Featured Wikipedia-article, Sept 2014 The paddle steamer SS Arctic, owned by the Collins Line of New York, sank on September 27, 1854, after a collision with SS Vesta, a much smaller vessel, 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Newfoundland. Passenger and crew lists indicate that there were probably more than 400 on board; of these, only 88 survived, most of whom were members of the crew. All the women and children on board perished.
US sex columnist Dan Savage caused more than a ripple to the Australian conservative status quo by daring to suggest that non-monogamy could help long-term relationships. He is right ---Perhaps the culturally dominant baby boomer generation still clings to outdated notions that heterosexual marriage is the ultimate bedrock institution on which our social fabric is tightly woven together, but the rest of us have surely moved on. The really dangerous ideas are the ones our churches and conservative leaders have been forcing on us for generations – ideas that are finally unraveling.
LGBT Weekly, April 26 Further to the outrage expressed at the announcement of Bradley Manning being a grand marshal at San Francisco Pride, a few minutes ago Lisa L. Williams, SF Pride board president issued the following statement: "His nomination was a mistake and should never have been allowed to happen" "Bradley Manning is facing the military justice system of this country. We all await the decision of that system. However, until that time, even the hint of support for actions which placed in harms way the lives of our men and women in uniform — and countless others, military and civilian alike — will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco Pride. It is, and would be, an insult to every one, gay and straight, who has ever served in the military of this country." "what these events have revealed is a system whereby a less-than-handful of people may decide who represents the LGBT community’s highest aspirations as grand marshals for SF Pride."
by Glenn Greenwald, guardian.co.uk, Comment is Free, Saturday 27 April. He draws attention to the sponsors of the Pride parade: Verizon, AT&T, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Clear Channel, and concludes: "So apparently, the very high-minded ethical standards of Lisa L Williams and the SF Pride Board apply only to young and powerless Army Privates who engage in an act of conscience against the US war machine, but instantly disappear for large corporations and banks that hand over cash. What we really see here is how the largest and most corrupt corporations own not just the government but also the culture." "Equating illegal behavior with ignominious behavior is the defining mentality of an authoritarian - and is particularly notable coming from what was once viewed as a bastion of liberal dissent."