Hope not Hate

This is an extremely illustrative video showing exactly why it is so important that we make sure that the BNP don't attain electoral success. As the video points out just 9% of the vote would be enough to get Nick Griffin a seat in the European Parliament.

Thanks to John's Labour Blog:

Some American racism this time...

Courtesy of many blogs [Feministing, The Questionable Authority, Feministe, Enemy Combatant Trailmix Appreciation Club, Shakesville] comes this delightful cartoon from the New York Post:



Really, New York Post? You really want to suggest that a chimp wrote the stimulus bill? The stimulus bill that is widely viewed as President Obama's. Is there really no-one working for you that saw a problem with this cartoon?

Really?

It seems the Beeb prefers pictures of white people...

Whilst browsing the football news on the BBC's website I noticed a story on the main football page. The headline is (or was depending on when you're reading this) "From turnstile to touchline - club gets female manager". Next to it was a picture of a woman:



However, anyone clicking the link will be presented with an altogether different image:



That is an actual picture of the woman featured in the article, the white woman that the BBC decided to use to lead the article is, as the caption reads "Cherie Lunghi played a female manager in TV drama The Manageress".

I find it troubling that the BBC has decided that the image that they will use to promote an article about a woman of colour taking charge of a football team on the football homepage is that of a white person only tenuously linked to the story. What message does this send to people reading it, a white person is a better hook for an article?

Really BBC, a white actor is more relevant than the person the story is about? Shame on you.

Now there may be those saying that I'm reading too much into this, but before you say it answer one question for me. Why did they use the picture of a white person when a picture of a person of colour would have been so much more relevant?


Addendum:[On a tangential note it was just last week that the live coverage of the second test between England and the West Indies included this line:

Sounds like a right shambles out in Antigua - fans still queuing down the street, sand all over the shop, scoreboards rubbered, people strolling in front of the sight-screens. These boys couldn't run a bath.

{To put it into context for those who don't understand what the problem is here are a couple of articles about it. (Well sort of about it.)}

I used the BBC's complaints service to voice my opinion to them. After which I received an apology and the assurance that my complaint was noted and the author had been reminded to be careful about what they say. It might not actually achieve anything but I think it's important to at least say something.]

A lighter note on Rick Warren

I've been posting a lot of serious things recently so here's a more light hearted piece about Rick Warren from the Huffington Post: (Via Feministe) (Bolded emphasis is mine)

(NOTE: Copies of what seemed to be a draft of an inaugural invocation by Pastor Rick Warren arrived in the fax machines of several prominent journalists this morning. This site does not vouch for the authenticity of the draft, although each of the statements does conform to material in Pastor Warren's speeches, interviews, or on his websites.)

O Lord, as we come together on this historic and solemn occasion to inaugurate a president and vice president. We pray, O Lord, for President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, to whom You have entrusted leadership of this nation at this moment in history.

We pray for their advisors and supporters, particularly their Jewish advisors and supporters, who will surely roast in hell if they do not abandon their refusal to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Pray for the conversion of Obama chief advisor David Axelrod and his economic wise man Larry Summers, his early supporters Lester Crown and his campaign finance chair Penny Pritzker, for, as the Bible says, there will be a day when there will be a great revival of faith in God through Jesus among the Jewish people. (Romans 11). Obviously, this is a day that we, as believers in Christ, want to pray for! Let the light of Christian salvation come to the Jewish Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel and his family, some of whom survived the German effort to bring them to Christian truth in the last generation.

May all efforts to stop homosexuals from violating the ancient humanitarian institution of marriage succeed as did your will in California in the last election. Attend particularly, O lord, to President Obama's environmental chief Nancy Sutley, and to the man who has worked essentially without sleep for three months to save the American economy from total collapse, Representative Barney Frank. Use the government to bring an end to acts as bad as incest, pedophilia and polygamy, by stamping out homosexuality among the homosexuals, a people evolutionarily unfit, that we may truly become one nation before God. May the First Amendment to the Constitution protect all who want to compare homosexual sex to incest, pedophilia and polygamy from the arrows of hate speech accusations shot by the politically correct.

Change the hearts of the new administration's pro-choice advisors and supporters, including the Justices of the Supreme Court who stand here today with us: Holocaust denier Anthony Kennedy, holocaust denier Ruth Bader Ginzburg, holocaust denier David Souter, holocaust denier Stephen Breyer, and holocaust denier John Paul Stevens, who is about to swear in the Vice-President, in that abortion is a holocaust and the eighteen million or so women who have committed abortion in the thirty-five years since 1973 are thus no better than Nazis.

Bless the women, who have chosen to follow their ambitions into public life, but change the hearts, Lord, of Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton, Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano, United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice, and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis from independent lives of their own to submission to their husbands, if any, for I love the King James Version's rendition of Ephesians 5:22 "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands" and of course "Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ if God." 1 Corinthians 11:3. These women have chosen to participate in the public life of the community. Enlighten them as to the requirement that women not speak in church, saving any questions they have about their common life to ask their husbands as they return home.

Now, O Lord, despite the plain language of the Constitution that created this great nation, we dedicate this presidential inaugural ceremony to You. May this be the beginning of a new dawn for America as we humble ourselves before You and acknowledge You alone as our Lord, our Savior and our Redeemer. We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Well I thought it was funny.

Throw the Gay Down the Well and My Country Will Be Free

We are now under a month away from the end of Bush's term in office, more importantly we are under a month away from the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President. Much has been made of Obama's various cabinet appointments and the plans he has made with his transition team. This short period of transition is our first chance to see the reality as Obama as President, and it is for that reason that his choice of Rick Warren to give the Invocation at the Inauguration ceremony has kicked up a storm of commentary.

The issue is covered by Greta Christina, Daylight Atheism, The Questionable Authority, ERV, Friendly Atheist, Feministe, Religion Dispatches, The Boiling Point, Blogger Interrupted, , Pam's House Blend (Those last two cover the issue of the other religious leader speaking at the Inauguration which I will address later), amongst a mulitude of others.

The general consensus (Which I agree with) is one of disapproval; this choice of a man who has compared homosexuality with bestiality and abortion to the Holocaust is seen as misguided political manoeuvre intended to bring Fundamentalist Evangelicals to his team. Obama's stated justification of it is that:

In keeping with the spirit of unity and common purpose this Inauguration will reflect, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have chosen some of the world's most gifted artists and people with broad appeal to participate in the inaugural ceremonies.
(Excerpt from released "talking points".)

Nevertheless I had an opportunity to speak, and that dialogue I think is part of what my campaign's been all about, that we're not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is to be able to create an atmosphere where we can disagree without being disagreeable, and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans. (emphasis mine)

Essentially the argument that Obama is proposing is that in a free and tolerant society all viewpoints should be represented and everyone should be included. I think his basic position can be summed up as "we can disagree without being disagreeable", now that is usually a sentiment I agree with. In this case however it is simply not true, because Rick Warren's positions are not just talk. As we have seen just recently in California (Our coverage here and here) people's rights can be curtailed and their lives affected detrimentally by the actions of people like Rick Warren. It's good to be inclusive but sometimes it's not possible to include everyone and then you have to make a choice. By choosing Rick Warren Obama is not simply giving a pedestal to a homophobe, he is essentially endorsing his positions as being ok, he is saying that it's ok to be a bigot and to campaign against rights. It's ok to make slanderous attacks against your fellow human beings on the basis of sexuality.

And that makes me angry because those things aren't ok, and to justify it as disagreeing without being disagreeable is utterly galling. As The Questionable Authority puts it:

The problem comes with that whole "disagree without being disagreeable" thing. Rick Warren recently compared homosexuality to pedophilia, bestiality, and polygamy. That's not disagreeing without being disagreeable. That's being nasty without shouting. There's a very large difference, and it's a bit disappointing that Mr. Obama doesn't see that.

We can disagree without being disagreeable but comparing gay people to paedophiles and bestialists is very disagreeable.

From Boiling Point Blogs comes Rachel Maddow on the issue:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

To show that I am myself trying to be fair and not just indulging in a bit of religion bashing I'd like to talk about what is pretty much the flip side of the coin, because whilst Warren's bigotry and intolerance are firmly based in his religion there are other, equally devout, Christians who disagree with his opinions. One such man is the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery. From Blogger Interrupted:

If I were Rick Warren, I’d have the nuts to turn down the invitation to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration, simply based on decency. But even further, if I were Rick Warren, in the interests of my own ego, I’d be smart enough to avoid comparison of my Celebrity Driven Life with that of the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lowery, who’ll be giving the benediction after Barack’s speech.
That comparison fails on one mere fact.

In 1965, King named Lowery to deliver the demands of a planned Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights to then-Alabama Governor George Wallace. In an event that shocked the nation, police tear-gassed and clubbed the peaceful marchers at Edmund Pettus Bridge.

For those, like me, not familiar with that protest here's a video of the brutal events that unfolded at what was a peaceful gathering:



The main point I would like to make is that this is a fine and great leader, a person who is able to see beyond the differences between individuals and fight against injustice not matter who it falls upon. he is just as devout as rick Warren and yet treats his fellow humans in an entirely different way. This is the kind of person that should be endorsed, and I'm glad that Obama has done so by including him in the proceedings..

He spoke at the memorial service of Coretta Scott King (Another wonderful individual) and what he said resonates with me:

Thank you, Coretta. Didn't she carry her grief with dignity? Her growing influence with humility? She secured his seed, nurtured his nobility she declared humanity's worth, invented their vision, his and hers, for peace in all the Earth. She opposed discrimination based on race, she frowned on homophobia and gender bias, she rejected on its face. She summoned the nations to study war no more. She embraced the wonders of a human family from shoulder to shoulder. Excuse me, Maya.

She extended Martin's message against poverty, racism and war. She deplored the terror inflicted by our smart bombs on missions. We know now that there were no weapons of mass destruction over there. But Coretta knew, and we know there are weapons of misdirection right down here. Millions without health insurance, poverty abound. For war, billions more, but no more for the poor.

Well, Coretta had harsh critics. Some no one could please. But she paid them no mind. She kept speaking. As we get older, or so I'm told, we listen in to heaven like the prophets of old. I heard Martin and Coretta say, "do us a favor, Joe, those four little children I spoke of in 1963, they are fine adults now, as all can see. They already know but tell them again. We love them so dear. Assure them we will always be near. Their troubles to bless and sanctify to them their deepest distress. Tell them we believe in them as we know you do. We know their faith in god and their love for each other will see them through. Assure them at the end of the tunnel awaits god's light and we are confident they will always strive for the right. Tell them don't forget to remember that we are as near as their prayer-and never as far and we can rest in peace because they know who and whose they are."

Now that is the kind of message that I want and expect from Barack Obama, and that's the kind of leader I want him to be. I believe in diversity, but if diversity in one direction curtails diversity in another we have to make a choice. In the case of gay rights that choice is between men like rick Warren who wish to curtail rights, and people who merely want to live their lives with the same freedoms as everyone else.

I don't think that that's a difficult choice.

I'd really like to hear what everyone else has to say, whether you agree or disagree please comment.

The Westboro Baptist Church Choir

I posted the words of a carol from the Westboro Baptist Church on Friday. I can now, thanks to Orac at scienceblogs, bring you a video of it actually being performed by this group of bigoted morons.

"Enjoy".

A Twist on a Classic Christmas Carol

After Peter posted a news "story" from the Mail I thought I'd keep up the trend by posting something from another group of intolerant loons. Here, via Respectful Intolerance is the Westboro Baptist Church's idea of a carol:

You'd better watch out, get ready to cry,
You'd better go hide, I'm telling you why
'cuz Santa Claus will take you to hell
He is your favorite idol
You worship at his feet
But when you stand before your God
He won't help you take the heat
So get this fact straight:
You're feeling God's hate
Santa's to blame for the economy's fate
Santa Claus will take you to hell.

I <3 Jon Stewart

He can be hilariously funny, but at times like this he can also be compassionate and rational. I love the way he just keeps on going back to Mike Huckabee's intolerance but he at the same time he's so polite. I'm not sure I could keep a cool head in the face of such obstinance.

It's a fantastic video and i hope you all enjoy it, I got it from the fantastic ERV. She's an extremely talented young scientist and blogger so maybe if you've got a few minutes free you can go and check out her site.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

What the...!?!?!?!?!?!

I hate being angry at a Labour government but crap like this pisses me off.

I especially "love" this bit:

"There is no positive obligation to create a structure for legal recognition or registration of same-sex relationships," it said, claiming that in other countries any such obligation may be out of keeping with the social, cultural and religious norms and traditions.

NO OBLIGATION TO PROMOTE EQUALITY!!!

The protection of the rights of citizens should be one of the main priorities of government. Thankfully they've dropped their challenge, but unfortunately they refuse to support a Europe wide pro-equality stance.

A nice video of Johann Hari taking a slice out of Richard Littlejohn

I think Johann raises a very good point; publications like the Daily Mail that constantly stir up bile against immigrants and Islam and whatever else they happen to hate that week create a climate in which that kind of behaviour is acceptable. Littlejohn's response tells you a lot about the man, he had no arguements with which he could defend himself so he had to resort to being patronising.

This article gives a good summary of quite what makes Littlejohn such an unpleasant individual. It includes this segment which quotes from one of Littlejohn's own columns:

But when another genocide was being perpetrated – this time by black Hutus against black Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994 – he wrote, "Does anyone really give a monkey's about what happens in Rwanda? If the Mbongo tribe wants to wipe out the Mbingo tribe then as far as I am concerned that is entirely a matter for them."

Note the (possibly subliminal) use of the word ‘monkey’. Note the implicit idea that black people’s ethnic identifications are ridiculous – from a man who constantly ridicules the “smelly” French and “dictatorial” Germans.

I find this kind of bigotry disgusting; the fact that he is completely unable to empathise at all with the plight of fellow human beings absolutely appals me. That anyone in modern bBritain could so easily dismiss the brutal murder of over a million and the rape of even more speaks volumes about how far we still have to progress as a society.

Wikipedia has a list of incidents involving him and people who share the same low opinion of him that I do.

Here's another quote from Johann Hari's article:

The brilliant Marina Hyde of the Guardian has helpfully compiled a log of Dick’s references to homosexuality. In 2003, he referred “24 times to gays, 17 to homosexuals, 15 to cottaging, seven to rent boys, six to lesbians, six times to being "homophobic" and four times to "homophobia" (note Richard's scornful inverted commas), twice to poovery and once to buggery. That's a mere 82 mentions in 90-odd columns.” In 2004, he excelled himself, and “referred 42 times to gays, 16 times to lesbians, 15 to homosexuals, eight to bisexuals, twice to "homophobia" and six to being "homophobic" (note his scornful inverted commas), five times to cottaging, four to "gay sex in public toilets", three to poofs, twice to lesbianism, and once each to buggery, dykery, and poovery. This amounts to 104 references in 90-odd columns.”

I think it is an important role of the Labour Party to fight against the casual homophobia that permeates through society. Many times I have heard people casually throw out homophobic slurs such as "poof" or describe someone or something as "gay" if they do something stupid or "unmanly".

The use of slurs creates an atmosphere in which those slurs are acceptable, by doing so it brings violence against oppressed groups closer to the main stream. it is for this reason why we as believers in equality must do more than simply believe in it. We must speak out against intolerance, not just in speeches or at political gatherings but in public and social settings as well.

This recent ad makes the point very well:



(What would we do without Youtube?)

This is for the Musical lovers

It's absolutely brilliant and hilarious whilst making a very serious point. I love it and I hope you will too.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

BNP List

One of the main stories that has been about for the last 24 hours has been the publication of the BNP national membership list. Included on the list, which I saw before it was removed from the net, was a family from Aberdeen with the 3 children as members, the oldest of which was 18. Now it seems that some of the members are not happy that their membership of a party which believes that all people of colour should be asked to leave the UK has become public knowledge.


Now I talk about asked, but forceable repatriation is what they actually want; to force people to leave the country of their birth to return to a nation that many of them have only ever visited to see family.

I did that last year, I went to visit the place where my family comes from, its now in another country, so as my family are immigrants does that mean that I should be sent home. In my case it was Donegal in the Ireland but you see the point.

We are a nation of immigrants, we have become the country we are thanks to the work done over countless generations by people from different lands to build our country, from Ireland from Europe from Africa from Asia; they came to make Britain Great, and now a bunch of nationalistic nutters want to send them all away because they don't meet their view of what British is.

So I have a suggestion; if the members of the BNP don't like the way the UK looks why dont they leave, why should the rest of us have to go as its our country, it has its faults but its ours and we love it for good or bad, shame they don't.

Keith Olbermann on the passage of Proposition 8.

Keith Olbermann here delivers a Special Comment on the passage of Proposition 8 in California. I don't always agree with Olbermann, see for example his ridiculous rant about Senator Clinton supposedly raising the spectre of assassination, but in this instance he's spot on.

I am appalled.

In May this year the California Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was allowed by the Californian constitution, thereby making California only the third US state to give full equality in marriage to its citizens. This was a fantastic breakthrough in the struggle to attain equality, and the fight against intolerance, ignorance and bigotry. In the months since then many thousands of couples sealed their loving and committed relationships by getting married, knowing that they would have the same rights as every other couple. And that discrimination based on sexuality would not be allowed.

That lasted until yesterday, when a majority of the Californian population voted to enshrine bigotry and discrimination into their constitution, a document that is supposed to enshrine rights, not remove them. In doing so they took a step backwards, away from equality and towards segregation.

It is ironic that this would occur during this election. An election in which an African-American candidate would take the state of Virginia on the way to a landslide election victory. It is ironic because Virginia was the originating state of the historic Loving v Virginia Supreme Court decision, the decision which declared unconstitutional the racist and intolerant anti-miscegenation laws that were in place in states across the US.

This should serve as a reminder to all progressive people, and all people everywhere who cherish tolerance and equality. A reminder that although we've come a long way, and gained a great deal, and through our common endeavour we have helped break down the barriers that divide us, we still have a long way to go. There are still those who would build walls into our society, between them and those they choose to dislike.

President Obama will fight for change, and I fervently hope that this is one area of change for which he will fight.

[Edit] I think that I should point out that Obama was opposed to proposition 8.

Sometimes...

..things just really piss me off.

If you don't want to sound racist...

...then you probably need to try a bit harder.

Some people are just too stupid to live. Really.

Andrew