Is there anything Mr. Bean can’t do? When not producing hilarious comedy or playing piano in front of the world at the Olympic opening ceremonies, actor Rowan Atkinson also spends his time fighting censorship. In this speech for Reform Section 5 (a British campaign dedicated to changing the Brit law against using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour"), Atkinson proves that he is much brighter than the bumbling characters he has famously portrayed. Even though, as Atkinson admits, he's generally safe from censorship due to his public status, he still wants to support free speech for other artists. It takes talent to combine intelligent political commentary with humor, and clearly Atkinson is a man of extraordinary talents.
It’s probably not an unusual thing for Ron Jeremy to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans when he makes an appearance at various events around the country.
But the crowd of people around the famously endowed porn star following two 45-minute talks Sunday was undoubtedly a strange sight for a West Michigan church.
That’s not a problem for Daybreak church pastor Wes Dupin.
“We basically wanted to say to people, ‘Hey, we’re all sinners. We’ve all got mess-ups in our lives,'” he said. “What I wanted to accomplish was accomplished today.”
For two sessions, Jeremy, a porn star with somewhere around 2,000 adult films to his credit, sat on the Daybreak stage with Dupin and guest pastor Craig Gross, an anti-pornography pastor who Jeremy counts as a close friend.
For his part, an affable and comedic Jeremy — who briefly played Beethoven on the grand piano and “Amazing Grace” on a pocket harmonica — told the gathered crowd through a couple anecdotes that he believes in God, but still struggles to reconcile many of the large questions commonly asked by secular people about the nature of the Christian God and the existence of heaven and hell.
A Russian court has postponed the appeal of three members of jailed rock band Pussy Riot until October 10 after one group member fired her lawyers.
The three performers were sentenced in August to two years in prison for hooliganism for performing a ‘‘punk prayer’’ against President Vladimir Putin at Moscow’s main cathedral.
Band member Yekaterina Samutsevich announced at the opening of the hearing on Monday that she has fired her three lawyers over an unspecified disagreement.
Samutsevich said she had found another lawyer but had failed to sign a contract.
Prosecutors condemned the move as a delaying tactic.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, 22, Maria Alekhina, 24, and 30-year-old Samutsevich were arrested in March after dancing and high-kicking at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral as they pleaded with the Virgin Mary to save Russia from Putin, who was elected to a third presidential term two weeks later.
"We made Sebastian Coe blush at a press conference, bless him," Lisa Power of the Terence Higgins Trust (THT) says. It was 2007, two years after London won the bid to host the Games, still plenty of time to talk about the "no 1 Olympic sport that won't get a gold medal".
The logistics of sexual health are far more complicated than the Olympic lanes, and start years before the athletes arrive. Before any of that, the construction workers arrive.
Power said: "There were a number of articles that suggested that all these foreign workers were going to come in and infect us. We were much more worried about people coming here and getting STIs from our population. In any international event, it's an exchange of risk. Generally people are more at risk in London than they are in wherever they were before. We're the STI capital of Europe."
This misapprehension resolved, there is the fact that a Games, any Games, is good for spreading a safe sex message to the population at large, partly because athletes have really good condom take-up, and partly because of the carnivalesque atmosphere. "That's not just the athletes, that's everybody. There's plenty of research evidence showing that people on holiday are more risky than they are at home. That's whether you're at the Olympics, or in Ibiza, or you would be amazed at the high-risk behaviour that takes place at the World Aids Conference," Powers remarks ruefully.
In June, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that some athletes at the London Olympics, though legally female, may be subject to testing to see if their bodies produce an above-average quantity of “male” sex hormones, such as testosterone. Competitors already undergo tests to rule out drugs…
South African athlete Caster Semenya was subject to gender testing following the 2009 athletics world championships. EPA/Kim Ludbrook In June, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stated that some athletes at the London Olympics, though legally female, may be subject to testing to see if their bodies produce an above-average quantity of “male” sex hormones, such as testosterone.
Competitors already undergo tests to rule out drugs that mimic these hormones, which affect things such as muscle mass. But this concern is over participants whose bodies naturally generate possible performance-enhancing features. If suspicion is raised, refusal to undergo testing will likely result in suspension even though the benefits of these elevated hormone levels is contentious.
Scotland could become the first part of the UK to introduce gay marriage after the SNP government announced plans to make the change.
Ministers confirmed they would bring forward a bill on the issue, indicating the earliest ceremonies could take place by the start of 2015.
Political leaders, equality organisations and some faith groups welcomed introducing same-sex marriage.
But it was strongly opposed by the Catholic Church and Church of Scotland.
The announcement was made in the wake of a government consultation which produced a record 77,508 responses.
Same-sex couples in Scotland currently have the option to enter into civil partnerships and the Holyrood government has insisted no part of the religious community would be forced to hold same-sex weddings in churches.
The Scottish government said;
• it would work with UK ministers to amend equality laws to protect celebrants from legal or disciplinary action if they refuse to take part or speak out against same-sex ceremonies. • a bill would be brought forward to the Scottish Parliament later this year to bring in the change.
Scotland's deputy first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said: "We are committed to a Scotland that is fair and equal and that is why we intend to proceed with plans to allow same-sex marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships - we believe that this is the right thing to do.
From the maker of “The Muppets” to the mayor of Boston, the list of folks severing ties with Chick-fil-A due to the fast-food company’s opposition to gay marriage is growing.
Jim Henson Co., which has produced characters for “The Muppets,” “Labyrinth” and “Fraggle Rock,” had recently been working with the Atlanta restaurant chain to create products for its kids’ meals.
The offerings included five build-your-own puppets from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, using pieces that are punched out from the plastic meal container, according to a cached version of the Chick-fil-A website.
But after last week, when President Dan Cathy said the fast-food giant was “guilty as charged” of supporting “the biblical definition of the family unit,” Henson Co. nixed the partnership.
The company posted the following statement on its Facebook page: “The Jim Henson Company has celebrated and embraced diversity and inclusiveness for over 50 years and we have notified Chick-fil-A that we do not wish to partner with them on any future endeavors. Lisa Henson, our CEO, is personally a strong supporter of gay marriage and has directed us to donate the payment we received from Chick-fil-A to GLAAD” (an advocacy group for lesbian, gay and transgender people).
