Month: April 2005

April 15, 2005

The extent of European antipathy towards Christianity

After Pope John Paul II’s death on April 2, the European Parliament was torn over a “difficult” decision – whether to lower the flags of the European Institution to half-mast. It seems that some members thought it was inappropriate to honor one of the most pro-European statesmen who ever lived with such a simple gesture. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2005

Would you like a tax with those fries?

On this date in 1955, Ray Kroc starts the McDonald’s chain of fast food restaurants in Illinois. On a related note, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is the latest political figure to float the idea of a “fast food tax,” the newest incarnation of the “sin” tax. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2005

Corruption roundup

1) According to the BBC, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, “The bulk of the money that Saddam [Hussein] made came out of smuggling outside the oil-for-food programme, and it was on the American and British watch”. Continue Reading...
April 14, 2005

Study of clerical careers

Courtesy of Pulpit & Pew comes Factors Shaping Clergy Careers: A Wakeup Call for Protestant Denominations and Pastors (PDF), by Patricia M. Y. Chang (HT: Mere Comments). This study is based on surveys conducted primarily with mainline Protestant denominations. Continue Reading...
April 14, 2005

What do you call this?

  From Live Science, there are plans to create a pseudo-woolly mammoth from frozen DNA. The trick is to take the male sperm DNA from a woolly mammoth sample and the egg from its closest living relative, the elephant. Continue Reading...
April 14, 2005

A costly good

In the words of the Cornwall Declaration, “A clean environment is a costly good.” A round-up of recent stories attests to the truth of this statement. Wal-Mart pledged on Tuesday to provide $35 million for use to protect wildlife habitat. Continue Reading...
April 13, 2005

‘The least natural of loves’

C.S. Lewis calls “Friendship” the “least natural of loves; the least instinctive, organic, biological, gregarious and necessary.” Head on over to Mere Comments to see my response to “Walking With Friendships.” Continue Reading...
April 13, 2005

Nigeria fights corruption

For those concerned about the way corruption hinders development in Africa, a hopeful story in the Wall Street Journal today (subscription required). Here’s one paragraph: “Since taking charge of the new Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Continue Reading...
April 13, 2005

The soul of civil society

Bob Woodson of National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise fame taught me a lot about strategic partnerships. In the interest of getting something important done for needy people, it’s ok to invite others with good contributions to make to join you, despite disagreements with them on other issues. Continue Reading...