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We also have a list of
religious tolerance & information news for this month. |
Events:
 | 2009-MAR-02: Tahiti: Armageddon approached, then withdrew:
The Earth experienced a near-miss when asteroid 2009
DD45 passed about 48,800 miles from the Earth above the Pacific Ocean near
Tahiti. That is about twice the height of some geocentric telecommunications
satellites and about one fifth of the distance to the moon. It is about 110
feet in diameter, similar in size to the asteroid that devastated 800 square
miles of forest in Siberia in 1908. One sobering thought is that it was only
discovered two days before the closest approach. 1 |
| 2009-MAR-04:: ICC prosecutor issued an arrest warrant for Omar
al-Bashir, the president of Sudan. Under his dictatorship over the
previous two decades, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have been killed or
maimed; 2.5 million have been displaced. A warrant was issued that charges him
with masterminding attacks of the Darfur region, "... murdering,
exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of
civilians and pillaging their property." In total, he received five counts of
crimes against humanity and two of war crimes, but was not charged with
genocide. This is the first time in history that an active head of state has
been charged with such crimes. Bashir's government responded by expelling at
least ten humanitarian groups from Darfur, thus exacerbating the situation and
increasing suffering of the people. 2 |
| 2009-MAR-05: CA: California Supreme Court
hears Proposition 8 oral arguments: Two items were argued. The first was
whether Prop. 8 is constitutional. That proposition terminated the right of
same-sex couples to marry in the state. The questions and comments of the
justices seem to indicate that a substantial majority favor the
constitutionality of Prop 8. The second item was whether the almost 40,000
homosexuals and bisexuals who married during 2008 would be forcibly divorced.
Most -- perhaps all -- of the justices seemed to be leaning towards
allowing the same-sex couples to remain married. The ruling is expected within
90 days. If Prop. 8 is upheld, we can expect a new proposition to be voted
upon on election day in 2010-NOV to repeal Prop. 8. 3
More details |
| 2009-MAR-05: WA: Initiative 100 goes into
effect. This is the Washington state law approved by the voters on election day in
2008-NOV. It makes physician assisted suicide available to certain terminally
ill residents of Washington state, More details.
|
| 2009-MAR-16: Canada: Lawsuit accusing government of cultural genocide:
A class-action lawsuit has been filed with the Ontario Superior Court
against the Attorney General of Canada. It concerns the treatment of
thousands of aboriginal children from 1965 to 1985. In Canada, the federal
government has constitutional responsibility for the country's First Nations,
mainly through the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada. The lawsuit charges
that the government committed "cultural genocide" by delegating child welfare
to the province of Ontario. Thousands of aboriginal children were seized,
removed from their homes, and taken to foster and adoptive homes, where they
frequently lost their cultural heritage. 4 |
| 2009-MAR-27: Canada: Calgary teachers pull
AIDS funding: At the start of Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to Africa,
he stated that sexual abstinence: "The traditional teaching of the
Church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of
HIV/Aids. ... AIDS/HIV cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms,
which can even increase the problem." His rationale is that the use of condoms
encourages promiscuity which in turn may contribute to the spread of AIDS.
This triggered a flood of criticism from scientists, AIDS workers and the
general public. For the past four years, the Calgary Catholic Teachers' Association had raised money during Lent in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation -- an agency that helps fight AIDS transmission in Africa and gives support to persons with AIDS. One of the weapons that they use to combat AIDS transmission is the use of condoms. A parishioner challenge the morality of the Association's fundraising in a conversation with Bishop Henry of Calgary. The Bishop then sent a letter to the Association suggesting that they divert their donations to other charities -- ones that promote the church's Culture of Life. 5 |
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "Phew! Asteroid's Passing Was A Cosmic Near-Miss," Associated Press, 2009-MAR-04, at: http://cbs2.com/
- Olivia Ward, "Sudan's president wanted for war crimes, The Toronto Star, Page B1, 2009-MAR-05.
- "California Supreme Court signals mixed response to Proposition 8," Los Angeles Times, 2009-MAR-05, at: http://www.latimes.com/
- Linda Diebel, "Nation of lost souls," The Toronto Star, 2009-MAR-16, at: http://www.thestar.com/
- "Calgary teachers' pull support for AIDS fundraiser," CTV Globe Media, 2009-MAR-27, at: http://www.ctv.ca/
Copyright © 2009 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2009-MAR-04
Latest update: 2009-MAR-28
Author: B.A. Robinson
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