Slipping into dictatorship by Christopher Attard

Once again, the far-left lobby groups demonstrate utter contempt towards a free, meritocratic society, now in the tremendously serious form of prospective legislation. The misleadingly named Equality Act as well as the Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2015) are being promoted as solutions to legal deficiencies in equality and discrimination in the workplace and employment in general – it’s safe to say that they are anything but.

If this sounds alarming, it’s because it is. This is nothing short of authoritarian legislation being shamelessly, and possibly even insidiously portrayed as a force for good, when it is in fact the exact opposite. This is very urgent business and I urge you to not take this lightly if you value your basic liberties.

Simply browsing through the initial pages makes it patently obvious that this is a real-life manifestation of George Orwell’s 1984. First of all, the whole concept of innocent until proven guilty is turned on its head, making the burden of proof fall upon the accused. Secondly, the vague nature of this document is an open invitation for rampant lying, corruption and abuse. But you needn’t worry, the dear leader (chairman) has absolute power to dismiss you, if he so chooses (hopefully you’ll find him in a good mood).

Upon closer inspection of the ambiguous and ineptly written definition of terms, it is not at all unlikely for one to retract in dismay and disbelief. For example, ‘harassment’ – “shall be deemed to occur where an unwanted conduct related to one or more of the protected characteristics laid down under this Act, has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment”.

Well one thing is definitely clear – anything you do can be deemed as harassment, and you (the accused) have to prove it’s not. And these documents are riddled with unclear, nebulous nonsense that is broadly open to interpretation and therefore extremely welcoming of abusers, liars and hypocrites.

And who is to be the arbitrator of what is offensive? After all, being offended is fundamentally subjective and next to impossible to provide evidence for. So how on earth can one adequately legislate for it? Let’s entertain the principles of this fundamentally immoral Bill in a more general understanding.

I find this Bill deeply offensive. Truly, it goes to the core of what I believe, attacking the very essence of my being. Now, while I have every right to be offended, I do not claim or expect to be given the right to legally prosecute people for offending me.

To think that a 22-year-old whippersnapper has to explain such a basic principle is not only unheard of, but extremely worrying. What level of incompetence (at best) or I dare say wickedness must one have to manage to dream up this kind of nonsense? Are these the sort of legislations we can expect from our esteemed activists?

I can carve a better document out of a banana than what these so-called equal rights groups can ever dream of 

And you need not worry as these ‘equality’ Bills come with their fully-fledged tribunals too, and you better believe they’re impartial because that’s what they say – when has that ever gone wrong?

Let’s just be clear, the appointed dear leader has widespread, unhinged authority to investigate, prosecute, judge and finally condemn an accused employer if he does not prove his innocence in front of his benevolent, no-doubt impartial judgement – a sort of divine North Korea, if you will.

In addition to our supreme leader, one of the main roles of this layered, dictatorial drivel is to “ensure that there is a balanced representation of men and women, and, as far as possible, a wide and pluralist representation of civil society”.

This is Marxism incarnate, and if you’re not worried, you should be. You see, whereas most people understand equality as being equal opportunity, the far left understands equality through equality of outcome, which is to say no equality whatsoever, as this cannot be achieved and has categorically resulted in socialist misery everywhere it has been enforced.

Also, it’s one thing saying that you should have an arbitrary 50-50 quota for men and women, but having a representation of society? What kind of lunacy is this? The very premise of these arbitrary quotas is entirely untenable, as why should a person’s genitalia have anything to do with their ability to fulfil their prospective job, don’t we have certificates for that? And how are 12 members supposed to represent all of society?

To give you one point of contact, I invite you to consider the new and approved feminist, science-free definition of gender, which has now seen more than 50 new “non-binary” genders introduced. This doesn’t seem very equal, now does it? Is this not discriminatory? Perhaps I identify as a fabulous “androgyne” – who represents me? My offence meter is rising.

This legislation is just an overt confession of Marxist, totalitarian, far-left, propaganda-made law, and the worst part is, these groups might not even think it is. The useful idiots of society march along in their echo chamber of groupthink to that which inevitably leads to totalitarianism, and they may not even know it.

These documents are so vague as to enshrine in law any perceived offences by alleged victims and even “an intention to offend”, which is the very definition of a thought crime – if you think it, you’re just as guilty as if you had done it. George Orwell must be rolling over is his grave as we speak.

If you’re feeling a sense of ease knowing that this is directed at employers, you shouldn’t because every employee is directly affected by this – as employers will have to abide by anti-meritocratic legislation, lest they be prosecuted for not reaching their arbitrary quotas (among many other things). Indeed, I can carve a better document out of a banana than what these so-called equal rights groups can ever dream of. What an absolute farce, one that would see us all slaves to its insidious rule.

We stand on the precipice of fundamental changes to our way of life. Should this Bill pass, who is to say that this does not spill over into all Maltese law? The whole premise this legislation is built upon is wholly antithetical to the open marketplace, and we should be very worried about it.

Every utopia is approached through a sea of blood and is ultimately never realised. Make no mistake, this is very urgent business – so I implore you to resist it while you still can, before the right to complain is also taken away from you.

Christopher Attard is a staunch advocate for free and open inquiry.

Ref: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20161217/opinion/Slipping-into-dictatorship.634066

A Coffee Shop with a Big Difference!

You won’t find any coffee shop more welcoming or warmhearted than Bitty & Beau’s in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded by owner Amy Wright and her husband, the shop is run by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in honor of the couple’s two children – Bitty and Beau – who have Down Syndrome. “While Bitty and Beau aren’t looking for jobs right now, ” says Amy, “it’s on our radar. There’s a statistic that somewhere between 70-85% of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are unemployed–and we just think that’s an embarrassment to our country.” The Wilmington community has rallied around this shop, which employees more than forty individuals, and reinforced it as a true gem of Southern pride, culture, warmth, and hospitality. We love what Bitty & Beau’s is doing – and we think you will, too.

http://www.southernliving.com/culture/bitty-and-beaus-coffee-shop-video

An Invitation to New Life….because we are all in need of hereos!

Full text of speech delivered by Dr. Miriam Sciberras, Chairperson of Life Network Foundation Malta, during the Christmas on Campus 2016 event.

 

Your Excellency President of Malta, Rector, Chaplain, distinguished guests, academics, students

The countdown to Christmas is a special time. It is a time of new beginnings. It is a time of hope and love. And aren’t we all in need of new beginnings, new hope, love?

As we go about in the business of our daily lives we often lose track of reality. Day after day we struggle to juggle time, to fill our time, and yet oftentimes we hardly have time to think.

We are so busy that we are too busy to find a moment for ourselves. Too busy to find peace!

We have access to so much – wardrobes overflowing, new mobiles, new this and that and yet we do not feel new or refreshed at all but instead we crave for more. And more…

We are so drowned in constant noise that having a quiet moment scares us.

We want to live lives to the full yet our lives are so full that we feel lost and confused.

We believe in freedom yet the only truth that can free us all is when we are able to look at each other as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, created with equal dignity and worth, and created in the image of God. This vision of hope for the world where love and inclusion embrace all of us, believers or not is the message of life brought to us by the Christ child.

Yet all around us we see violations of the message of life.

Look at recent history: the unprecedented torture and genocide of Christians, the on-going growing refugee crisis, the genocide of preborn children (at least 1 million preborn children lose their lives to abortions in the US alone per year in the name of choice), and now the latest news from liberal France which recently censored the public expression of happiness of people with Down syndrome based on a concocted fear of upsetting post abortive mothers!

What’s next? Will kids with Down syndrome be banned from schools in France? Will they be segregated from society and placed in institutions like in the old days, because their presence upsets post-abortive parents?

In Malta too cracks in protection of life from conception to natural death are starting to appear. We have truly lost our way. The message of life has never been so urgent, so needed- maybe more so and in this special time in the run up to Christmas day,

Confronted by the bleak picture that I have just painted, what is our response going to be? How do we rediscover our humanity? How do we satisfy our search for meaning? How can we have hope that raises us up beyond the petty and transient concerns of the day?

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” John 10:10

It is really easy, as one pastor said, as easy as ABC– Admit, Believe, and Confess

First we have to admit – Admit that we all fall short, that we are not perfect and we all need forgiveness.

We then have to Believe – that Jesus Christ; the Son of God loved us so much that he died on the cross for our sins. That each one of us is so precious in His eyes. That He believes in us, maybe more than we believe in ourselves, that we are all worth saving.

And we need to confess that Jesus Christ is our Lord.

“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” Romans 10:9-10

Last week as you probably followed, we had Rebecca Kiessling from the USA. She is a pro- life speaker born from rape – and in sharing her testimony she would often repeat –“We are all in need of heroes in our lives!” And isn’t this true?

WE ARE ALL IN NEED OF HEROES!! And our hero is Christ!

Not this paper or plastic baby image! This is just a symbol! We can make a mockery of God if this is the image that we have of Him in our hearts.

The hero is the God who fashioned himself in human form, who cares about each and every one of us here, who left us the spirit of son ship that we may all call out Abba Father .We do not need to go on any desperate quest to find out who we are . A truly liberal education sets us free in confidence – enabling us to face the future together in peace – free- from conception to our natural earthly death, as cherished sons and daughters of God.

This is my message of hope and life – Living life to the full here on earth but ultimately aimed towards heaven, that with a joyful heart we can all sing together “Gloria in excelsis”.

I would like to end with a short prayer:

Father, I bless you for sending your only begotten Son into our world, for taking on our humanity – to save us from ourselves.

 

Turtle eggs and human embryos by Clyde Puli

Ironic as it may seem, it has become duly commendable to cordon off a public beach in the height of summer to protect the eggs laid by a turtle at Golden Sands, while it is increasingly becoming out of fashion to provide the human embryo with the same level of protection.

Running roughshod over opinions, concerns and sensitivities has been Labour’s signature style of governing in the last four years and it seems that the latest sector in sight is assisted reproduction: a sector that is characterised by widely divergent opinions, legitimate concerns and principled sensitivities is at risk of being shaken up for no other reason than some political back-room deal.

Technology that brings joy to families

In Malta, in-vitro fertilisation (IVF), along with other fertility treatments, has been offered since the early 1990s when the socialist ban of the 1970s on private health-care sector operators was lifted by Fenech Adami’s Nationalist administration. 

Whilst the first baby born as a result of IVF in the UK was Louise Joy Brown in 1977, the first Maltese conceived by IVF had to wait until 1991. Since then, fertility treatments and assisted reproductive technology has gained both legitimacy and popularity.

Fifteen years on, the sector has advanced but remains unregulated. So the situation then required a legal framework whose ethical underpinnings sought to protect human life whilst bringing joy to our families. That was the task the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Affairs under my chairmanship set to accomplish in 2005.

The social affairs committee and consensus building

For eight intense months, we heard medical practitioners, experts and stakeholders give their views. Exchanges were lively, respectful and always interesting. I made sure that not only did we hear people with expertise in wide range of disciplines but also couples who had experienced fertility problems. Their stories were tinged with pain which, in some cases, had led to the breakdown of their marriage and/or mental health problems. This convinced me even more that whilst regulation was needed, the treatment was to remain available and – more so – available without charge as part of the public health service. And to this end I relentlessly argued in favour whenever and wherever the opportunity arose.

I take pride not only in the fact that this was the first report ever produced by a Parliamentary Standing Committee but also because it provided the impetus to Parliament to legislate and its recommendations were judged to be sufficiently cogent to make them into law. I wrote a report that brought together the views expressed and also made recommendations so that any eventual legislation would be built on solid foundations.

A pro-life piece of legislation

The report’s contents are reflected in the essential elements of the Embryo Protection Act. IVF was kept legal and the requirements to which it was subject included limiting availability to couples in a stable relationship. The freezing of oocytes was permitted while prohibitions were introduced for surrogacy, gamete donation and embryo freezing (except in very particular cases where it was unsafe to implant the embryo). All this was in the best interests of the child yet to be born.

The law, and the report that preceded it, is unequivocally pro-life and pro-child, without being draconian or unreasonable. Those principles, together with the meticulous consensus-building that took place while the report was in the making and the following years, resulted in a general agreement: the parliamentary vote was unanimous and, nationally, the disagreements were few and far between.

A successful piece of legislation

According to a report recently tabled by the Embryo Protection Authority, between January 2013 and June 2015 a total of 411 IVF and ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) cycles were carried out, resulting in 116 pregnancies – meaning a 28 per cent success rate.

This 28 per cent compares favourably with the UK’s success rate of 25 per cent – and this for a country whose laws allow embryo freezing. And despite a marginal fall in the rate in 2015, last year the IVF/ICSI cycles increased threefold over 2012, the year in which the legislation was enacted.

Out of step proposals

With the facts being what they are, and the legislation barely four years old, it is odd that the Prime Minister should be kowtowing to a radical fringe within his Party. Investing in technology and training is fundamental, as is reviewing the law regularly to make sure that it is in step with technological developments. But the law’s basic principles – safeguarding the best interests of the unborn child – should stand.

Ref: http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-12-11/newspaper-opinions/Turtle-eggs-and-human-embryos-6736167747

18-Year-Old’s Short Film on Abortion Will Blow Your Mind

 

(LiveActionNews) — One decision can change everything. Mitosis, a short film from 18-year-old director Hannah Victoria (Worth Saving), aims to prove that. It may seem that the choices we make for ourselves will affect us and us alone, but it simply isn’t true. There is always a ripple effect, whether small or large.

Mitosis tells the story of a young doctor, who after making a promise to a childhood friend, sets out to find a cure for cancer. The film, from Victoria’s company Expressionistic Studios, was released on YouTube this week and promises to shine a light on the magnitude of damage each and every abortion could have on the world.

Read more at http://www.lifenews.com/2014/11/28/18-year-olds-short-film-on-abortion-will-blow-your-mind/

Ritratti: Jimxu biex iwasslu messaġġ favur il-ħajja

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Illejla fil-Belt Valletta qed tittella’ “il-mixja għall-ħajja”.

B’xemgħa f’idejhom, dawk li qed jieħdu sehem fil-mixja qed iwasslu messaġġ kontra l-abort f’kull forma tiegħu.

Fost dawk li qed jieħdu sehem, hemm ukoll Dr Rebecca Kiessling, li din il-ġimgħa f’intervista ma’ Newsbook.com.mt saħqet li l-abort mhux is-soluzzjoni f’każ ta’ stupru u l-ulied frott minn stupru għandhom dritt li jgħixu bħal kulħadd.

Il-mixja bdiet minn quddiem Kastilja kompliet għal quddiem il-Konkatidral ta’ San Ġwann u waslet għal Bieb il-Belt fejn quddiem il-bini tal-Parlament tħejja palk apposta u qed jieħdu sehem grupp ta’ mużiċisti.

Ritratti: Ian Noel Pace

Ref: http://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2016/12/3/ritratti:-jimxu-biex-iwasslu-messagg-favur-il-hajja.54009/

Life Network Foundation holds candlelight march for life

The Life Network Foundation Malta this evening organised the second edition of the Malta Stand Up for Life march, a continuation of the campaign by local pro-life groups to defend life from conception.

Rebecca Kiessling (below), a child born of rape, took part in a Malta Stand Up for Life candlelight march. Participants gathered in front of Castille from where they walked down Merchants Street, turned into St John Street (passing in front of St John’s Co-Cathedral) and up Republic Street, finishing in front of Parliament.

tmi-rebecca-kiessling

Ref: http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2016-12-03/local-news/Life-Network-Foundation-holds-candlelight-march-for-life-6736167469

‘Abortion in cases of rape simply cannot be allowed’ – victim’s daughter

Allowing abortion in cases of rape not only puts unborn children at risk but also sends a message that the life of those conceived by rape is worth less, according to a victim’s daughter.

“It tells us: you should not even be here, you were not worthy of protection,” Rebecca Kiessling told Times of Malta.

Swapping out “people born out of rape” with some other group of people, such as Jews, made you realise how horribly discriminatory this was, the 47-year-old American lawyer argued.

“Can you imagine proposing an exception for abortion in cases of Jewish babies? Can you imagine the outrage: how dare you target this group of people?

“The message sent to every Jewish person is that their life is not worth living and that they’re worth less than everybody else. And this is the message that is sent to my people group (born to rape victims): that we don’t deserve to be living.”

Pro-life campaigner Dr Kiessling is in Malta as a guest of the Life Network Foundation and she was speaking to Times of Malta ahead of a candle-lit vigil which will be held in Valletta tomorrow.

Dr Kiessling, adopted from birth in Michigan, learnt when she was 18 that she was conceived out of a brutal rape at knife-point.

She had petitioned the court for non-identifying information about her birth family, and while there were several details about her mother, the only information about her father was that he was Caucasian and of large build.

It sounded like a police description, so she called her adoption case worker and asked her straight out whether her mum had been raped. The reply was in the affirmative and the news left her “devastated”.

She met her birth mother Joann a year later, who told her that when she discovered she was pregnant, she had seen a rape counsellor, who advised her to terminate the pregnancy.

I’m not advocating for people to be created out of rape. I’m advocating for people not to be killed

She actually booked an appointment at two back-alley clinics, but backed out both times because she was worried about her safety.

Had abortion been legal in Michigan back then, she would have gone through with it, she told Dr Kiessling.

“There is a documentary called Back Alley Detroit. I can watch this documentary and see the men who were going to take my life. I know the place, time, manner and how much money was on my head. I know all the details of my impending death.

“For some people their near-death experience is waking up from a coma. For me this was my near-death experience. I owe my birth to the law that protected me.”

Dr Kiessling insists that just because she values her life, it does not mean she is pro-rape, something she has been accused of.

“I’m not advocating for people to be created out of rape. I’m advocating for people not to be killed.”

Dr Kiessling has also been confronted with the argument that keeping the baby is not fair as not all children born out of rape have a good upbringing.

But she insists that no one is guaranteed a good life. People assumed she spoke that way as she had a good childhood.

“My adoptive father beat me up and my adoptive mother had undiagnosed and untreated bipolar disorder. Just because I didn’t have a great childhood doesn’t mean that I think my life didn’t have value.”

The woman had wanted to be a lawyer since she was 10, and one of her missions nowadays is to push for legislation that gives rapists no paternal rights over children conceived of their abuse.

Such legislation was signed into US federal law last year by President Barack Obama, making it more attractive for the individual states to legislate similarly.

She has met several women whose rapist used child visitation rights as an opportunity to continue raping the mother, or even start abusing the children themselves.

The rape victims, and their child, should be legally protected from the rapist and Dr Kiessling is drafting a proposal for Maltese legislators, following similar efforts in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

The rapists often gain access to the child when they are sued for child support, especially if the mother is on State benefits.

Asked whether this could be abused by mothers who have consensual sex but want to cut ties with the father, Dr Kiessling noted that women who cry wolf do a disservice to actual victims as even one false claim could increase the belief that women exaggerate abuse allegations.

Just because there was potential for abuse of the system it did not mean that children and rape victims should not be protected, she insisted.

The candle-lit vigil will start at 5.30pm in front of the Auberge de Castille tomorrow and end in front of Parliament, where Dr Kiessling is expected to deliver a keynote speech.

Ref: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20161202/local/abortion-in-cases-of-rape-simply-cannot-be-allowed-victims-daughter.632631