NewsWatch

3^rd Gender Identity For Records: ‘Diverse’

APNews.com, 8/15/18, “Germany creates 3rd gender identity for records: ‘diverse’” [Excerpts]:  Germany’s Cabinet on Wednesday approved a third gender option for official records that will allow people to be registered as “diverse,” complying with a ruling from the country’s highest court. In November, the Federal Constitutional Court decided that people must be allowed to be entered in records as neither male nor female, ordering authorities either to create a third identity or scrap gender entries altogether. 

It ruled on a case in which a plaintiff sought unsuccessfully to have their entry in the birth register changed from “female” to “inter/diverse” or “diverse.” Until now, the only other option was to leave the gender blank.

The center-left minister for families in Germany’s conservative-led coalition government, Franziska Giffey, said it is “an important step toward the legal recognition of people whose gender identity is neither male nor female.”

However, advocacy groups and some opposition politicians said it didn’t go far enough.

“Why should you produce a doctor’s certificate to change your civil status?” opposition Green party lawmakers Sven Lehmann and Monika Lazar asked in a joint statement. “That must be a self-determined decision that is open to all.”

In neighboring Austria, the Constitutional Court ruled in June that authorities there must allow people to be entered in official records as something other than male or female if they so wish. 

(https://goo.gl/xDCAQY)

Galapagos Islands: Evolutionary Lab?

ICR.org, 8/14/18, “Are the Galápagos Islands a Laboratory of Evolution?” [Excerpts]: A recent Livescience article is entitled “The Galápagos Islands: Laboratory of Evolution.” It addresses, among other things, “unique examples of plant and animal life.”

The article states, “Darwin saw many islands of various sizes, close together and geologically young inhabited by similar yet different species of plant and animal life. Darwin concluded that life in the Galápagos didn’t make sense with the current views of creationism.”

It appears Darwin’s conclusion was simply wrong. Life in the Galápagos makes far better sense from the biblical creation model. 

The article goes on, “Published in 1859, Darwin’s famous On the Origin of Species took the foundations for the theories of evolution that had already been placed before him and built upon them, providing the evidence that definitively supported evolution.” 

This statement would be a surprise to Mr. Darwin. Not once did he actually address any origin of any species in his book, ironically entitled On the Origin of Species. He did write quite a bit regarding variation found in certain types of plants and animals....But he never addressed vertical evolution, also commonly called macroevolution.

(https://goo.gl/SrSKz4)

Sweden Burning: Migrant Gangs Fire Rampage

ZeroHedge.com, 8/14/18, “Sweden Is Burning: Migrant Gangs Unleash Coordinated Fire-Bomb Rampage Across Multiple Cities” [Excerpts]: Many Swedes were horrified in early 2017 when U.S. President Donald Trump linked immigration to rising crime in Sweden, but an increasing number now agree with him.

Amid soaring crime rates, gang violence, complaints about education, and pregnant mothers even being turned away from maternity wards due to a lack of capacity, resentment in Sweden has built over the influx of more than 600,000 immigrants over the past five years.

And [the night of August 14] is one of the worst nights for violence in recent history as police report multiple gangs of masked youths rampaging across three major Swedish cities, setting cars on fire in what seems like a coordinated action.

As The Daily Mail reports, police said they were dealing with multiple fires as dramatic footage showed youths targeting vehicles in a shopping centre and hospital car park at Frölunda Torg....

There were also reports of young people setting cars on fire in Hjällbo in the north of Gothenburg and further reports of fires in Trollhättan, although police were last night unsure whether the various blazes were related.... It is no surprise then, as we noted previously,  judging by the latest polls, the rise of extreme populist groups in Sweden is accelerating fast. 

(https://goo.gl/fkVBPF)