Fecund birth and elderly parturition

The arrival of a baby is one of the happiest moments of a family. It is even happier for the Duggar family in Arkansas that welcomes Jordyn-Grace Makiya, a 7 pound, 3 ounces baby girl, the 18th member of the brood. Jim Bob Duggar and wife Michele who are devoted to parenting have now 10 sons and eight daughters. “The ultimate gift from God,” said the ecstatic father whose baby was born by caesarean section (CS) on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at Mercy Medical Center in Rogers, AK.

In India, a similarly happy couple celebrates the birth of their healthy daughter after a pregnancy that was made possible by fertility treatment. At 70 years old, two decades beyond the usual age of menopause, Rajo Devi delivered by CS at the National Fertility Center in Hisar, India, Monday, Dec. 8, 2008. She and husband Bala Ram, 72, had been trying to have a baby for about ten years in a community which bears stigma on childless couples.

Because of modern technology, changing cultural norms, and individual preferences, more couples like the Duggars and the Rams are able to decide on unusual choices of family size and age of childbearing. It is unclear what these choices will bring to their children of the future. (Photo Credit: AP/ Beth Hall; AP /Devendra Uppal) =0=

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Religion as a myth, Mother Mary as a nude playboy pin-up girl & a pink Christmas celebration

A provocative placard was placed beside a nativity scene in Olympia, Washington USA which says that religion “hardens hearts and enslaves minds.” Coincident to this month’s feast honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Mexican edition of Playboy magazine printed a nude cover girl with a white veil resembling the Blessed Virgin Mary. In Amsterdam, Netherlands, gays and lesbians slated a pink Christmas, the first this year, depicting the holy Mary and Joseph as homosexuals in a manger scene.

Mockery of religion has become rampant. Antipathy is more common as the holidays heat up. Disrespect and hostility towards Christian moral values are on the rise, especially among those who feel they aren’t “included” in the Christmas celebration.

Churches, religious groups, and the overwhelming majority of Christians are pitted against misguided seculars and atheists who believe religious faith has no place in society. In their alienation, non-believers seems to be having a foul after-taste of their desolation. It’s a far-cry from the the joy and hope true Christians feel at this time of the year.

The small minority of “Scrooges” in US society (fewer than 20% of the public,) wants to change the texture of culture and religion throughout the world. At Christmas time, extremists desiring to remove faith-based traditions are on the move. They have the backing of legal groups, warped government judges, and liberal supporters. This is ironic because the law guarantees the freedom in the exercise of religion (not from religion.) The government is mandated to protect people in their peaceful expressions of faith.

The controversial campaign by liberal radicals and atheists against God seem directed mostly against Jesus believers whose ethical tenet is to work for peace. With the rise of individualism, social alienation, materialism, and decline of ethical moral values, this isn’t surprising. However, the extreme seculars don’t have the balls to mock other religions like Islam. They can only tackle soft targets. For they know,like in the past, their disrespect can draw them into a real quarrel, hopefully, not a bloody one. (Photo Credits: Gadl; Freedom From Religion Foundation.com; Revista Playboy Mexico/ AP) =0=

RELATED BLOG: “Godless world puts Christian identity in peril” Posted by mesiamd at 10/06/2008

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Camarines Sur farmer’s 444 kilometer march to Malacanang

There is sympathy elicited by the pictures of about 50 poor farmers from Banasi, Bula, Camarines Sur who embarked on a march to press their demand that Malacanang reverse the order of Executive Sec. Eduardo Ermita which kept them out of the land awarded to them 11 years ago under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP).

The basis of Ermita’s decision was that the 123 hectare property previously owned by the Fajardo family of Baao Camarines Sur didn’t qualify to be awarded to the farmers because it was used for grazing cattle, instead of agriculture.

This led to the revocation of the certificates of land ownership award (CLOA,) of 57 farmers who were beneficiaries of the land distribution. Ermita’s decision ignored the earlier Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) rulings in 1999 and 2007 which favored the planters.

Started on November 17, 2008, the 444 kilometer walk includes 82-year old Pobleo Clavero, the oldest of the group of farmers who wants to leave his 1.7 hectare land to his grandchildren when he dies. Their leader, Jess Bergantin, says they have to resort to what the agricultural workers from Sumilao, Bukidnon did a year ago to get Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo’s favorable decision. The group are still negotiating the dangerous winding highway towards Manila where they hope to get a solution to their land problem.

The case of the Fajardo Estate farmers shows the limitations of the CARP, which continues to pose problems to farmers 20 years since the program was started. Though there have been successes in the awarding of land to worthy beneficiaries, many however are blocked by landlords and the system of CARP implementation.

The bureaucracy of the DAR that impedes the acquisition of land, the reversals of award decisions like the Sumilao and Fajardo Estates, the controversial land use, conversions (i.e. subdivisions) and funding of the program are among the problems that stand on the way for the full CARP implementation. For lack of education and know-how, many farmers have no sufficient means to make their acquired land productive. About half of the beneficiaries end up not tilling the soil, decreasing productivity, and illegally selling the land.

As I watched the photos of the Fajardo Estate farmers marching from Banasi, Bula Camarines Sur, I could only think whether their lives had improved since CARP was instituted. Braving the wind, sun and rain, some who walked barefoot were very tired, their calloused feet endured the searing heat of asphalt in the highway; others had their skin abraded by friction caused by cheap sandals they wore.

From their faces, I could guess most of the farmers had meager education preventing them from fully understanding their legal rights under the land reform program. Their looks made me suspect their financial position didn’t improve. They had been as poor as the days when CARP wasn’t part of their lives. Photo Credit Pakisamagallery)=0=

RELATED BLOG: “Nuns abducted in Kenya, farmers from Camarines Sur march to Malacanang & the US national debt of $10,664,871,159,771.01 bogs the nation”Posted by mesiamd at 11/28/2008

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