tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2470719547540110452026-01-18T23:49:24.531+00:00Engaging With Today's Social ChallengesThe Differencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06776470690409115341noreply@blogger.comBlogger648125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-62772710440111379012008-08-08T09:48:00.002+01:002008-08-08T09:52:28.525+01:00

20 teenagers have been stabbed in London this year. In The Saturday Times Faith Register, Sir Jonathan Sachs recalls George Orwell's comment in the 1940's that 'The gentleness of the English civilisation is perhaps its most marked characteristic'. What has gone wrong with us since then?In recent years, we have seen family breakdown, loss of community and 'an almost total collapse of respect for

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-26066946403479767722008-08-07T19:28:00.001+01:002008-08-07T19:30:50.864+01:00

It is so refreshing to learn that Ryanair's Chief Executive, Michael O'Leary is not retreating in the face of rising oil prices and talk of recession. On the contrary, he plans to cut his prices and expects a rise in passenger numbers this year. He reasons that, offering the cheapest flights, 'We are the perfect airline for the recession'.His recent interview with Alice Thomson and Rachel

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-3139757515304029192008-08-06T14:04:00.001+01:002008-08-06T14:05:35.711+01:00

So good to see The Times taking up the cause of parents who have their children taken into care against their wishes, with a Leading article as well as a 2-page spread by Camilla Cavendish in last Saturday's paper. The media gets a bad press very often, what with paparazzi becoming ever more aggressive in their pursuit of celebrities, and the propagation of what is essentially gossip with the

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-17812718365901149172008-08-01T08:14:00.002+01:002008-08-01T08:16:46.502+01:00

I was asked to complete a survey recently, asking whether I thought the Primary Care Trust and the Police should be run by the local Council. My response was that the two were so different that we should not be contemplating the same solution for both.In my opinion, the non-acute work of the PCT should, indeed, be combined with social care and run by the (county or unitary) council. But the

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-73099319136665405172008-07-31T09:06:00.003+01:002008-07-31T09:09:48.550+01:00

Interesting article by Melanie Phillips in the Daily Mail this week, urging the Conservative Party to stand up and be counted, to stop kow-towing to prevailing opinion and to provide a 'clear and principled alternative'. She cites issues such as devolution, EU plans to reduce nations to mere sub-regions and massive and growing public debt. And she highlights the threat of a nationalist protest

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-66924857762987235422008-07-30T08:20:00.001+01:002008-07-30T08:22:31.238+01:00

PC Griffin has got it right. Explaining the introduction of a voluntary summer curfew in Redruth, Cornwall for all those under the age of 16, he says, 'Young people are allowed out. We are requesting that they have a purpose for being out. We are just trying to bring some common sense and structure back into what they are doing... In essence, this is simply about parents being aware of where

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-5335151733845354252008-07-29T16:56:00.000+01:002008-07-29T16:58:31.449+01:00

I am torn in my response to the recent High Court ruling that Mr Mosley's privacy was infringed by the News of the World reporting of his orgy.On the one hand, I think that it is high time that the press got its come-uppance. In recent years, it has become judge and jury, self-appointed arbiter of what is right and what is wrong, wielding great influence but without the accompanying

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-38450550790434285762008-07-16T12:56:00.001+01:002008-07-16T12:57:43.667+01:00

Frank McKinney - all respect to him. Apparently, this millionaire is celebrating his 45th birthday, not just with a lavishly extravagant party in a glitzy hotel but, as a second part of the celebration, took his guests to the slums of Haiti, where he has built more than 500 homes for about 4,000 people who live in extreme poverty. Frank said, 'Here I am providing propery to the world's most

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-25980968401358748612008-07-15T18:24:00.000+01:002008-07-15T18:25:57.621+01:00

Strange article in the Saturday Times Register this weekend by the Secretary General of the 'Muslim Council of Great Britain'. He bemoans what he perceives as the anti-muslim bias of the press and public in the UK, complaining that his efforts have been 'criticised as an attack on free speech or as ingratitude and disloyalty to Britain - even as a failure to understand what being British means'.

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-70854614515290827972008-07-14T21:26:00.001+01:002008-07-14T21:28:31.951+01:00

'Out of the goodness of his heart' is a much mocked motivation for good deeds. But, according to research by the Stockholm School of Economics, it is often a more powerful incentive than financial gain. When Swedish women were asked to give blood, some voluntarily and some for a small sum of money, 52% were willing to do so for nothing, and only 30% for the money. And this echoes work by the

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-10785910319263815322008-07-11T15:42:00.003+01:002008-07-11T15:47:06.547+01:00

I watched, with a morbid fascination, as the bee struggled to free itself from the sticky spider's web, buzzing desperately, rolling this way and then that, trying in vain to move a leg. It lasted about fifteen minutes and then it was over, completely trapped, life gone.For many people, the safety net of the welfare state, designed to protect them, has become a suffocating web from which they

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-56864388665005287612008-07-10T19:49:00.000+01:002008-07-10T19:50:32.107+01:00

Condoms just got cheaper, thanks to brothers Shandip and Ketan Shah who are offering a new brand of cut-price condoms, packaged to make them attractive to young women. Apparently, in their pharmacy, over the last few years, there has been 'a big increase in the number of girls coming in looking for the morning-after pill'. And they are concerned about the high rate of teenage pregnancy and poor

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-7920295122914755152008-07-09T20:59:00.000+01:002008-07-09T21:00:37.175+01:00

Very disturbing article by Camilla Cavendish in Times2 this Tuesday about the many cases in which parents have had their children taken from them by the state, supposedly for the children's protection. She cites the case of a mother who sought protection for her daughter from her ex-husband only to herself become the object of suspicion. The result was that the girl was given into the custody

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-44014313258514927282008-07-08T14:45:00.002+01:002008-07-08T14:47:53.240+01:00

Enjoy your final fling, liberal bishops of the C of E, because it is your last. Your time is over. A new church is rising, a church of people who believe God, who know that Jesus rose from the dead because He touches the very core of their being, who experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives every day. A church who know that they belong to God and to no other.As the chrysallis

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-34696783396021080382008-07-03T13:36:00.002+01:002008-07-03T13:41:34.708+01:00

A 60th birthday is a good time for a reappraisal - of purpose, scope, impact. Since its inception in 1944, much has changed, the challenges we face have changed and the NHS as it is just cannot meet them. The percentage of the population over 60 is growing rapidly. The percentage of the population who are disabled is also growing. New technologies and medical advances have produced an ever

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-81346442461795091142008-07-01T10:34:00.000+01:002008-07-01T10:35:22.127+01:00

OK, so we think we're bad when it comes to political correctness - but take a look at Sweden. Apparently, an 8-year old boy who gave out invitations to his birthday party had them confiscated by the teacher because he had not invited the whole class.A member of the Swedish Liberal party said 'the staff acted correctly, in a model way'. A newspaper poll showed that 56% believed a child should be

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-34041113389828297752008-06-29T19:43:00.004+01:002008-06-29T19:49:19.100+01:00

Interesting issue highlighted this week in 2 different places.Joel Edwards (IDEA magazine) writes of the gay and lesbian Christian movements that, despite their obvious sincerity and acts of service, 'their version of God is one I simply do not recognize from 2,000 years of Scripture and tradition'. He is 'concerned that there is an attempt at trying to remake God in our image'.Rabbi Miriam

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-47765346076651641142008-06-26T12:15:00.000+01:002008-06-26T12:17:09.150+01:00

What will it take to stop the government's headlong hurtle into a federal Europe? The government's refusal to hold a referendum on the ratification of the EU treaty, despite a clear promise to do so, is the subject of a legal challenge. The Irish have rejected the treaty. The Czech's are not prepared to bet £3 that their Senate will say Yes. And yet Gordon Brown continues blithely on, as he

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-84988784091604166802008-06-24T16:53:00.000+01:002008-06-24T16:55:05.000+01:00

Revealing answers in the Times Register this Saturday on the subject of carbon-dating and how scientists know whether is it correct.The first writer tells us that, previously, other techniques of dating, such as rock-stratigraphy, indicated that the age of the Earth was several hundred million years. But, when carbon-dating was introduced, the Earth's age 'overnight, as it were, leapt to several

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-19038455398535998442008-06-22T22:14:00.001+01:002008-06-22T22:16:06.723+01:00

Very telling juxtaposition on the Faith pages of the Times this Saturday. Top of the page, Rev Dr Geoffrey Rowell on the Bible: 'the scriptures are normative for testing new teaching both normative and ethical'. I do agree. But directly below, Rev Richard Haggis is busy defending gay clergy and suggesting we put the matter to a vote of local lay members of the C of E.Are we mad? Can we not

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-86680994884070767722008-06-19T23:04:00.004+01:002008-06-20T09:11:49.227+01:00

I went to a most interesting talk recently by Stuart Etherington, NCVO Chief Executive, on whether 'Civil society is in danger of being hugged to death by government, local and national'.He described the growing importance of 'civil society', meaning those activities which are governed by neither the state nor the market and made up of both charities (rooted in philanthropy) and co-operatives (

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-6266411266594100212008-06-17T21:31:00.001+01:002008-06-17T21:32:23.357+01:00

Tony Robinson's Crime and Punishment programme does it again! How topical can you be. Tony describes the setting up of the Magna Carta, which decreed that no-one can be detained without trial for more than 24 hours. 24 hours! And here we are considering 42 days...The BBC website points out that it was as recently as 2000 that we introduced the basic 48 hours detention, with the ability to

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-84500482403992942472008-06-16T16:37:00.000+01:002008-06-16T16:39:06.422+01:00

There is a chilling sentence in the recent report on drugs in prisons: 'The creation of drug free prisons is an expensive option and was not considered to be practical in the current resource climate'. Any government which accepts this does not deserve to govern.Firstly, if the 'current resource climate' is preventing us doing something important which needs doing then let's change the climate!

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-57668561893993222622008-06-12T13:48:00.001+01:002008-06-12T13:50:25.320+01:00

A bank run for street children by street children... I was delighted to read recently that Children's Development Banks are springing up in some of the most needy parts of Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. First set up in 2001 by the NGO 'Butterflies', they enable street children to save whatever money they earn, rather than having it stolen. They also help the

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-247071954754011045.post-53296188387501939832008-06-11T13:22:00.001+01:002008-06-11T13:24:31.811+01:00

Anyone who has visited Japan and, like me, been deeply impressed by the sense of tradition and respect and self-discipline, will have been shocked by a new book by Professor Yoshihiko Morotomi of Meiji University describing the unruly behaviour of parents of school children across Japan. Teachers tell of a major change in the attitude of parents. Instead of respectfully supporting teachers,

Mary Douglashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03389957162085269021noreply@blogger.com0