Thursday, November 24, 2005
I've started a new job this week, which has slowed me down a bit. However, I hope to keep posting as time permits (maybe on a slightly reduced basis). Here are some of the gleanings from this week:
An inquest into the suicide of a high-profile right-to-die campaigner has ended with a coroner calling for national debate on euthanasia. Nelson Coroner Ian Smith yesterday ruled Ralph Vincent had died at his own hands, and warned the question of voluntary euthanasia was not going to go away. "It is a difficult subject and a matter Parliament will need to deal with in the future. And it is something the nation will have to deal with and address," he said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3489094a11,00.html
A new version of the Joffe bill to legalise assisted suicide in the UK has been given an unopposed first reading in the British House of Lords. The changes to the first draft are modelled on Oregon's experience with assisted suicide. "A law which requires the patient to take the final act... seems to reassure doctors that the patient is exercising a choice and is less difficult to them on a personal level," says Lord Joffe. There is little chance of the bill being passed, but it has created an enormous controversy in Britain. ~ BMJ.com, Nov 19
A bill to remove prostitutes from the streets of Manukau City was introduced into Parliament this week. The local bill, if passed, will make Manukau the first city in New Zealand to ban street prostitution. Labour MP Tim Barnett, who championed the Prostitution Law Reform Act through Parliament, said the Manukau move would drive prostitution underground. But Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis says, "The people of Papatoetoe have had a gutsful [of street prostitution], and in other parts of Manukau, these people are parading themselves in the middle of the street, leaving all kinds of objectionable items on the sidewalk and outside business premises." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10356566
The Russian parliament has gave preliminary but overwhelming approval to a bill that pro-democracy and human rights groups have condemned as a Soviet-style assault on freedom of association and expression. The controversial legislation would effectively ban the work of foreign human rights groups and charities and strictly regulate the activities of domestic organisations, making it easy for the Kremlin to shut down undesirable groups on a technicality at a moment's notice. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356807
President Bush used his recent China trip to press not only for economic cooperation, but also for human rights and religious freedom in that country. But Chinese officials, unlike in times past, were unresponsive and even defiant. During the trip, Bush tried to make his point on religious freedom by praying with Christians in a state-approved church. "My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly," he said. Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association, says Chinese leaders showed no signs of goodwill toward the president on the subject. "The Chinese government fiercely resisted the call for more religious freedom in China," he said. Fu said that hours after the president left China, eight house-church members were released from prison. Two of the eight reported that they had been beaten and tortured by Chinese authorities.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038678.cfm
Although China's top population official, Zhang Weiqing, has acknowledged that his country's sex ration "has not been checked effectively", he insists that the current one-child policy should remain in effect. To lower the ratio of boys to girls, which is as high as 130 to 100 in the southern provinces of Hainan and Guangdong, the government plans to outlaw sex-selective abortions, launch a modest pension plan for parents with no sons, and to step up a public education campaign that "girls are as good as boys". ~ Reuters, Nov 15
Is the Internet transforming our sex lives as much as the birth control pill did? Yes, says Regina Lynn, Wired.com's 'Sex Drive' columnist and the author of a new book about modern sexuality. Thanks to e-mail, blogging, instant messaging, Web cams and the myriad ways we now have to stay in touch electronically, Lynn says we are in the middle of a new relationship revolution. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10164415/site/newsweek/
American children conceived with donor sperm are seeking their biological father through an internet website - and finding half-siblings by the dozen. Using the Donor Siblings Registry, a web site founded by Wendy Kramer and her 15-year-old donor-conceived son, some teenagers and their mothers are holding family "reunions" -- nearly always without Dad, who is just a number on a vial of sperm along with fragments of personal information. "They are building a new definition of family that both rests on biology and transcends it," comments the New York Times. Sperm bank officials estimate that 30,000 children are born each year from donor sperm, but no one knows how many there really are because the industry is unregulated. "As half-siblings find one another, it is becoming clear that the banks do not know how many children are born to each donor, and where they are. Popular donors may have several dozen children and critics say there is a risk of unwitting incest between half-siblings," says the Times. ~ New York Times, Nov 20
A British scientist is working on creating sperm and eggs from embryonic stem cells. The artificial gametes could be useful for infertile couples. They could also be used by gay and lesbian couples so that they would not have to rely upon egg and sperm donors. The technique should be mastered in the next decade, according to the Observer. ~ Observer (UK), Nov 13
Twice as many women as men are filing for divorce or separation in Ireland, citing "familial strain", including household finances, work-life balance and a lack of family support as reasons for marital break-down. It is 10 years since divorce in Ireland was legalised by a referendum vote with a less than 1 per cent majority. Adultery, alcoholism and domestic violence were the main reasons cited in the early years. ~ The Sunday Times, Nov 20
Every baby attending a day nursery or who is in the care of a childminder in Britain will be taught a new national curriculum devised by the government. Inspectors will check that the children are developing in four areas, including becoming "competent learners" - with skills such as comparing, categorising and recognising symbols and marks. It is the first time the government has prescribed what children should learn under the age of three, and some parents and teachers are up in arms about the move. National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations spokesman Margaret Morrissey said: "From the minute you are born and your parents go back to work, as the government has encouraged them to do, you are going to be ruled by the Department of Education." ~ The Telegraph, Nov 9
Couples who marry between the ages of 23 and 27 have the best chance of living happily together until death parts them, according to a study carried out for the National Fatherhood Initiative in the United States. It was based on a survey of 1503 Americans aged 18 and older between late 2003 and early 2004 and asked questions about attitude and aspirations towards marriage. University of Texas sociology professor Norval Glenn, who conducted the research, said that 98 per cent of those questioned were married, had been married or wanted to marry. "We are a very marrying country," he said. But the average age of (first) marriage is rising. Currently it 27 for men and 26 for women, compared to 23 and 21 in 1970. Those who married later "tended to be stable, but less happy", said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, who reviewed the study. ~ AFP/Yahoo News, Nov 17
Three-quarters of Britons think the UK should retain its Christian ethos, a suvey for BBC News 24 has found. Although only 17 per cent said they attend church regularly, 67 per cent described themselves as Christian. And support for Christian values also came from 69 per cent of Jews, almost half of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus and 44 per cent of those with no faith. The poll of 1,019 adults for News 24’s “Faith Day” on Monday also found that over a third of respondents were totally ignorant about Islam. http://www.churchnewspaper.com/news.php?read=on&number_key=5795&title=BBC%20poll%20finds%20belief%20but%20little%20attendance
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256FA1003E05C1/httpPublicPages/26FF9D4C5CE3CECB802570BC0051DAD9?opendocument
An inquest into the suicide of a high-profile right-to-die campaigner has ended with a coroner calling for national debate on euthanasia. Nelson Coroner Ian Smith yesterday ruled Ralph Vincent had died at his own hands, and warned the question of voluntary euthanasia was not going to go away. "It is a difficult subject and a matter Parliament will need to deal with in the future. And it is something the nation will have to deal with and address," he said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3489094a11,00.html
A new version of the Joffe bill to legalise assisted suicide in the UK has been given an unopposed first reading in the British House of Lords. The changes to the first draft are modelled on Oregon's experience with assisted suicide. "A law which requires the patient to take the final act... seems to reassure doctors that the patient is exercising a choice and is less difficult to them on a personal level," says Lord Joffe. There is little chance of the bill being passed, but it has created an enormous controversy in Britain. ~ BMJ.com, Nov 19
A bill to remove prostitutes from the streets of Manukau City was introduced into Parliament this week. The local bill, if passed, will make Manukau the first city in New Zealand to ban street prostitution. Labour MP Tim Barnett, who championed the Prostitution Law Reform Act through Parliament, said the Manukau move would drive prostitution underground. But Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis says, "The people of Papatoetoe have had a gutsful [of street prostitution], and in other parts of Manukau, these people are parading themselves in the middle of the street, leaving all kinds of objectionable items on the sidewalk and outside business premises." http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10356566
The Russian parliament has gave preliminary but overwhelming approval to a bill that pro-democracy and human rights groups have condemned as a Soviet-style assault on freedom of association and expression. The controversial legislation would effectively ban the work of foreign human rights groups and charities and strictly regulate the activities of domestic organisations, making it easy for the Kremlin to shut down undesirable groups on a technicality at a moment's notice. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356807
President Bush used his recent China trip to press not only for economic cooperation, but also for human rights and religious freedom in that country. But Chinese officials, unlike in times past, were unresponsive and even defiant. During the trip, Bush tried to make his point on religious freedom by praying with Christians in a state-approved church. "My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly," he said. Bob Fu, president of the China Aid Association, says Chinese leaders showed no signs of goodwill toward the president on the subject. "The Chinese government fiercely resisted the call for more religious freedom in China," he said. Fu said that hours after the president left China, eight house-church members were released from prison. Two of the eight reported that they had been beaten and tortured by Chinese authorities.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038678.cfm
Although China's top population official, Zhang Weiqing, has acknowledged that his country's sex ration "has not been checked effectively", he insists that the current one-child policy should remain in effect. To lower the ratio of boys to girls, which is as high as 130 to 100 in the southern provinces of Hainan and Guangdong, the government plans to outlaw sex-selective abortions, launch a modest pension plan for parents with no sons, and to step up a public education campaign that "girls are as good as boys". ~ Reuters, Nov 15
Is the Internet transforming our sex lives as much as the birth control pill did? Yes, says Regina Lynn, Wired.com's 'Sex Drive' columnist and the author of a new book about modern sexuality. Thanks to e-mail, blogging, instant messaging, Web cams and the myriad ways we now have to stay in touch electronically, Lynn says we are in the middle of a new relationship revolution. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10164415/site/newsweek/
American children conceived with donor sperm are seeking their biological father through an internet website - and finding half-siblings by the dozen. Using the Donor Siblings Registry, a web site founded by Wendy Kramer and her 15-year-old donor-conceived son, some teenagers and their mothers are holding family "reunions" -- nearly always without Dad, who is just a number on a vial of sperm along with fragments of personal information. "They are building a new definition of family that both rests on biology and transcends it," comments the New York Times. Sperm bank officials estimate that 30,000 children are born each year from donor sperm, but no one knows how many there really are because the industry is unregulated. "As half-siblings find one another, it is becoming clear that the banks do not know how many children are born to each donor, and where they are. Popular donors may have several dozen children and critics say there is a risk of unwitting incest between half-siblings," says the Times. ~ New York Times, Nov 20
A British scientist is working on creating sperm and eggs from embryonic stem cells. The artificial gametes could be useful for infertile couples. They could also be used by gay and lesbian couples so that they would not have to rely upon egg and sperm donors. The technique should be mastered in the next decade, according to the Observer. ~ Observer (UK), Nov 13
Twice as many women as men are filing for divorce or separation in Ireland, citing "familial strain", including household finances, work-life balance and a lack of family support as reasons for marital break-down. It is 10 years since divorce in Ireland was legalised by a referendum vote with a less than 1 per cent majority. Adultery, alcoholism and domestic violence were the main reasons cited in the early years. ~ The Sunday Times, Nov 20
Every baby attending a day nursery or who is in the care of a childminder in Britain will be taught a new national curriculum devised by the government. Inspectors will check that the children are developing in four areas, including becoming "competent learners" - with skills such as comparing, categorising and recognising symbols and marks. It is the first time the government has prescribed what children should learn under the age of three, and some parents and teachers are up in arms about the move. National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations spokesman Margaret Morrissey said: "From the minute you are born and your parents go back to work, as the government has encouraged them to do, you are going to be ruled by the Department of Education." ~ The Telegraph, Nov 9
Couples who marry between the ages of 23 and 27 have the best chance of living happily together until death parts them, according to a study carried out for the National Fatherhood Initiative in the United States. It was based on a survey of 1503 Americans aged 18 and older between late 2003 and early 2004 and asked questions about attitude and aspirations towards marriage. University of Texas sociology professor Norval Glenn, who conducted the research, said that 98 per cent of those questioned were married, had been married or wanted to marry. "We are a very marrying country," he said. But the average age of (first) marriage is rising. Currently it 27 for men and 26 for women, compared to 23 and 21 in 1970. Those who married later "tended to be stable, but less happy", said Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, who reviewed the study. ~ AFP/Yahoo News, Nov 17
Three-quarters of Britons think the UK should retain its Christian ethos, a suvey for BBC News 24 has found. Although only 17 per cent said they attend church regularly, 67 per cent described themselves as Christian. And support for Christian values also came from 69 per cent of Jews, almost half of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus and 44 per cent of those with no faith. The poll of 1,019 adults for News 24’s “Faith Day” on Monday also found that over a third of respondents were totally ignorant about Islam. http://www.churchnewspaper.com/news.php?read=on&number_key=5795&title=BBC%20poll%20finds%20belief%20but%20little%20attendance
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/80256FA1003E05C1/httpPublicPages/26FF9D4C5CE3CECB802570BC0051DAD9?opendocument
