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On May 10, 2011, the 2.3 million member Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted to allow the ordination of practicing homosexual ministers, removing the requirement that they live in “fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” (CNN.com, “Presbyterian Church U.S.A. to allow gay and lesbian clergy,” May 10, 2011).
A recent article in The Times (of London) read: “The bailouts don’t work but they do allow the EU to build up centralized power at the expense of nation states.” The author continued, “The political motivation for tightening the debt yoke on Greece, Ireland and Portugal is even clearer. By turning these countries into permanent debtors to the ECB [European...
The last couple of weeks have been filled with anticipation and action across Europe. The Finnish parliament voted for a new prime minister, EU finance ministers approved a bailout package, EU leaders discussed the Greek debt situation—Greece is expected to need another bailout in the future—and the International Monetary Fund’s former head—until recently, a...
The UN predicts that by the year 2050, the number of people living in cities will double. However, a recent study warns of an increasing risk for disease outbreaks in cities, “Cities become incubators where all the conditions are met for outbreaks to occur.”
Britain just held a national referendum on revising the voting system for the House of Commons. But was this a pointless exercise?
In April, China posted an $11.4 billion trade surplus—up significantly from the previous three months, and far above the predicted $1 billion surplus. Imports and exports also rose significantly in April, over one year ago (Wall Street Journal, May 11, 2011). China also maintains over $3 trillion in foreign exchange reserves. Although China is wrestling with...
While Australia, Colombia, and the American Midwest are suffering from catastrophic flooding, much of the state of Texas is experiencing some of its driest conditions in history. Additionally, vast portions of the state are ablaze! Since the fire season began in November 2010, more than 9,100 fires have been responded to, 2.5 million acres have burned, and...
January witnessed devastating floods across Australia. Colombia has been and is currently experiencing “some of the heaviest rains” in its history—with hundreds dying, more than 140,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and more than three million affected (Seattle Times, April 29, 2011)! The central U.S. is flooding too.
New data suggest that a sexually transmitted bacterium, gonorrhea, is becoming resistant to the only remaining antibiotic that still kills it. Should it become totally resistant to the drug, gonorrhea could be unstoppable. Untreated gonorrhea usually results in sterility—the inability to have children.
Syria is now the latest nation experiencing a bloody interchange between a ruling family—the Assads, in power for 40 years—and citizens desirous of democracy. The Assad government has attempted to put down the rebellion through the use of force—an action which appears to be solidifying the people’s resolve.