Not The BBC News: 28 December 2013

Following the unexpected success of the cable TV series “The Bible”, Hollywood is planning several Bible-based films for 2014. These include Mary Mother of Christ, a “high action drama” about Mary and Joseph’s escape to Egypt from King Herod, with a 16 year old Israeli actress in the title role;  Russell Crowe as Noah, with Emma Watson as his adopted daughter and Anthony Hopkins as Methuselah; Exodus, produced by Ridley Scott and starring Christian Bale as Moses with Sigourney Weaver as Pharaoh’s wife; Gods and Kings, another Moses story produced by Ang Lee; Son of God, the story of Jesus; and Resurrection, in which a Roman solider is sent to investigate Christ’s death. There are also rumours of Will Smith producing a film about Cain and Abel, and Brad Pitt playing Pontius Pilate.  Despite some concerns about dramatic licence (apparently an early draft of the Noah script showed the Great Flood as being due to man’s disrespect for the environment rather than God’s judgment), it appears that Hollywood will be targeting Christian (and Jewish and Muslim) audiences in 2014.

A car bomb in Baghdad killed 14 worshippers leaving church on Christmas Day. The lives of Christians in Iraq have become so dangerous that even Price Charles has spoken publicly about it; he notes that the Middle East was where Christianity originated, but that there is now a risk that it might be effectively eliminated there. In Nigeria, too, Christmas Day church attendance was very low because of past holiday attacks by the Islamist group Boko Haran.

The cable network that shows “Duck Dynasty” in the USA has reversed its suspension of the family patriarch, Phil Robertson, for making statements perceived as strongly anti-homosexual. A statement said, “We reiterate that [his statements] are not views that we hold … but the show is about a family, not one man’s views, and as you have seen in episodes, they come together to reflect and to pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness.” Duck Dynasty is the second biggest show on US cable TV, and supporters of Robertson had threatened to boycott the entire network. Robertson has defended his comments as “quoting the Bible” and his views on sin as being based on his own pre-Christian experiences, but says he regrets the language that he used and that he would never incite hatred.

A cruise ship that became stuck in Antarctic ice on Christmas Eve, when strong winds blew ice around it which then froze, is still awaiting rescue. The first two ice-breaking ships to arrive found the ice too thick for them. A third ship is expected to arrive tomorrow. The ship, which was on a special research voyage, has plenty of supplies for the 74 passengers.

In technology news, a British soldier who lost his right arm in Afghanistan has become the first Briton to be fitted with a “bionic” arm that responds to his thoughts. His severed nerve endings were reattached to muscles in his chest, which in turn control the prosthetic arm. He is now able to cook, drive and use bank cards.

And finally, a café in Nice introduced a politeness-based pricing system. It advertises “un café” for €7; “un café s’il vous plait” for €4.25; and “Bonjour, un café s’il vous plait” for just €1.40. The proprietor said, “It started as a joke; the regulars started calling me ‘your greatness’. But now people in the café are far more relaxed, and smiling.”

Not The Not The BBC News: 24 December 2013

No, you’re not seeing double. This is indeed not “Not The BBC News”; I’m using this particular blog to write some news that I wish was true, but actually aren’t. There is an exception; one of the stories below is a story that I was told as a true story, but since I have no evidence of it, I have included it here rather than in a normal blog. Bonus points if you spot it.

A Commission on Consistency and Harmonisation in Laws in England and Wales has delivered its report on family law. The report includes a recommendation for a change in the abortion limit. “We listened to various submissions”, said the Commission, “from those who felt that life begins at conception through to those who believe that life begins at birth. However, we think that the most consistent approach is to define life as beginning when a foetus’ heart starts beating, since death is defined in law as when a person’s heart stops beating. We therefore recommend that abortion should be illegal once a baby’s heart starts beating, which occurs at about six weeks’ gestation.” A spokeswoman for a pro-abortion group reacted angrily: “We’ve been trying to dodge the question of when life actually begins for years!”

A student society called Pro-Evolution, Pro-Democracy and Human Rights for All, which recruited significant numbers of members in Freshers’ Week at many UK universities, has caused controversy by revealing that it is actually anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion. “Gay marriage is an evolutionary dead end,” said a spokesman for the group, “and as for democracy, the majority of countries that have passed gay marriage into law have done so without holding a public referendum, or by ignoring majority public views against gay marriage.” On human rights, he said “We believe in human rights for EVERYONE, and if rights conflict then a balance must be struck. The differences in human rights for gays between civil partnerships and gay marriage are largely cosmetic, whereas the effects of gay marriage on those who oppose it are far greater – people have lost their jobs, are frequently subjected to vitriolic attacks, and are forced to act against their consciences.” His reasons for the group’s anti-abortion stand were similar: abortion restricts evolution, and abortion almost always harms the baby’s human rights more than the mother’s. Student unions across the country are trying to decide if they can legally ban this group from operating in their university/college; many find it difficult because the group’s stated principles are so similar to their own policy statements.

Two Church of England bishops who had recommended that the Church should perform gay blessings because “the Bible is not clear in its opposition to homosexuality” have publicly changed their views after several congregations made a formal request that the bishops attend remedial reading classes. One said “I used to say that we should put aside arguing about homosexuality to concentrate on the church’s mission, by which I meant a combination of evangelism and social care. But having read the Gospels again, I see that Jesus’ primary mission was to bring about a change of heart in people, and that moral purity was a key sign of that change of heart. I rather wish Jesus had only criticised people about their financial behaviour, but he was clearly very concerned about sexual sin too.”

In sport, a Premier League football club which was apparently “cursed” by God has been relegated in unusual circumstances. The club won promotion to the Premier League, and promptly dumped one of its sponsors, a local Christian-run company, in the middle of a two-year contract. The local pastor visited the club’s board to plead with them but they laughed at him; on leaving, he told them that God had said they would win nothing this year. Despite an unusual degree of success in their two Cup competitions, the club won neither; and they were deducted 3 points during the season for failing to complete a fixture (they claimed it was due to a sickness bug hitting many of their players), before being relegated by two points.

And finally, an American company which runs an unusual therapeutic course called “Tough Love” is believed to be seeking to establish the course in the UK. The course is designed for teenage boys who have driven their parents to their wits’ end. The parents sign their teenager up for the fortnight-long course without the teen knowing; the parents then meet the course organiser at a pre-arranged location and sign further forms absolving the course organisers of certain liabilities, while the teen is (forcibly if necessary) transferred to the back of an old prison van. When the van arrives at the course, the teens are free to leave or to refuse participation in the army-style physical training activities; but the course is held many miles from the nearest road, and those who do not participate are fed only a survival diet. Mentors are available to challenge the teens on their attitudes and activities and also to listen to and discuss any concerns, and the whole course is video-recorded both for accountability and for the teen to see how much they have changed in retrospect. A version of the course for teenage girls is currently under development.

Not The BBC News: 23 December

A Catholic bishop who favoured denying Mass to pro-abortion politicians (as required by Catholic church canon law) has been removed from the U.S. Council of bishops by Pope Francis and replaced with a bishop with opposing views on this issue. The Pope’s own views on the subject are unclear; when in Argentina, he approved and even wrote part of a Church policy document that recommended denying Mass to such people, but in a recent exhortation, he wrote “The Eucharist … is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.”

Evidence has emerged that a mass killing of Christians has taken place in the ancient Syrian town of Sadad. The town was occupied for a week in late October by Syrian jihadi rebel forces before being re-taken by the government. During that time, the town’s 14 churches were ransacked and destroyed, and at least 45 Christians were killed; some were apparently tortured, and the bodies of one extended family of six were found at the bottom of a well, an indication that their killers believed them to be subhuman. Some of the killings were even recorded on video by the jihadis.

A Methodist pastor in Philadelphia who was ‘defrocked’ (i.e. sacked from the ministry) after officiating at his son’s gay wedding has been offered a job by the Methodist bishop of California. The bishop has no rights to restore his status as a minister, but said that his job would be mostly the same, although not tenured.

The annual Darwin Awards, for sheer stupidity, have been released. One of the awards was given to a handbag snatcher in New York who grabbed a bag from a lady leaving a convenience store. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, “Yes, officer, that’s her. That’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

In sport, training for the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February is proving hazardous for some. Women’s downhill skiing champion Lindsey Vonn failed to finish a competition after her knee gave way, while British snowboarder Jenny Jones is out until the New Year with concussion.

And finally, a pastor in Tennessee has a neighbour who always decorates his home in a spectacular array of Christmas lights. “If you have a neighbour like that,” said the pastor, “you can be jealous or you can be humorous.” The pastor’s house is now decorated with some strings of white lights attached to a sheet of plywood, spelling out the word “Ditto” with an arrow pointing at the neighbour’s house. The unlikely pairing has drawn many visitors to their small cul-de-sac.

Not The BBC News: 20 December 2013

An interview given by a Christian reality TV star in the USA has led to his suspension from the reality show, and has sharply divided opinion across the country. Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the family in the unexpectedly popular “Duck Dynasty” show, was asked his definition of sin; he replied, "Start with homosexual behaviour and just morph out from there — bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men." He then quoted the New Testament’s strongest condemnation of homosexuality (and other sins) from 1 Corinthians 6.9-11, along with the  preceding warning not to be deceived. He was suspended from the show indefinitely by the cable channel that makes it for linking homosexuality and bestiality, which prompted a major backlash from fans and from supporters of free speech, which is given far greater protection under American law than under British law.  His family said, “We have been praying about this a lot. His remarks were coarse but they were in line with the Bible. We cannot imagine continuing the show without him.”

A committee of the Scottish Parliament recently considered some amendments to the Scottish gay marriage Bill. A “reasonable accommodation” amendment to protect public sector employees from being victimised for supporting traditional marriage was voted down, as was a proposal to protect the charitable status of organisations that support marriage between a man and a woman. A third amendment, to protect the eligibility of adults who want to adopt or foster children but support traditional marriage, was deemed unnecessary under current adoption policy and was also voted down. A spokesman for Scotland for Marriage said, “The Scottish Parliament is in cloud cuckoo land if it doesn’t believe these changes are necessary.”

The pastor in Kazakhstan who was arrested on trumped up charges is now in the prison’s medical wing, and there are fears among his family that his health may deteriorate further. A campaign to ask people to contact Kazakh embassies to request his release has so far not produced a result.

A Church of England priest who alleges he suffered a four year campaign of harassment by parishioners after he tried to merge some churches has been given permission to sue the Church. He claims that, when he was priest of a rural parish in Worcestershire, he and his family suffered abuse that was bad enough for him to install CCTV cameras on his property. He was originally told by an employment tribunal that priests could not sue the Church, but that decision has been overturned on appeal.

In sport, with the Winter Olympics less than two months away, the BBC are to cover the Skeleton World Cup; this has nothing to do with Hammer Studios or the book of Ezekiel, it’s a solo bobsleigh competition. Also in sport, England are playing a five-Test cricket series against Australia for the Ashes trophy. England are currently in second place, and are confidently expected to stay there.

And finally, an ‘alternative Christian’ website has (re-)published a list of gifts to give your loved one on the “12 days of Kitschmas.” Suggestions include a “Jesus Shaves” mug (fill it with a  hot drink and the picture of Jesus loses its beard); an inflatable Santa Claus in an American military uniform; a collection of rubber ducks representing the characters from the Nativity (see picture below); and a box of John Calvin chocolates. No indulgence please. 

Not The BBC News: 17 December 2013

In Philadelphia, the final chapter in the legal process concerning America’s most notorious abortionist has concluded, with Dr Kermit Gosnell being sentenced to 30 years in jail for illegally dispensing prescription drugs. Gosnell charged $20 per prescription and once wrote 200 such prescriptions in a single night. His clinic was raided in 2010 after a tip-off regarding the prescriptions, but officials found a veritable “house of horrors”. [Warning: the rest of this paragraph may be disturbing]. Gosnell regularly performed late term abortions; employed unqualified staff and rarely supervised them; the clinic was contaminated with “noxious liquids”; he repeatedly re-used disposable clinical instruments (leading to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in the area); he had at least one mother die under his care; he routinely ‘botched’ late abortions so that the baby was born alive, but then killed it anyway; and he kept parts of aborted babies in various containers around the clinic. Gosnell is already serving three consecutive life sentences for first degree murder.

The upper house of Belgium’s Parliament has passed a bill that permits euthanasia for children. The law allows such euthanasia only in highly restricted circumstances, but critics point out that Belgium’s law permitting adult euthanasia only allowed euthanasia in cases of life-threatening physical impairment, yet euthanasia has since been carried out both for severe mental conditions (e.g. depression) and for non-life-threatening physical conditions (e.g. arthritis). Meanwhile, the UK Supreme Court is debating whether the prohibition on euthanasia under UK law is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.

The argument over the UK’s new Injunctions to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance (IPNAs), which are designed to be “low level ASBOs””, has reached higher levels. A former Director of Public Prosecutions warned that the legislation could lead to “gross state interference with basic freedoms”; for example, “a lone individual standing outside a bank with a  sign objecting to the bank’s role in the financial crisis” could be deemed “capable of causing nuisance and annoyance”, resulting in an IPNA. A Home Office minister rejected the criticisms as “nonsense”, saying that judges would grant the orders only when it was “just and convenient” to do so; but a lobbying group consisting of Christian and civil liberties groups responded that this legal criterion is “even more meaningless” than the IPNA criterion.

A protest march by Christians in Delhi, heading for an arranged meeting with the Prime Minister, was charged by police who beat participants including priests and nuns and also used water cannon. The protest was against a law that provides economic incentives to Dalit (low-caste) Hindus but explicitly denies them to Dalit Muslims and Christians. The Archbishop of Delhi was among those arrested and detained for a few hours.

Pope Francis has once again made a statement that seems radical, coming from the head of one of the world’s largest institutions. He spoke out in favour of prophets (those who listen to the words of God; who read the spirit of the times; and who know how to move forward), who keep the promise of God alive; see the suffering of the people; and bring us the strength to look ahead. But he then added that where there is no prophecy, the emptiness that is created gets filled by clericalism

In sport, Arsenal and Tottenham lost their weekend Premier League matches by a combined total of 11 goals to 3. Luis Suarez of Liverpool (Tottenham’s opponents) has now scored more league goals this season than the entire Tottenham team. Tottenham responded by sacking their manager; he becomes the third Premier League manager to be sacked in fifteen days.

And finally, for the man who has everything this Christmas, Harrods are selling a gold-plated Xbox One for a mere ₤6,000. Anyone purchasing a gold-plated Xbox on eBay is advised to read the small print very carefully.

Not The BBC News: 16 December 2013

The Australian High Court has quashed a state-level law that allowed gay marriages, on the grounds that gay marriage is an issue that should be decided at federal level. A pro-gay-marriage spokesman called it a “temporary defeat”, but a Christian spokesman said, “There have been nine attempts in the last three years to change the laws on marriage. There have been plenty of chances for the public and Parliament to have their say. It’s time to move on.”

A Bill has been put forward to the UK Parliament to outlaw “gay conversion” therapy. A doctor who represents many such people was interviewed about this Bill on BBC Radio Five; he said “This is ideological dictatorship and panders to [those] who loathe the idea that a homosexual can change. Our charity has case histories of men and women who have successfully changed … but this Bill would deny them the right to overcome unwanted feelings.” He stressed that there is a wealth of scientific literature showing that therapies can enable some, but not all, people to change unwanted feelings of same-sex attraction.

A report which recommended that abortion be made a human right, and which attacked conscientious objection by medical professionals, was voted on by the European Parliament on Tuesday. The report had previously been sent back to committee for revisions rather than being accepted, and it was rejected again, though only by 334 votes to 327. The sponsor of the report was far from gracious in defeat; to boos from some sections of the Parliament, she angrily declared that “hypocrisy has prevailed over the rights of women” and that “extremists have prevailed.” She apparently failed to see any irony in her description of the democratic majority as “extremists.”

India’s Supreme Court has upheld a law that criminalises all forms of “unnatural sex.” Although the law is widely held to include sodomy, the Court found that the statute did not “target any class [of people]”, nor did it “directly violate fundamental rights.” The Court did suggest that Parliament might want to review the law.

The Northern Ireland Justice minister has said that a consultation document will be produced recommending that abortion be allowed in the province for children who are disabled or who were conceived in rape. He made the announcement to the BBC rather than through the normal channels, thus managing to offend the entire Northern Irish Assembly as well as pro-life campaigners and disability rights campaigners.

In sport, England lost their semi-final to Australia in the World League of women’s hockey; the Australians then lost the final 5-1 to the Netherlands. However, England did manage something that few English teams have ever done – they won a penalty shoot-out to win the play-off for 3^rd place against hosts Argentina.

And finally, a US man who is studying to become a Lutheran pastor and plays in a church worship band has an unusual “day job”; he plays bass guitar in (and is a founder member of) the heavy metal band Megadeth.  David Ellefson said of his first time in a worship band, in 1996, “I realised everybody can play pretty good! They’ve got real day jobs, so they have great gear. And people aren’t throwing Budweisers at you and heckling you.” Since 1996, Ellefson has sobered up, and eventually bought the church’s building; it now hosts MEGA Life, a contemporary church service aimed at recovering addicts. (His newly released autobiography might make an unusual Christmas gift …)

Not The BBC News: 9 Dec 2013

In Taiwan, the first East Asian country to consider a Bill allowing gay marriage, a large march in favour of gay marriage in October was answered by an even larger march opposing the Bill in November. Opponents of gay marriage want a referendum to be held on the topic; the Bill’s supporters oppose a referendum, on the grounds that prohibiting gay marriage involves “restriction and denial of basic human rights for minorities.”

A Catholic school in Philadelphia has fired a teacher because he plans to enter a gay marriage. The headmaster said that teachers’ contracts require them to follow the teachings of the Catholic church as a condition of employment; the teacher in question acknowledged that he understood the contractual condition but refused to withdraw his application for a marriage license in his home state of New Jersey. The teacher commented that the school was well aware of his 12-year relationship with his gay partner.

The idea of providing a food bank for poor people has been taken one step further in a village near Barnsley where a “social supermarket” has opened. The shop, which is open only to people on benefits who live in the area, sells food rejected by other supermarkets (for reasons such as incorrect labelling) at discounts of up to 70% on prices elsewhere. A spokesperson said, “Manufacturers don’t want to throw this food away, but until now they’ve had no way of shifting really large quantities of rejected food.”

The case of the Italian woman who was given a forcible Caesarean section while sectioned continues to produce new information. The three most pertinent details are that the woman was sectioned because she neglected to take her medication for her bipolar condition, and yet the courts denied her her baby once she was back on the medication; that contrary to the implication of Essex social services’ statement, a relative of the woman was found who was willing and capable to care for the baby, but this was rejected because she was a step-aunt rather than a blood relative; and perhaps most shockingly, none of this would ever have become public knowledge if a newspaper reporter had not defied the law about secrecy in family courts in order to report it. It has also emerged that she was sectioned while visiting Essex from Italy for a two-week Ryanair training course.

In sport, six footballers have been arrested as part of the investigation into allegations of match-fixing (or ‘spot-fixing’ i.e. rigging a particular event in the match rather than the result of the match). One of the players is a former Premier League player, Blackburn striker DJ Campbell; one of his games being investigated occurred only last Tuesday, where he fouled an opponent and got a yellow card very early in the game.

And finally, a legal issue of church-state separation in Oklahoma regarding a religious monument has taken an unexpected twist – Satanists have applied to place a Satanist monument next to it. The tombstone-like Ten Commandments memorial was privately funded and donated to the State, whereupon Republican lawmakers agreed to set it up on State land outside the Capitol building. The Satanic Temple of New York now wants to donate their own monument and to see it similarly displayed. “It will be a homage to the historical/literary Satan and will be in good taste and consistent with community standards,” said a spokesman.

Not The BBC News: 7 Dec 2013

A disabled woman, who became a pro-life campaigner after hearing that a doctor wanted to euthanise a baby girl born with the same conditions as her, has died at the age of 58. Alison Davies suffered from hydrocephalus and spina bifida and was wheelchair-bound, but still managed to lead a group called No less Human, which campaigned to promote a positive view of disability.

Northern Ireland’s justice minister has said he is going to consult on changing the province’s abortion laws to allow women carrying babies with “fatal fetal abnormalities” to have a termination. This is already considered a valid reason for an abortion in England and Wales under the Abortion Act 1967, but this Act does not apply in Northern Ireland. A critic has pointed out that, even though Northern Irish women can obtain abortions in England or Wales (and 96% of those who had abortions in 2012 took this option), 90% of Irish women who have babies with abnormalities choose to keep the babies, while in England and Wales, 90% of such babies are aborted.  This implies that the change in the law might lead to a change in public attitudes to accept abortion for non-life-threatening abnormalities, as has happened in England and Wales, where babies have been aborted for having Down’s syndrome, a cleft lip, or a club foot.

One of Prime Minister’s special advisors, who played a key role in assisting the Prime Minister on gay marriage and other LBGT policies, has announced that he plans to enter into a gay marriage himself. Michael Salter’s official title is Head of Political Broadcasting, but he is also described as a Tory party strategist. His partner is the former deputy director for civil service reform.

Two Christians in New Mexico who run a photography business were fined $7,000 for declining to photograph a gay wedding because New Mexico has a law that “any person in a public accommodation to make a distinction, directly or indirectly, in offering or refusing to offer its services …to any person because of…sexual orientation.” They appealed all the way to New Mexico’s Supreme Court, but one judge at that court said, “everyone must make concessions in life over matters that violate their conscience … they may freely live out their faith privately, but when it comes to running a public business, they will have to ‘pay the price’ and check their Christian convictions at the door.” The photographers are now petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for permission to appeal the case to that court; their argument is that the law is equivalent to forcing an African-American photographer to photograph a Ku Klux Klan rally.

A 21 year old British computer hacker broke into the accounts of fantasy role-playing gamers playing Runescape. He appropriated and then sold  their virtual potions, weapons and cooking equipment on auction sites and forums. He made around £3,000 which he used to pay off his real life gambling debts. His actions cost the game’s makers 1,000 man hours in addressing complaints; however, he was charged with computer hacking rather than theft because virtual items cannot be stolen under English law. Magistrates gave him a 12 month community service order and told him to forfeit his two computers.

In sport, England will play Australia in the semi-final of the World League of women’s hockey. Also in sport, the draw for the 2014 football World Cup Finals in Brazil was made, surrounded by so many dignitaries, security guards and paraphernalia that organising the draw cost more than the entire World Cup in Italy in 1934 cost. England were handed a tough draw against Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica, with the game against Italy being played in the hottest and most humid of all the World Cup venues. France, who barely made it to the draw at all and who (some argued) had already benefited from a decision not to assign them to an unfavourable spot in the draw on the basis of their low world ranking, ended up with the easiest group – Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras.

And finally, a town in Texas has taken an unusual approach to Christmas decorations – they have set a world record for building the world’s largest gingerbread house. The house is 60x42 feet and required close to 6 tonnes of ingredients; it apparently includes 36 million calories. The house has been opened to the public with admission fees being donated to buy new equipment for the local hospital.

Not The BBC News: 6 December 2013

A law change which was lobbied for by groups as diverse as comedian Rowan Atkinson, The Christian Institute, the National Secular Society and the Peter Tatchell Foundation will be enacted in February. Section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986 currently makes it a criminal offence to “use threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour … within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby.” The Government has agreed to remove the word ‘insulting’ from the law. Under Section 5 one protestor was arrested for calling Scientology a ‘cult’, someone else was arrested for saying ‘woof’ to a dog, and another for calling a police horse ‘gay’; several Christians have been arrested for peaceful and [otherwise] lawful street preaching; and one Christian couple were put on trial for criticising Islam.

The Court of Appeal in England has held that observing Sunday as a Christian day of rest can be considered a “core principle” of the Christian faith. They were hearing an appeal against the findings of an employment tribunal and an employment appeals tribunal by a children’s worker after she resigned when her council bosses ordered her to work on Sundays, knowing that she would refuse, and then disciplined her. The tribunals had argued that, since not all Christians observe Sunday as a special day, it could not be considered a core component of the Christian faith; but the Court of Appeal said that the faith of individual believers should be protected, and balanced against business need by employment tribunals. Andrea Minichello Williams of the Christian Legal Centre, said “At last the courts are beginning to demonstrate a greater understanding … that Christian identity stretches beyond private belief and into daily life.”

A woman in Michigan who suffered a miscarriage after her waters broke 18 weeks into her pregnancy is taking legal action against the Catholic hospital she visited three times for not telling her that abortion was “the safest option” for her. Unusually, the lawsuit (which is being handled by the American Civil Liberties Union on the woman’s behalf) is not directed at the hospital, but at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops who set anti-abortion guidelines for their hospitals.

In Croatia, 700,000 people signed a petition sponsored by the Catholic church asking the Government to hold a referendum on same-sex marriage, after the Government produced a Bill that will allow same-sex couples to register for civil partnerships. The number of signatures required the Government to hold a referendum on the issue; the results have just been announced, with two-thirds of respondents agreeing that marriage is “matrimony between a man and a woman.” This definition of marriage will now be written into the country’s constitution. However, human rights groups have said they will appeal on the grounds that the definition goes against “basic human rights.”

In sport, the World League finals of women’s hockey are being played in Argentina. After finishing second in their qualifying group, England beat China 1-0 to reach the semi-finals.

And finally, this year’s Bad Sex Award, for the worst description of sexual activity by a novelist, has gone to Manil Suri, a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland. His description of a (somewhat convoluted) sexual climax included the following: “We streak like superheroes past suns and solar systems, we dive through shoals of quarks and atomic nuclei. In celebration of our breakthrough fourth star, statisticians the world over rejoice.”

Not The BBC News: 4 December 2013

The city of Detroit, the largest municipality ever to file for bankruptcy in American history, has been officially declared bankrupt. A judge ruled that the city had met most of the strict criteria for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, and that at least one of the remaining criteria – negotiating with creditors, including the city’s 21,000 pensioners  – was impossible to fulfil. The judge also ruled that pensioners cannot be treated differently to other unsecured creditors, despite Michigan’s constitutional guarantee of pensions. The city, which has three times as many pensioners as employees,  has been investigating increasingly radical methods to save money, including having its museum’s art collection valued for sale, and turning off (or not repairing) 60% of street lights.

In my last blog, I reported a case where a mother had a court-ordered Caesarean section and then had her baby taken into care by social workers. While these facts are accurate, it turns out that a lot of the accompanying information was wrong. Here's the story again:

A woman has had her baby delivered by Caesarean section, and removed from her care, under court orders. The woman, an Italian who was living in Essex, had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act while pregnant. Five weeks later, the Health Trust decided it was in her best interests for the baby to be born by C-section, and Essex Social Services then obtained an interim care order to allow them to care for the child. In a statement, Essex Social Services said that they applied for the order because they judged that the woman was too unwell to care for the child; that the woman was allowed to see the child on the day of birth and the day after; that the woman has already had two children removed from her care by Italian authorities; and that they “liaised extensively with the extended family before and after the birth of the baby, to establish if anyone could care for the child.” Nine months later, the mother applied to the Italian courts for her child to be returned to her, but this application was turned down, and only then was the child offered for adoption.

An American Christian man who was formerly the chief operating officer of a large marketing agency founded a non-profit organisation in 2009 that provides marketing for crisis pregnancy centres.  “The vast majority of pregnancy centres are underfunded,” he says; “most of their clients come from referrals so they’re not reaching a large proportion of the abortion-minded.” Online for Life uses Google search optimisation techniques and physical adverts to increase awareness of crisis pregnancy centres; will only work with pregnancy centres that meet certain criteria for good practice; and insists that everything it does is measurable. “We have saved 1,341 babies from abortion,” he says, “and in our local area [Dallas, Texas], 18% of all abortion-minded women will now contact a pregnancy centre, up from 3% four years ago.” Online for Life also offers an app that alerts users to pray every time a woman contacts a pregnancy centre.

There are growing fears for the health of the pastor from Kazakhstan who was arrested on the pretext of putting hallucinogenic substances in the Communion wine. He has now been in custody for over 200 days. A campaign has been started to get people to contact the Kazakh embassy to request his release.

A senior High Court judge in England is to retire early, partly because of the lack of support from some of his colleagues for his pro-marriage beliefs. Sir Paul Coleridge says there are ‘hundreds’ in the judiciary who agree with him in private, but are too frightened to say so publicly. The judge set up the Marriage Foundation in 2012 to combat the culture of broken families, but was attacked for his involvement, with critics saying a sitting judge should not be so overtly ‘political’.

In sport, Britain’s top Olympic diver, Tom Daley, has revealed that he is in a relationship with another man. Some newspapers could not resist describing this as a “watershed” moment.

And finally, a high-speed police chase in Arizona ended in an unusual way when the suspected drug dealer being chased stopped his car and ran off. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a dairy farm, where he was tripped by a dairy worker, landed face first in a pile of manure, and was then stepped on by a startled cow. Police found 160lbs of marijuana in the car.

Not The BBC News: 3 December 2013

In Argentina, the annual National Women’s Encounter day  in Buenos Aires turned into an obscene and violent pro-abortion protest. In response to threats of vandalism to the cathedral, a group of Catholic men had surrounded the cathedral to protect it. Topless female protesters approached the men and spray-painted the men’s crotches and faces, sprayed swastikas on their chests and foreheads, and used markers to paint their faces with Hitler-like moustaches. They also performed obscene sexual acts in front of them and shoved their breasts into the men's faces. None of the men retaliated. The women then sprayed pro-abortion graffiti over many other buildings in the city, and burned an effigy of Pope Francis. The police reportedly told the media that they could not intervene because “they are women.”

Belgium is now a step closer to introducing child euthanasia after a government committee voted in favour of a Bill that would extend euthanasia to children of any age suffering terminal illnesses and adults with dementia. The proposed legislation would allow terminally-ill children to ask to be killed if they are deemed capable of making their own decision, and if their pain is “unbearable and cannot be alleviated”.

A woman had her baby taken from her and put up for adoption by social workers – before it had even been born. Essex social services obtained a High Court order against the woman that allowed her to be forcibly sedated and her child to be taken from her womb by Caesarean section. The council said it was acting in the best interests of the woman, an Italian who was in Britain on a work trip, because she had suffered a mental breakdown. However, they overrode doctors’ advice that the child should be allowed to stay with the woman in hospital for a few days while the situation was sorted out. The woman is now trying to halt the adoption.

The Methodist Church in the UK is undertaking a consultation of its members about whether the church should become the first Christian denomination in Britain to offer church “weddings” to same-sex couples. The Methodist Church currently defines marriage as a “gift of God” that is “a lifelong union in body, mind and spirit of one man and one woman”; however, the Methodist Conference has stated that this definition is now "at odds" with the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, which comes into force next year in England and Wales.

In sport, Australia comfortably won the Rugby League World Cup final, 34-2 against New Zealand. Australia only conceded four tries in the whole tournament – all in their opening qualifying match against England.

Also in sport, a dispute over a proposed name change for Hull City FC, proposed  by the new owner, has escalated unexpectedly. The Hull fans had taken to singing “City till we die” to oppose the change; the owner publicly responded that they could “die as soon as they liked.” There was a strong negative reaction to these comments in the media; meanwhile, the Hull fans took to singing “We’re Hull City and we’ll die when we want.” The team also reacted to the comments by beating (second in the league table) Liverpool for the first time ever.

And finally, London Mayor Boris Johnson gave a speech where he argued that “economic equality is impossible” because some people have IQs that are too low to allow them to get ahead (which were a prelude to a call to re-institute grammar schools to help bright children from poor backgrounds) . These comments have been disparaged by other senior members of the Government. Nick Clegg said that “that if you take the view that because people have a [low IQ] number attached to them, they’re not going to rise to the top … this is complete anathema  to everything I’ve always stood for in politics.” There is apparently no truth in the rumour that, in the first draft of Nick Clegg’s speech, the next sentence was “Look at me for example … I made it to Deputy Prime Minister!”

Not The BBC News: 29 November 2013

The UK Government’s new Injunctions to Prevent Nuisance and Annoyance (IPNAs), which were intended to complement ASBOs but to be easier to grant, have been criticised by religious and civil liberty campaigners from across the political spectrum. The injunctions can be granted if someone “has engaged or threatens to engage in conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance.” Christian groups have pointed out that IPNAs could in theory be used to remove street preachers or carol singers.

There have been various reactions to the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the appeal by Christian bed and breakfast owners against being fined for their “married couples only” policy. Some praised the couple for their dignified stance: “I expected to find thinly disguised homophobia, but instead found a couple bewildered to be on the wrong side of the law for merely practising what they believe,” wrote one journalist. The Independent took a harder line, claiming that the couple could not be considered to be ‘martyrs’ because practising what the Bible says regarding homosexuality is ‘mediaeval’. And a barrister identified a key judicial problem with this decision: “The problem here is, as John Stuart Mill put it in On Liberty (1859): ‘The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.’ But the only harm [identified in this case] was that when the Bulls’ house rules were explained to Preddy and Hall, they found it ‘upsetting’ and ‘very hurtful’. Even in the touchy-feely twenty-first century, where self-esteem is seen as so important and so fragile, this is pretty lame.”  

A Labour MSP who voted against the Same-Sex Marriage (Scotland) Bill in the Scottish Parliament has said that “Since indicating that I did not intend to support the redefinition of marriage, my religion’s been disparaged, I’ve been branded homophobic and bigoted, I’ve been likened to the Ku Klux Klan and it was suggested that I be burnt at the stake as a witch.”

A survey within the European Union discovered that 96% of people believe it is vital to protect intellectual property rights, but 42% also believe it is acceptable to download music and films illegally for personal use; 9% admitted having done so in the past year. There were marked differences in illegal downloading according to age, gender and education; the most prolific downloaders are young (15-24 year olds approximately 13x more likely than over-55s); well-educated (those with higher education are 4.5x more likely); and male (2x more likely).

In football, the allegations about match-fixing in England have focussed on three non-league teams from Essex. One of them, Billericay Town, played a league game that was attended by just 408 spectators, but over $1 million was staked on the game on Asian betting exchanges – more than was gambled on Barcelona, who were playing on the same evening.

And finally, a new book by a neuro-scientist reveals how he unexpectedly discovered that someone he knew very well was a psychopath. He was reviewing brain scans of murderers, schizophrenics and depressives to see if their scans showed low activity in areas linked to empathy, morality and self-control. One day, he turned from these scans to another set of scans taken from his own family for a study on Alzheimer’s, and he noticed one scan that was “obviously pathological.” It was from his own brain. He could find no fault with the scanner, but he did find (at his wife’s suggestion) seven distant relatives who were alleged murderers. He admits to being “obnoxiously competitive”, but has now changed his views on how people’s genetics determine their path in life.

Not The BBC News: 28 November 2013

A panel of Church of England bishops, chaired by a former civil servant, has recommended that the Church should perform blessings of gay marriages. The panel also repeatedly called on the Church to ‘repent’ of the way that homosexuals had been treated in the past, and even suggested that the Bible is inconclusive on the subject of homosexuality (though one bishop dissented from this statement) by warning against “attempting to pronounce definitively on the implications of Scripture for homosexual practice”. While the report’s accompanying statements are unlikely to promote unity on the report’s conclusions, several Church of England clerics who were formerly strongly opposed to gay marriage or same-sex relationships have moderated their public statements recently; for example, the Archbishop of York has observed that “the Church of England offers special prayers and services to bless sheep and even trees but not committed same-sex couples.”

Survivors of a three-week battle between Muslim rebels and Government forces in the southern Philippines in September have been describing their experiences. The rebels carefully selected Christians as hostages, freeing any Muslims they captured, and used some of the hostages as human shields. In the three-week battle, grenades and mortars were used; thousands of homes were destroyed; and 200 people died, including 166 rebels. One former hostage appeared resigned rather than angry in an interview with Al Jazeera: “What good will hate bring me? So best to just accept it. I was born here; we are used to armed conflict.”

In the US state of Indiana, where abortion clinics are required to report any abortions carried out on children of 13 and under so that the authorities can investigate possible charges of statutory rape, an undercover investigation found that between 58% and 75% of such abortions were not reported. A 13 year old girl who approached one clinic found that the clinic actively helped her hide her proposed abortion from the authorities; she was advised not to take the abortion pill at home because “she might miscarry and it would be harder to conceal”, and she was told which neighbouring U.S. states were allowed to carry out an abortion without requiring reporting or parental consent.

The United States has announced plans to re-locate its embassy in Vatican City to the grounds of the U.S. Embassy to Italy. The reasons given are security concerns and cost savings; however, critics see it as a significant downgrading of the relationship between President Obama’s government and the Catholic church.

More details have emerged about the Chinese authorities’ arrest of the pastor of a legally registered church. The local government has been harassing church members by requiring government institutions and schools to open on Sunday, forcing some church members to work instead of attending church;  by telling students to tell their parents not to attend church or to petition higher authorities regarding the arrests;  and by searching the church’s second largest site and ordering all employees to vacate the premises. The pastor’s daughter, who has fled the county and is in hiding, says she has received telephone calls threatening death to her entire family if she keeps talking to international media about the situation. However, church members who remain in the county have hired a leading human rights lawyer.

In sport, six men have been arrested as part of an enquiry into the ‘fixing’ of football matches in England by betting syndicates. The investigation included an alleged fixer correctly predicting to an undercover reporter  the score of three matches involving the same team. The team name has not yet been revealed because of ongoing enquiries, but some UK bookmakers stopped taking bets on certain teams in the Conference division earlier this year. The fixer added that it is more expensive to fix matches in England than in other countries.

And finally, an 18 year old Pittsburgh man stole more than $8,000 worth of cash, cigarettes, sweets and cheques from a shop – and then posted a picture on Facebook of himself and his three teenage accomplices with their haul. He is in jail awaiting trial, and his accomplices have been charged in juvenile court.

Not The BBC News: 27 November 2013

The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has today dismissed an appeal by the Christian owners of a bed and breakfast in Cornwall against their conviction and fine for refusing a bed to a gay couple (in a civil partnership) because they had a “married couples only” policy. The Court’s key reasons were that it is in the public interest to encourage long-term stable relationships; the Equalites and Sexual Orientation Act makes it illegal to discriminate between homosexual and heterosexual relationships; the Equalities Act has a “carefully tailored” exception for religious organisations, which does not apply to a bed and breakfast establishment; and while the Equalities Act does interfere with the human right to freedom of conscience, this is seen as a “proportional means of achieving a legitimate aim: the protection of the rights and freedoms of [homosexual couples].” A Christian spokesman said, "“Parliament needs to reform these one-sided laws to allow a more reasonable approach which balances competing rights. Otherwise, Christianity will become the belief that dare not speak its name.”

A head teacher at a school in south Staffordshire sent a letter to parents last week explaining that a field trip to a workshop on Islam was mandatory. She added, “Refusal to allow your child to attend this trip will result in a Racial Discrimination note being attached to your child’s education record, which will remain on this file throughout their school career.” The local MP described the letter as “unfair, heavy-handed and slightly bonkers”; the Council said it has “strongly advised” the head teacher to reassure parents about their right to withdraw children from religious activities; and the head has now apologised for “inaccuracies” in the letter, and told parents to “disregard” a section of it.

A US pro-choice advocacy group has just completed a “week of action” aimed at shutting down pro-life crisis pregnancy centres. They asked supporters to contradict pro-life claims about the health risks of abortion procedures (to the mother) on Twitter or Tumblr, and to post fake negative reviews of pro-life centres on Yelp – despite the fact that “astroturfing” (posting fake reviews  purely to cause someone a gain or a loss) is illegal in some US states, and New York recently fined 19 offenders a total of $350,000 for such actions. (It’s also illegal in the UK under the Fraud Act 2006).

The American Humanist Association sent a letter to a school threatening legal action, saying the collection by school children of Christmas gifts for disadvantaged children was a breach of the separation of church and state. The gift collection was organized by a  Christian charity which subsequently added a gospel message to each gift before distributing them. The school consequently banned the collection, but students and parents vowed to carry on with the gift appeal outside the school gates.

China has decided to relax its one-child policy; the former rules only permitted couples to have two children if both parents were an only child, while the new rules only require one parent is an only child. This policy has been responsible for the largest number of state-enforced abortions by any country. One reason for the policy being relaxed is that many abortions have been sex-selective, resulting in China having roughly 13 men for every 10 women.

In sport, Australia thrashed Fiji 64-0 in the Rugby League World Cup semi-final. New Zealand narrowly beat England in the other semi-final, scoring the winning try in the penultimate minute. New Zealand’s rugby union team left it even later to beat Ireland in a tour match, scoring their decisive try in injury time. The All Blacks have thus set a new record as the first ever national team to win all their Test matches in a calendar year.

Also in sport, Sebastian Vettel won the Brazil Grand Prix for a record-equalling ninth consecutive Grand Prix victory.

And finally, the Russian Winter Olympics committee has come up with a  novel idea to advertise the importance of sport for everyone. They have installed a ticket machine at a Moscow underground station which grants users a free ticket if they complete 30 squats inside 2 minutes. A video can be seen here.

Not The BBC News: 21 November 2013

The BBC has been accused of withholding information about (and failing to verify) a murder confession, in order to screen a television programme that was supportive of assisted suicide at the time of maximum impact. Ray Gosling confessed to BBC work colleagues in autumn 2009 that he had smothered his gay lover with a pillow because the lover was suffering from AIDS and was in “terrible, terrible pain.” Instead of reporting this to police, the BBC included the confession in a (pre-recorded) episode of the programme ‘Inside Out’. It was broadcast in February 2010, just one week before the Director of Public Prosecutions published his policy for prosecuting cases of euthanasia. Furthermore, it later transpired that Gosling’s confession was entirely false (Gosling was out of the country when the man died), and Gosling was recently given a 90-day suspended prison sentence for wasting police time.

The Marriage and Civil Partnerships Bill (Scotland) has passed the first of three votes in the Scottish Parliament, despite concerns that it provides insufficient protections for freedom of speech for those who oppose the Bill, and despite the results of the Scottish Government’s public consultation on the issue (which produced a record response, 2/3 of whom were opposed to gay marriage). MSPs were given a free vote on the issue, and supported the Bill by 98-15.

The Supreme Court of India is to give an opinion on whether yoga is a religious activity. Yoga has roots in Hindu worship, but modern yoga is split into different varieties; some place no emphasis at all on spiritual aspects. Last month, a petition was presented to the court to make yoga compulsory in schools for health reasons. However, Indian  state schools are officially secular. The court said it was uncomfortable with the idea, and will gather the views of minority groups in the coming weeks.

A pastor from the state-sanctioned Three Self Church in Nanle, Henan, China has been arrested without warrant after attending talks with local officials, along with about 20 workers from the church. Others who protested at the arrest outside a police station were reportedly beaten. It has been suggested by some that the pastor upset the local government because  he had been elected to be a leader in the Three Self movement, and because of his much-respected community activities; others see it as a message from central government that complete religious freedom is not permitted in China. The pastor’s current location is unknown.

A British man who belonged to the “Jews for Jesus” charity recently visited Israel on a tourist visa, where he was arrested by immigration officials while holding a large banner saying “Yeshua”.  He was questioned for four hours in the immigration centre and then jailed. Tourist visas prohibit the holder from working in Israel but carry no other restrictions on activities.

In sport, Sebastian Vettel won his eighth consecutive Formula 1 race at the weekend, setting a new record for consecutive wins in a single season. The record for consecutive wins across multiple seasons is nine, and Vettel has one race left this season, in Brazil in early December.

And finally, the World Cup victory by France over Ukraine was so unexpected in France that several public figures who had placed unusual bets against France winning had to perform their forfeits this week.  A news presenter presented his report in English, while “dressed as an Englishman” (brown and yellow checked jacket over a blue cardigan with a floral tie); a producer of pornographic films made all his films free to download for the entire night (his website crashed);  a national radio host jumped into a bath in the studio with another presenter; and one MP went to the National Assembly in flip-flops, another in a French football jersey. But the greatest interest surrounded a female weather reporter who had promised to present the weather “à poil” (i.e. naked) if the French team qualified. At first, she appeared to be trying to escape the bet by presenting the weather report “à Poil” (i.e. in the village of Poil); but she was pictured at the end of the report racing across the local fields wearing nothing but her boots.

Not The BBC News: 19 November 2013

Google has promised a worldwide block on search results linked to child abuse, despite previously arguing that it was not possible to do so. They have developed algorithms to block pathways to illegal content; to block auto-complete features which prompt terms relating to child abuse; and to identify new code words used by paedophiles. Microsoft and other search engine providers are expected to announce similar measures soon. There is some scepticism about the effectiveness of these measures as much of the illegal material is hosted on the “dark Web” which Google does not index, but it is being seen as a positive step.

The retiring Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, once considered an evangelical front runner for the post of Archbishop of Canterbury, has used his valedictory address to call for Anglicans to accept same sex relationships. His argument is that “on a number of major moral issues the church allows a large space for a variety of nuances, interpretations, applications and disagreements” and believes that issues of sexual ethics should be considered as acceptable disagreements so that “nothing should distract us from our mission.”  However, a Christian commentator has compared such views to “situation ethics” which teach that moral principles can be cast aside if an alternative course of action would result in more love; in contrast, Jesus’ love was often accompanied by a call to moral change (“Go and leave your life of sin”; “Give all you have to the poor”) and always upheld, or exceeded, the laws of the Old Testament (“You should have practised the latter without neglecting the former”; “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has committed adultery”). The commentator also notes that the founder of situation ethics started teaching these beliefs as a priest at a divinity school, but ended his life as an atheist, a humanist, and a supporter of eugenics.

A Dutch charity created a computer-generated image of a ten year old Filipino girl called Sweetie and gave ‘her’ an Internet chat page as bait for paedophiles. Around 1000 men contacted Sweetie and tried to persuade her to undress or to perform sex acts on webcam. The conversations were recorded as evidence, and the charity then spent months identifying suspects by cross-referencing suspects’ e-mail or Skype addresses with social media profiles and other public information. They have passed to Interpol details of men from 71 countries, including 254 from the USA, 110 from the UK, 103 from India, and around 50 from each of Australia, Canada and Germany.

Thousands of Spaniards took to the streets on Monday in 46 cities throughout the country to ask the government to repeal the current abortion laws, which were approved in 2010 by the previous  government. The current premier announced he would reform those laws in January 2012, but still hasn’t done so. The rallies went peacefully except for five topless Femen activists, some with slogans painted on their bodies, who briefly interrupted the march in Madrid. The protesters were spray-painted red by pro-life demonstrators, and later arrested without further incident.

At the time of the last general election, Premier Christian Radio was due to air a 30 second advert which requested information on whether Christians had been sidelined at work, in order to “help make a fairer society”. But the Radio Advertising Clearance Centre stopped it from being broadcast, claiming that it was “directed to a political end”. The case went to the Court of Appeal, which this week decided by a majority verdict that “helping to make a fairer society” was indeed a political goal, and upheld the decision. A spokesman for Premier Radio said, “The public interest cannot be best served by preventing people from gaining information and we believe that such a ban represents an attack on freedom of speech for everyone.”

In sport, several countries qualified for football’s World Cup via play-offs. The biggest surprise was France coming back from a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Ukraine to win 3-2, albeit with one goal that should have been disallowed for offside. Portugal, Croatia, Greece, Ghana and Algeria also qualified, at the expense of Sweden, Iceland, Romania, Egypt and Burkina Faso.

And finally, the Earth is to get a celestial light show in the next month that hasn’t been seen for 225 years. Comet ISON is to pass a mere 1 million kilometres from the Sun on November 28; if it isn’t destroyed by the Sun’s heat it should be visible to the naked eye thereafter, perhaps even during the day. It’s already visible as a tiny speck with a long wispy tail; look to the south-west just after sunset.

Not The BBC News: 17 November 2013

Not The BBC News: 17 November

The head of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, a charity which carries out more than a quarter of all the abortions in England and Wales, has claimed that the law does not prevent women from choosing an abortion on the grounds of the gender of their baby. Her argument is that “while it is true that the sex of the foetus is not a legal ground for abortion, nor is rape, or incest, or being 13 years old. Nor is being homeless, or abandoned, or just feeling there's no way you can bring a child into the world... yet they are all reasons why a doctor may believe a women has met the legal grounds of abortion [because] the pregnancy would damage the mental health of the mother."

Meanwhile, a pregnant 17-year old in Louisiana has been charged with second degree foeticide after her cocaine use led to the death of her unborn child, say police. She is being charged because the foetus had passed the legal limit for abortion in Louisiana. She said she snorted cocaine after her boyfriend broke up with her, several days prior to the baby’s death. An autopsy showed the baby was developing normally but had traces of cocaine.

The Catholic bishop of Springfield, Illinois will lead prayers of supplication and exorcism “in reparation for the sin of same-sex marriage” at his cathedral on November 20 as Governor Pat Quinn signs a state law redefining marriage. The bishop says he was inspired by Pope Francis, who had condemned same-sex marriage as a “machination of the Father of Lies” in 2010 when Argentina was preparing to redefine marriage.

At a recent meeting of the United Nations, an interpreter who was unaware that her microphone was switched on said to a colleague, “I think when you have… like a total of ten resolutions on Israel and Palestine, there’s gotta be something, c’est un peu trop, non? [It’s a bit much, no?] I mean I know… There’s other really bad shit happening, but no one says anything about the other stuff.” Her words were broadcast to every UN delegate, and to a live webcast audience worldwide.

Britain faces a growing shortage of schools. The Catholic church had previously said it was willing to provide new school places to help meet demand, but has now said it will not open any new ‘academy’ schools until the Government’s cap on children from a particular faith background (50% if the school is oversubscribed) is removed. Catholic officials describe the cap as “perverse”, effectively forcing schools to turn children from Catholic families away to meet a quota of non-Catholics.

In sport, Sachin Tendulkar’s final Test cricket innings produced a score of 74 before he was caught in the slips. A commentator described his final shot as a “one day cricket shot “ – i.e. the kind of shot that is effective in one day cricket, when the field is usually set differently. India won the test against the West Indies by an innings and 126 runs, thus denying Tendulkar the opportunity to bat again.

Also in sport, England beat France 34-6 in the quarter finals of the Rugby League World Cup to set up a semi-final against  New Zealand, who comfortably beat Scotland 40-4. The other semi-final will see Australia, who beat the USA 62-0, face either Samoa or Fiji.

And finally, there is a new phone app that can act as a remote control for a home full of smart devices. The app is compatible with items like Yale electronic locks, Philips Hue bulbs, the Nest thermostat, and the Sonos Playbar sound system, as well as motion sensors and plug sockets. It can program actions when a particular event occurs, such as you arriving home; the system simply recognizes your GPS location and sends separate commands to each device. However, the $299 app currently only works on iPhones; has a limited range of operations for each device; and makes no mention of what to do if the app somehow crashes (or gets hacked), locks you out of your house, and turns on cheesy music at full blast.

Not The BBC News: 14 November 2013

Israel's gay community has filed a criminal complaint of incitement against an ultra-Orthodox mayor after he said there were no homosexuals in his town and that homosexuality should be dealt with by the health ministry or the police. They claim that comparing gays to lawbreakers or public health dangers constitutes incitement under the Israeli criminal code.

Activists from the group Occupy Wall Street have set up a group called Rolling Jubilee whose goal is to set people free from debt. They do this by buying up bad debts from debt recovery companies at a fraction of the debt’s original value, and then cancelling the debt. They expected to spend $50,000 to buy $1 million worth of debt; in fact they have been able to buy debt at half that price, and so far they have spent $400,000 to buy and cancel nearly $15 million worth of (mostly US medical) debts.

In East-Central Nigeria, what originally appeared to be a weekend raid by Fulani Islamists against a Christian village has seemingly developed into a sustained offensive by over 5000 armed men – too many of the Nigerian security forces to repel. Almost 40 people have been reported killed, and thousands displaced.

A UK Government minister has claimed that Christians faced “extinction” in their ancient homelands. Baroness Warsi said, “Terrorists are subjecting Christians in the Middle East to “collective punishment” for American foreign policy. Worshippers are now regarded as newcomers and agents of the West, despite having lived there for centuries. Christian populations are plummeting. In Iraq, the Christian community has fallen from 1.2m in 1990 to 200,000 today. In Syria, the horrific bloodshed has masked the haemorrhaging of its Christian population." The Baroness, a Muslim, called on other Muslims to defend Christians, as recently happened in Tahrir Square in Egypt. ”A bomb going off in a Pakistani church shouldn’t just reverberate through Christian communities; it should stir the world,” she said.

In technology news, two mobile phone networks which can be carried in just four suitcases each have been sent to the Philippines by Vodafone to help those affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The portable network, which is powered by generators, consists of an antenna, a foldable mast, an industrial computer and a base transceiver station. Vodafone say that more than 1,000 text messages are being sent a minute and that thousands are travelling to the two sites to make telephone calls.

In sport, Scotland scraped through qualifying group in the Rugby League World Cup and now face New Zealand in the first knock-out round. England will tackle France at the same stage. Co-hosts Wales, however, concluded a disastrous performance with a third qualifying defeat, against the Cook Islands who had not won any of their five previous RLWC games.

Also in sport, Sachin Tendulkar is currently playing his 200^th and final cricket test for India.

And finally, a chase involving members of the public dressed as Batman and Robin, a Smurf, David Hasselhoff, Robin’s dad and some police officers has led to an arrest in a Tesco supermarket in Musselburgh, East Lothian. Police made the arrest last Friday after 'Robin' was assaulted outside the supermarket. A tweet subsequently appeared on an official police Twitter feed stating: "Thank you to Batman, Robin, Robin's Dad, a Smurf, and the Hoff for helping us on Friday night. #Tesco, sorry about the toilet roll aisle."

Not The BBC News: 8 November 2013

Three American states elected new governors this week. The key race was considered to be the one in Virginia, where Republican Ken Cuccinelli faced Democrat Terry McAuliffe. Virginian voters are considered to be equally divided between Republican and Democrat, so the result was seen as a predictor of the next presidential election. The key issues were the Obamacare health legislation (Cuccinelli opposed it; McAuliffe avoided the subject but is on record as saying it doesn’t go far enough) and abortion (McAuliffe, who supports late-term abortion, painted pro-life Cuccinelli as an extremist).  McAuliffe raised and spent $15 million more that Cuccinelli on TV adverts and other campaigning materials (including at least $1 million from commercial abortion providers  Planned Parenthood) and won the election, but by a margin of only 1%.

In the US Senate, a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks (with exceptions for rape, incest, or saving the mother’s life) has been introduced, nearly 5 months after it passed in the House of Representatives. The 20-week limit is based on scientific evidence that unborn children can feel pain after this point. The bill’s sponsor admitted that the bill will probably not pass the Democrat-controlled Senate (or President Obama’s threatened veto) in this legislative session, but points to other pro-life bills that progressed slowly through the legislature before eventually becoming law.

Meanwhile, the new Democratic mayor of New York has promised to expand abortion facilities in the city, in partnership with Planned Parenthood. He also wants to close down pro-life crisis pregnancy centres (which offer pregnant women financial and logistical help to keep their babies); his stated reason is that because they do not offer abortions, they are not offering legitimate health care.  New York State already has the highest abortion rate in the US (41% of all pregnancies are terminated); New York City accounts for 7% of all abortions in the USA.

David Cameron has announced plans to issue a Sharia law financial bond in the UK, which would make it the first non-Muslim country to offer one. One aspect of Sharia law is that the bond would charge no interest. Cameron also announced plans for a new Islamic index on the London Stock Exchange.

Councillors in Liverpool have called for the banning of high-stakes gambling machines from betting shops in the city. The machines allow people to bet up to ₤100 every 20 seconds, and have proved highly addictive. City leaders want the Government either to ban the machines or to give local councils the power to ban them.

In sport, Scotland won their final group match in the Rugby League World Cup to remain unbeaten. However, they will only qualify for the next stage if Tonga beat group leaders Italy. And Jermaine Defoe became Tottenham Hotspur’s record scorer in European competitions with his 23^rd goal.

And finally, police in north London received a 999 call from a house and, when there was no reply to their return call, decided to break down the front door. Once inside, the only occupant they found was a cat hiding in a cupboard. “She must have been playing with the phone, and then been scared by the incoming call,” said her owner.

Not The BBC News: 6 November 2013

The Irish government has announced that it plans to hold a referendum on whether same-sex marriage should become legal (among other issues) in May 2015.The Labour Deputy Prime Minister has also said that he plans to legalise gay adoption before that date.

A new law in Italy requires all teachers to receive “gender equality” training to pass on to their students “respect for diversity and equal opportunities and overcoming gender stereotypes.” It comes hot on the heels of a bill against homophobia, and it is feared that the two laws may be used together to prevent schoolteachers presenting  views that a family consisting of a man, a woman and children is “natural”. Homosexual lobbying at European level is being blamed for the new laws.

A documentary film has been released in the USA that presents a very positive view of late-term abortionists. The documentary was given a highly positive review in the Washington Post. The key to the reviewer’s praise seems to be that the documentary presents late term abortionists as “compassionate, morally inquiring, and deeply caring” who “grapple [with decisions about late-term abortions of health babies] openly and thoughtfully.”

A number of pro-life websites in the USA were hacked this week to make them unavailable. A pro-life commentator responded that it is encouraging that pro-choice activists find pro-life information to be uncomfortable.

An engaged couple in Texas have complained that the new Texan law that restricts abortions has “taken their constitutional rights away, ” even though they first sought an abortion at 6 weeks’ gestation, well inside the legal time limit; they had the means to travel to another state for an abortion if necessary; and they showed no signs of having considered other options, such as adoption. The part of the law which is at issue is that abortion clinics must have admitting privileges to a hospital less than 30 miles away, in case of medical emergencies; this has resulted in about a third of Texas’ abortion clinics closing.  Planned Parenthood has already appealed to the Supreme Court against this part of the law; critics say the appeal is based on commercial interests rather than the best interests of women.

A Messianic Jewish student (i.e. a Jew who believes that Jesus is the Messiah) who had evaded customs duties decided that, because of her faith, she ought to return the tax that she should have paid, despite living on student funding. The surprised customs official whom she contacted not only forgave her  the debt but also contacted an Israeli newspaper so that they could publish a story that showed the good side of the Israeli people.

The weekend’s Premier League football matches produced a variety of strange incidents.  Stoke City’s goalkeeper scored a goal with a 98-yard wind-assisted clearance kick after just 13 seconds of their game against Southampton; Newcastle beat front-runners Chelsea; Sunderland conceded an own goal, lost their goalkeeper to injury, and had two players sent off (all in the first half), but still managed to lose to Hull by only one goal; and Manchester City beat Norwich 7-0, with goals from seven different players.

In the Rugby League World Cup, England beat Ireland 42-0, thus effectively eliminating Ireland from the tournament. Wales (the competition’s co-hosts) were also eliminated  after an unexpected defeat by the USA, who are unbeaten. Scotland drew 30-30 with Italy and can technically still qualify. England also beat Australia in a rugby union tour match.

And finally, in 2010 German customs officials carried out a sweep against German citizens with undeclared bank accounts in Switzerland, and they stopped an 80 year old man on a train from Switzerland to Germany who was carrying 9000 euros.  When they searched his flat, they found floor to ceiling piles of tinned food – and behind the food, 1500 artworks that were believed to have been lost in the Second World War. It emerged that the man was the son of a Munich art dealer who had been employed to dispose of art looted from Jews by the Nazis. The haul includes works by Matisse, Picasso, Renoir and Chagall.

Not The BBC News: 2 November 2013

An American mega-church leader has resigned from his position because of an ‘inappropriate’ relationship with a woman. Doug Phillips’ ministry was very family-oriented, but was criticised for its teaching on Biblical patriarchy, which effectively made women inferior to authority to men (and preached that the God-ordained ‘sphere of dominion’ for a woman was running a home).

A Hungarian man and British woman, both aged 25, are under arrest for running a human trafficking and prostitution operation from their Internet café in central Croydon. Police have established the identity of 50 victims, all from Hungary, but fear there may be more. The pair were caught when the man’s car was stopped and found to contain two Hungarian girls, along with adverts giving contact details for one girl and listing sex acts. Three other Hungarian men are also on trial, two in their absence after they fled from justice.

In southern Jakarta, there have been protests from Muslim groups because a Christian woman has been appointed as city governor over a largely Muslim district. The Muslims argue that it is offensive for them to be ruled by a Christian, and that she cannot take part in the district’s traditional religious ceremonies; she has replied that she was not invited to take part, and was advised not to do so. The regional governor has so far refused to relocate or replace her.

The Scottish Secular Society has made a Freedom of Information request to every school in Scotland, asking 24 questions about their chaplaincy services. The questions included whether material disagreeing with homosexuality has ever been distributed in the school; whether a humanist speaker has visited the school within the last year; and whether external service providers (i.e. chaplains and visiting speakers) are monitored by staff.

Britain won five medals including two gold sin the World Track Cycling championships. The best performance came from the four-woman 4km pursuit team; having broken the world record when winning in Holland last month, they broke it again in their qualifying heat, and again in the final. Their winning time was so fast that they would almost have qualified for the final of the men’s event.

In the Rugby League World Cup, England lost their opening game to Australia 28-20, and must now beat Ireland and Fiji to qualify for the next stage. Fiji beat Ireland using “battering ram” tactics; New Zealand defeated France 48-0; the USA won their first ever Rugby League World Cup match, against the Cook Islands; and Scotland surprisingly defeated Tonga, 26-24.

And finally, a British man in his 50s and a British woman in her 60s have been temporarily banned from Facebook for enthusiastically discussing faggots. The woman posted a picture of the traditional British food dish, which resembles a large cheap hamburger, and the man responded that he liked them. Facebook has said that the word had been misinterpreted.

Not The BBC News: 28 October

A court in Iran has sentenced 4 Christians to 80 lashes each, for drinking wine during a Communion service.

A police raid in Manchester uncovered what is believed to be Britain’s first 3D-printed gun. A plastic trigger mechanism and a magazine capable of holding bullets were found next to a state of the art 3D printer. Plastic guns are attractive to criminals because they don’t show up on metal detectors.

Investigators in the USA who arrested the alleged head of the “Silk Road” black market website have seized $30 million worth of Bitcoins, the digital Internet currency, from his computer.

David Cameron was awarded “Politician of the Year” by a gay rights group, but he declined to collect the award, or to send any other senior Tories to collect the award, at the group’s upmarket annual awards ceremony. Instead Ed Milliband collected the award, “on behalf of everyone who voted for gay marriage”.

Three of this weekend’s Premier League football matches were effectively decided by refereeing decisions. When Tottenham played Hull, a Hull defender was struck on the foot by the ball, which ricocheted upwards and hit his hand. The referee gave a penalty, and Tottenham won 1-0. In Swansea v West Ham (a game in which West Ham played six midfielders and no striker), one of West Ham’s defenders unwitting blocked a cross with his elbow. The referee did not award a penalty, and the game finished 0-0. And in Norwich v Cardiff, the Cardiff goalkeeper kicked the ball into touch so that one of his team’s injured players could receive treatment. Protocol dictates that the ball should be returned to the keeper, but instead it went to a Norwich player who scored a goal. With both sets of players surrounding the referee to argue their case, and the Norwich manager privately promising the Cardiff manager that he would instruct his players to let Cardiff score if the goal stood, the referee defused the situation by ordering the throw-in to be re-taken because he had not given permission for the first one. The game ended 0-0.

The problem of sun reflecting from the “walkie talkie” building at 23 Curzon Street in London and overheating the far side of the street has been solved by hanging a dark translucent screen over the south side of the building. See photo above.

And finally, a man who died of prostate cancer at the age of 61 in the village of Brattleby, Lincolnshire, arranged for his son to read a eulogy at the funeral which confessed that father and son were responsible for the appearance of garden gnomes at random locations around the village in the previous 10 years. A TV crew had visited the village once, but failed to solve the mystery. His widow said, “He loved to make people laugh, and he thought that having people draw their curtains and see a load of garden gnomes outside might make them smile. He was right; it did.” The confession also raised a laugh in the funeral service, and the following morning, a gnome appeared on the man’s own front doorstep.