South Africa’s ‘Secrecy Bill’ passed despite fierce resistance

Widespread opposition failed on Tuesday to prevent South Africa’s National Assembly passing the highly controversial Protection of State Information Bill.

The Bill has been challenged since its inception due to the many question marks surronding its constitutionality.

The Bill includes a Secrecy Law that gives up to 25 year jail sentences for anyone holding classified information; removes any protection for whistleblowers; has no public interest clause; and has no independent appeals mechanism.

The ANC dominated 400-member House voted the Bill in with 229 in favour and 107 against, despite opposition parties using every process available to them to halt it.

The Bill has been halted before but was pushed back onto the floor by the ANC after a sham public consultation this weekend that was only announced on Friday evening.

Avaaz.org described it as a “draconian bill that puts a shroud over government and undermines South Africa's hard won freedoms.”

Congress of the People leader and former ANC minister Mosiuoa Lekota raised concerns that the African National Congress would, like the apartheid state, suffer the shame of jailing journalists and whistleblowers who alerted the public to wrongdoing.

"I shudder to think that the men and women who say that money is being stolen will be locked up in the name of the African National Congress," he asserted to loud applause from the opposition benches and a packed public gallery.

Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko vowed that her party would continue to fight for incisive amendments to the Bill in the second house, and if that process failed to petition President Jacob Zuma not to sign the bill, but to send it back to Parliament.

"But if this bill is signed into law, I will lead an application to the Constitutional Court to have the act declared unconstitutional," Mazibuko added.

SA National Editors' Forum (Sanef) chairperson Mondli Makhany said that editors were "broken inside" over the Bill.

"All of us here, we are broken inside," Makhanya who was surrounded by the editors of some of South Africa's largest news organisation.

"We never thought we would come here dressed in black to witness the Constitution of our country being betrayed by those who built it."

Makhanya also vowed to continue battling the Bill with every possible resource at his disposal.

"We believe as Sanef that it was a sad and tragic day in the history of our republic."

Treasure our children, urges Archbishop

The leader of the global Anglican communion, Dr Rowan Williams, has urged Christians to pray for the world's children.

The Archbishop of Canterbury made this call on The World Day of Prayer and Action for Children, which has the backing of UNICEF, Religions for Peace, and Save the Children.

The day stands as a reminder of what a treasure children are within our communities and how they all deserve to grow up in loving and safe environments.

"In every faith community, our children are the treasure that we value beyond price," said the Archbishop.

"A child born into health and safety is a sign of hope in our common life. In children we recognise the preciousness and dignity of the human being as well as a vulnerability which calls for our care and protection.

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The main focus of this year's day of prayer is to put an end to violence against children.

In line with this, the Archbishop insisted all forms of violence against children demand action and prayer and mentioned specifically those children caught up in situations of armed conflict.

"I met children who had suffered unimaginable horror, attacked, abducted, forced into brutalising ways of life - and yet, amidst the anguish, I also encountered precious flames of hope, where local churches and communities strove to protect and restore the lives of their children," he said.

"Many said to me: 'The church never gave up on us.'"

The Archbishop was also deeply impressed with the determination of communities to keep rebuilding their schools after the destruction wreaked by conflict.

"They said that their children and their children’s future were far too precious not to act, and act again," he said.

"I urge us all, in churches and other faith communities all around the world, to unite in this World Day of Prayer and Action for the protection and flourishing of our children.”

Geron halt embryonic stem cell trials

Geron Corporation, a major research company based in California, has halted clinical trials using embryonic stem cells to focus on cancer research instead.

A press release by Geron states the decision was made “after a strategic review of the costs, value inflection timelines and clinical, manufacturing and regulatory complexities associated with the Company’s research and clinical-stage assets.”

The decision has been met with disappointment by pro-choice organisations and embryonic stem cell researchers.

“Geron’s decision was driven by private business considerations,” insisted the Rev. Dr. Carlton W. Veazey, president and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC).

Veazey said that Christian and Jewish members of the RCRC “strongly endorse life-saving research with stem cells from embryos that would otherwise be discarded by the individuals who created them for infertility treatment.”

Dr. Timothy J. Kamp, professor of medicine and director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative MedicineCenter at the University of Wisconsin, was also left disappointed by the news.

“The decision is a disappointment to most in the field because Geron has been a pioneer in advancing this promising research to clinical applications and completing a first clinical trial would be a milestone,” said Kamp.

“Researchers will continue to be driven by the scientific results to make progress in advancing new therapies using whatever cell sources are most effective,” he added.

“In some cases, there remains strong rationale for using human ES cells as a promising cell source, so I expect that work will continue.”

In stark contrast, pro-choice groups saw Enron’s decision as a victory.

Americans United for Life’s staff counsel Mailee Smith argued that the decision was “a blow to proponents of destructive embryo research.”

“Once again, researchers utilizing cells from destroyed embryos have failed to advance any cures or treatments,” said Smith.

“Geron was the first company to attempt human clinical trials using embryonic stem cells. Its failed attempt to produce any results could chill further requests to attempt such risky and unethical research.”

Dawn McBane, bioethics analyst for the family advocacy organization CitizenLink, also believed this was a “huge victory” for pro-life activists.

“Pro-lifers have been saying for years that embryonic stem cell research is a dead-end road for research – from a scientific, financial, and ethical standpoint,” said McBane.

“Even though Geron was unconcerned with the ethical problems of killing young human embryos, the overwhelming unlikelihood of getting useful treatments out of embryonic stem cell research eventually led them to reconsider their efforts.”

Both Smith and McBane added that adult stem cells, or stem cells that are not harvested from human embryos, were a much more worthy investment in terms of research.

“There are no treatments or cures using embryonic stem cells, yet there are over 70 cures and treatments using adult stem cells,” said Smith, insisting that adult stem cells “hold the key to medical advancement.”

“Not only do embryonic stem cells not work … adult stem cells continue to demonstrate that they are capable of treating dozens of diseases and injuries for thousands of patients around the world,” said McBane.

New York churches throw open doors to Occupy Wall Street protesters

After being evicted from Zucotti Park by local police, Occupy Wall Street protesters have found a new place to sleep in churches around the area.

The Middle Collegiate Church was one of the churches who gladly threw upon their doors to welcome the protesters in.

"This is what we do," said Jacqui Lewis, senior minister of the church. "It's not new to us."

"We're going to try to recharge their batteries," she said. "The Gospels have such a clear mandate for how we’re supposed to treat one another."

The church said they could accommodate around 75 protesters, and would also offer bagels in the morning.

Lewis added that she hoped the Occupiers will be allowed to have their tents and sleeping gear back so they can continue their work.

Another church who offered a place to sleep for protestors was the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew.

"We’re doing it because that's what a church is supposed to do," said Giovanny Mondesir, assistant building manager.

Mondesir was unhappy that the New York city decision makers had evicted the protesters from camping near the World Trade Center.

"They’re trying to do something great for all of us and they're being kicked out,"he said, before adding the church would offer the protesters sandwiches and rice as nourishment during their stay.

"We’ve been getting a lot of positive remarks, especially about our reverend [James Karpen]," who came up with the idea to house the demonstrators, Mondesir added.

Freedom and responsibility

In recent months a great deal has been said about freedom - particularly in light of the emerging freedom of persons in Northern African countries such as Egypt, and most recently Libya.

However, this freedom is in danger of succumbing to a new form of tyranny. Tyrants are smart. They prey upon the desperate and the idealistic. Without the 'free' even knowing it they find their 'freedom' replaced with new forms of oppression and abuse.

Southern Africa has gone through this cycle more than once. Perhaps the most vivid example is to be found in the once 'freedom fighter' Robert Mugabe and the abuses that he has inflicted upon the people of Zimbabwe. I was born in the beautiful country. However, I have been a citizen of South Africa for some time now. Sadly, the liberators of this new home, many of whom received my vote, and my energy before and after the end of apartheid are turning out to be self obsessed tyrants in the making.

Perhaps we, you and I, need reminding that freedom is not the end. Rather it is just the beginning of what we desire (and need). Freedom is the moment where we pass from one kind of labour into another, from working for liberation to working for reconstruction and restoration.

The following quote from Victor Frankl was particularly inspiring in this regard:

"Freedom, however, is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness." (Victor Frankl).

[Photo from file - April 27, 1994 - a long line of people line up towards a polling station in the black township of Soweto outside of Johannesburg in the nation's first all-race elections.]
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Dr Dion Forster is an ordained Minister of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. He is a theologian and author. He was formerly the Dean of the Seminary of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, John Wesley College. He currently serves as a consultant and spiritual adviser / Chaplain to the Global Day of Prayer and Unashamedly Ethical movements and their founder, Graham Power. You can read Dion's blogs on www.dionforster.com.

Majority of scientists believe religion and science can coexist, says new survey

A recent five-year long study released by Rice University has found that despite popular public perception, a majority of scientists believe that religion and science are not always in conflict.

The study included in-depth interviews with scientists at universities whose fields range from biology and chemistry to social sciences like political science and economics, reports the Huffington Post.

“When it comes to questions about the meaning of life, ways of understanding reality, origins of Earth and how life developed on it, many have seen religion and science as being at odds and even in irreconcilable conflict,” said Rice sociologist Elaine Ecklund.

Instead the majority of scientists Ecklund and her colleagues interviewed accepted both religion and science as “valid avenues of knowledge.”

In the 275 tenured and tenure-track faculty members from 21 different research universities in the United States who were interviewed, only 15% believed religion and science were always in conflict, while an equal percentage saw the two as never being in conflict. The majority, 70%, said religion and science are only sometimes in conflict.

The scientists interviewed were pulled from a broader survey of 2,198 scientists, with about half of those saying they identified with a particular religion, while the other half did not.

“Much of the public believes that as science becomes more prominent, secularization increases and religion decreases,” Ecklund said. “Findings like these among elite scientists, who many individuals believe are most likely to be secular in their beliefs, definitely call into question ideas about the relationship between secularization and science.”

Ecklund also discovered that the way scientists view the compatibility of religion and science is influenced by how they view religion itself. Those scientists who find no compatibility between the two disciplines are more likely to have a narrow view of religion, identifying it only with the more conservative strains of Christianity.

"For some scientists, maybe a particular strain of evangelicalism is conflict with science, but spirituality and other religions are not," Ecklund stated.

Those scientists who believed religion and science were compatible most often cited the example of Francis Collins, the physician and geneticist who is the director of the National Institutes of Health. Collins openly speaks about his Christian faith and has written a book entitled: “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.”

The 5,000 page report is entitled “Scientists Negotiate Boundaries Between Religion and Science,” and it was published in the September issue of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Sex before marriage ... why wait?

In a recent article written for Relevant Magazine, blogger and author Ally Spotts tackled the rather difficult and emotive issue of Christians having sex before marriage. Spotts began by saying that while Christians are supposed to wait until marriage for sex, they don’t do a very good job of it, since statistics show that up to 80% of Christians in their 20s admit to engaging in premarital sex.

Spotts confesses that she is one of those Christians, despite the fact that the abstinence message was drummed into her from a young age. Spotts believes that one of the reasons she and so many other Christians failed to wait, despite their best intentions, is because she spent too much time wrestling with all the wrong questions. Spotts insists that while she knew she was supposed to wait, she didn’t really know why and because of this she spent a lot of energy struggling with issues like, ‘How far is too far,’ instead of ‘Why am I supposed to do this?’

Spotts is convinced that dealing with the wrong questions sent her in the wrong direction and as a result she spent years nurturing insecurities and growing in confusion and guilt. She adds that even when she did ask the right question (why am I doing this) the trite answers given to her were rarely satisfying. Spotts then began to work on finding out for herself why God would ask Christians to be abstinent outside of marriage when sex itself is declared a ‘good’ and healthy act.

Spott summarises her findings as a list of reasons why God asks us to wait for marriage for sex:

“1. It Builds Trust. Trust that your spouse is the kind of person who can control his or her sexual urges. Trust that your spouse values his/her sexuality enough to guard it until marriage. Trust that your spouse values you and your needs above anyone else. Trust that your spouse understands the concept of self-sacrifice and delayed gratification.

Trust takes time to build. You might as well start now.

2. It Builds Friendship. Sex in addition to friendship creates a really lasting bond in a relationship—one that is hard to break. Sex without friendship is fragile and explosive. It’s like an expensive vase set on an unsteady table. Just give it the slightest bump and it will tumble and break.

How are you working to be friends first?

3. Happiness Isn't Everything. If the purpose of my relationships is happiness, then any time I feel unhappy or uncomfortable the temptation will be to end my relationship. If the purpose of my relationship is holiness, then I’ll see every discomfort as an opportunity to work toward becoming more whole.

Are your relationships making you happy, or are they making you whole?

4. You Are Valuable. Strong physical boundaries speak to your value. You are worth more than a movie ticket or a cup of coffee or a couple of dinners out. You are not that easily accessible. It takes more than that. Let your physical boundaries speak to the value you place on your sexuality.

Are you communicating the right message about your value?

5. Lust Is Not Manageable. If you think you can entertain lust in a dating relationship (or as a single person) and stop when you get married, you’re in line for a rude awakening. Lust does not have a light switch.

Do you want to get rid of lust now or later?

Whether you waited for marriage, are sorting out your sexual history or just need a reminder your wait is worth it, we can address the questions of sex directly, with honesty. Let’s start asking the right questions.”

(You can read this article in full at www.relevantmagazine.com).