This is no time to wait and See

Hard questions are being asked of catholic "leadership" in regard to the organized molestation of children around the world.  This is long overdue, though I doubt much will come of it.  As with many charges against religious "leaders", people are afraid to appear "anti-religious", especially when one has the status of a sovereign country...with no native citizens.

The catholic church is making the laughable claim that it is only responsible for the actions of its priests inside their "sovereign city", the one place where there are few children.  (I wonder how many of them have been molested and they have no legal recourse or means of obtaining help.)  It is claiming the actions of priests are not its responsibility, despite the well known fact that it actively and deliberately relocated priests who had molested children to protect them from criminal charges.


Like the Southern Poverty Law Centre's lawsuits against Ku Klux Klan in the US, the only real damage that will happen to the catholic church is damages paid out by claimants in lawsuits.  The morally vacant city will never be held criminally accountable despite being worse than a ring of child porn purveyors.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-faces-un-grilling-over-child-sex-abuse-9061875.html

Vatican faces UN grilling over child sex abuse

The Vatican will be grilled by a UN panel over cases of child sex abuse, and will be forced to defend itself over allegations it failed to prevent the rape of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims.

[...]

The Holy See ratified the [UN Convention on the Rights of the Child] in 1990 and submitted a first implementation report in 1994. However, it did not provide progress reports for almost ten years, and only submitted one in 2012 after receiving a storm of criticism following the revelations in 2010 of child sex abuse cases in Europe and beyond, the Associated Press has reported.

[...]

In the reports they also include correspondence from a Vatican cardinal allegedly praising a French bishop's decision to protect his abusive priest, and another Vatican command to Irish bishops to strike any mandatory reporting of abusers to police from their policies. 

"For too many years, survivors were the only ones speaking out about this and bearing the brunt of a lot of criticism," said Pam Spees, a human rights lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which provided a key report to the committee.

But according to AP, in its written response to the committee submitted last month, the Vatican declined to provide such information and did not answer many of the committee's questions, arguing that it was not responsible for the actions of every Catholic, much less every priest or parish in the world.

Instead, it said it is really only responsible for implementing the UN treaty where it exercises territorial control: the 44 hectares (110 acres) of the Vatican City State in downtown Rome, where 31 children currently live. 

Chris Kluwe: "Coach made anti-gay remarks"

NFL punter Chris Kluwe reports that a coach his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, made openly gay-hating and confrontational remarks directed at Kluwe.  Kluwe is known for his advocacy of equal rights for LGBTQ people.

Zygi Wilf (owner of the Minnesota Vikings) may have publicly supported Kluwe, but he keeps hiring coaches who don't share that view.  Then again, despite threats in the media to get rid of players involved in the 2005 "love boat" scandal (players had sex with women in front of unwilling witnesses), Wilf did little to punish them.

http://deadspin.com/i-was-an-nfl-player-until-i-was-fired-by-two-cowards-an-1493208214

Incineration without incarceration

Just what exactly is wrong with India's society that rape is an everyday event by the dozens or even hundreds?  And now this one.

On October 26, 2013, a sixteen girl was raped.  She went to the police to file a report.

On the way home, she was raped a second time.  Whether the attackers were the same or different is unknown.

Then on December 23, 2013, she was attacked again, burnt alive by two people connected to the rapists (either friends or family).

The worst thing about censorship is **********

The UK government is trying to institute a "policy" of blocking internet content that would make the Chinese dictatorship proud.  As with "filtering software" of the 1990s, the UK government's censorship is not about blocking "obscenity", it is about blocking content that differs from the governing party's religious and political views.  Allowing sites that promote hate while censoring sites that promote human rights is not the act of a free and democratic state, it is the act of a group of thugs.

Charity starts with selfishness

The rich repeatedly claim that "We give a lot to charity!" but you never hear who exactly is getting the money or for what purpose.  So somebody decided to take a close look.

Do the rich give to food banks?  To help the underprivileged go to college?  Help the homeless?

Oh, puh-leeze, don't be so naïve.

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/14/the_wealthy_give_to_charity_elite_schools_and_operas_partner/

Rich people’s idea of charity: Giving to elite schools and operas 

Hypocrisy, thy name is America, part 1: CIA spies are exempt from laws

When countries spy on the US - from WITHIN the US - you'll Americans get into a tizzy and whine about "treason", despite the fact that only citizens can be traitors.  Foreigners who do it are spies, effectively engaging in acts of war.

So why is it when Americans spy on other countries, commit crimes within other countries on the US's behalf, they're "not criminals" and should be returned to the US?  Then again, the US is the country which whined about the Lockerbie bombers while protecting Orlando Bosch, a CIA stooge who bombed a Cuban airliner, killing 75 civilians.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/12/robert-levinson-iran-missing-cia-secret

American missing in Iran since 2007 was working for the CIA

The War On Cyclists and Pedestrians: Father arrested for walking to his kids' school

How ludicrous has the US become where parents are NOT allowed to walk to schools and pick up their children?  Or that parents are REQUIRED to have cars in order to do so?

"Just doing his job" is second only to "disorderly conduct" on the list of make-it-up-as-you-go-along police work.  It's not about "laws", it's about demonstrating and exerting authority (read: bullying the populace).

Libertarian clowns are trying to get mileage out of this story, but the real issues are parents having the right to see their own children at any time, and that cars are prioritized over pedestrians.

http://www.wate.com/story/24005228/cumberland-county-parent-releases-video-of-his-arrest-by-a-school-resource-officer

Cumberland County parent outraged by his arrest

A Cumberland County father didn't want to wait in a long line of traffic to pick his kids up from school. That led to a series of encounters last week at South Cumberland Elementary, and now the dad's facing charges.

What happenes when the "legal system" is more corrupt than the criminals?

What happens?  The corrupt members get a slap on the wrist.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-chemist-gets-3-to-5-years-in-drug-lab-scandal/

Mass. chemist gets 3-to-5 years in drug lab scandal

A chemist at a Massachusetts drug lab who admitted faking test results in criminal cases pleaded guilty Friday to obstruction of justice, perjury and tampering with evidence in a scandal that has jeopardized thousands of convictions.

"Jeopardized thousands of convictions"?  Excuse me?  How about the dozens or possibly hundreds of innocent people who were falsely convicted?  Or does the stenographer assume the accused are all guilty?

Harassment of employees is a crime, unless you're doing it for "god"

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20131113/NEWS01/311130051/Judge-Owner-can-t-lecture-employees-on-religion

Judge: Owner can't lecture employees on religion

A southwest Iowa grocery store owner who lectured an employee on her religious beliefs must pay her unemployment benefits, a state judge has ruled.

The case centered on a question that often divides civil libertarians and people of faith: Do business owners have the right to advocate for their religious beliefs in discussions with employees?

Of course not.  Religious harassment and come-ons are as offensive as sexual harassment and sexual come-ons.  They're both unwelcome and both criminal.

The dealer has changed the packaging of his addictive drug

Changing the packaging doesn't change the fact that the drug is addictive, or that the dealer is trying to keep the profits coming in.

"Looks to me a little bit like lust"

The only lust I see is Gordon Klingenschmitt's lust for hate and violence.   Or does Klingenschmitt secretly have a thing for babies?

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2013/11/klingenschmitt-photo-of-gay-couple-with-baby-looks-to-me-a-little-bit-like-lust/

How could anyone who is well adjusted read sexual desire into the faces of a pair of loving fathers?

http://www.stonewall.org.uk/images/cm_images/gary-and-child-large.jpg

Why I don't watch football, part 5: "Keep the redskins white"

I don't see any ethical difference between Daniel Snyder's refusal to drop the name "redskins" and a picture from 1961 of Ku Klux Klan members protesting for the team to continue having only white players.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/11/nazis-desegregating-washington-nfl-football-team

Mother Jones: Richard Cohen's 10 Worst Moments, Counted Down

You have to wonder where someone's head is - down the rabbit hole perhaps (or somewhere else dark, wet and dirty) - to think such things.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/11/richard-cohen-just-the-worst

No matter which one you read first, the others are worse.

BMW says, "Pedestrians cause car accidents"

BMW has created a "pedestrian safety" website, "instructing" children (read: blaming children who are hit) to wear fluorescent vests or armbands when walking on the sidewalks and when crossing streets.

http://www.bmweducation.co.uk/sots06/default.asp

On the face of it, this sounds like something responsible.  In reality, this is victim blaming.  The goal of the website is to say, "They should have been more visible," to children who are injured or killed by speeding drivers.

Why I don't watch football, part 2: A player is bullied to death

Christian Adamek committed suicide after bullying...by the school principal.  After streaking through the school on a "dare", the principal sought inflated criminal charges against the teen.  Adamek would have been labelled a "sexual predator", the same as rapists and child molesters.

The inevitable has happened three times

Members of the Greek fascist party "Golden Dawn" incited and advocated anti-immigration violence, what is known as "stochastic terrorism".

One of the "lone wolf" fanboys of the far-right party murdered a Greek celebrity who spoke out against hate speech.

And now, the "Golden Dawn" party is under investigation, including members of its party in the Greek parliament.

The only person that needs to be tried is the public persecutor

Long overdue, the farcical "conviction" of Marissa Alexander has been overturned.  The question now is, will the overzealous careerist who falsely convicted her try to do it again?  Will that prosecutor be allowed to continue a chain of corrupt and biased decisions of who to charge and who not to?

Religious dishonesty: Tim Tebow was a "victim of discrimination"

The only discrimination going on in the New England Patriots' camp is the discrimination between talented and untalented players.

http://www.examiner.com/article/christians-claim-persecution-after-patriots-cut-tim-tebow

Christians claim persecution after Patriots cut Tim Tebow

September 1, 2013  

Christians are claiming persecution after Christian darling Tim Tebow was cut from the New England Patriots. The Patriots released Tebow on Saturday, a move that leaves the polarizing and proselytizing quarterback's NFL future in doubt.

Many Christians are unhappy with the decision, claiming Tebow is the victim of persecution because of his outspoken and public profession of his Christian faith. Tebow, raised by controversial evangelical missionary parents, is famous for praying on the football field. His pretentious public displays of piety have thrilled his Christian fans, while making many others slightly ill.

There is no "anti-christian bias", especially when the teams' owner is vocally christian, as are the bulk of the players and many of the team's management and coaching staff.  The same stupid accusations were made in the Roy Moore / "ten commandments" case (where Moore was removed from office for breaking the law).

Lousy-ana school districts

Louisiana?  Lousy-ana is more like it, especially it's "education" system.  Did anyone really believe that "private schools" which inflict ignorant, dogmatic religion upon children would lead to better education?

The "textbooks" those places used weren't your typical creationist drivel.  They were the books which described slavery as "triangular trade", and eradicated any mention of Thomas Jefferson who advocated the separation of cult and state.

There is only one thing to say about Michael Shermer

Michael Shermer has been accused of sexually assaulting or perhaps raping one or more women.  The veracity of any such claims is beyond my knowledge, so I have no comment on whether it is true or not.

But you have to wonder why Shermer's response is legal action to silence criticism, rather than a presentation or explanation of his interactions with the woman who accused him (or women, since a second has come forward).

Worse yet, Shermer is openly grateful to someone who is raising money for his legal costs - a person who has openly told rape jokes to get laughs.  Shermer endorses such a person instead of distancing himself from him.  Rape is not something to joke about.