Magic Statistics

Love cheats, nepotism and corruption: royal scandal in the anthills of egalitarian society — The Times of London, 12 March

Ants are just as bad as we are!

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A beekeeper in Macedonia grew frustrated with a bear's repeated attacks on his beehives.  So, as any sane person would, he sued.  The bear, tried in absentia, was found guilty.  Somehow, that hardly seems fair.

A bear who could not keep its paws out of a beekeeper's hives has been convicted of theft and criminal damage by a court in Macedonia.

But the honey-stealing bear was nowhere to be seen as the court in Bitola handed down its judgement.

I admit that I’m a sucker for silly stories about over-reliance on lawyers and judges.  The humour of this particular news items ends here, however.  What happened next is not the least bit funny.

The court found the bear guilty and, since it had no owner and belonged to a protected species, ordered the state to pay the 140,000 denars (£1,724) damage it caused to the hives.

Why do the taxpayers have to cough up because a beekeeper can’t protect his assets against a wild animal?  If I were a Macedonian citizen, I’d be seriously annoyed.

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It has been known for years that nurses and other health workers in Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia (map at right), are at high risk of assault, but little has been done to protect them.

A government report recommending increased security measures has gathered dust since it was submitted in October 2006.  Last month’s rape of a nurse on Mabuiag Island has suddenly moved the issue to the front burner.

AN internal Queensland Health report on nurses' security in remote locations in the Torres Strait has recommended that secure "bomb shelters" be provided for staff where they could hide when under attack.

The report, which was provided to Queensland Health 16 months ago but tabled in parliament by Health Minister Stephen Robertson only on Wednesday, described the risk level posed to most employees working in the Torres Strait as "very high" or "extreme".

Nurses in Torres Strait have threatened to strike at the end of this month, and government officials are hoping to mollify them with minor improvements.

QUEENSLAND Health faced more damaging allegations last night after it was revealed it ignored repeated warnings that a man who allegedly raped a nurse on Mabuiag Island was mentally unstable.

The revelations came as The Courier-Mail conducted an inspection of health centres on the remote Torres Strait islands where there was evidence the department had made superficial upgrades in a desperate bid to avert a threatened nurses strike from March 28.

It has now been revealed that, in addition to last month’s rape, at least four other sexual assaults of nurses working in Torres Strait have occurred in the past year.  Every week, at least two nurses claim compensation for violence suffered in the line of duty.

The 27-year-old rape victim is planning to sue the Queensland Government.  The story of her horrific ordeal can be read here.  Everything about the incident, from the assault itself to the irresponsible behaviour of the local constabulary to the heartless and despicable treatment she received at the hands of Queensland Health, is utterly appalling.

A criminal investigation unit is now examining her case with a view to determining who is at fault.

h/t: Australian Politics

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The Supreme Court of India has ruled that a Muslim man’s bigamous marriage to his wife’s sister "was merely irregular though not illegal".

This judgment would put a stop to the practice by certain persons who marry sisters of their wives and then refuse maintenance, citing the Muslim custom that termed the second marriage to the wife's sister as void.

That is exactly what happened in the case before the court.  A Muslim man married his wife’s sister with the consent of his first wife.  Later he began neglecting his second wife, who then sued for support.  Lower courts upheld the second wife's claim.

The appeal to the Supreme Court was initiated, not by the man, but by his first wife, who argued that her sister was not entitled to financial support because the second marriage was void.  The court, however, said it was legal and ordered the first wife to pay up.

And here I thought sisterhood was powerful.

A medical royal college in the UK has dropped a bombshell as MPs consider a bill to reduce the legal upper limit for abortions from 24 to 20 weeks.  In 1994, the Royal College of Psychiatrists held that the mental health risks of abortion were less than the risks of continuing an unwanted pregnancy.  In light of more recent research and medical evidence, the college has now altered its professional opinion.

Women may be at risk of mental health breakdowns if they have abortions, a medical royal college has warned. The Royal College of Psychiatrists says women should not be allowed to have an abortion until they are counselled on the possible risk to their mental health.
. . .
More than 90% of the 200,000 terminations in Britain every year are believed to be carried out because doctors believe that continuing with the pregnancy would cause greater mental strain.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends updating abortion information leaflets to include details of the risks of depression. “Consent cannot be informed without the provision of adequate and appropriate information,” it says.

The College’s statement, posted here (pdf), comes in response to a request from the government committee reviewing the 1967 Abortion Act.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that a record number of abortions are being performed on women 20 or more weeks pregnant.

Almost 3,000 were carried out on women who were at least 20 weeks pregnant, according to the latest annual figures in England and Wales, representing a 44 per cent increase in less than a decade.

The vast majority were for "lifestyle" reasons; less than a quarter were because of a risk that the child would be born handicapped.

Recent research indicates that survival rates for babies born after 22 to 25 weeks gestation have risen to over 70 percent.

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The collect for today, the Sunday Next Before Easter, or Palm Sunday, from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, who, of thy tender love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon him our flesh, and to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should follow the example of his great humility; Mercifully grant, that we may both follow the example of his patience, and also be made partakers of his resurrection; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
The Gospel: St Matthew 21:1-54

Artwork: Limbourg Brothers, The Entry into Jerusalem, c 1416.  Illumination (from Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry), Musée Condé, Chantilly.