UPHOLD ORPHANS AND WIDOWS

 
 

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SHE GAVE BIRTH TO A BABY, STUFFED HIM IN A BAG, AND RECRUITED HER DAUGHTER TO HELP KILL HIM
from: LiveAction News

(9 Oct.) An Ohio woman has confessed to killing her newborn baby and enlisting the help of her 19-year-old daughter to dispose of the baby's body. The mother, Basma Abdul Karim Alkelezli, said she killed the baby boy because the baby would have meant "more expenses."

Alkelezli and her daughter, Hana Ahmad Al Jabouli, are both accused of killing the baby, who was reportedly born on September 20. That same day, according to The Blaze, Al Jabouli called 911 because her mother was "not waking up." Paramedics responded to the home and noticed that Alkelezli had recently given birth, but could not locate a baby in the home. Alkelezli had apparently cut the umbilical cord and was bleeding excessively.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, officers discovered the baby in the trunk of a vehicle. A detective and a sergeant attempted life-saving measures, but the baby was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The coroner's office found that he had been born alive and healthy before he was killed. WCMH-TV reported that Alkelezli did not look at him before she put him in a plastic trash bag and then told Al Jabouli to dispose of him. Al Jabouli then put the bag inside a five-gallon bucket in the trunk of a car... [read more...]

COMMENTARY: It is almost incomprehensible how a mother could dispose of her baby as if he/she were a piece of garbage. This article illustrates what happens to the belief in the value of human life when people are more concerned about their material well-being than their own children's lives. Materialism devalues human life and leads to abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia of "the unfit."

 
 

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GREENLAND WOMEN DEMAND COMPENSATION FOR FORCED CONTRACEPTION
from: BioEdge.org

(4 Oct.) Greenland women who lost their ability to bear children because Danish doctors secretly inserted IUDs in the 1960s and 1970s are suing for immediate compensation. As reported in BioEdge last year, half of the indigenous women in Greenland were affected. Apparently few of the women – some of them as young as 13 – gave their consent.

A government inquiry into this policy will publish its conclusions in 2025. But the women want action now. Psychologist Naja Lyberth, who initiated the request for compensation, told AFP: "We are getting older – the oldest among us, who had IUDs in the 1960s were born in the 40s, they are approaching 80. We want action now."

The campaign to insert IUDs was not a secret, but it took decades before Inuit women spoke out. And it was only when two journalists from the national broadcaster DR launched a podcast, Spiralkampagnen ("coil campaign") that it became a political issue.

The reasons appear to be straightforwardly paternalistic, racist, and economic. It was even hailed in a 1972 issue of the Journal of Family Planning as a great "success." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: The practice of eugenics – the elimination of "inferior" races and the "unfit" – reduces people to little more than cattle to be bred, raised, and slaughtered when no longer productive. Without the belief in God, we can't have a sufficient reason for valuing human life any more than that of chickens or cows.

 
 

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RUSSIA: FOUR NOW JAILED FOR REFUSING TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE ON RELIGIOUS GROUNDS
from: Forum 18 News Service
Hebrews 13:3 – "Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them..."

(9 Oct.) Military courts have now jailed four men for refusing on religious grounds to go to fight in Ukraine. In Vladivostok, Baptist Vyacheslav Reznichenko entered the prison colony-settlement on 18 September to start his 2 year, 6 month term. In Murmansk, a court handed long-serving contract soldier Maksim Makushin, a Pentecostal Christian, a term of 2 years and 8 months "for refusing to kill Ukrainians." He is awaiting his appeal. Neither courts nor prosecutors answered Forum 18's questions why they were not allowed to do alternative civilian service.

Military prosecutors claimed Reznichenko had refused call-up out of cowardice. In his verdict, however, the Judge noted that Reznichenko had in fact been motivated by his religious beliefs. Forum 18 wrote to Vladivostok Garrison Military Court and the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Pacific Fleet and Vladivostok Garrison asking why Reznichenko had not been allowed to do alternative civilian service or take up an unarmed role in the army, given that using weapons was contrary to his religious beliefs and the Constitution guarantees the right to alternative civilian service. Forum 18 has received no response... [read more...]

COMMENTARY: Pseudo-Christian religion in Russia is being used to justify acts of violence and barbarism that are directly the opposite of Christian morality. The ideologies of "Holy Russia" and "Russian World" ("russky mir") turn Christianity on its head. Ever since the day of Ivan the Terrible, the church in Russia has been subjugated to the state to serve its imperialistic interests.

 
 

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CULINARY TRAINING OFFERS ADULTS WITH AUTISM A PATH TO INDEPENDENCE
from: Disability Scoop

(3 Oct.) Shin rolled out the cookie dough. Asia sauteed the onions. Christopher fried the tortilla chips. Richard cooked the pinto beans. The kitchen at The Arc Los Angeles and Orange Counties in Downey was hopping.

For two weeks, the nonprofit's culinary students – seven men ranging in age from 22 to 41, decked out in black chef's coats with metal tags that included their first names and “Future Chef” – had catered breakfast and lunch for a human resources conference. This was the final day, and lunch would be a feast for 50 of chicken tinga, cochinita pibil and bean-and-potato tacos.

The students are all on the autism spectrum. Christopher largely kept to himself. Richard monitored the pinto beans with a timer he assiduously reset every time it went off. Sean mashed the guacamole while an Arc staffer held the bowl. Kristian, the most talkative of the group, needed gentle prodding from The Arc executive chef Bev Lazo-Gonzalez to focus on his job. Otherwise, they were like any other line chefs in any restaurant kitchen – except they weren't allowed to handle knives.

"I love being able to show their families that they're capable of handling big projects like what we're now doing," said sous chef Virginia Reynosa, 37, who has worked with The Arc since 2013. "They're surprised at what their (family members with autism) can do." [read more...]

COMMENTARY: People with disabilities are still full-fledged people created in the image of God and deserving of respect. We need to rid ourselves of the materialist notion that humans are merely highly-evolved animals with no more intrinsic worth than a cow, bird, or snail. People on the autism spectrum can often be quite intelligent: we must not consider autism to be mental retardation.

 
 

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UKRAINE CREATES A DIGITAL PLATFORM TO DOCUMENT RELIGIOUS STRUCTURES DESTROYED BY RUSSIA
from: Religious Information Service of Ukraine

(4 Oct.) Activists have compiled information about 16 religious sites in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. You can view eight of these sites , now available on the "Temples Under Fire" platform, as reported by the initiators of the "UP. Life" initiative.

The website features photos and videos of the destruction and damage to religious buildings of various denominations, which were documented during expeditions. The project's authors aim to document Russia's destruction of Ukrainian religious sites, draw attention to the harm done to Ukraine's spiritual and cultural heritage, and contribute to the restoration of these temples in the future.

"We tried to select religious buildings of different denominations: Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), Baptists, Protestants, Muslims, and more. We focused on populated areas where the fiercest battles took place," said the project initiators.

"All religions and confessions represented in Ukraine have suffered losses. For example, in Bakhmut, a mosque was completely destroyed; in Kramatorsk, a Krishna temple was destroyed; in Druzhkivka, a prayer house of Evangelical Christians-Baptists was destroyed; in Ruskyi Tyshky, a wooden church of the OCU, and so on. However, the largest number of destroyed and damaged churches belong to the religious communities of the UOC-MP – over 80 and over 200, respectively," state the project's authors... [read more...]

COMMENTARY: It is appalling how the Russian military can have such a huge disregard for religious freedom, not only of religious confessions that differ from Russian Orthodoxy, but even for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) that has been under the control of Moscow but now has condemned Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

 
 

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OLDER ADULTS AND DISASTERS: HOW TO BE PREPARED AND ASSIST OTHERS
from: American Psychological Association

(21 Sep.) By 2050, one in every five Americans will be 65 years or older. Older adults are not only the least prepared for disasters but also have the highest rate of disaster-related deaths.

The number of disasters is on the rise. Almost daily, reports of wild fires, industrial explosions, extensive power outages, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes dominated the national news. Older adults are more at risk during all phases of a disaster, from life-threatening challenges during evacuation to negative psychological consequences during the recovery period.

Not all older adults are equally vulnerable to disasters. For example, a 76-year-old man living independently in the community would most likely have different strengths and weaknesses than an 84-year-old man living in a skilled nursing facility. Advanced age in and of itself does NOT make a person vulnerable.

Vulnerability and preventability
With advanced age, some older adults are at greater risk for physical and mental health conditions, may be socially isolated, and may experience cognitive changes, including slower reaction times and reduced problem-solving abilities.

In addition, where you live greatly affects the levels of social support. Older adults who live at home without home care services can be overlooked both by emergency responders and by family members who do not live in the same community... [read more...]

COMMENTARY: My wife and I can attest to these facts: last year, she fell from a step-stool in the kitchen and broke her left femur – thankfully, I was at home and called an ambulance. Often if I turn my head while walking, I begin to lose my balance: a frequent thing with older people. Thankfully, I haven't fallen yet. Regarding where one lives, just last month we moved into a first-floor condo with no stairs because it was getting difficult to walk up the flight of stairs to our previous condo, especially with groceries. Older people need others nearby so they aren't neglected, especially during disasters.