Monthly Archives: May 2007

Naughty Fausto!

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Charles Lambert

The Families Association Forum is frothing at the mouth about the fact that Italy’s Speaker at the House of Deputies, Fausto Bertinotti, friend of Castro, Carlos and, er, the Dalai Lama and just back from a rejuvenating spiritual break on … Continue reading →

Posted in civil union, homophobia, human rights | 2 Comments

Protecting children, Polish style

Posted on May 29, 2007 by Charles Lambert

In line with recent attempts by the Polish government to outlaw any mention of homosexuality in schools, a certain Ewa Sowinska, the crackpot person responsible for children’s rights in Poland (including, apparently, the right not be informed), has ordered an … Continue reading →

Posted in crank, falwell, homophobia, poland | Leave a comment

Human decency

Posted on May 29, 2007 by Charles Lambert

It isn’t often that the Italian government offers a lesson in human decency to neighbouring countries, but its decision to take in 27 migrants found hanging onto tuna nets after ten days at sea contrasts favourably with the refusal of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

To Moscow… and back (sharpish)

Posted on May 28, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Among those putin putting the boot into gay protesters in Moscow yesterday were two Orthodox priests. Of course, deep down, what they’d really like to do is turn the other cheek. Right, boys? Right and left? I said turn, not … Continue reading →

Posted in homophobia, religion, vladimir luxuria | Leave a comment

Commonplaces: Marriage

Posted on May 28, 2007 by Charles Lambert

January 4 1976 Marriage is ultimately an agreement – or conspiracy – between two people to treat each other as having each the right to be loved absolutely. If there is not this understanding, there is no marriage; if there … Continue reading →

Posted in commonplace, marriage, spender | Leave a comment

Revealed truths 3

Posted on May 28, 2007 by Charles Lambert

This comes from The End of Faith, by Sam Harris: When the members of the ‘Heaven’s Gate’ cult failed to spot the spacecraft they knew must be trailing the comet Hale-Bopp, they returned the $4,000 telescope they had bought for … Continue reading →

Posted in crank, religion, revealed truth, sam harris | Leave a comment

Slowly slowly

Posted on May 28, 2007 by Charles Lambert

Anyone who’s thought about humiliation knows that people can be brought to commit the most degrading acts if they’re taken to them stage by stage, little by little, chipping away at their self-esteem until there’s no trace of it left … Continue reading →

Posted in berlusconi, blair, bush | Leave a comment

Mixed messages

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Charles Lambert

A new TV ad for the Italian mineral water Ferrarelle features a pregnant woman. She’s drinking a glass of the water in question and as she drinks the action moves to the womb and we see the little hands of … Continue reading →

Posted in gay | 2 Comments

A question of emphasis

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Charles Lambert

In the context of a long and fascinating piece on E.M. Forster’s attitude to fiction in the LRB (10 May 2007), Frank Kermode comments: Discordances between the order of story and the order of the narrative can be methodically and … Continue reading →

Posted in forster, lessing, religion, writing | Leave a comment

Suffer the little children…

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Charles Lambert

A parish priest in Pescara, Don Lino Cisotto, has refused first communion to a nine-year-old autistic child on the grounds that he’s incapable of understanding the full significance of the Eucharist. I would have taken this as a sign of … Continue reading →

Posted in church, religion | 2 Comments