During a debate on same-sex marriage in November 2009, the priest Dag Sandahl began to talk about “arse fucking”. This foul language upset two woman priests, who filed a complaint to the bishop. (I wrote about it here.)

Now the church is considering a ban on such language. I’m not a member of the church, but in my opinion, it would be wrong to put a limit on free speech. If someone—a priest or otherwise—behaves badly, he or she should be asked to leave. But to make some kind of a list of prohibited words and expressions would be wrong. You cannot have an honest and open debate if people are not allowed to speak their mind freely.

Nora Caplan-Bricker has written a quite informative article with some answers to this rather odd question.

According to the charge, the man partook in the murder of about 430,000 people in the Bełżec extermination camp in German-occupied Poland.

(Picture of the camp at Bełżec was taken by a German guard in 1942.)

From Ynetnews:

Dozens of Orthodox rabbis have signed a statement of principles saying that religious communities must accept those of its members who are “active homosexuals” and their biological or adopted children, and that they must not be encouraged to undergo “change therapies” or marry someone of the opposite sex.

I salute these rabbis!

Read the statement in full here.

New research suggests many of the Dead Sea Scrolls are not written by the legendary Essenes in Qumran but rather the product of multiple Jewish groups fleeing Jerusalem as the Roman seized and destroyed the Second Temple.

The trees outside my window are being cut down to leave room for a new large building. I will miss them.

Organizers of Jerusalem Pride hope tomorrow’s parade will be peaceful. Jerusalem has seen some of the ugliest expressions of homophobia in recent years. Some have suggested gay people should only parade in Tel Aviv, but that would to accept that the Jewish capital is reserved for some Jews only.

Impressive e-book sales figures for late author Stieg Larsson.

Stockholm Pride opens today. I will not visit the event this year either. Interesting to note is that people who claim to be tolerant do their annual routine and complain about the alleged immorality at Pride. Typically, they find one sordid thing in Pride’s programme and see it as a proof of gay people everywhere being depraved. I don’t know how many times I’ve told these critics that Stockholm Pride is merely a cultural event, a festival for the queer community. It’s not supposed to represent anyone but the people involved.

Personally, I prefer more outrages events—like the Folsom Street Fair.

According to new figures reported by The Local, the number of people reported to the police for buying sex has risen five-fold in Sweden in the past year. So much for the “successful” ban.

One of my favourite novelists has been awarded Austria’s State Prize for European Literature.

I seriously think Wikileaks’s publication of secret war logs has caused the stupidest news frenzy ever. Yes, people die in warfare, and yes, Afghanistan in no exception. Why is mainstream media behaving like it’s big news?

A picture I took at the gay camp on Saturday.

Like so many communist despots before him, Venezuela’s de facto dictator Hugo Chávez has a thing for parading the dead. On 15 July, he ordered the body of Simón Bolívar be dug up, examined by scientist, and then resealed in a new coffin and placed for public display in a new mausoleum. It’s so very Leninesque—and so very, very sick.

Why is it that communists have this fetish for the dead? It’s not only that communists everywhere treat revolutionary figures as religious icons; communist states threat these men’s remains as religious relics. The Soviet Union had both Lenin and Stalin in a mausoleum, Cuba had a public reburial of Che Guevara a few years ago, and North Korea still consider a dead man its head of state.

Could it be that hardcore communism cannot do without traditional religious mysticism? I think so. People who claim to be all scientific and rational compensate for the lack of meaningfulness by turning to the most ancient religion known to man—the comfort and worship of ancestors.

A new low for America’s number one fan of Castro, Chàvez, and Arafat. This time he re-launches the old myth about the Jews running the media.

A sad read about anti-Semitism and Sweden.

The sex toy was found at a settlement from the Stone Age on the banks of Göta Canal near Motala in southern Sweden.

Makes me think of an angry woman I once met who blamed televised pornography for the “culture of masturbation”. If prehistoric people made dildos, then there’s very little to support her theory.

Four prominent Christian leaders have written an excellent article on the law that forces religious Jews and Muslims in Sweden to import their meat from abroad. I say, “Legalize!”

It’s so sad religious authorities treat gay rights as a threat to God and religion. The latest example is Argentine, where same-sex couples are now allowed to marry. Prominent Catholics interprets this as a threat to “God’s plan” and the church’s power in the region. This is nonsense. God is not a homophobe.

Tomorrow morning, I’m leaving my home in the city for a long weekend at a gay summer camp in the countryside. About fifty gay men from several countries will attend the camp. It will be fun.

I’m back on Monday.