Women and gay people are the litmus test of whether a society is democratic and respecting human rights. We are the canaries in the mine.

The Bible is to gays what Mein Kampf is to Jews.

The positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-Western cultures. Several of my friends - gay and straight, male and female - had sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13. None feel they were abused. All say it was their conscious choice and gave them great joy.

While other faiths are also often oppressive, sharia law is especially oppressive. Its interpretations stipulate the execution of Muslims who commit adultery, renounce their faith (apostates) or have same-sex relationships. Sharia methods of execution, such as stoning, are particularly brutal and cruel - witness the stoning to death this week in Somalia of a 20-year-old woman divorcee who was accused of adultery. This is the fourth stoning of an adulterer in Somalia in the last year.

It is outrageous that the Queen has invited royal tyrants to celebrate her diamond jubilee.

Don’t accept the world as it is. Dream of what the world could be - and then help make it happen.

If Bradley Manning was the person who copied the secret US diplomatic cables to WikilLeaks, he is a hero for exposing human rights abuses.