Happy Summer Solstice!

Well even though the weather is doing it’s very best to convince me otherwise it is indeed the 21st June so happy Summer Solstice, enjoy the sunshine if  indeed you are lucky enough to have any.

 

 

 

Louis Theroux: America’s Most Hated Family In Crisis

America’s Most Hated Family In Crisis is a follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 documentary The Most Hated Family In America, and sees Theroux return to Topeka, Kansas for a second visit to the Westboro Baptist Church.

A fire-and-brimstone Christian group, made up of 80 members of the Phelps family, has garnered worldwide notoriety thanks to their funeral picketing of soldiers killed in action.

Believing they were killed as God’s punishment for America’s toleration of homosexuality, the family wield anti-gay placards while singing their own disturbing lyrics to Lady Gaga tunes.

In the four years since Theroux’s first documentary, a series of defections of family members has shaken up the church. They’ve also been at the centre of a landmark supreme court case (the court ruled that vicious anti-gay rhetoric was constitutionally protected) and their beliefs have become increasingly bizarre.

For Theroux the story has moved on, which is partly why he wanted to return. That and the fact he admits he’s “fascinated” by the Phelps family.

“It sounds really odd to say this but there are aspects of them that are quite nice, given how hateful they and the pickets are,” he says, adding he found his attitude towards them “modulated”.

“When you’re on the pickets you find yourself shocked and sometimes upset by what they’re doing, and then at other times you see them as normal people. The challenge is to try and manage your reaction,” he explains.

“I mean we’re human beings, they’re human beings, in some way you have to guard against demonising them too much, and against becoming desensitised by being around them.”

The documentary is being broadcast tonight at 9pm on BBC2 – make sure you tune in.

Westboro Baptist reply to Anonymous…good luck with that!

 

Megan Phelps-Roper Whorish Face

I have only just come across this so excuse me for being a little late but I still feel that I have to share this, if only to prove even further that the Westboro Baptist Church are as nutty as a bar of squirrel shit.

It has been very well documented that the so called “Reverend” Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church has a beef with a lot of people: gays, soldiers, Americans, Lady Diana and of course and perhaps the one that I find  most puzzling Lady GaGa.

Well it turns out that Megan Phelps-Roper, has gone one further using  Gaga’s own song “Poker Face” to illustrate her families’s case.

I haven’t been able to find any sort of statement from Megan Phelps-Roper to accompany this re-release of Lady GaGa’s catchy hit but if you can bring yourself to listen to this then it is quite self explanatory; the general gist of it being that everything that Lady GaGa does and indeed her mere existence, offends God.

The same message was also contained in a press statement issued by the Reverend some time ago when he called for a boycott of a Lady GaGa gig at the Fox Theater.

The general thrust of the Reverend’s argument was that Lady GaGa is basically a whore who uses her music and fame to corrupt the nations youngsters, as usual there were a slew of Bible quotes which he twisted to suit his hateful purposes.

“‘Art’ and ‘fashion’ are the euphemisms, the guise under which proud [expletive] Lady Gaga teaches rebellion against God (incidentally, her claim to the title of ‘lady’ is sound only if she tacks on ‘of the night,’ thereby alluding to another euphemism of what she is.) As much as she’d like to pretend otherwise, there’s nothing new or different about this particular [expletive]’s pretentious prancing. Does the simple [expletive] truly think that she can change God’s standards by seducing a generation of rebels into joining her in fist-raised, stiff-necked, hard-hearted rebellion against Him? Get real!” the Phelps wrote.

To add to this Phelps also claimed that far from liberating her young fans GaGa was actually leading them into slavery to Satan, maybe that is what she was getting at in “Just Dance”??

Seriously here Fred, you accuse GaGa of being nothing new, maybe you should have a quick look back at the ranting and raving that used to be directed at the Rolling Stones et al back in the day. Railing on musicians for leading youth astray / encouraging devil worship predates even your outdated torrent of vitriol…

Anyway here for your listening and viewing pleasure is Megan Phelps-Roper’s rendition of Poker Face complete with accompanying video.

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Britain recognises Druids Yay :)

Britain has officially recognised druidry as being an official religion for the first time, despite the fact that the ancient Celtic religion has been around for thousands of years.

The Charities Commission has granted the Druid Network, an organisation representing the religion in Britain,  full charitable status ensuring not only that people can make tax free donations but that Druidry is finally able to take it’s place alongside the more widely accepted “mainstream” religions.

In a statement made after the Charities Commission made their announcement The Druid Network said “This has been a long hard struggle, taking over five years to complete,”

In its ruling on the group’s application, the commission said it accepted that druidry was an “ancient pagan religion” in its own right involving the worship of nature, particularly the sun and the earth.

There had also been some official recognition already, it added, including a provision by Her Majesty’s Prison Service for the practice of druidry and the attendance of a pagan chaplain at services.

“The board members concluded that The Druid Network is established for exclusively charitable purposes for the advancement of religion for the public benefit,” the Charity Commission said.

Having initially emerged in Britain and Ireland Druidry eventually spread into mainland Europe in the Iron Age it continued  to propster until  being suppressed along with other pagan religions  by the rise of Christianity In Europe.

Like many older religions Druidry has continued in some form or another through to the modern day, Druidry has become  more popular in modern times as it  has a strong focus on ecology and because of it’s pantheistic approach.

There are currently somewhere in the region of 10, 000 practising Druids in the UK and with the recent ruling from the Charities Commission I wouldn’t be surprised to see this number grow.

Earth and nature based rel igions take you closer to the land and can help lift your spirit and bring you into harmony with your surroundings in a way that many more “mainstream” religions can’t.

If you are English, Irish, Scottish or Welsh then this is the true religion of your ancient ancestors and the religion that your lands gave birth to; you should check it out if only to feel a connection with your past.

Keith Allen Vs. West Boro Baptist Church

I have previously mentioned my distaste for the “work” of Fred Phelps and the West Boro Baptist Church.

If you have read my previous posts about the WBC you might have read about a documentary I particularly enjoyed by British comedian/actor Keith Allen in which he tears Shirley Phelps Roper a new one for being a nasty small minded hypocrite.
Well I finally managed to find this documentary online in a version that is actually of a watchable quality, so here it is:

Pope could cancel his visit to the UK

The Pope could cancel his planned visit to Britain because of a “hugely offensive” Foreign Office memo mocking his stance on abortion and birth control.

This comes from senior papal aids within the vatican in the wake of a leaked memo which suggested that during his visit the pope should launch his own brand of condoms, bless a gay marriage and open an abortion clinic.

The memo, sent out in March following a “brainstorm” session by Foreign Office staff who are helping prepare for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit in September, warned recipients that the contents “should not be shared externally” because the offending document, titled “The Ideal Visit”, contained “even the most far-fetched of ideas”.

“As well as suggesting the launch of “Benedict” condoms, the memo also proposed that the Pope should “announce sacking of dodgy bishops”, sponsor a network of AIDS clinics, conduct a training course for bishops on child abuse allegations and ordain a female priest.

Embarrassingly for the Queen it also suggested getting the Pope and Her Majesty to sing a duet for charity and changing the national anthem from God Save The Queen to God Save the World.”

“One highly placed source in the Vatican said: “This could have very severe repercussions and is embarrassing for the British government – one has to question whether the action taken is enough.

“It is disgusting. Britain’s ambassador to the Holy See has been in to see the Secretary of State and explain what happened and this will all be relayed to the Pope.

“It’s even possible the trip could be cancelled as this matter is hugely offensive.”

The full article can be seen here in the Telegraph.

Whilst I don’t really think that sitting around insulting the pope and the catholic church is a good use of tax payers money I do think that this memo serves a purpose that maybe it wasn’t intended to.

It serves to reinforce the fact that to a lot of people out there the catholic church is a joke and the current pope an even bigger joke.

Yes I can understand that the vatican is miffed about this I would be too if I were them; however they should put aside some of their indignation for a second and actually look at what is being said and why.

Most people these days are a little shocked and bemused that the Vatican so stubbornly sticks to their outdated ideas and prejudices and make absolutely zero effort to move with the times.

Maybe the pope, the vatican and the catholic church as a whole should take a long hard look at that memo and rather than being outrage should instead run their own brainstorming session as to how they can change so that they are no longer the butt of the jokes.

On a different note I can’t wait to see what these “severe  repercussions” ar for Britain trade sanctions maybe?

Perhaps if things aren’t resolved to their liking we will soon finding a national shortage of plaster statues, bleeding heart paintings, communion wafers and clerical abuse on children.

Happy St. Georges Day

As the title says Happy St Georges day.

For the first time in a long time I am back home for St Georges day and I for one intend on celebrating.

I realise that the BNP and other right wing nutters are often associated with St Georges day and have almost hojacked it in recent years; however I think that we shouldn’t be ashamed to be British and should take St Georges day back.

On that note the sun is shining and I’m off to watch the parade (first since Tudor times) and enjoy a pint or five

Just another little reminder…

A little bit of a change from the norm today; I wanted to give some publicity to a man by the name of Nate Phelps.

Nate is the son of Pastor Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church; some of you might be familiar with their message and the work that they do, some of you might not.

For those of you who don’t know about the WBC here is a quick taster if you will of some of their activities:

This is taken from the BBC documentary ” The Most Hated Family in America” by Louis Theroux.

The WBC openly publicise their hateful views and are often found picketing across the US, a particular target being the funerals of soldiers, which no matter your view on war most people would deem to be a distasteful act.

However what a lot of people aren’t aware of is the abuse that has been meted out on the family of Fred Phelps as a result of his heinous beliefs.

Nate Phelps put up with terrible physical and emotional abuse until the age of 18 when he left the family and made his own life, you can read Nate’s blog here.

For me one of the most shocking things about Nate’s story and the Westboro Baptist Church is that Fred Phelps is still to this day walking around as a free man,  despite terrible acts of abuse.

Hailing as I do from a country that has for years been embroiled in acts of abuse by people in positions of religious authority I feel very strongly on the subject and would call on all right thinking people to join me in supporting people like Nate Phelps who are making a stand and bringing subjects such as these kicking and screaming into the light of day.

As such I would like to draw your attention to the forthcoming event:

Nate is the estranged son of “God Hates Fags” Pastor Fred Phelps, and he is now returning to his hometown, which he hasn’t been to in many years. Nate will tell his story of growing up in the family that founded the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, which he left at midnight on his 18th birthday.

The Richard Dawkins Foundation will be filming the event as part of an upcoming documentary about Nate’s story of religious abuse, how he survived, and his mission to fix the laws that protect the perpetrators.

The event is FREE TO THE PUBLIC, so we encourage everyone in the area to attend if possible. This is also the first time one of the Phelps children has spoken out publicly against the church in their hometown.

The advertisement can be found in it’s original form on http://richarddawkins.net/articles/5332

Pope could be charged for covering up sex crimes

The pope could be charged for covering up the crimes of paedophile priests.

There is an awful lot of buzz at the moment about the possibility that when he visits Britain from the 16th- 19th September the Pope could be arrested and charged “crimes against humanity” for his role in helping to cover up the horrific sex crimes carried out by members of the clergy.

“Barrister Geoffrey Robertson and solicitor Mark Stephens are considering whether they could either ask the Crown Prosecution Service to initiate criminal proceedings against the Pope; launch their own civil action or refer his case to the International Criminal Court.

Author Christopher Hitchens said he does not believe the Vatican to be a legal state which raises questions as to whether the Pope, as head of state, could claim diplomatic immunity.

He said: “The UN at its inception refused membership to the Vatican but has allowed it a unique “observer status”, permitting it to become signatory to treaties such as the Law of the Sea and (ironically) the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to speak and vote at UN conferences where it promotes its controversial dogmas on abortion, contraception and homosexuality.”

The group have cited as precedent the recent case of Israel’s former foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who cancelled a visit to London after a British judge issued an arrest warrant over her alleged involvement with the conflict in Gaza.”

The campaign is also being backed by leading atheist Dr Richard Dawkins;   Dawkins wrote on his blog: “I am optimistic that we shall raise public consciousness to the point where the British government will find it very awkward indeed to go ahead with the Pope’s visit.”

You can read the article from the BBC in full here.

Well I for one say go for it.

I don’t think that it will necessarily amount to anything but I do very strongly feel that it is the right course of action to take.

Some people are going to say that the likes of Hitchens and Dawkins have their own agendas that they are furthering as a result of this, well so what! Of course they have their own agendas, more or less everyone out there has there own agenda,  it doesn’t lessen in anyway the fact that this is the right thing to do.

Whether or not it works, whether or not it is judged to be legally viable, that really doesn’t matter. What matters is that the Catholic Church in general and the Pope in particular need to be made to see that this isn’t something that can be swept under the carpet or smoothed over with a  parochial letter.

At the moment the Vatican are getting very defensive about the whole affair and are going on the counter offensive by trying to make out that they are  the victims in all of this.

That sits badly with me, without actually saying the words they are victim blaming and negating the horrific abuse suffered by thousands over the years.

So yeah put the Pope on trial, it might make him sit up and realise that there are very real consequences here and now, not just the justice of some supreme being who may or may not exist. Somehow that doesn’t really sound very fair when compared to the corporeal lives that have been ruined.