More gays abstain until marriage?

USA Today:

Fewer gay couples are choosing to enter civil unions or register as domestic partners, says Carisa Cunningham of Boston's Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. "People are waiting for marriage," she says, noting the advent of gay marriage in Massachusetts has boosted expectations.

"In recent weeks the Archbishop seems to have sloughed off some of his caution" :: The Telegraph

Editorial:

The simple truth is that this learned and thoughtful man has earned a reputation for woolliness, so anxious has he appeared to see both sides of an argument. Wrestling as he is with an Anglican communion that is in danger of tearing itself apart over gay ordination, such tortured analysis may be understandable.

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Yet in recent weeks the Archbishop seems to have sloughed off some of his caution.
...
Now he has taken an absolutely unequivocal line on the importance of the traditional marriage to social stability – into the bargain delivering a sharp swipe at the "commentating classes of north London" for their casual approach to the institution.

For Dr Williams, as to millions of his fellow Britons, the traditional marriage is the glue that holds society together.

*Ironic that the advertisement is for Agent Procateur the "sexiest lingerie in the world." But of course it is St. Valentine's Day that's coming.

The Telegraph's coverage of ABC's statement here. Extract:

Although he did not refer directly to Tony Blair or his Cabinet, his comments will be seen as a coded swipe at New Labour. Many influential figures in New Labour lived close to Mr Blair in Islington, north London, in the early 1990s before he became Prime Minister. They argued that marriage should have the same moral status as cohabiting.

Although Mr Blair has said he supports the institution of marriage, ministers such as Margaret Hodge and Tessa Jowell, who have been divorced and remarried, have argued that favouring marriage would offend divorced or cohabiting parents.

Why speak in code?

Full text of ABC's speech here.

Does a woman need a man?

womenone.org:

A Malaysian women’s minister has said that a rising trend of unwed mothers taking hormone pills to encourage lactation to breastfeed their adopted children was worrying, reports said on Wednesday.
...
“Their intentions might be good, but Islam encourages marriages and a woman will benefit much if she gets to serve her husband,” Mastura Badzis, vice president of the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement, was quoted as saying by the Malay-language Berita Harian daily.
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While it prides itself on being progressive, many critics of the government of mainly-Muslim Malaysia say that the country’s Islamic laws - specifically the marriage laws - need to be revamped as many of them infringe on women’s rights.

Proving once again, men are redundant.

Bridget Jones: Just say no to spinsters...

...Get serious about boys education.

See also, my posts over at The Emirates Economist, here and here.