Friday, August 13, 2004
How safe are vaccines?
Are multiple vaccines for children safe? The British government denied there were any problems associated with vaccines like MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), but now appear to be backtracking. But Melanie Phillips says that at the same time as admitting suggestions that MMR might have problems, Britain is pushing ahead with a new five-fold vaccine, without having answered the basic questions.
Are multiple vaccines for children safe? The British government denied there were any problems associated with vaccines like MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), but now appear to be backtracking. But Melanie Phillips says that at the same time as admitting suggestions that MMR might have problems, Britain is pushing ahead with a new five-fold vaccine, without having answered the basic questions.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Split thinking rules, KO?
Have you noticed the split thinking of today’s postmodern world?
We want our boys to be sensitive and caring, but we want the All Blacks to smash the opposition into the ground.
We want equal outcomes for all children at school, but hate it when our students miss out on international prizes.
Couples will go through agonies and pay thousands to have an in vitro baby while 18,000 babies were aborted last year.
We hate tall poppies, but woe betide the All Blacks when they lose.
We hate rich people, but refuse to acknowledge that they provide the main source of charity funding.
We distrust entrepreneurs, but complain when the jobs vanish because the entrepreneurs go where someone appreciates them.
We want criminals locked up, but we want to disband institutions.
We don’t want anybody telling us how to live our lives, but we want to live off government benefits.
We want to be free, but we won’t lift a finger to preserve that freedom.
We live in an age of exploding information, but we act less and less on what we hear.
And on it goes......
Have you noticed the split thinking of today’s postmodern world?
We want our boys to be sensitive and caring, but we want the All Blacks to smash the opposition into the ground.
We want equal outcomes for all children at school, but hate it when our students miss out on international prizes.
Couples will go through agonies and pay thousands to have an in vitro baby while 18,000 babies were aborted last year.
We hate tall poppies, but woe betide the All Blacks when they lose.
We hate rich people, but refuse to acknowledge that they provide the main source of charity funding.
We distrust entrepreneurs, but complain when the jobs vanish because the entrepreneurs go where someone appreciates them.
We want criminals locked up, but we want to disband institutions.
We don’t want anybody telling us how to live our lives, but we want to live off government benefits.
We want to be free, but we won’t lift a finger to preserve that freedom.
We live in an age of exploding information, but we act less and less on what we hear.
And on it goes......
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Aussie pro-marriage groups receive a boost
Two events foreshadow a significant change in the fortunes of marriage and family in Australia. The first is the overwhelming number of submissions received by the Senate Committee looking into the issue of same-sex marriage (SSM) and adoption rights. While the numbers are still unclear, with counting continuing, it seems that there may have been close to 13,000 submissions, with the overwhelming majority opposing SSM and adoption rights. (Some estimates have it that they were in fact over 99% of the total!) Evidently the record is 14,000 submissions for the euthanasia debate of a few years back.
(Note: Submissions on the NZ Civil Unions Bills closed last Friday. While numbers haven't yet been released, I understand that two rooms at Parliament Buildings are packed with boxes of submissions.)
Hot on the heels of this was another event dealing with marriage and family, the National Marriage Forum at the end of July. This pro-marriage forum, held in the Great Hall of Parliament House, was attended by well over 1000 people. Everyone, including the media, politicians and the organisers themselves, were staggered by the massive turnout. It was literally standing room only, with every available seat filled, and many spilling over into the surrounding galleries. Indeed, many people unfortunately had to be turned away.
The forum was held to reaffirm the fundamental importance of heterosexual marriage, to support John Howard's attempt to amend the Marriage Act, and to oppose any attempt to radically redefine the nature of marriage.
The forum was organised by the National Marriage Coalition (NMC), a recently formed organisation designed to unite various groups and organisations who seek to promote and preserve the institutions of marriage and family. The three founding groups of the NMC are the Australian Christian Lobby, the Australian Family Association and the Fatherhood Foundation.
Two events foreshadow a significant change in the fortunes of marriage and family in Australia. The first is the overwhelming number of submissions received by the Senate Committee looking into the issue of same-sex marriage (SSM) and adoption rights. While the numbers are still unclear, with counting continuing, it seems that there may have been close to 13,000 submissions, with the overwhelming majority opposing SSM and adoption rights. (Some estimates have it that they were in fact over 99% of the total!) Evidently the record is 14,000 submissions for the euthanasia debate of a few years back.
(Note: Submissions on the NZ Civil Unions Bills closed last Friday. While numbers haven't yet been released, I understand that two rooms at Parliament Buildings are packed with boxes of submissions.)
Hot on the heels of this was another event dealing with marriage and family, the National Marriage Forum at the end of July. This pro-marriage forum, held in the Great Hall of Parliament House, was attended by well over 1000 people. Everyone, including the media, politicians and the organisers themselves, were staggered by the massive turnout. It was literally standing room only, with every available seat filled, and many spilling over into the surrounding galleries. Indeed, many people unfortunately had to be turned away.
The forum was held to reaffirm the fundamental importance of heterosexual marriage, to support John Howard's attempt to amend the Marriage Act, and to oppose any attempt to radically redefine the nature of marriage.
The forum was organised by the National Marriage Coalition (NMC), a recently formed organisation designed to unite various groups and organisations who seek to promote and preserve the institutions of marriage and family. The three founding groups of the NMC are the Australian Christian Lobby, the Australian Family Association and the Fatherhood Foundation.
We're in for a bumpy ride, weather-wise
An official new 75-year weather forecast says New Zealand is in for dramatic extremes of flood and drought.
The Environment Ministry report, Preparing for Climate Change, which charts possible climate changes across the country predicts New Zealand will be a warmer, stormier place by the 2080s. It finds:
An official new 75-year weather forecast says New Zealand is in for dramatic extremes of flood and drought.
The Environment Ministry report, Preparing for Climate Change, which charts possible climate changes across the country predicts New Zealand will be a warmer, stormier place by the 2080s. It finds:
- Temperatures will rise by 3 degrees C in the next 70-100 years.
- Flooding is four times more likely across the country by 2080, meaning disasters such as this year's Bay of Plenty and Manawatu floods will be more frequent and more severe.
- Frosts and heatwaves will be more common, while seasonal water shortages similar to those Canterbury and Marlborough experience now will be exacerbated by prolonged drought.
- As New Zealand gets warmer, sea levels will rise, threatening beaches and coastal properties.
Warmer temperatures will allow tropical pests and diseases - such as mosquitoes carrying dengue fever - to establish where previously it has been too cool, and the ski industry could be undermined as warm weather melts the snow.
Monday, August 09, 2004
'Gender equality' drives down birth rates says UN official
The ongoing campaign for "gender equality" is aggravating a fertility decline that endangers the very existence of some nations, warns a United Nations official. Dr Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs was speaking in a personal capacity at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America.
"A growing number of countries view their low birth rates, with the resulting population decline and ageing, to be a serious crisis, jeopardising the basic foundations of the nation and threatening its survival," he said. "Economic growth and vitality, defence, and pensions and healthcare for the elderly, for example, are all areas of major concern."
Dr Chamie, whose division produces long-term forecasts for world population, said one-third of countries now have below replacement fertility of less than 2.1 births per woman. In 15 countries the fertility-rate has shrunk to 1.5 children or less.
In an unprecedented statement for a high-ranking UN official, Chamie said: "While many governments, inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals may strongly support gender equality at work and in the home as a fundamental principle and desirable goal, it is not at all evident how having men and women participate equally in employment, parenting and household responsibilities will raise low levels of fertility.
"On the contrary, the equal participation of men and women in the labour force, child-rearing and housework points precisely in the opposite direction, i.e., below replacement fertility. And this is in fact precisely what is being observed today in an increasing number of countries."
The ongoing campaign for "gender equality" is aggravating a fertility decline that endangers the very existence of some nations, warns a United Nations official. Dr Joseph Chamie, Director of the Population Division of the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs was speaking in a personal capacity at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America.
"A growing number of countries view their low birth rates, with the resulting population decline and ageing, to be a serious crisis, jeopardising the basic foundations of the nation and threatening its survival," he said. "Economic growth and vitality, defence, and pensions and healthcare for the elderly, for example, are all areas of major concern."
Dr Chamie, whose division produces long-term forecasts for world population, said one-third of countries now have below replacement fertility of less than 2.1 births per woman. In 15 countries the fertility-rate has shrunk to 1.5 children or less.
In an unprecedented statement for a high-ranking UN official, Chamie said: "While many governments, inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and individuals may strongly support gender equality at work and in the home as a fundamental principle and desirable goal, it is not at all evident how having men and women participate equally in employment, parenting and household responsibilities will raise low levels of fertility.
"On the contrary, the equal participation of men and women in the labour force, child-rearing and housework points precisely in the opposite direction, i.e., below replacement fertility. And this is in fact precisely what is being observed today in an increasing number of countries."
Back to the future, or forward to the past?
All Black coach Graham Henry was handed the result everybody was predicting. Apparently, he was the only one surprised. It's really quite unfathomable. He is persisting in pursuing a "flatline" strategy that not even his own players believe will work, and which he doesn't have players capable of delivering. One can only presume that after the South Africans deal the death-blow to NZ Tri-Nations hopes next weekend, Mr Henry will suddenly rediscover the virtues of the traditional way of running a backline - the method that used to give our wonderbacks some room to create breathtaking tries, and which they must be aching to return to.
All Black coach Graham Henry was handed the result everybody was predicting. Apparently, he was the only one surprised. It's really quite unfathomable. He is persisting in pursuing a "flatline" strategy that not even his own players believe will work, and which he doesn't have players capable of delivering. One can only presume that after the South Africans deal the death-blow to NZ Tri-Nations hopes next weekend, Mr Henry will suddenly rediscover the virtues of the traditional way of running a backline - the method that used to give our wonderbacks some room to create breathtaking tries, and which they must be aching to return to.
