Not The BBC News: 31 March 2014

The first gay marriages in the UK have taken place in the traditionally gay-friendly areas of north London and Brighton. Prime Minister David Cameron sent congratulations, and a rainbow flag was flown over Whitehall for the day.

Alongside this change, the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has issued new guidance, saying that it is illegal for wedding-related businesses to refuse to supply services to a gay wedding. The guidance also suggests that churches and other groups opposed to gay marriage could lose publicly funded contracts or grants in areas where their opinions on gay marriage were deemed ‘relevant’, such as marriage guidance counselling, prison chaplaincy, or adoption services. A Conservative MP has protested that these changes breach assurances given by ministers that people’s employment rights would not be affected by their beliefs on gay marriage.

Meanwhile, there appears to be a grassroots movement in California that wants to make it punishable even to criticise or oppose gay marriage, on the grounds that it offends gays, especially those who are now in gay marriages. There are calls for the new CEO of Mozilla, Brendan Eich, to step down from his post because he once donated $1,000 to a campaign against gay marriage. Eich has expressed “sorrow for any pain” and has promised “an active commitment to equality”; however, this is not enough for some, including some of his own employees. Mozilla is vulnerable to grassroots movements because like Wikipedia, its business model partly relies on voluntary contributions; one (gay) software developer has already said that he will cease supporting Mozilla until Eich steps down.

The Pope has strongly criticised the Mafia, saying that if they do not repent they are going to hell. “It’s blood-soaked money and blood-soaked power that you have,” he said, “and you can’t take it with you.”

An ancient Babylonian cuneiform tablet, written a thousand years before the book of Genesis, has recently been deciphered. It carries part of the Babylonian version of the story of the Great Flood – specifically, instructions on ark-building. The proposed Ark differs from both that described in Genesis and the one described in the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, both in materials (palm fibre and bitumen are recommended) and shape (it was to be round, like a massive coracle). However, one key point of agreement has been found for the first time – the tablet instructs that the animals should enter “two each, two by two.”

In sport, the cricket World Twenty20 competition in Bangladesh is reaching the end of the group stage. England’s women have qualified for the semi-finals; England bowler Anya Shrubsole is the leading wicket taker in the whole tournament, with combined figures of 10 wickets for 57 runs. England’s men have been eliminated at the group stage, though they are less embarrassed than Australia’s men, who failed even to survive for their allotted 20 overs in their most recent match against India.

And finally, IMAX cinemagoers in Los Angeles watching the controversial new “Noah” film found it a bit more realistic than they bargained for; at the point where “the world pretty much ends”, the whole cinema started shaking. One tweeted, “I was thinking that this surround sound was pretty damn good; alas, it was just an earthquake.” The 5.1 magnitude tremor caused no injuries but disrupted power supplies for many people.

Not The BBC News: 27 March 2014

A largely Christian town in Syria of 1700 people has been captured by rebels linked to al-Qaeda. The town of Kassab is populated by Armenian-Syrians, descendants of Christians who fled the Armenian genocide in what is now Turkey in 1915. The town’s inhabitants have criticised modern Turkey for allowing the rebels to transport arms across the Syrian-Turkish border easily.

The UK’s National Institute for Clinical Excellence, which is responsible for deciding which drugs should be made available by the NHS and under what conditions, has been criticised for saying that the morning-after pill should be made readily available to school girls, including those under the age of consent, without parental knowledge. The most powerful argument against this policy is that NICE’s statement that “availability of contraception reduces the rate of unwanted pregnancies” is unwarranted; one academic study in the UK, and a systematic review of 23 studies in the USA, found that making emergency contraception available increased rates of unprotected sex but had no effect on the teen pregnancy rate.

The atheist-turned-Christian university professor from North Carolina who sued his university for discriminating against him because of his beliefs has won his case. However, the Pakistani Christian woman who was accused of blasphemy remains on death row after her appeal was postponed. The "blasphemy" offence that she allegedly committed was to drink water from a well owned by a Muslim.

The US-based Christian charity World Vision decided to remove its ban on employing couples in gay marriages. “The issue of gay marriage has been tearing World Vision apart over the last few years,” said a spokesman. “Our employees come from 50 different denominations so we decided to leave the issue to the local churches to decide.” However, the USA Assemblies of God, among other groups, called for its members to re-direct their charitable giving away from World Vision as a consequence, and World Vision has now announced that it will not change its policy after all.

Gunmen have killed 6 worshippers at a church in Kenya, in what was apparently a revenge attack against Kenya for using its forces to fight Islamic militants in neighbouring Somalia.

A newly released Christian film called “God’s Not Dead” has taken $8.5 million and reached number 5 in the US box office, despite being released in only 850 cinemas. It’s based on a book about a Christian college student who accepts a challenge from his atheist professor to provide a defence for God and Christianity. Two members of the “Duck Dynasty”, who play themselves in the film, said that while some Christian movies had acting or stories that weren’t as good as other films, they found this one very compelling.

In sport, football’s Premier League saw forty-one goals scored by the twenty teams. The top three clubs – Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool – scored seventeen goals between them.

And finally, a maths teacher in France found an unusual and effective way to keep his class quiet; he threatened to write spoilers to the TV series “Game of Thrones” on the blackboard, having already read the entire set of books. When the class tested his resolve, he wrote the names of all the characters who died in Season 3 on the board. The class was quiet and attentive after that.

Not The BBC News: 20 March 2014

A Chinese “baby hatch” in Guangzhou city has been forced to suspend availability after an overwhelming number of babies were abandoned there. China has 25 “baby hatches” where parents can anonymously leave their infant in an incubator and press an alarm button. However, the one in Guangzhou has received 262 babies since opening in January, and is unable to care for any more, especially as every baby was found to be suffering from disability and/or illness.

A UK Government minister has said that Christian weddings should be stripped of their legal status. Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference, Simon Hughes proposed a system such as that in France or Belgium, where church weddings and secular ceremonies are separate. In a newsletter article last May, Hughes argued that church/state separation in weddings was a necessary first step to complete equality of wedding/partnership ceremonies for people of all sexualities. Hughes added that he has always supported disestablishment of the Church of England.

A formerly atheist professor of criminology in North Carolina who became a Christian is suing his university for discrimination against him because of his beliefs. Mike Adams initially enjoyed a swift rise up the academic ladder at UNC-Wilmington, becoming assistant professor in 1993 and associate professor in 1998. But after becoming a Christian in 2000, his political and social views changed, and he failed receive any further promotions despite an outstanding academic record. Last year, a federal court decided there was enough evidence for a trial over whether the university had breached his rights to free speech. This follows a precedent set in 2011 that “no individual loses his right to speak as a private citizen by virtue of public employment.”

The appeal by a jailed Pakistani Christian woman against her conviction for blasphemy four years ago has been delayed, fuelling suspicions that judges are reluctant to take on such an emotive case.

Fred Phelps, the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, has died at the age of 84. Phelps and his church were notorious for picketing funerals and other events with banners saying “God Hates Gays” and similar; they also targeted Jews and the military (for “defending an irreversibly corrupt government”), prompting Presidents Bush and Obama to pass laws against picketing military funerals. Phelps’ own funeral arrangements have not yet been announced, but social media suggests that a significant number of people who oppose his views may picket the event.

At the annual Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in Vancouver, a dance teacher performed publicly for the first time since losing part of her left leg in the Boston Marathon bombing. She was wearing a prosthetic leg designed by the Biomechatronics research group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology media lab; unlike normal prosthetics, this leg emulates lost muscles rather than drawing power from remaining muscles. The research group’s professor has a personal interest; he lost both his legs (above the knee) to frostbite after getting lost on a rock climb on New Hampshire’s Mount Washington. The dance teacher hopes to dance in the next season of “Dancing with the Stars,” the US equivalent of “Strictly Come Dancing.”

And finally, thieves in Salford stole more than ₤80,000 from a cash machine in a branch of Tesco by digging a 50ft tunnel from nearby waste ground, and then escaping by the same route. Police say the tunnel must have been dug over a period of months, and they are “looking for people acting suspiciously, possibly covered in soil.”

Not The BBC News: 17 March 2014

A Pakistani court has agreed to hear an appeal by a Christian woman against her death sentence for alleged blasphemy, four years after she was convicted and jailed. She was accused of defiling the name of Allah during an argument with Muslim co-workers. The case has a very high profile in Pakistan because Christians blame blasphemy laws for much of the persecution that they suffer. Two senior politicians who have called for changes to the blasphemy laws in the past four years have been murdered – one by his own guard.

Guinness has withdrawn sponsorship from the St. Patrick’s Day parade in New York because of a ban on gay rights groups carrying banners. The ban is longstanding, but several groups had hoped it might be overturned this year. Some LGBT groups plan to protest against the parade, while others planned to dump Guinness off the shelves of the Stonewall Inn, where the gay rights movement was founded; the latter threat has been abandoned now that Guinness has withdrawn support. New York’s mayor will not attend the parade in protest, but Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny will attend; he said, “The parade is about our Irishness, not about sexuality.”

Following the outcry over Iran’s mistreatment of an Iranian-American pastor, a family member who went to the prison to ask why the pastor was being denied medical care was told that the violent treatment he received in hospital was a “mistake.” The family member was allowed a short visit to the pastor in hospital; the pastor was not shackled but had received no medical treatment.

Another Christian-run bed and breakfast in the UK is to take their “married couples only” policy to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The B&B owners in Llandrindod Wells, Wales received a letter from the Equalities and Human  Rights Commission telling them that their double-bedroom policy illegally discriminates against gay couples. The EHRC say they were forced to act after receiving a complaint, following the Supreme Court ruling regarding the similar policy applied by Christian (now ex-) B&B owners in Cornwall. The B&B owners have temporarily replaced all double beds with singles in their property, which means that they discriminate equally against all couples.

A film about to be released in South Korea depicts the sufferings of Christians in North Korea, in a fictional but realistic storyline. North Korea is acknowledged as the most hostile regime towards Christians in the entire world. The film “The Apostle: He Was Anointed By God” aims to depict all the ways that people cope with the regime in North Korea: those who just want to pay off the authorities; those who hide their faith; those who praise Kim Jong-Il in authorised “churches”; the young soldier who attends underground church services in uniform; and those who try to flee across the mountainous border with China.

Meanwhile, the film “Noah” starring Russell Crowe has been banned in several Gulf Arab states for offending Muslim sensibilities – notably by personifying God, which is not permitted in Islam.

In sport, Great Britain won a total of six medals at the Winter Paralympics, greatly exceeding the funding agency’s target of two. The individual star of the games was Brian McKeever of Canada, a visually impaired cross country skier who won three gold medals to take his total of Winter Paralympic medals to twelve – ten gold and two silver.

And finally, a 54-year-old cancer sufferer who was given days to live decided he wanted to watch his favourite football team, Bristol City, one last time – and he wanted them to win so badly that he negotiated access to the dressing room before the game. He told the players that he had supported City for 30 years; that they should remember how lucky they were; and that they owed it to the fans to fight. Several players could not hold back tears, and they eventually won 2-1.

Not The BBC News: 13 March 2014

It has emerged that the UK Government’s new liberalised guidelines for abortion were issued to abortion clinics as ”interim guidance” six months before they were put on Parliament’s website for public discussion. Under the Abortion Act 1967,  two doctors should authorise an abortion; under the new guidelines, it is merely “good practice” that at least one doctor should meet the pregnant woman before the abortion. The changes were made when Andrew Lansley was Health  Secretary; Lansley tried (and failed) in 2008 to get a private member’s Bill passed to dispense with the two-doctor requirement in the first trimester of pregnancy. Lansley now stands accused of trying to implement an entirely nurse-led abortion service, which contradicts the wording of the Abortion Act, without any discussion in Parliament.

Steve Hill, the evangelist who sparked the Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida, has died of skin cancer. Hill was dramatically delivered from drugs, alcohol and crime in 1975, and dedicated his life to spreading the Gospel. After his preaching triggered the revival at Brownsville Assemblies of God church on Father’s Day 1995, he stayed and preached there for 5 years; in that time over 4 million people from 150 countries visited the church, and hundreds of thousands gave their lives to Jesus and/or repented of sinful lifestyles.

A meeting of bishops from the Orthodox church has decided to hold an ecumenical council (i.e. a meeting of Orthodox churches from various countries) in Istanbul in 2016. This would be the first such council for 1200 years.

A Christian graphic designer sued a hotel for rejecting him for a job because he is a committed Christian. The Essex hotel said the post was given to a more experienced candidate, but the designer said that he was told by the hotel manager during his interview, after reviewing some work he had done for churches, that some of the staff were atheists who would never work with a  committed Christian. The case was settled out of court with the hotel making an undisclosed payment to a charity.

An Iranian-American pastor who has been in jail in Iran and had been suffering medically, partly due to prison beatings, was moved to hospital a week and a half ago to undergo tests and receive treatment. However, yesterday he was shackled; an elderly relative was roughly expelled from the hospital; and doctors have told him he must return to prison without treatment. The timing of both events appears to coincide with the visit of Baroness Ashton, a high level EU representative and human rights campaigner, to Iran; he was moved to hospital when she arrived, but has been denied medical treatment now she has left.

A security guard working for Planned Parenthood in Texas was instructed to “keep tabs on” a pro-life charity, led by a former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, which is dedicated to helping abortion industry employees find alternative employment. However, he was so impressed by what he saw that he asked them to help him find a new job. Planned Parenthood have previously ‘warned’ their employees by email about this charity, which also resulted in several workers contacting the charity and asking for help in finding new jobs.

In sport, the Winter Paralympics are under way in Sochi. A Northern Irish lady won Britain’s first ever gold medal in these games, in the super-G slalom skiing for the visually impaired (where skiers have an accompanying guide who communicates with them by headset). Her time was only three seconds slower than that recorded by the winner of the event in the Winter Olympics.

And finally, recent flooding in Romsey, Hampshire allowed two fish to escape from an aquatic centre. A metre-long sturgeon named Steve has been recaptured after being found in a  deep puddle at a car wash a mile away; the other fish, a koi carp, has been sighted but is still on the loose.

Not The BBC News: 10 March 2014

Although North Korea has released the Australian missionary it recently arrested, the Korean-American missionary who was arrested a few months ago while working in a refugee camp near the Chinese border remains in a hard labour camp. Now the authorities have announced that 33 people who have allegedly had contact with the latter missionary are to be executed.

The newly crowned Miss Pennsylvania, Valerie Gatto, has revealed that she was conceived in rape. Her mother was raped at knifepoint when she was 19; her assailant intended to kill her but was thwarted by a bright light from an unknown source. When she found out she was pregnant, Valerie’s mother decided to give the baby up for adoption, until her own mother said, “God does not give us more than we can handle.” So she abandoned plans to go to law school and kept her baby. Valerie said, “If I just sit here and think, ‘Why did this happen?’ or ‘Does my father know I exist?’ and let the fear of the unknown stop me, I wouldn’t be living my life. God has put me here for a purpose.”

Ulf Ekman, who founded the largest charismatic church in Sweden (with about 3000 members, 12 pastors, and a school with 1000 students), and is considered a “spiritual father” by many charismatic leaders, has announced that he is converting to Roman Catholicism. Ekman said, “We have seen a great love for Jesus and a sound theology. We have experienced the richness of sacramental life. We have seen the logic of a solid structure for priesthood. We have met an ethical and moral strength and consistency, and a kindness towards the poor and the weak. And we have met representatives of millions of charismatic Catholics and have seen their living faith.” Ekman is a former Communist who has planted many churches, and preached in churches and stadiums, in states of the former USSR.

In Alabama, the lower house of the State legislature has passed four pro-life bills, including one that would prevent abortions after the baby’s heart starts beating (which occurs at about the sixth week of pregnancy). Alabama is considered one of the most pro-life states in the USA, although a pro-life law that was passed by both houses and the governor last year has been temporarily restrained by a judge. That law required doctors who conduct abortions to have admitting privileges to a local hospital (in case of medical complications for the mother); the restraint was on the grounds that other surgery-providing health centres don’t have the same requirement placed on them.

The Evangelical Alliance, which represents two million people across the UK, has joined a campaign to ban the Sun’s topless page 3 images. It made its announcement a day after the Sun published a topless image of a model on the front page, allegedly to raise awareness of  breast cancer.

In sport, Britain’s former number one lady tennis player Elena Baltacha has revealed that she has been diagnosed with liver cancer. Baltacha is 30 and has been suffering from a chronic liver condition that compromises her immune system since the age of 19. Baltacha has stated that she is “fighting this illness with everything I have.”

Also in sport, the FA Cup has thrown up some of the first big surprise results of the season. The FA Cup semi-finals will be Sheffield United (from what used to be the Third Division) against Hull City, and Arsenal against Wigan Athletic. Wigan defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup for the second year in a row; last year it was in the final.

And finally, a dog that was rushed to accident and emergency after licking coolant from his owner’s garage had his life saved by an unusual form of medicine. Vets deduced that the Maltese terrier had ethylene glycol poisoning, and that the best treatment was an intravenous drip of pure alcohol, which can chemically alter antifreeze chemicals. He was given 700ml (a pint and a quarter) of vodka over two days, and survived despite stumbling around, vomiting a  little, and getting an almighty hangover. 

Not The BBC News: 5 March 2014

The Australian missionary who was arrested in North Korea for distributing Christian literature has been freed after writing a confession and an apology. When the 75 year old was asked by Western media how he felt after his release, he replied, “Really, really tired.”

An Egyptian shopkeeper working  in Libya was shot several times because he is a Christian  by a bearded man who broke into his shop. He was seriously injured and is in hospital.

There have been several occasions in recent months, mostly in the USA, when universities have opposed students who wanted to mount a pro-life display on campus. However, this week saw a university pay damages to a pro-life group for such acts. Oklahoma State University paid $25,000 to Cowboys For Life for imposing restrictions on their free speech rights that were not imposed on other groups. They were banned from using a highly trafficked area of grass because “of the declining condition of the lawns”, though other groups set up stands there; they were required to set up banners 30 feet from their stand warning those approaching of graphic images, but the LGBT Sexual Orientation stand had no such requirements; and they were banned from distributing leaflets.

The Anglican Church in Uganda has warned that, if it faces pressure from western bodies to oppose the government’s new anti-gay laws, it may leave the Anglican communion. The Church did support some moderating amendments that were made to the law, but Archbishop Ntagali said, “The issue here is respect for our views on homosexuality, same-sex marriage as a country and church,” though he also added, “the church’s doors are open for those facing sexual disorientation to be counselled, healed and prayed for.” 36% of Uganda’s population describe themselves as Anglican.

It is not only (some) American states that have changed their constitutions to define marriage as between a man and a woman; some EU countries have done so too. Italy has already done it; Croatia wants to do it; and Slovakia is about to do it. The Slovak Prime Minister said, “This change only seals in the constitution what is already defined by law.” The Italian definition is being challenged in the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that gay marriage is a human right; however, past ECHR judgments suggest this particular argument is unlikely to succeed.

In  technology news, a 13 year old boy in Preston has become the youngest person ever to build a working nuclear fusion reactor. He did it as part of his school’s science project; the school provided ₤2,000 worth of equipment. The head teacher said, “He reassured me that he wouldn’t blow the school up. We are about the individual and about helping youngsters achieve, not about league tables.”

Also in technology, Ellen DeGeneres obtained a “selfie” at the Oscars with a  collection of Hollywood stars, which has become the most re-tweeted photograph ever. However, lawyers in the U.S. have been discussing whether she actually owns the copyright to the picture. Possible copyright holders include DeGeneres as the “author” of the shot; Bradley Cooper, who actually took the picture; DeGeneres, as the lessee of the device that took the picture; Samsung, who own the device;  and any of the other people in the shot. The consensus is that the copyright is probably shared between DeGeneres (as author) and Cooper.

And finally, a 23 year old British man who was paralysed in 3 limbs after a car accident raised over ₤22,000 to fund innovative stem cell treatment that might help him walk again … but gave it all away to a boy with cerebral palsy. The boy’s family needed to raise ₤60,000 for treatment to help him walk, and had only ₤11,000. “it was an easy decision,” said Daniel Black, “I walked for 22 years; this little boy hasn’t walked for 22 seconds.” When the story spread, the little boy’s family quickly raised the rest of the money, and Daniel was given one of the annual Pride of Britain awards.

Not The BBC News: 3 March 2014

In Toronto, another example has arisen of a gay customer taking legal action against a business that refused to serve her. In this case, however, she had gone to a men’s barbershop  for a “businessman’s” haircut, but chose a shop that was run by Muslims for whom touching women other than their wife is against their religious beliefs. The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario will decide the case.

The BBC has blocked the general public from commenting on its blog postings about Scottish independence. When asked to comment on this, BBC News Online Scotland said that restricting online comments on some Scottish issues allowed a “more flexible and adaptable approach to how we cover the main news in Scotland.” The restriction, and the BBC’s unhelpful response (since, if taken at face value, it implies a desire to present the Scottish independence debate with a slant that the public might take exception to) has fuelled beliefs that the BBC is presenting a view that is biased against Scottish independence.

The Walt Disney company has announced that it will stop funding the Boy Scouts of America in 2015 because the Scouts’ membership policy bans gays from being Scout leaders.

Two Christian kindergarten teachers have been arrested in Liuzhou, China, officially on suspicion of “illegal business operations.” However, the authorities have harassed one of the two women for a long time and have made previous attempts to arrest her (e.g. by inviting her to a mandatory but non-existent meeting at the Bureau of Education) because she and her husband hold Gospel camps for college students twice a year, and sharing the gospel with college students is illegal in China. The arrest at the kindergarten was done without a warrant and with such noise and violence that many of the children were upset.

A number of reports about the Ugandan anti-homosexuality law have stated that the law was supported and encouraged by Western evangelicals such as Rick Warren of Saddleback Church, California. However, Warren  has publicly stated that he strongly opposes the law and has always done so; the false rumours apparently stem from an MSNBC reporter in 2009 who did not even ask Warren for his views. Meanwhile, a Ugandan minister of state, when pressed  by Stephen Fry on whether homosexuality was worse than heterosexual paedophilia, implied that the latter was more acceptable.

In cinema news, the Oscars were, as always, preceded by the Razzies (the Golden Raspberry awards for the worst films of the last year). The “winners” included the sci-fi flop “After Earth”, which saw Will Smith and son Jaden Smith take home the raspberries for Worst Actor and Worst Supporting Actor, and “Movie 43”, a sketch comedy film written by 19 different people and directed by 13. Despite featuring Halle Berry, Richard Gere, Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet, it was awarded Worst Film, Screenplay, and Director.  

The Oscar awards were mostly surprising for those who didn’t win (“American Hustle” got no award despite ten nominations; “Wolf of Wall Street” also lost out). The two top awards went to “12 Years a Slave” which won Best Picture and two other awards (including, surprisingly, Best Supporting Actress) and “Gravity” which won Best Director and also swept the board for technical awards.  The award for Best Original Song, from which the Christian-themed “Alone But Not Alone” was controversially disqualified, went to “Let It Go” from the film “Frozen.”

Meanwhile, the film “Son of God” has been released in the USA. Critics describe it as “earnest” but lacking the “personal vision” of “The Passion of the Christ” or “The Last Temptation of Christ.” (In the latter case, some may regard this as a good thing!) It took $26.5 million on its opening weekend in the USA, making it the second-highest grossing film of the weekend.

In technology news, two academic publishers have withdrawn more than 120 published conference papers after a scientist revealed that they were computer-generated nonsense.  One such paper claimed to “disprove that spreadsheets can be made knowledge-based, empathic, and compact.” The majority of the fake papers had been published by the New York-based IEEE; the Dutch publisher Springer was also caught out.

And finally, a bus driver in Dayton, Ohio, had his life saved by the Bible – literally. He had just got off his bus to fix a mechanical fault when three men assaulted him and shot him in what is believed to be a gang initiation ritual. He was hit once in the leg and twice in the chest, but the last two bullets lodged  inside a copy of the New Testament that he kept on his chest pocket. “I have heard of this happening in the war,” he said, “I’m glad to have joined the club.”