Dispel the Illusion
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Attending Church Boosts Students' Grades
If you want to boost your teenager's grade point average, take the kid to church. Or, a new study suggests, find some similar social activity to involve them in. Researchers found that church attendance has as much effect on a teen's GPA as whether the parents earned a college degree. Students in grades 7 to 12 who went to church weekly also had lower dropout rates and felt more a part of their schools.Religion Does NOT Lead to Terrorism

Far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practise their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could actually be regarded as religious novices. Very few have been brought up in strongly religious households, and there is a higher than average proportion of converts. Some are involved in drug-taking, drinking alcohol and visiting prostitutes. MI5 says there is evidence that a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation.
Abortuary Cited for 'Improper Disposal'
A 12-count warrant has been issued against a Lathrup Village abortion clinic for improperly disposing of medical records, according to Southfield's 46th District Court. The clinic, WomanCare, was under investigation by police and state officials since the spring after an anti-abortion group found biomedical waste, fetal remains and medical documents in garbage receptacles outside of the facility.According to a court clerk, no arrests have been made.
More Pensioners Than Children in Britain
Pensioners outnumber children for the first time as more and more people live longer, new figures show. The fastest-growing pensioner group is the over-80s, who are benefiting from improved diets and healthcare. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the future is grey, with the pensioner population projected to grow to more than 12 million within two years. The long-term implications of the pensioner population rising to 11,561,000 and the number of under-16s falling to 11,509,000 last year will affect housing, health and education in the years to come.Britons Don't Trust TV
Research by consultancy Deloitte shows that over a third of the public do not trust television, with a further third expressing no view either way, while only two per cent "strongly agree" that they trust British TV. Last year saw a spate of scandals on some of the BBC’s biggest charity shows, Channel 4’s Richard and Judy, ITV’s Saturday night shows and a mis-leading BBC1 clip of the Queen. ITV was fined a record £5.67 million in May for cheating viewers out of millions of pounds in premium-rate phone-in competitions.Thursday, August 21, 2008
Anti-Natal Society Telling Parents Not to Have Big Families
The study for the think tank Civitas claims that the middle-classes are made to feel guilty about the impact on the environment and the damage to their careers if they have large numbers of babies. Everything from house prices to car tax makes it far more expensive for them to raise more than two children, it says. The report says that this "anti-natal" prejudice against large families is misplaced, however, and that young people who have lots of brothers and sisters grow up happier and better-adjusted than only children.Researchers Question Wide Use of HPV Vaccines
Two vaccines against cervical cancer are being widely used without sufficient evidence about whether they are worth their high cost or even whether they will effectively stop women from getting the disease, two articles in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine conclude ... “Despite great expectations and promising results of clinical trials, we still lack sufficient evidence of an effective vaccine against cervical cancer,” Dr. Charlotte J. Haug, editor of The Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association, wrote in an editorial in Thursday’s issue of The New England Journal. “With so many essential questions still unanswered, there is good reason to be cautious.”China Flaying Animals Alive
The newest controversy over exports from China has caused nightmares for researchers documenting the abuse inflicted on animals bred and raised in tiny cages and then skinned alive for their fur. WND has reported multiple times on problems with exports from China, with poison found in pajamas, consumers warned against using ginger, an alert about the dangers from China's pickled vegetables and even the dangers from honey and fireworks.Planned Parenthood Website Promotes Oral and Casual Sex
A website sponsored by Planned Parenthood, the biggest player in America's billion dollar abortion industry, is promoting oral sex and casual encounters in the name of encouraging the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, critics say. "This website is engineered to reach the youth of America and undoubtedly will be featured in their health curriculum that is in many of our public school systems," warned Rev. Clenard H. Childress Jr., of the Life Education And Resource Network.China May Have Killed 140 Tibetans This Week
Chinese security forces opened fire on a crowd this week in eastern Tibet and may have killed 140 people, the Dalai Lama told a French daily on Thursday. "The Chinese army again fired on a crowd on Monday August 18, in the Kham region in eastern Tibet," he told Le Monde. "One hundred and forty Tibetans are reported to have been killed, but the figure needs to be confirmed."Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Catholics Supporting Abortion Should Not Receive Communion

The prefect of the Apostolic Signature, Archbishop Raymond Burke, said this week that Catholics, especially politicians, who publically defend abortion should not receive Communion, and that ministers of Communion should be responsibly charitable in denying it to them if they ask for it, “until they have reformed their lives.” In an interview with the magazine, Radici Christiane, Archbishop Burke pointed out that there is often a lack of reverence at Mass when receiving Communion. “Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily is a sacrilege,” he warned. “If it is done deliberately in mortal sin it is a sacrilege.”
Number of Teen Girls Reporting Sex on the Decline
A new study from Statistics Canada suggests fewer teenagers are having sex, especially teen girls. The 2005 survey found 43 per cent of teens reported having sex, down from 47 per cent in 1996-1997. The reason for the slide seems to be the number of young women that reported they were sexually active. Forty-three per cent of young women aged 15 to 19 reported having sex at least once, compared to 51 per cent in 1996-1997.Personal Financial Interest Behind Chrétien's Backing of China
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien's criticism of Canada's current China policy reflects his personal financial interest in clients who do business there, not Canada's interest, Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney says. And Mr. Kenney, the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism, asserted that when he was in office, Mr. Chrétien's China policy was influenced by his post-politics business plans, and the interests of rich and powerful friends.It's Miracles Over Medicine for Americans
When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle." More than half of randomly surveyed adults — 57 percent — said God's intervention could save a family member even if physicians declared treatment would be futile. And nearly three-fourths said patients have a right to such treatment.Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Baby Survives Abortion

The woman underwent an abortion and the baby, weighing 610 grams, was extracted from her womb without a pulse, hospital officials said. A senior doctor pronounced the baby dead and she was transferred to the cooler. Five hours later, the woman's husband came to the hospital to take what he thought was his dead baby girl for burial. When the baby was taken out of the cooler, she began to breathe. The premature baby was then taken to the intensive care ward, where doctors were attempting to save her life.
