Human rights is a very important part of the agenda we pursue in this place, as politicians like to call it.

     (The Australian Christian Lobby has) been particularly active on issues of persecuted people groups overseas and refugees in this regard, and of course join with others in the very fundamental Christian concern for the vulnerable in society and issues of poverty overseas.

     But despite our concern for human rights we do not believe that a charter is the best way to protect them. We believe a charter inevitably places competing individual rights on a collision course for which the courts are decidedly inappropriate and ill-equipped to offer crash and medical assistance.

     And I think we have heard enough from sufficiently well qualified and experienced people to demand that this view is not only reasonably held, but a serious reason to not go down this route and to seek other means of redressing human rights.

     In an address given to the National Human Rights Consultation, JIM WALLACE, managing director of the Australian Christian Lobby, argues against proposals for a new national Human Rights Act or Charter...  | more...|

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HUMAN RIGHTS: PROPOSALS FOR NEW ACT SPARK FIERCE DEBATE...  | more...|

Leaders and elected officials from European countries and the United States have remembered how Hungary, exactly 20 years ago, helped to remove the Iron Curtain, which divided Eastern and Western Europe for decades. But the celebrations on 27th June were overshadowed by concerns over Europe's future.

     People young and old sang the Ode to Joy, the European Union anthem, in front of the Hungarian parliament building to commemorate Hungary's role in ending the divisions in Europe.

     Exactly 20 years ago on 27th June, 1989, the foreign ministers of then Communist Hungary and neighboring Austria symbolically cut through the barbed wire fence along their country's borders.

     The move allowed tens of thousands of East German refugees later that year to escape to the west, including Robert Breitner Czuma who suffered because of his parent's church activities and his desire to emigrate.

     "I will never forget the material and moral support I have received in Hungary," he said in an emotionally charged speech in the historic parliament building.

     STEFAN J. BOS reports...  | more...|

Proposals for a national Human Rights Act in Australia have sparked a fierce debate ahead of this week’s public hearings in Canberra.

     The proposed act is one of numerous options being considered as part of a national human rights consultation process led by an independent committee charged with looking at whether human rights are sufficiently protected and what could be done to better protect and promote them.

     Launched in December last year, the committee is chaired by human rights campaigner Father Frank Brennan and includes former diplomat Philip Flood, journalist Mary Kostakidis, former Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Palmer, and lawyer Tammy Williams.

     The committee, which has already held 70 community roundtable sessions in towns and cities across Australia and received some 35,000 submissions, is holding three days of public hearings at Parliament House, Canberra, this week.

     Much of the debate has so far been centred on whether Australian should introduce a national Human Rights Act - a proposal which has prompted strong responses from those on both sides of the issue.

     DAVID ADAMS reports ...  | more...|

The news that singer Michael Jackson died early Thursday afternoon at his Los Angeles home, has predictably sent shock waves through the world of pop celebrity. It has also provoked a tidal wave of responses in the Twittersphere and blogosphere.

     Michael, of course, transcended the borders of his musical genre because he was an innovator, a pusher of boundaries in musical terms.

     Sadly, his celebrity in latter years became more a matter of various troubles, such as the charges of child molestation brought against him and, latterly, problems relating to money as his album sales dropped.

     Even his biggest fans were unsure whether Michael would be able to mount the ambitious series of concerts planned for London this year.

     In some ways, Michael's celebrity trajectory is unique; in others it follows an all too familiar pattern. Actually, on some levels, it seems to parallel the life arc of another 'king' of popular music and ruler of pop-culture - Elvis Presley.

     Following news of the death of Michael Jackson, MAL FLETCHER reflects on the parallels between his life and that of another music 'king' - Elvis Presley - and what we can learn from the lives of both...  | more...|

In 1989 the father of the Iranian Revolution, Grand Ayatollah Khomeini, died without a successor. His rightful and designated successor, Grand Ayatollah Hussain Ali Montazeri, had been sidelined in 1988 for protesting corruption and human rights abuses. At that time Khamenei was president, Mousavi was prime minister and Rafsanjani was speaker of the parliament.

     They were secure because they had not protested the purges and massacres! Possibly because Rafsanjani thought Khamenei could be easily controlled, Rafsanjani convinced the Assembly of Experts to appoint Khamenei as Supreme Leader even though he was not qualified for the role.

     ELIZABETH KENDAL, in an article written for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, provides some context for the situation unfolding in Iran...  | more...|

     Powerful images taken by astronauts aboard the International Space Station along with some captured by satellites show the earth from an unusual perspective...   | more...|

Former US President Jimmy Carter has told Christian leaders in Jerusalem he sees "new hope" for the peace process in the Middle East.

     "His analysis is that there is a new hope for the peace process given the new US administration's determination to press seriously for hope and to be an honest broker in the peace process," said Hrair Balian, director of the Carter Center's Peace and Conflict Resolution department following a closed-door meeting with the Christian leaders on 18th June at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.
      Mr Carter was near the end of an almost two week tour of the region and spoke to both Israeli officials and Hamas as well as regional leaders.

Mr Balian said the meeting with international and local Christian leaders and the World Council of Churches was held in a very "friendly, warm atmosphere" where Mr Carter shared his impressions of the situation in the Middle East.

     JUDITH SUDILOVSKY reports from Jerusalem for Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

I met Dr Steven Collins in the reception area of Trinity Southwest University in Albuquerque, where he serves as provost and professor. Instead of staying at the school, we headed off to a local coffee shop.

     Dr Collins didn't look like your average jet-setting archeologist: no Indiana-Jones leather jacket, hat, or whip. Instead, Steve wore jeans, sandals, and a "Life is Good" t-shirt. And for Dr Collins, that motto is playing out in his own life.

      With his newest discoveries in Jordan, life is turning out very good for the unassuming archeologist from New Mexico.

     I first got word of his recent finding at Calvary of Albuquerque, where Dr Collins sat down for an interview with Senior Pastor, Skip Heitzig. Dr Collins brought some convincing evidence of a monumentally significant find: he contends that he may have discovered the historic city of Sodom.

     BRIAN NIXON, of Assist News Service, speaks to Dr Steven Collins about his bid to find the lost city of Sodom...  | more...|

A ground-breaking presentation on extreme poverty - which aims to generate as much clout and discussion as the documentary An Inconvenient Truth - is making its global launch in Australia next month.

     The innovation of anti-poverty campaigners Hugh Evans and Simon Moss, the 90 minute slide and film presentation, 1.4 Billion Reasons, will debut in Melbourne on 4th July before a whirlwind tour of the nation's capital cities, paving the way for culturally-customised presentations around the world.

     Evans and Moss are the co-founders of the Global Poverty Project which launched in September last year at the United Nations' meeting on Millenium Development Goals (MDG) in New York.

     With the backing of both the UN and the Australian government, the Global Poverty Project is driven by a small management team that includes world-renowned researchers in social justice, international development, sustainability, anthropology and economics.

     SALLY HOLT talks to former Young Australian of the Year, Hugh Evans, about the Global Poverty Project...  | more...|

It seems the most natural thing in the world for a person to care about family members. A scientist points out that family is an extension of self, and argues that there is a "selfish gene" driving each of us to ensure the successful continuation of our family line. Perhaps this explains our concern for people who live in our own neighbourhood, as well: by watching out for the people who live close to us, we provide better security networks for our loved ones and ourselves.

     But what is it that causes us to extend ourselves, and to take real risks, for people farther removed from us? Why, in the parable Jesus told, did a passing Samaritan put himself out for the sake of a Jewish traveller? The Jew was someone whom this passer-by would have regarded as "the Other", someone whose well-being had no immediate relevance to the well-being of himself or his family.

     In a sermon given at a racism conference held in The Netherlands last weekend, Rev Dr SAMUEL KOBIA, general-secretary of the World Council of Churches, takes a look at what the story of the Good Samaritan tells us about what is means to love our neighbour in today's world...  | more...|

Darren Lewis says he didn’t really have a relationship with his father.

     “He was an alcoholic and a workaholic so I really never knew him...” says the 38-year-old, who now runs Queensland-based organisation, Fathering Adventures, aimed at providing opportunities for fathers to connect with their children. “I didn’t have a relationship with him.”

     In fact, it was only in the last weeks of his father’s life - as the former rigger was dying of liver disease in 2004 - that he says he heard the words he’d been wanting to hear all his life.

     “Even though I was 34 at the time, I was amazed how much I still wanted to hear those words, ‘I love you, I’m proud of you’, and so on,” he recalls.

     The moment finally came only days prior to his dad’s death. His father had fallen into a coma and wasn’t expected to wake again. Told his father only had 48 hours to live, Mr Lewis had gone into his father’s room and prayed over him, asking him to call out to Jesus.

     DAVID ADAMS speaks to Darren Lewis, founder of Fathering Adventures, about his heart for helping men understand their role as parents...  | more...|

Sister Pina Sandu says that in her Orthodox monastery in the mountains of Romania, they practise "touristic spirituality". With a resort built up around the monastery, "like it or not" the tourists "hear the bells, hear the services three times a day...They hear, they feel, they know that something is happening." As a result, their curiosity leads them into the yard and into the church - "small, sure steps towards something beautiful".

     Sister Pina and five other sisters - two each from Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant orders - are providing a similar subtle but radical witness at the Ecumenical Institute Bossey outside of Geneva, Switzerland, for students and visitors alike.

     The sisters live together, coordinate the worship and prayer life at the Ecumenical Institute, participate in classes - and embody a sense of "ecumenical spirituality" in daily life.

     SARA SPEICHER reports for the World Council of Churches...  | more...|

Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun has urged China to change its stance on the crackdown 20 years ago against peaceful protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

     "I hope they really consider seriously the possibility of a reassessment of the verdict," the RTHK radio station reported the recently retired Roman Catholic bishop of Hong Kong as saying in a 1st June 2009 speech at the territory's Foreign Correspondents' Club.

     Some reports have suggested that about 1000 people died in the crackdown on 4th June, 1989, against protesters calling for more democracy and clean government. Beijing says that the official intervention was necessary because the protesters threatened the primacy of the Chinese Communist Party.

     RHTK was reporting on 3rd June that police and security forces in Beijing had stepped up controls among tourists on Tiananmen Square ahead of the anniversary. The radio station said human rights groups had estimated that about 30 people are still serving prison sentences for their activities in 1989, while hundreds of protest leaders remain in exile.

     FRANCIS WONG, of Ecumenical News International, reports...  | more...|

Celebrity strikes again!

     Today's sad news that Susan Boyle, popular runner-up in the latest series of Britain's Got Talent, has been admitted to The Priory suggests yet again that celebrity culture is not all the hype suggests it to be.

     Ms Boyle is apparently suffering from the extreme pressure of performing and dealing with the public's interest in her life.

     When will we learn that the hyped-up publicity and bubble-like lifestyle that accompany modern celebrity are not particularly healthy, emotionally or psychologically for any human being caught in its glare?

     Yes, there are many who deal with the impact of celebrity better than Ms Boyle seems to be able to do at present, and we can only hope that she will have all the support she needs to see her way through this period.

     But let's face it, the entire celebrity machine is set up not for the benefit of the performer, but in order to sell 'units' for multi-national corporate 'talent factories'.

MAL FLETCHER says while people have always looked to celebrate people of unsual talent, celebrity culture today all too often involves chewing up the lives of the people it worships. He says society needs to think long and hard about where celebrity culture is leading us...  | more...|

In Christian tradition, Thomas the Believer has a strong connection with India. In recent times a much younger Thomas Delaney has come from India to share something of what God is still doing in that country.
      Thomas is a year eight student at St Laurence's college this term, immersed in a Brisbane Catholic school while his missionary parents take a furlough and study break. Boys' obsessions with the latest X-Box are puzzling for a lad who carries drinking water in buckets at home.
      His parents, Mark and Cathy experienced short term mission visits to India during their university years.

     “When we eventually met, we both had a sense of the third world and a sense in which it just wouldn't be right to walk down a career path to a comfortable life," says Ms Delaney.

      PHIL SMITH speaks to student Thomas Delaney about his life in two worlds...  | more...|

Its population may be dwindling, but the Palestinian village of Taybeh is striving to maintain normality in the midst of conflict, and hope in the midst of oppression.

     Taybeh, 14 kilometres north east of Ramallah, is one of the few predominantly Christian villages in Palestine. Like villages all over the West Bank, it is suffering as many of its people decide to emigrate, seeing no other choice given the economic and physical hardship they suffer under Israeli occupation.

     In the 1960s the town had a population of 3,400. The population today is 1,300. Unemployment stands at around 50 per cent.

     But for Father Raed Abusahlia, priest of the Latin (Roman Catholic) church of Taybeh, the grim situation only adds urgency to efforts to empower the local people spiritually and economically, as he explained to an ecumenical delegation visiting the village in March.

      EMMA HALGREN, of the World Council of Churches, writes of a move to put a peace lamp in every church around the world...  | more...|

The Micah Challenge coalition has welcomed the Federal Government’s continued commitment to overseas development assistance in the 2009-10 aid budget announced on Tuesday.

       While the government’s commitment to reaching 0.5 per cent holds firm, the previously announced timetable for reaching that figure has slipped. This is going to make it increasingly difficult for the government to meet their commitments in subsequent budgets, and even more difficult for them to reach the 0.7 per cent that Australia needs. We committed as a nation to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to halve world poverty by 2015. But as this date looms closer, Australia is yet to contribute its fair share.

     Particularly pleasing in this year’s aid budget was the renewed attention for maternal and child health, with funding of $370 million dollars. This is good news for Micah Challenge supporters who have been campaigning tireless

      TABITHA HORSLEY, of Micah Challenge Australia, takes a look at what the Federal budget means for the world's poor...  | more...|

POPE CALLS FOR PALESTINIAN HOMELAND AND DENOUNCES ANTI-SEMITISM

Resisting pressure from both Israeli hard-liners and those antagonistic to the Israeli state, the visiting Pope Benedict XVI has come out in support of a genuine Palestinian homeland and has condemned equally both anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

     The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics has used his Middle East trip to call for positive renewed relations between Christians, Jews and Muslims, for reconciliation and justice in Israel-Palestine and for an end to anti-Jewish and anti-Arab prejudice.

     However, he has also stressed that his visit is of a spiritual nature and that he is not seeking a direct stake in political negotiations - though he does consider it his business to comment on questions of truth, justice and peace.

      A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

PREVIOUSLY:

POPE DENOUNCES USE OF RELIGION TO SHIELD IDEOLOGICAL HATE AND VIOLENCE

As he heads to what could be a sea of controversy in Israel-Palestine, Pope Benedict XVI's Middle East trip has been marked by a strong message of reconciliation and affirmation of hard-pressed historic Christian communities in the region.

     In particular, he has addressed 40,000 Catholics in Jordan - who rarely, if ever gather together - as well as visiting the Hashemite Museum located next to the mosque in Amman.

     The pontiff also met with Muslim religious leaders, the diplomatic corps and rectors of Jordanian universities on an area near the mosque.

     He addressed some remarks to Prince Ghazi bin Talal, one of the signatories of the message 'A Common Word between Us and You' from 13th October 2007, sent by 138 Muslim scholars to the Pope and to other global Christian leaders.

      A report from Ekklesia...  | more...|

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a mother. I never really had preconceived ideas about motherhood, but assumed as many had gone before me and survived it, it couldn't be that hard. Fortunately for me, falling pregnant was relatively easy, but being a mother was a different story. Like most women, becoming a mother was life-changing for me, but all under the scrutinising eyes of those around me.

     I learned very early on in my mothering, that parental critique has become an art form. Everyone believes they are the expert and no mother is safe from critical eyes or hurtful judgments. I remember, when my first son was just born, being told my milk was "off”, because he was crying. I never realised, as a mother, I would be judged on my ability or inability to settle my newborn.

     I remembered going to “mothers' group” and listening to the other mothers talk about their child's stages of development. Little Johnny was now walking but pity the mother whose child had not yet crawled. These women were made to feel like this was in some way their fault; they had not done something right. I, too, have been guilty of judging the mothers whose children throw a tantrum in the shopping centre, only to be given a chocolate to pacify them. Or the mothers who won't reprimand their child after he has hit another.

      As we mark Mother's Day around the world this Sunday, mother-of-four CORAL VASS says mothers need to be encouraged in their job, not criticised...  | more...|

Six-month-old Josephine was born with congenital cataracts in both eyes. She was one of the youngest cataract patients treated by volunteers serving with Mercy Ships in West Africa.

     Being blind in any country is challenging, but even more so in West Africa where access to quality eye care is practically non-existent. There are no special schools for blind people, no guide dogs, and no help for people with this disability. With such obstacles, Josephine faced a dark and difficult future.

     But Josephine's mother Annie heard about the big hospital ship where people would be able to help. They arrived at the Mercy Ship Africa Mercy with a fresh sense of hope. Josephine received free surgery to remove the cataracts. Dr Glenn Strauss, a volunteer eye surgeon, believed that if the girl's cataracts were not removed quickly, the prospect of permanent blindness was certain. Her mother wants Josephine to go to school and study to become a doctor.

      AMOS BENNETT reports on Mercy Ship's work in West Africa...  | more...|

The outbreak of swine flu in a number of nations worldwide is rightly a cause for concern. But it is not yet a cause for wide-spread anxiety.

     The threat is real. Yet this situation is already showing signs of morphing into yet another example of the science and politics of fear.

     Whatever we do to take action against swine flu, we must also guard against the panic or malaise that sustained fear brings.

     Cases of infection have surfaced in countries as far apart as New Zealand, China and Israel. Around the world, governments and health authorities are trying to curtail the spread of the disease, by discouraging travel to affected areas and providing fast-track support to laboratories that are looking for an antidote.

      MAL FLETCHER says that while the threat posed by swine flu is real, it is important to keep a sense of perspective, particularly given the counter-productive nature of fear which can breed not only terror and panic but irrational responses to problems...  | more...|

The rollercoaster of emotions that I have experienced and will continue to experience since last Tuesday are virtually indescribable – from the depths of sadness to utter elation, solidity to tears – my heart has been torn down and re-built with several new, harder, stronger layers...something akin to re-building an onion.

     It began as I approached the area on Tuesday, 14th April. The 10 to 15 kilometres between St Andrews and Kinglake you are literally driving through a valley that’s in the shadow of death. The roads are no wider than about 10 metres and both sides are surrounded by the most barren vista – trees completely burnt out, the ground black – it’s like a horror movie where you expect the Grim Reaper to appear, although sadly, he’s already been and cut his swathe of destruction.

     I pictured myself driving along the twists and turns of those roads attempting to escape the fire’s wrath during Black Saturday. It would have literally been hell on earth.

      MATT PAYNE, communications coordinator for missions, aid and development organisation Global Care Australia, talks about his recent trip to Kinglake, one of the communities worst affected during the Black Saturday bushfires, and the work Global Care has been doing in the area...  | more...|

The statistics are startling: more than 880 million people around the globe are forced to rely on what are potentially harmful sources of water resulting in what has been referred to as a “silent humanitarian crisis” which kills some 3,900 children every day.

     Samaritan’s Purse ‘Turn on the Tap’ initiative aims to help turn the tide.

     Officially launched in February,the project hopes to raise $500,000 to help bring clean water to communities throughout the Asia-Pacific region by World Water Day in March next year.

     Darren Tosh, in charge of projects for Samaritan’s Purse Australia, explains that project is not just focused on water supply but also the quality of the water being provided.

     “So we end up having two aspects...that we’re really focusing on: we’re sourcing water for communities that are currently dry or they currently don’t have great water access...and then, at the other end, we’re actually doing water filtration to address the quality issue. So it depends on the community.”

      DAVID ADAMS reports on Samaritan's Purse Australia's Turn on the Tap initiative...  | more...|

PICTURE: © Thorsten Rust (www.istockphoto.com)

OUT OF THE ARCHIVES: ANZAC DAY - MORE THAN JUST A SYMBOL

The national day of commemoration of those who sacrificed in times of war immortalised on the 25th April each year - Anzac Day - has become much more than a symbol of a battle. The current generation of new adults has captured and taken ownership of it in a revived nationalism.

     There was a sentiment across Australia from the ‘60s and into the '80s that downgraded Anzac Day. Some have put this down to the anti-Vietnam sentiments, exacerbated by the feeling of abandonment by its veterans; but it began long before that when the post war baby-boomers, only ever experiencing affluence, disassociated themselves from their father's and grand father's war exploits.

     MARK TRONSON writes about how our perceptions of Anzac Day are changing...  | more...|

Easterfest never fails to amaze me.

     And this is not because of the huge crowds, the immense behind-the-scenes work, or the big names that this event attracts, although these things in themselves are quite mind-boggling.

     It's a special 'something extra' that makes this event more than simply a big Christian festival.

     It's hard to describe, but this 'something extra' - or 'buzz', as I like to call it - is a feeling of anticipation, excitement, hope, and joy.

     It's the feeling we so often sense when God is worshipped in a big way by a big crowd.

     In a way that's hard to define, I believe this 'something extra' - or 'buzz', as I like to call it - is in fact the spirit of God, and it hovers over Easterfest in a wonderful cloud.

     This year was my third time working at Easterfest, and the buzz was there again right from the start.

      CHARLOTTE DURUT enjoyed the buzz of this year's Easterfest music festival in Toowoomba, Queensland, and caught up with a couple of the lesser-known artists at the event - Lester Davis and Alarice...  | more...|

“It’s just about spurring one another on.”

     That, in a nutshell, is the essence of what Melbourne-based band Simeon’s latest project is all about. Called Not Calming Down 4 Niger, the project - a joint initiative between the band and CBM - aims to raise $50,000 toward helping the mission organisation’s work in the African country.

    Singer/songwriter, lead singer and the band's namesake, Simeon Shinkfield, says the idea for the project came about when he was writing a song called Not Calming Down - the second single off the band’s latest album, Then We Collide - and had a strong sense that God wanted more from him than “just a song”.

     “The Bible talks about us not becoming numb to the needs of other people and becoming numb to God as well,” says Simeon, who spent a couple of years in Niger during his schooling while his parents worked with mission organisation SIM (Serving in Mission).

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to Simeon about his band's project - Not  Calming Down 4 Niger - aimed at raising $50,000 to help fund the work of CBM in the African nation...  | more...|

THE BIG PICTURE: THE MEANING OF EASTER?

   Follow the link to see a larger version of ANN WOJCZUK's take on Easter... | more...|

ESSAY: EARTHQUAKES, G20, JADE GOODY - WHY WE STILL NEED EASTER

Three news stories from the past week remind us why Easter should remain a sacred and special season, even in today's highly secularised age.

     The devastating earthquake in Italy this week reminded us that our collective fate is profoundly impacted by natural events beyond our control.

     The recent bushfires in Victoria, Australia - the state of my birth - inevitably point us to the same conclusion.

     Futurists sometimes speak of events like these as wildcards - low probability, high impact events that are potential game-changers in terms of their impact on human society.

     MAL FLETCHER says three recent stories - that of the Italian earthquake, the recent G20 summit in London and the life, and recent death of reality TV's Jade Goody - all illustrate why Easter is so important...  | more...|

ESSAY: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

When I came to Australia 20 years ago I wondered why people kept asking the question: What is the true meaning of Christmas? As a convert from traditional Chinese religion, I had to learn what Christmas meant when I became a Christian. I had assumed that every Christian knew the meaning of Christmas - that is, it is about Jesus the Saviour and Lord, rather than Christmas presents or Santa. But later I realised that consumerism had a big influence on our culture. It is not surprising, therefore, that we got confused because we were constantly bombarded by all sorts of alternative messages about Christmas.

     How about Easter? Do we know what Easter means? I think we do. We know that it is quite literally “a matter of death and life” (yes, I deliberately put “death” before “life”), for it is all about the death and resurrection of Jesus. But is this just another statement of faith that we intellectually confess? Or do we really know what it means? Let's dig deeper.

     SIU FUNG WU reflects on the meaning of the Cross...  | more...|

AUSTRALIAN CHURCH LEADERS REFLECT ON EASTER'S MESSAGE OF HOPE

"The recent bushfires in Victoria and flooding in Queensland have shocked us with their reminder of the violence of the forces of nature and the vulnerability of life. Our communal images of death this Easter are fresh and stark.   

     "Jesus’ death by crucifixion also shocked his community. It was inconceivable to his followers that this man, in whom they were beginning to sense the presence of God, could die in such a cruel and inhuman manner. It was inconceivable to them that life could go on in any meaningful manner after his senseless death."

Read the rest of this statement and those of other Australian church leaders...  | more...|

OUR YOUR SAY EASTER SPECIAL!

As millions of Christians reflect on the death and ressurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter, we're asked the question: 'Who is Jesus Christ to you?' Here's a "word cloud" of the key words you used in your responses...

To see a large version of this image and the responses used to create it, follow the link... | more...|

Bass Strait is regarded as a tough stretch of water by any measure yet was armed only with her windsurfer that Allison Shreeve set out in late March to make the 240 kilometre crossing from Tasmania to Australia's mainland.

     While the forecast was initially favourable with winds mainly at the lower end of the 20 to 30 knot scale and a swell of one to two metres, the winds proved to be mostly running at around 30 knots and Ms Shreeve, four time world champion and the world’s top-ranked formula class windsurfer, was forced to abandon the attempt at the nine hour mark.

     “Because I had six hours instead of three of such conditions, it was really too rough and in the end the swell got up to four metres and peaking over that at times,” she says.

      DAVID ADAMS speaks to windsurfer Allison Shreeve, one of four Australian sportspeople to be featured in the Bible Society's Easter TV special on Good Friday...  | more...|

World leaders meeting in London have pledged $US1.1 trillion to global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund to combat the global economic crisis, prompting investors to buy up stocks while the Dow Industrials in New York surged over 8,000 for the first time in two months.

     United States President Barack Obama said the measures announced on 2nd April at the just-completed Group of 20 nations summit, which was held amid deadly protests, would be a "turning point" in worldwide economic recovery. He stressed leaders were able to overcome "honest disagreements" and reach agreements to “boost” economic growth, job creation, and lending to troubled nations.

     STEFAN J. BOS reports on the outcome of the G20's London Summit ... | more...|

You can read the full text of the London Summit

issued on 2nd April here...

ESSAY: CHURCHES CALL FOR FINANCIAL SYSTEM BASED ON "HONESTY, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND DIGNITY FOR ALL"

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been observing with deep concern the current global financial and economic crisis that has led to increased unemployment, indebtedness and poverty world wide.

     At the outset, the WCC considers this crisis as not merely a financial and economic one but as a crisis that has moral and ethical dimensions that have slowly been eroding our societies over a period of time. We are witnessing an era when greed has become the basis for economic growth. It is therefore necessary, in the understanding of the churches, to go beyond short term financial bail out actions and to seek long term transformation based on sound ethical and moral principles which will govern a new financial architecture. The WCC has been expressing its concern on this since 1984, when it had issued a call for a new international financial order based on ethical principles and social justice.

In a letter to G20 nations ahead of their April summit in London, Rev Dr SAMUEL KOBIA, urges national leaders to seize the opportunity to transform global finances... | more...|

Recounting stories such as the alleged forced poisoning of a young couple, speakers at the Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits which opened in Bangkok, Thailand, on 21st March gave a face to the 3,500-year-old system of caste-based discrimination, detailing practices many would consider unthinkable in the 21st century.

     Shortly after their wedding on 5th May, 2003, 25-year-old S. Murugesan and 22-year-old D. Kannagi - both college graduates from Puthukkooraippetti village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu - were allegedly forced to drink poisonous liquid in the presence of scores of people, who witnessed the couple's agony. The bodies were burnt, leaving no evidence of the gruesome incident.

    This real-life Romeo and Juliet story happened because Murugesan was a Dalit while Kannagi was a Vanniyar with low caste status.

     MAURICE MALANES reports on the recent Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits...  | more...|

An international expert on church unity has urged the Roman Catholic Church to declare officially that its excommunication of Martin Luther no longer applies.

     Such a statement, "in these ecumenically less exciting times..would be a remarkable step and a sign of hope and encouragement", said the Rev Günther Gassmann, a German Lutheran theologian, who was director of the World Council of Churches' Faith and Order Commission from 1984 to 1995.
      Born in 1483, Luther trained as a Catholic monk, but was excommunicated by the Catholic Church in 1521 after refusing to retract teachings the church judged to be heretical.

     In a 19th March lecture in Rome, Rev Gassmann said that a joint Lutheran-Catholic statement published in 1983 to mark the 500th anniversary of Luther's birth had sought to elaborate a common position on the work and legacy of the reformer.

     A report from Ecumenical News International...  | more...|

Why has Voice of the Martyrs Australia decided to appoint a youth director?
      "Voice of the Martyrs Australia has been serving the persecuted church since 1969. We bear witness not only to the hardships of persecuted believers but also to their incredible faith, hope and joy through suffering. We want to challenge young people to live with this same kind of passion and commitment to Christ in Australia. We also want to train and equip youth to prayerfully and practically support persecuted believers around the world. Youth are the future of the church, and we have a message that they need to hear. My job is to get that message out to youth."

    Brad Konemann, 22, has recently been appointed Voice of the Martyrs Australia's first youth director. Mr Konemann, who lives with his wife Katherine in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, spoke to DAVID ADAMS about his new role and how trips to visit the persecuted church in Vietnam and Colombia have impacted his life...  | more...|

Members of the church-backed Ecumenical Water Network are urging that water be affirmed as a "basic human right" by government delegations meeting in Istanbul at the World Water Forum.

     "The right to water and sanitation is firmly grounded in international human rights law," said a statement signed by EWN members Church World Service, the Church of Sweden and Norwegian Church Aid, along with other "civil society" organisations.

     The EWN groups churches and Christian organisations campaigning for people's access to water around the world. They have maintained that water is more than merely a "human need", as stated in the forum's draft ministerial declaration.

     A report from Ecumenical News International... | more...|

Late last year, the Israeli government announced that it would hold a worldwide press conference to field questions about its war with Hamas. Big deal, you say. But wait: they planned to do it via the Twitter web phenomenon.

     TIME Magazine says, "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app", and Newsweek noted that "Suddenly, it seems as though all the world's a-twitter".

     Celebrities, politicians, even preachers - everyone who is anyone, it seems, is eager to start twittering. Even the US President sends "tweets" - though it's hard to imagine that he is the one actually punching in the messages!

     Where is this twittering culture taking us? And what does this mean for the person of faith who wants to break through the clutter, the white noise of web traffic, and share something of substance?

     MAL FLETCHER says that Christians need a strong presence in a world where new media - like Twitter - is constantly emerging, saying it's part of a Christian's calling to "sanctify new technologies"... | more...|

Ask the four key questions:

1. When were we created?
There is no timetable mentioned in scripture. God’s Word states simply “in the beginning” (1:1). Creationists try to develop a timetable from the Bible, ending with a date for creation within the last 10,000 years. Some use the method developed by Archbishop Ussher in 1650. They count the age of people in the Bible before the birth of Christ working backwards until 4004 BC, thinking, wrongly, that includes every generation.

     We do not know the date of creation. The Bible does not say. That is the role of science. Scientists give various dates. Some geneticists in USA conclude that the first women lived in central Africa 200,000 years ago. Professors Leakey, working in the Oldavai Gorge in Africa, date the earliest at two million years ago. The discovery of a well-preserved woman in Ethiopia is placed at three million years ago. Other scientists believe evolution was not slow and steady but leaped in rapid developments. There are 26 Australian archaeological sites indicating that human beings inhabited this country 40,000 years ago.

In part two of an article looking at our origins, Rev Dr GORDON MOYES asks the "four key questions" concerning that age-old concern of humanity - how were we created?... | more...|

PART I - HOW WERE WE CREATED?

I once wrote a little book entitled, How Were We Created? It was used for study fairly widely by university students with much appreciation. Printed in March 1968, it quickly sold out, but it was reprinted five times. It has been out of print since. It grew out of my studies that were selected because I wanted to know more about how evolution and Biblical faith intersected. My studies in biology, geology, paleontology, archaeology, ancient history, botany, geography, and theology have blessed me through 50 years of ministry.

In the first part of an article looking at our origins, Rev Dr GORDON MOYES takes a look at the intersection of Darwinism and Christianity... | more...|

The Federal Government’s decision to overturn a ban on using foreign aid for abortion funding has sparked a sharp response from some Christian organisations.

     The Australian Christian Lobby, which had pressed the government not to overturn the ban, said Christians were dismayed at the decision.

     Managing director Jim Wallace says the Government has “caved in” to pro-abortion advocates.

     “This will be the first time in Australia’s history that our aid dollars are used to kill unborn children overseas,” he says in a statement.

     He says Christians who pushed for an increase in foreign aid funding at the last election would be “appalled” that some of those aid dollars will now be redirected to ending the lives of unborn children in poor countries.

     Jack de Groot, chief executive of Catholic relief organisation Caritas, says the organisation was “gravely concerned” about the implications of the policy change. In a statement, he says the organisation has not yet been consulted on the issue by the Federal Government.

     DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

It’s been 50 years since Billy Graham held his first crusades in Australia and to mark that fact the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has commissioned a new documentary which takes a look at the events of of 1959 and their ongoing impact in Australia.

     The one hour film, Remembering ‘59, will be hosted by Karl Faase - the host of weekly Christian talk show Face to Face and a board member of the BGEA. It’s been produced by Olive Tree Media in association with the BGEA.

     Martin Johnson, who directs and produces the film, says the documentary looks at the impact of the crusade on Australia both then and now.

     To that end, it includes interviews with a number of Australians who were impacted by the crusades, the best known of whom is Peter Jensen, the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.

     DAVID ADAMS reports... | more...|

We are experiencing what former U.S. Federal Reserve Bank chairman Alan Greenspan calls “a once-in-a-century type of event” – a global financial crisis.

     First came the subprime mortgage crisis, then government takeover of home mortgage lenders, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other major financial firms, and flow-on effects to other sectors and other national economies. Consumer spending is down, trade contracting, unemployment rising, public sector bailouts and financial stimulus measures multiplying, and public sector borrowing at record levels.

     The crisis was triggered by the tendency for individuals and institutions to act for their own short-term benefit while passing on longterm risks to others, combined with lax regulation of financial institutions. Some also argue that misplaced confidence in the “equilibrium” view of economics, whereby the prices of stocks and other securities tend toward their proper value and markets self-regulate, is partly to blame.

   ROSS CLIFFORD and ROD BENSON take a look at how we should respond to the current economic crisis... | more...|

4th March, 2009

Mission Aviation Fellowship's newest addition - a GA8 Airvan - was on show at Sydney's Camden Airport last month as part of the organisation's Mission Aviation Discovery Day. More than 700 people attended the day to see some of MAF's aircraft and meet pilots and support missionaries. The GA8 Airvan - which the organisation is introducing as a replacement for their veteran Cessna 206s - was one of two aircraft which took people on joyflights throughout the day. This aircraft, the first turbo-charged Airvan to roll off the production line at Victorian company Gippsland Aeronautics, is destined for the MAF program in Papua New Guinea Highlands. A de Havilland DH-82 Tiger Moth - similar to first aircraft used by MAF in the Asia-Pacific region for survey flights in the 1940s (right) was also present on the day. MAF flies to around 2,500 isolated communitiues across Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region to facilitate Gospel ministeries, development services and to provide emergency relief. For more information about the organisation, see www.maf.org.au

As the global financial system falters, many civil society and church activists see the crisis as an opportunity to press for long-overdue, radical reforms. The first opportunity for them to do so will come in early April, when the G20 will meet in London.

     For once, advocates for economic justice seem not to be alone in recognising the need for changes in global finances. Stock markets faltering around the planet and giant banks falling into bankruptcy have convinced governments of the richest countries that they have to do something, especially as the financial crisis impacts the "real" economy with massive lay-offs in companies affected by the global credit crunch and shrinking consumer markets.

     "But there is a fundamental difference of approach between those who try to refund financial capitalism and those who see a need for a shift of paradigm in the world's economy," says Brazilian economist Marcos Arruda from the Institute on Policy Alternatives for the Southern Cone (PACS).

     JUAN MICHEL talks to some of the participants of the recent World Social Forum about reforming the world's financial system... | more...|

Olympian of the Century, Carl Lewis, presented an Australian couple, Mark and Delma Tronson, an international award at a glittering event held the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott ballroom on 16th February.

     The Lay Witnesses for Christ award was for their services over 27 years to the Sports Ministry, which included their part in the Beijing Olympic Ministry international prayer network.

     The spectacular presentation evening was once again hosted by Lay Witnesses for Christ founder and president Dr Sam Mings and his wife, Sharon. Some 700 guests turned out for the 20th year celebration of Texan high school Christian Athletes of the Year (male and female), and many other awards.

     DAN WOODING, of Assist News Service, reports... | more...|

AUSTRALIA MARKS A NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING FOR BUSHFIRE VICTIMS

Updated: 9pm, 22nd February, 2009

Australians joined with people all around the world to mark a National Day of Mourning for the victims of Victoria's bushfires - the country's worst natural disaster.

     Thousands - including survivors of the fires and firefighters - gathered to watch the national service at Melbourne's Rod Laver arena while other memorial services were held around the state - including in the regions worst affected by the fires.

     The Governor-General, Quentin Bryce, told those at the service that the communities affected by bushfire would build no matter the cost while the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said that every 7th February would now be a memorial day for victims of the fires, with flags across the country to fly at half mast and a minute's silence to be observed.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

HOPE RISES OUT OF THE ASHES

Saturday, 7th February, 2009, started off well for me; picking up three passengers, two from Marysville and one from Taggerty, for a 45 kilometre trip to the Victorian town of Alexandra to attend an interdenominational men’s breakfast at which I was the guest speaker. Little did I know that within seven hours I would be back in Alexandra with my wife Yvonne, along with most other residents of the burned out town of Marysville, as evacuees without house and possession (along with all six who attended the men’s breakfast from Marysville that morning).

     Black Saturday saw fires on a scale never before experienced in Victoria, or throughout Australia. With temperatures over 45 degrees celcius, high winds in excess of 70 kph, dry grasslands and forests with years of uncleared and unattended dry fuel, it was a recipe for disaster which saw some 2000 homes lost resulting in many casualties and, as I write, over 200 lives taken.

     Rev IVOR JONES, of Mount Cathedral Baptist Church in Buxton, recalls 'Black Saturday'...  | more...|

ESSAY: WHERE WAS GOD ON 'BLACK SATURDAY'?

As the victims of the Victorian bushfires continue to grieve their immeasurable loss, and the community continues to give so generously, the question for some people of faith that has arisen is: Where was God in all of this? What was He doing? Why didn't He intervene? After all, surely He could have prevented this carnage with a wave of His hand.

     To those who have lost loved ones and homes, any words of explanation will probably be woefully insufficient to account for the unimaginable pain that people are suffering. What do you say to people who, in an instant one Saturday afternoon, had their whole lives ruined by something completely out of their control? Or worse, by someone who deliberately lit some of the fires?

     NILS VON KALM reflects...  | more...|

CONFRONTING THE HORROR OF A DAY THEY WILL NEVER FORGET

Like everyone, I’ve known some families deeply affected by the fires. Words can’t describe the pain.

     I spent the day at Whittlesea yesterday as a chaplain offering pastoral care to those returning from the mountain having seen their devastated homes and properties for the first time. Much of my time I spent with families with young children.

     I spoke to little Jess who was five. She introduced herself, “My name’s Jess and my home burnt down”. She told me about how hot it was and how scared they were. Her little brother Jake told me the bricks on his house were glowing orange. They were lucky - both they and their parents got out alive.

     MATT GLOVER writes about the day he spent working as a chaplain in the aftermath of Victoria's fires...  | more...|

IN THE AFTERMATH, A VOLUNTEER REFLECTS

I was privileged to spend a day working at the Whittlesea Bushfire Crisis Centre as part of the Chiropractors' Association of Australia (Vic) volunteer assistance effort, just four short days after the massive bushfires wiped out vegetation, homes, farms, businesses, wildlife, livestock and people. Whittlesea is at the base of the hills where Kinglake and Kinglake West were ravaged by bushfire and what some describe as fire storms and fire bombs. While we reflect on policies of whether people should stay and fight or evacuate, when the harsh reality of ravaging flames arrived, many didn't have sufficient time to make either decision.

     As we drove towards Whittlesea you could see the hills ahead as a dark grey backdrop, as opposed to the usual lovely eucalypt-green-blue hue, with small smoke clouds still being visible in small sections of the forest. Having been a visitor on many occasions to this region while visiting close friends in Kinglake West, traffic was noticeably heavier than usual, and the township of Whittlesea resembled a country carnival.

     Chiropractor NICK HODGSON reflects on the day he spent working as a volunteer in fire-ravaged Whittlesea...  | more...|

• People wanting to donate to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal can go to www.redcross.org.au or call the toll free number 1800 811 700.

• Anyone looking to volunteer can complete a registration form at www.volunteeringaustralia.org/volunteer.

LATEST INCIDENT REPORTS: Visit here for details of the latest incidents...

INTERACTIVE MAP: Visit here for a map of where the fires are...

HAVE YOUR SAY: You can offer your thoughts and condolences here...

Two children, aged 13 and 15, have become parents in a story that is now receiving maximum exposure across the British media. Baby Maisie was born to Alfie and Chantelle, who claim that they are in love and happy to take responsibility to raise their child.

     Perhaps there are unexpected links between this sad story, set in a relatively poor housing estate, and two other reports that emerged last week.
      In one, Jade Goody, the former reality-TV contestant, announced that she has agreed to sell photographs of her last months of life to the media. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, she says that she needs the money for the future support of her children.

     MAL FLETCHER reflects on the saga of baby Maisie in the UK and says it raises real questions about the power of celebrity culture and the weakening of family...   | more...|

They sing about taking the shackles off their feet so they can dance, but earlier this month, sisters Erica and Tina Campbell (better known as US Gospel music stars Mary Mary) trod the red carpet at the 51st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

     Nominated for three Grammy awards (for Best Gospel Song and Best Gospel Performance for their song Get Up, and Best Contemporary R & B Gospel Album for their latest release, The Sound), Mary Mary won the Best Gospel Performance award.

     The sisters are no strangers to the music industry’s equivalent of the Oscars. The girls have been singing out about their faith and reaping the...ahem...awards since their debut album, Thankful, picked up the Grammy for Best Contemporary Gospel Album in 2000.

     In an article first published in the Salvation Army's Warcry magazine, ANDREW STONE talks to the singing sisters that are Mary Mary...   | more...|

It started early this year when buses started appearing in London with advertisements plastered on the side telling people ‘There’s probably no God. So stop worrying and enjoy your life'.

     Welcomed by some Christians and condemned by others, the controversial campaign was sparked when comedy writer Ariane Sherine - reportedly annoyed by Christian ads on buses which included a warning that people who reject God will go to hell - wrote about wanting a countering ad on the side of a bus on an online forum.

     The idea was then taken up by the British Humanist Association and has received some high profile support, including from avowed atheist Richard Dawkins.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...   | more...|

What's Cybermissions all about?
"Cybermissions uses computers and the internet to facilitate the Great Commission. We do online evangelism, and supply the body of Christ with online teaching. In particular we have a two-year Harvestime 'Bible college in a box' that people can download and run in their churches. About 20,000 students are in church-based Bible colleges using those modules at the moment. We have many online articles and ebooks at our main teaching website www.globalchristians.org and hope to include a lot more material about holistic ministry - for church leaders in the developing world. Newtestamentprayer.org is our prayer website and Cybermissions.Org deals with internet evangelism and the use of internet cafes as missions bases in unreached people groups."

     Originally from Brisbane, John Edmiston, 52, these days lives with his wife, Minda, in Los Angeles where he is chief executive of mission organisation, Cybermissions. He speaks with DAVID ADAMS about how he came to found the organisation and his new book aimed at missionaries, Biblical EQ...  | more...|

Australia should not be blindly following the lead of the US and allow aid dollars to be used to fund abortions, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.

     Overturning the Bush administration’s ban on the use of US foreign aid to promote abortion as a family planning option - known as the Mexico City Policy - was one of the first acts of the new Obama administration.
      That has led to calls for it to be abolished in Australia. Among those calling for its abolition are Senator Claire Moore, chair of the cross-party Parliamentary Group on Population & Development, who has reportedly said she intends bringing the issue up at the first Government caucus next week.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|

ESSAY: LIFE MEANS SOMETHING

Some things are difficult to forget. For me, one of those was the experience of driving through refugee camps in Rwanda and seeing the violent yet strangely dead eyes of both perpetrators and victims of the genocide there.

     I knew that for the perpetrators, it would be nothing for them to do it all again. They had, by their actions, created a new depraved benchmark where life meant nothing.

     I have similar memories from service with the UN in South Lebanon and briefly visiting Mogadishu during its crisis.

     You're left with the unshakable impression that a lack of respect for life is at the heart of not only individual atrocities, but the failure of civil society, which ultimately spurs and sustains violence on this scale.

    In an article first published at The Age online, Australian Christian Lobby managing director JIM WALLACE says foreign aid money should not be used to fund abortions...  | more...|

Prepare for some good news in 2009. Despite the terrible start in Gaza and other endemic conflicts, governments committed to shared security are set to reach an historic milestone this year. Specifically, the number of countries protected by nuclear-weapon-free zones is set to jump to 110 countries from 56 at present.

     The change will come from an African capital, like Windhoek or Bujumbura, as soon as two more governments ratify the treaty making Africa a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Churches are promoting the step, and linking Africa's action to the need for similar progress in the Middle East.

     "This will be good news on the nuclear front for Africa and the world," notes Ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat, a senior African statesman. Kiplagat is leading a World Council of Churches (WCC) initiative to help bring the Africa Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty into force, with church action nationally to support an international goal.

     JONATHAN FRERICHS, of the World Council of Churches, reports...  | more...|

A group of researchers in the UK have been denied further funding for their stem cell research which involves the creation of human-animal "hybrid" clones. Funding bodies are refusing to underwrite the research, though they have not explicitly outlined the reasons for doing so.

     The stem cell researchers believe that certain factions within the decision-making bodies, which include fellow scientists, are refusing support on moral grounds.

     It is not the response of researchers that I find baffling here, but that of a mainstream newspaper. At least one British newspaper, The Independent, expresses incredulity, pointing out that refusing funding may cause Britain to lose her place as a world leader in stem cell research. I say, fine, let's lose our place if staying number one means crossing the line between expediency and wisdom.

     MAL FLETCHER says that providing funding for hybrid stem cell research goes too far and places too much power in the hands of scientists...  | more...|

CHRISTIANS DESCRIBE HORRIFIC CONDITIONS AS ISRAEL AND HAMAS IGNORE UN CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE

Fighting in Gaza has entered it's 20th day with the death now nearing 1,000 and reports that fighting has also broken out along Israel's northern-border.

     Israeli ground and air forces continued their attacks on Gaza with reports of heavy clashes in the suburbs of Gaza City. There were reports that Israel had also fired artillery into southern Lebanon after a series of rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanese-based militants.

     Both Hamas and Israel continue to ignore a UN Security Council resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire.

     UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who has called upon both sides to put an end to violence and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory, arrives in Israel today.

     Meanwhile, Jeremy Reynolds of Assist News Service reports that an e-mail obtained by ANS from a Christian in Gaza - anonymous for security reasons - described to friends in America what it is like to live in the besieged area.

     DAVID ADAMS and JEREMY REYNOLDS, of Assist News Service, report...  | more...|

Christians from across the globe have appealed for an end to the conflict in Gaza as the Middle East crisis continues into its third week.

     Reports claim that at least 900 Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,500 injured since Israel launched a military offensive on the Hamas-controlled territory in late December. Thirteen Israelis have also died.

     In a statement released Sunday 11th January, Dr Geoff Tunnicliffe, the international director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), and Reverend Harry Tees, the WEA’s Ambassador to the Holy Land, have called upon those in leadership on both sides of the conflict to “do their utmost to end all hostilities and consequent violence” and say the international community needs to respond carefully but resolutely to the crisis.

     DAVID ADAMS reports...  | more...|