http://www.alliancealert.org news from the frontlines of the culture war Thu, 24 May 2012 23:12:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/05/04/parents-have-responsibilities-but-no-rights-bulgaria/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/05/04/parents-have-responsibilities-but-no-rights-bulgaria/#comments Fri, 04 May 2012 16:09:23 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=132903 LifeSiteNews: The Christian Post reports that Bulgaria’s government is instituting new family law asserting that while parents have responsibilities towards their children, they have no rights to make educational decisions. Viktor Kostov, a Bulgarian lawyer and human rights activist, reports . . . He warns that should the bill pass, it could be used by state ideologues to quash the religious and political rights of citizens by threatening their custody over their children. Freedom for All Advocates, the Alliance Defense Fund, and the Home School Legal Defense Association have intervened in the debate over the bill, warning that similar measures in other EU countries have resulted in the state having near-total control over families and children. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/05/04/parents-have-responsibilities-but-no-rights-bulgaria/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/04/26/victor-kostov-bulgaria-child-law-bill-threatens-the-family-with-totalitarian-social-engineering/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/04/26/victor-kostov-bulgaria-child-law-bill-threatens-the-family-with-totalitarian-social-engineering/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:34:44 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=132186 Christian Post: Totalitarian thinking still permeates much of the societal structure in Bulgaria, a post-communist democracy and a member of the European Union since 2007. This attitude is especially visible in the latest legislative attempt at policies against the family | Viktor Kostov, PhD, is a Bulgarian-based missiologist and lawyer who heads Freedom for All Advocates. He is an Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney working to defend the rights to freedom of religion and speech. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/04/26/victor-kostov-bulgaria-child-law-bill-threatens-the-family-with-totalitarian-social-engineering/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/02/15/bulgaria-a-battlefield-for-anti-family-social-engineering-hslda/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/02/15/bulgaria-a-battlefield-for-anti-family-social-engineering-hslda/#comments Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:42:47 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=125788 HSLDA : Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney Viktor Kostov of Bulgaria explained that the proposed bill is radical and unnecessary. “The Child Act places excessive authority for children into the hands of the state in the name of ‘children’s rights,’ replacing the traditional role of the family in the raising of children and violating provisions in numerous international treaties. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/02/15/bulgaria-a-battlefield-for-anti-family-social-engineering-hslda/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/06/21/police-protect-gay-pride-rallies-across-balkans/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/06/21/police-protect-gay-pride-rallies-across-balkans/#comments Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:52:12 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=106924 NPR: Gays and lesbians marched in several Eastern European capitals Saturday protected by hundreds of riot police after some extremist groups urged members to stop the Gay Pride rallies. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/06/21/police-protect-gay-pride-rallies-across-balkans/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/24/bulgarias-black-market-in-blood-is-flourishing/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/24/bulgarias-black-market-in-blood-is-flourishing/#comments Tue, 24 May 2011 16:32:24 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=104459 The Daily Sentinel: Her 85-year-old husband needed immediate surgery but doctors told her to find blood for the operation herself. So Slavka Petrova swallowed her anguish and went to haggle on the black market outside the national blood clinic. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/05/24/bulgarias-black-market-in-blood-is-flourishing/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/20/islamic-headscarves-in-legal-limbo-the-controversy-over-religious-symbols-in-bulgarias-public-schools/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/20/islamic-headscarves-in-legal-limbo-the-controversy-over-religious-symbols-in-bulgarias-public-schools/#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:42:50 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=92597 Balkanalysis.com: "In 2006 this controversy hit home in Bulgaria: the EU member state with the largest Muslim minority (estimated between 13-15%) . . . The Commission’s decisions in two key cases as to whether girls should be allowed to wear headscarves in schools have created a legal limbo wherein the state has abdicated its responsibility for interpreting the Bulgarian constitution. Instead, individual headmasters are now allowed to make their own policy regarding religious tolerance in public institutions." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/20/islamic-headscarves-in-legal-limbo-the-controversy-over-religious-symbols-in-bulgarias-public-schools/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/04/european-nations-begin-seizing-private-pensions/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/04/european-nations-begin-seizing-private-pensions/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 21:45:29 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=89731 Christian Science Monitor: "People’s retirement savings are a convenient source of revenue for governments that don’t want to reduce spending or make privatizations. As most pension schemes in Europe are organised by the state, European ministers of finance have a facilitated access to the savings accumulated there, and it is only logical that they try to get a hold of this money for their own ends. In recent weeks I have noted five such attempts: Three situations concern private personal savings; two others refer to national funds." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/04/european-nations-begin-seizing-private-pensions/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/06/bulgarian-police-raid-suspected-radical-islamists-locals-protest/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/06/bulgarian-police-raid-suspected-radical-islamists-locals-protest/#comments Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:51:30 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=75337 EU Observer: "Police in rural southern Bulgaria have raided the houses of what they suspect to be a branch of an outlawed Islamist group, provoking a peaceful protest in a Muslim village, the interior ministry and media reported." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/06/bulgarian-police-raid-suspected-radical-islamists-locals-protest/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/30/bulgaria-govt-must-pay-for-unwanted-intervention-in-orthodox-church/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/30/bulgaria-govt-must-pay-for-unwanted-intervention-in-orthodox-church/#comments Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:36:11 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=74303 OneNewsNow: "Alliance Defense Fund's [Roger Kiska] reports that the new socialist-dominated government passed a law six years ago that stripped [a] dissenting synod of its access to the legal system. 'The government decided that they didn't believe in church autonomy, and they interfered in a big way. They stripped the synod of its legal personality and then overnight issued a warrant that couldn't be appealed in court and took over 100 church properties,' Kiska explains." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/30/bulgaria-govt-must-pay-for-unwanted-intervention-in-orthodox-church/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/24/bulgarian-protesters-demand-compulsory-religious-classes/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/24/bulgarian-protesters-demand-compulsory-religious-classes/#comments Fri, 24 Sep 2010 19:37:35 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=73639 AFP: "Over 5,000 Bulgarians demonstrated Friday in Sofia to demand that religious instruction in this majority Orthodox country become compulsory in schools, police said Friday." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/24/bulgarian-protesters-demand-compulsory-religious-classes/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/20/adf-allied-attorney-secures-damages-judgment-for-bulgarian-church-abused-by-government/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/20/adf-allied-attorney-secures-damages-judgment-for-bulgarian-church-abused-by-government/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:08:39 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/20/adf-allied-attorney-secures-damages-judgment-for-bulgarian-church-abused-by-government/ ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/20/adf-allied-attorney-secures-damages-judgment-for-bulgarian-church-abused-by-government/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/10/marriage-out-of-vogue-kids-out-of-wedlock-in-bulgaria/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/10/marriage-out-of-vogue-kids-out-of-wedlock-in-bulgaria/#comments Fri, 10 Sep 2010 22:03:20 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=71916 Sofia News Agency: "While wedding bells may be ringing daily in Cyprus, in Bulgaria it is more a case of 'I don't', where marriage rates are the second lowest in the Europe Union at 3.6%, Eurostat figures show." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/10/marriage-out-of-vogue-kids-out-of-wedlock-in-bulgaria/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/07/bulgarian-bishop-hands-out-medals-for-defense-of-marriage/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/07/bulgarian-bishop-hands-out-medals-for-defense-of-marriage/#comments Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:42:33 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=71299 Hurriyet Daily News (Sofia News Agency): The bishop of a Bulgarian city has bestows decorations for 'defending' Christian values to a controversial mayor and a notorious prosecutor, who were recently involved in anti-gay policies . . . He praised them for their contribution to 'standing up for Christian values, defending Orthodox Christian morality and spirituality, the sanctity of marriage, family, and statehood.'" ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/09/07/bulgarian-bishop-hands-out-medals-for-defense-of-marriage/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/30/ban-on-crucifixes-in-italian-schools-is-appealed/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/30/ban-on-crucifixes-in-italian-schools-is-appealed/#comments Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:15:23 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=64730 Associated Press: "A European ruling banning crucifixes in Italian schools should be overturned, nine European governments said in an appeal Wednesday. ... The decisions of the court -- an arm of the Council of Europe, the continent's premier human rights watchdog -- are binding on the council's 47 member states and therefore have an impact far beyond Italy." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/30/ban-on-crucifixes-in-italian-schools-is-appealed/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/ten-member-states-join-italy-in-support-of-the-crucifix/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/ten-member-states-join-italy-in-support-of-the-crucifix/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 17:58:10 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/ten-member-states-join-italy-in-support-of-the-crucifix/ European Center for Law and Justice: "For the first time in the record of the ECHR, ten member States are simultaneously intervening as 'third party' in one single case. The case at stake is the Lautsi case - also known as the 'crucifix case' - which will go before the Grand Chamber of the ECHR on June 30th. The Court has communicated to the ECLJ the list of the following Member States: Armenia; Bulgaria; Cyprus; Greece; Lithuania; Malta; Monaco; San-Marino; Romania; The Russian Federation." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/ten-member-states-join-italy-in-support-of-the-crucifix/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/12/eu-commission-estonia-can-adopt-euro-in-2011/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/12/eu-commission-estonia-can-adopt-euro-in-2011/#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 19:47:41 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=60555 BBC: "The Baltic republic of Estonia, a country of 1.3 million people, is on course to adopt the euro in January 2011, the European Commission says . . . The Commission's assessment covered: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Every two years the Commission judges whether their economic conditions meet the strict Maastricht criteria." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/12/eu-commission-estonia-can-adopt-euro-in-2011/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/02/11/adf-allied-attorney-wins-crucial-victory-for-the-church-worldwide/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/02/11/adf-allied-attorney-wins-crucial-victory-for-the-church-worldwide/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:15:17 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=15299 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/02/11/adf-allied-attorney-wins-crucial-victory-for-the-church-worldwide/feed/ 4 http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/01/23/eclj-exceptional-religious-freedom-victory-european-court-rules-against-bulgaria/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/01/23/eclj-exceptional-religious-freedom-victory-european-court-rules-against-bulgaria/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:39:01 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=13441 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/01/23/eclj-exceptional-religious-freedom-victory-european-court-rules-against-bulgaria/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/07/31/bulgaria-prosecutors-office-asks-termination-of-five-religious-organizations/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/07/31/bulgaria-prosecutors-office-asks-termination-of-five-religious-organizations/#comments Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:05:44 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=6331 ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/07/31/bulgaria-prosecutors-office-asks-termination-of-five-religious-organizations/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/20/bulgaria-abortions-almost-equal-births-highest-teen-abortion-rate-in-europe/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/20/bulgaria-abortions-almost-equal-births-highest-teen-abortion-rate-in-europe/#comments Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:57:31 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/20/bulgaria-abortions-almost-equal-births-highest-teen-abortion-rate-in-europe/ ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/20/bulgaria-abortions-almost-equal-births-highest-teen-abortion-rate-in-europe/feed/ 1