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The BBC has been accused of racism following a claim on Radio 4's Thought for the Day that Africans suffered from an endemic "moral deficit". Clifford Longley, the author and writer, said on the corporation's early morning religious slot that a Nigerian theologian had suggested African culture had always lacked "a developed sense common humanity", which explained "Africa's propensity to turn to massacre and genocide". He said in the broadcast that the Nigerian theologian had suggested to him that Africans suffered from the deficit. His comments, which were made last month, prompted the BBC Black and Asian Forum to complain...

Pig humor with a moral, the moral is, a pig is a pig and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Who Shalt Not Kill? Brain Power Leads To Level-headedness When Faced With Moral Dilemmas ScienceDaily (Jun. 11, 2008) — Should a sergeant sacrifice a wounded private on the battlefield in order to save the rest of his troops? Is euthanasia acceptable if it prevents needless suffering? Many of us will have to face some sort of extreme moral choice such as these at least once in our life. And we are also surrounded by less dramatic moral choices everyday: Do I buy the hybrid? Do I vote for a particular presidential candidate? Unfortunately, very little is known beyond philosophical speculation...

Senior Bishop Warns - Radical Islam is filling a ‘moral vacuum’ in Britain, a senior Church of England bishop has warned. The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, has said that the decline of Christian values has meant that Britain is now gripped by the doctrine of ‘endless self-indulgence’ which had led to the destruction of family life. He warned that the ‘newfangled and insecurely founded doctrine of multiculturalism' has led to immigrants creating ‘segregated communities and parallel lives’. In an article published in the new political magazine Standpoint, Nazir-Ali claimed that the Church lost its influence over...

Pig humor with a moral, the moral is, a pig is a pig and beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Six translations of Qur'an 4:34: "Men are superior to women on account of the qualities with which God has gifted the one above the other, and on account of the outlay they make from their substance for them. Virtuous women are obedient, careful, during the husband's absence, because God has of them been careful. But chide those for whose refractoriness you have cause to fear; remove them into beds apart, and scourge them: but if they are obedient to you, then seek not occasion against them: verily, God is High, Great!" (Rodwell's version of the Koran, Quran, 4:34) "Men have...

One of society’s largest problems is that decisions on all matters, be it education, health, national security or any other issue, are no longer rooted in pure logic with a regard for what’s best for society. No longer do we analyze what’s best overall and then seek to implement sound solutions. Indeed, people who try to are often derided for doing so. To be sure, those on the wrong side of any issue often quote facts to support their agendas, but only those facts that suit its side. Contrary to what they may claim, such practice is not logic; it’s...

Recently, I had a conversation with a friend about a problem that he faces. From this exchange of words I had a revelation about tough situations we all find ourselves in. Within this revelation I found that my friend could of avoided this situation if he simply lived by Judeo-Christian values, morals, and principals. You don't agree? Try this out: Take an awful situation in your life that has caused you pain, whether it was physical, emotional, or mental. Now, think of all the actions you did up to the point where the bad incident occurred. Did any of the...

Why Kerviel is so unsettling By Christopher Caldwell Published: February 8 2008 18:27 | Last updated: February 8 2008 18:27 “You lose a sense of the amounts when you’re doing this kind of job,” the rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel told Agence France-Presse this week. “Everything gets dematerialised. You can get carried away.” It is possible Mr Kerviel was just using the interview to set up his legal defence. French authorities have accused him, after all, of forgery and breach of trust. Mr Kerviel had risen from the back office at Société Générale to become a “warrant arbitragist”. His job was...

Is idealism dead? Should the promotion of American values of liberalism, democracy, human rights, and rule of law be a core element of U.S. foreign policy? Where to strike the balance between principles and interests is one of the most enduring debates about America ’s role in the world. But since September 11, this question has become intensely contested and deeply controversial. It has emerged as one of the central divides between the political right and left — in large part because of the history of the past seven years, the Bush administration ’s rhetoric, its strong association with the...

Half of Swedes think their politicians have low moral standards, a new survey indicates. Journalists and company executives also have a bad reputation. In the survey, conducted by researchers at Gothenburg University, 48 percent of those asked said that politicians' morals were poor or very poor. Only 14 percent responded that morality among the country's elected representatives was of a high or very high level. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt's Moderate Party got a lower score than when the same survey was carried out last year. The party has been dogged by a number of scandals involving politicians using black market...

The term "moral hazard" is being bandied about in commentary about the sub-prime mortgage woes currently roiling our financial markets. Columns from George Will and Irwin Stelzer among many others, warn against the interposition of government bail-outs or federal pressure on lenders to develop rescue packages for failing sub-prime borrowers. These bail-outs fit the traditional definition of moral hazard as "an insurance problem; when the cost of a disaster is reduced with insurance, people have less incentive to avoid the disaster." Our federal flood insurance programs are a classic case in point: those inclined to live near the ocean or...

Giuliani? Thompson? No President Will Lead a Moral Revival By Dan Calabrese August 20, 2007 A friend recently indicated his strong preference for Fred Thompson over Rudy Giuliani in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. The issue, he said, is morality. Giuliani’s past marital infidelity, fractured relationships with his children and support for abortion rights and gay rights call his moral judgment into question. That, say this friend and many other social conservatives, is not the kind of man we want to elect to lead a moral nation. Any defense of Giuliani on these points can wait for another...

A church in southern Sweden has refused to allow a wireless broadband antenna to be installed on its tower, after fears were raised that parishoners would stay home surfing for porn instead of attending services. The proposal to install broadband equipment at the church in Hylletofta, 200 kilometres east of Gothenburg, would have brought high speed internet access to the community, where residents currently have to struggle with dial-up connections. But the Church of Sweden decided that the ability to download high quality images and videos could harm the morals of the local population. "The diocese has formally taken the...

The question usually aimed at her darker opponent from Chicago triggered a burst of laughter from Hillary Rodham Clinton. She recovered from the barb and proceeded by not answering it. This campaign moment occurred Thursday before the Las Vegas convention crowd of the National Association of Black Journalists. CNN White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux pinned back the former First Lady to explain how she could "sustain black support " while running against an African-American. Ironically, thanks to Sen. Barack Obama's mixed white and Kenyan parentage and campaign mischief, it is he who usually gets to field the "black enough" question.

Recently there has been increasing nationwide interest in the stand of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Many members of the Church are sincerely asking, “Why has the Church considered this a moral issue?” Some issues that confront societies are strictly political issues, some are moral issues, and many are both political and moral issues. Though the proposed Equal Rights Amendment has both political and moral aspects, emphasis is given here to its moral implications. 1. Does the Church favor equal rights for women? 2. What is the Equal Rights Amendment? 4....

Thompson critics cite how Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, ran circles around him during the hearings about money laundering to the Chinese during the Clinton Administration. True enough. But like Reagan I kept a daily journal. Whereas I was mentioned just twice in Reagan's journal, Reagan was mentioned many, many times in my journal. Among those references was my disappointment that Reagan failed to take advantage of many domestic issue opportunities. So in that sense "Saint Ron" and "Saint Fred" are alike. And: Those who make Reagan's legacy a myth, as if his wife Nancy were writing the script, forget that...

Richard Gere isn't bothered that a warrant's out for his arrest in India, and he's accusing a "very small right-wing, very conservative" faction in the country for coming after him for his public kissing of an Indian actress. "They do this kind of thing quite often," Gere told Jon Stewart on last night's "Daily Show." "I don't know that anyone has actually gone to jail ... It goes to a reputable court and they throw it out." Yesterday, an Indian judge issued a warrant for Gere's arrest in Jaipur, saying that he had "transgressed all limits of vulgarity" when he...

“This is the first legal crack in the crumbling Roe v. Wade foundation, and is the first, necessary step toward banning the horrific practice of abortion in this nation,” said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. “If partial-birth abortions are unconstitutional, then all abortion should be as well. There is little difference between a second-trimester partial-birth abortion and a 12-week suction abortion. In fact, the suction abortion is probably more gruesome because it involves complete dismemberment of a live baby.”

Herzog is apparently the third bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church to become a Roman Catholic. Levi S. Ives, bishop of North Carolina, left the denomination in 1853 after spending a number of years as both diocesan bishop and a monastic. Delaware Bishop Frederick Kinsman became a Roman Catholic in 1919. Meanwhile, after his retirement as bishop of Fort Worth at the end of 1994, Clarence C. Pope Jr. and his wife, Martha, attended Roman Catholic services but, after a short time, returned to the Episcopal Church.

Viacom Once Again Displays its Anti-Christian Position The Timothy Plan Mutual Fund Group Condemns Upcoming Show MAITLAND, Fl., Mar. 8 /Christian Newswire/ -- Comedy Central, a wholly- owned division of MTV Networks, whose parent company is New York based VIACOM, preparing to rebroadcast the ‘Naughty hottie’ episode of the “Sarah Silverman Program” tonight at 10:30pm EST, http://www.worldnetdaily.com/staticarticles/article54607.html has drawn the ire of America’s Pro-Life/Pro- Family Mutual Fund Group – the Timothy Plan. “To air, and rebroadcast a program, comedy or not, that depicts the main character having sex with God brings VIACOM’s anti-Christian vitriol to an all time low”, said...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's drugs laws are driven by "moral panic" and should be replaced by a more flexible approach that recognises most drug users harm neither themselves nor those around them, a two-year study concluded on Thursday. Drug use should be treated as a health issue and not just as a matter for police and courts, said a commission formed by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). It said the current Misuse of Drugs act was "not fit for purpose" and should be scrapped. "Current policy at best gives mixed messages and at worst is dishonest ... It is...

Who is Alveda King? She is the niece of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the acknowledged leader of the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. She has no other claim to fame, and seeks none, but she has taken her uncle’s principles to heart to move in a new direction. Political debate in this or any other free country is governed to a considerable extent by a combination of principle and personality. That is, citizens form parties or other groups and support candidates and causes on the basis of some application of the republican principles...

PRESENT Strickland, as a US Congressman, was provided an opportunity in 1999 to vote for a resolution condemning a study suggesting sex between adults and minors could be a positive experience for the children. Strickland chose not to support the resolution condemning the study. He was one of 13 congressmen who voted “Present”.

Inscriptions etched into Arizona’s Sept. 11 monument — meant to inspire and capture the horror of the terrorist attacks — sparked the beginnings of a political blog battle this week. *snip* One inscription states, “You don’t win battles of terrorism with more battles.� Another: “Congress questions why CIA and FBI didn’t prevent attacks.� And another reads, “Erroneous US air strike kills 46 Uruzgan civilians,� referring to a wedding reportedly hit by mistake in Afghanistan.

This article ran in the July/August 2006 issue of The American Spectator. To subscribe, click here. BY THE TIME THE PUNDITS HAD PICKED CLEAN the carcass of the 2004 election, the idea that Christian conservatives played a significant role in the President's re-election had been declared a myth. Looked at properly, argued Charles Krauthammer, the 2004 exit polls revealed "moral values" were "dead last" on the voters' minds on Election Day. It was all an ego-soothing "myth" cooked up by the liberals and the media to extenuate the GOP wipeout. But spinning an election is a lot different from winning...

Legislators who view embryonic stem cell research as human cloning won first-round approval Thursday in the House for a proposal to encourage alternatives in finding cures for diseases. The measure would set up new state funds to finance research with adult stem cells or blood from newborns' umbilical cords, then grant a tax break to Kansans who contribute to either fund. Backers couldn't say how much the tax breaks would cost but hope to attract millions of dollars in contributions. The House voted 71-46 to add the proposal to an unrelated bill. Another voice vote advanced the amended legislation to...

Pity the poor values voter. She's all dressed up, but does she have anywhere to go? In 2004, she was the darling of the election. Now she feels like a wallflower, taken for granted by the Republicans and mocked by the Democrats. "Values voter" is, of course, a euphemism for evangelicals and conservative Catholics. It is more politically correct to use the euphemism than to acknowledge that one's religious faith actually influences their decision in the voting booth. After all, one must take care not to run afoul of the radical notion of separation of church and state promoted by...

Those who have experiences...Any idea how to start a new private school where character and integrity counts and be taught?

AMARILLO, July 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Bishop John Yanta of the Catholic diocese of Amarillo, Texas, has published a pastoral letter on modesty in dress, especially at Sunday Mass, a subject that inevitably arouses strong reactions even in conservative circles. Titled, “Modesty starts with purification of the heart,” Bishop Yanta’s letter calls choosing what to wear a “moral act.” Bishop Yanta writes, “we can help the devil in many ways including the way we dress.” Referring to the “battle for purity,” required of the Christian life, Bishop Yanta writes, “When the community of believers comes together for the Eucharist (Mass)...

THRISSUR, India (CNS) -- The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India deplored the July 11 deadly bomb blasts in Mumbai that claimed more than 130 lives and injured more than 200 people. "It is a blatant act of aggression on harmless people, and this must be countered with courage and determination by all concerned," the bishops said in a statement. "We appeal to all the affected people to maintain calm and equanimity at this hour of sorrow and grief so that the nefarious designs of the anti-social elements can be defeated."

Consumers daunted by mountains of debt face another uphill climb as they sort through mixed messages on the moral implications of filing for bankruptcy. On one side, Christian conservatives who applauded last year's tightening of bankruptcy laws are now appealing to higher authority to tweak the consciences of would-be defaulters. On the other side, voices irked by double-digit interest rates and questionable marketing tactics of credit-card issuers say debtors are often morally justified in seeking relief. The morality debate is heating up amid signs of trouble for people living on the margins: • Even though tougher filing laws took effect...

I've been thinking a lot lately, perhaps it's no surprise, on the public face of Opus Dei, much of it no doubt the result of The Da Vinci Code. The more I think about it, the more I am inclined to say that The Da Vinci Code is a blessing in disguise not only for Opus Dei, but also for Christians worldwide – and in the end, for society. There is no doubt that the movie is a blasphemous caricature of Christianity, but the result of the film (and book) is that it is causing people to question and delve...

In modern society it is often considered arrogant and intolerant to suggest that any individual or group knows the truth about the world. Yet as we see from moment to moment in life all around us, truth is inescapable. To reject any worldview is simply to counter it with your own, whatever that may be, or however undeveloped in your own mind. The question is simply, which account of the universe is true? The atheistic evolutionist's and humanist's big story about the human condition is summarized by Oxford zoologist and atheist Richard Dawkins: If the universe were just electrons and...

Answer To Last Month's "Full House For Disaster" Four Of A Kind: Foundations For An American Future March, 2006 Feature--Return Of The Gods Web Site SynopsisThe four foundation blocks for a Conservative American Future, one that returns to the wisdom of the Founders: Integrity, Identity, Responsibility & Respect. Last month we discussed a metaphorical "poker hand from Hell," reviewing a "full house" of egregious errors in addressing social goals and in understanding the causation for social phenomena. In a discussion of error in addressing societal goals, we described serious mistakes in assigning responsibility in the approach to Public School...

The teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment... Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it. The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories. Ashley said, "My father's a farmer and we have a lot of egg-laying hens. One time we were taking our eggs to market in a basket on the front seat of the car when we hit a big bump in the road and all the eggs went flying and broke and made a mess." "What's the moral of the...

Death is the wages of sin (Rom 6:23) and Jesus Christ had none (Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:22; 1 John 3:5; 2 Cor 5:21). Death, therefore, had no rightful claim on Him thus Jesus died an unnatural death. This means that Jesus, the true remnant of Israel, alone fulfilled the covenant from our side, pleasing God. And all who are united to Him share in His distinction that death has no rightful claim on them (6:23b). So Jesus alone is our focus, our religion, our righteousness. Yet we still, as Christians often get caught up in our own spirituality. That...

Dems' bill would enforce video-game age controls By KRISTINA HERRNDOBLER Copyright 2005 Hearst News Service Dec. 16, 2005, 9:05PM U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington to introduce federal legislation to protect children from inappropriate video games, December 16, 2005. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas WASHINGTON - A trio of Democratic senators unveiled a proposal Friday to impose fines on retail outlets selling or renting violent and sexually explicit video games to children younger than 17. In introducing the legislation, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said it would...

http://www.cuf.org/LayWitness/online_view.asp?lwID=469 ...Sousa Mendes’ stand was a fait accompli to which Salazar and his political police had to bow. A mechanism had been set in motion; once the refugees crossed the bridge at Hendaye-Irún and were granted passage through Spain, there was no return. Sousa Mendes had forced open an escape route for many.... ------------------------------------------ ....The first official acknowledgment of what Sousa Mendes did in 1940 came about in Israel, through the untiring efforts of daughter Elisa Joana. She gathered statements by witnesses to be sent to the Center for Documentation and Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, and 20 trees were planted...

A Gainesville, Georgia, talk show host returning from visiting our troops in Iraq wrote a letter to the New York Times disagreeing with the paper's pundits' conferring on Cindy Sheehan, mother of a fallen soldier, the status of "absolute moral authority" regarding our involvement in Iraq. With sensitivity, Martha Zoller wrote that many mothers and fathers of fallen heroes, with equal moral clout, support our mission in Iraq. To her surprise, this southern gal received a bundle of e-mails from the New York City area calling her a "Nazi" and "concentration-camp capo," the latter a pejorative used often by Jews...

August 6th marked the 60th anniversary of America’s use of an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. While some still argue that President Truman’s decision to use the A-bomb was “controversial,” they are afflicted with the scourge of our time, the loss of a sense of moral proportion and certainty. Unfortunately, those with relativistic morals will lead us to see the day when nuclear weapons are used again – this time to end once and for all the barbaric savagery of Islamism. Green Left Weekly (GLW) calls the U.S. putting a swift end to WWII – using atomic...

Folks, first the good news: I watched Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith twice. I also read the excellent novelization of the script by Matthew Woodring Stover. Of course, this is a great saga, good story-telling almost 30 years in the making. I was there, 12 years old when the first Star Wars came out, standing on line on a stormy day in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and like many other fans, have watched the franchise grow and read uncounted novels involving the characters we all love. Star Wars is a morality tale. One may see countless influences...

Dean: Democrats Must Cultivate Hispanics Howard Dean Says Democrats Must Cultivate Hispanics to Aid 2008 Presidential Victory By MICHAEL NORTON Associated Press Writer The Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico Jun 24, 2005 — The Democratic Party is losing more and more Hispanic voters to the Republicans and must cultivate them if it is to win the 2008 presidential victory, Democratic Party leader Howard Dean told Latino officials on Friday. More than 7 million Latinos of Central and South American, Mexican, and Puerto Rican descent voted in the 2004 presidential race. But with each successive race, a higher percentage of...

Troops fear support is dwindling By Bryan Bender BOSTON GLOBE WASHINGTON - The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East warned Thursday that troops are questioning whether the public supports the Iraq war and implored political leaders to engage in a frank discussion about how to keep the country behind a mission that the armed forces believe is "a war worth fighting." Army Gen. John Abizaid said that without that support, the military's ability to prevail against Iraqi insurgents and Islamic extremists will be at serious risk. read on...

America is now a nation ruled by the amoral and fallible will of men. They are called lawyers. The warning has been coming for decades. The current case involving the litigated and legally mandated death sentence of Terri Schiavo has now confirmed our current fate. This should be no surprise. For at least fifty years we have been indoctrinated with the specious argument that a traditional, rational and common moral code of conduct is bourgeois and unsophisticated. This journey of cultural madness has culminated in massive societal confusion regarding whether right and wrong behavior even exists. This is unless a...

A short 229 years ago, our founding fathers declared our independence as a free sovereign nation and established a set of moral principles that would become the foundation for the greatest nation on earth. Those basic moral principles began with a belief that all men were Created equal, endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable Rights. The first of those basic Rights established was a common inalienable Right to Life, followed by an individual Right to personal Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. In their clear determination to design a truly free self-governed nation, they placed their trust in God...

As I watch the murder of Terri Schiavo play out on television at the behest of her husband, who for all intents and purposes is practicing polygamy since he insists that he is still her spouse after he fathered two children with his new lover, I can't help but be appalled at the indifference of those who haven't bothered to investigate the true facts of the matter. Those not following the case assume that right wing busy bodies are interfering with Terri's "right-to die." Regardless of the true circumstances of the situation, because of the prevailing attitude that humans should...

Spring Breakers are not easily offended, but even they will admit some behavior crosses the line. "We saw two people actually having sex in the sand," said Nat Gale from Hartford, Conn. "Their friends were all around them. Everyone was trying not to look but they were looking." Because nobody complained to authorities, it's questionable whether the couple could have been convicted of committing a lewd and lascivious act. Florida courts have ruled that an unsuspecting member of the public must be offended before somebody can be convicted of the crime. State Sen. Mike Fasano and State Rep. John Legg,...

America is unsettled over the case of Terri Schiavo. Fifteen years ago, she suffered brain damage that left her totally dependent on others for basic care, including nourishment. Pursuant to a court order, this nourishment is scheduled to end March 18, when Michael Schiavo, her estranged husband and guardian, will have her feeding tube removed.1 Bob and Mary Schindler, Terri’s parents, have been battling in the courts to prevent their daughter’s death by starvation. Terri Schiavo’s Condition Food and water are all Terri needs to stay alive. Reliable health care specialists testify that she is not comatose and can improve...

Italian prelate pleads for Terri Schiavo's life Vatican, Mar. 07 (CWNews.com) - With a deadline looming for the removal of food and water from a brain-damaged Florida woman, the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has asked: "How can anyone who claims to speak of the promotion and protection of rights-- of human life-- remain silent?" Cardinal Renato Martino (bio - news) observed, in a March 7 public statement, that if feeding tubes are removed from Terri Schiavo, "She will die a horrible and cruel death." With a court-ordered date for the removal of those tubes quickly...