The Facebook Incident

On Thursday 15 I looked at my Feedjit and found that someone (presumably a young woman) in Christchurch had searched for "I am 14 weeks pregnant, is this too late to have an abortion?" and she had found the post on my blog entitled What is Abortion. So I wrote about this on my Facebook wall,

Facebook allows you to have a picture with your link, and so I chose the picture of the 24wk foetus who had been killed by abortion. On Friday the post had dissapeared and I could tell that Facebook had removed it because they thought it was offensive. However there was no message from Facebook to tell me anything about this. So I reposted the link, this time using the picture of the 9wk foetus (arguably less offensive).

On Saturday when I woke up I discovered that Facebook had indefinitely disabled my account, and I was unable to login. I read the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and found that it was most likely that Facebook considered I had broken section 3.7, which states,

You will not post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence.

The photos are definitely not examples of gratuitous violence. Further, these two photos did not depict violence, but rather the victims of violence. Also, under the law in the United States and in NZ (where abortion is essentially available on demand), a foetus is not seen as a life worthy of protecting, and is usually seen as a non-person. How then, can killing this entity be an act of violence if there is nothing wrong with it; if it is merely a medical procedure? Do we call a photo of a heart transplant "violent"? I don't think so.

I emailed them on Saturday (17 Oct) asking them to restore my account ,

...I hadn't read the statement, so can honestly say this was not an intentional breach of the guidelines. As it is your website which you allow people to use for free, I absolutely respect your right to make any regulations you wish. Could you please re-enable my account? I have now read the statement of rights and will adhere to it in the future.

To their credit, Facebook responded early yesterday morning (21 Oct),

Your account has been suspended because you posted content through Facebook's Links application that has been removed for violating Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Links that include drug use, nudity, or other graphic or sexually suggestive content are not allowed, nor are links that depict violence or that attack an individual or group of people. Unfortunately, for technical and security reasons, we are unable to provide further information about the removed link.

However, after reviewing your situation, we have reactivated your account...

My mate wrote on his wall to let people known I'd been removed from Facebook - here's some of the feedback...

Why would you post a picture of an aborted baby? It's abusively offensive
>> Its abusively offensive to abort a baby.
>>Pro-lifers are abusively offensive.

That is ridiculous. If I posted a kidney or a tonsil I bet I wouldn't be banned. If it is just tissue that can be electively removed then what is the problem? How can tissue be offensive?

Are you serious!?!?!? Wow, and they allow facebook groups that promote genocide (including of Jews) instead??

While I believe Facebook technically misapplied their own standards in deciding to disable my account, and were wrong in that they removed two of my posts and disabled my account without even a warning, overall I've been happy with their response and the resolution of this incident.

In Defence of Scalping

"I want my scalps"

Goonix at The Visible Hand in Economics blog delivers a fast knock-out argument in defence of scalping - buying tickets to an event and then on-selling them at a profit. Great read.

Events in high demand that have limited capacity sell out. See for example the Wellington Sevens or Toast Martinborough, which sold out in three minutes and thirteen minutes respectively. These events sell out as demand far outstrips supply at the price that the seller sets. In other words, many of those purchasing the tickets would be willing to pay much more than they actually do pay in order to attend said event.
High demand events such as these are the capitalist world’s version of queuing for basic food items in a communist shit-hole. When buyers are unable to adequately express their willingness to pay, due to blunt ‘one-for-all’ pricing and an inability of the seller to price discriminate, shortage ensues.
Enter the scalper. Scalpers are typically demonised by the media in New Zealand. However, scalpers simply allow buyers to reveal their true willingness to pay. When a scalper auctions off a ticket on Trademe, buyers are able to pay exactly what they value their attendance at said event at. What ensues is the efficient allocation of resources – scarce resources are allocated to those that value them highest – an admirable economic goal. Contrast this with the lottery that is the current ‘log-in and hope’ method of ticket allocation. Rather than be vilified, scalpers should be commended for their actions that facilitate the clearing of the market!

hat-tip: Kiwiblog

2 Free Tooth & Nail Samplers

There's a lot of good music by Christian bands out there that you haven't heard about yet, and starting with this post, I'll be occasionally sharing links to free songs that you can download (legally), to introduce you to some of these sweet tunes. Have just downloaded two new sampler albums from Tooth & Nail - cheers to the Free Christian Music blog for the heads up. If you're outside the US, you'll need a zip code. Here's one from Ventura County in California: 91377.

Grab the free 12-song Tooth & Nail Sampler for Summer 09 here. Haven't heard any of the songs yet, but we're looking at 12 pretty mainstream tunes. Emery's song Cutthroat Collapse from their latest album and Ktuless's The Resucue will welcome additions to my library. Have heard a little of the other bands before...

And there's 25 tracks from Tooth & Nail's Fuel Sampler which supposedly ran til' 18 September but is still available for download if you're quick... Know many of the bands in this sampler. Underoath's Desperate Times, Desperate Measures would be the only song I know from the impressive lineup, so a bunch of new songs which is great.

There's a bunch of songs to get you started, later we'll look a bit more in-depth at some more individual song as well as an explanation of what "Christian music" is all about if I get round to it...

VSM Desperately Needed at Victoria and Canterbury

Wrote a guest post for the MandM blog,

“Free hamburgers and sausage sizzle, $5 jugs of beer” read the advertisement in the student magazine CANTA, a week or so before the University of Canterbury Student Association’s (UCSA) AGM. The quorum for the AGM is 120 students as established in the constitution, and it was pitiful to read the president pleading in his weekly column for people to come along. Of course they’d already attempted to run the AGM the week before, but hadn’t made the quorum. So out with the bribes and cheap beer and let’s try this one again. And where else to host the AGM than outside the student pub, in the amphitheatre? From a compulsory membership of 18,000 students, the UCSA was struggling to make up this poorly representative quorum by offering cheap alcohol and free food, only it wasn’t free because the students paid for it in their levy – yep, even the ones who didn’t attend the meeting. Oh, but perhaps I’m coming down a bit strong – after all, the agenda for the meeting was seeking to raise the quality of life for students. Ahem. Seeking to raise the quality of life for the students on the Exec, by raising all their salaries, including bumping the president’s salary up over the $50k mark. With a budget close to $9m ($1.2m from student levy in 2008) and aprox $400k expenditure by the Exec on a yearly basis it makes you wonder where all the money is going.

Continue reading...

Breast Cancer Foundation Deathly Silent on Abortion/Breast Cancer link

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Brendan Malone at the Semper Vita blog writes of elephants obscured by miles and miles of pink ribbon,

Despite all the pink ribbons, posters and public monuments bathed in pink strobe lights after dark, there are some very large elephants standing in the breast cancer corner that no one wants to acknowledge, let alone talk about. What am I referring to? The link between oral contraceptives and increased rates of breast cancer, the link between abortion and the increased rates of breast cancer, and the fact that delaying your first pregnancy increases your risk of breast cancer.

...There are a multitude of studies (28 at last count) which show a definite link between abortion and a subsequent increased risk of breast cancer. This increased risk appears to associated with the cellular changes which occur within the female breasts during pregnancy (in preparation for milk production), that are violently interrupted by an abortion, which leaves dormant cells, and high levels of pregnancy hormones for the body to deal with. The research shows that miscarriage carries an increased risk of breast cancer as well, but it is still nowhere near as high as it is with an abortion. (continue reading)

To their shame, the NZ Breast Cancer Foundation does not seek to raise awareness to this link meaning that women are not provided with all the information necessary to make an informed decision about whether to go ahead with an abortion or not.

What the heck, ALRANZ

As usual, ALRANZ (9 Oct) reacts to Right to Life's action on behalf of the legal rights of the silent unborn members of our society. As usual, it is the aging Dame Margaret Sparrow as the sole spokesperson of her small and dwindling group of pro-abortion extremists who attempts to smear Right to Life spokesperson Ken Orr's drawn-out involvement in the case, Right to Life vs. Crown over the matter of the personhood of unborn children, and the legality of the actions of the pro-abortion Abortion Supervisory Committee. As usual, Ms. Sparrow resorts to an awkward compilation of emotive and exaggerated platitudes which is presented in the format of a press release - which we all know are God's truth...

I do not completely disagree with Ms. Sparrows assertions. She states, "mifepristone is many times safer for women than taking Viagra is for men," making a valid point and drawing attention to what may be in some cases an example of alarmism and scare-tactics aimed at expectant mothers, on the part of some anti-abortion groups. It is indeed true that mifepristone has caused the death of some pregnant women, however when compared with other common drugs I understand that the numbers are not outstanding. However Ms. Sparrow also makes the unfounded claim that, "having an early medical abortion is about 10 times safer than giving birth." I presume that she is not talking about the safety of the unborn child here. I presume that she is not talking about the mother either. Having an abortion generally increases a woman's chance of contracting breast cancer by 150% due to excess estrogen present in the body due to the unnatural destruction of the unborn child, so committing an abortion is hardly safe for the woman. So who is she talking about? Who knows.

Ms. Sparrow states, “The Crown has spent well over a quarter of a million dollars defending New Zealand women..." If this isn't a wonderful example of twisting the truth, then I'm a hippie. In reality, the Crown has spent - and continues to spend inordinate quantities of tax-payer dollars to defend itself (the Abortion Supervisory Committe which reports to Parliament). The Crown has an unlimited slush-fund with which to defend its actions against the privately funded efforts of Right to Life to see justice done for the unborn, and for women to be given adequate information to make a truly informed decision in regards to their pregnancy.

Read Right to Life's deconstruction of Ms. Sparrow's claims here. Mr. Tips at the excellent NZ Conservative blog writes on this,

Once again, ALRANZ (the personal vehicle for the twisted justification of abortion in Margaret Sparrow's head) is spreading deceit to stem any criticism of its attempts to promote abortion. Ms. Sparrow is worried that Right to Life (RTL) is going to take legal action to prevent Family Planning attempts to get RU486 sold across the pharmacy counter or from your GP, without a certifying consultant certificate. More specifically, Ms. Sparrow has issued a press release to counter the "lies, intimidation and threats" of RTL on this issues. In this, Ms. Sparrow claims RU486 is not a killer and that medical abortion is 10x safer than giving birth... (continue reading)

I have previously written on ALRANZ's tactics here, ALRANZ Misleading Public. Mr. Tips mentions the FPA's attempts to get RU486 into pharmacies. This is stupid because women who use RU486 to kill their unborn child often experience complications. As far as the woman is concerned, it is unsafe for her to use this drug outside of the abortion-mill as she may urgently require attention from one of the workers to assist her with complications leading from its use. Anyway, you can already buy abortifacient contraceptives across the counter from pharmacies throughout New Zealand - and hey kids, try this at home. NZ Abortion law states that girls of any age are not required to have parental consent or notification before obtaining an abortion, whether it is chemical or surgical.

Phil Goff on Abortion

Phil Goff, Forum on the Family 2009

In September I attended the Forum on the Family. Here two questions were asked of Phil Goff relating to abortion in New Zealand (video here). I asked, "Currently young girls can have their pre-born baby aborted without their parents' knowledge or consent - what will your party do about this?", however Phil ignored the specificity of the question and spoke about abortion in general. A couple of interesting statements from his response,

"I have a deep unease about the taking of life - even at a foetal stage"

And yet throughout 9 years of a Labour Government, nothing was done to reduce the increasing number of abortions in New Zealand. If you're "uneasy" about the taking of foetal life, why don't you reconsider your position on abortion. Most of us are uneasy about the taking of infant life, and we take action on this and (supposedly) punish perpetrators of infanticide.

"It's better to prevent the conception of an unwanted child than to abort that child afterwards"

Well there you have it, Phil states that a foetus is a child - he's dead right and good on him. The second question to the leader of the opposition on abortion was from president of Voice for Life, Catherine Gillies who asked "what would your government do to ensure that women were able to make a truly informed decision?". Phil said that he would support a greater level of objective, neutral information being made available to women. He also said that he wanted to see a hell of a lot more done to,

"prevent unwanted pregnancies that may result in abortion or result in the bringing into this World of kiddies who were never wanted and are destined to have miserable lives right from the start".

Firstly, it is not true that all unwanted children that are born are destined to life of misery. Secondly, following this logic, it would be acceptable to kill an infant if it was decided that that infant was destined to a life of misery.

Key's UN Agenda vs. Anti-Smacking Law

John Key meets UN Secretary, Sept 2009 (NZPA)

I've thought if for a while now, but Brendan Malone over at the Semper Vita blog sums up very nicely the Prime Ministers's ulterior motive in what seemed to many like political suicide and blatantly ignoring the voice of 87.6% of his constituents.

So what has the UN Security Council got to do with the NZ anti-smacking law?
Well, quite simply, the UN is politics on a global scale, and that means lots and lots of wheeling and dealing and unprincipled compromising in order to gain the perfect outcome that one desires.
In this case, Mr. Key has made no bones about the fact that he is definitely keen to secure a NZ seat on the UN Security Council, but to do that he’ll have to dance the dance of the UN faithful – and that doesn’t bode well for a change to New Zealand’s anti-smacking law.
Why?
Well, in 1993 New Zealand became a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Then in 2003 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a report which criticized New Zealand regarding it’s failure to revoke the old Section 59 law.

Continue Reading. Brendan writes a Life Matters column every Friday, worth checking out.

The Foolishness of the Christian Gospel

In the first Century AD the Apostle Paul whose former occupation had been hunting and killing members of an annoying new belief-system called Christianity, went out on a limb, stating that the "Good News" was foolishness - here's the context in the book of Corinthians.

Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.

- 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

Because I believe that the Bible is God's infalible word to all people, and that within it I find the most reasonable path to peace with God, I visited a rest-home today with two friends and we shared the Gospel with the fifteen or so people gathered in the lounge there. I'm no Spurgeon (he started preaching at the age of 18), and I'm not perfect just forgiven - in fact, I might just push back the next time you shove. Paul states later on in Corinthians that people who share the gospel are like jars of clay containing treasure. What he means is that it's not necessarily through persuasive words and a quality presentation that God saves people, but rather through the inherent value of the message itself. Further, the Christian gospel being the most reasonable path to peace with God is important as it is subsequently the only way to gain peace with God. Anyway, above is my reasoning for sharing the gospel with the residents at the rest-home - below is a summary of my message based on a section of the Apostle John's version of the gospel...

Jesus was talking to His followers, teaching them about how to be good disciples. He was essentially giving them the instructions they needed to understand how to be like Jesus, how to be Christians.

John 3:15 Whoever believes in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life.

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? First, we are all sinful – we are kind and good a lot of the time, but we are also often sinful. Since God is absolutely holy, He cannot abide sin and must punish it. But God, very graciously provided a solution to our problem. God sent His only Son Jesus to the World as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. If we believe that Jesus did this for us, and we ask God to forgive us for our sins, God will not punish us.

Then Jesus said, “you will have eternal life if you believe in Me”. What is Eternal life? Jesus says that if we believe in Him, we will have eternal life, which means that when we die, we will go to Heaven to be with Him there – forever*. It’s hard to imagine…

Now, here is what Jesus said about God’s plan to save His people from their sins… Listen to Jesus’ words,

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

As I was saying before, God sent His Son to the World to provide a way for us to escape punishment and go to Heaven to be with Him. God is extremely loving and gracious to provide us with this way out. Because by nature, we all deserve the punishment for our sins – however God amazingly has given us this way out.

Can we please God with the good things that we do? The Bible says that we cannot be good enough for God. This is because God is so perfect, He is absolutely perfect and so – as the Apostle Paul said, even the very best things we do are as filthy rags in God’s eyes.

This puts us in a bad position because by ourselves, without Jesus’ help, we have to face God’s righteous wrath. But as Jesus said, God loved us so much that He sent His Son – Jesus to pay the price for our sin. Instead of us having to try to please God with good works – which is impossible, God promises us that if we put our trust in His Son, Jesus, then we need do nothing but have faith in Jesus’ death.

But how can God accept Jesus’ sacrifice? Can Jesus’ death really pay for our sins? Yes He can because Jesus was God and man. Because Jesus was God, when He died on behalf of us, that was sufficient payment to cover the sins of all people in the World. And because Jesus was also man, He was able to be tempted as we are tempted and to suffer as we suffered – but it is important to remember that through all of His earthly life, Jesus never ever sinned – He was absolutely perfect. Of course it spins back round here - Jesus was only able to be perfect because He was God. God is therefore able to accept Jesus’ death as a perfect sacrifice, payment for our sins.

By itself, this was not enough. Jesus also rose again – this meant that He had the power over death, and we are then able – after we die, to also be resurrected and go to Heaven forever – if we first put our faith in Jesus.

John 3:17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that,

the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Jesus is here talking about how people so often do the things that are wrong. Often men and women hate to do the things God has said we must do. For instance, Jesus says to us in the Bible that we must love the Lord with all our hearts. Now, often this is true, and we do love God, but there are times when we do not love Him with all of our hearts.

But not only this, they also delight in doing the things God has said we must not do. For instance The Ten Commandments is a list of rules that God has given us. The 5th commandment says “you shall not murder”. Now we all know it is wrong to murder! And we think “well I haven’t ever killed anyone, so perhaps God will be happy with me…” But Jesus said to his followers, “If any of you hates your brother, it is the same as murdering him”. This is a high standard, Jesus said that hating someone and murdering them were the same. I don’t know about you, but from time to time I have hated people.

John 3:20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.

Jesus continues talking about human-nature. He says, people who are sinful do not want to come to the light – because if they did, people would see that they were sinful.

John 3:21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

This means that if we are followers of Jesus, and we try to do what God has commanded us to do, then we won’t want to be in the dark, but instead we will want to be with God’s people – in the light. This is essentially a reference to the need for Christians to do good works. For without good works we cannot see Heaven - yet at the same time we're not saved through our good works - rather, they're an outworking of faith.

* I do not believe in the concept of eternity. I hold that everything that is not of this World operates outside time - a natural conclusion from my understanding that God created time itself. The terms "forever" and "eternity", then are an simplified expression of the reality, as many struggle with the concept of an existence outside of the dimension of time.

Watch David Tua Destroy Shane Cameron

Tua knocks out Cameron

I will update this post later with details of the fight, however for now, below is the only link you need to watch the fight. Youtube keeps deleting copies of the video but users keep uploading new versions, so checking the search-results page will probably get you a version of the fight you can watch before Youtube yanks it down!

Watch the Tua vs. Cameron fight