Cat love continues - pic :)

They are just the best of mates now. Play with each other, sleep with each other, wash each other. This last night in the warmth at the heater :)

Ireland's LGBT social revolution - Democracy Now

Interesting the observations about the weakening influence of the Catholic church as moral guardians over revelations of it's role in paedophilia, given the current atmosphere in Australia with the currently running Royal Commission into child sex abuse within the church. 

   

Human Rights Campaign pushes back against "religious freedom" laws - US

Indiana and Arkansas became flashpoints between those pushing for discriminatory anti-gay "religious freedom" laws and the wider secular community. This video is a summary of how the HRC push back against those bills will likely have an affect on the many other anti-LGBT bills being introduced across the US.

 

"Religious freedom" explained - Betty Bowers :)

SSJoe squirms on his double dipping canberra wife's residence - video Q&A

Smokin Sloppy Joe, it's well known, claims a taxpayer funded staying away from home allowance when in Canberra of over $200 a night, to rent a place to stay in. He rent the same exact place every time, which just happens to be owned by his wife. And father Tony Jones also mentions.

As a tweet at the bottom of the screen said, that's not double dipping, it's putting your whole tongue in the dip! :)

What as SSJoe tries to defend the indefensible. The age of entitlement is well and truly not over in the Lieberals.

 

Shorten gives "Notice of intention to present bill" - marriage equality

I'm so sick of getting hopes up only to see them dashed. I think the worst occasion was when Abbott annulled marriages only hours after people had been married in Canberra. Sickening. 

However this time the momentum seems to be much more forceful.   
     
Surely the days of fossils are long gone. Maybe, just maybe..... I'm not holding my breath though.....

I note Shorten is the first Australian Labor leader to introduce such a bill.

 

Pell will appear in person if asked by the Commission

Pell has said in a letter this week to the Royal Commission into child sex abuse that he will appear before the Commission in person, if asked to do so by said Commission. 

CARDINAL George Pell has told the chair of the royal Commission into child sexual abuse he's prepared to give evidence in person. 

"I want to make it absolutely clear that I am willing to give evidence should the commission request this, be it by statement, appearance by video link, or by attending personally," he said in the letter to Justice Peter McClellan on Tuesday night. 

Cardinal Pell has previously rejected allegations by abuse victims that he tried to bribe one victim to keep quiet, ignored complaints and was complicit in moving Australia's worst pedophile priest, Gerald Ridsdale, to a different parish. 

In his statement on Wednesday Cardinal Pell also said he had been horrified by the allegations of abuse in Ballarat and was saddened by the way church authorities dealt with reports of abuse. more

Given the public pressure by all (except Abbott who is about the only one so far not to demand his return - strange that) it's hard to imagine the Royal Commission not demanding his return also.

Abbott must be feeling a bit nervous by now I expect. Not to mention the rest of the Catholics in his gov.

Incest should carry death penalty - Josh Duggar's father 2002

Another example of biblical rhetoric by christian maniacs, but when it comes to affecting them it's a different story isn't it. Quick to point the finger and condemn according to their wacked out world view, but also quick to cover up and change their tune when the finger gets pointed squarely at them. Complete hypocrisy.

Turns out Josh's father Jim Bob was running for the senate in 2002, and his stance on incest has been immortalised in the internet. He says those who commit incest should die.

His son Josh however remains very much alive. Strange that isn't it. These people are just full of so much self righteous bullshit. Cherry picking their way through the bible and their morality.

Incidentally, the kill the gays pastor's wife agrees with version 2002 of Jim Bob Duggar that Josh should die.

“I believe that all pedophiles are reprobates, that they are unregenerate and in fact can never change, and that they, like all sexual deviants, should be executed as the Bible demands, lest they spread their abusive ways and corrupt more innocent lives,” Anderson said. more

I wonder if she would still say that then if one of her kids was as guilty as Josh Duggar? I think not.

Shorten moves for marriage equality

 Finally some fuckin leadership from Shorten:

 Labor leader Bill Shorten will ratchet up the pace on same-sex marriage next week, forcing his own party and the Parliament to deal with the issue quickly via a private member's bill to be co-sponsored by his deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek. 

The bold move, which follows the historic yes vote in favour of marriage equality in the socially conservative Republic of Ireland last weekend, was signed off by shadow cabinet on Monday 

"I know this private member's bill will not have the universal support of my colleagues," Mr Shorten told Fairfax Media. 

"It will challenge the deeply held personal beliefs of MPs and senators on both sides of politics [but] I believe the time has well and truly come for the Parliament to debate marriage equality. 

"Our current law excludes some individuals, and to me, that is unacceptable." 

The move reflects Mr Shorten's success in seeing off a Left faction preference for a binding vote of Labor MPs on same-sex marriage once it had been agreed by the ALP national conference in July. 

It also represents a growing confidence by pro-reform MPs including Mr Shorten, the Greens, and some Liberals, that the numbers in Parliament have slowly but surely shifted in their favour, pointing towards possible success in the House of Representatives, subject to a free vote being granted to all Liberal and Nationals MPs. more 

Abbott chicken dances in parliament :s

This man is prime minister FFS......

 

 

US Presidential hopeful - won't obey supreme court over gay marriage

Mike Huckabee, Republican presidential hopeful, has come out and said he won't obey the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) over gay marriage, if the court comes down in favour of it. In this interview, his stance is compared to not obeying SCOTUS over desegregation. 

 

 

Nationwide protests against Commonwealth Bank - don't fund coal Reef destruction

There were protests at over 100 branches of the Commonwealth Bank in Australia and the world, protesting against the bank being in talks with Adani about possibly funding it's planned mega coal mines in the Galilee basin, Queensland. Overseas banks have all refused to fund this over environmental concerns; it would mean dredging the Great Barrier Reef and having coal ships going through it. Not to mention the huge effect on Australia's green house emissions, further affecting the Reef.

 

Pell visited St Patricks College in March - fine to travel then

To the surprise of many, some of them even in his own church, George Pell travelled to Australia as recently as March, just weeks ago, and visited St Patricks College. It's in their April Newsletter. Why then should he not front up to something as important as a Royal Commission into child abuse to answer the allegations against him involving said child abuse in the church? 

Cardinal George Pell visited Ballarat and a school at the centre of clergy abuse claims just weeks before the royal commission hearings began in the town. 

The Cardinal is pictured walking the halls of St Patrick's College with the school's headmaster John Crowley in the April edition of the school's magazine The Shamrock. 

The development comes as public pressure builds on Australia's most senior Catholic cleric to front the commission to answer explosive claims that he bribed a victim to remain silent about a notorious paedophile priest. more

Court statement insights - my vile older brother planned it

Being as the court hearing for my nephew psycho Phillip (who bashed David at new years) is next month, on top of the subpoena for both of us to attend the court to provide evidence the police also supplied us with a copy of the statements we made way back in early Jan to the police about it all to refresh our memories.

The bashing in the hallway I don't need reminding of as it's there in my head now forever. However the circumstances around it are a bit blurry after nearly 6 months and neither David and I have had the opportunity to compare each others statements, as we were of course interviewed separately making them. So last night I read out the bits of mine that were relevant (apart from the usual bla at the beginning of these things) which David found quite interesting, and he did the same with me.

They pretty much correlated exactly with each other, even complementing each other as we each covered things that the other left out. But there was one thing in David's statement concerning my brother that lifted the veil on him.

David has some kind of photographic memory. He can remember names of people in TV shows from decades ago for example. Weird. But anyway so he remembers exactly what my brother Kevin said to him when Kevin asked him for a head job. It was the beginning bit that clicked in my head:

"I've given those two enough alcohol so once they have passed out how about you give me a head job"

Which is why David told him to get the fuck out. But WTF? What does he still think he can control me or something, manipulate me? I'm the one who decides if I'm going to have a beer or not, not him.And so this is going around in my head for a minute or so and then I realise what it meant; he had planned this. Planned to get me pissed and David suck his dick (fuck, talk about delusions of grandeur No wonder David told him to fuck off quite apart from all the other reasons ).

The fuckin vile prick!

He'd have done it before too. I know for a fact years ago he said he would take trips up to Auckland from Taranaki in NZ for "sanity control". Last time I'd seen him was at a restaurant with my sister and her husband along with David. David was the one who after that meeting, long before I ever knew anything about his sexuality, that he was coming on to David. What, did he honestly think that he was going to come down here to Sydney, and have my partner of two years at that time get with him, in our own home? 

Man was he ever wrong about that. He had no idea of how David and I feel about each other, the love and commitment we have for each other, the respect and caring. It's beyond belief that he could even contemplate coming between that.

The worst thing is that he was doing it to me; his own brother!

He's always been jealous of me, looks like insanely jealous now. Reckoned me and my younger brother were spoilt and the older ones did the hard yards on the farm. Like I've said I can't remember a single kind thing he ever did for me growing up. Looking back he hated me deep down. 

At dad's funeral years back I went back to NZ for it, afterwards the family was having a couple of beers in a trendy pub, and in front of everyone he asked me "So did you like those Christmas presents you got, that we worked so hard to pay for on the farm?" Fucks sake, I was a child. I had no control over circumstances but yet he's been blaming me all these years.....

He must have been livid at that restaurant meal we had with my sister and all. Here I am in Sydney, succeeded after leaving Taranaki in the dust decades ago, with a hot partner living authentically. Compare that to his fucked up life; three failed relationships, kids everywhere, frustrated sexually. 

I'm sure as he planned this, in the back of his mind he'd have been thinking payback to me. Fuckin hell man, the nut needs medication.

Which brings me to a discussion I was having with my sister about it all. If he's that screwed up, frustrated, angry, and all, in the head, then FFS go and see someone. Like I do, like David does, like my sister used to. Why put everyone else through hell because he's so fucked up like that? To me it's the height of selfishness to expect everyone around you to cop your shit because you can't be bothered getting psychological help. Or take pills. Or whatever.

  

Depp's dog day afternoon - could be jailed or fined

*Update: Depp's director spits the dummy (ie pacifier) at Australia :s

It's all been rather a laugh at Australia's expense over Barnaby and Depp's dogs, but the simple fact is that smuggling live animals into Australia is a very serious offence. There are diseases overseas (like rabies for example) that don't exist here. The quarantine laws aren't there just for a bit of an inconvenience, they're there to protect Australia's wildlife and agriculture from disease and pests. Going against quarantine laws carries tough penalties if caught.

The case is now the subject of an investigation in the senate as to why customs officials didn't find them on the plane before everyone left the aircraft.

Government officials have confirmed Hollywood superstar Johnny Depp could face up to 10 years in prison or a maximum fine of $340,000 for illegally bringing his two dogs into Australia. 

His pilot could face up to two years in prison for his role in the undeclared importing of Pistol and Boo. 

These were some of the details revealed as a Senate committee hearing in Canberra turned its attention to the high-profile quarantine case.

 ................................... 

An ongoing investigation by the department understands that Depp, his fellow passengers and the flight crew all failed to declare the presence of the dogs. 

Customs officers did not find the terriers when they boarded the aircraft before the passengers disembarked. more