Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label human rights. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2016

Notes: Monday, March 28-Friday, July 1, 2016 (part 1 of 2)

1. "ParentsNext will assist parents with young children in planning for future employment by arranging activities and connecting parents to local services to prepare them for work by the time their children are at school."

The quotation, including its italics, in that headline comes from the Media Release "ParentsNext - helping parents with young children prepare for work", dated Wednesday, January 6, 2016, issued by The Hon. Sen. Michaelia Cash (Federal Minister for Employment, Minister for Women, and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service), downloaded from the Employment portfolio Minister’s Media Centre website:

https://ministers.employment.gov.au/cash/parentsnext-helping-parents-young-children-prepare-work-0

See also
  • the "Grant Guidelines for ParentsNext Webinar" PowerPoint presentation, available here:

    https://docs.employment.gov.au/node/35611

    The fifth slide, headed "Policy rationale", has a bullet point saying "Added impetus: Australia’s G20 commitment to reduce the gap between male and female labour force participation.", and the text accompanying that slide goes into a little more detail, noting, among other things, that "it is expected that the majority of parents in ParentsNext will be women"
Labels: economic rationalism, economics, family, feminism, work

2. In one respect, The Greens are a better friend (or at least less of an enemy) to large families than Labor and the Liberals are.

I refer in that headline to The Greens' opposition to the abolition of the large-family supplement. See The Australian Greens Dissenting Report in the Senate's Community Affairs Legislation Committee's February 2016 report on the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Measures) Bill 2015 [Provisions]:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Family_Measures/Report

See also the respective speeches of Senn. Fifield, Moore, and Siewert recorded in the Hansard for Wednesday, February 24, 2016 (under "Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Measures) Bill 2015" under the two "BILLS" tabs at the left of your screen when you go to the following webpage):

http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2Faf5e9bce-9bd9-45dc-bd87-c1d5218a5d66%2F0000%22

Labels: economics, family, tax

3. Mr. Lawrence on Family Tax Benefit B and horizontal equity:
… What we point out in paragraph 27 of our submission is that family tax benefit B is a hybrid kind of payment.

There was an interesting article by Judith Sloan in The Australian about a month ago where she talked about family tax benefit part B. She framed it, at least part of it, in terms of a tax relief measure. What she was saying—and other people have said this but she perhaps crystallised it—is that family tax benefit B is a provision that gives some horizontal equity to the tax system. In Australia, as we well know, we do not have family tax. The family is not a unit and the household is not a unit for tax purposes. Prime Minister Howard was very good in articulating the basis for giving some support to families through the tax system. His point was, and the same with Judith Sloane, that if somebody is prepared to give part of their income to support somebody else then they should get some recognition for it. There should be some tax relief, because it has a social value. If we give a donation to an organisation that looks after homeless children, we get a tax deduction for it, because it is recognised in the system that there is an advantage in that for society. Civil society, or the institution of society, is enhanced by the sharing of income.

So you get this notion of horizontal equity. We have used the tax rebate originally as one means of modifying the implications of just having an individual as a tax unit. What we now have is a hybrid. It makes it a bit difficult sometimes to work out how you should deal with it. Our view is that because there is a value in looking after children in the home and because there is an argument in support of horizontal equity then in principle there should be no cut-off point in the support. But the reality is that if you are going to support the people at the bottom, the most vulnerable, you might not be able to afford that benefit. If you reduce it back, you might lose the obvious horizontal tax equity features. That is an issue that I think has to be taken into account in this debate and it sometimes can be confusing as to how you deal with it.
[my ellipsis symbol,
Hansard transcript of a public hearing, on February 18, 2016, for the Senate's Community Affairs Legislation Committee's inquiry into the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Payments Structural Reform and Participation Measures) Bill (No. 2) 2015 (the quotation comes from Mr. Brian Lawrence, who represented the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (A.C.C.E.R.)):
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22committees%2Fcommsen%2F9b2b26ff-6726-4185-935e-06385bc5c0aa%2F0000%22
(A.C.C.E.R.'s submission is available at Parliament's website (but Mr. Lawrence seems to have had in mind section, rather than page, 27, on p. 8):
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Family_Payments_No_2/Submissions)]
Labels: economics, family, tax

4. Some recent items regarding "respectful relationships"

4.1 Mr. Muehlenberg on Early Childhood Australia (E.C.A.) and its Start Early "teaching resource"

See the blog posts "Get Your Hands Off Our Children" by Mr. Bill Muehlenberg, dated March 6, 2016, downloaded from his CultureWatch blog:

http://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/03/06/when-the-wicked-target-our-children/

and "The Sexual Anarchists Targeting Our Children", by the same author, dated March 8, 2016, downloaded from the same website:

http://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/03/08/the-sexual-anarchists-targeting-our-children/

There is a Start Early homepage at E.C.A.'s website:

http://startearly.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/

Labels: childcare, education, feminism, G.L.B.T., morals, multiculturalism, relativism, sex ed

4.2 Stop it at the start (a "$30 million national campaign designed to help break the cycle of violence against women and their children") "will unite families and communities around young people to positively influence attitudes towards respectful relationships and gender equality."

The quotations in that headline come from the media release "Stop it at the start", dated April 20, 2016, downloaded from the Federal Minister for Women's website (the latter quotation was attributed directly to the Minister, The Hon. Sen. Michaelia Cash):

http://ministers.dpmc.gov.au/cash/2016/stop-it-start

(That media release is also available at the official Federal Minister for Social Services website:

http://christianporter.dss.gov.au/media-releases/stop-it-at-the-start)

See also the transcript "Stop it at the Start - Campaign Launch Press Conference", dated April 20, 2016, downloaded from the same website:

http://ministers.dpmc.gov.au/cash/2016/stop-it-start-campaign-launch-press-conference

(and also available at the other website:

http://christianporter.dss.gov.au/transcripts/stop-it-at-the-start-campaign-launch-press-conference)

In that transcript, Sen. Cash also reminds her audience of how
last year the Women’s Safety Ministers, we wrote to the Education Ministers, and we recommended that Respectful Relationships, that programme, be imbedded in the school curriculum. We were very pleased that then the Education Minister’s determined that it would.
As for the respective policies of Federal Labor and The Greens concerning 'respectful relationships', see
Labels: childcare, education, feminism, G.L.B.T., morals, multiculturalism, relativism, sex ed

4.3 Ms Barry on "respectful relationships education"

See the opinion piece "Respectful relationships education: teaching kids respect" by Ms Mary Barry (Chief Executive Officer of Our Watch), dated April 21, 2016, downloaded from Our Watch's website:

http://www.ourwatch.org.au/News-media/Latest-news/Respectful-relationships-education-teaching-kids-r

Labels: childcare, education, feminism, G.L.B.T., morals, multiculturalism, relativism, sex ed

5. Some sources of information about the Martyrs of Carmes

See the Trove scans of the following newspaper articles (none of which had bylines):
  • "HEROIC MARTYR BAND. Death Preferred to Disloyalty. THE POPE’S EULOGY." in The Freeman's Journal, Vol. LXXVI, Sydney, Thursday, December 2, 1926, p. 40:
    http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/116779424
    (That article also contains information about Bl. Noel Pinot, another martyr during the French Revolution.)

See also pp. 67-72 of Acta Apostolicæ Sedis (A.A.S.) Vol. VIII (A.D. 1916):

http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-08-1916-ocr.pdf

and pp. 415-425, 439-447, and 450-452 of A.A.S. Vol. XVIII (A.D. 1926):

http://www.vatican.va/archive/aas/documents/AAS-18-1926-ocr.pdf

(The latter volume also contains information about the aforementioned Bl. Noel Pinot.)

Labels: France, saints

6. Some recent Gay-related items

6.1 "An Australian first Pride Centre is the centrepiece of the Andrews Labor Government’s continued investment in services and facilities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Victorians."

The quotation in that headline is the first paragraph of the Media Release "Victoria Continues To Lead The Nation On Equality", credited to Victoria's Ministers for, respectively, Equality (The Hon. Martin Foley M.P.) and Health (The Hon. Jill Hennessy M.P.), dated April 27, 2016, downloaded from the official Premier of Victoria website:

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victoria-continues-to-lead-the-nation-on-equality/

See also the Media Release "Australia’s First Pride Centre", credited to the Victorian Premier (The Hon. Daniel Andrews M.P.), dated April 20, 2016, downloaded from the same website:

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/australias-first-pride-centre/

and the A.B.C. news report "Victoria to establish Australia's first Pride Centre for LGBTI community", dated Apil 20, 2016:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-20/victoria-to-be-home-to-australias-first-pride-centre/7343932

(While gathering that information, I came across this remarkable document:

Equality back on the agenda: Labor’s LGBTI Policy)

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

6.2 "A Shorten Labor Government will appoint a full-time LGBTI Discrimination Commissioner to the Australian Human Rights Commission."

The quotation in that headline is the first paragraph of the media release "Labor To Appoint A New Champion For LGBTI Australians", issued jointly by The Hon. Sen. Penny Wong (Leader of H.M.A. Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Trade and Investment) and The Hon. Mark Dreyfus Q.C. M.P. (Federal Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Arts Minister), dated Saturday, May 21, 2016, downloaded from Mr. Dreyfus's website:

http://markdreyfus.nationbuilder.com/labor_to_appoint_a_new_champion_for_lgbti_australians

See also
Labels: A.H.R.C., G.L.B.T., human rights

6.3 On Wednesday, May 25, 2016, His Excellency The Governor of New South Wales "met with Mr Geoff Selig, Board Director, and Mr Sean Linkson, Chief Executive Officer of The Pinnacle Foundation, an organisation established to provide scholarships to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex and Queer students who are marginalised or disadvantaged."

The quotation in that headline comes from the webpage "Wednesday, 25 May 2016" at the official Governor of New South Wales website:

https://www.governor.nsw.gov.au/governor/vice-regal-program/wednesday/

Labels: G.L.B.T., N.S.W.

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of The Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, A.D. 2016
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Monday, November 30, 2015

Notes: Wednesday, September 30-Monday, November 30, 2015 (part 1 of 2)

1. Some recent announcements by H.M.A. Government concerning foreign affairs

1.1 Australia will "provide $7 million over three years to support the United Nations’ Joint Programme for Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in the Pacific."

The quotation in that headline comes from the media release "Promoting Economic Growth in the Pacific", dated September 29, 2015, downloaded from the website of the Minister for Foreign Affairs (currently The Hon. Julie Bishop M.P.):

http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150929a.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D

(That iniative came to my attention via this article at The Australian's website.) According to a press release issued jointly by the United Nations Children's Fund (U.N.I.C.E.F.), the United Nations Population Fund (U.N.F.P.A.), and the World Health Organisation, Ms Bishop "noted that the AU$7 million investment will support the UN Secretary General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health". That Strategy can be downloaded from its official website here:

http://globalstrategy.everywomaneverychild.org/

Or go straight hither:

http://globalstrategy.everywomaneverychild.org/pdf/EWEC_globalstrategyreport_200915_FINAL_WEB.pdf

(And the aforementioned press release is available under the headline "Joint Media Release: Australian commitment to UN joint programme for Pacific mother, child and adolescent health kicks off investment in Global Goals for Sustainable Development", dated September 30, 2015, at U.N.I.C.E.F.'s website:

http://www.unicef.org/pacificislands/1852_24727.html

and under the headline "A JOINT PRESS RELEASE: Australian commitment to UN joint programme for Pacific mother, child and adolescent health kicks off investment in Global Goals for Sustainable Development", same date, at the U.N.F.P.A.'s website:

http://countryoffice.unfpa.org/pacific/2015/09/30/12827/a_joint_press_release_australian_commitment_to_un_joint_programme_for_pacific_mother_child_and_adolescent_health_kicks_off_investment_in_global_goals_for_sustainable_development/)

Labels: abortion, contraception, feminism, foreign affairs

1.2 Were it to be elected to "the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2018-2020 term", Australia's "focus would be on empowering women and girls, strengthening governance and democratic institutions, promoting freedom, freedom of expression, and advancing human rights for all", and it "would be unrelenting in [its] efforts to secure abolition of the death penalty."

The quotations, excluding my square-bracketed replacement of the word "our", in that headline come from the text prepared for the spoken national statement by Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs (The Hon. Julie Bishop M.P.) in the United Nations General Assembly (seventieth session), dated September 29, 2015, downloaded from the official Minister for Foreign Affairs website:

http://foreignminister.gov.au/speeches/Pages/2015/jb_sp_150929a.aspx?w=tb1CaGpkPX%2FlS0K%2Bg9ZKEg%3D%3D

See also the media release "United Nations Security Council & Human Rights Council", dated September 29, 2015, downloaded from the same website, in which Ms Bishop says similarly that
We are an international leader in advancing the rights of women and girls, strengthening governance and democratic institutions, and promoting freedom of expression.

As a member of the Human Rights Council, Australia would bring a clear focus on addressing human rights violations and holding perpetrators to account. Australia would also be a leading advocate for global abolition of the death penalty.
[http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150929.aspx]
Labels: death penalty, democracy, feminism, foreign affairs, human rights, liberalism

2. "The tensions for parents, educators and children in building a sustainable culture of ethical and respectful relationships early in life" is the project title of taxpayer-funded (to the tune of $198992) research which "hopes to move the debate around sexuality and sexual relationships away from being viewed as problematic for young people to that of building a culture of ethical and respectful relationships in early life."

The quotations in that headline come from the Western Sydney University (W.S.U.) "RESEARCH DIRECTIONS" flyer "Building Children’s Ethical Relationship Skills with Parents and Educators", dated December 2011, presumably published by W.S.U.'s Office of Research Services, downloaded from W.S.U.'s website:

https://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/248057/071211_KidsEthicalRelationships_Robinson.pdf

(That project came to my attention via the print version of the article "Let's talk about sex, knowledge, health and well-being, baby", by Fran Molloy, dated October 12, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/tertiary-education/lets-talk-about-sex-knowledge-health-and-wellbeing-baby-20151008-gk44ht.html?skin=text-only)

See also Prof. Robinson's staff profile here or here.

Labels: feminism, G.L.B.T., morals, sex ed

3. On the second day of the recently-concluded Synod, H.H. The Pope made His Holiness's "first direct intervention at the Synod in the course of the past two years"; in that intervention, The Pope said "that thus far the only official Synod documents which enjoy full ecclesiastical approval are the two discourses he himself delivered at the opening and closing of the Extraordinary Synod last October, as well as the "Relatio Synodi" or final document of the Extraordinary Synod which he approved."

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Pope Francis makes first direct intervention; was Cardinal Erdö undermined?", by The Rev. Fr. Nicholas Gregoris, dated October 6, 2015, downloaded from The Catholic World Report's website:

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Blog/4239/pope_francis_makes_first_direct_intervention_was_cardinal_erd_undermined.aspx

(That article came to my attention via this blog post by Fr. Zuhlsdorf.) Interestingly, the Vatican revoked Fr. Gregoris's press credentials the next day; see the article "Vatican revokes Catholic priest’s press credentials after he challenged archbishop", by Mr. Patrick B. Craine, dated Monday, October 12, 2015, downloaded from LifeSiteNews.com:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/breaking-vatican-revokes-catholic-priests-press-credentials-after-he-challe

Labels: Francis Bergoglio

4. "ultimately, the package is about trying to devise ways to increase female workforce participation amongst mums, single mothers, mothers in couple families. Historically, we know that that is occurring, we would like to keep it occurring, it can and should be a great engine room of the Australian economy and it’s great way to increase family wealth and prosperity."

The quotation in that headline comes from the transcript of an interview of The Hon. Christian Porter M.P. (Federal Minister for Social Services) on Sky News on October 22, 2015, downloaded from Mr. Porter's Ministerial website:

http://christianporter.dss.gov.au/transcripts/sky-news-pvo-newsday

(That transcript is also available here, at Mr. Porter's electorate website.) See also
  • the official webpage of the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee inquiry into the Social Services Legislation Amendment (Family Payments Structural Reform and Participation Measures) Bill 2015

    http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Family_Payments

    whence you can download, among other things, the inquiry report and the official submission of the Australian Catholic Council for Employment Relations (the latter is especially worth reading for the historical perspective which it provides).
Labels: economic rationalism, economics, family, tax, work

Reginaldvs Cantvar
St. Andrew's Day, A.D. 2015
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Monday, August 10, 2015

Notes: Tuesday, May 26-Monday, August 10, 2015 (part 1 of 2)

1. Some items connected with the 2015 Australian Federal Budget

1.1 Mr. Morrison on workforce participation as the whole, or at least the principal, purpose for Federal subsidies of childcare

See the transcript of Mr. Neil Mitchell's interview of The Hon. Scott Morrison M.P. (Federal Minister for Social Services) on May 1, 2015, downloaded from Mr. Morrison's Ministerial website:

http://scottmorrison.dss.gov.au/transcripts/3aw-with-neil-mitchell-1may2015

(Mr. Morrison's statements came to my attention via the article "More help for more work as childcare subsidies tightened" by Mr. David Crowe, dated May 2, 2015, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/more-help-for-more-work-as-childcare-subsidies-tightened/story-fntfa2d0-1227330846433

or the version printed under the headline "More help for more work", by Mr. David Crowe and Ms Tessa Akerman, on p. 2 in "THE NATION" section of The Weekend Australian, May 2-3, 2015, Second Edition, No. 15718, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: childcare, economics, family, tax, work

1.2 "Tony Abbott’s families package is not child-friendly. The government will punish mothers financially if they can’t find a job, don’t have time to study or prefer to care for their own kids while they are young."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Budget 2015: Families package punishes children", by Ms Natasha Bita, dated May 13, 2015, downloaded from (behind the paywall at) The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/budget-2015/budget-2015-families-package-punishes-children/story-fntfbo7f-1227352625754

Labels: childcare, economics, family, tax, work

1.3 "Big families at present qualify for a supplement for their fourth and subsequent children, but from July 1, 2016, will lose $321 a year for their fourth child and every subsequent child."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Federal budget 2015: Large families to lose out amid big boost to childcare funding", by Ms Judith Ireland, dated May 12, 2015, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/federal-budget-2015-large-families-to-lose-out-amid-big-boost-to-childcare-funding-20150512-1mzhke.html?skin=text-only

Labels: family, tax

1.4 "The Australian Government will also establish a $50 million competitive gender equality fund to strengthen gender equality and women's economic empowerment in our region."

The quotation in that headline comes from the media release "2015 Foreign Affairs Budget", dated May 12, 2015, downloaded from the Ministerial website of The Hon. Julie Bishop M.P. (Minister for Foreign Affairs):

http://foreignminister.gov.au/releases/Pages/2015/jb_mr_150512.aspx

(The gender equality fund came to my attention via an opinion piece by Ms Miranda Devine.) See also the following webpages at H.M.A. Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website:
Note the reference at the second of those webpages to the Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development programme; more information on that programme can be found at the third of those webpages and in item 1 of this "Notes" post.

Note also that, according to Ms Bishop recorded in Hansard (Tuesday, June 16, 2015, 1328-1333 hours), "initiatives supported under the gender equality fund will complement gender activities currently funded through country and regional programs"—complement rather than replace, I take it. (And see the rest of that portion of Hansard for further information on Australia's overseas Feminist propaganda.)

Labels: feminism, foreign affairs

1.5 The Jobs for Families childcare package is "going to be financed by cuts to the only govern-ment support for single income families, and that’s FTB"; (Family Tax Benefit part B "is currently paid until a family’s youngest child turns 16" but is "set to cease when the youngest child turns six; substantive-ly dismantling the Howard government’s support for single-income households")

The quotations, including the dashes where a word spanned two lines, in that headline come from the article "Budget move on child care ‘punishes those who look after kids at home’", by Mr. Robert Hiini, on p. 5 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, May 17, 2015, Vol. 73, No. 4775, published by The Catholic Press Newspaper Company Pty. Ltd., apparently not available online; the first quotation was attributed to Ms Terri Kelleher of the Australian Family Association.

Labels: childcare, economics, family, tax

1.6 "Shorten backs plans to abolish tax break for non-working spouses"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an article by Ms Katherine Towers, dated June 9, 2015, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/shorten-backs-plans-to-abolish-tax-break-for-non-working-spouses/story-fn59niix-1227389648458

See also the article "Labor cuts deal with Coalition to end tax break for spouses", by Mr. Phillip Coorey, dated June 8, 2015 (updated June 9, 2015), downloaded from The Australian Financial Review's website:

http://www.afr.com/news/policy/tax/labor-cuts-deal-with-coalition-to-end-tax-break-for-spouses-20150609-ghiqfm

A transcript of the interview in which The Hon. Bill Shorten M.P. (Leader of H.M.A. Opposition) confirmed Labor's support for the policy in question is available under the headline "Doorstop: Melbourne – Retirement of Chris Judd; Tony Abbott’s cuts to Family Tax Benefit payments Dependent Spouse Offset", provided by Mr. Kieran Barns-Jenkins, dated Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at Mr. Shorten's website:

http://billshorten.com.au/doorstop-melbourne-retirement-of-chris-judd-tony-abbotts-cuts-to-family-tax-benefit-payments-dependent-spouse-offset

Labels: family, marriage, tax

2. Some recent Gay-related data

2.1 Some recent data on the Queer proportion of the population

2.1.1 "In 2014, over half a million people or 3.0% of the adult population identified as gay, lesbian or 'other'. This includes 268,000 people who identified as gay or lesbian and 255,000 people who identified as having an 'other' sexual orientation."

The quotation in that headline comes from the webpage "General Social Survey: Summary Results, Australia, 2014" (catalogue no. 4159.0), dated June 29, 2015, downloaded from the Australian Bureau of Statistics's website:

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4159.0

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

2.1.2 Judging by the latest version of the HILDA Statistical Report, between 1.8 and 4.8% of men are Gay and between 1 and 4.7% of women are Lesbian.

See p. 85 of The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey: Selected Findings from Waves 1 to 12, by Associate Prof. Roger Wilkins, released on Wednesday, July 15, 2015, ISSN 2205-0566 (Online), © Commonwealth of Australia 2015, downloaded from the HILDA Survey webpage:

https://www.melbourneinstitute.com/hilda/

or go straight hither:

https://www.melbourneinstitute.com/downloads/hilda/Stat_Report/statreport_2015.pdf

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

2.2 "International research has shown that compared with the general population, HIV-negative Gay and Bisexual men are up to 20 times more likely to be diagnosed with anal cancer"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Anal Cancer Webinar Reduces Stigma Around Overlooked Disease", dated July 1, 2015, downloaded from acon's website:

http://www.acon.org.au/about-acon/latest-news/#anal-cancer-webinar

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

3. Australia refused to support a recent U.N. Human Rights Commission resolution "because it ascribed rights to the family as a unit instead of to individuals and failed to recognise the diversity of families, including same-sex families."

See the article "Julie Bishop makes stand for same-sex families", by Mr. Dennis Shanahan, dated July 18, 2015, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/julie-bishop-makes-stand-for-same-sex-families/story-fn59niix-1227446546090

(That article came to my attention via the version printed on pp. 1 f., under the headlines "Bishop’s stand for same-sex families" for the first part and "Bishop in same-sex stand at UN" for the second, by the same author, in "THE NATION" pages of The Weekend Australian, July 18-19, 2015, Second Edition, No. 15784, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited.)

Labels: family, feminism, foreign affairs, G.L.B.T., human rights, U.N.O.

4. "Archbishop [Stephen ]Langton whole­heartedly embraced the scriptural thesis that civil government is not God’s original plan for humankind but rather a result of original sin."

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the article "MAGNA CARTA AT 800 Magna Carta understood as its drafter intended it to be", by Dr. Augusto Zimmermann, dated August 1, 2015, downloaded from News Weekly's website:

http://newsweekly.com.au/article.php?id=57014

Labels: law, morals, States

5. A couple of recent items regarding H.H. The Pope

5.1 One of the official presenters of Laudato si' at the press conference for that Encyclical's presentation was "Professor John[ or Hans Joachim] Schellnhuber, founder and director of the Institute for Climate Impact in Potsdam, Federal Republic of Germany, representing the field of natural sciences, with which the encyclical enters into profound dialogue, and who was recently appointed as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of the Sciences".

The quotation, excluding my square-bracketed interpolation, in that headline comes from the item "Press conference for the presentation of the Encyclical Laudato si'", dated June 18, 2015, in the Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin of June 18, 2015, Year XXII, No. 114; that item is also available under the same headline, with the same date, at NEWS.VA:

http://www.news.va/en/news/press-conference-for-the-presentation-of-the-encyc

H.H. The Pope's appointment of Prof. Schellnhuber as an ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of (the) Sciences was reported in the item "Other Pontifical Acts", dated June 17, 2015, in the Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin of June 17, 2015, Year XXII, No. 113; that item is also available under the headline "Pontifical Acts - 17 June", with the same date, at NEWS.VA:

http://www.news.va/en/news/other-pontifical-acts-677

Labels: Francis Bergoglio

5.2 "The Pope receives B'nai B'rith International and recalls the work of St. John XXIII and St. John Paul II to promote friendship between Jews and Christians"

The quotation in that headline is the headline of an item dated June 25, 2015 in the Holy See Press Office's Vatican Information Service's daily e-mail bulletin of June 25, 2015, Year XXII, No. 119; that item is also available under the same headline, with the same date, at NEWS.VA:

http://www.news.va/en/news/the-pope-receives-bnai-brith-international-and-rec

Labels: B'nai B'rith, Francis Bergoglio, Freemasons, Jews

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Lawrence, Martyr, A.D. 2015
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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
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Notes: Wednesday, February 13-Tuesday, March 26, 2013 (part 1 of 2)

1. "Vatican Apostolic Library uploads 256 digitized manuscripts"

See the article "Vatican Apostolic Library uploads 256 digitized manuscripts", no author credited, dated January 30, 2013, downloaded from the Rome Reports website:

http://www.romereports.com/palio/vatican-apostolic-library-uploads-256-digitized-manuscripts-english-8886.html

or go straight to the relevant webpage of the Apostolic Library's website:

http://www.vaticanlibrary.va/home.php?pag=mss_digitalizzati

(That Rome Reports article came to my attention via this Catholica thread-starter.)

Labels: books

2. "these two documents, on religious freedom and Nostra Aetate, linked to Gaudium et Spes, make a very important trilogy"

The quotation, including its italics and hyperlinks, in that headline comes from the Vatican website's translation of the Address of H.H. The Pope Emeritus (then gloriously reigning) at the Meeting with the Parish Priests and the Clergy of the Rome Diocese on Thursday, February 14, 2013 in the Paul VI. Audience Hall. (That Address came to my attention via this article from the Vatican Radio website.)

Labels: Dignitatis Humanæ, Vatican II

3. "about one in five students at Sydney Catholic schools comes from other faith backgrounds or is not religious"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "School choice is not just keeping the faith", by Josephine Tovey and Georgina Mitchell, dated February 18, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/school-choice-is-not-just-keeping-the-faith-20130217-2el4a.html?skin=text-only

That quotation is the authors' report of what "the executive director of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Sydney, Dan White", told them.

Labels: Catholic schools

4. Mr. Gutierrez on how, in his opinion, "Dignitatis Humanae, the Council document on religious freedom, represented a development of Church teaching, not a reversal of it."

See the article "Vatican II and Religious Liberty", by Omar F. A. Gutierrez, dated January 14, 2013, downloaded from The Catholic World Report website:

http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/1883/Vatican_II_and_Religious_Liberty.aspx

(That article came to my attention via this True Catholic thread.)

Labels: Dignitatis Humanæ, religious liberty

5. A couple of recent items regarding the death penalty

5.1 A potentially useful website on the death penalty

See here:

http://tcreek.jimdo.com/

(That came to my attention via this comment.)

Labels: death penalty

5.2 Prof. Feser on the death penalty

See his blog post "Capital punishment lecture", dated Wednesday, March 13, 2013:

http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/capital-punishment-lecture.html

(I log that post because Prof. Feser doesn't use subject labels for his blog posts, so if I need to see what he's written on the topic I can refer to that post.)

Labels: death penalty

6. "All [U.S. ]states are within a couple of percentage points of the overall LGBT national average of 3.5%."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "LGBT Percentage Highest in D.C., Lowest in North Dakota", by Gary J. Gates and Frank Newport, dated February 15, 2013, downloaded from the Gallup Politics website:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/160517/lgbt-percentage-highest-lowest-north-dakota.aspx

See also the press release "LGBT Percentages Highest in Washington, DC, and Hawaii", no author credited, dated February 15, 2013, downloaded from the website of The Williams Institute (a "national think tank at UCLA Law", which (think tank) "is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy"):

http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/press-releases/lgbt-percentages-highest-in-washington-dc-and-hawaii/

(I found both that article and that press release at this Williams Institute webpage, and the findings originally came to my attention via this or this Sydney Morning Herald article.)

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

7. The report, by one of the (Australian) Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, on the Exposure Draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 is available here:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate_Committees?url=legcon_ctte/anti_discrimination_2012/report/index.htm

(That report came to my attention via the article "Criminals on payroll", by Natasha Bita, p. 19, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Friday, February 22, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2779, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd., available online under the headline "Crime doesn't pay, unless you're promoted", by the same author, dated February 22, 2013, at The Daily Telegraph's website here:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/crime-doesnt-pay-unless-youre-promoted/story-fncvk70o-1226583085494)

Labels: discrimination, human rights, law

8. A couple of recent items regarding the 2013 Sydney Gay Mardi Gras

8.1 "Mardi Gras spending" "has already been given more than $600,000 in funding and in-kind works from the [Sydney City ]council"

(Presumably the $600000 refers to this year's funding, rather than the funding over all the years during which the Council has been funding it. I say that because in this "Facts and figures" post from early 2009 I logged that Sydney City Council was spending $240000 in cash and in-kind support, collectively, on the Mardi Gras that year; even assuming that the nominal value of the support hasn't increased, clearly it would have greatly exceeded $600000 just for the years 2009, 2010, and 2011, collectively.)

The quotations in that heading come from the comment piece "This is a rainbow that's costing us a pot of gold", by Vikki Campion, immediately below her article "$110,000 wasted with gay abandon at Taylor Square", dated February 27, 2013, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/wasted-with-gay-abandon-at-taylor-square/story-e6freuy9-1226586361494

(The information in this Notes item's headline came to my attention via the comment piece "A pot of gold to pay for rainbow" (commenting on the article "$110,000 wasted with gay abandon", by the same author, immediately above the comment piece), by Vikki Campion, p. 16, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, February 27, 2013, Vol. 1, No. 2783, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

8.2 "Gay members of Australia's defence force (ADF) marched in their uniforms for the first time"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Mardi Gras celebrates its founders in Sydney", no byline, dated March 3, 2013, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/mardi-gras-celebrates-its-founders-in-sydney/story-e6frg6nf-1226589176589

The article also reports that one of those who marched in uniform, namely the R.A.A.F.'s Squadron Leader Vince Chong
said the decision to allow members to march, reflected the ADF's policy to encourage more workplace inclusion.

“It shows the priority that's been placed on diversion and inclusion in the Australian Defence Force. This is just the start of many things to come under the pathway to change. We will see more and more about generating a culture of inclusion.”
Labels: A.D.F., G.L.B.T., Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras

9.1 Dr. van Gend on how "making abortion legal or illegal has never, historically, made the slightest detectable difference to the safety of women", because "medicine alone, not the law, has achieved all the magnificent gains in maternal safety."

See the article "Backyard distortions", by Dr. David van Gend, downloaded from the website of Life Ministries:

http://lifeministries.org.au/internal.php?content_id=125

(That article came to my attention via the comment of 17.2.13 / 3pm by one Philip J. Rayment in the comments section of this blog post by Mr. Muehlenberg.)

Labels: abortion

9.2 Dr. Summers on recent changes in pro-abortion rhetoric:
… the words[ "safe, legal and rare"] were removed from the Democratic Party platform in 2008. No one uses them any more and for a very good reason: women find them offensive.

Dawn Laguens, of US Planned Parenthood, said earlier this year that language about making abortion ''rare'' polled very poorly because women found it judgmental and shaming.

Similarly, Planned Parenthood has made the momentous decision to drop the language of ''pro-choice'' after research that shows most Americans feels the pro-choice/pro-life polarity fails to represent the actual complications of what it's like to find yourself with an unwanted pregnancy. Women complained that the word ''choice'' made the decision seem frivolous.
["Abortion zealots a risk for Abbott", by Dr. Anne Summers A.O., dated March 16, 2013, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/abortion-zealots-a-risk-for-abbott-20130315-2g5sn.html?skin=text-only
Dr. Summers' article is also available at the same website and with the same date under the headline "It's a woman's right to choose":
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/its-a-womans-right-to-choose-20130317-2g8d8.html?skin=text-only]
(That article came to my attention via the version printed under the headline "Abortion zealots a risk for Abbott", by the same author, on p. 12 in the "OPINION" pages of the "News Review" supplement of The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, March 16-17, 2013, No. 54738, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: abortion

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Tuesday in Holy Week, A.D. 2013
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Monday, February 6, 2012

Notes: Wednesday, January 18-Monday, February 6, 2012 (part 2 of 2)

9. "Toonen v Australia (UN Human Rights Committee, 1994) established the important international precedent that anti-sodomy laws are a human rights violation"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/letters/putting-ideals-into-practice-20120125-1qi4k.html?skin=text-only

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

10. "'For a much older generation, gay is the act of having sex with someone of the same gender. But the post-Stonewall generation defines gay or lesbian as someone's nature. Who they are attracted to, who they connect with. It's something much deeper than just a sexual act"

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/macho-maestro-milks-the-fbi-legend-20120125-1qhmc.html?skin=text-only

I log that quotation in relation to the obervation by the Australian Gay activist Prof. Dennis Altman that
The greatest single victory of the gay movement over the past decade has been to shift the debate from behavior to identity, thus forcing opponents into a position where they can be seen as attacking the civil rights of homosexual citizens rather than attacking specific and (as they see it) antisocial behavior.
[http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2008/05/01/on-relationship-recognition/]
Labels: Dennis Altman, G.L.B.T.

11. Mr. Verrecchio on Dignitatis humanæ, the Social Reign of Christ, religious liberty, and (on) some observations by Fr. Murray

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40534

Labels: Church and State, Dignitatis Humanæ, John Murray, religious liberty, Social Reign of Christ

12. Part of the reason why an ordinary woman, unlike, mutatis mutandis, an ordinary man, cannot necessarily provide at least the necessities of life for herself, her husband, and those of their children who are too young to marry:
… A woman committed to following the World Health Organisation guidelines must be in almost continuous contact with her child as its exclusive food source for six months. She must then commit extensive time and effort to breast-feeding (or pumping) as a supplement for an-other 18 months or more. (It's worth bearing in mind that WHO guidelines have developing countries particularly in mind, where formula is often prepared in unsanitary conditions, using dirty water, with predictably bad health out-comes for babies.) …
[dashes in the original,
I transcribed that from the article "The Mother Load" in The Sydney Morning Herald's Good Weekend magazine of January 28, 2012; the quotation comes from page fourteen.
Fairfax's "Essential Baby" website has an edited extract from that article, which (extract) seems to contain the same text as that in my transcript (except for the dashes, which, in the print edition, occured when a word spanned two lines of text).]
Labels: economics, families

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Titus, Bishop, Confessor, and of St. Dorothy, Virgin, Martyr, A.D. 2012
Posted by at 1 comment:
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Notes: Wednesday, December 21, 2011-Wednesday, January 11, 2012 (part 2 of 2)

8. H.H. The Pope's homily at a Mass on the 2012 World Day of Peace (January 1): In at least one respect, a vast improvement on His Holiness's Message ("Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace") for the celebration of the 2011 World Day of Peace:

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20120101_world-day-peace_en.html

(That homily came to my attention via this item in a recent edition of the Vatican Information Service's (V.I.S.'s) daily e-mail bulletin:

"IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE IN JUSTICE AND PEACE"
VIS 20120102 (1090)
http://www.news.va/en/news/importance-of-educating-young-people-in-justice-an

See also this V.I.S. daily e-mail bulletin item:

"ANGELUS: PRAYING THAT THE NEW YEAR MAY BE A TIME OF PEACE"
VIS 20120102 (440)
http://www.news.va/en/news/angelus-praying-that-the-new-year-may-be-a-time-of)

Labels: Benedict XVI. Ratzinger, religious liberty

9. On the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

9.1 "ALL new laws will be checked to see whether they stack up against Australia's human rights commitments, after Attorney-General Nicola Roxon declared the sharper focus on rights would ensure legislation lived up to the nation's obligations"

"Laws to face human rights check", by Patricia Karvelas, dated January 4, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/laws-to-face-human-rights-check/story-fn59niix-1226235954400

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

9.2 Two editorials in The Australian:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-case-for-trusting-the-judgment-of-parliament/story-e6frg71x-1226236809315

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/the-right-to-common-sense/story-e6frg71x-1226237750214

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

9.3 In relation to the so-called Malaysia Solution:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/the-malaysia-solution-ducks-rights-scrutiny/story-fn9hm1gu-1226236845046

Labels: Bill of Rights, human rights

10. A major new initiative for propagating the teachings of Vatican II

"Note with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith", from the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dated January 6, 2012:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20120106_nota-anno-fede_en.html

See here for the accompanying "Communiqué on the Note of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with pastoral recommendations for the Year of Faith".

(The web-page for the text of the Note came to my attention via this post by Terra; originally, the Note came to my attention via the following V.I.S. e-mail bulletin items:

"PASTORAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH"
VIS 20120105 (770)
http://www.news.va/en/news/pastoral-recommendations-for-the-year-of-faith

"PASTORAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE YEAR OF FAITH"
VIS 20120107 (1430)
http://www.news.va/en/news/pastoral-recommendations-for-the-year-of-faith-2)

Labels: C.E.C., Roman Curia, Vatican II

11. "[Catholics and others] will either have to change their views [on marriage] or be treated in the same way that white supremacists and the segregationist Senators were treated"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40323

Labels: discrimination, G.L.B.T., marriage, religious liberty

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Hyginus, Pope, Martyr, A.D. 2012
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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Notes: Wednesday, December 7-Tuesday, December 20, 2011

1. "If present trends continue, Europe and Japan will lose half their population by the end of the century"

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=3&subclassID=7&articleID=9327&class=Features&subclass=Cardinal's Comment

Labels: demography

2. Several web-pages on or relating to a recent development in U.S. foreign policy

2.1 "US ready to push for gay rights abroad"

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/obama-warns-world-against-gay-and-lesbian-discrimination/story-e6frg6so-1226215897814

http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-ready-to-push-for-gay-rights-abroad-20111207-1ojak.html?skin=text-only

http://www.smh.com.au/world/rights-of-gays-to-figure-in-us-foreign-aid-20111207-1oj4l.html?skin=text-only

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40020

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/09/obama-the-real-ugly-american/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/06/presidential-memorandum-international-initiatives-advance-human-rights-l

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40069

http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/12/14/yet-another-ugly-american/

Labels: G.L.B.T., human rights, U.S.A.

2.2 "Nigeria’s bishops praise ban on public expression of homosexuality"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40081

Labels: G.L.B.T., Hierarchy, Nigeria

2.3 "[U.S.] Senate blocks El Salvador ambassador over homosexual-rights advocacy"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40099

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

3. On two recent court cases involving polyamory:
Two court cases, one in Canada last month and one in Australia earlier in the year, show that while British-based law remains resolute against multiple partner marriage, it accepts that a common law threesome is not illegal or even necessarily family-unfriendly.

In the Canadian case, British Columbia Chief Justice Robert Bauman upheld Canada's anti-polygamy law, but left polyamorous families free from sanction if they do not commit an overt act of multiple marriage.

The Australian case involved a man whose wife had left him for another man and a woman, and taken the children. When the trio set up house together, mingled their respective offspring, and shared the same bedroom, the jilted husband applied to the court seeking an urgent order that the children be removed from the "immoral" household.

But magistrate Philip Burchardt rejected the application, saying the threesome seemed to be "thoroughly decent and honest people" and "I do not regard the relationship . . . as being damaging to the children."
[ellipsis in the original,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/three-in-marriage-bed-more-of-a-good-thing/story-e6frg6z6-1226218569577]
(See here for Mr. Muehlenberg's reaction to that Weekend Australian article.)

Labels: families, marriage, polyamory

4. "Under a new policy approved by Pope Benedict XVI, the heads of other Roman dicasteries who wish to apply to the Pontiff for "special faculties" to handle problems outside the normal processes of canon law must apply through the Secretary of State, rather than appealing directly to the Pope"

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40051

You can read the relevant Rescript, in its original Italian, on pp. 127-128 (pp. 41-42 of your browser) of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, here.

Labels: Roman Curia

5. "[Catholic] School forced to take same-sex couple's daughter"

http://www.smh.com.au/national/school-forced-to-take-samesex-daughter-20111214-1ou92.html?skin=text-only

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/senior-bishop-orders-school-to-reverse-ban/story-e6frg6so-1226221684482

Related coverage:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/school-rejects-daughter-of-same-sex-couple/story-e6frg6nf-1226221339567

http://angelqueen.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40072

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29441

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29456

http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=29483

http://coo-eesfromthecloister.blogspot.com/2011/12/bishop-lesbians-and-poor-little-child.html

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/holy-father-please-terminate-mandate-of.html

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2011/12/campaign-to-abolish-religious.html

Labels: Catholic schools, G.L.B.T.

6. Dr. Arndt on the inadequacies of research findings which purport to show that children in the custody of same-sex couples do at least as well as those of opposite-sex ones:
It has never made sense that gay parents complain of prejudice and exclusion and in the same breath propose their children are suffering no adverse consequences. In fact, in recent years the research allegedly supporting these rosy claims has come under scrutiny and found to be sorely lacking.

"The methods are so flawed that these studies prove nothing," say Robert Lerner and Althea Nagai, experts in qualitative analysis.

"Not a single one of these studies was conducted according to generally accepted standards of scientific research," concludes sociology professor Steven Nock.

Most of the scholarship on gay parenting is conducted by researchers sympathetic to gay concerns and fails to include proper controls, relies on very small samples and uses unreliable or invalid measures.

The reality is that while resilient children may do well despite the prejudice many encounter, others have a hard time.
[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/prejudice-can-make-life-miserable-for-children-with-same-sex-parents/story-e6frgd0x-1226223351222]
I include the first and last sentences of that quotation in order not to seem to suggest that Dr. Arndt questions the findings because she thinks that same-sex 'parenting' is innately inferior to opposite-sex parenting; apparently, Dr. Arndt would attribute disadvantage experienced by children in the custody of same-sex couples relative to those of opposite-sex ones to 'discrimination', 'prejudice', 'homophobia', 'exclusion', the usual buzzwords.

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

7. "JAY Weatherill[, the South Australian Premier,] has backed a push by a gay MP on his frontbench to allow same-sex couples to access IVF in South Australia"

And a "new law will at last give de facto lesbian couples in South Australia the same rights as others to be formally recognised as co-parents and ensure their child has two legal parents":

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/state-politics/weatherill-backs-ivf-for-gays/story-e6frgczx-1226223400827

Labels: birth certificates, G.L.B.T., I.V.F., S.A.

8. "The Irish Government is now issuing the certificates to applicants who can prove their Irish ancestry"

http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/article.php?classID=1&subclassID=3&articleID=9314&class=News&subclass=CW World

This is the website of that initiative:

http://www.heritagecertificate.ie/

Labels: Ireland

9. The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference's (A.C.B.C.'s) Media Blog has, apparently, been officially launched

Here is its U.R.L.:

http://www.catholic.org.au/mediablog/

I say "apparently", judging by a recent article in the Sydney Catholic Weekly which provided a round-up of the acts of the recent A.C.B.C. plenary but which does not seem to be available on-line; the Media Blog has been on-line for some time now, so I presume that what occured at the plenary was its official launch.

Labels: A.C.B.C., blogs

10. Mr. DeLano has a blog:

http://magisterialfundies.blogspot.com/

(That came to my attention via this comment at Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog.)

Labels: blogs

Reginaldvs Cantvar
20.XII.2011
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