Author: Barry Duke

Veteran journalist Barry Duke, born in South Africa in 1947, settled in the UK in 1973, where he became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement and gay rights organisations. A militant atheist, he joined the National Secular Society (NSS) and was a co-founder in 1979 of the Gay Humanist Group which changed its name to the Gay & Lesbian Humanist Association in 1987. In 2017 he was handed a Lifetime Achievement award by the NSS for his "spirited opposition to religious intolerance and irrationality" in his roles as a free speech advocate and his work as editor of the Freethinker and the Pink Triangle Trust website. In 2022, when the Freethinker suddenly went "woke", he was summarily sacked for apparently being too aggressively atheistic and was no a UK citizen. In 2017 he was married to his partner of 25 years, Marcus Robinson, in Gibraltar. The couple live in Benidorm, Spain, with their mini-Pinscher Fifi.
Humanism, LGBT+ rights1 Comment

UK humanist Barbara Smoker would have turned 100 in April. The National Secular Society marked the event with a memorial this month.

Barry Duke

BARBARA Smoker, above, who died on April 7, 2020, was a British humanist activist and freethought advocate. She was also President of the National Secular Society (NSS) for 24 years, Chair of the British Voluntary Euthanasia Society (now known as … Continue reading UK humanist Barbara Smoker would have turned 100 in April. The National Secular Society marked the event with a memorial this month.

Crime, Islam1 Comment

Austrian police foil suspected Islamist plot to attack a Pride event in Vienna

Barry Duke

AUSTRIAN authorities revealed today (Sunday) that they had arrested three young men—the youngest just 14—for allegedly planning a terrorist attack on Vienna’s Pride event that drew 300,000 on Saturday. According to ABC News, the three—Austrian citizens of Bosnian and Chechen … Continue reading Austrian police foil suspected Islamist plot to attack a Pride event in Vienna

Catholicism, Hate groups, Homophobia, TransphobiaLeave a comment

Bigotry on parade: Catholics for Catholics protest Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in L.A.

Barry Duke

WHILE charity group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, received a Community Hero Award in a near-empty Dodgers stadium in Los Angeles yesterday (Friday), outside hundreds of haters gathered to voice their disapproval of what Catholic for Catholics labelled a “blasphemous” … Continue reading Bigotry on parade: Catholics for Catholics protest Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in L.A.

Christianity, Hate groups, LGBT+ rightsLeave a comment

LGBT+ communities in Antigua and Barbuda have Orden David to thank for his successful challenge of archaic anti-sodomy law

Barry Duke

FAITH-based violence is common in the Caribbean, and for years Orden David, above, suffered abuse and violence at the hands homophobes. Facing ostracism and risking his life as the public face of the LGBTQ movement, David took his government to … Continue reading LGBT+ communities in Antigua and Barbuda have Orden David to thank for his successful challenge of archaic anti-sodomy law

Christianity, Homophobia, SecularismLeave a comment

Who’s to blame for the rise of American Christian nationalism? The LGBT+ community, of course!

Barry Duke

THAT’S the view of Shane Schaetzel, above, a Catholic commentator who took to Twitter this week to predict that the number of Christian nationalists in America “will only get higher the more the Alphabet People keep pushing their agenda. So … Continue reading Who’s to blame for the rise of American Christian nationalism? The LGBT+ community, of course!

Christianity, Evangelists, Hate preachers1 Comment

Pat Robertson dead at 93: Here are some of his most ludicrous pronouncements.

Barry Duke

OVER many decades Robertson, above, founder of The 700 Club TV show, proved gift to secular news outlets, atheist bloggers and satirists for dishing out hare-brained statements. The wackiest of these centred on God’s wrath and the punishments he brought … Continue reading Pat Robertson dead at 93: Here are some of his most ludicrous pronouncements.

UncategorizedLeave a comment

Catholic group calls for $1-m to fund ads calling for a boycott of the LA Dodgers who are shortly to host the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Barry Duke

FURY among conservative Catholic groups over the fact that the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will not only appear at a Dodgers game on June 16 but will also be handed a Community Hero Award is reaching fever pitch. One outfit—CatholicVote—has … Continue reading Catholic group calls for $1-m to fund ads calling for a boycott of the LA Dodgers who are shortly to host the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence

Catholicism, Christianity, HomophobiaLeave a comment

Satan turned priests into child molesters, claims gay Christian hatemonger after he saw a rainbow-draped crucifix

Barry Duke

DOUG Mainwaring’s foam-flecked rants get ever more hysterical. What sparked his latest tirade this week was a poster for a documentary—Wonderfully Made LGBTQ+R(eligion)—which explores how religion has played a leading role in perpetuating anti-LGBT+ attitudes. Now here the thing: Wonderfully … Continue reading Satan turned priests into child molesters, claims gay Christian hatemonger after he saw a rainbow-draped crucifix

Hate groups, UncategorizedLeave a comment

‘Jesus Chicken’ food chain accused of going ‘woke’ after featuring an ‘effeminate’ employee at one of its outlets

Barry Duke

CHICK-fil-A, boycotted by LGBT+ communities for years because of the millions it donated to anti-gay hate groups over the years, got mercilessly lampooned in the 2018 movie, Night School, featuring Kevin Hart, above, who plays a character called Teddy. After … Continue reading ‘Jesus Chicken’ food chain accused of going ‘woke’ after featuring an ‘effeminate’ employee at one of its outlets

Catholicism, Christianity, Hate preachers, Homophobia, Islam, LGBT+ rightsLeave a comment

At the root of Uganda’s draconian anti-gay law is the belief that it would make it ‘a more Christian nation’

Barry Duke

Worldwide revulsion expressed over the signing into law of a bill supported in the main by Western evangelists. Whether or not Uganda will become even more god-besotted than it already is is debatable, but what is certain is that the country could become a whole lot poorer as a result of President Yoweri Museveni signing into law a revised version of an earlier anti-homosexuality bill. This was made clear when President Biden yesterday (Monday) called for the immediate repeal of Uganda’s new Act and warned of possible sanctions against the country. This shameful Act is the latest development in an … Continue reading At the root of Uganda’s draconian anti-gay law is the belief that it would make it ‘a more Christian nation’