Information Related to "World News Review September/October 2000"
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In Brief... World News Reviewby Cecil E. Maranville and John Ross SchroederAbortion in the News on Several Fronts A horrifying story of murder was reported in the Chinese province of Hubei, where family planning officials drowned a newborn baby in a rice paddy-in front of its parents. The baby's crime? He was the fourth child of his parents, born in a country that has tried to enforce a one-child policy for 20 years. Various methods of enforcement have been used, including forced abortion and abortion that targets girls. The officials initially tried to kill the infant by forcibly injecting the mother with a saline solution to cause her to abort. Miraculously, the baby survived and was born naturally. His father was ordered to murder the baby when he was born, but the father refused. A doctor cared for the infant and gave it to his parents to take home. The government officials were waiting for them when they arrived. In the U.S., Texas Governor George W. Bush raised the highly controversial subject of partial birth abortions in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. The governor promised to sign into law a federal bill that would ban the unspeakably cruel procedure, should he be elected president. The current U.S. administration, well known for its support of all types of abortion, recently issued guidelines that would permit federally financed scientists to conduct research on human embryo cells. Scientists are supposedly justified in working on embryos to obtain stem cells, "because retrieval is conducted when the embryo is still a one-week-old microscopic ball of undifferentiated cells, long before any organs or limbs have developed." As if that means the embryo is not a human being. Representative Henry Hyde is credited with the astute observation that, "the human embryo will not develop into a German shepherd." The executive order permitting this research was issued in the name of "saving lives," because it is hoped that stem cells could be used to grow any human organs needed for transplantation. U.S. law prohibits this type of medical research, which plainly requires taking the life of the unborn. However, the guidelines skirt the law by parsing words, saying that federal research could be conducted only on cells from embryos that "were destined to be discarded anyway." That means they will likely be the castoffs from fertility clinics. Someone other than a federal employee must "destroy" (read, "kill") the embryos. These guidelines are destined to spark a firestorm of controversy in the U.S., as did a similar announcement that was recently made in the U.K. Many scientists want to press ahead with human cloning, due to a setback in "xenotransplantation"-transplants from a nonhuman source. The Roslin Institute, which gave the world Dolly, the cloned sheep, has been working on research into pigs-for-transplant. However, Roslin has abandoned this research in light of recent revelations that animal viruses can be transferred from donor animals to humans. In a related story, legal reports say that an obscure case in North Dakota could effectively undo the quarter-century-old Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling. Most probably assume that the high court's ruling was based on "a woman's right to choose." That's not the case. It was based upon concern for the health of the mother. Hence the potential of the North Dakota case. It's a suit brought against an abortion clinic in Fargo for a pamphlet it distributes that says no medical research supports claims that abortions cause an increased risk of breast cancer. Actually, according to the suit, overwhelming research exists that proves a woman's health is endangered by abortion. Therein lies the potential undoing of Roe v. Wade. Dr. Joel Brind is a professor of biology and endocrinology at Baruch College of City University of New York. He explains that breast cancer is linked to reproductive hormones, especially estrogen. A woman's risk of developing breast cancer is lowered the sooner she has her first child. Estrogen levels increase exponentially at conception, leading to the growth of "undifferentiated" cells in the breasts, in preparation for milk production. In the final weeks of a full-term pregnancy, those cells change into a form ready to fulfill that motherly task. However, when the pregnancy is terminated by an abortion, those cells remain "undifferentiated" and highly susceptible to carcinogens. (Curiously, when a woman miscarries, she doesn't have the same susceptibility.) Obviously, financial and legal support for pro- and anti-abortion forces are lining up for what may turn out to be a historic case. ( 2000 WorldNetDaily.com; PRNewswire; The Guardian; The Observer; Washington Post Service; "Stem Cell Research," by Mona Charen, August 28, 2000, Creators Syndicate, Inc.) Realignment of Nations and Shifting Sovereignty With a proposal simply titled "Peace," reformers in the UN want to supplant national sovereignty through a UN standing army. Such a force would have a more legitimate presence in situations such as Kosovo last year-widely perceived to be a thinly cloaked U.S. action that used NATO and the UN for its national objectives. Armies have to be financed and, typically, governments raise revenues through taxation. The "Tobin Tax" on all international financial institutions, payable to the UN's coffers, was proposed five years ago. Globalization is a common byword used by proponents of UN power. What they advocate is nothing short of a one-world government-an idea applauded by many, so long as they would control the newly generated center of power. Of course, it's roundly opposed by all sovereign powers that see themselves losing self-determination. Not the least of the opponents is the U.S., current host of UN headquarters. The proposal might seem laughable-were it not for the fact that Bible prophecy indicates that a world government will be forged at the end of the age. The dynamics of weak nations pushing for it for their gain, and strong nations opposing it, because of their potential loss, show the reality of what forces will come to play in the fulfillment of prophecy. Nations will come together when they need to-or are forced to do so. In a related development, signs point to a pullout by U.S. troops from Kosovo, bogged down in centuries-old ethnic conflict that some believe was not lessened by NATO's incursion. The mood in the U.S. is, "Get out before American blood is shed." Should U.S. soldiers come home in body bags, there will be no stopping a U.S. pullout. With NATO fractured, Europe would be the logical power to step into the gap. Will the Europeans be forged into a sovereign power, simultaneously diluting the sovereignty of the individual members, in a scenario similar to that proposed by UN reformers? In a little noticed development at the EU summit in Portugal in June, "the EU agreed to form a 5,000-strong police force by 2003 that could be deployed to spots in need of civil authority." The force would have a 1,000-man contingent that could be deployed within 30 days. The EU "plans to assemble a 60,000-strong peacekeeping force over the next three years as well to handle a much wider array of tasks." As could be expected, not all EU members agree on its purpose or function. Some states want to see it used to strengthen NATO, while at least France would like to see it replace the American-dominated NATO. "Regardless of how it eventually looks, the Union is slowly building itself a real military arm. Brussels just took a big bite out of national sovereignty." ("Millennium Madness at the United Nations," by Phyllis Schlafly, August 9, 2000, Copely News Service; "European Police Force Dilutes Sovereignty of EU States," 2000, WNI, Inc.) Crucial Referendum in Denmark The Danes will decide whether or not to join the European Common Currency (the euro) on September 28. At this writing, according to The Observer, "the vote is balanced on a knife's edge." The International Herald Tribune adds, "The latest Gallup survey on Danes and the euro…showed 44 percent in favor of joining, 43 percent against and 13 percent undecided." It appears to be a toss-up and the outcome could be crucial, affecting similarly planned referendums in Sweden and Britain. The Danish government supports joining the euro, while a curious combination of right and left wing elements oppose it. One of the latter groups pointed out that "if you have a common currency, political power will be transferred from the national parliaments to Brussels, to bureaucrats and technocrats. When you have an economic union, you also have a political union." Denmark's referendum is being closely watched in Sweden and Britain. It is speculated that if the Danes do vote "no," Sweden may abandon its plans to call its own referendum. But a "yes" vote followed by the same result in Sweden would then mean that 14 of the 15 European Union members have embraced the euro, with Britain the lone country out in the cold. This would put a lot of pressure on the increasingly isolated British to take that fateful step and join the European Common Currency. ( "Danish Doubts Add to Woes of Euro," by Ian Black in Vjele, Denmark, The Guardian, June 9, 2000; "The Nation That Likes to Say 'Nej' [No]," by Andrew Osborn, The Observer, August 27, 2000; "Danes on the Euro: Divided and Digging In," by Barry James, International Herald Tribune, August 29, 2000.) Containing South Africa's Crime Problem South Africa has the world's worst peacetime statistics for murder, rape and robbery. To add to the problem, the police forces there have a reputation for incompetence and corruption. The start of a solution: Create a special force of "Untouchables" modeled on the special squad led by the legendary Elliot Ness, who combatted crime in Chicago during the American prohibition era in the 1930s. This has been done. Among the minimum requirements for this new force, named the Scorpions, are a university degree and the ability to speak no less than four of South Africa's official languages. The final 100 recruits were selected out of 7,000 applicants. The main determining factors were integrity and intelligence. Reporting journalist John Carlin summed up future prospects: "Whether the Scorpions will repay the faith invested in them cannot be assessed until a couple of years have passed, by which time their numbers should have swollen to 2,000." ("Sting in the Tail," by John Carlin, The Independent on Sunday, July 23, 2000.) |
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Related Information:
Other Articles by Cecil Maranville
Other Articles by John Ross Schroeder
Origin of article "World News Review September/October 2000"
Keywords: abortion UN globalization Denmark South Africa
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