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September 05, 2007

Samaritan Award Winner

The Acton Institute’s 2007 Samaritan Award winner for outstanding private, voluntary charitable service has been awarded to the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Youth Ranches, Inc. Their mission statement reads, “To address, remedy, and prevent child abuse and neglect by creating safe, healthy, and permanent homes for children.” Continue Reading...
September 05, 2007

D. James Kennedy Dies (1930-2007)

From WPBF: FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A pioneering megachurch pastor and prominent Christian broadcaster has died in Fort Lauderdale. The Rev. D. James Kennedy died early Wednesday morning at his home due to complications from cardiac arrest in December. Continue Reading...
September 05, 2007

UK Approves Creation of Chimeras

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) in the UK has given generic approval allowing “human-animal embryos to be created and used for research.” According to a Christian Science Monitor report, Evan Harris, “a lawmaker on a parliamentary committee that has oversight in this field,” says that “No scientist I have found has provided scientific reasons as opposed to religiously based ethical reasons for not proceeding,” he adds, even though his committee “looked high and low for such scientists.” Continue Reading...
September 05, 2007

Islam, Democracy and Turkey

Bilal Sambur, Ph.D., is assistant professor on the faculty of divinity at Suleyman Demirel University in Isparta, Turkey. He is a guest scholar this summer at the Acton Institute. Islam, Democracy and Turkey By Bilal Sambur The inauguration of Abdullah Gul as Turkey’s new president has provoked a great deal of discussion — and anxiety — about the rise to power of a man who is an observant Muslim with a background in Islamic politics. Continue Reading...
September 05, 2007

Globalization By Itself is Not Enough

A recent NBER paper, “Distributional Effects of Globalization in Developing Countries,” by Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg and Nina Pavcnik examines some effects of trade liberalization on low-skill workers. Les Picker summarizes the findings, “Not surprisingly, the entry of many developing countries into the world market in the last three decades coincides with changes in various measures of inequality in these countries. Continue Reading...
September 05, 2007

Microfinance Challenged

PowerBlog has in the past endorsed the concept of micro-loans as a market-friendly and thereby effective way of aiding the poor, especially in developing countries. Now Arneel Karnani has attacked microfinance in a prestigious publication, largely on the basis of macroeconomic data. Continue Reading...
September 03, 2007

A Labor Day Benediction

Labor Day is one of those special American holidays that we all enjoy. We mark the end of summer by it, though fall doesn’t begin for several more weeks. This is the time we get back into our non-summer routines and school is now in session for most students and teachers. Continue Reading...
August 31, 2007

Global Warming Consensus Alert: Silver Lining Edition

It turns out that the Chinese were really thinking ahead back in 1979 when they implemented their one child policy. After all, imagine what their carbon emissions would be today if they hadn’t: The number of births avoided equals the entire population of the United States. Continue Reading...