Monday, September 12, 2005
In the midst of the babble of election campaigning, it's very refreshing to hear a politician stand back and take a longer view. I feel Marc Alexander's comments this week well worth passing on:
"Did the last three years contribute to or curtail our progress as a nation? The economists tell us we are better off. But life is more than hands exchanging wads of cash. It’s more than products and services. These are no more than the baubles of our environment ... in a sense, the clothing of our culture. It tells us how we live, but nothing about why. ... My own view is contained in a simple truth: While we may rationalise everything (even down to the chemicals that carry messages to our brain) no government, however well meaning, can replace those things that give true meaning and significance to our lives. For example, no policy, no Act of Parliament, no legislation, can ever adequately explain the feeling that a parent has for their child. The bonds of compassion, friendship and even love that we have for each other may be encouraged or stymied by laws, but ultimately it is not about bricks and mortar but our collective journey of individual explorations beyond the horizon of our hearts which we then bring as experiences into our communities. It is our shared national history in the making. The catch, as I see it, is that if we resile from responsibility for our material and social wellbeing and accept the beneficence of government, the spirit that fuels our aspirations will be snuffed out. Life’s deeper meaning loses its colour and lustre – only to be replaced by material distractions. This explains why so many embrace self-destructive amusements to try to feel anything at all. Paradoxically, these same people avoid connecting with their families by watching TV reality shows about families! I firmly believe people are being short changed in getting what they want out of life. Instead of examining what the government can do, we should examine what we can do. We need to have a close look at the state of our enthusiasm for life. Our minds can show us how to do this but it is the strength of our passion that shows us why. Instead of sinking into a Gordian knot of cynicism leading to despair, we can rise to be the change we want to see! ... We have many statistics to judge our country: population (4.1 million); unemployment (3.7 per cent); GDP ($145 billion). We also have telling social indicators that are more descriptive: a Maori suicide rate of 12.6 per 100,000; and a crime rate of 1.779.657 individual and household victimisations. If we were to look, there would be a number to describe almost anything - except those things that matter most. There are no statistics that measure the bonds of our marriages, love for our children, or the bittersweet tears when they leave home and embark on the adventure of life... The potency of our friendships, our community spirit and our empathy with those we reach out to – all the things that make our country our home: these defy and provide significance beyond the calculations of the statisticians, and for good reason. These things – the things that matter – are the very lifeblood of what it means to be a Kiwi. They can only be felt. Governments come and go, leaving a footprint on our lives and in a broader sense, our history. Each seems to increase its enthusiasm to extend its influence, all the while diminishing our freedoms. It may sound trite but we all must accept the cards that Providence deals to us. Our choice is not just about how to play the hand, but how much of that hand we want the Government to play for us." (This is not online yet, but presumably will be soon at Marc's website, http://www.marc-alexander-mp.org/marc_my_words.htm)
The American Atheists organization says President Bush should stop urging prayer for Hurricane Katrina victims because it violates the Constitution. Ellen Johnson, president of the group said Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Bush "should not be violating the Constitution by telling people to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It's unconstitutional for government officials to be promoting religion; and besides, judging from the speed of some relief efforts, officials should be busy working instead of preaching."
Scientists are to carry out the first British experiments on human embryos that would create a baby with three biological parents - two mothers and a father. Researchers from Newcastle University are to be allowed to fuse the contents of two human eggs to create an egg in effect derived from two women that could be fertilised with the sperm of a man. The aim eventually is to use the technique to overcome a form of inherited disease resulting from genetic damage to the tiny "power houses" or mitochondria of the cell, which are inherited from the mother.
Nigel Cameron, a noted British ethicist, says the depth of the challenge presented by new biotechnologies could hardly be better illustrated than in the prospect of an artificial womb. "Is creating children with artificial wombs having children at all, or is it a kind of manufacturing of children? It is deeply dangerous." Here is the point: A technology that may have benefits sets up a new situation, in which its perils are also open to us. The world changes when something as radical as in vitro fertilization, or sex selection, or—down the line—techno-wombs, becomes available. And we shall be tempted (a good word to use here) to slide downhill into the commodification of our children just because technology has made it possible. At least, we shall if we can't get some radical Christian thinking done about these things ahead of time.>br>
Three Indonesian women who ran a Christian holiday club have been jailed for three years. Dr Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were sentenced by an Indonesian court after allowing Muslim children to attend the club in West Java. The women were found guilty of seeking to convert the children despite having the children's full parental consent. The charges were brought by a local branch of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Clerics. Jeff Hammond of Bless Indonesia Today reported that "The ladies' witnesses and judges were constantly under threats of violence from hundreds of Islamic radicals". The developments appear to be part of a strategy of incremental Islamisation by radicals who have failed to gain legislative support for Sharia law.
A media watch group is claiming that search engine giant, Yahoo, gave the Chinese government access to emails sent from a journalist's personal web account, helping land him a 10-year jail sentence. Shi Tao, an editorial department head at the Contemporary Business News in China's Hunan Province, had sent information on the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary. He was convicted of divulging state secrets by a court in the provincial capital, Changsha, last April, according to Reporters Without Borders, a French press freedom organisation. The Yahoo emails were used as material evidence in the conviction. "We already knew that Yahoo collaborates enthusiastically with the Chinese regime in questions of censorship, and now we know it is a Chinese police informant as well," the group says. Yahoo defended its actions. "Just like any other global company, Yahoo must ensure that its local country sites must operate within the laws, regulations and customs of the country in which they are based," says Mary Osako, a Yahoo spokeswoman.
A new survey of churchgoing trends in Britain predicts that just two per cent of the population will attend Sunday services by 2040. In three decades churchgoing will plummet by two-thirds while Mosque attendance will double, Peter Brierley, executive director of Christian Research says. "The story behind [the findings] is how few young people are being attracted to church." Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester said "These statistics need to … galvanise the Church into realising that it must communicate the gospel where people are or we will not deserve to have a Church."
New Zealand will face tough competition from other countries in a worldwide shortage of skilled labour that is only going to get worse, say immigration experts. The Department of Labour told an immigration conference this year that 70 million people would retire in OECD countries over the next 25 years to be replaced by just five million workers. Paul Spoonley, a Massey University professor of sociology, told the Herald the loss of working age populations was going to be enormous in some countries. The United States was forecasting a shortage of seven to 10 million workers within 20 years, he said. In New Zealand the fertility rate of 1.9 was well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per childbearing-aged women. The country was going to have to compete to attract skilled workers with other countries such as Australia and Canada. "New Zealand is already struggling to keep up as regards salary levels and the competition is only going to increase for all advanced economies."
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will veto a bill to allow gay marriage in the state and said the issue should be decided by the courts or by voters directly but not by the Democrat-controlled legislature.
"Did the last three years contribute to or curtail our progress as a nation? The economists tell us we are better off. But life is more than hands exchanging wads of cash. It’s more than products and services. These are no more than the baubles of our environment ... in a sense, the clothing of our culture. It tells us how we live, but nothing about why. ... My own view is contained in a simple truth: While we may rationalise everything (even down to the chemicals that carry messages to our brain) no government, however well meaning, can replace those things that give true meaning and significance to our lives. For example, no policy, no Act of Parliament, no legislation, can ever adequately explain the feeling that a parent has for their child. The bonds of compassion, friendship and even love that we have for each other may be encouraged or stymied by laws, but ultimately it is not about bricks and mortar but our collective journey of individual explorations beyond the horizon of our hearts which we then bring as experiences into our communities. It is our shared national history in the making. The catch, as I see it, is that if we resile from responsibility for our material and social wellbeing and accept the beneficence of government, the spirit that fuels our aspirations will be snuffed out. Life’s deeper meaning loses its colour and lustre – only to be replaced by material distractions. This explains why so many embrace self-destructive amusements to try to feel anything at all. Paradoxically, these same people avoid connecting with their families by watching TV reality shows about families! I firmly believe people are being short changed in getting what they want out of life. Instead of examining what the government can do, we should examine what we can do. We need to have a close look at the state of our enthusiasm for life. Our minds can show us how to do this but it is the strength of our passion that shows us why. Instead of sinking into a Gordian knot of cynicism leading to despair, we can rise to be the change we want to see! ... We have many statistics to judge our country: population (4.1 million); unemployment (3.7 per cent); GDP ($145 billion). We also have telling social indicators that are more descriptive: a Maori suicide rate of 12.6 per 100,000; and a crime rate of 1.779.657 individual and household victimisations. If we were to look, there would be a number to describe almost anything - except those things that matter most. There are no statistics that measure the bonds of our marriages, love for our children, or the bittersweet tears when they leave home and embark on the adventure of life... The potency of our friendships, our community spirit and our empathy with those we reach out to – all the things that make our country our home: these defy and provide significance beyond the calculations of the statisticians, and for good reason. These things – the things that matter – are the very lifeblood of what it means to be a Kiwi. They can only be felt. Governments come and go, leaving a footprint on our lives and in a broader sense, our history. Each seems to increase its enthusiasm to extend its influence, all the while diminishing our freedoms. It may sound trite but we all must accept the cards that Providence deals to us. Our choice is not just about how to play the hand, but how much of that hand we want the Government to play for us." (This is not online yet, but presumably will be soon at Marc's website, http://www.marc-alexander-mp.org/marc_my_words.htm)
The American Atheists organization says President Bush should stop urging prayer for Hurricane Katrina victims because it violates the Constitution. Ellen Johnson, president of the group said Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and Bush "should not be violating the Constitution by telling people to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It's unconstitutional for government officials to be promoting religion; and besides, judging from the speed of some relief efforts, officials should be busy working instead of preaching."
Scientists are to carry out the first British experiments on human embryos that would create a baby with three biological parents - two mothers and a father. Researchers from Newcastle University are to be allowed to fuse the contents of two human eggs to create an egg in effect derived from two women that could be fertilised with the sperm of a man. The aim eventually is to use the technique to overcome a form of inherited disease resulting from genetic damage to the tiny "power houses" or mitochondria of the cell, which are inherited from the mother.
Nigel Cameron, a noted British ethicist, says the depth of the challenge presented by new biotechnologies could hardly be better illustrated than in the prospect of an artificial womb. "Is creating children with artificial wombs having children at all, or is it a kind of manufacturing of children? It is deeply dangerous." Here is the point: A technology that may have benefits sets up a new situation, in which its perils are also open to us. The world changes when something as radical as in vitro fertilization, or sex selection, or—down the line—techno-wombs, becomes available. And we shall be tempted (a good word to use here) to slide downhill into the commodification of our children just because technology has made it possible. At least, we shall if we can't get some radical Christian thinking done about these things ahead of time.>br>
Three Indonesian women who ran a Christian holiday club have been jailed for three years. Dr Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were sentenced by an Indonesian court after allowing Muslim children to attend the club in West Java. The women were found guilty of seeking to convert the children despite having the children's full parental consent. The charges were brought by a local branch of the Indonesian Council of Muslim Clerics. Jeff Hammond of Bless Indonesia Today reported that "The ladies' witnesses and judges were constantly under threats of violence from hundreds of Islamic radicals". The developments appear to be part of a strategy of incremental Islamisation by radicals who have failed to gain legislative support for Sharia law.
A media watch group is claiming that search engine giant, Yahoo, gave the Chinese government access to emails sent from a journalist's personal web account, helping land him a 10-year jail sentence. Shi Tao, an editorial department head at the Contemporary Business News in China's Hunan Province, had sent information on the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary. He was convicted of divulging state secrets by a court in the provincial capital, Changsha, last April, according to Reporters Without Borders, a French press freedom organisation. The Yahoo emails were used as material evidence in the conviction. "We already knew that Yahoo collaborates enthusiastically with the Chinese regime in questions of censorship, and now we know it is a Chinese police informant as well," the group says. Yahoo defended its actions. "Just like any other global company, Yahoo must ensure that its local country sites must operate within the laws, regulations and customs of the country in which they are based," says Mary Osako, a Yahoo spokeswoman.
A new survey of churchgoing trends in Britain predicts that just two per cent of the population will attend Sunday services by 2040. In three decades churchgoing will plummet by two-thirds while Mosque attendance will double, Peter Brierley, executive director of Christian Research says. "The story behind [the findings] is how few young people are being attracted to church." Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester said "These statistics need to … galvanise the Church into realising that it must communicate the gospel where people are or we will not deserve to have a Church."
New Zealand will face tough competition from other countries in a worldwide shortage of skilled labour that is only going to get worse, say immigration experts. The Department of Labour told an immigration conference this year that 70 million people would retire in OECD countries over the next 25 years to be replaced by just five million workers. Paul Spoonley, a Massey University professor of sociology, told the Herald the loss of working age populations was going to be enormous in some countries. The United States was forecasting a shortage of seven to 10 million workers within 20 years, he said. In New Zealand the fertility rate of 1.9 was well below the replacement level of 2.1 children per childbearing-aged women. The country was going to have to compete to attract skilled workers with other countries such as Australia and Canada. "New Zealand is already struggling to keep up as regards salary levels and the competition is only going to increase for all advanced economies."
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will veto a bill to allow gay marriage in the state and said the issue should be decided by the courts or by voters directly but not by the Democrat-controlled legislature.
