Notes: Thursday, August 30-Monday, October 8, 2012

1. On Wednesday, August 29, 2012, Ms Gillard launched "Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development", which is an initiative—reportedly a personal one of hers—for propagating Feminism throughout the Pacific Islands at a cost of $320 million (over a decade) to Australian taxpayers, part of which sum will be spent on "reproductive health (including family planning) education, awareness and service programs".

My source for saying that Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development is a "personal initiative" by The Hon. Jullia Gillard M.P. is the article "PM gets lift on way to raise status of women", by Daniel Flitton, dated August 30, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/pm-gets-lift-on-way-to-raise-status-of-women-20120829-2512n.html?skin=text-only

My inference that part of that $320 million will be spent on "reproductive health (including family planning) education, awareness and service programs" follows from the identification, in the "PACIFIC LEADERS GENDER EQUALITY DECLARATION" (Annex 1 to the "43rd Pacific Islands Forum Communique"), of "[e]nsur[ing that] reproductive health (including family planning) education, awareness and service programs receive adequate funding support" as one of the "specific national policy actions to progress gender equality in the areas of gender responsive government programs and policies, decision making, economic empowerment, ending violence against women, and health and education"; one can also infer it from Ms Gillard's media release of Wednesday, August 29, 2012 titled "Addressing gender inequality in the Pacific", which says that

We know that violence against women and poor maternal health outcomes persist in this region.

Promoting gender equality is about addressing these injustices. …

See also this AusAID web-page and the downloadable brochure there:

http://www.ausaid.gov.au/Publications/Pages/brochure-pacific-women-development.aspx

and "‘Shaping Pacific development', speech at the Pacific Islands Forum", given by Ms Gillard, Wednesday, August 29, 2012, downloaded from the "Press Office" section of the Prime Ministerial website:

http://www.pm.gov.au/press-office/%E2%80%98shaping-pacific-development-speech-pacific-islands-forum

Labels: abortion, contraception, Julia Gillard

2. "Greater Exposure to Sexual Content in Popular Movies Predicts Earlier Sexual Debut and Increased Sexual Risk Taking"

The quotation in that headline is the title of an article (doi: 10.1177/0956797611435529) by Ross E. O'Hara et al. in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science; that article's abstract is available here:

http://pss.sagepub.com/content/23/9/984

(That article came to my attention via Adam Taor's "PULSE" column on p. 5 of the "HEALTH" section of the "WEEKEND PROFESSIONAL" supplement in The Weekend Australian, September 1-2, 2012, First Edition, No. 14901, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited, a version of which column is available on-line, but behind a paywall, here.)

Labels: films, vice

3. "Israel and Taiwan are the biggest national supporters of trips by Australian politicians, recording 44 and 16 partly or fully funded trips respectively."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "All the little extras in an MP's grab-bag", by Stuart Washington, Tom Allard, Lawrence Bull, and Frances Mao, dated September 1, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/all-the-little-extras-in-an-mps-grabbag-20120831-255mu.html?skin=text-only

(That article came to my attention via the version of it, with the same headline and by the same authors, which was printed on p. 3 of the "News Review" supplement in The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, September 1-2, 2012, No. 54572, ISSN 0312-6315.)

Labels: State of Israel

4. "only 2 per cent of the population is gay"

The quotation in that headline was attributed to "Andrew Grulich, head of HIV epidemiology and prevention programs at the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW," in the article "Suicide a bigger danger to gays: health experts", by Adam Cresswell, dated September 13, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/suicide-a-bigger-danger-to-gays-health-experts/story-e6frg8y6-1226472976036

For more on the homosexual proportion of the (Australian) population, see the "Sex in Australia" report in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, April 2003, Volume 27, Issue 2, pp. 103–256, available on-line here, the most relevant—in the present context—parts of which are "Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults" and "Sex in Australia: Homosexual experience and recent homosexual encounters", both of which have Prof. Grulich as one of their co-authors.

(Those "Sex in Australia" U.R.L.s came to my attention via the Frequently Asked Questions page at the Australian Marriage Forum website. (And the Australian Marriage Forum came to my attention via the opinion piece "Gay marriage is not the cure", by Dr. David van Gend, dated Sepember 14, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website.))

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

5. "''When they're younger both men and women tended to aspire to a larger family size. When they were older they tended to revise down their expectations,'' Dr[. Daryl] Higgins[", the deputy director of research at the Australian Institute of Family Studies,"] said."

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Just your average couple: one for mum, one for dad … and none for the country", by Stephanie Gardiner, dated September 14, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/just-your-average-couple-one-for-mum-one-for-dad-8230-and-none-for-the-country-20120913-25v8x.html?skin=text-only

Labels: contraception, demography, families

6. On recent Russo-American relations

See the article "Russia boots US aid out amid accusations of meddling in elections", by Alan Cullison, dated September 21, 2012, and the comment piece "Vladimir Putin doesn't want to be buddies", by Tony Halpin, also dated September 21, 2012, both downloaded from the The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/russia-boots-us-aid-out-amid-accusations-of-meddling-in-elections/story-fnay3ubk-1226478359601

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/vladimir-putin-doesnt-want-to-be-buddies/story-fnb64oi6-1226478312416

Labels: Russia, Vladimir Putin

7. "When [equally ]well-educated families were compared, marriage lifted a child's chance of avoiding poverty by 75 per cent."

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "Stability a big factor in poverty", no by-line, p. 15, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, September 18, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2646, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd. That article is not available at the Tele's website, but a longer version of it is available at the British Daily Mail's website under the headline "Growing up with married parents is as important as a good education to escaping poverty", by Simon Caldwell, dated September 16/17, 2012:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2204263/Growing-married-parents-important-good-education-escaping-poverty.html

The report on which those articles are based—"Marriage: America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty", by Mr. Robert Rector for The Heritage Foundation, dated September 5, 2012—is available here:

http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/09/marriage-americas-greatest-weapon-against-child-poverty

See also the LifeSiteNews.com article "Marriage is the most effective weapon to fight child poverty, study finds", by Ben Johnson, dated Thursday, September 13, 2012:

http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/marriage-is-the-most-effective-weapon-to-fight-child-poverty-study-finds

Labels: marriage, poverty

8. "Bottle-fed infants experienced a 4.6-fold higher risk of PS[, i.e., pyloric stenosis,] compared with infants who were not bottle-fed."

The quotation in that headline comes from the abstract of a Pediatrics article titled "Bottle-feeding and the Risk of Pyloric Stenosis" (doi: 10.1542/peds.2011-2785) by Camilla Krogh et al. That article is available on-line here:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2012/08/28/peds.2011-2785

(That article came to my attention via the second item in Adam Taor's "PULSE" column on p. 47 of the "HEALTH" section of the "WEEKEND PROFESSIONAL" section in the "SPORT" pages of The Weekend Australian, September 15-16, 2012, First Edition, No. 14913, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited. According to Dr. Taor, pyloric stenosis is "a narrowing of the opening from the stomach to the first part of the small intestine", and it "can cause severe vomiting." (Apparently, that installment of "PULSE" is not available on-line.))

Labels: breastfeeding

9. "Schools in sex education revolution"

The article "Schools in sex education revolution", by Natasha Bita (national social editor for the Sydney Daily Telegraph (among other newspapers?)), dated September 17, 2012 is available at the Tele's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sex-educaction-gets-physical/story-e6freuy9-1226475402901

(It came to my attention via the version of it which was published under the heading "Sex ed revolution in schools", by the same author, on p. 03 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph of Monday, September 17, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2645, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

See also the article "Puberty lessons to begin in grade five", no by-line, dated September 17, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/puberty-lessons-to-begin-in-grade-five-20120917-261yd.html?skin=text-only

Labels: A.C.A.R.A., education, sex ed, vice

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of St. Bridget, Widow, A.D. 2012

Notes: Wednesday, August 15-Wednesday, August 29, 2012

1. Miss Edwards on Msgr. O'Kelly's "attack[ on] the Vatican action on the US Leadership Conference of Women Religious"

See "Bishop O'Kelly attacks Vatican intervention on US nuns", Tuesday, August 21, 2012, a post by Miss Kate Edwards at her Australia Incognita blog, available here:

http://australiaincognita.blogspot.com/2012/08/bishop-okelly-attacks-vatican.html

Labels: Greg O'Kelly

2. Msgr. Fisher on an under-discussed injustice involved in legalising so-called Gay marriage:

… What is also unjust is retrospectively to redefine marriage: for that tells those already married that they got married on a false premise; that they were wrong to think they were entering a lifelong and exclusive partnership of a man and woman open to raising children; that we have changed the meaning of their vows to being merely about loving each other, for as long as it lasts. That would be unjust to the many people already married and those who might like to be in the future.
[That quotation comes from the sermon of The Lord Bishop of Parramatta at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, on Sunday, August 12, 2012, the text of which is available on-line here:
http://www.parra.catholic.org.au/bishop-of-parramatta/most-rev-anthony-fisher-op/the-bishop-s-homilies.aspx/the-homilies-of-bishop-anthony-fisher/homily----marriage-sunday---19th-sunday-of-ordinary-time-year-b--st-patrick-s-cathedral--parramatta-.aspx
(That text came to my attention via its printing under the headline "Kindness, self-sacrifice — not grudges, bullying" on p. 14 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, Vol. 71, No. 4635, August 19, 2012.)]

Labels: law, marriage

3. More on the Federal Government's policy of giving some of the benefits involved with de ivre marriage to de facto polygamists

See the "Guide to Social Security Law", Version 1.189 (released August 10, 2012), Part 2, Chapter 2.2, Section 2.2.5, 2.2.5.15 Multiple Relationships, from the Australian Federal Government's Department of Families, Housing, Community Services, and Indigenous Affairs, © Commonwealth of Australia 2012, available here:

http://guidesacts.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssguide-2/ssguide-2.2/ssguide-2.2.5/pc_13794.html

(That came to my attention via this blog post by Terra.)

I love the bluntness of that guide:

For example, the relationships could comprise a claimant/recipient with any combination of male or female partners.

See also item 2.1 of this Notes post.

Labels: law, marriage, polyamory

4. "A 1996 study by the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology pointed out that an estimated 32,101 pregnancies result from rape in the United States each year"; "[t]he journal said the average national rape-related pregnancy rate stood at five percent among victims aged between 12 to 45."

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Fury over Republican candidate's 'legitimate rape' comment", August 20, 2012, downloaded from The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/in-depth/us-election/republican-senate-candidate-todd-akin-says-rape-victims-becoming-pregnant-rare/story-fn95xh4y-1226453854274

Labels: pregnancy

5. In Australia, "polling on the topic[ of "same-sex marriage"] began in 2009"

The quotation in that headline comes from the article "MPs to debate same-sex marriage bill", by Jessica Wright, dated August 20, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/mps-to-debate-samesex-marriage-bill-20120820-24hcy.html?skin=text-only

Labels: G.L.B.T., marriage, opinion polls

6. "A spokesman for Julie Bishop, the opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, said there was no Coalition policy to change existing arrangements" regarding "Australia's overseas aid assistance for family planning in low-income countries" doubling "to more than $50 million a year by 2016, up from $26 million in 2010 and $2 million under the Howard government"

The quotations in that headline come from the article "Family planning aid vote stirs opposition", by Richard Willingham (though the second quotation comes ultimately from Senator Lee Rhiannon), dated August 17, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/family-planning-aid-vote-stirs-opposition-20120816-24bgh.html?skin=text-only

There is a difference, of course, between not having a policy to change certain arrangements, and having a policy not to change those arrangements; is it only the former for the Coalition, or is it the latter (and hence the former too, of course, unless the Coalition's policy platform contains an internal contradiction)? (I don't ask that rhetorically.)

Labels: abortion, contraception, Liberal Party, Nationals

7. "as a legislator I[, Kristina Keneally,] always took the view that it[, viz. abortion,] should be safe and legally available"

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "Democracy has a nice habit of giving lunatic fringe a haircut", by The Hon. Kristina Keneally, dated August 22, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/democracy-has-a-nice-habit-of-giving-lunatic-fringe-a-haircut/story-e6frezz0-1226455247529

(That opinion piece came to my attention via its printing under the same headline and by the same author on p. 13 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Wednesday, August 22, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2623, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

It's interesting that Ms Keneally omits from that statement, and indeed from her whole opinion piece, the third part of the usual 'safe, legal, and rare' triad of the moderate abortionite.

Labels: abortion, Kristina Keneally

8. "It is now very difficult to point to any state, territory or federal law where getting legally married makes a difference compared with a same-sex or opposite-sex couple who have lived together in a de facto relationship for two years or more, or who have registered their relationship. As a consequence, the right to marry carries little significance in law other than imposing a need to get a formal divorce before marrying someone else."

The quotation in that headline comes from the opinion piece "About time we all cared more about marriage", by Prof. Patrick Parkinson, dated August 24, 2012, downloaded from The Sydney Morning Herald's website:

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/about-time-we-all-cared-more-about-marriage-20120823-24p2g.html?skin=text-only

Labels: law, marriage

9. Some figures on childcare in Australia

See Child Care Update, September quarter 2011. Dated August 2012 (presumably released on the twenty-fifth). Produced by the Australian Federal Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations on behalf of the Australian Government and published by the same Department. © Commonwealth of Australia, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-642-78431-5

http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Resources/Documents/ChildCareUpdateAug.pdf

(That publication came to my attention via the article "Million kids in care 'shows system works'", by Patricia Karvelas, on p. 6 in "THE NATION" section of The Weekend Australian, August 25-26, 2012, First Edition, No. 14895, ISSN 1038-8761, published by Nationwide News Pty. Limited; available on-line, but behind a paywall, under the same headline, by the same author, and dated August 25, 2012, at The Australian's website:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/million-kids-in-care-shows-system-works/story-fn59niix-1226457727663)

Labels: childcare

10. "The head of the Russian Orthodox Church and the president of the Polish Catholic bishops' conference signed a joint message Aug. 17 urging Poles and Russians to set aside centuries of anger and prejudice and work together to maintain their countries' Christian identities."

The quotation in that headline comes from the Catholic News Service article "Russian Orthodox, Polish Catholic leader sign appeal for reconciliation":

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1203472.htm

(That joint message came to my attention via the article "Russian-Polish reconciliation bid", no by-line, on p. 7 of the Sydney Catholic Weekly, August 26, 2012, Vol. 71, No. 4636.)

Zenit has a Vatican Radio translation of the joint message here. The Russian Orthodox Church's Department for External Church Relations (D.E.C.R.) Communication Service says, on this page at the official D.E.C.R. website that the message "cannot be ranked among theological or inter-church documents and does not deal with doctrinal matters".

Labels: R.O.C.

11. Gay activists in new initiative for promoting "healthy, respectful relationships" "in sport and the workplace" between non-Gays and themselves (presumably while remaining in unhealthy, disrespectful relationships with their respective Gay passivists)

See "AFL declares war on homophobia to stamp out ugly slurs", by Aaron Langmaid, dated August 28, 2012, downloaded from the Sydney Daily Telegraph's website:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/afl/afl-to-stamp-out-gay-slurs/story-e6frexx0-1226459402572

(That article came to my attention via the shorter version of it which was published under the headline "Footballers tackle homophobia and save lives", by the same author, on p. 05 of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, Tuesday, August 28, 2012, Vol. 1, No. 2628, ISSN 1038-8745, published by Nationwide News Pty. Ltd.)

Labels: G.L.B.T., No to Homophobia

Reginaldvs Cantvar
Feast of the Decollation of St. John the Baptist, and the feast of St. Sabina, Widow, Martyr, A.D. 2012