SIGNS OF THE TIMES (12-23-17)

SIGNS OF THE TIMES (12-23-17)
HERE IS THE LATEST MADNESS COMING FROM THE MODERN WORLD

German school postpones traditional Christmas celebration after complaint by Muslim student 

A school in the German town of Lüneburg, has rescheduled a Christmas celebration after a Muslim student said its songs are incompatible with Islam.



Yesterday German radio and TV broadcaster NDR, reported on its website that after the complaint the school postponed the Christmas celebration and made it a voluntary activity. Students are now free to choose if they want to take part in it or not.
The school principal confirmed the changes in the programme but denied it happened because of a complaint of a Muslim student. He said: “There is no fundamental decision to abolish the highly-anticipated event in Luneburg.”
According to the principal the rescheduling has something to do with the “availability of school staff” and said that the complaint was made because one of the teachers wanted to sing Christmas carols during one of the obligatory classes.
But NDR defends its article today. The director of the NDR studio in Lüneburg says about it:
“The criticism of the student has triggered the debate about the Christmas party… For this reason, the celebration was postponed.”
Recently there was a similar incident with Christmas and Muslim students in Denmark. A school in Graested canceled its traditional Christmas service because of Muslim students.

Judge Rules State Can’t Force CA Baker to Make Cakes for Same-Sex Weddings

The state of California attempted to shut down a baker after its Christian owner refused to make cakes for same-sex weddings, saying it went against her religious beliefs.  California’s Dept. of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) filed a surprise motion for a temporary restraining order—giving the owner of Tastries Baker, Cathy Miller less than 12 hours to prepare. “This un-professionalism is just
another example of the LGBT activists and their government allies’ crusade to crush Cathy because of her Christian beliefs,” said Charles LiMandri, president and chief counsel for the Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund (FCDF). A judge denied the motion which would have forced Miller to create wedding cakes for LGBT couples or not sell them at all. “We’re Christian, we love everyone,” she said. “God created everyone – we love everyone.” READ MORE

U.S. life expectancy falls for second straight year — as drug overdoses soar

Life expectancy in the United States fell for the second year in a row in 2016 — and it’s clear the epidemic of drug overdoses is at least in part to blame, government researchers said Thursday. Overall life expectancy for a baby born in 2016 fell to 78.6 years, a small decline of 0.1 percent, the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) team found. At the same time, mortality from drug overdoses rose by 21 percent.
“This was the first time life expectancy in the U.S. has declined two years in a row since declines in 1962 and 1963,” the NCHS, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement.  “The new report shows the decline in life expectancy occurred despite an overall decline in U.S. mortality,” the statement added. Life expectancy is affected by mortality rates, but life expectancy calculations are forward-looking projections, while mortality rates are based on current factors. READ MORE

 

New Rule Forces Canadian Employers to Affirm Liberal Views on Abortion, LGBT Issues, Critics Say

Evangelical conservatives and pro-lifers in Canada are voicing concern that a new requirement put in place by the federal government would force organizations to “attest” to liberal beliefs on abortion and LGBT rights in order to receiving funding to give kids summer jobs. Pro-lifers and social conservatives are speaking out against a new rule that has been enacted to a federal program to help local small businesses, nonprofits and charities provide summer jobs to over 70,000 students nationwide.
The government run by liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau enacted a new rule requiring that all organizations that apply to receive funds from the Canadian Summer Jobs program prove they don’t violate Canadian Charter Rights, “reproductive rights” and the “right to be free from discrimination” on the basis of social identifiers such as sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. “CSJ applicants will be required to attest that both the job and the organization’s core mandate respect individual human rights in Canada, including the values underlying the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as other rights,” an application for the 2018 CSJ program reads.  READ MORE

Professing Christian Mother Sues Over ‘Religious Indoctrination’ in Louisiana Public School District

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against a school district in Louisiana on behalf of a professing Christian mother who is unhappy that teachers, principals and others in the district have promoted Christianity during school hours and at school events.  “Since enrolling two of her daughters in the Webster Parish School District more than 12 years ago, Plaintiff Christy Cole has become
increasingly alarmed by the pervasive religious indoctrination to which students in the district are subject,” the suit reads. One of her daughters has since graduated and the other is still in high school. “Christy Cole believes her daughter and all students should be able to attend public school without exposure to government-sponsored religious practices and messages, and without harassment for their religious beliefs,” the complaint explains. READ MORE

New children’s book portrays Santa Claus as gay and married to another man

On CNN’s New Day Sunday, the show devoted a four-minute segment to the new children’s book Santa’s Husband, which portrays Santa Claus as a gay man who gets married to another man. The segment included as guests the author, Daniel Kibblesmith, and illustrator Ashley Quach, with Kibblesmith recalling that he was partially inspired to write the book because of the complaints that are made each
year about a “war on Christmas.”  At 6:12 a.m. ET, CNN co-anchor Christi Paul plugged the interview: “There’s a new children’s book out this Christmas — takes us inside Santa’s wedding. We meet Santa’s husband David. We’re going to talk to the author and illustrator ahead.”  In the second plug at 6:51 a.m. ET, Paul and co-host Victor Blackwell vaguely admitted that some are “not so happy” about the book: READ MORE

WHEN IS THAT COMET COMING AGAIN?