Fighting parents drive teens to drink
The research is clear: adolescents tend to fare better — academically and behaviourally — when they live with both biological parents. And that’s a couple of scientists talking. But there…
What’s wrong with early marriage anyway?
A cheerful little statistic on marriage from New Zealand: the number of marriages among residents rose last year by 400 — from 21,500 in 2007 to 21,900 — and these…
Sexperts only a text away from curious teens
Adolescent health experts in the United States think they have made a great leap forward in sex education. Since the vast majority of teenagers have cellphones, and since an awful…
Brave heart, flawed man
Not only the demon drink but his love affair with violence has marred Mel Gibson and his work. The sound of idols smashing as they fall off their pedestals is…
Hype or right?
Did the media overplay swine flu or perform a valuable public service? Well if there is a modern-day proof that the world entered swine flu hysteria, it is that the…
Torture: do ends justify means?
Former Vice-President Dick Cheney says that torture saved American lives. Is that a good enough reason for authorising it? With the disclosure of confidential memoranda discussing the permissible limits of…
Global warming: been there, done that
Australian geologist Ian Plimer says that the planet has warmed and cooled many times before. And humans aren’t to blame. The group which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with…
Ethics in a time of swine flu
Even if the latest health scare fizzes, we still need to prepare for a global calamity. Nothing inspires horror more than a plague. The ancient Greek historian Thuycidides gives a…
The lady is not for decoration
America’s leading Catholic woman declines to ‘balance’ Notre Dame’s decision to honour a pro-abortion president. The University of Notre Dame is used to controversy and Fr. John Jenkins, like some…
Car seat belts and AIDS in Africa
What have those two things got to do with each other? Still thinking? Well, this month’s Smithsonian magazine has the answer. It is 50 years since the invention of the…
Bleak stories behind failed condom campaigns
Before blanketing the continent with condoms to stop AIDS, why don’t you live in rural Africa for a while? Sub-Saharan Africa has two-thirds of the world’s HIV/AIDS cases. So you…