Magic Statistics

This astonishing news item has been circulating among Zimbabweans via e-mail.

In recent weeks, there has been much hullabaloo surrounding Zimbabwe’s election to head the United Nations Sustainable Development commission, with many saying the Mugabe government has been utterly useless at environmental management.

This is of course a malicious fabrication encouraged by Western Imperialists like the Blair and Bush governments. In fact, Zimbabwe has taken some bold initiatives to deal with emissions. It started phasing out petrol and diesel a few years ago.

This has seen the introduction of the pedal bicycle police patrol and reaction force, which has been increasing in popularity over the past months, as motorized cars are apparently being phased out.

Then it came up with a marvelous population control plan, donating a third of its citizens to other countries. The reduction in the population will naturally have a big impact on shrinking the country’s carbon footprint, though some in the media have mischievously argued that any reduction is a drop in the ocean next to the emissions from the Zimbabwe Parliament.

A few weeks ago it announced that it was doing away with electricity in cities.

This week Harare said that, as part of a major “mechanisation programme”, it was encouraging farmers to use ox-drawn carts and ploughs instead of tractors.

That just goes to show that one sure way to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions is to drive your economy into the ground.

News story and graphic found at This Is Zimbabwe.

Previous related posts:

• Zimbabwe’s price police are on the job
• Price controls twisting Zimbabwe’s economy into knots
• Price rollback ordered in Zimbabwe
• Zimbabweans keep their sense of humour

AJ makes a valiant effort to puff New Westminster Diocese, but fails.  Maybe it just can't be done.

For five years, an empty table has sat among the bustling hall full of tables occupied by 300 delegates and mounds of paperwork in the diocese of New Westminster's annual synod, or governing meeting.

The table has always been "set aside for the dissenting parishes" that walked out of synod in 2002 when the Vancouver-based diocese voted to allow local congregations to offer blessing ceremonies to gay couples, said diocesan communications officer Neale Adams. They are always welcome to return, he added.

Those parishes would be among the Anglicans that Bishop Michael Ingham maintains are motivated by homophobia.  That’s a funny way to make folks feel welcome.

The 2002 walkout caused upheavals both in the diocese and in the dissenting parishes.  Anglican Journal asked two people with very different perspectives to summarise the effects: The Rev David Short was interviewed as the rector of the largest dissenting parish, St John's Shaughnessy, while Mr Adams spoke for the diocese.

At the time, the withdrawal of the eight parishes cut the diocesan budget of $1.5 million by 18 per cent, according to the treasurer, and St. John's was a major factor in that cut. But St. John's also suffered, said Mr. Short. "We lost people in '02 and '03. Some people left us because they felt we were too out of step with the diocese. Other people left because they felt we weren't out of step enough, but the congregation is back to where we were," he said.

The diocese has also recovered, with the 2006 budget set at $2.12 million, said Mr. Adams. "We had to borrow money for awhile from various funds that we had, but we stopped that. We've had good revenues from investments and trust funds," he said. However, some positions remain unfilled, such as a diocesan hospital chaplain and a Christian education post, he said.

That is so perfect.  When asked about the impact of the walkout, Rev Short talks about people, while Mr Adams talks money.  That says it all.  We've seen this before.  Revisionists focus on property and cash, while traditionalists focus on people in the pews.

The article also quotes Steve Schuh, St John's Shaughnessy parishioner and leader of the Vancouver chapter of the Anglican pro-homosexual group Integrity.

Why does he attend St. John's? "It has been my parish since 1991, off and on. The parish needs to have diversity if it's going to move forward on this issue. I'm particularly concerned about youth. Evangelical parents have just as many gay kids as anybody else.

That last assertion is an empirical claim for which there is, to the best of my knowledge, no supporting data.  So, I'd have to say that Mr Schuh is merely speculating.  This is something else we've seen before: Supporters of the pro-homosexual agenda making categorical statements about the prevalence of homosexuality in particular population groups with zero empirical evidence.

For the diocese, "things are going very well," said Bishop Michael Ingham, who has been in office since 1994. "There was a lot of negative energy five years ago and that's behind us now. Energy has returned to mission, ministry, outreach and evangelism. Clergy morale is good. We no longer have clergy conferences with groups of clergy praying for us over in a corner, which was a regular occurrence. We are not consumed any longer with discussions about human sexuality. We made our decision and moved on," he said in an interview.

In my experience, Anglican churches no longer have (if we ever did) amen corners.  New Westminster has gone a step further: It’s got rid of prayer corners, too.  Way to go!

Mike, if you're no longer "consumed . . . with discussions about human sexuality", if you've really "moved on", why did New Westminster Diocese have Resolution B001 placed on General Synod's agenda?

BE IT RESOLVED:

Notwithstanding any decisions taken by this its 2007 Synod, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada affirms that the present practice of the Synod and Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster in authorizing the blessings of covenanted same-sex unions in eight (8) Parishes of that Diocese shall continue in the Diocese of New Westminster pending further resolution by General Synod.

And why did New Westminster abruptly withdraw that resolution after General Synod voted against authorising same-sex blessings?  If you've made your decision and "moved on", why care what General Synod says about SSBs?  Why do you need GS to bless a decision that you're so sure is right?

Finally, I have to point out that Anglican Journal's whitewash of New Westminster gets off to a really bad start.  Check out the headline and subhead at the top of the article.

Five years after vote, life goes on for diocese
Five years after vote, life goes on for diocese

An unfortunate error for an award-winning newspaper to make.  But that's kinda how things have gone for New Westminster.

Here's a screen shot.  (Click for larger view.)

(Full disclosure: St John's Shaughnessy was our parish before the StatWife and I moved to the northern hinterlands in 1988.)

Previous related posts:

• “The problem is the Western church’s way of handling Scripture”
• Churches that follow bad advice hit the skids
• Michael Ingham hits a new low
• Ingham commends open minds while condemning further delay
• Michael Ingham to Episcopal Church: We’re great

UPDATE (18 Jul.): The sub-head has been amended to: "Four New West parishes remain as dissenters".

Smoking just one cigarette can get you hooked.

Inhaling From Just One Cigarette Can Lead To Nicotine Addiction: Kids Show Signs Of Addiction Almost Immediately
. . .
"Laboratory experiments confirm that nicotine alters the structure and function of the brain within a day of the very first dose. In humans, nicotine-induced alterations in the brain can trigger addiction with the first cigarette," commented Joseph R. DiFranza, MD, professor of family medicine & community health at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and leader of the UMMS research team.

The study also found that teenagers who smoke only a few cigarettes per month can suffer from withdrawal if unable to get a nicotine fix.

Jacobs Babtie, a British engineering consulting firm that advises local governments on environmentally friendly transport planning, has ordered its employees not to ride bicycles or motorbikes to work.  Public transit is an acceptable option, as is driving one’s own GHG-spewing automobile, but bikes are too dangerous.

In an e-mail to all employees, a copy of which has been obtained by The Times [of London], the company's health and safety manager says: "It's patently obvious that if you are struck by a wayward vehicle when you are on a bicycle or motorbike you are going to be more severely affected than if you were in a car. The reason for this policy is to protect our employees from other vehicles on the road.

There will be a few limited exceptions when employees will be permitted to travel by bicycle, but that would be when that mode of transport is required to undertake the job, for example, carrying out surveys along river banks and tow paths."

London’s public transit agency has paid the company millions of pounds to monitor Londoners’ use of cycle and foot transportation.  The city's green transport chief calls the no-bike policy "bizarre" and "hypocritical" and urges mayor Ken Livingstone to cancel all contracts with Jacobs.

Previous related posts:

• Impassable bike paths
• Green machine: A bicycle that can do 70 mph