Magic Statistics

The Anglican Diocese of Sydney has spent $50,000 preparing an advertising campaign debunking the claims of the Da Vinci Code.  The 20-second ads will be shown in movie theatres to coincide with the release of The Da Vinci Code film.

The book explores theories – dismissed by theologians but embraced by millions of readers – that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, who had their child and the bloodline survives.

Anglican Media Sydney CEO Allan Dowthwaite said the campaign would screen on 250 cinema screens at 15 multiplexes in Sydney, Wollongong and Shellharbour, for four weeks from May 11.
. . .
"Our aim is to get people to discover the truth about Jesus," Mr Dowthwaite said in a statement.

"The concept for the cinema advert was to engage with the same questions raised by the Da Vinci Code, but then also raise the question of how Jesus himself might respond to these claims."

During the 20-second advert, a voiceover asks viewers "to find the truth".

It also shows an incredulous Jesus grappling with the news that the church, as posited in the book, had lied for more than 2,000 years, and that a secret group guarded the real truth about his bloodline.

“An incredulous Jesus”.  Got that right!

This is part of a larger effort by Sydney Diocese to attract 10 percent of the population into “Bible-based churches” by 2012.

via Saskatchewan Diocese.

Previous related post: Tom Wright on The Da Vinci Code.

The collect for today, The Second Sunday After Easter, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, who hast given thine only Son to be unto us both a sacrifice for sin, and also an ensample of godly life; Give us grace that we may always most thankfully receive that his inestimable benefit, and also daily endeavour ourselves to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: 1 St Peter 2:19-25
The Gospel: St John 10:11-16

In the recent flap over the Gospel of Judas, most news reports pointed out that the newly translated ancient document arose from Gnostic theological beliefs.  So, what do Gnostics believe anyways?  Rev Charlie Camlin preached a sermon last Sunday on that very question.  He said, “You might be a Gnostic if . . .”:

• You do not believe Jesus Christ was raised bodily
• You think the Old Testament is irrelevant to Christianity
• You think that the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus makes no sense
• You think that Christianity is an exclusive club
• You think that being added to the visible Church is optional for the Christian
• You think the Sacraments are irrelevant

Rev Camlin is Rector at Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church, Fairfax, Virginia.

Read the whole thing.

via Prydain.

Several alarming new developments in the Darfur conflict indicate that anarchy is looming over the strife-torn region.  David Blair of the London Telegraph reports:

Both Khartoum’s regime and the rebels have largely lost control of events in Darfur. The regime’s proxy militias – the notorious "Janjaweed" gunmen – have turned to banditry and random attacks. The Arab tribes – supposedly on the same side in this war – are fighting each other over scarce water and pasture.

The SLA [Sudan Liberation Army] rebels have fractured along tribal lines and different factions are now fighting each other. A new rebel group has emerged – the so-called National Movement for Reform and Development. It fights everyone else.

At the same time, the Sudanese government has opened up a new offensive against rebels in southern Darfur.  Last Monday, Khartoum broke a “no-fly” agreement signed in December 2004 by sending helicopter gunships and at least one bomber into the area.  As a result, over 200,000  additional refugees have fled their homes and moved into camps.

Aid agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to continue operations in Darfur for two reasons.  First, donations are not flowing in as quickly as in the past, apparently due to “donor fatigue”.  Second, the Sudanese government is hindering access by foreign aid workers.

In mid-March, Arab Muslim militias engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Darfur began encroaching into neighbouring Chad to kill and terrorise there as well.  Now Khartoum is actively supporting Islamic rebel groups in Chad seeking to destabilise, if not depose, Chadian President Idriss Déby.

In recent months, as Human Rights Watch has reported, the National Islamic Front in Khartoum has supported the Chadian rebels even as it has loosed its own murderous Arab militia allies on the non-Arab tribal populations of eastern Chad.

Indeed, Human Rights Watch reports that "the janjaweed militias have carried out attacks inside Chad accompanied by Sudanese army troops with helicopter gunship support."

Chad's capital, N'Djamena, is far to the west of the Chad-Sudan border. But as Déby has begun to feel more threatened, he has redeployed his military forces westward and into major garrisons in a desperate bid to retain power.

In fact, N'Djamena itself was attacked by the rebels on April 13, and though the assault was repelled, military assets will be increasingly concentrated in the capital and larger towns.

This means that no military protection will be deployed in eastern Chad near the border with Sudan.  Not only Chadian citizens, but also refugees from Darfur, will be virtually defenceless.

The Western world, including especially the United Nations, has dithered for years while Darfur has been decimated.  Now the Sudanese agents of genocide are spreading into Chad.  If President Déby falls—a distinct possibility—Cameroon and the Central African Republic could be the next targets.

International Herald Tribune link via titusonenine.

Previous related posts:

• Darfur reign of terror spreading into Chad
• Darfur approaching crisis point

The latest UK statistics on crimes reported to the police show that robberies, sex offences, and violence causing injury have increased.  Drug offences are also up 20%.

Overall violent crime rose by one per cent in the Oct-Dec 2005 period, compared with the same period in 2004, to just under 298,000 crimes.

Within that overall total, "more serious violence" - the smallest category - fell by 12 per cent, to around 9,800.

But there was a six per cent rise in "offences against the person - with injury", to 130,700 crimes.

Violence offences without injury, which include harassment, fell slightly. Much of the lower level violence has been driven by heavy drinking. Criminal damage also rose slightly.

These data on police-reported crime are so unfavourable that the Home Office tried to deflect attention by pointing to the British Crime Survey (BCS), a general population survey focusing on crime victimisation.

The BCS is described by the Home Office as "generally accepted as the most authoritative and reliable indicator of crime trends" - an assertion which is disputed by some experts in the field.

The BCS has traditionally showed rates of crime higher than the recorded figures but the Government has highlighted it in recent years because of its apparent downward trend.

The Home Office pointed out that, measured by the BCS, the risk of being a victim of crime, at 23 per cent, was the lowest since 1981 and violent crime was "stable" year on year in the BCS.

This reminds me of the old adage, "Figures don't lie, but liars politicians will figure."

The minister responsible is Home Secretary Charles Clarke, who is already under great pressure to resign for a scandal earlier this week when it was revealed that over 1000 foreign criminals had been released "in error" from UK jails without being considered for deportation.  The criminals include rapists, murderers, robbers, and paedophiles. Mr Clarke has admitted that over 900 of them are loose in the UK and may never be found because their whereabouts are unknown.  Prime Minister Tony Blair rejected Mr Clarke's offer to resign, leading the Telegraph to suggest that the logic of the Blair government is "the bigger the blunder, the smaller the chance of resignation".

Public pressure for Mr Clarke's resignation has intensified since he admitted today that at least five of the foreign criminals released by mistake have since been convicted of crimes involving drugs or violence.  Two more are being investigated on possible charges of sexual assault.  The Times of London story includes this mind-boggling gem: "[A]lmost a third of those released were freed after the Government had already been informed about the problem."  What does Mr Clarke have to do to get sacked?

A final insult: In a related story, the Times reports that one of the foreign criminals released because of "a major administrative cock-up”, a 24-year-old Jamaican previously jailed in the UK for having sex with an underage girl, has since been sentenced to 24 years for attempted murder after shooting a man outside a Sheffield nightclub.

This next link has been around for a year, but this is a fitting time for another look.  Charles Clarke presents the case for national ID cards in "The very model of a modern Labour minister" (with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan)—one of the cleverest and side-splittingest flash animations I've ever seen.  Here's the first verse:

The world today is filled with villains stealing one's identity
And terrorists intent on acts of violent extremity
Our citizens are prisoners, our criminals at liberty
Our nation at the mercy of felonious proclivity
Our very own Home Secretary will rebuild our society
A model of sagaciousness and picture of propriety
It's patent that protection of the future of humanity
Relies on Mr Clarke to put an end to this insanity!

Mr Clarke seems to have given up on putting an end to the insanity of "criminals at liberty"; he's now feeding the insanity!

Previous related post: A primer on crime statistics

Zimbabwean Dictator President Robert Mugabe has ordered 300% pay increases for selected government employees: security services (including the armed forces) and teachers.  Since annual inflation is running at almost 1000%, economists say the increases will be eaten up by price increases within two or three months.  January's pay rise of 200% is already worthless.

The pay hikes have been authorised in an apparent bid to shore up the army’s loyalty to the government.  Mr Mugabe has to have the military on his side as opposition forces have announced plans for mass protests this summer.

A top official from Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change, MDC, told IWPR [Institute for War and Peace Reporting] after the party's recent national council meeting that the ruling ZANU PF party needs to brace itself for the biggest street protests Zimbabwe has seen since independence more than a quarter century ago.

The official said he believed that most Zimbabweans, who are struggling to survive in a country where official inflation has reached nearly 1,000 per cent, will heed the call for the demonstrations.

"The people are suffering. Some can't even afford a meal a day," he said. "Every Zimbabwean is angry with the government as prices continue to skyrocket. I am telling you that the worst is to come for the government in three to four months time as people march in the streets against them.

"This time, no amount of intimidation will work. The government can threaten all it wants. That will not stop people. By that time, things will be worse."

Mr Mugabe has warned that he is quite prepared to fight back with whatever force is necessary to put down demonstrations.

Senior government and Zanu PF officials have in the past weeks made threatening statements against anyone planning to participate in mass protests against President Robert Mugabe, 82, his government and repressive organs of state such as the police, army and Central Intelligence Organisation.

Mugabe himself warned Tsvangirai that he would be "dicing with death" if he tried to take power through street protests. Mugabe went on, "If a person wants to invite his own death, let him go ahead … If you want an excuse for being killed, be my guest and go into the streets and demonstrate."

Thus, the pay hikes for Zimbabwe’s security forces. Facing possible insurrection, Mugabe is paying the price to hold on to power.

Zimbabwe could be moving toward a summer of serious, widespread discontent.

Previous related posts:

• Zimbabwe observes a sombre anniversary
• Mugabe to white farmers: No hard feelings

One of the oldest buildings in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, has been destroyed by fire.

The old stone Catholic church was destroyed in the early hours of Thursday morning, in a fire that officials say was caused by arson. The 53-year-old building was located across the bay from the site of the modern-day community.

"I just knew that this last remnant of Cambridge Bay's old town was going to disappear," said Vicki Aitaok, who witnessed the blaze. She called the fire department, but watched helplessly as the historical building was engulfed in flames.

"All that's left is structure, the exterior structure," she said. "The bell tower, is still standing, but the roof is completely gone."

The church was built in 1953 on the original town site, across the bay from the current town site, using leftover cement, frost-split rocks, and seal oil.  It was not wired for electricity and had been out of use for decades, replaced by a Catholic church at the new town site.  The above photo of the church was downloaded from the website of the hamlet of Cambridge Bay.

Map from Polarnet.ca, Internet Service Provider in Cambridge Bay and four other remote northern towns.

A friend informs me that my syndication feed has not been updated for several days.  My apologies for the glitch.  I don't know the reason for this.  I've checked my feedburner feed and it seems to be working fine, so who knows?  If anyone finds that the problem persists, you might try unsubscribing and then re-subscribing.

I notice that bloglines has had short outages recently.  Maybe that has something to do with it.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions, please let me know.

Statistics Canada has tried all kinds of ways to publicise and promote Canada's national census, but this is a first.  Census Day, 16 May, is coming up fast and, to raise awareness and, hopefully, participation among a demographic group that is notorious for skipping the Census, Canada's national statistics agency is having the Census logo plastered on Alberta beer cans.

As an agency of the federal government, Statistics Canada isn't in the habit of promoting beer sales, but with the 2006 census bearing down, it's willing to associate with an Alberta brewery, all in the name of research.

Calgary's Mountain Crest Brewing Co. is launching a limited run of a special-label brew in Alberta to help StatsCan promote the May 16 Census Day to one of the most elusive demographics, the 18-to-30-year-old male set.

It's the first time Statistics Canada has advertised Census Day on a beer can, and the effort is exclusive to Alberta, Jerry Page, the agency's regional director, said Tuesday.

"We're promoting it along with some giveaways like water bottles and beer openers, so it's one more effort to get to a difficult-to-reach group of our population," he said.

The company's name is Mountain Crest Brewing Co., but their website address is DamnGoodBeer.ca.  Did the Chief Statistician of Canada approve this?

A 9300-year-old skeleton found on federal lands near Kennewick, Washington, in 1996 is being examined by research scientists and academics.  What they discover may oblige historians to rewrite the history of the entire continent.

Dr. Hugh Berryman, research professor [at Middle Tennessee State University], was one of only 11 experts from across the United States to scrutinize the bones of Kennewick Man, a 9,300-year-old skeleton found 10 years ago along the Columbia River at Kennewick, Wash.

“It’s one of the oldest skeletons, one of the earliest individuals that populated this continent,” Berryman says. “And we have a chance to look at those remains and learn from them what they tell us about the past and who these people were.”

The 380 bones are being preserved at the University of Washington’s Burke Museum under an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls the land on which Kennewick was discovered.

Scientific examination of the Kennewick Man was held up for years by legal battles with Native American tribes who claimed the man as an ancestor and, on that basis, demanded that the remains be turned out to them for re-burial.  Scientists appealed to the courts where it was finally decided that the tribes could not prove a direct connection, so in-depth study is only now going ahead.  Even a cursory examination, however, has convinced scientists that Kennewick Man is not related to North American Indians.

What the experts were able to ascertain from their brief encounter with Kennewick is that he did not look like a Native American. In fact, Berryman says Kennewick’s facial features are most similar to those of a Japanese group called the Ainu, who have a different physical makeup and cultural background from the ethnic Japanese.

Some Ainu’s facial features appear European. Their eyes may lack the Asian almond-shaped appearance, and their hair may be light and curly in color. However, this does not mean that Kennewick Man necessarily was European in origin. His features more closely resemble those of the natives of the Pacific Rim than those of Native Americans.

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, University of Washington, Seattle, has an extensive online exhibit on Kennewick Man.

Tri-City Herald, the local newspaper serving the town near where the skeleton was discovered, also has a website dedicated to the skeleton.

Kennewick Man was on the cover of Time Magazine last month.

via Faith-Science News.

The Spanish Socialist Party wants to classify simians as legal “persons”, thus enduing apes with human rights.

The Spanish Socialist Party will introduce a bill in the Congress of Deputies calling for "the immediate inclusion of (simians) in the category of persons, and that they be given the moral and legal protection that currently are only enjoyed by human beings." The PSOE's justification is that humans share 98.4% of our genes with chimpanzees, 97.7% with gorillas, and 96.4% with orangutans.

The party will announce its Great Ape Project at a press conference tomorrow. An organization with the same name is seeking a UN declaration on simian rights which would defend ape interests "the same as those of minors and the mentally handicapped of our species."

According to the Project, "Today only members of the species Homo sapiens are considered part of the community of equals. The chimpanzee, the gorilla, and the orangutan are our species's closest relatives. They possess sufficient mental faculties and emotional life to justify their inclusion in the community of equals."

If a high proportion of shared genes qualifies creatures as persons, shouldn’t the mouse be included?  “Mice, men share 99 percent of genes”.

Have the Spanish Socialists fallen so low in the polls that they need extra votes?  Do they figure primates are natural Socialist voters?  They could be in for a rude surprise: I’d bet that the guerillas gorillas are revolutionary terrorists.

Has anyone asked the simians whether they want legal rights?  If it entails civic obligations to pay taxes and traffic fines, they’d be smart to say, “Thanks, but no thanks”.

I’ll take this legislation seriously the first time an orangutan is hauled into court for assaulting a chimpanzee.

via little green footballs.

Life expectancy is falling in Russia.  In the mid-1960s, Russian males could expect to live to about 65; today, that’s down to 58.  The life expectancy of Russian women is much higher at 71, but it is also falling.  This, combined with decreasing fertility, means that Russia’s population could shrink by one-third before the middle of the century.

Falling life expectancy is very rare in a country not at war.  Something is seriously wrong in Russian culture and society, but exactly what is unclear.

Demographic experts say it's hard to understand why so many Russians are dying.

The causes that usually get the blame — alcohol, drugs, violence, suicide, disease, accidents and a long list of others — are problems that plague many other countries, but somehow Russia suffers the worst.

The Globe and Mail story focuses on a 26-year old man named Vlad Pohabov, who survived years of drug abuse.  Ten years