June 2011 Archives

Germany: Lufthansa is one of the sponsors of several "Christopher Street Day" (LGBT Pride) events around the country, and is offering a number of special deals should you wish to travel to any of the cities around those dates. One Catholic extremist "news" service is upset at this, and is not content with simply making a few snide comments about cabin crew. No, according to Kreuz.net, flying with Lufthansa could give you AIDS! Let me translate:

Travel advisory to passengers on the German airline: the upholstery and interior of the aircraft could be infected with HIV. Families and children are particularly vulnerable.

No mention is made of the cooties that could leap out at your delicate regions from the toilet seat.

Fans of the outrageous will be pleased to note that this religious group goes on to compare Lufthansa to another organisation from German history. Yes, that one:

Lufthansa marches the German goose-step in the gay parades in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt and Hamburg....

In the Berlin homosexual parade — reminiscent of the Nazi Party rallies in Nuremberg — the homosexual mayor Comrade Klaus Wowereit will ride on a ridiculous vehicle also marred with Lufthansa logos.

Love the mixed metaphors there, and I'm hopelessly disappointed that they forgot to rant about the presence of the Orden der Schwestern der Perpetuellen Indulgenz.

Die ‘Lufthansa’ stürzt ab—Kreuz.net, 27th June 2011 (with thanks to Schwester Aura Scortea Beneficia)

• Northern Ireland: Protestant pastor vows to fight against gay sauna in Londonderry—PinkNews, 8th June 2011.
• Malawi: Malawi 'witches' face old law—Manilla Bulletin, 8th June 2011.
• Zimbabwe: Lupane woman jailed for witchcraft—NewsDay, 7th June 2011.
• Zambia: Woman murdered on witchcraft suspicion—Lusaka Times, 7th June 2011.
• Lebanon: Lebanon Ban Lady Gaga’s New Album—Pattaya Daily News, 8th June 2011. Because it is offensive to Christianity, and no doubt the most downloaded item there right now!

United States: Yesterday, a story broke about police in Texas digging up someone's garden in search of a mass grave. The lack of details was annoying. Had they been listening to fundies and become convinced of the existence of some murderous Satanic cult? Someone who ought to have been noticed and sent to a secure medical facility some time ago? No-one was saying anything, other than they'd had a tip off.

Today, all has been revealed. The tip-off came from a psychic, and the police are not amused about having their time wasted.

Captain Rex Evans, spokesman for the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, said the woman, who twice called in the tip, would be investigated for making a false report.

Evans said the tip-off had to be taken seriously because children's bodies were claimed to be in the property. The department called the FBI for help, and Texas Rangers spent hours obtaining a warrant to search the one-storey brick home at a rural crossroads near Hardin, about 51 miles east of Houston.

Something the news reports don't make clear—did they actually dig, or do police have access to geophys these days?

'Psychic' tip-off sparks police hunt for mass grave in Texas—The Guardian, 8th June 2011.