Daily Archive

Sky reports:

…Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama say they would end America’s military involvement within the first year or two of their presidency, should they win…

…Democrat candidate Barack Obama called for a “diplomatic surge” including talks with Iran, to help stabilize the situation in Iraq…

Yet another example of Senator Obama’s thankfully bringing “new ideas” to the table. Indeed, it appears based on a core notion that has — inexplicably — not been much embraced generally by western diplomacy in recent decades. And one, honestly, can’t imagine why not?

After all, as has been well-demonstrated time and diplomatic time again, of course one can fold . . . and then bluff.

The Telegraph:

A couple have been prevented from fostering children after insisting on the right to smack their own daughter “as a last resort”…

…The couple, from Taunton, Somerset, were told by the panel that they would not be allowed to take in children because of their approach to “behaviour management”…

…Linda Barnett, the head of children’s services at Somerset county council, said: “In common with most other local authorities, Somerset has a Foster Carer’s Agreement which describes our belief about parenting. Where carers have a very strong personal belief that differs from the Foster Carer Agreement, it is potentially unfair to expect them to operate to a set of guidelines which conflicts with this.”…

And soon, clearly such local authorities’ “beliefs about parenting” seem bound to lead to still wider societal improvements shortly to follow. For, currently, we enjoy only teenagers and young adults who may have had some respect for discipline at home, but whom politicians some years back began to decree need respect nothing and no one outside of their home. Now, such enlightenment is undoubtedly soon necessarily to be extended and supplemented by pre-teens whom politicians will have next decreed must be raised to respect nothing and no one, including in their home — children who eventually grow into teenagers and, then, young adults.

So if one thinks basic morals seem a bit dicey now, and bus travel and even walking the dog are at times very worrisome, just wait. Indeed, it’s not just about hiring employees. It appears anyone who’d so much as be willing to foster children under this Government is crazy.

VOA tells us (via my wife):

Pope Benedict XVI will make his first official visit to the United States next week (April 15 - 20), with stops scheduled in Washington and New York City. Among the other items on his agenda, the pope will host an interfaith gathering at a cultural center in the nation’s capitol. Representatives from the world’s major religions have been invited to meet and discuss shared concerns with the pontiff…

…Representing the 10 to 15 million Muslims in the United States will be the National Director of the Islamic Society of North America, Dr. Sayyid Syeed…

10 to 15 million Muslims in the U.S.? That’s quite a varying guess-timate. One notes “guess” because, for example, as of 2005 even Agence France-Presse did not think the number then to be anywhere near even 10 million.

Assuming there hasn’t been an undetected influx and mass conversions in the range of 8 million or so in just the last 3 years, regardless whether there be 1 million or 100 million, this may be a great discovery. For does it mean at last we have someone identified as a tangible, spiritual head of a major portion of an Islamic flock, capable of conversing across from a Roman Catholic pope? Has there finally been identified someone who has essentially a last Islamic word? Someone with whom non-Muslims can “negotiate“?

If so, excellent, because there are loads of questions. Here’s one from Britain. Telegraph headline:

Muslim sex offenders may opt out of treatment

Presumably yet another small example supporting the Archbishop of Canterbury’s thesis as to there being no problem reconciling Islamic “Sharia law” within the common law tradition of Britain? (And, as a common law inheritor, by extension the U.S. also?) Or no?