Has AARP crossed the line in aiding and abetting exposure to sexual abuse of the elderly -- the very people they address daily with good information?

Bill Novelli is CEO of AARP, a membership organization of 40 million people age 50 and older, half of whom remain actively employed.  AARP’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for all as we age.

The crime of elder abuse is rapidly gaining the attention of society, policymakers, and law enforcement. As gatekeepers to the criminal justice system, local prosecutors have a crucial role to play in fighting elder abuse. Nevertheless, protecting our elderly is becoming a passion for many of us.  Maybe it’s too late for an estimated yearly 487,000 senior citizens who have already become victims of scams, sexual exploitation, various crimes, or predators, but we can do a tremendous amount of good as we work together to stop future elder abuse.

The latest source of elder abuse is located on page 35 of the January/February 2009 Bulletin (and Magazine) of AARP, where Sinclair Institute is allowed a full page ad for books and videos on enjoying the best sex life. "While sex for the elderly is healthy and a good thing, exposure to pornography is not," notes CfD. Read On

Culture Commits Suicide Those who have embraced the culture of death had much to celebrate during 2008. By “culture of death,” I’m referring to those movements that would advance euthanasia, assisted suicide, abortion, fetal experimentation and even population control.

Let’s take a quick look at the year gone by. I think you’ll see what I mean.

In the U.S., voters in Washington state approved the grotesquely named “Death with Dignity Act,” which will allow physicians to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to their terminally ill patients. Washington joins Oregon as the only states (for now) that have legalized assisted suicide. Two down, 48 to go.

Of course there was other significant news in the other Washington, Washington, D.C., where the new administration began to set up shop in the White House — an administration that promised during the campaign to enact the “Freedom of Choice Act,” or FOCA. Read On

CLIMBING RATES Each day, Julie Louise Gerberding, M.D. and director of Centers for Disease Control, tries to imagine a safer, healthier world as the rates of the sexually transmitted disease chlamydia are climbing in the U.S., and rates of syphilis -- once on the verge of elimination -- rose for the seventh consecutive year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday in its annual report on STDs.

Gonorrhea rates did not increase, but they ceased falling a few years ago, frustrating goals set by public health leaders.

Chlamydia infections in the United States now top 1.1 million, the most since record-keeping for the disease began and the most for any STD that doctors are required to report, according to 2007 data, the latest available.

Cases of gonorrhea, which peaked in the 1970s at about 1 million and then dropped for years, remain flat at 355,991, according to the CDC report. The disease is the second-most common STD for which data are collected by law.. Read On

The global GOD TV Network is the brainchild of innovative thinkers, apostolic prophetic ministers and television producers, Rory & Wendy Alec, who are bold media pioneers who God has used to change the face of faith-based broadcasting.The remarkable story of how they overcame enormous obstacles by faith, to birth Christian television in Great Britain is nothing short of a miracle. Without finance, recognition or institutional backing, they launched the first daily Christian television network in Europe from their kitchen table in London in 1995. Since then, their fledgling network has expanded to become an international media phenomenon.In 2001, the Lord impressed upon Rory & Wendy’s hearts to move GOD TV's broadcast headquarters to Israel, which facilitated the network’s rapid global expansion as the continents opened up to GOD TV. Read On

HOPE CAIRO, Egypt —  Egypt and Hamas were negotiating a proposal for a 10-day cease-fire in Gaza, officials said Wednesday, as the Palestinian death toll in the war passed 1,000 and smoke from Israeli airstrikes rose over Gaza City's devastated streets. Egyptian and Palestinian officials said they hoped to seal Hamas' agreement on a temporary halt in fighting, which would be presented to Israel for approval. Key uncertainties remained for a longer-term deal under which Gaza's borders would be open and Israeli troops would withdraw. Hope for Halt in Fighting

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