SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

The Peace Foundation Disarmament and Security Centre – registered charity & political advocacy

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The Peace Foundation Disarmament and Security Centre (“PFDCS”)  was registered as a charity by the Charities Commission on 10 September 2007 (Charity No. CC11049). On its website [www.disarmsecure.org] it advertises itself as – Promoting Alternative Security: Specialist Branch of the Aotearoa/New Zealand Peace Foundation (“The Peace Foundation”), an Incorporated Society based in Auckland.

 The PFDCS  was first registered as a Charitable Trust (Reg. No. 1534262), under the Charitable Trusts Act 1957, on 9 July 2004, prior to becoming a registered charity with the Charities Commission. It has as its stated primary purposes (source “Rules” registered 03/11/2007: Charities Commission website www.charities.govt.nz ):

 (a) Promote a climate of peace in Aotearoa/New Zealand

 (b) Promote peace and disarmament education throughout the education system and wider community

(c) Make regulations to advance the attainment of any of the above objects

 (d) Do any act or thing incidental or conducive to the attainment of any of the above objects.

“The Peace Foundation (the ‘parent body’ of PFDCS), based in Auckland, which received a total income of $651,920 in 2005/06 and which has been engaged in political advocacy since 28 May 1975 when it was first registered as an Incorporated Society; describes the PFDCS on its website as “The Christchurch Office of the Peace Foundation” – it provides the link to its website ( http://www.disarmsecure.org/links.php).  The Peace Foundation and PFDCS are therefore inextricably linked (http://www.peace.net.nz). [Read more…]

World Leading Neurosurgeon Dismisses Anti-Smacking Law

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In a Media Release issued today …. Family First NZ [a registered charity with the Charities Commission] is welcoming comments made today by an internationally renowned neurosurgeon visiting the country rejecting the anti-smacking law and labeling it as part of a ‘politically correct bandwagon’. [Family First has vigorously lobbied for some years now to have the law repealed or amended]. 

Dr. Ben Carson, Director of Paediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, is in Auckland to raise funds for the Starship Foundation to help rebuild their Neuroservices and Medical Specialty Wards. 

When asked about smacking and NZ’s anti-smacking law on Newstalk ZB this morning, he said

 “I think (smacking) is very appropriate when they’re very young and cannot reason. A smack – and I’m talking a smack and not a beating – can be very appropriate for a child who’s trying to establish themselves as the authority and doesn’t recognise where the real authority lies and doesn’t have the mental capacity to engage in intelligent conversation. And I think it’s completely wrong for people to get on their politically correct bandwagon and saying ‘you may never smack a child and if you do that that’s child abuse’.”

 “Dr Carson as a paediatric neurosurgeon can understand the difference between a smack and child abuse – as can almost 90% of NZ’ers. Dr Carson speaks common sense which is sadly lacking in Parliament, but his words will be appreciated by good kiwi parents who are doing their best to raise law abiding productive members of society in a non-abusive manner,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

ENDS

Medics suggest legalising infanticide

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 Two medical ethicists have controversially claimed that doctors should be allowed to kill disabled or even unwanted newborn babies because they are “not actual persons”.

In an article published by the British Medical Journal, Francesca Minerva and Alberto Guibilini argue that parents should be given the choice to end the lives of their children shortly after they are born because, at this stage, they are “morally irrelevant” and have “no moral right to life.”

In the article,entitled “After-birth abortion: Why should the baby live”, they argue that infanticide is no different morally to abortion since both a foetus and a newborn baby were only “potential persons”.

“The moral status of an infant is equivalent to that of a foetus in the sense that both lack those properties that justify the attribution of a right to life to an individual,” the authors claimed.

“Both a foetus and a newborn certainly are human beings and potential persons, but neither is a person in the sense of subject of a moral right to life.”

The authors suggested that the practice of infanticide, which they termed as “after- birth abortion” should even be permissible where a child was perfectly healthy if the birth was unwanted, inconvenient or too expensive for the parents.

They concluded that: “What we call ‘after-birth abortion’ should be permissible in all the cases where abortion is, including cases where the new-born is not disabled”.

Criticism

Academic peers, however, have criticised the article for being “chilling” and an “inhumane defence of child destruction”.

For more see article published 02/03/2012:

http://www.christianconcern.com/our-concerns/medics-suggest-legalising-infanticide [Read more…]

Update: The Pilgrim’s Progress Book donations to NZ Prisoners

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Society (SPCS) members donated $4,950 in 2010 towards the printing of multiple copies of John Bunyan’s classic work – The Pilgrim’s Progress, and donated $5,245 in 2011: – a total of $10,195 donated over two years (see advertisement for donations on homepage of website). In addition SPCS has raised thousands of dollars from non-members towards this Books in Prisons project via an effective advertising campaign through its newsletters. Donations were used just for printing costs.

The Society has arranged and paid for the distribution of hundreds of the books to prisoners in all 20 NZ prisons. Within the last two weeks it dispatched 26 copies to the Otago Corrections Facility and 20 copies for distribution to the Christchurch Mens Prision.

One prison chaplain recently reported that once word is out that the books are available within the prison, they “fly off the shelf” – snapped up by prisoners seeking spiritual answers found a book that chronicles in timeless allegory the journey of a man – Pilgrim – from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City of God (Heaven).

Pilgrim’s burden of guilt and shame for his sin is lifted from him at the Cross of Christ where he finds forgiveness, God-given faith and the new joy and hope that is the fruit of a true conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ – and is accompanied by genuine repentance.

Author John Bunyan wrote the book while serving time in prison himself and the work is a truly creative expression of his own spiritual journey. It is deeply and richly ingrained with the biblical insights and wisdon he gained after he became a committed believer and follower of Jesus Christ.

The Society executive wishes to thank all its members and others who have contributed so generously towards this Books for Prisoners Project. The work is ongoing and we are heartened by your support and the positive feedback we have received from those working with prisoners who have gained access to the books (Prison Fellowship, Chaplaincy Services etc).

This project in part serves to fulfill the Society’s primary charitable purpose: the promotion of the spiritual and moral welfare of society. In addition it constitutes a public benefit (i.e. it is beneficial to the community)  in a number of self-evident ways (e.g. education and/or rehabilitation of prisoners, relief and/or redemption of prisoners, and aiding the poor etc).

In order to be considered charitable as “any other matters beneficial to the community“, purposes must be beneficial to the community and must be within the spirit and intendment of the purposes set out in the Preamble to The Charitable Uses Act 1601 (the Statute of Elizabeth).

The purposes must benefit the community in a way that the law regards as charitable. The Books for Prisoners Project most definitely qualifies as such and has been positively commended by officials of the Charities Commission when they have met with SPCS executive members on two occasions at the Charities Commission Offices in Wellington.

 

“On yer bike [Steve Crow] – don’t blame council for flop [of Erotica Expo]” – Manawatu Standard

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OPINION – by Warwick Rasnussen – Deputy Editor – Manawatu Standard. 01/03/2012

Fairfax NZ News Story

“fringe conspiracy theory thinking does Mr Crow no favours. And if he seriously thinks that the council plotted against him, he’s got to be kidding.”

It caused plenty of reaction when it first arrived in town, but it will leave with barely a whimper.

In 2005 when it first came to Palmerston North, and every subsequent return, the Boobs on Bikes parade and Erotica Expo it promoted raised the hackles of people who thought it was filth, degrading to women and downright inappropriate.

It was hard to gauge whether the anger towards organiser Steve Crow’s activities was more aimed at the parade or the expo. He also had his share of supporters, who used the defence of “if you don’t like it, don’t look at it”.

Now that Mr Crow has announced that the expo and parade will no longer be in Palmerston North, you’d think that would be the end of it and both sides would move on.

Clearly, it had a lot of impact in the first few years, but the shock value and free publicity that Mr Crow and his events had simply wore off.

Marketed as something a bit risque, it ended up being something of a sad fizzer.

It had done its dash and once the money and the punters started to dwindle, it would have been an easy commercial decision for Mr Crow to make.

That didn’t stop him taking a pot shot at the city council, claiming that they should be “embarrassed and ashamed of themselves” in an online rant.

The verbal spray was because Mr Crow believed there was some kind of deliberate plan by the council to put on a number of other events the same weekend as the expo, just to make sure his event didn’t succeed.

He failed to consider that Palmerston North is actually a city where things happen and, during summer especially, there are plenty of events on when the weekend rolls around.

That fringe conspiracy theory thinking does Mr Crow no favours.

And if he seriously thinks that the council plotted against him, he’s got to be kidding.

Events run their course and just because you turn up year after year doesn’t mean you should expect the same result each time.

ONE MORE THING…

While many would be glad to see the back of the Boobs on Bike parade and associated Erotica Expo, the same can’t be said for the Lift Off Levin balloon festival….

http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/6504784/Editorial-On-yer-bike-don-t-blame-council-for-flop