Thursday, December 22, 2005
This will probably be my last posting for 2005. (I'm now officially on holiday!) I hope you find time for some reflection amidst the busyness of Christmas, and look forward to a fascinating 2006.
Blessings, John
.................................
'After growing 25 per cent since 1999 against an OECD average of only 16 per cent, the New Zealand economy may be about to enter heavier waters,' Finance Minister Michael Cullen says. Dr Cullen was commenting on the release of the Budget Policy Statement [BPS] and the 2005 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update. The Treasury now believes that growth will hold up stronger for longer than in its pre-election forecasts issued in August but that the slowdown, now projected for the 2007 and 2008 March years, will be deeper when it does occur.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00286.htm
In a landmark decision, US District Court Judge John Jones has ruled that intelligent design has no place in public school science classes, calling it religion in disguise. The case, Kitzmiller v. Dover School District, was a test of whether the theory of intelligent design(ID) -- the idea that some aspects of biology are too complicated to attribute to random chance -- could even be mentioned as an alternative to the theory of evolution. Jones concluded that letting public school students know about ID violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038988.cfm
There are increasing signs that court decisions legalizing same-sex marriage could pave the way for polygamy – something pro-family groups have long warned about. Earlier this year, judges on a New Jersey appellate court expressed concerns about same-sex marriage leading to the legalization of polygamy. In a 2-1 decision rejecting same-sex marriage in Lewis v. Harris, Judges Stephen Skillman and Anthony J. Parrillo wrote: "The same form of constitutional attack that plaintiffs mount against statutes limiting the institution of marriage to members of the opposite sex also could be made against statutes prohibiting polygamy."
~ Focus on the Family
The world’s largest exporter of information and communications technology goods like cell phones, laptops and digital cameras is now China. New OECD figures show its exports of $180 billion of ICT goods outstripped the US (USD140 billion) for the first time in 2004. China’s exports were up in the year by nearly fifty percent, from USD123 billion the year before.
In his best-selling book, Rick Warren explored the purpose-driven life. Now the popular pastor is tackling global poverty and disease.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10495711/site/newsweek/
Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput says the October murder of three Christian girls in Indonesia was an example of growing violence against Christians by Muslims across the world. "Anti-Christian discrimination and violence seem to be growing throughout the Islamic world," Chaput said. "I would call on all persons of good will - not just American Christians but American Muslims - to demand from our government and our ally Indonesia an immediate effort to end the violence against Christians in Indonesia." Chaput spoke at the US Capitol at a forum put on by Sen. Rick Santorum, entitled "Christmas Under Siege Around the World."
http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3309060
God and his teachings are on a roll, enjoying a surge in public support, writes Jill Rowbotham in The Australian. Yet while Australia's dominant religion is exhibiting a surge in public confidence and profile, overall numbers attending traditional churches are still falling. In the 1950s, 44 per cent of Australians went to church at least once a month; a 2003 national church life survey showed the figure was 19 per cent. But there are signs of new growth. Research by advertising company Clemenger Communications shows there has been a rekindling of interest. During a 1978 survey of twentysomethings, 26 per cent agreed religion was important in their lives, but a 2005 survey of people who had been twentysomethings in 1978 revealed that now 36 per cent agreed. Clemenger argues today's young people are more religious than their parents' generation, with 40 per cent of the twentysomethings surveyed in 2005 agreeing with the proposition. And 56 per cent of today's young people say they consider themselves spiritual even though they don't go to church. An exception to the denominational decline are the evangelical and Pentecostal congregations, which are experiencing massive growth.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17580939%255E28737,00.html
The Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the creation of Planet of the Apes-style warriors by crossing humans with apes, according to recently uncovered secret documents. Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia's top animal breeding scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from horse and animal work to the quest for a super-warrior. According to Moscow newspapers, Stalin told the scientist: "I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2434192005
A government-appointed committee has proposed that Australian legislation be amended to allow both the creation of hybrid embryos and therapeutic cloning. If accepted by its Parliament, Australia would have the world’s most progressive embryo legislation. Amongst the radical reforms proposed are the authorisation of cross-species embryos, a practice allowed no where else in the world, hybrid fertilisation, therapeutic cloning, and the export and import of embryos. The report strongly supports the commercialisation of embryo research but stresses that patients must not share in the profits which might arise from the use of their tissue.
~ Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 20
in Switzerland, a university hospital will begin offering its wards for assisted suicides, provided that the person is of sound mind and incurably ill. Until now, Swiss hospitals had refused to cooperate with the suicide organisations which have flourished there. But after two years of debate and consultation, the University of Lausanne has opened its doors. “We are not trying to encourage suicide,” says the hospital’s legal and ethical director, Alberto Crespo. “ But at the same time, as a hospital, we have to respect the wishes of someone who wants to die. We can’t be paternalistic. We can’t decide for a person what they should do. It is up to the person to decide whether they want to live or not.”
~ Guardian, Dec 19
BARBIE, that plastic icon of girlhood fantasy play, is routinely tortured by children, research has found. The methods of mutilation are varied and creative, ranging from scalping to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving, according to academics from the University of Bath. The findings were revealed as part of an in-depth look by psychologists and management academics into the role of brands among 7 to 11-year-old schoolchildren. The researchers had not intended to focus on Barbie, but they were taken aback by the rejection, hatred and violence she provoked when they asked the children about their feelings for the doll. Violence and torture against Barbie were repeatedly reported across age, school and gender. No other toy or brand name provoked such a negative response.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-1939678,00.html
A national survey shows that The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is children's favourite Christmas story. According to The Independent, the animated story and cartoon book has displaced the Nativity as children's top story for Christmas. The survey of 1,000 children ranked Dicken's Christmas Carol and Clement C Moore's The Night Before Christmas third and fourth. But a Church of England spokesman said the "survey suggests that children see the Nativity as more than just a story and … find it unusual to group an event in with a selection of published titles."
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/news/article333051.ece
Blessings, John
.................................
'After growing 25 per cent since 1999 against an OECD average of only 16 per cent, the New Zealand economy may be about to enter heavier waters,' Finance Minister Michael Cullen says. Dr Cullen was commenting on the release of the Budget Policy Statement [BPS] and the 2005 Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update. The Treasury now believes that growth will hold up stronger for longer than in its pre-election forecasts issued in August but that the slowdown, now projected for the 2007 and 2008 March years, will be deeper when it does occur.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0512/S00286.htm
In a landmark decision, US District Court Judge John Jones has ruled that intelligent design has no place in public school science classes, calling it religion in disguise. The case, Kitzmiller v. Dover School District, was a test of whether the theory of intelligent design(ID) -- the idea that some aspects of biology are too complicated to attribute to random chance -- could even be mentioned as an alternative to the theory of evolution. Jones concluded that letting public school students know about ID violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
http://www.family.org/cforum/news/a0038988.cfm
There are increasing signs that court decisions legalizing same-sex marriage could pave the way for polygamy – something pro-family groups have long warned about. Earlier this year, judges on a New Jersey appellate court expressed concerns about same-sex marriage leading to the legalization of polygamy. In a 2-1 decision rejecting same-sex marriage in Lewis v. Harris, Judges Stephen Skillman and Anthony J. Parrillo wrote: "The same form of constitutional attack that plaintiffs mount against statutes limiting the institution of marriage to members of the opposite sex also could be made against statutes prohibiting polygamy."
~ Focus on the Family
The world’s largest exporter of information and communications technology goods like cell phones, laptops and digital cameras is now China. New OECD figures show its exports of $180 billion of ICT goods outstripped the US (USD140 billion) for the first time in 2004. China’s exports were up in the year by nearly fifty percent, from USD123 billion the year before.
In his best-selling book, Rick Warren explored the purpose-driven life. Now the popular pastor is tackling global poverty and disease.
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10495711/site/newsweek/
Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput says the October murder of three Christian girls in Indonesia was an example of growing violence against Christians by Muslims across the world. "Anti-Christian discrimination and violence seem to be growing throughout the Islamic world," Chaput said. "I would call on all persons of good will - not just American Christians but American Muslims - to demand from our government and our ally Indonesia an immediate effort to end the violence against Christians in Indonesia." Chaput spoke at the US Capitol at a forum put on by Sen. Rick Santorum, entitled "Christmas Under Siege Around the World."
http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3309060
God and his teachings are on a roll, enjoying a surge in public support, writes Jill Rowbotham in The Australian. Yet while Australia's dominant religion is exhibiting a surge in public confidence and profile, overall numbers attending traditional churches are still falling. In the 1950s, 44 per cent of Australians went to church at least once a month; a 2003 national church life survey showed the figure was 19 per cent. But there are signs of new growth. Research by advertising company Clemenger Communications shows there has been a rekindling of interest. During a 1978 survey of twentysomethings, 26 per cent agreed religion was important in their lives, but a 2005 survey of people who had been twentysomethings in 1978 revealed that now 36 per cent agreed. Clemenger argues today's young people are more religious than their parents' generation, with 40 per cent of the twentysomethings surveyed in 2005 agreeing with the proposition. And 56 per cent of today's young people say they consider themselves spiritual even though they don't go to church. An exception to the denominational decline are the evangelical and Pentecostal congregations, which are experiencing massive growth.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17580939%255E28737,00.html
The Soviet dictator Josef Stalin ordered the creation of Planet of the Apes-style warriors by crossing humans with apes, according to recently uncovered secret documents. Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia's top animal breeding scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from horse and animal work to the quest for a super-warrior. According to Moscow newspapers, Stalin told the scientist: "I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."
http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=2434192005
A government-appointed committee has proposed that Australian legislation be amended to allow both the creation of hybrid embryos and therapeutic cloning. If accepted by its Parliament, Australia would have the world’s most progressive embryo legislation. Amongst the radical reforms proposed are the authorisation of cross-species embryos, a practice allowed no where else in the world, hybrid fertilisation, therapeutic cloning, and the export and import of embryos. The report strongly supports the commercialisation of embryo research but stresses that patients must not share in the profits which might arise from the use of their tissue.
~ Sydney Morning Herald, Dec 20
in Switzerland, a university hospital will begin offering its wards for assisted suicides, provided that the person is of sound mind and incurably ill. Until now, Swiss hospitals had refused to cooperate with the suicide organisations which have flourished there. But after two years of debate and consultation, the University of Lausanne has opened its doors. “We are not trying to encourage suicide,” says the hospital’s legal and ethical director, Alberto Crespo. “ But at the same time, as a hospital, we have to respect the wishes of someone who wants to die. We can’t be paternalistic. We can’t decide for a person what they should do. It is up to the person to decide whether they want to live or not.”
~ Guardian, Dec 19
BARBIE, that plastic icon of girlhood fantasy play, is routinely tortured by children, research has found. The methods of mutilation are varied and creative, ranging from scalping to decapitation, burning, breaking and even microwaving, according to academics from the University of Bath. The findings were revealed as part of an in-depth look by psychologists and management academics into the role of brands among 7 to 11-year-old schoolchildren. The researchers had not intended to focus on Barbie, but they were taken aback by the rejection, hatred and violence she provoked when they asked the children about their feelings for the doll. Violence and torture against Barbie were repeatedly reported across age, school and gender. No other toy or brand name provoked such a negative response.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,170-1939678,00.html
A national survey shows that The Snowman by Raymond Briggs is children's favourite Christmas story. According to The Independent, the animated story and cartoon book has displaced the Nativity as children's top story for Christmas. The survey of 1,000 children ranked Dicken's Christmas Carol and Clement C Moore's The Night Before Christmas third and fourth. But a Church of England spokesman said the "survey suggests that children see the Nativity as more than just a story and … find it unusual to group an event in with a selection of published titles."
http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/books/news/article333051.ece
