Human rights groups urge EU to promote minority rights in South Asia

A coalition of human rights groups have presented a manifesto to the European Union requesting action to prevent human rights abuses against minorities in South Asia.

The document asserts that religious, ethnic and sexual minorities are extremely vulnerable groups in the region citing the threat of discriminatory laws, land grabs, assault, forced conversions, attacks on places of worship and murder.

In response, MEP Cecilia Wikstroem vowed to table a priority question to EU chief Baroness Ashton asking for the creation of a new unit to support grassroots human rights campaigners in engaging with the EU in the area.

Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, a representative group among the coalition, was happy with the result of the meeting.

“We are pleased that MEP Wikstroem responded positively and has expressed her support for the submitted manifest and its goals,” he said.

Atheists want to make their voice heard at Christmas

Atheists groups in the United States have made a concerted effort the challenge to rights for traditional Nativity scenes to be displayed in public squares and have sought to replace them with their own displays.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which is co-led by an evangelist-turned-atheist, has protested against the Nativity scene in front of the city hall in Ellwood City, and demanded that instead the city put up a banner reading, “At this season of the Winter Solstice, LET REASON PREVAIL,” alongside the Nativity.

The FFRF also demanded that a town in east Texas remove their Nativity scene displayed at the Henderson County Courthouse. The group wrote a letter to the Henderson County Commissioners, stating, “We request that … you take immediate action to ensure that no religious displays are on city or county property. Please inform us in writing of the steps you are taking to remedy this First Amendment violation."

FFRF added that when the county displays a manger scene, it puts the “imprimatur of the county government behind the Christian religious doctrine.”

In Santa Monica, California, 14 life-sized nativity figures that have stood alongside Ocean Avenue for the past 57 years have been reduced to three, after an atheist group applied for the previously uncontested spaces to display anti-religious messages ranging from “Happy Solstice” to “Religions are all alike, founded on fables and mythologies.”

‘Respectful diversity’ important in the Middle East

In a speech to the House of Lords, the Archbishop of Canterbury has said that Christians in the Middle East are still anxious about their future, a full year after the Arab Spring revolutions began breaking out.

Dr Rowan Williams added that while Christians were not looking for special status, they must have a “guaranteed place” in their historic homelands, including in political discourse, civic equality and rule of law.

“It is possible to argue, on the basis of Christian and Islamic thought alike, in favour of transparent government and a proper notion of civic equality.

“That is the sort of argument about good governance as such that needs to be pursued if Christian communities are going to be secure in the future.

“Not any sort of case for special treatment but a strong argument for justice, honesty and respectful diversity in the societies of the region.

“It is certainly not the case that we can assume that ‘extremists’ are poised to take over the region tomorrow, but we still need to take with utmost seriousness the anxieties that are felt by communities already feeling exposed and uncertain,” the leader of the world’s Anglicans said.

“The Arab spring has meant dramatically different things in different countries and, as these last remarks underline, there are a number of different political possibilities for governance grounded in Islamic principles,” Williams added.

“But against such a background we may get a clearer sense of how and why the Christian presence matters, and why its future is surrounded by so many anxieties.

“No one is seeking a privileged position for Christians in the Middle East, nor should they be. But what we can say is that the continued presence of Christians in the region is essential to the political and social health of the countries of the Middle East.”

Climate Change: Too little, too late

The interests of profit-hungry and polluting corporations won out at the recent UN climate talks, lamented Christian Aid on Sunday.

Christian Aid spokesperson Mohamed Adow said the delays written into the agreement would mean that help comes too late for the poor.

"Action against climate change in 2020 will come a decade too late for poor people on the frontline - they urgently need it now.

"Their lives are already ravaged by floods, droughts, failed rains, deadly storms, hunger and disease and we know that these disasters will get worse and more frequent as climate change bites.

Adow complained that the outcome in Durban was a compromise that would ultimately prove ineffective.

"It is a disastrous, profoundly distressing outcome - the worst I have ever seen from such a process."

Adow added that said the Kyoto protocol now exists "in name only" and that the only "notable achievement" of the Durban talks was the agreement reached that the Green Climate Fund would soon have staff and an office.

"But the Fund remains empty and so countries must keep working to identify new sources of the $100bn a year which they have already agreed must be available to poor countries by 2020, to help them cope with climate change and pursue sustainable development."

The next Conference of Parties (COP 18) would be chaired and hosted by Qatar between November 26 and December 8 next year.

Nobody wants a Christmas worth forgetting

The concept behind the Advent Conspiracy is simple and can be summarised in the following way:
Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All.

1. Worship Fully:

It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. This is the holistic approach God had in mind for Christmas. It’s a season where we are called to put down our burdens and lift a song up to our God. It’s a season where love wins, peace reigns, and a king is celebrated with each breath. It’s the party of the year. Entering the story of advent means entering this season with an overwhelming passion to worship Jesus to the fullest.

2. Spend Less:

Before you think we’re getting all Scrooge on you, let us explain what we mean. We like gifts. Our kids really like gifts. But consider this: America spends an average of $450 billion a year every Christmas. How often have you spent money on Christmas presents for no other reason than obligation? How many times have you received a gift out of that same obligation? Thanks, but no thanks, right? We’re asking people to consider buying ONE LESS GIFT this Christmas. Just one.  Sounds insignificant, yet many who have taken this small sacrifice have experienced something nothing less than a miracle: They have been more available to celebrate Christ during the advent season.

Looking for ways to give gifts that don't cost a lot of money? Have a few ideas you'd like to share? Head to rethinkingchristmas.com today.

3. Give More:

God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love. So it’s no wonder why we’re drawn to the idea that Christmas should be a time to love our friends and family in the most memorable ways possible. Time is the real gift Christmas offers us, and no matter how hard we look, it can’t be found at the mall. Time to make a gift that turns into the next family heirloom. Time to write mom a letter. Time to take the kids sledding. Time to bake really good cookies and sing really bad Christmas carols. Time to make love visible through relational giving. Sounds a lot better than getting a sweater two sizes too big, right?

4. Love All:

When Jesus loved, He loved in ways never imagined. Though rich, he became poor to love the poor, the forgotten, the overlooked and the sick. He played to the margins. By spending less at Christmas we have the opportunity to join Him in giving resources to those who need help the most. When Advent Conspiracy first began four churches challenged this simple concept to its congregations. The result raised more than a half million dollars to aid those in need. One less gift. One unbelievable present in the name of Christ.

[This article sums up the message of The Advent Conspiracy. You can find out more on www.adventconspiracy.org].

Further evidence of water discovered on Mars

NASA scientist's have discovered further evidence that water once flowed on Mars. The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has uncovered veins of a mineral, apparently gypsum, deposited by water.

The team of scientists behind the discovery believe that analysis of the vein will improve understanding of the history of wet environments on Mars.

"This tells a slam-dunk story that water flowed through underground fractures in the rock," insisted Steve Squyres of Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., principal investigator for Opportunity.

"This stuff is a fairly pure chemical deposit that formed in place right where we see it. That can't be said for other gypsum seen on Mars or for other water-related minerals Opportunity has found. It's not uncommon on Earth, but on Mars, it's the kind of thing that makes geologists jump out of their chairs."

"It is a mystery where the gypsum sand on northern Mars comes from," added another Opportunity science-team member, Benton Clark of the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colo.

"At Homestake, we see the mineral right where it formed. It will be important to see if there are deposits like this in other areas of Mars."

The Opportunity team’s latest findings were presented this week at the American Geophysical Union's conference in San Francisco.

Williams: Jesus would side with Occupy Movement

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams has made clear his conviction that Jesus would have sided with protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy Movement, who have been camping out and protesting at various economic centres around the world.

In an article in the Christmas edition of the Radio Times magazine, the leader of the world’s 78 million Anglicans argued that Jesus would be "there, sharing the risks, not just taking sides."

The Occupy Movement are protesting what they argue is the unfairness and illegalities of the global financial community.

Williams believes that Jesus would always be "steadily changing the entire atmosphere by the questions that he asked of everybody involved -- rich and poor, capitalist and protester and cleric."

The archbishop added that Jesus’ famous statement "give Caesar what belongs to Caesar, "was him actually questioning "what's the exact point at which involvement in the empire of capitalist economy involves you fatally."

The magazine article supports Williams' earlier comments about the Occupy Movement that it actually represents "a widespread and deep exasperation with the financial establishment."