UKIP in the news again!

[scooterscot]

The 2nd coming...

.. is here.

Nun who gave birth in Italy 'unaware of pregnancy'

Nun who gave birth in Italy 'unaware of pregnancy'

17 January 2014 Last updated at 20:15 GMT
Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience, in St. Peter"s Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014.The baby has been named after Pope Francis
A nun who gave birth to a baby boy in the central Italian city of Rieti, said she had no idea she was pregnant, local media report.

The 31-year-old was rushed to hospital with abdominal pains, which she thought were stomach cramps.

The young mother, who is originally from El Salvador, reportedly named her newborn Francis after the current Pope.

The mayor of Rieti, Simone Petrangeli has appealed to the public and media to respect the woman's privacy.

The news has drawn international attention to the small city of 47,700 inhabitants.

The nun called the ambulance on Wednesday morning. A few hours later she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

"I did not know I was pregnant. I only felt a stomach pain," she was quoted as saying by the Ansa news agency.

People at the hospital have begun collecting clothes and donations for the mother and her child, Italian media say.

The woman belongs to a convent near Rieti, which manages an old people's home.

Fellow nuns at the convent said they were "surprised" by the news.

Local pastor Don Fabrizio Borrello told journalists that the nun planned to take care of the baby.

"I guess she's telling the truth when she says she arrived at the hospital unaware of the pregnancy."

[xoggoth]

All parties have a range of beliefs, it's called a normal distribution. Furthermore there is a different distribution for each issue, Enoch Powell, for example, was rather liberal on a number of issues. At the extreme ends of these distributions every party has a few nutcases. To ignore the stated aims and policies of a party and instead make an "argument" based on a few extremists or wierdos within its ranks is characteristic of too many with no grasp of logic or human nature.

That isn't solely the domain of lefties I admit but it does seem more common at that end of the political spectrum. Understandable I suppose as realities, facts and logic are rarely on your side.

[darmstadt]

Some of the responses are quite funny (I'm now off to search for loonies from other political parties)

[xoggoth]

Other parties have a long tradition, we know what policies they promote and what they actually tend to do in practice. Although social, economic, etc policies do not necessarily go hand in hand there is often a broad consensus among their supporters over a range of issues.

UKIP is new, has never been in power and some of its policies are really not that well thought out. Many who vote for it will not have much of a clue what some of their policies are. For many, UKIP is really a one issue party - immigration. It is not the EU as such but what it and the European Court of Human Rights imply with regard to free movement and our inability to remove those who are a danger or burden.

Outside of this one issue, it is really no surprise that there is a huge range of beliefs among its "supporters".

[xoggoth]

On the specific issue of religion, the link between religious and political conservatism is well known, although nowhere near as strong in UK as in the US fortunately. Many Tory activists were against gay marriage. Gay Mps too:

Gay Tory MP Crispin Blunt defeats attempt to deselect him | Politics | The Guardian

[AtW]

Quality cretin for sure, must be noted he was a Tory before.

[xoggoth]

I see they are doing a purge:

UKIP To Purge Extreme Candidates Before Poll

"Of all the candidates we fielded, only about half a dozen have caused us any embarrassment."
He added that the reason people tried to portray UKIP candidates in a poor light "is because we are terrifying the political establishment."

Quite true.

However, note this religious bloke was not a UKIP MEP candidate, just an obscure councillor. Illustrates how opponents have to dig to find a smear instead of advancing real argument based on facts.

[xoggoth]

In any case why should he not say it? I'm an atheist in favour of gay rights and think people like him are deluded idiots but there should be free speech within obvious limits.

People with extreme/weird views may also hold reasonable/rational views on other issues and support reasonable measures on the same issue. There's no democracy if we just exclude people on the basis of some opinions.

[Zero Liability]

Yes, it is a pretty good illustration of how far the muck-rakers have to go to find anything newsworthy for UKIP. Of course, this sort of thing is par the course for politics, and you would no doubt have a much easier time digging up more substantial muck for any of the three dominant parties. Having seen all three of them in action, I think it's time to give an 'outsider' like UKIP a chance. The fact that these parties are willing to adopt a pale imitation of whatever rhetoric UKIP is using at any given point shows that their main object is power and thus remaining popular, more than anything else. It's hard to think what other principles define these parties.

This sort of thing strikes me as poisoning the well, more than anything else.

[Old Greg]

It appears that UKIP is against same sex marriage because it is libertarian.

It's a shame they're such clowns, as withdrawal from the EU is IMO better than staying, but there is no sensible party for me to support.