I AM OFFENDED!

How disgusting it was for a french magazine to recently publish photographs of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, topless!

THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!!! 

I AM OFFENDED!!!

I DEMAND THE RIGHT NOT TO BE OFFENDED!!!

We ALL know that women should be seen and not heard.  We all know that women, when seen, should be fully covered.  We all know that respecting women involves suppressing them and ensuring that they are always fully covered – at all times – in whatever circumstances.

Here is another example of the sick and disgusting images!

The Duchess is the wife of a future King of England.  It is difficult to conceive of a more disgusting outrage.

Here is yet another affront to our sensitivities!

What right thinking person could not be so angered by this insult to the Duchess and everything that is honourable about the englishness?

I DEMAND THE RIGHT NOT TO BE OFFENDED!

I call upon all devout and true Englishmen to take the following actions:

1.  Attack the French Embassy in London.  Throw sticks and stones at it.  Fire bomb it.  Kill the staff and the Ambassador if you can.

2.  Attack the Irish Embassy in London.  Throw sticks and stones at it.  Fire bomb it.  Kill the staff and the Ambassador if you can.  (An Irish newspaper published these grotesque and wicked photographs too!)

3.  Attack the Italian Embassy in London.  Throw sticks and stones at it.  Fire bomb it.  Kill the staff and the Ambassador if you can.  (An Italian publisher thought about/is thinking about publishing the offending the images.)

4.  Attack the Danish Embassy in London.  Throw sticks and stones at it.  Fire bomb it.  Kill the staff and the Ambassador if you can.  (The filthy immoral Danes have published this insult against the Monarchy.)

5.  Attack the Swedish Embassy in London.  Throw sticks and stones at it.  Fire bomb it.  Kill the staff and the Ambassador if you can.  (The filthy immoral Swedes have published this slur against the royal blood line of the english speaking people.)

6.  Attack all embassies in London in case anyone in any country may be thinking of publishing these pictures.

7.  Kill anyone you think maybe thinking of looking at these photographs.

8.  Kill everyone, just in case that person might look at someone who has thought about the pictures.

9.  Whilst killing all these people be sure to tell them, just before you kill them, that you kill them as an act of love!

WE HAVE A RIGHT NOT TO BE OFFENDED!

If you are not getting the sarcasm then please watch this:

(DISCLAIMER – in view of ridiculous political correctness – PLEASE NOTE – that nothing in the post is to be taken as an incitement to violence.  Try and get on with eachother – and practise tolerance!)

Tropical storm Isaac, which had been thought to be heading towards Tampa, Florida where the Republicans are holding their National Convention, has changed direction.

Jesten Peters of Keys of Authority Ministries believes that this was a result of prayer.

What the Reverend Peters fails to address is this.

Why did God answer her prayers and not the prayers of those in New Orleans where Isaac is expected to hit land at some time tomorrow?

I wonder if she will now start praying for those in Louisiana?  Will her god then re-direct it somewhere else?

Will she pray that her god will make it disappear altogether?  I bet she will not, because she knows that that would be a real miracle and beyond the powers of her sky chum.

What a surprise.   The catholic church in Scotland is opposing proposed changes in the law to allow same sex marriage, or as the church prefers to refer to it as “gay marriage”.

On 26 August, in every catholic church in Scotland, a “letter” was read out to the parishioners.  The letter emanated from cardinal Keith O’Brien, the head of the catholic church in Scotland.

This is the same cardinal who, in March of this year referred to the plans to allow gay marriage as “a grotesque subversion of a universally accepted human right”.

And in an act of what can only be described at petty petulance, last week the cardinal cut off discussions with the Scottish Government over the proposed changes to the law.

So what are the church’s problems with gay marriage?  What is in this 650 worded letter?  The answer is pretty much nothing.

The church’s reason for opposing the proposals?   Because Jesus made reference to marriage being between a man and a woman – specifically Matthew 19. 4 to 5 which reads as follows:

⁴ And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

⁵ And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

As it happens, in that verse Jesus is answering a question as to whether a man should be allowed to divorce his wife, (see Matthew 19.3).  So it can be strongly and convincingly argued that Jesus was not commenting about same sex marriage at all.  (Indeed, so far as I am aware, Jesus never mentioned homosexuality.)   I call the church’s reliance of this passage to be cherry picking – and dishonest cherry picking too.

So what else does the church rely on to oppose the proposals?

The answer is – nothing.  If you don’t believe me then read the letter for yourself.  I have posted it below.  Apart from some, (at times meaningless), rhetoric the definition of marriage by Jesus is the only argument that it relies on.

It is also worth noting that the church does not follow all of Jesus’ teachings.  For example, in the same book, (Matthew), verses 5 to 7 – commonly known as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says a lot of things that no one, not even the catholic church takes seriously today.  (For a full deconstruction of the Sermon on the Mount by Matt Dillahunty click here)

In the letter there are undertones that appear to suggest that the catholic church considers that allowing gay marriage would have an adverse affect on society.  However, what that adverse affect would be, or why it would happen is never explained.

Surely, if the church had any valid argument(s) it would have raised it/them in the letter.  Their failure to do so suggests to me that they have no valid argument, (other than bigotry which is hardly an argument), that would withstand scrutiny.

And because their selective, arbitrary,  cherry picking, (if that is not a tautology), I can only conclude is motivated by bigotry and homophobia.

Anyway, have a look for yourself.  Here is the letter.

“In all things, we as Catholics look to Jesus Christ as our model and teacher.   When asked about marriage He gave a profound and rich reply: “Have you not read that the Creator, from the beginning, ‘made them male and female’, and said: ‘This is why a man must leave father and mother and cling to his wife and the two become one body’.”   (Matthew, 19: 4-5)

In the Year of Faith, which begins this October, we wish to place a special emphasis on the role of the family founded on marriage.   The family is the domestic Church, and the first place in which the faith is transmitted.   For that reason it must have a primary focus in our prayerful considerations during this period of grace.

We write to you having already expressed our deep disappointment that the Scottish Government has decided to redefine marriage and legislate for same-sex marriage. We take this opportunity to thank you for your past support in defense of marriage and hope you will continue to act against efforts to redefine it.   We reaffirm before you all the common wisdom of humanity and the revealed faith of the Church that marriage is a unique life-long union of a man and a woman.

In circumstances when the true nature of marriage is being obscured, we wish to affirm and celebrate the truth and beauty of the Sacrament of Matrimony and family life as Jesus revealed it;  to do something new to support marriage and family life in the Catholic community and in the country;  and to reinforce the vocation of marriage and the pastoral care of families which takes in the everyday life of the Church in dioceses and parishes across the country.

For that reason, in the forthcoming Year of Faith we have decided to establish a new Commission for Marriage and the Family.   This Commission will be led by a bishop and will be composed mostly of lay men and women.   The Commission will be charged with engaging with those young men and women who will be future husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and with those who already live out their vocation to marriage and parenthood in surroundings which often make it hard to sustain and develop the full Catholic family life we cherish.

We wish to support too, those who are widowed, separated and divorced and all who need to feel the Church’s maternal care in the circumstances in which they find themselves.   The new Commission will promote the true nature of marriage as both a human institution and a union blessed by Jesus.   The Commission will be asked to develop an online presence so that prayer, reflection, formation and practical information on matters to do with marriage and family life can be quickly accessible to all.   It will also work to produce materials and organise events which will support ordinary Catholic families in their daily lives.   During the course of the coming year we will ask for your support for these initiatives.

Our faith teaches us that marriage is a great and holy mystery.   The Bishops of Scotland will continue to promote and uphold the universally accepted definition of marriage as the union solely of a man and a woman.   At the same time, we wish to work positively for the strengthening of marriage within the Church and within our society.

This is an important initiative for all our people, but especially our young people and children.  We urge you to join us in this endeavour.   Pray for your own family every day, and pray for those families whose lives are made difficult by the problems and cares which they encounter.   Finally, we invite you to pray for our elected leaders, invoking the Holy Spirit on them, that they may be moved to safeguard marriage as it has always been understood, for the good of Scotland and of our society.”

An elderly parishioner, Cecilia Gimenez, who is in her 80s, concluded that the fresco of Jesus in her local church was looking a little shabby and was in need of restoration.

The fresco, Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) by Elias Garcia Martinez has held pride of place in the Sanctuary of Mercy Church near Zaragoza for more than 100 years.

So Cecilia dug out her paint brushes and set to work.

The result of her handiwork was not well received by her fellow parishioners.

When I first saw Cecilia’s work I was immediately reminded of the work of youtube user nonstampcollector!

To get the full effect you need to see the before and after side by side.

A full account can be found on the BBC website.

Tony Nicklinson died today, 22 August 2012

Tony Nicklinson, who had suffered locked in syndrome since 2005, died today, seven days after losing his High Court case in which he sought the right to die with dignity and with the assistance of a doctor.

Tony suffered a stroke in 2005.  He was left almost totally paralysed. He lost the ability to speak and could only communicated by blinking.  See the previous post for a fuller background.

Early reports suggest that since he lost the High Court case he refused food and developed pneumonia.

(Tony’s reaction on hearing of the decision of the High Court last week)

I find myself filled with a number of emotions.  Sadness that he has died, even though that was what he wanted.  Disappointed that his death will bring to an end his legal case and prolong the time it will take before the (in my opinion) inevitable change in the law.

And also anger.  Anger that Tony felt forced to starve himself.  As a result of which he developed pneumonia.  Which meant that his death involved more suffering on his part.

If anyone would like to defend the legal status quo I would love to hear their arguments.

For me, (and with the caveat that I am referring to people of sound mind), the right to determine how and when you die is a human right.  A right that Tony was deprived of.

Can we all agree that an individual’s autonomy is a fundamental human right?  And such autonomy includes a right to determine how and when a person can end their life?  But what happens when someone makes the decision that they want to die but cannot follow it through?

We hear much about the “right to life” but much less about the “right to die”.  But the case of Tony Nicklinson has brought the subject to the fore.

Mr Nicklinson, 57, suffered a stroke 2005.  The former civil engineer, who had led an active life, was left with “locked in syndrome”.  This means that whilst he mind is still active he is completely paralysed.  He can do nothing at all for himself.   He is washed, dressed and fed mashed-up food through a tube twice a day.   He can communicate only by blinking or by using a Perspex board and letters which he nods or blinks at to spell out words to wife Jane.

He has said he is fed-up with his ‘undignified’ life.

Mr Nicklinson wants to die and has done since 2007.  The problem is that his condition is such that he is not able to do so.

He lacks the physical capability to commit suicide.  Save for refusing food. He lives in hope of being struck down with a life-threatening condition because he could then refuse treatment.

He explains his position in this video:

As indicated in the video, if someone assists Tony in taking his life they commit an offence as the law currently stands in England and Wales.

The Suicide Act 1961 sets out the law.

If someone assists him in his suicide they could be charged with murder.

In March of this year a High Court Judge accepted that Tony Nicklinson had an arguable case under the Human Rights Act.  That hearing took place in June.   Mr Nicklinson was seeking 2 declarations from the Court.

The first was that, in the circumstances of his case,  and where an order has been sought from the court in advance – “the common law defence of necessity would be available to a doctor who, acting out of his professional and human duty, assisted him to die”.

The second was that the current law of assisted suicide and euthanasia is incompatible with his Article 8 rights of autonomy and dignity.

The decision of the Court was given yesterday.  In short, Mr Nicklinson lost the case.
This was his reaction when he heard the news.

Who can watch that and not be moved?

I cannot conceive of living the life of Mr Nicklinson.  The indignity, the embarrassment, the frustration.   Here is a man who wants to die.

Would I assist him to kill himself?   Without doubt I would.

Why?  Is it because I am an evil atheist who does not value life?  No.  Quite the contrary.  I feel that it is a fundamental right that any person should be able to decide how and when they should die.  That’s it. It’s that simple.

If you saw an animal suffer as Tony is suffering would you not consider that it would be your moral duty, your moral obligation to terminate its life?  Would you not?

I’m sure that there may be some disagreement with my views, so let me seek to predict what those arguments are, and deal with them.

“He may get better” – There is no evidence to suggest that this is the case.  His condition has not changed in 7 years and there is no evidence or reason to suppose that it will.  The fact that others have “recovered” from “similar conditions” is irrelevant.  And how long are you prepared to wait?  How long are you prepared to stand by and watch Tony suffer?

“Other people in his condition don’t want to die.”  Some will point to the likes of Stephen Hawkin who’s condition is not dissimilar to Tony’s.  They will point out that Hawkin does not want to die.  But this is not an argument.  It is merely an observation.

“This will open the flood gates, before you know it  everyone will be killing everyone … ”   Nope.  This one doesn’t work either.   Firstly, the declaration sought by Mr Nicklinson was specific to his circumstances, and his alone.  Secondly, if as I suspect, the law will ultimately be changed by parliament, those changes will have safeguards to protect against potential abuse.

“Life is sacrosanct”  No it isn’t.  And few people believe it to be so, despite what they may say.  Those who support the death penalty clearly do not believe that life is sacrosanct.  Those who promote and/or support war(s) clearly do not.  Anyone who believes in the idea of self defence does not believe life is sacrosanct.

“It is god’s will that he is suffering …”  I have no intention of addressing such a stupid argument.

In summary, I support Tony Nicklinson’s decision to end his life.

It is no surprise to me that the High Court reached the conclusion that it did.  His appeal to the Court of Appeal will, in my opinion, have the same outcome.  After that he may be able to appeal to Europe but I have no optimism that such an appeal would be successful.

Eventually the law may change, but such change will come from parliament, not the courts.

This will take a long time.  The present government has indicated that they have no intention of changing the law, and after his appeals to courts have run out we will be nearing a general election.  I can’t see any political party running a campaign with this issue on its agenda.

Is there anything that can be done?

Yes.  There are a number of on line petitions you can sign.  I include here a link to the one which I have signed.

A simple “Tony Nicklinson petition”  in google will bring up others.

Please support Tony Nicklinson’s right to choose to die in a dignified manner.

Today saw some interesting developments in the case of Julian Assange.  If you are not familiar with the story here is a brief background.

Assange, an Austrian,  set up the website wikileaks on 2006.  Earlier this year a European Arrest Warrant,  (“EAW”),  was issued by the Swedish authorites.  They wanted to question Assange in relation to a number of rape allegations that had been made against him.  Assange was, at that time, in the UK.  The EAW scheme meant that the UK were (and still are) obliged to  extradict him to Sweden.

Assange challenged the EAW through the courts but by the end of May he had exhausted all his possible legal avenues.  Shortly afterwards he entered the Ecuadorean Embassy in London seeking political asylum.  He hasn’t left the embassy since.

In doing so he was in breach of his bail conditions – a matter which means that the police were entitled to arrest him.  However, they cannot do so as the 1961 Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations prevents police from entering an embassy without the permission of the ambassador.  Such permission has not been given, nor is it likely to be.

Yesterday there were rumours that the UK may remove the diplomatic status of the embassy, which would then allow the police to enter.

Probably in umberage at those rumours, today, 16 August, Ecuador granted Assange political asylum.

But the fact that Assange now has the status of a political refugee does not prevent his arrest.

So we have now entered a stand-off – and a stand off that has become violent.  Three protesters (supporters of Assange) were arrested today.

I do not believe for one moment that the UK would remove the diplomatic status of the Ecuadorean embassy.  There is no precedent for this and it would be a dramatic and horrific move to make.  The reprecussion do not bare thinking about.  But if they did?  What then?  Would they send in the SAS an in the Iranian Embassy seige?

Of course I am not being serious.  But at the same time I doubt that the police would be able to gain entry without using force.  So what would happen?  It could only be an ugly scene.

However, there are police officers waiting to arrest Assange once he sets foot outside the embassy.   As far as I understand there is only one entrance to the embassy so they have his one “escape route” well covered.

There is no courtyard where  he could get into a diplomatic car and drive or be driven away.  Even if he did the police could stop the car.  However, they would not be allowed to enter the car as the car is protected under similiar laws as the embassy is (although not quite to the same extent)!

I guess the police could blockade the car and have another stand-off?  Waiting until the call of nature or dehydration or starvation forces Assange to get out of the car?  Again this would be a political and diplomatic nightmare.

Even if he was, somehow, driven to an airport under diplomatic immunity, or skulduggery, he would have to leave the car to get on to a plane.  Again, at that point he could be arrested.

As a slight aside,  Assange has tried to argue that he should not be extradicted because he may then be sent from Sweden to the US where he faces potential criminal charges as a result of his activities with Wikileaks.  Assange argues that he could face the death penalty is he was sent to the US.  I think this to be a nonsense.  The European Convention on Human Rights would prevent his extradiction in such circumstances.

In short Assange cannot leave the embassy without being arrested.   And the police cannot go inside the embassy to arrest him.

I do not see how this incident will resolve itself.   But I think it will be interesting.  I suspect that the embassy will find that they have a very long term guest staying with them.

What are your thoughts?

(My comments are not intended to be a definitive statement of the law nor to be taken as legal advice.)

Hi, as you can guess, this site is under construction.

As I have limited experience in setting up a website this may take some time.  But please beare with me.  I’ll get there in the end.

I intend to blog here and build up content on other pages.

Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see.

Thanks,

dprjones

Hannibal Lecter told Clarice Starling that he enjoyed collecting reports of church collapses.  He enjoyed the irony of the religious being killed and injured in the one place they should be most safe.

And it certainly seems to be the case that churches get their fair share of collapses and other disasters.

This story was reported on 14 August 2012.

“Twenty-eight people were injured as a cache of fireworks accidentally went off in a Spanish church amid festival celebrations. While the display turned out to be more dangerous than entertaining, it still was a beautiful sight to watch.  

­The fireworks were part of the Nit de l’Alba (Night of the Dawn) festival, which is traditionally celebrated on August 13 in Elche, in eastern Spain, in honor of the Virgin Mary.

The display was scheduled to be launched minutes before midnight, but somehow, fireworks fired from elsewhere made their way into the bell tower, landing directly on a pack of mini-rockets. And though the box was covered by a protective blanket, as a spokesperson for Elche town hall explained, the fuses ignited anyway, AP reports.“

And here is the video!

And that’s by no means the only such incident:

Here a video of a church collapsing during earthquakes in Spain, (11 May 2011).

But there are many more still, so many that I’ll only relate some of those that have occurred so far this year.

LEESBURG, Va. — Loudoun County officials say the roof of a Leesburg church under construction collapsed, injuring two construction workers.
County fire and rescue spokeswoman Mary Maguire says the workers were on the roof of the building on Evergreen Mills Road about 12:30 p.m. Monday when the trusses collapsed.  (By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 14, 10:36 AM)

Paris building collapse kills child, 6, in Pierrefitte
Haitian evacuated from the damaged building north of Paris.  At least 100 worshippers were in the building when the roof collapsed.
A six-year-old child was killed when a Protestant house of worship collapsed to the north of Paris, police say.
Thirty-two people were also injured when the first floor of the structure, between Stains and Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, gave way during a service at 14:30 local time.
(8 April 2012 Last updated at 17:56)

Priest dies in church collapse while trying to rescue statue as second major earthquake to hit Italy in days kills at least 15 others.  (Daily Mail, 29 May 2012)

A Catholic church building in the Village of Adamgbe, Mbayongo Vandeikya Local Government area of Benue collapsed at about 9:45 PM tonight killing some 30 villagers who were worshipping during the Easter vigil night at the church.

Parishioners of St. Roberts Catholic church Adamgbe Mbayongo were right in the middle of service when the church walls came tumbling, crushing at least 30 people to death. A survivor of the tragedy Michael Tyokyaa said the situation was very tragic as it took extremely long before any form of help could come their way. Police officers from Vandeikya township in the local government headquarters managed to get to the collapsed scene almost an hour after the church building.  (8 April 2012)

A FIVE storey church building collapsed in Ilford, east London collapsed yesterday it has been reported.
A London Fire Brigade [LFB] spokesman reportedly said six fire crews and three fire rescue units were called at the scene, after the metal framework of the structure gave way.
(31 January 2012)

EASTER TRAGEDY: 38 die in Catholic and Deeper life Churches
At least 30 persons have been confirmed dead as a Catholic church building in Adamgbe, Mbayongo Vandeikya Local Government Area of Benue state collapsed on Saturday night while parishioners were worshiping during the Easter vigil night.
(8 April 2012)

OYO, Nigeria, (Xinhua) — At least four people were confirmed dead and two others were seriously injured on Thursday when a church building under construction collapsed in Ibadan, capital of southwest Nigeria’s Oyo State.                                                 (31 May 2012)

Where was god when these events happened?  Or maybe god just has a sick sense of humour.  Whatever the reason, it seems to make sense to stay away from churches!

And I can never stop giggling at this video.

Does that make me a bad person?