Why is the Vatican angry with Ireland?

"SO, ROME is miffed at “excessive reactions” in Ireland following publication of the Cloyne report. This State has spent millions unearthing what has been available to Rome all along. In October 2005, there was the Ferns report, costs to date: €2.3 million.

In May 2009, the Ryan report, estimated costs to date: at least €126 million. In November 2009, the Dublin report: costs to date €3.6 million. In July 2011, the Cloyne report: costs to date €1.9 million. Total costs so far of the four statutory inquiries? €133.8 million [US $190 million], with more to come.

None of this would have been necessary had the Catholic Church here and in Rome co-operated fully in establishing the truth. Instead, those that could be were dragged, kicking and screaming, into disclosing what they desperately wanted to keep hidden."

Read the whole thing here.

A San Francisco judge has struck an anti-circumcision measure from the city's November ballot.  The measure would have banned non-medical circumcision of male children.  Superior Court judge Loretta Giorgi said the proposed law violated the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom. San Francisco would have been the first U.S. city to hold a public vote on outlawing the circumcision of minors.

Michael Kinane, an attorney for the proponents, had argued that circumcision is not usually performed for medical reasons, and that the ballot measure included an exception for medical circumcisions.  The measure did not include exemptions for religious rituals.  The ban's sponsor, anti-circumcision activist Lloyd Schofield, said he is considering an appeal.

Religious groups argued that it is up to parents to decide whether or not to circumcise their children.  Many anti-circumcision activists consider male circumcision just as much a form of genital mutilation as female circumcision.  The US government bans female genital cutting for any non-medical reason.

No professional association of physicians currently recommends routine circumcision, and many argue that it adversely affects penile function and sexual pleasure, is extremely painful, and is a violation of human rights.  The British Medical Association stated in 2006 that "it is now widely accepted, including by the BMA, that this surgical procedure has medical and psychological risks."  A 2002 review by Boyle et al. stated that

"the genitally intact male has thousands of fine touch receptors and other highly erogenous nerve endings—many of which are lost to circumcision, with an inevitable reduction in sexual sensation experienced by circumcised males . . . intercourse is less satisfying for both partners when the man is circumcised."

Neo-natal circumcision was introduced as a way to curb masturbation.  Today, globally 30 per cent of males over 15 are circumcised, and 70 per cent of these are Muslim.  Circumcision is not a condition for converting to Islam or for carrying out religious duties.  Muslim circumcisions are performed as early as 7 days after birth or as late as the onset of puberty and are often done in a medical setting.  Among Jews, ritual circumcision is performed on the 8th day after birth by a man or woman called a mohel, using a knife.  Under Jewish law, a mohel must draw blood from the circumcision wound; some use their mouth for this purpose; the practice has resulted in the spreading of herpes to infants, at least one of which suffered brain damage and another died as a result.

Comic books and trading cards featuring evil Jewish characters distributed by the measure's proponents made the measure even more controversial.

Céline Dion demands Ridiculous Pictures of Céline Dion shut down

The owner of a Tumblr blog titled Ridiculous Pictures of Céline Dion has received a threatening letter from the singer's lawyers demanding the blog be shut down:

"céline dion found our blog, and she didn’t like it. we just got a letter from céline’s lawyers that the blog has to be shut down. though this blog is well within the realm of ‘fair use’, i don’t have the money or time to get a lawyer to respond. the dream is over."

The blog owner goes on to clarify that it was not Dion herself who found the blog and initiated contacted, blaming her "publicity and legal team."

The blog has been scrubbed of all but one ridiculous picture of Céline Dion (left).

Fair use is an exception to copyright law.  It allows for limited use of copyrighted material without permission, for things such as  commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test. The term "fair use" originated in the United States, but similar exceptions exist in many other jurisdictions.

This certainly appears to be a case where fair use is a legitimate argument for using the photos on the blog, and it's a no less egregious example of the super-rich circumventing laws by virtue of their ability to spend a lot of money for the small size and insignificant nature of the blog.

There is, however, a bright side: a Google images search for "ridiculous photos of Celine Dion" returned 4,160,000 totally ridiculous results, while a Google web search for "ridiculous pictures of celine dion" returned nearly as many, most lamenting the demise of the site and lambasting the over the top singer.

Right-wing "pro-family" group wants to repeal California LGBT history law

Paulo Sibaja, acting on behalf of Sacrament0-based right-wing "pro-family" group Capital Resource Institute, filed documents July 15 to start a voter referendum to repeal the recently signed LGBT history law. Sibaja claims that a coalition of groups backs his organization's move, but declined to name them. Over 400,000 signatures are required to allow the referendum to proceed.

The law, the first of its kind in America, requires public schools in California to teach students about the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans. Democratic Senator Mark Leno, who introduced the bill, called the Capital Resource Institute "extremist," adding that it will be a challenge for them to get the signatures required, and even if they did succeed, Californians would reject the proposal.

Couple sues Air Canada for $700,000 over French

A "fluently bilingual" Montreal couple, Michel (pictured) and Lynda Thibodeau, sued Air Canada for $700,000 after Michel was unable to order a soft drink in French. The incident was one of six times the couple claim they were denied service in French on Air Canada and Air Canada Jazz in 2009. Canadian law requires federal institutions, including Air Canada, which is now privatized, to provide services in both official languages. Mr. Thibodeau argued that it is his right to be served in his language of choice.

Today, Federal Court Justice Marie-Josée Bédard granted the couple $6,000 each in total compensation for four occasions on which Air Canada allegedly failed to serve them in French, and ordered the airline to apologize. The Thibodeaus had been seeking $25,000 each for every incident, plus half a million dollars in punitive damages because, they claimed, Air Canada's employees were "arrogant." Forty-seven per cent of Air Canada's flight attendants and 59 per cent of its call-centre employees are bilingual. And 7-Up is pronounced "seven up" in both English and French.

In 2000, Mr. Thibodeau sued Air Canada when a flight attendant was unable to serve him in French on a flight between Ottawa and Montreal.

Tony Perkins on polygamy lawsuit: Told you so

Former Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives Tony Perkins has this to say about the polygamy lawsuit earlier this month by the Sister Wives cast:

"Those of us who have spent years in the fight for marriage have cautioned Americans where this brave new world could lead. And it isn't to 'equality.' Once marriage is redefined, we warned, polygamy and open infidelity won't be far behind. People accused us of exaggerating the stakes. Yet within days of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signing his name to the New York law, a man and his four wives felt emboldened enough to launch a challenge to Utah's polygamy ban.

In the suit, they argue that the law violates the equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment. In an interview with the New York Times, Kody Brown said, 'We only wish to live our private lives according to our beliefs.' Sound familiar? Homosexual activists have used this same 'privacy' argument for decades. And while I believe in those rights, these acts are not constrained to the bedroom. They have devastating implications for society and the culture as a whole. For homosexuals, this has never been about 'benefits' or 'equality.' It's about a devastating strategy meant to destroy innocence, religious freedom, and ultimately, the family."

Perkins is the president of American hate group the Family Research Council.