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!”