Whelan Accepts Charge of Misconduct

So Dave Whelan, chairman of Wigan FC, has accepted a charge of misconduct from the Football Association for recent remarks he made about Jewish and Chinese people.

Forgive my lack of eloquence, but DUH!

He continues to claim that he was misquoted and misrepresented but as I recall there are various examples on film of actual words coming out of his actual mouth. Unless it was his evil twin. Or a clone?

The Guardian's latest report is here.
The Telegraph suggests he may step down as chairman here.
Even the Mail has to acknowledge Whelan is in trouble.

Meanwhile, his team are languishing in the nether regions of the Championship :-)

The Tory Tornado KO's Himself

The Huffington Post in the UK has reported that David Davies, the Conservative MP for Monmouth, has responded to accusations of homophobia following an interview he gave to BBC Radio Wales yesterday. On the radio, he said that:

"I think most parents would prefer their children not to be gay, knowing most parents want grandchildren if nothing else."

This was the comment that engendered the accusations. Personally, my first thought was to send him a turkey baster, and a copy of this article from the New York Times. However, in his defence, Mr. Davies pointed out that during his amateur boxing career he once fought a gay boxer. Apparently he posted a vid of the fight as proof. That makes total sense:  how to prove one is not a homophobe - show everyone a film of oneself punching a homosexual in the face. Nice one, Dave!

More Coverage from the UK Jewish Press

This week's links from Jewish newspapers in the UK and Pink News:

Joe Wolfson, an Orthodox rabbinical student currently studying in Jerusalem, writes about "the gay dilemma that confronts Orthodoxy". in the JC

Jessica Elgot responds to Doreen Wachmann's article in the JT here.

The JC reports on the KeshetUK 'It Gets Better' vids, concentrating on those made by former JFS students here

Ms. Elgot also highlights Benjamin Cohen's video here

Comment by Benjamin Cohen in the JC re "Why am I broadcasting this positive message?"

In New York, R. Yehuda Levin says "cure gays with chemicals" Stephen Gray of Pink News writes a response (and it may contain a quote from the ravaj).

Meanwhile, just found this older article in the JC from last October by the Masorti rabbi Jeremy Gordon discussing "why gay sex is not immoral"

Take care, and as Dave Allen used to say at the end of his show, may your god go with you!

One Week Later - JFS Update

There were rumours yesterday that the Jewish Free School was going to make a statement with regard to the story in the Jewish Chronicle last week discussing the way homosexuality is referred to in Jewish Studies lessons at the school. Nothing has yet been released.

Meanwhile, here are the latest links to the JC's follow-up stories:

In this leader, the newspaper suggests that the school is bandying semantics. A couple of hours later, the JC online posted a story that refers to the letters written to the school by Alma Smith and Dalia Fleming. You may find it here. Keshet UK is mentioned!

And so we wait to see what happens next.

You Can't Shut a Bad Man Up

Just received notice that Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in NYC is going to be picketed by Fred Phelps and his gang this Sunday. The CBST website says the following:

"June 18th, 2009

CBST has received warning that members of the Westboro Baptist Church are coming to protest against our congregation this Sunday at our Bethune Street location. They have targeted other New York synagogues this weekend.

Led by Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church is a hatemongering organization known most widely for picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, for their protests at the funerals of servicemen killed in Iraq, and most recently, for protesting at the funeral of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, the security officer killed at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington.

We are responding in two ways:
CBST will be holding a non-violent prayer vigil and service during the time of their protest. We cannot allow this group to go unchallenged as they engage in hateful speech at our synagogue. The most powerful response to such hatred is our demonstration of what makes us strong and powerful in the face of bigotry. We will not engage in any confrontational action or shouting matches. They would love it if we were to lose our composure. We will present who we are in a strong and meaningful way.

If you have a tallit, please bring it. If you would like to make colorful signs, please consider using:

"We are all created in God's image"
"God loves all of us"
"God made me gay"
and similar messages

8:45 AM on Sunday, June 21st at our Bethune location

__________________________________________________________

Inspired by a gift from Mitchell Gold, CBST will be participating, as many other LGBT organizations have, in a fundraising effort to counteract the attacks on us by this group.

Mitchell Gold has pledged $10 per minute that the Westboro Baptist Church representatives are picketing us. Their presence will benefit us! We can tell them each minute how much they are raising for us!!

Once the total amount has been raised, we will be sending an acknowledgement letter to the church to let them know that their appearance helped to raise money to support LGBT causes. Many other organizations around the country have done this and raised funds to defeat those who would attack us. (check out phelps-a-thon.com to be inspired by other stories like ours).

As of the writing of this email, we have already raised $40 per minute!

we are delighted that Fred Phelps will help raise money to strengthen the work we do to create a progressive religious voice"

You go peeps!

Peaches Geldof Divorce Horror

So circa 6 months after a quickie marriage in Las Vegas to an indie band guy she had known for about a month, Peaches Geldof will get an 'amicable' divorce. What is the horror about that? Britney did it, why not Peaches? Of course the horror is that a hetero little girl can play with marriage and undo it if it doesn't work, while homo couples who have been together for thirty years do not have the right to that legal bond. I think each time one of these little girls makes a 'mistake' like this, their marriage rights should be handed over to a good gay couple to demonstrate how to do it right.

the pope's foot

the phrase "the pope's nose" refers usually to the rear end of a turkey or chicken. for some reason it comes to mind when i think about the latest public assertion by the current pope that gender theory could lead to the self-destruction of the human race. the bbc reports:

"Pope Benedict XVI has said that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction. He explained that defending God's creation was not limited to saving the environment, but also about protecting man from self-destruction. The Pope was delivering his end-of-year address to senior Vatican staff."
rest of the story here.

hmmmm. presumably he still believes the canard that homosexual sex does not create children and thus decreases the population, going against god's commandment to go forth and multiply. and he's probably never heard of overpopulation, or orphans, or indian and chinese girls, or sperm banks and turkey basters. or perhaps he is thinking about moral destruction? the broken homes from divorce, and the single-parent families; the addicts; the paedophiles and the other abusers; the perpetrators of all ills in this world - none of whom are heterosexual. danke schoen for doing your bit to spread peace and love for all humankind, mate.

harvey milk - the background

i have not yet seen the new film about harvey milk, but have been preparing by reading up about the real person. follow the link to read the guardian version of his story here. an excerpt:

"California's reactionary Proposition 8, which recently rescinded the right of same-sex couples to marry, recalls a similar ballot initiative that was faced down by Milk and his constituents in the years before his death. Moreover, as liberal hero, political pioneer and potential assassination target, Milk resembles no one so much as the US president-elect. Subjected to increasingly violent death threats as his public career flourished, Milk recorded on tape who he wanted to succeed him if he were killed, adding: "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.""

wanda sykes post prop 8

big gay news is that the comedian/actress wanda sykes has officially come out. this is a halloween interview (hence the costumes) in which she discusses the apparent support of many black churches for the banning of gay marriage by pointing out that we suffer also. gosh, there are so many situations where you think that people who have suffered discrimination should know better than to do it themselves, and yet, like so many who have been abused, we repeat the behaviour. have a look here on pandagon with regard to the issue flaring up at some prop 8 protests. damn it, we should know better!

pink pound, or boozy brits?

apparently the city of krakow in poland is a popular site for british stag nights. however, as in other parts of europe, the locals are getting a bit fed up with the rowdiness and the vomiting. tourist authorities in krakow have recently announced that they plan to target gay and lesbian tourists instead, believing that they behave better, not to mention having and spending more money. the observer reports the perspectives and responses of local people:

"'They hassle waitresses about sex and brothels. One stripped off in front of all the other guests. They've started drinking out of their shoes, which they think is really funny. They drop ash and spill beer and vomit, and then they go off to brothels.' Nightclub owners complain they have had to fork out on extra security to cope with drunken brawls that often break out between stag groups. And Krakow's taxi drivers are fed up. 'They pack themselves into the car, vomit out of the windows, and run off without paying,' said one driver, named Tomasz."

these are the stag parties. however:

"'I don't know which is worse!' said Piotr Kucharski, spokesman for the Christian Culture Association In the Name of Father Piotr Skarga, which has initiated an email protest campaign and a demonstration in Krakow against the new policy. He added: 'Drunken Britons may get their genitals out in public. But we don't want gays performing public obscenities either.'"

yes, two men holding hands in public is totally on a par with a flasher. the local politicians, however, are no better:

"'We respect people, their autonomy and personal choices. However, we do not support the promotion of perverse behaviour,' said Agata Tatara, Krakow city councillor and member of the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party."

it constantly amazes me into how many loops of a pretzel shape people are willing to bend themselves to perpetuate their pink prejudice.

the observer reporter was hilary davies from warsaw and the story was published sunday 17th august

homophobia in british society

so the grauniad reports last week that according to a new survey, homophobia is rife in british society. since i have this bifurcated life, where i was this supposed hetero during my life in the uk, and after i left i came out and have lived in the us only as a homosexual (except, i think, from when i was born until i was almost 3) ... well, i have no real idea of how it is to be gay in the uk.

the paper notes that bullying in school is increasing, and the sense of discrimination in public life is great. read the piece here.

i recall attitudes during my sheltered life in london in the eighties and nineties in microcosm via the taunts i heard at football stadia across the country. personally i was only targeted for being fat and female. other chants tended, however, to be mainly racist and anti-semitic, e.g., monkey noises and throwing bananas at black players, and songs like "one man went to gas, went to gas a yiddo". when i go to matches these days, it appears that society is now open and accepting enough to include homophobic chants as well, e.g., "player x takes it up the bum", or "so-and-so is gay" and in a magnificent synthesis of prejudices, "african player x has aids".

enough to make you despair, eh? qpr are off to hull tomorrow. a couple of years ago after the explosions in london, the hull "fans" chanted, "you're just a town full of bombers". *sigh*