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The Outer Solar System Remains Mysterious

The farthest reaches of our solar system remain the most mysterious areas around the sun. Solving the mysteries of the outer solar system could shed light on how the whole thing emerged -- as well as how life on Earth was born.

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See also:

Space shots: New worlds

Same-Sex Couples Ready For N.H. Civil Unions

CONCORD, New Hampshire -- New Hampshire is becoming the fourth U.S. state to legalize civil unions and about 20 couples decided to be the first to take advantage of the new law with a late-night ceremony on the Statehouse steps.

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Pakistan Elections Likely To Be Delayed

(CBS/AP) Elections in Pakistan look set to be delayed by several weeks despite demands by the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and other politicians they take place as scheduled on Jan. 8, officials said Monday.

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See also:

New video appears to show Bhutto being shot

Lawyer: Police prevented Bhutto autopsy

U.S. reportedly urged Bhutto to be more careful

At Least 16 Dead In Attacks In Iraq

Baghdad - Bomb attacks on Monday killed at least 16 people, including two Iraqi soldiers, in one of the most violent days in recent weeks even as Iraqi security forces stepped up their operations against insurgents across the country.

In the deadliest attack, a truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint manned by neighborhood security volunteers in the Tarmiya area north of Baghdad. The blast killed at least five volunteers, who are members of a Sunni Arab tribe that has turned against the insurgency in recent months. At least four children were also killed in the explosion. Tarmiya was once a stronghold of the Sunni Arab insurgency.

In the restive Diyala province 60 miles north of the capital explosions killed five people and a woman detonated an explosive vest wounding at least five people in Baquba.

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See also:

U.S. troops target al Qaeda suspects, killing six

2007 was deadliest year for U.S. troops in Iraq

Iraq Progresses To Some Of Its Worst

Iraq marks one year since Hussein's execution

Petraeus: Iraq security fragile, gains reversible

Earlier:

"Analysis: Violence in Abrahamic faiths"

Men Jailed In Sudan For Selling Book On Mohammed's Child-Bride

(CNSNews.com) - A Sudanese court reportedly has sentenced two Egyptian men to six months' imprisonment for harming Islam after they marketed a book deemed critical of one of Mohammed's wives.

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See also:

Submission, 'Part 1' (YouTube Video)

Northern Iraqi women increasingly attempting suicide

Iraqi Refugees Turn to Sex Trade In Syria

Malaysia Reverses Allah Paper Ban

The Malaysian government has reversed a decision to ban a Christian newspaper using the word Allah to refer to God.

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Vatican Denies Exorcist Expansion

VATICAN CITY (UPI) -- The Vatican is denying reports it plans to install more exorcists around the world so possessed people can get help quickly.

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Earlier:

Pope's exorcist squads will wage war on Satan

A War On Science

A video covering the rise of Intelligent Design through the lens of the Dover trial is HERE.

See also:

The Top 10 Intelligent Designs (or Creation Myths)

Monkey, Business

The theme of Michael Shermer's new book is a graceful paradox. Decades of study of behavioral psychology, neuroscience and genetics, layered over more than a century of evolutionary studies, proves that we're not completely rational in making economic choices. But an understanding of our fascinating limitations, which Shermer provides, makes us freer than we were before we knew of them.

--snip--

Shermer easily demolishes another myth about both evolution and economics: that both depend exclusively on cutthroat, bloody-handed "survival of the fittest" competition to weed out the weakest creatures and companies. While competition obviously plays a vital part in the markets and in evolution, both primates and markets have evolved to depend on cooperation. Just as those among our hunter-gatherer ancestors who couldn't cooperate in small societies risked punishment, including exile and death, today's citizens, including top business executives, cooperate and complement each other across industry to serve customers as readily as they compete within a particular industry. People who can't cooperate often face exile from the business world.

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Semi-related:

It is possible to be moral without God by Bishop Richard Harries

Purported Bin Laden Message Has Warnings For Iraq, Israel

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al Qaeda and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for destruction."

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'In God' Returning To $1 Coin Prominence

WASHINGTON (BP)--Presidential one dollar coins are the only U.S. coins currently being issued by the United States Mint that have the inscription "In God We Trust" along the edge, but public pressure soon may send the motto back to the front or back of the coins.

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'Very Religious Community' Gets Rid Of 666 Phone Prefix

REEVES, La. -- After decades of living with what Mayor Scott Walker calls a stigma, residents of this southwest Louisiana village are getting a new telephone exchange, one without the biblical connotations attached to their current 666.

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Malaysia Faces Christian Outcry Over Word "Allah"

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian Catholic newspaper and church groups cried foul on Friday over a government move to forbid non-Muslims from using the word Allah.

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Pope's Exorcist Squads Will Wage War On Satan

The Pope has ordered his bishops to set up exorcism squads to tackle the rise of Satanism.

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Jets Spiral In 'Reverse Whirlpool' From Star

Astronomers have observed for the first time a jet of matter spiraling outward from an infant star, as if a lengthy strand of curly pasta.

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[His noodly appendage?]

See also:

The Winter Sky: Planets, Stars and Cool Shapes

Ancient Pyramid Found In Central Mexico City

MEXICO CITY -- Archeologists have discovered the ruins of an 800-year-old Aztec pyramid in the heart of the Mexican capital that could show the ancient city is at least a century older than previously thought.

Mexican archeologists found the ruins, which are about 36 feet high, in the central Tlatelolco area, once a major religious and political center for the Aztec elite.

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Making A Martyr Of Bhutto

Just days before parliamentary polls in Pakistan, leading prime ministerial contender and anti-terrorism crusader Benazir Bhutto was shot dead during an election rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad. "She has been martyred," said party official Rehman Malik. The Associated Press, citing Malik, reported that Bhutto was shot in the neck and the chest before the gunman blew himself up. At least 20 bystanders were killed in the blast. Bhutto was rushed to a hospital But, at 6:16 p.m. Pakistan time, she was declared dead.

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See also:

Main suspects are warlords and security forces

Slain Bhutto's supporters take anger to the streets

U.S. Checking al Qaeda Claim of Killing Bhutto

Pakistan accuses al Qaeda of killing Bhutto

Pakistan: al-Qaida Behind Bhutto Killing

U.S. suspects Taliban leader behind Bhutto plot

Grief, anger after a voice is stilled

How did Pakistan's Bhutto die?

Bhutto Conspiracy Theories Fill the Air

More than 30 dead in Bhutto protests

Obituary: Benazir Bhutto, 54, Weathered Political Storm

U.S. fears spillover into Afghanistan

U.S.-Led Forces Target Militants

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S.-led coalition forces killed an estimated 11 "terrorists" early Thursday, during operations targeting criminal networks in southeastern Iraq, a statement from Multi-National Force - Iraq said.

And a hidden bomb exploded inside a minibus in eastern Baghdad's Baladiyat neighborhood Thursday morning, killing two passengers, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said.

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See also:

Car bomb in Baghdad market kills 14

Bin Laden To Send Web Message On Iraq

Iraqi hairdressers forced underground

Brad Stine's 'GodMen': Promise Keepers On Steroids

According to OneNewsNow, a news service sponsored by the American Family Association, Stine, who is an oft-featured speaker at Promise Keeper conferences, "states he is on a 'mission' to free his fellow Christians from 'the chains of political correctness.'" "In a country with guaranteed rights to freedom of religion, its citizens are constantly trying to make faith in public spheres illegal. I am offended by that contradiction and want to talk about it as a comic," Stine told OneNewsNow.

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Priests Brawl At Bethlehem Birthplace Of Jesus

Seven people were injured on Thursday when Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests came to blows in a dispute over how to clean the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Following the Christmas celebrations, Greek Orthodox priests set up ladders to clean the walls and ceilings of their part of the church, which is built over the site where Jesus Christ is believed to have been born.

But the ladders encroached on space controlled by Armenian priests, according to photographers who said angry words ensued and blows quickly followed.

For a quarter of an hour bearded and robed priests laid into each other with fists, brooms and iron rods while the photographers who had come to take pictures of the annual cleaning ceremony recorded the whole event.

A dozen unarmed Palestinian policemen were sent to try to separate the priests, but two of them were also injured in the unholy melee.

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Carl Sagan's COSMOS Begins Airing On Jan 8th

Carl Sagan's Cosmos will be airing in its entirety beginning January 8th on the Discovery Science Channel in the US, check your local listings.

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What We Believe: Atheism

When mortar shells were exploding near Fernando Aguilar in Iraq, he didn't pray to God for help.

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'Gospel Of Wealth' Facing Scrutiny

The message flickered into Cindy Fleenor's living room each night: Be faithful in how you live and how you give, the television preachers said, and God will shower you with material riches.

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Russia Prohibits Denial Of Santa

The Russian government has banned a television advertisement for denying the existence of Father Christmas.

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Polk Needled, Noodled In Evolution Flap

LAKELAND -- Public floggings hurt, even when administered by satirical sacred noodles.

Ask the Polk County School Board. The panel made news last month when five of its seven members declared a personal belief in the concept of intelligent design, the religiously based explanation of the development of life believed in by many Christians.

Four of those five sympathetic board members said they would like to see intelligent design taught in Polk schools as an alternative to Darwinian evolution, at a time when new state standards mentioning evolution by name for the first time are under consideration.

Just like that, it appeared the Darwin wars had found their newest battlefield.

Yet a few weeks later, the controversy is dying with a whimper. There's no board support for a challenge to the proposed standards. Some of the five school board members blame the local newspaper for trying to start a fight.

"It's not our agenda," said Tim Harris, one of the board members. "My personal opinion and how I vote don't always jibe."

What happened? You can start with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

The satirical religious Web site asserts that an omnipotent, airborne clump of spaghetti intelligently designed all life with the deft touch of its "noodly appendage." Adherents call themselves Pastafarians. They deluged Polk school board members with e-mail demanding equal time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism's version of intelligent design.

"They've made us the laughingstock of the world," said Margaret Lofton, a school board member who supports intelligent design. She dismissed the e-mail as ridiculous and insulting.

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USA TODAY: Year In Science Review

From the largest scales (global climate) to the smallest (cell research), this was a year punctuated by significant developments in science. USA TODAY highlights the findings.

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See also:

The enduring mysteries of comets

International robotic rivalry in space

Modern beetles predate dinosaurs

Laptop project enlivens Peruvian village

More Than 8 Out Of 10 Americans Identify With A Christian Faith

About 82% of Americans in 2007 told Gallup interviewers that they identified with a Christian religion.

Neport breaks it down: "51% who said they were Protestant, 5% who were "other Christian," 23% Roman Catholic, and 3% who named another Christian faith, including 2% Mormon."

Coming in at 11% were those who claimed no religious identity at all, and another 2% didn't answer.

--snip--

Time has shown a shift in religious camps. The new Gallup shows that the percentage of Americans who identify with a Christian religion is down some over the decades.

It is due to the higher percentage of Americans today who don't claim a religious identity.

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Jo Saturnalia!

Winter solstice

Winter Solstice Celebrations

List of winter festivals

Saturnalia

Natalis Solis Invicti

Yule

The History of Christmas

All About the Christmas Tree

The Origins of the Christmas Tree

Myths surrounding Jesus' birth

Two Bombs Hit Iraqi Cities Killing At Least 34

BAGHDAD, Dec. 25 -- Two bombs in separate Iraqi cities ripped through crowds of people Tuesday, causing some of the worst carnage in the country in recent weeks and revealing that -- despite the relative calm of recent months -- insurgent groups remain capable of devastating attacks.

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MRFF Vs. The Campus Crusade For Christ

You can quickly familiarize yourself with Campus Crusade for Christ's Military Ministry by reading the report on the Military Religious Freedom (MRFF) website....

This report contains details about the Campus Crusade Military Ministry hierarchy, their goal (which they're already well on their way to achieving) of using our military to create "government-paid missionaries for Christ," and a number of quotes from this organization. Much of this story is about two Campus Crusade videos, one filmed at the Air Force Academy, and the Campus Crusade program of indoctrinating basic trainees through their "gateway" ministry at Fort Jackson, the largest Army basic training facility.

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Earlier:

The Anti-Crusader

Disquiet Over Schools' Moment Of Silence

A family of Illinois atheists is fighting to overturn a law requiring time for students' quiet reflection. The father and daughter say it mandates prayer.

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FFRF Files Suit Against Green Bay Creche

(Madison, Wis.) The Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national state/church watchdog, filed a federal lawsuit today challenging the unlawful display of a manger scene at the entrance of city hall in Green Bay, Wis. (Since federal offices are closed on Dec. 24, the Foundation has mailed its lawsuit to be received by Dec. 26 by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Wisconsin.)

The Freedom From Religion Foundation v. City of Green Bay includes 12 individual plaintiffs of diverse religious and nonreligious views, and additionally names Green Bay City Council President Chad Fradette and Jim Schmitt, Mayor of Green Bay.

"Our legal action was driven by local residents," said Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president. "Many Green Bay citizens contacted us over their dismay that city government would thumb its nose at the constitutional principle of state/church separation, and deliberately provoke a divisive controversy in Green Bay."

"We're grateful not just to our named plaintiffs, who include Foundation members, but also a Lutheran, a Buddhist, and a Unitarian Universalist, and to many others who volunteered to be part of the lawsuit if needed," said Foundation co-president Dan Barker.

The legal complaint spells out the chronology of the Green Bay violation, which involved the Council president vowing to place a nativity scene at city hall because the Foundation had complained about an unlawful nativity display in Pestigo, Wis.

"Council President Fradette deliberately used his public office to place an inherently Christian symbol prominently on government property at the entrance to City Hall, the principal location of local government, rather than on his private property, precisely in order to antagonize, offend and challenge those persons who object to the public sponsorship of religious symbols on public property."

The Complaint alleges an open records violation at the Dec. 11 meeting in which a committee chaired by Fradette approved his request to prominently place the nativity scene on the roof of the entrance.

"Public and private communications by the Defendants reflect their intent to provoke and marginalize persons who do not share their views regarding the public display and promotion of religion by the City," the Complaint adds.

The Complaint notes the subsequent vote by the City Council to place a moratorium on the public display of any religious symbols other than the Christian Nativity scene, which "preferentially conveys endorsement, promotion and/or advancement of religion."

Among the plaintiffs are Taku Ronsman and Wendy Coriell, who sought unsuccessfully to place other symbols at city hall, and Michael Bergman, who had expressed concern to the city over the Christian endorsement and wondered if he could display a Buddhist symbol to coincide with a major Buddhist holiday in May.

The Foundation Complaint charges that "objectors and dissenters are shown to be political outsiders and discouraged from challenging the official view that public sponsorship of religious displays is an appropriate exercise of government authority."

"The Defendants' actions constitute government speech deliberately intended to be broadcast as officially accepted dogma, and which hostile message is intentionally directed at political outsiders," the Complaint continues.

Besides the Foundation, plaintiffs are: Wendy Coriell, Michael Bergman, Gail and Wayne Vann, Taku Ronsman, James White, Jill White, Jeffrey Fondrliak, Robert Howe, Amy Wolf, Michael Maternowski and Angie Moon. (Note: The Complaint has a typo. Ms. Ronsman's first name is spelled "Taku.")

The Legal Complaint can be read at:

ffrf.org/legal/GreenBayComplaint.pdf

Muslims Could Be Key To Kenya Election

KIBERA, Kenya (AP) -- In the Kenyan slum of Kibera these days, the ancient cadences of the Muslim call to prayer compete with election propaganda blaring from loudspeakers.

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Mosque Besieged In Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir (CNN) -- A standoff at a mosque in the disputed territory of Kashmir is continuing with three militants holding a pair of hostages, police told CNN.

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Turks Foil Bomb Attack

(CNN) -- Turkish authorities said they foiled an apparent bomb attack in Istanbul on Monday when they discovered plastic bags with explosives near a ticket stand.

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In A Force For Iraqi Calm, Seeds Of Conflict

BAGHDAD -- The thin teenage boy rushed up to the patrol of American soldiers walking through Dora, a shrapnel-scarred neighborhood of the capital, and lifted his shirt to show them a mass of red welts across his back.

He said he was a member of a local Sunni "Awakening" group, paid by the American military to patrol the district, but he said it was another Awakening group that beat him. "They took me while I was working," he said, "and broke my badge and said, 'You are from Al Qaeda.'"

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Dawkins To Preach Atheism To US

RICHARD DAWKINS, the British scientist who has become the high priest of atheism, is launching a crusade in America to win new recruits to the church of nonbelievers.

He is to embark on a lecture tour of 2,000-seater halls in the Bible Belt and the Midwest in the wake of the presidential primary season, which reaches its climax in early February.

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Priest Who Committed Suicide For Rebirth Cremated

Raipur -- A three-day "miracle" drama in Chhattisgarh's industrial town of Raigarh ended on Monday afternoon after a Hindu priest, who had committed suicide promising to return to life within 72 hours of his death, was cremated.

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Godless X-mas Party

If you don't have a special get-together planned for this coming Monday night, pour a goblet of your favorite potion, saunter on up to the computer and spend a very special evening with Edwin Kagin and other non-believers across the country for the First Annual...

HERETICS AND BLASPHEMERS GODLESS X-MAS PARTY

The fun begins at 8:00 PM ET with special guests and a toll-free number you can call to share thoughts, gripes, suggestions and anything else on your mind relevant to the X-MAS season.

Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists and Fred Edwords, Contributing Editor at the American Humanist Association (AHA) will be guests.

Other guests will include:

ARLENE-MARIE, Michigan State Director, American Atheists
ED BUCKNER, Atlanta Freethought Society
TOM FLYNN, Council for Secular Humanism

It's all airing on the hot new internet radio program "Answers in Atheism" at http://www.answersinatheism.net/ . Call Toll Free 877.814.9287 or local 859.384.7000 , or email to theshow@answersinatheism.net.

Edwin Kagin is National Legal Director for American Atheists. He and wife Helen Kagin are co-founders of Camp Quest, a national summer camp program for the children of Atheists, Freethinkers, Humanists and other non-believers.

Kagin On PBS News Hour

EDWIN KAGIN, National Legal Director for American Atheists, will be a guest this Monday (December 24, 2007) on the PBS program "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer." Mr. Kagin will be discussing the legal and cultural battle over the "Christmas" holiday, claims that America is a "Christian nation," and other topics.

The program airs at different times throughout the country, but in the East the show is carried at 6:00 PM ET on most PBS channels. Check local listings, or visit http://www.pbs.com/ for information on the station nearest you.

Scientists Inscribe Entire Bible On Head Of A Pin

JERUSALEM - Israeli scientists have inscribed the entire Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible onto a space less than half the size of grain of sugar.

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Baby Jesus Statue Gets GPS For Christmas

(AP) A baby Jesus statue here is getting a Global Positioning System for Christmas. The statue, part of a nativity scene, will be equipped with the device after the previous statue went missing, even though it had been bolted down.

"I don't anticipate this will ever happen again," said Dina Cellini, who oversees the display, "but we may need to rely on technology to save our savior."

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See also:

He Died For Your Mastercard

Rampaging Santas strike New Zealand cinema

Shiite Leaders Oppose Expansion Of U.S.-Backed Citizens Groups

BAGHDAD -- The leader of Iraq's most powerful Shiite Muslim political party warned Friday that the security organizations that American officials credit with helping to cut violence in Iraq must be brought under control.

Abdulaziz al Hakim, the head of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, became the latest Iraqi leader to raise concerns that the U.S.-financed groups, which are predominantly Sunni Muslim and known as awakening councils or "concerned local citizens," could become a potent army capable of challenging the U.S.-backed Shiite-dominated central government.

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See also:

Sunni Fighters Need Political Role

Saudi Arrests 28 Terror Suspects

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Saudi Arabian police have arrested 28 men for allegedly planning to attack holy sites around Mecca and Medina during the recently finished Muslim hajj pilgrimage, the kingdom's Interior Ministry said Sunday.

The announcement comes two days after the ministry said it arrested an unknown number of men after security forces foiled a plot to carry out a terror attack on holy sites outside Mecca. But Sunday's statement did not say whether the two arrests were related.

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6 Dead In Northern Pakistan Attack

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide bombing attack on a military convoy killed at least five civilians and one soldier Sunday in troubled northwestern Pakistan, an army spokesman and police said.

Thirteen soldiers and four civilians were also wounded in the attack in the town of Mingora in Swat district, where security forces have carried out several operations against followers of a pro-Taliban radical Islamic cleric, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad told The Associated Press.

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See also:

After murder, Gaza's Christians keep low profile

Alone, Afraid, In the Company of Men Dreaming of Death

Winter Solstice Today - 12/22/07

According to Wikipedia:

"The winter solstice occurs at the instant when the Sun's position in the sky is at its greatest angular distance on the other side of the equatorial plane as the observer. Depending on the shift of the calendar, the event of the Winter solstice occurs sometime between December 20 and 23 each year in the Northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and 23 in the Southern Hemisphere, and the winter solstice occurs during either the shortest day or the longest night of the year (not to be confused with the darkest day or nights). Though the Winter Solstice lasts an instant, the term is also used to refer to the full 24-hour period.

"Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time....

"On the night of Winter Solstice, as seen from a northern sky, the three stars in Orion's belt align with the brightest star in the Eastern sky Sirius to show where the Sun will rise in the morning after Winter Solstice. Until this time, the Sun has exhibited since Summer Solstice a decreasing arc across the Southern sky. On Winter Solstice, the Sun ceased to decline in the sky and the length of daylight reaches its minimum for three days. At such a time, the Sun begins its ascent and days grow longer. Thus the interpretation by many cultures of a sun reborn and a return to light. This return to light is again celebrated (at the vernal equinox, when the length of day equals that of night."

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A partial list of holidays/festivals (past and present) occurring around the Winter Solstice:

Zagmuk, Sacaea. Saturnalia, Yuletide, Sankranti, Brumalia, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, Hanukkah, Alban Arthuan/Midwinter, Finn's Day, Festival of Sol, Festival of the New Sun, Festival of Growth, Great Day of the Cauldron, Dong Zhi, Nollaig, Juul, Jul, Jiueis, Jol, Joulu, Joulupukki, Children's Day, Festival of Kronos, Kallikantzaroi, Karkantzaroi, Dazh Boh, Chaomos, Inti Raymi, Soyal, Sada, Touji, Geol, Feailly Geul, Modra-niht, Giuli, Iol, J--lmnu_r, Shass Greiney Geuree, Yn Ad-Gheurey, Divalia, Larentalia, Sigillaria, Midvinterblot, Touji, if Inti Raymi, Shabe-Yalda, Sviatki, Koleda, Choimus, Soyalangwul, Diwali, Sadeh, Adur-Jashan, Maidyarem, Shab e Cheleh, Novo Hel, Nollaig, Pongal, Modranetc, Yalda, Karachun, St. Thomas' Day, Christmas (Xmas), The Festival of the Long Night, Wintervil, Zamenhof Day, Festivus, Human Light, Chrismukkah, Giftmas, Newtonmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, Lenaea (Festival of the Wild Women).

Some of the god-men that were supposedly born around this time:

Adonia, Attis, Baal, Dionysus, Helios, Hercules, Mithra, Osiris, Perseus, Theseus, Jesus, and King Arthur.

See also:

Dates and Times of Equinoxes and Solstices

Iraqi Gov't Pledges To Disband Sunnis

BAGHDAD -- Iraq's Shiite-led government declared Saturday that after restive areas are calmed it will disband Sunni groups battling Islamic extremists because it does not want them to become a separate military force.

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Santa On Cross Protests Commercialism

(AP) Art Conrad has an issue with the commercialism of Christmas, and his protest has gone way beyond just shunning the malls or turning off his television. The Bremerton resident nailed Santa Claus to a 15-foot crucifix in front of his house.

"Santa has been perverted from who he started out to be," Conrad said. "Now he's the person being used by corporations to get us to buy more stuff."

A photo of the crucified Santa adorns his Christmas cards, with the message "Santa died for your MasterCard."

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Muslim Rite Of Sacrifice Collides With Law

PRINCETON, N.C. -- For six years, it has been a tradition for Muslims in the Research Triangle: After morning services on the first day of Eid al-Adha -- the "festival of sacrifice" -- scores of families leave the tweedy environs of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill and head toward an obscure plot of land on a two-lane country road.

They come to visit Eddie Rowe, a hog farmer.

The children typically run around among Rowe's loose chickens. The women prepare picnic sandwiches. And the patriarch of each family awaits his turn to slit the throat of a lamb or a goat that Rowe has sold him.

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200 Protesters Turn Up To Support Capo Teacher

MISSION VIEJO -- To an almost continuous stream of blaring car horns and cheering, more than 200 Capistrano Valley High School students and alumni rallied outside their school Wednesday morning to show support for embattled history teacher James Corbett, who is being sued by one of his students for making remarks about Christianity and traditional Christian viewpoints in class.

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Eagle Scout Ordered To Take God Out Of Park Project

ARVADA - Fourteen-year-old Jonathan Griesinger says he wanted people to think about the origins of the universe when they stroll by his planetary walk along Van Bibber Creek.

A jogger disagreed.

Griesinger designed and installed a series of 10 stones along the trail through the Stenger Athletic Complex. The first represents the sun and the rest are engraved with the names of the nine planets. The stones are spaced in proportion to the planets' actual distances from the sun. Pluto, the farthest stone, is about a half-mile from the starting point near 58th Avenue and Oak Street.

Griesinger also placed an 11th stone that he has been ordered to remove. The stone is engraved with a Bible verse that says, "The heavens declare the glory of God."

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Hindus Protest Use Of Gods On Underwear

New Delhi - India's eastern state of Orissa has lodged a protest with the US government seeking action against a California-based website for hurting religious sentiments of people by selling undergarments with images of Hindu gods, a newspaper reported Friday. Hindu priests and religious groups had slammed the website, cafepress.com, for selling undergarments embellished with faces of several gods and goddesses, including the presiding deities of Jagannath temple, considered among the most sacred Hindu temples in India.

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Bible Bashing Dying Out In Kansas

Opinion polls suggest that younger evangelical Christians are falling out of love with the "big causes" their churches have championed in recent years, in particular with opposing abortion and supporting the Iraq war.

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Survey Finds Most Americans Believe Jesus Born Of Virgin

--69 percent of adults believed Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana.

--68 percent believed Jesus used five loaves of bread and two fish to feed a crowd of 5,000.

--64 percent believed the Earth was covered by a flood in which Noah, his family, and numerous animals were spared by living on an Ark.

--56 percent expressed literal belief in the Bible account of the devil, disguised a serpent, tempting Eve to eat forbidden fruit.

--49 percent accepted as accurate the Bible story of Samson losing his legendary strength when Delilah had his hair cut.

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FreeThoughtAction Hero Of The Day - 12/21/07

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 - December 4, 1993)

According to Wikipedia, Zappa "was an American composer, musician, and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa established himself as a prolific and highly distinctive composer, electric guitar player and band leader. He worked in almost every musical genre and wrote music for rock bands, jazz ensembles, synthesizers and symphony orchestra, as well as musique concrete works constructed from pre-recorded, synthesized or sampled sources. In addition to his music recordings, he created feature-length and short films, music videos, and album covers....

"Zappa self-produced almost every one of the more than sixty albums he released with the Mothers of Invention or as a solo artist. He received multiple Grammy nominations and won for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988 for the album Jazz from Hell. Zappa was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1997. In 2005, his 1968 album with the Mothers of Invention, We're Only in It for the Money, was inducted into the United States National Recording Preservation Board's National Recording Registry. The same year, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #71 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2007, his birthtown Baltimore declared August 9 official 'Frank Zappa Day' in his honor.

"Politically, Zappa was a self-proclaimed 'practical conservative', an avowed supporter of capitalism and independent business. He was also a strident critic of mainstream education and organized religion."

Some Zappa Quotes:

The biggest threat to America today is not Communism, it's moving America to a fascist theocracy.

My best advice to anyone who wants to raise a happy, mentally healthy child is: Keep him or her as far away from a church as you can.

Scientology, how about that? You hold on to the tin cans and then this guy asks you a bunch of questions, and if you pay enough money you get to join the master race. How's that for a religion?

Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST...

My theory is that music is good, it's the only religion that delivers the goods.

Military Evangelism Deeper, Wider Than First Thought

For US Army soldiers entering basic training at Fort Jackson Army base in Columbia, South Carolina, accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior appears to be as much a part of the nine-week regimen as the vigorous physical and mental exercises the troops must endure.

--snip--

"Our purpose for Campus Crusade for Christ at the Air Force Academy is to make Jesus Christ the issue at the Air Force Academy and around the world," Blom says in the video. "They're government paid missionaries when they leave here."

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Inmate Says He Needs Thor's Hammer, Drum

(AP) An inmate is suing the Utah Department of Corrections for denying him his right to practice an ancient Nordic religion while behind bars.

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Celebrating With The Christkind

(Tribune Media Services) -- Like a German child's fantasy, Nurnberg's fairy-godmother-like teenage angel stretched out her arms and said, "If you're very, very gentle, you can touch my wings." I stayed seated while little Bavarian preschoolers mobbed the stage to touch their Christkind.

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Saudis Foil Plot Against Muslim Pilgrims

(AP) Police arrested a group of men planning to attack holy sites around Mecca during the just-completed annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Saudi Interior Ministry said Friday.

--snip--

The recent arrests indicate that al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists are still actively attempting to destabilize the monarchy, which holds a quarter of the world's proven oil reserves.

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Hezbollah Slams Bush's 'Order'

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- The militant Hezbollah group denounced President Bush on Friday for urging Lebanon's anti-Syrian lawmakers to push through their own choice for president if necessary to resolve a long political deadlock.

--snip--

The opposition refuses to recognize the legitimacy of Western-backed Prime Minister Fuad Saniora's government because its Shiite members resigned last year and the constitution requires that all sects be represented in the government.

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Guantanamo Bay Detainee Accused In Terror Plot

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Guantanamo Bay detainee from Saudi Arabia -- who is also the brother-in-law of a September 11, 2001, hijacker -- faces terrorism charges, the U.S. Office of Military Commissions said Friday.

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Belgians Stop Al Qaeda Jail Break

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Police in Belgium arrested 14 Muslim extremists on Friday after uncovering a plot to free an al Qaeda suspect from prison using weapons and explosives.

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Exit Her Majesty; Enter Militias

On Sunday, and amid fears of renewed clashes among rival Shia groups, Britain handed over security in the southern city of Basra to local Iraqi authorities. In the past, security handovers in Iraq's southern cities have been followed by assassinations and turbulence. Basra, 580 kilometres south of Baghdad, is unlikely to be an exception. The city is Iraq's only port, produces 70 per cent of the country's oil (and exports 80 per cent of it), and offers opportunities for cross-border trafficking with Iran. Iraqi officials and the Shia parties that control the city vowed to maintain security and cooperate with each other. But reality on the ground appears shaky.

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See also:

The Coming Fight for Northern Iraq

Kurds' power share row with Iraqi government

A Modest Proposal on Kirkuk

Torture Chamber Found In Iraq

BAGHDAD - Blood-splotches on walls, chains hanging from a ceiling and swords on the killing floor -- the artifacts left a disturbing tale of brutalities inside a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq torture chamber. But there was yet another chilling fact outside the dirt-floor dungeon. Villagers say they knew about the torment but were too intimidated by extremists to tell authorities until now.

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See also:

Iraq 'torture complex' discovered

Iraq Bomber Aimed At Alcohol Sellers

BAGHDAD -- Blood and ouzo mingled on the sidewalk outside a shattered Baghdad liquor store on Thursday after three people were killed in a car bombing directed at alcohol sellers in one of Baghdad's most heavily protected areas.

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Historic Civil Rights Group Recognizes Nontheists' Struggle

Washington, DC - The Secular Coalition for America has become the newest member of the oldest and most respected civil rights organization in the United States. As one of eight new members joining the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) this year, the Secular Coalition for America will work with the LCCR in its mission to unite all Americans as one nation true to its promise of equal justice, equal opportunity and mutual respect.

Recognition that the nontheistic minority must be included in the struggle for civil rights marks a milestone. There are several religious groups within LCCR's coalition, but the Secular Coalition for America is the first nontheist (atheists, humanists, and other Americans without a god belief) group to be included. Both organizations agree that religious freedom as protected by the Bill of Rights must also include the freedom to practice no religion.

Secular Coalition Director, Lori Lipman Brown, said, "This decision says as much about the LCCR and its willingness to acknowledge and include nontheists as it does about the Secular Coalition and its recognition of our theistic allies who support our rights."

A total of eight groups were added to the LCCR's coalition at their most recent board meeting: Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN); Center for Responsible Lending; Citizen's Commission on Civil Rights; DC Vote; Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), Matthew Shepard Foundation; Paralyzed Veterans of America; and the Secular Coalition for America.

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Continued Display Of Nativity Scene Is Unconstitutional

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has urged officials in Green Bay, Wisc., to remove a nativity scene from government property.

The display, Americans United points out, amounts to an unconstitutional endorsement of religion by government. Although officials in the city initially allowed other religious symbols to be displayed on an overhang of the city hall, they have since voted to allow only the nativity scene to remain with several council members expressing the belief that the city should be able to endorse the religious aspects of Christmas.

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Should Parents Tell The Truth About Santa?

It's OK to let your children believe in Santa Claus, psychologists say.

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Mars May Replace Rudolph Christmas Eve

(AP) Mars will be unusually bright this Christmas Eve and the moon will be shining full - a development that might make Santa Claus rethink his need for Rudolph's red nose.

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See also:

Scientists say asteroid could hit Mars

Priest Pleads Not Guilty In Nude Jogging

(AP) A Catholic priest charged with indecent exposure after being accused of jogging naked in the pre-dawn darkness has pleaded not guilty and asked for a jury trial.

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Ask A Terrorist

Behold the latest phase in Al Qaeda's media strategy. The shadowy terror network is offering up Ayman al-Zawahiri, to any journalists with questions for its No. 2 man. The invitation, issued by the group's media arm, As-Sahaab (The Cloud), came at the end of a 90-minute video message from Zawahiri, posted on one of the group's various militant Web pages.

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See also:

Bin Laden chauffeur denied POW status

Deadly Bombings Mar Holiday In Iraq

(CBS/AP) Two separate bombings shatter calm of peaceful holiday; 19 dead, including U.S. soldier.

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Millions Stone The Devil

Millions of Muslim pilgrims filed along a huge platform Thursday to vigorously hurl pebbles at three pillars symbolizing the devil. The ritual at Mina, Saudi Arabia, commemorates Abraham's stoning of Satan, who is said to have appeared three times to the prophet to tempt him.

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35 Killed In Pakistan Bomb Blast

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- A blast targeting a former Pakistani interior minister on Friday killed at least 35 people and wounded dozens more, local police told CNN.

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Four Palestinians Killed In Fighting With Israelis

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Four Palestinian fighters were killed Thursday in clashes with Israeli soldiers, Palestinian medical sources said.

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Report: More Libyans Joining Militants In Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- More militants from Libya are turning up in Iraq, U.S. military researchers say.

U.S. Military Academy researchers studying documents note the continuing predominance of Saudis among foreign fighters.

But an "apparent surge" in Libyans could be tied to "the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group's (LIFG) increasingly cooperative relationship with al Qaeda," a West Point report says.

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Iran: Top Cleric Says Women Without Veils Must Die

Tehran (AKI) - A top Muslim cleric in Iran, Hojatolislam Gholam Reza Hassani said on Wednesday that women in Iran who do not wear the hijab or Muslim headscarf, should die.

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Australian Terror Supporter Faces Restrictions After His Release

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) -- Former Guantanamo prisoner David Hicks remains a terror threat, a magistrate said Friday as he ordered restrictions on his movements after he is released from an Australian prison next week.

Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner who was convicted of supporting al Qaeda at a U.S. military tribunal after being captured in 2001 in Afghanistan, will be subject to a midnight-to-dawn curfew and will have to report to police three times a week under the order.

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Boca Group Crusades To 'Keep Christ In Christmas'

Billboards and car magnets are urging Palm Beach County drivers to "Keep Christ in Christmas," a renewed campaign spurred by an influx of what organizers call anti-Christian expressions in American society.

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Bishop's Broadside For The PC Brigade's 'Winter Festivals'

A bishop has added his voice to the chorus of complaints that political correctness is destroying the meaning of Christmas.

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See also:

Bishop's warning to 'militant atheists'

Vatican Blasts "Golden Compass" As Godless And Hopeless

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Wednesday condemned the film "The Golden Compass," which some have called anti-Christian, saying it promotes a cold and hopeless world without God.

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William Winstanley: The Man Who Saved Christmas

In 1644, two years into the fighting, the Puritan faction in Parliament made its fundamentalist religious presence felt by drawing up the first of several laws banning Christmas.

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Three Wise Men Just Legend: Archbishop

The leader of the world's Anglicans has described the Christmas story of the three wise men as nothing but a "legend" and says not all followers must believe in the virgin birth of Jesus.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has picked apart elements of the Christmas story, including how a star rose high in the sky and stood still to guide the wise men to Jesus's birth place.

Stars simply don't behave like that, he told the BBC during an interview.

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Whale 'Missing Link' Discovered

The whale is descended from a deer-like animal that lived 48 million years ago, according to fossil evidence.

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Humanists Comment On Islam And The "Girl from Qatif"

Washington, D.C. -- The Saudi king yesterday pardoned the "girl from Qatif," a woman whose case stunned and outraged the world. The woman was brutally raped, and her male companion assaulted, by several men who discovered them alone in a car. She was then sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison for the "offense" of being alone with a man who was not her husband or relative. Her harsh sentence spurred a debate within Saudi Arabia and throughout the world about the treatment of women and the terrors of fundamentalist Islam.

"The pardon of the 'girl from Qatif' is very welcome news," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "For those who value religious moderation, it's also a beacon of hope. Hope, not just for we Americans who wish to release millions from the stranglehold of religious zealotry in the Middle East, but also hope for those oppressed by those regimes and dismayed to see such horrors perpetrated in the name of Islam."

As the world learns of the King Abdullah's pardon, the American Humanist Association issues "A Sensible Approach to Islam," setting forth a humanist viewpoint. It is also published in the January/February 2008 issue of the Humanist magazine, on newsstands now.

In the statement, the American Humanist Association draws attention to the faulty assumption that Islamist extremism represents Islam as a whole. Though it is true that this dangerous movement has ascended to political power in many countries, and that some Islamists have formed terrorist organizations, the statement contends that such extremists don't represent all Muslims. Moreover, "Generalizing Islam as entirely violent undermines the efforts of millions of Muslims and others who are struggling to challenge the rise of extremism." The statement goes on to say: "The American Humanist Association is opposed to both the activities of Islamic extremists and to the 'crusade' mentality rising in Western circles that condemns all Muslims indiscriminately."

Non-Muslims are called upon to resist prejudice and discrimination against Muslims in the United States and elsewhere. Islam and its various sects and divisions should be assessed objectively, the statement says, using the same standards that one would apply to all belief systems. For humanists this means showing support for all who advocate a democratic secular state with complete separation of religion and government.

Recently, in a New York Times opinion editorial, "Islam's Silent Moderates," Ayaan Hirsi Ali rightly lamented three tragic incidents in the Muslim world, one of which included the initial harsh sentence of the "girl from Qatif." The others include the sentencing of and violent protests against school teacher Gillian Gibbons in Sudan for naming a teddy bear "Muhammad," and the danger facing Taslima Nasrin, a women's rights activist, who has been on the run in India from Muslim militants who put a 500,000 rupees price on her head. Hirsi Ali criticizes moderate Muslims for not speaking out against these events.

But, in releasing "A Sensible Approach to Islam," American Humanist Association Vice President Carl Coon, former U.S. Ambassador to Nepal and one of the statement's authors, declares: "Ayaan Hirsi Ali doesn't give us the whole picture. Numerous moderate Muslims and Muslim organizations have come out against these developments and in support of the victims."

The "girl from Qatif" has been helped by human rights activists across the Middle East, and her story has been reported on sympathetically by several newspapers within Saudi Arabia, which undoubtedly influenced King Abdullah, who pardoned her. In addition, Gillian Gibbons has been supported by many Muslims, including the Sudanese president, and the Muslim Council of Britain, who criticized Gibbons' arrest. Similarly, there have been demonstrations and protest rallies in support of Taslima Nasrin in Kolkata, India, calling for her safe return. The Indian government continues to give her shelter elsewhere in the region. "These courageous acts on the part of moderate Muslims highlight the importance of distinguishing between extreme Islamists and moderate Muslims," Coon concluded. The humanist statement stresses that rather than attacking Islam as a whole, it is important for non-Muslims of goodwill to work with moderate Muslims and show support for peaceful and democratic interpretations of the world's second-largest religion.

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Americans United Urges Government Officials To Remember Constitution When Erecting Holiday Displays

Public officials should avoid using the holiday season to promote one religion over others, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

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Religious Freedom In Military Questioned

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A foundation that has sued the military alleging widespread violations of religious freedom said Tuesday that it has evidence showing that soldiers are pressured to adopt fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

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Borders Tags Atheist Book With 'O Come All Ye Faithless' Cards

A controversial Christmas card reading "O come all ye faithless" has been strongly criticized by Christians as an "ill judged and insensitive joke." Borders book stores began giving away the card free with every copy of Richard Dawkins' well known atheist work, The God Delusion, this Christmas.

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See also:

The Four Horsemen (First of two 1-hour videos featuring Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens & Harris.)

In Support Of Intelligent Design

A majority of Pinellas County School Board members - including the immediate past president of the National School Boards Association - think that if Florida children are taught about evolution, they should learn other theories on the origin of life as well.

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Some Say I-35 Is Bible's Road To Salvation

DALLAS, Texas (CNN) -- If you turn to the Bible -- Isaiah Chapter 35, Verse 8 -- you will see a passage that in part says, "A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness."

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Preacher's Killer's Right To Visit Kids Upheld

CNN -- The Tennessee Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to modify or overturn a lower court's ruling allowing Mary Winkler, convicted of killing her minister husband, visitation rights with the couple's three daughters.

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Muslims Mark High Point Of Hajj

MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Millions of Muslims marked the zenith of the annual Hajj Tuesday, praying for God's forgiveness on a rocky desert hill here where in Muslim tradition Adam and Eve were reunited after leaving Eden.

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Man Pardoned Over Saudi Rape Case

(CNN) -- Saudi King Abdullah's letter pardoning a rape victim from 200 lashes and six months in prison for appearing in public with an unrelated male also included a pardon for the man she was with, according to the Saudi Justice Minister.

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Torture House, Mass Graves Discovered In Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Coalition forces found 26 bodies buried in mass graves and a bloodstained "torture complex," with chains hanging from walls and ceilings and a bed connected to an electrical system, the military said Wednesday.

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See also:

Media Invited To "Interview" Al Qaeda Boss

Israeli Strikes Kill Islamic Jihad Militants In Gaza

GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Nearly a week after vowing a harsher response to rocket attacks, the Israeli military overnight Monday pummeled Gaza with airstrikes that killed at least 11 Islamic Jihad militants, according to Israeli military and militant sources.

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Stumbling Into Chaos: Afghanistan On The Brink

The security situation in Afghanistan has reached crisis proportions. The Taliban's ability to establish a presence throughout the country is now proven beyond doubt; exclusive research undertaken by Senlis Afghanistan indicates that 54 per cent of Afghanistan's landmass hosts a permanent Taliban presence, primarily in southern Afghanistan, and is subject to frequent hostile activity by the insurgency.

The Taliban are the de facto governing authority in significant portions of territory in the south and east, and are starting to control parts of the local economy and key infrastructure such as roads and energy supply. The insurgency also exercises a significant amount of psychological control, gaining more and more political legitimacy in the minds of the Afghan people who have a long history of shifting alliances and regime change.

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See also:

Taliban kills 15 in U.S. fuel ambush

White House Told To Detail Christian Leader Visits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ordered the Secret Service on Monday to disclose records of visits by nine prominent conservative Christian leaders to the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's residence.

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Governor's Defense Of Nativity Scenes Challenged

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gov. Ted Strickland's decision to allow nativity displays in state parks has drawn the ire of a group that opposes mingling church and state, which has asked the state's chief watchdog to investigate whether his action was constitutional.

The Madison, Wis.-based Freedom From Religion Foundation accuses Strickland of violating his oath of office to uphold the Constitutions of Ohio and the United States by allowing the religious displays.

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Rapping Monks, Nuns Hit Catwalk

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japanese monks and nuns held a fashion show - with rap music and a catwalk - at a major Tokyo temple Saturday to promote Buddhism.

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Why One Muslim Girl Became A Born-Again Virgin For Her Wedding Night

"My virginity was restored in a delicate operation just last week, and I honestly view it as life-saving surgery," says Aisha.

"If my husband cannot prove to his family that I am a virgin, I would be hounded, ostracised and sent home in disgrace. My father, who is a devout Muslim, would regard it as the ultimate shame.

"The entire family could be cast out from the friends and society they hold dear, and I honestly believe that one of my fanatically religious cousins or uncles might kill me in revenge, to purge them of my sins. Incredible as it may seem, honour killings are still accepted within our religion.

"Ever since my family arranged this marriage for me, I've been terrified that, on my wedding night, my secret would come out. It has only been since my surgery last week that I've actually been able to sleep properly. Now, I can look forward to my marriage."

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Bomb Plot Suspect Escaped While Praying

Rashid Rauf, a key suspect in the alleged Heathrow bomb plot, escaped police custody in Pakistan after officers allowed him to pray at a mosque as he was being driven back to prison in his uncle's car.

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Sudan Jails Two Egyptians For Blasphemy

KHARTOUM -- A Khartoum court has sentenced two Egyptians to six months in prison for marketing a book that is deemed offensive to Aisha, one of Prophet Mohammed's wives, local press reported on Monday.

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Terror Accused: We Were Hunting Loch Ness Monster

AN ELECTRICIAN accused of being a Muslim holy warrior claimed he was hunting Nessie during an alleged jihad training course.

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Anti-Al Qaeda Iraqis Shot To Death

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A judge and three members of a group opposing al Qaeda in Iraq were shot to death Monday in Iraq's Diyala province, a local security official said.

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Straight Like Me

Love in Action is part of a booming phenomenon that is also known as the "sexual reorientation therapy" movement, an effort that is reflected in the hundreds of programs attached to religious organizations across the United States. Although the stated aim of the movement is to turn gays straight and bring them to God, it actually now has as much to do with battling the gay rights movement by trying to prove that sexuality is not an immutable characteristic like race or gender. Ex-gay ministries began as redoubts for men and women trying to reconcile their faith and sexuality. But in the hands of the anti-gay Christian Right, they have become full-fledged propaganda machines depicting gays as sex-addicted, mentally ill, and stunted heterosexuals.

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See also:

'Purity Siege' exploits man featured on 700 Club as 'cured' of homosexuality

Abstinence Programs Face Rejection

The number of states refusing federal money for "abstinence-only" sex education programs jumped sharply in the past year as evidence mounted that the approach is ineffective.

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Synthetic DNA On The Brink of Yielding New Life Forms

Details of the process are under wraps until the work is published, probably early next year. But Venter has already shown that he can insert a "natural" chromosome into a cell and bring it to life. If a synthetic chromosome works the same way, as expected, the first living cells with fully artificial genomes could be growing in dishes by the end of 2008.

The plan is to mass-produce a plain genetic platform able to direct the basic functions of life, then attach custom-designed DNA modules that can compel cells to make synthetic fuels or other products.

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Red Alert: Mars Shines Bright In December

Mars will be closer to Earth this month than any time until the year 2016.

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Muslims Gather For Hajj Pilgrimage

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Millions of Muslims from around the world gathered in Mecca Sunday for the start of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage, as the Saudi Interior Ministry announced tough security precautions.

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According to Wikipedia, "The Black Stone is a Muslim object of reverence, said by some to date back to the time of Adam and Eve. It is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba, the ancient stone building towards which Muslims pray, in the center of Masjid al-Haram, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Stone is roughly 30 cm (12 in.) in diameter, and 1.5 meters above the ground.

"When pilgrims circle the Kaaba as part of the Tawaf ritual of the Hajj, many of them try, if possible, to stop and kiss the Black Stone, emulating the kiss that it received from Muhammad. If they cannot reach it, they are to point to it on each of their seven circuits around the Kaaba....

"Non-Islamic historians point to the history of baetylus, or meteorite worship, in pre-Islamic Arabia, and say it is likely that the Stone is a meteorite."

See also:

Biblical town of Bethlehem kicks off Christmas

Hotel chain offers a room at the inn for Marys and Josephs

Bomb Kills 7 In Northwest Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- A bomb explosion killed at least seven people and wounded several others in the northwestern Pakistani city of Kohat around noon in Monday, according to police sources.

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See also from Saturday:

Pakistan Suicide Attack Kills 5

Australian Defense Chief Warns Allies Over Afghanistan War

(CNN) -- Australia's new defense minister warned U.S. and NATO allies over the weekend that they risk losing the war in Afghanistan without a sharp shift in military and reconstruction efforts there, according to his office.

--snip--

The defense minister's comments were first reported in The Australian newspaper and confirmed by his office in Canberra. Fitzgibbon told his fellow defense ministers -- including U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates -- that "We need much more than a military response" to a rise in attacks by the Taliban.

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Tossed From A Car And Shot In Cold Blood

There have been 48 women killed in six months for "un-Islamic behaviour". The murders in the teeming southern port of Basra have highlighted the weakness of the security forces and the strength of Islamic militias as Britain prepares to hand over control to Iraqi officials today.

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See also:

The 'Body Contractors'

Al Qaeda No. 2 Blasts 'Traitors'

(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant warned in a video statement released Sunday that Iraqi tribal leaders who side with U.S. troops against al Qaeda fighters would face reprisals when Americans leave Iraq.

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Report: King Pardons Rape Victim

(CNN) -- Saudi King Abdullah has pardoned a rape victim who had been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in prison in a case that sparked international attention, a Saudi newspaper reported.

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Man In Attack Says He Was Helping 'Lost Soul'

Knoxville, TN -- Larry Bohannon says God led him to an alleged prostitute's motel room.

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Knox County Commissioners Prepare To Step Into God And Politics Debate Again

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- Knox County commission meetings typically begin with a prayer.

A recent meeting began with this opening by Commissioner Tony Norman: "Keep me safe, oh God. I come to you for refuge. I said to the Lord, you are my master."

The prayer serves as a recognition of God, but some commissioners want to take it a step further by putting their faith in writing.

"There is going to be a day of reckoning and I don't want somebody to come to me and say, 'Remember back on county commission and you didn't recognize me, I don't recognize you?' So you are not coming into heaven," Commissioner R. Larry Smith said.

Commissioners Ivan Harmon and Greg Lambert are sponsoring a resolution that states:

"The Knox County Commission hereby urges all American citizens, to proclaim to every level of government (Local, State, and Federal) its responsibility to publicly recognize God as the Foundation of our National Heritage."

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Prayers Will Go On In Delaware County, Commissioner Says

DELAWARE, Ohio -- The prayers offered by Delaware County Commissioner Glenn Evans at the board's meetings are short and to the point, usually invoking God's guidance.

"Some days are pretty challenging, and I honestly pray for the wisdom to make the right decision," Evans said.

Evans, a Christian, has opened each public session with a prayer since January, when he was appointed the board's president. His intent was to make people feel comfortable, he said.

This week, Americans United for Separation of Church and State urged the board to "consider eliminating all future prayers in order to make all feel equally welcome at meetings."

In a letter dated Dec. 10, the watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., said the vast majority of the prayers at the meetings are sectarian and cite references to Jesus Christ. Prayers at seven meetings last month concluded with, "in your son's name, we ask these things," the letter said.

The prayers do not represent those who hold non-Christian beliefs or who practice no religion, the group said.

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Creation College Seeks State's OK To Train Teachers

Dallas school plans master's in science education, fueling debate over teaching evolution.

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Hagee Revising Book's Contentious Chapter

Megachurch pastor, author and Christian Zionist leader John Hagee marketed his latest book as one that would "shake Christian theology" when it was released three months ago.

What he didn't expect with publication of "In Defense of Israel" was outrage from some members of his own evangelical community nationwide.

A key chapter, they say, borders on heresy because it argues that Jesus didn't present himself as the Messiah to the Jewish people, so they cannot be held responsible for rejecting him.

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'Eye Ancestor' Debunks ID Nonsense

An Australian scientist has gone one step further in debunking intelligent design (ID) by discovering evidence of an evolutionary forerunner to the modern eye.

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'Do Not Let The Devil Interfere'

Carolyn Jessop was born into a Christian sect in Arizona. At 18, she was told that God had chosen her husband - a man of 50 who already had three wives. She had eight children with him before, fearing for her own daughters' futures, she planned their escape.

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Survey Finds Young And Old Moroccans Differ On Religion

A new survey of Moroccan society offers the first scientific look at religious values and practices in the country. While young Moroccans are less religious than their elders, they are also more inclined to embrace radicalism.

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Creationists Plan British Theme Park

The latest salvo in creationism's increasingly ferocious battle with evolution is about to be fired in Lancashire. Not in a fiery sermon preached from the pulpit, but in the form of a giant Christian theme park that will champion the book of Genesis and make a multi-media case that God created the world in seven days.

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The American Atheist Winter Solstice Bash

Saturday, December 22, 2007

The Crowne Plaza Hotel

36 Valley Road

Clark, New Jersey

Grand Ballroom (12:30 pm- 5:00 pm)

The Venue:

The Winter Solstice Gala venue is the luxurious Crowne Plaza Hotel (Grand Ballroom, 2nd floor), Clark NJ just off exit 135 of the Garden State Parkway, and two miles from the Rahway Train Station for convenient access to New York City. There is also the Metro Park Station for New Jersey Transit and AMTRAK. You may make shuttle arrangements with the Crowne Plaza. The hotel is located at 36 Valley Road, Clark, NJ 07066, phone 732-574-0100.

MapQuest Map of Crowne Plaza Clark, NJ.

Get together with other Atheists for an afternoon of holiday fun, food, music, dancing and camaraderie in a celebration of the Winter Solstice!

Evening Events:

At 6 pm all are invited to tour the American Atheist Center in nearby Cranford and then participate in the taping of The Atheist Viewpoint Cable TV program in the American Atheist Center TV studio.

Cost: $29.00 per person, $14 for children ages 3 through 10.

Register on line or mail your payment to:

American Atheists,

PO Box 5733,

Parsippany, NJ 07054-6733

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Militia Leader Al-Sadr Studying Up

(CBS/AP) The leader of Iraq's biggest Shiite militia has quietly resumed seminary studies toward attaining the title of ayatollah - a goal that could make firebrand cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army an even more formidable power broker in Iraq.

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Taliban Behead Grandmother And Grandson, 7, For 'Spying For The Americans'

Afghanistan -- Taliban militants have beheaded an old woman and her grandson accused of spying for the US military, officials said.

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Militant Leader Killed In Eastern Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The number two in command of the Taliban's Haqqani network was killed by Afghan and coalition forces in eastern Afghanistan Tuesday, the U.S.-led coalition said in a news release on Thursday.

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Anger After Govt. Vet Kills Cow At Hindu Temple

Police, RSPCA inspectors and a government vet arrived at the temple's farm early Thursday morning and administered a lethal injection to Gangotri, a 13-year old Belgian Blue-Jersey cross, while Hindu worshippers were at prayer.

Gangotri has been injured for more than a year and suffered from bed sores because she could no longer stand. Government ministers have strongly defended the decision to kill the cow and end her suffering.

However, monks at Bhaktivedanta Manor in Hertfordshire are devastated over the cow's death and have accused the government of underhand tactics in the animal's slaughter.

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State To Open Pilot Non-Religious Schools

Ireland -- The State's first two interdenominational national schools will be set up on a pilot basis in Dublin next year, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said today.

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Boy Scouts' Banishment Threatens Catholic Church

Pro-homosexual Philadelphia officials' campaign to evict the Boy Scouts of America from their long-held regional headquarters on city-owned ground will create a precedent that could endanger dozens of other groups in the city, including the Catholic Church, as well as museums and a public radio station.

The issue: The City Council has decided the Boy Scouts, because they prohibit participation by open homosexuals, do not comply with the city's anti-discrimination policies and can no longer rent their headquarters for $1 a year, as they have since the city approved its original resolution on the plan 80 years ago.

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Happy Newton Day!

December 25th is a date to celebrate not because it is the disputed birthday of the "son of God" but because it is the actual birthday of one of the world's greatest men.

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Militants Back On Offense In Somalia

(CBS/AP) Radical Islamists with alleged links to al Qaeda have regrouped after being driven from power last year and are poised to launch a massive attack against the Somali government, an official said Thursday.

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U.S. Seeks Help In Afghanistan

EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday pushed European allies for more troops to re-energize efforts in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban insurgency has increased its attacks in the 18 months since NATO took command of the war.

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Twin Blasts Kill Seven In Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two explosions struck the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta on Thursday, killing seven people -- three Pakistani security forces and four civilians -- government officials have said.

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New Rocket Attack In Israeli Town

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- A rocket fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza on Thursday struck near a synagogue in the Israeli town of Sderot, injuring a woman and damaging a home, an Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said.

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Troops Discover Mass Grave In Iraq

Story Highlights:

Mass grave found north of Baghdad, includes mutilated remains of at least 16 men

One Iraqi killed and five people wounded by a car bomb in northern Baghdad

Eleven people detained in countrywide coalition raids targeting al Qaeda in Iraq

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Living, Dead Extracted In Algeria

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -- Rescuers in a shaken city on Wednesday extracted the living and the dead from the crumpled remains of U.N. offices in Algiers that were bombed by an al-Qaeda affiliate. Victims included U.N. staff from around the world, police officers and law students.

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Judge Orders Priest To Recite Psalms

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A judge in southern Chile has sentenced a Catholic priest to recite psalms daily during three months as punishment for a traffic violation.

--snip--

"I did it as a tribute to Galileo Galilei, one of the greatest scientists of all time, who received a similar sentence from the Catholic Church during three years for saying the Earth rotates around the sun."

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1 Acquitted, 6 To Be Retried, In Alleged Terror Plot

Story Highlights:

"Liberty City 7" were accused of homegrown plot to blow up buildings

One acquitted; six to be retried starting January 7

Sources say supposed al Qaeda operative helping group was really informant

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Young Pakistanis: Bin Laden Is A CIA Creation

Good Morning America gets more than it bargained for in a feature on young people in Pakistan.

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Thieves Cut Off Man's 'Holy Leg'

Police in southern India are hunting for two men who attacked a Hindu holy man, cut off his right leg and then made off with it.

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Watchdog Group Challenges US Military Over Religious Freedom

The U.S. Constitution guarantees religious freedom and prevents government support of religion. The provisions apply to those in the military, as well as civilians. Mike O'Sullivan reports, an organization led by a former military lawyer has challenged the Pentagon over religious issues.

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U.S. Student Scores Grim

A month after Texas ran off its director of science education for failing to stay "neutral" on evolution, an international assessment reveals that U.S. students trail their peers around the world in science literacy.

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Nativity Rejected In Manistique

The Manistique City Council Monday narrowly rejected a request to place a nativity scene at the city's Triangle Park.

The request was made by Rev. Steve Jones of the Manistique Pentecostal Church of God and Rev. Don Bedwell of the First United Methodist Church. Bedwell is president of the Manistique Ministerial Association.

The issue before the council, as described in a legal opinion written by City Attorney John Filoramo, was whether or not a private person may display a nativity scene on city property.

"The issue raises questions," Filoramo wrote in his opinion, because the federal Constitution "prohibits the government, including cities, from establishing a state religion."

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Nativity Scene Draws Complaint

A nativity scene will remain on the lawn of the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo, despite the objection of one citizen who feels the religious display violates the First Amendment.

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Group Objects To Nativity Scene In Peshtigo Park

PESHTIGO, Wis. (AP) - A co-president of the national Freedom From Religion Foundation in Madison is objecting to a nativity scene in a Peshtigo city park.

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Green Bay Leader Pays For City Nativity

GREEN BAY -- The president of the Green Bay City Council paid for a nativity scene to be put up at City Hall after learning of an atheist group's protest of one in Peshtigo.

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Muslim Helps Jews Attacked On New York Subway

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Muslim man jumped to the aid of three Jewish subway riders after they were attacked by a group of young people who objected to one of the Jews saying "Happy Hanukkah," a spokeswoman for the three said Wednesday.

Friday's altercation on the Q train began when somebody yelled out "Merry Christmas," to which rider Walter Adler responded, "Happy Hanukkah," said Toba Hellerstein.

"Almost immediately, you see the look in this guy's face like I've called his mother something," Adler told CNN affiliate WABC.

Two women who were with a group of 10 rowdy people then began to verbally assault Adler's companions with anti-Semitic language, Hellerstein said.

One member of the group allegedly yelled, "Oh, Hanukkah. That's the day that the Jews killed Jesus," she said.

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Wilson Schools Won't Settle

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee filed the lawsuit in September 2006 on behalf of an anonymous Lakeview Elementary student and his parents. Legal documents in the case show the school's Web site advertised a Christian group called Praying Parents, a practice the school has since discontinued.

The suit also alleges that the Praying Parents were allowed to leave prayer messages with students. It asks the court to stop the activities and prevent the school from supporting them in the future.

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State Rebukes Evolution Foe

The debate over evolution, creation and Florida's science standards has grown increasingly heated as a decision nears, and a state Department of Education manager who has waded into it now finds herself in hot water.

Selena "Charlie" Carraway, program manager for the department's Office of Instructional Materials, recently used her personal e-mail on personal time to send a missive urging fellow Christians to fight the proposal to include evolution as a "key idea" in the science curriculum.

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The Trials And Tribulations Of Hashmel Turner

An unassuming small-town preacher and his unconventional Christian lawyer are trying to win the right to pray to Jesus at city council meetings.

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Freedom Lost

Even under Saddam, women in Iraq - including in semi-autonomous Kurdistan - were widely recognised as among the most liberated in the Middle East. They held important positions in business, education and the public sector, and their rights were protected by a statutory family law that was the envy of women's activists in neighbouring countries. But since the 2003 invasion, advances that took 50 years to establish are crumbling away. In much of the country, women can only now move around with a male escort. Rape is committed habitually by all the main armed groups, including those linked to the government. Women are being murdered throughout Iraq in unprecedented numbers.

In October the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (Unami) expressed serious concern over the rising incidence of so-called honour crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan, confirming that 255 women had been killed in just the first six months of 2007, three-quarters of them by burning. An earlier Unami report cited 366 burns cases in Dohuk in 2006, up from 289 the year before, although most were not fatal. In Irbil, the emergency management centre had reported 576 burns cases since 2003, resulting in 358 deaths.

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See also:

Iraq's Youthful Militiamen Build Power Through Fear
Schoolgirls Told to Wear Scarves, Under Threat of Death

Inter Milan Football Strip 'Offends Muslims'

A football strip worn by Italian team Inter Milan is at the centre of a legal row after a lawyer claimed it offended "Muslim sensibilities".

Players wore the new strip - a white shirt with large red cross on it - in a Champions League match last month against Turkish team Fenerbahce to celebrate the club's centenary.

But a Turkish lawyer, Baris Kaska, took exception to the "Crusader-style" cross which he said symbolised "Western racist superiority over Islam".

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Men Arrested For Contempt Of Religion

Egyptian authorities have arrested 22 men including three Lebanese and a Kazakh national on charges of membership in an illegal organisation and contempt for religion, a judicial source said.

The source said the men belong to the al-Ahbash sect, considered heterodox by many Islamic clerics, and said they possessed literature outlining their beliefs.

Among the group's unorthodox beliefs cited by the judicial source are permitting Muslims to pray without ablutions, contrary to established Muslim practice, and seeking blessings from graves.

The source said the men had been attempting to spread their beliefs on the campuses of al-Azhar University, Egypt's prestigious centre of Sunni Islamic learning, and had managed to recruit a number of followers.

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Muslim Convert On Terror Charges

A Muslim convert from Rotherham in South Yorkshire has appeared at the Old Bailey in London accused of preparing an act of terrorism.

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Shift Of Nativity Scene Defuses Debate On Symbols

OLEAN -- The battle of the Nativity - and the pentacle - came to an end in Olean on Tuesday, at least for now.

A day after the large lavender and silver wooden pentacle sign was driven over and later stood back up - a hole in the front and tire tracks notwithstanding - the adjacent Nativity scene was moved a block down the street from the City Hall lawn to the front of a Baptist church.

Later Wednesday afternoon, John Garlow went to City Hall and removed the pentacle he and his wife, April, had placed there as a Wiccan response to the Nativity scene.

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Blast Kills 2 NATO Troops In Afghanistan

(CBS/AP) A roadside blast struck a NATO military convoy in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing two soldiers and wounding three others, the alliance said.

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Terror Network's Leader On Trial

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- The self-proclaimed military commander of the Southeast Asian terror network behind the Bali bombings faced a possible death penalty, as his trial opened in the Indonesian capital Wednesday.

--snip--

More than 240 people died in the bombings, some of which police say were carried out with the backing of al Qaeda.

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Three Car Bombs Kill Dozens In Southern Iraq City

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- All vehicles were banned from the largely Shiite city of Amara Wednesday after three car bombs ripped through a market district, killing at least 27 people and wounded 151, officials said.

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Twin Bombs Kill Dozens In Algiers

ALGIERS -- Twin car bombs near United Nations offices and an Algerian government building killed dozens of people Tuesday in what may have been the deadliest attack here in more than a decade.

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See also:

What Is Al-Qaida In The Islamic Maghreb?

A homegrown insurgency - or global jihad?

Islamic Militants Get Up To 19 Years In Prison For Killing Christians

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An Indonesian court sentenced four Islamic militants Tuesday to sentences of up to 19 years in prison for terrorist acts including the beheadings of three Christian schoolgirls and a deadly market bombing.

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Report Finds Three Decades Of Abuse At Christian Brothers Facility

Ireland --Vulnerable young people suffered vicious sexual and physical abuse at a residential facility for the disabled over three decades.

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"The Bombs Of Dhamma"

Singer-songwriter Imran Raza and guitarist Faraz Anwar hope to bring an unlikely revolution to Pakistan--one guided by Sufi-oriented music inspired by Led Zeppelin and Metallica. The country's music-averse extremists were quick to take notice.

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See also:

Led Zeppelin, a force for peace

Led Zeppelin-Stairway to Heaven-O2 London-10 December 2007 (YouTube Video)

New Blood-Thirsty Dinosaur Identified

The upright-walking creature grinned with a mouth full of banana-sized teeth, stood taller than a double-decker bus and weighed more than two standard-sized cars.

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Lunar Therapy Or Moonlight Madness?

Richard Chapin, the founder of Interstellar Light Applications near Tucson, Ariz., believes the moon has healing powers and first experimented with using moonlight to help a friend with cancer.

"It's rich in a full spectrum of blues and frequencies we need to help cure us," Chapin said.

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Lebanon Blast Kills Army General

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- A Lebanese army general was killed in an explosion in Beirut's Christian suburb of Baabda Wednesday, military intelligence sources told CNN. At least two others died in the attack.

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UPDATE:

Lebanon bomb kills senior officer, 4 others

Six Dead In Israeli Attacks

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israeli forces made forays into northern and southern Gaza Tuesday morning in operations targeting Palestinian militants, killing up to six, according to Palestinian sources and the Israel Defense Forces.

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Suicide Blast Erupts Outside Ex-PM's Home, Office

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least two Iraqi police officers were killed and 13 others wounded Tuesday when a suicide car bomb exploded outside the home and office of a former Iraqi prime minister, an Interior Ministry official said.

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See also:

When sun sets, Baghdad a city of mixed fortune

Moqtada al-Sadr's Shiite militia aims to return leaner, stronger

Attacks in Baghdad Kill 9 and Damage a Refinery

Al Qaeda Blamed For Algiers Bombs

Story Highlights:

Two bombs explode in Algerian capital near government and U.N. buildings

Algeria blames group linked to al Qaeda

Official death toll is 26, but some sources say as high as 76

U.N. officials say five of its staff killed and 14 missing

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Biology Professors Statewide React To Science Scandal

More than 100 college professors say state education officials shouldn't have to take neutral stance on evolution.

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Wisconsin Lawmakers to Vote On Calling Holiday Evergreen 'Christmas Tree'

MADISON, Wis. -- The 35-foot tall balsam fir standing proudly in the rotunda of the Wisconsin Capitol is a familiar annual December display, but it'd be a mistake to call it a "Christmas tree," much to the dismay of one Badger State lawmaker now leading a legislative fight to change the name of the evergreen.

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Ohio Governor Orders Park Nativity Scene Displayed

Portsmouth, Ohio (HNN) -- A Nativity Scene controversy at the Shawnee State Lodge has a mandated ending courtesy of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland.

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Wiccan Symbol Is Run Over In Olean

The continuing battle over a nativity scene at the Olean Municipal Building took another twist Monday night, when someone ran over a 5-foot-tall Wiccan pentacle set up next to the nativity scene.

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Vatican Astronomer Likens Creationism To Superstition

Glasgow (CWNews.com) - A Jesuit astronomer from the Vatican Observatory has said that scientific creationism is a form of superstition.

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Functional Neuroimaging Of Belief, Disbelief, And Uncertainty

Belief and disbelief differ from uncertainty in that both provide information that can subsequently inform behavior and emotion. The mechanism underlying this difference appears to involve the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the caudate. While many areas of higher cognition are likely involved in assessing the truth-value of linguistic propositions, the final acceptance of a statement as "true," or its rejection as "false," seems to rely on more primitive, hedonic processing in the medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula. Truth may be beauty, and beauty truth, in more than a metaphorical sense, and false propositions might actually disgust us.

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Girl, 16, Dies After Hijab Dispute With Father

The 16-year-old Mississauga girl who was allegedly strangled by her father in a dispute over her refusal to wear the hijab has died.

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Humanists Celebrate The Roots Of Christmas And Hanukkah

Washington, D.C. -- What do nontheists (atheists and agnostics), such as humanists, do for the holidays?

"Many people are under the false assumption that secular people like humanists are just a bunch of old Scrooges who don't celebrate the winter holidays," commented Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "But actually, we humanists appreciate and enjoy the season in ways that go right to its roots. Christmas and Hanukkah are both derived from much earlier nature celebrations of the Winter Solstice. This makes this festive time the common property of all. And as for Scrooge, he's a character in Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol,' a story that became a major part of the process of secularizing the holiday so all could enjoy it."

One of the newest ways of celebrating the season is with a specifically humanist observance called HumanLight.

In 2001 Joseph Fox inaugurated HumanLight in New Jersey. Since then the concept has spread across the country, and now internationally. More details can be found on the HumanLight website at http://www.humanlight.org/.

"Because humanists shy away from rigid rituals, the specific elements of HumanLight celebrations will differ from region to region, and even year to year," said Fred Edwords, director of communications for the American Humanist Association. "But commonly they include a meal with friends and family, dancing, gift exchanges, and short talks, discussions, or readings. Some aspects are similar to religious observances while others are different."

Though having no god belief, humanists recognize that observing celebrations fills a human need for togetherness. From pre-Christian times to the present the arrival of winter has been celebrated as a special time of year, so it's a likely choice for groups independent of traditional religion.

And HumanLight isn't the only way humanists may choose to celebrate the winter season. "My family and I have long exchanged holiday gifts, decorated a holiday tree, and all that," Edwords added.

"And this year I'm particularly thrilled to have a new holiday movie out that celebrates my values--'The Golden Compass.'"

Some have considered "The Golden Compass"--both book and film--controversial because of its challenge to religious authoritarianism and support for freethinking. There have also been objections to such a film being released during the holidays.

"My family and I enjoyed this film together," Edwords said. "And the holidays are a perfect time for it. After all, we humanists have families and we celebrate the holidays, too. So it's about time we had a holiday film that expresses our values."

Philip Pullman, the author of "The Golden Compass" book, will receive the International Humanist Award at the 2008 Annual Conference of the American Humanist Association this June in Washington, D.C. Full details are available at http://www.americanhumanist.org/.

LINK

RELATED NOTE:

The Humanist Community of Central Ohio will be holding a Winter Solstice Banquet on Saturday, December 29th from 4-9 pm at the Holiday Inn 328 W. Lane Ave - Columbus, OH 43201. Lori Lipman Brown, Director of the Secular Coalition for America, will be the keynote speaker.

Sign up HERE.

Americans United Urges Appeals Court To Uphold Colorado Bar On Aid To Religious Colleges

Colorado is not required by either the state or federal constitutions to provide public funding for tuition at pervasively sectarian colleges, says Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Americans United joined with other civil liberties groups to argue that restrictions on state aid to religious institutions are constitutional.

Colorado Christian University has filed a lawsuit, demanding the right to participate in Colorado's state-funded student financial aid program. The litigation came after state officials decided the university was so overwhelmingly religious that aid to students there would fund religion and thus violate the separation of church and state.

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Is Human Evolution Speeding Up?

People are evolving more rapidly than in the distant past, with residents of various continents becoming increasingly different from one another, researchers say.

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See also:

Six Reasons to Have Sex Every Week

Scientists Find The Dent In Our Solar System

SAN FRANCISCO -- New observations from the edge of our solar system show what scientists have suspected for several years: The solar system is squashed.

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See also:

Top 10 Scientific Discoveries of 2007

Mars rover racing to reach winter resting spot

Death Goes Digital: The Electronic Tombstone

WAUSAU, Wisconsin (AP) -- No one would set a scrapbook filled with pictures and memories on the tombstone of a loved one. But what about a high-tech, weatherproof version, with digital images powered by a solar cell?

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Colorado Gunman Scared Co-Workers 5 Years Ago, One Says

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (CNN) -- Matthew Murray was kicked out of a missionary training program five years ago for strange behavior, and talked about hearing voices, according to a man who served at the center with him.

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Brown Hails Afghan Battle Success

Story Hightlights:

Success calimed in major operation underway to retake town from Taliban

Taliban militants took over Musa Qalah in February

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See also:

Into the Valley of Death

Prisoners Killed In Attacks On Iraqi Detention Facilities

Story Highlights:

In one prison attack, 122 mm rockets were fired at a facility in eastern Baghdad

Mortars, roadside bomb, drive-by shooting leave several dead or wounded

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Vigilantes Kill 40 Women In Iraq's South

BAGHDAD (AP) -- Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against "violating Islamic teachings," the police chief said Sunday.

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Radical Christians Blame Sinners For Drought

A RADICAL Christian group with the ear of prominent politicians has blamed "sinful" Australians for the nation's record drought.

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Scout Leader In California Accused Of Abuse

SAN FRANCISCO -- A scout leader who once sued the City of Berkeley for challenging a national Boy Scout ban on members who are gay or atheist has been arrested on felony charges that for at least five years he sexually abused young males in the troops he led.

--snip--

Mr. Evans sued the city in his role as a leader of the Sea Scouts, an affiliate program of the Boy Scouts. The city, after providing free berthing for a Sea Scouts boat for 60 years, said in 1998 that a Boy Scout policy barring gay scouts and atheists violated Berkeley's rules against discrimination. The city said the Scouts would have to leave the berth or pay $500 a month rent.

Mr. Evans sued for discrimination and for violating the Scouts' First Amendment rights. The California Supreme Court ruled in favor of Berkeley.

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Pakistan Suicide Attack Kills 8

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into a police outpost in Pakistan Sunday, killing eight people in an area where the military has been battling Islamic militants loyal to a fugitive cleric, an official said.

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Curfew Imposed After Police Chief's 'Assassination' In Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Authorities imposed a curfew in Hilla on Sunday after a roadside bomb killed a provincial police chief and two other officers, an official with the Interior Ministry said.

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Las Vegas Raelian Gets 'God-Free' U.S. Citizenship Ceremony

Dozens of local residents were sworn in Friday as naturalized U.S. citizens, but one of the new Americans insisted on taking a special oath, one that removed all references to God.

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Children Are Targets Of Nigerian Witch Hunt

Evangelical pastors are helping to create a terrible new campaign of violence against young Nigerians. Children and babies branded as evil are being abused, abandoned and even murdered while the preachers make money out of the fear of their parents and their communities.

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Blast Kills Regional Al-Sadr Leader, Family

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A regional leader of radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's movement and his family died when an explosion went off as they were sleeping in their home in southern Iraq, police said.

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Coalition Moves Against Taliban

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Afghan and foreign troops launched an operation to retake a southern Afghan town controlled by Taliban militants, officials said.

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See also:

Taliban, Children Dead In NATO Operation

Role Of Gays Prompts Split In Episcopal Church

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- An Episcopal diocese in central California voted Saturday to split with the national denomination over disagreements about the role of gays and lesbians in the church.

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Atheists' Sign Sparks Controversy

Vernon (WTNH) -- A sign posted by Atheists in the Rockville's Central Park has people talking, prompting calls to the town hall and the local clergy.

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Simle Teacher In Hot Water After Showing Video To Class

A Simle Middle School teacher is under investigation after showing a religious-themed video in health class.

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State High Court Rejects Gay Student's Suit

WEST PALM BEACH -- Four years after Jeffrey Woodard was kicked out of Jupiter Christian School for being gay, the Florida Supreme Court slammed the door shut on his legal battle with the religious institution.

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God Effect, The

Some anthropologists argue that the idea of God first arose in larger societies, for the purpose of curbing selfishness and promoting cooperation. Outside a tightly knit group, the reasoning goes, nobody can keep an eye on everyone's behavior, so these cultures invented a supernatural agent who could. But does thinking of an omniscient God actually promote altruism? The University of British Columbia psychologist Ara Norenzayan wanted to find out.

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Most Ancient Case Of Tuberculosis Found

Although most scientists believe tuberculosis emerged only several thousand years ago, new research from The University of Texas at Austin reveals the most ancient evidence of the disease has been found in a 500,000-year-old human fossil from Turkey.

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Moon 2.0

The latest version of the X Prize is backed by Google: $20 million to the first private enterprise that can land a robotic rover on the lunar surface, send back images and data, and travel at least 500 meters--with more rewards if it can find artifacts from the early days of lunar exploration, when only the U.S. and Soviet governments could afford to send probes.

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See also:

Best meteor shower nears its peak

Germany Moves To Ban Scientology

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Germany's top security officials said Friday they consider the goals of the Church of Scientology to be in conflict with the principles of the nation's constitution and will seek to ban the organization.

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Female Suicide Bomber Targets Anti-Al Qaeda Group, Kills 16

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least 16 people were killed and 31 others wounded when a female suicide bomber detonated in Muqdadiya, north of Baghdad, an official with Iraq's Interior Ministry said.

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Darwin, Not Saddam, Behind 9/11

A caption from the book, below a photograph of one of the planes striking the World Trade Center, reports: "No matter what ideology they may espouse, those who perpetrate terror over the world are, in reality, Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy that places a value on-and thus encourages-conflict."

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Holy X-Ray, Do You See Jesus?

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- A man who recently had a chest X-ray done swore he could clearly see the image of Jesus on the photograph.

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Earlier Oddball Religious Sightings HERE.

Botched History On "The View"

The View's Sherri Sheppherd Strikes Again

Earlier:

"The View" co-host doesn't know if the world is round or flat

Why Science Needs History

A recent flap at the Texas Education Agency demonstrates why we need to teach history better so we can teach science better.

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Former Evangelical Minister Has a New Message: Jesus Hearts Darwin

The Rev. Michael Dowd is preaching a surprising message: Evolution is real and science points to the existence of God.

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Catholic School Board Okays Pullman Books

Ontario -- A Catholic school board in Ontario is under fire for approving Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy for its school libraries.

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See also:

The Golden Compass vs. the Church

Televangelist Refuses To Turn Over More Financial Documents

(CNN) -- Georgia televangelist Creflo Dollar is refusing to turn over any more financial documents to the Senate Finance Committee, even though they are overdue.

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Church Gets Landmark Status Over Congregation's Objections

The District government conferred landmark status on a 36-year-old downtown church today despite impassioned opposition from congregants and community leaders who dismiss the building as an architectural blight.

The Historic Preservation Review Board's 7-0 ruling bars the Third Church of Christ Scientist from redeveloping their fortress-like sanctuary on 16th Street NW, two blocks north of the White House.

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Some Day Cares Skip Inspections

In surprise visits to Alachua County's licensed day-care centers, environmental health inspectors have a right to look at children's immunization records, employees' criminal histories, even the labeling on bottles of breast milk.

But they don't have the right to even walk through the doors of the county's faith-based centers that are exempt from state licensing.

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Biologist Fired For Beliefs, Suit Says

The battle between science and creationism has reached the prestigious Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where a former researcher is claiming he was fired because he doesn't believe in evolution.

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Court Backs Church's Stay On Picketing Law

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A federal appeals court said Thursday that a Missouri law limiting protests near funerals should have been put on hold while a judge determines whether it's constitutional.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis threw out a district court judge's decision denying the request for a temporary injunction of the law from a Kansas church that regularly protests at service members' funerals.

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Hindu Gods Get Summons From Court

A judge in India has summoned two Hindu gods, Ram and Hanuman, to help resolve a property dispute.

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Religions In Conflict: India's State Of War

It is five years since Gujarat erupted in violence between Hindus and Muslims. But next week's elections will be dominated by the fallout from the bloody events.

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'Flying Saucers' Around Saturn Explained

The formation of strange flying-saucer-shaped moons embedded in Saturn's rings have baffled scientists. New findings suggest they're born largely from clumps of icy particles in the rings themselves, an insight that could shed light on how Earth and other planets coalesced from the disk of matter that once surrounded our newborn sun.

More...

See also:

Saturn's Greatest Hits (Includes links to images of Saturn and its moons and an online vote for best image captured by the Cassini orbiter.)

Solar wind unleashed by magnetic waves

[Image above captured of Saturn on 04/04/05 using Celestia software.]

Just Say Maybe

On Wednesday the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the teen birth rate in the United States increased in 2006 for the first time in 14 years, and unmarried childbearing reached a new record high: 38.5 percent of all U.S. births. (The CDC's report is based on data from the nearly 4.3 million births in the United States last year.) Between 2005 and 2006, the teen birth rate rose from 40.5 to 41.9 live births per 1,000 Americans aged 15 to 19. The increase was highest among black teens, at 5 percent. Hispanic teens had a 2 percent increase, and non-Hispanic white teens were in the middle at 3 percent. Until this year the teen birth rate had been decreasing steadily from its all-time peak in 1991.

---snip---

Over the time period when this group of young people has come of age, we have been funneling our federal dollars into abstinence-only programs. Since 1996 we've spent $1.5 billion on abstinence-only until-marriage programs, between state and federal dollars. If these programs talk about contraception, they only talk about it in terms of its failure rates. That is a trend we can point to. Whether or not that has impacted these rates, we don't know that. The only federal program for sex education is abstinence-only until-marriage. It's really accelerated since 2000-1.

---snip---

As to these abstinence-only programs, there's no evidence these programs work in any way to delay sexual activity or encourage young people to use contraceptives.

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School Bans Those Without Mumps Shots

PORTLAND, Maine - The University of Southern Maine began notifying more than 400 students Thursday that they're being banned from campus for failing to meet the latest vaccination requirements for mumps.

---snip---

The list includes about 20 students who have declined vaccinations on religious or philosophical grounds, said spokeswoman Judie O'Malley.

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Spiritualists Draw Tourists To Florida Town

CASSADAGA, Fla. - The scent of incense hangs in the air as one passes between the columns saying "Welcome Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp." So does a musty odor.

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The First Noel The Police Did Arrest

(AP) A Salvation Army bell ringer sang "The First Noel" while shoplifting Christmas ornaments on his break, police said. Sean M. Sayers, 33, Anderson, was arrested Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of conversion.

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Holy Highway: Evangelicals Pray To "Light" Interstate 35

Running right through the heart of the Twin Cities is a spiritual road that dozens of evangelical churches say is specifically mentioned in the Bible as the "Way of Holiness." They call it the "Highway of Holiness." Others call it Interstate 35.

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700 Club: I-35 Can Stop Homosexuality (YouTube Video)

Giant Menorah Goes Up

Following a last-minute court battle over separation of church and state, the giant menorah in the City of Poughkeepsie was lit Tuesday afternoon at the same street corner where it has stood for the last 15 years.

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WR Church Bringing Christmas Concert To Macon's City Hall

For the second time in two months, religious services are coming to Macon City Hall.

Mayor Jack Ellis first flung the City Council chambers open to the faithful in October, when he helped host a feast marking the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Now, from Warner Robins, comes Westside Baptist Church with a Christmas program scheduled to take place in the chambers today, celebrating the birth of Jesus.

"This will be a concert about the complete, wonderful, redemptive love of the one and only true God," a flier reads. "This is not about Westside Baptist Church. It is all about professing our God in Macon's City Hall!"

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Hamburg Official Wants A Germany-Wide Ban On Scientology

German suspicion of Scientology resurfaced in Hamburg this week after a security official said he would seek a nationwide ban against the organization. He's arguing that Scientology is an "unconstitutional" big business.

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Pope Offers Indulgences To Pilgrims

Catholics who visit the miracle shrine at Lourdes over the next year will receive "indulgences" which the Church teaches can reduce time spent in purgatory.

The Vatican said today that Pope Benedict is offering the indulgences to pilgrims from this weekend. The shrine in south western France is preparing to commemorate the 150th anniversary of when the Madonna was said to have appeared to a peasant girl at Lourdes in 1858.

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Church Sues New York City Over Its Catering Permit

A lawsuit against New York City is the latest volley in a yearlong battle between a Christian Science church on Park Avenue and its well-to-do neighbors, who do not want the church building rented out for social events.

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Lawyer: Priest Will Plead Guilty To Sex Charges

An HIV-positive Catholic Navy chaplain plans to plead guilty Thursday to charges involving sexual misconduct with an unspecified number of men, according to his attorney, who said the priest has known of his HIV status for more than two years.

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Are Big-Spending Clergy Abusing U.S. Tax Code?

Washington - Should Congress care if a minister drives a Bentley, flies private jets, or buys a $23,000 commode?

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Just 2 ministries submit financial data

Golden Compass' Anti-Clerical Message Loud And Clear, Humanists Say

(Washington D.C., December 5, 2007) Humanists responded to allegations from the Catholic League that "The Golden Compass" film is a "stealth campaign" to subvert children to atheism. The claim is that the toned-down anti-religious message in the movie will gull young moviegoers into reading the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy by Philip Pullman.

"After reviewing the film, I must say that the Catholic League is profoundly mistaken," commented Fred Edwords, communications director of the American Humanist Association. "In fact, there's nothing 'stealthy' about the movie's message at all. Rather, it's a direct and plain spoken argument in opposition to the religious and secular tyranny and it forthrightly favors freethinking, human nature, and science."

"The Golden Compass" movie does avoid the overt religious references of the book, such as "the church" and a retelling of the story of the fall from the Garden of Eden. However, it directly confronts the danger of religious authority, a "ruling power fearing any truth but their own" that protects people from "messy thoughts and unhappy feelings." "Freethinkers"-a common term for humanists and atheists-are also mentioned in the movie with a positive intent.

"Though 'The Golden Compass' is clearly against blind acceptance of religious authority-or any organized authority, for that matter-I would stop short of calling it anti-religious," said Edwords. "Rather, the movie and the books stress values that are shared by thoughtful non-religious and religious people alike: kindness, intellectual curiosity, and courage. It's too bad that these important morals of the film and books are overlooked by groups like the Catholic League, who denounce any message, regardless of content, if it comes from a humanist."

"Many religious groups have organized protests and boycotts against the film," said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association. "The AHA has alerted its members across the country to be on the lookout for such protests and launch counter-protests in such an event. Humanists support a free exchange of ideas, and we haven't come out against films with subtle religious messages, such as 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.' So we expect that humanist movies should be afforded the same opportunity to be seen, free from such shameless stunts, even if people don't agree with the message."

"After seeing the film, I am happy to stand behind it," said Edwords. "I would be cautious about letting small children watch it, since it does contain violence and deals with disturbing issues, but I would encourage teens and adults with open minds to see it."

Philip Pullman will accept the International Humanist Award at the 2008 Annual Conference of the American Humanist Association to be held this June in Washington, D.C.

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The American Humanist Association (http://www.americanhumanist.org/) advocates for the rights and viewpoints of humanists. Founded in 1941 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., its work is extended through more than 100 local chapters and affiliates across America.

Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism, affirms our responsibility to lead ethical lives of value to self and humanity.

Americans United Asks IRS To Investigate Falwell's Liberty University

Liberty University Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. violated federal tax law by using school resources to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, Americans United for Separation of Church and State told the Internal Revenue Service today.

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12 Dead, 20 Wounded In Afghan Blast

(AP) Afghan officials and witnesses say a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a minibus full of Afghan soldiers south of Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and wounding 20.

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U.S. Teen Births Rise For First Time Since 1991

ATLANTA - In a troubling reversal, the nation's teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials who had no immediate explanation.

The birth rate had been dropping since its peak in 1991, although the decline had slowed in recent years. On Wednesday, government statisticians said it rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006.

--snip--

...several experts said they have been expecting a jump. They blame the increase on increased federal funding for abstinence-only health education programs that do not teach how to use condoms and other contraception.

Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.

"It's not rocket science," she said.

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Did Morgan Spurlock Find Osama Bin Laden?

Rumors are flying that filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of "Super Size Me" fame may have done what the United States government has failed to do for the last six years -- find Osama bin Laden.

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Saudi Rape Lawyer Hearing Delayed

(CNN) -- The Saudi lawyer who represented a gang rape victim had his disciplinary hearing for "insulting the Supreme Judicial Council and disobeying the rules and regulations" of the judiciary postponed to an unspecified date, according to The Associated Press.

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Ethiopia Calls For Help In Somalia

(CNN) -- Ethiopia's government Tuesday called on the international community to step up its support for an African-led peacekeeping mission in Somalia, where Ethiopian troops have been mired in an Islamist insurgency since invading last December.

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25 Dead In Iraq Bombings As Gates Visits

BAGHDAD (AP) - A car bomb exploded in a largely Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday and killed at least 16 people, police said, while Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a visit to the capital that security and stability were within reach, although more work is needed.

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A Calmer Iraq: Fragile, and Possibly Fleeting

Sadr tells Bush to get out of Iraq

Murdoch Adds Beliefnet To His Media Arsenal

NEW YORK -- Rupert Murdoch added yet another island to his media empire with the purchase of Beliefnet, the largest faith and spirituality information site on the Web, for an undisclosed sum.

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Al Qaeda-Linked Web Sites Number 5,600: Researcher

RIYADH (Reuters) - There are now about 5,600 Web sites spreading al Qaeda's ideology worldwide, and 900 more are appearing each year, a Saudi researcher told a national security conference on Tuesday.

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Catholic Coloring Book Warns US Kids Of Pedophile Priests

New York's Roman Catholic Church is trying a novel approach to alert children to the danger of being sexually assaulted by a priest, with an abuse-themed coloring book, officials said Tuesday.

"Being Friends, Being Safe, Being Catholic," was distributed earlier this year to several hundred schools in the New York area as part of the church's Safe Environment Program, a spokeswoman from the city's Archdiocese said.

One image in the book features a guardian angel hovering over an altar boy with a priest lurking in the background.

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Secrets Case Eyes Jurors' Religion

As two pro-Israel lobbyists near trial on charges of trafficking in classified information, a federal judge is preparing to grapple with some thorny questions, such as what to ask potential jurors about their religion and whether it is legal to knock jurors off the case based on their perceived religious affiliations.

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Questions Surround TV Preacher Inquiry

Among the many conservative Christians who feel misunderstood by the general public, the six televangelists under investigation by a Senate committee are an embarrassment.

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Preacher Rebuffs Senate Spending Inquiry

Red Bull Pulls 'Disrespectful' Nativity Ad

AN angry Italian priest has persuaded soft drinks company Red Bull to withdraw an advertisement setting its product in a nativity scene on the grounds it is disrespectful to Christianity.

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Springer Opera Court Fight Fails

A Christian group has lost its High Court battle to prosecute the BBC's director general over the screening of Jerry Springer - The Opera in 2005.

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Court Debates "God" On Money And In Pledge

SAN FRANCISCO -- A Sacramento atheist made an ardent plea to a federal appeals court Tuesday to respect his religion and remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" from U.S. currency.

"I want to be treated equally," said Michael Newdow, who argued both cases consecutively to a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "They want to have their religious views espoused by the government."

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Remains Of Prehistoric Sea "Monster" Found

(CBS/AP) Remains of a bus-sized prehistoric "monster" reptile found on a remote Arctic island may be a new species never before recorded by science, researchers said Tuesday.

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Neanderthals Grew Up Faster Than We Do

Tooth analysis shows that long childhood is uniquely human trait.

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Before And After Humans

Suicide Bomber Kills 13

(CNN) -- A suicide car bomber rammed a minibus filled with Afghan National Army soldiers south of Kabul Wednesday, killing 13 people, including six soldiers, said military spokesman Gen. Mohammed Zahir Azimi.

The attack, which took place around 6:50 a.m. in the Chihulsutoon area, came about 24 hours after another suicide car bomber attacked a NATO International Security Assistance Force convoy in Kabul, wounding at least 22 civilians.

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'Kidnap Video Demands UK Exit Iraq'

Al-Arabiya said the video carries the date of November 18, and that hostage-takers had given Britain 10 days to meet its demand. The video shows two armed militants pointing their machine guns toward the hostage but not to his head. A black banner behind them reads "The Islamic Shiite Resistance of Iraq."

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Toy Row Teacher Speaks Of Ordeal

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A British teacher who was jailed over the naming of a teddy bear said Tuesday that she "got a bit more than I bargained for" during her stint in Sudan.

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Young Man's Suicide Blamed On Mother's Cult

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The suicide of a young man and the murder he committed before he killed himself are being blamed on a cult led by his mother.

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Self-Styled Morality Police Now Commonplace In Egypt

CAIRO, Egypt -- The self-styled enforcers of religious law issued frequent reprimands to Rasha el-Kholy for not wearing a head scarf.

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Beyond Belief 07: Enlightenment 2.0

Find links to view the initial edited version of the event HERE.

"God-Free Californians" To Rally

American Atheists California is holding a rally in front of the San Francisco Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals building on Tuesday, December 4, to support the removal of religious references in the Pledge of Allegiance and on national currency. Joining them will be a number of Atheist and Humanist groups and others from the Bay Area and across the state.

This peaceful demonstration will be held on the day that California Atheist Dr. Michael Newdow presents arguments before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in two lawsuits: one seeking to strike the phrase "under God" from the Pledge, the other challenging the inclusion of "In God We Trust" on currency. Congress mandated both phrases in the mid 1950s.

"Those words were added during the height of the Cold War, and should never have been included," stated Dave Kong, California director for American Atheists. "The intent was to differentiate the United States from what was then perceived as 'godless communism' by touting the country as a religious, god-fearing nation, and in the process it divided Americans on religious lines. As a result, many citizens think that if you do not believe in a god, you cannot be a good American. It is time to put an end to such an outdated, false notion."

"Dr. Newdow was the catalyst for our rally in 2003 when he argued before the Supreme Court in his original Pledge suit. This rally is a celebration of the progress we have made since then. The Atheist community grows stronger in its solidarity, we have bestselling authors among our ranks and a presence on Capitol Hill. We have joined with our affiliated groups and other Atheist, Humanist and freethought groups - the 'god-free Californians' - to cheer on Dr. Newdow, applaud the Ninth Circuit for its landmark 2002 decision, and urge removal of these archaic and inappropriate religious references."

The event at the Ninth Circuit will begin at 9:00 a.m. and include a program of speakers.

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FFRF Solstice Message Returns To Wisconsin Capitol For 12th Year!

'Tis the season . . . for the Freedom From Religion Foundation's gilt "Winter Solstice" message, which returns for its 12th visit to the first-floor rotunda of the Wisconsin State Capitol for the month of December.

The pretty sign, with a secular message composed by Anne Nicol Gaylor, Foundation co-president emerita, reads:

At this season of the Winter Solstice, may reason prevail.

There are no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.

There is only our natural world.

Religion is but myth and superstition that hardens hearts and enslaves minds.

The back of the sign reads: "State/Church: Keep Them Separate."

"Our sign is a reminder of the real reason for the season, the Winter Solstice," says Annie Laurie Gaylor, Foundation co-president.

The Winter Solstice, the shortest and darkest day of the year, takes place early on Dec. 22 this year. The natural holiday signals the return of the sun and the new year, and has been celebrated for a millennia in the Northern Hemisphere with festivals of light, evergreens, feasts and gift exchanges.

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Americans United Praises Court Ruling That Upholds Separation Of Church And State

A federal appeals court today ruled that tax funding of an evangelical Christian rehabilitation program at an Iowa state prison violates the separation of church and state and must end.

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Atheists To Erect Holiday Display

WEST CHESTER -- For the first time a regional atheist group will display a holiday tree on the Chester County Courthouse lawn during the winter holidays, potentially setting a seasonal model for other communities.

---snip---

The group's display, "The Tree of Knowledge," will include a 15-foot evergreen with color copies of book covers as decorations. Some of the book covers will include the Holy Bible, the Quran, "Ethics Without God," "Why I Am Not a Christian," and "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism."

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'Miracle Chair' Draws Childless Couples

NAPLES -- An ordinary old armchair under a worn blanket in a three-room flat in Naples draws thousands of hopeful pilgrims. Pasted all over the walls around it are birth announcements: pink for girls, blue for boys.

Childless women from all over the world flock to the "miracle" chair -- close to Speranzella street whose name suggests hope -- in the picturesque Spanish Quarter of Naples. There they ask Saint Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus for a miracle.

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Pat Robertson Hands Control Of Network To His Son

(AP) -- The Rev. Pat Robertson said Monday that his son, Gordon, has succeeded him as chief executive of the Christian Broadcasting Network, the most recent shift to a younger generation of leaders within major conservative Christian groups.

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Iowa Diocese Reaches $37M Sex Abuse Pact

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport agreed Monday to pay out $37 million to more than 150 sex abuse victims under a settlement that requires the bishop to personally apologize to any accusers or relatives who ask.

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'Mummy' Yields Rock-Solid Info On Dinosaurs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- One of the most complete dinosaur mummies ever found is revealing secrets locked away for millions of years, bringing researchers as close as they will ever get to touching a live dino.

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5-Year-Old Chimp Beats College Kids In Computer Game

NEW YORK (AP) -- Think you're smarter than a fifth-grader? How about a 5-year-old chimp? Japanese researchers pitted young chimps against human adults in tests of short-term memory, and overall, the chimps won.

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Scientists Make Videos For The Web

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Fans of the niche sites say they help the lay public -- and students -- understand the scientific process, allow researchers to duplicate one another's results and may help discourage fraud.

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Is 'Golden Compass' 'Selling Atheism To Kids'?

(AP) -- The plot sounds familiar: movie takes on religion, angers some faction of believers.

But the furor surrounding "The Golden Compass," a $180-million fantasy epic coming to theaters next Friday, is more complex than that.

Based on the first volume in the award-winning trilogy "His Dark Materials" by religious skeptic Philip Pullman, the movie already has been condemned by conservative Roman Catholics and evangelicals. They say it will hook children into Pullman's books and a dark, individualistic world where all religion is evil.

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Iraqi Insurgents Regrouping

Iraq's main Sunni-led resistance groups have scaled back their attacks on US forces in Baghdad and parts of Anbar province in a deliberate strategy aimed at regrouping, retraining, and waiting out George Bush's "surge", a key insurgent leader has told the Guardian.

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See also:

IRAQ: Government Fragments Further

The Iraqi Refugee Crisis in Syria and Jordan

Semi-related:

POLL: Afghans' Criticism of U.S. Efforts Rises; In the Southwest, Taliban Support Grows

Darwin's Surprise

Darwin's surprise almost certainly would be mixed with delight: when he suggested, in "The Descent of Man" (1871), that humans and apes shared a common ancestor, it was a revolutionary idea, and it remains one today. Yet nothing provides more convincing evidence for the "theory" of evolution than the viruses contained within our DNA. Until recently, the earliest available information about the history and the course of human diseases, like smallpox and typhus, came from mummies no more than four thousand years old. Evolution cannot be measured in a time span that short. Endogenous retroviruses provide a trail of molecular bread crumbs leading millions of years into the past.

Darwin's theory makes sense, though, only if humans share most of those viral fragments with relatives like chimpanzees and monkeys. And we do, in thousands of places throughout our genome. If that were a coincidence, humans and chimpanzees would have had to endure an incalculable number of identical viral infections in the course of millions of years, and then, somehow, those infections would have had to end up in exactly the same place within each genome. The rungs of the ladder of human DNA consist of three billion pairs of nucleotides spread across forty-six chromosomes. The sequences of those nucleotides determine how each person differs from another, and from all other living things. The only way that humans, in thousands of seemingly random locations, could possess the exact retroviral DNA found in another species is by inheriting it from a common ancestor.

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Scientists Tell Pelosi: No More Ab-Only Funding

Dear Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid,

As a group of leading scientists who have recently conducted research on adolescents, reproductive health, and abstinence-only education, we are writing to express our strong concern about increasing federal support for abstinence-only education (AOE) programs. This federal support includes monies going to states (Section 510 of the Social Security Act) and those going directly to community and faith-based organizations (the Community-Based Abstinence Education program).

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Patrol Car Jesus Raises Legal Hackles

GREENSBORO -- There's not much to enjoy about the back of a police car.

While a deputy was searching M. Reza Salami's car at a sobriety checkpoint last Saturday, the deputy asked Salami to wait in the back of his patrol car, Salami said. There, Salami, a professor at N.C. A&T, saw a sign reading "Jesus is your savior" between the front and back seats.

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Foster Parents Sue After License Revoked For Alleged Snake-Handling

LONDON, Ky. -- A southeastern Kentucky couple who say they refused to agree not to attend snake-handling religious services have sued a foster-care agency after their license was revoked.

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Suspended Student Sues Over Pat Robertson Image

A Spring man who said a private university founded by Pat Robertson suspended him over an image showing the televangelist with his middle finger extended has sued the school in federal court.

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Ruling Warns Of Mixing Religion, Rehab

In a decision Friday, a federal judge in Detroit put faith-based drug and alcohol treatment programs on notice that mixing religion and rehabilitation can be a recipe for violating the U.S. Constitution.

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'Condemned To Life As An Outsider'

Driven out of Kolkata by violent protests last week, Taslima Nasrin talks to Kathleen McCaul from hiding about her battle for free expression.

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Poll Finds More Americans Believe In Devil Than Darwin

DALLAS (Reuters Life!) - More Americans believe in a literal hell and the devil than Darwin's theory of evolution, according to a new Harris poll released on Thursday.

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Sudan Demo Over Jailed UK Teacher

Crowds of people have marched in Sudan's capital Khartoum to call for a tougher sentence for a British teacher imprisoned for insulting religion.

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See also:

Teacher moved to secret location as Sudanese demand stiffer sentence

Teddy row teacher boards plane for Britain as protestors mob British embassy in Sudan

Evolution Debate Led To Ouster, Official Says

AUSTIN, Tex. (AP) -- The state's director of science curriculum said she resigned this month under pressure from officials who said she had given the appearance of criticizing the teaching of intelligent design.

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Americans United Blasts Ouster Of Texas Educator For Supporting Sound Science

Papal Encyclical Attacks Atheism

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in an encyclical released on Friday, said atheism was responsible for some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" in history.

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PAPAL ENCYCLICAL SMEARS ATHEISTS, SECULARISM AND DISTORTS HISTORY

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Monday, December 31, 2007