There was once a man named Alan Turning. He is now seen as a hero for helping to break German Enigma code in World War two. However this wasn’t always the case.

As a gay man living in these times he was convicted of homosexuality in the hetrosexual world he lived in. He had a choice to under go chemical castration or go to prision. He choose to under go the chemical castration and later commited suicide.

Looking back now he is seen as a brilliant and intellegant man. Think what he could have achieved in his life, if he hadn’t cut it short as a result of british law at the time.

Gordon Brown according to Pink News apologised for his treatment after a petition signed by over thirty thousand people. There has been some debate on Gordon Brown’s apology amoungst the gay community. Peter Tatchell said to Pink News:

Peter Tatchell called the apology “welcome and commendable” but said an apology was also due to the estimated 100,000 British men convicted of similar offences.

He said: “Singling out Turing just because he is famous is wrong. Unlike Turing, many thousands of ordinary gay and bisexual men were never given the option of hormone treatment. They were sent to prison.

“All these men were criminalised for behaviour that was not a crime between heterosexual men and women.”
(Pink News, last accessed: 12th September 09)

However Zefrog said:

And this brings the next question, that of the worth of an apology. This is not a new debate. It is a particularly heated one, for example, in the black community around the issue of slavery, where it is complicated by the question of financial reparations.

An apology is, of course, a potent symbol…
(Zefrog, Last accessed: 12th September 09)

My opinion is that Gordon Brown could of better used his time and political influence to change the laws against homosexuality that still exist in the world. There are still places in the world were gay men (and sometimes lesbian women) are hung, shot or killed in some other way because of their sexuality. Because they have relationships and or sex with the same sex. You only need to look this world map below (provided by Wikipedia) to see how far spread homophobia still is in terms of governments laws against it.

(Click on the map for full size readable version)

Blog politically again soon,

Antony x

Hi All,

Petrol & disel prices are set to rise by another 2p a litre according to PetrolPrices.com. I heard on one report that it was to raise funds for public services. We already pay more than most other countries and the majority of the price paid at the pump is due to tax. Do we simply not pay enough tax to cover these public services? Council tax, road tax, VAT. I am sure we could redistribute funds we have rather than add to the tax payers burden.

Buy your petrol before Tuesday 1st September 09, as that’s when the 2p tax is being added. Fill up before they raise the cost of petrol and disel even more.

Earlier this week I heard reports on Radio 1 that some people are really struggling with the cost of living and the economic resession at the moment. I have noticed the sharp rise in prices on essentials and am really starting to see the considerably less miles I get for the same amount of petrol as I did a year ago.

It seems that Gordon Brown and his MP’s can manage financially on the £65, 000 (plus expenses) they get. Well Gordon and your friends – that is NOT the average wage. Most people are not fortunate to be on this amount of money. So don’t be supprised if the media are reporting that people are struggling financially, and don’t stratch your head and ask why. Or be prepared (which is likely to happen anyway) to give No. 10 to David Cameron.

This effects us all, not just the car drivers as the papers have reported. If you get a bus to work – there ticket prices will have to reflect this increase in petrol and disel. You may think the only people it doesn’t effect is thosse who can walk or cycle to work. Wrong! Your goods that you buy in the supermarket all have to be transported there on trucks, trucks that use petrol or disel. So it is likely that ALL of our cost of living is set to rise.

Blog politically soon,

Antony

After discovering e-petitions for No. 10 Downing St (see Get politically active!), I have checked for relevant ones on a regular basis. Here’s a few that are relevant to me and my life:

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Blood-Equality/
The has been a big story line in Holy Oaks about gay men (or men that sleep with men) not being able to give blood due to the increased risk of HIV and other blood bourne viruses. I emailed the Blood service a few years back requesting the evidence base for this.

I recieved a response. The evidence base was out of date by several years. I don’t have the email any more, but I may email again to get the info. so I can post it here.

The evidence base does not reflect national stats, which state HIV infection rates are increasing in hetrosexuals faster than gay men for the first time ever. In addition to this, blood is screened, cleaned and broken down in to components anyway so it should be safe for the recipient.

This all of course when there is a national drive, due to the shortage of blood. The irony.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Stopdeportinggay/
This is a petition to stop deporting gay and lesbians who face persecution in their own country. Now, I recognise the need for immigration control. However, is it fair or humanistic to send a person back to their home county where they face being hung. It is enough that we still have oppression, homophobia and discrimination in our society. Let’s not send people back to their own countries where it is worse.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/diabetes-cure/
This petition is to ask the government to fund stem cell research to find a cure for diabetes. As many of you know, I am a suffer. I have also read of the research around stem cells from America and it does look promising. From an economic point of view, if we could cure diabetes it would save the country millions of pounds in what they spend in prescriptions (for insulin, needles, clippers, test strips, BM machines, etc.). Not to mention the costs to businesses that employ diabetic in terms of days off sick (as diabetics are more prone to illnesses).

I am by no means asking you to sign these for me. Just sign which of these you feel are relevent to your life. And what you would like to petition Gordan Brown to make a priority.

Blog soon,

Antony

Want an easy way to tell Gordan Brown what you want the poiticans to do for you?

We’d all love to have the time to tell Gordan Brown and the other poiticans what we want. But let’s be honest, who has the time? To contact your MP or write letters.

Well I found an online way to petition Gordan Brown and his government to action. Here’s the link: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/. As well as signing exsisting petitions you can create your own.

I have signed a few, including one about rising prices for petrol and houses. So go and get politically active now! Right from your chair.

Blog soon,

Antony