29 December 2010
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Presbyterians Week Headlines
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[2] Some TSA Major Airport Checkpoints Miss up to Seventy Percent of Test Weapons
[4] Church of Scotland Moderator’s Ring Stolen in Residential Burglary
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A 25 December 2010 New York Times article by Robert Pear titled “Obama Returns to End-of-Life Plan That Caused Stir” reports that the administration of U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama, by executive fiat, has issued a new Medicare regulation adding coverage for doctors that advise elderly patients on ‘voluntary advance care planning’ including end-of-life treatment during the Medicare-covered annual physical examination or wellness visit.
The health care bill signed into law in March 2010, which nationalized virtually the entire U.S. health care industry, did not include provisions for ‘advance care planning’, due to widespread objection that the resultant ‘death panels’ will lead to federal government health planners cutting off health care for the critically ill.
In 2011, the 78 million members of the “baby boomer” generation, those born between 1946 and 1964, begin reaching sixty-five years of age and will normally begin Medicare coverage.
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+ New York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, 212- 556-1234, executive-editor@nytimes.com
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[2] Some TSA Major Airport Checkpoints Miss up to Seventy Percent of Test Weapons
A 17 December 2010 ABC News article titled “Man Boards Plane at IAH with Loaded Gun in Carry-On” reports on a Houston, Texas businessman that accidently carried a loaded Glock semi-automatic .40 caliber pistol in his otherwise empty carry-on bag through Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security at the Bush Intercontinental Airport and onto the airplane. The businessman reported the security lapse when he reached his destination airport.
An ABC News source that was briefed on recent TSA security test results said that at some major airports, the TSA inspectors failed to find seventy-percent of the test weapons taken through TSA security checkpoints.
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+ ABC News, 7 West 66th Street, New York, New York 10023, Contact Page
+ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000, Contact Form
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A 22 December 2010 KVUE.com article by Jim Bergamo titled “Woman Arrested at ABIA after Refusing Enhanced Pat Down” reports that a fifty-six year old woman rape victim’s pacemaker-type device set off a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) detector at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Texas, and the woman was led to a female TSA employee and three Austin Police Department officers where the woman was told that she was to be patted down.
The woman expressed concern that her constitutional rights were being violated and said that she would accept being examined with a wand in lieu of a pat down, but was refused. The woman then agreed to be patted down if the TSA officer would not feel her breasts. The TSA agent refused, the woman traveler refused, was arrested, pushed to the floor, handcuffed, dragged twenty-five yards across the front of the airport security station, then banned from the airport.
The TSA subsequently issued a statement saying: “Our officers are trained to treat all passengers with dignity and respect. Security is not optional.”
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+ KVUE.com, 400 South Record Street, Dallas, Texas 75202, 512-459-9442, Fax: 512-533-2233, Contact Page
+ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Washington DC 20528, 202-282-8000, Contact Form
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[4] Church of Scotland Moderator’s Ring Stolen in Residential Burglary
A 24 December 2010 BBC article titled “Moderator’s Ring Stolen in House Robbery” reports that Church of Scotland moderator the Rt. Rev. John Christie’s residence was burglarized sometime between 22 and 24 December 2010, and that along with Christmas presents and a wallet, the gold ring of office for the moderator of the Church of Scotland was stolen from the residence.
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+ BBC, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TS, England, Fax: 020-8008-2398
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
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A 25 December 2010 Ekklesia article titled “Geneva Based ENI Suspends Operations, but Promises ‘Restructuring’” reports that Geneva, Switzerland-based Ecumenical News International (ENI) has suspended operations after a cut in funding of fifty percent from the World Council of Churches, who provided ENI’s main source of funding.
A restructuring of ENI has been promised, but there are no details available at this time.
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+ Ekklesia, 2nd Floor, 145-157 St. John Street, London EC1V 4PY, England, 0845 056 5445, press@ekklesia.co.uk
+ Ecumenical News International, Post Office Box 2100, CH – 1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6111, Fax: 41-22-788-7244, eni@eni.ch
+ World Council of Churches, 150 route de Ferney, CH-1211, Geneva 2, Switzerland, 41-22-791-6111, Fax: 41-22-791-0361
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