Summer is lake season, and Fort Worth is surrounded by six big ones. They are separated in time by as much as seventy-two years. They are separated in space by as much as thirty-two miles. Most of us have fond memories of our six big lakes because they are where we have attended family, school, church, and other group outings, where we have picnicked and fished and swum and boated and courted. But these lakes didn't just magically materialize so that you and I would have a place to catch crappie, water ski, and watch the submarine races.
What is the history of our six big lakes (Worth, Eagle Mountain, Benbrook, Grapevine, Arlington, and Joe Pool)?
To begin with, none of our big six was made by nature. Like most lakes, our big six were made by we, the people. And we made them to serve one purpose: to control water in nature. But Fort Worth, like every city, wants to control water in nature in two very different ways: to harness water to use as a resource but also to harness water to prevent floods. Thus, a city has a Goldilocks attitude toward water: A city wants the amount of water that is "just right." For example, it wants its residents to get enough water to take a bath but not so much water that their house floats down the street.
Because soldiers, like real estate agents, know the truth of the axiom "location, location, location," Fort Worth was doubly blessed from the git-go thanks to Major Ripley Arnold: Fort Worth's location would have pleased Goldilocks: It was "just right." It had a source of water—the two forks of the Trinity River—but had no need for flood control because the fort and later the city were located high and dry on the bluff far above the reach of the Trinity River.
But as the city increased in population, its need for water increased. In 1882 the city built a waterworks and a modest network of fire plugs, mains, and pipes to homes and businesses. The waterworks was located at the confluence of the Clear and West forks and pumped water from both the river and from wells drilled in the river channel. The minimum charge for water to a four-room house was five dollars a year.
In 1882 Fort Worth's area was still confined essentially to today's downtown on the bluff and still had no need for flood control. But as the city grew in area, it spread beyond the bluff into areas along the river east, west, and north of downtown. With expansion into those low-lying areas Fort Worth did have need for flood control.
Remember: The Trinity River of that time was nothing like the Trinity River of today. The Trinity of that time looked more like Sycamore Creek—narrow, shallow, and placid except after heavy rain upstream in its watershed.
But heavy rain in that considerable watershed above Fort Worth could gorge that narrow, shallow, and placid Trinity River with a thunderous wall of water overnight, as it did in 1889.
During the flood of 1889 the river was two miles wide to the north and east of town. To the west, where Trinity Park is today, the farm of banker and civic leader Khleber Miller Van Zandt was flooded.
After the flood of 1889 Fort Worth began to consider flood control. Engineers said levees could protect the areas north and east of downtown.
But the city was slow to provide flood control. The city was quicker to provide a larger water supply. In 1892 the city drilled a dozen artesian wells and built a new waterworks on the Clear Fork upstream from the 1882 waterworks.
In 1894 civil and hydraulic engineer John B. Hawley recommended that the city buy a tract of land on the Clear Fork southwest of the city and build a large dam to impound water to supply the city. Like the levees, his suggestion was debated but not acted upon, although the city did build a series of dams on the Clear Fork to impound water to augment the city's artesian wells. These dams were modest and did not form lakes.
But by 1903 the city had given up on the river as a source of water. Instead the city installed the Meade system, which consisted of pumps and artesian wells located within a radius of sixteen hundred feet of the waterworks. The wells were connected to the waterworks by a network of more than a mile of horizontal tunnels 173 feet deep in the ground.
But the wells, like the river, were dependent on rainfall, and the Meade system did not perform to expectations. By 1906 the capacity of the wells had decreased. In 1907 the city again began to consider building a dam and reservoir on the river to impound water. In fact, the city bought one thousand acres on the Clear Fork southwest of Benbrook (selected by civil engineer Charles M. Davis) for that purpose but did not follow through.
Meanwhile the city still had not done much to control flooding of the river.
Meanwhile, to augment the increasingly undependable artesian well system, in 1909 the city again turned to the river and began supplying industrial customers with river water pumped from the 1882 waterworks.
Also in 1909 the city annexed the city of North Fort Worth. Suddenly the city had a lot more people and a lot more area—an area prone to flooding by the Trinity River and Marine Creek.
As the city's artesian wells continued to sputter, the superintendent of the waterworks also recommended a reservoir.
In 1911 the board recommended a site on the West Fork. That year the city bought five thousand acres of mostly undeveloped land on the West Fork six miles northwest of town. Owners were offered what the city felt was a fair price—an average of $35 an acre ($900 today). If a seller refused the offer, the city filed a condemnation suit, and the seller was paid an amount determined by a board of appraisers.
In July 1911 the city advertised for bids to build the reservoir. It was a small ad with big numbers: 300,000 cubic yards of earthen embankment, 60,000 cubic yards of concrete for the spillway, a pipeline forty inches in diameter and six and a half miles long from the reservoir to the waterworks in town.
In September the city awarded contracts totaling $512,982 ($13.4 million today) to construct the dam, a settling basin, and the pipeline.
In addition, C. T. Hodge was awarded the contract to clear the timber from the reservoir site and was allowed to keep the timber he cut. He sold it as cordwood through a classified ad in the Star-Telegram.
Construction of the reservoir and dam of Lake Worth began on September 25, 1911. The dam and reservoir were a gargantuan civil engineering project. Three hundred workers lived in "sanitary camps" at the reservoir site. Teams of horses or mules and a fleet of "motor trucks" excavated, hauled, graded, and rolled tons of earth and concrete.
In June 1912 the Star-Telegram published a progress report on the project, pointing out that the dam was three-quarters of a mile long, five hundred feet thick at the base, and sixty feet tall. The reservoir would impound rainfall runoff from seven counties above it and have a capacity of 25 billion gallons of water.
Damming the river created the necessity for one more project: a new Nine Mile Bridge. The old bridge would be too short to span the lake, even though the bridge would be located at the narrow waist of the lake. The new bridge, with wood flooring on concrete piers, would be fourteen hundred feet long. The bridge on Jacksboro Highway would not open until 1929.
On December 5, 1913 the reservoir, which had been referred to mostly as "the West Fork reservoir," was given a formal name. Other names considered were Jarvis, Panther, and Tonkeway.
At least twice the Lake Worth project was threatened by the very thing it was being built to contain: heavy rain. One day after the lake was given a name, it was given a test: Heavy rain in the watershed flooded the West Fork, sending water over the Lake Worth spillway more than seven feet high. The dam was not damaged.
By August 1914 the dam and its spillway were almost completed.
Later that month the Star-Telegram reported that the 4,400-acre lake was filling up as rainfall runoff poured down the river from a watershed of two thousand square miles. Note that the cost of the dam had risen to $1.3 million ($32 million today).
The Trinity River always had a flair for the dramatic. Three days after the lake on the West Fork was reported to be "filling up," the Star-Telegram wrote that the Clear Fork also was rising. Four hundred families living in the river bottom of the Clear Fork were driven to higher ground. The near West Side was flooded from the confluence southwest to Trinity Park. Streetcar service to Arlington Heights and some railroad service were disrupted.
On the West Fork, as the river rose the new Lake Worth dam "bore almost the heaviest pressure of water possible" and "held back the bulk of the West Fork's flood." The Star-Telegram credited the new lake with minimizing flooding downstream in Fort Worth.
By August 21 water was running twenty-one inches high over the Lake Worth spillway after "tremendous rains" fell in the West Fork watershed. But "The river was well within its banks at Fort Worth." Lake Worth was doing what it had been built to do: control the Trinity River.
Lake Worth, three years in the making, was earning its keep. But the project had been beset by problems. There were construction delays, cost overruns. A test of the concrete in the dam found the mix to be weaker than specifications. The city sued contractors. Property owners sued the city. The company building the dam filed for bankruptcy. Workers went on strike. When the concrete conduit from the lake to the city's waterworks was first tested, it leaked.
By 1915 also nearing completion was an eleven-mile levee system along the river to protect the low-lying areas to the west, east, and north of downtown. The city had begun planning the levee system days after the flood of 1908. A levee district and board had been created. The levee project had been bedeviled by squabbling—injunctions and lawsuits—between the city and the levee board. But a Star-Telegram editorial in May credited the new lake and the levee system with minimizing flooding in Fort Worth.
By May 1915 the new lake was so popular with boaters that the Star-Telegram wrote of Lake Worth's "navy." Note that Nine Mile Bridge was reached by Rosen Heights Road. Jacksboro Highway did not yet exist.
In 1915 five thousand bass were released into the new lake.
In 1915 a lot of folks still did not own a car, and there was no mass transit to the new lake. But jitneys—unlicensed taxis—would drive passengers to the lake. Note the "R." (for "Rosedale") phone exchange.
And in 1915 Lake Worth got its first flock of an animal that would become part of lake lore. The Star-Telegram announced that goats would be placed on Crescent Island to do some landscaping.
In fact, Crescent Island was soon renamed "Goat Island." Less than two miles to the north in the city's Broadview Park on the lake in 1958 Reverend Henry Cooper established the New Liberty Mission Rehabilitation Center. The rehabilitation center was known informally as the "Goat Farm" because its residents raised goats for consumption by animals at the Fort Worth Zoo. Just east of the Goat Farm, of course, was Greer Island, home of Lake Worth's best-known resident.
Lake Worth's dam and reservoir completed and proven, its duty to provide water while preventing floods faded into the background as the perimeter of the lake quickly began to develop: city parks, private campgrounds, beaches, fishing and hunting clubs, taverns and restaurants offering drinks, dinner, and dancing, sailing clubs, boatworks, bait and tackle shops.
The Masons built a grand mosque on Reynolds Point in 1917.
Also that year the city opened at Nine Mile Bridge a municipal bathing beach and bathhouse that would evolve into Casino Beach in the 1920s.
In 1921 the Star-Telegram celebrated the lake's first seven years by listing its vital statistics.
Gradually people began to go to Lake Worth not only to play but also to live: In 1923 Amon Carter bought nine hundred acres and developed his Shady Oak Farm at the lake to entertain the rich and powerful. By 1949 Indian Oaks, a community on land formerly owned by cattleman George T. Reynolds, had grown enough to incorporate as "Lake Worth Village" (now the city of Lake Worth).
This entry was posted in Downtown, All Around, Life in the Past Lane, North Side, Rollin' on the River, Water Works, West Side. Bookmark the permalink.
Thanks for this informative page. Do you have any information or pictures of the Reporter Publishing Company in Ft. Worth?
I mention it briefly in this post.
I have e-mailed you three newspaper clips.


External link to Tolerance Radiates, Intolerance does too!
Tolerance Radiates, Intolerance does too!
When I meet an angry person, I choose not to hear the words, I hear … , the goal being peace for both.
What would you choose to do? Continue reading Tolerance Radiates, Intolerance does too!
External link to Adrift on the Bay of Bengal! Fathoms of Black.
Adrift on the Bay of Bengal! Fathoms of Black.
Adrift on the Arabian! Fathoms of Black : a beautiful memory. Continue reading Adrift on the Bay of Bengal! Fathoms of Black.
Challenging ourself in a different way everyday.
External link to Fittest Revive Over the Precipice!
Fittest Revive Over the Precipice!
Let the fear jump, and the self revive dear. Continue reading Fittest Revive Over the Precipice!


Sono kurai dekinakucha otoko desho? ...NANTE NE!
GASORIN wa manTAN de O.K.!
CHEEN mo JAKKI mo GOOD!
Koori no mizu'umi o mezashite susumou!
DORIRU de ana akete O.K.!
SUNOU MOOBIRU ni notte GO! GO!
YAKKE no senaka ni KISU shite rainen mo motto suki to sakebitai!
Have a super great extra good time!
Ne, ureshisugite yoru wo anata mo nemurenakatta no?
Because we suddenly found ourselves alone, I was bashful to the point that I couldn't talk with you like I had before.
I feel like our love showed through our entwined hands. Because I was so embarassed, I couldn't hold on tighter.
* Unrequited love changed to love suddenly on that day.
Hey, were you also unable to sleep on that happy night?
Unrequited love changed to love suddenly on that day.
When we talk of love, my voice becomes a bit smaller, but it's the most important thing.
The first unofficial greatest hits CD for DCT. Absolutely worth checking out.
It's the only album that contains their second English single, Wherever You Are. It also contains many excellent instrumentals by Masa!


text:
Hammer House of Horror: Guardian of the Abyss (Episode 10)
Andrew Garvey
Plot of Guardian of the Abyss
Where Have I Seen Them Before?
Best line
Review of Guardian of the Abyss
ANDREW GARVEY reviews Guardian of the Abyss, the 10th episode in Hammer House of Horror TV Series
Title: Guardian of the Abyss
First televised: 15 November 1980
Director: Don Sharp
Screenplay: David Fisher
Starring: Ray Lonnen, Rosalyn Landor, John Carson, Barbara Ewing and Paul Darrow.
Antique dealer Michael, who recently found an antique mirror for a bargain price, finds himself mixed up with a mysterious girl on the run from a secretive occult society.
Ray Lonnen starred in late-70s espionage drama series Sandbaggers and classic 1982 terrorism mini-series Harry's Game.
More recently, he provided voices for mid-90s children's cartoon series Budgie the Helicopter.
Rosalyn Landor made her big screen debut in 1968 Hammer classic The Devil Rides Out, had a prominent role as a member of the all-female detective unit in mid-80s series CATS Eyes and for the last decade has provided voices for cartoons and video games.
John Carson is best known for roles in several Hammer films – the Plague of the Zombies, Taste the Blood of Dracula and Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter.
Barbara Ewing appeared in 1990 drama series Brass, 1968 Hammer film Dracula has Risen from the Grave and dozens of television programmes. Paul Darrow has worked extensively on stage, television, in videogames and narration in a career spanning six decades but his role as Avon in Blake's 7 remains by far his most famous.
[In response to being asked if her name is French] "No! Way back, I think my family were Huguenots."
The first episode of the series to explicitly feature Satanism and human sacrifice (what took them so long?) is also a warning to be careful of what you pick up at antique sales.
A simple mirror might turn out to a very dangerous, Elizabethan scrying glass in which you might glimpse the Devil's doorkeeper.
Only Hammer would give us an evil cult, decked out in their robes, chasing after their escaped victim in broad daylight, like the Keystone Cops.
Said quarry Alison (Landor) seems similarly ridiculous, appearing to not only have a shaky grasp of what is and isn't French but to have been dozy enough to join a cult that sacrifices its own members.
Cult leader Charles Randolph (Carson) is suitably stern and staring but his rituals look cheap and silly and at points it's hard to know whether all this is meant to be taken seriously.
It's slow-paced too, only really picking up for the last few minutes.
Despite a very strong ending, not one of the series' best.
Don Sharp
Hammer Horror Films
Hammer House of Horror
John Carson
ANDREW GARVEY is the Spooky Isles' Deputy Editor (Books). He writes horror fiction and non-fiction and will never be able to read all the books he owns.
10 Hammer Horror Posters From Around The World
14 Hammer Horror actors who appeared in James Bond
Farewell Shane Briant (1946-2021), Obituary
Thriller (S3, E5) Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are REVIEW
Dave Prowse, Hammer Horror Strongman, dies aged 85
Hammer Horror: The Warner Bros Years (2018) REVIEW
Sheffield: 5 Haunted Places to Visit
Sheffield made its name as a centre for steel production, it should also be known for its ghosts, says ANDREW GARVEY
Rosemary Timperley, The Greatest Horror Writer You've Never Heard Of
13 August 2018 3
Rosemary Timperley is a forgotten English horror/ghost writer who deserves more attention that she gets, says MICHAEL S COLLINS
The Tractate Middoth: 10 amazing things you didn't know
RICHARD PHILLIPS-JONES unearths 10 interesting facts about M.R. James' The Tractate Middoth
Soho: 8 Haunted Places to Visit
Soho - central London's entertainment district - is full of dark stories of ghosts and hauntings - here are some of the places you can visit - if you dare!
Doctor Who British Gothic Horror Connections
27 October 2014 0
SIMON BALL goes back in time to search out horror films with Doctor Who!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Tesla: 3Q Earnings Snapshot
PALO ALTO, Calif. (AP) — Tesla Inc. (TSLA) on Wednesday reported third-quarter net income of $311.5 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.
On a per-share basis, the Palo Alto, California-based company said it had net income of $1.75. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense, came to $2.90 per share.
The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 55 cents per share.
The electric car maker posted revenue of $6.82 billion in the period, also exceeding Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.67 billion.
Tesla shares have decreased slightly more than 7 per cent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $288.50, a drop of 14 per cent in the last 12 months.
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on TSLA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/TSLA


text:
The AI drivers in Forza 6 think rain is weird
By Ludwig Kietzmann 2015-09-04T17:38:49.246Z
While some humans prepare to purchase Forza Motorsport 6 later this month, perhaps thinking of whether an umbrella should go with them to the shops, the computer-driven drivers in the game are still becoming aclimatized to the rain. According to the game's developers, players may witness some unskilled behavior from the artificial racers - still called "Drivatars," yes - who have been raised only in a world of dry circuits, with none of that dreadful descending moisture.
The current batch of cloud-connected Drivatars made their debut with Forza Motorsport 5, where they acted as digital doppelgangers for each player and their driving tendencies. Even you, the little snowflake that you are, can be broken down and recorded into granular chunks of video game data: you skid off the road over here [recorded], you break too late in this turn [recorded], on this track [recorded], and you tend to violently wedge yourself into cars around you [recorded and pretty rude actually]. But as for how you've been driving through hard rain in Forza 5, well, there hasn't been anything to observe.
"Every tendency, from late braking, to how they adjust their throttle, to how they do an apex, how they do a breakthrough and how they react to other cars around them," says Turn 10 Creative Director Bill Giese, listing off everything that makes a drivatar. "That all gets pooled together and that data is pulled down based on the tracks they do. And what you're seeing now is the pool that we pulled over from Forza 5 and Horizon, and internally some of the Drivatars that we've done as we've played."
It's the pools in the road you have to worry about, though, with Forza Motorsport 6 offering a rain and puddle simulation far exceeding even the effects in Forza Horizon 2. Even if a Drivatar is trained on a certain circuit, such as Long Beach's tooth-grinding turnfest, it won't know how to react to increased slippery conditions or high-speed aquaplaning through a watery dip. If you're trying to pick one of 2015's worst video game enemies, it's probably going to be the puddles in Forza 6.
You'll begin teaching your Drivatar suitable behaviour as soon as you start playing (or even if you play the huge Forza 6 demo), but Turn 10 expects to see some interesting behavior - a wrinkle emerging from simulating lifelike racers and the effects of water in the same game. If you're worried about rain turning Drivatars into rolling hazards (as it does with real people too), there is a new option to cut out their aggression.
"The career players, they want to win and they don't give a crap who's there," says Bill Giese. "They're gonna bounce, they're gonna T-bone, they're gonna use rewind, they're gonna do whatever it takes to win." Over in multiplayer races, Giese says, things are far more polite, and the drivers that spend most of their time online generate "cleaner" Drivatars compared to career players. "So what happens is you'll have multiplayers playing the career, because they're just a broad swath, and they'll find, 'Oh my gosh, I'm with a bunch of career players who are more aggressive.'" Now you can turn the rude behavior down a notch if it's bothering your career progress.
With Forza 6 - coming to Xbox One on September 15 - Drivatars are entering their terrible toddler phase: we're trying to get them to calm down and we're watching them play in puddles for the first time. We'll always cherish these memories, making sure they don't get lost like tires in the rain.
Ludwig Kietzmann
Ludwig is the U.S. Editor-in-Chief for GamesRadar+. He's been writing about games for over 12 years, having spent about half of that perfecting this beautiful, unhelpful blurb.


Celebrations and stories of how Marshall Rosenberg contributed to making our lives wonderful. Join us in celebrating Marshall. Share a message.
I remember the time in 1996 when I heard Marshall say he believed everyone's needs could be met. Everyone on the planet! I was stunned. I believed him. I still do. That's why NVC gives me hope.
I am so very grateful to Marshall for the gifts of NVC.


text:
TOEFL Books
TOEFL Writing Simple: Advanced Writing Course for TOEFL
The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test with…
Mastering Prepositions for the TOEFL in Five Minutes…
Mastering the Reading Section for the TOEFL iBT
Professor Winn's 15 Habits of Highly Successful TOEFL…
5 more Secrets to Language Learning Success
7 tips to help you remember new words
How to Ace the TOEFL iBT Speaking with…
9 Smart Resources for Stress-free TOEFL Listening Practice
How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5…
Solution for Listening
Solution for Reading
[Infographic] Compare TOEFL and IELTS. Have you chosen…
TOEFL Information on the Independent Writing Task
TOEFL FAQ Wiki
The IELTS or the TOEFL Test, Which is…
About the TOEFL Test
Noun Gender – TOEFL Vocab & Grammar
Health Phrasal Verbs (Meaning & Example)
Tips for Learning English (TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC): Mastering…
The 327 Best Words to Know: Ultimate TOEFL…
Cooking Verbs – Visual Expression
How to Ace the TOEFL iBT Speaking with...
How to Effectively Learn TOEFL Vocabulary in 5...
4 Clever Ways to Practice for the TOEFL...
How to Make a Winning TOEFL Practice Test
How to Dramatically Improve Your TOEFL Reading Skills...
8 Wise Steps to Practice Writing for Your...
Everything You Need to Know About the TOEFL...
Home	TOEFL Books	Check Your English Vocabulary for TOEFL
Check Your English Vocabulary for TOEFL
by Wiki TOEFL March 5, 2016
written by Wiki TOEFL March 5, 2016
Check Your English Vocabulary for TOEFL Essential words and phrases to help you maximize your TOEFL score By: Rawdon Wyatt
Check Your English Vocabulary for TOEFL by Rawdon Wyatt provides a resource for students studying towards the TOEFL® (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, which is a requirement for entry for non-native speakers of English at over 6,000 universities in 100 countries worldwide.
It includes a range of fun activities to help students build and improve their English vocabulary at TOEFL® level, and is suitable for both self-study and classroom use.
Check Your Vocabulary series: 'Ideal self-study aids for anyone preparing for these exams'. It's one of the best 10 TOEFL Books for TOEFL iBT Preparation 2017.
Free Download Full Book Set "Check your english vocabulary" by Rawdon Wyatt
The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test with DVD-ROM, Fifth Edition
Mastering Prepositions for the TOEFL in Five Minutes a Day
About Check Your English Vocabulary for TOEFL
This workbook provides a resource for students studying towards the TOEFL® (Test of English as a Foreign Language) exam, which is a requirement for entry for non-native speakers of English at over 8,000 universities in 130 countries worldwide.
Fully updated for this fourth edition, it includes a range of fun activities to help students build and improve their English vocabulary at TOEFL® level, and is suitable for both self-study and classroom use.
Free Download Check Your English Vocabulary for TOEFL
Download Mirror 1
Rate this books
By Haifa
Perfect for vocabulary and helped me the most in my writing. After studying the book and doing the exercises I started to come up with high vocabulary in my writing responses and it boosted my thinking fluency
By young sook hong
It is very helpful. I found what I need to know all vocabulrary is in this book. It is very practical and essencial words for toefl.
User Rating: 0.5 (19 votes)
The more you share, the more you get:
FacebookTwitterPinterestTumblrStumbleuponTelegramEmail
Wiki TOEFL
Cambridge Preparation for the TOEFL Test 4th edition (Book & CD-ROM)
What is different about the TOEFL iBT test?
The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test with...
Mastering Prepositions for the TOEFL in Five Minutes...
Professor Winn's 15 Habits of Highly Successful TOEFL...
AEHelp's TOEFL Book 1: Tests, 1,2,3
Barron's TOEFL iBT 15th Edition by Pamela J....
Free Download Full Book Set "Check your english...
500 Words, Phrases, Idioms for the TOEFL iBT...
4 Practice Tests for the TOEFL 2019-2020
"Wiki-Study.com is a brand new blog dedicated to bringing the TOEFL Community together. It offers you free TOEFL Materials/ Books/Tips, Helps, Advice, Interactive Forum about TOEFL.
From these pages I hope you can maximize your TOEFL score.
WIKI TOEFL Material Team.
Useful Blog
Best Gre Books 2019
@2019 - All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Bill Huy


Revolutionary ideas & experiences that customize learning to meet the educational needs of our community.
The 2020 initiative is a strategic vision that outlines the knowledge, skills and educational experiences Hilliard City Schools' students need to globally compete in the 21st century. This ongoing focus provides a framework for how Hilliard City Schools educates students, allocates its resources and what the community expects from a truly high achieving school system.
In the fall of 2013, Hilliard City Schools will open an Innovative Learning Campus that will provide a variety of coursework, experiences and teacher support in a cost-effective manner. Specifically, the center allows some of the district's existing programming to be centralized and to expand other options to better meet the needs of today's students. For example, Hilliard City Schools will provide better services for students by offering more variety and educational opportunities such as after school enrichment, expanded online learning, mentorship and capstone experiences and partnerships with colleges and career ready schools. This approach diversifies opportunities to meet student needs K-12 that are not currently possible in the existing setup and gives Hilliard City Schools a competitive edge in the rapidly changing school business market.
This is the next step in creating opportunities for 21st century learning for students. The ILC is focused on research-based strategic planning that is fiscally, operationally and educationally responsible. It meets the key findings of two community and staff committees and honors the core values of this community.
This is an important plan not only for our students, but for our community as well. The ILC meets important recommendations from the 2020 initiative and key findings from the Student Housing Project Community Committee. Hilliard City Schools values community input and this center honors that strong tradition. It will also allow the district to keep our community promise to not increase programming costs. The Innovative Learning Center will result in zero additional staffing costs as the district will reallocate existing positions. A similar approach was used when the district launched the pre-engineering and Kindergarten Literacy Intervention Program (KLIP) programs.


Whether you team is discounting too much, struggling to implement a price increase or facing other pricing challenges in today's economic landscape, Mark Hunter, CSP, "The Sales Hunter," is the foremost thought leader in helping organizations eradicate poor pricing behavior and drive top line and bottom line profits.
Discounting your price is not a sustainable strategy. In fact, it's not even a viable quarter-end strategy.
Companies and sales teams that have relied on price discounts to close deals too frequently.
Perfect for sales teams that operate in a commodity or price sensitive type of industry.
Excellent for associations that have members in commodity or price-sensitive types of industries.
Great program for audiences that work globally and have to compete in a wide number of global markets where price is viewed differently.


The item Saga, [Volume 2], Brian K. Vaughan, writer ; Fiona Staples, artist ; Fonografiks, lettering & design represents a specific, individual, material embodiment of a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in East Baton Rouge Parish Library.
The smash-hit ongoing epic continues! Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and alien monstrosities, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters something truly frightening: her grandparents!
"Originally published in single magazine form as Saga #7-12."


text:
"New Frontier" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Donald Fagen for his debut studio album, The Nightfly (1982). The song was released as the second single from the album in January 1983 through Warner Bros. Records.
The song received acclaim from music critics.

"New Frontier" was less successful on the charts than its predecessor "I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World)", however, reaching number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. It performed better in the Netherlands, reaching number 47. Its music video—which combined animation and live-action—was considered an early classic through rotation on MTV.

Summary
The songset in the early 1960scenters on teenagers finding romance in an underground fallout shelter. It has been described as equally sarcastic and nostalgic in its lyrics. Musically, the song contains elements of jazz and funk.

Background
The narrator of the song is a "gawky teenager circa 1962", who has also been described as a "wannabe hipster." He opens the song with discussion of his family's backyard fallout shelter—which he casually describes as "'just a dugout that my dad built, in case the reds decide to push the button down." The narrator meets a girl at a party in the shelter ("a summer smoker underground"), whom he compares to the actress Tuesday Weld. They bond over the music of jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, as he attempts to entice her back to the shelter for a "private party." The teenager also holds big dreams for his future: "I can't wait till I move to the city, 'till I finally make up my mind to learn design and study overseas."

The song's title is a reference to New Frontier, a term used by John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech in the 1960 United States presidential election. "We stand today on the edge of a New Frontier—the frontier of the 1960s, the frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, the frontier of unfilled hopes and unfilled threats," Kennedy said. Robert J. Toth of The Wall Street Journal considered that Fagen used the term humorously as a "metaphor for the mysteries of sex and adulthood." Musically, the song has been described as "futuristic jazz-funk" by Rolling Stone contributor Kevin O'Donnell. It contains a "four-note piano riff that functions as a sort of musical exclamation point to certain lines in the verses." Toth wrote that "the music sounds as frenetic as the teenage hero's hormones, and its deliberately cheesy tone matches the kid's skin-deep sophistication."

Critical reception

"New Frontier" received critical acclaim. Billboard labeled it a top single pick, with an unspecified writer commenting, "The lyrics are diffuse and unsettling, but Fagen wraps them in a comfortable, shuffling rhythm and layered harmonies for an overall pleasant effect." The Independent Phil Johnson called the song a "sardonic take on the optimism of America in the Cold War period," while Laura Sinagra from The New York Times a "biting Reagan-era recollection of 60's hope." Jon Matsumoto at the Los Angeles Times considered it "rhythmically effervescent," feeling it "captured both the anxieties and the innocence of the era." Stewart Mason, writing for AllMusic, praised the dual sarcasm and nostalgia of Fagen's lyrics, as well as its "easy, bouncy groove", summarizing it as "one of Fagen's most delightful tunes."

Music video
The music video for "New Frontier" was produced, for Cucumber Studios, by Annabel Jankel and was directed by Rocky Morton. The music video continues the song's concept of a teenage romantic evening in a bomb shelter. It mixes animation and live-action footage. Fagen appears only in a poster for The Nightfly seen on the wall of the bunker. Stewart Mason of AllMusic said the clip for the song was "widely considered one of the great videos of the early MTV era." It was later included as a bonus feature on the DVD-Audio reissue of The Nightfly.

Formats and track listing
7" (1983)
 "New Frontier" 3:50
 "Maxine" 3:50

12" (1983)
 "New Frontier" 3:50
 "Maxine" 3:50
 "The Goodbye Look" 4:47

CDV maxi single (1988)
 "New Frontier" (7" Version) 4:30
 "Maxine" (LP Version) 3:50
 "New Frontier" (Video) 4:40

Personnel
Information adapted from the liner notes of The Nightfly.
 Donald Fagen lead vocals, background vocals, synthesizer
 Larry Carlton lead guitar
 Ed Greene drums
 Abraham Laboriel bass
 Hugh McCracken harmonica
 Michael Omartian piano, electric piano
 Starz Vanderlocket percussion, background vocals

Charts

See also
United States in the 1950s
Time Out-the 1959 Dave Brubeck album was featured prominently on the music video
Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom-1953 Oscar-winning animated short film similar in animation style (and paid homage to) of said music video
Pablo Picasso-the painting Three Musicians was featured prominently on the music video
Jazz rock

References

External links

Audio only video on Donald Fagen's official YouTube channel

1983 singles
1982 songs
Warner Records singles
Songs written by Donald Fagen
Song recordings produced by Gary Katz
Works about the Cold War
Works set in the 1950s

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
The RCOG's abortion draft guidelines are grossly inept
SPUC has been responding to the draft guidelines on abortion by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), which I blogged on 14 February.
Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, told the media earlier today:
"The RCOG draft guidelines play down the physical and psychological side-effects of abortion, discounting the real and serious damage that abortion can cause. Ireland, where abortion is banned, scores the world's best record in maternal health year after year. Chile, where abortion is also banned, has the lowest maternal mortality rate in Latin America.
"The guidelines are very badly drafted, as they have totally confused Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and totally misunderstood the legal positions in both jurisdictions. This is grossly inept, as such misinformation could be extremely dangerous if followed.
Other black marks in the draft guidelines include:
the false claim that the right of conscientious objection to abortion only applies to doctors (line 1044) or only to doctors and nurses (line 1084) - when it applies to any person called upon to participate in an abortion
the contemplation of enforced abortions on some 16-17 year-olds (1260 - 1262)
failing to require that women be informed of alternatives to abortion and how to obtain such help (1438)
the failure to suggest that doctors should be wary of situations where women seek abortions on unlawful grounds (e.g. for social sex selection), or where women seek abortion under duress (1494).
"The RCOG has long since been an extension of the pro-abortion lobby. Its draft guidelines reflect that institutional bias and should therefore be binned."
Join SPUC's Facebook group
Please support the 40 Days for Life London campaign
40 Days for Life is an international pro-life campaign which began in the US and which has now spread to the UK. You can read more about 40 Days for Life in my blog of 3 September. The next 40 Days for Life campaign in London begins on 9 March. Margaret Cuthill of SPUC's sister organisation ARCH (Abortion Recovery Care and Helpline) spoke at the campaign's pre-launch meeting on Wednesday evening in London (pictured). You can read more about the London campaign in a PowerPoint presentation and on its blog.
International committee gives award to Chile for successful protection of mothers and unborn children
An international committee of over 30 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has given Chile an award for the country's success in protecting both mothers and unborn children.
The International Protect Life Committee announced its award in a meeting with Chile's ambassador to the United Nations in New York yesterday (pictured). The award recognised that Chile has the lowest maternal mortality rate in Latin America, at the same time that its laws and policies promote the health of unborn children. Abortion is banned in Chile.
Daniel Ziedler, the committee's coordinator, said that Ambassador Octavio Errazuriz was extremely pleased at the award. The ambassador repeated Chile's committment to the protection of both mothers and unborn children.
SPUC, which has official NGO status at the UN, is represented on the committee. SPUC was represented at the meeting by Peter C. Smith.
Do read the letter from the committee to President Pinera of Chile notifying him of the award, and the press release from the committee announcing the award.
Pro-abortion lobby flourishes when bishops are weak, Nathanson said
The late Dr Bernard Nathanson, the abortion pioneer turned pro-life champion:
"We [who promoted abortion in the 1960s and '70s] would never have gotten away with what we did if you [the clergy] had been united, purposeful, and strong." (Talk given to priests, 1990)
Enough said (for now at least)!
Order SPUC's new sex ed campaign bulletin today
you to take action to stop primary schools showing sexually explicit materials to children as young as seven years old
your involvement so that sex education is not made a compulsory school subject
your support to reverse government policies which promote contraceptives and abortion advice to secondary school pupils
to act now because anti-life sex education in our schools is priming young children for premature sexual activity, which leads to teenage pregnancies and abortions.
This sex education damages the health and welfare of our children and teenagers. And the lives of unborn children are put at risk. That's why this campaign is so important.
Last year SPUC fought against the proposal to make sex and relationships education (SRE) mandatory in all state schools in England from the age of 5 upwards. The proposal was defeated, but supporters of explicit anti-life sex education are still around, and promoting lurid material in schools. We need the help of SPUC's supporters and sympathetic parents and teachers, to resist the anti-life and anti-family agenda. Please read our new campaign bulletin for further details and action points. Please order copies of the bulletin to give to:
concerned people – especially parents of school-age children and school governors
friends and colleagues
priests and pastors and others at your church, etc.
To order copies of both the bulletin, and the detailed campaign briefings explaining how to act on the key issues, either:
order by e-mail from orders@spuc.org.uk
order by phone from SPUC HQ on (020) 7091 7091
print off the bulletin, then cut out and return the coupon.
Austen Ivereigh backs gay and straight civil partnerships, in defiance of Catholic Church teaching
UPDATE: I note that on 7 March Dr Ivereigh will be giving this year's University Catholic Lecture, hosted at Newman House by the Catholic Chaplaincy to the London Universities in the Archdiocese of Westminster. Readers of this blog may like to attend to ask Dr Ivereigh some pertinent questions.
Dr Austen Ivereigh, the high-profile Catholic media guru, has written a blog-post published last night on The Guardian website entitled "In marriage we trust" and subtitled [my emphasis in bold]:
"Civil partnership is a fine thing, and should be extended. But the government's desire to create 'gay marriage' is quite wrong".
Lest Dr Ivereigh seek to distance himself from the first sentence of that subtitle, in the body of the blog-post he writes [my emphases in bold]:
"There are many kinds of loving, committed relationships. And it's good that the state supports them. It would have been much better if the legal privileges of the Civil Partnership Act of 2004 were not restricted to same-sex couples, but were available – as in France and Italy – to maiden aunts, marriage-phobic men and women, the disabled and their lifelong carers. It is right that people who commit themselves – lovingly, sometimes even sexually – to each other, and express that in stability and commitment, to have inheritance and hospital-visiting rights, tax breaks and the like. But civil partnerships are not marriage."
In these words Dr Ivereigh has clearly endorsed the legal recognition of sexually-active homosexual and extra-marital heterosexual unions. Such an endorsement dissents clearly from definitive Catholic Church teaching. In 2003, the late Pope John Paul II approved a document by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, entitled "Considerations regarding proposals to give legal recognition to unions between homosexual persons", signed by the current Holy Father and published on the feast-day of the Ugandan martyrs, who died rather than submit to sodomy. Here are some relevant extracts from that document, marked "CDF" and with my emphases in bold, followed by my comments:
CDF: "In those situations where homosexual unions have been legally recognized or have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage, clear and emphatic opposition is a duty." (no.5)
As civil partnerships in English law are legally exclusive to same-sex couples and in practice are used only by homosexual couples, they therefore fall squarely under the document's condemnation of homosexual unions. By the use of the word "or", the CDF made clear that the Catholic Church condemns civil partnerships between homosexuals per se and not only "[i]n those situations where homosexual unions...have been given the legal status and rights belonging to marriage." (And in any case, civil partnerships in English law have already been given many of the "rights belonging to marriage" in English law, so they are doubly condemned.) Dr Ivereigh has not only failed in his "duty" to manifest "clear and emphatic opposition" to homosexual civil partnerships, he has endorsed and praised them.
CDF: "The homosexual inclination is...'objectively disordered' and homosexual practices are 'sins gravely contrary to chastity'." (no.4)
There is no mention in Dr Ivereigh's blog-post to homosexuality as a disorder nor to the wrongness of homosexual acts. This omission is squarely contrary to the next paragraph of the CDF's document which says:
"Moral conscience requires that, in every occasion, Christians give witness to the whole moral truth, [for example] stating clearly the immoral nature of [homosexual] unions..." (no.5)
Dr Ivereigh wrote:
"It is right that people who commit themselves – lovingly, sometimes even sexually – to each other, and express that in stability and commitment, to have inheritance and hospital-visiting rights, tax breaks and the like."
Yet the CDF explicitly rejects that claim:
"Nor is the argument valid according to which legal recognition of homosexual unions is necessary to avoid situations in which cohabiting homosexual persons, simply because they live together, might be deprived of real recognition of their rights as persons and citizens." (no.9)
The final paragraph of the CDF's document says:
"Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean...the approval of deviant behaviour..." (no.11)
Again, by the use of the word "or", the CDF made clear that the Catholic Church condemns civil partnerships between homosexuals per se and not only where such unions are "plac[ed] on the same level as marriage." One of the bases of this condemnation is "the approval of deviant behaviour", about which Dr Ivereigh's blog-post is silent.
Elsewhere, Dr Ivereigh has defamed as "pharisees" those faithful pro-life/pro-family Catholics who have had the temerity to point out how some of his opinions on sexual ethics deviate from Catholic teaching. This, of course, is an old trick from The Tablet, of which Dr Ivereigh was the deputy editor and to which he remains unswervingly loyal. I wonder whether the next time Dr Ivereigh prays to Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, he will tell her that she, too, is a pharisee? The Good Counsel Network has just published a letter by a Jesuit priest, written on her behalf and signed by her, which upholds the Catholic Church's perennial condemnation of all condom use, including for prophylaxis. Dr Ivereigh has voiced frequently his dissent from that condemnation, even saying that school-children should be taught the benefits of condom use and claiming that urging HIV+ fornicators to use condoms is now Catholic pastoral practice.
Dr Ivereigh's high-profile roles in the Catholic world gives his thinking the false impression of a model of Catholic orthodoxy. This in turn threatens to mislead the faithful, including Catholic eduationalists. That is why it is high time for faithful pro-life/pro-family Catholics in Catholic organisations in which Dr Ivereigh has roles to act to remove him from those roles.
And why is the Catholic Church's teaching on sexual ethics (and Dr Ivereigh's dissent from that teaching) important specifically for the pro-life movement? The late Pope John Paul II, the great pro-life champion, taught in no. 97 of his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae that it is an illusion to think that we can build a true culture of human life if we do not offer adolescents and young adults an authentic education in sexuality, and in love, and the whole of life according to their true meaning and in their close interconnection.
Professor calls for strategy u-turn as stats show little change in teen pregnancies
A leading expert on teenage pregnancy trends has called for a u-turn in the 10-year national teenage pregnancy strategy.
Professor David Paton, chair of industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School, was commenting on official estimates of under-18 pregnancies in 2009, which claim to predict a six percent fall.
Speaking to SPUC earlier today, Professor Paton said:
"11 years after the launch of the Labour Government's teenage pregnancy strategy, it is clear that, despite the millions of pounds that has been spent, there is no chance at all that we will come even close to meeting the target of a 50% fall in the under-18 conception rate. The research evidence is increasingly clear: those areas that have promoted access to contraception have not seen larger decreases in teenage pregnancy than other areas. More disturbingly, there is now evidence that the promotion of easier access to emergency birth control is associated with increases in STIs amongst teenagers. Now is the time to consider a move away from an over-reliance on strategies aimed largely at managing the risks of underage sexual activity."
As I told the media earlier today, the tired old formula of abortion, condoms, pills and school-based sex ed has failed a whole generation of our children. The coalition government must make a break with Labour's failed teenage pregnancy strategy. Parents are the key to solving the problem of high rates of teenage pregnancy. The rights and responsibilities of parents as the first and foremost educators of their children in sexual matters must be upheld again. Children will then have the formation necessary to resist being sexualised.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr Bernard Nathanson
Dr Bernard Nathanson, the most famous of those abortionists who became pro-life, has passed away, aged 84. Please pray for the repose of his soul, and give thanks to God for his decades of pro-life witness. His writings, speeches, documentaries and other work following his pro-life conversion give testament to a great mind and a faithful Catholic.
Dr Nathanson came several times to the UK at the invitation of SPUC. He spoke at our national conferences at Swansea in September 1984 and at Glasgow in 1986, at which he presented "Eclipse of Reason", the second of his documentaries into the reality of abortion. In Novemeber 1984 he presented "The Silent Scream", the first of his documentaries, to a meeting of parliamentarians at the House of Commons. He is photographed here in Parliament with his wife, Adele. Over the following decades SPUC sold or distributed many copies of his documentaries and books.
"The Silent Scream" includes an ultrasound scan of an abortion of a 12-week unborn child. The documentary was endorsed (see affadavit, right) and defended by Professor Ian Donald, who is universally acknowledged as the father of ultrasound. It was through the use of ultrasound in abortions, which Dr Nathanson had pioneered, that the full humanity of all unborn children was revealed to Dr Nathanson's conscience.
During a decade of transition from being pro-abortion to being pro-life Dr Nathanson recalled that he:
"had performed many thousands of abortions on innocent children [and experienced] existential torment...unremitting black despair...[considered suicide and abused] alcohol, tranquilizers ... I despised myself ... I had become as Hannah Arendt described [Adolf] Eichmann [an architect of the Holocaust]: a collection of functions rather than an accountable human being."
Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, wrote in 2005 a dissertation on the subject of abortion centre staff. Commenting on Dr Nathanson's recollections, he wrote:
"It is truly telling that both the pioneer of mass abortion (Bernard Nathanson) and the woman who case made mass abortion possible in the US (Norma McCorvey) - who herself went on to work in a clinic – suffered negative effects on their moral character because of their abortion work. They had a choice to follow those negative effects further into a downward spiral or transform into moral regeneration, and they chose the latter."
So I thank our Lady of Guadalupe, protectress of the unborn, for the pro-life conversion and pro-life witness of the late Dr Bernard Nathanson. Requiescat in pace
SPUC's UN work is vital to protect family and life
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See's permanent representative at the United Nations' offices in Geneva, gave an address last Thursday in Rome about the anti-human ideology being promoted at the UN. Zenit reports:
"'Geneva is a place where culture is generated daily', said Archbishop Tomasi, recalling that 30,000 employees of international entities reside there, holding more than 9,000 conferences every year ... According to Archbishop Tomasi, words from Judeo-Christian tradition are disappearing: words such as truth, morality, conscience, reason, father, mother, child, commandment, sin, hierarchy, nature, marriage, etc. ... [S]oft laws are transformed into juridical norms. Then there is a new convention and it becomes law and it is applied even in a small village."
This is why SPUC's work at the UN is vital. Patrick Buckley and Peter Smith both represent SPUC, and the wider international pro-life movement, at the UN and the other international institutions with offices in Geneva, New York and elsewhere. Pat and Peter work closely with Archbishop Tomasi and many other important delegates to resist anti-human agendas. Pat and Peter spend long periods of time away from their families in order to defend every family on earth. Such work is also costly, particularly the cost of travel. You can help Pat and Peter by donating, joining and/or leaving a legacy to SPUC.
The pro-euthanasia Mental Capacity Act undermines professional judgement and patient care
Michael Wendell Thomas, a veteran SPUC activist from Wales, provides an insightful perspective in a letter to The Telegraph about the Mental Capacity Act. The Telegraph neglected to publish it, but the author has kindly given me permission to publish it here:
"Dear Sir,
Tim Montgomerie (ST 6th Feb) says that Andrew Lansley's reform of the NHS is based on the principle of 'no decision about me without me'. I think there are significant drawbacks to making this a predominant principle of medicine. Doctors are trained and experienced professionals, who should always operate to high ethical standards. (It's unfortunate that most of them no longer swear an equivalent of the Hippocratic Oath.) The passing of the Mental Capacity Act has introduced the primacy of the wishes of the patient as the highest consideration for treatment, irrespective of the ethical principles of those who have to carry them out. The 'best interests of the patient' which used to be the predominant principle of all medicine and based on the interpretation of the professional doctor, are now simply and simplistically defined as the wishes of patient, carried out if necessary through the instructions of a third party on his behalf. Such an arrangement can override the ethics of those on whom we rely to be ethical professionals; we don't want them to be forced to carry out euthanasia because the patient is suicidal, for example, or made his decision on refusal of treatment when medicine was less able to cope with his condition. Medical professionals are not simply private operatives to do as they are told.
From professionals we expect a high degree of training, experience and judgement; is it sensible to encourage patients to override that judgement? I was asked by a doctor what I wanted, from a choice of two options; I naturally chose home treatment as the more convenient one for me. The result was that four days later I was taken to hospital as an emergency. The next time I was asked to choose I said 'you're the doctor; you tell me what I should do.' I wish I'd done that in the first case. It took me four days on a drip and two weeks in bed to recover from that mischoice of mine.
Michael Wendell Thomas"
Tragically, the British government, parliament, courts and medical establishment have all undermined protection for the sick, elderly and disabled through:
the 1992 Bland judgment
professional guidance from the British Medical Association (BMA) and the General Medical Council (GMC)
the Mental Capacity Act 2005
the Liverpool Care Pathway
the Director of Public Prosecutions' guidelines on assisted suicide
These changes, combined with the influence of pro-euthanasia advocates in academia and the media, has contributed to a mentality which acquiesces in neglecting certain categories of people to death.
In the light of this serious threat to our lives, visitors to this blog should consider joining Patients First Network (PFN). PFN helps you to let doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers know how you expect to be treated in hospital if you are mentally incapacitated. PFN fights against euthanasia.
If you join the Network, we give you a card and a medallion which alert medical staff, along with your family and carers, that you wish to receive appropriate medical treatment and care. Nothing should be done deliberately to end your life, nor should your health care team withdraw treatment with the deliberate intention of causing your death. You can also read and use PFN's Statement of Medical Care Principles.
Ireland United for Life calls for absolute protection for unborn children in election appeal
Ireland United for Life is an alliance of over thirty cross-community groups, together with Dana Rosemary Scallon and Kathy Sinnott, both former members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Today the alliance held a press conference in Dublin at which they said:
"[W]e can and will only vote for parties and individual candidates who publicly pledge commitment to defend human life at all stages and we urge all concerned voters to do likewise."
To that end, they have called upon all political parties, party leaders and election candidates to sign the following pledge:
"to defend human life at all stages, from conception until natural death and that if elected - :
They will not dismantle Ireland's Constitution and will maintain the people's sovereign and democratic right, in final appeal, to decide all questions of national policy according to the requirements of the common good.
They will respect and uphold the Constitutional right of the Irish people to decide on Ireland's unique pro-life status.
They will not legislate for abortion and will absolutely oppose any attempt by unelected judges from the European Court of Human Rights, (ECHR) to usurp the Constitutional right of the Irish people to decide on abortion."
Ireland United for Life
"urges all voters to vote only for candidates and parties who support this pledge"
Liam Gibson, representing SPUC Northern Ireland development officer, and Patrick Buckley, representing European Life Network, participated in the press conference and endorsed the message from Ireland United for Life. Pictured are (left to right):
Pat Buckley
Bernadette Smyth (director, Precious Life, Northern Ireland)
Kathy Sinnott
Dana Rosemary Scallon
Liam Gibson.
Among the speakers at the press conference were:
Niamh Ui Bhriain, director, Life Institute
Ide Nic Mhathuna of Youth Defence
Maire Ui Dhroighneain of Eire Ar Son Na Beatha.
The moderator was Dr Eimear Thornton.
Grave concern was expressed at the Labour Party threat to introduce abortion if it forms part of a future government.
I totally endorse the message of Ireland United for Life. I also urge readers to scrutinise closely any election-time messages on pro-life issues - especially any emanating from the Catholic bishops of Ireland - for any deviations from the upholding of the absolute protection for all unborn children, inside or outside the womb, guaranteed by the Irish Constitution.
French pro-lifers are striving wonderfully to defend the most vulnerable human beings
Genethique, the online information website of the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, has reported on a range of distinct yet related initiatives to defend embryonic children, especially disabled ones, from lethal discrimination via a revision of France's bioethics laws, currently being debated in the National Assembly:
35 deputies of the assembly launched an appeal, saying that the first duty of a bioethics law is to:
"protect the fundamental rights of people, above all the most vulnerable ... [H]uman procreation is not an industrial process that should aim for 'zero defect' ... 96% of mothers whose test comes out as positive are led to abort today. This is eugenics ... The embryo cannot be a laboratory material serving economic and financial interests ... [Human procreation cannot be regarded as an] industrial process whose effectiveness is in the hands of a 'qualified engineer'"
A group of organisations representing the disabled published an appeal against:
"the eugenic abuse of which people suffering from Down's syndrome are victims ... The exclusion that victimises the people with Down's syndrome is clearly expressed in the immense difficulties they have in gaining access to school and the labour market. But, long before then, it is manifested firstly in the refusal to welcome them, which starts before their birth".
The same group of organisations have placed full-page advertisements in Le Figaro, a leading French mainstream newspaper, and elsewhere, denouncing the arguments for prenatal screening as:
"arguments that kill ... [T]his massive screening amounts today to selecting the members of a group on the basis of their genome in order to eliminate them."
I congratulate the French deputies and organisations involved in this vigorous and clear-speaking pro-life campaign. Conducting such solid defences of the right to life is our duty towards most vulnerable human beings among us.
SPUC defended successfully medics' rights to conscientious objection in high court
Monday's high court judgment, in which SPUC played a significant part, was not only important for the defence of women and unborn children but also for the defence of doctors and nurses who object in conscience to participation in abortion. I reproduce below a key extract from the judgment on conscientious objection (with some terms explained in square brackets).
BPAS wants to be allowed to give abortion drugs to women to take away and use elsewhere - so they don't have to take them in a clinic. But the law says that abortion "treatment" must be given at a hospital or clinic, so BPAS argued that administering abortion drugs was not part of the abortion treatment - only prescribing the drugs was 'treatment'. That is a radical argument, and SPUC pointed out to the court that if BPAS was right, and the law should be read in that way, then doctors, nurses and midwives who are sometimes asked to administer abortion drugs, especially in later abortions, would lose the right to opt out - because their conscientious objection (protected in the Abortion Act) is a right not to engage in "treatment" authorised in the Act. If administering drugs (whether oral drugs, pessaries, drips, etc) is not 'treatment' then medical staff have no right to object.
In the judgment, Mr Justice Supperstone, rejected the argument put forward by Ms Lieven the barrister for BPAS (the "Claimant") in these terms:
"Ms Lieven does not accept that the Claimant's interpretation of section 1 [treatment] of the Act is inconsistent with section 4 [conscientious objection] of the Act. Ms Gemma White, for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, intervening, submits that it is, as there will continue to be many situations in which medical professionals, in particular nurses and midwives, are asked to administer abortifacient drugs; if this claim is successful they will not be entitled to the protection of section 4 ... [BPAS' argument] is no answer, in my view, to Ms White's submission that Parliament clearly did not intend that an action which directly causes the termination of pregnancy should be outside the scope of section 4."
SPUC also provided the court with a crucial quotation from Hansard, as cited by the judge:
"It is to be noted that even in 1967 when terminations were normally by a surgical method, during a debate in Parliament on a clause which became section 4 of the Act, Mr Braine MP, the mover of the Amendment said "It is designed to take account of the fact that the termination of a pregnancy is not always and certainly may not in the future, be a surgical operation" (Hansard, 13 July 1967 at 1314). He added, "I am told that probably in the next decade, a safe chemical method of inducing therapeutic abortion may be developed and may be accepted by the medical profession." (at 1315)"
SPUC's research and legal advocacy work is absolutely vital in holding the line against attacks by the anti-life lobby. That is why we need you to donate, join, and/or leave a legacy to cover the considerable costs of that work. By supporting our work you are supporting the unborn, the disabled, the sick and the elderly and medical staff.
Abortion recovery group welcomes high court ruling against bedroom abortion
SPUC's sister organisation ARCH (Abortion Recovery Care and Helpline) has welcomed yesterday's high court ruling against bedroom abortions. Margaret Cuthill, ARCH's national co-ordinator, told the media this morning:
"As a support group working in the area of abortion recovery and post-abortion trauma education for 20 years, we are encouraged by the high court judgment not to alter the provision of the Abortion Act 1967 to allow early medical abortion to occur in women's homes.
Abortion is not good medicine for women, and does damage the emotional and psychological lives of those in crisis that make this decision. Every woman is impacted by the pregnancy loss, but this procedure adds another mentally-traumatic dimension to the abortion process.
Women in crisis pregnancy are vulnerable and will react from fear and panic, wanting to be un-pregnant. To be offered a bedroom abortion is an emotional get-out clause many in ignorance will choose. It is really an abuse too far and will add to the trauma of guilt and grief they may experience at some future stage in life.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) say it is concerned for the woman whose symptoms may begin on the journey back from the clinic. There is no substance to this concern or reliable studies to back up this statement. I am appalled that BPAS is not concerned for the woman who is in her home, in pain, bleeding and struggling with the choice she has made. Where is the concern then for not only women's physical safety but their psychological health and well-being?"
Pro-life doctor exposes bias of RCOG's latest abortion consultation
"The faster they come, the less they are publicised and the shorter the deadlines – meaning that it is less and less possible to make an intelligent response within the specified time frame. Is this some kind of plot to wave through controversial policy quietly whilst appearing take notice of stakeholders' opinions? That is certainly the impression created."
This is how Dr. Peter Saunders (pictured) of the Christian Medical Fellowship has described the latest consultation of the RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) which is revising its controversial document 'The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion', first published in 2000, revised in 2004, and now undergoing its current revision.
The consultation is open to every person and organisation with an interest in this topic. The closing date for submissions is 18 February. Details here. There is more information about the consultation document(s) on the RCOG website.
Dr. Saunders notes the ubiquitous presence of BPAS and Marie Stopes International, in collaboration with their pro-abortion colleagues within the RCOG and its faculty of sexual and reproductive health.
Dr. Saunders also notes the further inadequacy of the review panel by its failure to include any psychiatrist in its composition. Perhaps the recent change of position by The Royal College of Psychiatrists over the issue of abortion and mental illness, which it now recognises, has something to do with it?
Among the draft document's recommendations, or rather ideological tenets, are the following:
"Women should be informed that induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer; Women should be informed that there are no proven associations between induced abortion and subsequent ectopic pregnancy, placenta praevia or infertility; Women should be informed that induced abortion is associated with a small increase in risk of subsequent preterm birth, which increases with the number of abortions; Women should be informed that most women who have abortions do not experience adverse psychological sequelae."
These claims are an egregious attempt to dismiss or ignore the significant body of evidence that contradicts each of the points made by the RCOG. Dr. Saunders provides one pertinent example offered by the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists on the link between abortion and pre-term birth.
The last word on the RCOG goes to Dr. Saunders:
"Asking this group to comment objectively and honestly about the physical and psychological consequences of abortion for women is like asking Philip Morris or BAT to review the health consequences of smoking or Macdonald's to outline the adverse effects of fast food consumption. There are simply too many financial and ideological vested interests at stake that threaten a fair assessment."
High court rejection of bedroom abortions is a victory for women
Today's high court judgment on bedroom abortions is a victory for women. SPUC intervened in the case, and evidence we submitted played a prominent part in Mr Justice Supperstone's judgment.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), one of the UK's largest abortion providers and promoters, had asked the court to reinterpret the Abortion Act 1967 to allow women to take misoprostol, used in conjunction with the chemical abortion drug RU486, at home rather than in hospital.
Commenting on the verdict, SPUC's Katherine Hampton, told the media this morning:
"Today's judgment is a victory for women. If BPAS had won this case, it would send out the false signal that there is a 'safe' route to abortion. That could lead to more abortions, and more dead babies and more suffering for women. It would also have led to further restrictions on conscientious objection to abortion by doctors and nurses.
"The significance of this case is important internationally too, as chemical abortions are widely promoted in poorer countries, and any move to widen the practice here may adversely affect unborn babies and women around the world.
"We will continue to fight any similar moves to trivialise abortion."
Here is a video of Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, interviewed by Sky outside the court:
Also, Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications, can be heard here speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live (about 1hr21mins into the programme) and to Premier Christian Radio here.
Some facts about RU486 and misoprostol:
- The woman is directly involved in the abortion by having to take the pills herself.
- The nature of the drug means that the woman must live with her abortion over the course of a number of days. The president of Roussel Uclaf, the original makers of RU486, said "The woman must live with this for a full week. This is an appalling psychological ordeal". (Edouard Sakiz, chairman, Roussel-Uclaf, August 1990)
- The woman may abort at home and suffer the distress of seeing the expelled embryo/foetus, which she is required to keep and return to the hospital or clinic to help determine if the abortion is complete. If BPAS's challenge had been successful, women taking misoprostol would go into labour at home. This can be very distressing as labour, usually associated with child-birth, now becomes associated with the delivery of a dead child.
- Use of RU486/misoprostol may cause any of the following: haemmorrhage requiring blood transfusion, severe pain requiring strong pain killers, incomplete abortion, rupture of the uterus, vaginal bleeding, abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache, muscle weakness, dizziness, flushing, chills, backache, difficulty in breathing, chest pain, palpitations, rise in temperature and fall in blood pressure. The number and diverse nature of the side effects of RU486/misoprostol point to the fact that these are powerful chemicals.
Catholic Church in South Korea offers powerful defence of human life
The Catholic Church's witness to the sanctity of all human life is the most powerful force in the world for protecting vulnerable human beings. In this connection, I draw great encouragement from the courageous leadership currently being displayed by the Church's leaders in South Korea.
Rebecca Millette, of LifeSiteNews.com, recently reported:
In an effort to promote a culture of life, the South Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference (CBCK) has announced it will provide shelters and financial support for single mothers and free delivery for unmarried pregnant women in Catholic-run hospitals.
The initiative, called "New Life Project," was inaugurated by the CBCK on February 7 at a Mass presided over by Bishop Gabriel Chang Bong-hun of Cheongju (pictured), president of the CBCK Committee for Bioethics.
"The Catholic Church teaches that human life begins from fertilization," said Bishop Gabriel Chang Bong-hun of Cheongju. "Abortions and destruction of human embryos are grave crimes that destroy life."
As Bishop Gabriel Chang Bong-hun suggests, this sort of action taken by bishops to defend life is the response demanded by the Catholic Church's teaching:
Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good. We need then to "show care" for all life and for the life of everyone. Indeed, at an even deeper level, we need to go to the very roots of life and love.
It is this deep love for every man and woman which has given rise down the centuries to an outstanding history of charity, a history which has brought into being in the Church and society many forms of service to life which evoke admiration from all unbiased observers. Every Christian community, with a renewed sense of responsibility, must continue to write this history through various kinds of pastoral and social activity. To this end, appropriate and effective programmes of support for new life must be implemented, with special closeness to mothers who, even without the help of the father, are not afraid to bring their child into the world and to raise it. Similar care must be shown for the life of the marginalized or suffering, especially in its final phases. (Evangelium Vitae, 87)
I look forward to the day when the Catholic bishops of England and Wales will respond to the ongoing crisis in this country, which results in the unspeakable tragedy of hundreds of human lives lost each day. Unfortunately, for this day to arrive we will need to witness a huge transformation in the current policy of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales.
Our bishops are failing to speak out on life issues and to reach out to some of the most vulnerable people in our society - women under pressure to have an abortion - in the way that the bishops of South Korea are doing. Not only this, but our bishops are actually co-operating with anti-life forces. They do this by making abortion accessible to Catholics and non-Catholics through CEDAR, an initiative of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and Connexions, a government agency which is committed to giving schoolchildren, under the age of 16, access to abortion and abortifacients without parental knowledge or permission. Connexions is a body welcomed into Catholic schools by the Catholic Education Service, working on behalf of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.
I am praying for the day when England and Wales will have Catholic bishops that seek to defend their flock and our nation in the way the bishops of South Korea are doing.
High court to issue ruling in bedroom abortions case on Monday
The High Court will hand down its judgment in the "bedroom abortions" case on Monday 14 February at 10am.
Mr Justice Supperstone will hand down his judgment, in the case of BPAS vs Secretary of State for Health, in court 12, St Dunstan's House, 133-137 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1HD, at 10am. We understand that the text of the judgment will be available to the public shortly afterwards. BPAS sought to be allowed to issue drugs for inducing an abortion for women to use at home. SPUC was an intervenor in the case, and will be available for comment on Monday. Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, will be at the court, and his mobile number is (0)7939 178719. SPUC's communications department is available on (0)7939 177683 and (020) 7820 3129.
No time for Bryant sex ed bill in Commons today
Chris Bryant MP's bill to force schools to teach sex and relationships education (SRE) was not given parliamentary time today for a second reading in the House of Commons. The bill has been re-listed for Commons business in April. SPUC thanks its supporters for lobbying their MPs.
Explicit lessons in school are priming your children for sex, SPUC warns Worksop parents at public meeting
Dozens of worried parents attended a meeting in Worksop yesterday evening.
Antonia Tully of SPUC's Safe at School campaign gave a presentation on the widely-used sex education programme "Living and Growing", published by Channel Four.
Mrs Tully showed horrified parents extracts from the DVDs in the programme, including an animation of sexual intercourse in two positions; a graphic child birth scene; and a section telling boys of 10-11 years old that masturbation is something everyone does and that it "does you no harm".
Parents also saw clips which promote homosexuality, with footage of same-sex couples kissing.
Antonia explained to parents how this resource for primary schools effectively primes children for teenage sex.
Trevor Bean, Group Manager for the Education Improvement Service at Nottingham City Council, was present throughout the meeting and said that he would not want his children to see such material.
The Worksop Guardian, a local newspaper, was there and published a report.
Suffering does not alter the value of each life
Janet Thomas of No Less Human, a group within SPUC which represents disabled people, has kindly sent me her review of a recent article from the mother of a disabled child:
"Who can judge the quality of a life?
This is the title of an article published in the current issue of The New Oxford Review, a publication written from a religious perspective so it is not surprising that the author, Angela Manuel Camel, an American mother from Louisiana, answers this question from a faith deeply rooted in the love and goodness of God who knows what is best for those He has created.
If this were all that we were able to find in this article, it would still be worth reading for many who share Angela's particular belief as well as all those who have some kind of religious faith. Angela reminds us that a life free of pain is not our automatic right, that for those of faith there is value in suffering and that it is not our right to judge the worth of any life, even those of our own disabled babies and that the attitude of those parents with faith should be one of gratitude for being given the chance to love and care for a vulnerable child.
However, even those who have no faith can find much to ponder in this thoughtful article; Angela reminds us that "the quality of life argument", that would judge a disabled life as worthless because of the suffering, is flawed in that the judgement is not made from the point of view of the disabled child for whom this is the only life she has known and moreover, ignores the fact that the pain she suffers is always accompanied by the 'encompassing love' of her family. Angela reminds us all of how important love is in countering suffering. We have a duty to relieve suffering, it is true, but it is in our response to those whose suffering is severe that we show the real depth of our love and compassion. True compassion lies in remembering that suffering does not alter the infinite human value of each life; to advance suffering as a reason for killing disabled unborn babies is a sham love which sees a disabled or suffering life which may be very short as of less worth than a 'perfect' one; to judge the lives of suffering people as of little value is to turn our backs on the greatest learning adventure life has to offer. It is only by opening our hearts to suffering, our own and that of others especially our children, that we can enlarge them to accept and appreciate the infinite value, dignity and worth of every human being.
Angela ends with these moving words, "He (God) blessed me and my husband with a child who is as close to perfect as a child could be. Many would remark in confusion, "Perfect? She cannot walk, or talk, or eat on her own, etc." My response is that she can love and has received love beyond measure. How much more perfect could she be?""
We must work hard to rebut the UN's anti-population ideology
The United Nations Population Division (UNPD), which analyses world demography (and which is separate from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which was established to promote population control) is lamenting the fact that the world's population is growing. Hania Zlotnik, UNPD's director, said:
"[H]igh-fertility countries may not reduce their fertility fast enough and countries with intermediate fertility levels may see them stagnate above replacement level. Even countries with intermediate fertility need to reduce it to replacement level or below if they wish to avert continuous population increases to unsustainable levels."
Yet the idea that even high-range estimates of world population growth are "unsustainable" is simply false - as the UNPD itself said in 2001:
"Even though population increased more rapidly during the twentieth century than ever before, economic output grew even faster, owing to the accelerating tempo of technological progress…[W]hile world population increased close to 4 times, world real gross domestic product increased 20 to 40 times, allowing the world to not only sustain a four-fold population increase, but also to do so at vastly higher standards of living ... Over the period 1961-1998, world per capita food available for direct human consumption increased by 24 per cent, and there is enough being produced for everyone on the planet to be adequately nourished ... During recent decades new reserves have been discovered, producing the seeming paradox that even though consumption of many minerals has risen, so has the estimated amount of the resource as yet untapped." (World Population Monitoring, UNPD, 2001)
So we can see that the latest UNPD report represents a victory of ideology over facts. Pro-lifers must therefore work hard to rebut the UN's anti-population ideology. We must use the resources of:
the Population Research Institute (PRI)
Dr Nicholas Eberstadt
the late Dr Jacqueline Kasun
the late Professor Julian Simon
Andy Pollard, who will be speaking at the Fourth International Youth Pro-Life Conference, organised by SPUC in Scotland, 18-20 March.
Here is a list of some posts from this blog about population which you may find useful:
2011: 18 Jan
2009: 15 Jan, 30 May, 1 June, 28 Aug, 20 Nov, 29 Dec
Contact your MP today re this Friday's sex ed bill
Chris Bryant's private member's bill to make sex and relationships education (SRE) compulsory in all schools is due for second reading this Friday, 11 February.
There is growing concern among parents about the practice of SRE – especially in primary schools - and the evidence of the damage is mounting. Research has shown the ineffectiveness of the typical UK approach to SRE, even when delivered to a very high standard by specially-trained presenters.
SPUC has produced a detailed briefing on the Bryant bill
Although the bill is unlikely to make further progress due to procedural reasons, if you know that your member of parliament (MP) is sympathetic to pro-life concerns, please contact him or her and ask them to be available to speak and vote against the bill. You can contact your MP via the SPUC website at http://www.spuc.org.uk/mps
Please remember to forward any replies you receive from MPs to SPUC HQ political@spuc.org.uk
Please support pro-life vigil in Maidstone on 16 February
"A great prayer for life is urgently needed … prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil." Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae.
The Helpers of God's Precious Infants is an international pro-life group founded by Monsignor Philip Reilly under the direction of Bishop Thomas Daily of New York. Its main work is prayer vigils at abortion facilities. To date, 5 cardinals and over 100 bishops worldwide participate, including Bishop Thomas McMahon of Brentwood, Bishop John Hine of Southwark and Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds. The spirituality is one of solidarity with Jesus in the person of the forgotten poor: "Whatever you do for the least of these my brethren, you do for me." (Matt.25:40).
The Helpers will be holding a vigil, with full police co-operation, on Wednesday 16 February at the Marie Stopes abortion facility, Brewer Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1RV. The proceedings will start at 10.00am with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at St Francis' Church, Week Street, ME14 1RH celebrated by Father Neil Vincent.
10.30am: prayerful and peaceful procession to Marie Stopes abortion facility, processing with image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Holy Rosary.
12.00pm: return procession for blessing and refreshments in the parish centre.
Directions: Connex South East runs a direct line from Victoria to Maidstone East Station, which is directly opposite St. Francis Church.
By road: The M20 – come off at Junction 6. Follow signs to town centre then to Maidstone East station. There is a car park at the station and also two car parks in Brewer Street and one in Wheeler Street, both of which are accessed by Lower Boxley Well road. The shaded areas on the map are pedestrian areas only.
The Helpers ask those unable to join the procession to join them spiritually.
The Helpers Of God's Precious Infants, P.O. Box 26601, LONDON, N14 7WH
Telephone: 020 8252 3109 E-mail: info@hgpi.co.uk Web: www.hgpi.co.uk
Local co-ordinator: Carole Smith, mobile 07502 109397
Archbishop Nichols is failing repeatedly to protect unborn children and Catholic families
Last week Vincent Nichols (pictured, right) archbishop of Westminster, issued a statement in response to parent-led protests about the way Westminister archdiocese is treating the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School. Firstly, I should say that it is outside SPUC's remit to comment on the key issue in the dispute between the parents and the archdiocese, namely, the school's admissions policy. However, I note with great interest the Vaughan Parents' Action Group (VPAG)'s response to Archbishop Nichols:
"The VPAG notes that, in his 85 word statement, the Archbishop does not even mention the word "parents" ... The Church teaches that parents are "the primary and principal educators" (Gravissimum Educationis, 3) of their children, not the Diocese, and not the Bishop. It is their role to support parents in that task..."
I note that Paul Barber, Westminster archdiocese's director of education who has just been appointed by Archbishop Nichols to the Vaughan governors' board, in March sent a shameful message to clergy whitewashing the Labour government's attempt to force all state-funded schools to teach anti-life/anti-family sex education.
Elsewhere, Archbishop Nichols has been giving lip-service to Catholic teaching on the family. In a recent speech to Caritas Social Action, he cited a statement issued by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales reflecting on Pope Benedict's visit to Britain:
"Catholic social teaching reminds us that the key to social development lies in placing the good of the human person centre-stage. In that perspective marriage, family life, and the dignity of work are vitally important. The future of society crucially depends on the nature and quality of family life."
Archbishop Nichols also said:
"In the social doctrine of the Church, particularly as expressed in [Pope Benedict's encyclical] Caritas in Veritate, we have a source of practical guidance and profound wisdom relevant to all who desire to recover a stronger sense of a more humane civil society."
Yet, just there as there was no mention of parents in his statement on the Vaughan school, neither was there any mention of unborn children in his speech to Caritas Social Action - even though Pope Benedict spoke clearly of the need to protect unborn children in both Caritas in Veritate (paragraphs 15 and 28) and directly to the bishops themselves during the papal visit.
Time and again Archbishop Nichols (and the bishops' conference of which he is president) not only fails to protect unborn children and Catholic families, but is actively complicit in undermining them. The parents' group at the Vaughan school is but the newest of a growing number of elements in the Catholic Church in England and Wales who rightly demand better of an archbishop of Westminster.
Don't let China's president get away with denial of its forced abortion policy
President Hu with US president Obama
Last month Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, made a state visit to the United States. LifeSiteNews.com reports that during the visit, a congresswoman urged China to end its forced abortion policy. Mr Hu responded by saying that such a policy does not exist. Steven Mosher, president of the pro-life organisation the Population Research Institute (PRI), described Mr Hu's denial as a "bald-faced lie". Also, in a recent PRI briefing, Mr Mosher said that abortion centres which he visited in China last year were very similar to the nightmarish abortion centres run by Dr Kermit Gosnell, the arrest Pennsylvania abortionist.
Mr Hu's denial is easily exploded by even just a few references (see SPUC's 2004 parliamentary submission):
In 1979 Chinese Vice-Premier Chen Muhua described the one-child policy as: "A policy of encouragement and punishment for maternity, with encouragement as the main feature, will be implemented. Parents having one child will be encouraged, and strict measures will be enforced to control the birth of two or more babies."
The 1992 Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Women's Rights and the Interests of Women says: "When a wife terminates gestation as required by the family planning programme, her husband may not apply for a divorce within six months after the operation" (article 42)
the 2001 forced abortion drive in Huaiji county, Guangdong
the 2002 Law on Population and Birth Planning says: "Citizens . . . are also duty-bound undergo family planning as provided for in the law." (article 17) in order to "uphold a single-child policy for married couples" (article 18)
the 2009 forced abortion drive in Guangzhou. Reuters quotes Zhang Minan, a law professor at Guangzhou's Sun Yat-sen University and an expert on the issue, saying:"'They (the authorities) do have the right (to force abortions) ... "
the testimony of the victims: e.g. Mao Hengfeng, Zhang Linla
Both the UK and US governments bankroll China's population control programme tens of millions of pounds worth of annual funding for pro-abortion organisations working closely with the Communist regime: the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and Marie Stopes International (MSI).
Readers should write to the Chinese embassy to call for an end to China's population control programme, citing the evidence of forced abortion as a regular part of the programme:
Ambassador Liu Xiaoming
Embassy of the People's Republic of China
49 Portland Place , London W1B 1JL
political@chinese-embassy.org.uk
The RCOG's abortion draft guidelines are grossly i...
International committee gives award to Chile for s...
Pro-abortion lobby flourishes when bishops are wea...
Austen Ivereigh backs gay and straight civil partn...
Professor calls for strategy u-turn as stats show ...
Please pray for the repose of the soul of Dr Berna...
The pro-euthanasia Mental Capacity Act undermines ...
Ireland United for Life calls for absolute protect...
French pro-lifers are striving wonderfully to defe...
SPUC defended successfully medics' rights to consc...
Abortion recovery group welcomes high court ruling...
Pro-life doctor exposes bias of RCOG's latest abor...
High court rejection of bedroom abortions is a vic...
Catholic Church in South Korea offers powerful def...
High court to issue ruling in bedroom abortions ca...
Explicit lessons in school are priming your childr...
We must work hard to rebut the UN's anti-populatio...
Please support pro-life vigil in Maidstone on 16 F...
Archbishop Nichols is failing repeatedly to protec...
Don't let China's president get away with denial o...
High court reserves judgment in 'bedroom abortion'...
Bedroom abortions case to continue tomorrow at Hig...
Parents to hear about sex ed in primary schools at...
Watch this stunning pro-life speech by the late US...
Legalising assisted suicide would make the elderly...
South Africa's Catholic bishops are wrong to laud ...


text:
Q: how to move slider after closing the fancy box I'm working on a opencart project. There i'm using fancy box plugin to show a video on the swiper slider. when i click the video button which on a slider, fancy box popping up and background slider getting stop. But after closing the fancy box, slider is not moving.
So please can someone suggest a solution to move the slider as usually after closing the fancy box ?
I have used this code to stop the slider moving when fancy box popped up
  $("#video").click(function() {
            .swiper-wrapper.noSwiping();
        });

A: you can use this option for new version of fancybox to prevent swiper crashing.
fancybox places focus back on the trigger element after closing the gallery and sometimes carousel/slider scripts are sensitive to this feature.
Fancybox.bind('[data-fancybox="group"]', {
    infinite: false,
    backFocus: false,
    trapFocus: false,
    placeFocusBack: false,
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange