Is this a new stance by the Catholic Church?

Vatican criticized for opposing UN decriminaliztion of homosexuality.

The Vatican is drawing criticism from gay rights groups and newspapers editorials after Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican’s permanent observer to the United Nations, told a French Catholic news service that the Vatican opposes “a proposed U.N. resolution calling on governments worldwide to de-criminalise homosexuality.” Migliore claimed that the resolution “would create new and implacable discriminations” against opponents of same-sex marriage. Critics call that position “grotesque“:

A strongly worded editorial in Italy’s mainstream La Stampa newspaper said the Vatican’s reasoning was “grotesque”.

Pointing out that homosexuality was still punishable by death in some Islamic countries, the editorial said what the Vatican really feared was a “chain reaction in favour of legally recognised homosexual unions in countries, like Italy, where there is currently no legislation”.

Franco Grillini, founder and honorary president of Arcigay, Italy’s leading gay rights group, said the Vatican’s reasoning smacked of “total idiocy and madness”.

Every single country in the European Union has signed the resolution, which was written by France. France is due to submit the draft declaration at the UN General Assembly on Dec. 10, the sixtieth anniversary of the UN declaration of human rights.

No snow here yet.

It's snowing here and has been for a couple of hours at least. I say "at least" because I noticed it around 2:00, but it could have started earlier than that.

Yes, it's been snowing a while here too.

Here, Polgara!

Thanks, Kathy! That would be the perfect thing to listen to on the plane home for the holidays.

my one holiday-themed purchase that I get every year, which this time around is the CD of Patrick Stewart's solo performance of The Christmas Carol.

I saw that live, more than once. It was amazing.

It's not snowing here, thank goodness. While it is pretty, and I don't mind the cold, I hate what it does to the rush hour.

It's not snowing here, thank goodness. While it is pretty, and I don't mind the cold, I hate what it does to the rush hour.

I understand completely. It amazes me that every year it snows, and people drive like (bigger) morons. Of course, I grew up in CT, where people know how to drive in the stuff.

ita if you get the new specialists you are seeking is the hope that they will find an alternate path for you to get the relief you need without going through the ER? Or is the hope that the ER will be less likely to override this specialist than your current one?

What I'd be doing would be adding a pain specialist to my stable of doctors. His goal would be to manage any daily pain so that I would have fewer ER visits.

Today's theme was Are fucking kidding me?

Hee! Saw this link over at TWOP--The Price Is Right models get into a pie fight during the Showcase presentation, including pie-ing the announcer and, at the end, Drew Carey. It doesn't even have anything to do with the Showcase theme; they were apparently just having some pre-planned fun (someone must have come up with the idea without telling either the announcer or Drew, since they were surprised at the first pie).

Today's theme was Are fucking kidding me?

Really? I thought it was Are you sure you're listening in English ?