Jim Shannon needs to learn the facts of LGBT life in Northern Ireland

All over the weekend the people of Derry/Londonderry have be scouring the banks of the Foyle searching for the body of Jack Glenn the Grandson of one of my dad's cousins. Today also marks the tenth anniversary of my father's death. About this time 31 years ago I very nearly did what Jack Glenn did and end my own life by jumping into freezing cold water. While the reasons 31 years on are different the depth of the individual's despair is something that resonates on.

Seeing the love extended to and the grief experienced by members of my expanding family makes me glad I didn't become another statistic in some data base to some. But a deeply regretted loss to those nearest and dearest to me then, and the new ones who have joined our family since.

Today in the House of Commons the MP for Strangford, Jim Shannon said:

"We must also allow teachers who are uncomfortable discussing and promoting British moral values that might undermine their own dearly held personal faith to withdraw from teaching those values, with no penalty and no fear of losing their job. We have many examples of that. 

"There is the example of Ashers in Northern Ireland. We have the case of the bed and breakfast owners and that of the Christian registrar. It is not enough for our Prime Minister to talk about freedom to live one’s faith; we must now have the support of the law to do that. Any legislation must protect the right of teachers to withdraw from promoting values that undermine their faith."

Sure Mr Shannon you want those who are Christian teachers to not tell children than being gay is OK. Well those 31 years ago I was a student at the largest secondary school in your constituency. I was coming to terms with being gay but did not know who I could talk to about it. You see the thing is like so many other LGBT+ teenagers in Northern Ireland through the years I came from a Christian family. I didn't know where to turn to and at the time I didn't know that there were other people struggling the same struggle as me.

If only someone had been able to tell me at that point that it was ok to be gay. I wouldn't have been suicidal, looking for a way out of a conflict that was going on inside me. Indeed you know what was worse. It wasn't that long before that time that the DUP were telling me they wanted to safe Ulster from Sodomy. Some of them even said that we should lock up people for being gay. I was still a virgin and feared for my freedom, my ability to find love.

So Jim Shannon is quite prepared to defend the jobs of Christian teachers, but isn't let those same teachers express Christ-like love that is needed to make people feel accepted and possibly not consider suicide as an option. Is there not a moral code about loving everyone, about trying to stop people from killing themselves, showing them love, understanding and even sitting and eating bread with them.

WWJD, doesn't stand for "what would Jim do?" it stands for what would Jesus do and I know it was him who turned me around from staring into that abyss where I contemplated taking my own live and then showed me that he still loved me. I believe that Jesus wants the Christians of Northern Ireland to get alongside the LGBT+ young people and show them love, not judgement. Show them compassion not condemnation.

Northern Ireland needs inclusive age appropriate sex education. We can't leave it to families who may be as anti-LGBT+ as the DUP are, as they make the entire church out to be. If we do many other will take their own life.

Precious harassment

Some of the first words to come out of Mrs Bernadette Smyth's lawyer's mouth this afternoon was that the verdict was "a disappointment for Christians worldwide".

In light of the accusations of bullying in certain Christian quarters in Northern Ireland about another matter this is a bit rich. For those not aware of the antics of Mrs Smyth's Precious Life organisation they regular in large numbers stand outside the Marie Stopes centre in Belfast, questioning any woman of child bearing age who approaches the premises and asks them why they are going in.

The clinic has offered sexual and reproductive healthcare and early medical abortions within Northern Ireland's laws since it opened on Great Victoria Street in October 2012. But the harassment of those who regularly stand outside and picket is something that scares and horrifies a lot of us who have witnessed it. These are women many of whom are vulnerable enough, to actually have them take the steps of going through that barrage takes a certain amount of additional bravely that women do not have to encounter for similar advise elsewhere in the UK.

The particular allegations against Mrs Smyth come against Dawn Purvis the former PUP MLA who is now the director of the centre. On one occasion Ms Purvis asked the crowd to stop harassing her, only for Mrs Smyth to retort, "You ain't seen harassment yet, darling." This she denied until it was shown to her on CCTV when her story reverted to it being a joke.

On another occasion the venom was aimed at a female friend of Ms Purvis's son as they left the offices together having stopped in to leave some frozen food in the office. On this occasion Mrs Smyth followed the young woman up the street to carry on harassing her.

The lawyer is right about something, this is a disappointment for Christians worldwide, but not the verdict. The bible doesn't tell you to go out harassing those who disagree with you. It doesn't tell you to leave them fearing for their lives at your, or your acolytes' hands. The disappointment to Christian's worldwide is Mrs Smyth an the way she has gone about disagreeing with something. The way she and her followers make people who already feel vulnerable feel worse as they approach the centre. They say they are reaching out in love, but in essence as the court has ruled today they are really reaching out with hate.

Mrs Smyth was warned today that she could even face a prison sentence for her actions, but is already facing an injunction about being outside the Marie Stopes Centre.

Quote of the Day: Marianne Rademacher

"If the responsibility for prevention is put entirely upon women and HIV-positive people, we are not recognising the combined responsibility of two people."

These words were spoken at the end of the trail of German pop star Nadja Benaissa, who was not given up to ten years in jail for having unprotected sex while HIV positive. She had sex with three men after she became affected at the age of 17 eleven years ago.

The words of Ms Rademacher of Deutsche AIDS-Hilfe remind us as well as the Germans that the responsibility for safer sex lies with both partners. It should not be the sole responsibility of one partner and the fact that a possible jail term hangs over you makes it less likely that you will be open about it rather than more so.

For example if I a HIV negative person fall for someone and fall in love/lust with them and want to have sex with them, it is my responsibility to find out there status. The easiest way to do so is to ask the individual concerned, it is an element of putting trust in each other. If they tell me they are HIV positive I have the option, it is my decision what I wish to do with that information. I can proceed to have safer sex with that individual taking the precautions that I am able to do, or be totally safe and not proceed any further, but at that point the option is mine.

The responsibility has been both of ours to be open and honest about where we are. Ms Benaissa had been poorly informed, someone had told her there was next to zero chance of her passing on the virus. In fact of the three men she had unprotected sex with once has since been diagnosed HIV+. The chance of passing on the virus is not zero therefore there is a responsibility if you are positive to tell. Of course like Ms Benaissa that leads to the other issues of being open enough to discuss it and face the rejection option I mentioned before. These very poignant words from a HIV positive guy tell the issue that they can face when love is all around them, the constant fear of loneliness, disclosing and rejection:

"it has ... to do with the not being able to get on with a relationship either without telling the guy about my status – or after telling him."

This feeling from those that are positive isn't helped by a great deal of ignorance still out there about how HIV can (or cannot) be contracted. Something I would have hoped had lifted since I first faced it directly with a Uni friend who have contracted HIV through the bad Factor 8 that was given to Haemophiliacs. Sadly instead of greater understanding there appears to be a new generation growing up ignorant or forgetting about the risks.

However, I think that criminalising people for knowingly passing it on leads to people not having the desire to find out, not go for STI checks. Not being aware of what other infections they may have and could pass on to others.

So yes the responsibility does lie with both partners to be responsible. But it also does rest with everyone who is sexually active with more than one partner to know their own condition. As I mentioned in my speech in favour of lifting the Blood Ban. There are gay men who are more aware of the sexual health status than the vast majority of the heterosexual world. Maybe it is one thing that the LGBT community is more open about than the straight world. We are more aware of the risks, but as a result are more aware of the responsibilities that go with that risk.

Of course there is still more openness that is needed in all sections of our world when it comes to sexual health. The surprising number of over 50s who are getting infected, the large numbers of under 25s having unprotected sex, not just leading to unwanted pregnancy but to the spread of infections.

So next time you are about to embark on sex with a new partner heed the word of Ms Rademacher above. So be responsible play it safe.

Former Tory Candidate Teacher Keeps Job After Homophobic Comment

Back in April, when it was too late to replace him, the Conservative candidate for North Ayrshire and Arran, Philip Lardner was deselected by the party for anti-gay comment made on his campaign website. As you may recall I was rather busy at the time fighting that election so didn't blog about it, but I refer you to Andrew Reeves for the story.

At the same time the Primary School teacher at Rashielea Primary School in Renfrewshire was also suspended from work pending a disciplinary hearing. That hearing has been held this week with the result that a teacher who thinks homosexuality is "not normal" or to be "encouraged" in children is to keep his job.

One has to wonder what he would do it a child came to him because of homosexual bullying at school? Or what he would do if I child who was gay objected to his assertions in a classroom? It is not a matter of encouraging but a matter of supporting those who are vulnerable. You cannot encourage someone to be gay, however you can ensure them that there is nothing wrong with it and support them when others feel that there is.

Homophobic bullying does go on at Primary level so you have to wonder how Mr Lardner would handle it in his classroom. As a supporter of Section 28 he fails to acknowledge the amount of harm that was done to homosexual young people by the exclusion of giving them sexual health advise that was relevant to them. He clearly needs some education on the issue himself if he thinks that the aim is encouraging people to be gay rather than simply to be themselves.

Deeper Reckonings: Mark's MP Meme II (The Political Geek Cut)

After I posted my response to Mark Thompson's meme listing all my MPs through life I read some of the others including Caron's, the political geek in me got interested. Caron had given a brief pen-picture of each and her own connection if any to others. North Down my home constituency is known for being an eccentric or unusual or trend-defying Northern Irish constituency and as for the others I knew there were tales to tell. Here are those tales.

September 1969 - February 1970 George Currie (Ulster Unionist) North Down: George was first elected in 1955 in succession to Northern Ireland's first female MP* Patricia Ford who had succeeded her father Sir Walter Smiles who was a victim of the MV Princess Victoria disaster in Great Storm of 1953 (Sir Walter's great-grandson, Patricia’s grandson may have relished the challenge of surviving that storm he is Bear Grylls). But I digress.

George Currie was first elected in 1955 as I said with a 96.9% share of the vote. This would have had more to do with the only challenger being Sinn Féin's Joseph Campbell actually achieving that party's highest ever box count in North Down than due to Communist era electoral rigging. Four years later he was returned with a largest numeric and percentage majority of 98%. He had already announced his intention to stand down by the time I was born. He died in 1978 hence I never got to meet him in the flesh.

February 1970- September 1988 Sir James Kilfedder (Ulster Unionist-1977; Independent Unionist-1980; Ulster Popular Unionist-1995): Kilfedder was first elected to Westminster for West Belfast in 1964 but lost out to another Northern Irish celebrity politician Gerry Fitt the founding leader of the SDLP in 1966. West Belfast's lost became North Down's gain as Kilfedder served from 1970 to his death in 1995 as the MP for North Down. He also elected for the 1973 Assembly for North Down, in 1975 for the Constitutional Convention, and the 1982 Assembly where he served as speaker to 1986 (earning at the time more than the Prime Minister for his dual roles).

On 20 March 1995 the Belfast Telegraph ran with a story that an Ulster MP was one of 20 MPs targeted by LBGT group Outrage!, led by Peter Tatchell, to come out in an open letter. Kilfedder was died of a heart attack the same day on his train in to Westminster from Gatwick Airport. A 2005 article in the same paper carried a story alluding to Kilfedder's past pointing to being that MP.

September 1988- July 1991 Richard Tracey (Conservative) Surbiton: Moving to Kingston for at the time the Polytechnic I found the third lawyer turned MP Richard Tracey as my MP. In the land of Tom and Barbara Good though he served merely as a JP and followed a career in journalist and Radio and TV current affairs before his election.

He's now a Member of the London Assembly elected in 2008. In 1997 he stayed (see later) to fight for the Kingston and Surbiton seat after boundary changes losing out by just 56 votes to our own Ed Davey. Although I first ran into Tracey on my return to the area in the Surbiton club, I was there playing for Surbiton Chess Club, I'd abstained on the vote to move to such a Conservative hotbed.

I enjoyed the summer all over the place before:

September 1991 - April 1992 Dave Nellist (Labour) Coventry South East: Another character of an MP, many Scottish socialists will find his mantra 'a worker's MP for a worker's wage' very familiar. For yeah in the height of Militant I found myself in the constituency of a Trotskyite Labour deselected Member of Parliament who was the next target of Kinnock's cohorts.

In 1983 when he was first elected it was initially allocated to share an office with the newly elected MP for Sedgefield. But the differing views of the two soon meant that the later was swiftly moved in with another of that year’s intake the member for Dunfermline East so possibly Nellist had something to do with the Blair-Brown pact.

I got to vote in my first election in 1992 Nellist stood as Independent Labour gathered 10,551 votes, trailing the Tory Martine Hyams on 10,591 and my next MP Jim Cunningham on 11,902. Nellist went on to form the Socialist Party (not to be confused with the Socialist Party of Great Britain. In 1998 he was elected to Coventry City Council, 12 years after he had last been a Labour Councillor for Coventry on West Midlands County Council.

April - August 1992 Jim Cunningham (Labour) Coventry South East: As said above Jim won my first Westminster election I could vote in, without my vote, and still represents Coventry South today. For the first time I was represented by a Scottish-born MP as Cunningham hail from just out West at Coatbridge. He has in the past called for the Queen to pay Income Tax as well as serving as PPS to Harriet Harman and Mike O'Brien while they were Solicitors General.

August 1992 - May 1996 Norman Lamont (Conservative) Kingston Upon Thames: Returning to complete my Economics degree I found accommodation in the constituency of the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, and another Scottish born: did I not see the trend starting? Shortly after he became my MP and just before I resumed studies of course Norman presided over Black Wednesday and I had to reassure new landlord when he walked back in through the door that his mortgage was no longer effectively 50% more expensive but back where it was where he stared the day.

A word of warning though for Darling Lamont starting to see the 'green shoots of recovery' in 1993 during the Newbury by election. After the Government lost that seat to the Lib Dem's David Rendel Lamont was sacked.

I have another chess anecdote about Norman, one evening I overheard the following conversation at the Surbiton club "Norman's seen the figures he's heading for a safer seat.", "Where?", "Harrogate." Of course that safe Conservative seat added to my joy on Election Night 1997 as while SW London went yellow through Twickenham, Richmond Park, Kingston & Subiton, Sutton & Cheam and Carshalton & Wallington. The look on the former Chancellor's face as Phil Willis accepted the people's decision to elect a Lib Dem to serve Harrogate and Knaresborough.

May 1996 - April 2001 Robert McCartney (United Kingdom Unionist) North Down: McCartney was originally an Ulster Unionist like Kilfedder. In 1987 the Unionist Party's agreed in a pact not to stand against each other just a year after all the Unionist MPs had stood down in protest at the Anglo-Irish agreement losing a couple of their number in marginals in the process. Of course North Down was not really in any danger of turning Nationalist but Bob refused to stand down. He was expelled from the party and stood as a Real Unionist. The resulting election proved the narrowest of Kilfedder's 25 year career in North Down in all elections.

He didn't contest the 1992 General Election which saw the Conservatives as the closest challengers to Kilfedder. But in 1995 following Kilfedder's death he was returned with 37% of the vote in an 8 challenger contest, the Tories losing all but 583 of their vote 3 years earlier.

McCartney was elected to the May 1998 Assembly Election and carried 3 other MLAs into Stormont with his former One Man Party. However, by December he'd fallen out Cedric Wilson in Strangford, Patrick Roche in Lagan Valley, Norman Boyd in South Antrim and Roger Hutchinson East Antrim, to remain a one man band in the Assembly getting re-elected in 2003. However, his demise came in 2007 when he lost out on the last seat for North Down to Brian Wilson (not the Beach Boy) the first Green to be elected at that level in Northern Ireland.

May - November 2001 Robin Cook (Labour) Livingston: Having had a Chancellor, Speaker (Northern Irish) I racked up my next high office MP with the Foreign Secretary just before the 2001 General Election. Robin was first elected to Edinburgh Central in 1974. But in 1983 like Lamont was in Kingston was worried that boundary changes might cost him his seat so moved to Livingston a new constituency.

Of course Robin famously took a call at Heathrow, en route to holiday, from Alistair Campbell shortly after becoming Foreign Secretary asking him to choose between his then wife Margaret or his then mistress, later second wife, Gaynor before the press announced the affair. He chose to tell his wife it was over and made the announcement via a press statement in the departure lounge.

He also resigned as Leader of the House on principle over the decision to go to war with Iraq in 2003. After winning the election in 2005 I last saw him at the start of the Make Poverty History March in Edinburgh the date of birth of this blog. Within weeks he was dying whilst walking down Ben Stack on 6 August. His gravestone bears the epitaph 'I may not have succeeded in halting the war, but I did secure the right of parliament to decide on war.'

November 2001 - November 2004 Sir Tam Dalyell Bt. (Labour) Linlithgow: Moving less than two miles from Stoneyburn to Whitburn found me in a new constituency.

Tam is, although he never uses the title, 11th Baronet Dalyell of the Binns. He is named after his famous ancestor General "Sir Tam" Dalyell (1615–1685) who was a military commander for both Charles I and Charles II in the Civil War.

Tam first was elected in 1963 for West Lothian and of course leading up the devolution debate in the 1970s asked the famous and so far thus unsatisfactorily answered West Lothian Question about the role of Scottish and English MPs post devolution. The former having votes over English matters while the latter had no say over devolved issues the other way around. In 1963 the seat was split into two and Tam chose to represent the Northern Linlithgow section in which the Binns, a National Trust of Scotland property is located.

Following the 2001 election succeeded former Prime Minister Ted Heath to the honourific position of Father of the House, whose only recognised role is to chair the vote to appoint a new Speaker, which is bestowed on the longest serving member of the House. In 2004 he announced he was standing down at the next General Election to spend more times with his bees and to write his autobiography. The bees must be very demanding and the autobiography has yet to appear.

November 2004 -August 2005 Robin Cook again see above.

September 2005 - March 2006 Jim Devine (Labour) Livingston: Devine served as Robin's agent for decades and is a former, and rumours have it, future psychiatric nurse. I first heard Jim Devine speak at a hustings for the 2005 General Election in Loganlea, Robin couldn't make it and the agent stepped in and quickly took over proceedings something that the candidate would never have done. Of course recent events do not need going over but yet another character in my list of MPs who will go down in history as an MP who never faced a General Election vote despite not dying in office following an by election in peace time.

March 2006 - Present Michael Connarty (Labour) Linlithgow and Falkirk East: Former leader of Stirling Council, former Economics teacher (there were three Economics graduates on the 2005 ballot for L&FE).

Of course Michael and I first crossed swords thanks to the Boundary Commission. Before the current boundaries although Bo'ness and few others where historically West Lothian they had been part of Falkirk Council since the end of Lothian District Council, and Grangemouth had never been with West Lothian before. This is also the closest I have ever lived to a MPs office. It is literally only about 90 seconds walk away from where I'm typing this in my lounge.

Although I have letters from 5 of my previous MPs (6 if you count the election 'letter' from Jim Devine) this is the MP I have had most interaction with. Partly because I've stood in direct opposition, partly because of the ease of email, which has once led to a response within 10 minutes.

However, as the fifth most expensive MP (excluding transport 2nd with), who considers it 'ridiculous and tiresome' to submit all expenses to his employer for scrutiny. And who's first response to the Telegraph printing his expenses was to attack the source as stolen rather than try and explain them, maybe his days are numbered.

Of course while some of the men (sorry WLDs everywhere no gender balance) who have represented me in the past have been replaced by a Lib Dem, just not in my time. So I'd love to be in a constituency with a Lib Dem MP. However, would that outcome really lead to a Lib Dem representing me? I guess that is up to the local party and the electorate.

Update 

August 2010 - Feb 2013 Sylvia, Lady Hermon (Independent) North Down: Born Sylvia Paisley but not related to that Northern Irish political dynasty of that name she studied law at the University of Aberystwyth before lecturing in that subject at Queens, Belfast at the same time as a certain David Trimble, who would go on to become the first First Minister.

She was married to Jack Hermon as his second wife on New Years Eve 1988, who was to rise to the the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary from 1980-89. It is because of his knighthood from 1982 as Sir John Hermon that she holds the honourific title Lady Hermon. From 2004 to his death in 2008 Jack was to suffer from Alzheimers which is why Sylvia is so connected with that cause.

However, it was in 2001 that she was chosen by the North Down Ulster Unionist Branch to take on Robert McCartney (see above). The Alliance Party chose not to stand against her and she won the seat with a majority of 7,324 with 56%.


In 2005 she won again with 50.4% of the vote but was the lone Ulster Unionist returned to the House of Commons. When David Trimble resigned as leader she was considered a serious contender for the post, but because of the state of health of her husband at that point not widely known, she instead threw her support behind North Down MLA Alan McFarland.

During that parliament the overtures of the Conservative Party to the Ulster Unionists weren't to the liking of their sole MP, indeed she had often supported the Labour Government much to the disapproval of party leader Sir Reg Empey. She eventually resigned from the party on 23 February 2010 and vowed to stand in the election that year as an Independent. So like her two predecessors she parted ways with the Ulster Unionists as of yet, unlike them, she has not formed a new Unionist Party.

Ulster Conservatives and Unionists – New Force (UCUNF) the combined UUP and Conservative banner that was running candidates had selected the 2009 Alliance European candidate Ian Parsley as their candidate in North Down. But Lady Hermon secured a majority of 14,364 with 63.3% of the vote.

Feb 2013 - Present Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat) Orkney and Shetland. Finally after over 24 years association with the party I actually get to live in a held seat, although the job I doing kinda makes it a necessity as I'm working for the MP.

Born in Islay, almost as close to Northern Ireland as any Scottish islander can get, he worked as a hotel manager before completing his law degree from Aberdeen University. Although a brief period before that at Glasgow University was where he met his wife.

After graduation he stayed in the North East of Scotland working as a procurator fiscal depute in the criminal courts. For the 2001 General Election he was selected to replace Jim Wallace, who had been elected as the MSP for the Orkney seat in 1999.

He has been the Lib Shadow for the Home Office, Transport and Scotland but after the 2010 General Election became the party's chief whip and Deputy Chief Whip for the coalition government.



*See trend setting though it took 46 years to get North Down's second.

Pope's Prophylactic Fallibility

Well His Infallibleness Benny XVI's comments in Africa have come under much scrutiny, not least in the Vatican's own official website. While His Condomless was heard to say about AIDS in Africa:

"It is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, and that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms which even aggravates the problems."

The Vatican's website changed the word for the phrase "merely risks aggravating".

There is another subtle change and dispute in the Italian text of an interview given on the flight to Angola the colloquial term from condoms is preservati this was replaced by profilattici (which covers a wider range of measures) before being changed back. Clearly in light of the comments the Holy See felt that the use of a word from the stem to preserve life wasn't in keeping with the overall effect of the message that was clearly being portrayed.

It is all very well the church trying to teach abstinence and fidelity of those who take Holy Orders were above reproach. But the failure of Priests in sexual celibacy, even to the abuse of children shows how difficult even the Church of Rome finds it difficult to practise what it preaches.

Surely now is the time for the Pope as head of the Roman Catholic world to acknowledge the help that wearing a condom can do to the quality and hope of life in areas so heavily afflicted by AIDS. If every sperm is so precious that it should be used by procreation then sadly the teenage male population would have every available womb in the world starting to create a new life before breakfast.

Ben and Johnny 2

In his first full day in Africa as Pope, Benedict XVI continues in his stance against condoms (the Johnnies of the piece) as a way to stem the HIV/AIDS epidemic ravaging the continent. He said he'd come with a 'message of hope' but where is the hope for the 22 million across Africa who are already affected, or their wives and families.

The Catholic Church is adamant that education of abstinence and family life is the way to go. He claimed that chastity outside marriage and fidelity within it had proved to be "the only sure way of preventing the spread of HIV and Aids". The problem is that in Africa a lot of the spread of the disease has been within marriage where one of the partners (normally the male) has not held their marriage vows. There have been peaks at times of the increase of the infection amongst pregnant women. And some countries have a greater than 15% presence of the infection amongst it's adult population. It is not so much a case of need to save oneself as being uncertain even if you did that you'd be safe.

The fact that as the church would like to point out the spread in many countries has stabilised at around 20% is not because of a new found fidelity but because the rate of new infections and deaths is in a morbid state of equilibrium. The problem is also that 2 million of those infected in Africa have been infected since birth or from breast feeding from their infected mother. There is a generation that will be growing up with the disease.

Of course the Church will want to spread a moral message but is not giving people the chance to life a first and foremost an abomination, especially as there is a easy chance to help. Yeah sure supplying condoms isn't the whole answer as there is education needed that using one is a selfless act, but one that could help defend each participants health. But to outright deny them because to quote Python 'every sperm is precious' yet doing all they can to help those already with life is hypocrisy of the highest magnitude and one that the Church has yet to be brought to account over.

Ben and Johnny 1

Peter Brookes Cartoon in today's Times points out a serious story of the Roman Catholic Church's attitude to Africa and the frisson over how to handle the AIDS epidemic that is sweeping that continent. I hope to write more about that later in the meantime enjoy Mr Brookes' work.

In Which I Suggest Pope Benedict Has a Point

The headline story in the Daily Fail was Homosexuality is as great a threat as rainforest destruction, says Pope wow you've seen the horror all day. Iain Dale (dare I speak his name two evenings in a row) suggested that the Pope should just join the BNP and be done with it. Paul Walter took more considered look at just what he said in depth rather than trying to simply fill a headline.

However, I was talking (or rather typing this over this morning) and came to the conclusion that you know maybe old Papa Ben has a point. Not only that he has a solution. Now I beat all the hundreds of people who visited this humble blog in the last 24 hours didn't expect to hear me coming to that concolusion.

So lets look at it the Pope appears to have identified two major issues affecting mankind:

1. First is the contrariness to nature (defined by Benny boy as man and woman) of the LBGT community in various ways.
2. The deforestation of our planet.

As a liberal leaning environmentalist you would expect me concur with the second but am a little dubious of the first. But this Ulster born protestant says hang on a second this could just make sense. The Church of Rome and its Bishop have a point and a plan to deal with both.

First off remember the churches aversion to wrapping of mens' intimate parts for the purposes of not multiplying too much. Something that many apologists for the non-Catholic population of world say would help solve a lot of the overcrowding on this planet of finite resources. Well that is a conning masterstroke to the Uberplan of the Pope.

First he aims to impose a world-wide ban on their sale, use, or possession on forfeiture one's life and corporeal soul. Then reinstates the Spanish inquisition to ensure that this Papal edict is carried out, and not care too much if they get carried away with themselves again.

End result 8% based of current estimate of the promiscuous, filthy gayer part of the male population would be wipe out 48million people a moderately sized country. However, nothing compared to wiping out the entire continent of Africa. Then of course you'd hear the Church calling HIV AIDS God's gift rather his judgement as they'd have solved both problems in one fell swoop.

The above is of course entirely satirical and my tongue is firmly wedged in my cheek.

World Aids Day: Still There is Ignorance

To mark the 20th World AIDS Day much of the media has been running stories over the weekend and today. However, in Friday's times next to the tales of four people living with HIV/AIDS there was also a startling reminder that there is a lot of ignorance still out there.

Those of us who lived through the 1980's early campaign Don't Die of Ignorance will definitely be shocked at the amount of ignorance that the article threw up.

Amongst some of the startling levels of ignorance were:

"One person in three living with HIV in the UK doesn't know that he or she
is infected, putting their health and that of their sexual partners at risk.
Undiagnosed HIV is responsible for about half of all new infections.

"For many people the diagnosis is too late for them to start treatment. The
virus is more likely to be diagnosed late in heterosexual men (42 per cent) and
women (36 per cent) than in gay or bisexual men (19 per cent). A late diagnosis
is 13 times more likely to lead to death within a year.

"In a recent survey, only 79 per cent of respondents knew that HIV can be
transmitted through unprotected sex between a man and a woman, compared with 91 per cent in 2000."

Sadly after 20 years it is still ignorance that leads to more unnecessary deaths in the UK, but sadly the level of ignorance appears to be growing again.

Safe Sex or Jailed for Sex

Kathleen Marshall Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People has slammed the SNP's Sexual Offence's Bill asking for it to be postponed while further evidence to the effect was gathered. The bill which would make it a crime for 13 to 15 year olds girls from having sex with those of the same age she says could well deter underage girls seeking medical advise of assistance if they were also facing criminal proceedings when requiring medical advice.

When the Nats proposed the equality measure in June it was counter to the Scottish Law Commission call to decriminalise young teenagers from having consensual sex. They claimed it was a conflict to the safe sex message they wanted to pursue.

However, what happens if a girl does become sexually active before the age of 16 and wants to seek birth control, pregnancy, or STI advise. If she has to go to a Doctor she would know under this legislation that she is liable to be taken before a children's hearing and have that on her record. She may seek street advise, a backstreet abortion or go full term without medical assistance.

Is this safe?

The SNP seem determined to be a parent to us all, they think that they can deter underage drinking by raising the off sales age higher. They think they will stop underage sex and make it safe with this new legislation. While they do highlight issues by being so heavy handed in the approach they are taking they are making forbidden fruit more inviting to people of an age where rebellion and finding your own way has always been the way.

Education for responsible drinking and sexual activity are more important than banning, because no doubt underage drinking and sex will still go on and the health issues will still need to be dealt with. However, if seeking medical assistance leads to a criminal record will such assistance be sought.

Draft Lipstick's Step-Mother-In-Law for VP

If running for Mayor of Wallisa is enough experience to become a Vice Presidential nominee and if John McCain really wanted to be seen as bi-partisan maybe he chose the wrong Palin for his ticket.

Yeah Faye Palin the step-mom of First Dude in waiting Todd Palin stood for mayor of Wallisa in 2002 when Sarah maxed out on term limits in 2002. She didn't get the nepotistic endorsement of the outgoing Mayor whether it was because she supported a women's right to chose or whether she was a Democrat it's not clear which was the greater sin.

However, when Time magazine were researching that article they found out that Iris Robinson would probably scarily fit in with the Palin's at their church, Wallisa Baptist Church. There was an insert in the order of service advertising Love Won Out a conference being held in nearby Anchorage the aim of this conference on homosexuality was to teach attendees how to "respond to misinformation in our culture" and help them "overcome" homosexuality.

Judging by the fact that the Governor and the High School in Wallisa both think that Abstinence-only is the only form of sex education it's not misinformation but lack of information that is the issue. This is a state which as Ed Pilkington points out in today's Grauniad "has the highest per capita incidence of chlamydia in the country". There is, and indeed, should always be more to sex education than merely how to prevent pregnancy but the abstinence only gospel that the Republicans seem to be preaching does more harm than good as the "mistakes" (their quote not mine) that invariably happen to teenagers lead to all sorts of questions that should already have been answered and discussed.