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...

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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...

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Another screw in the Anglican coffin

The slow death of the Anglican church looks set to continue. While the role of bishops and priests becomes ever further divorced from traditional religious reality congregations continue to haemorrhage.Despite earlier pleas for restraint from Rowan Williams, Archbishop...

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Positive intentionality and the C of E

Confused? Join the club. Googling "positive intentionality" throws up many images, including the Buddha shown above. Reading The Guardian online presents a more specific clue: "Church of England report calls for affirmative action on race".Thereport produced ahead of the...

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Physicians heal thyselves!

Ex-criminal lawyer and banker Francis Maude gave his practised smooth performance again on breakfast TV this morning as the public sector continues to be the government's whipping boy, or more likely girl these days, taking the blame for the spectacular failures of the private sector. Another MP and ex- minister paints a different picturehere.The...

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Innocent

The verdict of 'Innocent' following the trial of Geert Wilders is welcome news not just for Christians alarmed by the threat posed to Christianity and other non-Muslim faiths by the spread of Islam but for free speech in general.The public prosecutor said that...

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Cameron accepts Thatcher's advice

Not the grocer's but agrocer's daughter, the then plain Mrs Thatcher offered some advice to her opponents, "You turn if you want to, the lady is not for turning".Mr Cameron clearly took that hilariously received advice to heart. Today we have yet another U-turn as...

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Protest march against Blasphemy Law on 2nd July 2011

I spotted this protest on the 'A Reluctant Sinner'blog. The plight of Christians in Pakistan is dreadful. Recalling the sacrifice of Shabbaz Bhatti the event deserves as much publicity as possible.'Googling' the event under 'News' came up with only two entries. One...

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Child grooming

Details emerging about the extent of child grooming in this country are being accompanied by warnings not to jump to any conclusions about ethnicity just because one in five men accused of grooming under-age girls for sex is Asian.Demographic figures show that 'British...

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The dilemma of the Horn

From arms to famine.International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has described the response of other countries to the African famine crises as "derisory" but the scale of the problem is enormous and not limited to feeding the hungry.Islamists in Somalia...

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Sanitary reminder: Water Aid's Loo Queue Petition

On 17 June I blogged on the plight of the 40% of the world's population who do not have access to adequate sanitation. We take it for granted; others pray for it.There is still time to sign the petition - by 7 July 2011. Than...

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That was 'The News' that was...

As the News of the World closes after publishing for 168 years, it says much for our electoral system, and even more for the electorate, that our leaders felt the need to suck up to a man such as this.And he still expects to takeover BSkyB! Not if 38 Degrees can help it!...

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Islamist deceit

Yesterday I referred to reports that militant Islamists in Somalia had agreed to lift restrictions to allow aid to get through to the starving. Not only has this been denied by the rebels but they have even rejected the UN's claim that there is a famine in the region.How odd,...

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Chicken and foul egg

Despite News Corp's 'bad egg' image, the PM isreported to have chickened out of asking Murdochto withdraw his BSkyB bid.PostscriptShallow is the word that springs immediately to mind.Kick the ball into touch until it becomes yesterday's news in six months time...

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The Life of Muhammad

Reading a preview of last night's 'The Seeker', part 1 of BBC2's presentationThe Life of Muhammad, I was surprised to read, "Perhaps owing to the sensitivity of the subject matter, the BBC were unable to provide preview tapes of this new three-part series presented...

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Feed my sheep!

St. Peter must be turning in his grave! The closing message of the York Synod is that "the Church of England could be virtually extinct in 20 years as elderly members die". We have also been told that "Christians should learn from Muslims how to exist as a 'minority' culture...

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"Here is the News." - Just!

Joy of joys! Whilst making no comment on the justification of the journalists'dispute, today I was granted what I have long yearned for; the news just as it is, not presented by 'personalities' projecting their own particular touch like 'gesticulating' George or 'the tigress'...

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So what will be under the next stone?

Those at No 10 are now saying that the Met's Chief has questions to answer followingrevelations concerning their involvement with the Murdoch empire.  Earlier it was those in No 10 who had questions to answer following accusations of lack of judgement by the Prime...

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"We are all in this together" (17)

The communications indus...

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Room at the top?

Apparently not - except at the Met.In one of the closing questions from the Commons Culture and Media Select Committee (July 19), Rupert Murdoch was asked if he would take responsibility as Chairman and Chief Executive of News Corporation and resign in the wake of...

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Integrity today

"Let down" and "betrayed" by people they "trusted",can't say anything, see anything, hear anything or do anything.Aren't other people beast...

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The Murdoch Cameron show

Look where you will, despite the enormity of thefamine in Africa and thetragedy in Norway, the Murdoch stories will not go away illustrating the seriousness of the problem for the Tories, the top two, Cameron and Osborne, in particular.Every stone upturned...

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Phone-hacking scandal inquiry conduct

Lord Justice Leveson has nowoutlined the conduct of his inquiry into the phone-hacking scand...

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Dadaab, Kenya: Somalis Fighting For Survival

If anyone seriously doubts that there is a famine in Africa,MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES (MSF) have provided some powerful images from the Dadaab refugee camp he...

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An Ordinariate in Wales (2)

Way back in December 2010 anyone interested in exploring the development of an Ordinariate in Wales was asked to register on a new blog. Since then, nothing! But it appears that the seeds planted may be about to germinate.Before leaving for his Summer holiday, Fr Michael...

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"This England..."

BangladeshTower HamletsPeople may be forgiven for believing that there is a hidden agenda among many immigrants  to impose alien cultures, sometimes alien to their own, in ghettoised areas simply to impose their political will on British society.Here we have...

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Summer holidays

Along with some of the rest of the population, the Prime Minister and his Chancellor have scraped enough together to take a Summer holiday - or two! David Cameron choseTuscany while George Osborne has chosenHollywood to provide some relief from the miserable economic outlook...

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A message from the Archbishop of Canterbury

Rejoice! is the message from the Archbishop of Canterbury "on the occasion of the consecration of the Bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough" in the August edition of New Directions :"Today has been a very happy day indeed. We have welcomed Bishop Norman and Bishop...

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Riots in England: the Prime Minister's response

In his statement to the Commons this morning the Prime Minister admitted what was obvious to anyone watching recent events unfold, that is, 'the police got it wrong'. MPs representing areas worst affected said that their constituents looked on in disbelief as the police simply...

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Riots in England: Crime and punishment

Of all the knee-jerk reactions to those found guilty (or not) of involvement in the recent riots, the worst must be the threat to make people homeless. Of course, that cannot apply if you are a millionaire's daughterliving with your parents in a "£1million detached converted...

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Riots in England: Mending our broken society

The television series 'Shameless' supposedly illustrates the life of Britain'sunderclass but programmes such as this, like 'Porridge', often glorify the anti-hero blurring the edges between right and wrong, creating an acceptance that would not have been...

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South Wales Ordinariate Exploration Group

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a hint that an announcement was imminent. This has proved to be correct. Anyone interested in exploring this further, without commitment, should follow thislink which popped up on my dashboard this evening.Best wishes to all concerned.UpdateA...

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Wales Ordinariate Exploration Group

Belmont Abbey is the venue chosen tobegin the process of exploration and discernment for those who are interested in knowing more about the Ordinariate. Anglo Catholic laity and clergy will meet there with the Ordinary, Monsignor Keith Newton, on Saturday...

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The will of Allah

The extraordinarily violent events on British streets and resultant court cases have largely eclipsed the dreadful plight of the people of Somalia who been suffering on a far greater scale than we can ever imagine in Great Britain.  'The will of Allah' oddly...

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Summer breaks

Spare a thought for poor David Cameron. Twice he has had to interrupt his Summer holidays this August. Not wishing to make the same mistake as when he idled back from Tuscany to take charge in the aftermath of the riots that were engulfing our major cities, earlier this...

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Pensions plea

To lose one's hearing in old age is bad enough but to lose one's income through no fault of one's own is unfortunate. Many pensioners who lived frugally, putting aside what savings they could to provide that little bit extra in old age now find themselves sadly disappointed.While...

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"Art is a doorway to God"

On Monday, back from Madrid where His Holiness celebrated World Youth Day surrounded by a multitude of young people, Pope Benedict XVI told a meeting of his former students in Castel Gandolfo that "Cradle Catholics have not done enough to show people that...

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Exclusively "inclusive".

The BBC has reported today that the new Dean of Bangor in North Wales has hailed her appointment as a "privilege and an honour" showing the faith is "inclusive". So inclusive in fact that it excludes anyone who doesn't agree with the feminist theology to which she refers. This...

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Raped!

Two stories caught my eye in this morning's newspaper. First the disgrace of foreign nurses being registered to work in the UK despite not having seen a patient for twenty years while British nurses without up-to-date training have had to leave the profession. Hopefully, as...

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'Allo 'allo 'allo;

What's going on 'ere then?The suggestion that police constables (why are they all 'officers' these days?) should wear their uniforms to work has not found favour with the Police Federation. On Breakfast Time this morning their Chairman responded to the observation that the police...

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Barry's blunder

Another irate email from a friend in the Church in Wales reminds me of the Grand Mufti tales that used to appear in the Llandaffchester Chronicles.Well insulated from lesser mortals in his palace on the Green, the publicity hungry Archbishop has used the 9/11 anniversary to...

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The Bishop of Oxford has been at it again.

In the news again, on the BBC's Today  programme this morning [jump forward to 1.31], theBishop of Oxford had trouble in answering John Humphries' question whether or not Jesus was the Son of God. In fact, the interviewer had to labour...

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A question of trust

The 1979 election was said to have been won for the Conservatives by a fake 'Labour isn't working' poster. Today the publishedunemployment figures were simply described by the Prime Minister as "disappointing". Young people who have never worked will no doubt have a different...

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9/11 Shame

One of the images not published in the BBC's gallery ofpictures illustrating events to mark the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 has been published in the Independent.ie showing Islamic extremists shattering the remembrance silence and burning the American flag.We remember...

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