Jubilee Debt Campaign: Vulture Culture Update

Some good news for a change.

I previously blogged here and here on

 Vulture Funds which profiteer by buying up the debts of heavily indebted poor countries cheaply then seek to recover the full amounts.

In today's email:

Vulture Funds - we've won

Dear supporter,

We’re writing with good news: the Government has announced that it’s going to make the Vulture Funds law permanent.

Many of you campaigned very hard to get this law passed in literally the last few minutes before the election last year. It was a tribute to people power ? But there was a danger it would expire in June after a ?Sunset clause? Was added at the last minute.

Today’s news means that profiteering companies will never again be able to chase massive profits from old debts in British courts – at least from 40 of the world’s most impoverished countries.

The law is the first of its kind anywhere in the world, and it has attracted cross-party support. It has already saved the west African country of Liberia $40 million, after it was pursued by two vulture funds.

Nevertheless, the vulture fund threat is not over. A US vulture fund, FG Hemisphere, is currently suing the Democratic Republic of Congo, the second poorest country in the world, for $100 million through the Jersey courts. Jersey - a UK Overseas Territory - gets to pick and choose which UK laws it passes, and it hasn’t passed this one as yet.

Meanwhile, vultures are still free to swoop in other major sah centres like the United States ? But our sister organisation Jubilee USA is hoping to change that.

If you?Re inspired to make a donation towards our continuing campaigns today, we would massively appreciate your support. Even small donations can make a big difference to an organisation like ours.

Congratulations on this victory - a nd on to the next one!

Best wishes,

Jonathan Stevenson

Jubilee Debt Campaign

PS. If you’ve missed bits of the campaign, or you just want to relive the twists and turns, we’ve updated our vultures campaign timeline with today’s news.

Contact details

Jubilee Debt Campaign

The Grayston Centre

28 Charles Square

London

N1 6HT

United Kingdom

Tel: 44 (0)20 7324 4722

Fax: 44 (0)20 7324 4723

Email - for general enquiries and materials requests:

info@jubileedebtcampaign.Org.Uk

Web - http://www.Jubileedebtcampaign.Org.Uk/

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"We are all in this together" (13)

King Edward VII's Hospital (Private)

The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (NHS)

Not everyone is impressed with Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley 's plans for "improvements" in the NHS.

[Warning: Those of a sensitive nature may be offended by some of the language used in the video link.]

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Bishop of Manchester praises tradition in the church!

Contrary to reports in the MailOnline and elsewhere, Manchester Cathedral's Spirit of Life Festival on 2 May will not be featuring tarot card readers and crystal healers although there will be a fire-breathing vicar. - There's a novelty these days!

It seems that the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, is now happy to celebrate spirituality and tradition. According to his Cathedral website there will be "workshops and stalls covering poetry, Franciscan spirituality, arts and crafts, healing, icons, angels, meditation, personality profiling, music and blessings, labyrinths, dream interpretation, Christian symbolism of gem stones and Celtic saints, prayer bead making, choral evensong, foot and hand massage, Taize chants and, finally, fire breathing. - All of these events will aim to convey something of the Christ we follow as Christian people."

 When it comes to traditional worship however, the bishop sat on the fence. It was left to the Archbishops to beg for tolerance to allow traditionalists freedom of worship in the manner shared by fellow Orthodox and Catholic Christians throughout the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. How the new Synod will see things remains to be seen but let's hope dioceses will recognise that the drift from traditional worship is killing the Anglican Church.

His Lordship works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform!

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Scam bags: legitimate or not?

Today we had yet another plastic bag delivery. As previously reported we regularly receive two or three requests a week to donate unwanted clothes; sometimes bric-a-brac. Most of these requests are scams which trade on people's charity for profit.

My general guideline is to look at the detail to see if all proceeds are given to charity not, eg, just £50 per tonne. An excellent web site is available to check further details if in doubt. Some charities use collectors. The National Blind Children's Society is one of these and is listed as legitimate but it is understandable that people are confused when one of the guidelines to watch for is:

'"We give £50 per tonne to the charity" - This sounds good, but beware, this is only5 pence per kilogram!  By contrast, if you take your clothes to acharity shop, they'll raise 5 to 100 times as much for charity.'

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Suits you Sir!

The latest twist in the 'Royal Wedding' saga suggests that the Prime Minister will after all wear morning dress as protocol demands rather than a lounge suit when Prince William marries Kate Middleton. Forest sell-off, NHS reform anddress sense problems; the prime Minister appears to be more than a little accident prone.

That must put his judgement into question over his reported mean snub to Gordon Brown's candidature for Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. Commentators vary in their opinions but for a former 'communications' man, how do Dave's U-turns suit you Sir - or Madam?

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Mothering Sunday to Mother's Day

The MailOnline is carrying a story about 'advances' in research enabling eggs to be stored so that women can have babies in their 50's. Mother-centred rather than child-centred sums up the commercial notion of Mother's Day which is not to be confused with Mothering Sunday when we give thanks for the selfless devotion of mothers to their children.

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The NHS

As theTelegraphcorrectlypredicted, yesterday the Health Secretary admitted at the dispatch box that his personal crusade to change the Health Service was having the brakes applied by the Prime Minister. While most questioners on the government benches did their valiant best to support Mr Lansley, the most interesting intervention came from Stephen Dorrell, tory Chairman of the all-party Health Select Committee with counter proposals reported here.

The Government came badly unstuck when a BMA survey showed that doctors are "uncertain whether the benefits of the government's plans to reform the NHS in England outweigh the risks". When Liberal Democrats rebelled big changes were indicated. Others have now taken-up the fight including the campaigning group 38 Degrees encouraged by their success in the forestry sell-off campaign.

Why Mr Lansley thinks that GPs are best placed to spend £80 billion of tax payers money because 'they know their patients' is a mystery after many have spent years getting as remote from patients as possible with nurse-led clinics and 'out-of-hours' care handed to God knows who.  As for patient choice, if Mr Lansley wants to base the case for change on his personal experience, his is unlikely to be mirrored by others. How many patients have sufficient independent advice to be able to make a judgement and if they do, would they want to upset their GP by claiming to know better? Personal experience suggests not.

There are problems in the NHS but there is no mandate from the electorate for the major changes being proposed. For most people the NHS, despite its failings, is amongst the best of what is left of Great Britain. If not signalled in party manifestos major changes should be made only with all party agreement not driven through as part of a personal crusade.

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Bystanders

In Great Britain, media stories of religious persecution are usually confined to cases of petty discrimination and to false propaganda. Few have the courage ofShabbaz Bhatti who refused to be a bystander.

Some organisations are crying in the wilderness hoping their voices will be heard while according to WikiIslam, more than 29 people are killed in religiously motivated attacks every single day at the hands of Muslims. While hypocrites protest, the Barnabasfund provides hope and aid for the persecuted church.

Don't be a bystander.

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'Michael Gove's "other reason" for opposing a mosque'

One of yesterday' blog entries onPolitical Scrapbook posed the question, "What are your other reasons [for opposing a mosque] Mr Gove? In this long running battle over building a mosque in Camberly there have been claims that the mosque would pose a security threat because it overlooks the parade ground used by every new officer in the British Army. Even if that were not the case, the idea is as tactless as the notion of building a Muslim Centre in the shadow of Ground Zero. How could anyone possibly countenance the idea of building a mosque with minarets overlooking the parade ground blasting out "Allahu Akbar!" after Muslim protests against British troops?

For centuries Christian churches and other sites have been converted by Islamic invaders into mosques. Today there are many stories of churches being destroyed in Muslim countries, often with worshippers still inside them yet the dhimmis in our midst aid cultural jihad by supporting every Muslim request and complaint, endorsing the building of ever more mosques in this country.

If anyone wants reasons for resisting the Islamisation of Britain lookhere, here, here, here, here, here and here, read from the front linehere or closer to home here.

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Beggars belief...

Hot on the heels of Cranmer's post, "Tis Pity She's a Whore - the Virgin Mary", I watched a video report in the Independent which gives details of  "a controversial book to be published on Good Friday [which] has caused outrage for its portrayal of Jesus as a bisexual drug addict." Christians are expected to tolerate such religious 'stone-throwing', turning the other cheek rather than going on the rampage killing innocent people in fits of righteous indignation with no regard for the rights of individuals in their own land.

On Monday (11 April) the BBC's 'Panorama' broadcast "Living with the Ayatollah" highlighted human rights abuses in Iran. Ironically Iran's Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hosseini has beenurging European countries to avoid encouraging 'Islamophobia'. The Guardian has taken up a similarcry with "Islamophobia on the rise as austerity bites".

What utter tosh. The maxim 'attack is the best method of defence' cannot hide the fact that claims of "Islamophobiadanquot; are used simply as devices to deflect well earned concern and criticism of double standards.

Postscript

The University of Exeter's European Muslim Research Centre was forced to issue an apology for serious errors of fact in their academic report Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: UK Case Studies referred to here which "may lead a reader to misconstrue the conduct, actions and the intentions of Councillors". Conservative MP Robert Halfon  has demanded an explanation from Exeter University over a donation from the Middle East broadcaster Al-Jazeera. I know universities are short of funds but whatnext?

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Khristós Anésti!

Have you wondered what Easter means to most people today?

If you 'Google' "Easter" [images] the result will be displayed as above. Chocolate eggs and bunnies with a very small percentage of Christian imagery. Not unlike the 'bright'idea of the Bishop of Oxford who wants headteachers of Church of England schools to allocate no more than 10% of places in their schools to practising Anglicans. - That should help the CofE's apparent drive to reduce the numbers attending church, or perhaps bishops do not realise how many people simply use the Church of England as an end for educating their children.

I am not the greatest fan of faith schools (witness Northern Ireland) but what is the matter with Christian leaders today when they do more to succour the faith of others than protect their own? From previous reports the main beneficiary of the bishop's open door policy would be Islam. The Times Online reported in 2009 that in some CofE schools 100% of the pupils were Muslim and that in many church primary schools in English cities more than half of the pupils were Muslim. In at least a dozen such schools more than 80 per cent were from Islamic homes. Back in 2008 Catholic church leaderssuggested that Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school. To facilitate prayer, schools would need to install bidets, foot spas and hoses to permit extensive cleansing rituals. I do not recall reading of any reciprocal arrangements but perhaps that is just as well.

The Islamisation of cities continues with ever more mosques being built and cultural jihad used to normalise Islamic dress and forcehalal products on unsuspecting non-Muslims. The last time I queried whether meat in a supermarket was halal, the butcher replied that 'halal' was only a blessing! I do not know if he made up his response or if it was company policy to deflect criticism and protect their profits but it helps to hide the fact that Islam is a supremacist ideology totally alien to Christianity.

I understand Bishop Pritchard's motives when he says that the church's mission should not be about "collecting nice Christians into safe places" but we don't need to go from  New Anglicanism's 'anything goes' to 'everything goes'. If we must have faith schools, the very least we should do is protect our own faith.Please readthis link.

True we are commanded to 'love one another' and 'turn the other cheek' but giving credence to a faith that denies the Incarnation and opposes Christianity can only hasten its demise. Bishops above all must not be ashamed to"confess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under His banner against sin, the world, and the devil; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and servant unto his life's end."

Religious and political leaders must stop doing everything possible to accommodate a politico-religious system that would see the end of Christianity. Christ died to set us free, not so that His servants can return us to bondage.

Khristós Anésti!

Happy Easter!

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Good Friday

Then

and now

 and there was a darkness over all the earth....

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Do you smell a rat?

Voters are lurching one way or the other over which system, AV or FPTP, is better for the country rather than simply considering which system is 'fairer'. Politicians I respect have come down on both sides, as do the arguments. To take the easy way out is not to abstain but simply let things be and vote 'No' but that is beginning to have a bit of a whiff about it.

There are increasing accusations of untruths and unfair funding. Despite being a free vote, it has been revealed that the 'No' campaign has been funded mainly by Tory party donors and that the 'No' campaign has received 100% support from the Conservative party, the party that is already set to gain from boundary changes. So a 'No' vote could result in the unfair possibility of one party dominance, possibly with a minority vote which would serve no-one's best interests.

Some voters have already lost sight of what the referendum is all about using the campaign simply to attack the Deputy Prime Minister over what they regard as broken promises yet there are reports that the Prime Minister has broken his promise to Nick Clegg that he would not campaignvigorously for a 'No' vote as part of the coalition deal.

The Jenkins Report suggested a change from the first past the post system back in 1998 but the Conservative response was to pledge a fight against any moves to reform. While the Labour party is split on the issue the party most likely to benefit must be the Liberal Democrats who for years have suffered badly form disproportionate representation based on the number of votes received.

To vote 'No' on the basis of perceived experience of the coalition goes against expert opinion so in fairness the vote should be 'Yes'.

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Puzzle:

What links these four men?

- Islam!

The prime Minister and his Deputy are considering a plan to replace existing peers including Anglican bishops with a multi-faith chamber that would include Muslim imams.

The two asylum seekers taking advantage of the British welfare system are Muslin imams who have beenplotting our downfall.

Bizzare isn't it!

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Pray for the Church in Wales

In his opening address to the Governing Body of the Church in Wales yesterday, their Archbishop, Dr Barry Morgan, warned of difficult times ahead. "Fundamental questions about the role and structure of the Church in Wales as it approaches its centenary will be addressed in a wide-ranging review led by a group of outside experts, the Archbishop of Wales announced today (April 27)."

Dr Morgan says, "the Church needed to be open to the possibility of major change in order to continue serving Wales effectively in the future (my emphasis). In Wales as elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, serving God has been minimised and those attempting to keep the faith have been marginalised. The 'fundamental role' of the Church in Wales has become politicised and business orientated with faith pushed into the background.

The Press Notice stated that "the Archbishop highlighted three challenges facing the church: leadership because of a decline in clergy numbers; resources, because of the impact of the "recession on investments; and structure because of falling congregations. So much for making the church 'relevant to society' and innovations such as the ordination of women which were supposed to reinvigorate the church. Gone is the mystery,  the awe, the wonder and the 'otherness' of the church. Those things that made church-going different from the mundane.

The review panel is to be made up of "three experts in church management". Based on the current state of 'management' of the Church of England and in Wales that should lead to even further decline unless they get back to basics serving God and His Universal church. But it appears that the outcome has already been decided when one reads "We believe [ie ++Barry] as a Bench and Standing Committee, that a combination of our own insights, those of GB Members and those from this Group, will help us become the kind of Church God  [ie ++Barry] wants us to become." - 'Relevant to society', minuscule and ignored?

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For Christ's sake

Unlike Islam, when Christianity receives a bad press most people shrug their shoulders but the barnabasfund is doing what all Christians should be doing, standing up for Christ. Some pay the ultimate price but for the majority of us it should be sufficient to admit to being Christian and defend the faith.

Operation Nehemiah is at the forefront of barnabasfund operations defending Christians and Christianity with various campaigns. One of these is theirpetition against the Islamisation of our food. Halal products are now routinely sold without the knowledge of consumers. Supermarkets have become complicit in this outrageous practice. Recently I asked for Welsh lamb in the knowledge that most imported lamb is now halal. The butcher falsely claimed that halal 'only meant a blessing' when what it really means is that the animal is bled to death while conscious listening to a cry that 'Allah is great' because of a belief that the animal was 'unclean'. A second butcher told me that even the Welsh lamb was now halal!

I do not wish to minimise unnecessary suffering caused to animals but for Christians there is also an important religious point. There is onlyone God, the God of the Bible who tells us that it is not what goes into the body that is unclean but what comes out. The masalah for non-Muslims is that halal has to be properly certified for which there is a fee. The cost of this procedure is included in the price and part of what we pay is used for the benefit of Islam to the detriment of Christianity.

More visible than unlabelled food are the increasing numbers of Islamic centres andmosques built bigger and better than other places of worship with calls to prayer that imprint a Muslim identity on neighbourhoods. These often draw in worshippers from afar until Islamification is complete. In church schools facilities are being provided for Muslims to cleanse themselves before prayer at the expense of providing facilities for all with the implicit validation of a culture that believes non-Muslims to be inferior and unclean. There are many other issues such as the rising Muslim population due to immigration and higher birth rates.

If you are one of the Christians who simple shrugs his/her shoulders or yawns having been conned into believing the myth of Islamophobia, then go to the barnabasfund websiteshop and order Dr Patrick Sookhdeo's "Slippery Slope - The Islamificaion of the UK". It costs only 50p incl p&p. You will be amazed. Better still, order a few for others to read, add a donation and get involved, not just for you own but for Christ's sake.

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A day to remember

Christ with His bride the church, William with his bride Catherine, brought together in a service of simple splendour. Pomp with taste treating the nation to beautiful imagery, music and prayer restoring Christ's church to how it should be, God centred and inspiring. Every blessing be upon them.

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Is to question this, Islamophobia?

Twelve dead, over 180 injured and God knows how many Bibles burnt. Thehypocrisy is mind blowing. Have you checked what barnabasfund is doing to save Christianity?

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"We are all in this together." (14)

The Prime Minister's conduct has not been without criticism.

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The listening party?

Watching yesterday's debate on the future of the NHS it was hard to detect any hint that the Government had heeded the misgivings of professionals bar those they choose to listen to for the advice they wish to hear.

Watching David Willett's performance on TV this morning he seemed unable to to give a straight answer to any of the questions put to him but it looks clear that education may be going the same way as health care. If you can afford it, you can have it. Otherwise it is a lottery.

Like naughty children, they listen when they have to then carry on as before until brought up with a severe jolt. They didn't get one after last Thursday's votes but their cockiness may yet be their undoing when it really counts. The privileged remain so, the desperately poor get help while the people in the middle continue to bear the brunt. For how long will that be tolerated?

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Modern Britain

'Great' Britain? - Alas, no longer according to the Lonely Planet company.Overpriced and lacking in quality. No surprise there for the seasoned traveller!

Arriving back in Britain from the delights of foreign venues, many travellers have a reality check when returning to their congested, litter-strewn country where inhospitable people frequently lack any consideration but for themselves. While high prices for inadequate services have been highlighted by Lonely Planet, the shock of driving again on Britain's roads has been highlighted by government proposals to give motorists who, eg, tailgate, undertake or cut up other drivers, on-the-spot fines but it is difficult to see how that is going to be effective when the police are more noticeable for their absence.

Arriving at Heathrow without ongoing transport can be a thoroughly depressing experience especially waiting for a coach on a cold winter's night in the wind-tunnel designated as the waiting room while arriving by ferry in Dover is akin to being classified as cargo. Although motorway services have shown improvements above other facilities, generally using public toilets is often a thoroughly unpleasant experience especially on older railway stations and better avoided if at all possible.

After travelling abroad, often in pristine conditions, it is back to the filth. Many regard Britain's roads as their dustbin while town centres taken over at night by drunken revellers are an experience to be avoided.

If we carry on like this, who will want to come to modern Britain apart from economic migrants?

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NHS reforms

The 'listening' exercise.

Postscript

Reactions to yesterday's re-launch from the Independent, Mirror and Guardian.

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The beautiful game

Er... not quite! More like this,this, or even this. Preferred score

Passion 1: 0Aggro

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Clegg the Loser?

One would have thought that the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, had had enough battering but he was back in the stocks yesterday with a draft bill to reform the House of Lords and was immediately attacked from both sides of both Houses as the Aunt Sally of the coalition.

Ignoring voter apathy and the lack of enthusiasm for the Alternative Vote system, more elections are proposed with a different alternative voting system which, as critics have pointed out, if carried through would provide a second elected chamber which would not necessarily be in sympathy with the view of the Commons. The purpose of 'the other place' is to provide the opportunity for scrutiny and amendment by eminent men and women drawing on their experience and wisdom rather than party dogma. If it works, why change it?

One wonders if Nick Clegg is being set up.

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Queen and Pawn

The visit of Her Majesty the Queen to the Republic of Ireland is a gesture that should cement improved relations with our nearest neighbour but a small minority of people in Ireland see Her Majesty simply as a pawn in their political game. Queen Elizabeth II is a remarkable woman. A contoh of duty and service in an age when courtesy and good manners are regarded as outdated. Dwelling in the past, the protesters should recognise that far more unites us than divides us; indeed, many of us share mixed ancestry. The level of security imposed for the Royal visit is a sad reflection on the motivation of the few who seem unable to differentiate between the Head of State and politics. The estimated ?26 million security cost resulting from their ignorance and petty squabbles will be passed on to the majority who simply want to live in peace, restore prosperity and enjoy the spectacle of a Royal visit that could do much for the Irish economy.

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'The Beast'

The US Presidential limo offers all the security that is available but "the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry" as was evidenced when 'the beast' fell foul of US security getting stuck while crawling a over a security speed hump at their Embassy in Dublin.

After the initial shock, bystanders saw the funny side of the incident but there is more to come with the 'three point turn' in Downing Street. Some interesting gestures from the guy doing the guiding!

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The Tracy Emin of horticulture?

Believe it or not, this is the skeleton of a garden feature at the Chelsea Flower Show which runs from 24 - 28 May 2011 and for which tickets are already sold out. Yes, the Chelsea Flower Show which is becoming ever more bizarre. I have never been but I know people who have. Reports convince me that armchair viewing is far preferable. Apparently, unless you are in the Royal party the chances of a good view amidst the hoards of visitors is strictly limited.

One feature that will be partially visible is Diarmuid Gavin's flying garden which has to be a worse joke than the previous worst Irish horticultural joke, ie, when a man shouts from the upstairs window to the man laying the turf, "Green side up!". It seems that Diarmuid Gavin is trying to be to horticulture what Tracey Emin is to art. At least Tracey Emin is down to earth!

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Coptic warning

From Voice of the Copts, a salutary warning directed at Germany but equally relevant to all who fear the demise of Christianity in Muslim countries as already witnessed by the Copts in Egypt.

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Religious tolerance in modern Britain

(Source Metroploitan Police)

These Muslim thugs have been convicted after pleading guilty to GBH with intent after  battering a Religious Education teacher in the name of their God because he was not a Muslim. This did not take place in an Islamic State but in England.

British Christian MP David Simpson has raised his concern over the treatment of Christians in the United Kingdom and around the world in a debate in the House of Commons this week.

Is anyone listening?

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Balls up

Photograph: Ian Nicholson/PA

Ed Balls is up for it and rightly so. In answer to Ms Shoesmith's triumph at the Court of Appeal he said, "I judged, on the basis of that independent report [which 'catalogued catastrophic management failures on such a devastating scale'] - and on the advice of departmental officials and lawyers - that the right and responsible course of action was for me to use my statutory powers to remove the director of children's services from her position with immediate effect."

Good for him. A procedural cock-up that gets people off the hook has to be seen in the context of the endless procedural cock-ups that led to the death of a defenceless child, supposedly under the care of the Haringey Council who paid their Director of Social Services £133,000 a year to do the job. Procedure did little to protect baby Peter Connelly despite receiving 60 visits from social workers, police and doctors in the last eight weeks of his life. A failure in procedure should not reward failure.

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Ministry and Calling Sunday (June 5)

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ?Whom shall I send? And who will go for us??

And I said, ?Here am I. Send me!? [Isaiah 6:8]

Err.... not quite. A Church in Wales Press Release tells us that postcards will be handed around churches across Wales next Sunday as "part of a major drive to help find more vicars". June 5 has been designated Ministry and Calling Sunday when people will be invited to "think about whether they, or anyone else they know, should consider a career in the Church in Wales [my emphasis] and write a postcard responding to the call". A 'career'! That says much about the downfall of the Anglican church. No sacred ministry, just another job in the work place, obsessed with equality of opportunity and the political correctness of secularism rather than faith, mystery and otherness .

You can read an interesting Blog item 'The shrinking Church of England'here. Elsewhere in the WhyChurch Blog there are some useful graphs including the one copied below which shows the UK at the bottom of the pile for churchgoing way back in 2002:

The Church in Wales highlights the masalah they face in Wales when the Bishop of St Asaph, Gregory Cameron, says ?We are facing a growing need to find more ministers, with nearly a third of our clergy (166) currently serving due to retire in the next five years." This persoalan is illustrated in the following 2005 chart which shows ageing congregations with declining attendances:

Traditionally vocations were found among congregations but no longer. As a BBC web site puts it, "many of those attending [church] are of the older generations, with statistics showing that few 15 to 30 year olds go to church." Some see this as a result of the church becoming feminised. As more girls and women occupy chancels and sanctuaries, boys and young men have taken to football and other pursuits. Ordination lists frequently include candidates, predominately female, in the upper age brackets. The traditional pool of youngsters has dried up and no longer provides the vocations needed. Instead procedures are put in place to recruit mainly women for a career as social workers in vestments.

The ordination of women has not halted the decline. Many worshippers have ceased churchgoing because of it while others have looked elsewhere in the universal church to worship according to conscience, something the Church of England Synod and Church in Wales stubbornly refuse to recognise. In Wales clergy areurged to "poke, tweet and blog" while an 'independent group' examines aspects of the Church – its leadership, structures and use of resources - giving the impression that the administrators have been called in.

The Church in Wales may be already doomed as a separate entity but what of the Church of England? Is it too late to stop the decline? The ordination of women has to be seen in the context of the wider church and moves towards unity in East and West with the Anglican church being left behind. I do not share the view that women should be allowed to be bishops because they have been allowed to become priests. Two wrongs do not make a right. Figures published in the Telegraph last October suggested a hardening against reforms and liberal bishops. As the issue of women bishops is debated around the country churchgoers would do well to look to Wales to see what has become of the church there under the leadership of His Darkness and, barring a miracle, its demise.

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“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. "

Sharing Tables event in Shotton, Flintshire

A group of Christians and Muslims have shared a meal to show "solidarity" in an area that has seen protests about plans for an Islamic cultural centre.

Meanwhile, in Milan, Italy,

No illusions there!

With the best of intentions many Christians in this country are blind to the threat of Islam. Islamists are trying every trick in the book to dominate the world. There is only one way to the Father. We forget it at our peril.

Postscript

Read Voice Of The Copts and their suffering under Islam. Why do we pander to this alien ideology that would see our demise? We must be mad.

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Vicars and tarts

An internet search will reveal that 'Vicars and Tarts' party costumes are still readily available despite no longer knowing which is the vicar! For many it was all a bit of innocent fun. The Vicars and Tarts party illustrated above was a refined affair but not all such parties had a happy ending. I have not been to a Vicars and Tarts party :( but had I been, dressed as a tart, at my age I would have had no option but to play it for laughs as a pantomime dame.

But "All this laughing turns to crying", my mother-in-law used to say. This is amply demonstrated by theimages of the newSlutWalk craze. As Eve strives ever more to be Adam the edges of who is who and what is what have become blurred. The body as the 'temple of the Holy Spirit' is a concept that few recognise today.

The sexulisation of children is abhorrent but opinions on how to deal with the problemdiffer. Fathers are naturally protective of their daughters and do not want to see them exploited. Gratuitous provocativeness is unacceptable and is not something to be instilled at an early age. In adulthood the problem has become absurd with semi-naked, drunken women out for a good time often revealing far more than may have been intended. While there is no excuse for treating women as sex objects they should be sensitive to the art of being provocative keeping it where intended, not parading it on the streets. If they think it another victory forfeminism they are mistaken. To play the tart is one thing, to parade oneself as a slut is an entirely different ball game.

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Anti-Muslim hatred!

Source

In the run-up to the announcement of a new 'Prevent' strategy, predictable outrage has been expressed about measures described as 'anti-Muslim hatred' by Nabil Ahmed of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies in a discussion on Newsnight yesterday evening [starting at point 16.11 into the programme]. In his introduction Jeremy Paxman said that there is a delicate balance between protecting individuals and alienating an entire community if mistakes are made. In other words, softly, softly with an ideology that has at its heart, the sentiments expressed above and below:

In February the Prime Minister posed some questions over the funding of Muslim groups: "Do they believe in universal human rights, including for women and other faiths; equality of all before the law; democracy and the right of people to elect their own government; and, do they encourage integration or separation?" The answer to these questions, and to many others, is contained in the film from which the quotations are taken. Islam means submission. Islamists are not interested in the democratic human rights of other religions or equality before the law. This is the price of not submitting:

Those who refuse to believe it should read this. A Google search provides ample evidence of the barbarism of the 'religion of peace' - I would advise against watching the sickening video. If the alternative to 'alienating an entire community' is acceptance of a religious ideology that has no time for non-Muslims and which not only tolerates but has violence at its heart, then so be it.

The Home Secretary, Theresa May,says that It may be "too easy for Muslim extremists to form groups on campuses 'without anyone knowing' " and that "the Government would cut funding to any Islamic group that espoused extremist views" but tackling 'extremists' does not get to the heart of the problem of jihad, cultural or otherwise, which seeks to create a Muslim world. As details of the new 'Prevent' strategy emerge, that is the central question which needs to be addressed if we are to avoid more of this.

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Atrocities against Christians

As the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, draws attention to atrocities against Christians in the Middle East, closer to home we have yet more cases of white girls being groomed for sex by predominatelyAsian gangs who display Islamic rather than Christian values.

Those who regard the perfect man as one who had sex with a nine-year old girl and encouraged thebeheading of prisoners may see this as normal but to complain that they are victims of Islamophobia because civilised people do not approve of such barbaric behaviour would be laughable were it not so serious.

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In one ear and out the other?

"We've gone direct to the British people - some Labour supporters, others not.

And a lot of it wasn't easy listening.

People were blunt with us.

You've all heard it.

Because week in week out, you are out there on the doorsteps.

Talking to people about their concerns.

You know they were livid about the banks.

Worried about the squeeze on their incomes.

Frustrated that their concerns on immigration were not addressed.

Angry when they thought some could work, but didn't.

And you know we lost trust, including because of what happened in Iraq.

We must prevent this happening again.

And you know it's not just about policy, it's about the way we do politics too.

A party created by working people for working people lost touch with them.

We need to be honest about the way we operated as a party.

Because only by being honest can we rebuild.

We need to confront some hard truths.

And if we ever doubt why we need to do this, if you find what I say today difficult, think of the people in your communities suffering today as a result of this Conservative-led Government.

These truths may be uncomfortable for us; but life is more uncomfortable for the people we serve suffering under this Government.

It's not their fault; it's ours that we lost the last election.

We owe it to them not to shy away from any of the difficult changes we need to make."

- Extracted from Ed Miliband's National Policy Forumspeech published in the New Statesman .

Time will tell!

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Carry on nursing

Newspapers arereporting today that nurses have been banned from wearing outfits showing “excessive cleavage” or too much leg. Coming on top of constant reports of poor hygiene among nurses and medical staff one has to ask what has gone wrong with the nursing profession.

I confess that I found Susan Stephen sufficiently attractive in her regulation uniform without showing what was underneath but in my day, mystery had its own attraction. In my more advanced years I can also see that Joan Hickson, in her pre-Miss Marple days, had something about her in her starched apron and lace cap! Showing "excessive cleavage" would have been impossible in those regulation uniforms and the sight "too much leg" would certainly have been counter-balanced by the regulation black shoes nurses were obliged to wear.

From 2013 nurses will need a degree in a move that is is "aimed at improving patient care". What absolute twaddle. That is an insult to the older generation of nurses who entered the profession with a vocation to nurse and care for the sick. I have not spoken to one State Registered Nurse who trained on the ward who thinks patient care has improved since the system was changed. More stories like this appear inevitable unless nurses carry on nursing as they used to.

Postscript

An interesting account from the Telegraph here. Some of the comments are as good if not better than the article in highlighting the problems faced.

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Water Aid's Loo Queue

It may be raining where you are but water shortages this year are causing considerable difficulties for farmers in parts of England yet they still have access to water for drinking and sanitation. As illustrated above, 40% of the world's population do not have access to adequate sanitation.

Water Aid and its partners 'use practical solutions to provide safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene education to the world’s poorest people'. They also seek to influence policy at national and international levels. Currently they are seeking 30,000 signatures for their petition to the UK Government 'to help lift 100 million people out of water and sanitation poverty by 2015'.

Residents in the UK are being asked to show solidarity with the millions of people who will be waiting a lifetime before they have a toilet. If you are prepared to help the world's poorest people you can sign the petitionhere - by 7 July please.

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