Really useful articles

Recent articles on a range of topics...
The most recent ones are at the TOP!

July 12, 2010 - The Islamisation of the West
An insightful article by Dr Patrick Sookhdeo of Barnabas Fund about the increasing Islamisation of the West - if you want to understand Islam and its increasing impact, this is a 'must-read'!
Click here to read the article.

June 3, 2010 - Sea level rises and sinking islands
Recent research has shown that some of the Pacific islands are growing and not sinking... there has been an ongoing campaign to claim that the sea is rising and the islands are sinking because of 'global warming'.
First is the recent article from New Scientist -
Shape-shifting islands defy sea-level rise
Then a summary article about this issue by Andrew Bolt...
What’s drowning is not Tuvalu but the alarmists

Back in 2008 we reported that New Zealander Vincent Gray, who had been a researcher writing reports and reviews with the IPCC had changed his mind about 'global warming' and now believed the theory to be false!
In particular his reaearch into sea level rises in the Pacific had shown that the islands were not sinking!
Read Lawrence Solomon's report - click here.
Vincent Gray refers to the project conducted by Flinders Uni in Australia which examined sea levels in the Pacific and found it wasn't occurring...
The Project website  -  Overview page   

June 3, 2010 - 'The War on Muslims, Jihad and the Prophets'
Samuel Green has written a new, insightful article about Islam. The article has been published on Answering Islam.
Click here to read the article.

15 March 2010 - Dr Patrick Sookhdeo on Christian approaches to Islam
This important and detailed paper by Dr Patrick Sookhdeo of Barnabas Fund is vital reading - it assesses the varying approaches taken by Christians to Islam and the changes that have occurred. Patrick shares concerns about the interfaith movement and responses to 'A Common Word' plus a variety of other matters and approaches.A link to the full paper appears below and it is also on the Barnabas Fund website - click here.
A SHORT version of the paper is available - as sent by BF by email -  click here.

Recent Changes in Christian Approaches to Islam  
Published: Monday 8 March 2010. Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, Barnabas Fund. This paper is published to promote discussion of a vital issue in the contemporary Church. It is not intended in any way to impugn the Christian integrity of any of the people or organisations whose views are considered or critiqued. 

30 November, 2009 - Michael Glatze - two years on
Two years ago Michael Glatze left the homosexual lifestyle - two years later he writes of his experience and his Christian faith...
The 'straight' scoop - 2 years later
WorldNetDaily, October 08, 2009 - By Michael Glatze
"Time heals all wounds."
"In my case, this statement is true. Some might remember that, over two years ago, I "came out" against homosexuality, having lived a "gay" lifestyle and been the editor of a gay youth magazine, as well as a relatively vocal political fighter for gay causes. I wrote about my seeing the light here in WorldNetDaily, which spawned additional articles here and in other media, and quite a bit of media attention in general....."

Global warming - too many to list!
30 November, 2009 - From Terry McCrann on the ETS
Emissions trading scheme attacks Australia's national foundations

5 October 2009 - Origins of global warming agenda
I was recently sent a VERY interesting article about some of the origins of the 'global warming' agenda. We have long known about the connections between the global warming scenario and those promoting 'population control', such as Paul Ehrlich.
This article highlights the role of Margaret Mead and other population control people. In particular, the article looks at the role of the 1975 US conference called "The Atmosphere: Endangered and Endangering" which was organised by the influential anthropologist Margaret Mead - in 1974, when she organised the conference, she was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Where the Global Warming Hoax Was Born
Marjorie Mazel Hecht - 21st CENTURY Science & Technology - Fall 2007.

28 September 2009 - Global Warming 'Science'

American Thinker, By John McLaughlin - September 27, 2009.
"It was a startling admission. Prior to passage of "Cap-and-Trade" legislation by the House of Representatives, Mr. Henry Waxman (D, CA), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman and co-sponsor of the bill, in responding to a question from Mr. Joe Barton (R, TX) at a May 22 hearing, admitted the following:

I certainly don't claim that I know everything that's in this bill. I know we left it to ....we relied very heavily on the scientists on the IPCC and others and the consensus they have that there is a problem with global warming, it's having an impact, and that we need to reduce it by the amounts they think we need to achieve in order to avoid some of the consequences. That's what I know, but I don't know the details. I rely on the scientists.

Since then, the House of Representatives has passed and sent to the Senate a major piece of legislation which both Republicans and Democrats agree will heavily tax certain industries, significantly raise prices on energy consumption, and increase the cost of almost all produced goods. .."

18 August 2009 - 'Children are a blessing, not a carbon curse'
Recently a study said that each new baby born will produce 9,400 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide over their lifetime.

Dr Aolbert Mohler, president of teh Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said this argument follows the logic of teh world! He notes that the Bible is clear - to produce children - as Genesis says "to be fruitful and multiply".

Children are a blessing, not a carbon curse
OneNewsNow, 18/8/2009.

20 May 2009 - Is Islam peaceful?
An insightful article by Bill Warner, analysing the life of Mohammed and his actions at various times of his life...
Found! Peaceful Islam
Bill Warner, Political Islam, 18 May 2009.
"Soon after 9/11 we began to hear about Islam, the peaceful religion. The whole concept seems so ludicrous, but it filled the media. Can you imagine someone calling Buddhism, the peaceful religion? It is like saying circles, the round figure. Yes, but isn't it what you would expect?
When scholars use the term, it is usually in quotes, "peaceful Islam", to express the irony of the name. However, in working with the manuscript of my work-in-progress, Waging Ideological War, I was realized that there actually was a peaceful Islam without the quotes. . . ."

29 April 2009 - Ten Myths of Global Warming...
Andrew Bolt challenges everyone who supports the notion of human-caused global warming to do a test... name their top three 'proofs'. He claims that they will most likely be in his 'Top Ten Myths of Global Warming'.
His article provides a good overview of the issue...
Global warming alarmists out in cold
Andrew Bolt - Herald Sun - April 29, 2009.
"IT'S snowing in April. Ice is spreading in Antarctica . The Great Barrier Reef is as healthy as ever. And that's just the news of the past week. Truly, it never rains but it pours - and all over our global warming alarmists.
Time's up for this absurd scaremongering. The fears are being contradicted by the facts, and more so by the week.
Doubt it? Then here's a test.
Name just three clear signs the planet is warming as the alarmists claim it should. Just three. Chances are your "proofs" are in fact on my list of 10 Top Myths about global warming. . ."

17 March 2009 - Islam - 'The Imam's Daughter'
An amazing article was printed in The Times in theUK this week.
The article tells the story of 'The Imam's Daughter' by speaking with the author of a new book written by a girl who was a Muslim and converted to Christianity. The book was released on 5 March 2009.
The book - and the article - highlight how she lived in the UK , was raped by her father who was an imam, how she faced a forced marriage at 16 and fled her family, and then became a Christian. She then feared for her life when they tried to kill her.

The author, "Hannah", is now married... She wants to highlight the plight of Muslim women in Britain.

The book: The Imam's Daughter, by "Hannah Shah".
Click here for details of the book on Amazon.

The article:
My imam father came after me with an axe
Times Online | 15 March 2009 - Dominic Lawson
"We are all too familiar with the persecution of Christians in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan. Yet sitting in front of me is a British woman whose life has been threatened in this country solely because she is a Christian. Indeed, so real is the threat that the book she has written about her experiences has had to appear under an assumed name.
The book is called The Imam's Daughter because "Hannah Shah" is just that:
the daughter of an imam in one of the tight-knit Deobandi Muslim Pakistani communities in the north of England . Her father emigrated to this country from rural Pakistan some time in the 1960s and is, apparently, a highly respected local figure...."

16 March 2009: Global Warming
The inescapable apocalypse has been seriously underestimated
Melanie Phillips - Thursday, 12th March 2009 - The Spectator
"The atmosphere is cooling, the ice is expanding, the seas are not rising -- even though carbon emissions are increasing. The evidence is now crystal clear to anyone with an unwashed brain that man-made global warming theory is sheer unadulterated bunkum. So how do the warmers react to the ever more embarrassing evidence that they have hitched their reputations to the biggest anti-scientific scam in history? ....."

11 February 2009: Global Warming
Garnaut Review analysed
Tim Curtin writes in Quadrant magazine, revealing contradictions in the Garnaut Report. The Contradictions of the Garnaut Report
Tim Curtin, Quadrant, Jan-Feb 2009.

9 February 2009: Religion debate
The IQ squared debate in Sydney on 19 August 2008 was on the topic:
"Would we be better off without religion?"
Click here for the debate - to listen to all speakers select 'full program'.

6 February 2009 - Global warming
U. S. Senate Minority Report: More Than 650 International Scientists Dissent Over Man-Made Global Warming Claims
Scientists Continue to Debunk "Consensus" in 2008
From 2008 - but an important document.

5 February 2009 - Abortion law in Australia
The latest document detailing the current abortion laws in Australia was published by the NSW Parliamentary Library in December 2008 - following the passing of the Abortion Law Reform Bill in Victoria.
Title: E-BRIEF Recent Developments in Abortion Law(pdf, 109 KB)

5 February 2009 - Melanie Phillips on population control
Melanie Phillips writes in the UK Daily Mail about the proposal by Jonathon Porritt, who chairs the UK government's Sustainable Development Commission, to fight global warming.
His proposal?
Curbing the population by contraception and abortion!
Melanie Phillips highlights the danger of this proposal - and reveals that the main increase in population is among immigrants...
The deep green fear of the human race
Daily Mail, 2 February 2009 - Melanie Phillips

26 November 2008 - Reading great books?
Jeff Baldwin, of the Worldview Academy, as a guest writer for Summit Ministries, writes an ironical/satirical piece about Christians reading books to highlight that a Biblical Christian worldview affects EVERY area of life. Well worth reading!

Why Christians Should Avoid Great Books Like the Plague
"Recently, some evangelicals have embraced a dangerous fad: great books. Those who have the Greatest Book, the Bible, waste their time and brain cells on merely great books, expecting to engage in a "great conversation" with Christians and non-Christians alike.
Like the recent worldview fad embraced by some evangelicals, this great books fad seems to forget where Christianity belongs: in church. Christian worldview advocates not only encourage students to question the modern American interpretation of separation of church and state, but to carry their faith into dangerous places, like the public schools or the theater. In some of the most radical circles, Christians are being taught that they can even think biblically about biology or art!!....."

24 November 2008 - PRUDEN: The killer frost for global warming*
Wesley Pruden, Washington Times, Friday, November 21, 2008.
"Turn up the heat, somebody. The globe is freezing. Even Al Gore is looking for an extra blanket. Winter has barely come to the northern latitudes and already we've got bigger goosebumps than usual. So far the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports 63 record snowfalls in the United States, 115 lowest-ever temperatures for the month. Only 44 Octobers over the past 114 years have been cooler than this last one. . ."

24 November 2008 - The OIC and the UN: Islamophobia and "defamation of religion"
By Elizabeth Kendal, 20 Nov 2008.
World EvangelicalAlliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
- Excellent article outlining the push to have a UN-promoted law to outlaw the 'defamation of religion', which in effect would be a law to outlaw the criticism of Islam...

20 October 2008: "Illusions of Climate Science"
William Kininmonth, Quadrant, October 2008.
William Kininmonth is the former head ofAustralia's National Climate Centre. He was an Australian representative and consultant to the World Meteorological Organization on climate issues and is the author of Climate Change: A Natural Hazard (Multi-science Publishing Co., 2004).
He begins: "How have we come to a situation where, as some polls suggest, most Australians are so concerned about dangerous climate change that they will put aside the very tools and technologies that have sustained clean air, clean water, nutritious food and long life? More importantly, is the perceived danger real and will the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions avert the perceived danger? Although there are many uncertainties to be resolved, it is clear that the community has been the subject of more than two decades of heavily biased propaganda.
" In spite of claims to the contrary, there is no consensus of scientists supporting the findings and recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. There exists a large and vocal group of highly qualified dissenters (often denigrated as sceptics, deniers or worse). Published letters and opinions in the press suggest the scientific community is still divided and the community has not succumbed to the propaganda of human-caused global warming. Many in the community, with every justification, are awaiting more information about the costs and the economic and social impacts before lining up to march behind the government's carbon dioxide reduction banner..."

25 July 2008 - New "Progressive Christianity": An Old Liberal Swindle
Peter Jones(CWiPP) writes about the use of the word 'progressive' which is usually associated with decrying the 'fundamentalists'.
Excellent analysis of an important issue in the 'church' today.
Patrick Sookdheo recently said that what used to be called 'liberal' is now often is what is called 'evangelical'. [We have the CD for sale in our office.]

21 July 2008 - No smoking hot spot
This article is very interesting as Dr Evans worked with the Australian Greenhouse Office, doing the models for carbon accounting.
He now says the earth is not warming and gives a lot of evidence to show the whole thing is not valid!
No smoking hot spot
The Australian, David Evans, July 18, 2008
"I DEVOTED six years to carbon accounting, building models for the Australian Greenhouse Office. I am the rocket scientist who wrote the carbon accounting model (FullCAM) that measuresAustralia's compliance with the Kyoto Protocol, in the land use change and forestry sector. . . I've been following the global warming debate closely for years. When I started that job in 1999 the evidence that carbon emissions caused global warming seemed pretty good: CO2 is a greenhouse gas, the old ice core data, no other suspects.
The evidence was not conclusive, but why wait until we were certain when it appeared we needed to act quickly? Soon government and the scientific community were working together and lots of science research jobs were created. We scientists had political support, the ear of government, big budgets, and we felt fairly important and useful (well, I did anyway). It was great. We were working to save the planet.
But since 1999 new evidence has seriously weakened the case that carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming, and by 2007 the evidence was pretty conclusive that carbon played only a minor role and was not the main cause of the recent global warming. As Lord Keynes famously said, "When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?" ..."

9 June (Posted) - Statement about number of Muslim converts
On May 2008 Patrick Sookhdeo of Barnabas Fund wrote this important article warning of the dangers of inflating statistics of Muslim converts because of the risk of harm to them and to Christian missions...

Exaggerated Convert Figures Could Cost Lives
Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, Barnabas Fund... GENERAL NEWS - 14th May 2008
"Converts from Islam to Christianity are increasingly concerned about a number of reports in recent months which have cited astounding statistics on conversion. It is true - and a matter for thankfulness to God - that more Muslims are now coming to Christ than at any other time in history. However, they are not converting on the vast scale alleged in some reports. These false reports, often initiated by non-Christians and then circulated by Christians, are a matter of grave concern, not just for those who love truth and accuracy, but also for the many individuals whose lives are being endangered by the publicity given to the exaggerated figures...."

4 June 2008: Dr Dennis Jenson - speech in parliament
Dr Dennis Jensen, a former nuclear physicist with CSIRO and now Liberal MP from WA, gave a sppech in parliament where he criticised the notion of global warming.
Click hereto read his speech on Hansard - Pages 134- 137.

Posted 22 May 2008
A helpful perspective on the role of government...

Law and Moral Purpose
Robert P. Georg, First Things, January 2008.
"The obligations and purposes of law and government are to protect public health, safety, and morals, and to advance the general welfare-including, preeminently, protecting people's fundamental rights and basic liberties.
At first blush, this classic formulation (or combination of classic formulations) seems to grant vast and sweeping powers to public authority. Yet, in truth, the general welfare-the common good-requires that government be limited.

15 April - Islam - Daniel Pipes in Australia
Daniel Pipes is particuipating in a debate organised by Intelligence Squared tonight.
Topic: Is Islam compatible with democracy?
Click here for details.
This article was printed in The Australian today...
Europeor Eurabia?
The Australian, Daniel Pipes | April 15, 2008
"THE future of Europe is in play. Will it turn into "Eurabia", a part of the Muslim world? Will it remain the distinct cultural unit it has been for the past millennium? Or might there be some creative synthesis of the two?
The answer has vast importance. Europe may constitute a mere 7 per cent of the world's landmass but for 500 years, 1450-1950, for good and ill, it was the global engine of change.
How it develops in the future will affect all humanity, especially daughter countries such as Australia that still retain close and important ties to the old continent. I foresee potentially one of three paths for Europe : Muslims dominating, Muslims rejected or harmonious integration. . . "

17 March 2008 - Garnaut Review
Professor Ross Garnaut has been asked to write a review on the impact on climate change on Australia's economy. He released an Interim Report in February 2008.
Click here for the Interim Report.
Click herefor our web page on the Garnaut Review.

14 February 2008 - Islam and Christianity
138 Muslim scholars wrote 'A Common Word between us and you'last year. It was a letter to Christians - but it is based on verses from the Qur'an, it assumes there is only one God and invites Christians to join them.
300 Christians responded in a statement organised by Yale. They printed the statement in a full-page ad in the New York Times .
We believe that the original statement by the Muslim scholars is not something that Christians can support; we also believe that the 'Christian response' is flawed.
Barnabas Fund's Rev Dr Patrick Sookhdeo and Rev Dr Mark Durie have analysed the original statement and the Christian responses:

Rev Dr Mark Durie:
Notes for Christians on Understanding 'A Common Word Between Us and You'

On the Yale Response

Rev Dr Patrick Sookhdeo:
28th November 2007 - RESPONSE TO OPEN LETTER AND CALL FROM MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADERS TO CHRISTIAN LEADERS

24th January 2008 - Barnabas Fund Response to the Yale Center for Faith and Culture Statement

12 November 2007 - Abortion and Breast Cancer
A recent major study highlights the link between Abortion and Breast Cancer (ABC):
It was published by Patrick Carroll in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Volume 12 Number 3 Fall 2007.

The Breast Cancer Epidemic: Modeling and Forecasts Based on Abortion and Other Risk Factors

For more information on the link check out Prof Joel Brind's website:
Coalition on Abortion/Breast Cancer

31 October 2007 - Australian views on abortion
What Australians Really Think About ABORTION
54 pages - "A report on comprehensive independent market research conducted by Market Facts (Qld) Pty Ltd, commissioned by the Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations.
This national opinion poll of 1200 Australians was conducted in two stages - in April/May and August/September 2005 - with 15 questions in total."
Published in February, 2006

ED:Contains very useful data to show that many Australians are very concerned about the high number of abortions and want the nubmer reduced.

28 August 2007 - Comparing Christianity and the Green movement - the roots in ancient paganism

The Return of the Old Gods: A Challenge to Green Evangelicals
By Timothy Birdnow August 25, 2007 - American Thinker

28 August 2007 - Diversity and Culture - a clash!

Diversity, Nihilism, and the Anti-Rational Mind
By Gary Wolf, August 22, 2007 - American Thinker

22 May 2007 - Spirituality and Health
The current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia has a 'Supplement' titled 'Spirituality and Health'. There are numerous articles about the importance of religion and prayer in the health of a person. (See below for full details and links).

One of those reports is specifically about the influence of prayer....
Talking to God gives body a boost
AAP, Sunday May 20, 2007

The actual report is
Prayer as medicine: how much have we learned?
Marek Jantos and Hosen Kiat - Med J Aust 2007; 186 (10): S51-S53.

Supplement - Spirituality and Health
MJA, 21 May 2007
All the articles published in the supplement are available by clicking the title.

16 May 2007 - Climate Change shock for Victorians!
Climate change: shock findings for Victorians
A special report prepared for Premier Bracks warns of dramatic risks...

7 May 2007 - Selecting gender of children
Home Gender Test Will Lead to Sex-Selection Abortion, Experts Warn
New test called "very dangerous" byUK charity spokeman.
A new DNA test that parents can use at home to determine the sex of their unborn child in the early weeks of pregnancy is being condemned as a sex-selection abortion tool by concerned pro-life leaders and medical professionals.

7 May 2007: TV watching
Study: Frequent TV Viewing During Adolescence Linked to Attention and Learning Difficulties
Lifesite: Teenagers who watch television for three or more hours per day may have a higher risk of attention and learning difficulties in their adolescent and early adult years, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Risk Of Attention And Learning Difficulties Linked With Frequent TV Viewing During Adolescence
Adapted by Medical News from original Press Release.

3 May - Civil Unions in NZ
Small Increase in First Marriages
Official NZ government statistics on marriage and civil unions. (pdf document)
.......... There were 397 civil unions registered to New Zealand residents in 2006. These comprised 319 same-sex unions (131 male and 188 female) and 78 opposite-sex unions. There were 33 civil unions registered to overseas residents, making a total of 430 registrations.

16 April 2007 - Climate change (global warming)
Changes on Neptune Link Sun and Global Warming
World Climate Report.
"Skeptics of manmade global warming have found further support in research linking solar output with the planet Neptune's brightness and temperatures on Earth.
The findings appeared in a recent issue of Geophysical Research Letters. The authors of the article, H.B. Hammel and G.W. Lockwood from the Space Science Institute in Colorado and the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, note that measurements of visible light from Neptune have been taken at the Observatory since 1950.
Those measurements indicate that Neptune has been getting brighter since around 1980. And infrared measurements of the planet since 1980 show that Neptune has been warming steadily as well."

Study:Hammel, H. B.; Lockwood, G. W.
Suggestive correlations between the brightness of Neptune, solar variability, and Earth's temperature
Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol. 34, No. 8, L08203 10.1029/2006GL028764, 19 April 2007.
Click here for the abstract.

12 April 2007: Christianity and Politics
An uneasy marriage of necessity
The Age, Prof Tony Coady, April 3, 2007.
Interesting article about the role of religion and politics...
Some extracts...
"AFTER years on the periphery of democratic politics, religion, to the astonishment of many, is well and truly back in the centre."
"There are two major and apparently conflicting truths that must be reconciled in any answer to the question of religion's place in politics. The first is that most religions preach a world view that influences a way of living. This "way" tends to permeate a sincere believer's life, including their politics, either as citizen or politician. The second truth is that the point of religion is essentially different from that of politics."
"An anti-religious ideology of secularism must be distinguished from the commitment to secular space for politics. ..."
"... They will, however, compromise their religion and weaken the impact of their values if they behave like puppets of their religious leadership or seek to further their ends by devious or surreptitious means."

3 April 2007: Drugs - Cannabis
Liberal UK newspaper The Independent reverses its position on marijuana! After campaigning FOR the decriminalisation of marijuana since 1997, they now say there are TOO MANY DANGERS! They have abandoned their campaign!

Cannabis An apology
By Jonathan Owen, The Independent on Sunday,UK, 18 March 2007.
"In 1997, this newspaper launched a campaign to decriminalise the drug. If only we had known then what we can reveal today..."
"Record numbers of teenagers are requiring drug treatment as a result of smoking skunk, the highly potent cannabis strain that is 25 times stronger than resin sold a decade ago.
"More than 22,000 people were treated last year for cannabis addiction - and almost half of those affected were under 18. With doctors and drugs experts warning that skunk can be as damaging as cocaine and heroin, leading to mental health problems and psychosis for thousands of teenagers, The Independent on Sunday has today reversed its landmark campaign for cannabis use to be decriminalised ....."

Click herefor Lifesite comment and report.

29 March 2007 - William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce and his impact on Australia
A great lecture by Associate Professor Stuart Piggin. Very enlightening!
Given in the Main Committee Room, Parliament House, Canberra on Monday 26 March 2007. The lecture was hosted by Senator Guy Barnett.

This week - 25th March 2007 - marked 200 years since the signing of the English Bill that abolished the slave trade. William Wilberforce was the UK politician who campaigned for many years to achieve this (as well as banning the owning of slaves some 26 years later).
We have listed some articles on our website: click here .

19 March - Stem Cell Research
"75 New Reasons to Reconsider the Alleged Need for Stem Cell Research that Destroys Human Embryos."
DoNoHarm: The Coalition of Americans for Research Ethics (stemcellresearch.org) has just posted this PDF. It is a catalogue of recent advances in adult stem cell research and other alternatives to embryonic stem cell research published since June of last year.
So far the result sheet for embryo stem cell research is totally blank .

14 March 2007: Politics
Beautiful Politicians
Are attractive candidates more likely to be elected?
A research paper from ANU. Interesting analysis!

6 Feb 2007: Islam
Living Apart Together: British Muslims and the paradox of multiculturalism
This report fromUK think tank Policy Exchangeis a major new survey of the attitudes of Muslims in Britain and the reasons behind the rapid rise in Islamic fundamentalism amongst the younger generation. "The research finds that there is a growing religiosity amongst the younger generation of Muslims and that they feel that they have less in common with non-Muslims than do their parents. Significantly, they exhibit a much stronger preference for Islamic schools and sharia law and place a greater stress on asserting their identity publicly, for example, by wearing the hijab."
Click here for the Overview page.
Click here for the actual report. (100 pages)

6 Feb 2007: Terrorism
Protecting Australia Against Terrorism 2006
The federal government publication Protecting Australia Against Terrorism 2006 updates and builds on the 2004 edition to provide a comprehensive overview of Australia's domestic and international counter-terrorism strategy, policy and arrangements. It explains the steps the Australian Government has taken to protect Australians and Australian interests against the threat of terrorism and outlines the government's partnership with state, territory and local governments as well as the private sector in developing the nation-wide counter-terrorism capability.
The pdf document is available form the above link.

5 Feb 2007: Child abuse
Child Protection Australia 2005 - 2006
The latest Report on child abuse in Australia has just been released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - a federal government agency. The statistics show the various types of abuse - physical, emotional and sexual abuse and neglect, across all states and territories for the year 2005 - 2006.
The instance of reported and substantiated abuse is increasing - partly due to new legislation in some states and higher awareness of the issue.
The Report finds - see Family type P 30 - that a child is proportionately LEAST likely to be abused if living with their biological INTACT family of mum and dad. Lone parent (mother, followed by father) families have the highest risk factor for abuse.

Sexual Abuse and Assault
Young people who sexually abuse: Key issues
Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault, part of the Australian Institute of Family Studies.
ACSSA Wrap - No. 3 December 2006
by Cameron Boyd, in collaboration with Leah Bromfield.
"This paper is about young people who have committed acts of sexual abuse. It is written for those who might come across this issue in their day-to-day work and would like to know what the current research and practice says about understanding and responding to this group of young people."
Detailed paper analysing research on sexual assault and abuse by young people. AIFS is a federal government body.

Homosexuality
Same-Sex 'Marriage' and Civil Unions
Focus on the Family, November 2006.
A new series of articles on same-sex 'marriage', civil unions, and other forms of recognition of homosexual relationships.
Click on the title to get the Overview and links to the other articles in the series.
The individual articles, with links, are: