bbc--2019-08-06--What happens to a body donated to science

What happens to a body donated to science?

A man who donated his mother's body to what he thought was Alzheimer's research learned later it was used to test explosives. So what does happen when your body is donated to medical science?  Last week new details of a lawsuit emerged against The Biological Resource Centre in Arizona following an FBI raid in 2014 in which gruesome remains of hundreds of discarded body parts were discovered.  The now closed centre is accused of illegally selling body parts against the donors wishes.  Newly unreleased court documents revealed that families of those whose bodies had been donated to the centre said they believed their relatives remains would be used for medical and scientific research.  Jim Stauffer is one of the multiple plaintiffs suing the centre. He told Phoenix station ABC 15 he believed his mother's donated body would be used to study Alzheimer's, a disease she had, but he later found out it was used by the military to examine the effects of explosives.  He says on the paperwork he was given by the centre he specifically ticked 'no' when asked if he consented to the body being used to test explosives.  So how does the body donation business operate in the US and what expectations do people have about these facilities?  While organ donation is regulated by the US Department of Health and Human Services, body donation remains an unregulated industry.  Buying and selling bodies is a felony but what is permissible is charging a "reasonable" amount to "process" a body, this includes the removal, storage transportation, or disposing of it.  What constitutes a "reasonable" amount is also open to interpretation. Facilities are largely able to set up their own internal practices and policies.  There is also no known national or global register to account for how many bodies are donated for medical research each year.  But it's estimated thousands of people in the US donate bodies for education or research, believing their actions are charitable and the bodies will be used for medical science.  University body donation centres will mostly use cadavers to teach medical students and many such as The University of California are committed to operating a transparent programme.  Others like the University of Tennessee's Anthropological Research Facility, known as "The Body Farm", operate more specific practices like teaching forensic teams how bodies decompose.  Brandi Schmitt, executive director of anatomical services at the University of California, told the BBC that what happens to a donated body depends on the kind of centre it goes to.  "Anyone considering donation for education and research should ensure they know the purpose of the organisations to which they are donating.  "Whether it is an academic institution, a state anatomy board, a private company, etc. and what they are giving their gift in support of."  Schmitt says the regulations that currently exist are not sufficient enough to protect donors and those working in medical science.  "The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) was written by the Uniform Law Commission and is a state-level law that may be modified by the state.  "It governs how to and who can make, amend and revoke an anatomical gift as well as the general type of gift use. Such as transplant and clinical therapy and education and research.  "It does not address consent disclosures, specific uses, transfers, tracking, most aspects of final disposition or profit model."  "The lack of more specific regulation and the variability has led to where we are currently with some tragic abuses of a donor or family's intent to make a positive impact through their gift.  "Existing regulatory codes should be enforced, and I believe its beyond time for additional regulation including a clear authorisation and consent process so donors and families can make an informed choice," she says.  In addition to the UAGA there are also other guidelines on how bodies should be handled after donation, such as those from the American Association of Anatomists.  It says: "Body Donation Programs should clearly describe the use of cadavers as it relates to institutional and educational needs."  The American Association of Tissue Banks is an accrediting organisation in the industry although accreditation is not mandatory.  The Biological Research Centre in Arizona was not thought to be accredited and also operated as a for-profit business. It offered free transportation services to pick up bodies and free cremation making it appealing to low income families.  Its owner Stephen Gore pleaded guilty in 2015 but was sentenced to serve probation. A number of families are now suing him and the company for mishandling bodies and not abiding by the promises made in their consent forms.  "People considering donation may be in a vulnerable state and it's wrong to exploit their grief or intent," Schmitt says.  In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) license and inspect organisations where bodies are donated for medical research.  There are about 19 institutions around the UK which accept body donations, with people usually choosing the nearest one to their home or to an area they are originally from.  People are referred to an institution through the HTA's website or by their GP, solicitor or local authority.  In other countries, religious beliefs may impact upon decisions to donate a body for medical research. For example in some African countries even organ donation is a taboo, and desecration of the body is considered contrary to some religious teachings.  In Qatar a hospital where human body parts are imported for cutting-edge medical science research has been operating for 12 years.  Aspetar opened in 2007 and created the Visiting Surgeons Programme as a postgraduate experience for doctors from all over the world. Surgeons there do not use replica body parts but "specimens".  In a highly bureaucratic process that involves the joint work of six government ministries, real human body parts (mostly shoulders, knees, ankles and torsos) are imported to Aspetar, with most of the supply coming from the United States.  Although the gruesome details at the Biological Resource Centre in Arizona has drawn attention to the body donation industry, the practice itself is considered invaluable in understanding the human body.  One of the most notable cases is that of Susan Potter. In 2015 the elderly woman from Denver donated her body to Dr Vic Spitzer from the University of Colorado for his Visible Human Project, a programme that transforms human cadavers into virtual specimens.  Susan's body was frozen and cut into 27,000 hair thin slices. Each section was photographed and Potter is now known as an "immortal corpse" as the images are virtually stacked and rendered into a full 3D image of her body.


bbc--2019-08-29--US hospital forced Catholic nurse to assist with abortion

US hospital 'forced' Catholic nurse to assist with abortion

The US government has accused a hospital in Vermont of violating the civil rights of a nurse by forcing her to help carry out an abortion.  The nurse, who has not been named, said she told the hospital that she could not take part in pregnancy terminations because of her religious beliefs.  Health workers are protected under federal law from discrimination based on their religious or moral beliefs.  The University of Vermont Medical Center (UVMC) denies the allegations.  According to a complaint filed by the nurse's lawyers, she was at first misled about the nature of the procedure to believe it was related to a miscarriage. When she was told it was an abortion, she asked if another member of staff could assist but her request was refused.  She reluctantly took part in the procedure and "has been haunted by nightmares ever since", the complaint says.  The incident took place in 2017 and the nurse, who is a Catholic, no longer works at the hospital.  On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services warned UVMC that it had 30 days to comply with civil rights law or it could face funding cuts.  "This should never happen in America," the director of the department's civil rights office, Roger Severino, told reporters.  The US government agency issued a notice of violation against the hospital for "discriminating against healthcare personnel who have religious or moral objections to abortion".  This is the first action of its kind since the department created a conscience and religious freedom division last year. The Trump administration has supported religious freedom measures.  In a statement, the hospital said the allegations "were not supported by the facts".  "We do not discriminate against any employees for exercising their rights to opt out of procedures to which they object," it said.  It added: "The University of Vermont Medical Center has robust, formal protections that safeguard both our employees' religious, ethical and cultural beliefs, and our patients' rights to access safe and legal abortion."


bbc--2019-08-31--Mat Dan I became an accidental celebrity 6000 miles from home

Mat Dan: 'I became an accidental celebrity 6,000 miles from home'

As soon as Mohammed Kareef Daniel Abdullah steps out of his front door in Malaysia's capital, it doesn't take long before heads start turning and for his nickname to be shouted.  "People say 'Look, look it's Mat Dan!'" his mother says, adding that only some muster the courage to ask for a selfie.  Whether it's starring in his own primetime travel programme, hosting his breakfast radio show or appearing on billboards advertising tours to Mecca, Mat Dan is big news in Malaysia.  It's not the usual path for an Englishman born Daniel Tyler.  Growing up in the middle-class town of Cheltenham in the English Cotswolds, Dan's upbringing was nothing out of the ordinary.  He wasn't the biggest fan of school but excelled at cricket, representing Gloucestershire at youth level. But by his mid-teens, cricket had taken a back seat as Dan discovered music and partying. He dropped out of college and could usually be found in the pub or working in a clothes shop.  In 2008, Dan had saved enough money for a backpacking trip to South-East Asia with some friends, including myself. Although he came back to the UK after just a couple of months, he decided to return to the region later that year.  Little did he know that the decision to return would change his life forever.  Dan wound up on the tiny island of Pulau Kapas on Malaysia's east coast. Rather than just spending his time travelling with Western backpackers, Dan decided to immerse himself among locals on the island.  It didn't take long for him to start picking up the local language - what he thought was bahasa Malay, the main language of Malaysia. But on a trip to Kuala Lumpur, a shop assistant couldn't understand him. The penny then dropped that he had actually been learning a local dialect called Terengganu - spoken by about a million natives of Terengganu state.  He was initially disheartened. "I was like: 'I'm screwed if I go anywhere else,'" he says. But his accidental mastery of this Malay dialect ended up being the making of him.  A buzz had already started to build around Dan in Terengganu state as word spread of a young Englishman who had embraced the local language and way of life. But when a student from Kuala Lumpur secretly filmed Dan speaking Terengganu, the video clocked up hundreds of thousands of views across Malaysia on YouTube.  A TV crew from the capital came knocking and asked if he wanted to try his hand in front of the camera. After realising he had a knack for presenting, Dan was offered his own primetime travel series: Haramain Backpackers - Trans Siberian.  Once the programme aired, Dan's life changed almost overnight. He is now recognised everywhere he goes and has 838,000 followers on Instagram.  After a second series, Dan started branching out. He bagged his own cooking show despite not being able to cook. He began hosting a radio show on Manis FM and is now a regular fixture on Malaysian chat shows.  "Every shop, every meal, every road crossed you hear an echo of shouts 'Hey Mat Dan, Mat Dan!', which would almost always end with a series of selfies with strangers," says his friend Daniel Beames, who visited him in late 2017.  While initially revelling in his friend's new-found fame, Daniel said he started to find it tiring after a few days. "All the attention would be very time consuming and not necessarily ideal when trying to get things done," he said.  Tun Faisal, district officer for Marang in Terengganu state, said it wasn't just Dan's use of Terengganese slang that set him apart from other foreigners fluent in Malay.  "His understanding of both the Malay language and culture makes him a unique personality in Malaysia," Faisal says. "I think his greatest success is that he has linked himself closely with Terengganu, and whenever people see him, they see Terengganu."  While in Malaysia, Dan also converted to Islam and met his Muslim wife Nurnadifa. He won't take on jobs that conflict with his religious beliefs, for example, if he was asked to emcee an event sponsored by an alcohol brand or if an acting job required a romantic scene with another woman.  While most of the attention is positive, he has encountered criticism from what he calls Malaysia's "keyboard warriors".  "A lot of people say they know hundreds of foreign workers who come over here and speak Malay in two or three months and they don't turn into a celebrity," Dan says.  "They say: 'What's the difference between Mat Dan and a Bangladeshi worker who can speak Malay?'"  Some of the criticism has come from religious conservatives. While most of his followers in the Muslim-majority country have welcomed his conversion to Islam, some have taken issue with it, or cast doubt on it. "One even emailed my brother saying: 'Your brother's a Jew'"," Dan says.  Dan respects his critics' right to an opinion. But those who doubt the sincerity of his religious beliefs? "They get blocked."  Although Dan has settled in Malaysia, he makes annual trips back to the UK.  While he relishes catching up with his family - who also regularly visit Malaysia - he sometimes feels alienated from the place he was raised. "I don't really feel at home," he says.  Weekends centred on alcohol and gambling no longer fit into his way of life. He describes the awkwardness of once watching TV with some old friends when a news report casting Muslims in a negative light was aired.  "It's kind of like if you're watching TV with your mum and there's a sex scene," he says. "Islam comes up on the news and there's a kind of awkward silence where nobody is saying anything," he says, adding that he will always have a soft spot for his childhood friends.  It's not just Dan's way of life that has changed. Growing up with a broad West Country accent, almost a decade speaking Malay and Terengganu has resulted in Dan developing an international hybrid accent almost unrecognisable from before.  "I called my nan a few years ago on her birthday and she put the phone down on me because she thought I was trying to sell her broadband," he recalls.  "A few people are like 'Where are you from?' And I say I'm from here and they're like 'No you're not... why you speaking all Welsh?'"  His mother, Nicola, says it has been "surreal" seeing her son turn into a star on the other side of the world. But despite the major changes in his life, "he's still the same Dan", she says.  "I always thought if any of the boys were going to do something different it'd be Dan but I would have never thought he'd have done this," she laughs.  "They've really embraced him out there and it's a privilege, really."  Now settled with a one-year-old son, Zayne, Dan is having to take a step back from TV projects that are too time consuming.  He's now a tourism ambassador for Terengganu, has a new clothing line on the way and is about to star in his first film. Last year he was awarded permanent residency by then-deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on live TV.  "The [TV] work I do, I can't do it forever. It could drop off at any time," he says. "I'm not necessarily thinking about a retirement plan but something that has a bit more longevity."  But whether he's on primetime TV or taking a backseat role, Dan sees Malaysia as his home. "I now see Malay as my first language," he says. "But, for me, it's not just the language. I've completely immersed myself in Malay culture, my whole way of life and demeanour, the way I speak, the way I act, the way I eat.


bbc--2019-09-03--Mississippi wedding venue refuses interracial pair over owners Christian faith

Mississippi wedding venue refuses interracial pair over owner's Christian faith

A US interracial couple was turned away by a wedding venue because the owner said their union went against her Christian beliefs, video shows.  The footage was filmed at Boone's Camp Event Hall in Booneville, Mississippi, by the groom's sister who met the woman about the rejection.  During the exchange the owner says the decision was because we "don't do gay weddings or mixed race".  The video was first reported by website Deep South Voice, and quickly went viral on social media.  LaKambria Welch said her brother and his partner were first told in an email the venue was not prepared to host the event. So Ms Welch went down in person to find out more.  "First of all, we don't do gay weddings or mixed race," says a woman in a grey shirt, identified as the venue's owner by US media.  Asked why not, she replied: "Because of our Christian race, I mean our Christian beliefs," adding: "We just don't participate. We just choose not to."  When asked what passage of the Bible informs that belief, the owner adds: "I don't want to argue my faith."  The exchange prompted the City of Booneville to release a statement condemning "these types of discriminatory policies".  The Facebook page for Boone's Camp Event Hall was taken offline following the video's release, but later re-opened on Sunday to post a lengthy apology before being closed again.  In the post the owner said she had been taught as a child that people were meant to stay "with your own race" but that after consulting with her pastor she now realised nothing in the bible prohibited interracial marriages.  She continued: "To all of those offended, hurt or felt condemn [sic] by my statement I truly apologise to you for my ignorance in not knowing the truth about this. My intent was never of racism, but to stand firm on what I 'assumed' was right concerning marriage."  In a statement provided to BBC News, the Boone's Camp Event Hall said "they are grateful that the bride forgave them" and that the couple has been re-invited to use the event space.  Interracial marriage has been legal across the US since 1967 when the Supreme Court reached that decision in Loving v Virginia.  In 2016, Mississippi passed a first of its kind law that protects "sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions", meaning businesses can legally refuse service to same-sex partners and transgender people.  The law, which was meant to preserve religious freedom, does not mention race.


bbc--2019-10-08--US top court divided as it ponders LGBT rights

The US Supreme Court appears divided over whether a civil rights law barring workplace discrimination applies to gay and transgender workers.  The top court heard arguments regarding two cases of alleged discrimination against gay employees, and a third involving transgender discrimination.  Protesters from both sides gathered outside the court as arguments began.  The cases may be a landmark for LGBT rights in the US, four years after gay marriage became legal nationwide.  The top court's liberal quartet indicated their agreement with the plaintiffs and the argument that LGBT workers should be covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.  Of the conservative justices, only Trump-appointed Neil Gorsuch appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs - an early signal that he may cast the decisive vote.  Decisions from the nine justices on America's highest court are due by next June.  What are the cases?  The first two cases have been consolidated as both address the purported discrimination of gay employees.  Donald Zarda, a skydiving instructor from New York, and Gerald Bostock, a former child welfare services co-ordinator from Georgia, both say they were fired because of their sexual orientation.  Mr Zarda, who died in a skydiving accident in 2014 , was dismissed after joking with a female client with whom he was tandem-diving not to worry about the close physical contact because he was "100% gay".  The company maintained he was fired because he shared personal information with a client, not because he was gay, but a court in New York ruled in Mr Zarda's favour.  Mr Bostock says he lost his job after joining a gay recreational softball league, thereby publicly revealing his sexual orientation.  His employer, Clayton County, said his dismissal was the result of "conduct unbecoming of a county employee".  Mr Bostock lost his discrimination case in a federal court in Atlanta.  Michigan funeral home employee Aimee Stephens says she was fired for coming out as transgender.  She had worked as Anthony Stephens for six years before writing a letter to colleagues saying she would return to work "as my true self, Aimee Australia Stephens, in appropriate business attire".  Two weeks later, Ms Stephens was fired for insisting to work in women's clothes.  In a court filing last year, the funeral home owner argued it wanted Ms Stephens to comply with a dress code "applicable to Stephens' biological sex".  The US Department of Justice under President Donald Trump has supported the employers in each case. • Why are some places gay-friendly and not others?  Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex as well as gender, race, colour, national origin and religion.  The legal arguments hinge on whether "sex" may apply to sexual orientation and gender identity.  So far, most federal appeals courts in the US have interpreted the law to exclude discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.  But two courts, in New York and Chicago, recently ruled that discrimination against LGBT people is a form of sex discrimination.  Conservative groups argue that sexual orientation and gender identity may not be equated to the forms of discrimination already delineated in the Civil Rights Act.  "Congress never intended sexual orientation or the personal feelings of transgender individuals to be included in the concept of sex discrimination," said Walker Wildmon, vice president for The American Family Association, in a statement.  He added that religious individuals should be allowed "to operate their businesses according to their deeply held religious beliefs" - a defence broadly dismissed by LGBT advocates.  "In 29 states, a person can be fired for their gender identity and sexual orientation," Human Rights Council press secretary Charlotte Clymer told the BBC. "It's not about religious freedom, it's about pushing LGBT people out of the public square."  "The fact that you can get married on Sunday and fired on Monday for being LGBTQ, I believe, presents a pretty massive problem for our community and for society," she said.  The Supreme Court justices appeared divided on Tuesday on whether Title VII protects gay, lesbian and transgender employees.  Conservative Justice Samuel Alito said that if the provision is found to cover LGBT individuals, the court would be seen as deciding "a major policy question" - taking the place of the legislature.  Chief Justice John Roberts, sometimes seen as the ideological centre of the bench, was considered a possible swing vote on the issue.  He asked on Tuesday whether, if the court were to rule that sexual orientation is covered by Title VII, exemptions would be granted for employers with strong religious beliefs.  Of the conservative justices it was the Trump-appointed Mr Gorsuch who voiced sympathy for the fired workers, saying sex seemed to be a "contributing cause" for their dismissals.  He also seemed amenable to the argument that "sex" in the Civil Rights Act could be applied to sexual orientation, whatever Congress had in mind during the law's writing in 1964.  He later expressed concern, however, of judicial overstep. Echoing Mr Alito, Mr Gorsuch warned of "massive social upheaval" if the court were to rule in favour of LGBT workers, instead of allowing Congress to legislate on the subject.  But liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked "at what point" a court could "continue to allow individuous discrimination".  She continued: "We can't deny that homosexuals are being fired just for who they are."  It is the first time the top US court has heard a case involving gay rights since 2018.  Since then the balance of the court has tilted to a 5-4 conservative majority, including Trump appointees Justice Neil Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh.  The closely-watched Mr Kavanaugh has so far said little to indicate his stance.  Dozens of people demonstrated outside the Supreme Court building, holding signs that say: "Trans people belong", "We will fight back" and other slogans that underscore their message - gay and transgender rights should be protected in the workplace.  The issue being considered by the court has important legal implications, as activists explain, saying no-one should be sacked for being gay. The matter also has political implications - evangelical Christians, many of whom helped Trump get elected, think the laws should not change and are hoping the court will agree.  For Trump, the ruling will either provide a victory or a setback for his supporters. The progressive activists are naturally campaigning for a victory for their side. With that goal in mind, one activist is holding a sign: "Surrender Donald."


bbc--2019-11-18--Israel Folau criticised for 'appalling' Australia bushfire remarks

Rugby player Israel Folau has drawn anger for linking Australia's bushfire crisis to the nation's same-sex marriage and abortion laws.  Folau, who was sacked by Australia in May for making anti-gay remarks on social media, described the fires as a "little taste of God's judgement".  Six people have died since last month in blazes raging in eastern Australia.  "He is a free citizen, he can say whatever he likes but that doesn't mean he can't have regard to the grievance [and] offence this would have caused to the people whose homes have burnt down," Mr Morrison told reporters on Monday. • Heatwave is forecast to spark new Australia fires • Is climate change to blame for Australia's fires?  Folau, who is Christian, gave a sermon in his Sydney church on Sunday in which he said Australia's decision to pass abortion and same-sex marriage laws had gone against "God's word", adding the nation needed to "repent".  "Look how rapid, these bushfires, these droughts, all these things have come, in a short period of time. You think it's a coincidence or not?," he said.  His comments sparked outrage from many Australians online, who noted the widespread devastation of the fires.  He was also criticised by high-profile local figures who had previously supported him.  "Israel, button up," said broadcaster Alan Jones on his radio show on Monday. "These comments don't help."  Rugby Australia (RA) sacked the former Wallabies player in May after he said on social media that "hell awaits" gay people.  The 30-year-old fullback has been widely condemned for those comments and others targeting transgender people, but he has also received vocal support from Christian groups.  Folau is suing RA over his dismissal, claiming his contract was unlawfully terminated due to his religious beliefs.  Rugby Australia has stood by its decision to sack Folau, saying he breached a players' code of conduct. He was previously one of the nation's highest-paid athletes.


bbc--2019-12-21--Junaid Hafeez: Academic sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan

A university lecturer in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for blasphemy.  Junaid Hafeez, 33, was arrested in March 2013 and accused of posting derogatory comments about the Prophet Muhammad on social media.  Allegations of blasphemy are taken very seriously in Pakistan, and even an accusation is often enough to make someone a target for hardliners.  Mr Hafeez's first lawyer, Rashid Rehman, was shot dead in 2014 after agreeing to take on the case.  The lecturer has also spent years in solitary confinement, after repeated attacks by other prisoners.  The sentence was delivered by a court in the Central Jail in Multan, where Mr Hafeez was being held.  Mr Hafeez had studied a Master's degree in the US on a Fulbright Scholarship, specialising in American literature, photography and theatre.  After returning to Pakistan he took up a lecturer position at Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU) in Multan, where he worked until his arrest.  Mr Hafeez's current counsel said the verdict was "most unfortunate", and told AFP news agency that they would appeal against the decision.  Prosecution lawyers, meanwhile, distributed sweets to their colleagues, who chanted "Allahu akbar" and "death to blasphemers".  Amnesty International said the verdict was "a gross miscarriage of justice" and described it as "extremely disappointing and surprising".  Pakistan's blasphemy laws carry strict sentences, including death, for anyone who insults Islam.  The offences relating to religion were first codified by India's British rulers in 1860, and were expanded in 1927. Pakistan inherited these laws when it came into existence after the partition of India in 1947.  These early laws made it a crime to disturb a religious assembly, trespass on burial grounds, insult religious beliefs or to intentionally destroy or defile a place or an object of worship.  Under these laws, the maximum punishment ranged from one to 10 years in jail.  But between 1980 and 1986, a number of clauses were added by the military government of General Zia-ul Haq.  Gen Haq wanted to "Islamicise" them and also legally to separate the Ahmadi community, declared non-Muslim in 1973, from the main body of Pakistan's overwhelmingly Muslim population.  The new clauses made it illegal to make derogatory remarks against Islamic personages, introduced life sentences for "wilful" desecration of the Koran, and later, introduced the death penalty or life imprisonment for blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad.  About 40 people are currently on death row for blasphemy - although so far, no executions for blasphemy have been carried out.  The blasphemy laws have been under the spotlight internationally after Asia Bibi, a Pakistani Christian who spent eight years on death row, was freed from prison last year, following a Supreme Court decision which overturned her conviction.  Her release sparked riots, and she had to seek safety in another country.


bbc--2019-12-30--South Korea to pardon 1,800 conscientious objectors

South Korea will grant pardons to 1,879 men who refused to do military service for religious or personal reasons.  It comes after a court last year recognised "conscience or religious beliefs" as a justifiable reason to turn down military service.  All able-bodied men in South Korea are required to serve for up to 24 months by the time they are 28.  Conscientious objectors faced 18 months in prison and often struggled to find employment.  One objector who is on parole will be exempt from the remaining penalty.  All the others have already been freed, and the pardon allows them to correct their criminal records.  Rights groups say conscientious objectors face social stigma in Korea - and struggle to find employment after their jail sentence.  An "alternative" non-military service - lasting three years and taking place in prisons or "correctional facilities" - is being introduced next year.  Monday's announcement was the third round of special pardons since President Moon Jae-in was elected in 2017.  More than 5,000 people were pardoned in total, including 267 who breached election law, and three political and labour activists, the justice ministry said.  The government said the move would help convicts return to society.  How does conscription work in Korea?  South Korea shares a tense relationship - and one of the world's most heavily-fortified borders - with North Korea, and conscription is seen as key to the country's defence.  Able-bodied Korean men are required to serve in the army for 21 months, the navy for 23 months, or the air force for 24 months.  Male conscription has been law for decades, and conscientious objectors have been arrested and subject to punishment. They face 18 months in jail.  Earlier this year, it was confirmed that pop group BTS would not be exempt - despite fans calling for special treatment.  In 2018, a landmark court ruling recognised the need for an alternative service - that did not involve the use of firearms or other weapons - for those with faith-based objections.  After the ruling, charges against hundreds of men, mostly Jehovah's Witnesses who refused to serve, were dropped.  The government released from prison hundreds of men who were already serving jail time and had exhausted all their appeals.  Last week, parliament passed a new law that allows conscientious objectors to do alternative service - but it was criticised by rights group Amnesty International.  "Confining people to work in a prison - and for almost twice as long as the typical military service - does not respect their right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief," said Arnold Fang, their east Asia researcher.


bbcuk--2019-02-08--Charles Darwin school musical dropped after complaints

A school has axed a musical on evolution over its suggestive lyrics and portrayal of Christian views.  Darwin Rocks, about the scientist Charles Darwin, was due to be performed by about 90 pupils at Hartford Manor Primary School, Cheshire, next month.  The move follows six "expressions of concern" from parents, the school said.  The musical's publishers Musicline said it was written by a Christian, adding "we can't ever recall having courted controversy before".  According to its website, the production is a "light-hearted look" at the work of Darwin, whose theory of evolution, published in 1859, shocked Victorian society by suggesting animals and humans shared a common ancestry.  Head teacher Simon Kidwell told the BBC that the school, in Hartford near Northwich, received six "expressions of concern" over lyrics that refer to "bump and grind" - a sexually suggestive dance move.  He said three of those parents also believed a bishop was "mocked" in a separate scene.  "There were concerns about caricature," he said, adding the complainants, who include a science teacher from another school, felt its representation of Christian views on science "wasn't accurate".  One parent said they did not want their daughter to think her ambition to be an engineer contradicted Christian beliefs, Mr Kidwell said.  He added the school board was not involved in the decision to drop the production and denied newspaper suggestions a local vicar who is on the board had influenced the move.  The school teaches evolution as part of the syllabus and no parents have withdrawn their children from those lessons, Mr Kidwell said.  Mike Smith, managing director at Musicline, said the firm "asked Steve Titford - a practising Christian - and the writer of Shakespeare Rocks to write a factual musical about Charles Darwin's life and beliefs".  He said it had been "received with enthusiasm" and been performed in schools around the world since 2017.  "You can't please all the people all the time, but having been in the school musical business for over 25 years, we can't ever recall having courted controversy before, " Mr Smith added.  The traditional (and often lazy) depiction of faith v science is old hat.  In Britain and the US, there are multiple experts who see no conflict with holding religious beliefs alongside their strong grasp of science.  Theistic evolutionists include Francis Collins - the geneticist who led the Human Genome Project and the current director of the National Institutes of Health in the US.  David Wilkinson, the astrophysicist and principal of St John's College, Durham, is also a Methodist lay minister - and often contributes to Thought for the Day.  It's not a surprise there has been some objection to the "mockery" of Christians, who are often depicted as anti-intellectual and anti-science.


bbcuk--2019-02-21--Religion cannot stop LGBT education says Ofsted boss

'Religion cannot stop LGBT education', says Ofsted boss

All children must learn about same sex couples regardless of their religious background, the head of Ofsted says.  Hundreds of parents protested outside a Birmingham school over it teaching pupils about same sex couples and gender identity.  Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman told the BBC it was crucial children were exposed to differences in society.  She said it was important children knew "there are families that have two mummies or two daddies".  Parents of Muslim and Christian faith have held demonstrations outside Parkfield Community School in the Alum Rock area of the city, where children are taught about same sex couples through story books.  Protesters have claimed the lessons, part of the "No Outsiders" programme, contradict their faith.  They argued assistant head Andrew Moffat, who started the lessons and is gay, has been "promoting personal beliefs and convictions about universal acceptability of homosexuality as being normal and morally correct".  But Mrs Spielman said the lessons were "about making sure they [children] know just enough to know that some people prefer not to get married to somebody of the opposite sex and that sometimes there are families that have two mummies or two daddies".  "It's about making sure that children who do happen to realise that they themselves may not fit a conventional pattern know that they're not bad or ill."  In light of the protests, Mrs Spielman said there needed to be a "careful exploration of the middle ground" but lessons covering LGBT topics were important.  One mother, who wished to remain anonymous, accused the school of "planting ideas" in children's heads.  Her daughter attends Parkfield School and she said she was too young to be taught "what goes on in someone's bedroom".  "It's something that we would like to teach our children ourselves," she said. "It kind of feels like they're forcing it upon us."  She denied being homophobic but said "it's just not what we're about and we don't agree with it".  Mr Moffat told the BBC he had been receiving threats and "nasty emails" from parents who disagreed with the programme.  Mrs Spielman argued the lessons were less about "endless sex education" and more about understanding differences in society.  "The essence of democracy is that we don't all get our way," she said.  "We accept majority decision which means there will always be things that some of us don't like, but that is the very essence of it - accepting that we can't have 100% of what we want."  Solutions, she said, would be found in "sane, rational discussion, not protest".  However, the BBC understands more protests were being planned and some parents have said they would write to the government demanding a change in equality legislation.  The change, they hoped, would enable schools not to teach subjects that were not in line with religious beliefs.  Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, on Twitter, and sign up for local news updates direct to your phone.


bbcuk--2019-08-15--Ashers gay cake row referred to European Court

Ashers 'gay cake' row referred to European Court

A case involving a Christian bakery, which refused to make a cake with a slogan supporting same-sex marriage, has been referred to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).  Gareth Lee tried but failed to order the £36.50 cake at Ashers bakery in Belfast in May 2014.  The company declined the order as it was "at odds" with its beliefs.  Last year, the firm won its appeal at the UK Supreme Court, which ruled its actions were not discriminatory.  Mr Lee's latest legal bid will argue that the Supreme Court "failed to give appropriate weight" to him under the European Convention of Human Rights.  The high-profile dispute began in 2014 when the bakery refused to make a cake with the slogan Support Gay Marriage.  Mr Lee, a gay rights activist, sued the company for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and political beliefs.  But the bakery has always insisted its objection was to the message on the cake, not the customer.  Ashers lost the initial case which was taken against it and its subsequent appeal, but in October 2018 the firm won an appeal at the Supreme Court.  In a statement, Mr Lee's solicitor said the latest legal bid "does not directly implicate the owners of Ashers bakery or challenge their right to privately hold religious/political views".  "Instead the case will be against the United Kingdom, a member state of the European Court," the statement read.  It added: "The latest hearings will attempt to challenge that ruling at the highest human rights court in Europe, citing the Supreme Court failed to give appropriate weight to Mr Lee's rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.  "The Supreme Court ruling blurred the line, creates legal uncertainty for all of us in Northern Ireland, and the ECHR is the appropriate place to clarify this issue."  Meanwhile, Mr Lee said he would fight for the rights of business owners to hold their own religious beliefs.  "I have my own beliefs. But that's not what my case has ever been about," he said.  "This is about limited companies being somehow able to pick and choose which customers they will serve.


bigleaguepolitics--2019-12-24--BASED: City Commissioner Defends Association with Proud Boys After Liberal Smear Campaign

A city commissioner in Michigan is under fire from the fake news media and the liberal mob for his association with the patriotic Proud Boys group, but he is refusing to back down amidst the heat.  Fennville city commissioner Morgan Bolles defended his association with the Proud Boys during a heated city council meeting last week, claiming the organization’s reputation as a white supremacist hate group is based on a pack of lies.  Bolles was appointed to the seat because he was one of two individuals who applied for the position after former commissioner Danielle Brien resigned from her post in November. The rest of the council appointed him by unanimous fashion, and he was sworn into the position officially on Dec. 2.  Trending: Female Southern Baptist Minister Urges Faith Leaders to ‘Repent’ for ‘Sins of Nationalism’ and ‘White Supremacy’  Bolles was also criticized for wearing a shirt that said “Socialism is for f*gs,” with the last vowel in the word replaced with a fig leaf, and for having a past criminal record. He maintains that although he is imperfect, he will do his best to serve the public in his role in city government.  take our poll - story continues below  “I am by no means a perfect person and I make mistakes,” Bolles said. “The definition of one’s character is how they recover from those mistakes, though. I’ve grown a lot since then. I only wish to be allowed the opportunity to serve my community and give back.”  The fake news media criticized Bolles for defending the Proud Boys’ ethos to “venerate the house wife.” He explained that the sentiment is meant to promote the traditional family against attacks from feminists and other enemies of Western Civilization.  ″… That’s not a demand that women stay at home, but the ones that do want to stay home, we should praise them for wanting to stay home — take care of our children — not going to a babysitter or anything like that,” Bolles said.  “I’ve never held hate for anyone, because of their race, gender, sexual orientation or religious beliefs,” Bolles added. “I care about people. I care about our community. Moving forward, I hope to prove that I am deserving of this seat and I promise to do my best to serve the city of Fennville and all of its people fairly and equally.”  During the contentious public meeting, Bolles had support from patriotic individuals in attendance.  “The first thing I want to say is how proud I am of my boy over there,” said Kyle Smith, a Fennville resident who was among the Proud Boys at the meeting. “This is targeted harassment, this is a joke.”  “As far as not being very (politically correct), the president of the United States isn’t very (politically correct), he’s said worse than Morgan has and he’s the president,” a public commentator said at the meeting in support of Bolles.  Bolles’ full speech at the meeting can be seen here:


bipartisanreport--2019-01-09--Link Between Religious Nuts Brain Damage Announced By Scientists RESULTS

Link Between Religious Nuts & Brain Damage Announced By Scientists (RESULTS)

Why do people blindly and fervently follow Donald Trump? There may be a link between brain damage and the cult of fundamentalism. People have wondered whether there was a specific spot in the brain, the God spot, where spirituality originated. A new study in The Neuropsychologia journal discovered something interesting happening in the brain around religious fundamentalism.  Spiritual experiences involved multiple areas of the brain, and this is a budding field of science. Still, the Biological and Cognitive Underpinnings of Religious Fundamentalism study discovered lesions located in a specific part of the brain actually increased religious fundamentalism.  The study’s corresponding author Jordan Grafman at Northwestern University said:  The study examined male 119 Vietnam combat veteran brains with lesions caused by penetrating traumatic brain injuries. If the site of the lesions was in the front part of the brain, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, the vets had a greater interest in fundamentalism than veterans without the lesions. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex is associated with fear and risk. It is one of the latest evolved parts of the human brain and is located on the lower edge of the prefrontal cortex, which is located directly behind the forehead.  Then, the researchers compared their finding to 30 Vietnam veterans without brain lesions. Grafman emphasized that this study was limited:  Then, the scientist discussed additional variables that have an impact upon religious beliefs:  ‘We need to understand how distinct religious beliefs are from moral, legal, political, and economic beliefs in their representations in the brain, the nature of conversion from one belief system to another, the difference between belief and agency, and the nature of the depth of knowledge that individuals use to access and report their beliefs.’  Grafman talked about how “beliefs have sculpted our behaviors:”  ‘Beliefs have sculpted our behaviors for thousands of years and helped shape the development and sophistication of our brains. Such beliefs systems are dependent upon other aspects of our cognitive and social processes and those interactions would be important to understand.  For example, how does openness in your personality affect how your form and act upon your beliefs?  What about genetic predisposition and its effect upon belief systems?’  This study just touched the tip of the iceberg of this expanding area of study. Grafman continued:  ‘While religious and other beliefs can be studied selectively and independently from other cognitive and social processes, their dependence upon, and interaction with, other brain functions will be an important area of research in the coming decades. As they say, “the devil is in the details.”‘  Wanting Zhong, Irene Cristofori, Joseph Bulbulia, and Frank Krueger also coauthored the study.


bipartisanreport--2019-01-15--Federal Judge Publicly Attacks Trump Administration In Defense Of Women

In October 2017, the Trump administration rolled back the birth control mandate under the Affordable Care Act, and moved to expand the rights of employers to deny women insurance coverage for contraception. The Trump administration then decided they would put the religious rights of employers above the rights of women to have their healthcare needs met.  This hasn’t been met without challenges though. On Monday, a second federal judge in Pennsylvania blocked the Trump administration from implementing a rule allowing employers to decline to offer contraception on religious or moral grounds.  ‘U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia imposed a nationwide injunction Monday which has wider effect than a similar ruling issued Sunday by a federal judge in California. ‘The policy was set to go into effect nationwide Monday. But U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. blocked the Trump administration’s bid to greatly expand the number of employers that could claim the exemption from the health care law.’  Judge Gilliam Jr. put the rule on hold for 13 states and the District of Columbia, which challenged the rule in court.  In Judge Beetlestone’s ruling, she said that states would be harmed by the Trump administration’s policy because women who lost contraceptive coverage would seek state-funded services.  Judge Gilliam, who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2014 to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California wrote that the challengers “have raised serious questions going to the merits, on their claim that the Religious Exemption and the Moral Exemption are inconsistent with the Women’s Health Amendment.”  The states have argued that the new policy “cannot be reconciled with the text and purpose of the ACA — which seeks to promote access to women’s healthcare, not limit it.”  Gilliam was clear that if he did not block Trump’s policy tens of thousands of women would lose coverage, and under the ACA, the Women’s Health Amendment requires employer-provided health insurance to include coverage for free or low-cost birth control.  In 2014, the Supreme Court decided on behalf of Hobby Lobby that privately held companies with religious objections could refuse to offer contraceptive coverage. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that those companies “have the right to exercise their religious beliefs even if it means that their beliefs will impose certain restrictions on their employees.”  For now, Trump’s new policy has been halted from taking effect in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.


bipartisanreport--2019-01-20--Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Spoke At The Womens March And It Was Fierce

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Spoke At The Women’s March And It Was Fierce

The young and popular new Democrat from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has Republicans running scared and women around the country standing up to cheer for the woman who speaks on equality for all people, regardless of race, gender, nationality, age, or religious beliefs.  During the Women’s March on Saturday, the new Democratic representative gave a speech that brought the house down.  ‘Justice is about the water we drink. Justice is about the water we drink. Justice is about the air we breathe. Justice is about how easy it is to vote. Justice is about if we can stay with our children after we have them for a just amount of time. Mothers, fathers, and all parents.’  The Women’s March has faced criticism in recent days due to an organizer, Tamika Mallory, who has refused to condemn Louis Farrakhan, a man who has fought for many years for the rights of Muslim women but has also made some incredibly anti-Semitic remarks. Ocasio-Cortez acknowledged women’s feelings about Mallory’s refusal, especially in the age of Trump.  ‘I think that concerns of anti-Semitism with the current administration in the White House are absolutely valid and we need to make sure that we are protecting the Jewish community and all those that feel vulnerable in this moment.’  Perhaps critics of the march should also remember that it doesn’t belong to Mallory, Farrakhan, nor any of its organizers. The march and all it stands for belongs to every woman who has stood together in solidarity across history to fight for the rights of women: Jewish women, Christian women, Muslim women, white women, black women, young women, elderly women, and every other woman who has ever felt marginalized in this country.  Twitter stood largely in support of Ocasio-Cortez and her fight for justice. Read some of their comments below:


bipartisanreport--2019-04-01--SCOTUS Drops Planned Parenthood Ruling That Has Trump Exploding

As a result of the ultra-conservatives easing their way inside of the Republican party in an  invasion, they have tipped the scales on the party’s whole complexion. Add to that, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has made it his life’s mission to fill the courts with conservative judges. That leaves a flock of grey-haired men deciding what women can do with their uteruses.  Conservative religious groups opposing abortion have accepted Trump’s cruelty, non-Christian behavior, and reported sexual abuse. In that attempt, they have traded their souls for the ability to impose their religious beliefs upon all American women — exactly what our forefathers were attempting to escape.  Anti-abortion rights group Center for Medical Progress filed a lawsuit to block Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against the group, which filmed its employees and released a highly edited video.  Planned Parenthood claimed the Center for Medical Progress violated a number of state laws. The group hit back referring to California’s “anti-SLAPP” statute (strategic lawsuits against public participation), according to CNN.  The Supreme Court’s ruling to not hear the Center for Medical Progress suit effectively blocked it and let the federal appeals court ruling stand.  This all began in early 2015 when the Center secretly taped the nonprofit’s employees discussing the issue of selling fetal tissue, then released a highly biased video. Planned Parenthood officials have consistently maintained that the organization does not make money from tissue donations to medical research. It only collects enough to cover its costs of the transfer.  Planned Parenthood sued the Center for Medical Progress in early 2016. The Republican legislators decided to attack Planned Parenthood and repeatedly tried to block funding to the nonprofit.  CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law Steve Vladeck called it a “messy dispute:”  Vladeck continued stating the Supreme Court was “leaving that ruling (the anti-SLAPP statute) intact:”  Planned Parenthood claimed that the Center for Medical Progress committed “wire and mail fraud, invasion of privacy, illegal secret recording and trespassing.” Its suit asked for “damages court order barring the group from entering Planned Parenthood facilities under false pretenses and covertly recording the group’s officials and business.”  Dr. Leana Wenn joined Planned Parenthood after longtime director Cecile Richards (2006 to 2018) retired. Wenn has been fighting Donald Trump’s attempts to curb Planned Parenthood’s services. In just one example:  ‘(She has) fought to protect women and families from the Trump administration’s relentless attacks on basic health care protections. In March 2018, the City of Baltimore sued the Trump administration for cutting teen pregnancy prevention funds, which resulted in a federal judge ordering the restoration of $5 million in grant funding to Baltimore’s teen pregnancy prevention programs. She has fought Trump administration changes to the Title X program to protect funding for 23 health clinics in Baltimore providing reproductive health care for low-income women.’


bipartisanreport--2019-04-16--Pete Buttigieg Responds To Pences Remarks About Him VIDEO

Pete Buttigieg Responds To Pence’s Remarks About Him (VIDEO)

Heading into the 2020 presidential elections, the Trump team has a whole host of issues to face — including, thanks to the advocacy of Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg, their antagonism towards LGBTQ Americans. This week on CNN’s New Day, he further clarified his stance on Vice President Mike Pence’s relationship to the whole issue, tearing apart Pence’s present positions in the process and offering a vision of an appropriate path forward.  Buttigieg — who is gay — has been going back-and-forth with Pence on this issue via public commentary for some time now. Pence has long established himself as on the side of religion-driven discrimination against LGBTQ people, which is not exactly reassuring considering he’s supposed to be representing the entirety of the United States and not just old straight White Christian guys. Pence, of course, doesn’t see an issue with his stance, putting responsibility for any turmoil squarely on Buttigieg’s shoulders, recently telling CNN:  The South Bend mayor responded to that idea this Tuesday, explaining how quite simply, the vice president is wrong.  He told the hosts of CNN’s New Day:  ‘The vice president is entitled to his religious beliefs. My problem is when those religious beliefs are used as an excuse to harm other people. That was a huge issue for us in Indiana when he advanced a discriminatory bill in 2015 under the guise of religious freedom that said it was lawful to discriminate, provided you invoked religion as your excuse. And I just believe that’s wrong. This isn’t about him as a human being. This is about policies that hurt people, policies that hurt children.’  Buttigieg offered another example among the many available of the vice president’s established fondness for harassment of the LGBTQ community, having even thought that the discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy around gayness in the U.S. Armed Forces was too lenient on the community.  The increasingly popular mayor asserted that Pence should address the actual substance of the issue at hand instead of wrongfully complaining about Buttigieg supposedly going after him personally:  ‘If you listen closely to what he said, you’ll notice that to this day, he has not brought himself to say that it shouldn’t be legal to discriminate against people in this country because they’re LGBT… He could’ve cleared that up!.. Maybe he will evolve to believing that it shouldn’t be lawful to discriminate against people for being gay, and if he makes that development, I would welcome that.’  One of the times Pence might have come closest to denouncing LGBTQ discrimination came in 2015, when he was pressured into signing superseding legislation addressing that “Religious Freedom Restoration Act” that Buttigieg mentioned.  The secondary legislation specifically denied proponents the chance to use the law as a license to discriminate against LGBTQ people, but at the time, all he could muster was the assertion that the original legislation should “not create a license to discriminate or to deny services to any individual as its critics have alleged.” That might as well just be an acknowledgement of political expediency, however, and not one of the need to protect LGBTQ rights.


bipartisanreport--2019-05-07--Michael Cohen Just Outed Jerry Falwell Jr As A Total Pervert

Michael Cohen Just Outed Jerry Falwell Jr. As A Total Pervert

Anyone who’s ever watched Jerry Falwell, Jr. twist his way around slimy explanations for his continued support of a serial adulterer and conman like Donald Trump has wondered how he reconciles that support with his professed religious beliefs. On Tuesday, there was an answer to that question.  Comedian Tom Arnold taped phone conversations between himself and Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer,” Michael Cohen. Slowly, he’s released them to the press, including one to The Wall Street Journal in which Cohen seemed to walk back his earlier guilty pleas in court. This time, the recorded conversation was much more surprising.  ‘Months before evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.’s game-changing presidential endorsement of Donald Trump in 2016, Falwell asked Trump fixer Michael Cohen for a personal favor, Cohen said in a recorded conversation reviewed by Reuters. ‘Falwell, president of Liberty University, one of the world’s largest Christian universities, said someone had come into possession of what Cohen described as racy “personal” photographs — the sort that would typically be kept “between husband and wife,” Cohen said in the taped conversation.’  There is no indication of what the “racy photo” might show, but Cohen says his handling of that photo gained Trump the evangelical support he needed at a crucial point in the election. Although most of the photos were destroyed, Cohen claims that he is still in possession of one of them.  ‘According to a source familiar with Cohen’s thinking, the person who possessed the photos destroyed them after Cohen intervened on the Falwells’ behalf. ‘The Falwells, through a lawyer, declined to comment for this article.’  When Trump announced his presidential bid, Cohen leveraged the work he had done for the Falwells in keeping the photos from the public eye to garner his endorsement for Trump. Although Cohen doesn’t indicate that he used the one remaining photo in his possession as leverage, it’s difficult to imagine that it didn’t loom large in Falwell, Jr.’s mind.  Featured image via Flickr by IowaPolitics.com under a Creative Commons license


bipartisanreport--2019-05-28--Supreme Court Defies Conservatives Rules Defiantly Against GOP

Supreme Court Defies Conservatives – Rules Defiantly Against GOP

Despite the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, this week, they handed down an important decision in favor of the rights of transgender students. Without comment, they left a lower court ruling in place that allowed for Pennsylvania’s Boyertown Area School District public school students to in most cases, use the bathrooms and locker rooms corresponding with their gender identity. The district argued, quite simply, that it “believes that transgender students should have the right to use school bathroom and locker facilities on the same basis as non-transgender students.”  The case against that policy had alleged that it constituted federally prohibited invasions of privacy and sexual harassment, which multiple courts all the way up to the highest in the country have now seemingly indicated is a ludicrous argument — although to be sure, there’s no national legal precedent set in the absence of an explanation from the Supreme Court. They declined to get involved in a similar major case back in 2017 and have still issued no comprehensive ruling on the issue of transgender rights surrounding access to gendered facilities in the United States.  The Obama administration had demanded that school districts across the country accommodate transgender students in the facilities corresponding to their gender identities, which the Boyertown Area district has been doing on a case-by-case basis. The Trump administration has rolled back that Obama era guidance to public schools.  The Boyertown Area’s policy getting upheld comes as the Trump administration continues to seek to roll back other protections for LGBTQ people across the United States. The perhaps most infamous example is their plan to block transgender people from serving in the U.S. Armed Forces in part based on the lie that providing for them would present an outlandish burden to the military, which in reality, spends more on Viagra. After multiple blocks in lower courts, the Supreme Court allowed that policy to go into effect while lower level litigation played out.  There are more challenges to LGBTQ rights that the Trump team has launched; for instance, they’ve recently been reported to be planning on making it easier for adoption organizations to reject same-sex couples. The Obama administration demanded such agencies to accommodate such couples if they wanted to receive any federal funding, but as of last week, the Trump administration was considering adding an exemption for religious organizations.  The Health and Human Services Department’s Office of Civil Rights has also announced that it’s dumping a policy prohibiting doctors from discriminating against transgender patients and has “expanded health care workers’ legal right to refuse to perform services that violate their religious beliefs,” as Axios explains it.  The attacks on LGBTQ rights fit into a much broader picture of the Trump administration going after minorities through means like their repeated attempts to roll back asylum provisions for undocumented immigrants. President Donald Trump himself went so far that he told border patrol agents to explicitly break the law and turn asylum seekers around back into Central America, which their superiors had to then come in and reiterate remained illegal no matter what the president says.


bipartisanreport--2019-05-28--Trump Blindsided By Tuesday Legal Power Move That Has Liberals Cheering

The Trump administration keeps trying to roll back protections for minorities across the United States — and they keep facing steep challenges in court. This week, a coalition of civil rights groups filed suit against them for a new rule they unveiled meant to protect the supposed rights of healthcare providers to refuse service based on their own religious beliefs. This could culminate in issues like transgender individuals getting denied medical care in addition to women’s reproductive health services getting again undercut on top of so many other issues.  The groups behind the latest lawsuit challenging this provision include Lambda Legal, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Center for Reproductive Rights.  The criminal complaint her organization has helped file ahead of the rule’s set effective date of July 22 further bluntly asserts that the provision “endangers patients’ health in the name of advancing the religious beliefs of those who are entrusted with caring for them — a result sharply at odds with the stated mission of the Department of Health and Human Services.”  Others to have already sued include a coalition led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, and the city of San Francisco, which historically has led the way in advancing LGBTQ rights, having hosted the first same-sex marriages in the entire country. President Donald Trump personally announced the rule at an event for this year’s National Day of Prayer, so it’s not as though the other side of this issue is thinly staffed.  The Trump administration has already unveiled a number of other measures against LGBTQ people in the United States, including perhaps most prominently their ban on transgender people serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, which the U.S. Supreme Court has allowed to go into effect.  There’s more too, like their recently revealed plans to allow for religious adoption organizations across the entire country to refuse to work with same-sex couples, a step that lower-level Republicans have attempted before.  Their attempt to drag healthcare into their wide-ranging torrent against minority rights, women’s rights and beyond comes as Republicans across the country do the same with their apparent green light that direction from the White House.  In a number of states, Republican-majority legislatures have passed strict bans on abortion, including in Alabama, where Governor Kay Ivey recently signed one of the most restrictive such bills into law in the entire country. It makes providing an abortion a crime that would culminate in as much as 99 years in prison for health care providers and goes into effect within months, coming alongside similar measures in states like Georgia and Mississippi, where a court has already ruled against their plan. Other cases are underway against the similar plans that are unfolding elsewhere, while some states like Illinois have gotten explicitly pro-abortion legislation rolling in response.


bipartisanreport--2019-11-06--Federal Judge Makes Wednesday Ruling Against Trump To Protect Women

One of Donald Trump’s primary groups of followers has always been the conservative right. Some refer to POTUS as “Jesus” or “the chosen one,” even though many Christians would say to do so is sacrilege. With the impeachment inquiry looming large, it appears the president will do anything to capture and retain their 2020 votes.  The commander-in-chief’s title might be more suited to as “the litigator king.” A New York federal judge struck down one of Trump’s religious rules. That rule made it possible for health care providers to refuse to treat women for services they say “conflict with their religious belief,” according to The Denver Post.  It appeared that Trump has been going around just making up rules that please his tried-and-true followers. District Judge Paul Engelmayer said there were multiple grounds for him to invalidate this last Trump rule. It allows practitioners to object to providing abortions and birth control to women, along with any other service that they felt were in conflict with their moral and religious beliefs.  The administration said that this rule was an important protector of an individual’s religious beliefs. They cited abortion as one of the issues that went against Trump’s proponents’ beliefs.  Engelmayer explained that the president violated the Constitution’s spending clause. It did so by letting the White House cut funds that have already been approved through the congressional process.  Many states, Planned Parenthood, and others joined in a lawsuit suing the Trump administration’s latest rule, which would have been effective November 22, if it had not been denied. The judge continued, saying three of the lawsuit had been consolidated. They included 19 states, Washington D.C., and three local governments.  Trump’s people argued that this rule would let others discriminate “in the name of religious freedom. Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Alexa Kolbi-Moinas released a statement that read:  Roger Severino with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said when the rule was just announced.  This has not been Trump’s first attack on the existing laws. Trump rules have approached a woman’s rights as subject to the state. Those against aborton and birth control have been at the top of their lists. His administration has included:  One of the plaintiffs was President of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association. Its president Clare Coleman claimed that said the group was “heartened by today’s ruling.”  The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.


birminghammail--2019-01-18--The shock rise in Birmingham child abuse connected to witchcraft and demonic possession

Child abuse connected with religious beliefs such as witchcraft and demonic possession is on the rise in the West Midlands, shocking new figures reveal.  The latest government statistics have shown that social services identified around 280 potential abuse cases in the West Midlands linked to faith or belief in 2017/18.  Some 106 of those were identified in Birmingham alone.  These include cases where the abuser believes a child is a witch, has been possessed by a spirit, demons or the devil, or has brought bad fortune into the home in other ways.  They can also include cases where fear of the supernatural is used to make children comply with being trafficked for domestic slavery or sexual exploitation.  The 280 cases seen in the West Midlands last year is up by 27% compared to 2016/17, when around 220 cases were identified - and experts warn that the true scale of abuse is likely far greater.  Nationally, the number of potential abuse cases has risen from 1,460 in 2016/17 to 1,630 last year.  Dr Charlotte Baker of Lancaster University has worked on these issues alongside the UN, the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network and the UK National Working Group on Child Abuse Linked to Faith and Belief.  She said: “I was shocked when these figures were published.  “To discover all these cases right on our doorstep really brought it home to me how widespread an issue we face.  “We believe that the figures are likely to considerably underestimate the true number of children being abused, as victims and families are reluctant to speak to children’s social services, who record this data.  “This kind of abuse is often hidden within communities and in families, so a major focus must be on providing social workers and child safeguarding practitioners with training in identifying, assessing and intervening in families where children are at risk of witchcraft accusation and abuse.  “Being accused can damage or destroy family life and relationships, and have a lasting impact on a child’s development and life experience.”  Abuse linked to faith or belief can be physical, emotional or sexual, and the consequences can be profound and long-lasting.  In some instances the abuse can even lead to death, as in the case of Victoria Climbie - an 11-year-old who was murdered in 2000 by her aunt and her aunt's boyfriend, who believed she was possessed by an evil spirit  Child abuse linked to faith or belief is not confined to one faith, nationality, ethnic group or community.  Cases have been recorded worldwide across various religions, including Christians, Muslims and Hindus.  Not all with the belief go on to harm children. The number of known cases suggests that only a small minority of people who believe in witchcraft or spirit possession go on to abuse children.


birminghammail--2019-02-15--BBC adds abortion resource to Action Line site after huge backlash

The BBC has backtracked on a decision not to include information about abortion on its BBC Action Line website after a huge public backlash.  Healthcare bodies slammed the BBC yesterday (Feb 14) over its decision to treat abortion as a "contentious" issue and limit access to resources on its website.  At the time a BBC spokesperson issued a statement which said: “Abortion is a controversial subject across the UK, but there’s no reason why the BBC cannot link to advice sites which provide information on it.  "BBC Action line advice around Call The Midwife links to a number of sources of pregnancy advice and information, including the NHS website which includes information about abortion.”  However, when Birmingham Live checked the website it couldn't find any mention of abortion and had to search the NHS website to find information - none of which was included on the BBC Action Line links.  Now after a hoard of audience complaints, the BBC has added a link on the website which signposts to the NHS information page on abortion.  In a response to the complaints the BBC has said: "The BBC’s off-air Action Line service is for people across the UK who may be affected by issues raised in BBC programmes. It provides details of organisations willing to offer further information, advice or support.  ‘Call the Midwife’ covers many issues arising in pregnancy and childbirth and so the Action Line information available online for this series lists a range of sources of advice and information about a wide range of issues relating to pregnancy.  "There is no reason why the BBC cannot link to advice sites which include information about abortion and our Action Line has provided links to the websites for NHS services where there is NHS information about it.  "There continues to be debate about abortion in the UK. The Abortion Act 1967 reformed the law relating to abortion but does not apply in Northern Ireland, where the framework for abortion therefore differs from other parts of UK.  "Given these differences we have added a direct link to the relevant NHS page which has information on abortion for England, Scotland and Wales.  "As with some other widely debated issues, the Action Line does not link to all organisations."  The row came after Call the Midwife featured a character dying from a "backstreet" abortion but when women visited the BBC Action Line website for information and advice after the programme, they couldn't find any.  The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) contacted the BBC Action Line to raise the issue and received a response confirming they'd chosen not to include information on abortion because they considered it to be a "contentious" issue, and they didn't want to be seen as "supporting one side".  In response, healthcare bodies such as the Royal College of Midwives and BPAS published a letter to the broadcaster asking that they "amend the current policy as a matter of urgency".  The letter said: "Abortion has been legal, in certain circumstances, in Great Britain for over 50 years, and 98% of terminations are funded by the NHS.  "Abortion is the most common gynaecological procedure in the UK, and one in three women will have an abortion in their lifetime. Polling demonstrates that the vast majority of the public support a woman’s right to choose, including those with a religious belief.  "Abortion is not a 'contentious issue'– it is a routine part of NHS-funded healthcare, provided by doctors, nurses, and midwives every day in hospitals and clinics across the country.  "The BBC Action Line response states that including links to information about abortion could imply the BBC 'supported one side or another.' However, in barring information the BBC is in effect 'supporting one side' by treating abortion as different to all the other medical procedures and conditions the BBC choses to include.  "This is highly stigmatising for the healthcare professionals we represent and the women we care for."  The organisations praised Call the Midwife for its sensitive and courageous coverage of abortions and wanted to make it clear that their concern lies "solely with the BBC Action Line website".  Following the letter being published yesterday, people flooded to social media to criticise the BBC's decision.  One person wrote: "I’m so disappointed in the BBC for this. Contentious or not, abortion is a vital part of reproductive care. Some religious groups oppose blood transfusions but I can’t imagine information about those will be omitted."  Another said: "This is disappointing BBC. Abortion is healthcare. You should be giving out resources and information—particularly on safe abortions when Call The Midwife depicts unsafe ones—to your viewers. Why are our abortion stories suitable for entertainment, but not real life healthcare?"  "This is a ludicrous decision by the BBC," added another.


birminghammail--2019-03-14--Parkfield School - No Outsiders LGBT lessons will NOT resume until solution found

Parkfield School - No Outsiders LGBT lessons will NOT resume 'until solution found'

No Outsiders lessons - including some featuring gay, lesbian and bisexual characters - will NOT resume at a Birmingham school until peace talks with protest parents "reach a resolution".  The lessons celebrating difference and equality were due to resume after Easter, despite heated protests outside the gates of Parkfield Community School in Saltley.  But now school chiefs have decided to suspend the lessons while teachers and parents work together "over the coming days and weeks" to find a solution.  They say they hope the children who have been taken out of school to take part in protests will now return to classes.  In a statement, a school spokesman said: "Until a resolution has been reached, No Outsiders lessons will not be taught at Parkfield and we hope that children will not be removed from school to take part in protests."  Increasingly heated protests have been held outside the primary school, led by parents who claimed elements of the No Outsiders programme were unsuitable for young children.  Some of the protesters say the lessons unnecessarily "promote homosexuality" and "tell children it is OK to be gay"- messages which they say are at odds with given their religious beliefs.  Today (THURS), a huge protest was planned outside the school gates once more but, after school announced No Outsiders has been temporarily pulled, it was postponed overnight.  A spokesman for Parkfield Parents Community Group said: "We, the representatives of Parkfield Parents Group, have had a positive     meeting with the Department of Education to discuss serious concerns we have with the 'No Outsiders' programme and its implementation at Parkfield School.  "We made our position clear, that the No Outsiders programme cannot continue to be taught at Parkfield School and that a new programme needs be negotiated, with which parents are happy and meets the legal requirements of the Equality Act 2010.       "The school have agreed that, 'Until a resolution has been reached, No Outsiders lessons will not be taught at Parkfield'.  "In view of this development, we have decided to postpone the protest for Thursday 14th March 2019.  "We will await further developments early next week when we expect detailed proposals to be tabled.  "We will then review our actions with respect to protests and school-wide withdrawal of children.  "We have advised and notified parents that the protest scheduled for Thursday 14th March 2019 is not taking place and that we are keeping future protests under review in view of developments.  "We welcome these developments and reiterate that the school needs to work with parents in a spirit of partnership and co-operation - and not against them in educating their children."  The stance against "promoting homosexuality" has sparked a backlash from equality campaigners and LGBT activists across the country.  The full Parkfield Community School statement, posted on its website, reads: "Nothing is more important than ensuring our children's education continues uninterrupted.  "Yesterday (Tuesday), both parents and the trust held constructive discussions with the Regional Schools Commissioner and, as a result of these discussions, we are eager to continue to work together with parents, over the coming days and weeks, to find a solution that will support the children in our school to continue their education in a harmonious environment.  "Until a resolution has been reached, No Outsiders lessons will not be taught at Parkfield and we hope that children will not be removed from school to take part in protests."  The decision comes just days after Ofsted ruled the No Outsiders lessons were age-appropriate for youngsters at the primary school.  Senior Ofsted inspector Peter Humphries, who led an inspection visit last month, said a 'very small but vocal minority' of parents were opposed to the No Outsiders lessons: "Their view is that the PSHE education and equalities curriculum focuses disproportionately on lesbian, gay and bisexual issues and that this work is not taught in an age-appropriate manner.  "Inspectors found no evidence that this is the case."  A disturbing video of a rally of protestors outside the school, featuring young pupils joining in chants of 'shame, shame, shame', went viral last week, triggering national debate about the rights of parents over educational content.  The No Outsiders programme was started by the school's gay assistant head teacher Andrew Moffat.  Mr Moffat MBE had been piloting the programme, which is run alongside sex and relationship education (SRE) lessons.  Its ethos promotes LGBT equality and challenges homophobia in primary schools.  Books about same sex marriage including Mommy, Mama and Me and King & King were just a couple of the books being read to children.  Mr Moffat has come under personal attack over the programme, amid claims from some of the mostly Muslim parents that No Outsiders is inappropriate for their children.  The teacher, currently shortlisted for a  world’s best teacher award , resigned from another primary school – Chilwell Croft academy, also in Birmingham – after a similar dispute with Muslim and Christian parents.  "We bring our children here so they can later work as a solicitor or a teacher, not to be taught about being gay or a lesbian.”  Razina Mahmood, 40, added: “This is nothing but indoctrination of our children.  “You are using our children as an experiment.”  Local MP Liam Byrne (Hodge Hill) has been heavily involved in the discussions and the quest for a peaceful resolution to the issue.  Last week he said he was working with faith groups and Stonewall, the LGBT rights campaign group which has produced guidance for schools, to try to end the protests.  West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who is gay himself, weighed into the issue on Twitter, stating: "The education of our children is a vital part of ensuring that each generation is more tolerant than the last.  "The language used by protestors outside the Parkfield Community School towards the LGBT+ community in recent days is unacceptable.  "Our diversity is a great asset for the West Midlands and we must not let intolerance win out."


birminghammail--2019-03-22--Five Birmingham mosques attacked as security increased for Friday prayers - what we know 24 hours on

Police are continuining to investigate a series of mosque attacks in Birmingham which left five religious buildings vandalised.  Security at mosques in Birmingham will be heightened for Friday prayers, West Midlands Police has confirmed.  Windows of five mosques - four in Aston and one in Erdington - were smashed as counter-terrorism officers continue to investigate.  The Witton Islamic Centre was one of five religious centres which had their glass windows and doors knocked out in a series of attacks early this morning.  The Faizul Islam Masjid on the nearby Broadway was also attacked, followed by the Jamia Masjid Ghousia on nearby Albert Road.  Mosques on Birchfield Road and Slade Road and Erdington were also targeted.  There have been no reports of any arrests in connection with the series of attacks on mosques .  We await to see whether West Midlands Police will stage any kind of appeal or give more information later today.  West Midlands Police Chief Constable Dave Thompson said: “Since the tragic events in Christchurch, New Zealand, officers and staff from West Midlands Police have been working closely with our faith partners across the region to offer reassurance and support at mosques, churches and places of prayer.  “At the moment we don’t know the motive for last night’s attacks.  “What I can say is that the force and the Counter Terrorism Unit are working side-by-side to find whoever is responsible.  “At difficult times like this, it is incredibly important that everyone unites against those who seek to create discord, uncertainty and fear in our communities.”  Deputy Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, Louisa Rolfe, said: "I would like to urge the public: if you know about these incidents, if someone has boasted about it; if you’ve got any information, please come forward, contact police.  "We are speaking to all faith leaders about the support we can offer.  "We can provide a review of security at any place of worship.  "This is the first incident since February 1 that has affected any place of worship across the West Midlands.  "They should feel safe and secure in their places of worship.  "They have the full support of West Midlands Police and our Counter Terrorism Unit.  "We’ve got patrol plans ready around places of worship and we will be stepping that up to make sure people feel safe and secure for Friday prayers tomorrow.  "There is nothing to suggest that there is a greater threat in Birmingham than anywhere else at the moment.  "There will, of course, be a heightened vigilance from police and our communities because of what’s happened."  Birmingham City Council community safety boss Coun John Cotton has said the “thugs” responsible for the mosque attacks “do not speak for Birmingham and will not divide us”.  He later added: "Like all right-thinking Brummies, I condemn what has happened and these people do not speak for Birmingham.  "This is a city built on tolerance and mutual respect.  "We need to stand together on this, we’re not going to be divided by a few extremists who want to send their messages of hate out and tear down what is great and cohesive city.  "We’ve got to remember that this is a city home to many diverse communities and we all work really well together."  A door and two windows were smashed in at the Masjid on the Broadway in the early hours.  Adil Parker, from the Birmingham Council of Mosques, said: "We are appalled but not shocked.  "It’s not been a week since what’s happened in New Zealand and we always expected some bigot to show themselves up.  "In 2019, we can’t be expected to live in fear.”  Abu Bakr, 22, a worshipper and caretaker, said: “It’s sad, we haven’t even got over the New Zealand attacks. Rather then separating us, it’s bringing us together.”  A local dad, who lives in Aston and regularly attends Witton Islamic Centre, told BirminghamLive how his children are “absolutely scared” following attacks at local mosques. He said: "I normally come down here at five o’clock in the morning to prey and, as soon as we arrived, we realised our mosque has been vandalised and the windows broken.  "We live in a very tight community here. We get on really good with each other.  "It’s a shame somebody will do something like this.  "Places of worship are for everyone, that doesn’t mean they’re just for Muslims, they’re for for Christians, Sikhs, it’s a house of God.  "There should be some kind of respect and a borderline, you don’t pass that borderline.  "Already so much has happened, 50 lives lost in New Zealand, and it’s really upset me, for my children.  "That goes for Christians, Sikhs, we’re all in this.  "My children are absolutely scared and they shouldn’t be.  "We live in Great Britain, it should be great for everyone.  "We live in such a beautiful country, in a mixed culture community.  "And, having something like this, it’s just breaking us up."  Another local resident has taken time to speak to BirminghamLive, calling on Birmingham and Aston to “stay united”.  "It’s terrible. I’ve lived in Aston all my life, for 40 years I’ve had businesses here.  "It’s a small community, united, and we will stay united.  "Islam is a religion of peace, harmony and we need to unite together.  "I’ve never seen anything like this before, no. What we’ve got to do is stay calm, let police do their job and stick together, that’s the only way to do it.  "Carry on with your activities, don’t let these people deter you.  "We’re all still grieving, whether you’re Muslim or non-Muslim. We’re all appalled by it.  "Everyone is concerned that it could worsen but we live in hope that it will get better. Everyone’s hurt."  We’ve now heard from senior politicians including home secretary Sajid Javid, who have all condemned the Birmingham mosque attacks. He tweeted: "Deeply concerning and distressing to see number of mosques have been vandalised in Birmingham overnight.  "West Midlands Police are investigating motive but let me be clear - hateful behaviour has absolutely no place in our society and will never be accepted.”  Home Secretary Sajid Javid has written a personal message to BirminghamLive to share with the city’s residents about the mosque attacks.  Writing on Thursday March 21 he said: “These acts of vandalism are deeply distressing and I send my full support to the Muslims affected in Birmingham.  “West Midlands Police are investigating the motive and I’m confident they will bring the perpetrators to justice.  “Let me be clear – hateful behaviour has absolutely no place in society and will never be accepted.  “These places of worship are at the heart of the community and play a vital role in making Britain the strong and vibrant country we live in.  “Earlier this week I announced we will be doubling next year’s Places of Worship protective security scheme fund to £1.6m – and investing £5m in security training at places of worship such as mosques.  “We will also be consulting communities on what more could and should be done to ensure they feel safe.”  Birmingham Ladywood MP Shabana Mahmood was in Birmingham yesterday to visit mosques that had been targeted.  She said: “The attacks on mosques across Birmingham are both frightening and heartbreaking; and while those affected will feel both anger and sadness, I would urge all residents to remain calm. The actions of those responsible shows people at their worst, but the response from people across our city shows people at their best - compassionate, caring and unified.  “This afternoon, I will be joining people from our local communities to visit each of the places affected by today’s attacks. I have spoken with the Chief Constable, and ask anyone who thinks they may have any information to call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111.  “Events such as these underscore how much work there remains to be done to confront the normalisation of hate speech and Islamophobia in our political discourse, in our media and across our society.  “We all have a role to play, just as we all have an interest in making sure every community is capable of living together respectfully.  “This is the message coming out of my home city of Birmingham today, and one that we must continue to push, even in the face of terrible attacks such as today.”  They said: "WIC was unfortunately attacked yesterday in the early hours of the morning.  "The perpetrator used a sledge hammer to smash the front windows of the mosque.  "WIC strongly condemns the actions of the perpetrator and are working closely with West Midlands Police and local authorities.  "The risk from Islamaphobia has been on the rise for many years now.  "This form of hate has fallen under the radar in many aspects, including some parts of the media and our Intelligence and security services.  "The tragic events from last week’s attacks in Christchurch have caused great concern amongst the Muslim community."  It adds: "For those that may be worried about attending prayers at the mosque, there will be an increased Police presence to reassure the community.  "The general message to the community is to stay calm but vigilant.  "We all have a responsibility to report hate crime or suspicious activity by contacting the police in confidence on the Counter Terrorism hotline 0800 789321.  "And we seek God’s help and protection in all matters."  The UK’s lead commissioner for counter extremism, Sara Khan, has called for communities to stand up against hate and fear.  Ms Khan, who leads the Commission for Counter Extremism, said: “It’s really worrying that mosques in Birmingham have been attacked. West Midlands Police and the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit are investigating and the motive behind them is yet to be established.  “I was in Birmingham just last week meeting faith leaders at a Mosque, headteachers, the council and community activists. I heard deep concerns about the impact of extremism in the city. But I was inspired by a powerful commitment to tackle hatred and intolerance.  “It is unacceptable that Mosques, or any other places of worship are being targeted. We are rightly proud of our freedom to practise our religious beliefs in Britain. Now is the time for us all to stand up against those who seek to sow division, uncertainty and fear in our communities.”  Chilling footage of a sledgehammer being thrown through a mosque window has emerged.  CCTV shows the shadowy figure appearing outside the front of the Witton Islamic Centre in Aston at around 1.20am today.  A sledgehammer is then thrown through the window, sending smashed glass everywhere.  To see the video, click  here


birminghammail--2019-10-03--This is 2019 not 150 BC - fallout as doctor refuses to call a transgender woman she

'This is 2019, not 150 BC' - fallout as doctor refuses to call a transgender woman 'she'

The case of Christian doctor who refused to call a transgender woman "she" because of his religion has sparked fierce debate in his home region.  David Mackereth claimed he was sacked after saying he would not "call any 6ft tall bearded man madam" during an "abstract discussion" with his manager.  The 56-year-old, from Dudley, West Midlands, alleged the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) discriminated against his religious beliefs, costing him his job as a disability claim assessor - but lost his employment tribunal unanimously.  That news sparked fierce debate on the Black Country Live Facebook page with some arguing the doctor should be allowed to continue while others said people's personal choices must be honoured.  David Dale said: "He's not much of a Christian, is he? Would his mate Jesus act like that? No, as usual, the Old Testament is dragged out and used as a defence. Well, it's not. This is 2019, not 150BC.  "If someone identifies as a woman, man, or a Cauliflower, it has no effect on him, me, or anyone reading this. Relax and remember it's not your issue. Leave them alone and concentrate on yourself."  Luke O'Sullivan added: "If you're employed in a job that requires you to employ certain behaviours or use certain language because that's what your employer wants, abide by it or do one - that's how the private sector works."  Kerrie Ann Blakemore said: "I think they made the right decision. Glad they sacked him."  However, Ross Oakley said the world "has gone mad".  Donna Brittle added: "What an absolute joke, you won't be able to say anything soon without it being offensive. It states he was a bearded man so if he wants to be called Madam, have a shave and a few operations that will warrent the request to be called madam."  Sam Harding said: "A qualified doctor to lose his job because he hurt someone's feelings? We need all the doctors we can get. This story has been blown totally out of proportion."  The tribunal concluded the "lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism in our judgment are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others, specifically here, transgender individuals".  Publishing its conclusions, the tribunal panel said: "In our unanimous judgment there was no contravention of part 5 of the Equality Act 2010 and the claimant was not subjected to discrimination. Those complaints are dismissed."  Dr Mackereth has said he will appeal. In his witness statement to tribunal hearings in July, Dr Mackereth said that transgender individuals "may find my views to be offensive".  The 56-year-old doctor, who was trained to assess eligibility for Employment Support Allowance or the capability element of Universal Credit, also said there was no deliberate desire on his part to offend people.  But the tribunal "found that his beliefs were likely to cause offence and have the effect of violating a transgender person's dignity or creating a proscribed environment, or subjecting a transgender person to less favourable treatment".  As well as claiming religious discrimination, Dr Mackereth said no effort was made to accommodate his beliefs, such as referring transgender clients at Birmingham's Five Ways assessment centre to another doctor.