December « 2012 « MasterAdrian’s Weblog

Dutch minister [Secretary of State] slams Pope for gay hate Christmas message « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
►http://masteradrian.com/2012/12/24/dutch-minister-secretary-of-state-slams-pope-for-gay-hate-christmas-me

Dutch minister [Secretary of State] slams Pope for gay hate Christmas message
Netherlands foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans blasts head of the Catholic Church for gay marriage attack
24 December 2012 | By Matthew Jenkin
Netherlands foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans blasts Pope for gay marriage attacks

Dutch foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans has slammed the Pope for attacking gays in his annual Christmas message.

The head of the Catholic Church is calling on faith groups to unite against same-sex marriage, saying the legislation which is being passed around the world is a threat to the survival of the human race.

However, Netherlands foreign affairs minister Frans Timmermans has blasted Pope Benedict XVI over his continuing homophobia.

‘If every person is unique, as the Pope’s representative said in Dublin last week, then why should that unique person not have the right to stand up for their own sexual orientation?’ Timmermans told RTL.

‘Why can Romeo marry Juliet but not Julius?

‘Marriage between two people of the same sex is having respect for the uniqueness of the individual.’

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize gay marriage in 2001.

Gay rights group COC is urging Timmermans to campaign to have the Vatican lose its special position within the United Nations.

A Dutch Facebook group called ‘No flowers for the pope’ has also been set up calling on the Netherlands to stop its tradition of sending flowers to the Holy See at Easter.

In his festive speech, the pope said the ‘traditional family’ must be protected, and stressed all faiths, even non-Christian religions, must come together to stop marriage equality.

He added that gay and Trans people were destroying humanity itself, saying they are ‘manipulating their God-given gender to suit their sexual choice’ and destroying the ‘very essence of the human creature’ in the process.

Earlier this month, in comments released for the upcoming World Day of Peace 2013 in January, the Pope said gay people, like abortion or euthanasia, was a threat to justice and world peace.

Calif. Judge Says Victims’ Body Can Prevent Rape‏ « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
►http://masteradrian.com/2012/12/15/calif-judge-says-victims-body-can-prevent-rape%e2%80%8f

Calif. Judge Says Victims’ Body Can Prevent Rape‏
December 15, 2012

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California judge is being publicly admonished for saying a rape victim “didn’t put up a fight” during her assault and that if someone doesn’t want sexual intercourse, the body “will not permit that to happen.”

The California Commission on Judicial Performance voted 10-0 to impose a public admonishment Thursday, saying Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson’s comments were inappropriate and a breach of judicial ethics.

“In the commission’s view, the judge’s remarks reflected outdated, biased and insensitive views about sexual assault victims who do not ‘put up a fight.’ Such comments cannot help but diminish public confidence and trust in the impartiality of the judiciary,” wrote Lawrence J. Simi, the commission’s chairman.

Johnson made the comments in the case of a man who threatened to mutilate the face and genitals of his ex-girlfriend with a heated screwdriver, beat her with a metal baton and made other violent threats before committing rape, forced oral copulation, and other crimes.

Though the woman reported the criminal threats the next day, the woman did not report the rape until 17 days later.

Johnson, a former prosecutor in the Orange County district attorney’s sex crimes unit, said during the man’s 2008 sentencing that he had seen violent cases on that unit in which women’s vaginas were “shredded” by rape.

“I’m not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something: If someone doesn’t want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case,” Johnson said.

The commission found that Johnson’s view that a victim must resist to be a real victim of sexual assault was his opinion, not the law. Since 1980, California law doesn’t require rape victims to prove they resisted or were prevented from resisting because of threats.

In an apology to the commission, Johnson said his comments were inappropriate. He said his comments were the result of his frustration during an argument with a prosecutor over the defendant’s sentence.

Johnson said he believed the prosecutor’s request of a 16-year sentence was not authorized by law. Johnson sentenced the rapist to six years instead, saying that’s what the case was “worth.”

Footballers protest Israel hosting #UEFA Euro #U21 « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
►http://masteradrian.com/2012/12/01/footballers-protest-israel-hosting-uefa-euro-u21

Footballers protest Israel hosting #UEFA Euro #U21
December 1, 2012
Footballers protest Israel hosting #UEFA Euro #U21

by occupiedpalestine

Footballers protest Israel hosting UEFA Euro U21:… fb.me/ALd0urmA— Frédéric Kanouté (@FredericKanoute) November 30, 2012 November 30, 2012 09:46 PM By Rob Harris | The Daily Star LONDON: Dozens of leading footballers have signed a statement protesting UEFA’s decision to stage the European under-21 championship in Israel next year following the country’s recent military offensive in [...]

Read more of this post