Sunday, July 09, 2017




Children in single-mother-by-choice families do just as well as those in two-parent families

As it has not yet been fully published, this study is difficult to critique.  It is however clear that its generalizability is low.  Women who decide to have a child without an involved partner are very atypical so what may be true of their families  may not apply to other family types.

And the lack of details so far available makes it impossible to know what was controlled for.  Without control for sociological variables such as education and income and psychological variables such as IQ and self-confidence, the results just could not be taken seriously.  And knowing how often some of those variables are NOT controlled for, I would be surprised if any firm conclusions could be drawn from this study



A study comparing the well-being of children growing up in single-mother-by-choice and heterosexual two-parent families has found no differences in terms of parent-child relationship or child development. However, the study did find that the single-mothers-by-choice did have a greater social support network.

"Children in both family types are doing well in terms of their well-being," said investigator Mathilde Brewaeys from the Centre of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria of the VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam. "Single-mothers-by-choice and their children benefit from a good social support network, and this should be emphasised in the counselling of women who want to have and raise a child without a partner." Ms Brewaeys will present the results of the study today at the 33rd Annual Meeting of ESHRE in Geneva.

Fertility treatment of single women is now available in most European countries and is an increasingly popular procedure for single women who wish to become pregnant without a partner (ie, single mothers by choice).(1,2)

Some specialists have raised concerns about the well-being and development of these children. "The assumption that growing up in a family without a father is not good for the child is based mainly on research into children whose parents are divorced and who thus have experienced parental conflict," explained Ms Brewaeys, "However, it seems likely that any negative influence on child development depends more on a troubled parent-child relationship and not on the absence of a father. Single-mothers-by-choice knowingly make the decision to raise their child alone, in contrast to unintended single mothers. Little research has been done on the specific features of these single-mothers-by-choice families and whether there are differences between them and heterosexual two-parent families in terms of parent-child relationship, parental social support and well-being of the children."

The study described by Ms Brewaeys was a comparison of 69 single-mothers-by-choice (who had knowingly chosen to raise their child alone) and 59 mothers from heterosexual two-parent families with a child between the ages of 1.5 and 6 years. Parent-child relationships, mothers' social support network and children's well-being were compared between family types according to three validated questionnaires. The analysis drew three main conclusions:

There were no significant differences in emotional involvement or parental stress between family types.

Single-mothers-by-choice showed significantly higher scores on the social support they received, but also on wanting more social support.

There were no significant differences in the children's internal and external problem behaviour (well-being) between both family types.

Based on these results Ms Brewaeys reported that children growing up with single-mothers-by-choice appeared to enjoy a similar parent-child relationship as those in heterosexual two-parent families.

Ms Brewaeys explained that the support systems welcomed by the single mothers were either informal or formal: the former could be parents, other family, friends, neighbours or a nanny, while the latter included teachers, family doctors, paediatricians, television programmes or articles about child rearing.

"A strong social network is of crucial importance," said Ms Brewaeys. "So I would recommend that all women considering single motherhood by choice make sure of a strong social network - brothers, sisters, parents, friends of neighbours. And to never be afraid to ask for help.

Ms Brewaeys pointed to earlier studies investigating the profile of this new group of single mothers. The great majority, she said, would have preferred to have a child a with a partner. But as fertility time was running out, they opted to do so alone. Most women in her study were financially stable, had received a higher education and had meaningful partner relationships in the past.

SOURCE




Is all of Africa headed for Europe?

The number of migrants crossing into Europe from Africa will be in the millions within five years unless urgent action is taken, a senior EU official has warned.

Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, has said the scale and severity of the migrant crisis is being underestimated and must be tackled urgently.

In an interview with Il Messagero newspaper, Mr Tajani said there would be an exodus ‘of biblical proportions that would be impossible to stop if we don’t confront the problem now’.

‘Population growth, climate change, desertification, wars, famine in Somalia and Sudan. These are the factors that are forcing people to leave.

‘When people lose hope, they risk crossing the Sahara and the Mediterranean because it is worse to stay at home, where they run enormous risks. If we don’t confront this soon, we will find ourselves with millions of people on our doorstep within five years.

‘Today we are trying to solve a problem of a few thousand people, but we need to have a strategy for millions of people.’

Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi, the head of the ruling Democratic Party, said yesterday Italy should allow only a ‘fixed number’ of migrants into the country as it grapples with a wave of people arriving by sea from North Africa.

‘There has to be a fixed number of arrivals. We should not feel guilty if we are not able to welcome everyone,’ Mr Renzi said in a video posted on his party’s website.

‘We have to save everyone, but we are not able to welcome everyone into Italy,’ he said.

Italy has been struggling to cope with a large number of migrants, mostly sub-Saharan Africans, crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya, a journey that has so far claimed more than 2,200 lives this year, UN figures show.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the country has accepted around 85,000 of the 100,000 people who have arrived this year.

The massive numbers have also exacerbated tensions with neighbouring Austria, which this week threatened to send troops to its border with Italy to stop migrants entering.

His warning comes after a Paris shanty town containing some 2,500 migrants was pulled to the ground on Friday and its inhabitants 'evacuated' to other parts of France.

Many were from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Eritrea who said they were desperate to get to Britain as quickly as possible.

The mass operation, which involved riot police, unfolded soon after dawn as the mainly young men were forced out of the illegal settlement in the Porte de la Chapelle.

It is situated in the north of the city, next to the railway lines where high-speed Eurostar trains travel to London.

'We were woken up first thing and then told to line up before being moved out,' said Adam Jamshid, a 33-year-old originally from the Afghan city of Kandahar. 'There wasn't even time to pick up our belongings, and many people were split up. The police were very tough - like they always are.'

Like many of the migrants, Mr Jamshid said he was taken to a local gym, where he would be able to spend a few nights.

'There is no permanent place for us in France any more,' he said. 'This is one of the main reasons why we want to go to Britain, where we are treated like human beings.'

There is an official refugee camp in Porte de la Chapelle, but those living there can only stay for a fortnight.

Since its opening last year, it has become a magnet for thousands, who end up setting up alternative homes in the streets nearby.

Some 60 coaches were involved in Friday's operation, and according to Francois Ravier, of the local prefecture, 'at least 2500 migrants were involved.'

'Experience shows that there are always more people than estimated, said Mr Ravier.

Numbers in Paris have swelled since the destruction of the so-called 'Jungle' camp in Calais last year, when around 8000 migrants were dispersed.

France's new President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to continue the zero tolerance policy to illegal camps enforced by his predecessors.

Friday's operation marked the 34th of its kind to take place in Paris over the last two years.

Paris council said it was justified because of security and hygiene concerns.

Europe's migrant influx began in 2015, centering on Greece, where hundreds of thousands of people, many of them fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Afghanistan, crossed from Turkey.

The crisis receded in 2016 under an agreement with Turkey to clamp down on illegal border crossings.

However, it revived this year, focussing instead on sea crossings from Libya to Italy, mainly entailing people from sub-Saharan Africa.

On Thursday, EU interior ministers pledged to back a plan to help Italy, which has accepted around 85,000 people since the start of the year and says it is overwhelmed.

SOURCE





Countries that refuse to take back illegals cut in half, 'big' win for Trump

The Trump administration has bolstered its campaign to deport criminal illegal immigrants by getting countries to stop blocking the transfers and take them back, according to key Homeland Security officials.

Led by its success in getting Iraq to shift gears, the administration is looking to cut the number of "recalcitrant nations" even further as it speeds up the arrest of illegal immigrants and visa overstayers who have criminal records.

"It is big news. It shows that some of these countries see that they can't get away with stiff arming us anymore, that there will be consequences," said Jessica Vaughan of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said the Obama and Trump administrations, in a combined effort from the departments of state and homeland security, have cut the number of recalcitrant nations in half.

"Working with our partners at the Department of State, ICE has made significant progress over the past year to improve cooperation on removals – including reducing the number of recalcitrant countries from 23 in May 2016 to 12 in May 2017," an ICE official told Secrets. "The recent agreement with the government of Iraq is one example, and we will continue our efforts to encourage greater cooperation."

While some consider forcing recalcitrant nations to take U.S. deportations low-hanging fruit, the foreign governments can be stubborn. As a result, the Trump administration has decided to play hardball, as in the case of Iraq, which got off the president's travel ban list partly by ending its policies of barring the return of criminals.

But recently, U.S. courts have interfered, raising another hurdle to the administration's plans. Last month, for example, courts blocked the administration from deporting more than 1,000 Iraqis with horrific criminal records, claiming they might face threats back home.

"ICE is currently reviewing the judge's order to determine the appropriate next steps," said ICE spokeswoman Gillian Christensen.

Still, the administration's efforts have won applause among groups eager to enforce immigration laws.

"The Trump administration has already made significant progress in just 150 days," said Vaughan, director of policy studies at CIS. But, she said, the administration will have to make good on threats to punish countries that balk at taking back criminals, including murderers and drug dealers.

"I am confident that the number of deadbeat countries can be reduced even further – for starters, China and Hong Kong should be the focus of pressure. On the at-risk list, there is no way places like Bermuda should be stiff-arming us. Others, like Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan, have a lot to lose if they don't cooperate more fully. There are plenty of visa programs that could be turned off in a heartbeat if they do not improve very soon," Vaughan suggested.

Dale Wilcox, executive director of the Immigration Reform Law Institute, heralded the change in how the Trump administration has approached the issue compared to the Obama White House.

"ICE, along with the State Department, has the legislative authority to punish these countries. However, it was almost never been used in past administrations. That's now changing," he said.

"President Trump appears to understand that if people think they can come here illegally and stay even after being caught, more will keep coming. By using the authority Congress gave him to incentivize these nations into cooperating, for instance, by threatening to cut-off their visa-privileges, they'll start to understand that we take our right to sovereign independence seriously," Wilcox added.

SOURCE





What Canada just AWARDED this jihadist who murdered a U.S. soldier DISGUSTS me

This story is so unbelievable there's no real way to explain it. As a matter of fact, it took me some ten minutes to find a link to the story - bet it's not being mentioned on any liberal progressive media outlets.

This one is just incomprehensible and will certainly inflame you. And if it doesn't, well, keep it to yourself.

As reported by CBC.ca, "Alberta PC Leader Jason Kenney and some other conservative politicians are lambasting the federal government over its move to apologize to Omar Khadr and pay him a settlement of $10.5 million [Canadian].

     Khadr, who lives in Edmonton, is the Canadian-born man who pleaded guilty to killing a U.S. Army medic during a firefight in Afghanistan in 2002. He was 15 at the time. Now 30, Khadr was captured and went on to spend 10 years in the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay in Cuba where some described him as a child soldier. But his case has been troubling to many, especially after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Canadian intelligence officials obtained evidence from Khadr under "oppressive circumstances," such as sleep deprivation. That was during interrogations at Guantanamo Bay in 2003.

    Khadr's statements were then shared with U.S. officials. His lawyers filed a $20-million wrongful imprisonment lawsuit against Ottawa, arguing the government violated international law by not protecting its own citizen. CBC can now confirm there is a deal between Khadr and the government that will see Khadr receive $10.5 million [Canadian]."

Yes, under the tenure of Barack Hussien Obama, this murderer who willingly took the life of an American Soldier was released. And in what has to be the height of disrespect to the family of the Soldier killed by this little terrorist, he will be receiving millions of dollars, $7 million in U.S. equivalent.

 So that's it, this is how we stand up for our troops? The lesson learned here is that keeping a sniveling little jihadist awake for too long results in a lottery-like payday. And who are these "lawyers" who filed a "wrongful imprisonment" lawsuit? Do they not realize this is a war, and this boy committed an adult act taking the life of a lawful combatant, a Soldier in uniform?

This isn't some law enforcement action. Khadr should have stayed in GITMO until the day he died, just rewards for the life he took. And actually, as a non-uniform, non-state belligerent on the battlefield, he has no rights. Furthermore, when are we, in Western civilization, going to make a declaration that any of our citizens who take up arms with Islamic jihadists surrender their rights as a citizen?

What are Americans supposed to think of this action by the Canadian government? Are we just supposed to say, hey, y'all are some swell guys? And understand something, I would be enraged, appalled, if the United States would release any Islamic jihadist who had killed a Canadian Soldier and awarded them with an apology and millions of dollars. Now, the chances of that happening have been significantly reduced since Obama departed office - we hope.

 However, what incenses me even more is the response from one of the "coexist" crowd politicians in Canada.

    "On Twitter late Monday, Kenney described Khadr as "odious" and "a confessed terrorist who assembled and planted the same kind of IEDs [improvised explosive devices] that killed 97 Canadians." He followed up with a couple of other tweets suggesting Khadr should still be in prison.

    An Alberta government MLA responded directly to Kenney on Twitter, posting her disappointment in his comments. Sherwood Park MLA Annie McKitrick said she rarely responds to Kenney's posts but felt compelled to this time.

     "Mr. Kenney never sees the power of redemption, the power of forgiveness, the power of love," McKitrick said, adding the support shown to Khadr by Edmonton's King's University College was inspiring. An English professor from King's visited Khadr while he was in detention in Guantanamo Bay, and he was later offered a place at the school on his release. McKitrick said there was a lot more to Khadr's story that Kenney was missing. "He was a young child, he was 15 and under the influence of his father and he served many, many years in a horrible, horrible jail that has been very well documented, the kind of abuse and torture and lack of medical facilities," she said.

This person is delusional. I've been to GITMO and there's no abuse or torture. I hardly call having mass amounts of food and cable TV channels along with sunshine and soccer fields abusive. And I can attest that the detainees at GITMO receive top-notch medical care, as specialists are flown in to attend to GITMO Islamic jihadist detainees. Doggone, I wish our veterans in America got the same immediate medical attention such as the GITMO killers. And isn't it typical of the progressive socialists to find pity for someone who had a "bad relationship with their daddy? When I was fifteen and under the influence of my dad, he challenged me to be the first military officer in our family...give me a break with this sob story bovine excrement. Khadr is alive and a U.S. Army Soldier is dead, dead from the grenade thrown by Omar Khadr. End of story.

But ladies and gentlemen, this is just another exhibit in the case against the progressive socialist left ever being in power in America, or elsewhere actually. They would hand all of us over to bloodthirsty Islamic jihadists because they're "misunderstood"...kinda like the comments of one RADM John Kirby. This naiveté is just sickening, but worse, deadly. Just leave it up to the liberal progressive leftists to make a freaking victim out of someone who killed one of our Soldiers...and $7 million?

Remember, in the words of Susan Rice, Bowe Bergdahl served with honor and distinction, yes, a doggone coward, deserting traitor is a heroic figure to the left. Bradley Manning releases over 700,000 pieces of classified information, resulting in deaths, and because the fella was confused about his gender, and suffering from gender dysphoria, he was released from incarceration. And from what I've read, Vanity Fair and other leftist media outlets are planning a barrage of stories covering his "plight" and fight to discover himself. Gimme a break.

Yet still sitting in prison in Ft. Leavenworth, is U.S. Army 1LT Clint Lorance, who stood and ordered his troops to fire on the enemy. There sits a young man who even had to endure his own Army withholding exculpatory evidence that was in his favor. And I understand his appeal was just rejected. Clint will not be released. Clint will not have his sentence commuted. Clint Lorance will not be receiving $7 million and no one from the progressive socialist left is pleading his case, certainly not seeing him as a victim.

Here is just another in the long list evidencing why I stand against progressive socialism. They live in a special kind of Bizarro World where true honor is repulsive while abhorrent behavior is embraced and rewarded. It reminds me of the Apostle Paul's words to young Timothy in 2 Timothy 4: 3-5 (NIV), "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

There can be no greater departure from sound doctrine and truth than to believe Omar Khadr, a killer of an American Soldier, is deserving of $7 million I believe even Saint Paul would call that FUBAR.

SOURCE

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here

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