Orwellian Twist to Obama Care

The Department of Health and Human Services, which is taking on an Orwellian context come to think of it, has just added a new twist to healthcare law.

In the form of more mandates.

Following recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Obama administration announced this morning that insurance plans will be required to cover contraceptives, which include abortion-inducing drugs such as Plan B and Ella, as well as elective sterilizations.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a news release included the drugs as part of an essential “preventive care” package. “Historic new guidelines that will ensure women receive preventive health services at no additional cost were announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,” she said.

The HHS release notes that “contraception methods and contraceptive counseling” are to be covered, while CNN notes that the preventive mandate will include sterilizations.

Read it all here.

4 Arrested for Smuggling Egyptian Antiquities

Federal authorities announced on Wednesday that they had broken up an international ring that had been smuggling Egyptian antiquities into the United States. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations department said it was the first time that a cultural property smuggling network had been dismantled in the United States.

Read it all here.

Ethiopia's Emergency Food Almost Exhausted

Peter Heinlein

Addis Ababa August 04, 2011


The head of the U.N. World Food Program (WFP) in Ethiopia says the country's emergency food stocks are almost completely exhausted, with drought conditions expected to worsen before they improve. There are also growing concerns about food shortages in Ethiopia's reclusive neighbor, Eritrea.

WFP's Ethiopia Country Director Abdou Dieng says despite a good response to international appeals for food aid, Ethiopia faces a critical shortfall in emergency supplies. He says the reserve established by the government to prevent a recurrence of past food crises is almost empty.

Read it all here.

Jobs Cut, Economy Slows

Medical device maker Boston Scientific Corp. plans to eliminate up to 1,400 jobs worldwide during the next 2 ½ years to free money for new investments. This is the second round of cuts since last year. The company would not say how many jobs will be lost in Massachusetts. In February 2010, Boston Scientific said it would pare 1,300 jobs worldwide, but similarly did not say where.

HSBC Holdings PLC will cut around 30,000 jobs world-wide over the next two years as the bank executes its plan to it exit from some retail markets.

Job cuts surged to a 16-month high in July as 66,414 employees found themselves out of work, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

U.S. manufacturing grew at its slowest pace in two years in July as new orders contracted.

 

Security Council Addressing Assad's Brutality

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council struggled Tuesday through negotiations on how to respond to the Syria crisis that Russia’s envoy warned was veering toward civil war.

Divisions remained among the 15 nations on the wording of any condemnation of President Bashar al-Assad’s crackdown on protests and whether it should be a formal resolution or a less weighty statement.

European nations, who agreed to change their draft resolution on Syria following pressure from opponents, said that progress had been made. But Russia said there was still not the “required balance” in the new version.

The second day of arduous talks ended with each country sending the draft text back to their national governments ahead of new negotiations on Wednesday.

Russia’s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin called the new text “detrimental” to efforts “to do everything possible to pull away from the brink of civil war where Syria is finding itself, unfortunately and tragically.”

International pressure on the Security Council to agree on a stand has mounted since weekend violence in which an estimated 140 people were killed in a military offensive on the flashpoint city of Hama and other protest towns.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vented his growing anger at Assad’s refusal to acknowledge international criticism, particularly after the weekend military offensive in Hama.

Highlighting his many statements on the crisis and attempts to speak to the Syrian leader, Ban told reporters Assad “must be aware that under international humanitarian law, this is accountable. I believe that he lost all sense of humanity.”

Britain, France, Germany, Portugal and the United States have been trying to get a resolution passed for two months.

But Russia and China, two of the five permanent council members, have previously threatened to veto any such move.

Brazil, India and South Africa have also opposed council action, suggesting it could lead to a Libya-style international military campaign against Assad.

European governments and Nato have strongly denied that they are seeking a military intervention.

European diplomats say there is now agreement that there must be a Security Council response, a development that amounts to progress after weeks in which opponents sometimes even did not turn up for talks on Syria.

“We are progressing toward a constructive text,” said one Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There are still key unresolved issues which will go back to capitals.”

The European nations still believe that a formal resolution is the best way to send a strong message to Syria, but diplomats said Russia and China remain strongly against such a move, though they would accept a statement.

Source:  Dawn

St. Philip's Tomb

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Excavator gives background story of apostle Philip and site of recently discovered tomb in Turkey. During the course of excavating a Byzantine-era church in the ancient Greek city of Hierapolis (in modern southwest Turkey), Professor Francesco D’Andria and his archaeological team have discovered the tomb of St. Philip, one of the twelve apostles.

The current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review (BAR) features an article by lead excavator Professor D’Andria relating the history of St. Philip, his martyrdom by upside-down crucifixion and his martyrium at Hierapolis. Most of what is known about St. Philip outside of the New Testament comes from the apocryphal fourth-century text called the Acts of Philip. In the July/August 2011 BAR article, titled “Conversion, Crucifixion and Celebration,” D’Andria traces the history of the saint and explores the textual and archaeological evidence for his life and martyrdom. The article provides a thorough context for understanding the significance of this important discovery.

Philip is believed to have been executed by the Romans in Hierapolis around 80 C.E. The tomb, which is located approximately 40 meters away from an ancient church dedicated to the saint (the Martyrium of St. Philip), has been identified as Philip’s by inscriptions located on the walls of the structure. Professor D’Andria believes that the tomb was moved to its present location in the fifth century from its original position in the Martyrium of St. Philip. D’Andria and his team have not yet opened the grave to examine the remains, but they plan to do so soon. He anticipates that this new discovery will add to the significance of Hierapolis as a Christian pilgrimage destination.

For more information, you can read D’Andria’s article online at www.bib-arch.org/bar or call the Biblical Archaeology Society at 1.202.364.3300.

George Washington's 1790 Letter to Rhode Island Jews

When Ron Chernow was travelling the country last year to talk about his new biography of George Washington, he was often asked about Washington’s 1790 letter to the Jews of Newport, R.I. — the one that famously promised that the United States government would give “to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”

“There were very few speeches that I made where people didn’t ask about that letter,” Chernow recalled. “I can vouch for the fact that there’s tremendous curiosity out there.”

He’s curious, too. Even though Chernow spent six years reading through Washington’s papers to research his book, and was awarded the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for his effort, he’s never seen the original letter. In the last decade, hardly anyone has.

Read it all here.