Apartheid... black or white.

"We seem to want to forget too quickly the damages of apartheid that have been inflicted."

There is a world of difference between remembering something terrible and assuming guilt for it...

A lot of people are proud of being South African. New South African. Some people would like to make it difficult, it would seem.

---

Our country's history should never and can never be forgotten. Blaming the work of Christian conservative extremists on *every* white South African is short-sighted, racist and counter-productive, however.

Had I lived twenty or thirty years ago, I would have been in deep shit. Libertarian, atheist, anti-racist, gay-rights activist living under Apartheid. I'm sure it would have been great.

Imagine if I asked all heterosexuals to say sorry to gay people...

Religion of Peace?

2006-06-10T21:40:00.000+02:00

Iran's top nuclear negotiator has advised all Muslim countries to develop a "nuclear energy" program. Link.

"The nuclear issue affects the future of all Muslim countries." - Ali Larijani speaking in Egypt

Iran still maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Yeah right. The world's most oil-rich region needs nuclear power for electricity. Religion of peace my ass.

"Let's rather stick to traditional medicine."

2006-06-09T19:29:00.000+02:00

In case you were wondering why your taxes weren't doing anything to halt the AIDS pandemic, it's because they're being used to fund government propagation of "traditional" medicine. They're being used to fund quacks.

Health Minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, has announced her intention to create a place in South Africa's limited health budget for an "interim traditional health council". Link.

No... don't devote any more funds to South Africa's struggling public hospitals, don't spend any of our money on drugs that real doctors actually recommend, don't equip rural communities with the means to fight the AIDS pandemic with the knowledge and experience of the 21st century.

Rather give money to witch doctors and pray for them to fix the problem. That's really telling of a modern government's wisdom...

I swear this women and her department are actually out to get South Africans killed.

I have a suggestion. Let the Health Minister personally test *all* medication that the witch doctors suggest for research. Hopefully we'd be rid of her before her quackery killed any more people...

Lawlessness or Sharia?

2006-06-05T15:41:00.000+02:00

It's not a choice I'd like to have to make.

Apparently an Islamist militia has managed to capture the Somali capital, Mogadishu, from the fragile alliance of warlords who have held it up until now due to the lack of an effective government.

It isn't known how the Somali Islamists managed to acquire the equipment necessary to overthrow the warlord alliance - some have suggested Saudi Arabia. It is also speculated that it could have been private investor(s) with a desire to see Islamism spread by violence. *Cough*. Link.

Regardless, the Islamists most likely have the support of the Somali people in the capital. They are proposing the introduction of Sharia law into a city which currently has no working system of law and order - to many, Sharia is preferable to total anarchy.

Lawlessness would seem to be the perfect environment for religious tyranny to fester in. There is a lesson to be learned here.

Boys Beware!

2006-06-02T22:37:00.000+02:00

They may appear normal!

Link.

And people wonder why homophobic attitudes are prevalent among the older generation. <_<

Freedom In The New Russia

2006-06-01T21:30:00.000+02:00

Irregular blogging is to be excused. Please blame Telkom.

It's not a widely known fact, but before the Iron Curtain was dropped, homosexuality was a crime in the Soviet Union punishable with up to five years imprisonment with hard labour. This has to be one of the few state movements against homosexuality which had no religious motive, but I could be wrong. I struggle to understand how the state can call anything "immoral" without citing either a religious text or arguing that it somehow hurts people, but then Stalinism was virtually the equivalent of religion in Soviet Russia during Stalin's reign.

Anyway, homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia shortly after the Soviet Union fell apart.

Despite this, LGBT Russians face a struggle for equal rights the likes of which few Western countries have borne witness to for decades.

On Saturday the 27th, Russia's LGBT community attempted to hold a gay pride parade in Moscow. I say "attempted" because the event was arbitrarily banned by Moscow's city government, and the few marchers who decided to defy this attempted oppression by the government were viciously attacked by neo-fascists and members of the Russian Orthodox Church. Link.

The irony here is painful. As part of the massive propaganda drive against Nazi Germany during the Second World War, the Soviets painted homosexuality as somehow being a product of fascism - a degenerative element of Western ideals and capitalism, but especially a product of fascism (The fact that they're invading your homeland and slaughtering your people isn't enough - apparently they also have to be fags before you'll hate them.) The fact that Nazi Germany was incarcerating and executing thousands of people for being homosexual simply fell by the wayside. Now the Russian neo-fascists are the ones attacking gays in Russia. It's the one thing you can always say about your enemy ("Liek! OMG they're GHEY!"), even when they're saying exactly the same thing about you.

Reports from Moscow have indicated that police protection for marchers was insufficient - police allegedly did nothing to prevent violent homophobic protestors from attacking the marchers. Despite this, the police later claimed to have arrested anywhere up to 120 "illegal gay demonstrators". In truth, both marchers and violent protestors were arrested, but the police did not bother to distinguish between the two.

The organizers of the march have vowed to sue the City of Moscow and to take the case all the way to the European Court if they need to. Moscow's mayor, on the other hand, has "defended" his actions in banning the march... Link.

"Our way of life, our morals and our tradition -- are cleaner in all ways. The West has something to learn from us and should not race along in this mad licentiousness."

There's something wrong when beating someone is okay, but loving someone of one's own sex isn't.

A lot has changed in post-Soviet Russia, but some things always stay the same, it would seem. You don't need a Cold War to hate.

In The Spirit of Leviticus...

2006-05-21T21:18:00.000+02:00

"The people of this country are becoming much more politicised on the land question, and therefore the land must come back to the rightful owners in the spirit of Leviticus, Chapter 25." - Peter Moatshe - Senior ANC member of the National Council of Provinces Link.

Ah yes, Leviticus 25, the ancient Jewish law regarding property...

"If a fellow-Israelite living near you becomes so poor that he sells himself to you as a slave, you shall not make him do the work of a slave. He shall stay with you as a hired servant and serve you until the next Year of Restoration ." - Leviticus 25: 39-40

That sounds like the ANC's labour policy to me.

"If you need slaves, you may buy them from the nations around you." - Leviticus 25: 44

I *keep* saying that illegal immigration is a *good* thing...

"You may also buy the children of foreigners who are living among you. Such children born in your land may become your property, and you may leave them as inheritance to your sons, whom they must serve as long as they live. But you must not treat any of your fellow-Israelites harshly." - Leviticus 25: 45-46

I don't know how Marxist it is, but I'm not complaining...

I assume that the ANC is consistent in that it supports *all* of Leviticus as a moral and political guide for the party and the government it leads...

"You may eat any kind of fish that has fins and scales, but anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales must not be eaten." - Leviticus 11: 9-10

Prawns and lobsters are bourgeois anyway... This is why it's *really* illegal to smuggle perlemoen.

"No man is to have sexual relations with another man; god hates that." - Leviticus 18: 22

He only hates it because Satan isn't good in bed - horns, you know. And tail. And pitchfork.

Yeah. Satan scared God straight.

"If a man commits adultery with the wife of a fellow Israelite , both he and the woman shall be put to death." - Leviticus 20: 10

They must have changed this to, "Make the man president and put the woman to death," while I wasn't looking...

The moral of the story is that you SHOULDN'T QUOTE THE FRIKKEN BIBLE IF YOU HAVEN'T READ IT! IT'S NOT A FRIKKEN GAME OF 'CONFUCIUS SAY'!

Sorry, but wannabe theocrats just beg to made fun of.

COSATU's Way of Saying Sorry?

2006-05-18T16:39:00.000+02:00

"We now know without a doubt that there are agent provocateurs within our ranks, especially in the security industry, and they've been using the time to misconstrue what the key objectives are of our action."

Yay! For once, a far-left South African organization is taking responsibility for its mistakes!

"I'd say that the security bosses and their history in the SA Defence Force, and their history in oppressing and disrespecting our people would certainly have a role to play in this."

Or not... Link.

I suppose we should be thankful that at least COSATU doesn't *approve* of the violent elements within the security strikes, even if they magically pin the blame on the "bourgeois" once again.

Islamic Life Lessons

2006-05-17T23:31:00.000+02:00

Here are a few choice excerpts from an interview with Iraqi Ayatollah Ahmad Husseini Al-Baghdadi, which recently aired on both Al-Jazeera and Syrian state-run television. Link.

Sometimes Islam doesn't need anyone to criticize it - it does all the talking itself.

"But there are jurisprudents, both Sunnis and Twelver Shi'ites, who have said that the presence of the Infallible is not a prerequisite. If the objective and subjective circumstances materialize, and there are soldiers, weapons, and money - even if this means using biological, chemical, and bacterial weapons - we will conquer the world, so that 'There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah' will be triumphant over the domes of Moscow, Washington, and Paris."

There you have it. The Islamists don't even need their god to help them kill people - they're doing all on their own.

"Car bomb attacks are carried out by the Israeli Mossad and by the CIA in purely Shi'ite areas, as well as in purely Sunni areas. Hence, this is not a sectarian issue, as has been claimed in order to distort the image of the resistance. These car bombs and explosives belts, in Shi'ite religious centers, in mosques, and in churches, are all a game, planned by the Americans, in order to distort the image of the national and Islamic resistance."

"This Arab Islamic nation must obtain a nuclear bomb. Without a nuclear bomb, we will continue to be oppressed, and the American destruction... The American donkeyness... The American donkey itself will always continue to attack us, because the Americans are very conceited."

With a nuclear bomb, you will be wiped off the face of the planet. I suppose these guys consider that an improvement...

"It is inconceivable that the Arab mujahideen or the Iraqi resistance would kill children, women, and men. The resistance targets American tanks and bases. Those operations are carried out by the American CIA and fifth column."

"The Americans are the ones who are doing the killing in the so-called Sunni Triangle, or in Al-Latifiya."

"These collaborators and America should know that I support the resistance. I will fight the American tanks alongside the resistance, because the Iraqi people is an Arab Islamic people that will not accept the rule of an infidel over a Muslim. Never."

Muslims can do no wrong. Unless they disagree with this guy, of course. But then they probably aren't Muslim anymore...

"The second clause says no law may contradict the principles of democracy. Can you imagine millions demonstrating in Iraq, calling for same-sex marriage, like in Sweden, America, and Britain? Same-sex marriages means a marriage of a man with a man, or a woman with a woman. This is a terrible catastrophe, totally forbidden by Islam. Whoever marries someone of the same sex must be killed. Both must be killed as soon as possible and must be burned as well."

Burned too? That's pretty serious.

---

If Hitler had been a Muslim, he would have been best buddies with this guy.

What Makes Bullshit So Appealing?

2006-05-17T14:32:00.000+02:00

Why do people believe conspiracy theories? Why do people trust in "alternative" medicine? Why do people think hypnotism works? Why do people invent things like "religion", which is essentially the epitome of legitimized, institutionalized bullshit?

What is it that makes the most unlikely argument the more appealing one? When people are faced with scarce evidence, why do they *always* violate Ockham's Razor and chose the logical path of most resistance?

Apparently a lot of Catholics have their panties in a bunch about the new "Da Vinci Code" movie (being released here this Friday). I haven't read the book, but from what I've gathered, it makes the allegation that Jesus Christ married and had children with Mary Magdalene (Wikipedia, if you don't know who these people are). It also alleges that the Catholic Church and the group "Opus Dei" have since been covering up this "truth" about Jesus Christ (and his descendants) and have been killing off anyone who garners onto the real story... Sounds a lot like Area 51 crap to me.

It says some pretty mean stuff about the Catholic Church, but I still don't really get why they're so pissed. They're made fun of in so many movies and books that it isn't even funny... Anyone seen "The Godfather"?

The real group called Opus Dei is particularly unimpressed. They say that the new movie should carry a "health warning". A "health warning"? Is thinking dangerous to your health? Is hearing a different opinion dangerous to your health? Is watching a conspiracy theory movie dangerous to your health? Link.

Maybe if you'll believe anything to begin with. I suppose you're only going to buy into the Da Vinci code if you already believe the crap in the bible.

"The group, which stopped short of following the Vatican line of calling on Catholics to boycott the film, accused Brown of dishonest marketing based on peddling fiction as fact."

Oh right, and "Pray to our gods and your diseases will be healed and you'll go to heaven!" is completely honest and sound marketing based entirely on empirical scientific research.

"Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the log in you own eye?" - Matt 7:3

My irony meter is broken.

"In the survey, readers were asked if Opus Dei had ever carried out a murder. Seventeen percent of readers believe it had, compared with just four percent of non-readers."

These people really will believe anything. Don't you think Opus dei may have done something about big bad old Dan Brown, if they really were so powerful and evil?

Never mind. The Catholic Church, and religion in general, has been preying off the gullibility of your average idiot for a long time now. They are merely receiving a taste of their own medicine. I salute Dan Brown; his lies are evidently far more interesting than your conventional Christian lies.

Free Speech vs. Offensiveness

2006-05-14T00:14:00.000+02:00

A great debate of our time, in light of the rise of Islamism's power worldwide.

It generally takes the form of the offended party crossing swords with everyone else, but you usually also get some people who aren't affected and who simply stand up for either political correctness or free speech.

The Mohammed Cartoon Controversy was something of a no-brainer for most people. A few cheesy cartoons in an obscure Danish newspaper is hardly the height of insult for most, and indeed the Muslim reaction was greatly amplified by a distorted version of events in many parts of the world as well as the general anti-Western sentiment festering there. It was also taken too far by many. Indeed, most saw the extremist Muslim response (burning embassies and Bush-dolls) as far more disgraceful public behaviour than the cartoons themselves could ever be. Some people asked what would happen if another religious figure, like Christ, Buddha or Vishnu, were shown instead... Most decided that nothing would have happened.

My position on the matter was that freedom of speech should be respected in that the newspapers should be free to publish the cartoons, knowing full well that it might cause them to lose business from some Muslim customers. There should be no government intervention, essentially. I argued that freedom of speech is intended to protect ALL speech, even that which you might find offensive or disagreeable - people wouldn't bother writing laws protecting it otherwise.

What happens when the situation is far more extreme than a few stupid cartoons, though? What happens when people's "speech" is so shocking and disgraceful that no right-minded person would ever associate themselves with it, regardless of their own views?

In the United States, there is a Christian religious organization called the "Westboro Baptist Church" which, amongst other things, conducts noisy public protests at the funerals of American servicemen which were KIA in America's War on Islamism.

This church is the group behind the now quite infamous slogan, "God hates fags!"

Anyway, they gather near military funerals waving their signs and spewing forth their hateful filth. Why? They believe that almost everyone except them is either a "fag" or a "fag-lover". They believe that America's war with Islamism is the result of their god punishing America and the West for it's alleged love of gay people. Yeah... I don't really get it either. Bush probably hates gay people almost as much as they do. The only difference is that Bush has at least some sense of common decency... Not to mention the fact that he's probably mostly sane. The fact that gay people are prohibited from serving in the US Military has also seemed to elude these crackpots...

Anyway, needless to say, most people don't like this church pitching up at their son's/daughter's/best friend's funeral to spew forth disgusting, hateful rhetoric in flagrant disrespect and contempt for the deceased. The result is that a bill was easily passed by the US Congress which "restricts" protesting at military funerals. Link.

I'm sure most people are relieved, and I can understand why. Honestly, you do not need that sort of problem when you're dealing with the death of a loved one. You don't.

It leaves me in something of a moral quandary, however. The American Civil Liberties Union - a somewhat libertarian law organization which defends personal rights in the US - has controversially decided to challenge the new law in court. They argue that it is in violation of the free speech laws contained in the US constitution.

I find myself agreeing with them. It makes me feel dirty and it makes me feel like a traitor, but if I did not agree with the ACLU, I would be a hypocrite. Why did Congress pass the bill? The Westboro Baptist Church's actions offended people. It is not right for the government to censor speech because it is offensive - it is not the government's place to take a certain stance on offensiveness or morals, even if it is a stance shared by 99.9% of a country's citizens.

Would I be able to look a deceased serviceman's parent or loved-one in the eye and give this argument? Probably not. Would I be able to control myself if I were faced with similar protestors at the funeral of someone I dearly loved? I don't know. I'm not perfect.

Maybe freedom is more important than my comfort or my sensibilities. Maybe true freedom sometimes means that you have to let other people say what they want to say, even if it hurts you.

So... yeah. I'm a gay person standing up for the Westboro Baptist Church. Shoot me now... you'll make it quick if you're kind.

Gays Murdered by Iraqi Police

2006-05-13T13:32:00.000+02:00

It's been a while since I've been here. You can blame Telkom. I'd rant about it, but I don't think anyone needs to hear more complaining about South Africa's internet situation.

---

Anyway, back to the democratic, freedom-loving state that is the new Iraq post-Saddam Hussein.

Apparently following the words of prominent Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraqi security forces and police are allegedly engaging in something of a witch-hunt dedicated to the eradication of Iraq's gay and lesbian population.

The latest incident involves the brutal murder of a 14-year-old boy by police. Apparently the boy had been forced to engage in prostitution in order to help sustain his poverty-stricken family. He wasn't arrested by police - he was simply shot. His family was forced to flee the area for fear of reprisals. Link.

Naturally many of the country's religious militias are also engaging in this slow-working genocide, but then gays aren't the only target for elimination on their lists. One would think that, in an ideal world, the police force installed and trained by the US army would not simply be murderers wearing badges.

Coalition forces are allegedly doing nothing to address the problem of Iraqi citizens being murdered in cold blood by their government. Relations between the coalition and the government are often tenuous, so I'm guessing that the US considers gays and lesbians to be expendable cannon fodder in their efforts to maintain the image of a friendly relationship between themselves and the new Iraq. Or maybe the Bush administration simply doesn't care - take your pick.

The US has successfully transformed Iraq from a brutal dictatorship into a brutal, semi-anarchic, semi-Islamist country. The government under Saddam Hussein did terrible things to its own people. Some things never change.

Run Out of Passports?!

2006-04-28T11:31:00.000+02:00

Chapter 2, Section 21, Point 2 of the South African Constitution:

"Everyone has the right to leave the Republic."

Point 4:

"Every citizen has the right to a passport."

Is there anything more to be said about government's recent decision to only admit passports to people "who can provide a very good motivation for consideration"!?

Their excuse is that they've run out of blank passport templates! Link.

"Sorry, we'd love to release you from jail, but unfortunately we've run out of blank prisoner release forms..."

"Sorry, we'd love to give you a date to appear in court, but we've run out of the forms we use to charge people with crimes..."

Assuming the Department of Home Affairs isn't lying, which doesn't seem too outlandish at this point, they are criminally incompetent.

The government's actions are in direct violation of our Constitution. Having governments which force their citizens to jump through hoops is bad enough, but what about when that government runs out of hoops?

I have little left to write. Until further notice, all South Africans, who don't already have passports, are prisoners of the government.

The ANC government is, quite literally, holding South Africans hostage - *hopefully* through their incredible incompetence, and not through disguised malice!

Law Protects Witch Doctors

2006-04-26T18:08:00.000+02:00

To be a doctor in South Africa, you have to study for seven years at university. You have to be skilled, hard-working and dedicated to the protection and preservation of human health. Finally, you have to take an oath stating that you will always do your utmost to prevent harm.

To be a witch doctor in South Africa, you have to scare gullible people into believing your invented fairy tales. You have to lie, and you have to have no conscience. Finally, you have to experiment with random plant and animal products to discover what will actually kill people, and try to avoid it as much as possible. You have to enjoy cheap power rushes at the expense of the health of others.

The South African government, in a horrifically tragic attempt at appeasing those who are ignorant, spends more time and energy protecting the livelihood of witch doctors than it does with that of real doctors. Link.

The latest nail in the coffin is the "Traditional Health Practitioners Act", which gives mad witch doctors as much authority as real doctors in many areas where government sees fit to regulate medicine. Among other things, it gives witch doctors the authority to write "sick notes" for their patients (read: victims) which employers are bound by law to comply with. This has quite drastic implications for the economy, but surely the health and wellbeing of our citizens is far more important?

But no, our mad witch doctor of a Health Minister thinks garlic can cure AIDS. We should be discouraging people from even *thinking* about going to witch doctors, not giving them the go-ahead and incentive to do so! Superstition should have no place in the government workings of a modern country! I thought superstition/religion was *separate* from government in this country... I really did.

"Homosexual" is Offensive?

2006-04-26T14:24:00.000+02:00

Says who?! Says the Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Lord Falconer. Link.

He probably means well:

"It is important to recognise that the term homosexuality is considered inappropriate by many gays and lesbians today."

I can't think of any, I'm afraid. Maybe it's a British thing. He claims Stonewall prompted his, but I don't know... *Why* is "homosexual" insulting?!

Anyway, this guy has decided to remove the use of the word "homosexual" from all official government correspondence. (!!!!)

It's not *just* "homosexuals", actually. Other terms *banned* from use in Tony Blair's government include "immigrant", "Asian", "man and wife", "mixed race", "West Indian" and "asylum seeker".

I am NOT making this up!

This is political correctness at its WORST.

Presumably this guy thinks the word "gay" should be used instead, but maybe he's not aware just how many idiot government nannies, like himself, consider *that* insulting too. (Liek! OMG thats so GEY!)

Sometimes I don't know whether these people are just misguided, or if they're actually hiding behind these pathetic attempts at political correctness and are *really* trying to prevent all discussion of gay people at all! Not that gay people are the only group to be subject to these insane attempts at thought control - I've met people who think the word "black" is insulting when describing black people.

Faggot, kaffir, nigger... THESE are insulting!

Gay, black, homosexual... THESE are the only words we HAVE to describe these people!

*Amazing* idiocy.

Israel Recognizes Gay Holocaust Victims

2006-04-26T13:22:00.000+02:00

For the first time ever, the state of Israel has officially invited Israel's LGBT community to participate in Holocaust memorial services held at Yad Vashem - the site of the Warsaw Ghetto rebellion monument. Link.

It is difficult to gauge just how many gay people died in Nazi concentration camps alongside Jews, communists, political enemies, Slavs and the other groups the Nazi's slaughtered. Estimates range from 15 000 to 600 000. 15 000 is the number of recorded deaths of prisoners interned for homosexuality, but things get blurred when one considers that many homosexual prisoners were probably also Jewish, communist etc.

Gays were arrested by the Nazis in accordance with an old German law, now made infamous, called "Paragraph 175" which forbade sexual contact between members of the same sex. What many people don't know, however, is that this law remained on the books in West Germany until 1994 - several years after its reunification with communist East Germany. Indeed, there are accounts of gay concentration camp inmates that, when "liberated" by allied forces at the end of the war, were carted off to prison while their heterosexual counterparts received the media attention and utmost sympathy of the entire world. This was not some kind of strange oversight by the new German republic... The Constitutional Court of West Germany actually delivered a ruling, in 1957, which preserved Paragraph 175 in the exact form it had been molded into by the Nazis. It is now thought that over 100 000 people were charged and 50 000 convicted, under Paragraph 175, between 1945 and 1969! They weren't exterminated, of course, but many of them did commit suicide, fearing what the charge would do to their public image.

For many years, it has been common for people to forget the gay victims of the Nazi regime. There have been LGBT holocaust memorials in San Francisco, Berlin and elsewhere for a while now, but this is the first time the state of Israel has even bothered to recognize a group of people which suffered as much as they did under Hitler's Third Reich.

Hopefully it is yet another indication of slowly changing attitudes in the Western world.

Murder and Intimidation Works

2006-04-17T16:25:00.000+02:00

It seems that murder, rape, pillage and generally behaving like raving lunatics, works...

The creators of South Park - the great toilet bowl of animated television - were prevented from portraying the Islamic prophet Muhammad in an episode designed to ridicule the Cartoon Controversy(tm)that erupted after Jylands Posten published those unflattering images of the Great Turbaned One a few months back. Link.

Alright, so TV networks are far more interested in their own pockets than anything trivial like free speech or moral consistency - fine.

Anyway, Muhammad was apparently kicked off the cast and replaced by an image of Jesus Christ shitting on George Bush and the American flag.

It proves it... all of you kept asking what would happen "If it were Jesus!". Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Batshit-crazy Muslims vastly outnumber batshit-crazy Christians. Strange - considering how many more Christians - of all flavours - there are than Muslims. Don't forget that South Park has *far* more viewers than Jylands Posten has readers, and many of them are probably Christian.

Well, it proves it. Run around burning embassies, slaughtering white people and blowing up Jews, and people will avoid mocking your stupid fantasies just because they're scared of you.

Wonderful. The One True Religion will be the one whose followers are the most psychotic. The Catholic Church had better take note quickly... I haven't heard instructions for building a bomb being given out in mass for a long time now.

A Diabolical Pride...

2006-04-16T13:16:00.000+02:00

God's Rottweiler has apparently used another Catholic holiday to launch into one of his infamous tirades of hatred against gay people. Link.

Referring to what he terms a "diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family", Pope Benedict XVI managed to avoid saying "homosexuality", "same-sex marriage" or anything of that nature even once during his Good Friday mass.

"Today a slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane apologia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan, a mindless desire for transgression, a dishonest and frivolous freedom, exalting impulsiveness, immorality and selfishness as if they were new heights of sophistication."

Everyone knows the deal, though. Italians recently voted a liberal party into power which supports a domestic-partner, or "marriage-lite" law for same-sex couples. Besides, how many evils could old Ratty possibly be referring to?

I stand by my conviction that *if* the mad Catholic fantasy turned out to be true, there would be far more good people in Hell than in Heaven.

As they say in the classics, you go to Heaven for the weather, but Hell for the company.

Most Homophobic Country in Africa

2006-04-13T16:35:00.000+02:00

I've discussed Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo's same-sex marriage ban before, but I never touched on just how far-reaching the ramifications are.

Apparently the bill has recently been increased in potency by the Nigerian senate. Link.

This is exactly what it does:

1. Criminalizes faux-marriage and real marriage (overseas) for people of the same sex. It makes it punishable with up to five years in prison...

2. Bans same-sex couples from living together. (Thinking objectively for a second - I have no idea how they're going to enforce this.)

3. Bans gay adoption.

4. Criminalizes belonging to any gay-related organization - everything from social organizations to LGBT rights groups.

5. Criminalizes attending a fake or real same-sex marriage, leave alone presiding over one...

6. Criminalizes the public display of affection between members of the same sex. This includes real people, and the media.

---

Naturally, the bill has huge support from both major religious groups in Nigeria - Muslims and Christians (mainly Anglican Christians).

These measures are just as oppressive and inhumane as the more infamous racist measures employed by the South African National Party during Apartheid, if not more so.

Of course, no one notices. Why do no countries ever condemn Nigeria for these crimes against human rights?

Sometimes I get the distinct impression that the only people who even give a shit about human rights, pertaining to non-heterosexuals, are non-heterosexuals. It starts with homophobia at home - gay people's relationships aren't as good as straight ones, gays are too defective to adopt children, gay blood isn't good enough to be donated to straight people.

As I've said before, we South Africans are extremely fortunate in that we are protected by our government and constitution. South Africa is an island of safety from the government when it comes to LGBT issues, but we're still not safe from the bigotry and hate seething inside so many individuals.

People of other nationalities aren't so lucky, of course.

I'd advise gay South Africans to avoid Nigeria like the plague. Their new bill also applies to foreign nationals.

DoD Admits to Spying on Gays

2006-04-11T19:50:00.000+02:00

The US Department of Defense has finally admitted that it has been spying on gay student groups opposed to the military's bigoted policies regarding homosexual servicemen and women. Link.

They say they're sorry and that they'll never do it again...

Yeah right.

I'm sure it's very comforting, for Americans, to know that their military is more concerned about human rights activists than Bush's dirty wars in the Middle-East.

But then most Americans are more concerned about preventing people (who they don't even know) from loving each other.

"Never mind Iraq, there are faggots trying to love each other! FAGGOTS!!!!! REPUBLICANS UNITE!!!!!!"

What Did We Ever Do?

2006-04-06T16:58:00.000+02:00

I've more-or-less compiled a list of places I'd never ever like to have the misfortune of visiting.

Ranking pretty high on that list would have to be the island of Jamaica.

Yeah... Swinging palms, beaches, rum, cricket and all that crap... I know.

I'll bet it's a lot of fun for straight people.

A riot broke out at a Jamaican university recently. It was apparently caused by one male student accusing another of "propositioning" him in the university bathrooms. It resulted in a riot so large and chaotic that the university was forced to call in police units to fight the crowds with full riot gear. The crowds only dispersed after the police fired warning shots with live ammunition. Link.

Fortunately, the victim in question only suffered minor, superficial injuries during the chaos. Police apparently managed to protect his life, but now, unfortunately, they're investigating whether or not he actually *did* "proposition" another male student. Homosexual sex is a crime in Jamaica punishable with up to ten years in prison with hard labour.

What is it that makes people despise homosexuals so much? What is it that drives people (Not only psychopaths! An entire population!) to rabidly seek the blood of people who are sexually attracted to members of their own sex.

I've never been able to understand it. Maybe someone who has studied the most deplorable aspects of human nature has a better insight, but I wonder if anyone really knows.

Prayer Doesn't Work

2006-04-02T22:24:00.000+02:00

Well, duh.

Someone actually did a real scientific study to prove it, though. Link.

A survey of 1800 heart bypass patients was conducted. Some were serviced by Christian prayer groups and others weren't... No difference in recovery rate was observed.

Funnily enough, those who knew that they were being prayed for were more likely to develop post-surgery complications. Strange, huh?

Christians will scoff at this, though. They'll say, "Do not put the LORD your God to the test."

God doesn't like performing miracles in public, it seems. His son was apparently more outgoing, but the poor chap only lived 33 years...

God himself strikes me as being a bit like a small child. He won't perform unless the whole room turns around. He still wants the praise afterwards, though, and he'll throw a tantrum if he doesn't get it.

Quote of The Day

2006-03-31T22:29:00.000+02:00

I love it.

After a Burundian soldier massacred four of his comrades and wounded another, army spokesman Adolphe Mirerekano had the following to say:

"It is regrettable to see soldiers killing each other in such circumstances. We will ensure more discipline among our soldiers so that this is not repeated."

Link.

Any man caught killing his fellow solider, while on base, will be given KP duty for a week! It's only permitted during actual combat, when it looks like friendly fire!

Okay, so maybe English isn't his strong suit... But really.

Clinton for Forced Medical Testing

2006-03-29T19:55:00.000+02:00

Ex-US president, Bill Clinton, has called for countries with high rates of HIV/AIDS infections (like us) to force their citizens to undergo government medical testing. Link. (Xinhau, funnily enough. I don't think China has anything to do with it, but I bet they love Clinton.)

AIDS is a huge problem, and getting tested is probably a good idea if you sleep around. An even better idea is using proper protection (or not sleeping with every slut in town), in the first place. However, you don't go about the problem by forcing innocent people into hospitals for compulsory government testing as though they were laboratory rats. What's going to happen after everyone (and their MP) knows your HIV status? It doesn't make sense to leave it at that, does it, Mr. Clinton? What's next? Special badges for HIV+ people? Special tattoos? What's the next disease you'll check after HIV?

Yeah, Clinton is the reason Bush is now warming the chair in the Oval Office.

A person's HIV status is a matter of privacy, provided they don't willfully endanger anyone's life by misinforming them about their HIV status before they have sex.

Sad as it is, people who are HIV+ suffer from discrimination in South Africa and around the world. They have an often debilitating disease, of course, but it doesn't stop there, does it? No, they are seen as dirty, promiscuous, morally corrupt people. What's more, employers, insurance agencies and potential creditors see them as high-risk, low-return investments. They get shunned.

A person's HIV status is none of your business, unless you're going to have sex with them. It is especially not *the government's* business. I know government tends to f**k one over, but not in that way.

If our government actually *wants* to do anything constructive about AIDS, it should pull it's collective head out of its arse, just for starters. Either do your research, or shut the hell up and listen to the people who know what they're doing. None of this "garlic and olive oil" or "traditional medicine" shit. It would also help if potential future heads of state didn't go around screwing HIV+ people without any protection...

But, for the love of Pete, don't force us all into government testing labs. Thank you, very much.

I knew the bastards would use this...

2006-03-29T17:33:00.000+02:00

Those loving Christian-types have used the tragic murder of Jandre Botha to demonize the marriage equality movement. Link.

Jandre Botha lived with his mother and her lesbian partner. The partner, who is obviously twisted and sick beyond words, beat him to death, apparently because he wouldn't call her "daddy". Link.

Both the partner and the mother have been charged with murder - the mother because she didn't act to protect her child from her insane lover.

The "Christian Civic League of Maine", in the US, responded to this tragic course of events by lauding it as proof of their insane religious ranting about the sinfulness of being gay.

This isn't just a crime against fundamental logic. Never mind that they are ignoring the fact that the two women weren't even married, and that South Africa doesn't even provide marriage licenses to gay couples yet...

They are comparing all gay people to that sick freak who murdered Jandre Botha.

So now I'm not just going to hell for being sexually abnormal, chronically depressed, diseased, more likely to get AIDS and incapable of love. I'm also a child murderer.

If the Christian fantasy were true, I'd rather spend eternity in hell with at least a few good people than eternity in "heaven" with those spineless, morally bankrupt dredges of humanity that call themselves "Christian".

Disclaimer: Not all Christians are asshole, but the ones who aren't never open their fucking mouths against that ones who are.

Today's Quote

2006-03-27T16:54:00.000+02:00

"I have never, and will never, prevaricate on my basic belief that uMsholozi is the victim of satanic forces ranged against him."

It could only be Jon Qwelane. Link.

Look, assuming that Zuma, or any defendant, is guilty before found so by a court is stupid. Attitudes, like those of COSATU, are way out of line.

But saying that you'll never change your mind is also stupid. Saying that he can't possibly be guilty, based solely on his record as a political activist, is patently stupid.

Both groups of screaming protestors outside the High Court are stupid. What are the groups asking for, exactly? The release of Zuma, and the total abandonment of the case against him, based entirely on his popularity? His immediate conviction without a chance for him to defend himself in court? What?

I wonder if the High Court will be blasted as a "satanic force" if JZ is found guilty. I wonder if the rights of women in society will be collectively burned on the altar if JZ is found not guilty.

I doubt it.

Some folks are blowing this case up into something it isn't.

More Orthodox Fun

2006-03-26T21:52:00.000+02:00

Orthodox Judaism. Not all Judaism is this screwed, but it just takes a few bad examples to give you a bad rep... Kind of like moderate Christianity vs. the fundies... The fundies tend to be louder and tend to get in the news more often.

Mordechai Eliyahu, a Sephardic Rabbi and ex-Grand Rabbi of Israel has issued a rather strange religious edict.

He has called on parents to disfigure their kids' dolls by amputating a limb in order to remove the element of "idolatry" in playing with dolls. Link.

Yeah...

I can see how playing with Barbie or Action Man could lead a kid away from Orthodox Judaism. It might cause their minds to wander from their paranoid, obsessive religious habits for just a few minutes.

"It is very important that these toys do not remain intact, so as to remove the element of idolatry."

This actually isn't funny. There are some rather disturbed people in Israel, and elsewhere, who are going to do everything this man says in order to stay in Yahweh's good books. If that means mutilating their kids' toys, then so be it.

"They need to be amputated, or at least altered."

I'm not Jewish or Christian... But, now correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the prohibition on idols, in the Torah, directed against things you might want to *worship*?!

Most kids don't worship their teddy bears, but in an Orthodox family, who knows.

Now, I can sympathize with people who want to believe in a god. It's comforting, I know, and not everyone can handle the idea of death.

But this is going too far. When religion distorts people's lives to this extent, it has gone too far.

At least the manic variety of Jews don't slaughter people like the manic version of Muslims do. Everyone in Israel would be dead by now.

Zimbabwean HRC?

2006-03-26T18:35:00.000+02:00

The Zim government is putting together an organization which will ostensibly act to protect human rights and protect the rights of citizens. Link.

Yeah, and I get paid for writing this...

This "human rights commission" is nothing more than a half-hearted attempt by the corrupt Zimbabwean government to claim authority over what is and what isn't a human rights violation, according to Bob, while attempting to garner some PR points in the process.

A Chinese organization to subsidize alternative political parties would have more credibility.

Proposed Constitutional Amendment

2006-03-25T21:49:00.000+02:00

I propose a constitutional amendment to prevent South Africa from becoming like Canada!

Link.

Well, I wouldn't quite word it that way.

"Government may not institute any kind of tax on an item or group of items in an attempt to control the frequency of consumption and/or use of that item by the public."

It may not be perfect, legally, but it beats the crap out of, "Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected."

They can take my dignity, they can take my liberty, they can take my humanity, but they'll never take my fast food! *Que dramatic music.*

Seriously, it bothers me when there are people in government intent on controlling every aspect of every person's life all the time.

You know, I can almost see fast food going the way of Cannabis.

"Fast food rots your brain!"

"Fast food causes cancer!"

"Fast food slows your reactions!"

"Fast food is a gateway drug to more dangerous narcotics!"

"THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!"

"THINK OF THE COWS!!!!"

On Monday I'm going to protest outside the Canadian embassy. I have to get Wimpy or Steers to sponsor me burgers to eat and throw at the staff.

Who's with me!? :-D

COSATU on Rape

2006-03-25T12:01:00.000+02:00

If you were ever wondering why the writers of our constitution decided to make the executive, legislative and judicial organs of government separate from each other, and leave bloody "trade unions" out of the picture altogether, just look at COSATU.

Oblivious to the fact that they were JZ's big buddies a few months ago, COSATU, in its infinite judicial wisdom, has called on Parliament to "change the law" to make those charged with rape automatically guilty, without the inconvenience of a trial before a court of law. Link.

Apparently the burden of proof should rest on the accused to prove that he *didn't* rape the alleged victim.

Jumping Jesus...

Alright, I have a suggestion. I won't go into how such measures are guarded against in the constitution, I won't go into how such measures would be a grave violation of human rights, I won't even go into how COSATU knows as much about law as they do about economics...

No.

I'm simply going to make a suggestion. Let's take COSATU at their word, charge them *all* with rape - I don't care of whom - and throw them all in jail where they can attempt to prove that they are *not* guilty. It would save us all a lot of headaches.

Afghan Christian Insane

2006-03-22T16:16:00.000+02:00

The apostasy case in Afghanistan has taken an alternative course. Link.

The authorities in Afghanistan who charged Abdul Rahman with converting to Christianity have decided that he might not possess sufficient mental faculties to stand trial for his crimes.

They're going to throw him in the loony bin, in other words.

I suppose it does make sense. Afghanistan would be internationally condemned if it pressed the death penalty, but it would face condemnation from the conservative Islamic block if it allowed Rahman to get away with the crime of attempting to think for himself.

So they're going to take him away, ha ha!

Yeah, one must certainly be crazy to give up Islam. I can't understand how anyone could disagree with their methods...

I'd hate to see what an Afghan loony bin must look like inside.

Gays Causing Bird Flu!

2006-03-21T20:20:00.000+02:00

A wacky Kabbalah rabbi in Jerusalem, going by the name of David Basri, is claiming that the two recent cases of deadly bird flu to occur inside Israel are God's retribution for the Meretz Party support of same sex marriage. Link.

"The Bible says that God punishes depravity first through plagues against animals and then in people."

I could never begin to wrap my head around Kabbalah, but he is right about this. God allegedly brought plagues down upon animals, innocent bystanders and children long before he ever thought to do anything to the Pharaoh in the Exodus story...

Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.

I suppose it's never occurred to David Basri that South Africa, as a country which constitutionally protects the rights of gay people and will soon become the fifth country in the world to offer same-sex marriage, has been mercifully free of bird flu in any shape or form.

You really do have to love the fundamentalist line of reasoning.

Purges in Cameroon

2006-03-21T12:26:00.000+02:00

The witch hunt for gays in Cameroon has been extended to the nation's educational institutions. Link.

Colleges and universities in the major city of Douala are conducting a purge to rid themselves of students they consider to be breaking the central African nation's crime of homosexuality. Apparently most of the students expelled are female.

They are also reporting the students to the authorities. Homosexuality is a crime in Cameroon that can fetch an "offender" up to five years in prison.

Males accused of homosexuality are subjected, by the courts, to rectal and anal examinations to determine, somehow, if they are gay or not. This can be avoided by pleading guilty, so that is what many men do when charged by the courts.

This appalling lack of respect for basic human rights by a member of the African Union reflects the struggle suffered by gay people everywhere on the continent.

We in South Africa, who only have to endure the scorn of private citizens, don't know how lucky we are to have our rights protected by our government and constitution.

As we enjoy Human Rights Day and remember the atrocities of our past, let us also remember the injustices suffered by our fellow Africans elsewhere on the continent.

Maybe one day they will also be free.

Afghanistan Liberated

2006-03-19T23:03:00.000+02:00

"We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law."

So says Afghan judge, Ansarullah Mawlavezada. Link.

An Afghan man is facing murder by the state after pleading guilty to the Shariah crime of apostasy. That is, deconversion from Islam or conversion to another religion. The victim, 41-year-old Abdul Rahman, claims that he converted to Christianity sixteen years ago after working for an international Christian aid group helping Afghan refugees in the Pakistani town of Peshawar.

The US goes, guns a' blazing, into Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the evil, repressive Taliban regime as revenge for the 9/11 attacks. Preaching expansive foreign policy, the Bush regime seems to be scrumming head-first into Islamist state after Islamist state, with little sensitivity to the lives it expends in such an effort, rather pointing out the phantom bounty it will reap from the global proselytization of "American values" such as democracy and freedom.

Well, just where the fuck is this bounty when you need it?

Afghanistan is supposed to be a success story. A nation with an extremely troubled history finally gets its liberation on the wings of American bombers and troop transports. Now that the dust has cleared and it recognizes its eternal debt to the USA as an "ally" in the "war on terrorism", is Afghanistan a veritable poster child for neo-conservative foreign policy and American ideals overseas?

No, they are going to execute a man for becoming Christian. Osama would be proud... If the bastard is still alive, he's probably killed seven virgins in celebration.

I wonder if Bush is going to react to this or if he's going to bury his head in the sand and pretend it never happened? Wow, George, they're not just killing faggots anymore... Now your Muslim friends are killing Christians like yourself! Maybe you can justify it to yourself if the poor guy turns out to be a convert to Catholicism, but some of your friends in conservative America might just get a bee in their collective bonnet!

This is the story of the Middle-East in the early 21st century. The armies of the West come in, kill, rape and pillage, pull out and leave Islamism the stronger for it. It's what's happened to Afghanistan, what is happening to Iraq as we speak and what might well happen to Iran.

Who always wins a bad war? The bad guys.

The Slippery Slope

2006-03-17T21:47:00.000+02:00

It is a common tactic of same-sex marriage opponents to use a version of the "slippery slope" argument in their case for legally recognized homophobia.

They argue that the recognition of same-sex relationships as being equal to heterosexual relationships will lead to further recognition, by the state, of various relationships they deem immoral, such as incest, bestiality, pedophilia and polygamy.

How, exactly, the state will go from legalising same sex marriage to legalising sexual molestation of minors is not exactly laid out on paper.

Perhaps there's a lesson in their illogical and self-absorbed ranting, though. In it's global push for marriage equality, the gay rights movement often alienates itself from groups and ideas relating to polygamy. When their opponents give their Slippery Slope argument, most gay rights advocates tend to counter it with the implication that they too consider polygamous relationships immoral or wrong.

It is true that the argument that consenting adults should be able to do whatever they want to themselves, and to each other, is often given in defense of same-sex relationships. Indeed, the notion that all people own their own bodies and minds and are completely responsible for themselves is a core component of libertarianism, minarchism and many other schools of liberal thought.

Yes, I consider myself a libertarian minarchist. Therefore, I advocate minimal state interference in the private lives of individuals, provided those individuals do not act to harm others and/or restrict their rights.

The recognition, by government, of certain civil contracts between individuals, such as marriage contracts, is, rather unfortunately, a necessary evil in modern society. It would, of course, be ideal if government had no say in the private lives of citizens, but then certain clauses attached to marriage, such as automatic inheritance rights, hospital visitation rights, immigration rights, and so on, would be left neither here nor there regarding people who have formed close and committed relationships with other people.

So, if government has to interfere, let it at least interfere on an equitable basis without giving preference to certain people and without reflecting the arbitrary moral, religious and "gross factor" codes of a certain segment or segments of the population. South Africa is, after all, a very diverse society with many different ethnic, cultural and religious groups. Our constitution provides these groups with equal protection and treatment, and grants all an equal level of basic dignity. We do this so that we can move away from the atrocities of our past and into a future where we can truly call ourselves free people.

Presumably, it is with this in mind that the Constitutional Court ruled in favour of marriage equality regarding monogamous relationships. However, it has still not addressed issues regarding polyamoras groups.

It is true, of course, that there are not great groups of people picketing outside Constitution Hill or Tuinhuis for government recognition of polygamous marriage. Polygamy is indeed a choice, and not a biological state of being as homosexuality is. For this reason, many people simply choose not to have multiple sexual or romantic partners. It is certainly much easier than hiding in the closet all your life... However, I know of people living in alternative romantic arrangements to your standard monogamous one. Surely we cannot impose the arbitrary moral judgement that monogamy is better than polygamy on consenting adults who think otherwise, can we? Wouldn't that be hypocritical? Wouldn't that be in contradiction to our constitution and the basic philosophical tenents of our young democracy?

Unfortunately, the marriage contract, in its current form, is really not designed for non-monogamous relationships. The economic factors are certainly an example... One cannot expect government to give x number of people the right to file joint tax returns when x can be any integer value greater than zero... It brings to mind cartels of "marriage abusers" entering into "marriage" contracts in their thousands in order to cheat SARS...

Immigration rights and inheritance rights are certainly also clauses of marriage contracts that are not currently compatible with more than one party involved in the agreement. Parental rights are yet another, slightly less rigid, factor.

So perhaps polygamous marriage, on an equal footing with monogamous marriage, is simply not possible. There are other options, however. What about something akin to a "civil union" contract, or "marriage lite" contract? Something like the compromise options some countries provide to their gay citizens... Only this time it wouldn't be discriminatory; it would be practical.

Why can't Joe's three romantic partners visit him in hospital? Why can't they receive part of his estate automatically? Why can't children have more than one legal guardian? Why do we enforce the principle of monogamy on others arbitrarily?

These are questions I feel legislatures around the world, including the South African legislature, will have to consider in the not-too-distant-future. It is something that those studying our constitution might want to have a look at as well.

Iraq

2006-03-15T21:05:00.000+02:00

Religious violence in Iraq between Shiite and Sunni Muslims is getting out of hand.

More than 500 people have been killed in sectarian violence since the destruction of the major Shiite Samarra shrine on February 22. Even Saddam Hussein himself has pleaded with Iraqis to stop killing each other and rather direct their murderous tendencies onto Coalition forces. Link.

With full-blown civil war looming just over the horizon, the current US-sanctioned Iraqi government is looking rather toothless in the face of violent religious extremism. The US is desperate for a strong Iraqi central government to form, so that it can start thinking about troop withdrawals.

A powerful leader in the Shiite Muslim camp is the cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani - leader of the "Badr Corps" militia. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential leaders in post-war Iraq - possessing a very sympathetic ear amongst Iraqi Shiites. During the Iraq War, he issued a fatwa to his followers directing them not to resist Coalition forces - this is regarded by some as having been extremely helpful in the Coalition victory over Iraqi forces.

Well it looks like he has issued another one of those fatwa things. This time, he's ordering the murder of both Sunni Muslims and - yeah, you guessed it - homosexuals. He did, in fact, direct his followers to kill homosexuals in "the worst, most severe way." Link.

I can understand his desire for Sunni blood - they are his religious and political opponents. I can't quite grasp why he is so keen for the murder of homosexuals, though. Of the two groups earmarked for slaughter, why give homosexuals so much importance?

I don't understand Islamism.

It is rather disconcerting that the most influential man in Iraq is such a genocidal maniac. One thing is quite certain, if the excrement hits the proverbial fan in Iraq, this man will be one of those left standing when the smoke clears. Shiites have wanted more power in Iraq for a very long time... Due, in part, to Saddam's oppressive Sunni government. Another factor to consider is the likely support by neighboring Iran of Shiite terrorist and militia groups in Iraq.

It would be a painful irony if the regime the US violently toppled is yet to be violently replaced by an even more oppressive one allied with Iran...

(Blogger isn't letting me add pictures. Please excuse the lack of visual stimulation.)

Salem?

2006-03-14T21:08:00.000+02:00

KaNyamazane, Mpumalanga, actually.

Link.

High-school students started a riot after their school and government education officials refused to fire one of their teachers after the student's accused her of "witchcraft".

Can educated people really be this primitive in this day and age? These are high-school kids... Aren't our schools supposed to be cautioning them against blind Dark Age superstition?

And people keep espousing the values of "tradition". If these beliefs are a product of "tradition", then I really do wonder what the social conservative's agenda actually is...

Dr. Wafa Sultan

2006-03-13T19:03:00.000+02:00

Via NoGodBlog.com

"The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions or a clash of civilizations," Dr. Sultan said. "It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality."

Amen to that. We need more people smart enough and courageous enough to do what she has done.

Her "debating" opponent on Al Jazeera promptly proclaimed her a "heretic" and refused to discuss anything with her. If that's the best Muslim apologetics can do... Heh. The Christians do much better.

Naturally, she has received her fare share of death threats. Funny how Allah prefers to get his minions to kill people rather than love them and show them the "truth".

Gay Penguins Are Immoral

2006-03-09T19:20:00.000+02:00

*Sigh*

Two public libraries somewhere in Montana have removed the children's book, "And Tango Makes Three", from the children's section to the non-fiction section in response to complaints from library patrons that the book pushes that much feared social agenda... The "Gay Agenda". Link.

The horror.

In fact, the book tells the (apparently true) story of two male penguins who adopted an egg, and raised the chick which hatched from it, at the Central Park Zoo in New York City.

According to zoologists, it is not uncommon for males of that species to do such a thing.

But no, never mind that it's simply a cute (true) story about inherently funny aquatic birds, it is an immoral and evil piece of literature which pushes the Gay Agenda onto our innocent kids' fragile and pure minds. The incredibly evil social degradation seeping from the very visage of this frighteningly evil tome of the perverted is disgusting and utterly deplorable. (See the image in the top-right.)

We must surely act to protect our children from the evil and immoral aspects of nature if they are to grow up as morally correct, unperverted and bigoted as their parents.

I mean... of course you simply can't get functional families headed by same-sex couples. It just isn't possible... The bible says so. The Church says so. We must act post-haste to prevent any inconvenient facts of nature to get in the way! It's... GOD TESTING OUR FAITH!

*Sigh*

I feel sorry for these people's children. Sometimes we forget just how fortunate we are.

Blair Blames God

2006-03-05T15:02:00.000+02:00

Aikona, Mr. Blair. Link.

"That decision has to be taken and has to be lived with, and in the end there is a judgment that - well, I think if you have faith about these things then you realise that judgment is made by other people,"

"If you believe in God, it's made by God as well."

Apparently you can get away with saying such things if you're the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic or the President of The United States, but good old secular England and the UK are not quite so accommodating of a desperate politician's excuses and attempts to shift blame onto a supernatural entity. Blair is coming under quite a lot of flak for this recent slip-up.

Other Christians are blasting Blair for even suggesting that their god would support such a war, while non-Christians are complaining that Blair is using religious material as a justification for national policies - policies which have cost the lives of many Britains and have made for Britain many enemies. Blair, of course, is doing just that.

It's ironic that George Bush, as President of a republic with a constitutionally entrenched separation-of-church-and-state clause, can get away with spouting religious dogma at every turn (it's what helped to get him elected twice, in fact) while the Prime Minister of an ancient monarchy, with an official state religion and anti-blasphemy laws still on the books, receives the kind of flak that a leader of a modern, civilized state actually deserves.

Blair has obviously tried the religion-ranting technique of George Bush and has suffered for it. Fortunately Europe is not quite as primitive as those nutters across the pond. Jolly good show, what.

"The Great South African Blog-off"

2006-03-04T15:32:00.000+02:00

News24.com is running a competition for the best South African weblog... Competition Link.

1st prize is R5000.00 in cash, second prize is R2500.00 and third prize is R1500.00. 8)

Make sure you get your blogs entered... You never know, maybe you could actually get some return on this stupid hobby. :P

The competition closes on 31 March.

Clinton calls Marriage "Sacred"

2006-03-03T21:15:00.000+02:00

Ugh. Link.

"I believe marriage is not just a bond, but a sacred bond between a man and a woman." - Senator Hillary Clinton of New York

Yes, all you social conservatives out there, this is your poster child for the sanctity of marriage as a privilege reserved only for heterosexual couples... Oh, the squeaky-clean "sanctity" of it all... It *almost* makes me see the error of my ways... Maybe I'll be joining these guys before too long.

For love of all things sane, you have Hillary Clinton standing up for the holy sacredness of heterosexual-only marriage! Don't you see something wrong with this picture?!

So yeah, neither major political party in the USA is yet supporting marriage equality... I'd be feeling pretty damn disenfranchised right now if I were American.

"I did not have sex with that woman!" -Bill Clinton

Cape Town Coalitions...

2006-03-02T20:55:00.000+02:00

Wayne is right when he says that the only interesting election result is going to be that of Cape Town.

Over 80% of the vote has been counted, and it reveals a significant lead by the DA over the ANC. The ANC is virtually guaranteed most other major votes in the country, including most in Johannesburg.

The DA in Cape Town does not, however, look to get more than 50% of votes all by itself. What this means is that it would have to go into a coalition government with another party if it wanted to administer Cape Town with any kind of real authority.

The most logical choice is Patricia De Lille's Independent Democrats as they are the largest party in opposition to the ANC aside from the DA itself... The problem here is that dear old Patricia, in her typical manner, has stated before that she would never form an alliance with another party. With this was just saber-rattling she is willing to go back on remains to be seen... Knowing her, it probably isn't.

Wayne thinks that the DA might go into coalition with the ANC if the ID proves unwilling, but there are problems here as well...

The DA itself has stated most vehemently that it shall not allow the ANC any power in the Cape. It won't join with them, come what may... Link.

"A significant majority of voters chose one of the opposition parties (DA). This reflects a mandate on voters to form a coalition of opposition parties. We want to do just that."

"It is a death sentence for any opposition party to put the ANC back in government," she said. "We must learn from the past."

Indeed.

However, if the DA does not achieve a majority by itself, the ID refuses to ally with them and they refuse to ally with the ANC...

That will leave us with a Democratic Alliance and African Christian Democratic Party coalition. Talk about unholy alliances... It's true though. The ACDP is the only remaining party with enough votes to possibly give the DA a simple majority if they joined.

I know that local government has very little actual power of policy and that the ACDP would have far less clout than the DA anyway... but really. I don't know if I'd be a happy DA voter if they put the ACDP into power... I might just be tempted to vote ANC the next time.

Anyway, we'll see. There are still no certainties at this point. One of the politicians could simply go back on their word, or the ACDP might not even give the DA a simple majority... The DA might even get the 50% vote all to itself.

This is What Homophobia Does...

2006-03-02T20:06:00.000+02:00

You don't have to be a mentally-deranged murdered to kill people with homophobia. Link.

Gay people get arrested and executed by tyrannical governments and assaulted and murdered by citizens in every nation of the world. South Africa, certainly, is no exception. The recent murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana is a tragic reminder of this fact.

However, cold-blooded murder of the gun, knife or baseball bat variety is not the only lethal effect of homophobia. Incredible ignorance is another one.

A lawsuit has been filed in an American Federal court against one Chief of Police, Robert K. Bowman of West Virginia. The suit, filed by the family of recently deceased Claude Green, alleges that Bowman, in his capacity as an officer of the law, physically prevented one Billy Snead from performing CPR on Green after Green suffered a heart attack. As a result, Claude Green's heart attack was fatal.

Bowman apparently knew Green well enough to know that he was homosexual. He prevented Snead, and anyone else other than ambulance personal, from performing CPR because he thought that Green was HIV positive.. The only reason he thought this was because he knew that Green was gay. Green was not HIV positive.

Although you have to be pretty damn ignorant to think that CPR can transmit the HIV virus... Even if Green was HIV positive, Bowman would still be way out of line.

So Chief of Police Robert Bowman prevented Green from receiving medical treatment on the grounds of his sexual orientation and his perceived HIV status. If he gets charged with anything less than negligent homicide, it will be a travesty.

This is what homophobia and the perpetuation of ignorance does. You don't need psycho's swinging bats and shotguns... You just need a baseless societal perception if you want to kill people.

Homosexuality and AIDS are not synonymous and you cannot get HIV from administering CPR... Gah! Don't they teach people these things in school!?

Bob to Jail Gay-Friendly Clergy

2006-02-26T11:18:00.000+02:00

In his birthday speech yesterday, Robert Mugabe took the opportunity, once again, to launch one of his amazingly homophobic attacks together with a general bombardment of anything vaguely "Western" in his eyes. Link.

According to Mugabe, notions such as inalienable human rights, democracy and freedom itself must indeed be Western decadences.

He referred to homosexuality as only something white people should do. (The un-African line of reasoning again.) He also called marriage equality a "threat to mankind" and said that his government would jail any clergy who performed a blessing ceremony for gay couples in Zimbabwe.

This announcement was met with enthusiastic applause from Anglican clergy present in the audience, might I add.

Yes, once again it's Mugabe's famous "they're-not-technically-breaking-the-law-but-we'll-lock-them-up-anyway" approach. It's an old dictator trick.

Obviously our government is never ever going to say boo or bah to good old Bob. He could send raiding parties into Limpopo and our government still wouldn't do anything... Fortunately for us, he probably doesn't have the means to do such a thing.

In other news, a split in Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change looks almost certain at this point. The faction opposed to nominal leader, Morgan Tszangirai, has appointed its own leader - Arthur Mutambara. This will no doubt render the MDC completely impotent and unable to effectively contest with ZANU-PF at any level of government. Brilliant. Link.

The one glimmer of hope in all this is that Bob himself turned 82 yesterday. The bastard surely can't live that much longer...

Homophobic Murder in Khayelitsha

2006-02-23T17:39:00.000+02:00

Police have arrested six men in connection with the murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana in Khayelitsha earlier this month. Link.

The 19-year-old Zoliswa was stoned to death by an angry mob outside her own home, and in front of her own stepfather, because she identified as homosexual. According to Zoliswa's friend, who was present at the time, the group who assaulted them could have been as large as twenty people. There is no known provocation - the only apparent motive is homophobia.

South Africa is known as one of the most progressive countries in the world when it comes to gay rights. Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is specifically prohibited in our constitution. As a result, we will soon be one of five countries in the world to recognize committed romantic relationships between homosexuals as equal to their heterosexual counterparts.

Despite this, virulent homophobia evidently exists in many parts of our society. This is particularly evident in the townships, as evidenced by the brutal murder of this young woman. She was murdered for no reason except that she prefers sexual and romantic relationships with members of the same sex.

Zoliswa's friend who witnessed the murder now fears for her own life and has been forced into hiding. The Sunday Times had the brilliant notion of publishing hers and three other lesbians' photographs despite the fact that they didn't have their consent. The Triangle Project has lashed out at the newspaper on the grounds that it could put the girls' lives in danger. Link.

Zanele Muholi - a community relations officer for 'Forum For the Empowerment of Women' - says that she has recorded no less than fifty rapes of lesbians living in townships in the last ten years. Homophobia put in place by social traditions and left to fester by churches, community leaders and indeed society as a whole, claims its victims on the streets of our townships every day.

South Africa will not be free until we can rid ourselves of this scourge. South Africans are being taunted, beaten, raped and murdered by other South Africans because of what they are. It is the same sort of primitive thinking that brought about segregation and Apartheid under the National Party. It is the same sort of primitive thinking that fuels the rhetoric and violence of organizations such as the AWB here or the Ku Klux Klan in America. It is absolutely and utterly deplorable and it honestly makes me feel sick to my stomach.

I call on anyone - religious leaders, community leaders, educators, politicians - anyone who can, to do something about the social illness that is homophobia. It is evil, it is disgusting and it is something we should have left behind with the other evils of our past.

"Penalties" for Driving Alone?!

2006-02-22T17:57:00.000+02:00

Our esteemed Minister of Transport, Jeff Radebe, (that "esteemed" title is becoming well-used as of late) has warned all us honest tax-paying citizens of the Republic of South Africa that he has something decidedly devious up his bureaucratic sleeve for those of us who, for whatever reason, use an automobile, on the roads we pay for, alone. Link.

He wants to penalise citizens who drive alone in their cars. Those evil people... Oh wait, he's talking about most commuters!!!!!!!!!! He's talking about me and maybe you!

How many people do you see driving to or from work alone? They're not doing it because they like air that smells like petroleum fumes; they're usually doing it because they have no choice! They live alone; the persons they do live with don't work with them; no one in their area works at the same place they do... It's bloody logical! The minister is probably chauffeured to work together with his bodyguard, but ordinary people don't always have such facilities available to them.

I commute in a Mazda 323 with four other people, but I understand that this isn't practical for everyone! I also *enjoy* having the right to drive out to the store to pick up a bottle of milk without dragging someone along with me!

And don't give me "bicycle" either. It's not practical for everyone, not everyone can do it, not everyone lives less than 5km from work! I'd like to see Jeff ride his bicycle to and from work everyday...

The minister is punishing citizens for his own screw-ups; his own failures to provide citizens with an effective public transport system or even an infrastructure that can effectively sustain the amount of automobiles people evidently need to use. Let's not beat around the bush... we all know why he's doing this.

Why can't the department build more roads?

The department blew all its money on the ****ing Gautrain!

Why can't the department improve public transport by providing a more effective bus and train system?

The department blew all its money on the ****ing Gautrain!

Yeah, now the ****ing Gautrain's problems start to filter down to their final recipients - the people. South Africa's aging road systems around its major centres are clogged with cars and the government can do nothing to improve the situation because it's put everything it has into this damn train between Pretoria and Johannesburg.

So the government follows another route - it starts to infringe on the basic rights of citizens in order to cover up for its own mistakes. Screw them.

Parliament and/or the courts had better act to protect citizens from these ridiculous, totalitarian proposals being hinted at by the Minister of Transport.

SA Blog Awards

2006-02-22T15:07:00.000+02:00

The nomination stage of 2006's SA Blog Awards are over and the voting stage has begun.

I'd like to thank anyone and everyone who nominated Moral Fiber - It's been nominated for Best Political Blog and Best Blog Established in 2005. :)

At least I know that someone other than my mother reads this stuff. (She probably didn't nominate me anyway.)

Anyway, be sure to head over to the SA Blog Awards site for the final stage of the voting. ;)

Holocaust Denial

2006-02-20T21:52:00.000+02:00

Yeah, I'm going to express an unpopular view. The "Holocaust Denial" laws of Austria and Germany are stupid.

The British "historian" (I use that term lightly) , David Irving, has been convicted of "Holocaust denial" in Austria and has therefore been sentenced to three years in prison there. He pleaded guilty to the charge, but maintained that he has changed his views since the speech and interview he gave in 1989 in which he denied that Auschwitz had ever used gas chambers as an execution mechanism. Link.

Now look, there is a reason free speech laws exist in free countries. If no one was ever going to be insulted by anything anyone else ever said, then you would not need them.

Free speech is one of those principles introduced to protect the rights of a weaker minority. It follows the same principles as a constitution, freedom of religion laws, freedom of association laws and freedom of thought laws. If everything was only ever going to be decided by the will of the moral majority, then we would not need to waste our time bothering to entrench laws in constitutions or introduce laws protecting anyone other than the majority. Fortunately, these are not the principles upon which a free country is built.

You know, whether you agree with it or not, many of those opposed to the free speech protections exercised on behalf of the newspapers and cartoonists of recent infamy, are going to see this as a bias against them and their religion or culture. It does look like Austria is sacrificing Muslim sensibilities in the name of free speech whilst they protect Jewish sensibilities with these special protections. I know that's not what Austria is doing, and it's much more complicated than that, but that is what it's going to look like to the biased observer. In other words, these hypocritical free speech measures in Europe aren't doing the West any favours.

That is not the core of the issue, however. Don't imagine that I'm pandering to Islamist interests; I'm not. The core of the issue is that free speech is being unjustifiably compromised by these laws, just as free speech in South Africa was unjustifiably compromised when the High Court brought an interdict against our newspapers not to publish the Mohammed Cartoons. Free speech is not just free when you agree with it - that's called hypocrisy.

It goes without saying that I disagree vehemently with those who deny the absolute truth of the Holocaust. Denying the Holocaust is like denying your own birth, it's so intellectually and morally bankrupt that it isn't worth a moment's intellectual consideration. That also isn't the point here, though.

“I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. - Voltaire

Freedom is not achieved when we silence people for the sake of fragile sensibilities. It does not matter who they are.

ACDP Hypocrisy

2006-02-18T19:26:00.000+02:00

The African Christian Democratic Party has apparently gone to the Constitutional Court to fight the IEC's ruling that it can't contest the Cape Town local government elections. Link.

They were disqualified from contesting the elections because they didn't pay the registration fee, or some such. Now hardly any political party is going to take such a thing on the cheek, it would be naive to think otherwise, but that's not really the issue here.

The issue is that, in 1996, the ACDP was the only South African political party which refused to recognize the South African Constitution and, by extension, the Constitutional Court's authority. The ACDP is the only party which doesn't explicitly recognize the specific functions of government, the role of the judiciary, the democratic process or, most importantly, the fundamental human rights laid out in our Constitution.

It's amazing how they go running to the CC when it's in their advantage, though, isn't it? Like the Nazi Party abusing the democratic system in early 20th century Germany, the ACDP abuses the organs of our judiciary which it itself has explicitly rejected in its manifesto. It rejected our Constitution, and yet it wishes to abuse it as a lever to get into power as soon as it's within its advantage to do so.

Worthless, two-faced hypocrites - all of them.

Spanish PM compared to Caligula

2006-02-17T14:39:00.000+02:00

A prominent Catholic bishop in Spain has compared the Prime Minister, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, to the infamous Roman emperor Caligula. Link.

For those who aren't great with ancient Roman history, Caligula is remembered today as one of Rome's worst, most tyrannical leaders. He was extravagant to the extreme, eccentric, depraved and extremely cruel. It is said that he appointed his horse as his chief consul, had incestuous relations with his sister, created a brothel featuring Senators' wives and even enjoyed his meals whilst watching people being executed. He was assassinated after a relatively short reign by his own bodyguards.

"If Zapatero wants to become Caligula, it's up to him. But without doubt, people will have to learn who Caligula was and what customs he imposed on Rome, it's as simple as that." - Bishop Algora

What could the poor man possibly have done to deserve comparison with such an infamous historical figure?

He supported the legalization of same sex marriage, of course.

Sometimes it's a refreshing wake-up call to see just how some people regard you as a human being. Maybe this will clear up doubt as to whether the Catholic Church is truly an organization of love or an organization of intolerance and hate.

"Allowing gay marriage is like imposing a virus on society - something false that will have negative consequences for social life." - Bishop Antonio Martinez Camino, 2004

Shortly after becoming Pope, Benedict XVI said that Spaniards (and presumably everyone) should be prepared to lose their job or break the law rather than adhere to laws which he regards as immoral.

Professing love and compassion whilst fanning the flames of global homophobia and intolerance... *spits*.

Health Ministry Fails Again

2006-02-13T21:08:00.000+02:00

Within any government, the department in charge of public health is supposed to look out for the general health of the country's citizens with diligence and without political, social or any other kind of arbitrary bias.

They are also supposed to know what the hell they are doing.

Our Department of Health has recently encouraged those who would rather use "traditional medicines" in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. I can't decide whether it's outright stupidity, a misguided sense of cultural protectionism or a hideous combination of the two. Link.

Now look, I'm all for doctors and scientists studying "traditional medicines" to see whether they actually do anything. If they do, then they should isolate the active ingredient and try to include it in a real medicine a real health professional can prescribe. Even a broken clock is right twice a day, but one should hardly be forced to gamble with one's life simply because one doesn't know better...

As I've stated before, I'm not for the destruction of everything someone considers important to their culture, but really... Medical care for a terminal disease is NOT legitimate CULTURE! Clothes are culture! Food is culture! Music is culture! "Traditional medicine" is a dangerous cultural anachronism which the Health Department should be discouraging!

Instead of educating people about HIV/AIDS and how to treat it, the Health Department has done the very opposite of what the taxpayers pay them to do! Instead of cautioning against the very obvious risks of seeking care AWAY from a health professional, it has essentially given the go-ahead to any poor sufferer of AIDS to eat or snort any damn thing a superstitious fraud gives them as a supposed "cure"!

The Health Department and that idiot Minister of Health have just sentenced uncountable more to their deaths.

Israel Recognizes Gays as Parents

2006-02-13T19:42:00.000+02:00

A first for the Middle-East, the Israeli judiciary has recognized two women as the joint parents of their three children.

Link.

It follows in the wake of a ruling, by the High Court of Justice, guaranteeing same-sex parents the same rights as opposite-sex ones.

Israel is essentially the only country in the region which even begins to recognize gays as equal citizens to heterosexuals. Indeed, the United Arab Emirates - a country often considered "the gateway to the Middle-East" (it's where Dubai is and it's also where our Deputy Prez flew the airforce's expensive jet to a month or two back) - jailed twelve men yesterday for the 'crime' of homosexuality. Link.

"Eleven men have confessed to practicing homosexuality."

They will face five years in prison for their 'crime', and may also be subject to forced hormone treatments.

They're actually quite lucky. Some countries in the region, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, impose torture and/or the death penalty on those perceived as homosexual.

Israel itself doesn't provide for marriage equality, or "civil partnerships", but there are cases currently being heard by the judiciary which may correct this discrepancy.

Maybe some Palestine supporters would do well to compare how Israel treats its own citizens to how most Muslim states do. It's hardly just homosexuals who suffer under the draconian impositions of Islamic law, but they're always an easy target.

Italian Atheist's Case Thrown Out

2006-02-10T19:00:00.000+02:00

Luigi Cascioli's case against a Catholic priest has been thrown out by an Italian Judge.

Cascioli alleged that the priest was misleading the public by claiming that Jesus Christ actually existed when there is no credible evidence to prove it.

He has vowed to appeal to the Italian High Court and then The Hague if necessary.

Ah well... It was fun while it lasted. We all knew Catholic Italy would never tolerate anything questioning Christianity.

Link.

Shot by Home Affairs...

2006-02-09T20:18:00.000+02:00

Just who the HELL is the Mpumalanga government employing?! Link.

Hazyview Home Affairs official, Jomo Maseko was sentenced to eight years in jail today for the unpremeditated murder of one David Mkhonto.

Apparently Mkhonto had applied for an ID book in December 2003. After an argument with Maseko about Mkhonto's nationality, Maseko apparently pulled a gun on Mkhonto and shot him in the throat!

So much for gun control and so much for the provincial government's employment methods!

I know you might feel like shooting YOURSELF if you've waited in Home Affairs for a few hours, but really... One wouldn't expect this.

I hope this tragic course of events was not helped along by shady governmental employee screening...

New Muslim Mini-Tantrum. Newspaper Article.

2006-02-07T21:39:00.000+02:00

At least it's not those damn cartoons again. Link.

South African 'Independent Newspapers' (which was prohibited from publishing the Mohammed Cartoons by a High Court interdict) has issued an apology to the "Muslim Judicial Council" for an article the Cape Argus published about the life and history of Mohammed.

The article was an historical piece which included boring details on the Prophet's life, such as where he was born and when he decided to do a remix of Abrahamism. It also mentions how he had a rather bad rep in Catholic Europe at the time, and included some quotes from Salman Rushdie's now infamous book, The Satanic Verses.

Anyway, something in the article must have got someone's turban in a bunch because the MJC decided to throws their toys out of the proverbial cot. They called for a general boycott of Independent Newspapers. I suppose we should be thankful they didn't decide to chuck a Molotov or two at their headquarters...

An opinion piece about Mohammed's boring life history gets blasted by these cry babies for "insulting them". Don't they think Mohammed was a real person? Did he piss perfume and shit Turkish Delight now too? Are all five billion of us non-Muslims supposed to sit quietly and politely and listen to the rantings of some old religious nutcase postulating on his ancient, politically biased and hopelessly mis-translated religious creed? No. The most influential man in history (according to the numbers) is someone we should learn about outside of the damn Koran. Knowledge is power, but faulty knowledge is useless.

South African newspapers are violating their duty to the South African people by pandering to these abusers of political correctness and exploiters of the current international situation. They did nothing wrong, and yet they are almost banging down the MJC's door to be the first there to apologize.

It's almost like the High Court punishing our newspapers before they could even get a chance to publish the cartoons. Almost - only not so bad because at least it isn't our tax money paying for censorship.

Blasphemy!

2006-02-06T22:05:00.000+02:00

Charge the Mohammed Cartoonists with blasphemy! Link.

No... I'm not really suggesting it.

Some rather clever religious and political leaders in the Middle-East are, though.

I do not share the same agenda as these people, but I do admire their perception in this matter. Instead of throwing a Molotov cocktail at an embassy (or encouraging someone impressionable to do it), they've actually applied some lateral thinking to the problem, and may well have caught Europe by the proverbial testes.

Denmark, Norway, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Austria and Poland all have laws prohibiting "blasphemy". They define "blasphemy" slightly differently, but all these countries would seem to protect deities, religion in general or prominent religious figures from criticism or insult.

Naturally, these laws have usually been on the books for donkey's years and are hardly ever used nowadays, but they are still there.

Personally I see this as an opportunity for these countries to finally rid themselves of these stupid, antiquated laws all together. Show the Middle-East that you don't reserve these "blasphemy" laws solely to protect Christianity; show them that you aren't religious hypocrites.

Get rid of these ridiculous laws and demonstrate the free world's overriding point of argument in this matter. One's right to freedom of expression is more important, in a secular society, than the fragile sensibilities of the superstitious.

If Europe does not abolish these obsolete statutes, they will be giving their opponents what they want. They want to make Europe look like a bunch of hypocritical Christians.

M&G Editor Receives Threats

2006-02-06T19:21:00.000+02:00

Link.

This is over the Mohammed Cartoons, of course.

Ferial Haffajee, the Mail & Guardian's editor, has said that she has been receiving threatening letters and text messages in relation to the M&G's publishing of one of the ill-begotten Mohammed Cartoons on Friday. Apparently her poor old mother has even been receiving phone calls... These people have no class.

Apparently the M&G was one of the few big papers which wasn't gagged by the High Court's decision to violate our rights of freedom of expression and freedom to information when they granted an interdict on behalf of Muslim interest groups.

Commentary and 'It's Almost Supernatural' have also covered the interdict itself in detail.

Mizz Haffajee, herself a Muslim, says that she has even received threats by certain groups to march to the newspaper's offices in Johannesburg. No more detail is given, but it might be paranoid to expect them to simply hold up placards once they got there. If they were to follow the example of other protestors around the world, things might get broken...

Speaking of which, the ridiculous response to these stupid cartoons has claimed its first human victims. Five people have died in protests in Afghanistan, two of them at an American military base. A teenage boy was also killed in Somalia when protests turned violent and police were forced to intervene. Link.

I think it has reached the point when no one can hide behind the naive assumption that those damn Danish cartoons caused all of this.

There have been new attacks on the Danish and Austrian embassies in Iran; Iran's government is severing trade with Denmark (probably would happen anyway, sooner or later); Danish and US consulates have been attacked in Indonesia and a general strike has been called in protest in Kashmir. All of this yesterday or today, mind you...

This is quite clearly a problem that has been brewing for a very long time; the cartoons were just a spark to the powder. Similar, smaller, effects were observed after the alleged "Flushing of the Noble Koran" last year (which turned out to be a hoax anyway...)

It is simply another example of radical Islamists whipping Muslims into a frenzy of hate against the West. Now the bastards have blood on their hands and they are responsible for causing even further damage to the extremely stressed relations between the West and the Muslim world.

I actually feel really sorry for those Muslims who aren't buying the Islamists' bullshit - people like the M&G's editor, it sounds like. They are having their culture and their religion dragged through the mud once more by the deplorable actions of Islamo-fascists. It might be hard to pinpoint what these maniacs are trying to achieve with their hate-mongering, but what they will achieve is greater hate and mistrust being germinated between Muslim and non-Muslim.

"They want to know whether Muslims are extremists or not. Death to them and to their newspapers,"

Catholic Church stands with lslamists

2006-02-04T19:54:00.000+02:00

Predictably almost, our good friend the Catholic Church has decided to side with the Islamists, and other enemies of free expression, to condemn the Mohammed Cartoons (that's what they'll be called in the history textbooks about World War III) . Link.

"The right to freedom of thought and expression ... cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers."

Bullshit, Caesar.

Whether the cartoons themselves are clever or funny is neither here nor there. They aren't in very good taste, but then that's irrelevant too.

Freedom of Expression is exactly that: freedom of expression. We would not have free speech laws if we didn't need them; we would not have instituted them if all we ever wanted to hear is what we agree with.

A government which recognizes freedom of speech is one which recognizes the legitimacy of other people's opinions - regardless of what those opinions are. Such a government protects one's right to voice an opinion and leaves it up to those bearing witness to the opinion whether they should agree with it or not. Such a government does not protect any organization from criticism - this is especially poignant for religions! As soon as an idea, philosophy or belief becomes protected from criticism, it becomes devoid of practical value by default! Criticism is how thinking moves forward - how ideas evolve - in the free world.

Governments which would prevent the media from publishing such cartoons are acting on behalf of religionists to force Islam upon those who are not Muslim! It is not a practical law to ban making an image of an historical figure, it is an exclusively Islamic law which clearly has no place in a free society.

Perhaps religion cannot survive these moral codes being effectively and universally enforced? Perhaps we'd all be better off as a result.

It is truly unfortunate that the South African judiciary has seen fit to injure freedom of speech as it has in its interdict against South African newspapers. We can only hope that sanity will prevail before this great embarrassment in the eyes of the free world is exacerbated any further.

The Vatican did condemn the violent protests by Muslims in parts of the Middle-East, incidentally. Recently, the Norwegian and Danish embassies in Syria were set alight by huge crowds of protestors. Link.

"The offense caused by a single person or an organ of the press cannot be blamed on the public institutions of the relevant country."

At least they got something right. Also, the racial group to which an "offender" belongs (Scandinavians in this case) cannot be punished for the actions of the "offender". But then we're all just evil Franks to the Islamists anyway...

In other news, those responsible for publishing the cartoons in a Jordanian newspaper have, predictably, been arrested. Those of us lucky enough to live in a (relatively) free country can only express our solidarity verbally, knowing full well that those persecuted would probably never be allowed, by their government, to hear of it. Link.

SA Free Speech Compromised

2006-02-04T14:09:00.000+02:00

A court interdict has been granted on the behalf of "Jamiat-ul Ulama of Transvaal" to prevent our Sunday newspapers from publishing the infamous Jyllands-Posten Mohammad cartoons which have caused so much consternation within certain Muslim populations around the world.

The cartoons can be seen in all their dubious glory here.

The interdict, granted on the grounds of the cartoons allegedly being "deeply offensive", was sought by JUT against Johncom Media (includes the Sunday Times), Independent Newspapers and some others after they refused to indicate to the group what course of action they were going to take regarding the publication of the cartoons.

This is truly an embarrassing day for the South African judiciary, who evidently regard the religious position of a minority as more important than the universal South African rights of freedom to information and freedom of expression.

"We believe that if we were to have given an undertaking not to publish, we would invite similar demands and threats from anyone who felt offended by the stories we publish."

"No credible newspaper can be held to ransom by the beliefs of a section of a population."

"We are obliged to reflect the world that we live in - not just a part of it - for the benefit of all our readers. We must uphold the right to publish without fear or favour."

- Mondli Makhanya, Sunday Times editor.

Link

Language Issues in the SANDF

2006-01-30T22:27:00.000+02:00

The FFP and the DA have both pounced on military judge Lieutenant Colonel Mbulelo Mandela for allegedly insulting Afrikaans as a language. (Link)

Unfortunately for these opposition parties, I don't think their complaints are going to stand up.

Exact quote:

"... I must say it on record that to me it is disgusting that at this time and age we still find official correspondence or official communication in Afrikaans..."

The Lieutenant Colonel does not call Afrikaans disgusting. He calls the continued use of it within official SANDF correspondence disgusting.

I'm not going to second-guess Mandela's true feelings on the matter, but this particular comment is rather ambiguous. He could very well be implying that what is disgusting is a failure to migrate all official documents and correspondence to English - the SANDF's official operating language - in regards to slow administration, failure to abide by official protocols or any other procedural failure on the part of those SANDF members he feels are responsible.

It may not make itself most felt in a legal environment, but there is a very good reason the military only uses one official language. As I'm sure most can imagine, many of the tasks the SANDF is designed for require extremely good communication on the part of its members. The use of a non-standard language within official protocol undermines the SANDF's ability to communicate amongst itself effectively. Without effective communication, a military force is worth nothing in a combat or civilian-assistance deployment role.

The FFP and DA are just crying wolf here. The Lieutenant Colonel could choose his words more prudently, but I sincerely doubt he has done anything illegal in this instance.

Libya closes Denmark Embassy

2006-01-30T21:10:00.000+02:00

Some cartoons in a Danish newspaper have apparently rattled the collective cage of every self-righteous imam (and his band of seething zealots) between the Atlas Mountains and the Ganges river. Well, that's the impression you get from the stink that's being kicked up, at any rate. (Link)

The cartoons apparently depict the mythical Muslim prophet 'Mohammed' several times. I'm not sure on details beyond that, but I hear-tell some of them may have nastily depicted him as a terrorist in classic Hamas/Al-Qaeda/Taliban style.

NOTE: I say "mythical" because, although he probably existed, qualities attributed to him in the Koran and other Islamic scripture are impossible. Preying on trade caravans between Medina and Mecca a holy prophet of God does not make...

At any rate, it's apparently not nice to depict the old man in any fashion whatsoever, derogatory or otherwise. Maybe he was the medieval equivalent of being photo shy? Who knows. I don't really see why some Muslim folk are getting so upset with the Danes, though. A quick Google Image search for Mohammed brings up thousands of results - not all of the prophet himself, naturally, but many are. The image for this post is, and it isn't from the Danish newspaper in case you were wondering. (It's from American Atheists.)

Personally I don't think that drawing pictures of Mohammed as a terrorist is very witty or clever - it's just insensitive and crude - but that's not what the issue is here. Instead of having a bitch-session after Friday prayers, moaning in Islam Weekly or mailing the newspaper's headquarters a dead fish, Islamists have laid the blame on the Danish government!

Libya has gone to the extreme of closing its Danish embassy. Saudi Arabia hasn't gone that far (yet), but they have had words with the Danish ambassador there and might well yet do something drastic.

What these Islamist theocrats don't seem to grasp is the simple fact that the Danish government does not have a knife to the proverbial throat of the media, as the Islamists do in their own theocracies. Unlike Islam-as-law, a free secular society, such as Denmark, respects its citizen's rights to Freedom of Religion (that includes freedom from religion) and the right to Free Speech.

What that means is that someone can say (or draw) whatever the hell they want about anyone's religion, so long as they don't try to prevent that person from practicing it or, in some cases, try to incite violence from others against that person or that person's religious group.

It's very telling of a nation's collective feeling of security when it feels a compulsive need to inflict its own twisted form of theocratic morality upon those living in a free country thousands of miles away. It's even more telling when a nation appears both shocked and angered when the government of the free country refuses to inflict the primitive regime's brutality upon its own citizens on their own behalf.

To it's eternal credit, the government of Denmark has steadfastly refused to get involved in the matter. Evidently, it considers its own principles more important than diplomatic relations with terrorist and theocratic states. It is truly refreshing to see, and I only hope Denmark (or the EU) doesn't compromise its citizens human rights in this matter.

No, I don't think Islamophobic cartoons are particularly clever or funny. I do, however, respect the basic human right to air one's opinion, even if it is a misinformed or ignorant opinion.

I really hope this doesn't go the way of Salman Rushdie or the late Theo Van Gogh.

Smoking Kills...

2006-01-27T15:53:00.000+02:00

Link

The mountain fire in Cape Town has killed a British tourist and injured several other people on the slopes of Table Mountain and surrounding hills...

The cause of the fire has apparently been linked to a cigarette dropped by another British tourist out his car window. He has been charged with arson and may also be charged with culpable homicide. He was apparently released on bail for a hefty sum, but he has had his passport confiscated and has been ordered to "stay put". The police are going to follow up.

Cape Town owes much to its firefighters, who eventually managed to battle the blaze to a stalemate early this morning. Ordinary men and women doing their (underpaid) job like everyone else, but Cape Town would be royally screwed if it weren't for their efforts on the mountain last night. The term "hero" gets thrown around a lot these days, but I think it really fits the bill for these guys.

Maybe this tragic course of events will lead to tougher laws against people carelessly discarding potential fire starters. All it takes is one lit cigarette for things like this to happen.

US sides with Dictatorships

2006-01-24T21:20:00.000+02:00

On what issue could Iran, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, the People's Republic of China and the United States of America possibly agree?

Preventing an LGBT voice in the United Nations.

The International Lesbian and Gay Association as well as the Danish Association of Gays and Lesbians had applied for membership within the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It is an advisory body to the UN General Assembly which helps mediate on a wide variety of issues, including human rights. As an advisory body, it is composed largely of NGOs.

The aforementioned nations all voted to prevent the two organizations' application to even get a hearing.

Funny how conservatives in the US and the rest of the world find so much to disagree about economically, but when it comes to human rights; they're one big happy family.

Link

Anglicans Support Nigerian Discrimination

2006-01-23T12:52:00.000+02:00

In case you thought it was the evil influence of Islam (tongue in cheek, heh) that was solely responsible for the recent introduction of Apartheid-style laws in Nigeria, think again.

The Anglican Communion in Nigeria has vocally added its full support for the new draconian measures imposed against homosexual, bisexual and transgender people.

Link

Just a reminder: the new laws "ban" same sex marriage (I'm still not entirely sure what this involves), and also ban any LGBT-oriented groups, advocacy or otherwise. It's similar to how the Apartheid government in South Africa used to ban certain groups fighting for racial equality, such as the ANC. In Nigeria's northern Sharia states, homosexuality is punishable with death by stoning.

Here's a quote by the Reverend Tunde Popoola:

"The Anglican church in Nigeria has been in the forefront of condemning the attitude because the church sees it as an aberration, in other words, we see it as against the norm. We see it as an abomination."

And they'll know we are Christians by our love!

Anglican bishops in Nigeria made headlines last year when they split from the Church's international headquarters in Canterbury, England, over the Communion's generally more accepting views of homosexual people. The Communion even appointed an openly homosexual man as a bishop in the United States. Bishop Gene Robinson has become something of a figurehead among non-heterosexual Christians struggling to find acceptance within their generally hostile faith.

It is truly saddening to see the two great faiths of Nigeria united in their hatred for people who are different from the norm. I've never had much sympathy for religion in general, but perhaps I had naively expected something more from the Anglicans.

I'd repeat the plea to our own government to condemn the clear violations of human rights perpetrated by the incumbent head of the African Union, but I've learnt that it achieves as much simply not to bother. They are, after all, considering allowing Sudan to succeed Nigeria.

Jesus Debate

2006-01-22T21:45:00.000+02:00

There was a debate on SABC2 earlier tonight discussing whether the story of Jesus was myth or not.

I only tuned in about half-way through, but it didn't look as though things were progressing at a very intellectual level. Most of the arguments directed back at the non-Christian position seemed to be of the "Jesus said in the Bible..." variety. There was even some idiot hippy in the audience who managed to equate the whole business with the Jacob Zuma saga... That particular piece of verbal gymnastics was quite something to behold.

I'm thankful when I can deal with Christian apologetics that don't consist solely of Biblical quotes and/or massive emotional appeals to one's sense of guilt or fear of death.

One intelligent member of the audience suggested that Africans should evaluate Christianity in an historical context - that of an oppressive European cultural ideal infecting Africa on a massive scale. She pointed out that we should look at who, exactly, wrote the Bible and how their personal agenda may have interfered with the transferal of the "inerrant word of God".

It should be elementary to all but the most simple-minded. A false belief system which sounds nice and enjoys massive support is still that. False.

It's a simple challenge. Give no automatic favour to your own beliefs... then compare them to every other religion out there and ask why you follow your god and not theirs.

Nigeria to Ban Gay Meetings

2006-01-19T18:37:00.000+02:00

Africa's most populous country has gone even further down the road of inequality and human rights abuse.

Legislation is being considered which would make illegal any protests for gay rights as well as any organization which stands up for LGBT rights in Nigeria. These measures echo hauntingly of similar laws passed in South Africa under Apartheid, but intended to prevent anti-racism meetings.

The same legislation would also punish any man or woman who takes part in a "gay wedding". It would punish anyone to officiate said "wedding" as well. I'm not sure if this punishes mock weddings (since Nigeria obviously doesn't have marriage equality), real marriages in other countries or both. Regardless, the "offenders" would face up to five years in prison for it.

Twelve of Nigeria's northern states have already fallen under the influence of Islamic Sharia. Sharia is a brutal system of laws and punishments apparently derived from ancient Islamic scripture... Among a myriad of other "offences", Sharia punishes homosexuality with death by stoning. Over a dozen people have apparently been sentenced to death, in Nigeria, for homosexuality, but none of the alleged sentences have been carried out yet.

It's generally accepted that the African Union is a useless dog with no teeth when it comes to human rights abuses on the continent... Indeed, South Africa is one of very few African countries with a human rights record that doesn't make one want to vomit.

One always holds out some hope that South Africa will condemn these atrocities committed elsewhere on our continent, and one is always disappointed with the government's hypocrisy and human rights doublespeak.

Sometimes I really wish the Mbeki regime had some teeth in its limp foreign policy.

Link.

Australia Prevents Citizens Marrying Overseas...

2006-01-18T21:32:00.000+02:00

Australia is not a very enlightened nation. I guess the ex-pat South Africans who weren't impressed with this country's liberation had to have seen something in the place when they all disappeared off there.

It's strange when one compares Australia to Canada... How different two nations in union with the British crown can be. Maybe if the Tories win Canada's upcoming federal election, it will go the way of Australia...

Anyway, it goes without saying that Australia does not provide marriage equality to its citizens. Alright, so hardly anywhere does and we still haven't implemented it yet, so maybe we can let that one slide.

The Aussie Prime minister, John Howard, said in a statement that he would never consider introducing marriage equality to Australia and that his party would be opposed to it. Several members within his supposedly liberal party vocally disagreed with him on this, though.

A more disturbing development is Australia's recent instructions to its foreign embassies to DENY appropriate certificates to Australian citizens attempting to marry members of the same sex overseas. You see, if you want to get married in a country of which you aren't a citizen, you need to get a certificate from your own country's government saying that you aren't already married. Many states would refuse to marry you if you cannot produce this certificate. (Link)

It has been revealed that Australian embassies in Canada, The Netherlands and elsewhere have been refusing these certificates to people they know are with a partner of the same sex. So now Australia won't even let its citizens get a legally recognized marriage in another country...

Personally, I find this absolutely disgusting. Don't forget that one of the best ways to gain citizenship of many countries is to marry someone from that country. If Australia prevents its citizens from marrying overseas, then it is effectively providing an obstacle to emigration... Like the Soviet Union or East Germany used to love to do.

Here's a scenario for you... It's usually extremely difficult to get citizenship in the United States if you aren't actually born there... One of the best ways to do it is to marry an American citizen.

Assume that Joe from Sydney is madly in love with Bob from Boston. They want to live together forever and the whole shebang...

They want to get married, of course, and the best place to do this would be in Massachusetts, USA where it is fully recognized. Unfortunately, Joe is unable to secure the required paperwork from the Australian embassy in the US because the Aussie embassy does a proverbial genital check of you and your partner in these situations... They force Canberra's twisted sense of morality down your throat from across the Pacific!

So now Joe and Bob are unable to marry in the US. Not only that, but Joe may well have difficulty securing Visas from the US because immigration is worried that the relationship between Joe and Bob might cause Joe to overstay his tourist Visa...

I think you get the point.

I'm sure Australia is violating some kind of international law or convention with these disgusting new policies... It's one thing to abuse the human rights of people within your country. It is another thing entirely to hound them across the globe to do it...

More Christian Love...

2006-01-15T22:14:00.000+02:00

In its campaign for the mayor's seat of Cape Town, the African Christian Democratic Party has said that it will "make Cape Town an efficiently run, world-class, God-friendly city, instead of a poorly run, gay-friendly city whose political leadership lacks credibility and does not care about the needs of its own staff, nor the people of Cape Town." (Link)

It's amazing how these people merrily preach hatred against the persecuted homosexual community and then leap to defend another persecuted group in the next breath...

"We cry with our people who continue to suffer because of racism, greed, fraud and corruption which is rife and reaching uncontrollable levels in the City of Cape Town."

I wonder if the ACDP realises just how much it sounds like the old National Party...

"I was in the ANC until God took over in my life. Now, I realise I must honour Him in politics, too."

For the sake of our country and constitution, I hope this 'god' doesn't hijack any more of our politicians' lives...

MDC Fractured Even Further...

2006-01-14T17:33:00.000+02:00

Five top MDC officials have filed a defamation lawsuit against Morgan Tsvangirai worth 100 billion Zimbabwean Dollars (R58 million). (Link)

They claim that Tsvangirai accused them of plotting his assassination when he said to foreign diplomats that elements within his party were planning to "eliminate" him.

The rivalry within Zimbabwe's main opposition party goes back to the Zimbabwean Senate elections last year which Tsvangirai wanted to boycott and the party's vice president, Gibson Sibanda, wanted to contend. Sibanda defied Tsvangirai's orders and managed to win the MDC 7 of the 66 senate seats.

It's really sad that Zimbabwe's only hope for democratic change seems to have destroyed itself with internal power struggles...

If the MDC splits, it will be overs for opposition in Zimbabwe. We can only hope that the struggle between Tsvangirai and Sibanda is resolved without a physical split in the party. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem likely.

So Now Our Blood Isn't Good Enough...

2006-01-14T09:38:00.000+02:00

The South African National Blood Service recently announced its intention to ban sexually active homosexuals from donating blood. (Link)

To be more specific, the organization will ask male potential donors whether they've had sex with another man in the previous five years. It does not matter whether it was with their husband or twenty people at a sex club... It does not matter whether it was protected with a condom or otherwise... Their blood shall be banned.

The SANBS has been in hot water on previous occasions for using race to judge whether someone's blood was good enough. Up until about last year, the organization either banned black people from donating blood or else destroyed it after donation. In an ironic and revealing display, it destroyed President Thabo Mbeki's blood that he had donated in a presidential visit to the blood bank.

Is it really any wonder that the blood bank is so often suffering from chronic shortages?

The apparent rationale behind the SANBS's discriminatory policies is a desire to reduce the likelihood of the HIV virus finding its way into the blood supply. Aside from being obviously racist, homophobic and generally bigoted at face value, the organization's policies don't even make sense...

The race thing was retarded to begin with... They were not only slapping every black South African in the face, but they were eliminating how big a percentage of potential donors? No, that had to go.

The gay thing is just as retarded. Yes, unprotected anal sex is a dangerous way to spread HIV. However, it is an absolute myth that all gay people engage in unprotected anal sex and just as fallacious to assume that no heterosexual people do. If the SANBS is so concerned about unprotected anal sex, then it should screen donors for exactly that! "Have you had unprotected anal sex in the last five years?" is a world away from, "Have you had sex with another man in the last five years?"

The SANBS's discriminatory policies are clearly homophobic and prejudicial. They do not rely on hard scientific facts, but rather common stereotypes of gay men. While such policies may be accepted in places where people enjoy less equality than we do, they clearly have no place in the new South Africa.

It should be noted that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance has organized a massive blood donation push by its members in response to the SANBS's announcement.

Gay Music?

2006-01-11T12:27:00.000+02:00

Sony Music recently announced their intention to launch a major record label dedicated to "nurturing lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gendered artists". Link.

I don't know about creating a record label targeting gay people in particular... If you get 'gay' music, then do you also get 'straight' music? What type of genre is gay music? One immediately brings to mind the horrors of bouncy 80's pop... "It's Raining Men!" must certainly be mentioned...

Elton John must be up there as well, but is his music still 'gay', even though it enjoyed such mainstream appeal?

Is 'gay' music anything that is performed by homosexual artists? What about classic heavy metal? It is a well known fact that Rob Halford, of Judas Priest fame, is homosexual. Does this make him, and Judas Priest's, music 'gay'?

Judas Priest was incredibly influential in the hard rock and metal genres... Does this make all hard rock and metal 'gay' in some way?

Is gay music anything that is enjoyed by gay people? Well... personally I'm partial to rock and metal. Gee... a lot of straight people are too. (Sigh)

Gay clubs, organizations and social groups are one thing. There are obvious reasons for why a gay person would want to specifically associate with other gay people. There are also issues facing homosexuals that are more effectively dealt with in a group, e.g. homophobia and discrimination. I really don't see the logic in things like specifically branded "gay music", though.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe efforts like these actually help...

However, in a world where we have 'gay' music, 'gay' cars, 'gay' art, 'gay' food and 'gay' video games; that's it... I'm back in the closet. The "Net Moffies!" mentality gets a bit tired after a while...

Italian Priest Taken to Court

2006-01-05T13:57:00.000+02:00

Father Enrico Righi has been hauled into court by an Italian author for allegedly 'abusing' his 'popular credulity' - a crime in Italy.

Luigi Cascioli is the author of the book, "The Fable of Christ", which argues that there is no evidence for Jesus Christ's existence; messiah or otherwise. Father Righi allegedly criticized the book in a parish newsletter, citing alleged secular evidence for Jesus' existence - evidence which Signor Cascioli says is invalid. He is now arguing that Father Righi is misleading the people with his claims about Jesus' existence.

The irony of the whole affair is that it's happening in Italy. This is the same country that demands a huge crucifix hung in every courtroom! No Italian politician says boo or bah to the Church... Getting in good with the Church is something that is almost essential for a successful political career. This is why Italy is particularly backward when it comes to things such as equal rights for homosexuals, euthanasia, abortion etc.

A judge refused to hear Cascioli's case at an initial hearing, but this was overruled by an appeals court which has said that the case can go ahead.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. The Vatican hasn't commented yet, but they're likely to exercise a lot of pressure on their pet Italian government with this. Imagine the precedent that will be set if Cascioli wins...

Link

Umukola

2005-12-29T01:30:00.000+02:00

"It's a very old disease which we call umukola. It can be caused by people bewitching each other, or be passed from a dead man's wife to his family. It is easy to diagnose and treat but everything depends on how long the ghost has been in the body."

So claims Chishimba Kilimanjaro; a prominent 'traditional healer' from the Congo. He is referring to what most doctors diagnose as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS. Link.

As another year draws to a close, one feels compelled to examine just how far South Africa has progressed with the challenges facing our young democracy in the 21st century. Among those challenges, AIDS ranks pretty high. According to UNAids.org, 5.3 million South Africans were infected with AIDS at the end of 2003. This is the highest number of AIDS sufferers in any country in the world. Link.

Go ahead; ask any South African. AIDS is here and it is real. People die from it. People die from it in their millions. Black, white, male, female, young, old, rich, poor... it kills them all.

So, just how far have we progressed?

Well, our esteemed Minister of Health still hasn't budged from her famous garlic-and-olive-oil cure scheme. She is still adamant that anti-retroviral drugs do more harm than they do good. Despite Lesotho, Nigeria and a number of other (often desperately poor) African countries following the advice of the experts and providing their citizens with the drugs, South Africa still behaves as though there's nothing wrong. It is this sort of behaviour that provoked condemnation from the United Nations earlier this year. Link.

You honestly wouldn't think that a disease like AIDS could possibly still be causing the harm that it is. All it takes is a little bit of common sense and exercise of basic safety for the disease to fade away! Don't have sex with half the village, and if you must, use a condom! It's that simple.

Or at least it should be...

Tragically, the AIDS pandemic is another example of how basic common sense is a skill exercised by very few...

Maybe we should start with the good old Catholic Church. The Church of about a billion members worldwide still refuses to advocate condoms as a viable means of preventing AIDS. Citing their own antiquated traditions, they justify the deaths of millions with the claim that they are preventing at least a few people from taking part in the unspeakably terrible act of non-procreative sex! Considering the massive influence and resources that the Church controls in many parts of Africa, their refusal to help is tantamount to culpable homicide. Link.

Then there's the para-scientific, conspiracy bunch who claim that the Human Immune Virus (the virus which causes AIDS) does not even exist. One can forgive the aluminium-hat-wearing, Republicans-killed-JFK, bombs-in-the-WTC, crowd for harbouring a few strange ideas, but when our own President and Health Ministry come out with this crap it is most disturbing. Who are we voting for? Are these people doing what's best for our country? Link.

the biggest problem in Africa, though, is the huge number of people who are completely ignorant of disease in general. The sort of people who would rather believe that someone has cursed them or that their great aunt is haunting their stomach when, in fact, all they have is gastric influenza. The sort of people who eagerly lap up the horseshit fed to them by so-called 'traditional healers' like Chishimba Kilimanjaro.

I'm all for protecting and celebrating African history, culture and heritage. I'm all for preserving a living memory of the old days and keeping the spirit of Africa alive. I'm am not, however, supportive of protecting quacks and frauds who are out there deceiving, hurting and killing people with their baseless, fear-driven superstition.

Maybe with education and the passage of time, more people will start to behave like adults. I wonder how many people will have to die before we get there, though.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T20:08:00.000+02:00

Merry Christmas, happy Hanukah, happy Yule, happy Solstice, happy Festivus... Whatever excuse you're using this year.

'Christmas' is what this festive season generally gets called in South Africa. It's supposed to be the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ as described in biblical scripture.

Personally, I'm not so sure a man called Jesus Christ ever lived. I'm not one to believe people who justify themselves by saying "We're always right."

But let's assume here that the Western world's most famous person did exist. How much do we actually know about him? Up until the Protestant Reformation in Europe after the Renaissance, all Western Christians believed exactly what their parish priest told them to believe. After the Reformation, 'Protestants' started believing exactly what their local preacher told them. Little changed. Jesus has always been viewed as a rather shallow, one-dimensional character who led an extremely pious, chaste life in accordance with a rigid system of morality that only came to be accepted hundred of years after his death... It seems a little odd to me.

I'm sure many with a semblance of an imagination have toyed with the idea that Jesus Christ may actually have been an active homosexual.. He did, after all, live with twelve men. The only woman he was ever close to seems to have been his mother... There was also that foot-fetish thing at the last supper...

Anyway, several people with much firmer grips on ancient scripture have similar ideas.

Rev. Theodore Jennings Jr. of the Methodist church and Dr. (presumably of theology) Morton Smith are two well known biblical scholars who think that Jesus was almost certainly homosexual or bisexual. Dr. Rollan McCleary of the University of Queensland, Australia, says that he's found evidence that three of Jesus' disciples were gay.

Dr. Smith alleges that a piece of ancient scripture he found at the Mar Saba monastery near Jerusalem describes how Jesus formed a sexual relationship with a (male) youth he raised from the dead. The fragment is apparently part of the full text of Mark which was omitted from the Gospel of Mark in the bible. It slots in between chapters 34 and 35.

Here's an excerpt:

"And the youth, looking upon him (Jesus), loved him and beseeched that he might remain with him. And going out of the tomb, they went into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days, Jesus instructed him and, at evening, the youth came to him wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the Kingdom of God".

That's certainly a lot more interesting than the rest of the Gospel of Mark... Even if it may or may not border on necrophilia...

Other theologians argue that the "disciple Jesus loved" in the Gospel of John may well have been... something more than commonly assumed. Also, it is thought by some that the relationship between the Centurion and his 'servant', whom Jesus healed, was a lot more than 9-to-5 and a weekly wage for cleaning out the kitchen and polishing the Centurion's caligulae...

Dr. McCleary argues that Jesus was definitely gay and that Christianity itself was based on 'gay principles'. He says that, "Christianity needs to recognize its homosexual roots and abandon the practice of alienating gays and spreading homophobia."

Classic.

The Vatican, meanwhile, has denounced this research as "heretical" (their term, not mine.) Obviously they don't have to believe anything anyone else thinks, since they're following an "inerrant" pope. Criticism has also come from many conservative Protestant denominations.

Link

Anyway, I'm not so irresponsible to suggest that one should believe anything written in ancient scripture, but it certainly is food for thought.

Again, Happy Holidays. Try not to kill yourself on our nation's insane national roads.

Iran bans 'Western' music...

2005-12-19T22:28:00.000+02:00

This is how these things go, I guess; theocratic dictatorships controlling every living moment of their slave-citizens lives.

Link

I guess Mahmoud feels threatened by things that make people happy...

Anyway, if you live in Iran, you can now only listen to music that ol' Mahmoud thinks is appropriate for good little Muslim-slaves. It reminds me vaguely of the movie "Good Morning Vietnam!" Except that this is a whole country and it's for real...

It actually is very unfortunate. Marilyn Manson's "The Last Day on Earth" would be the perfect soundtrack to Mahmoud's imminent nuclear Armageddon on Tel Aviv. I guess Mahmoud would rather hear a joyous Islamic hymn of praise, or something.

Maybe they'll make an exception for the infidels, apostates and kaffirs. Maybe they'll let them play AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" as they march them into the gas chambers...

US Military Spying on Gays

2005-12-16T19:43:00.000+02:00

A supposedly secret Pentagon document was somehow leaked to NBC News recently. I don't know how exactly, but we ARE talking about the US Military of the 21st century here...

Anyway, the document apparently reveals that DOD investigators have been keeping a watchful eye on many of the protests launched by LGBT groups at various universities around the US. Many American gays are opposed to the Military's policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

That is; the Military's policy of discrimination against openly gay people.

The leaked documents reveal that the DOD has been collecting information on various protestors and their vehicles; apparently looking for "links" between the various protests.

The document lists the "kissing" demonstration at U-C Santa Cruz, that occurred earlier this year, as a "credible" threat.

Yup. Never mind terrorism, Islamic extremism or anything like that... Uncle Sam is worried about gays kissing each other at a university.

These guys put the "phobia" in homophobia.

I just hope that the Bush administration is out before someone decides to drop a smart bomb on a high school LGBT club...

Link

'Quiet Diplomacy' paying off? Right....

2005-12-13T16:22:00.000+02:00

The South African, who was arrested in Zimbabwe a year ago for running an espionage ring in the country, was released today and flown back to South Africa. (Link)

'Aubrey Welkin' was arrested last year in Victoria Falls after falling prey to a trap set by the Zimbabwean Central Intelligence Organization. He was apparently about to go into Zambia to meet with a Zimbabwean source.

Shortly after his arrest, investigators cracked down on six members of ZANU-PF and accused them of spying for South Africa. Five were arrested and one managed to escape via Switzerland. It was surmised by the Zimbabweans that Mbeki's government was trying to keep tabs on ZANU-PF internal affairs and perhaps instigate change from within the party.

Anyway, everyone's favourite Minister of Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils, has flown off to Harare to fetch the alleged spy.

Apparently, some "analysts" are viewing Welkin's release as a sign that our government's policy of "Quiet Diplomacy" with the Mugabe government is finally starting to pay off. Seriously; they are scraping the bottom of the barrel. If the return of one alleged spy is all that can be shown for "Quiet Diplomacy", then it really is a sick joke.

Zimbabwean human rights abuses have not stopped, governmental abuses have not abated, no fewer Zimbabweans are starving, the Zimbabwean economy isn't getting any better and elections sure as hell haven't become any more "free and fair".

I can scarcely believe that proponents of "Quiet Diplomacy" are actually parading Aubrey Welkin's release around as though it were anything vaguely resembling their redemption. Zimbabwe is not in a position to withhold anything or anyone from South Africa. We are their most powerful friend, their only ally worth anything and the ones most able to do something about their corrupt government! Tragically, our government has proven to the world that it lacks the moral fiber and the courage to do anything about the dying neighbor on our doorstep. Now they're lauding the release of a single South African citizen as though it were definitive proof that everything's hunky-dory and that pretending that the problem doesn't exist is perfectly fine.

Sickening.

To add to the fun, the same comedians that think "Quiet Diplomacy" is working added that the Welkin affair is how intelligence operations "should not be carried out".

No shit, Sherlock. He got caught!

Ignorance Perpetuated

2005-12-10T20:46:00.000+02:00

Roma locuta est causa finita. Rome has spoken and so discussion is finished.

This is the justification that has been given by the Vatican's agents for centuries; a neat little reminder that anyone arguing with the Catholic Church is arguing with God Himself.

This is the Latin proverb that comes plummeting down like Damocles' famous sword when anyone so much as dares to challenge the logic behind the Vatican's antiquated and obsolete views on the modern world.

There, cloistered behind the Vatican City's ancient walls, red-cloaked cardinals and geriatric bishops hobble into a palace as archaic as their thinking to spew forth judgment concerning a world that they have long since grown apart from. Hearing-aids strain to hear the latest "exhortation" echo feebly across the ancient chamber. Morbidly thick spectacles act to focus failing eyes on the frail frame of a man who holds symbolic authority over the hearts and minds of nearly a billion people.

If you're wondering if this is going anywhere, I am ranting specifically about the Vatican's latest epistles on homosexuality that were coughed across some dusty chamber in Rome and have slowly spread throughout the Catholic world.

Until fairly recently, it would seem as though the Catholic Church viewed homosexuality as it views all human sexuality: wrong. Naturally, it is common for Christians to view any human action as wrong; it is a symptom of the endemic Christian problem of self-hate. This prohibitionalism is obviously more pronounced when it concerns anything that is vaguely enjoyable. However, the Catholic Church ran into a problem when it came to sex. Obviously human sex and love are actions so unspeakably evil that members of the Church hierarchy could never dream of dirtying themselves by performing them. However, it must have become apparent to the early Church geriatrics that sex is necessary if a mammalian species, such as humans, are going to procreate. So after what I can only imagine to have been a long, painful and embarrassing discussion, they must have finally come to the conclusion that the Catholic Church would die out if no Catholic was allowed to have kids.

So the Church decreed that the only time sex won't send you to the eternal furnace is if you're doing it with someone you're married to (read: another Catholic the Church approves of.) The Church must have postulated that romantic "love" can only be something that is felt between a man and a woman who want to, literally, make babies.

The above epiphanies led to the Church's subsequent ban on anything vaguely like love outside a marriage; sex with anyone without the intent of making another mouth to feed, masturbation and, obviously, contraception. Yes, the Catholic Church really can't give a rat's ass how many unwanted children suffer, how many people end up with too many children to feed or even how many people die of sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. They don't care because they'd rather have a million AIDS deaths than a single act of non-procreative sex upsetting their fragile delusions regarding human nature.

So now it seems fairly obvious why they are adverse to homosexuality. It is true that two homosexuals aren't going to make a baby (by themselves) no matter how much they love each other. The Church would seem to accept the innate state of homosexuality so long as homosexuals don't actually do anything drastic like act on their nature. This attitude, while only a little less ignorant, would seem to be a great deal less prejudicial and blatantly intolerant than the attitude of many a right-wing Protestant. It does make marginally more sense to judge someone on their actions instead of their innate state, even if neither judgment is there to be made.

This is how they'd apparently like you to see it.

The problems come in when looks at the struggles faced by gay people who want to become Catholic priests.

I don't know whether it's the recent child abuse scandal that sparked it or whether it's because the Vatican geriatrics can't find anything to do with their time, but they have recently expended a lot of valuable old brain cells trying to come up with a defensible position for banning homosexuals from the priesthood. After much morbidly monotonous conversation had echoed dully off the crumbling Vatican architecture, the geriatrics came to a conclusion.

The seminaries are to be searched for anyone exhibiting "deep-rooted homosexual tendencies" and they are to be summarily expelled for being "intrinsically disordered". No homosexual may enter a seminary unless they no longer have any of the aforementioned "tendencies" and they somehow manage to prove that they've been completely celibate for the three years prior. In summary, only men with "transitory" homosexuality are permitted to become clergy.

So apparently it's not good enough that a homosexual vows celibacy, as heterosexuals do, but they now have to somehow prove that they haven't had sex for three years (how?!) and that they are homosexual in name only. It would appear that prospective gay clergy have to be even more self-hating than their heterosexual counterparts.

How does the Vatican justify this? How does it justify condemning someone for their innate and unchangeable state?

A Vatican document from 1986 is revealing. It ruled that homosexual actions are an "intrinsic moral evil." Any inclination towards them "must be seen as an objective disorder".

The new Vatican rulings on gays in the priesthood contain more. According to an "exhortation" by John Paul II in 1992, priests need to exhibit emotional maturity so that they can relate to people and act as a "spiritual father". According to the latest Vatican rulings, homosexuals are automatically unable to exhibit this maturity! The Vatican seems to think that homosexuality is some kind of disease or disorder! They seem to have reverted to the refuted and obsolete "studies" of human sexuality by Sigmund Freud.

So now not only are gays sick and diseased, but they are also immature!

Naturally, a band of dirty old men who's only sexual experience is with altar boys is going to have an absolutely perfect and authoritative intellectual understanding of human love and sexuality. Roma locuta est causa finita. Naturally, it isn't at all strange that the Vatican doesn't refer to a single scientific study in their rulings, but only to older and even more antiquated intellectual flatulence farted out by an even older and more archaic pope than the one currently gracing the world with his unwarranted and unqualified opinions on matters that he can't even begin to understand.

Here's my challenge to the old farts abusing our intellects with this crap: Stop thinking you're always right, get out of the Holy See once in while and go see how real people live. Maybe then you'll see why two adults who love each other are less "disordered" and sexually immature than a man of seventy-plus who molests little children in the name of God.

Thank you for listening. Log on next week for more holiday cheer from the man who has nothing better to do.

Elsewhere in Africa...

2005-12-03T13:40:00.000+02:00

In stark contrast to the same sex marriage ruling handed down by the Constitutional Court of South Africa on Thursday, 11 men have been detained in Cameroon for the last seven months on "suspicion" of "sodomy".

They are waiting for government-ordered medical examinations to determine whether or not they are gay.

Apparently the government in Cameroon believes that gays have tears or wounds of some sort around their anuses. It doesn't take much imagination to realize the obviously invasive and humiliating nature these medical examinations are going to be of.

Sexual contact with members of the same sex is illegal in Cameroon. If found guilty, these men could face 6 months to five years in jail and a fine of up to CFA 200 000. The penalty would be doubled if one of the participants in alleged gay sex was between 16 and 21.

It is painfully ironic that South Africa is one of the most progressive countries in the world in regards to equal rights, while so many countries on the continent are completely backwards when it comes to equality. One would have thought that centuries of struggle against colonialism and racism would have bred some sort of tolerance among Africans for people who are different. It really isn't surprising that many of the continent's anti-gay laws were actually put on the books by the colonial oppressors of yesteryear.

One wonders what the African Union is doing about human rights.

Link

Same-Sex Marriage will be Legal

2005-12-01T14:25:00.000+02:00

Today, the Constitutional Court of South Africa found that the Marriage Act of 1961, defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. (Link)

The court has given the legislature 12 months to re-write the law to include same-sex couples. If parliament does not address the problem within the next year, the law will automatically be changed to define marriage as a union between two persons.

As soon as new legislation is approved, South Africa will become the fifth country in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry. The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada and the US state of Massachusetts are currently the only regions to grant equal rights to married couples of any sex.

Predictably enough, the African Christian Democratic Party has voiced its opposition to the court's decision. It is their opinion that homosexuality is contrary to Christian teaching, and should therefore not be allowed in a morally just society. It should be noted that the ACDP is the only political party in South Africa that voted against the 1996 constitution. The ACDP has asked the ANC (who have a total majority in parliament) to amend the constitution to ban same sex marriage. There is no reason to believe that the ANC would ever do such a thing.

If the ACDP were to ever achieve a total majority in parliament, it is reasonable to believe that they would do away with the many freedoms currently granted to us as South Africans and would turn South Africa into a theocracy.

From 1 December 2006, at the very latest, South Africa will be part of the growing group of countries that provide and protect equal rights to non-heterosexuals.

Today, I am truly proud to be a South African.

Iran's President is Insane

2005-11-29T19:37:00.000+02:00

Either that, or he is appealing to an insane electorate. I don't know which is worse...

Mahmud Ahmadinejad claims that when he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September, some sort of "light" surrounded him.

Apparently someone present told him that when he began his speech with "In the name of God...", he was surrounded by an aura of light for the duration of his address. The president claims that he felt something was "different". He also claims that none of the people watching him blinked for the entire 27-28 minutes of his speech.

"They were astonished as if a hand held them there and made them sit. It had opened their eyes and ears for the message of the Islamic Republic."

I worry when I start hearing things like this, I really do.

Iran is already a threat to freedom and world peace. The United Kingdom has accused Iran of having a role in the insurgency in Iraq; supplying various Shia militant groups with explosives.

Iran's nuclear program needs no introduction. Iran possesses uranium enrichment facilities as well as nuclear reactors. The United States claims that Iran is seeking to build an atomic weapon. Iran claims that it plans to use the nuclear fuel for civilian purposes. With their kind of oil reserves, one wonders what they need nuclear power for.

And then there are the president's remarks made at "The World Without Zionism" conference held in Tehran a month or two ago. Israel should, according to the president, be "wiped off the map."

The above do not begin to touch on the atrocities committed by the Sharia regime of Iran against its own people.

Iran's hatred against "Zionists" and their Western allies is common knowledge. They support many terrorist organizations operating in Palestine and Israel wholeheartedly, in fact.

So now, imagine for a second, what could happen if this guy really believes he has some sort of divine authority on Earth.

Ahmadinejad has already claimed that his regime's main goal is to pave the way for the return of the 12th Imam. Shia Muslims believe that the 12th Imam is a man who disappeared without a trace sometime in the 9th century CE and who will reappear at the end of time to lead the Islamic world to salvation. Sunni Muslims believe that the man has not yet been born. The myth is similar to that of the Judeo-Christian "Messiah" or Jesus Christ legend. Some Shias believe that this guy is hiding in a well near the holy city of Qom.

There are some bizarre and unconfirmed reports coming out of Iran, as well. One, which the Iranian government denies, claims that the government planned to throw a pledge of loyalty down the well in which the 12th Imam is supposedly hiding. Another quoted Ahmadinejad as claiming that the Imam would arrive within two years!

I worry when world leaders start talking religion. I worry a lot more when the world leaders in question control rogue states and have already proven themselves to be positively seething with hatred for freedom and the Western world. I worry when the same regime who is alleged to be seeking nuclear weapons is also allegedly making plans with some sort of apocalyptic salvation figure.

I probably worry too much, but then stranger (and more horrifying) things have happened.

Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. -Blaise Pascal

Radio Free Europe

Zimbabwean Senate - Why?

2005-11-26T21:22:00.000+02:00

Earlier this year, the Zimbabwean constitution was amended to allow for an upper chamber of parliament to be created, called the "Senate".

10 members of the senate are "traditional chiefs", 6 are appointed by the president and the remaining fifty are elected into office by the general population.

The problem, of course, is that Zimbabwe is renowned for its distinctly unfair brand of "democracy".

Not that it really matters who's knees Mugabe's thugs break; ZANU-PF is slated to win regardless of how fair the election is. The MDC has been split over the senate elections, you see. Morgan Tsvangirai has ordered his party to boycott the elections, saying they are essentially a waste of time and energy. Another faction of his party, however, has defied his orders and is preparing candidates to run for office in the senate.

Another factor to consider is that many Zimbabweans really couldn't give a stuff. ZANU-PF will win regardless.

One wonders what function this senate of Mugabe's is actually supposed to perform. Even though it is technically the upper house of parliament, it isn't going to have any veto powers over motions passed by the lower house. Of course, even if it did, it wouldn't; due to ZANU-PF's inevitable control of both houses. It is essentially a toothless dog; an expensive toothless dog.

It's too easy to see that this is simply another way for Mugabe to give more of his ZANU-PF cronies cushy jobs. The ten "traditional chiefs" are chosen by supporters of Mugabe, the fifty elected senators will be overwhelmingly ZANU-PF, and Bob is appointing six senators directly!

The Zimbabwean government estimates that the operation of the senate will cost Z$60 billion annually. That's the government talking there...

With the Zimbabwean economy in ruins and countless Zimbabweans starving as a result of government stupidity, this is simply another in a very long list of irresponsible and criminal acts perpetrated by the dictator Mugabe against his own people.

The first results of the election are due tomorrow. Don't bother getting up early.

Link 1
Link 2

Jesus on a Killing Spree

2005-11-24T15:50:00.000+02:00

Not the one you're thinking of...

A string of brutal killings in the Western Cape has been attributed to a murder gang lead by a man known only as "Jesus".

He apparently has the name tattooed in several places on his face.

So far, he and his gang have claimed eight victims and have attempted several more murders.

Police believe that there is a link in the killings; many of the victims have biblical names, such as Titus, Moses, Lukas etc.

Personally, I'm not so sure about that particular link. Many cultural groups in South Africa have a Christian heritage, and are therefore likely to have biblical names. Heck, I have a biblical first name. I'm sure the police know what they're doing, though.

One can only hope. The authorities apparently have a fairly detailed physical description of Jesus and the members of his gang. One wonders how you can miss someone with "Jesus" tattooed on his face...

The gang is currently terrorizing the agricultural area around Philippi.

Let's hope the police bring them to justice before they get to anyone else.

So much for Exodus 20:13

Link

South Africa, Zimbabwe and our Military Relations

2005-11-18T16:23:00.000+02:00

Recently, South Africa and Zimbabwe have been working together more closely in areas of mutual defense and security.

Our government has signed an agreement with them to obligate greater military co-operation.

This is quite interesting. Reports coming from sources observing the Zimbabwean military, state that the 40 000-strong army there is quite literally starving to death. Soldiers do not have food and are not getting paid. Many were forced to go on unpaid leave in order to alleviate the chronic shortages.

It has also been decided by the Department of Defense that the pilots in the South African Air Force should be trained in Zimbabwe. (Link) This despite the fact that the Zimbabwean air force is a decrepit (and small) pile of old World War 2-era planes supplemented by a few ex-Soviet and Chinese jobs which aren't able to fly due to a lack of parts. This, in stark contrast to the shipment of advanced Swedish Grippen fighters slated to join the SAAF in 2008.

At a press conference after the signing of the co-operation bill, a journalist was reprimanded by Minister of Intelligence, Ronnie Kasrils. The journalist had asked how South Africa can justify signing such an agreement with a country like Zimbabwe which has a "poor human rights record." (Link)

Kasrils apologised to the Zimbabwean Minister of Intelligence, Didymus Mutasa, saying, "We have very strong ties with our neighbor and we are indebted to our neighbor for achieving freedom and liberty."

Mutasa allegedly made a religious appeal to his god, asking for him to forgive the journalist because "he did not know what he was saying."

I would like to repeat the question to our minister, and I would also like to ask him whether he condones the Mugabe regime's acts of brutality and intentional incompetance against its own people. Does he realise that millions of Zimbabweans are starving to death because of the government's hair-brained and corrupt land "reform" programs? Does he realise that ZANU-PF regularly obstructs the democratic process in Zimbabwe and has essentially reduced the state to a ham-fisted dictatorship? Does he realise that, in a blatant effort to combat political rivalry, the Zimbabwean state embarked on a program to evict countless poor Zimbabwean citizens from major cities? Does he realise that Zimbabwe is essentially an antithesis to the free and fair society that countless South Africans bled and died for to achieve here?

We should not be offering military co-operation to a corrupt dictatorship. We should not be engaging in joint military exercises with them. Aside from the moral issues, it is completely impractical. The Zimbabwean military is a joke that no one finds funny. Do we really want to give the impression that we're modeling the SANDF after it?!

We most certainly should not be hailing Zimbabwe as some sort of comrade-in-arms against global oppression and injustice when Zimbabwe is the very definition thereof.

I'm absolutely sick and tired of our government treating Zimbabwe like an old friend, when they are clearly the enemy of a free and just society.

Republic of Africa?

2005-11-13T22:18:00.000+02:00

Seven of the most powerful African Union leaders, including President Thabo Mbeki, met in Abuja today for a summit. (Story)

They agreed that the African Union, and by extension the whole of Africa, should seek to one day become a unified state. They said that this should take place slowly, however.

Many members of the AU have long tried to guide the organization down the path that the European Union has gone; that of establishing a single African parliament, bank/currency and court of appeal. Several leaders would like to take the process even further. The dictator of Libya, Colonel Kadhafi, once voiced his vision of the "United States of Africa".

The notion of a unified Africa raises many questions, however. Africa is not like Europe whereby every state can call itself politically stable, let alone developed.

We in South Africa are very fortunate to be afforded the most stable and (usually) effective government on the continent and certainly one of the most liberal and protecting constitutions in the world. Our industry and GDP are respectable, as is our currency and our current human rights record.

Unfortunately, the rest of the continent is quite another matter. We only have to look to our northern neighbor, Zimbabwe, to see a sobering example of corrupt government. The people of Zimbabwe are starving to death amidst brutal government efforts to stamp out all forms of opposition; labeling any criticism from the international community and the United Nations as "neo-colonial propaganda." The Zimbabwean economy has reached a point of utter and total collapse; the sole piece of bitter consolation being that it can't get much worse. Do we really want someone like Mugabe holding a position of power within the same government as our leaders?

Or look even further north to the powerful AU voice of Nigeria. Nigeria, for all the influence it holds in the AU, is a fetid example of radical Islamic fundamentalism and gross human rights abuses. Aside from rampant crime rates (already finding its way into the rest of the continent); the nation of Nigeria tries its citizens under Sharia law. People are tortured and brutally executed for such mundane acts as perceived "sexual deviancy" (e.g. adultery, being raped or homosexuality.)

Look east to the coastal nation of Somalia. Oh right, what nation; Somalia is just a war zone with a name and a flag.

If developed nations such as France, Germany and The Netherlands can't even agree on a European constitution or the role of a unified currency, then what hope do we have trying to get the continent of Africa to agree on issues such as human rights? We are not going to compromise our values; that is certain.

"Intelligent Design"

2005-11-09T15:51:00.000+02:00

The Christian Right in the US have been trying for a while now to get "Intelligent Design" instituted in the school science classroom as an alternative to Darwin's Theory of Evolution and associated natural selection theories.

In reality, Intelligent Design is badly disguised creationism. "ID'ers" would have science and biology teachers tell their students that the theory of evolution isn't valid and that it's possible that there is some sort of sentient "creator" or "designer" behind the universe's creation.

Teachers in Dover, Pennsylvania, have already been ordered to tell their students that some sort of supernatural being may have "designed" the universe. Parents of school students in Dover have taken the matter to court to argue that Intelligent Design violates the constitutional seperation of church and state.

Recently in Kansas, the Board of Education approved Intelligent Design as a valid part of the science syllabus.

This isn't religious education or church we're talking about. This stuff is getting taught in real science and biology lessons; it will likely be tested in examinations. This at public schools, no less.

One sometimes wonders what kind of state America is. They are fighting a global war against violent religious fundamentalism and yet the government still tries to encourage its people to cling to their own ancient superstitions and mythologies.

America, the world's biggest victim of religious violence, is still globally known for its assiduous Bible-clinging tendancies. This is painfully ironic when one considers that some of the most famous American founding fathers weren't even pious Christians...

Preaching mythology from the pulpit is one thing. Preaching mythology in the public science classroom is quite another.

Of all the ills suffered by South Africans, at least theocracy isn't one of them.

EDIT: The members of the school board who approved Intelligent Design in Pennsylvania have all been thrown out. :-)
Now it's only Kansas with the dubious honour or being the only state in the Union to preach in science class...

UN Blasts SA over HIV/AIDS

2005-11-04T16:08:00.000+02:00

Special envoy to the United Nations on HIV/AIDS, Stephen Lewis, has accused the South African government of getting in the way of effective AIDS treatment for its citizens.

He was highly critical of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's dubious policies regarding the pandemic. He claims that he's always had a bone to pick with the minister, but things got worse when they debated at a conference last year in Thailand.

It's common knowledge that the minister and our president are less than pragmatic when it comes to treating the AIDS pandemic.

The Health Minister mistrusts AIDS drugs, for some reason, and would rather espouse the curative value of lemons, garlic and olive oil (which is dubious to say the least).

President Thabo Mbeki was once quoted as saying that the HIV virus does not lead directly to AIDS; this despite the professional opinion of absolutely anyone with any credibility at all.

Stephen Lewis has said that even very poor countries like Lesotho and Rwanda have managed to administer more effective AIDS treatment to their citizens than South Africa has.

It was time long ago for the government to take their collective head out of the sand. AIDS is one of the most serious problems faced by South Africa today. The health ministry and government in general need to start heading the warnings and condemnations coming from every side. We are setting a terrible example for the rest of Africa (who are doing better than us) and are neglecting the right to life of many millions of South Africans.

In related news, scientists in the United States are researching possible treatment for AIDS with stem cells.

Link

Gay Games 2010?

2005-11-03T17:30:00.000+02:00

The Federation of Gay Games announced in March this year that Johannesburg is one of three candidate cities for hosting the Gay Games 2010. The other candidates are Cologne and Paris.

The Gay Games were started in San Francisco in 1982 to help foster a spirit of inclusion and participation in professional sport in regards to athletes' sexual orientations. The games are held every four years, were last held in Sydney and are being held in Chicago next year.

The games have never been held in Africa before.

Personally, I think it would be great for South Africa and Africa in general if Johannesburg gets selected as host.

Homophobia is a huge problem in African society. As can be seen here, the majority of African countries have criminalized the practice of "sodomy"; in other words, the act of homosexual sex. In many Muslim countries, such as Nigeria, people can receive a death sentence and torture for practicing homosexuality. In Uganda, a life sentence can be handed down to practicing homosexuals.

In South Africa, sodomy, as well as most homophonic measures on the books, were struck down by Constitutional Court decisions in 1998. Laws criminalizing homosexuality were a holdover from Apartheid days and were in direct violation of our constitution.

Nevertheless, homophobia remains a pervasive part of our society. At a gay and lesbian pride march held in Johannesburg earlier this year, someone threw a bottle from a window of a high-rise which struck a marcher and badly injured her.

In many areas of African society where superstition is a large part of people's lives, lesbians are often viewed as "witches" and treated accordingly.

Even at the affluent, private Catholic school that I attend, I have to keep my sexual orientation secret if I want to avoid persecution from other students. Homophobia is a very ingrained principle in many South African's minds.

I hope that one day, we can remove it's taint from our society as we are currently in the process of doing with racism. It's considered disgusting by the vast majority of South Africans to call someone a "kaffir" but it's often okay to call someone a "faggot" or a "dyke".

In the words of that great South African, Desmond Tutu, "Apartheid and homophobia are both crimes against humanity."

I sincerely hope that Johannesburg wins the bid for the Gay Games 2010. It might send a wake-up call to some South Africans. We no longer live in a country that should treat homophobia as acceptable behaviour.

http://www.gaygamesjohannesburg.com

EDIT: The German city of Cologne has won the nomination to host the Gay Games 2010.

SA's Foreign Paramilitary Assistance Laws

2005-10-31T18:37:00.000+02:00

The government has moved to tighten South Africa's laws which prevent SA citizens from providing military assistance to foreign governments or other bodies.

The government is worried that citizens (particularly old SADF personal) are helping fuel conflicts in particularly unstable countries on the African continent. This is linked to the drama surrounding the coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea in which Margaret Thatcher's son as well as quite a few South African citizens were implicated.

The new restrictions could make things difficult for South Africans currently offering their services for security organizations in Iraq.

The measures do allow for citizens to participate in fights for "national liberation, self-determination, resistance against occupation, aggression or domination by foreign nationals or foreign forces in accordance with international law".

It doesn't take much imagination to see that this law might allow South Africans to participate in conflicts that would be contrary to South Africa's, and global security's, interests. One could, for example, argue that the insurgency in Iraq is fighting for the exact ideals outlined in the law.

I have faith that the government does not intend for its citizens to take up arms against coalition forces in Iraq, however I feel that this law may be worded rather badly.

It would, perhaps, be more beneficial to the country if we had a law that said something along the lines of "...citizens may participate in liberation efforts against forces acting contrary to the core principles of democracy and freedom outlined in the South African constitution and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights..."

Link

They're Listening...

2005-10-30T18:37:00.000+02:00

The South African Department of Justice recently announced that a new law has been passed that will allow law enforcement to tap into phone conversations and intercept emails. Law enforcement will, however, have to seek permission from a specially appointed judge in order to legally listen in.

The law also requires South Africans to register their cellphones and SIM cards. Failure to report a stolen or destroyed cellphone or SIM card to the police will, apparently, be a regarded as a criminal offence.

Anything that will help law enforcement do a better job is fine by me. It's about time South Africa got a law like this passed. We've had the NIA listening to us for years, so I don't know why anyone would worry about the justice department joining in...

Proponents of the act have assured us that law-abiding citizens will have no need to worry about their privacy being compromised. Well, not by the justice department at any rate...

Link

Quote of The Day

2005-10-28T17:49:00.000+02:00

"The policy of "one-man one-farm" should not be used against legally settled productive white commercial farmers" -Deputy Zimbabwean president, Joseph Msika

Politicians amaze me sometimes.

Of course, "legally" in Zimbabwe means whatever ZANUPF wants it to mean.

Staying in Zimbabwe, the Zim Dollar fell 130% in value yesterday.

What a disaster. No one with the ability to fix Zimbabwe's problems seems willing to bother.

Citing the Constitution, South African president Thabo Mbeki assured us that South Africa would never follow Zimbabwe's policy of land "reform". The president was stating the obvious.

Link

Swiss Helped SA Build Nukes

2005-10-27T21:40:00.000+02:00

There's always been a fishy stench surrounding the affairs of "neutral" Switzerland. Ever since they smuggled Nazi's out of Germany at the end of WW2...

Apparently Switzerland played a key role in helping South Africa, under the Apartheid regime; build a nuclear deterrent to counter "die rooi en swart gevare".

Being a neutral country and not being a member of the UN, Switzerland was not subject to the arms embargo and other problems in the way of giving technical support to South Africa.

With Swiss help, South Africa managed to build 6 nuclear warheads and partially assemble a 7th between the years of 1970 and 1993 when F.W. De Klerk declared SA's nuclear arsenal to parliament and announced that it had been disassembled. To date, South Africa is the only country known to have peacefully destroyed its nuclear arsenal. We are now a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Apparently West Germany also had a hand in our nuclear affairs, but it's not known to what extent.

Never trust a neutral party, I say.

Link

"Off the map"

2005-10-27T18:46:00.000+02:00

"World without Zionism" was a conference recently held in Tehran and attended by the Iranian president.

One would expect the usual anti-Israel slugfest. This time the rhetoric got particularly spicy when the president stated that the state of Israel should be "wiped off the map."

He declared the establishment of Israel to be a move by the West against the world of Islam. He advocated the utter destruction of the Israeli state and predicted that it would come about through the efforts of the Palestinian terrorists operating inside Israel.

Israel promptly called for Iran's expulsion from the UN. Condemnation for the comments has come from far and wide. The US, EU and even Iran's big buddy Russia have been decidedly unimpressed with Iran's outburst.

How anyone can possibly allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons after these remarks is beyond me. Russia can no longer stand in the way of UN action. Something really must be done.

In possibly related news, Russia launched Iran's first satellite into orbit and there was a memorial for India's WW2 dead in Tehran today. India and Russia, as significant powers in the region, would both be wise to exert pressure on the hard-line Islamic state before things get messy.

Link

Moral Fiber

UN Lebanon Force - Unfriendly to Israel?

Govt's Garlic Stand Under Attack

South Africa and the Death of Patriotism

Less Than Pigs And Dogs

World Pride Jerusalem

Marriage and Semantics

Seeing Things in Black and White...

Religion of Peace?

"Let's rather stick to traditional medicine."

Lawlessness or Sharia?

Boys Beware!

Freedom In The New Russia

In The Spirit of Leviticus...

COSATU's Way of Saying Sorry?

Islamic Life Lessons

What Makes Bullshit So Appealing?

Free Speech vs. Offensiveness

Gays Murdered by Iraqi Police

Run Out of Passports?!

Law Protects Witch Doctors

"Homosexual" is Offensive?

Israel Recognizes Gay Holocaust Victims

Murder and Intimidation Works

A Diabolical Pride...

Most Homophobic Country in Africa

DoD Admits to Spying on Gays

What Did We *Ever* Do?

Prayer Doesn't Work

Quote of The Day

Clinton for Forced Medical Testing

I knew the bastards would use this...

Today's Quote

More Orthodox Fun

Zimbabwean HRC?

Proposed Constitutional Amendment

COSATU on Rape

Afghan Christian Insane

Gays Causing Bird Flu!

Purges in Cameroon

Afghanistan Liberated

The Slippery Slope

Iraq

Salem?

Dr. Wafa Sultan

Gay Penguins Are Immoral

Blair Blames God

"The Great South African Blog-off"

Clinton calls Marriage "Sacred"

Cape Town Coalitions...

This is What Homophobia Does...

Bob to Jail Gay-Friendly Clergy

Homophobic Murder in Khayelitsha

"Penalties" for Driving Alone?!

SA Blog Awards

Holocaust Denial

ACDP Hypocrisy

Spanish PM compared to Caligula

Health Ministry Fails Again

Israel Recognizes Gays as Parents

Italian Atheist's Case Thrown Out

Shot by Home Affairs...

New Muslim Mini-Tantrum. Newspaper Article.

Blasphemy!

M&G Editor Receives Threats

Catholic Church stands with lslamists

SA Free Speech Compromised

Language Issues in the SANDF

Libya closes Denmark Embassy

Smoking Kills...

US sides with Dictatorships

Anglicans Support Nigerian Discrimination

Jesus Debate

Nigeria to Ban Gay Meetings

Australia Prevents Citizens Marrying Overseas...

More Christian Love...

MDC Fractured Even Further...

So Now Our Blood Isn't Good Enough...

Gay Music?

Italian Priest Taken to Court

What Did We Ever Do?