Tag Archives: Category: Global

Altmedia.net.au: With increasing attention brought to polyamorous relationships by members of of the Liberal Party, a formalised Polyamory Action Lobby (PAL) has been founded to combat the image of poly people as relationship bogeymen.

AP: Government statistics in South Sudan show half the girls there aged 15 to 19 are married, with some brides as young as 12 years old.

Turtle Bay and Beyond: Placing women in combat is touted today by the Obama administration as its primary accomplishment on International Women Day. Inserting women into the most violent situations in the world turns a War on Women into a War With Women. US [Ambassador to the United Nations] . . .  of State Susan Rice released this statement today.

Catholic Culture: The Swiss bishops’ spokesman said that the use of the pill would be allowed only in cases when it would not have an abortifacient effect. The spokesman acknowledged the difficulty of determining whether a rape victim could already had ovulated

C-FAM: As UN delegates in closed rooms debate language regarding access to abortion for women who have been violated, two women at an event blocks away presented a powerful argument for breaking the cycle of violence by rejecting abortion even when the child’s conception is the result of rape.

C-FAM: The meeting has barely begun and UN member states are already deadlocked in negotiations at the Commission on the Status of Women this week at UN headquarters. The new line of attack appears to be a push to establish abortion for cases of rape as a right of reparation under humanitarian law.

Mary Langlois at LifeSiteNews: Although the lofty treaties, speeches and other goings-on at the United Nations often seem irrelevant to parents with busy lives, it is increasingly important that we pay attention to some troubling developments that could gravely effect the lives of all U.S. citizens.

Wesley J. Smith at LifeNews: Latest example, Belgium is getting set to legalize euthanasia for children–since it is being done anyway despite the “guidelines.” From the AFP story . . .

CNA: Medical experts before the United Nations argued that abortion is not medically necessary to promote women’s health and can actually harm women instead. “Real medical care decreases maternal mortality; abortion does not decrease maternal mortality,” Dr. Donna J. Harrison told CNA on March 6.

Coptic Solidarity: Secretary Kerry met with Egyptian President Morsi last week, announcing that the US will give Egypt $250 million in aid. While applauding continuing economic support to the suffering people of Egypt, Coptic Solidarity expressed deep concern that US foreign assistance be used to bolster a Muslim Brotherhood-led government, which has actively undermined the civil rights of millions of its citizens.

Piero Tozzi at Turtle Bay and Beyond: As reported in last week’s Friday Fax, Alliance Defending Freedom took the floor recently at a General Assembly forum on how to reform United Nations Treaty Bodies, calling on the Treaty Bodies not to usurp functions that do not rightfully belong to them.

Christian Institute: Former Government Minister Ann Widdecombe is urging David Cameron to listen to his own party on the issue of same-sex marriage if he wants to stay in his position beyond the next election.

Washington Post: A lesbian whose adoption request was recently denied by Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court is appealing the ruling.

London Evening Standard: The Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister has also described himself as not an “active believer” in God, although he has said he is committed to bringing up his children in the Catholic faith. His wife is a Catholic.

Phayul.com: Around 200 Tibetans from all over Switzerland took part in a special solidarity prayer vigil in front of the United Nations office in Geneva yesterday.

Religion Clause Blog: Last year the Czech Republic passed a law on return of church property confiscated during the country’s Communist regime. Under the law, the government will return land worth 75 billion crowns and will pay additional compensation of 59 billion crowns over the next 30 years.

Religion Clause Blog: A New York Jewish Week article today speculates that dramatic changes in the relationship of religion and government could be in the offing in Israel as Benjamin Netanyahu moves to form a coalition government that may exclude the haredi (strictly Orthodox) Shas and United Torah Judaism parties

AP: Germany’s foreign minister says Berlin will fight a European Union proposal to introduce mandatory quotas for the number of women on the boards of private companies.

AP: The court says in its Wednesday ruling that the law organizing the elections must be reviewed by the Supreme Constitutional Court to determine its conformity to the constitution.

Doug Cook at MercatorNet: Australian activists for same-sex marriage have always insisted, that it will not lead to polygamy or polyamory. Never, ever, ever. Gay marriage is just like traditional marriage, except for the sex of the spouse. Activist Rodney Croome wrote last year that “studies show most LGBTI people want to be part of a two-person marriage, while partners in polyamorist relationships (most of which begin as heterosexual unions) say they don’t want their relationships recognised as marriages.” Former Greens leader Bob Brown described a push for polyamory as “nonsense”. | Hat tip: Ruth Institute

enowned medical experts and researchers will discuss groundbreaking findings on the most important factors in saving the lives of mothers in childbirth at a policy briefing and press conference Wednesday

Morning Star News: Suspected Islamic extremists in Somalia shot a Christian to death this month on the outskirts of the coastal city of Kismayo, sources said. (2/28)

LifeSiteNews: A motion asking the Parliament of Canada to condemn the practice of sex-selective abortions is scheduled to be debated in the House of Commons on March 28, 2013.

Fox News: Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro says President Hugo Chavez has died.

Kristen Hatten at LifeNews: The horror of such a place is difficult for us to imagine, but it is a reality, every day, for over one billion people. How? How could such a nightmarish Orwellian state exist in 2012, when every day we pride ourselves on moving forward and becoming more and more enlightened? The answer is simple: Communism.

LifeNews: The Euthanasia Prevention Coalition (EPC), an intervener in the assisted suicide case at the BC Court of Appeal, wants the BC Court of Appeal to reverse the errors in the Carter decision concerning assisted suicide and euthanasia in Canada.

Bruce J. Clemenger at Evangelical Fellowship of Canada: Recently a fertility clinic in the United States made news for not only selling human sperm and eggs, but human embryos as well. While many responded with disdain, National Post columnist Marni Soupcoff questioned the validity of the objections.

Turtle Bay and Beyond: As the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women begins today, two news stories are already disingenuously implying that the Holy See, the Russian Federation, and Iran are effectively enablers of violence committed against women. These and several other UN member states oppose the inclusion of language that could be used to support a right to abortion – a topic that is always controversial within the UN system.

ABC: Poland’s first gay and transgender lawmakers will sit on the front bench in Parliament this week in reaction to hostile remarks by former president Lech Walesa.

A coalition of religious freedom advocacy groups will hold a parallel event at the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva Wednesday to call upon all nations to respect universally acknowledged international standards.

Canadian Constitution Foundation: Last week, in an unanimous decision in the case of Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v. Whatcott, the Supreme Court of Canada struck a blow against freedom of speech.

Jerusalem Post: NRWA says ‘disappointing’ decision comes after Hamas-ruled Gaza imposed ban, run had aimed to raise funds for Gaza children.

LifeNews: One of the top pro-life concerns when multiple pregnancies occur is the advice doctors routinely give to mothers to consider an abortion in order to “save” one or more other children. Never mind that mothers frequently give birth to multiple children without complications — doctors still give the advice anyway. But, not every mother has a “selective reduction” to kill one or more of their unborn children in abortion.

Middle East Forum: Last week’s news of four Christian missionaries in Libya placed under arrest, possibly facing the death penalty for “proselytizing,” is apparently the tip of the iceberg. Yesterday, Arabic media reported that over 100 Christian Copts from Egypt, who appear to have been living and working in Libya, were recently arrested in Ben Ghazi—also on the accusation, or pretext, of being “Christian missionaries.”

Egypt Independent: Salafi Preacher Safwat Hegazy said on Monday that Shia Islam “will never exist in Egypt,” reacting to the recent visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Charles C.W. Cooke at National Review: If the Canadian Supreme Court is happy to indulge the prosecution of those whose speech apparently “opposes the targeted group’s ability to find self-fulfillment,” then I wonder if it wouldn’t also be happy to bring back Spectral Evidence, which William Stoughton allowed into his courtroom with such famous success at the Salem Witch Trials.

World Net Daily: China’s crackdown on its thriving house-church movement is surging just months after it was reported attacks on Christians had subsided, according to a report from the human rights group China Aid.

Washington Times: Jorge Fernandez Diaz made the comments — that gay unions don’t guarantee “the survival of the species,” United Press International reported — as Spain’s highest court upheld same-sex unions as constitutional. Gay activists were outraged.

Baptist Press: Of an estimated 200,000 prisoners in North Korea, 70,000 of them are Christians, Open Doors reported.

Christian Institute: A man who has locked-in syndrome says it’s possible to “find meaning” despite being in a “shell of a body”. He wants to shift the focus of the assisted suicide debate and create a world where people like him feel encouraged to live.

Montreal Gazette: I’m happy to see that Quebec has launched a campaign to raise awareness and fight homophobia and transphobia. The province will run TV and radio advertisements, and also has set up a site where people can take a short survey.

National Catholic Reporter: On Sunday, Feb. 17, a 55-year-old Catholic priest named Fr. Evarist Mushi was shot to death in Tanzania by assailants on a motorcycle in front of Zanzibar’s St. Joseph’s Cathedral, just before Sunday morning Mass. According to the news agency Fides, local bishops received a message claiming responsibility from a group calling itself “Muslim Renewal.”

Life News / C-Fam: “The problem we are facing with the work of treaty bodies goes beyond resources and money,” the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) told the forum. “The real problem lies in the treaty bodies assuming powers which do not belong to them.”

Jacob Mchangama at National Review: A UN body refrains from criminalizing “defamation of religion,” but troubling ambiguities remain . . . For the past two years, the United States, European states, and the member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have pretended that their past deep divisions about the relationship between free speech and religion have been laid to rest.

AP: Lawmakers at the Czech parliament’s upper house have decided to press high treason charges against outgoing president Vaclav Klaus over his controversial amnesty – an unprecedented move that taints the end of his presidency.

Assyrian International News Agency: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has long been on the forefront of the Islamist mission to establish the equivalent of Islamic blasphemy laws in the West. Now, during its 12th Islamic Summit held in Cairo February 7-8, 2013, the OIC set forth new and creative ways to silence, and ultimately criminalize criticism of Islam.

Washington Times: Designated terrorist group Hamas has warned President Obama against visiting the holy Temple Mount site in Jerusalem when he visits Israel next month, saying the action would be “a diplomatic catastrophe.”

LifeSiteNews: After this week’s Supreme Court ruling finding him guilty of “hate speech,” Canada’s most controversial Christian activist says he will continue publicly witnessing against homosexuality.

Charisma News: Christian churches and worship centers were completely shut down on Sunday in the central Nigerian town of Wukari following religious riots that broke out Saturday in the town between Muslims and Christians.

BBC: Campaigners and politicians from NI and the Irish Republic have gathered at Stormont to oppose any change to abortion laws on the island of Ireland.

Christian Concern: Christian police chaplain has been forced out of his position after expressing his views on the Government’s proposals to introduce same-sex ‘marriages’ on his personal website.

Christian Institute: The controversial push to redefine marriage is one of the reasons the Conservatives came third in yesterday’s important by-election, critics say.

Foreign Policy: The initiative committe is led by politician Heinz Hürzeler, a member of the country’s Social Liberal Movement, and maintains that in Switzerland, where 12 percent of pregnancies end in abortion, the practice represents a huge blow to the economy (comparatively speaking, Switzerland has one of the lowest abortion rates in the world, with only 6.4 abortions for every 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44)

Guardian: SDLP’s Alban Maginness and DUP’s Paul Girvan to push for law that would make abortions available only via NHS in province

Seattle Times: United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday joined the United States and Israel in rejecting statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who compared Zionism to fascism at a United Nations meeting aiming to promote dialogue between all faiths.

NY Times: Gay rights have quickly emerged in Germany as a campaign issue in this parliamentary election year, with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats struggling to catch up to changing attitudes among voters on issues like gay marriage and adoption.

Religion Clause Blog: ANSAMED reports that on Thursday the Supreme Court of Spain overturned a local ban on clothing that covers the face, such as the burqa

AP: Dozens of Muslim residents threw firebombs and rocks at police on Friday as they tried to storm a church in southern Egypt in search of a woman suspected of converting to Christianity, security officials said.

LifeSiteNews: Brazilian lawmakers are seeking pass a law prohibiting “homophobia,” which would potentially outlaw all criticism of homosexual behavior. The bill is part of the country’s criminal code reform currently being undertaken in the National Congress, according to members of Brazil’s newly-formed National Association of Evangelical Jurist (ANAJURE). (Piero Tozzi in the video)

C-FAM: Pro-life organizations spoke at a special forum at UN headquarters this week to ask the UN General Assembly to reform treaty bodies which deviate from their mandates by pushing abortion, homosexuality and controversial sex ed programs. The UN is in the midst of a full review of the treaty bodies to identify ways to reform a system riddled with backlog, inefficiencies and abuse of authority. (also reported in LifeSiteNews)

Christian News Net: The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Biblical speech opposing homosexual behavior, including in written form, is essentially a hate crime.

Christian Institute: Conservative chairmen in Surrey and Gloucestershire have become the latest to resign over the Party’s highly controversial push for same-sex marriage.

Christian Institute: It is a “great idea” to allow the morning-after pill to be handed out in schools, a leading GP in England has said.

C-FAM: As the UN Human Rights Council considers whether to endorse a report praising comprehensive sex education programs, a new review of the disputed curricula finds they can do more harm than good.

Yahoo News: A debate about how religious schools should handle homosexual students is at the forefront again, as a Manitoba Christian academy fights back against new anti-bullying legislation that would force them to allow the creation of a gay-straight alliance.

Religion Clause Blog: In Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission v. Whatcott, (Sup. Ct. Canada, Feb. 27, 2013), the Supreme Court of Canada, in a 116-page opinion, upheld the constitutionality of a key provision in theSaskatchewan Human Rights Code, Sec. 14.

AP: Indonesia’s government, security forces and courts must do more to protect religious minorities from growing episodes of intolerance and violence, an international rights group said in a report Thursday.

LifeSiteNews: Canada’s top court has released an unanimous decision today that critics say has struck a monumental blow against freedom of speech, opinion, and religion across the country.

Today, the Supreme Court of Canada set a new standard in determining the legal boundaries for religious expression in public debate.

Christian Institute: Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon risks losing her Holyrood seat if the SNP continues to press ahead with plans to redefine marriage, a former Party activist has said.

Independent.ie: “A transgender dentist is to launch a fresh legal challenge for a new birth certificate recognising her female gender.”

AP: Australia’s highest court on Wednesday narrowly rejected the case of two Muslim activists who argued they had a constitutional free-speech right to send offensive letters to families of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Religion Clause Blog: The court dismissed a petition filed on behalf of a 17-year old Muslim girl who claimed that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act is not applicable to Muslims because Muslim Personal Law permits marriage of a girl after she has attained puberty.

Radio Free Europe: The Belarusian Justice Ministry has refused to legally register a homosexual rights organization in Minsk.

Gay Star News: ‘Most churches and sociologists agree that adult behaviour in all areas is shaped and influenced by what has happened in the family. ‘Spousal abuse, incest and rape, all these have irreversible negative effects on children and unfortunately and regrettably these are on the rise. ‘And I believe the root cause of some persons embracing the homosexual lifestyle’.