Monday, November 07, 2005
"Calm down": that's the advice of Stratfor & Investors, an organisation well-known for strategic planning, regarding the Asian bird flu threat. "Now let us qualify that: Since December 2003, the H5N1 bird flu virus -- which has caused all the ruckus -- has been responsible for the documented infection of 121 people, 91 one of whom caught the virus in Vietnam. In all cases where information on the chain of infection has been confirmed, the virus was transmitted either by repeated close contact with fowl or via the ingestion of insufficiently cooked chicken products. In not a single case has human-to-human communicability been confirmed. So long as that remains the case, there is no bird flu threat to the human population of places such as Vietnam at large, much less the United States... A bird flu pandemic among the human population is broadly in the same category as a meteor strike. Of course it will happen sooner or later -- and when it does, watch out! But there is no -- absolutely no -- particular reason to fear a global flu pandemic this flu season. This does not mean the laws of nature have changed since 1918; it simply means there is no way to predict when an animal virus will break into the human population in any particular year -- or even if it will at all. Yes, H5N1 does show a propensity to mutate; and, yes, sooner or later another domesticated animal disease will cross over into the human population (most common human diseases have such origins). But there is no scientifically plausible reason to expect such a crossover to be imminent."
The man who served as deputy to Pol Pot has admitted responsibility in part for Cambodia's genocide and is prepared to go before a United Nations tribunal to be questioned about his crimes. Nuon Chea, 78, was the closest comrade of one of the 20th century's most blood-stained dictators for more than 30 years. He was personally responsible for ordering thousands of executions in Cambodia. In a rare interview, he confessed: "Yes, we take responsibility. We do not deny it but there are different types of responsibility: executive, legal, moral. Our mistake was that we did not go out into the country's fields to find what was really happening... We, the senior leaders, did not control the party properly," Nuon Chea admitted.
Is Prince Charles being groomed to become the Constantine of Islam in England? Prince Charles has arrived to America to for an eight-day tour. His mission is to persuade W. Bush and the Americans of “the merits of Islam”. He has voiced private concerns over America ’s "confrontational" approach to Muslim countries and its failure to appreciate Islam's strengths. He thinks United States has been too intolerant of the religion.
A new sign of the breaking apart of the Church of England over homosexual clergy was given this week by the South London ordination of three men by an overseas bishop. In defiance of the Bishop of Southwark, Bishop Martin Morrison from the Church of England in South Africa ordained the three at the invitation of Wimbledon minister Revd Richard Coekin. Attending the service were about 30 members of Reform, the evangelical network of clergy who are increasingly resisting the authority of their own diocesan bishops. Mr Coekin said, “We are concerned by the disregard for the Bible in the name of political correctness”. He said the House of Bishops’ recent guidance allowing gay clergy to enter civil partnerships providing they abstain from sex was “the last straw”.
The long-running trial over Intelligent Design in the United States is nearing its end. If you're unsure what it's all about, this article may help.
The man who served as deputy to Pol Pot has admitted responsibility in part for Cambodia's genocide and is prepared to go before a United Nations tribunal to be questioned about his crimes. Nuon Chea, 78, was the closest comrade of one of the 20th century's most blood-stained dictators for more than 30 years. He was personally responsible for ordering thousands of executions in Cambodia. In a rare interview, he confessed: "Yes, we take responsibility. We do not deny it but there are different types of responsibility: executive, legal, moral. Our mistake was that we did not go out into the country's fields to find what was really happening... We, the senior leaders, did not control the party properly," Nuon Chea admitted.
Is Prince Charles being groomed to become the Constantine of Islam in England? Prince Charles has arrived to America to for an eight-day tour. His mission is to persuade W. Bush and the Americans of “the merits of Islam”. He has voiced private concerns over America ’s "confrontational" approach to Muslim countries and its failure to appreciate Islam's strengths. He thinks United States has been too intolerant of the religion.
A new sign of the breaking apart of the Church of England over homosexual clergy was given this week by the South London ordination of three men by an overseas bishop. In defiance of the Bishop of Southwark, Bishop Martin Morrison from the Church of England in South Africa ordained the three at the invitation of Wimbledon minister Revd Richard Coekin. Attending the service were about 30 members of Reform, the evangelical network of clergy who are increasingly resisting the authority of their own diocesan bishops. Mr Coekin said, “We are concerned by the disregard for the Bible in the name of political correctness”. He said the House of Bishops’ recent guidance allowing gay clergy to enter civil partnerships providing they abstain from sex was “the last straw”.
The long-running trial over Intelligent Design in the United States is nearing its end. If you're unsure what it's all about, this article may help.
