Tuesday, October 25, 2005

The New Zealand dollar is at an unsustainable level and may fall sharply in the face of a ballooning current account deficit and slowing economy, Finance Minister Michael Cullen says.

David Blunkett says he believes one million of Britain's 2.7 million incapacity benefit claimants are capable of work - and can be coaxed out of welfare by greater benefits alongside their salaries. The Work & Pensions Secretary has told The Scotsman that next month's green paper on welfare reform will give a "two-handed" approach of providing work, and guaranteeing a return to welfare if their job does not work out.

"Something quite alarming is happening to serious journalism in Australia. A convergence of economic, technological and societal trends is conspiring to threaten mainstream quality media in an unprecedented way. If these trends continue, as I fear they will, there could be very little journalism of excellence left after another decade or two. And that would not only be a disaster for journalists, it would be a tragedy for Australian democracy. What are these dangerous trends?"

There was quite a stir several weeks ago when a US academic suggested that societies are harmed by religion. Gregory Paul argued that the regions with higher rates of religious practice have "markedly worse homicide, mortality, STD, youth pregnancy, marital and related problems than ... where societal conditions, secularization, and acceptance of evolution approach European norms." His article claimed that countries with low levels of religious beliefs have managed to deal more successfully with social problems such as homicide, abortion and sexually transmitted diseases. Almost immediately after publication, some commentators seized the opportunity to launch attacks on religion, basing themselves on the study. However, what got lost in the hyperbole was that: a) Paul's admission that the study was not "a definitive study that establishes cause versus effect between religiosity, secularism and societal health." Other commentators have pointed out that the data is very inconclusive, with no link in either the UK or US between inequality and religion. More-detailed criticisms were raised by David Quinn, a journalist with the Irish Independent. In an article published Oct. 6, Quinn concedes that the higher incidence of social problems in the United States is certainly true, as is the greater level of religious belief. But he asks if the two facts are necessarily connected. Other differences between Europe and the United States, such as the fact that one is a society composed of immigrants, may well be more relevant in explaining social trends. Or perhaps it is due to the higher levels of economic inequality, or the relative newness of American society compared to Europe. "The point is that any two differences between America and Europe could be highlighted and the different rates of murder, abortion, teen pregnancy, etc., could be attributed to this difference," Quinn argues. He also points to contradictory data ignored by Paul.

China's fierce demographic control policies have exacted a heavy toll during the last quarter-century. (The term "one-child policy" is, in fact, misleading in that it is applied only to a part of the population, primarily government workers and those living in urban areas. Rural families are generally allowed a second child, five years after the birth of the first, especially if the first was a girl.) The restrictions are underpinned a system of rewards and penalties, which are administrated by local officials and which vary widely - often harshly. Contraception and abortion are the backbone of the implementing the policy. One consequence of the family planning restrictions has been the growing disproportion between male and female births. Sex-selective abortion, facilitated by the use of ultrasound images to find out the sex of unborn children, accounts for a large proportion of the female babies killed. The low birthrate has set the stage for a rapid aging of China's population. [Another aspect not looked at in the article, is the effect on a generation growing up without brothers and sisters, therefore not learning the dynamics of family relationships.]

Western Europe and the United States are decadent societies because they have abandoned a morality based on the traditional virtues. So says a book just published by the London-based Social Affairs Unit, "Decadence: The Passing of Personal Virtue and Its Replacement by Political and Psychological Slogans." A first section contains essays on the "old" virtues, such as prudence, love and courage. The second deals with the "new" virtues, centered on the environment, caring, therapy and being critical.

Pagan priests will be allowed to conduct ceremonies for inmates under new guidelines issued to UK prison governors and chaplains. Prisoners will be permitted a hoodless robe, incense, Tarot cards and a flexible twig to be used as a wand. The guidelines were prepared with help from the Pagan Federation and place the diverse expressions of Paganism on equal footing with major faiths.

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