Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Notes: Wednesday, December 4-Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (part 2 of 3)

9. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child "recommended that corporal punishment be explicitly prohibited in all states and territories" and "that ‘reasonable chastisement’ not be used as a defence to the charge of assault of a child"

The quotations in that headline come from p. 24 of the Children’s Rights Report 2013 by Australia's National Children's Commissioner, Ms Megan Mitchell, for the Australian Human Rights Commission (A.H.R.C.), downloaded from the A.H.R.C.'s website:

http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/childrens-rights-report-2013

Labels: A.H.R.C., corporal punishment, families, human rights, U.N.O.

10. Prof. Williams on, among other things, Australian Marriage Equality's intervention in the High Court to argue that Federal Parliament can legislate for Gay Marriage, and the failure of Gay Marriage's opponents to intervene to argue the contrary

See the opinion piece "Gay marriage is now only a matter of political will", by Prof. George Williams, dated December 17, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/gay-marriage-is-now-only-a-matter-of-political-will-20131216-2zh9h.html?skin=text-only

See also the letter published on the webpage "It's a challenge to stand up to anti-Israel zealots" under the headline "Court's so-called activism", by Mr. Rodney Croome A.M., dated December 30, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/opinion/letters/its-a-challenge-to-stand-up-to-antiisrael-zealots/story-fn558imw-1226791564914

Labels: A.M.E., Constitution, G.L.B.T., H.C.A., law, marriage

11. "A federal judge ruled that a law banning the "cohabitation" of a man and several women in marriage-like relationships in Utah violated the First Amendment."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Polygamist Kody Brown wins the right to live with four Mrs Browns", by Rhys Blakely, dated December 17, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/polygamist-kody-brown-wins-the-right-to-live-with-four-mrs-browns/story-fnb64oi6-1226784779999

Labels: polyamory

12. Mr. O'Malley on how the "slights issuing from the White House to the Russian hosts of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games could not be more studied nor more pointed"

See the article "'Busy' Obama sends gay delegate Billie Jean King to Russia's Olympics", by Nick O'Malley, dated December 27, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/busy-obama-sends-gay-delegate-billie-jean-king-to-russias-olympics-20131227-hv6z4.html?skin=text-only

(That article was also printed under the headline "Obama's message on Russian gay laws", with the same author, on p. 11 in the "WORLD REPORT" section of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, December 28-29, 2013, No. 54981, ISSN 0312-6315.)

See also the articles "Barack Obama's Billie Jean King move checkmates Russia's anti-gay laws" and "A day in the life of: The Olympics", no bylines, dated December 18 and 20, 2013, respectively, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/barack-obamas-billie-jean-king-move-checkmates-russias-antigay-laws/story-e6frg7mf-1226785906532

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-olympics/story-e6frg6so-1226786860020

Labels: Barack Obama, G.L.B.T., Vladimir Putin

13. "The World Health Organization (WHO) is distributing a document setting the standards for sexual education in Europe"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "WHO sex-ed guidelines promote masturbation, abortion, homosexuality to children: parents outraged", by Sofia Vazquez-Mellado, dated October 8, 2013, downloaded from LifeSiteNews.com:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/who-sex-ed-guidelines-promote-masturbation-abortion-homosexuality-to-childr

(That article came to my attention via this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.) The document (Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe) is available for download from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health website's "WHO Regional Office for Europe and BZgA: Standards for Sexuality Education in Europe" webpage:

http://www.bzga-whocc.de/?uid=685e1296995416b8b1d7cee2469dde0b&id=Seite4489

Labels: sex ed, U.N.O., vice

14. The face of Liberalism

See the article "Original Tussaud mask restores face of the Terror, pockmarks and all", no byline, dated December 18, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/original-tussaud-mask-restores-face-of-the-terror-pockmarks-and-all/story-fnb64oi6-1226785303384

Labels: liberalism

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in the Octave of Christmas, and the feast of St. Sylvester I., Pope, Confessor, A.D. 2013

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Notes: Tuesday, August 6-Tuesday, September 10, 2013 (part 1 of 2)

1. Some recent items regarding Gay propaganda

1.1 "Foreign Minister Bob Carr today[, "July 19, 2013",] affirmed the Rudd Government’s commitment to make lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) rights a core foreign policy priority."

The quotation in that headline comes from the blog post "Foreign Minister Bob Carr says LGBTI Rights Core Issue for Australian Foreign Policy", by Mr. Doug Pollard, dated July 24, 2013, downloaded from the stirrer website:

http://www.thestirrer.com.au/foreign-minister-bob-carr-says-lgbti-rights-core-issue-for-australian-foreign-policy/

(That post came to my attention while preparing to submit a comment at this blog post by Mr. Gaynor.) See also the article "LGBTI RIGHTS A CORE FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITY FOR RUDD GOVERNEMNT", by Jennifer Josef, dated July 26, 2013, downloaded from the International Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association's website:

http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/ocFCvGb1FI

Labels: Bob Carr, G.L.B.T.

1.2 "Cultural imperialism on the march"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Robert R. Reilly, dated May 13, 2013, downloaded from the MercatorNet website:

http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/cultural_imperialism_on_the_march

(That article came to my attention via this AQ comment.)

Labels: Barack Obama, G.L.B.T., U.S.A.

1.3 "Free & Equal is an unprecedented United Nations global public education campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. A project of the United Nations Human Rights Office being implemented in partnership with the Purpose Foundation, Free & Equal will raise awareness of homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination, and promote greater respect for the rights of LGBT people everywhere."

The quotation in that headline comes from the "About Us" page of The United Nations Human Rights Office's "Free & Equal" website:

http://www.unfe.org/

(That campaign came to my attention via the article "I will never worship a homophobic God: Tutu", no byline, on p. 18 in the "WORLD" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Monday, July 29, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2907, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., ISSN 1038-8745.)

See also the press release "UN Human Rights Office Launches Unprecedented Global Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality", no author credited, dated July 26, 2013, downloaded from the official website of the U.N.O.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13583&LangID=E

Labels: G.L.B.T., U.N.O.

1.4 "Federal Labor will spend $8 million tackling homophobia in schools if it is re-elected", which ($8 million) "would go to the Foundation for Young Australians to expand its Safe Schools Coalition program across the country, which provides training and resources to schools to tackle homophobic bullying"

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Labor commits $8 million to tackle homophobia in schools", by Ms Bianca Hall, dated August 30, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/labor-commits-8-million-to-tackle-homophobia-in-schools-20130830-2sud6.html?skin=text-only

Labels: education, G.L.B.T.

1.5 "The Australian Rugby Union, and its chief executive, Bill Pulver, have taken an important step in committing to implement an inclusion policy, to stamp out homophobia in rugby - the first football code to do so"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "It's time to kick the prejudice into touch", by Mr. Andrew Purchas, dated August 29, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/its-time-to-kick-the-prejudice-into-touch-20130828-2sqmw.html?skin=text-only

See also the article "ARU announces development of new inclusion policy", no author credited, dated August 28, 2013, downloaded from the Australian Rugby Union's (A.R.U.'s) official website:

http://www.rugby.com.au/News/NewsArticle/tabid/1699/ArticleID/10113/Default.aspx

Labels: G.L.B.T., sport

2. On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, both Houses of the British Parliament were notified that the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 had received the Royal Assent.

See the A.F.P. article "Queen gives assent to British gay marriage law", by Mr. Danny Kemp, dated July 17, 2013, downloaded from the Google website:

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gHohdWzGeWF9i1fR31GKH73WYdQw?docId=CNG.a24e84eead7107254e098183dd59bddf.711

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Queen backs gay marriage", by the same author, on p. 36 in the "WORLD" section of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, July 19, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2903, ISSN presumably 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.) See also Notice No. 1870356, category "Parliament", sub-category "House of Lords" (Notice Code: 1203), The London Gazette, Issue No. 60579, p. 14703, Thursday, July 25, 2013:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60579/pages/14703

One can also find the text of that notice here:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60579/notices/1870356/

The full text of the British Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 is available here:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/30/contents/enacted

Labels: Elizabeth II. Windsor, G.L.B.T., marriage, U.K.

3. "Peaceful coexistence between different religions is favoured by the laicity of the state, which, without appropriating any one confessional stance, respects and esteems the presence of the religious dimension in society, while fostering its more concrete expressions."

The quotation in that headline comes from (a translation of) the Address, on Saturday, July 27, 2013, by H.H. The Pope at a meeting in Rio de Janeiro with Brazil's leaders of society:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130727_gmg-classe-dirigente-rio_en.html

(That Address came to my attention via the item "FRANCIS TO BRAZIL'S LEADERS: A COUNTRY GROWS WHEN ITS CULTURAL COMPONENTS ARE IN DIALOGUE" in The Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service e-mail bulletin no. 160, July 28, 2013 (Year XXII).) The original Spanish (sic) is presumably the following:
La convivencia pacífica entre las diferentes religiones se ve beneficiada por la laicidad del Estado, que, sin asumir como propia ninguna posición confesional, respeta y valora la presencia de la dimensión religiosa en la sociedad, favoreciendo sus expresiones más concretas.
[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/july/documents/papa-francesco_20130727_gmg-classe-dirigente-rio_sp.html]
AsiaNews.it translates it as follows:
Peaceful coexistence between different religions is favoured by the separation of state and religion, which, without appropriating any one confessional stance, respects and esteems the presence of the religious factor in society, while fostering its concrete expressions.
["WYD: For pope, societies must stand for a culture of encounter or everyone loses", no byline, dated July 27, 2013:
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/WYD:-For-pope,-societies-must-stand-for-a-culture-of-encounter-or-everyone-loses-28590.html]
For media reaction to that Address, see the Latin American Bureau article "Pope Francis: 'I want you to make trouble!'", by Francis McDonagh, dated Monday, July 29, 2013, in which the author remarks, immediately after quoting (the first of those two tranlsations of) that sentence, that
An interesting aspect of his remarks is his approval of a secular state, with no established religion.
[http://lab.org.uk/pope-francis-i-want-you-to-make-trouble!]
and (see) the Catholic News Service article "Pope urges Brazilian leaders to embrace dialogue, 'social humility'", by Francis X. Rocca, dated July 28, 2013, in which the author reports that
the pope endorsed the separation of church and state, historically a volatile topic in Latin America, where the Catholic Church long held a privileged legal position in many countries, but where it has more recently clashed with governments over issues, including abortion and same-sex marriage.

He said such separation favors "peaceful coexistence between different religions," since the state, "without appropriating any one confessional stance, respects and esteems the presence of the religious factor in society, while fostering its concrete expressions."

[http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1303253.htm]
Labels: Church and State, Confessional State, Francis Bergoglio, morals, politics

4. "Abortion has become legal in Ireland in limited cases where the mother's life is at risk, after President Michael D. Higgins signed a law that has exposed deep divisions in the Catholic-majority nation."

The quotation in theat headline comes from the article "Irish president signs abortions into law", no byline (though AFP is the stated source), dated July 31, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/irish-president-signs-abortions-into-law-20130731-2qxr2.html?skin=text-only

Labels: abortion, Ireland

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Nicholas of Tolentino, Confessor, A.D. 2013

Monday, May 20, 2013

Notes: Wednesday, April 24-Monday, May 20, 2013

1. "France's INSEE statistics agency says about 200,000 people declared themselves as living in same-sex couples in a 2011 study."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "France legalises gay marriage", no byline, dated April 24, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/france-legalises-gay-marriage/story-e6frg6so-1226628357668

Labels: France, G.L.B.T.

2. "THE QUEEN has been graciously pleased to appoint the undermentioned[, namely, "Air Chief Marshal The Right Honourable Graham Eric, Baron STIRRUP, G.C.B., A.F.C., A.D.C.",] to be a Knight Companion of the Most Noble Order of the Garter"

The quotations in that headline come from Notice No. 1812598, category "State", sub-category "Honours and Awards" (Notice Code: 1105), The London Gazette, Issue No. 60489, p. 8277, Friday, April 26, 2013 (but the notice in question is to be dated April 23, 2013):

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60489/pages/8277

One can also find the text of that notice here:

http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/60489/notices/1812598/

See also the press release "New appointment to the Order of the Garter", issued by the Press Secretary to H.M. The Queen, undated (presumably April 23, 2013), downloaded from Her Majesty's official website:

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2013/NewappointmenttotheOrderoftheGarter.aspx

Labels: Graham Stirrup, Order of the Garter

3. A couple of recent items regarding cohabitation (among other things, in the case of the second of the two items)

3.1 Some recent figures regarding cohabitation in the U.S.

See the article "Cohabitation first is new norm for unmarrieds with kids", by Sharon Jayson, dated April 4, 2013, downloaded from the USA TODAY website:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/04/cohabitation-families-pregnancy/2050073/

(That article came to my attention via the version posted at the Religion News Service website, and that version came to my attention via this CathNews post.)

Labels: cohabitation, demography, social trends, vice

3.2 Some points of interest from the article "For better or worse", by Ms Bettina Arndt, dated May 11, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/for-better-or-worse/story-e6frg8h6-1226637650904

(That article came to my attention via the version published under the headline "FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE", by the same author, pp. 22-25, The Weekend Australian Magazine, May 11-12, 2013, inserted in The Weekend Australian, May 11-12, 2013, First Edition, No. 15113, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

The text in each of the following bullet points is a quotation from the article. Any italicising or bolding is that of the article.
  • … Almost half of all American first births are now to unmarried women due to a recent leap in the number of children born to cohabiting parents or single mothers. The median age at which first children are born in the US (25.7) now falls below the median age at first marriage (26.5). …
  • The Knot Yet report highlights "non-decisions" as the major difference between cohabiting and marital relationships. People tend to slide into living together rather than making a mutual decision to commit to a combined future. The report notes the high incidence of unplanned pregnancy in these arrangements, with half of all births to unmarried 20-something women "unintended". …
  • There's another group of people disadvantaged by these changed relationship patterns - low-income men. Dr Bob Birrell and colleagues from Monash University highlighted this issue in Men and Women Apart, their 2004 report on partnering in Australia. They reported growing numbers of low-income men not living with a partner - almost a third in their early 30s with incomes less than $31,000 lived with their parents. The 2011 census figures confirm this trend, with 45 per cent of men in their early 30s earning $31,000 or less being partnered, compared to 76 per cent of men earning over $52,000. While it may be that low-income men are becoming less "marriageable" because their incomes are increasingly insecure, Birrell adds that almost half of the less-educated, unpartnered women these men are likely to meet are single mothers. Low-income men can't compete with the financial incentives offered by the government to lone mothers who remain single.
Labels: cohabitation, demography, marriage, social trends, vice

4. Mr. Obama on the Planned Parenthood organisation

See the transcript "Remarks by the President at the Planned Parenthood Conference", April 26, 2013, downloaded from the White House's official website:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2013/04/26/president-obama-speaks-planned-parenthood-gala

(That webpage came to my attention via this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

See also the article "Obama takes swipe at pro-life activists, ignores Gosnell during Planned Parenthood speech", by John Jalsevac, dated Friday, April 26, 2013, downloaded from the LifeSiteNews.com website:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/obama-takes-swipe-at-pro-life-activists-ignores-gosnell-during-planned-pare

(That article came to my attention via Mr. Muehlenberg's comment of 27.4.13 / 12pm in the comments section of this blog post by him.)

Labels: Barack Obama, abortion

5. "White Britons on verge of minority in 50 years, projections show"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Richard Ford, dated May 2, 2013, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/white-britons-on-verge-of-minority-in-50-years-projections-show/story-fnb64oi6-1226633712800

Labels: demography, U.K.

6. Fr. Fallon on Gay relationships

See the opinion piece "The unions are not the same", by The Rev. Fr. Michael B. Fallon M.S.C., dated May 3, 2013, downloaded from The Canberra Times' website:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/comment/the-unions-are-not-the-same-20130502-2ivnf.html?skin=text-only

The article is also available at Fr. Fallon's website under the headline "Gay Marriage and the Catholic Church":

http://mbfallon.com/articles/gay_marriage&catholic_church.html

(Fr. Fallon's scandal came to my attention via this blog post by Miss Edwards.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., Michael Fallon

7. The archives of the Sydney newspapers The Freeman’s Journal (1850-1941) and The Catholic Weekly (1942-present) are available online here:

https://www.catholicweeklyarchives.com.au/

(That website came to my attention via the article "Cardinal launches CW archives", by His Eminence The Most Rev. The Cardinal Archbishop of Sydney A.C., p. 4, the Sydney Catholic Weekly, May 5, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4671, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: newspapers

8. "The Therapeutic Goods Administration told the Senate last year that since 2006 there had been 832 adverse impacts on women as a result of RU486 with 599 of these women requiring surgery to remove a poisoned embryo."

The quotation in that headline was attributed to Wendy Francis (speaking for the Australian Christian Lobby) in the article "Support better than cheap abortion drug", by Damir Govorcin, dated May 5, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Catholic Weekly's website:

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=2&articleID=12114&class=Latest%20News&subclass=CW%20National

(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, on p. 3 f. (the part on p. 4 had a different headline, namely, "Subsidy for drug ‘ignores human rights of unborn’"), the Sydney Catholic Weekly, May 5, 2013, Vol. 72, No. 4671, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: RU486, abortion

9. "The Coalition plan provides six months' parental leave, during which time the mother - or father, if nominated as the primary carer - are to be paid the mother's replacement wage - capped at $150,000 a year, so amounting to a maximum of $75,000. A spokesman for Tony Abbott says the reason this is, oddly, pegged to the mother's wage, is ''To avoid creating an incentive to make fathers the primary carer when they earn higher wages/salary than the mother.''"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Baby love is worth the expense", by Julia Baird, dated May 11, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/baby-love-is-worth-the-expense-20130510-2jd3p.html?skin=text-only

(That opinion piece came to my attention via the version printed under the same headline, by the same author, on p. 12 of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, May 11-12, 2013, No. 54784, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: L.P.A., Nationals, P.P.L.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Whitmonday, A.D. 2013

Monday, July 25, 2011

Notes: Wednesday, July 20-Monday, July 25, 2011

1. "[In N.S.W. State school 'ethics classes', children] are now critically thinking about ethical concepts and moral issues within a secular framework", writes one of the "volunteer ethics teacher[s]"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/even-a-child-could-work-this-one-out-mr-nile-20110719-1hncd.html?skin=text-only

Labels: education, morality, secularism, St James Ethics Centre

2. A couple of recent items regarding polyamory

2.1 Research findings on Muslim polygynous and otherwise irregular marriages

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/sharia-law-at-work-in-australia/story-fn59niix-1226097889992

Labels: Islam, marriage, polyamory

2.2 Fr. Zuhlsdorf's fisking of an article on "[t]he slippery slope: from decriminalization to social acceptance"

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/the-slippery-slope-from-decriminalization-to-social-acceptance/
(It's the article itself, rather than the fisking, for which I've logged that web-page.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, polyamory

3. "The [Russian Orthodox] Moscow Patriarchate has undertaken a real campaign of expansion at home and abroad"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38209

Labels: R.O.C.

4. On planned or desired State attacks on the Sacrament of Penance

4.1 More on Ireland's planned attack on the Sacrament of Penance

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/07/ireland-priests-will-refuse-to-break-seal-of-confession-if-proposal-becomes-law/
(In that post's combox, good points are made by the commenters markomalley, PostCatholic, and albizzi here, here, and here, respectively.)

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38221

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27315

Labels: Ireland, Sacraments, sexual abuse

4.2 On Sen. Xenophon's desire for Australian States to attack the Sacrament of Penance

http://www.smh.com.au/national/call-to-end-confessional-confidentiality-20110721-1hr0d.html?skin=text-only

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/unforgiveable-sin-confessing-to-child-abuse/

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=27331

Labels: Nick Xenophon, Sacraments, sexual abuse

5. Mr. Skinner on the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics's findings on the size of the homosexual and bisexual proportion of the population

The comment of 20.7.11 / 5pm in the combox here:

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/07/17/pushing-agendas-ignoring-facts/

The interesting thing about those findings is that it seems that even if you count all non-answers and answers other than heterosexual/straight as 'queer' (or whatever catch-all you prefer) then that would still give a mere 5.2%.

Labels: demography, G.L.B.T.

6. "Obama's [latest] gay rights push"

http://www.smh.com.au/world/obamas-gay-rights-push-20110720-1houe.html?skin=text-only

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38225

Labels: Barack Obama, G.L.B.T., marriage, U.S.A.

Feast of St. James the Greater, Apostle, and of St. Christopher, Martyr, A.D. 2011

Friday, February 25, 2011

Notes: Thursday, February 24-Friday, February 25, 2011

1. Prof. Putnam's findings on the consequences of increased diversity in society

Here is an excerpt from a comment at The Australian's website:

Geoff of Sydney Posted at 10:55 AM February 23, 2011

When has Malcolm Fraser got anything right? "Multiculturalism is about diversity, not division -- it is about interaction not isolation." Yet Robert Putnam's extensive study on "diversity" policy has shown (against his personal beliefs) that it does foster disharmony and isolation within a society. ...

[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/talking-point/comments-fn558imw-1226010350081]

You can read more about those findings at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Putnam

Labels: multiculturalism, Robert Putnam, social trends

2. Latest developments in Australia and the U.S. regarding so-called gay marriage

2.1 "Marriage law loses Obama support"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/marriage-law-loses-obama-support/story-e6frg6so-1226011578827
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/lifematters/gay-marriage-move-splits-congress-20110224-1b77k.html?skin=text-only
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36169
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/02/obama-administration-ceases-defense-of-natural-true-marriage/

Labels: Barack Obama, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, U.S.A.

2.2 "LABOR must win back voters lost to the Greens by advocating stronger action on climate change and supporting gay marriage, according to a secret internal review of the party's performance"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/politics-news/labor-elders-tell-the-party-to-go-green-to-recover-lost-votes/story-fn59nqld-1226011658891

Labels: Australian Labor, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality

3. "The Alta Vendita [and how it has succeeded just as it had planned]"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36173

Labels: Freemasons, Vatican II

4. ""Womanpriest" renounces supposed ordination"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=36165
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2011/02/wdtprs-highest-kudos-to-norma-jean-coon/

Labels: Norma Jean Coon, womenpriests

Reginaldvs Cantvar
25.II.2011

Monday, January 31, 2011

Notes: Monday-Monday, January 24-31, 2011

1. Projections for Muslim population growth

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/muslim-population-growth-to-boom-study/story-e6frg6so-1225995607652

Labels: demography, Islam

2. On abortion and suicide

2.1 Some figures on abortion in the U.S., South Australia, and Russia

U.S.:
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35748

South Australia:
http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1296030442.html

Russia:
http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3284

2.2 Mr. Obama and the European Court of Human Rights on the implications of a 'right to privacy' for, respectively, abortion and suicide

Today marks the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that protects women’s health and reproductive freedom, and affirms a fundamental principle: that government should not intrude on private family matters.
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/01/22/statement-president-roe-v-wade-anniversary]

Of course, to be more precise, what Mr. Obama meant to say when is he said that "government should not intrude on private family matters" is that 'government should not intrude on some but not all private family matters'--presumably he thinks, despite the logical inconsistency, that a father should be prevented, where feasible, from committing infanticide.

Meanwhile,

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the “respect for private life” found in the European Convention of Human Rights includes the right of individuals to choose freely to commit suicide.
[http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35725]

(See this AQ comment for a different, but still valid, perspective on Mr. Obama's comment.)

Labels: abortion, Barack Obama, demography, E.C.H.R., human rights, morality, suicide

3. "SCIENTISTS are getting closer to finding a non-physical definition of the kilogram"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/race-for-new-kilo-equivalent/story-e6frg6so-1225993858116

Labels: physics

4. Various letter-writers on so-called gay marriage and related questions

Below is my transcription of four letters, apparently not available on-line, which were published in The Weekend Australian Magazine's "Feedback" section (page 4) last Saturday. I don't necessarily agree with the whole content and/or expression of each of these letters, but each makes at least one good point:

"Tying the Knot" (Jan 15-16), eulo-gising "same-sex" marriages, is sugar-coating a poison pill. The usual anec-dotes are presented about happy homosexual unions. We are beguiled with images of beautiful babies with same-sex "parents". Wait for the posion pill to act on these babies. Then we will see a little girl wrapping herself around a male father figure, or a male young-ster crying, "I wish I had a mother."
Ian Seccombe
Epping, NSW

Most people probably have no serious objection to same-sex relationships or legalised unions, but expropriating the word "married" so that its traditional meaning is lost is another matter.
Rob Davies
Point Lonsdale, Vic

I have been in a male gay relationship for 31 years and my partner and I both agree that marriage is a binding commit-ment between male and female. How I would have preferred to be born a heterosexual and to be able to have had children of my own, but I recognise they are my wants only, without considera-tion for the child. I believe that a child needs that father and mother parenting role model to have the opportunity to achieve the best for their life. Same-sex parenting must surely have a confusing influence on a child's development.
Roger Phillips
Adelaide, SA

It is wonderful that couples, gay or straight, who are unable to conceive children naturally have the opportunity to become parents but please consider the rights and feelings of their offspring. They may not want to know their full identity now but I can assure you they will at some time in the future. Surely it is everyone's basic human right to know their full identity.
Bronwyn Vincent
Macgregor, ACT

Labels: families, G.L.B.T., marriage, morality, parenthood

4. "Gays vow respect in marriage debate"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/gays-vow-respect-in-marriage-debate/story-e6frg6nf-1225997089933

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, morality

5. Blog comments by me

Two which I've submitted at Joshua's blog here and here, and this one at Terra's blog:

Cardinal Pole said...

"[Felix is] disconcerted by the lack of fairness in referring to the SSPX.

"As whenn Father Gerald says that "the Lefebvre group stresses Latin for the Mass ...", trivialising their actual concerns."

I agree that Father trvialises the S.S.P.X.'s concerns about the N.O.M. Isn't Msgr. Lefebvre on record as saying something like that if the T.L.M. had simply been translated into the vernacular without any other modification then the S.S.P.X. could not justifiably have rejected such a Mass? (I don't ask that rhetorically; is my recollection accurate, and if so where might it be verified?)

February 1, 2011 2:39 AM
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.

[http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/01/just-call-me-catholic-please.html]

I address the questions which I've asked there to my readers here, too.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. John Bosco, Confessor, A.D. 2011

Friday, December 24, 2010

Notes: Friday, December 24, 2010

... One in seven children grow up in families where no one in the house has a job.

The Australian Council of Social Service and the Salvos estimate that 2 million people cannot afford some of the bare necessities of life.

[http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/spare-a-thought-for-those-doing-it-tough-20101223-196ij.html?skin=text-only]

3. "I have just spent 10 days in Israel and every discussion there - almost every thought - is infused with Iran"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/decision-time-on-iran-approaches/story-e6frg6zo-1225975594243

4. A consequentialist defence of lying to children about the existence of 'Santa Claus'

Needless to say, I disagree:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/wonders-never-cease-nor-should-santa/story-fn4riyly-1225975516923

5. Mr. Egan on the harmful psychological effects on mothers who abort their respective pregnancies

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/harmful-effects/story-fn558imw-1225975624268
(Mr. Egan's letter is a response to this letter from yesterday's edition of The Australian. Unfortunately neither of the respective on-line versions of those two letters contains the respective first sentences of those two letters. They were, for Mr. Egan's letter, "IT won't be difficult for Angela Shanahan to meet Maryanne Long's challenge.", and, for Ms Long's letter, "I CHALLENGE Angela Shanahan to produce objective, valid evidence to support her statement that abortion "can cause terrible long-term trauma".")

6. "Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus Forum"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=35261

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord, A.D. 2010

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Notes: Wednesday, June 2, 2010

A fashion industry czar with an interesting business philosophy

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/prince-of-the-soft-sell/story-e6frg8k6-1225874158825

Here's an interesting excerpt from an article in today's edition of The Australian:

In 1987 [Brunello] Cucinelli ["king of cashmere"!] moved his business into the castle and slowly began to acquire neighbouring properties to create the type of business at which people of all ages would be proud to work.

Now 20 per cent of the company's revenue goes towards restoring and developing Solomeo. Cucinelli has constructed a magnificent 240-seat theatre, a sports centre and invested in impressive staff facilities.

"The theatre is an important part of my mission," Cucinelli says. "It is part of what I have tried to do by following the teachings of St Francis and St Benedict: to improve mankind through things such as the arts."

The teachings of St Benedict are always on the tip of Cucinelli's tongue as he strives to create a humanist business model. Other companies and institutions are keeping a close eye on his ethical improvements. In 2006, the business started a research and exchange program with students from Harvard University.

Dr. Wiltshire and Mr. Muehlenberg on English and History, respectively, under the new national schools curriculum

Dr. Wiltshire:

UNDER the new national schools curriculum students studying English as a Second Language will apparently study more literature than those studying Essential English.

The bulk of our students will encounter only a smattering of literature texts in something described as "functional English", while the true enjoyment of reading literature will be the preserve of just an elite few. This is hardly in line with true educational principles or Australia's egalitarian foundations.
[bold type in the original,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/dumbing-down-english-teaching/story-e6frg6zo-1225874203101]

Mr. Muehlenberg:

Recent announcements about a new draft national history curriculum for Australian schools may result in even more parents making the move out of the public education system. A number of historians have warned that this curriculum appears to be yet more leftist propaganda masquerading as education.

Here is how one press account introduces the story: “Historians say the new national modern history curriculum for schools reads like a Marxist manifesto that ignores popular aspects of our past and neglects Australia’s role in world politics and war. The course, designed for years 11 and 12, is heavily focused on revolutionary struggles, colonial oppression and women’s struggle for equality.
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2010/05/31/history-wars/]

CathPews poster 'John' and Coo-ees's 'Hound of Heaven' on Fr. Kelly's latest CathNews piece

Here's John's nice rebuttal of that piece:

http://members7.boardhost.com/CathPews/msg/1275354860.html

And here's Hound of Heaven:

http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2010/06/veiled-secrets-of-cathnews.html

where I've left the following comment:

Cardinal Pole said...

"Every man praying or prophesying with his head covered disgraces his head. But every woman praying or prophesying with her head not covered disgraces her head: for it is all one as if she were shaven. For if a woman be not covered, let her be shorn. ..."
1Cor11:4-6

June 02, 2010 4:48 AM
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.

Msgr. Scicluna and Fr. Zuhlsdorf on the sin of scandal

A timely reminder of the seriousness of the sin of scandal ('scandal' in the proper sense of the word--unreasonably giving someone else an occasion of sin):

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2010/05/the-bitterness-of-hell-amplified-by-those-whom-the-damned-has-caused-to-fall/#comments

Msgr. Scicluna:

Referring back to the “terrible” words written by St. Mark, Msgr. Scicluna quoted St. Gregory the Great who said that any person who, having made vows to holiness, "destroys others through word or example" would have been better off having died of their misdeeds in a secular position, "rather than, through their holy office, being imposed as an example for others in their faults.

"Without a doubt, if they were to fall on their own, their torment in Hell would be easier to bear."

Fr. Zuhlsdorf:

The torments of everlasting Hell are surely proportioned to the sins one committed. But would they not also be proportioned to the number of people one causes to sin and therefore also lose the happiness of heaven? How might the bitterness, despair, fury, woe of eternal separation from God by amplified by the knowledge of your part in their fall as well as in their presence… and their cries.

Egyptian State-Church clash over divorce and re-marriage (a foretaste of what's to come in countries which legislate for so-called gay marriage?)

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31888

Here's an excerpt from an item posted at AQ:

Egypt's highest court has ruled that the Coptic Orthodox Church must allow divorce and remarriage.

The Supreme Administrative Court, siding with a lower court decision, rejected an appeal by Coptic Pope Shenouda II. The court said that "the right to family formation is a constitutional right."

In Egypt all marriages must be solemnized in a religious ceremony. The court ruled that the Christians who make up 10% of the country's population have the same right to marriage and remarriage as their Muslim neighbors, and Christian churches, regardless of their religious doctrines, must allow divorced people to remarry. The decision cannot be appealed.

Mr. Obama again proclaims June to be "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31887

Blog comments by me

At Joshua's blog:

Cardinal Pole said...

"(Unfortunately, there are two exceptions ... to the virtue of the Don: he was quite anti-Catholic, and was suspected of shonky dealings in his career as a stockbroker.)"

Make that three exceptions (though this third one is inseparable from the first): Sir Donald was a Freemason (source).

Wednesday, 02 June, 2010
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.
[http://psallitesapienter.blogspot.com/2010/06/cootamundra-young-cowra.html]

At Mr. Schütz's blog:

"There is no social reign of the one who said his kingdom is not of this world."

If I had a dollar for every time someone said something like that as an objection to the dogma of the Social Kingship of Christ ...

Quas Primas really is a magnificent document, by the way.

"That is a self-justifying fantasy of state churches"

I've never heard of any Protestant State church arguing for the continuation of their establishment on the basis of the Social Kingship of Christ. Presumably they would argue for it on the basis of the high proportion of the populace belonging at least nominally to that church. Maybe I should check with, say, Denmark's Ministry for Ecclesiastical Affairs.

[http://scecclesia.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/simon-shama-on-the-snares-of-history-for-the-secular-humanist/#comment-15050]

At Terra's blog:

[I accidentally posted the final version of the following comment without saving it, but there should be only one small difference, so I'll publish this earlier draft and correct it when and if Terra posts it]

"1. While sexual purity is certainly highly desirable for the celebration of the sacraments it is not necessary - the sacraments are still valid."

Of course, Terra--that's why I made sure to say "worthily"! (And to pre-empt the objection which someone else raised to me saying that in the past: I speak of worthiness in the same sense in which we speak of receiving Holy Communion worthily or unworthily.)

"2. There remains the problem of married clergy in the Eastern Catholic rites, ex-Anglicans etc."

I don't see how that's a problem for my argument; as Msgr. Lefebvre noted in his
Open Letter to Confused Catholics, clerical marriage in the Eastern Catholic Churches is something which is tolerated, not something to be encouraged, and where the Eastern Patriarchs fail to enforce continence for priests who are married, that is indefensible except, again, insofar as it is a question of tolerating a lesser evil in order to avert a greater evil. The latter holds with respect to ex-Protestants too.

"Its a reminder that we shouldn't think of priests as sacrament producing machines."

Fair enough, but nevertheless, the priesthood is primarily about the celebration of the Mass, and hence the primary reason for celibacy naturally will be connnected to that.

"[You] don't personally think Fr Blake's argument is the only one for clerical celibacy, or that he is suggesting that it is, just that it is a good one."

But clearly he goes much further than just saying that his argument is a good one--he says that it is of "supreme importance".

"There is nothing impure about a married man having sex with his wife, however, so there is nothing wrong per se about a married priest offering Mass."

Louise, you're comparing apples and oranges there--you go from talking about impurity to talking about wrongness. It is not wrong for a married man not to be in the state of Levitical purity, but it is wrong for a priest not to be. And on the contrary to what you said at the start: It is impure, by definition, (but not wrong in se, of course) for a married layman to have conjugal relations. The Roman Catechism teaches, where it deals with the preparation for Holy Communion in the section on the Sacraments, that

"The dignity of so great a Sacrament also demands that married persons abstain from the marriage debt for some days previous to Communion. This observance is recommended by the example of David, who, when about to receive the show-bread from the hands of the priest, declared that he and his servants had been clean from women for three days."
[
http://www.catecheticsonline.com/Trent2.php]

(And hence obviously this holds a fortiori for the one who not just receives the Sacrament, but confects it.)

"If you want to argue that celibacy is a higher good (which it is) and that therefore a priest should be celibate, then that's reasonable."

I am arguing here not that clerical celibacy and non-celibacy are two goods, the greater of which is the former, but that clerical celibacy is a good--indeed mandatory--and that clerical non-celibacy (at least where the cleric in question is not continent) is an evil.
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner
approval.

[http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2010/05/church-and-mission-2-importance-of.html]

Cardinal Pole said...
You're welcome, Terra!

(P.S. (off-topic) You might be interested in the following article:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/executive-lifestyle/prince-of-the-soft-sell/story-e6frg8k6-1225874158825

Excerpt:

"In 1987 [Brunello] Cucinelli ["king of cashmere"!] moved his business into the castle and slowly began to acquire neighbouring properties to create the type of business at which people of all ages would be proud to work.

"Now 20 per cent of the company's revenue goes towards restoring and developing Solomeo. Cucinelli has constructed a magnificent 240-seat theatre, a sports centre and invested in impressive staff facilities.

""The theatre is an important part of my mission," Cucinelli says. "It is part of what I have tried to do by following the teachings of St Francis and St Benedict: to improve mankind through things such as the arts."

"The teachings of St Benedict are always on the tip of Cucinelli's tongue as he strives to create a humanist business model. Other companies and institutions are keeping a close eye on his ethical improvements. In 2006, the business started a research and exchange program with students from Harvard University."

June 2, 2010 5:41 AM
Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.

[http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2010/05/on-judging.html]

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of Ss. Peter and Marcellinus, Martyrs, A.D. 2010

Thursday, June 4, 2009

On Mr. Obama’s declaration of “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month”

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2009/06/03/non-stop-obamanations/
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/

Last month was, along with October, a month of the Blessed Virgin Mary, when we are encouraged to commit ourselves with heightened fervour to honouring Our Lady. But now we’re in June, and so whose month is it now? Why, it’s the month of the Sodomites’ League, of course! I learned via Mr. Muehlenberg’s blog that “Obama has just declared June to be Gay Pride Month.” But when I followed the link to the news source it was not clear to me whether Mr. Obama had “declared” it in some official sense of the word or was just issuing a message of support, such as the one Mr. Rudd gave to the Sodomites’ League recently for, if I recall correctly, the annual taxpayer-funded Sodomites’ Parade; the source spoke of a Presidential ‘proclamation’ but, since I am unfamiliar with American political terminology, I did not know whether that was a ‘proclamation’ in the everyday sense of the word or whether it was some kind of official act. Well now, via a link that I found at www.lifesitenews.com, I know:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

BARACK OBAMA
(capitals in the original,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Proclamation-LGBT-Pride-Month/)
(“year of our Lord”? How dare he dedicate a month in the year of Our Lord to flagrant contempt for the natural law. I wonder what went through Mr. Obama’s mind as, or if, he read those words.) Why such an uninclusive proclamation, though? Why were not all the subgroups of the alphasexual community listed? Or are the following all signified by the term “LGBT”?

gay lesbian bisexual transvestite transgender transsexual trysexual [they’ll ‘try’ anything!] intersex GenderQueer queer questioning [shouldn’t people make up their minds before they get their own category, though?!] qurious allied parents-and-friends-of
(GLBTTTTIGQQQQAPF)

And what of the B.D.S.M. community? (I wonder: at official B.D.S.M. community meetings does everyone turn up really, really late in the hope of being punished VERY VERY severely?!)

And I was fascinated to read this in Mr. Muehlenberg’s post too:

Not all that long ago most people were in agreement that this was a dangerous lifestyle which should not be paraded or glorified. Consider these words, for example: “Even in purely nonreligious terms, homosexuality represents a misuse of the sexual faculty and, in the words of one…educator, of ‘human construction.’ It is a pathetic little second-rate substitute for reality, a pitiable flight from life. As such it deserves fairness, compassion, understanding, and, when possible, treatment. But it deserves no encouragement, no glamorization, no rationalization, no fake status as a minority martyrdom…”

So who said that? Some redneck religious fundamentalist? Not quite. It was uttered by Time magazine, Jan. 21, 1966.
Amazing how far we’ve come in such a short time. As Roy and H.G. might say: things really have gone to buggery!

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Pentecost Thursday, A.D. 2009

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Mr. Obama snubs annual American March for Life, sheds light on his own, and America’s, rationale for permitting abortion

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/abortion-protesters-lose-presidential-seal/2009/01/23/1232471590633.html

The Sydney Morning Herod ran an interesting little article on Saturday, reporting on how the new American President, Mr. Barack Obama, has snubbed the annual March for Life:

For eight years, marchers had been greeted by a message from President George Bush, who supported their cause and appointed two Supreme Court justices sympathetic to it.

In contrast, Mr Obama issued a statement yesterday reaffirming his support for a woman's right to choose to end her pregnancy.
Even more interesting, though, was what that statement had to say, by implication, about why Mr. Obama upholds the supposed ‘right’ to kills one’s own unborn children:

Roe v Wade, the statement said, "not only protects women's health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters".
Fascinating. The paterfamilias’s right to privacy within and sovereignty over his own household was, of course, the basis for many ancient societies’ tolerance of infanticide, commonly by exposition e.g. tethering the infant to a post in some hostile environment and leaving him or her to die. One might have expected such an ‘advanced’ society as America’s to have moved on from this kind of (dare I say it, MgS?) absolutism, especially since that country’s very Constitution lists man’s rights, in descending order of priority, as being to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’. (Note that, as should be well-known, I abhor that liberal and Masonic document, but of course I will uphold one person’s right to life against another’s right to privacy in such “family matters” any day.) A right to privacy clearly comes under either liberty or the pursuit of happiness (both of which the Americans misconceive, though), which are, according to the Americans, subordinate to the right to life, so one might have thought that, when there is a question of a conflict between one person’s very right to life and another’s right to mere privacy, a rigorous investigation would have to be made into whether or not the person is, indeed, entitled to his or her continued earthly existence. Apparently not, according to the august judges in Roe vs. Wade.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. John Chrysostom, Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009