Mixed bag in the mag

Should have mentioned this before, but the latest issue of Gay & Lesbian Humanist is available (click here or on the logo in the sidebar).

In this issue, with a vague nod to Isherwood, we say “Hello to Berlin” – the Berlin Film Festival, to be exact. Some of the mixed bag of fascinating movies that were seen there will no doubt be worth looking out for when they British film festivals, and we take a look at 21 offerings through the eyes of our man in Germany, Colin de la Motte-Sherman.

Comedians are always good for a laugh (well, so they should be). George Carlin certainly is – or was. Carlin died last year, but, thanks to videos that can be found on such sharing sites as YouTube, he lives on. In our “Airings” column, my fellow blogger George Broadhead profiles Carlin, the American stand-up who declared “Religion is bullshit!”, and to whom American broadcaster PBS showed a tribute in February. We also we feature an excellent video (which we featured on this blog a few days ago) of some of Carlin’s stand-up genius.

Also profiled by Broadhead is the well known campaigner, Maryam Namazie, a staunch opponent of political Islam.

Remember the case of the five-year-old girl who told a fellow primary-school pupil she would burn in hell if she didn’t believe in God? Our Christian commentator Neil Richardson has been looking at the case, and at allegations of anti-Christian prejudice at that British school.

Should we believe politicians who tell people only what they want to hear? Yours truly thinks not, and says why. I also ask why the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, who sat on evidence of kiddy-fiddling, should be allowed into the House of Lords.

All this, plus our selection of a blog that takes our interest in “Blog Watch”; some titbits from our own blog, in “On the Blog”; a news roundup from a UK perspective; “World Watch”, looking at news from other parts of the globe; and “Gossip from Across the Pond”, in which Warren Allen Smith ponders on some of the more interesting entries in his own online creation, Philosopedia.

All in all, another mixed bag to dip into. Don’t forget to send us letters if there’s anything on your mind. We’d love to hear from you.