I'm not surprised that Alberta, the home of "King Ralph" and right-wing-"religious"-nut Stephen Harper's adopted province, is the only Canadian province that hasn't legalized same-sex marriage. I'm also not surprised about the view expressed at the end of this article by a Catholic priest. Thank goodness Canada isn't a theocracy!
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9th Canadian Province Agrees To Gay Marriage
by Ben Thompson 365Gay.com Ottawa Bureau
Posted: July 9 2005 12:01 am ET

(Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) Canada's smallest province, Prince Edward Island, has become the ninth province to acknowledge same-sex marriage - leaving only the province of Alberta and two northern territories waiting for a bill before parliament requiring them to issue marriage licenses to gay couples.

Prince Edward Island Attorney-General Mildred Dover said the province will not wait for the Senate to pass the bill, known as C-38, and will bring Island laws into compliance with the broadened definition of marriage.

The definition of marriage is a federal responsibility but administering marriage licenses and issues involving family law, adoption, and divorce are provincial.

Dover said her staff have identified approximately 50 places in provincial legislation where references to spouse, marriage, husband or wife may have to be altered to include non-traditional pairs.

“We're looking at the possibility of bringing in an omnibus bill that would say something to the effect of wherever the word spouse appears in our legislation, it includes same-sex and heterosexual marriages,” she said.

“If that's not possible, this is going to be a lot longer process.”

But, she added that marriage licenses for same-sex couples will not be available until later this month when the federal Senate passes the legislation. It has already passed the Commons.

“We have said all along that we would comply if the federal government passed same-sex legislation. They have the power to define marriage,” she said.

Dover's announcement came as a welcome surprise to Greg Howard, executive director of the PEI Human Rights Commission.

Howard said he has talked to the province about same-sex marriage recognition for some time, but the government has been non-committal.

“This is very good news because the federal legislation only directly changes federal laws and the province is opting to comply with that as opposed to trying to find some way to circumvent the law,” he said.

“If they wanted to, they could be dragging their heels. This is good news for gay and lesbian people on Prince Edward Island.”

Alberta has announced it is seeking a way to opt out of the law, but admits has been unable so far to find a loophole short of getting out of issuing civil marriage licenses to anyone. That would leave marriage up to churches.

Meanwhile, a federal New Democratic Party politician in Ontario has been disciplined by a Catholic diocese for supporting same-sex marriage.

The Diocese of London is barring Windsor-Tecumseh MP Joe Comartin from full involvement in church activities.

In a letter, Ronald Fabbro, the Bishop of London, says the measure will remain in effect until Comartin has "a change of mind'' in using the term marriage with reference to same-sex unions.
A spokesman for the diocese said Comartin will still be able to attend mass and receive communion.

Father Gerry Compeau, the pastor of Comartin's church, Our Lady of the Rosary in Windsor, Ont., said Comartin is ``very friendly and courteous, and has a lot of respect for the clergy.''

``But I think he has to realize, like I have to realize, that we follow the church's law, and I follow it and he should be following it.''

Comartin says in a statement the bishop's action have deeply hurt him and his family.

©365Gay.com 2005

July 06, 2005
New Zealand lawmaker backs off condoning stoning of gays

A Muslim lawmaker in Prime Minister Helen Clark's New Zealand government backed away Tuesday from earlier comments he made condoning the stoning executions of homosexuals and adulterers as prescribed by strict Islamic law. Lawmaker Ashraf Choudhary was asked on a current affairs program Monday night whether he thought the Quran was wrong to recommend such punishments.

"No, no. Certainly what the Quran says is correct," Choudhary said. The Pakistani-born New Zealand citizen then added: "In those societies, not here in New Zealand." After Clark said Tuesday she would demand an explanation from the lawmaker on his comments, made during a show about Islamic extremism, he issued a statement saying he abhors such practices. "I have been a devout Muslim all my life and stand by the teachings of the Quran," Choudhary said. "But as a matter of personal belief, I abhor stoning and am strongly opposed to violence," he said. The statement said he would not comment further and he did not immediately return calls.

Clark made it clear earlier that Choudhary's views were not her party's policy. "For the record, let me spell out the Labour Party does not support capital punishment. It does not support flogging. It does not support stoning. We have very strong views about that," she said. "I don't care whether it's in any religious tract; it's not something that's acceptable to me," Clark added.

Gay lawmaker and conservation minister Chris Carter, who has worked closely with Choudhary for many years, defended his colleague. "He is a person who supported the civil-union bill, he is a person who is very supportive of minority's in this country, and I think is a very good New Zealander," he said. Choudhary voted for the civil-union bill, which gave legal backing to unions between single-sex couples, saying that despite the prevailing Muslim view that homosexuality was immoral, Muslims--as a minority group in New Zealand--had a duty to support the human rights of other minority groups. (AP)

Copacetic (Adjective)

Pronunciation: [ko-pê-'se-tik]

Definition 1: More than satisfactory, fine, running very smoothly, going quite well.

Usage 1: This term is rarely used outside North America. It was popularized by Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and later spread among developers of the U.S. space program. Its profile has lowered since then. Also spelled "copasetic."

Suggested usage: The term is perfect if you want to express an intensified "O.K." without saying "excellent" or "outstanding." "That solution isn't just good, it's positively copacetic." "Things are not so copacetic at the office right now; the new director is a bit overbearing."

Etymology: Entered the language circa 1919 among black jazz musicians, but its etymology is unknown. Speculations are that it comes from southern U.S. Black English, from the Yiddish phrase kol b'tzedek "all with justice," the Creole French word coupersètique "able to cope with things," or from the Chinook word copasenee, "everything is satisfactory."

—Dr. Language, www.yourDictionary.com

I just heard on CBC Radio that Ahenakew was found guilty.
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Disgraced Ahenakew to lose Order of Canada honour
Last Updated Jul 7 2005 08:42 AM CDT
CBC News

The council that admits people into the Order of Canada has begun the process of revoking the membership of former aboriginal leader David Ahenakew, who awaits a judge's ruling on a hate crime charge.

INDEPTH: Hate crimes

Former aboriginal leader David Ahenakew. (File photo) If Ahenakew, 71, does not resign from the order voluntarily by Saturday, he will be removed, said Lucie Brosseau, who speaks for the Governor General's office.

Two and a half years ago, Ahenakew told former Saskatoon StarPhoenix reporter James Parker that the Holocaust was a good thing and praised Adolf Hitler for having "fried" six million Jews during the Second World War.

He later apologized, but was charged with inciting hatred. A judge is due to hand down a verdict in the case Friday.

FROM JUNE 11, 2003: Ahenakew charged with spreading hate

The December 2002 comments outraged Canadian Jewish groups, which began the campaign to strip Ahenakew of his Order of Canada honour.

Hundreds of people called and wrote the Governor General's office to press for the membership to be revoked.

"The Order of Canada is a means by which we honour people," said Ed Morgan, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. "It seems to me that, given the words that Ahenakew said, there's no reason for Canadian society to honour him the way the order suggests."

Morgan added that he does not believe the comments reflect the views of the aboriginal community.

FROM DEC. 17, 2002: Quebec Cree Chief wants Ahenakew to lose Order of Canada

Ahenakew was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1978, four years before beginning a three-year term as national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

The current chief, Phil Fontaine, said the assembly has in the past rejected Ahenakew's comments, calling them abhorrent and unacceptable.

However, Fontaine said Wednesday that he does not have an opinion about the decision to revoke Ahenakew's appointment.

"We had nothing to do with the award," he said at the assembly's annual meeting in Yellowknife, N.W.T. "There's a process for that, and I understand the process is in motion and that the order will be revoked."

Alphonse Bird is chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, another group that Ahenakew once headed.

While the comments about Jews were racist and unacceptable, Bird said, "we also need to look at some of the achievements that were made in providing focus on First Nations rights, which happened during his tenure as FSIN chief and also as national chief."

Only one other person's membership in the Order of Canada has ever been revoked: that of Alan Eagleson, who once headed the National Hockey League Players Association but was later convicted of fraud.

This is a classic that's worth repeating:
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An Open Letter to Dr. Laura
J. Kent Ashcraft
May 2000

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

"The Commission On Africa says every cow in Europe receives almost $2 a day in agricultural subsidies--more than double the income of the average African."

It's the birthday of Franz Kafka, born in Prague (1883). He is the author of many novels and short stories about strange, terrible things happening to innocent people. The Trial begins, "Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K. for without having done anything wrong, he was arrested one fine morning." And "The Metamorphosis" begins, "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

Franz Kafka had a difficult relationship with his own father. He had to live at home after college, and slept in the room between his parents' bedroom and the living room. He tried to write at night but was annoyed by all the sounds his parents made. Kafka once wrote is father a 50-page letter, telling him all about their terrible relationship. He gave the letter to his mother, but she never passed it on and his father never read it.

The first love of his life was a woman named Felice Bauer. Kafka spent 10 days writing her a letter to introduce himself and then wrote to her almost every day for the next five years. They got engaged, but Kafka started to wonder if he should get married. He was worried that it would ruin the privacy he needed to be a writer. He said, "I need solitude for my writing. Not like a hermit—that wouldn't be enough—but like a dead man."

He started having an affair with Felice Bauer's best friend, and got her pregnant. He later found out that he had tuberculosis, so he never did get married.

Kafka's best friend was a sickly, hunchbacked man named Max Brod, who worshipped the ground that Kafka walked on. He hung out with him at cafés, went to brothels with him, and wrote articles about him before anybody else had ever heard about Franz Kafka. Near the end of his life, Kafka asked Max Brod to burn all of his unpublished work, which Brod refused to do. And so we have him to thank for preserving those novels.

It was Franz Kafka who said, "I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us "