SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE: ¨Dictators Get the Deaths They Deserve¨

¨...if a tyrant is executed while crying for mercy in the dust, then that, too, is a reflection of the nature of a fallen regime and the reaction of an oppressed people.¨

“ALL political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure,” wrote Enoch Powell, the controversial but often perspicacious British politician, “because that is the nature of politics and of human affairs.” But the political lives of tyrants play out human affairs with a special intensity: the death of a democratic leader long after his retirement is a private matter, but the death of a tyrant is always a political act that reflects the character of his power. If a tyrant dies peacefully in bed in the full resplendence of his rule, his death is a theater of that power; if a tyrant is executed while crying for mercy in the dust, then that, too, is a reflection of the nature of a fallen regime and the reaction of an oppressed people.

Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi

This was never truer than in the death, last week, of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. The only difference between his death and those of so many other tyrants across history was that it was filmed with mobile phones, a facility unavailable to contemporaries of, say, the Roman emperor Caligula.

Despite brandished phones and pistols, there was something Biblical in the wild scene, as elemental as the deaths of King Ahab (“the dogs licked up his blood”) and Queen Jezebel (thrown off a palace balcony). It was certainly not as terrible as the death of the Byzantine emperor Andronicus I, who was beaten and dismembered, his hair and teeth pulled out by the mob, his handsome face burned with boiling water. In modern times, it was more frenzied than the semi-formal execution, in 1989, of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, but not as terrible as the ghastly lynching, in 1958, of the innocent King Faisal II of Iraq (age 23) and his hated uncle, who were supposedly impaled and dismembered, their heads used as soccer balls. In 1996, the pro-Soviet former president of Afghanistan, Najibullah, was castrated, dragged through the streets and hanged.

Western leaders and intellectuals find Colonel Qaddafi’s lynching distasteful — Bernard-Henri Lévy worried it would “pollute the essential morality of an insurrection” — yet there are sound political reasons for the public culling of the self-proclaimed king of kings. Colonel Qaddafi’s tyranny was absolutist, monarchical and personal. The problem with such dictatorships is that as long as the tyrant lives, he reigns and terrorizes. As Churchill put it, “dictators ride to and fro upon tigers from which they dare not dismount...¨ read the whole fascinating/sensible thing, HERE

·  Thanks to Frank Schaeffer, sidebar
·  Thanks to Simon Sebag Montefiore

AGAIN AND AGAIN -- THEREFORE: ¨We recommend that The Episcopal Church respectfully decline to ratify The Anglican Communion Covenant as proposed¨

Subject: The Anglican Communion Covenant

Adopted without opposition October 16th: Resolution

WHEREAS: The churches of the Anglican Communion are held together in an indissoluble spiritual bond as members of the body of Christ and are called, individually and collectively, to "be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us" (Ephesians 5:1-2) The Episcopal Church Diocese of Eastern Oregon

WHEREAS: Within that indissoluble bond of love, each member church must discern where the Spirit of God is calling them as they live out their promise made in baptism "to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves," ever mindful of their primary call to further the present-and-coming reign of God; and


WHEREAS: After prayerful consideration of The Anglican Communion Covenant, the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon, in Province VIII of The Episcopal Church, believes that the Covenant does not further the reign of God; and


WHEREAS: We believe that Section Four in particular by its adjudicatory nature -introduces an adversanal element that could wound the Communion;


·  Thanks to The Rev. James Mosier and the Rev. Kathryn Macek
·  Thanks to The Clergy Collegium
·  Thanks to The Diocese of Eastern Oregon, TEC
·  Thanks to The No Anglican Covenant Coalition, International

THE BOLD/BRAVE NEW TUNISIA VALUES INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM: The dignity of Homosexuals has a right to exist!

¨Some are concerned what social changes might come with the victory of Tunisia’s Islamist party in the country’s first free vote since the Arab Spring overthrow of autocratic president Ben Ali.

Nahda party spokesman Riad Chaibi has offered reassurances that the new leadership does not want to deprive citizens of individual freedoms, going so far as to say that being gay is “a matter of dignity”


¨Chaibi, who spent five years in prison for his opposition to dictator Ben Ali, said that in Tunisia “individual freedoms and human rights are enshrined principles” and that atheists and homosexuals are a reality in Tunisia and “have a right to exist.” According to Chaibi, in the case of homosexuals there is also “a matter of dignity, because society sees them as undervalued.”

Given that Tunisia has a history of stigmatizing and punishing people who are gay, this would be quite a bold step. Chaibi also said that women will not be forced to wear veils and people will be allowed to drink alcohol, promising a coalition government approach that values freedom. Detractors of the Nahda party have suggested that its actions in the mosques do not match its talking points to the public...¨ please read it all, HERE

· Thanks to Think Progress, sidebar
· Thanks to The Nahda Party, Tunisia

IT´S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS: Some of the elected ¨evangelical¨ thugs/maddogs/bigots and thieves of Uganda reintroduce ¨Kill the Gays¨ Bill to Parliament!

The First Lady of Uganda, MP Janet ¨Gays have Gods curse¨  HERE Museveni

¨Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality (aka 'Kill gays) bill was reintroduced to parliament yesterday.

Anglican MP David ¨Kill all the Gays¨ Bahati, prominent member of the dictator/president Museveni´s ruling party and author of the ¨kill the Gays¨ Bill and extended Ugandan member of Washingtons ¨C¨  Street Family Quick Reference Guide to ¨C¨ Street ¨Family¨Members

Have you met MP David Bahati´s colleague MP Odonga Otto, who says he'd kill his own son if he found out he was Gay? HERE

The bill includes the death penalty for some offenses, provides for Ugandans fleeing the country to be extradited, requires that all people in Uganda report homosexuals and would ban advocacy by anyone for LGBT human rights...¨

The bill includes the death penalty for some offenses, provides for Ugandans fleeing the country to be extradited, requires that all people in Uganda report homosexuals and would ban advocacy by anyone for LGBT human rights...¨ read it all (if you have the stomach for it), HERE

Anglican Archbishop Henry Orombi/Uganda, spiritual advisor of MP David Bahati, ¨C¨ Street accomplice, North American property poacher and anti-lgbt demonist  The Two Faces of Grace, HERE

Jesus wept

·  Thanks to Paul Canning
·  Thanks to LGBT Asylum News, sidebar

PRIME MINISTER TSVANGIRAI/ZIMBABWE: ¨...withdrew his objections to constitutional recognition of gay rights¨

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe

¨On a visit to London last week, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that he would not object to the recognition of gay rights in the new constitution. This is a very different stance to the one he took in March 2010 where he sided with President Robert Mugabe’s hostile stance about LGBTI persons.

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai has performed a U-turn on gay rights, and now wants to see homosexuality decriminalised in a new constitution currently being drafted.

Only last March, Tsvangirai came out in support of President Robert Mugabe’s hostile stance on gays, charging: “Women make up 52% of the population... There are more women than men, so why should men be proposing to men?"

Homosexual acts are currently illegal in Zimbabwe. Mugabe once said gays were "worse than pigs and dogs", sparking international condemnation.

But on a visit to London last week, Tsvangirai sat down for an interview with BBC Newsnight, which was due to air on Monday night, in which he withdrew his objections to constitutional recognition of gay rights...¨ read it all, HERE

·  Thanks to Prime Minister Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe
·  Thanks to African Activist, sidebar
·  Thanks to the BBC, United Kingdom

Religion is the largest stumbling block to Gay people: ¨Hate is a disease of the mind...¨

Randy Roberts Potts and his grandfather Pastor Oral Roberts

¨...Gay people are people …plain and simple. Just as you and I…who dress warm in the winter, eat food so we will live another day and love life and those close to us. We do what we think we need to do to be happy, healthy and alive…this is exactly what Gay people want too. They want to be happy, they want to be healthy and they want to live and love as they feel happy doing. That’s all…end of story...¨ please read it all by Randy Roberts Potts, the grandson of Oral Roberts, HERE

·  Thanks to Randy Roberts Potts, HERE
·  Thanks to By Teeluck Sooknarine
·  Thanks to Addicting Info, sidebar

TOLERANCE, EQUALITY and JUSTICE: THE WAR AGAINST CHRISTIANITY?

·  Thanks to Joe.My.God., sidebar

PLEASE MEET: Victoria Kolakowski, first openly transgender U.S. trial judge

Victoria Kolakowski, Judge

“I have been very fortunate to have a successful career as a public servant, and I feel an obligation to serve my community as a role model as well.”

Victoria Kolakowski is the first openly transgender person to be elected a trial judge in the United States.

¨Born in Queens, New York, Kolakowski graduated from Stuyvesant High School. She was the first person in her family to attend college. Kolakowski earned master’s degrees in biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, public administration and divinity. She received a law degree from Louisiana State University.

In 1990, Kolakowski moved to Berkeley, California. She served on the Oakland Budget Advisory Committee and was an administrative law judge for the California Public Utilities Commission.

In 1994, the East Bay Lesbian/Gay Democratic Club named her Woman of the Year. In 1995, she received the Outstanding Woman of Berkeley Award.

In 2010, Kolakowski campaigned for a judgeship on the Superior Court of Alameda County, California. She won by 10,000 votes. Her victory was significant, not only for the transgender community, but also for women, who occupy a small percentage of judgeships. She received Equality California’s Equality and Justice Award...¨  please read Victorias personal story, HERE

· Thanks to LGBTQ History Month
· Thanks to LGBTQ Nation, sidebar
· Thanks to Equality Forum
· Thanks to Victoria Kolakowski, Judge

WHINERS/COMPLAINERS/BIGOTS/DECEIVERS -- THE ALL NEW UN-AMERICAN GOP: Republicans ignore the successful foreign policies/actions taken by President Barack Obama

A Great American Leader, President Barack Obama

"Is there no Republican that can be gracious and statesmanlike in this situation? We removed a dictator in six months losing no American soldiers, spending, like, a billlion dollars rather than a trillion dollars, and engendering what appears to be good will to people who now have a story of their own indpendence to tell. Anybody want to give credit? What the f**k is wrong with you people?"  Jon Stewart, read more:  HERE

·  Thanks to President Barack Obama
·  Thanks to Jon Stewart
·  Thanks to Towleroad, sidebar

FROM THE CUBAN GOVERNMENT WITH LOVE: “the current challenges require (...) confronting prejudices and discrimination of all kinds that still persist in society”.

¨Cuban blogger Francisco Rodríguez Cruz Español, Aqui reports that the official papers for the January Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, its first in fourteen years, includes opposition to discrimination against LGBT people.

Cruz says that the document includes two new party objectives:

54. Confront racial, gender, religious, sexual orientation and other prejudices that may generate any form of discrimination or limit people from exercising their rights to, among others, occupy public posts, and participate in the political and mass organizations and in the defense of the country.

65. To reflect in the audiovisual media, the printed and digital press Cuban reality in all its diversity regarding the economic, labor and social situation, gender, skin color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and territorial origin...¨ HERE

·  Thanks to LGBT Asylum News, sidebar
·  Thanks to Paul Canning
·  Thanks to Francisco Rodríguez Cruz
·  Thanks to the January (2012) Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba