The Phobe Files . . .

This is the first in an occasional series which merely serves to collect together and present a few of the more in-my-face homophobic tales discovered in my travels. The articles and links are in no especial order or priority indicative of merit nor capacity to offensiveness, for example. All have been culled from the popular press, and have been lightly researched by me for authorship credentials, currency of the hyperlinks and presence of original content: indeed, where an article cannot be reproduced, it will not be paraphrased. Articles have been sent into to me in some cases, by colleagues overseas. However, what they all have in common, is that the content and context just happens to be the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I feel that it is important that I drive home this fact from the start, since upon digesting some of the reportage, it is quite easy to lapse and sleepwalk into the fallacy that we are looking at the Middle East.

The first item on my list is the interview given by Cameron to the Gay Times magazine. Enough said, eeeeh, Daaayve?




What century?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8033724/Student-jumps-to-death-after-being-filmed-having-sex-with-man.html


What year?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8013175/One-in-eight-bandbs-dont-welcome-gay-travellers.html

Church of filth and hypocrisy:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/senior-catholic-edmund-adamus-blames-uks-moral-wasteland-on-equal-rights-2067112.html

The same old tricks:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/world/europe/30belgium.html?_r=1&hp

Tell us something new:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/27/child-abuse-catholic-church

At last, some sense:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/19/catholic-adoption-agency-gay-parents

We love this, due to the fact that fate obviously has a sense of irony:

http://freethinker.co.uk/2010/05/23/pope’s-visit-faces-a-3-million-shortfall-–-and-god-tv-urgently-needs-4-million/

What year are we in?:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1301180/Ex-vicar-banned-foster-parent-refusing-let-gay-couples-visit-home.html

Again, which year? Care to misdate, anyone? Mid-70s?:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/lib-dems-to-vote-on-full-marriage-rights-for-gay-couples-2046695.html

The church is obviously incapable of keeping itself out of the news, nor indeed, protecting vulnerable children:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/03/26/mexico.priest.abuse/index.html

Reserving some invective for the church of Rome, we have another beautiful revelation from the magazine, "Panorama" concerning the behaviour of the sad, people haters that work within Christ Plc:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1297083/Gay-priest-sex-scandal-undercover-Berlusconi-reporter-films-clerics-gay-clubs.html

And! Yet another lovely piece concerning religion, belief, christianity with a small "c", and boarding houses full of love and . . .  .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/21/gay-couple-refused-hotel-room

I am hoping that by mid-year that I will NOT have enough material for a book, but a cursory check of my clippings folder leads me to the conclusion that I could not only be constructing a commercial website, but also be looking for gay and straight people with which to staff it.

And the saga at Christ Plc continues:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7096149.ece

PC attack case (Liverpool), latest news:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/8620096.stm



Bookmark this page and check back from time to time? Contributions to the usual dead-drop . . .

St Patrick's Day

I was driving to an appointment yesterday morning and my journey as usual took me uphill, and along Valley View Grove, adjacent to the park.

The side entrance was cordoned off with many yards of flexible police incident  tape,  and present, minding the site were at least two uniformed officers, just standing by. One video unit van was parked up alongside on the road. I couldn't stop and stare. I had no time to spare.

Later that same day, as I was making the return drive, I witnessed three police vans in total and several more uniformed officers. On checking the local news when I got in, I discovered that although there had been a nasty murder by stabbing in Gladstone Street, maybe a mile distant, there was no mention of crime in our locality.

So, if anyone out there knows what happened this week then drop me or the T & A a line.

On a more upbeat note, the first flowers of 2010 are popping up all over the place. I am sure that many people, both young and old alike, and with some of the middle-agers such as I, very glad indeed to witness this outbreak of colour.  Does this presage a hot, hot, hot summer? Probably not. The displays have eased me into my photographic routine for Project 43, during which I will be using my camera and other devices to record at least one image a day from my life at the the age of 43.