Matters of life and death..and some good news

"Today's newspaper is tomorrow's toilet paper."

Not a line to be relished but there is some truth to it, particularly if you're referring to the scandal sheets that will never cease to be as long as we continue to lap them up (the one-liner is also a reassuring thought to bear in mind if you happen to be a celebrity who's the object of the day's malicious rumors).

However, headlines are not necessarily that disposable. And when the headlines are such as the ones below, they aren't likely to refer to rumors. Scandalous they may be and they may be fodder for scandal sheets, but these things are truly happening. This is one time wherein I wish headlines like the following were mere attention-grabbers which didn't really happen.


Nitschke plans NZ euthanasia workshops
Australian right-to-die advocate Dr Philip Nitschke plans to hold two euthanasia workshops in New Zealand in August after the government decided not to pursue legal action against him.


Woman forced to abort fetus at 7 months
A 25-year-old unmarried woman was seven months pregnant when staff members from the local government family planning office forcibly took her to a clinic to give her an abortion.


Feminist says child-rearing not worthy of time and talents of intelligent humans
Writing in the November 2005 edition of the American Prospect, Hirshman admitted that the real intention of the feminist movement was not “equality”, but to destroy what she calls “the unreconstructed family” of a husband and wife rearing children. She writes that the goal was to see as many women as possible abandoning family life for high-level professions and politics.


Morning-after pill spreading out of control in Spanish schools
According to a report in the Spanish daily “La Opinion de la Coruña”, the morning-after pill, approved for use in Spain for emergency only, has spread out of control in schools in the northern Spanish region of Galicia, with some young women taking the drug up to seven times a month.


Now for some tidbits that will make you smile...


Rock for Life will travel thousands of miles, meet thousands of teens on pro-life music tour
American Life League’s Rock for Life, the nation’s premiere pro-life youth organization, kicks off its summer concert tour today. The tour will include stops in 15 states across the country. “We are excited to get this tour on the road so that we can spread a message of hope and encouragement about the pro-life movement,” said Erik Whittington, director of Rock for Life. “This year’s trek will be our most ambitious yet as our crew will travel more than 20,000 miles across the United States, spreading the truth about abortion.”

The tour schedule is here


Wash for Life: A fundraiser for Crisis Pregnancy Centers
Seven students from Thomas Aquinas College in Southern California are coordinating Wash For Life, a national car-wash fundraising campaign for local crisis pregnancy centers, to be carried out by youth groups on September 16, 2006. Hoping that thousands will join in the venture, Jon Tonkowich, who leads the campaign, plans to publicize the number of car washes and amount of money raised to show America that the youth of this generation are pro-life.

A diamond in the rough
A Staten Island wife has been reunited with her wedding ring thanks to her determined husband and a helpful sanitation worker.

When will they listen?

Medical journalist says reliance on condoms spreads HIV/AIDS
By Gudrun Schultz

(Excerpts)

“So far, there’s no good evidence that condoms will reverse population-wide epidemics like those in sub-Saharan Africa,” [Sue Ellin] Browder wrote. She offered evidence that dramatic increases in condom distribution in African nations paralleled an explosion in HIV/AIDS infection rates within the population.

Citing statistics from South Africa, Browder stated that condom distribution between 1994 and 1998 leaped to 198 million from 6 million, but death rates from HIV/AIDS in the years between 1997 and 2002 saw a massive 57 per cent increase.

Ms. Browder’s report echoes the warnings of multiple medical experts, among them Dr. Norman Hearst of the University of California, who raised the alarm on condom use as an AIDS preventative in 2004. Dr. Hearst presented statistics showing a marked correlation between increased condom sales in the African nations of Kenya, Botswana, and others, and a parallel increase in HIV rates by year.

Full story at LifeSite

Urgent adoption need

From Mommy Life

Time is running out for James, a sweet little Chinese boy with Down syndrome on whose adoption hangs the fate of other such children in China.

Listen to this from the social worker handling his case:

China officials have not offered children with ds for adoption before because they do not believe people would want them, they put James up because many people advocated for him to be offered.

But, the officials have decided if he is not put on hold (basically meaning picked) in the next six days [by July 1], they will pull him back and he will remain institutionalized in China permanently. And - they will not allow any other children with down syndrome to be offered for adoption - period!

Adopting James will not only make a difference in HIS life, but in the lives of the many other children in China with DS who are left in orphanages and institutions their whole lives. He eeds a home so badly.

I know that international adoptions are costly, but a donor has generously agreed to fund his adoption.

If you, or anyone you know has room in your/their heart/home for this cute little guy, his contact information is below. Please pass this along to any ds list you are apart of!

More information at A Helping Hand

Remember, funding for this adoption has been promised, so money is not an obstacle.

Great to be 8

It's nice to read about things like this. From Phil of A family runs through it :

Today my son turns eight years old.

This past year saw some big changes for him. He learned to ride a two-wheeled bike. He started reading chapter books, graduating from Dr. Seuss to Hardy Boys and Boxcar Children. He took on a lot more personal responsibility, such as brushing his teeth without us asking and picking out his own clothes. This past year he also started getting an allowance. Along with that, he opened his first savings account. One of the biggest changes of the past year is that he began to understand that learning and doing new things is a reward in itself.

No matter what the changes, I'm very proud of him. I'm proud that people say he's a nice boy, especially the girls in his class who are not yet attracted to the "bad boys"... I'm proud that he holds the door open for kindergarteners, and that he always remembers to say "Thank you" when older kids hold the door for him... I'm proud of him for having a wide variety of interests, from Star Wars to Hot Wheels to gardening to fishing... I'm proud of him when he teaches his little sister games, like Stratego and Monopoly. She doesn't always get it, but he keeps trying in the face of frustration... Most of all, I'm just proud that he is learning and growing and having fun, just like he's supposed to be doing. He may get a little silly sometimes. Well, make that a LOT silly sometimes, but when is he ever going to have another chance to be a silly 8-year-old boy?

Read the rest at A family runs through it

This is a job for...

I've always been partial to Superman, and it's got nothing to do with the cape or the boots. For me, he is simply the epitome of what a superhero should be.

Notwithstanding the latest Superman movie, here's an interesting article about the "superhero superleague, " which includes Professor X, Daredevil, Spidey (of course) and classics such as Wonder Woman and Batman -- among others.

Superheroes: The power list

Great Scott! The caped crusader is back on screen this summer - and he's in better shape than ever. But what of Clark Kent's comic book contemporaries? Adrian Turpin turns his X-ray vision on the superhero superleague

Read this super article at The Independent