In 2006, after 25 years and 50 million preventable deaths, the World Health Organization reversed course and endorsed widespread use of the insecticide DDT to combat malaria. So much for that. Earlier this month, the U.N. agency quietly reverted to promoting less effective methods for attacking the disease. The result is a victory for politics over public health, and millions of the world's poor will suffer as a result.
The U.N. now plans to advocate for drastic reductions in the use of DDT, which kills or repels the mosquitoes that spread malaria. The aim "is to achieve a 30% cut in the application of DDT worldwide by 2014 and its total phase-out by the early 2020s, if not sooner," said WHO and the U.N. Environment Program in a statement on May 6.
Citing a five-year pilot program that reduced malaria cases in Mexico and South America by distributing antimalaria chloroquine pills to uninfected people, U.N. officials are ready to push for a "zero DDT world." Sounds nice, except for the facts. It's true that chloroquine has proven effective when used therapeutically, as in Brazil. But it's also true that scientists have questioned the safety of the drug as an oral prophylactic because it is toxic and has been shown to cause heart problems.
Read the rest...
Sphere: Related Content
May 26, 2009
Shattering 3 Myths about Liberals (Right Wing News)
1) Conservatives are more racist than liberals
2) Liberals are more compassionate than conservatives
3) Liberalism is the ideology of science
All these myths debunked here
Sphere: Related Content
2) Liberals are more compassionate than conservatives
3) Liberalism is the ideology of science
All these myths debunked here
Sphere: Related Content
May 24, 2009
The Illuminati and the new film "Angels and Demons"
The following questions were answered by scholar Massimo Introvigne on MercatorNet. To read the answers please click on the link below the questions.
- Again? After The Da Vinci Code another Ron Howard movie against the Catholic Church?
- What about the conclave? Does the movie get it right?
- Did the “great castration” of the “pagan” statues by the Blessed Pius IX (1792-1878) really happen?
- In the movie Langdon tells the story of “la Purga” (the Purge) as follows: “1668, the church kidnapped four Illuminati scientists and branded each one of them on the chest with the symbol of the cross, to purge them of their sins. And they executed them, threw their bodies in the street as a warning to others to stop questioning church ruling on scientific matters”. Did this really happen?
- Did Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) write a book known as Diagramma veritatis (Diagram of Truth)?
- In the movie, Langdon enters the Vatican Secret Archives, where, inter alia, the documents of the Galileo trial are kept. Are these documents really secret?
- In the same Vatican Secret Archives, in a section “Banco Vaticano”, there is according to the movie a full inventory of the Catholic Church’s many possessions, including the works of art. True?
- The movie claims that English was forbidden in the 16th and 17th century by the Catholic Church as an “evil” language, and was used by international scientists such as the Illuminati. This sounds strange. Is there some truth in it?
- Angels & Demons by Dan Brown is not the first bestselling novel claiming that the Illuminati were, or are, an important and powerful secret society. Is this only a novel?
- But the existence of the Illuminati is an historical fact, isn’t it?
- Were the Illuminati part of Freemasonry?
- Did these Illuminati succeed in their purposes?
- Wasn’t there something sinister in the Illuminati’s activities?
- But didn’t the Illuminati claim a much older origin than 1776?
- What about the Knights Templar? Weren’t they somewhat involved, too?
- But weren’t the Illuminati the driving force behind the French Revolution?
- But wasn’t the back part of the Great Seal of the United States, the one we still see on the dollar bill, a symbol of the Illuminati?
- Didn’t many always accept the theory, however, that the Illuminati were leading the world or, at least, the USA?
- What about the Skull and Bones, the famous fraternal society of Yale’s students and alumni? One hears frequently that it is part of the Illuminati…
- But didn’t an Order of the Illuminati exist in the 20th century, too?
- Do Engel’s Illuminati still exist?
- Can we characterize the Illuminati, as Dan Brown would have it, as a conspiracy to destroy the Vatican and its power in the name of reason and science?
- Were, or are, the Illuminati a very powerful order?
Apr 30, 2009
A Look Back at Obama's First 100 Days from CitizenLink
On Wednesday, President Barack Obama will mark his 100th day in office. Focus on the Family Action has analyzed his decisions and policies thus far, as they relate to the family.
In his first 100 days, Obama has:
• Signed an executive order allowing taxpayer funding to go to international groups that promote or provide abortions. The “Mexico City Policy,” as it’s known, also was rescinded by President Bill Clinton and then reinstated by President George W. Bush.
• Opened the door for more human embryos to be destroyed for unethical stem-cell research despite science showing that adult stem cells provide cures; to date, embryonic stem cells have not.
• Begun the process of rescinding the Bush health care provider conscience regulations. This move comes at a time when the U.S. is experiencing a shortage of practicing physicians, a drop one senator described as reaching "crisis proportions." Making it easier for hospitals and medical schools to discriminate against physicians based on their moral or religious beliefs will only drive more of them out of the profession.
• Lifted a seven-year ban on taxpayer funding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which is linked to forced abortion programs.
• Nominated Hillary Clinton as secretary of State. Clinton is an ardent pro-abortion politician who recently accepted Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger award. During her acceptance speech, Clinton praised the eugenicist Sanger as a great American.
• Nominated Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services. She has accepted campaign contributions from notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller and welcomed him into the governor’s mansion. Sebelius is one of the most pro-abortion governors in the country.
•Nominated Dawn Johnsen, former legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. Johnsen has called motherhood “involuntary servitude” and has said that restrictions on abortion make women nothing more than “fetal containers."
• Attacked charitable giving by proposing a reduced tax deduction for gifts to nonprofits. If it becomes law, it will have a major impact on faith-based ministry giving and other nonprofits.
• Signed a bill that kills the District of Columbia’s successful school-choice program. The program benefits low-income families by providing private-school scholarships. Approximately 3,500 students have benefited from this program.
• Nominated David Hamilton to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hamilton has been a board member for the ACLU and a fundraiser for ACORN. He has ordered the Indiana legislature to end its historic practice of beginning each session with a prayer, and has written an opinion in opposition to abortion clinics providing information to women about alternatives.
• Appointed Ellen Moran to a major communications post at the White House. Moran is the former executive director of the pro-abortion EMILY’s List.
• Nominated David Ogden, Tom Perrelli, Elena Kagan and Harold Koh to top Department of Justice and State Department posts. Ogden has been a legal advocate for pornography producers; Perelli helped lead the legal fight to remove the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo; Kagan supported denying military recruiters access to law schools; and Koh strongly advocates mixing foreign law into important U.S. constitutional debates.
• Expressed support for hate-crimes legislation and will sign if it reaches his desk. The House will vote on the measure April 29. The legislation creates a special class of crime based on the victim’s sexual orientation. Those accused of “inducing” a federal hate crime could be held responsible for the actions of another person. For example, pastors preaching against homosexuality could be charged with a crime if someone listening committed a “hate crime” against a gay individual.
• Ordered a legal review of hiring-and-firing standards instituted by faith-based groups that receive federal funding.
• Released a Department of Homeland Security “watch list” that included pro-life Americans.
Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family Action, said: "Focus often gets vilified for our public policy positions, but fundamentally, what Focus on the Family is about is seeing more families like Barack Obama’s in America — a man and a woman committed to their marriage and to each other, raising their kids.
"When we have 40 percent of babies born in ’07 to unwed moms, that’s a problem for our country," he said. "Everybody should be alarmed by that. And I think his first 100 days — we’ll let the historians talk about it.
"What I’m all about is marriage and parenting, and I would hope he would do more to protect families in this country." Sphere: Related Content
In his first 100 days, Obama has:
• Signed an executive order allowing taxpayer funding to go to international groups that promote or provide abortions. The “Mexico City Policy,” as it’s known, also was rescinded by President Bill Clinton and then reinstated by President George W. Bush.
• Opened the door for more human embryos to be destroyed for unethical stem-cell research despite science showing that adult stem cells provide cures; to date, embryonic stem cells have not.
• Begun the process of rescinding the Bush health care provider conscience regulations. This move comes at a time when the U.S. is experiencing a shortage of practicing physicians, a drop one senator described as reaching "crisis proportions." Making it easier for hospitals and medical schools to discriminate against physicians based on their moral or religious beliefs will only drive more of them out of the profession.
• Lifted a seven-year ban on taxpayer funding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which is linked to forced abortion programs.
• Nominated Hillary Clinton as secretary of State. Clinton is an ardent pro-abortion politician who recently accepted Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger award. During her acceptance speech, Clinton praised the eugenicist Sanger as a great American.
• Nominated Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services. She has accepted campaign contributions from notorious late-term abortionist George Tiller and welcomed him into the governor’s mansion. Sebelius is one of the most pro-abortion governors in the country.
•Nominated Dawn Johnsen, former legal director of NARAL Pro-Choice America, to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. Johnsen has called motherhood “involuntary servitude” and has said that restrictions on abortion make women nothing more than “fetal containers."
• Attacked charitable giving by proposing a reduced tax deduction for gifts to nonprofits. If it becomes law, it will have a major impact on faith-based ministry giving and other nonprofits.
• Signed a bill that kills the District of Columbia’s successful school-choice program. The program benefits low-income families by providing private-school scholarships. Approximately 3,500 students have benefited from this program.
• Nominated David Hamilton to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Hamilton has been a board member for the ACLU and a fundraiser for ACORN. He has ordered the Indiana legislature to end its historic practice of beginning each session with a prayer, and has written an opinion in opposition to abortion clinics providing information to women about alternatives.
• Appointed Ellen Moran to a major communications post at the White House. Moran is the former executive director of the pro-abortion EMILY’s List.
• Nominated David Ogden, Tom Perrelli, Elena Kagan and Harold Koh to top Department of Justice and State Department posts. Ogden has been a legal advocate for pornography producers; Perelli helped lead the legal fight to remove the feeding tube from Terri Schiavo; Kagan supported denying military recruiters access to law schools; and Koh strongly advocates mixing foreign law into important U.S. constitutional debates.
• Expressed support for hate-crimes legislation and will sign if it reaches his desk. The House will vote on the measure April 29. The legislation creates a special class of crime based on the victim’s sexual orientation. Those accused of “inducing” a federal hate crime could be held responsible for the actions of another person. For example, pastors preaching against homosexuality could be charged with a crime if someone listening committed a “hate crime” against a gay individual.
• Ordered a legal review of hiring-and-firing standards instituted by faith-based groups that receive federal funding.
• Released a Department of Homeland Security “watch list” that included pro-life Americans.
Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family Action, said: "Focus often gets vilified for our public policy positions, but fundamentally, what Focus on the Family is about is seeing more families like Barack Obama’s in America — a man and a woman committed to their marriage and to each other, raising their kids.
"When we have 40 percent of babies born in ’07 to unwed moms, that’s a problem for our country," he said. "Everybody should be alarmed by that. And I think his first 100 days — we’ll let the historians talk about it.
"What I’m all about is marriage and parenting, and I would hope he would do more to protect families in this country." Sphere: Related Content
Apr 27, 2009
Bronze Rat
A Tourist walked into a Chinese curio shop in San Francisco. While looking around at the exotic merchandise, he noticed a very lifelike, life-
sized, bronze statue of a rat. It had no price tag, but was so incredibly striking the tourist decided he must have it. He took it to the old shop owner
and asked, "How much for the bronze rat?"
"Ahhh, you have chosen wisely! It is $12 for the rat, $100 for the story," said the wise old Chinaman.
The tourist quickly pulled out twelve dollars. "I'll just take the rat, you can keep the story".
As he walked down the street carrying his bronze rat, the tourist noticed that a few real rats had crawled out of the alleys and sewers and had begun
following him down the street. This was a bit disconcerting so he began walking faster.
A couple blocks later he looked behind him and saw to his horror the herd of rats behind him had grown to hundreds, and they began squealing.
Sweating now, the tourist began to trot toward the Bay. Again, after a couple blocks, he looked around only to discover that the rats now numbered
in the MILLIONS, and were squealing and coming toward him faster and faster.
Terrified, he ran to the edge of the Bay and threw the bronze rat as far as he could into the Bay.
Amazingly, the millions of rats all jumped into the Bay after the bronze rat, and were all drowned.
The man walked back to the curio shop in Chinatown.
"Ahhh," said the owner, "You have come
back for story?"
"No sir," said the man, "I came back to see if you have a bronze Democrat." Sphere: Related Content
sized, bronze statue of a rat. It had no price tag, but was so incredibly striking the tourist decided he must have it. He took it to the old shop owner
and asked, "How much for the bronze rat?"
"Ahhh, you have chosen wisely! It is $12 for the rat, $100 for the story," said the wise old Chinaman.
The tourist quickly pulled out twelve dollars. "I'll just take the rat, you can keep the story".
As he walked down the street carrying his bronze rat, the tourist noticed that a few real rats had crawled out of the alleys and sewers and had begun
following him down the street. This was a bit disconcerting so he began walking faster.
A couple blocks later he looked behind him and saw to his horror the herd of rats behind him had grown to hundreds, and they began squealing.
Sweating now, the tourist began to trot toward the Bay. Again, after a couple blocks, he looked around only to discover that the rats now numbered
in the MILLIONS, and were squealing and coming toward him faster and faster.
Terrified, he ran to the edge of the Bay and threw the bronze rat as far as he could into the Bay.
Amazingly, the millions of rats all jumped into the Bay after the bronze rat, and were all drowned.
The man walked back to the curio shop in Chinatown.
"Ahhh," said the owner, "You have come
back for story?"
"No sir," said the man, "I came back to see if you have a bronze Democrat." Sphere: Related Content
Apr 26, 2009
Apr 18, 2009
Real Love for Homosexuals by David Morrison
As a Catholic and a homosexually-oriented man, I am deeply grateful to the Catholic Church for her position on homosexuality and homosexual acts. Catholicism, almost alone among Christendom´s churches, refuses to patronize homosexuals with a watered-down gospel or brutalize them with a message of irredeemable hostility. The Catholic Church loves me and all the men and women like me who live as homosexuals. She looks at us as the adults we are and says that we, too, can cooperate with the Holy Spirit to sanctify our lives and "approach Christian perfection" (CCC 2359). She confidently calls us to sainthood and to the narrow road that will bring us there.
I did not recognize the value of this teaching easily. From the ages of 21 to 28, I lived life as a gay activist, accepting and preaching the message the gay community offers today: Active homosexuality, as long as it is practiced "safely" and in "commitment," is no worse than heterosexual activity under the same guidelines. Scriptural or other moral teachings that argue otherwise are simply out-of-date and were probably authored by "homophobes." No one, least of all a church, had any right to tell me how to live my life, and I speedily went about accumulating the things that made up a "successful" gay life. I took a lover for a long-term relationship, bought a condo, got on the fast-track at work, and vacationed at gay resorts. My friends were gay, my relationship was gay, my workplace was gay-friendly, and my life seemed filled with youth and pleasure. But I was not happy.
My heart tossed restlessly, as Augustine´s had also, and every new pleasure sought brought only sharper pangs. After having so much of what the gay world took for granted, I found it wasn´t enough. In the early spring of my twenty-eighth year I turned my life over to Jesus Christ and began to explore what taking up my cross meant. That exploration led me, with fits and starts, to the Catholic faith, where I have lived, gratefully, ever since.
The Church´s teaching on the homosexual orientation and chastity have been two great liberators on my journey, and it´s appropriate to amplify upon them. Much of the uniqueness of the teaching on homosexual orientation stems from the absence of the determinism that characterizes so many other positions. Men and women with a homosexual orientation are not automatically candidates for either praise (on the grounds of their being "oppressed") or damnation (on account of inherent sinfulness). Like everyone else, they can choose good or evil. This is a teaching filled with respect; it recognizes us as children of God and not mere beasts subject to instinct alone.
Read the rest
Sphere: Related Content
I did not recognize the value of this teaching easily. From the ages of 21 to 28, I lived life as a gay activist, accepting and preaching the message the gay community offers today: Active homosexuality, as long as it is practiced "safely" and in "commitment," is no worse than heterosexual activity under the same guidelines. Scriptural or other moral teachings that argue otherwise are simply out-of-date and were probably authored by "homophobes." No one, least of all a church, had any right to tell me how to live my life, and I speedily went about accumulating the things that made up a "successful" gay life. I took a lover for a long-term relationship, bought a condo, got on the fast-track at work, and vacationed at gay resorts. My friends were gay, my relationship was gay, my workplace was gay-friendly, and my life seemed filled with youth and pleasure. But I was not happy.
My heart tossed restlessly, as Augustine´s had also, and every new pleasure sought brought only sharper pangs. After having so much of what the gay world took for granted, I found it wasn´t enough. In the early spring of my twenty-eighth year I turned my life over to Jesus Christ and began to explore what taking up my cross meant. That exploration led me, with fits and starts, to the Catholic faith, where I have lived, gratefully, ever since.
The Church´s teaching on the homosexual orientation and chastity have been two great liberators on my journey, and it´s appropriate to amplify upon them. Much of the uniqueness of the teaching on homosexual orientation stems from the absence of the determinism that characterizes so many other positions. Men and women with a homosexual orientation are not automatically candidates for either praise (on the grounds of their being "oppressed") or damnation (on account of inherent sinfulness). Like everyone else, they can choose good or evil. This is a teaching filled with respect; it recognizes us as children of God and not mere beasts subject to instinct alone.
Read the rest
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