Sweden’s Supreme Court has ruled that a testimony from the victim of an alleged rape is not enough to secure a conviction without additional supporting evidence. I realize that many rape victims find the ruling disturbing. But I think it is good. Considering that a rapist could be sentenced to many years in prison, it has to take more than the plaintiff’s story for conviction.

If you are able to read Swedish, do not miss Uffe Wickberg excellent article on the Christian Democrats.

Two big arenas with large screens outside. Michael Jackson never was much for minimalism, so in that respect this spectacle is fitting.

A ruling by the Delhi High Court overturns the ban on sex between consenting adults of the same sex introduced under British rule.

David Cameron, leader of the British Conservative Party, has apologized to the gay community for Section 28, a law—introduced by Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet in 1988—that banned the “promotion” of homosexuality.

One of Andrew Sullivan’s readers sent him this observation about the fundamentalists’ appreciation of liars:

The ability to lie well is a valuable part of the fundamentalist psychology. My son isn’t gay, he just hasn’t found the right woman! Those rocks aren’t 50 million years old, they just look like it as a test of our faith! My sexless marriage isn’t foundering, it is filled with God’s spirit! The minister isn’t molesting little Maria, they’re just very close! It isn’t torture, it is being tough on terrorists!

Fundamentalists can recognize a truly audacious and talented liar from miles away. Instead of running the other way, as you might expect, they gather around the powerful liar, for they know that their own lies will be respected and protected by a leader who understands the paramount importance of preserving their whole system of denial.

Brilliant!

Postscript: Speaking of Sullivan, Eric at Classical Values writes about an attempt to link his homosexuality to his opposition to Sarah Palin.

My favourite headline of the day.

Sally Kern is back!* This time she blames the gays for the bad economy. The accusation is made in a proclamation, which, according to her website, will be signed by religious leaders, elected officials, and citizens of Oklahoma on 2 July 2009. Here is the proclamation in full, with the most ludicrous remarks in boldface:

We the People of Oklahoma, Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of Liberty; to secure just and rightful Government; to promote our mutual Welfare and Happiness, do establish this proclamation and call upon the people of the great State of Oklahoma, and our fellow Patriots in these United States of America who look to the Lord for guidance, to acknowledge the need for a national awakening of righteousness in our land.

WHEREAS, “It is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which Freedom can securely stand” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by Religion and Morality” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “Our Constitution was made only for a Moral and Religious people” (John Adams); and

WHEREAS, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government ... but upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God” (James Madison); and

WHEREAS, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God (Benjamin Franklin); and

WHEREAS, “God who gave us life gave us liberty and can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God” (Thomas Jefferson); and

WHEREAS, “Whether any free government can be permanent, where the public worship of God, and the support of Religion, constitute no part of the policy or duty of the state” (Joseph Story); and

WHEREAS, “We hold sacred the rights of conscience, and promise to the people…the free and undisturbed exercise of their religion” (Roger Sherman); and

WHEREAS, “This great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians” (Patrick Henry); and

WHEREAS, “When you…exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed upon your mind that God commands you to choose just men who will rule in the fear of God” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, “The principles of genuine Liberty and of wise laws and administrations are to be drawn from the Bible” (Noah Webster); and

WHEREAS, the people of Oklahoma have a strong tradition of reliance upon the Creator of the Universe; and

WHEREAS, we believe our economic woes are consequences of our greater national moral crisis; and

WHEREAS, this nation has become a world leader in promoting abortion, pornography, same sex marriage, sex trafficking, divorce, illegitimate births, child abuse, and many other forms of debauchery; and

WHEREAS, alarmed that the Government of the United States of America is forsaking the rich Christian heritage upon which this nation was built; and

WHEREAS, grieved that the Office of the president of these United States has refused to uphold the long held tradition of past presidents in giving recognition to our National Day of Prayer; and

WHEREAS, deeply disturbed that the Office of the president of these United States disregards the biblical admonitions to live clean and pure lives by proclaiming an entire month to an immoral behavior;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned elected officials of the people of Oklahoma, religious leaders and citizens of the State of Oklahoma, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world, solemnly declare that the HOPE of the great State of Oklahoma and of these United States, rests upon the Principles of Religion and Morality as put forth in the HOLY BIBLE; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, believers in the One True God and His only Son, call upon all to join with us in recognizing that “Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord,” and humbly implore all who love Truth and Virtue to live above reproach in the sight of God and man with a firm reliance on the leadership and protection of Almighty God; and

BE IT RESOLVED that we, the undersigned, humbly call upon Holy God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer, to have mercy on this nation, to stay His hand of judgment, and grant a national awakening of righteousness and Christian renewal as we repent of our great sin.

It would be hard to produce a more pretentious document. Not least considering the clever distortion of the great thinkers quoted. Does anyone honestly believe that John Adams would side with Kern and her gang against civil liberties? And why would anyone assume that Thomas Jefferson—an outspoken Unitarian deist who loathed theistic ideas—would have anything in common with a bunch of theocracy advocates? It is obvious that Sally Kern knows nothing about homosexuality, but strangely enough, it seems she knows very little about America, too.

* This is not the first time Sally Kern tries to put blame on gay people. Kern made headlines in March 2008 after she had said that the “homosexual agenda” is destroying America.

I just read an article by Johann Hari. He describes how the fight for gay rights has gone global. The whole article is worth reading, but I particularly like this passage:

The conversation about gay people has been so soaked in theology for so long that it’s important to state some hard empirical facts. Homosexuality is a naturally occurring phenomenon that happens in every human society. Everywhere, around 2-5 percent of human beings prefer to have sex with their own gender. It occurs at the heart of nature: only last week, a major study by Professors Nathan Bailey and Marlene Zuk of the University of California found: “The variety and ubiquity of same-sex sexual behavior in animals is impressive—many thousands of instances of same-sex courtship, pair bonding and copulation have been observed in a wide range of species, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects, mollusks and nematodes.”

When heterosexual paedophiles rape children—as in the case of Stephen E. Quick and Samantha Light in Indiana—it is not considered a characteristic of all heterosexuals. However, when a gay paedophile rapes children, the anti-gay lobby tries its best to make it a characteristic of all homosexuals. I think it is about time to honour this particular form of biased and prejudicial association fallacy by adding it to the list of fallacies.

A man in Florida has been charged with domestic battery after he drenched his wife with a garden hose for smoking in the house. Seriously, I don’t condole hosing down one’s spouse against his or her will, but I think it’s silly to make a court case out of it.

After eight months of recounts and bitter judicial quarrels, the Minnesota Supreme Court rules that Al Franken take one of the state’s two seats in the United States Senate.

I must admit I forgot about the messy election in Minnesota. In my mind, the dispute was settled months ago.

The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention has published a new report on hate crimes. From The Local:

Last year, almost 5,900 hate crimes (crimes with the intention of offending the victim) were reported in Sweden.

Almost 72 percent (4,225) were judged to have racial or xenophobic motives, 18 percent (1,055) were related to sexual orientation and 10 percent (around 600) had anti-religious motives.

The most common crimes are illegal threats and harassment, which occur twice as often as violent hate crimes.

The countries of the European Union are fed up with Iran’s treatment of British embassy employees. Now the union is threatening the collective withdrawal of their ambassadors in Teheran.

This is good news. A “strong and collective” response to the bullying of one EU member is helping not only Britain, but the entire union. Individual European countries are weak on their own, but working together, they possess a strong influence on world politics.

Meanwhile in Iran, the Guardian Council has confirmed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory after a partial recount. I still think it’s bogus, and so do most independent observers.

According to a new survey, a majority of gay Americans say faith is important to them. This may come as a shock to some as gay people are often portrayed as godless.

On this day forty years ago, the gay-rights movement was set in motion by the riots at Stonewall Inn in New York City. Had it not been for the brave drag queens and a new generation of angry gay men fed up with police harassment and oppression, people like me and many of this blog’s readers would still be forced to hide. The gay movement of today has many flaws, but at its core is still the very liberal idea that no state has the right to tell people whom to love and how to live as long as it does not infringe on other people’s equal rights.

Box Turtle Bulletin has more.

Wikipedia page on the riots here.

There is at least one man in China who does what I do. Xing Zhao hand out condoms and safe-sex information to gay men in Shanghai, which is precisely what I do in southern Sweden this summer.

And for the first time, the Census Bureau has decided to recognize these couples in their ten-yearly survey of the American people. Good.

I predict a blow to the popular homophobic myth that gay people are a tiny, tiny minority not worthy any respect or recognition. When CNN added sexual orientation to their survey of voters before the 2008 presidential election, about four per cent ticked the yes box.

The Daily Mail pictures the sad life and end of a superstar.

There’s still some sanity left in Vilnius.

Background here.