PQ leader outraged that Canadian Cardinal is too Catholic

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From the CBC:

Several female politicians and women’s rights activists have denounced anti-abortion remarks made by the Catholic Church’s top Canadian official over the weekend.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, attending the Campagne Pro-Vie conference in Quebec City on Saturday, suggested that abortion can never be justified, even in cases where a woman has been raped.

He called abortion a “moral crime” as serious as murder.

Ouellet said he understands how a sexually assaulted woman has been traumatized and must be helped and that her attacker must be held accountable.

“But there is already a victim,” he said. “Must there be another one?”

Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois, Liberal cabinet minister Marguerite Blais and the president of the Quebec Women’s Federation have spoken out against Ouellet.

Marois, speaking to a weekend PQ policy conference, said she was “absolutely outraged” by the remarks, adding that the archbishop of Quebec was trying to undo rights that were won decades ago.

There’s nothing quite as enjoyable as the secular howl of indignation when a Christian is consistent.

At last, a cogent argument from an atheist

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Well, maybe not.

Dawkins seems to think that there is a role for the bovine excrement argument: some people respond to it, apparently. This scatological underpinning for the beliefs of cranially constricted atheists has inspired a great deal of huffing and puffing – as is evident in this speaker – but it doesn’t pass for rationally convincing thought.

The Diocese of New Westminster redefines “mission”

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It now means “dilution”.  Bishop Michael Ingham enlightens the faithful at the 2010 synod of the Diocese of New Westminster:

Mission simply means ‘being sent.’ Put it another way – it’s where God already is and we are sent to help. There is an old view of mission that saw the world outside the church as a godless place, mired in darkness. Christians were to take the light of Christ into the darkness. But we no longer hold that triumphalist view. Many of us would agree with something the Persian poet Rumi wrote eight centuries ago: “we are all different lamps, but the light is the same.” In other words, the light is all around. All light comes from God. We have to find ways to join our light with those of others so we can illuminate the world with a great brightness, a great hope. This is our mission….

But the missional church is about much more than numbers. Alan Roxburgh is trying to teach us to get out of our buildings and find out where the light of God is already shining in our neighbourhoods. The purpose is not to grow the church but to join the light. That can mean forming partnerships with social service agencies, schools, hospitals, community organizations, other Christians, and other people of faith like Jews, Sikhs and Muslims. Mission is first and foremost about imagination. It’s a mindset. It’s about seeing God already in the world and joining in willingly to help.

According to Ingham, the view that Christ has something unique to offer – salvation, for example – is “old” and “triumphalist”. The enlightened Anglican should throw his lot in with those who are outside the church – it doesn’t seem to matter much who – to “join their light”, whatever that means. It’s hard to believe that anyone could fall for such twaddle; why was there no outcry, no mass walkout, no booing? The only explanation I can think of is that the delegates were all sound asleep.

The new Z-Cars

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In the 1960s, in addition to the Beatles and LSD, there were the Z-Cars. The long of memory – and tooth – will recognise a very young looking Brian Blessed, Frank Windsor and Judi Dench in this clip – Stratford Johns is absent for some reason.

But, of course, it was really all about the cars. And it still is; the trouble is, they have turned into camper vans and everyone laughs Add an Imageat them. It is hard not to laugh at the police these days, though.

With a top speed of just 80 mph it is more likely to cause traffic jams than strike fear into the hearts of Birmingham’s hardened criminals.

But this camper van, complete with full West Midlands Police livery, has been deployed on the mean streets of Britain’s second city.

Embarrassed officers complain they are being openly mocked every time they are seen driving the 3.5-tonne motor home.

Rejected!

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I applied to join the Pagan Police Group UK, in order to peruse their fascinating web site more fully.

To my chagrin, I just received the following email:

Hi toad,

Your request to join

http://paganpolicegroupuk.moonfruit.com

has not been accepted. The website owner gave the following reason: (if any)

No reason was given. I am left to ponder why: am I not pagan enough? – I did put down “Anglican”; I have a cousin who is a retired policeman, so it can’t be that; I am respectful of other religions, so it can’t be that; I am left with the inescapable conclusion that they fear that, being Welsh, lactating sheep might find me more appealing than the average English policeman and they don’t relish the competition. Sad, really.

Roman Polanski, celebrity child rapist

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From here:

A British woman came forward Friday alleging sexual assault against director Roman Polanski, who is currently under house arrest in Switzerland for the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in 1977.

In a press conference at her attorney Gloria Allred’s Los Angeles office, Charlotte Lewis, an actress who appeared in Polanski’s 1986 film “Pirates,” alleged that Polanski sexually abused her in the “worst way possible” when she was 16 years old. Lewis claims the attack took place in Paris in 1982, four years after he fled the U.S. to escape sentencing for the sexual assault of 13-year-old Samantha Geimer.

According to Lewis, now 42, Polanski was aware that she was 16 at the time when he “forced himself” on her in his apartment. The legal age of consent in France is 15.

“He took advantage of me,” Lewis said. “What I want is justice.”

The renowned defenders of the sexually innocent, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, are busy organising lawyers to force the extradition of Polanski so that he can face charges in the US and Britain.

No they’re not, I made that up.

How many policemen does it take to subdue one street preacher?

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Judging by this video of the infamous arrest of Dale McAlpine for saying homosexual conduct is a sin, five. It probably takes the entire police force to arrest a burglar.

Here is the transcript from the Christian Institute:

Dale: We’re not out here to break any laws. We want to abide by the law.
There isn’t any law against saying that them things are sins. There isn’t any law against that.

Police: Hello sir. What’ve you been saying, homophobic wise?

Dale: Well, homophobia is hatred towards homosexuals. That’s the definition of homophobia but I’m not a homophobia [sic]. I spoke to your officer earlier and he was upset that I was saying homosexuality was a sin – which is what the Bible says. And I affirm that’s what I say because that’s in the Bible. And there’s no law, there’s no law…

Police: Well there is.

Dale: No there isn’t.

Police: There is. Unfortunately, mate, it’s a breach of Section 5 of the Public Order Act.

Dale: It actually isn’t.

Police: Sir, it’s a…

Dale: We wouldn’t do that because if it was against the law, y’know. Lord Carey, was it Lord – the guy who passed that law in the Houses of Parliament recently – the free speech [inaudible].

Police: [inaudible] It protects free speech to a degree but [inaudible].

Dale’s friend: Actually, I certainly didn’t. These two gentlemen listened to probably all I’ve said. I certainly never mentioned homosexuality.

Police: Yeah, we know.

Dale: The only time I mentioned it was when I was talking to this gentleman here. When I was up on the steps preaching, I didn’t mention it. Even so, y’know, it still is not against the law.

Police: It is against the law. Listen, mate, we’re pretty sure. You’re under arrest for a racially aggravated Section 5 Public Order offence. You don’t have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.

Dale: Fair enough.

Police: OK. Do you want to walk this way to our van?