What Exactly Is Wrong With Polygamy (and the rest)?

Another person moaning about polygamy, and how others choose to live their lives.

What exactly is wrong with consensual polygamy/polymory etc?

"There has to be a culture change and that has to brought about by policy makers taking a very clear stance on this issue, saying that in this country, one married man is allowed to marry one woman," she added.

Yes there does need to be a culture change, one where women are empowered to stand up to requests/coercion to do something they don't want to do and where everyone is free from religious stupidity. Attacking polygamy is missing the point, the problem of people being forced to do things against their will goes across allsorts of issues. Young men and women forced into arranged marriages, women forced into doing things they don't want to do and children forced to live with the unhappy consequences.

Tackle disempowerment and religious dogma but dictating the way someone wishes to live their life isn't the way to go about things.

Womens rights are human rights. Women should be free to choose how they wish to live. That is the most important thing surely?

Banning Dissent?

When Geert Wilders was banned from the UK, because he might incite hatred against a certain group and this create a public disturbance, I felt a wave of discomfort come over me. What was being said was "we are so fucking scared that a bunch of violent extremists might be so upset at what he preaches that they might cause trouble". And to avoid that the UK Government decided to remove the freedom of movement of an elected representative of an EU state within the EU. Unless he was calling for death to all Muslims then I can't see why he was banned. The reggee singers who preach murder against homosexuals have not been banned, so why him???

But now the Government has gone a step further banning the Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church, famous firstly for www.godhatesfags.com, from entering the UK to protest a play. So probably homegrown religious crazies are ok to protest against Jerry Springer The Musical and get it stopped but it's not ok for these folks to come over from America and try the same thing?? How does that make sense? As a gay man I beg for the Government to rethink this decision (not that they read this nor that my feelings will ever reach their ears). We should have the right to confront the Phelps, not just the lesser members of the WBC, here in this country and show them that their hatred is NOT the way forward. Whilst they celebrate the death of homosexuals, and others, they do not actively encourage violence or murder. And unlike some other minority groups it is unlikely their precence will push our countries now rather integrated LGBT community into acts of general violence. So what is the reason for banning them???

At least my favourite person has his brain switched on:

Peter Tatchell, from gay rights group OutRage!, said: "The Phelps are odious, homophobic bigots. They give Christianity a bad name.

"Objectionable though they are, I don't agree with them being banned but since the Home Secretary banned the Dutch MP Geert Wilders at least she is being consistent by also banning these Christian preachers of hate.

"It makes it all the more odd that the Home Secretary has not banned Jamaican reggae singers who incite the murder of gay people.

"Why are they allowed in to the country but not the Phelps?

"Inciting murder is even worse than inciting hatred. Why the double standards?"

I think the site Phags for Phelps has the right idea... allow them the freedom to spout their nonsense because every word shows homophobia up for what it is... STUPID.

Unionists Shame

God darn it. Don't you hate civil servants and their stupid ideas. They proposed "solutions" to stopping Scotland laying claim to the North Sea oil fields. They suggested even sowing a movement for independence in the Orkney's and the Shetland's.

I am, as you all well know, a unionist (small u) and believe in the continuation of the Union. But I do not believe in treating those in northern Britain with suspicion or fear nor in treating them as vassals. It should not even have crossed the minds of the British civil servants to consider a situation where an independent Scotland might lay claim to the fields and suggests a level of cynicism, English nationalism and bad faith in the higher echelons of our Government.

That is disgusting. And when I share the same opinion as the leader of the SNP, we all know it has to be pretty darn awful a thing to have brought our opinions into alignment.

The Union is surely doomed if people in positions of power fail to respect the unity of our island and instead try to put one regions rights above another. As always I find myself more and more disheartened at the prospects for the survival of our country for many more years. Let me be the first to say that if our Union does fail I am starting the Kentish Nationalists movement to try to ensure we don't end up dominated by the sorts of career civil servants who come up with stupid ideas like those released today who seem to be so prevalent in London.

Dutch MP Thrown Out Of The UK

Cabinet Office minister Liam Byrne said, on BBC One's Question Time: "This guy wasn't coming here to exercise his right of free speech. This guy was trying to come here in order to sow division between us in this country.

"Everything I've heard about this guy tells me he's a bigot and the right place for him is to stay at home."

Free speech can meaning sowing division. Having an opinion means sowing division. Another blow against freedom.

Such A Waste

Whilst Boris Johnson swoons over glamourous plans for post 2012 east London, including building thousands of new homes, Inside Housing reports the biggest rise in empty homes in 17 years. The Empty Homes Agency also reports that there's nearly a million empty homes throughout the UK as part of Inside Housing's campaign to increase awareness of the issue.

We have millions of people on housing waiting lists, we have thousands of the homeless, we have hundreds of thousands of empty houses blighting our neighbourhoods and all the time politicians are calling for ever more green spaces to be consumed in the bid to build new homes! Wouldn't it be more cost effective, and better for communities, to bring empty homes back into circulation and build only enough homes to meet the residual demand? I'm sure amazing savings could be made by using the money allocated for affordable homes on bringing these homes back up to scratch?

Why not sign the petition over at Number 10's website to show support for the three main principles:

VAT - a cut in VAT on repairs and maintenance to 5 per cent, to make it more attractive for owners to invest in an empty home, or for a potential buyer to make an offer

Grant – use cash from existing Homes and Communities Agency budget for social landlords to buy and repair long-term empty properties

Guidance – clearer advice from the government to help councils use Empty Dwelling Management Orders

Bonuses??? Jesus, these folks are messed up...

I can't believe that:

1) the staff of RBS are so stupid as to expect bonuses at a time when the whole country is watching them so very closely. Stupid timing
2) the staff of RBS expect bonuses since they have so obviously failed to meet the requisite capitalist benchmarks (i.e. make money and do not collapse). No offense but if all the banks in the country had suffered the same fate I'd be more sympathetic but not all of them have which suggests bad management, and bad decisions which should mean no bonuses.
3) the Government didn't think to cap bonuses months ago.

Carol Thatcher Deserved The Sack

I can't believe the Evening Standard has taken the editorial line that Carol Thatcher didn't deserve to be sacked because she issued a blanket apology, when it is becoming clear she didn't apologise when personally confronted by people offended by her words at the time she said them.

The BBC is an employer. When it's employees are on the job, even in break rooms or in this case "the green room", they are required to meet certain requirements. One of these is to avoid using offensive or discriminatory language. If I were to refer to a famous black person whilst at work in my break room as a "golliwog" the company I work for would be entitled, and required, to begin disciplinary procedures against me. If I was as high profile as Carol Thatcher then perhaps those discipliary procedures would simply compromise getting fired.

It's an open and shut case. I believe in freedom of speech, on your own time, where it does not bring the consequences of your speech down upon your employer. At work one is bound to follow the rules that hold sway.