call + response

HPV Vaccine

I've been wanting to blog on the HPV Vaccine for ages but haven't had the time or been able to do all the background research. Then I stumbled across this article over at TallSkinnyKiwi's, which prompted me to say something...

Having watched reaction from the media a few months ago, I was appalled that no-one even mentioned why this was being introduced: it can help prevent a sexually transmitted disease. Not one news story mentioned that. Why? Are we so prudish in Britain we cannot talk about STDs? is it too shocking to talk about sex and girls under 16? Well, yes, it is shocking to the public. But to not even refer to point of the vaccine is to me a conspiracy of denial.

Listen, I'm not against the HPV vaccine. But I am for a well-informed discussion, and that both the children vaccinated, and their parents, and fully aware of this is, and what it does. No information is disinformation.

Anyway, check out TallSkinnyKiwi's story, and feel free to comment here. I'd like to learn more about this.

update: This story has hit the national press: check out TallSkinnyKiwi's update here.

Please Stop Buying Chocolate

I've taken a break from blogging, not really intentionally, just life has been busy.

Today however I heard a message from Steve Chalk on human trafficking and was moved to fire off a quick post.

The basic gist is that a lot of chocolate today comes from the Ivory Coast, Africa, and that the great majority of their chocolate is produced by child slaves. Yes, that's right, slaves.

Just type in "chocolate slavery" into Youtube and you'll see what I mean.

Here's a few vids to get you going:







The basic ethical rule is: if you don't know for sure that the chocolate you're buying is slave-free or fair-trade, simple don't buy it. What's more important, your chocolate fix or the blood of innocent children on your chocolate-smeared hands? For UK consumers, a list of slave-free chocolate can be found here.

For more info, go to Stop The Traffik's Chocolate Campaign.

UPDATE 3rd oct: After emailing Edinburgh's Coco chocolate store, they have confirmed that although their supplier of organic chocolate is not officially in the Fairtrade programme, they told me: "The company who supplies us and their parent company have a firm anti-slavery stance and also work with small co-operative farms to ensure a fair price for the cocoa.". Excellent, as this is one of Edinburgh's best choccy shops!

Saving Jesus from the Bible

Ever feel like Jesus has been taken over by the bible or by actual history? Then when not check out Re-inventing Jesus?

Re-inventing Jesus is a heretical DVD-based small group exploration of Jesus Christ for the sons of disobedience (Eph 5:6). Featuring leading false prophets of our day, the 6 + 6 + 6 week program includes a printable participant reader and a facilitator guide offering discussion questions. The basic format for each weekly 1 - 1½ hour session includes conversation around the readings, a 20-minute video segment and guided discussion.

Sessions include "why Jesus is still dead in his grave", "how to start a Christian-cult", and "how to get rid of those annoying verses that tell you to not sin and that Jesus is actually God."

When asked how one could remove verses from holy scripture, the programme's expert on the subject replied:

"Its quite simple really. You just take a bunch of coloured pens and cross out all the bits you don't like. But ask a bunch of your mates first, for goodness sake, in order to ensure you cross out all the annoying bits"

Or you could just check out Saving Jesus, a seemingly similar product.

Great Blog

HT to Adam who emailed me the URL of Stuff Christians Like, which is quite a giggle.

Check it out!