Same-Sex Marriage Battle Intensifies in Minnesota

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

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The battle for and against the constitutional ban on gay marriage has kicked into full swing in Minnesota six months ahead of the vote due to President Barack Obama’s recent support of same-sex marriage.

Obama’s May 9 announcement that he supports legalizing same-sex marriage, which followed a day after North Carolina approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage and civil unions, has charged up both opponents and supporters of a similar measure in Minnesota.

The number of volunteers signing up for Minnesotans United for All Families, which is fighting the November measure, more than doubled after Obama’s announcement, CNN quoted the group’s campaign manager Richard Carlbom as saying Saturday.

Obama’s support and North Carolina’s vote “was an incredible one-two punch for us in Minnesota in terms of punching up the amount of energy,” Carlbom was quoted as saying.

Those supporting the measure to ban same-sex marriage are equally energized by Obama’s decision, which Chuck Darrell, communications director for Minnesota for Marriage, said “alerted our base to the fact that there are politicians who are trying to meddle with the definition of marriage.”

The group’s chairman, John Helmberger, said Obama’s support of same-sex marriage will help Minnesota for Marriage gain support. “That will energize them to make phone calls, knock on doors, and to make sure they turn out in November,” he was quoted as saying.

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Jason Adkins, executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference, said dioceses were giving money to support the marriage amendment. “We’re going to raise and spend the money we need to get the message out about what marriage is, why it’s important and what the consequences will be if it’s redefined,” he was quoted as saying.

Catholic churches in the state have donated $350,000 to Minnesota for Marriage, Adkins added.

Meanwhile, Lutherans in the St. Paul area officially announced their opposition to amending the constitution. The Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America passed a resolution Saturday opposing the measure at its annual meeting in Burnsville.

Some believe the same-sex issue might help Obama gain support. “Social issues including gay marriage are unlikely to affect voter choice between [Mitt] Romney and Obama. But it could be a big tool for Obama to turn out disaffected Democrats who are likely to sit out the election,” University of Minnesota political science professor Larry Jacobs was quoted as saying.

However, a May 10 USA Today/Gallup poll warned that Obama’s decision might make him lose support nationally. The poll found that 26 percent say Obama’s support of gay marriage will make them less likely to vote for him as compared to just 13 percent who say it will make them more likely.

Same-sex marriage is expected to be an important issue in the November election. Minnesota is one of the four states to vote on the measure along with Washington, Maine and Maryland.

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Italy quake victims given shelter

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin


20 May 2012
Last updated at 19:09 ET

Emergency shelter in Finale EmiliaHomeless residents in towns near the epicentre are being cared for in temporary shelters

Thousands of people left homeless by a powerful earthquake in northern Italy are spending the night in shelters as aftershocks continue to hit the region.

At least seven people died and more than 50 were injured when the quake struck in the early hours of Sunday.

The magnitude six tremor, centred north of Bologna, destroyed or badly damaged many historic buildings.

Italian officials say the priority is to find safe accommodation for an estimate 3,000 displaced people.

Civil protection officials in the town of Finale Emilia organised the setting up of tents on a football pitch to accommodate hundreds of residents.

Many had seen their homes destroyed but others were simply too afraid to return home.

“The current situation is really tense but not dramatic,” said co-ordinator Diego Gottarelli.

“People are obviously afraid of staying inside their homes so we are setting up these emergency camps to let them spend the night and maybe some days in a safe environment, until these earthquakes finally stop. We are trying to make the citizens feel safe.”

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Northern Italy quake

map

  • Kills at least six and damages buildings across Emilia Romagna region
  • San Felice sul Panaro: 15th-Century castle severely damaged
  • Finale Emilia: bell tower collapses, crushing cars
  • Sant’Agostino: ceramic factory destroyed, killing two employees
  • Tecopress di Dosso: worker dies when a factory roof collapses
  • Buonacompra: historic church destroyed
  • Tremor also felt in cities of Bologna, Modena, Ferrara, Rovigo, Verona, Mantua, Milan and Venice

  • In pictures: Italy earthquake

One woman said she just wanted her elderly parents to have shelter for the night.

“We are going to sleep in the car, it is not a problem for us. The important thing is that they (Civil Protection authorities) finish setting up the camp so that my parents can go inside,” she said.

A 5.1 magnitude aftershock struck Sunday afternoon, destroying several buildings already weakened.

One firefighter was seriously injured after falling from a wall in Finale Emilia.

The original earthquake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10km just after 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Sunday.

Its epicentre was between the towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro and Sermide, about 35km (20 miles) north of the city of Bologna.

It was felt across a large swathe of northern Italy, as far away as the cities of Milan and Venice.

Italian TV showed many historic buildings reduced to rubble. Cars lay crushed under fallen masonry.

The roof of a recently renovated sixteenth-century chapel in San Carlo, near the city of Ferrara, collapsed, leaving statues of angels exposed to the elements.

Architect Claudio Fabbri told AFP news agency that the restoration had taken eight years, adding despondently: “Now there’s nothing left to do.”

Firefighters in Finale Emilia rescued a five-year-old girl from the rubble of a house after a series of phone calls between a local woman, a family friend in New York and emergency services, AP news agency reported.

Ruined clock tower in Finale EmiliaHistoric buildings, like this clock tower in Finale Emilia, were ruined

Officials said that warehouses storing more than 300,000 wheels of Parmesan and Grana Padano cheese – with an estimated value of more than 250m euros (£200m; $320m) – also collapsed.

Stefano Berni, head of a consortium that protects the Grana Padano designation, told Ansa news agency: “It’s a very heavy loss, but there have been no casualties, which is a great relief.”

The victims included two workers at a ceramics factory in Sant’Agostino.

Another person – believed to be a Moroccan national – died in Ponte Rodoni do Bondeno and a worker in Tecopress di Dosso died when the roof of a foundry collapsed, local media reported.

Three women were also reported to have died as a result of heart attacks or other illness induced by the tremors.

Sunday’s earthquake was the worst to hit Italy since the L’Aquila tremor killed nearly 300 people in 2009.

Northern Italy is frequently rocked by minor earthquakes, but the country is well-prepared to deal with them, the BBC’s Alan Johnston in Rome says.

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IAEA chief ‘positive’ over Iran

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin


20 May 2012
Last updated at 20:02 ET

Yukiya Amano at Vienna airport. 20 May 2012It is Yukiya Amano’s first visit to Iran as head of the IAEA

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has arrived in Tehran, voicing optimism about reaching agreement on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

Yukiya Amano, of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is due to hold talks with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili.

His visit comes ahead of a meeting in Baghdad between six world powers and Iran on Wednesday.

Iran denies claims by Western nations that it is developing a nuclear weapon.

Tehran has refused to provide the IAEA access to relevant sites, officials and documents for more than four years.

“I really think this is the right time to reach agreement. Nothing is certain but I stay positive and I go there with constructive spirit,” Mr Amano said at Vienna airport.

“There has been good progress during the recent rounds of discussions between Iran and IAEA. So I thought that now is the right time… to visit Iran and have direct talks with high officials,” he added.

Western diplomats quoted by Reuters say Mr Amano would only visit Tehran if he believed a framework agreement to grant inspectors greater access was close.

By promising co-operation with the IAEA, Iran might be looking for leverage ahead of Wednesday’s talks, they say.

‘Gesture of goodwill’

However, previous negotiations have ended in failure. In February Iran refused the IAEA’s request to let inspectors visit its nuclear facility at Parchin, south of Tehran.

“We regard the visit… as a gesture of goodwill,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by the Iranian student news agency.

The UK, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany are all due to take part in the Baghdad talks.

They are concerned that Iran is using its civilian nuclear programme to mask efforts to obtain nuclear weapons.

The UN, US, European Union, Canada, Japan and Australia are among those who have imposed sanctions on Iran to try to persuade the country to co-operate with the IAEA.

Those measures target areas such as the sale of oil, arms deals, financial transactions and trade in technology that could be used for uranium enrichment.

Key nuclear sites map

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Ahead of crucial Baghdad talks, G8 leaders press Iran over nuclear program

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By
Amir Oren


| May.20,2012 | 4:34 AM
| 17

G8 leaders on Saturday pressured Iran to comply with demands by the international community that it come clean about its nuclear program.

The call at the annual summit of Group of Eight industrial countries came just days before a crucial meeting about Iran’s nuclear program in Baghdad.

“We desire a peaceful and negotiated solution to concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, and therefore remain committed to a dual-track approach,” the G8 leaders said as their summit came to a close at the US presidential retreat.

The dual-track refers to the combination of heavy sanctions and serious talks.

Iran says its nuclear facilities are for peaceful use only.

The G8 expressed “grave concern” about Iran’s nuclear program, which is suspected of being used to develop nuclear weapons, and called on Iran to “seize the opportunity” of the next round of meetings.

Iran is to meet with the P5 + 1 group of China, Russia, France, Britain, Germany and the US in Baghdad on Wednesday.

At the G8 summit, Obama said he was “hopeful” about the discussions, “but all of us are firmly committed to continuing with the approach of sanctions and pressure, in combination with diplomatic discussions,” he said.

The chief of the UN nuclear agency, Yukiya Amano, is to visit Iran on Monday to prepare the groundwork for Wednesday’s meeting. Sources near the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna told dpa that Amano’s trip on short notice was a positive development.

Iran has also called Amano’s visit a “good sign.”

Sanctions on Iran have escalated from those on an ever-expanding list of Iranian officials and companies to the oil industry and banks that handle foreign payments.

The moves have taken a toll on the Iranian economy. According to a report from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, oil production fell by 12 per cent in the first three months of this year, The New York Times reported.

Iranian officials say the boycott has had no effect.

Israel remains skeptical about the talks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he has seen “no evidence that Iran is serious about stopping its nuclear weapons program.”

“They may try to go from meeting to meeting with empty promises. They may agree to something in principle but not implement it.

They might even agree to implement something that does not materially derail their nuclear weapons program,” he said.
 

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Love and Dating: How Most Singles Have Love Backwards

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

Editor’s Note: Names have been changed to protect anonymity

Last year, one of the world’s largest online dating sites released results of a survey they took of 5,200 singles. Said to be the most comprehensive poll of its type ever taken, the survey of 21- to 65-year-olds (and older) reported that (i):

• 72% of singles would live with someone in the future without marrying.
• 36% of singles are open to a casual “hook-up” in the near future, and 54% reported they have had a one-night stand.
• 76% of single men and 77% of women ages 21–34 were no longer virgins.

The results plainly portray the challenging cultural terrain today’s Christian singles navigate when dating. Carolyn was one such sojourner. Hurting and confused, she called me on “Hope in the Night” a few months ago, explaining that she was involved with a man who was in the “process of getting a divorce.” In other words, she was dating a married man.

As our conversation progressed, it became clear that Carolyn, like so many Christian singles, didn’t understand the true meaning of love. In fact, her concept was completely backward.

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While the English language has only one word for love, the Greek language features multiple words with multiple meanings (ii). Understanding what love truly means is critical in order to enjoy a healthy, Christ-centered dating relationship. Let’s look more closely at three types of love expressed in the Greek language.

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1) Eros is passionate, romantic love, but it can also represent the feeling of strong emotion without a romantic focus. Eros within marriage is designed by God for physical and emotional pleasure. Eros within a dating relationship is designed to be morally pure and without passionate lust. You can have passion for a person without passionate lust, aware that physical purity is necessary for spiritual purity.

2) Phileo is affectionate love, brotherly love, and mutual enjoyment. Phileo is true friendship—the love of “liking.” When Jesus wept following the death of His dear friend Lazarus, the onlookers remarked, “See how he loved (phileo) him!” (John 11:36). It can also refer to love for another that is as deep as the love for oneself. For example, I Samuel 18:1 says, “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.”

3) Agape is unselfish love, unconditional love—a commitment to seek the best and highest good for another person, regardless of any response. Agape love originates with God. First John 4:10–11 says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Here’s the problem. Most dating starts with eros. In fact, many couples never move beyond this phase. Those who do move past “romantic” love typically move to phileo, the affectionate love of genuinely liking. This route, however, rarely leads to agape—unconditional love that seeks what is in the best interest of the other person—because it’s hijacked along the way by selfishness, lust, or any number of other relational roadblocks.

The eros-phileo-agape progression of most dating relationships is not only ineffective . . . it’s unbiblical. All relationships, dating and otherwise, should begin with a love that seeks the highest good for the other person . . . agape love.

God’s plan for dating relationships is just the opposite, progressing from the inside out—from agape love to phileo and then, possibly, to eros. Following this “inside out” progression helps keep a couple from being consumed by erotic emotion.

Carolyn and I talked at length that night about the real meaning of love and the need to back out of her bond with her boyfriend. I readily acknowledged that taking this difficult route would be painful. But, in reality, Carolyn would face pain either way—whether she left the relationship or didn’t. Only by departing, however, could she later experience God’s lasting inner peace and position herself for His guidance in relationships that would be healthy and pleasing in His sight.

If a country were populated solely with America’s single adults, it would be the world’s 14th largest nation (iii). This explains why we all have “Carolyns” in our lives—single friends and family members looking for love, but in all the wrong places. To minister to this great need, it’s important to:

• Hold fast to Biblical standards. Though we no longer live in a society where purity is revered—and, in fact, is often mocked, especially for “consenting adults”—we must proclaim Scriptural principles, regardless of their popularity.
• Model lives of authentic love, sexual purity, and integrity. Loving “from the inside out” is something God calls all of His children to do—not just those who are in dating relationships. Opportunities to practice this kind of love present themselves daily in each of our lives…in our homes, churches, workplaces and with our clients.
• Help the singles in your world embrace the hope that they, too, can begin “loving well”—despite their past. Our culture overflows with hurting people who have “blown it” in the areas of dating and purity. It’s easy to for them to lose hope and feel like damaged goods. We have the extraordinary privilege of reminding them that, “with God, all things are possible” . . . including a fresh, new beginning of “dating with Christ at the center.”

Single years are the ideal time to focus on becoming the person God intends you to be. For many, this journey will someday end in marriage. For others, it will not. But, when done God’s way, dating will help singles grow in Christ-like character—confident the Lord will meet all their needs “according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (iv).


Learn more about June and Hope for the Heart by visiting hopefortheheart.org/CP. Here you can connect with June on Facebook and Twitter, listen to her radio broadcasts, or find much-needed resources.

Endnotes

i. http://blog.match.com/2011/02/04/everything-you-think-you-know-about-singles-is-wrong-we-separate-fact-from-fiction-with-the-first-comprehensive-study-of-singles-in-america/
 ii. For this section see Diane Eble, The Campus Life Guide to Dating (Grand Rapids: CampusLife, 1990), 105–10.
 iii. http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200903/200903_022_Unmarried_Am.cfm
 iv. Philippians 4:19

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Nonprofit Ranks Niger as Worst Place for Mothers; Norway Remains Top Pick

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin

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Nonprofit organization Save the Children has released its 13th annual State of the World’s Mother’s report highlighting the best and worst countries in the world to be a mother, with Niger and Norway populating opposite ends of the list.

At the bottom of the Mother’s Index list, which is based on various indicators of maternal and child health and well-being, Niger has replaced Afghanistan for the first time in two years as the worst country in the world to be a mother. Norway, however, maintained its top spot as the best country to be a mother.

The report highlighted stark realities with regards to women and childbirth, noting that over half of all births around the world are not attended by skilled health personnel, one in seven children die before their fifth birthday, and eight out of 10 women are likely to suffer the loss of a child during their lifetime.

The United States landed in the 25th spot of 165 countries in the ranking – a slight upward move from its 31st spot last year – but the move was actually attributed to “improvements across education indicators,” and not improvements with regard to maternal and child health and well-being.

“In the United States, mothers face a 1 in 2,100 risk of maternal death – the highest of any industrialized nation,” the report read.

The report went on to suggest that the U.S. is “one of only a handful of countries in the world” that does not guarantee working mothers paid maternity leave.

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Although 99 percent of deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth occur in developing countries, the U.S. has been facing an upward trend of an increasing lack of access to maternal health, and pregnancy-related deaths are actually on the rise, according to human rights organization Amnesty International.

In 2010, the organization published Deadly Delivery: The Maternal Health Care Crisis In the USA, highlighting the staggering maternal health plight of women across the nation.

More than two women die daily from pregnancy related causes in the U.S. and “near miss” deaths have increased 27 percent from 1998 to 2005, according to research conducted by the organization.

Furthermore, maternal health related deaths have doubled in the past 20 years and more than a third of women that give birth in the United States face pregnancy and childbirth-related complications, which have adverse effects on the overall health of American women.

Race, ethnicity, age, and income are directly associated with pregnancy-related deaths and the maternal health crisis in the U.S.

“Good maternal care should not be considered a luxury available only to those who can access the best hospitals and best doctors. Women should not die in the richest country on earth from preventable complications and emergencies,” Larry Cox, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, said in a statement regarding the report.

“This is an issue that effects all of us,” Nan Strauss, Director for Research and Policy on Maternal Health at Amnesty International USA, told The Christian Post in a December interview.

“Maternal health and maternal mortality really are a human rights issue that is essential to women and their families, and truly everyone around the globe.”

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Cameron issues eurozone warnings

Posted on May 20, 2012 by admin


20 May 2012
Last updated at 19:29 ET

Barack Obama and David CameronDavid Cameron attended talks with G8 leaders at Camp David before the Nato summit

Prime Minister David Cameron has warned European Union leaders that uncertainty over the eurozone cannot be allowed to go on beyond upcoming Greek elections.

He told the Nato summit in Chicago voters in Greece had to get a “clear message” that their vote on 17 June reflected their opinion on the euro.

He also denied the G8 summit was a failure after it did not deliver a plan to resolve Greece’s debt problems.

It comes amid concerns that the crisis is being allowed to drift.

BBC chief political correspondent Norman Smith reported that sources close to Mr Cameron said the prime minister believed the Greek elections amounted to a referendum on Greece’s membership of the euro.

Our correspondent said the fear in government is that if no decision is taken in the aftermath of the election, the implications for the rest of the eurozone – and the global economy – could be much more profound.

It comes after the prime minister told the Nato summit in Chicago said: “We now have to send a very clear message to people in Greece: there is a choice: you can either vote to stay in the euro, with all the commitments you’ve made, or if you vote another way you’re effectively voting to leave.”

Mr Cameron warned that eurozone countries had to prepare “decisive contingency action” for a possible Greek departure from the single currency.

‘Cranky extremists’

And, with reference to the G8 summit, the prime minister said: “I don’t think it was a failure because I think it helped to crystallise the world’s economic leaders and particularly crystallised the thinking of the eurozone leaders.”

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is expected to criticise the lack of leadership and “political paralysis” in Europe.

And his Cabinet colleague Justice Secretary Ken Clarke said the European banking system was already “in tatters”.

He said Britain was “heavily exposed” to potential problems and could be among the next targets for market speculation.

The justice secretary said the consequences would be “serious” if the Greek people elected “cranky extremists” and defaulted on their debts as a result.

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