Bishop John

When blasphemy laws are added to a poor system of justice, then minority groups and moderate co-religionists suffer.

But blasphemy cases, about half of which involve Muslim suspects … point to a more fundamental problem … Pakistan’s broken justice system, corrupt and lacking in expertise, often rewards vendettas and encourages radicalism.

The law against blasphemy – which encompasses vaguely worded prohibitions on insults against Islam – gives radicals a tool with which to bully those who don’t share their hardline religious views. Legal experts say lawyers, witnesses and authorities are frequently intimidated into helping to enforce the law, leading to injustices that bolster militants’ anti-government arguments.

Article, Blasphemy trials in Pakistan reveal a broken justice system.

Further to my Blasphemy law is bad law  and  Crime of Blasphemy.

Most of the medical graduates from the University of Tasmania will today be making a modern form of the Hippocratic Oath.

 There have been a number of changes in the Oath over the years and the change I enjoy is the change from

I will not cut, even for the stone, but I will leave such procedures to the practitioners of that craft  – [Now just what on earth and stone, did that mean?]   to 

I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.

The change I least appreciate is from

 I will not give a fatal draught to anyone if I am asked, nor will I suggest any such thing. Neither will I give a woman means to procure an abortion    to 

Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

Original Hippocratic Oath:     (Translated by J Chadwick and WN Mann, 1950)

I swear by Apollo the healer, by Aesculapius, by Health and all the powers of healing, and call to witness all the gods and goddesses that I may keep this Oath and Promise to the best of my ability and judgement.

I will pay the same respect to my master in the Science as to my parents and share my life with him and pay all my debts to him.

 I will regard his sons as my brothers and teach them the Science, if they desire to learn it, without fee or contract.

 I will hand on precepts, lectures and all other learning to my sons, to those of my master and to those pupils duly apprenticed and sworn, and to none other.

I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgement; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it.

I will not give a fatal draught to anyone if I am asked, nor will I suggest any such thing. Neither will I give a woman means to procure an abortion.

I will be chaste and religious in my life and in my practice.

I will not cut, even for the stone, but I will leave such procedures to the practitioners of that craft.

Whenever I go into a house, I will go to help the sick and never with the intention of doing harm or injury. I will not abuse my position to indulge in sexual contacts with the bodies of women or of men, whether they be freemen or slaves.

Whatever I see or hear, professionally or privately, which ought not to be divulged, I will keep secret and tell no one.

If, therefore, I observe this Oath and do not violate it, may I prosper both in my life and in my profession, earning good repute among all men for my time. If I transgress and forswear this oath, may my lot be otherwise.

The Hippocratic Oath: Modern Version

I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:

I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.

I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.

I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug.

I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery.

I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.

I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.

I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.

I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.

If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.

Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today 

A good overview of this theme on BBC website, The Hippocratic Oath.

Top 10 Tips for Keeping Children Safe Online Released by Security Experts International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc., (ISC), the world’s largest organisation of cyber security professionals this week released its top 10 tips for parents to help keep their children – and themselves – safe online:

1.  Talk First: Kids are fascinated by what they learn about the world through the Internet, so take the lead and talk with your child to make sure they understand the risks without trying to scare them. They want practical advice aimed at fixing problems. They want guidance, but they are the ones that are going to lead the way in our digital world.

2.  Social Networking Often Begins Earlier than Age 13: Despite guidance and attempts to restrict membership to kids 13 and older, age restrictions are not respected or effectively enforced, as growing numbers of primary school children report that they have Facebook pages.

3.  Reward Sensible Behavior: Encourage your child to ask for guidance and discuss problems they may encounter online. This way, you foster safe practices and build healthy communications on this important topic.

4.  Computers Don’t Belong in Bedrooms: Most kids over 11 say they have computers and laptops in their bedrooms. In one school, 85 percent of over 750 kids said they had personal computers in their bedrooms, with 75 percent of them admitting to being online after 11 p.m. on a school night. Whenever possible, children should not have unsupervised Internet access. Keep computers in family areas.

5.  Don’t Rely Solely on ‘Parental Controls’: These only work for younger children. As soon as they are old enough for sleepovers, they are beyond your protection, so you will need to educate them to be safe.

6.  Understand that Any Internet-Connected Device Can Have Risks: Cell phones, Wi-Fi-enabled handheld gaming devices and eReaders can be used maliciously as well, so treat them as you would a computer, and discuss the risks with your children. For instance, many online video games have become a lure for cyber predators, especially those targeting young boys.

7.  ‘Friend’ Collecting Is Competitive: Kids proudly talk about the number of friends they have on their social networks. They don’t even know them all; the objective is just to look popular. Boys can be particularly blasé about friends they don’t know, believing that girls are the real target for stalkers and sexual predators. School surveys show that 50-60 percent of kids admit to having friends or contacts they have never met.

8.  Friends Are the Common Risk: Children are more daring online, insulting others, posting revealing pictures, and getting personal with people they don’t know, fuelling cyberbullying and sexting. Reports include sophisticated attacks on teachers’ reputations, with fake social networking profiles and campaigns on legitimate sites to lure people to them. It’s the kids that are making themselves vulnerable to this online abuse, posting the ammunition — personal information and photos, and sharing passwords.

9.  Reputations Matter: Most kids don’t need to be told this. What they don’t realise is how their online behavior affects their real-world prospects. Universities and hiring managers consult social networking sites when evaluating them as candidates. Not only does their own behavior matter, but they must also protect their online identity.

10. A Child’s Online Behavior Can Negatively Impact Parents: Even if your child remains personally safe online, their use of the computer can place their parents’ in peril. About half of children admit to using peer-to-peer networks to download music illegally, while pirated games are also downloaded. Parents can be threatened with prosecution and having their broadband blocked. Also, those sites most popular with kids for networking and downloads are the most popular for cyber attacks, launching malware attacks aimed at stealing identities, bank details, even corporate information stored on an unprotected home computer. And it goes both ways: if a child sees a parent exhibiting poor Internet safety practices, it sets the wrong example. Like everything else, parents must “practice what they preach” or face the consequences of a reckless child following in their footsteps.

These tips above were gathered from members worldwide who participate in the organisation’s Safe and Secure Online program, a worldwide initiative that brings top cyber security experts into schools to teach children ages 11-14 how to protect themselves in a cyber-connected world. The program tackles the most relevant issues such as cyber bullying, social networking, online predators, identity theft, online reputation and more.

Source: International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium, Inc., (ISC) 2010

Dr Jill Abell
Director of Information Services (IT, Libraries and Archives)

Acknowledge, The Hutchins School Communique 25 November 2010.

I don’t always get a good laugh out of the Business pages of the newspaper but this article brightened my day. I’ll only copy a bit as the whole article is such fun. Enjoy!

I have a dream. I dream of a time when tea drinkers get served before red wine drinkers get top-ups. I dream of a time when cafes charge for the time it takes to prepare hot drinks. And I dream of a time when coffee is prepared without thumping and swooshing. Because if coffee was prepared in silence, as for tea, then coffee would cease to have appeal to those who clearly like to be at the centre of attention.

Article, Tea drinkers must rise up against the coffee-swilling elite.