28 February 2001

* RELIGIOUS LEADERS DON'T WANT `PINK TOURISM' IN CAPE TOWN - Outraged religious leaders have called on Cape Town mayor, Peter Marais, to stop Cape Town Tourism from promoting the city as the "gay capital of the world". They have demanded that Cape Town Tourism's information bureau rid itself of "vile", "disgusting" and "pornographic" brochures on display promoting various gay entertainment venues and activities. Errol Naidoo, spokesman for the group of leaders said: "We believe Ms Ozinsky has grossly abused her position and mandate as manager of Cape Town Tourism by unilaterally promoting her personal sexual preference to the utter dismay of Christians, Muslims and other religious citizens". In a letter to Marais, Naidoo says: "Although we support the right of every citizen to freely exist in the city without fear of discrimination, we do not believe that a special interest minority group such as the homosexual movement has the right to hijack the city for their agenda..." (Sunday Tribune, 18 February 2001)

* VENDA CLERIC EMPLOYING CHRISTIANS, ANGERS LOCAL WITCHES - A Venda cleric, Thambulo Mabuke, who hails from a village called Tshaulu near Thoyandou, Northern Province, was warned of his imminent death by a group of witches. His biggest sin, according to the witches, is nepotism and discrimination. An evangelist and member of the local civic association, Mabuke is accused of hiring only Christians to work at various community projects. The witches are angry that Mabuke, who heads the civic association's employment team, "discriminated against Devil worshippers". (M&G, 16-22 February 2001)

* OBITUARY TO RICHARD WURMBRAND (1909-2001) - Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, went home to the Lord on Saturday, February 17, 2001, in Glendale, California, following a long illness. He was born March 24, 1909, in Bucharest, Romania. While on a vacation in 1936, both Richard and his wife Sabina were converted and baptized in the Christian faith. Richard became a minister and pastored the Norwegian Lutheran Mission in Bucharest. He and his wife were arrested several times by the Nazi government, and he began his underground ministry evangelizing Russian soldiers who were prisoners of war. He and Sabina were active in working with the underground, unregistered church in Romania during World War II and throughout the Communist regime. Richard spent the years from 1948 to 1956 and 1959 to 1964 under torture in a Rumanian Communist prison. On his release, he left Rumania and spent the remainder of his life mobilising support for persecuted Christians worldwide. His books, notably 'Tortured for Christ' and his newsletter 'Voice of the Martyrs' has been an inspiration and wake-up call for millions of Christians. He is survived by his son Michael Wurmbrand, and 3 grandchildren. (VOM)

* MEDIA ORGANISATIONS, EVEN RELIGIOUS GROUPS JOIN ACTIVISTS IN ATTACKING BOY SCOUTS - (USA) While some state and federal lawmakers are trying to protect the Boy Scouts of America, the youth organization still faces unrelenting local and national opposition from a range of political opponents and has lost considerable financial support - even from some churches - because of the group's policy of barring homosexual scoutmasters. More than eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Boy Scouts of America - like other private organizations - has a constitutional right to define the parameters of membership and can exclude homosexuals and atheists, outrage at the decision is still strong among homosexual activists and some civil-rights groups. Accordingly, some major funding sources, including the United Way, have begun to withhold financial support from certain local BSA chapters, and some corporations like Levi Strauss and Wells Fargo have ended support altogether. Nevertheless, the group has managed to hold on to key support in many areas of the country. (WorldNetDaily.com)

* EXPERTS DOUBT EXTREME LIFE EXPECTANCY POSSIBLE FOR HUMANS - (San Francisco) Human life expectancy has increased by three decades since 1900 and may reach 85 years for babies born in this century, but that may be near the upper limit unless science finds ways to dramatically slow the aging process, some researchers say, according to Associated Press. Claims by some scientists that humans in this century will have a life expectancy of 100 or even 120 are not realistic and not supported by the trends measuring the rates of death, S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois, Chicago said. The researcher was the head of a panel of experts that analyzed trends in human life expectancy at the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Olshansky said there are no "magic potions, hormones, antioxidants, forms of genetic engineering or biomedical technologies that exist today that would permit a life expectancy of 120 or 150 years as some people have claimed." (19 February 2001, Fox News)

*NEW PENNSYLVANIA EDUCATION STANDARDS ACCUSED OF SNEAKING CREATIONISM INTO CLASSROOMS - New science and technology standards under consideration in Pennsylvania (USA) include the expectation that students explain how the theory of evolution works by analyzing "evidence of fossil records, similarities in body structures, embryological studies and DNA studies that support or do not support the theory of evolution." Creationism is not mentioned in the standards, which outline what students are expected to know by the end of grades 4, 7, 10 and 12. But opponents argue that the new standards open public schools to a theory with religious underpinnings - potentially inviting lawsuits over the separation of church and state. "It's very much a backdoor effort to let creationism be taught in the schools, and it's a pretty clever one," said Rob Boston, spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State in Washington, D.C. "They're pretending to be champions of open inquiry by saying, 'All we want to do is encourage debate.' What they aren't telling people in Pennsylvania is that in the mainstream science community, there is no debate. It's like arguing about what shape the Earth is," says Boston. Education officials play down the criticism and defend the standards proposed by the state Board of Education as sound... In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court barred states from requiring public schools to teach creationism whenever evolution is taught. (Foxnews,17 February 2001)

* SCHOOLING AT HOME: ADVOCATES RISE TO TEST - (Augusta, USA) About 500 home-schooling parents and children apparently convinced key state lawmakers that they don't need more state oversight. The overwhelming turnout before the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee spelled certain defeat for a bill that would require home-schooled students to take the Maine Educational Assessment test, the committee's House chairwoman said. Maine state law requires that home-schoolers undergo an annual assessment, with the results filed both with the Department of Education and the local school superintendent... The home-schoolers told the committee that home-schooling in Maine - which in the past 20 years has grown from six students to 4,100 - is working well with existing state regulations and producing high-achieving, successful students. "Let us agree not to spend our effort fixing things that are not broken," said Lindsay Soule-Hinds, 20, of North Berwick, who was home-schooled from the early elementary grades through high school. She said her home-schooling experience prepared her so well she graduated summa cum laude from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana last spring with a degree in math and computer information systems. (Portland Press Herald, 22 February 2001)

* PAKISTAN EVANGELISTS IN COURT AFTER JESUS FILM - Muslim religious leaders packed a courtroom in Jacobabad, Pakistan, on 19 February to hear initial arguments in the case against eight Christian evangelists. One of them, pastor Masih has received numerous threatening telephone calls and Muslims in the courtroom raised placards demanding that Masih be banished from the city. Pastor Masih and the seven other defendants are charged with "provoking public anger" and "unlawful assembly." The charges against them came following the showing of the JESUS Film in a Christian neighborhood in Jacobabad January 11th. After the screening of the film, the men handed out the Christian booklet, "Who is Jesus." Muslims who had watched the film, took a booklet to their "Moulvis," Muslim religious leaders. The leaders mobilized Muslims against the Christians, and forced police and city officials to file a case against them, saying the film and booklet were against Islam. A group of radical Muslims attacked the local Baptist church and the home of Pastor Yousef Masih. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 3rd. Pastor Masih says he is encouraged by the "support of his brothers and sisters in Christ." He asks that Christians everywhere pray for him and the seven other defendants. (Voice of Martyrs, 20 February 2001)

* STUDY: STRICT PARENTING MAY CURB TEEN DRUG ABUSE -

Teenagers who live in strict households are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol than those who live in "hands-off" households, according to new research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, released 14 February. The research concluded that teenagers living in more liberal households were twice as likely to abuse drugs as the average teenager. Teens with absentee parents were four times as likely to abuse substances as children in highly structured, "hands-on" homes, the report said. "Mothers and fathers who are parents rather than pals can greatly reduce the risk," said Joseph Califano, chairman of the Columbia University-based center. President Bush's acting drug policy adviser, Edward Jurith, endorsed the findings. "Youth tell us that their parents can empower them to make healthy decisions about drugs," he said. Overall, the center said nearly two-thirds of American kids between the ages of 12 and 17 face the risk of abusing drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Two-thirds reported being able to get drugs at their schools. (Fox News, 20 February 2001)

* INDUCED ABORTION INCREASES RISK IN FUTURE PREGNANCY - Brent Rooney, an independent medical researcher, reports that according to Melbye et. al. and Zhou et. al., a woman who is to have an induced abortion should be warned of the increased risk this could pose for future pregnancies. Rooney says no abortion clinic's consent form mentions the risk. An induced abortion roughly doubles the risk of a future birth being very preterm, according to another study of Danish women (relative risk 1.99). ...There are at least nine reports that found an increased risk of prematurity from previous induced abortions, says Rooney. Furthermore, he says: "By not informing prospective patients of health risks associated with induced abortion, abortion doctors are violating their legal duty to protect health and not needlessly endanger it... Let us ensure that women of reproductive age are fully informed about health risks of medical treatments to them and their future children". (British Medical Journal, 17 February 2001)

* HOLY LAND TOURISM MAP OBLITERATES "ISRAEL" - A key United Nations agency has lent its support to a Palestinian Authority Ministry of Tourism map that completely obliterates Israel, CNSNEWS.com reported. The new map credits the United Nations Development Program with helping in its publication. The map, called "Palestine, The Holy Land," shows the whole of present-day Israel, including Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - and calls the entire area "Palestine." There is no reference to Israel. Itamar Marcus, director of the independent media monitoring group Palestinian Media Watch, said that the map was nothing new. "None of the official PA maps show Israel," he said, including those printed in PA school textbooks. He also mentioned that anti-Israel film clips, partially funded by the UN, were routinely screened on Palestinian television. (worthynews.com)