http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12295718

I really want to turn my head away from all those countries that claim homosexuallity illegal because it just hurts too much to hear about all the atrocities that go on there. But I hope I never do.

I thought we had a thread about this case, but I can't find it, so forgive me for starting it up again.

In 2008 Martyn Hall and his civil partner Steven Preddy were denied a double room at a privately owned guest house in Cornwall. Judge Andrew Rutherford ruled that the owners were breaking the law by doing so.

I realise that for many on here, state "interference" in the beliefs of individuals is going to cause a problem. However, I thought the judge's summing up made some interesting points:

Quote:"We live today in a parliamentary democracy. Our laws are made by the Queen in Parliament. It is inevitable that such laws will from time to time cut across deeply held beliefs of individuals and sections of society for they reflect the social attitudes and morals prevailing at the time that they are made.

"In the last 50 years there have been many such instances - the abolition of capital punishment; the abolition of corporal punishment in schools; the decriminalisation of homosexuality and of suicide; and on a more mundane level the ban on hunting and on smoking in public places.

"All of these - and they are only examples - have offended sections of the population and in some cases cut across traditional religious beliefs. These laws have come into being because of changes in social attitudes.

"The standards and principles governing our behaviour which were unquestioningly accepted in one generation may not be so accepted in the next. I am quite satisfied as to the genuineness of the defendants' beliefs and it is, I have no doubt, one which others also hold.

"It is a very clear example of how social attitudes have changed over the years for it is not so very long ago that these beliefs of the defendants would have been those accepted as normal by society at large. Now it is the other way around."

Going to try out something different, with a different story line. Will post when a part or chapter is complete lol.

Anyone liked the movie The Secret of NIMH? If I'm not mistaken, it's actually based on a book. I never read the book. I watched the movie. It was released in theatre in the 1980's and it's regarded as a classic by animation enthusiasts.



It's pretty much about this field mouse who has to find help for her sick son. I thought it was a pretty good movie and you can actually watch it. See the link below.

IMDb Video:



Then there's The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue. This was a direct to video release, one of the reasons why many people think it sucks. To be brutally honest, I actually prefer this one over the first one. It's not as dark as the first one and nowhere near as epic as the first one, but I just find it to be better. You can also watch this one for free.

IMDb Video:

This kinda came as a shock to me.

Welcome to the Zodiac, Ophiuchus. But Who Are You? - TIME

cancelled...

Religious extremists banned from picketing Arizona shooting funeral | World news | The Guardian :mad: :mad:

cancelled...

cancelled...

My eye was caught by a couple of articles in The Guardian recently. The first is a report that despite progress in attitudes having been made, many gays and lesbians still frequently find themselves under attack.

Quote: Stonewall's own research shows that homophobic bullying is rife in schools (nine in 10 teachers say their pupils currently experience homophobic bullying and 65% of pupils report experiencing direct homophobic bullying), and research by the Equality Challenge Unit finds that 49.5% of students in higher education have been treated in a negative way because of their sexual orientation.

Homophobic bullying doesn't just stop at university. Stonewall's own University Guide shows that many universities still don't do enough to tackle homophobia on their campuses.

Progress should certainly be celebrated – but there's still some way to go before we can say universities are homophobia-free. more