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. 
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