Orlando Cruz: More Boxing News!

LA Times.

Fnarr fnarr!
Great stuff guys etc etc. 

Freedom Of Speech: A Bad Ad For God

Below is the Westboro Baptist Church's predictably charming statement marking the Supreme Court holding up their first amendment right to freedom of speech.
Fagburn agrees with the ruling - that freedom of speech also means freedom of hate speech.
I kinda agree with much in this piece in the LA Times; The Right To Be Vile.
One thing it doesn't cover is when does something like this - serial picketing of funerals with offensive placards and chants - become harrassment; if a work colleague or neighbour calls me "fucking faggot" every day that's not protected as a freedom in the UK or the US, surely?
Whatever, the God Hates Fags guys and gals are such a bad ad for the anti-gay Christian Right, I say let them do some more damage to themselves.
Talking of ads and god... The British Humanist Association has just started an ad campaign running on buses and billboards across the UK; "Not religious? Say so on this year's census form."
It's been banned outright by CBS Outdoors - the company that owns advertising space in UK railway stations.
The BHA poster will still run elsewhere, but this one is also a censored version.
The Committee of Advertising Practice told them the original had the potential to cause "widespread" and "serious offence".
The offending slogan? "If you're not religious, for god's sake say so."
Which surely means they found the word "god" offensive.

Sesame Street: Brought To You By The Letters G, A and Y

"Sesame Workshop says it's not out to appeal to a gay audience but with such recent actions as a 'True Blood' parody, inviting openly gay guests like Wanda Sykes, and an interesting tweet by Bert, some are feeling the love..."
Melissa Maertz reports for the LA Times.
Looks like the (non) story will go viral; the media love nonsense like this.
You can speculate and joke about Tinky-Winky, Bert & Ernie or Spongebob Squarepants as much as you like - and you know they ain't gonna sue.
As ever, seeing Sesame Street as Queer Street all comes back to Bert & Ernie; they've been gay-rumoured for even longer than Tom Cruise and John Travolta have.
You can see the unhappy couple getting outed and facing up to their feelings for each other in Peter Short's slightly unsettling short film, Bertrand & Ernest here.
Enjoy!

EDIT: Legal notice, I don't mean to imply that Tom Cruise and John Travolta are a couple. Or muppets. Thank you.