How Very christian of Them . . . .

From Reuters today:

Kansas church liable in Marine funeral protest
Wed Oct 31, 2007 4:33pm EDT

By John Hurdle

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday ordered a Kansas church to pay $2.9 million in compensatory damages to relatives of a gay U.S. Marine after church members cheered his death at his funeral.

_______________


The soldier's death was God's punishment on America for tolerating homosexuality, the church's members said.

Good on that jury, eh?

Hit 'em where it hurts: The collection plate . . . .

Update here. Even more good news!

Damn! And So Close, Too ! ! ! !

From AlterNet today:

Rumsfeld Flees France, Fearing Arrest
By , IPS News - Posted on October 29, 2007

Former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fled France today fearing arrest over charges of "ordering and authorizing" torture of detainees at both the American-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. military's detainment facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unconfirmed reports coming from Paris suggest.

U.S. embassy officials whisked Rumsfeld away yesterday from a breakfast meeting in Paris organized by the Foreign Policy magazine after human rights groups filed a criminal complaint against the man who spearheaded President George W. Bush's "war on terror" for six years.

Under international law, authorities in France are obliged to open an investigation when a complaint is made while the alleged torturer is on French soil.

_______________


"Rumsfeld must be feeling how Saddam Hussein felt when U.S. forces were hunting him down," activist Tanguy Richard said. "He may never end up being hanged like his old friend, but he must learn that in the civilized world, war crime doesn't pay."

One can only hope the rest of bushco gets the same treatment:

No place to run and hide from world justice . . . .

Sunday Morning War Worship . . . .

The MSM is at it again. Ratchet up the War Machine and watch the ratings soar.

When are we gonna put a stop to this crap?

As Carl Levin says at the end: "Lotsa luck!"





How much longer 'til we're out of here?

Counting the days, counting the days . . . .

Timeline Update 10/29/07 . . . .

Okay, here's our Timeline to date: 10/29/07:

• 7/25/05 Initial Meeting with immigration attorney
• 7/25/05 - 8/25/05 Assembling Draft Application Data (Tax returns, business records, verification of common law relationship, education records, addresses, birth certificates, letters of reference, etc.)
• 8/15/05 FBI fingerprint cards overnighted to FBI for clearance
  
• 8/25/05 Working meeting with immigration attorney
• 9/26/06 Finally finished gathering supporting documents
• 9/28/05 Application with documents sent off to Buffalo consulate
• 10/17/05 One partner's FBI fingerprints cleared and accepted
  
• 10/25/05 Other partner's FBI fingerprints re-sent for clearance (Initial set illegible)
• 11/7/05 AOR issued by Buffalo consulate (Yay!)
• 2//2/06 Other partner's FBI fingerprints re-sent again (2nd set also illegible)
• 3/13/06 Other partner's FBI fingerprints finally cleared and accepted (Yay!)
• 11/15/06 Buffalo Consulate transferred our file to the New York City consulate
  
• 5/22/07 New York City office issues initial assessment, medicals requested
• 7/17/07 Medicals completed and received in Ottawa
• 10/23/07 Request for passports received from New York City consulate
• 10/29/07 Passports and photos overnighted to New York City consulate for Permanent Resident visa issuance
  

Further updates as they are received . . . . Hopefully SOON!!

Guessing Time's Over . . . .

Niko, Gito and MSEH have correctly guessed "what we got". Good job, Folks.

Our attorney's office advised us yesterday that they had received the request for our passports from the New York Consulate. Once we get them to New York, the visas will be issued and returned to us with a date to land by.

Yippee!!!

We flew the Maple Leaf over Jolly Bay today to commemorate the occasion.

I am updating our Timeline as we speak. Looks like a two + year process is about to conclude.

'Bout damn time . . . .

Guess What We Got ? ? ? ?

Put your guesses in "Comments".


Results posted on Sunday - or sooner if anyone "wins" . . . .

Gay Worms - Fact or Fiction ? ? ? ?

From the Globe and Mail:

The making of a gay worm
JULIE STEENHUYSEN - Reuters
October 25, 2007 at 9:47 PM EDT

CHICAGO — Altering a gene in the brain of female worms changed their sexual orientation, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, making female worms attracted to other females.

The study reinforces the notion that sexual orientation is hard-wired in the brain, said Erik Jorgensen, scientific director of the Brain Institute at the University of Utah.

"They look like girls, but act and think like boys," Utah researcher Jamie White, who worked on the study published in the journal Current Biology, said in a statement.

Researchers in Dr. Jorgensen's lab switched on a gene in female worms that makes the body develop male structures, but they only activated the gene in the brain.

As a result, the female worms still had female bodies, but they behaved like males.

"It suggests sexual behaviour is encoded in our genes" and not caused by extra nerve cells specific to males or females, Dr. Jorgensen said in a telephone interview.

Now if we could just get that gene zapped in Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matthew McConaughey we'd be doin' great . . . .

October Observations . . . .

These shots were taken periodically today.

There are some things I will miss about Florida when we leave . . . .


I think you can see why . . . .

From today's Vancouver Sun:

Vancouver named top gay-friendly travel destination in Canada
Title based on survey of U.S. tourists

BY BRUCE CONSTANTINEAU - Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, October 24, 2007

VANCOUVER - Vancouver has been recognized as the No. 1 gay leisure travel destination in Canada for the second straight year, according to a survey of U.S. gay and lesbian travelers.


No surprise to us.

Gotta Love It . . . .

Welcome, condescending . . . .

Compliments of Globe and Mail. (Click to see video.)


condescending also "admitted errors" in the Arar case. Isn't that big of her?!?

'Ya gotta give the girls in pink credit.

At least they're trying to focus attention on bushco's crimes . . . .

Larry & Matt's Top Ten . . . .

Compliments of PoliticsTV:




No comment necessary . . . .

We've Seen That Movie, Too . . . .

From Reuters today:

Cheney calls Iran an obstacle to peace
Sun Oct 21, 2007 12:37pm EDT

(Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney, taking a tough line toward Iran, described the country's government on Sunday as a "growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East."

Cheney, in a speech to a think tank, also accused Tehran of practicing "delay and deception" regarding its nuclear program and warned of consequences if it did not comply with the West's demands that it halt sensitive nuclear work.

The vice president's harsh rhetoric toward Tehran came just a few days after President George W. Bush warned that nuclear-armed Iran could lead to World War Three.

The Bush administration has been trying to rally support for a tighter international sanctions but faces difficulties amid Russian resistance.

Cheney said that progress toward peace and stability in the Middle East would depend on responsible conduct by countries in the region, including respect for neighbors' sovereignty and compliance with international agreements.

"If you apply all these measures it becomes immediately clear that the government Iran falls far short and is a growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East," Cheney told the pro-Israel Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

And I assume he expects us to believe he's some kind of conduit for peace?

We're not that stupid, dickhead . . . .

Bennie and Candid Camera . . . .

"Smile! You're on . . . . "

From today's Globe and Mail:

Vatican suspends gay monsignor after hidden camera outing

FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press
October 13, 2007 at 2:40 PM EDT

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican said Saturday it has suspended a monsignor from a senior post at the Holy See after an Italian TV program using a hidden camera recorded him making advances to a young man and asserting that gay sex was not sinful.

The Vatican did not identify the monsignor by name. But Monsignor Tommaso Stenico confirmed in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that he had been suspended from his post at the Vatican's Congregation for Clergy, an office which aims to ensure proper conduct by priests.

“Don't condemn me,” Monsignor Stenico said, adding that the program “was done fraudulently” because it used a hidden camera.

In the program on private Italian network La7, a man identified as a priest is heard saying that he “didn't feel he was sinning” by having sex with gay men.

Rome daily La Repubblica reported Saturday that Vatican officials recognized the monsignor's office in the background of the program, which aired Oct. 1.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said the Italian monsignor was suspended while the case was under investigation.

“Higher-ups are evaluating the situation with the necessary reserve and with the obligatory respect for the person involved, even if this person has erred,” Rev. Lombardi said.

Vatican officials “had to intervene decisively and with the severity required by conduct not compatible with priestly service and with the mission of the Holy See,” he added.

While the Vatican rarely comments on individual sex scandals, this case directly touched the Holy See, apparently prompting the confirmation of the report.

Vatican teaching holds that homosexual activity is a sin.

Monsignor Stenico said to call back later in the day when he would have more to say, but later attempts to reach him were not successful.

The Italian news agency ANSA quoted him as saying he had sent his superiors “a dutiful memo” about the case.

Milan daily Corriere della Sera had previously reported that a young man had contacted La7 and said he had been in contact with several priests on chat lines popular with gay men. Corriere said La7 then filmed encounters between the man and priests with a hidden camera.

A woman identifying herself as a producer for La7's “Exit” program declined to comment about the case, saying only that the program could be viewed on the network's Web site.

In the program, the faces of those speaking with the young man are obscured and their voices altered so they would not be recognized.

The man La Repubblica identified as the Vatican official can be heard saying that “he didn't feel he was sinning” by having sex with gay men and asking his visitor if he liked him

.


Now, just a damn minute. Bennie and Company have a problem with this guy being gay when he (Bennie) goes out in public dressed like this?!?!?

Give me a f_cking break! At least the monsignor is having sex with gay men as opposed to altar boys like most of the priests in the flock . . . .

Bennie and the Jerks II . . . .

From AlterNet today:

The Pope Versus the President

By Heather Wokusch, Foreign Policy in Focus
Posted on October 10, 2007

The Vatican's recent snub of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is only the latest salvo in the battle between Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush. This tug of war has profound implications for both U.S. foreign policy and the critical Catholic vote in 2008's presidential race.

Overlapping Agendas

Things haven't always been tense between Bush and Benedict. They share similar views

regarding abortion, gay marriage, and other hot-button conservative issues. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (as Benedict was known before becoming Pope in April 2005) even helped Bush secure the White House for a second term.

Specifically, after Bush visited the Vatican in June 2004, complaining that "Not all the American bishops are with me," Ratzinger sent a letter to US bishops, ordering them to refuse Communion to "a Catholic politician … consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws" - a thinly-veiled reference to John Kerry. Ratzinger added that any person even voting for this Catholic politician "would be guilty of formal cooperation in evil and so unworthy to present himself for Holy Communion." Probably no surprise, then, that Bush increased his margin among Catholics by 6% from 2000 to 2004.

_______________

In 2005, Ratzinger was named as a defendant in a U.S. lawsuit suit accusing him of conspiring to cover up the sexual abuse of minors. At the center of the controversy was a May 2001 confidential letter he had sent Catholic bishops across the world ordering them to keep evidence of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy secret until 10 years after the child had reached adult status.

Soon after becoming Pope, however, Ratzinger was dismissed from the case. A US federal judge decided the lawsuit would be "incompatible with the United States' foreign policy interests."

_______________

Rice Rebuffed

As such, it is perhaps unsurprising that Benedict failed to honor Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's urgent request for a private meeting last month. The Italian periodical Corriere della Sera reported that Rice was hoping to capitalize on the Pope's moral authority by having a papal audience focused on the Middle East. Instead, Rice was told that Benedict was on holiday and had to settle for a telephone conversation with a lower Vatican official.

The ongoing tensions between Bush and Benedict over Iraq put America's over 75 million Roman Catholics in a tricky position for 2008. By supporting candidates hawkish on the Bush administration's Iraq policies, are they defying the Pope and the Catholic Church?

Is there trouble in church/state paradise?

Awwwww.

Pity . . . .

bush on Global Warming . . . .

It's a holiday, I'm bored, so humour is called for . . . .





I feel better already . . . .

Dollar's Decline via Daily Show . . . .

John Hodgman of The Daily Show describes the US dollar's decline with a decidedly Canadian connection:





Enjoy . . . .

Put Out the Fire ! ! ! ! Put Out the Fire ! ! ! !

Whoops, guess they can't, huh?


Even sprinkler systems fail at U.S. embassy in Baghdad
Warren P. Strobel - McClatchy Newspapers
October 06, 2007 03:08:02 PM

WASHINGTON — The latest problem with the trouble-plagued new U.S. embassy complex in Iraq is that the sprinkler systems meant to contain a fire do not work, according to officials in Congress and the State Department.

The previously undisclosed problem in the $592 million project was discovered several weeks ago when the fire-safety systems were tested and pipe joints burst, State Department representatives recently informed Congress.




More signs of bushco incompetence.

"You're doin' a heckuva job, bushie!" . . . .

Krugman on Jokers . . . .

Thanks to our OLD friend Patrick for pointing out today's Paul Krugman op-ed in the NYT:

Conservatives Are Such Jokers
October 5, 2007 - Op-Ed Columnist
By PAUL KRUGMAN

In 1960, John F. Kennedy, who had been shocked by the hunger he saw in West Virginia, made the fight against hunger a theme of his presidential campaign. After his election he created the modern food stamp program, which today helps millions of Americans get enough to eat.

But Ronald Reagan thought the issue of hunger in the world’s richest nation was nothing but a big joke. Here’s what Reagan said in his famous 1964 speech “A Time for Choosing,” which made him a national political figure: “We were told four years ago that 17 million people went to bed hungry each night. Well, that was probably true. They were all on a diet.”

Today’s leading conservatives are Reagan’s heirs. If you’re poor, if you don’t have health insurance, if you’re sick — well, they don’t think it’s a serious issue. In fact, they think it’s funny.

On Wednesday, President Bush vetoed legislation that would have expanded S-chip, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, providing health insurance to an estimated 3.8 million children who would otherwise lack coverage.



















In anticipation of the veto, William Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, had this to say: “First of all, whenever I hear anything described as a heartless assault on our children, I tend to think it’s a good idea. I’m happy that the president’s willing to do something bad for the kids.” Heh-heh-heh.

_______________


“I mean, people have access to health care in America,” said Mr. Bush in July. “After all, you just go to an emergency room.”

And on the day of the veto, Mr. Bush dismissed the whole issue of uninsured children as a media myth. Referring to Medicaid spending — which fails to reach many children — he declared that “when they say, well, poor children aren’t being covered in America, if that’s what you’re hearing on your TV screens, I’m telling you there’s $35.5 billion worth of reasons not to believe that.”

______________


What’s happening, presumably, is that modern movement conservatism attracts a certain personality type. If you identify with the downtrodden, even a little, you don’t belong. If you think ridicule is an appropriate response to other peoples’ woes, you fit right in.

















And Republican disillusionment with Mr. Bush does not appear to signal any change in that regard. On the contrary, the leading candidates for the Republican nomination have gone out of their way to condemn “socialism,” which is G.O.P.-speak for any attempt to help the less fortunate.

So once again, if you’re poor or you’re sick or you don’t have health insurance, remember this: these people think your problems are funny.

"Compassionate Conservatism" at it's best, folks . . . .

Out-of-the-Closet . . . .

Mark Fiore has a new video about gays, Iran, hypocrisy, etc., starring Right Wing Ralphie.

Loved the "Questioning Demosexuals" segment.

Check it out here.