Institutions.....

Two which I used to be involved with but left were the Labour party, and organised religion in the form of the Church of England.

The Labour party appears, to me, to be re-positioning on a course which is more true to its traditions without looking back towards nostalgia and unelectable fantasy. That can only be a good thing. I cannot believe that the Tories have really changed.

But the Church - what a pathetic waste of space it is. This week, the American church issued a statement which was essentially a confirmation of the status quo in terms of their position on gay bishops and same-sex blessings. The rabid conservative wing , led by unreconstructed fundamentalists and premodern tinpot dictators such as the primates of Kenya and Nigeria, won't accept that compromise, because they haven't stated that they were wrong and have been convinced by the right-wing lunacy of conservative evangelicalism. So, the followers of the headbangers in the US plan to start their own 'province' and seek approval of it from the Anglican Communion.

Its clear enough that there is going to be a split. Its just a question of when and how. I don't think anyone could be naive enough to think it could all be 'held together'. The CofE will clearly split along similar lines.

And quite right too. Religious infantilism which advocates Daddy-gods-in-the-sky sending floods to punish us and wishes to impose its homophobic nonsense on those of us who have seen through their delusions always need to be opposed. Small they may be over here, but the self-hatred movement of self-repressing gay people can cause an awful lot of harm, even if only short term. I have every confidence that these groups will continue to become more and more marginalised (and regarded as something of a joke) but people can be sucked into their clutches at vulnerable moments, particularly if they were born into the evangelical church.

Good news was that the homophobic Bishop of Hereford, found GUILTY of discrimination against a gay man who had applied for a non-clergy post, will not be appealing against the decision. Excuses have been made about the cost and time of the process. Neither are valid - IT's require little money and appeals are dealt with quickly - the real reason is that they haven't a hope of winning their case. Its quite amusing to see that all the so-called 'advice' they were given as to how the decision could be challenged was nothing but hot air by those who wish that the law wasn't as it is. The Church is simply out of step, and whilst it remains so - watch them like a hawk and don't let them get away with ignoring the law.

Events, dear boy, events

I have a policy not to talk about work on this blog but suffice to say I'm looking for more work again. Long story, but still don't feel I want to write about it until everything is sorted. The morale in so many HE institutions appears dreadful. Correction. Is dreadful.

Anyway, I do have a bit of stuff to keep me going.

Gordon's speech at the Labour conference was impressive. He has gravitas, no doubt about that. Cameron beside him appears insubstantial and lacking in authority. The lack of coherent policies doesn't help.
Less impressive is the story of the Labour councillor in Waltham Forest, found guilty of electoral malpractice. By all accounts she thought it was appropriate to smear her LibDem opponent as a paedophile. Which he isn't. The councillor concerned, a gay man whose partner is from the East, had to move area because of the hassle he received.
It should be pointed out that the councillor concerned is black. The rainbow alliance appears to falter on occasion....
But there is simply no excuse for this. Playing discriminatory 'cards' isn't acceptable, particularly from a party committed to equality.

Gordon Brown

Interesting times. Last night, Labour won a by-election off the LD's in Liverpool. I think the LD's are making an almighty hash of things at present locally, and their national profile is non-existent.

But what of Gordon? The lunch with Thatch was a bit of politics, I suppose, and designed, I assume, to enbarrass cameron. I'm not sure it was wise. It will simply remind some of how vile the Tories were, but could even make cameron look nice in comparison. Basically, Labour are undoubtedly going to lose some soft Southern votes to the Tories next time. They may well win a few off the LD's , on the other hand. But actually, Labour can win a decent majority without many more Southern seats, as long as they don't lose a shed-load in Scotland and take a few more northern and Midlands marginals. Dallying with Thatch won't help. Also, Labour need to win back some of the Guardianistas and this won't help in that regard either.

So far, there's nothing which Brown has done which makes me think - yes, I must rejoin the Labour party. I really want to see a change in foreign policy. And personally, I'm not really into all that dour protestant work ethic shite. I'd prefer a bit of fun!

One think I do feel strongly about is the drift towards referenda which i utterly oppose. the Government must not be swayed. The EU treaty should be a decision for parliament, like any other.

Spin

Its odd how the right-wing can spin things.

A judge in Northern Ireland has decided that whilst the sexual orientation regulations themselves are ok, the harassment clause should be removed. Now, this is notr an essential clause, and it doesn't exist in the legislation in the rest of the UK. Ongoing legislation will produce anti-harassment measures to cover all aspects of equality. I am on record as saying that this makes more sense long-term and groups such as Stonewall also argued this was a sensible approach.

So, what has happened is that the regs in NI are now exactly the same as the regs in the rest of the UK. So, if this such a great 'victory' as some of the Right are portraying, does this mean their conversion to the existing regulations as both moderate and reasonable?

Religionists are calling, as ever, for the right to discriminate and calling it 'conscience'. Just like the BNP, who think that they should be allowed to discriminate against black people.

Lisbon

Or should that be Lisboa?

Its an interesting city. Grandly dilapidated in parts, modern in others, and some tremendous views. But the heat on our trip was simply too much - in the mid-thirties for most of the week. All the same, its an interesting place. Another drawback is that the funicular which links the Avenida de Liberades where we stayed, with the Bairro Alta, was out of action which meant that the only way to get there was by taxi - unless you go for walking up perpendicular hills.

On the positive side....the Fado Museum is excellent, as is the new contemporary art centre. Alfama is delightful, and the little cafe where we drank vinho verde, ate sardines, and enjoyed a chocolate mousse thick enough to stand a spoon in, with a slug of brandy poured into a hole made by the same spoon, was memorable. I like pateis de nata as well. Little custard tarts , puff pastry. Nice!

We left plenty to do for a re-visit. Oh, and the wine is good too - and there's a good selection at the airport as well as the 12 we stuffed into the cases....